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[NinjaBoiX]

Haha, my brain would never allow that. No matter how little chance there was I'd ever play them again.

I've gone through that many a time. "Oh, I might, at some point, maybe play that again." But today I was like, "No, I really won't, it's just for the collection aspect."

I still have a kick as collection on the HD twins, around 80 each. That probably tells you the quality of the stuff I traded in!

 

[Rolf NB]

This isn't Nintendo's pricing. It's the pricing of an in-administration retailer desperately scrambling to shift inventory to help their bottom line during a perilous period. This is a phenomenal deal. Don't expect Nintendo to offer a deal sweeter than this, much less when they're currently selling the hardware at a loss.

This keeps coming up but it seems completely impossible to me. Any quotes on this?

 

[NinjaBoiX]

So if this is about HMV stock clearing, is anything else on sale or likely to be? I know they've had a BOGOF on blue cross products this week.

I've got a hankering for a Vita. Those 11 Vita games I own from PS+ aren't going to play themselves.

I saw an ex-display wifi Vita (I don't think it was ever opened, I think it was just displayed boxed, and the box got a little damaged) for £140. I'd recommend one, they are fantastic.

 

[Adam Scott Aukerman]

This keeps coming up but it seems completely impossible to me. Any quotes on this?

I'm sure they can push out the console itself relatively cheap as chips, but I've read multiple times that the controller is the real kicker when it comes to production costs, so it wouldn't surprise me at all if these prices are already pushing it into loss territory.

 

[Pie and Beans]

One things for certain and thats HMV is not selling the console at a loss. Which should show really that a genuine price cut is on its way if far different trade prices are being agreed.

I wouldn't dissuade anyone from buying right now if they know they'll want one say between now and September/October as this will most likely be the price-cut price to match, but I'm interested to see just how low it will go when it starts facing competition on shelves from PS4 and Durango from November into Christmas. By that point its future is going to be far more grim and real desperation will set in.

 

[Corleth the Fey]

I just got back from the shops. I now own a Wii U.

 

[liger05]

How does this all work then? Nintendo credit the retailer?

 

[Zero148]

This keeps coming up but it seems completely impossible to me. Any quotes on this?

well, the GPU is heavily customised and there for not cheap in development and production (according to the chipworks guy). Also the gamepad has its cost in production and had a lot r&d costs which should also be calcutlated in every produced console.

It is not too unrealistic, that the WiiU sells at a small loss when you consider r&d costs

 

[gofreak]

How does this all work then? Nintendo credit the retailer?

I have to imagine Nintendo is co-operating on this behind the scenes.

If HMV is taking a loss, they'll sell these until they're gone and likely won't restock Wii U until there's an official cut that allows them to sell at the same kind of price.

So I imagine Nintendo has to be crediting them, to avoid that loss of high street presence. I think the talk of retailer meetings with Nintendo on MCV was them basically giving Nintendo an ultimatum - help us sell this stock at this price, or we'll fire sale it and won't restock.

 

[Kolgar]

Disagree with the "grim" and "desperation" above. I believe ALL of the next-gen consoles will have an uphill climb beyond hardcore gamers, and that part of the problem with Wii U right now is that people are waiting to see what Sony and Microsoft will bring. Once those quantities are known, it will be easier to judge each system on its actual merits and I'm sure Wii U's own value proposition will become more clear.

I also think will Nintendo will get its act together in the meantime for a soft-relaunch of sorts in the fall backed by more first-party games.

Right now, it's hard to fight the hype of "phantom" consoles that everyone assumes will be amazing, and that's the unfortunate position Nintendo finds itself in today. Of course, they've also made plenty of their own mistakes, but they have a chance to be successful within their own niche in the market and I'm not betting against them just yet.

Not sure I agree. I think its pretty disingenous to say this is all down to hype for different systems. For me that gives Nintendo a free pass on a lot of the really stupid and bullshit mistakes they've made with the Wii U.

Of course, they've also made plenty of their own mistakes, but they have a chance to be successful within their own niche in the market and I'm not betting against them just yet.

 

[Bumhead]

Right now, it's hard to fight the hype of "phantom" consoles that everyone assumes will be amazing, and that's the unfortunate position Nintendo finds itself in today.

Not sure I agree. I think its pretty disingenous to say this is all down to hype for different systems. For me that gives Nintendo a free pass on a lot of the really stupid and bullshit mistakes they've made with the Wii U.

First and foremost, people haven't been buying this thing because of things Nintendo have and haven't done.

 

[SmokyDave]

I have to imagine Nintendo is co-operating on this behind the scenes.

