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WiiU

Wii U Available Worldwide by End of 2012

by Neal Ronaghan - April 26, 2012, 6:56 pm EDT
Total comments: 20 Source: https://twitter.com/#!/gibbogame

Price details won't be revealed until after E3 2012.

Wii U will be out worldwide by the end of 2012, according to Nintendo's Satoru Iwata at Nintendo's end-of-the-year investor's meeting.

This is in line with Nintendo's previous comments that Wii U will be out before the end of 2012, which has been known for a while. This does confirm that it will hit every major region (North America, Japan, Europe, Australia) by the end of the year.

Iwata also commented that price details will not be announced until after E3 in June. Nintendo will host a press conference showing off Wii U the week following E3.

Talkback

nickmitchApril 26, 2012

Spaceworld 2012? The Mayans were RIGHT!

MataataApril 26, 2012

Iwata:

KarmacodeApril 26, 2012

I know what I'm getting for Christmas!

BlueStormApril 26, 2012

I'd gladly pay a premium if they upped the controller touch screen quality and the hardware specs.  I already have a ps3/360.  I need something more powerful. 




Waiting to see what the others offer I guess before committing to a price.



TJ SpykeApril 27, 2012

Quote from: BlueStorm

I'd gladly pay a premium if they upped the controller touch screen quality and the hardware specs.  I already have a ps3/360.  I need something more powerful. 




Waiting to see what the others offer I guess before committing to a price.

We already know Wii U will be more powerful than both of them, so don't worry.

house3136April 27, 2012

Does this mean Nintendo won’t be presenting at E3, but are instead hosting their own conference a week later? Or does this mean there will be two conferences and the price will be announced during the second one? I can’t see them giving up all that E3 press coverage; that doesn’t make sense.

TJ SpykeApril 27, 2012

Nintendo said they will pretty much unveil everything about the Wii U except launch date and price at E3, those will be saved for this special conference.

house3136April 27, 2012

Yeah, I just read the report, it looks like the second conference is mainly for Japan.

NintendofanboiiApril 27, 2012

Did you know the mayans don't believe in 2012?

Chozo GhostApril 27, 2012

Why is this posted as news? We already knew the Wii U is coming out in 2012.

It confirms the release in all regions this year. That fact wasn't really 100% confirmed previously.


If you read the article, it's explained in there, actually.

fordrobApril 27, 2012

Dear NWR Staff,

While at E3, please try to refrain from gushing over the Wii U in the presence of Nintendo representatives so as to avoid providing them reason to inflate the MSRP.  Furthermore, strategically dropping comments like "I definitely wouldn't pay more than $199.99" or "Hmmm...I don't know...seems kinda lame..." could also prove helpful in preventing me from being turned into another Ambassador donkey because - let's face it - I'll probably be there day one.

Regards,

Rob

TJ SpykeApril 27, 2012

Quote from: fordrob

Dear NWR Staff,

While at E3, please try to refrain from gushing over the Wii U in the presence of Nintendo representatives so as to avoid providing them reason to inflate the MSRP.  Furthermore, strategically dropping comments like "I definitely wouldn't pay more than $199.99" or "Hmmm...I don't know...seems kinda lame..." could also prove helpful in preventing me from being turned into another Ambassador donkey because - let's face it - I'll probably be there day one.

Regards,

Rob

Well, Nintendo has already made it clear the system will be at least $300, and based on what we know I think that is understandable.

CericApril 27, 2012

If the WiiU is $199.99 its either:
A) So stupidly Underpowered that an iPhone has more capability.
B) Nintendo has totally lost touched with Fiscal Reality

$299.99 absolute lowest.

GoldenPhoenixApril 27, 2012

Not that surprising, if I remember correctly, Nintendo didn't reveal the price and release date for Wii either at E3, and instead waited a couple of months.

fordrobApril 27, 2012

I agree that the $299.99 price point is probable and fair, but if E3 is going to be used as a guage to determine MSRP for the Wii U - as seemed to be the case for the 3DS - "negotiations" should begin on the low end from the consumer standpoint.

Chozo GhostApril 27, 2012

The market will tolerate a higher price for the Wii U than for the 3DS because the Wii U is a console. $250 for a handheld is a no go, but that price or even $50 more for a console has always been acceptable. There is a limit to consoles as well, because apparently $600 was way too much, but $300 is reasonable.

Bman87301April 28, 2012

Quote from: TJ

Well, Nintendo has already made it clear the system will be at least $300, and based on what we know I think that is understandable.

No, they didn't...

They did emphasize that it should be expected to be higher than past consoles, which since Wii launched at $250, could seem like a confirmation of at least $300 under other circumstances... BUT, they made this comment in the very wake of their recovery from the initial price problem that held back the 3DS. You have to factor-in that they're going to be extra cautious on how they price to avoid that again... What better strategy than to prepare you for the worst, only to surprise you with something not as bad?

Take a look at what 360 and PS3 are currently going for, and keep in mind the Wii U hardware is going be only slightly more advanced than that. Those consoles launched at higher prices because they were overpowered to what the mainstream market was ready for (and they still sold at losses to boot), while Wii was more suitably powered for the time (and still sold for a profit). It's only now, six years later, that the mainstream market is ready for HD systems and they are finally outpacing Wii. You have to figure Wii U's price will likely be closer to what PS3 and 360 are currently selling for, rather than when they launched.

Also consider that in Japan, where it didn't come bundled with Wii Sports, Wii launched closer to the equivalent of $200, so the extra $50 we paid in the West was for the game-- the REAL price was $200.

I'd say there's still a very good possibility of $250 (assuming it doesn't come bundled with a game). If they did that, it would only be $50 higher than Wii was in Japan, and would appear the same as Wii everywhere else.

Remember, unlike with the 3DS (which was aimed at the more hardcore audience since mobile phones have stolen the casual market on the portable front), Nintendo is still aiming to hook the casual crowd with Wii U. So, they're still going to keep the price low as possible. Honestly, I think $300 is the absolute highest to expect, not the lowest.

BlackNMild2k1April 28, 2012

I'm hoping they justify a $350 price tag and not a penny more.

But I'm hoping they don't actually charge more than $300 for it.

Bman87301April 29, 2012

Quote from: fordrob

I agree that the $299.99 price point is probable and fair, but if E3 is going to be used as a guage to determine MSRP for the Wii U - as seemed to be the case for the 3DS - "negotiations" should begin on the low end from the consumer standpoint.

Don't be so sure about that... If they hear a lot of calls for a lower price tag, it's equally likely that they'll just anticipate a lower demand and respond by pricing it higher in order to make more back with each individual hardware unit, as opposed to selling closer to cost as they might otherwise do if they anticipated higher software sales from a higher expected installed base.

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