Wii U Price Drop 2013: Nintendo President Iwata Not Cutting Price Anytime Soon On Console

Despite not performing up to expectations, the Wii U will not see a price drop in the foreseeable future.

According to numerous reports, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata is adamant that the pricing for the Nintendo Wii U gaming console will remain the same. Iwata noted that "With Wii U, we have taken a rather resolute stance in pricing it below its manufacturing cost, so we are not planning to perform a markdown. I would like to make this point absolutely clear. We are putting our lessons from Nintendo 3DS to good use, as I have already publicly stated."

According to The Verge, Nintendo is already selling the console at a loss; the 8 GB version sells for $299.99 while the 32 GB iteration is priced at $349.99. When Nintendo launched the 3DS, the company marked the handheld at a profit-making rate of $249.99. However, the console sold poorly after its initial release and Nintendo was forced to cut the price down to $169.99.

Iwata also attributed the underwhelming sales of the Wii U to Nintendo's flawed communications about the product. He states that "given that it has now become clear that we have not yet fully communicated the value of our product, we will try to do so before the software lineup is enhanced and at the same time work to enrich the software lineup which could make consumers understand the appeal of Wii U."

According to Kotaku the Wii U is now posting GameCube sales numbers in Japan. The GameCube was the worst selling console of its generation and was handily outsold by the Sony Playstation 2 and Microsoft Xbox.