If HMV is taking a loss, they'll sell these until they're gone and likely won't restock Wii U until there's an official cut that allows them to sell at the same kind of price.

So I imagine Nintendo has to be crediting them, to avoid that loss of high street presence. I think the talk of retailer meetings with Nintendo on MCV was them basically giving Nintendo an ultimatum - help us sell this stock at this price, or we'll fire sale it and won't restock.

I asked how long the deal was on for earlier and the response was 'until the funding for the deal runs out'. Make of that what you will.

 

[Pie and Beans]

I asked how long the deal was on for earlier and the response was 'until the funding for the deal runs out'. Make of that what you will.

Ha ha ha, crikey. Ominous.

 

[Atrophis]

Anecdotal, but I just went and picked mine up and I was the fifth person to have bought one today (the shops been open 40 minutes). They had two left but were expecting more today.

Seems £200 with NLand and Zombi-U is a tempting proposition.

Damn, really feel like I should have got one yesterday. Sod heading into Notts with all this snow though

 

[gofreak]

I asked how long the deal was on for earlier and the response was 'until the funding for the deal runs out'. Make of that what you will.

Ha ha ha, crikey. Ominous.

Actually, I'd read that less ominously than I originally suggested.

Sounds like a temporary arrangement. They'll probably go back to selling at the normal price once the Nintendo 'refund' fund is exhausted. I'm thinking now that they probably gave an ultimatum along the lines of 'help us shift some of this stock, or we'll fire-sell it and not restock' - and Nintendo's agreed to fund a limited sale to keep them on side, for now.

That's not quite as bad as 'you've got to facilitate sales at this price indefinitely, or else bye-bye'. At least, from Nintendo's financials' point of view.

Clearly it's going to be weird if HMV et al do reprice it later to the original price and keep stocking it at that price, with a long stretch until there's a general price cut...but I imagine it won't be that long.

 

[xandaca]

Not sure I agree. I think its pretty disingenous to say this is all down to hype for different systems. For me that gives Nintendo a free pass on a lot of the really stupid and bullshit mistakes they've made with the Wii U.

First and foremost, people haven't been buying this thing because of things Nintendo have and haven't done.

Precisely. I also don't believe for a moment the PS4 or 720 will struggle at anywhere near a level as bad as the Wii U. Sales might be down slightly, but plenty of 360s and PS3s are still being sold and Sony and Microsoft's reputation among gamers is vastly superior to that of Nintendo.

 

[wsippel]

I'm sure they can push out the console itself relatively cheap as chips, but I've read multiple times that the controller is the real kicker when it comes to production costs, so it wouldn't surprise me at all if these prices are already pushing it into loss territory.

Chipworks estimates that the SoC alone should be around $100, so no, the console itself isn't cheap either.

 

[Pie and Beans]

Actually, I'd read that less ominously than I originally suggested.

Sounds like a temporary arrangement. They'll probably go back to selling at the normal price once the Nintendo 'refund' fund is exhausted. I'm thinking now that they probably gave an ultimatum along the lines of 'help us shift some of this stock, or we'll fire-sell it and not restock' - and Nintendo's agreed to fund a limited sale to keep them on side, for now.

That's not quite as bad as 'you've got to facilitate sales at this price indefinitely, or else bye-bye'. At least, from Nintendo's financials' point of view.

Clearly it's going to be weird if HMV et al do reprice it later to the original price and keep stocking it at that price, with a long stretch until there's a general price cut...but I imagine it won't be that long.

Imagine if they hadn't reached an agreement. We could have seen something even closer to that famous Argos Gamecube crash!! I mean this all but proves theres an official price-drop coming in the next month or so since retailers are basically stating emphatically "this shit aint selling unless you drag £100 off". Also weirdly enough I'm not sure how Nintendo can do this deal for HMV and not the others now they'll have wind of it.

 

[BlackJace]

Imagine if they hadn't reached an agreement. We could have seen something even closer to that famous Argos Gamecube crash!! I mean this all but proves theres an official price-drop coming in the next month or so since retailers are basically stating emphatically "this shit aint selling unless you drag £100 off". Also weirdly enough I'm not sure how Nintendo can do this deal for HMV and not the others now they'll have wind of it.

Price matters. Go figure.

 

[gofreak]

Not sure I agree. I think its pretty disingenous to say this is all down to hype for different systems.

