$250

[ChaoZ]

According to Gamespot New York Times breaks news of Wii pricing before official Nintendo announcement.

US$250, launching November 19, 2 days after PS2.

I really hope they throw in Wii Sports with that price, or the classic controller. I was really hoping for $200.

Edit, link to NYT story Confirms that Wii Sports will be included with system. Sweet.

[Kevin Grey]

Sounds good to me.

Now I want to know:

1.  How many units for launch?
2.  When can I preorder?

[siege]

So $50 less than a 360? You've got to be kidding me. I don't even want Wii Sports, so that kinda stinks.

The package better have two controllers and the game or I think it's a huge ripoff.

[Jumangi]

So $50 less than a 360? You've got to be kidding me. I don't even want Wii Sports, so that kinda stinks.

The package better have two controllers and the game or I think it's a huge ripoff.

Have to agree. Since Nintendo doesn't loose money on its systems like MS and Sony are willing to do I find it hard to believe it costs them that much to make the system. I mean they sell the GC at $99, so I can't believe that the Wii even with the motion sensing contoller and the extra memmory costs $150 more to make.

[Calvin]

Meeeeeehhhh...price point is too high, and making a huge mistake shipping after PS3 when they could gobble up a nice little install base earlier on. Either way, I won't be getting it.

[EddieA]

The article also states that about 30 classic games will be available on the "Virtual Console" at launch, ranging from $5-$10.

[th'FOOL]

Meeeeeehhhh...price point is too high, and making a huge mistake shipping after PS3 when they could gobble up a nice little install base earlier on. Either way, I won't be getting it.

Yeah, that 2 extra days the PS3 has is really going to make a difference  Never mind that you'll actually be able to find the Wii on store shelves....

Comes with one controller and nunchaku, additional controllers sold seperately, additional nunchakus sold sep as well. Apparently you get a classic controller free if you buy 5000 Wii points....

and this:

Perhaps more significantly, Nintendo tipped its hand to its Wii virtual-console release schedule. Iwata announced some 30 titles will be available at launch: American press reports said the initial batch of titles would include the obvious choices of Donkey Kong, Mario, and Zelda titles, and the Japanese demonstration showed that other titles, such as R-Type, were also in the works. Nintendo Japan said the number of retro-games available would increase to 60 by the end of the year. After that, the library will grow by 10 titles a month--a pace that far outstrips Xbox Live Arcade's pseudo-weekly release schedule.

[Dante Rising]

The should have launched the same day as Sony, so that all those parents who don't realize the P3 shortage exists can just grab a Wii while they're in the store.

[th'FOOL]

The should have launched the same day as Sony, so that all those parents who don't realize the P3 shortage exists can just grab a Wii while they're in the store.

2 days difference may as well be the same day!  It's the same weekend practically.

oh, and btw, HOLY CRAP: http://www.nintendo.co.jp/wii/topics/wii_preview/presentation/07.html

[ATB]

$250?  Kobra's inside man at EB is a punk   

199.00 is what it should have been.   

I'll still be getting one me thinks...but at that price they should have put in two controllers.

Meh.

[JCC]

Definitely later and more expensive than I was hoping for. I think it's brilliant of them to bundle Wii sports with the system, since it shows off the controller (hopefully well), although that may be a factor in the high price. They better have Super Metroid available for download soon after launch, damnit.

[ATB]

So $50 less than a 360? You've got to be kidding me.

For the core system that no one wants...but still you have a point. However, with the Wii you'll have a game and 2 controllers for 300.00.  Not as great as I was hoping, but not terrible.

Still kinda down about the pricepoint, but I'm all in still at this point.

[EddieA]

1Up has some interesting information on coming Wii titles here.  The list includes confirmation of Animal Crossing and Big Brain Academy, and something called Sword of Legendia from Namco (presumably related to the PS2 Tales game).  Also, Super Paper Mario is on the list, although hopefully that just means it will be a dual GCN/Wii title like Zelda, and it looks like Dragon Quest Swords is no longer a lauch title.

