Iwata: News on WiiU Price & Release date next yearRebuilding the consumer trust is a priority (3DS price drop related)
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-08-03-will-you-wait-for-a-wii-u-price-cut"With regard to the influence on the Wii U, what we have to take most seriously is that the price markdown could damage the trust of the consumers who bought the Nintendo 3DS just after the launch,"
"I feel greatly accountable for it. Our decision of the price markdown this time has a side effect that, at the launch of the Wii U, people may feel that the price might drop in the near future if they wait.
"Nevertheless, we have decided to cut down the price of the Nintendo 3DS as we consider it as a necessary decision now."
"What we will be able to do to recover the consumers' trust before the launch of the Wii U is very important to us,"
"Since the Wii U we showed you at the E3 show in June was still in the development phase without very specific proposals on the software titles, we are going to announce the release date and the price next year when we are able to explain the specific proposals. Anyway, the biggest influence is on our consumers' trust, I think."
3DS is probably the least enthusiastic Nintendo purchase I've ever made, but I am still very excited for WiiU.
If WiiU delivers on it's potential outside of gaming, and comes close to doing most of the things we heard it will do for gaming, then it will easily be a Day 1 purchase for me as long as it's under $350 (and seems worth it hardware wise).
A major bullet point for them to hit amongst gamers and non-gamers alike to get them to pick up their WiiU controller everyday, or atleast leave it out on the coffee table in the living room, would be to trump the Logitech Harmony Tablet Remotes and pack in some universal remote software, then also have TV guide/cable box controls displayed on the screen.
You prove value through the provided software, and that would be a BIG thing to advertise to everyone (IMO).
If Nintendo could have invested in Netflix and pushed for a 3D movie service to get started and have it exclusive to the 3DS for the first year, then that would have been a major reason to get a 3DS at the current price.
But I am very glad that Iwata is aware that he needs to show us what the WiiU can do when he announces the price so that we feel that the price is worth it.