Nintendo boss Satoru Iwata has revealed that there will be no price cut for the Nintendo Wii U console, despite flagging sales.
Iwata was speaking following a disappointing Q3 financial report for the Kyoto-based company. Underwhelming sales of the Nintendo Wii U games console have led to sales projections being slashed by 27 per cent.
The solution to these disappointing sales will not be the price cut that many are hoping for. Iwata revealed that Nintendo simply could not afford to drop the existing price.
“With Wii U, we have taken a rather resolute stance in pricing it below its manufacturing cost, so we are not planning to perform a markdown,” he said.
Rather than price, Iwata feels that the problem is a lack of communication as to the unusual console’s unique capabilities – particularly to the second wave of purchasers who don’t avidly follow Nintendo’s plans.
“We delivered Wii U to those consumers who we thought would be the first to buy it,” said Iwata, “but information has not successfully been passed on to those consumers who we think will be the next people to buy it.”
Some had speculated that Nintendo would follow the example of the Nintendo 3DS launch in 2011. The company’s latest handheld device achieved disappointing sales early in its life, which prompted Nintendo to slash the price less than six months after launch.
With Nintendo taking the unusual step (for Nintendo at least) of selling Wii U hardware at a loss, it has left the company no room for another price slash of this magnitude.
Iwata also bemoaned the lack of hit Nintendo first party titles in 2012, pointing to the fact that no Nintendo games made the US best-sellers list for the year.
What do you make of Nintendo’s decision to not cut the price of the Wii U? Let us know in the comments section below.
Via: PCadvisor
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
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We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
