Nintendo: Just one game sale makes the Wii U profitable

However, there is more to the story than that.

Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime has said this week that just one game turns the hardware loss into a profit for the company.

Fils-Aime says the company had to make the decision to sell the hardware at a loss in order to make sure the price tag was in the range of the casual gaming consumer. The Wii U itself could have sold for $200, most likely (if not cheaper), but the GamePad tablet controller added significantly to the retail price.

Notes the exec: "As soon as [they] get the consumer to buy one piece of software, then that entire transaction becomes profit positive. In the end, the business model is still to drive the install base of hardware, and then to drive a strong tie ratio with all of the other software and experiences for the consumer. And if we're able to do that, then we will create significant profit for the company."



There were 24 games launched for the U.S. on release date with 85 titles in total being confirmed with release dates ranging from now until February.