While Nintendo's E3 2012 Press Conference was surprisingly devoid of a lot of concrete details regarding the Wii U, the biggest non-announcement was undoubtedly the price. We had known going in that Nintendo wasn't keen on revealing a price point for their forthcoming console, but nonetheless the hope was that the publisher would at least give some idea as to how pricing would break down.

Unfortunately, aside from acknowledging that at some point the Wii U will support two tablet controllers, Nintendo made no mention of what type of price point gamers could be looking at. Thankfully, Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata has come out to give us a better idea of what types of pricing his is looking at, and it's really good news.

Obviously the Nintendo 3DS launch, and subsequent price drop, was a learning experience for Nintendo, and they plan to use the lessons learned from that launch in regards to the Wii U. That means, according to Iwata, the price for the Wii U will be affordable.

Iwata still believes that the Wii U is unlike any other gaming experience out there — a bold claim considering the presence of SmartGlass and Vita's Cross Play at E3 — but pricing should allow it to sell well right out of the gate.

Factoring in the presumed $99 price tag for a Wii U tablet controller, most are putting the Wii U at carrying either a $250 or $300 price point. That's still pretty high for the casual consumer that Nintendo hopes to attract, but for the hardcore that is in line with the Vita or the Wii when they launched.

However, when the Wii launched it came bundled in with Wii Sports — an instant opportunity for new console owners to show off the tech — but apparently Wii U does not come bundled with Nintendo Land or any comparable Wii Sports title. It's going to take a very specific price for Nintendo to convince gamers that the Wii U is worth picking up.

What price point do you expect Nintendo to announce for the Wii U? Will anything over $300 spell less than desirable sales for the console?

Nintendo's Wii U is set to hit store shelves this Holiday.

Source: Andria Sang