Many people are probably hesitant on splurging on a Wii U so early in the system’s lifetime, especially after Nintendo performed a startling $80 price drop on the 3DS five months after launch. The company wants you to know that it is not going to happen again.
Nintendo president Satoru Iwata announced in the company’s Corporate Management Policy Briefing that they learned their lesson with their pricing structure from the Nintendo 3DS and has “taken a rather resolute stance in pricing” for Wii U. The system, currently priced at $299.99 and $349.99 for the Basic and Deluxe packages respectfully, is selling at a loss, a direction Nintendo rarely goes when it comes to console pricing. While it may disappoint some, it makes sense in the long run since a company cannot make more money by losing more money.
Because of the not-so-smooth transition to the 3DS and Wii U, Nintendo has been operating in the red for the last two fiscal years and just cut their projected hardware sales for the fiscal year from 5.5 million Wii U systems to 4 million and 18.5 million 3DS systems to 15 million. However, Nintendo expects to back in the black with a “Nintendo-like” 100 billion yen profit for the next fiscal year. Now that the systems are out, they can focus on improving their image by providing them with system-selling software such as Pokémon X/Y, Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, Lego City Undercover, and the plethora of titles announced during last week’s Nintendo Direct.
