Walmart has begun running Google ads pegging Wii U price to $349. While the Wii U doesn’t have an official price yet, back in the Summer of 2006, Walmart set the Wii price at $250 — before we had an official suggested retail price from Nintendo. As we all know, Nintendo later did price the Wii at $250. We doubt that the same will happen with the Wii U, as everything is pointing at a $299 Wii U launch price.
Several game industry analyst have strongly suggested that Nintendo keep the Wii U price under $300, and some, like Michael Pachter, have warned against anything over $250 at launch. Pachter and other analysts cited current generation consoles, the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, claiming that both consoles will receive price cuts when the Wii U launches. This makes the Wii U launch price even more important for Nintendo.
Despite Walmart’s previous predictions with the Wii in 2006, we believe their $350 price point is $50 too high. Nintendo is expected to unveil the final Wii U specs, launch lineup, and price at E3 in about 5 weeks.