Agreed. Every (reasonably successful) first mover in the past has had to deal with and overcome hype of potential entrants later in the market. You do that by making your own product good, and a credible big step forward, right from the outset. Not by crossing your fingers that later systems will be duds and make yours look better by comparison. This is what's key, and is down to a whole lot more than luck. Nintendo has come up way short on the product side to date.

If PS4/720 struggle, it won't help Wii U. We'll just have 3 struggling consoles than rather than 1.

 

[Asparagus]

This is more like it! Pay day's on Wednesday so I'll pick one up along with Monster Hunter for Easter hols.

 

[Adam Scott Aukerman]

Chipworks estimates that the SoC alone should be around $100, so no, the console itself isn't cheap either.

Damn, they're in a worse position than I'd suspected then.

 

[Pachterballs]

Who the hell are you to determine if something is worth shit or not?

Nobody knows how good the pricedrop is going to be - this is NOT just a pricedrop from HMV; they are trying to get rid of their stock because they are closing soon in the future

You have serious issues Pachterballs, your agenda is getting annoying for a lot of people - same stuff in every Nintendo-related thread!

lots of people have said in this thread that its still
not worth it.

/shrug

guess I can't have an opinion!

You don't agree, welcome to life.

lol

 

[Chaotic_Angel]

My local HMV (Dundee) was out of Zombi-U and only had the console on offer...wouldn't let me have another game either. Still £199 is a great price! Now I just need to decide what games to buy!

 

[Usobuko]

It's a good deal personally. The Wii U is still around £280 in my country when converted and that is without the Zombi U too.

 

[TheDrowningMan]

If this is providing an obvious uptick across HMV stores, it can only help Nintendo - they get a better idea of what is required.

I'd hope they'll tempted to go £200 for a new standard unit + a game (have a choice of four or five, covering various genres - officially bundled, artwork and all). Penny pinch by losing the cradle, and if NintendoLand isn't dropped from the package, have it via download code or an e-Shop voucher which gives it to you for a tenner.

Crucially, do this and advertise the fuck out of it when you have high-profile games arriving towards the end of the year.

Wii U is a really endearing console, I think - Nintendo just need to figure out a workable strategy. Investment in second-party development is, I hope, something that will follow. I also hope that they don't find a way to blow up the console with the April OS Salvation update.

 

[Mithos]

It's a good deal personally. The Wii U is still around £280 in my country when converted and that is without the Zombi U too.

Same here (Sweden).

 

[Midnight Believer]

When I was about to purchase the WiiU from Curry's they said they could not price match HMV because they have gone into administration.
Oh well

 

[Xun]

Neat little system, I'm just waiting for it to update...

I foresee great things from this system, certainly more so than the Wii.

I'm hoping for GameCube 2.0.

This keeps coming up but it seems completely impossible to me. Any quotes on this?

The system is heavily customised and actually pretty decent in specs, so it's certainly not old tech by any means.

 

[dc89]

I just took a massive stack of unwanted games in to trade this morning. HMV don't accept trade anymore, so I got £250 at GAME. Surprise surprise they wouldn't match the WiiU bundle price.

So I got a white 3DSXL, MK7, SM3DL and OoT3D.

I'm happy with that!

Edit: side question, anyone got some quick store recommendations? I know Pushmo is meant to be good.

Correct.

VVVVV is meant to be great, Links Awakening is a great game too, erm..... there's quite a bit of choice these days!

 

[The_Lump]

I can't see a £199 price drop happening for the Deluxe, but if this happens I'll be shocked and glad; would mean a loss for them, but the system would finally sell to most fence-sitters - the software is coming and everybody knows it

True Dat.

 

[Shotgun Kiss]

I bought a used Zombi U Premium bundle two weeks ago for £240. I was gutted when I saw this thread, until I figured I could use the deal to recoup the difference.

I just went to HMV and bought it. They were out of Zombi U, but since I already own that, and would rather have Nintendoland, I'm not too fussed.

I'm going to open this one up, take out Nintendoland, and sell this new Wii U and my copy of Zombi U for £240. That way I'll have recouped the difference, and I'll have a Premium Wii U, Nintendoland, and a Pro controller for a sum total of £200. I'd rather have a Pro controller than Zombi U anyway.

Not going to bother trying to make a profit or anything; I'll be happy just getting all this for such a good deal. It's true that Nintendo may very well be dropping the price officially soon, but I don't see them matching this. This deal is more a result of HMV struggling, not Nintendo.

 

[Mileena]

Trade in Nintendoland, get MH3U and you get the two best games the console has to offer at a decent price. Probably worth it imo.

