Nintendo Is Ruling Out A Wii U Price Cut, But Costco Has Knocked Off $50 Anyway

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata, in an investor briefing that took place after his company revealed its most recent financial results, made it clear that the price of the Wii U is not going down anytime soon.

According to Joystiq, Iwata went on record by stating:

"With Wii U, we have taken a rather resolute stance in pricing it below its manufacturing cost, so we are not planning to perform a markdown… I would like to make this point absolutely clear. We are putting our lessons from Nintendo 3DS to good use, as I have already publicly stated.

However, given that it has now become clear that we have not yet fully communicated the value of our product, we will try to do so before the software lineup is enhanced and at the same time work to enrich the software lineup which could make consumers understand the appeal of Wii U."

So don't expect an official price drop in the foreseeable future, at least from Nintendo. But that doesn't mean retailers can't do whatever they'd like. Joystiq also reports that Costco has just lowered the price of the Wii U.

They're currently offering the Deluxe system for $299.97, and the Basic model for $244.97, which is fifty bucks off in each case. Though one needs to be a paid Costco member first to reap such benefits.

It'll be interesting to see if anyone else follows suit. Considering that Costco isn't exactly everyone's first choice to get video game hardware, it's unlikely that Gamestop or Best Buy will notice. But still…