[Arkon]

OUT.  $250 is just too damn much.  I'll give it a year or three for the price to drop down before getting one at this point.

[JCC]

Word on the street (ie. the net) is that Super Paper Mario is no longer a cube title (ala it's a Wii title now). It makes zero sense for it to be a cube title at this point.

[corruptrelic]

$250?  Kobra's inside man at EB is a punk

And didn't he say something about eating his own pants if it was over $200?
Got a youtube account, Kobra? Cuz I'm holding you to it!

As far as the $250 price point, I'm joining with ATB and others and will wait for it to hit $200. I vowed not a penny over $200 (IMO, a beefed up gamecube just isn't worth more than that) and am sticking with it.
That's not to say it won't be a good sytem, I'm sure it will be.. but given the not so impressive technical specs.. $200 is my limit, game or no game.

Seeing how fast the gamecube went down in price (gamestop even has refurb'd and used ones at $59.99) I'm sure it won't be too long for the first price drop.. plus, by that time (a year or so) there will be plenty more games out to pick from, and Nintendo will finally have it's online in place (since they said no nintendo wifi codes had been sent to third party developers yet) and things will be moving along nicely.

It's also interesting that the Japanese launch of the Wii is coming in at $212.50..   

[Lockdown]

So there is no backwards compatibility for the Wii then?  (I realize I should probably know this, but I don't normally keep up with Nintendo stuff).

[Misguided]

Ninty rep said just yesterday that nunchuck controller would not be included in the base package. But then, she also told me that they were told that Wii Sports wouldn't be included. She said Ninty has a history of throwing curveballs at them.

[JCC]

So there is no backwards compatibility for the Wii then?  (I realize I should probably know this, but I don't normally keep up with Nintendo stuff).

The Wii is backwards compatible with the cube. (Plays cube discs, uses cube controllers and mem cards.) It also plays NES, SNES, and N64 (and other systems') games via the online virtual console service. So it is arguably the most backwards compatible system ever.

[Lockdown]

Excellent.  Thanks JCC.  That alone is really encouraging news.  The last Nintendo system I owned was a SuperNintendo.

[Laner]

Hah - I called it

[Tebunker]

I don't know if I should be pissed off, or happy or what. 1: I was expecting it to launch sooner than later 2: I like the extra pack in game, that's cool as Wii Sports looks like a lot of fun 3: I don't like the fact that you only get one Wii-mote and Nunchuck as the whole fricking point of this system was to bring people together to play games. 4: I don't like that fact that you have to buy the Wii-mote and Nunchuck separately when you want another set. 5: I still don't know what to think. I guess I should go and trade in some games and make a pre-order on the machine today so I can get one.

[ATB]

I don't know why people keep confusing me with Arkon. Must be the Captial A throws people off.

I'm still in at 250 and I'm not the one whose losing weight faster than should be possible.

Someone somewhere wrote that maybe the NYT is wrong on some of the details. I guess we'll find out in a bit...

[Tebunker]

I don't know why people keep confusing me with Arkon. Must be the Captial A through people off.

I'm still in at 250 and I'm not the one whose losing weight faster than should be possible.

Someone somewhere wrote that maybe the NYT is wrong on some of the details. I guess we'll find out in a bit...

Well we'll all find out in a few hours. I think I would be fine if we got a second controller packed in. I think the thing with the NYT report is that it's just pulling from the Japanese Conference, as well, most websites are. So that confirms price for the system and a lot of the other details as well.

/Edit The Boxing in Wii Sports looks like a lot of fun. Man I just wish they had announced that game as fully online.

[corruptrelic]

I don't know why people keep confusing me with Arkon. Must be the Captial A throws people off.

Damn and I did that without even thinking twice, Arkon! Ehm.. ATB.

