Wii pricing: $250 or less
By Marc Perton 
posted May 25th 2006 8:55AM
posted May 25th 2006 8:55AM
posted May 25th 2006 8:55AM
Nintendo Wii console
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A couple of people have pointed out that some sites have arrived at an expected US price of $220 by converting the Japanese price at current exchange rates. While it's possible that the Wii may end up being priced at $220 (or even less) in the US, our post is based on the comments delivered in Japan earlier today, in which Nintendo execs did indeed say that the Wii would be available for "less than $250" in the US. We'll have to wait for an exact price, which could be tied to exchange rates in effect at the time the Wii ships.
Oh my god, guys... in the 50 dollar range, who cares?
What matters is that it looks to be an awesome gaming system priced much much lower than the competition. If you're really pissy about the Wii being priced at 250 instead of 199, then buy one frickin' less game.
Or wait a year.
Nintendo's always the first to drop their prices anyhow.
Bring it on, Nintendo. I wait for your console domination.
wait wait wait
250?
if the 360 drop 100 bucks before xmas.... this would make the xbox 360 only 299, no?? and the basic pack would cost 199?
then WHY DA HELL NOT BUY A 360???????
Nintendo did the exact same thing with the N64. Announced it would be "under $250." The media jumped to assume $249.99, Sony and Sega dropped to $249.99, and the system launched at $199.99. Under $250 means nothing.
Why NOT buy a 360 for $199??
I say go for it... then Pick up a Wii while you're up and at the store. :)
Im sorry but I cannot pay more then $199 for this console. I will buy the ps3 and already have the xbox360, but the prices for those systems are justifiable by raw components and power. As much as I support Nintendo and love that fact that they are doing something different, the components inside the Wii do not justify a price tag of more then $199! They should not be making a big deal out of saying that the price of Wii will be less then $250 since it has to be! They do not compare the console to the ps3 or xbox360 when it comes to system power and game play but compare it to the ps3 and xbox360 when it comes to price??????!?!?!??!?!?!?!, COME ON NOW!
In order of lowest to highest power, the current generation of videogames is this: the PS2, GC, XBox, XBox 360. The GameCube could produce stunning graphics !!! One look at Resident Evil 4 will only solidify this, but Metroid Prime 2 looked great, as well as Zelda the Wind Waker and the new Zelda (which will be both a Wii game and a GC game).
The Wii isn't a GameCube wrapped in a new package with a new controller: it's actually a modified "flipper" architecture that brings the power to more than double what the GameCube could produce. With that being said, think about the jump from 8 bit Super Mario 3 to 16 bit Super Mario World and you'll get a rough idea of what that means.
At under $250, that means that the system will be at a price point that most of america is ready to afford, and I think it's a great start to the next generation of game systems. I'm sorry, but you'd have to be stupid to buy the $499 PS3 considering the problems with having no HDMI output, so a $599 PS3 is the only real option, and that's just waaaaaaay out of my range. I want to buy a new system and a couple games for $400. That's what I like to start off with. Neither the 360 or the PS3 will allow me to do that. The Wii will.
Congrats to Nintendo, and to their continued success !!!
Yes.. Nintendo is back with a vengeance. Red Steel is just mind blowing; and that includes the graphics... but Wii isnt about power under the hood, and Nintendo have never tried saying it was...
This is about bringing back what's real to the true gamers, and that's "gaming".
I believe Wii will become the #1 console in the newgen round. Hardcore gamers may be willing to pay $400-$600 but the average family isn't. $200-250 is far more reasonable and accessible.
I also believe it will be cheaper and easier for developers to create their games on (comments from many developers have confirmed this in addition to Nintendo's statements.) I think you will see all major 3rd parties jump on board once they see it's not another GameCube and that many people will be it.
Some of you are griping about the graphics but just like RE4 I believe some technical wizards will develop a game that equals or beats the 360 and PS3. Wouldn't that be embarrassing for the competition?
