Iwata dismisses Wii U price concerns, says software is the issue

The Wii U’s full retail price of between 250 and 300 is not the reason for its market struggles.

That’s according to Nintendo president Satoru Iwata who told CVG that the comparatively higher sales of the more expensive Premium SKU disprove the theory.

"If the price is actually an issue then there is some contradiction between the current sales balance between the Basic and Premium versions of the Wii U," the exec argues.

"The Basic version should have sold a lot, but the fact of the matter is that people are buying more of the Premium version. So the issue is not there."

So what does Iwata blame for the console’s stuttering start?

"I understand that the real issue is the lack of software,” he believes. The only solution is to provide the mass-market with a number of quality software titles."

Although Nintendo UK still insists that it doesn’t set RRPs for its hardware in the UK, the Wii U Premium retails full-price at 300 and the Wii U Basic at 250.

There have been discounts, most notorious of which was Asda’s decision to cut the Basic to 150 not just once but twice – the supermarket’s subsequent decision to remove the Wii U from its shelves completely last month was therefore not a huge surprise.

An official price cut for the hardware remains unlikely, with Nintendo confirming last week that it still sells the machine at a loss. PS4 and Xbox One will launch later this year priced at 350 and 430 respectively.