I just got off a 12 hour shift at a stressful jail so maybe it was just the drowsiness.. but from the sounds of it, I'm not the first one to get your guys names mixed up.

[wonderpug]

The $250 price is disappointing, made worse by the $5-10 virtual console game price.  I was really hoping that by some miracle they'd cap the retro games at $5.  I'd pay $2-3 for R-type and $5 to (re)buy Zelda, but $10 a pop for each "premium" retro game is out of my impulse buy range.

I'm surprised to say it, but I think I'm being nudged from "Day 1 Purchase, woo!" to "wait and see."

[Kevin Grey]

The $250 price is disappointing, made worse by the $5-10 virtual console game price.  I was really hoping that by some miracle they'd cap the retro games at $5.  I'd pay $2-3 for R-type and $5 to (re)buy Zelda, but $10 a pop for each "premium" retro game is out of my impulse buy range.

A comment on this from QT3 seems to indicate that the pricing is tiered by system- ie approximately $5.00 for NES games (which would include Zelda presumably), $10.00 for N64 games, with SNES in between.  Sounds pretty damn fair to me. 

[ATB]

The $250 price is disappointing, made worse by the $5-10 virtual console game price.  I was really hoping that by some miracle they'd cap the retro games at $5.  I'd pay $2-3 for R-type and $5 to (re)buy Zelda, but $10 a pop for each "premium" retro game is out of my impulse buy range.

A comment on this from QT3 seems to indicate that the pricing is tiered by system- ie approximately $5.00 for NES games (which would include Zelda presumably), $10.00 for N64 games, with SNES in between.  Sounds pretty damn fair to me. 

I wonder if a subscription based service would be better.  That way we'd be able to try games that we didn't already like.

Oh and what are Wii points? Are they the same as MS points?

[jblank]

So $50 less than a 360? You've got to be kidding me. I don't even want Wii Sports, so that kinda stinks.

The package better have two controllers and the game or I think it's a huge ripoff.

I agree. Considering this thing wont even do HD and is barely better than the Gamecube, I am really surprised its gonna be priced that high.

[Destructor]

Well, have some links tossed in here about Nintendo's site:

Nintendo's Wii site semi-translated.

And about the Japanese launch (which apparently is after the US one for whatever reason):

Via Joystiq (a round up, more or less):

-Pricing for the virtual console has been announced. NES games will cost 500 yen, 800 for SNES, and 1000 for N64 -- basically around $5-10 for any game on the VC.
-The Virtual Console will have 30 Nintendo games and 30 Turbo-Grafx and Genesis games available by the end of the year. They plan to release 10 new games a month. (Take that, Xbox Live Arcade.)
-The Wii will launch DECEMBER 2 in Japan at a price of 25,000 yen (about $215).
-Nintendo's new Wii.com website will be launcing by the end of the day.
-A Nintendo press release put out right after the press conference lists the contents of the Wii box: Wii console, Wii remote (w/ strap), Nunchuck attachment, Wii AC adaptor, Wii A/V cable, Wii console stand(?), sensor bar, sensor bar stand and two AA batteries.
-Controller prices have been announced as well: 3800 yen (about $32) for a regular controller, 1800 yen ($15) for both the classic controller and nunchuck attachment.
-Famitsu's reporting 16 titles at launch from ten different publishers at launch. Prices range from 4800 yen ($40) to 6800 yen ($57). The new Legend of Zelda will apparantly cost 6800 yen.
-Wii Sports will not be a pack-in game, but will cost 4800 yen and include five games.
-Web browsing - pictures on Nintendo's site include Google, a weather blurb, News, and Shopping channels, apparently done via Opera.

(removed my other post to toss it all in here - didn't see this one first)

[wonderpug]

The $250 price is disappointing, made worse by the $5-10 virtual console game price.  I was really hoping that by some miracle they'd cap the retro games at $5.  I'd pay $2-3 for R-type and $5 to (re)buy Zelda, but $10 a pop for each "premium" retro game is out of my impulse buy range.