 

[Miles Quaritch]

Anecdotal, but I've had 4 friends text me so far telling me they just bought a Wii U. Seems £199 is the sweet spot for some people.

 

[The_Lump]

Got my premium for £199 on day one (thankyou Amazon price balls up), plus a Basic for £160 (thankyou Amazon price balls up plus no VAT) *smug*

Funnily enough, most people were saying that this should have been the launch price. Had Nintendo still set the RRP in Europe, I think they may have pushed towards £200 rather than the £300 retailers settled on at launch.

Oh well. Let's hope this jump starts the console in the UK. Between this and the possibility of some actual advertising in the next couple months....we may have a reasonable success on the horizon.

 

[BGBW]

Buy now and you can even get Punch-Out for 30p and Google Maps for free.

 

[Cosmonaut X]

My local HMV - Inverness - has four left in stock, so I've just phoned and reserved one. I don't see it going cheaper than this in the immediate future, and I've got around half-a-dozen games I'm interested in now, with at least as many due over the rest of the year. That's enough for me to bite at this price.

 

[SmokyDave]

Oh Jesus, Zombi-U is painful. It might as well be called 'Pointlessly Shoehorned Gimmicks In A Launch Title: Featuring Zombies'.

Still, I picked up NSMBU, so that's nice.

 

[dc89]

Oh Jesus, Zombi-U is painful. It might as well be called 'Pointlessly Shoehorned Gimmicks In A Launch Title: Featuring Zombies'.

Still, I picked up NSMBU, so that's nice.

You dabbled into the Miiverse yet?

 

[Bert]

Just got the last one (well last copy of Zombi U) from the bullring HMV.

Just setting it up now. Had no plans to buy one until I saw this thread. Any early recommendations for games I can download?

 

[Vagabundo]

Damn no HMVs here anymore. I checked around a couple of shops and they seem to have a €20 price cut, but nothing like the HMV one. I'll have to wait until October.

 

[bitoriginal]

Just got one but no Zombie U, bit of a stitch up but they only had two left. Gonna buy monster hunter now. I'm so weak.

 

[VinLAURiA]

Just got the last one (well last copy of Zombi U) from the bullring HMV.

Just setting it up now. Had no plans to buy one until I saw this thread. Any early recommendations for games I can download?

RUNNER2. Confirmed by Gaijin to be the definitive console version.

 

[dc89]

Just got the last one (well last copy of Zombi U) from the bullring HMV.

Just setting it up now. Had no plans to buy one until I saw this thread. Any early recommendations for games I can download?

£0.30p e-Shop title? I think it's switched to Punch Out now. It was F-Zero last week.

Pretty sure there is a sale on at the moment, I think there's a list of reductions somewhere..

 

[SmokyDave]

You dabbled into the Miiverse yet?

Nah, not yet. Mostly been updating and checking out Nintendoland. Now dabbling with Zombi-U which I am less than impressed with, so far.

 

[Vagabundo]

Oh Jesus, Zombi-U is painful. It might as well be called 'Pointlessly Shoehorned Gimmicks In A Launch Title: Featuring Zombies'.

Still, I picked up NSMBU, so that's nice.

Naww ZomieU is a good game. I've only played an hour or so, but both my brother and bother-in-law have completed it and give it the thumbs up.

 

[Starwolf_UK]

I'm tempted. Desperately trying to find some games I'm interested in to justify a purchase. Is the VC as comprehensive as the Wii one or have they gone back to having no VC games?

Both. Wii mode is the same old Wii shop and its Wii mode so no Gamepad support, no Miiverse. On the Wii U eShop well currently there is Punch Out for £/€/$0.30 (I don't know if F-Zero and Balloon Fight are still up).

More importantly, it runs in 60Hz for Europe (so does F-Zero...it looks like Miiverse being swamped by complaints over the 50Hz Balloon Fight might have done something).

Edit: side question, anyone got some quick store recommendations? I know Pushmo is meant to be good.

HarmoKnight demo is worth your time.

 

[qizah]

Oh Jesus, Zombi-U is painful. It might as well be called 'Pointlessly Shoehorned Gimmicks In A Launch Title: Featuring Zombies'.

Still, I picked up NSMBU, so that's nice.

I actually really liked ZombiU, I haven't finished it yet but I liked the GamePad implementation a lot. It's definitely not a game for everyone, but I didn't really feel like the GamePad features were gimmicky, they're part of what makes the game tense and legitimately scary.

 

[nicoga3000]

I wish we had a deal this sweet stateside

 

[AZ Greg]

I wish we had a deal this sweet stateside

Probably won't have to wait long.