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Wii U Console and Splatoon Game Bundle - $279 at Target Knox, Vic (More Stores to Follow)

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THE DUDE IN TARGET WAS APPARENTLY FULL OF IT, SORRY TO GET ANYONE'S HOPES UP. TBH BUY A SWITCH ANYWAY, I LOVE THE SHIT OUT OF MINE AND IT'S ALREADY MY FAVORITE CONSOLE YET, you know, so long as the steady stream of games keeps coming.

I know it's not amazing, I know it's last gen as Hell, but anyone still after a Wii U, well, you've basically got Target and the odd JB / EB who still have some floating around. I saw this in store today and asked the guy about it, he reckons they had about 15 in the back still, and that someone put the tag up too early, supposedly every Target with leftover stock is gonna be doing them for this price starting next week. Could be full of it though, so who knows.

Either way, worst case it's a clear enough photo for price matching if that's your thing.

Splatoon itself goes for about 50/60 STILL new so you could flip that for a bit to cut into the cost if you're not interested in it, but IMO it's probably the best thing the Wii U had.

Anyway, it's no K-Mart deal, holy shit they were amazing, but it's about the best you'll do (AFAIK) for a local one and with a decent game at that.

…PS, modding is supposedly easy as shit on the Wii U. I got myself Nintendont because if Nintendo don't wanna sell me my GameCube games again then that's their loss, but beyond that I'm no tech whiz and can't offer any real help or suggestions.

Related Stores

Target Australia
Target Australia

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  • +9

    I can see them going lower than this. I remember the Wii console Mario kart bundle for $99 at Kmart, bigw etc. The bottom of the market may be yet to occur. I had one of the $179 Kmart bundles which we played for six months and onsold. I should have kept it I think. I went to get pizza for the family last Friday and picked up a $25 gumtree Wii on the way in my local area. Still great console for the kids. Cost less than the pizza. Already had the homebrew channel installed…

    • +1

      Worth noting too that the Wii U's gamepad is a rather pricey piece of hardware on its own. It's basically a handheld like a NDS/Gameboy, but with approx. double the screen size - but no standalone playability (must be wirelessly connected to a Wii U to function).

      According to one CNN estimate, the cost of the gamepad itself is 53% of the cost of the main console unit. For that reason I don't expect the price of the Wii U to settle at the levels that the Wii did, at around $100. However, the current $279 is still probably a bit on the high side, although not a bad price by any means if you're in the market for one.

      • +4

        For that reason

        The cost of any component is not what's setting prices now. They're selling these things to make something out of nothing which is what a Wii U in a warehouse is now that it's been replaced by the Switch.

      • Say they did drop to $100, would the gamepad with screen work on my existing Wii U? eg. could I have two gamepads on the one console?

        I am unsure of the answer to this question given I've never seen the gamepad sold separately.

        • +2

          I think you can but only 1 game pad at a time.

        • +1

          There's no point in having more than one WiiU gamepad. You can only use one gamepad at once. There aren't any games that can use two. You can't even use it as a second controller with the screen off, only one will connect at a time.

        • @MrMcHairyHead: Yeah I thouhgt of using two game pads at once when I owned one but turns out it cant be done. Unless someone in the last 12 months can prove me wrong :)

        • @sprucemoose92:

          Nintendo originally were going down the path of supporting 2 gamepads but they ended up making one of their trade make politician promises.

      • And my gamepad just died. Nintendo want $180 if it needs replacing. Apparently EB Games can repair it much cheaper than that.

        The tech in the gamepad is annoying, if only because most games failed to make use of it.

    • -6

      I remember Wii for 20 bucks :D

    • Can't imagine it'll get much lower, not in volume. Very few places seem to have much in the way of stock as it is so it'll be pretty small volume clearances once they do clear the rest out. Doubt many or any major stores have done a restock in 12 months at this point given a good lot were clearing out the console before the Switch was even announced.

  • +6

    Pretty poor deal paid $175 for my mario kart 8 bundle from K-Mart

    • +5

      That was a fluke deal - it'll be like saying working is foolish I once won the lottery.

      Very few people were able to get that Kmart deal and I'm surprised they even honoured it. I think it came as a result of stock out of the 8gb models at 175

  • +1

    how is this not a lot cheaper now? haha

    • +2

      It's crazy hey. They should be giving these away by now.

      • +4

        You can easily buy an xbox one s with like 2-3 games for this price haha

        • +2

          Aldi are selling the Xbox One S for $279 next week with two games.