A comment on this from QT3 seems to indicate that the pricing is tiered by system- ie approximately $5.00 for NES games (which would include Zelda presumably), $10.00 for N64 games, with SNES in between.  Sounds pretty damn fair to me. 

I guess that's a little bit better, but it's still high enough to make me be selective about what I buy.  If the range was $2-5 I'd be devouring retro games like candy.

Kudos to them for including a game, though.  If I were in charge it'd include Super Mario 1 and a Wiimote version of Duck Hunt just to hit the nostalgia factor.

[warning]

Sounds like a Christmas present!

I have this theory that I will play through all the Zelda games starting with NES and finishing with the Wii version.

$250's higher than I was expecting (I voted $200) but if it ships with a game that evens things out.  I'd rather have two controllers instead of the game though.

[siege]

Here's a video of the games...

http://www.nintendo.co.jp/wii/topics/wii_preview/movie/lineup.html

I'm still bummed the system only comes with one controller for $250. Wii Sports really doesn't interest me one bit. If you've read up on it, you know that the games are extremely simple with little input needed to play. In tennis, you don't even move your player around the court, only swing the wiimote to hit the ball.


Too many mini game styled games in that video for my tastes. I like some mini game action every now and then and they're certainly good games for casuals, but I was hoping for something more from Nintendo. Where are all the new IP's?

Maybe it's my own fault for getting excited over the system when it's been said by Nintendo that the Wii is all about getting those that don't typically play video games interested. I understand the DS and 'non-games' in particular are huge in Japan, so it makes sense for them to stay in the same direction with the Wii. It's just a shame that I will be without a new Nintendo console for the first time.

Oh well, I'll atleast be playing the new Zelda on Gamecube.

[siege]

More news from the US conference:

Wii remote is $39.99 and the nunchuck attachment is $19.99.

First-party games will be $49.99.

Online is free to use, but you must buy the Opera software.

Zelda releases for the Gamecube on Dec 11th. <----Makes me very angry, considering it was supposed to be a GC title first and foremost. Now you have to buy a Wii if you want to play it first.

Metroid Prime 3 is now a 2007 game.

[Kevin Grey]

Where are all the new IP's?

For launch?  Launches have never been particularly strong on the new IP front since it's usually easier to sell people on the "new" edition of already existing favorites.  If you look at the DS's strongest new IPs, Nintendogs and Brain Age, neither were available at or closely following launch.  Having new installments of Zelda and Metroid Prime is actually pretty big by launch standards and Nintendo has done a surprisingly good job at giving the perception that Zelda is a Wii game first and foremost with the Gamecube getting a downgraded port. 

Edit- Missed the news that Metroid is no longer launch. Oh, well.

[Autistic Angel]

1.  How many units for launch?

Here's what GameSpot has to say:

But while only 400,000 PS3s will be available at launch, the Times claims that the Wii will be "far more available in stores this holiday season" than its competitor due to its cheaper and simpler form factor. The company now plans to ship 4 million Wiis worldwide by the end of 2006, nearly double the 2 million to 2.3 million shipped PS3s Sony is now forecasting.

It doesn't address how many units are expected for the actual launch *day*, but it sounds like they're planning to have a great number of them on shelves in time for the Christmas season.

-Autistic Angel

[Kevin Grey]

Any of our resident Gamestop/EB employees know whether this news means they will start taking preorders now? 

[CeeKay]

Any of our resident Gamestop/EB employees know whether this news means they will start taking preorders now? 

I may be stopping by the local EBGames to find out after work.  $250 is doable for me- as I said before I don't own a Gamecube and have been putting off buying one since the Wii is so close.

[Zarkon]

Front page, folks.

Why go to Gamespot when I've got all the info here?

[Arkon]

Front page, folks.

Why go to Gamespot when I've got all the info here?

We have a front page??


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oh, I jest, I jest.