Reggie: Wii U doesn’t need price cut, has no issues selling
We don’t see a need to cut price. Our value equation is quite strong for the Wii U. I say that because we just launched the “Mario Kart 8” Wii U bundle, premium price, $329. The product is selling with no issues.
The biggest challenge is retailers getting it out on shelf. The challenges we’ve had with Wii U aren’t value based; the challenges are having the range of software that motivates the consumer to jump into the platform.
I’d have to disagree with Reggie’s statement about the Wii U having no issues selling. I imagine the Mario Kart 8 bundle, which he refers to as selling well, is indeed performing well commercially. But its about maintaining those sales once the Mario Kart 8 hype has died down that matters.
Nintendo revealed last month that they’re finally making a profit on every Wii U system sold. If the 32GB New Super Mario Bros U SKU is sold at $299, I’d imagine they make $20-$30 off each unit though I’m far from an expert. Maybe their profit margin is smaller or larger.
I really think that the Wii U would sell a lot better, especially in the US, if Nintendo could find a way to get a $199 SKU out the door. Without dropping the Game Pad, which they won’t do and I wouldn’t want them to do, that will be hard.
Still, don’t hold Reggie to his word about not giving the system a price cut. Iwata and company said last summer that the Wii U didn’t need or would receive a price cut and low and behold the 32GB SKU got cut by $50 months later in September.