    • Nintendo has said that they will never again lose money on concole sales. They don’t believe in hooking people in and then making money off games.

      That’s their strategy for the Switch. I’m guessing they’re trying to make as much from the Wii U before they retire it.

      • +5

        before they retire it.

        haven't they already stopped making it?

        • +1

          They have and they've ceased making games for it for some time. At this point it's just idle inventory sitting there in stores.

      • -1

        Throwing consoles in a landfill is more profitable than making SOME money via selling at below cost?

        • Throwing consoles in a landfill is more profitable than making SOME money via selling at below cost?

          …except they will never have to throw them in the landfill….they know they have enough customers to run down their remaining inventory at nice profit & they are in no rush to fire-sale them all at once.

          Nintendo know what they are doing. Maximum profit is the name of the game.

        • +2

          @cheepwun:

          Nintendo know what they are doing. Maximum profit is >the name of the game.

          If they knew what they were doing, they wouldn't have made the Wii U.

        • @KLoNe:

          If they knew what they were doing, they wouldn't have made the Wii U.

          Sales-wise, they know exactly what they're doing. By your logic you can argue they have never known what they were doing since the Virtual Boy. You can't argue they know how to make money. They have (almost) always been tight. Tight with hardware specs and tight with first-party game discounts. Even back in the Game Boy era.

          Wii U failed for several reasons unrelated to the discussion here. You can start with the Wii branding and look here: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2014-secret…

          Suffice to say, it was a mistake for Nintendo to ignore the traditional gamepad gamer, to allow so much shovelware with the Wii (licensing fees were too tempting) and to ignore the fact that so many users bought the Wii but had moved on after the initial novelty wore off. It was a mistake to brand the New Thing using the Old Thing's name.

          https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/en/finance/hard_soft/
          ~13.56 million sold, despite being available about a year before the PS4 and Xbox One. Tragic. Note how the Virtual Boy is not even listed there, such is the shame. There are enough Nintendo fans to comfortably sell the remaining Wii U inventory without resorting to drastic measures you proposed. They are even building a Nintendo theme park in Japan, such is the fandom.

        • I believe in some extreme cases it can be if they can do a tax write off. It's incredibly wasteful but I believe some companies have done this in the past both for the tax reasons and the fact tat while you're waiting to push it at a lower cost, the items still taking up shelf realestate of items you could sell at a profit.

        • @cheepwun: Nintendo has already made the money haven't they? (the units are sold to Target etc) It's just Target etc trying to reduce the amount they lose per item.

        • @syme321:
          I don't know if this is a Target thing or Nintendo thing. Regardless, no need to dump them in landfill or discount heavily. Nintendo stopped Wii U production some months ago ( http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2016-11-01-nintendo-to-end… ), so I don't think they will have trouble selling the remainder Wii U units after having several years of sales data to forecast suitable production.

        • +1

          @cheepwun:
          Definitely won't be landfill, will just be a matter of determining the right price point (least loss) based on how much they need the shelf space for something else.

      • -1

        Nintendo has said that they will never again lose money on concole sales.

        Microsoft has said it will never run Linux, Dana White said women will never fight in the UFC … words don't mean much compared to actions.

        They don’t believe in hooking people in and then making money off games.

        That's weird seeing as that's been their business model now and for the last 3 decades. Wait I guess it's not like they're charging stupidly high prices for games or anything right … oh yeah, about that.

        • Actually Nintendo do price their units to sell at a profit, excluding clearance sales.

  • I Really want a Nintendo Console. I had a Wii and its the only one i had. never bothered upgrading because of this, expensive console and expensive games. :(

    • +4

      and expensive games

      I've bought most of my Wii U games for between $15-$30…

      • +1

        Yep, and you don't actually need the console, not for most of the games that are worth playing. Cemu works fine.

  • +2

    If this was closer to 200 I’d give it a look. But at the moment it’s overpriced.

    I’m amazed that stores still carry it.

    • +3

      These bundles are ancient, they're going to be stuck with the stock unless they reduce it more.

      • +4

        No way. People will always want a Wii u. The game pad is a gaming rarity

        • +1

          Nobody wanted a Wii U that's why it sold worse than the Dreamcast.

        • +1

          @Kerrby:

          Nobody wanted a Wii U

          True, but they adjusted their manufacturing accordingly, so there's no major oversupply. Otherwise there wouldn't be this crazy-high price.

      • Maybe closer to Christmas they'll have a fire sale. But ATM it's seriously overpriced.

  • Funny cos even Splatoon 2 is about to come out on the Switch in about a week. Then there'd be almost no one to play with in Splatoon 1.