-- It's all about fun!! --
:-)
I'm still hoping for $200. Unless they include 2 remotes/attachments and Zelda or something like that. Then $250 would be fine.
"WHY DA HELL NOT BUY A 360???????"
Because Nintendo has several games I plan to buy announced for either launch or 2007, and the 360 has either currently or in the the forseable future a grand total of five games that I might consider renting.
I'm gonna get the wii stuff, no matter the price. It's so revolutionary.
I was hoping it would be between $99 and $199. Ill probably wait until it goes below $199 since I already bought a 360. But I am really looking forward to getting the Wii.
Oh snap... at $250 bucks why wouldn't you get a Wii? PS3 seriously needs to change their pricing or else they wont get the following they are expecting.
yeah it is right... 200 + 299 = PS3 :)
I'm 27. I was 7 years old when the NES became popular and I got hooked. I was an avid gamer until I was about 14. Since then I've been on and off, playing a few games here and there when the systems drop to the $100 price point or so.
It's sad to me that in the last 20 years the thing that is still selling systems more then anything else is graphics. I'm now an adult with a 2 year old son of my own and I remember talking with my friends at the lunch table in middle school about the Sega Genesis and Turbo Grafx 16, and which was better as far as graphics. So much has happened in my life since then. And yet the sales pitch for game systems is still the same.
I'm glad Nintendo is finally breaking the mold. The ability to swing a controller around for a baseball game or a sword fight sounds like a lot of fun. Having a karaoke competition with the mic or using the remote like an old school NES controller all seems great. I can completely see this system being a hit at a small party or get-together with a group of friends (guys and girls). We're all in our mid to late twenties. Most of us don't care about graphics. When I was 13 it was all about the best graphics for playing bloodsport games like Mortal Kombat. Nowadays I don't care so long as it's fun. That's what really counts. I go to bars and always see people playing these megatouch games or video poker. There is no real graphics power behind any of those, but they're fun and addictive. And lot of people playing those games would never touch a PS3 or an Xbox.
Nintendo is going to tap a totally new market here. Let's just hope they get their marketing right so people don't just think it's for kids or traditional gamers. If they get it right it could just be the hottest selling system.
"I would only consider replacing my PS2 with the Nintendo if it had cool shootem ups... "
Why would you be REPLACING your PS2 with the Wii? Wouldn't you, y'know... still have your PS2?
"Hell, even the E3 games were running on Gamecubes."
No, they were running on Wii boards that were in Gamecube CASES, since there is no final Wii case yet. This has been extensively reported.
"I'd like to see an external hard drive because I want every old game I can get my hands on without having to switch anything."
They sell external hard drives at Best Buy, and the Wii DOES happen to have USB ports...
"These console thingy's are getting so expensive, you might as well buy a gaming PC and never have to worry about platforms again."
$250 is expensive? Also, you might never have to worry about platforms again, but you would indeed have to worry about upgrading your PC ever couple of years. And you would have a far smaller game library.
"Yes, at this point there are games on (some, not all) consoles that aren't on the PC"
Each console has at least dozens of games that aren't on the PC. The PS2 probably has several hundred titles that aren't on PC.
Also - to anyone that thinks the price on the 360 will drop $100 this year, you are fooling yourself. No way, $50 at most.
If you're concerned whether it's going to be 250 or 200, you're an idiot.
I dont see much point in buying a ps3 or xbox360 because without an hdtv the graphics really dont look much better than the gcn,xbox,ps2
"And you would have a far smaller game library."
Eh PC will aways have more games since a good PC can aways play current generation console games.
"Each console has at least dozens of games that aren't on the PC. The PS2 probably has several hundred titles that aren't on PC."
Yet hundreds of PC games are never released on console.
Im a hard core PC gamer yet the wii system is perhaps the first to appeal to me. Im ready and willing to throw down 250 for this revolutionary system.