Ubisoft has been a staunch supporter of Nintendo's Wii U since the console's formal announcement. But talk to CEO Yves Guillemot about the price of the system, and you'll find him singing a slightly different tune. According to the exec, Nintendo's new offering is a touch too expensive.
"I always prefer lower pricing, so I can't say I'm happy," Guillemot told GamesIndustry about the Wii U price tag. "I'm never happy when the machines are expensive."
The Ubisoft boss does seem to have his head screwed on when it comes to reasonably marketing an electronic product in today's era of emerging mobile and social gaming. "What we have to do there is remember that compared to an iPad, it's cheap. With what it brings [to the gaming table] it's cheap. But I hope they'll be able to drop their price in time."
At around £249 - £299 in the UK, Wii U's launch pricing comes close to that of the original Xbox and PlayStation 2 when they first hit store shelves over a decade ago. Gamasutra did some number-crunching and found that, taking inflation into account, Nintendo's new machine is in fact cheaper than most home consoles.
But, as Guillemot suggests, console manufacturers are competing with more than just each other in this new age of gaming. They have to battle the growing threat of Apple's iPad, too.
Wii U launches on November 30 in Europe.
Via Eurogamer
"I always prefer lower pricing, so I can't say I'm happy," Guillemot told GamesIndustry about the Wii U price tag. "I'm never happy when the machines are expensive."
The Ubisoft boss does seem to have his head screwed on when it comes to reasonably marketing an electronic product in today's era of emerging mobile and social gaming. "What we have to do there is remember that compared to an iPad, it's cheap. With what it brings [to the gaming table] it's cheap. But I hope they'll be able to drop their price in time."
At around £249 - £299 in the UK, Wii U's launch pricing comes close to that of the original Xbox and PlayStation 2 when they first hit store shelves over a decade ago. Gamasutra did some number-crunching and found that, taking inflation into account, Nintendo's new machine is in fact cheaper than most home consoles.
But, as Guillemot suggests, console manufacturers are competing with more than just each other in this new age of gaming. They have to battle the growing threat of Apple's iPad, too.
Wii U launches on November 30 in Europe.
Via Eurogamer
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Comments
ohms 13 Nov 2012 13:35
1/2
I predict a major price drop (£70+) within 6 months to a year.
DrkStr 13 Nov 2012 13:37
2/2
Not that I've got much chance of buying a WiiU, but the iPad is £400 and the WiiU is £250.
How is that not competing?
How is that not competing?