    • +2

      Splatoon had a decent single play story though.

  • I've been looking at picking one up. This seems like a good deal compared to eBay. They're still expensive AF. If there was something in the Brisbane area for this price I'd jump on it. I'd rather a Mario Maker or New SMB bundle, but I'd take what I could get I think.

    • +1

      How about Facebook groups, Facebook marketplace and gumtree?
      Seen a Wii u go for $120

  • -6

    just emulate it on pc

  • +2

    I was at Knox this evening and saw that too. I only saw the 1 in the cabinet and assumed it was the only one in stock.

  • Spaltoon Wii u goes for $30 max

  • Just spend extra and buy the switch, too expensive at this price.

    I'd consider a Wii u bargain post too be $100 less than this at the very least.

  • +3

    For an extra $100 you can sometimes get a switch and Splatoon 2 comes out next week.

    But still goodish

  • anyone know if any targets in nsw have these? preferably south of sydney cbd

  • +4

    still an absurdly high price for a 5 year old console that has poor specs even on release and that completely flopped, has non existent 3rd party support and been abandoned by nintendo. spend $150 more and buy a switch it may still have the possibility of failing as it's the only early days but at least it has potential and has 3rd parties actually developing games for that console.

    • +1

      OP noted he was buying to be able to play a back catalogue of games. The range of retro console compatibility of the Wii U is unmatched.

  • isn't the game itself pre-installed on the console? like the mario kart bundle.

  • +2

    Still more expensive than 4 years ago- https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/117642

    • +2

      That was back when they severely over-estimated demand & had too many Wii U sitting around.

    • +3

      And this ripper deal which I managed to partake in:

      https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/149270

      Still have it - great condition and still gets a run now and again.

      Also does Netflix using game pad to control and browse - or watch on if preferred.

      Great console. Just never really found its feet to achieve critical mass.

  • Got all excited when I saw a Wii U in a Salvos store last week but it was $200. I'd just pay the extra for the Switch at this price range like the others but nice find regardless.

  • tried to get this months ago and Yea had no luck ………

  • -2

    or you can emulate it with a midrange gaming PC for free and actually use retail copies of the games and support Nintendo.
    cemu runs mk8 with hd shadows and 1080p upscaled 60fps smooth as hell once you get shaders together
    no way in hell I'm paying $280 for a tri-core PowerPC and a HD 4650..

    • Not sure why you're downvoted, this is all true…

  • The gamepad is a 540p non multitouch TFT that is plastic coated. It's a disgrace.

    • It's disgusting, agreed. But I love the stupid console :)

    • Glass was not used on the Switch either. No shattering. Though it's capacitive now. Nintendo stopped being the tech leader decades ago. Nothing has changed with the Switch. Though it is a powerful portable, it's a sorry console (no analogue triggers and a distant third place tech-wise, as a home console).

      And then you have bending issues:
      https://www.technobuffalo.com/2017/04/03/nintendo-switch-con…

      Nintendo has its exclusives, like its competitors. That's what probably shifts most units. Tech leadership rarely does.

  • The price for the bundle isn't new, it has been this price for over a year or more. Not many stores have stock anymore unless Nintendo are clearing out excess inventory. Although in 2015 $287.20 was a "Crazy" price for this bundle

    • Step back in time and you will find today's price isn't much cheaper haha.

      https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/117642

      Remember buying one at the end of the day the deal was posted. A mate bought a basic days after the deal was posted.

      Such was the popularity of the Wii U.

      • +1

        $179 with 2 games was cheaper as per my link earlier.

        This current deal is for people who still want one but don't want to pay scalper prices, and prefer a new unit.

  • The Wii was a fantastic console that filled a niche with its party games. The controller was innovative at the time and it was a hackable (despite Nintendo's efforts) console which could be repurposed via homebrew to be everything from a smart board to a media console to an FTP server if you were a saddist. So the man on the street had a reason to buy it and the geek had a reason too. In succeeding to block off home brew, and simultaneously alienating 3rd party developers, and make the hardware less party friendly, Nintendo totally lost the plot.

    The DS console line and its predecessors were a great step up from the single purpose watch games of the 80s. Before we had mobile gaming they were the best option for players to get their fix on the go. A dedicated machine is still better for gaming, but it's less convenient.

