So by the end of this month, Nintendo will (hopefully) reveal their price tag and their release date. September 13th is when the big announcement will be made, some of the speculation will die down, and more questions will pop up----and let’s not forget the competitors and how they might react. The big rumor is that the Sunday before Black Friday (that terrible, terrible day) is when the WiiU will be released, right after Halo 4 and the latest Call of Duty. But nothing is yet certain. What I am about to reveal is my personal opinion towards when it should launch and as to how much it should be, and what I am expecting it to be.
My Price and Release Date:
WiiU: $250 (Bundled w/Nintendo Land)
$300 (Bundled w/Nintendo Land and Super Mario Bros. U)
November 23rd
The rumor is the 18th, which is the Sunday before the Dark Weekend starting with Black Friday is the release date. For me, the only reason I wouldn’t do it on Sunday is because the launch number won’t be as mammoth as opposed to if you were to deliver it at midnight of Black Friday. Transform Black Friday into WiiU Friday. Conquer, own, utterly take over one of the biggest economic weekends in the entire year. Halo and Call of Duty are going to devour sales throughout November, so the easiest way to not get swept up in the first-person shooter hurricane is to seek shelter on the 23rd.
As for the price tag. This is the truth: the economy isn’t that great, the system is technically 5 years behind in terms of certain technology, and there is far too much rising competition with the rise of mobile and tablet gaming. The Wii launched at $250 and did perfectly fine, especially when bundled with a game that made up for the lack of software during the first year of the Wii. $250, launch with Nintendo Land to practice the tablet-style gaming and the technology that follows, and make sure to have Mario and Call of Duty ready at the exact same time. Just the fact that Nintendo is finally in the HD realm is enough reason for a purchase, but to start nice and low at $250 would be icing on the cake. The other reason why it should not be more than $250: those tablet controllers will be at least $60 and expect the video games to run at similar prices.
Prediction of Price and Release Date:
$300 (Not Bundled)
November 19th
Sunday would not be a bad idea, and to launch right before Black Friday is something I can see Nintendo doing. Black Friday is definitely the due date, but giving the system a few days extra despite not delivering blockbuster-style numbers that Americans and Economists love to see would give some breathing room to shoppers that avoid that awful weekend like the dickens. Call of Duty launches a few days prior, so not delaying the WiiU installment too long would be good news. I can see the 19th, nothing earlier and nothing later.
Sadly, I don’t see a bundle in its future, even if Nintendo Land could be the Wii Sports-like game for the WiiU. That being said, the list of launch games is arguably the most impressive since the N64---which featured the gaming culture-changing Super Mario 64 among other instant classics. This would make the $300 price tag a little more bearable for the pockets as there’s plenty of software to choose from the getgo. My main reason for predicting $300 is because the 3DS last year launched at $250. Would Nintendo honestly launch an HD system at the same price as a 3-D handheld? Doubt it.
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