It's no secret that Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter isn't all that liked by the Nintendo faithful. Perhaps it has something to do with his ongoing skepticism toward the Wii U? Or maybe it's his direct comments toward the Nintendo fanbase, making them out to be blind sheep willing to go wherever Miyamoto leads? Regardless, Pachter is at it again, this time commenting on the Wii U's launch details.
As was announced yesterday during Nintendo's Wii U launch even in NY, the console will come in two flavors: a basic model for $299 and a premium model for $349. According to Pachter's "expert" opinion, while not too expensive for the Nintendo fan, the price is high enough to scare off the average consumer. As such, gamers can expect a price slash sometime next year.
“We think that Wii U’s price points are appropriate given likely demand from Nintendo’s core fanbase, but believe that pricing will be too high to sustain demand given current competition from other consoles and tablets,” Pachter explained in a research note (via CVG).
The analyst does give kudos to Nintendo for squeezing as much money out of its fanbase at launch. "In our view, Nintendo was smart to introduce the Wii U at higher price points in order to maximize initial sales from its core audience." However, after the excitement dies down by mid-next year, the $299 price of entry will need to drop. "We expect demand from Nintendo's core fan base to remain high through the end of its March 31 fiscal year. Once initial demand begins to subside, we expect Nintendo to lower prices.
"We don't expect a price cut until summer 2013, at the earliest, but do expect a cut prior to holiday 2013. Any prospective price cut will depend largely on competition, which we expect to materialize in the coming weeks."
