Nintendo shatters dreams, has "no plans" to ship black Wii console in USA
By Darren Murph 
posted Jul 16th 2009 2:19PM
posted Jul 16th 2009 2:19PM
[Via Joystiq]
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Well.. I guess there's always Colorware.
... or a can of spray paint for those cheap bastards.
Or electrical tape! Makes the WiiMote buttons a little hard to press but other than that works decently well and a roll is under $3.
There's a couple of 3rd party casemods out there. I've had a Black Wii for about a year now. I don't have the neat black controller, but the thing goes in the big Wiimote condom anyway.
They're getting as arrogant as Sony was when they were leading, who got as arrogant as Nintendo was when they were leading the first time around.
ok, so email activation is severely delayed. oopsie.
I totally agree.... Look at how Sony handled the PSP, PS1/2/3 controllers.... They have just black for us and give all the cool colors to Japan.
I don't like this but I have my ways of getting the Japanese products anyway.
I have multi coloured PS controllers in Australia..
first..
looks like the big N in the U.S doesnt like black consoles
Yeah except for the black Gamecube and my black GBA. And the black DS. Oh wait, those are Onyx. Sorry.
WHAT???
Relax, once Wii sales start to level off here, they'll sell it bundled with some big-name title.
MEH! WHO CARES! The Wii is a peripheral not a platform. Been saying it since day 1! Sony and MS will be proving the point shortly with the release of their motion sensing PERIPHERALS!
PS Nintendo should stop dissing and spec bump the black rig and ship it worldwide (while keeping the same price). The fanboys would wet themselves...
If Nintendo does ship the Wii to North America, the terrorist win.
Don't listen to them, I'll bet my life they release it here eventually.
As soon as sales start to drop significantly, you can expect them to ship the colourful ones out pronto, I'm sure.
@Infinity
Totally agree with you. If sales are still super strong in the US and plants are operating at capacity, no point in rolling out a new color scheme yet.
I agree with both of you. I also wager that come the holidays, they will have bundles that leverage both colors. I can totally see bundling Force Unleashed into "light side" and "dark side" OR "Jedi" and "Sith" bundles. Given LucasArts recent surge into XBLA and Steam, it would be an excellent tie-in for releasing LA classics on WiiWare.
It's too bad Perrin Kaplan doesn't work for NOA anymore... if *she* was the rep in question, you could pretty much count on this to be utter B.S.
No, they won't. Few companies do this sort of thing. They make a handful of colors exclusive in one country or another.
I am with you; I don't see the Kuro Wii hitting our shores anytime soon (read before the holiday shopping season). If it is being released in Japan on August 1st then I can't fault Nintendo for watching to see what it does. If the public eats up the new color, release it internationally. And that will give enough time to ramp up production for the holidays. If they don't sell well, they don't release them here and nobody's the wiser. Then people will find them on eBay. The end.
I want it to be the Revolution again. Then they'd all look like that.
My dream is for them to release the inevitable Wii HD, branded as "Revolution" in black, to differentiate the images of the two systems....perhaps keep the Wii SD on as a "budget" solution (like the PSP/PSPgo DS/DSi iPhone 3G/iPhone 3GS realtionships)
They're waiting for sales to drop just the right amount before they release it here.
It'll come, be patient. Nintendo adds new colors to devices to boost sales when they start to lag. I guess they just aren't lagging yet in the US.
I give it 6 months till they're available in the US.
Yeah exactly
Don't you mean you're "wiiping" uncontrollably?
You're hired.
"You can have a Wii console in any color, as long as it's white"
Nintendo can suck it. The black one would just show all the dust that has built up on everyone's Wii systems.
My expresso maker uses the exact same button (as your avatar) to turn on and off. Amazing.
If you haven't bought one yet, it probably has nothing to do with the fact it's white. If it is, then you probably don't really care about owning a Wii, and aren't terribly upset that you can't have a black one. You can still get a black PS3.
Part of my reason for not buying one is that it's white. It would stick out like a sore white thumb at my place.
