[Rumor] Wii U costs $180 to manufacture, but MSRP is over $300
Wii U is clearly the front runner in the next generation of consoles, even if it isn’t truly on par with the rumored Durango or Orbis. Still with only a few months until E3, it comes as no surprise that more sites are speculating. Forget the Box has a source close to the manufacturing end of Nintendo’s upcoming Wii U and they report that the cost of materials is only about $180.
Roughly a third of that cost is going to the controller itself and when you account for things like R&D, labor, marketing, etc. Kotaku is billing the console at over $300. The same source has also informed Forget the Box that Nintendo is concerned "with cutting production costs to maximize profits… Nintendo wants investors to view Wii U as a less risky proposition." Like any good business. Anyone surprised by this?
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g1 DISCUSSIONS
darkhyrulelord
That's quite a lot of dough....but I wouldn't be surprised if it costs that much.
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Nemo SomeGuy
Microsoft has been known to accidentally leaked out some information to generate hype. Their model is making 50 projects and hope the 3 ~ 5 project's success will cover the loss of others. So leaking of tiny details on each project is a free marketing tool to gauge audience reaction then decide which of 50 to continue and which ones to end in secret.
I won't be surprised Nintendo is taking note from this brilliant strategy and all the information about Wii U in recent days are all leaked by Nintendo. Nintendo have drastically change its strategies since 3DS' launch.
tricobalt
If this is true then it's what I have been saying all along. Nintendo should have focused hardware cost on the core system instead of adding an unnecessary controller sucking down 1/3 of the total cost. It also appears that Nintendo isn't very confident in their sales potential. Why else would they be so overly cautious about manufacturing cost? Wii U is out dating itself and dooming itself exclusively to the casual market... again. Say goodbye to most 3rd party games... again. Nintendo should be trying to get people to buy a WiiU and only a WiiU. Instead their customers will be purchasing both a Wii U *and* Xbox 720 or PS4.
I would have made Wii U hardware at a breakeven cost of $400 and used standard controllers with the tablet sold separately. Nintendo is aiming way too low.
abINC88
How is the Wii U dooming itself exclusively to the casual market? Plus the Wii still had a great array of "hardcore games". The Wii U's third party line up is looking excellent and the news on how several developers are very happy with the Wii U sounds very promising for the system.
Hero of Lime Bro
320$ That is all
what's up with all the rumors nowadays...
Sean Hinz
Sign of the times I guess.
Luaka1296
The price will probably be around 250. I'm sure Nintendo have learned from the mistakes they made with the 3DS and will keep the price down. We'll have to wait until E3.
TheLiesOfOndore
Looks interesting. I may have to wait to hear the official pricing before placing my bets...
8bitlink
i would buy at 300