It's been a bit of a bumpy ride for Nintendo's new console, all things considered - lacklustre sales, delayed games and losing out on exclusives. And while we do love our regular sessions of Mario Chase, we're still not entirely convinced it was worth the £300 we paid. Not yet, anyway. But for those of you who've so far managed to stay perched on the fence, now may be the time to reconsider your decisions, as online retailers have begun what could potentially be the start of a price war, with Amazon and Asda Direct shaving £50 off the console's price.
Fun, but probably not £300 worth of fun...
At the time of writing, both Asda and Amazon have slashed £50 off the price of their Wii U bundles - making the 32GB black Premium Pack (which comes with Nintendo Land) £249
Considering the Premium cost upwards of £300 and the Basic was £249 at its November launch, the discount represents quite a large cut quite early on in the console's life - which perhaps confirms the rumours that have been circulating that retailers have been having problems shifting units. These offers follow a short-lived discount on Zavvi's website, where they cut the Premium console down to a bargain £225, before putting it back up to it's regular £275.
While we're not sure whether the price cuts have been initiated by Nintendo, or the individual retailers themselves, it has gone some way to settling the price discrepancy between the UK and the US. While the console initially cost substantially more here (£30 more for the basic, £40 more for the Premium), these two offers now bring the price below that which the Americans pay.
With its ropey start now thoroughly behind it, and a slew of new games on both the near (Lego City Undercover, Pikmin 3) and distant (Mario Kart, 3D Mario, Zelda and Yarn Yoshi) horizon, the newly reduced price point makes the Wii U a much more appealing prospect for those who were previously on the fence. If we didn't already have one, we'd certainly be tempted now.
