When a console debuts to less than favorable sales numbers, and the folks involved begin to lower their projections for the fiscal year — like Nintendo did with both the Wii U and the 3DS — talk of price cuts and discounts begin to surface. Coming more so from past experience with the 3DS than anything else, many Nintendo fans have been expecting the company to cut the Wii U price for several weeks now.
However, as revealed in a recent Nintendo financial call, no such price cut will take place. Instead the company plans to bolster gamer interest with exciting new software and platform updates. In the simplest of terms: Nintendo will not be cutting the price of the Wii U any time soon, but there will be new games.
One of the main driving factors behind Nintendo's decision not to cut the price of the Wii U is their belief that they have failed to fully "communicate the value of [their] product." Past lessons learned from the less-than-stellar launch of the 3DS has shown Nintendo that if they can't unveil an appealing product out of the gate there's likely to be a decrease in consumer appeal.
"With Wii U, we have taken a rather resolute stance in pricing it below its manufacturing cost, so we are not planning to perform a markdown. I would like to make this point absolutely clear. We are putting our lessons from Nintendo 3DS to good use, as I have already publicly stated. However, given that it has now become clear that we have not yet fully communicated the value of our product, we will try to do so before the software lineup is enhanced and at the same time work to enrich the software lineup which could make consumers understand the appeal of Wii U. "
Talk of a Wii U price cut is only generating steam, and Nintendo is feeling the need to address those concerns, because sales obviously aren't what the company had hoped they would be. Just yesterday we reported that Nintendo was lowering their sales projections for both the Wii U and 3DS, which suggested a price cut could be on the horizon. However, we know now that Nintendo isn't ready to "throw in the towel," so to speak, just yet.
That doesn't, however, mean that specific retailers, like Costco, can't lower the price of the Wii U in their own stores. The popular purveyor of samples and bulk goods is currently offering the Wii U at $50 off the retail price (for both the Deluxe and the Basic versions).
Gamers who were thinking about picking up a Wii U — whether to play ZombiU, Nintendo Land, or New Super Mario Bros. U — now have a greater incentive to buy, even if it won't be until the holiday season when a new 3D Mario or a new Mario Kart (whichever comes first) are released.
Do you think that it is time for a Wii U price cut? Do you think one will happen in 2013?
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