14 DAY TRIAL // The Nintendo Wii U is in grave danger at its current price point, as it might not even outsell the old GameCube, let alone the really successful Wii, at least according to analyst Michael Pachter, who emphasizes that the company needs to draw in third-party publishers.
The Wii U came out in November and, while its price point was a bit high, at $300/€300 for the base model, it sold pretty well and lots of people opted straight for the $350/€350 deluxe edition.
Sadly, sales have slowed down and not a lot of interesting games are coming to the home console, much to Nintendo's disappointment.
According to Wedbush Securities Analyst Michael Pachter, the Wii U requires third-party games in order to draw in more customers, which in turn will motivate other companies to make titles for the console.
"I don’t think Nintendo is a good investment, as I don’t see the company returning to its past success with its current products in a more competitive environment," he told NintendoLife.
"Those things are correlated: a small installed base means less third party support, and the installed base can’t grow without third party support. If Nintendo can somehow convince third parties to develop exclusives and to develop cross platform games for Wii U, it has a chance. However, with games like Battlefield and GTA coming out without Wii U versions, it doesn’t appear that the third party support will be forthcoming any time this year."
Pachter even goes so far as to speculate that, without a price cut, the Wii U won't even manage to reach the sales figures of the GameCube, let alone those set by the really successful Wii.
"The Wii U is closer to the GameCube (23 million) than to the Wii (99 million). At its current price point, I think it will sell as well as the GameCube. If Nintendo cuts price to $199, it will probably sell better than the GameCube."
"If they cut price to a point below $199, it should sell much better than the GameCube. All of this is dependent upon Microsoft and Sony pricing their new consoles above the Wii U price; if they price below, I think the Wii U is in trouble of underperforming even the GameCube."
As of yet, however, Nintendo hasn't commented on any price cut for its Wii U.