UK retailers ShopTo and Asda are selling the Wii U Basic Pack at sub-£200 prices, taking more than 20 percent off the launch price just three months after the console’s release.
Walmart-owned supermarket chain Asda chops £50 off the launch prices of both the 8GB Basic and 32GB Premium Packs on its online store, taking them down to £199 (around $300) and £249 ($375) respectively. Meanwhile, online retailer ShopTo goes one better, selling the Basic Pack at £189.85. The 8GB packs in question don’t come with additional games, while the 32GB Premium Pack includes Nintendo Land.
While other UK retailers are selling at the launch price or close to it, the emergence of sharp cuts so soon must be concerning for Nintendo. Earlier this year, the company cut the Wii U’s life-to-date projections for the end of March 2013 by 1.5 million, down to 4M units, while a report suggests it sold “well under” 100,000 units across January in North America.
Nintendo will be hoping March, which sees a number of Wii U releases including Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, Lego City Undercover, The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct, and Need for Speed: Most Wanted, will spur a strong performance for the console.