    I honestly haven't seen Nintendo do anything innovative in a long time. No a console that goes between barely portable and plugged into a TV is not innovation. People are using their phones now for portable and while some die hard fans will want to take their games with them on the go, the switch doesn't really give them that. It's a different experience on the go vs plugged in. You can't play exactly the same. The hardware has shortcomings And again, their game library looks like it's going to be lacking. once the die hard fans have bought the switch, the cool-new-shiny factor has worn off and people realise its not the best thing since slice bread, the Switch won't sell too well. Despite the advertising it's just not going to appeal to everyman, and it's locked down even tighter than the Wii U so no hacking means it's not going to be a geek favourite either long term.

    I loved the Wii and the DS, but Nintendo are basically history at this point even if they bring out one or two more generations. They threw it away and I'll be surprised if they can salvage it.

    Now watch the Nintendo fans downvote….which doesn't change a thing I said!

    • +3

      The Wii U has been fully hackable for a long time now. It's actually why you'll find these things will run out of stock super fast, and the resale value on eBay is very high too.

      I bought mine years and years ago from this site when Target flogged the 8GB consoles for $199. I also got MK8 at the time but was too cheap to pay for another controller, so I only got about 10 hours of use from the thing in ~3 years.

      Then the hacking/modding scene exploded and whaddyaknow, I suddenly hundreds of hours into my Wii U including not having to buy a Switch just to play Zelda - that was awesome!

      • Thanks for the correction. I hadn't realised they finally released the hack. I stopped holding my breath a couple of years ago. Too little to late for console sales.

        How do they do as a media player? Is there something like WiiMC that can play HD video on the Wii U?

        • +1

          They purposely held off on releasing the exploit until Nintendo announced no more firmwares for Wii U and product was EOL. Might have been around a year ago from memory.

          I haven't tried using the media players, if the experience of Netflix and Youtube is anything to go by, then I have 100 devices that can do it a lot better and cheaper.

          I'm a pixel peeping snob, but that 540p display ended up being used for about 1/3rd of my Zelda playthrough when my GF wanted to watch the main telly or I just felt like laying in bed.

          I regretted my Wii U purchase for a long time, but now I think it's actually a fantastic console and would buy another one (would have to pay through the nose) if this one broke. I also got a few clone pro controllers that work really well, so being able to have 4 player mario kart or smash brothers for the price is pretty awesome.

        • @c0balt:

          I understand why they held off, but it was still a mistake. No one is going to develop Homebrew for an EOL console! They should have kept looking for other exploits and released one at a time keeping one in reserve. C'est la vie.

  • +2

    None left at Knox.

    Was hoping to snag one as eBay and Gumtree prices for used units are terrible (especially when half of them have Gamepads with scratched screens)

    Would gladly pay $280 for a new one.

  • -1

    Only buy this if you're going to sit on it and sell it sealed down the track. These things still go for high prices online.

    But if you actually want to play games - take that $279 and put it on a Switch instead. There's absolutely no point getting a Wii U now unless you're a collector and want to go thru Wii U's back catalog. It is not like Wii U games are dirt cheap anyway.

    • +2

      There's absolutely no point getting a Wii U now unless you're a collector and want to go thru Wii U's back catalog.

      And Wii. It goes far beyond the Wii U and Wii with some hacking activity. Probably the 'holy grail' that will never be repeated again as far as retro capabilities go. Too bad modern users are bathed in 2.4GHz though…even when wired.

      • +1

        Grabbed one a few weeks ago for $200 with a pro controller and a couple of games. Now I have the full Gamecube, wii and wii u back catalogue for the same price as 3 switch games!

      • Too bad modern users are bathed in 2.4GHz though…even when wired.

        LOL! Are you the one who posted about the newer Xbox 360 using less power than the original but still being bad because of the wireless controllers?

        • +1

          LOL! Are you the one who posted about the newer Xbox 360 using less power than the original but still being bad because of the wireless controllers?

          Sure am.

          If you are concerned about microwaves being emitted from the xbox 360 e (and other models), you can remove the RF board and wi-fi module and still use it with wired controllers with zero microwave exposure from the unit. You'll have to turn on/off the unit and eject discs using a wired controller, though. It goes without saying that my 360 is 100% wired with no RF module (and no wi-fi module).

          https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Xbox+360+E+Wi-Fi+Card+Replaceme…
          https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Xbox+360+E+RF+Module+Replacemen…
          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z99_SzoXZdY
          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwS-aHB-zHk

          You can't do that with the Wii or Wii U or the Switch. They rely too heavily on wireless controllers.

          It's madness the console manufacturers don't give a crap about human health by giving us the choice to turn it off. The RF board inside the Xbox 360 is working constantly, whether you use wired controllers or not. Wii and Wii U…similar story. PS4 and (newer model) PS3…similar story.

