Fate of Nintendo Wii U Likely Hangs on Price Tag

The upcoming Wii U, part tablet computer, part game machine, could help Nintendo surpass its rivals once again. But not until we know how much it will set us back—investors so far are skeptical of that and other unknowns, and the company's stock has fallen 10% since the Wii U's unveiling this week. Expectations for the new machine have been high following the original Wii's roaring success. Wii U, which will go on sale next year, features a motion-sensing controller with a tablet-like touch screen and high-definition graphics. Only the tablet screen feature will be unique to the Wii U.

"People are getting harder to impress," said one analyst of the ho-hum reaction. Others called the console brilliant and believe Nintendo will have no problem selling it, as long as it costs less than $300. With an economy that's still on the rocks, money speaks. The lack of an announced price for Wii U, as one analyst said, "makes people worried that it'll be 500 bucks." (More Nintendo stories.)