I would seriously consider it if it was black. Being white, it would stick out like a sore thumb next to all my glossy black items. It's black or nothing.
@mile
and that there's no good games for it?
I owned a wii for 2 years of which it was played maybe 2 months and that was mostly mario party, warioware, and rayman. Those games are fun while smashed and/or in large groups. Other than that the system is junk, the games are junk and not much fun.
yeah, big woop another color (or lack there of). why not make something more interesting like blue, or green. everyone can do black... you know ... imac style.
iMac style? Which ones.... Aluminum (current), white (G4, G5,early Intel), or 5 colors (G3)?
i like nintendo, but this is a stupid move. People are clearly starting to lose interest in the wii, at least this would make stand out in some way for a while.
Just play in a very dark room. Problem solved.
Put it in a cupboard under the TV and just pretend it's black = Result !
Nintendo (white) Power!
so this is what it feel like, when an angel... loses its wings
I guess Nintendo doesn't want extra profit. Their loss.
like they really care anymore about making profit Satoru Iwata has a pool filled with with money is his house and gold tile. e3 09'/ 08' really showed that they don't care anymore.
What do you mean they don't care. They made the Pulse Measurer for the second time just to make sure that when you are bored almost to death by their system they can at least have the Pulse-o-meter phone the cops for ya.
Nintendo has been dissapointment after dissapointment this generation.
What a tragedy! So many people are going to cry now since they will never get to own black Wii consoles.
This will go down in history books as Nintendo's biggest marketing blunder.
Fail. Simply.
Just paint it yourself or order one from japan.
Who cares what Color the Wii comes in, it still doesn't hide the fact is has a lack of a Quality game library and doesn't hide that this unit is sooo under powered to it's competitors. Black, White, Pink, Blue, or Green? Doesn't matter, the system still sucks. It could be good, if there were some games worth playing, have 5 quality games isn't enough when your cometitors have the biggest, baddest, and most successful titles to come out in the past 2-3 years of this Console war.
Really? You people are throwing a fit about not having a console in different colors? Really?? The only console I know of that has ever come in different colors is the ps2. I could see a complaint about not having different colors for handhelds, but consoles? That are just going to sit under your TV? Its not like it has any different features, plays better, or has HD. Its just a color!
360 comes in two colors.
Game Cube came in multiple colors.
N64 came in multiple colors.
(aforemetioned ps2)
Xbox 1 technically came in see-through green, although that was a special edition one.
I think the Genesis came in two colors, but not too sure.
PS3 is in black and silver.
Hmm, looks like Wii's the only one left out of the modern gen.
@Xenoterranos
You also forgot the Dreamcast, which came in four colors, and the Saturn which had six.
*360 comes in 3 colors, white, black, and Resident Evil red.
And don't forget all the different colored handhelds (PSP, DS, Gameboys)!
im not weeping
I'm not crying.
It's just been raining... on my face.
-- FOTC
Don't they realize they would sell like hotcakes to white American suburban teenagers who like everything black?
Thank you for making my day.
the USA has "no plans" to take the Wii seriously
You're right, it's not like it's the #1 selling game console or anything...
@Mark
So then IE is the best browser because it is the most popular , right?
Yea, didn't think so. Just because it has the most market share doesn't mean it is the best.
@Mark
Being the #1 selling console doesn't mean it is any good.
If they were to pre-announce that they would risk losing sales of the current console because some people would wait for the black one to be available.
So then just piss off the customers who went ahead and bought the current model because Nintendo would not even give an indication that other models were coming because plausible deny-ability and corporate double-speak is the modus operandi.
We never see that happen, ever. Nope. Not even with the iphone.
Yea, pissing off your user-base because you wanted to milk them for more sales does not result in repeat customers.
Haha. My kids an I were playing Sonic Mega Collection on the Gamecube last night. My 6yr old is getting pretty good at Sonic 3D Blast but needs a little help with the evil Dr. Robotnik. Damn you Dr. Robotnik, Damn you and your quirky 3D game play.