          LOL indeed.
          https://ehtrust.org/france-new-national-law-bans-wifi-nurser…
          Moves like this are done for no reason, I'm sure.

        • @cheepwun: +1 because your comment amuse me.
          Do you own a smartphone?

        • @idonotknowwhy:
          I'm glad microwave damage amuses you. I only use a mobile phone in emergencies. And I don't carry it on my body. I don't use it in a car (or any other metal shell or any bad reception area). Nor do I hold it to my head. If this stuff wasn't doing you damage, you wouldn't get governments around the world starting to wake up. The idea is to reduce exposure.

          I don't want to be exposed to hours and hours of microwaves while gaming, right next to me. Nor do I want to expose others to it. Old-school for me, thanks. Amusing reality.

        • @cheepwun:

          Wow, you must do wired mouses and everything.

          Regarding the Wii U; once you've hacked it (you mentioned hacking it above), you can use wired controllers in a lot of games. Enable "HID controllers" in the mocha custom firmware to do this. You can also use the Wii U Smash Brothers adapter, and a game-cube controller. It only works for smash bros officially, but after hacking, you can enable it in most games.

          The smashbros gamecube controllers already have long cables, and you get some extra distance from the adapter it's self, so you can position the console a long way away from you, possibly even in another room if you have a long HDMI cable.

          Good luck to you.

        • @idonotknowwhy:
          The console itself is emitting microwaves whether wired controllers are being used or not. Just like the RF module in the xbox 360 is enabled whether you use wired controllers or not (you can power on the console with a wireless controller…proof enough). Also the wi-fi is used automatically if you don't have something plugged into the ethernet port on the xbox 360…it will poll. There is no 'airplane mode' in the firmware. Which is exactly what's needed, if the manufacturers had a clue.

          Wow, you must do wired mouses and everything.

          Of course. Never felt the need for a wireless mouse that typically weighs more and still takes up a USB slot with its receiver, quite aside from the health reasons and interference reasons (and security reasons). You can get extenders for anything on ebay. I have those smash controllers already. You can get extensions for any old-school controller.

  • Anyone know if there is actually any stock anywhere else for these? I rang a few stores around Sydney and no one seemed to have it.

    • This. Can any Target workers check store stocks ?

      • Not really floor staff can't check as the systems aren't really networked that way. Managers can if I remember correctly but your best chance is basically just calling all your stores near you.

  • +1

    For as long as WiiU was out, it had the best game titles. WiiU has shitty hardware technically, but has a great number of gems! It's sad Nintendo made a hardware console so complicated and weird technical wise. Plus, heaps of mistakes to marketing it right. WiiU has power, but its bizarre architecture makes it hell to juice it!

    At this price point, it is a steal! Grab one as long as you are able to! Either for some fantastic gaming experiences or as a collectors' item.

    Enjoy :)

    • +1

      Judging by most people's comments you'll need to knock off a hundred dollars before it becomes a steal.

      • Hey, it's oz bargain.

        Like, you know…

        • Yeah, got that.

          So you gonna knock a hundred off? 😘

  • This is the best nintendo console right now. If you setup homebrew, it can play:
    Native (not emulated): almost* every GameCube, Wii and Wii-U game
    Emulated with official emulator: Many NEW, SNES and N64 games..
    Rom-Injection to the official emulator: Most N64 and SNES games

    *Some qwerks like Mario Party 7 for gamecube — microphone can't be plugged in

    Effectively, this can play anything nintendo has produced prior to the switch and excluding 3ds.

  • +1

    Hey OP,
    I went into the Knox store today and the employee in the entertainment section says the one in the picture was the only one they had and it was only there because somebody returned it. I asked him if there any at the back and he said no and I told him about the this ozbargain post and he said it wasn't true.

    Anybody know of any stores in Victoria that have this bundle in store?

    • +1

      Guess the guy was full of it, I'll hit this up as expired. Sorry to get anyone's hopes up then.

      Useless.

      Interesting though, if your story is true, I did not know Target engaged in reselling stuff, at least not electronics. I won't be buying any hardware from them unless it's a day one kinda thing now, plenty others stores I actually trust around.

      • I'm not sure if you should hit expire just yet.
        They guy I talked to might be bluffing, or maybe he didn't know there was more stock, or maybe other stores are clearing them out (I tried calling Target to check their stores in Victoria for this bundle but no dice).
        I might try again another day or try a different store.

        I wonder if the person who is associated with Target Australia who posted in this thread would know.

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