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[nbthedude]

Okay now either their repair center's are overcharging or Nintendo is being flat out dumb. Why would their controller cost 50% of the console's price? Who thought that would be a good idea? Seriously...

Both scenarios are problematic.

But I tend to believe they aren't seriously gouching people who are just ordering replacement parts. And that seems to indicate a bigger long term problem. If that pad costs them anywhere near that much to manufacture, that is a serious albatross around their neck.

 

[DasMarcos]

I'm sorry to hear about your terrible flight experience OP. I always get the nerves when flying and I have to do it a bit too much these days.

With regards to the crazy price of the pad I'd have to say that it sounds about right. Nintendo is gambling it all on the unique play experience and it's obvious that's where all of their resources have gone.

 

[Chao]

Just went to GameStop.com (they suck, but first one I had in mind) and apparently they charge 55 bucks for a freaking plastic shell with buttons called dualshock 3.

Gee, I wonder how can they still charge so much for a pretty basic controller which came out like 6 years ago... I mean, it should cost pennies by now since you can get whatever the fuck tablet with a billion megaflops for a few more bucks today, right?

New controller with screen and double channel wifi with instantaneous av streaming from the console and precise motion controls costs 150, what a freaking surprise.

Accessories for consoles have always been expensive, and that won't change now.

 

[Vexxan]

$150 sounds very expensive even for a Wii U Gamepad considering it only delivers what the actual console processes...Guess we won't be seeing those multi-Gamepad games anytime soon if they charge this much for the controller alone.

 

[GayForMaster]

Holy shit. Do these break often?

 

[Shiggy]

The prices for the replacement of faulty/damages accessories are pretty ludicruous. I just took a look on the German site:

http://www.nintendo.de/Kundenservic...turpreisliste/Reparaturpreisliste-247274.html

39.40€ for replacing a Wii Remote Plus? You can get a new one at a lower price!

 

[VGChampion]

I really hope the next home console supports four of these bad boys. I knew I'd love it before I got to play it and I enjoyed it as much as I thought I would. I just wish I could play true sequels to games like 4 Swords on the Wii U with my friends.

And I guess it's a good thing they aren't selling them stand alone in stores considering so many people think it's just a new controller for the Wii. Would be pretty bad having people buy these things without owning a Wii U thanks to Nintendo's marketing and E3 reveal.

 

[Sagitario]

They sell them independent of the system in Japan.

Won't matter for the OP though, because the controllers are region locked.

Seriously? Region locked controllers? This is the first time I heard about this. Not that I would import one, but I have imported controllers from Japan before :\

Wat?
You seriously think everything in the Gamepad is custom made by Nintendo?
Its made by Foxconn who probably already have the screens, gyro/accelerometer, wifi chips sat on a shelf somewhere.
You can get a full blown tablet for far less than they are charging for the Gamepad and you think the Gamepad is worth it?

About that:

"We are pleased to have Nintendo, a true pioneer in interactive entertainment, select our geomagnetic sensor for use in the Wii U. And working closely with ST has made this possible" said Becky Oh, PNI Sensor President and CEO. “Our goals are to offer our sensors to customers who need to sense motion despite some magnetic interference, to complement their algorithms, and to react in real time."
...
Designed and manufactured in Northern California, the PNI RM3000 geomagnetic sensor enables motion sensing while also accounting for reasonable magnetic anomalies. It detects magnetic fields in the environment with improved accuracy, even where magnetic interference from audio speakers, metal objects, building girders or a cell phone can send other magnetic sensors off target. ST’s ASIC amplifies signals, from a tiny variation of magnetic field detected by magnetic sensor coils, and with low noise, converts them to digital data, and interfaces with an application processor through an SPI bus.
...

“They needed the performance,” Oh said. “They were really adamant about the performance. ... They wanted it to work everywhere and anywhere.”

While many U.S. companies have outsourced manufacturing overseas to cut costs, PNI decided to bring production back home.

 

[Steve Youngblood]

Just went to GameStop.com (they suck, but first one I had in mind) and apparently they charge 55 bucks for a freaking plastic shell with buttons called dualshock 3.

Gee, I wonder how can they still charge so much for a pretty basic controller which came out like 6 years ago... I mean, it should cost pennies by now since you can get whatever the fuck tablet with a billion megaflops for a few more bucks today, right?

