http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/ Engadget Comments for Live at Nintendo's NYC Wii press conference http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2008 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/Sep 14th 2006 9:23AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/I wonder if they'll talk country-quotas and DVD playback?

How do i know us euro's are going to get stiffed?

SR]]>Sep 14th 2006 9:23AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/Sep 14th 2006 9:26AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/
14th September 2006 - Nintendo will reshape the home entertainment and video game landscape with the launch of its heralded Wii™ home video game console. Wii will go on sale in the Americas on November 19th and Japan on December 2nd - European launch date, price and software line up will be announced at a press conference in London tomorrow (Friday 15th).

Wii will be sold as an affordable, mass-consumer product at an MSRP in the US of just $249.99. The price includes one wireless Wii Remote controller, one Nunchuk™ controller and the groundbreaking collection of five different Wii Sports games on one disc, which anyone can play using simple physical movements, experienced or not.

Every Wii console will include another distinctive feature: a series of on-screen “channels” that make up the Wii Channel Menu, which makes the console approachable and customizable for everyone, from the most avid gamer to people who have never played before. The Wii Channel Menu is the starting point for all of the console’s functions. The “channels” offer a gateway to a rich variety of entertainment options. When connected to a TV, the Wii Channel Menu offers a simple interface letting users pick games to play, get news or weather, upload and send photos or even create playable caricatures of themselves to use in actual games. The variety of options available through the Wii Channel Menu motivates both gamers and non-gamers to turn on Wii’s power every day.

Wii is creating worldwide excitement with its unique control system, an inventive, first-of-its-kind controller whose position can be detected in a 3-D space. The new controller allows users pinpoint target in games or move through the Wii Channel Menu with precision and ease. This intuitive control system will be understood immediately by everyone, regardless of their previous experience with video games. With this one small controller, Wii makes games both easier and more intense than anything previously experienced. For example, in the Wii Sports tennis game players swing the Wii Remote like a racket to hit the ball, as in real life. They can add topspin or slice the ball just by angling their hands and wrist like they would in a real match.

“Wii reinvents games for the devoted player,” says Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime. “But more importantly, Wii breaks the wall separating players from non-players by delivering the best game experiences for the most affordable price. We believe the next leap is games for the masses – young and old, gamer or non, alone, with a friend or with the whole family.”

Fils-Aime made his remarks in New York, shortly after Nintendo executives in Japan announced Wii will launch there on Dec 2nd priced at 25,000 yen. Both announcements come ahead of a European press conference during which Nintendo will unveil specific detail around the console’s launch in Europe.

Between launch day and Dec. 31, Wii owners across America will enjoy a robust lineup of 30 software titles, with selections for everyone from video game veterans to newcomers. Some top Nintendo launch titles include Wii Sports, a compilation of tennis, baseball, golf and bowling; The Legend of Zelda®: Twilight Princess; and EXCITE TRUCK™. While publishers are free to set their own prices for games, first-party Nintendo titles will have an MSRP of $49.99. Wii’s self-loading media bay also can play the entire library of more than 530 Nintendo GameCube™ titles from day one.

Third-party developers around the world have lined up to provide unprecedented support for Wii, “I believe the Wii will attract new and casual gamers to the world of interactive entertainment,” says Larry Probst, Chairman and CEO, Electronic Arts. “It’s a fun, easy and economical system that will become a bridge to gaming for mainstream audiences. At EA, we are putting more support behind the Wii than any Nintendo hardware launch since the Super NES.”

Additional information about the list of Virtual Console games and the pricing structure will be revealed in the coming weeks.]]>Sep 14th 2006 9:28AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/Sep 14th 2006 9:34AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/
Perhaps sometime mid-next year.

Launching above $200 won't lose them many customers. Launching later than the PS3 and so much later than necessary (if they wanted too they could launch it as early as next week) will lose them a lot more.

