Usually a console maker sells their hardware at a loss (at least for the first year or so) and they make most of their revenue from selling games. Nintendo decided not to go that route instead deciding to go after the casual market. People who weren't willing to pay for expensive consoles. So they decided to take a console that cost them $160 to make and sell it for $250. Besides the controller the hardware is identical to the Gamecube. Not only that but most of their good games are first party Nintendo franchises like Mario, Wario and Zelda. The 3rd party developers are pretty much coming up with crap. So I definitely consider it cheap. Gaming has gotten to the point where either you're getting priced gouged or your getting a cheap underpowered console.