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Wii U to be Sold at a Loss for Nintendo
Nintendo president Satoru Iwata revealed as much in the company’s Second Quarter Financial Results Briefing:
“The Wii U hardware will have a negative impact on Nintendo’s profits early after the launch because rather than determining a price based on its manufacturing cost, we selected one that consumers would consider to be reasonable. In this first half of the term before the launch of the Wii U, we were not able to make a profit on software for the system while we had to book a loss on the hardware, which is currently in production and will be sold below cost.”
“Our loss has therefore widened during the second quarter in spite of bringing the Nintendo 3DS hardware back to profitability. Although we expect our financial performance to be revitalized, under these circumstances, unfortunately we cannot say that we will achieve “Nintendo-like” profits within this fiscal year.”
Selling the console at a loss comes in stark contrast to Wii’s launch in 2006 which, despite a lower price-tag, netted immediate profits for the company. The new strategy of dependence on eventual software sales mirrors that of Wii’s competitors, as well as Nintendo’s own 3DS.
Source: BBC News
“Plenty of Beautiful Close-Ups” of Wii U, Courtesy of The Official Nintendo Magazine
It’s a sight for sore eyes. Press members and other convention-goers may have gotten to play games on the system, but these weren’t always powered by a bona fide Wii U. At E3 2012, where Wii U was revealed, rumor had it that its demos were being run on Microsoft’s Xbox 360, in fact.
The first half of the demo focuses on the GamePad and those features you probably already know much about. Head straight for the 3:20 mark for a look at the console’s dimensions and front-facing ports. And have a look at 0:11, too. Is that our first look at Wii U’s boot-up font animation?
Source: My Nintendo News
