Nintendo is currently offering refurbished Wii U units at its Nintendo US store for just $200 – $100 off the regular MSRP (although several retailers often have the Deluxe set at $250). As with all Deluxe sets, it includes a 32GB Wii U, a GamePad, a copy of Nintendo Land, and all the necessary cables (including HDMI cable). And just like the store-bought Wii U Deluxe, the refurbished one has a 1-year warranty from Nintendo. Nintendo also notes that the console and GamePad might have “minor cosmetic blemishes”, but otherwise, the console works perfectly. As Nintendo puts it in the description:
“The Wii U Deluxe Set is now available as an Authentic Nintendo Refurbished set only from Nintendo, and it comes with our standard one year warranty. Although it may have minor cosmetic blemishes, it is guaranteed to be fully functional. We think you will find the standards for Authentic Nintendo Refurbished Products are VERY high.”
However, there is a little downside: if you’re interested in joining Club Nintendo, the purchase of the refurbished Wii U is not eligible for Club Nintendo registration — in other words, you won’t be able to earn Club Nintendo coins with this purchase.
$200 for a refurbished console — hardware that someone else has used and returned — sounds like a lot, especially since an extra $100 (or often, extra $50) would get you a brand new Wii U. And it’s not like we haven’t been seeing some great Wii U bundles out there. Recently, eBay offered a Deluxe Wii U bundle with Mario & Luigi for just $260. And if you can wait a bit longer, you’ll be able to get the new Wii U Mario kart 8 bundle (officially only announced for Europe so far).
It’s interesting to look back at when the Wii U launched 18 months ago, when the Deluxe set retailed for $350. Then it got lowered to $300. And now Nintendo is offering the Wii U Deluxe at just $200 bucks (refurbished).
Would you buy a refurbished Wii U for $200, or would you rather just spend the extra cash a get a brand new unit that hasn’t been used and returned by someone else? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section!
