9 Reasons Why The Nintendo Wii U Was A Commercial Flop

9. Nintendo Got The Pricing Wrong

It’s a strategy that works wonders for online retailer Amazon - selling hardware a relatively low price in an attempt to steers customers to your own apps and services.

While Nintendo undercut Sony and Microsoft by around $100 with the Wii U console itself, games and peripherals were no less costly upon release, and this was a missed opportunity given that the system’s target audience is generally younger with less disposable income.

On closer scrutiny, when you consider the Xbox One and PS4 are fully-fledged living room entertainment hubs, that extra $100 is looking like money well spent.

Furthermore, when you factor in the cost of external storage, and the fact an extra controller or two is needed to take advantage of the Wii U’s best games, the pricing gulf narrows considerably.

Following a raft of reductions, physical Wii U games are typically easier on the wallet than PS4 and Xbox One discs, but Nintendo continues to overcharge online. The digital edition of the three-year-old Super Mario 3D World was priced at full whack as recently as January. Ouch!