The Wii U’s out in the US this week, and will soon be on our own shores. Since we’ve found out about its pricing though, many of you have sworn off, believing it to be too damned expensive. Nintendo’s here to justify the cost.
Speaking to GamesIndustry International, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of sales and marketing, Scott Moffitt, has defended the pricing, saying that the high consumer demand – especially for the $349 Deluxe Unit (R4,599 locally) – means the pricing must be right!
"All I can say is that the response has been phenomenal," said Moffitt, who noted that the higher priced deluxe set is selling out particularly quickly. "That seems to indicate that the pricing’s in a good spot and the proof is in the consumer response."
After my initial shock, I’ve softened a little on the local pricing of the Wii U. Our local stock is always based on European pricing; and honestly, considering all the ridiculous customs and taxes importers have to face, local pricing not far off. The UK price of the Wii U Deluxe is £300 – which is R4243.
Analysts believe the Wii U will do pretty well; outselling the original Wii at launch – but not quite having the tail of the older system. An analyst report pegs the sales figures to top 53 million within the system’s first four years of availability…which I think might be a tad hopeful.
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