It'll still be a success in the long term but this was very disappointing.]]>Sep 14th 2006 9:38AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/Sep 14th 2006 9:43AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/Sep 14th 2006 9:45AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/Sep 14th 2006 9:45AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/Sep 14th 2006 9:46AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/Sep 14th 2006 9:47AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/Sep 14th 2006 9:48AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/
Launching after the PS3??? When in the hell is the PS3 launching....maybe Novemeber 17th??? Sony doesn't even know the TRUE answer to that question! Besides, that's only TWO days before Nintendo....
]]>Sep 14th 2006 9:48AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/Sep 14th 2006 9:50AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/Sep 14th 2006 9:51AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/Sep 14th 2006 9:52AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/Sep 14th 2006 9:53AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/
And does that disc channel mean online storage? bc he said the games are downloaded and stored on the channel? I can't see more than 1 or 2 games stored on the unit?

exciting]]>Sep 14th 2006 9:54AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/
The problem I see is the release date. I was hoping for a mid-October launch. I expected Nintendo to beat PS3 to the punch. Instead, it looks like they're attempting a "steal their thunder" tactic of launch righ after ... There's no way I'm going console shopping that late in the year ... again. Too much trouble; too much stress. I'll wait until Spring or Summer '07.

]]>Sep 14th 2006 9:54AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/$5 for an NES game sounds like a lot, but if you say 4 NES games for $20, it sounds a bit better. At least to me. ]]>Sep 14th 2006 9:54AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/Sep 14th 2006 9:55AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/Sep 14th 2006 10:02AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/Sep 14th 2006 10:04AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/Wonder what the ratio of games just using remote to games needing add-ons will be. ]]>Sep 14th 2006 10:06AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/
zelda for gamecube comes out in december]]>Sep 14th 2006 10:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/
So the Opera browser does cost money? Nintendo sure made it sound bundled from everything else we've heard.]]>Sep 14th 2006 10:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/I wonder how much it will cost.

And Pmindeman; go troll somewhere else.
$250 is a LOT cheaper now then $199 was all thoose years ago.

And there are hardly any "or the shelf" components in the Wii. Unless you count the powercord...
]]>Sep 14th 2006 10:07AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/Sep 14th 2006 10:08AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/
$250 is a steal, think of it as $200 with an included $50 game if you want to think about it like that. If this were sony, the sensor bar and stand would be sold seperate, some people need to relax and look at this in comparison to what else is being marketed right now.]]>Sep 14th 2006 10:09AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/Sep 14th 2006 10:10AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/
People are complaining because:

1)It's launching "too late"
2)It's not cheap enough.
3)It only comes with one remote.


Let's address them, shall we?

1)Too late? For who? You think that a $600 monster of a machine that is going to be in RIDICULOUSLY short supply is going to get that much of a headstart on Wii? Please. PS3 is slated to have what...500,000 units in the US at launch or something? That's 500,000 for an entire country. They haven't even broken down (to my knowledge) what percentage of those units will be 20GBs and what will be 60GBs. Wii will be in much higher stock. A plus for Wii. By the time Wii comes out, you won't be ABLE to purchase a PS3, even if you could afford one.

2)Not cheap enough? Come on, this isn't new guys. Systems have been launching at over $200 for quite some time now. The PSX and Saturn were $500 when they launched. Hell, aside from the Gamecube and Dreamcast, few systems launch under the 250 mark. Not to mention, you are getting a game compilation with it, which is unheard of in the gaming industry these days. It would've been sweet if they went back to the days of old and had the Action Set, the Super Set, etc like they did with the NES.

3)Why is this a problem? Oh no, one controller. Again, not new. The time to bitch about this was when PS, Saturn, and N64 launched, not now. It's been 11 years since then, we should all be used to the one controller deal. "But they're promoting group play..." Okay, so did the N64, Gamecube, Dreamcast, XBox, and XBox360, and they came with a whopping ONE controller. It's cheaper than the competition, so I think we can dig a little deeper to pick up a controller and nunchuck. I do wish that the remote and nunchuck came bundled instead of needing to make a separate purchase, but that's alright.

