Wii U hardware cost $180, less powerful than PS3/360 says developers

[Kenshiro]

http://www.forgetthebox.net/mag/cult...ii-u-price.php

Speaking with sources closely involved with manufacturing and distributing Nintendo products, the total cost of materials to manufacture the Wii U console (includes cost of controller) is estimated to be around $180. On top of this, our source tells us the controller’s total bill of materials and components cost no more than $50.

The source goes on to say that Nintendo is assessing the overall market and finalizing costs to determine the price for the Wii U, but it will be no less than $300 retail price when it launches.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...developers-say

"No, it's not up to the same level as the PS3 or the 360," said one developer who's been working with the Wii U. What does that mean? "The graphics are just not as powerful," reiterated the source.
This developer is not alone in their opinion. Another developer at a major company confirmed this point of view. "Yeah, that's true. It doesn't produce graphics as well as the PS3 or the 360," said the source. "There aren't as many shaders, it's not as capable. Sure, some things are better, mostly as a result of it being a more modern design. But overall the Wii U just can't quite keep up."

It's Nintendo, so graphics don't matter.. but with a launch price higher than the Wii and stiff competition from Kinect, will this tablet controller offer a new enough experience to win over the casual market again?

[michealo]

No way I'm buying this thing at launch, hopefully the casual market crashes

[Badger3920]

No way I'm buying this thing at launch, hopefully the casual market crashes

I agree. I hate to see nintendo burn, but if they're going to keep at the gimmicks...

[CorruptedDragon]

lol Nintendo can't come up with a design that isn't even as powerful as a 7 year old system that was designed 8+ years ago? WTF Ninty. Just give up.
I don't really see what the selling point on this system is going to be. At least with the Wii, motion controls hadn't been done in a somewhat effective way before, so it had the gimmick to go buy. The WiiU, is launching in a time when tablets are pretty much everywhere, which is basically what the controller will be, a tablet with a controller bolted on. How can they justify selling a $300 console that is less powerful than the other consoles (which will most likely drop in price) and the gimmick is a gimped tablet controller?

[Kenshiro]

I'll get one eventually for the 1st party games. Just wish that controller was optional, it might have been an ok deal without that extra cost.

[Kenshiro]

lol Nintendo can't come up with a design that isn't even as powerful as a 7 year old system that was designed 8+ years ago? WTF Ninty. Just give up.
I don't really see what the selling point on this system is going to be. At least with the Wii, motion controls hadn't been done in a somewhat effective way before, so it had the gimmick to go buy. The WiiU, is launching in a time when tablets are pretty much everywhere, which is basically what the controller will be, a tablet with a controller bolted on. How can they justify selling a $300 console that is less powerful than the other consoles (which will most likely drop in price) and the gimmick is a gimped tablet controller?

And the tablet has to be near the console to work. What were they thinking? If it had some standalone functionality maybe.

[Indy_aka_Rex]

The cost to build the original Wii at launch was 150 and they were selling it for 250 at launch... Add an extra 30 bucks and they jack the price up by 50? Fuck that.

[hdinred]

Still a day one for me.. disappointing, if true though. Still, HD Mario, Zelda and other Nintendo IPs will move a lot of systems.

[CorruptedDragon]

Still a day one for me.. disappointing, if true though. Still, HD Mario, Zelda and other Nintendo IPs will move a lot of systems.

Between this and your love of Kinect....

[Pyrochaos]

Considering how popular motion controls and tablets are right now, this thing will sell like hotcakes.

I don't plan on getting one.

[CorruptedDragon]

Considering how popular motion controls and tablets are right now, this thing will sell like hotcakes.

I don't plan on getting one.

Do we have any charts on hotcake sales? The last I saw they were way down

[Pyrochaos]

Do we have any charts on hotcake sales? The last I saw they were way down

Hot cake sales were down, that's when the name was officially changed to pancakes. The Pancakes name was starting to take a hit, as they were just releasing the same pancakes every year. They implemented year at the end of each pancakes release, with minor changes and sales haven't been higher. Pancakes 2013 preorders are available now.

[CorruptedDragon]

Hot cake sales were down, that's when the name was officially changed to pancakes. The Pancakes name was starting to take a hit, as they were just releasing the same pancakes every year. They implemented year at the end of each pancakes release, with minor changes and sales haven't been higher. Pancakes 2013 preorders are available now.

I hope Pancakes 2013 has the updated waitress rosters. Last year it had waitresses listed that hadn't worked in at least 6 months. I also don't like how they shut down the online Pancake factory access for older versions after 2 years.

[Bane]

I hope Pancakes 2013 has the updated waitress rosters. Last year it had waitresses listed that hadn't worked in at least 6 months. I also don't like how they shut down the online Pancake factory access for older versions after 2 years.

God knows they need some good PR after the Pancakes 2012 ending debacle and IHOP was voted Worst Company in America.

[james]

I doubted Nintendo with the Wii and that didn't turn out like I expected...

I'm so bored with console gaming right now. My XBL gold membership is expired and my PS3 is only used for Netflix and Amazon video. I just bought a tablet because nothing else appealed to me. My world is in shambles.