Forget the Box apparently has some secret sources that are whispering details about the cost of the Wii-U's hardware. The sources say that the Wii-U costs $180 to manufacture, about $50 of which is the cost of the tablet controller. The sources go on to mention that the camera for the tablet controller cost about $6 and the touch screen was priced at around $14.
It's really funny how specific these sources are getting. It's as if they work at Nintendo themselves, they stole a Wii-U from Nintendo, or they're lying out of their behinds. Either way, someone has done something naughty. Despite that it gives us journalists something to write about which in turn gives you, dear readers, something to nerd rage or nerdgasm about. I would nerd rage myself, given the fact that FTB's sources claim that the approximate cost of the Wii-U would be “no less” than $300. That might sound reasonable but when you also note what else the sources had to say about the GPU and CPU you might change your mind.
“Nintendo chose an economical GPU and CPU that could keep up with the performance of today’s current consoles, but keep hardware costs down to maximize profits. Nintendo got a bargain price on the custom GPU and CPU that the Wii U uses.”
Now, a bargain might mean they know the guys doing the custom GPU and CPU, either that or it really is a “bargain” as in bargain parts. I don't know dear readers, I'm only speculating on rumors. I just don't like how the sources are saying that Nintendo is trying to cut costs on the manufacturing of the Wii-U. That just makes it sound like the Wii-U is going to be some sort of Chinese knockoff.
Source: Kotaku via Forget the Box