I'll make sure I have one reserved. It should be great.]]>Sep 14th 2006 10:11AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/
correction, Perrin is a cougar.]]>Sep 14th 2006 10:12AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/
Ever hear of inflation?

"the fact that it won't ever output in high def (this is crucial)" Ah, grasshopper, one day you will learn that graphics aren't critical at all.


I can't wait for this thing to come out in Europe, its gonna PWN!1!!!]]>Sep 14th 2006 10:13AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/Sep 14th 2006 10:17AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/Sep 14th 2006 10:18AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/Sep 14th 2006 10:19AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/
So no online multiplayer for any of the launch titles? Not even the FPS's?]]>Sep 14th 2006 10:20AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/
Right on


What cost $199 in 1986 would cost $340.89 in 2005


I will buy this on the 19th, I am going to wait at least 6 months to 1 year on ps3. With all the problems Sony has been having, $600 is too much to risk on getting a lemon. Also, first I have to come up with $800 to buy a hi-def TV to play it on.
]]>Sep 14th 2006 10:23AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/Sep 14th 2006 10:24AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/
Who needs it? That controller is just plain stupid. I saw a demo on TV some time ago, showing people using it to play some sort of tennis game. The controller was supposed to make playing the game more like actually playing tennis.

Here's an idea: If you want to play tennis, GO OUT AND ACTUALLY PLAY THE REAL GAME. Besides, you won't have the problem of looking like an idiot swinging this little white controller wildly through the air in your living room.]]>Sep 14th 2006 10:24AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/
MS and Sony are taking losses on their consoles, Nintendo will be making a nice profit off Wii sales from day one since it's basically a gamecube with more RAM and a new processor. They didn't even need to sell it at a loss, they could have sewn up the console
war today if they would have just taken a smaller profit margin and priced this thing between $150-$199.
]]>Sep 14th 2006 10:25AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/
whoa is that a typo? thats one expensive controller]]>Sep 14th 2006 10:26AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/
Thanks!]]>Sep 14th 2006 10:30AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/
People, $250 is not *so* much more expensive than previous consoles. When adjusted for inflation, it actually makes the Wii less expensivethan most past consoles. Look at these prices, adjusted for inflation, in 2006 dollars:

1985 NES - $200 in 1985 = $378.25 in 2006
1991 SNES - $200 in 1991 = $298.83 in 2006
1996 N64 - $200 in 1996 = $259.40 in 2006
2001 GCN - $200 in 2001 = $229.81 in 2006
2006 Wii - $250 in 2006 = $250.00 in 2006

So in reality, Nintendo's consoles have overall been getting cheaper. If Nintendo kept pricing their console at $200 at launch, eventually inflation would make that unreasonable.

I got these numbers from this handy inflation calculator from the Bureau of Labor Statistics:

http://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl]]>Sep 14th 2006 10:31AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/Sep 14th 2006 10:37AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/
Seriously this press conference thing slowly building up to the big announcement is very Apple. It's too bad so many people were talking $199 before because now they're gonna whine about the $249 final price. I don't care about Mario at launch, as long as Zelda is ready to go. ]]>Sep 14th 2006 10:39AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/Sep 14th 2006 10:39AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/
for £150 you can get an inovative new games console - truely a next generation]]>Sep 14th 2006 10:40AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/
"Yeah, we're launching a couple days later than the PS3- BUT- We're launching out console in /stores/! Not on Ebay with a 300% Mark-up. Cheers!"

]]>Sep 14th 2006 10:41AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/live-at-nintendos-nyc-wii-press-conference/
I think that it is a let down that it costs that much. And that it is coming out in Nov. and not tomorrow as some had hoped.

But, keep in mind. Out of all the bad news the PS3 has received, the Wii only has had two. I think that's pretty good. Even with the 360, it had more than just two intances of bad news. ]]>Sep 14th 2006 10:43AM