Support NeoGAF

[Freezasaurus]

That controller is $150 and region-locked?

I'm not surprised. It was obvious that when they start selling these things individually, they aren't going to be cheap. But holy crap, $150 is more than half the cost of a deluxe Wii U.

 

[SolarPowered]

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.

Hopefully not

The last thing I want to deal with in Smash is a large controller with a battery life of three hours.

 

[AzaK]

I'm not surprised. It was obvious that when they start selling these things individually, they aren't going to be cheap. But holy crap, $150 is more than half the cost of a deluxe Wii U.

If mine had to be replaced I'd be tempted to just use the console as a doorstop, sell my games and switch platforms.

 

[Metal Gear?!]

According to that image, the price is $140, not $150. Do you say the Wii U Standard is $320 as well?

It's only a $10 difference so it's still really expensive but you would expect to get that right in your thread title and all.

 

[Shiggy]

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.

The gamepads are still mass-produced, so it shouldn't make much of a difference.

 

[GrotesqueBeauty]

Sounds $50 too high. Combined with the launch prices of the 3DS and Wii U it seems like Nintendo is just into overpricing by $50 as a matter of sport or something. I'd be tempted to say the same of the Wii's original price, but I guess it's not really overpriced if you can't even keep the damn things in stock due to high demand.

 

[Twinduct]

Pfft don't lie op!
It's not $150! Clearly it's only $140!!
Egg on your face!

if anyone knows, how much was the Wii remote on launch? I know it's not something we can compare, but it does give an idea of what Nintendo prices their inputs during the 'launch window'.

 

[specialguy]

I hate to toot my own horn, but pretty much every reason I predicted the Wii U would fail just, slowly unfolding.

The other huge problem with the expensive controller is it means Nintendo isn't going to be able to cut Wii U's price the way they'll need too once next gen ps4/720 comes in. When they need to do something drastic like 199, it's not going to be possible.

 

[Bill Rizer]

This makes think again how Nintendo's idea with WiiU is inherently bad. An overly costly gamepad with an actually bad screen (very poor contrast and light leaking compared even to ds/3ds, let alone psvita or an hdtv), whose picture quality is made even worse by the image compression, and useful only for already seen gimmicks in games?
With all of this costs detracted from potential several times better hardware specifications? And when you already had a great control method such as motion plus, way more innovating and still to exploit?

 

[Alpende]

That's expensive. Better not go into an all out rage mode and throw that controller on the floor.

 

[Argyle]

Just a thought - it was mentioned that a problem with the gamepad is considered a "major repair."

Could it be that any "major repair" to an out-of-warranty Wii U costs $140? So if your disc drive goes out, or your pad goes missing, it would be the same price...of course, we may not know for sure because every Wii U is still under warranty Anyone know what the out of warranty cost is for a major repair for a Wii?

Well, the Vita CPU is pretty comparable to Wii U's.

Bahahaha...

Spoiler

(I agree)

 

[Gahiggidy]

I hate to toot my own horn, but pretty much every reason I predicted the Wii U would fail just, slowly unfolding.

The other huge problem with the expensive controller is it means Nintendo isn't going to be able to cut Wii U's price the way they'll need too once next gen ps4/720 comes in. When they need to do something drastic like 199, it's not going to be possible.

Whatsgoingtohappen to Nitnendo?!!

 

[Jacksonlee]

the gamepad costs half the console? :S

 

[JoshuaJSlone]

Just for laughs, have you ever looked into replacement costs for other markets, say the automotive industry? The cost of replacement parts is many times more expensive than it actually costs the manufacturer. I'd bet it would cost 10x's more expensive to build a car strictly from factory purchased replacement parts, than to buy it brand new.

As for Nintendo, clearly, they are making a profit on replacement parts, how much is questionable.

It is definitely the case that the replacement parts are overpriced. They charge $42 for the Wii U system AC adapter, and $30 for component cables.

 

[donny2112]

It is definitely the case that the replacement parts are overpriced. They charge $42 for the Wii U system AC adapter, and $30 for component cables.

They want you to buy a second console instead of piecemeal replacing it?

 

[Berg]

Gamepad probably ate up most of the R&D too.

 

[B.O.O.M]

They sell them independent of the system in Japan.

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

Region locked 'controllers'? wtf

 

[Mondriaan]

Maybe that price reflects Nintendo's plans for the console. They possibly plan to put all the computing innards into the controller and turn it into a tablet that wirelessly "docks" with a streaming disc drive that's connected to your television.

It would explain a lot of weird things like why power efficiency is the most important consideration for the chip design, why it never occurred to Nintendo that anyone would want two controllers to connect to the same system, why Nintendo focused so much on the controller during the unveiling of the Wii U, and why the controller has plenty of space for more battery, but Nintendo was fine with its four hours of battery life.

 

[JoshuaJSlone]

You can't buy one in store?

There are no games yet that use two gamepads and most people won't have broken/lost theirs, so it would be a bit of a waste of shelf space at this point.

The gamepads are still mass-produced, so it shouldn't make much of a difference.

Exactly. It's not like the gamepads and consoles are chained down the assembly line. To adjust the production of one part to be 1% higher to accommodate for the fact it will be more likely to need replaced shouldn't be a big deal.

if anyone knows, how much was the Wii remote on launch? I know it's not something we can compare, but it does give an idea of what Nintendo prices their inputs during the 'launch window'.

$40 wiimote and $20 nunchuk, but those were always items found in stores.

 

[Like the hat?]

To be fair they also charge $20 for a 3dsxl charging cradle that can't cost more than a buck to make, so they are definitely selling it above their cost.

 

[Gahiggidy]

Interesting, I went back to the store today and can't find the Gamepad for sale. Is is sold out?

Anyways, I spotted this photo of the back at the site:

^^
I thought it funny that the photographer's hand and camera is reflected in the gloss.

 

[SolsticeZero]

Region locked controllers? What the fuck?

 

[Berordn]

Region locked controllers? What the fuck?

The firmware on the controllers is inaccessible on a different region after certain system updates and that makes it incompatible.

It's something they could fix but probably won't.

 

[M74]

Interesting, I went back to the store today and can't find the Gamepad for sale. Is is sold out?

Last time I checked, the gamepad was not sold at retail at all.

 

[FieryBalrog]

To be fair they also charge $20 for a 3dsxl charging cradle that can't cost more than a buck to make, so they are definitely selling it above their cost.

The idea that Nintendo doesn't mark-up replacement parts is really the crux of why a lot of people are really confused in this thread.

Don't know why that got swallowed by a bunch of people.

 

[Gahiggidy]

The firmware on the controllers is inaccessible on a different region after certain system updates and that makes it incompatible.

It's something they could fix but probably won't.

Speaking of controller firmware, I wonder if its possible to expand the onbaord tv remtoe stuff to include DRV controls and the like. Also, how useful would it be to be able to have multiple profiles allowing you to take it anywhere in the house and control any tv set you program in?

 

[davepoobond]

100 dollars more and you could get a vita

 

[nbthedude]

100 dollars more and you could get a vita

Actually, $60 more with a free game.

Believe me, I thought about it. Especially with the PS4 off screen play functionality coming.

 

[roddur]

that's a lot of money for just a controller which is a basic part of a whole package.

nintendo better have something to show off it's coolness.