Wii U profitable with just one software sale

The Wii U itself will be sold at a loss, but the system becomes "profit positive" once a consumer purchases their first game. Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime revealed the information to Mercury News in a new interview published this week.

"As soon as we get the consumer to buy one piece of software, then that entire transaction becomes profit positive," Fils-Aime said. "In the end, the business model is still to drive the install base of hardware, and then to drive a strong tie ration 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."

The Wii U launched in North America on Sunday at $300 for an 8GB basic model and $350 for a 32GB deluxe version. The system comes to Europe and Australia on November 30 and will launch in Japan on December 8.

The system launched without one of its more novel features: Nintendo TVii. Nintendo expects this video service to be available beginning sometime in December. In all, Nintendo director of product marketing Bill Trinen said there is "still a lot to do" with Wii U.