New controller with screen and double channel wifi with instantaneous av streaming from the console and precise motion controls costs 150, what a freaking surprise.

Accessories for consoles have always been expensive, and that won't change now.

That's true, but we're in the realm of this accounting for half of the cost of the entire package in regards to the Basic package. And we can continue listing off features to showcase all the stuff it has going on (nobody has mentioned 13 buttons, two analog sticks, and a d-pad as individual bullet points yet), but regardless of whether it's dumb to not know how much the electronics cost, without any internal processing of its own it's just hard to understand why it would cost $150. And pointing to other overpriced controllers doesn't really illuminate anything.

 

[Azure J]

I don't know what's more fucked up, Delta saying ggs to the OP for losing his stuff like that, or the pricing for one of the game pads...

 

[Loomba]

Damn $150 for what is essentially a controller and they don't even give you free shipping? that's cold.

 

[shinra-bansho]

Accessories for consoles have always been expensive, and that won't change now.

Accessories for consoles have always been exorbitantly priced with large margins.

Their actual components and manufacturing has never been substantial.

The DualShock 3 likely has a >50% margin over it's cost.

 

[Seance]

480p, resistive touch screen, a miniature battery and a gyroscope. That's some very expensive technology. Easily worth $200 IMO.

 

[nbthedude]

Just went to GameStop.com (they suck, but first one I had in mind) and apparently they charge 55 bucks for a freaking plastic shell with buttons called dualshock 3.

Gee, I wonder how can they still charge so much for a pretty basic controller which came out like 6 years ago... I mean, it should cost pennies by now since you can get whatever the fuck tablet with a billion megaflops for a few more bucks today, right?

New controller with screen and double channel wifi with instantaneous av streaming from the console and precise motion controls costs 150, what a freaking surprise.

Accessories for consoles have always been expensive, and that won't change now.

As far as I'm concerned the Gamepad is the same as my dual shock 3 or my 360 controller in that they all are used the same way: to play my games. All are the necessary controller.

But there is a hell of a huge difference between $50 and $150. It is not even the same ballpark. Yes you can point out the "more advanced features," but from a gamer's point of view a controller is a controller. It is the thing we need to play games adn the thing we have to replace when they get lost or broken or for multiplayer. $150 is pretty absurd in my opinion for such a device.

And that is with NO retail margin or mark up.

 

[AzaK]

What is going on?

Nintendo are reaming us (you). That's almost 1/2 the cost of the console which is fucking ridiculous.

Also, I'm struggling to believe it. Case in point, the Vita. Far superior in pretty much every way I can think of apart from a chip for latency free streaming and I'm not sure the Wii U actually has anything particular magical in that regard, just proprietary protocols.

 

[Gahiggidy]

As far as I'm concerned the Gamepad is the same as my dual shock 3 or my 360 controller in that they all are used the same way: to play my games. All are the necessary controller.

But there is a hell of a huge difference between $50 and $150. It is not even the same ballpark. Yes you can point out the "more advanced features," but from a gamer's point of view a controller is a controller. It is the thing we need to play games adn the thing we have to replace when they get lost or broken or for multiplayer. $150 is pretty absurd in my opinion for such a device.

And that is with NO retail margin or mark up.

What makes you think there is no markup? The Pro costs $49 on their support site, the same as retail.

 

[eso76]

Ahahaha.

Finding comparisons to Vita and Wii U is like finding comparisons to any hardware where there's at least an 8x difference in power.

Man, Vita is powerful but not THAT powerful.

 

[Roo]

$150 sounds very expensive even for a Wii U Gamepad considering it only delivers what the actual console processes...Guess we won't be seeing those multi-Gamepad games anytime soon if they charge this much for the controller alone.

Another reason why they should have had packed the Wii U Pro Controller with the console...

 

[Seance]

Man, Vita is powerful but not THAT powerful.

 

[Pachterballs]

And this is how Nintendo screwed the pooch

 

[feint_ruled]

Jokes aside, OP was not comparing the power (or cost) of the Vita to the power of the Wii U, he was comparing the Vita to the GAMEPAD.

 

[FieryBalrog]

480p, resistive touch screen, a miniature battery and a gyroscope. That's some very expensive technology. Easily worth $200 IMO.

lol, indeed

Standard Nintendo markup on outdated hardware, but supposedly they are selling Wii U near break-even. If that's actually the case, I would guess they have some serious supply chain management issues.

