Nintendo Announces Wii Price and Date
Published September 14, 2006
It's official. The constant rumors, debates, and general arguing can be put to rest. Nintendo has announced their next home console, the Wii, will find its way into North American and South American homes on November 19. Its retail price will be $250.
This information comes from the company's Japanese press event, which has received significant attention over the past week. This puts the company in an interesting position, going directly against rival Sony Computer Entertainment and their Playstation 3 console. The lower price point of the Wii undercuts Sony by $350 when compared to the Playstation 3's $600 model.
Nintendo states that 25 games will be ready at launch. The price of the console includes Wii Sports, a compilation of easy-to-grasp sports games. The company debuted tennis as this years E3. "Virtual Console" titles, which are downloadable games from Nintendo's history (from the NES to the N64), will range from $5 to $10.
Nintendo's goal is to draw in a non-gaming audience with the Wii, and with the lowest price point of the three new consoles, the company puts themselves in position to do so. The success of the Nintendo DS, the company's touch screen-based portable, shows there's an audience.
Nintendo has also promised 4 million units to be in worldwide stores by the end of a year, likely the benefit from less expensive and familiar hardware. While Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's Playstation 3 battle on the high end of graphic and sound chips, Nintendo's unique, downplayed approach makes them stand out for the opposite reasons.
Matt Paprocki is the former reviews editor for Digital Press, a video game website with an appreciation for the retro side of the industry. The deep game collection which spans nearly 30 systems and 2,000 games line his walls for research purposes. Matt strives to bring credibility to video game journalism, and take it in a new direction to aid the industry in becoming respected with all forms entertainment media. He currently freelances for GameArgus.com and MultiPlayerGames.com.
- Nintendo Announces Wii Price and Date
- Published: September 14, 2006
- Type: News
- Section: Gaming
- Filed Under: Gaming: News
- Writer: Matt Paprocki
- Matt Paprocki's BC Writer page
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Comments on this articleComments
Though after seeing that gaming room of yours, I'm tempted to just go by whatever the hell you say about videogames...
We'll have a Wii before a PS3...the PS3 is just too expensive...do you know any kids with $600 bucks laying around to spend on a console? Forget that.
They would have done better at $200 with no pack-in. The system is the equivalent of $215 in Japan, with no Wii Sports.
But they will still capture a huge crowd at $250. I will be getting one, no matter what it costs (I am getting a PS3 after all). But I don't "count" in the grand scheme of things.
John, you can't be serious. After all those comments, hundreds of them on your op-ed, you are changing your tune?
No I'm not changing my tune. But let's just say Sony is trying harder to fail...I can't do anything about that right? ;)
People were starting to talk $199 for the Wii and I knew it wasn't going to be that cheap.
And yeah, me, you and Matt don't count towards the "who's buying what" statistics.
We'll buy Wii. I want the PS3, but as much as I love Sony I refuse to pay that much for a console.
I've never been a fan of XBox...
Have been loyal to Nintendo since I was a kid so might as well stick with it...
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(Or ping: http://blogcritics.org/mt/tb/52873)
While I agree that Nintendo is marketing to non-gamers, I still do not believe Nintendo will be the #1 selling console this year.
Playstation 3 has been the tragic story of this gaming year, so they're not positioned to win either.
So maybe I can change a far previous statement from "Wii Will Fail" to "Wii Will Finish Second."
Xbox 360 is in the best position to win the year.