Iwata On Wii U: “We Almost Gave Up On The Idea Of The Additional Screen”
The tablet controller is hands-down the bread and butter of the Wii U, so it comes as a shock to hear Nintendo President Satoru Iwata say that at one point they seriously considered scrapping the technology altogether. Speaking to The Telegraph, Mr. Iwata confessed that high costs were a major roadblock in the process.
“Sometime during that final discussion we almost gave up on the idea of the additional screen. This was due to our concern over the expected high cost, it may not have been feasible to create this and sell it at a reasonable price point for the consumers,” he said.
So this begs the question: How much does Nintendo plan to sell the Wii U for? Apparently the tablet technology doesn't come cheap, and since the company traditionally makes money on their hardware, we may be looking at a slightly more expensive console than initially expected.
Nintendo still hasn't announced a release date or price, and I'm beginning to wonder why they're holding back this information. They must have an idea of when and for how much they want to sell the Wii U, though I'm sure dropping the bomb at E3 with an announcement that the thing will cost $400 would have put a damper in their already unimpressive press conference.