Edit: I shouldn't unfairly single out Nintendo for this one though, because all console manufacturer's markup the crap outta their accessories.

 

[Tylahedras]

I was wondering how they were losing money on the WiiU given the specs. I guess now we know.

 

[JordanN]

Jokes aside, OP was not comparing the power (or cost) of the Vita to the power of the Wii U, he was comparing the Vita to the GAMEPAD.

Then what was this?

"$60 more than just the Wii game pad for comparable hardware as the entire Wii U guts"

Gamepad =/= Wii U

 

[PreyingShark]

@OP: Where'd you read the original $80 figure? I remember reading $180-something in some thread on here regarding replacement gamepads, actually, but never anywhere close to $80.

But yeah, the price in question is kind of... ouch. IMO, they should have saved the idea for a gen when it would be a lot cheaper to implement. But, what's done is done. All they can do now is brainstorm some ways to make some $$ of the Wii U.

 

[Bullza2o]

Wow that's really expensive!
I think at this point I'd rather just get another 3DS than a Wii U pad when they start supporting 2 pads at once.

 

[Gahiggidy]

And this is how Nintendo screwed the pooch

Answer this question:

I dunno. But it is established that regular controllers are quite affordable. Some parts that I can think of that are in the Gamepad but not the Pro controller:

Speakers
NFC Sensor
Camera
IR transmitter
Larger Battery
Larger Casing
Touchscreen
Video receiver chip
Microphone


^^^
Give me your estimates on the cost on each of those parts.

Please.

 

[nbthedude]

@OP: Where'd you read the original $80 figure? I remember reading $180-something in some thread on here regarding replacement gamepads, actually, but never anywhere close to $80.

But yeah, the price in question is kind of... ouch. IMO, they should have saved the idea for a gen when it would be a lot cheaper to implement. But, what's done is done. All they can do now is brainstorm some ways to make some $$ of the Wii U.

I got that ballpark when I googled it online. This was the first link I came acrossed:

http://www.examiner.com/article/wii-u-gamepad-replacement-costs-via-nintendo-pegged-at-85

Needless to say I was unpleasantly surprised.

 

[nbthedude]

Then what was this?

"$60 more than just the Wii game pad for comparable hardware as the entire Wii U guts"

Gamepad =/= Wii U

I've kind of lost the plot of this particular argument.

Are people claiming that the Wii U is more or less powerful than an PSP Vita? I honestly don't even know whether or not it is. They seem roughly in the same ballpark to me (as in same generation of tech).

But really I just commenting on how i found it pretty baffling that a system with an OLED capacitative screen and hardware guts + a game and memory stick from a retail store is only $60 more than a Wii U gamepad by itself direct from Nintendo.

 

[Gahiggidy]

Oh, shit. I forgot about the charging brick.

 

[Akainu]

Exact reason Nintendo still won't sell them at retail: the price backlash for "just a second controller" would be massive, along with the number of returns by people buying them to use on their original Wii's.

You can't buy one in store?

 

[PetrCobra]

"Oh look, dude's got that new controller I heard about in here. Aaaaand now he doesn't, haha. I'll just leave that Wii there, already got one."

Spoiler

screw Delta, I'd yell at their clerk really loud if this happened to me

 

[shinra-bansho]

Answer this question:

Please.

Much, much, much less than $100.

An estimate for the DualShock 4 puts it at $20-30. There is no way in hell the Wii U controller costs that much more to make.

But I get that this is your schtick.

 

[Jarmel]

Yea there is no way that's the build price.

 

[Cheebo]

People think 150 is reasonable?

Give me 150 and I will find you multiple tablets with a bigger screen with a better screen resolution. Much better specs (obviously since it will have a real CPU) AND better battery life.

Answer this question:

Please.

There are literally dozens of tablets on the market that do that, and much more (and with better cameras, screens, battery life etc) for 150 and below. Nintendo has no excuse to charge something with so little tech for so much in the age of tablets.

 

[wsippel]

No way the cost to make is anywhere $150.

How much could this part possibly cost...?

Impossible to tell, it's completely custom. Just like every other part in the GamePad. A lot more than most people think, probably.