Is that really going to be the deciding factor in a purchase anyway? "Gee, I was really considering the Wii, but it didn't come in black so I got a PS3 instead." Anyone at all?
It's not "so I'll get a PS3" it's more "I'll do something else with my money seeing as having this white sore thumb on my entertainment center will look like sheet."
Yes, actually. I did not purchase a Nintendo Wii because all of my AV equipment is black, my entertainment centre is black, and I will not purchase another piece that sticks out like a sore thumb. Some of us actually care what our living rooms look like.
The principles of contrast have eluded you in your quest for living room aesthetics.
It's their wait of "squirting" on the US... If you catch my drift...
I was personally waiting to buy a wii till they came out in black. It really was the only thing I was waiting for. I have held out this long without an ugly white one.
I don't need a wii, nor been bummed about not having one. I have no problem waiting another 3 years for the next gen (if it's black).
oh well, I'm sure the -1 in comparison to the millions they have sold won't matter much.
+1
... or is it -1 if I agree. I hate math. And the internet.
Too bad that Nintendo hasn't figured out that Console color does NOT equal good games.
I have too much of "hardcore gamer" tastes to switch to anything other than PS3.
The good news is that the 360 still has colorful LEDs.
Boo-freaking-hoo. I still think the black one is ugly as sin.
Dumping some black dye in the plastic mixer is difficult and expensive.
Dont worry guys, Bringing the BLack Wii to the US is right at the very top of Nintendo's To-Do list. Right up there next to Localizing Mother 3 and that sequal to Kid Icarus weve been waiting for.
Just colorware yours
I vow to make the wii sales drop!
http://www.xbox-modchips.com/wii-casemods.htm
$40, couple of tiny screwdrivers, a truckload of patience (there's a lot of tiny screws), and you're good to go.
black, white ... either way it still sits unused at my place
Is it coming to the UK?
In all seriousness, i dont see what nintendo are accomplishing by leaving out parts of the world
Then I guess I have no plans to purchase a Wii now.
I thought it looked much better than the white one. The only reason I was going to buy one anyway was to play the old classic games from their store, but I guess there are other ways to get those.
I guess I don't see why Nintendo wouldn't release different color Wii's in the US. They do with the DS, and a Wii doesn't really cost that much more money. I guess we could still import them.
Seriously? You want everything in your room to be the same color? It's not that big of a deal people!
Well, unless it helps you get laid.. Then it's ok. :-)
That's one thing that always kept from buying a Wii. it just doesn't look good when everything else is black... :-/
OH NO! That black wii has SO much more functionality over the white Wii.
Honestly, I would be pissed if the Wii HD didn't come out here. But this is just... a different color.
Since no one else has suggested it. How about just import the black version. Take the case off your old white one and put it on the Japanese version and ship it back for a refund stating you order the black one and want your money back.
They fear it might be offense to Obama and his people.Same reason why Sony didn't release the whilte controller to u.s. market.
Microcenter sells the white controller for the PS3.
Mother Effer! I want Black!
If the Wii is anything like the NES or SNES, soon enough you will be able to get yours in white or yellow. Snap!
I'm still waiting for my orange GameCube.
Are they going to release a 1080p HDMI console any time soon? I'll get one then.
This is not pleasing.
Was hoping to pick one of these up and then give my white one to my parents -- it's a better match for their home decorating scheme than mine anyway!
Hi-ho to the paint store we go...
Doesn't Nintendo know that once you go black, you don't go back?
GREAT! At my next business trip to Japan. I'll make sure to buy 10-20 Black Wiis and mark them up 50% of the original price then it's OFF TO EBAY!
Our economy sucks. Of course we all want this sleek jet black edition of the Wii but how many of us are actually going to buy it and have it collectively gathering dust with our 1st gen Wii.
We're sad cause we're broke :/
If you REALLY want a black Wii, just import it. A little homebrew can EASILY change the region, that is assuming the internal hardware is exactly the same as the white models. It's not like having a black Wii is unattainable or anything, you just have to be willing to put a little more work into it. As for the warranty, NoA likely wouldn't service an imported console anyway.
what a fail big N..