People think 150 is reasonable?

Give me 150 and I will find you multiple tablets with a bigger screen with a better screen resolution. Much better specs (obviously since it will have a real CPU) AND better battery life.

Fun fact: Mechanical parts are more expensive than electronic parts. A single Wii U analog stick is probably more expensive than the chipset in whatever cheap Chinese tablet you managed to dig up.

 

[JABEE]

It's a tablet minus some RAM, an SD slot and a CPU. It has all the standard controller features as well as most standard tablet features, plus the gyroscope and sensor bar.

I'm more surprised people don't understand why its expensive.

EDIT:


Why iPhone so expensive it just glass and screen and some internal components?

Because Apple sells their hardware at a subsidized price that still includes HUGE margins. Not to mention they get royalties from the cell providers.

 

[Gahiggidy]

Much, much, much less than $100.

An estimate for the DualShock 4 puts it at $20-30. There is no way in hell the Wii U controller costs that much more to make.

But I get that this is your schtick.

What do you mean by that? "Schtick"?

 

[stanley1993]

Seriously? Region locked controllers? This is the first time I heard about this. Not that I would import one, but I have imported controllers from Japan before :\




** quote didnt work perfectly but it had to do with the wii u's new geomagnetic sensors**



About that:

this and of coarse the controller prolly do not cost half the console to produce, all they are trying to do is make a profit unlike what is happening with the console. Accessories for consoles are always overpriced especially when something like the gamepad arent mass produced without a console. it will definitely not be that price when sold separately. It is just unfortunate that this had to happen to you in this point in time...good luck.

 

[Portugeezer]

Makes Wii HD sound so good, Wii U controller is so godamn expensive.

 

[Shiggie]

Im pretty sure the wireless tech is what is driving the costs so high.

 

[Oddduck]

GamePad replacement price is ridiculous.

 

[Jburton]

That costs 150 ?


For what? ....... a controller, resistive screen and a wifi chip / antenna.

 

[Keslord]

While I love Nintendo, this feels solely like a plan to make a profit since they know this is the only way to get them. Shame, really.

 

[BruiserBear]

Anyone who thinks that controller costs more than $50-75 to build doesn't know what they're talking about.

 

[ColdBlooder]

There are no mass produced retail Wii U gamepads for seperate purchase. Thats why 1 new Gamepad costs 150 bucks.

It will be cheaper once they mass produce Gamepads specifically for purchase in stores.

Don't get me wrong, it sucks to pay 150 bucks for a new one, but theres no "mystery" behind the high price.

 

[fernoca]

The "high price" is probably related to them not having controllers in the thousands or millions just sitting in the warehouse waiting to be shipped. Since most of the controllers are made on a per console basis, the extra ones are made as that: "extras". So the price to make is probably higher than the average, and therefore they're trying to pass and cover some of the costs through that. Granted, as long as the system is under warranty, said cost doesn't have any effect.

In this case, since the airline lost it (and should give the money back to the OP); they're basically charging for "well, better luck next time" more than anything.

Reminds me of when i worked at a press and people started rantign and going all crazy when we told them the price of making one book. They wanted the price of making a thousand, since "it was just one".

Though in the case of controllers, well..first party controllers have a history oof been priced higher than expected, to make some profits. Like the $60+ Xbox 360/Dual Shock 3 controllers some years ago; or the first party PS2 (8MB) memory cards still costing $30 ...10 years later.

Is also why some make bundles. In the case of the Wii U controller, you'll bet that Nintendo will make a bundle of sorts with whatever that first game that uses more than one turns out to be, to make it look like an awesome deal.

 

[FyreWulff]

That costs 150 ?


For what? ....... a controller, resistive screen and a wifi chip / antenna.

The wireless protocol the Wii U gamepad is based off of, Miracast, didn't start having certified devices until September 2012. Wii U came out two months later.

It's pretty new tech.

 

[erawsd]

Wow this is pretty surprising. I wonder how Nintendo will deal with MKU and SSBU.

1. If they develop the games to make good use of the control then the person with it will have a competitive advantage.

2, If they dont use the control in any unique way then its a waste.

3. If they allow multiple WiiU controls, it gets prohibitively expensive. WiiU + 3 extra controllers would be $800.

 

[Replicant]

That controller is $150 and region-locked?