EGM info has been leaked revealing a Wii launch price of $250 later this year. Here’s what we know:
- $250 launch price
- Virtual console games – $2-3 per NES game, $5 per SNES, $10 per N64
- Controller to have built-in speaker
- Wii versions of Mario and Super Smash Bros. titles will launch this fall, but Metroid Prime 3 now carries a tentative 2007 release date.
- game is 80% complete. The development team required extra time to tweak the graphics, add Wii functionality and add more content. Graphically, Twilight Princess now has more saturated textures, giving the game a more anime look.
[Thanks, anonymous friend]
They really need to keep the launch price under $200 if they really wanna kick ass. At $250, even I am having, "Do I need it at launch?" thoughts, and I am a devoted fan. Add a game and we're talkin' $300 just to get the thing home – not exactly the "affordable" console, unless you are comparing it to the $500 prices of other systems that technologically are far superior.
Sounds awsome, except for the whole "Pay per game" thing. I was so excited about the Virtual Console, and before all you other people start going off on me about how amazing a feature this is (and trust me, i do agree), I'm just speaking my mind. I would definatly do a monthly subscription, but not per game, sorry, they really lost my vote on that one. Although I will still get the system for the actual games that come out for the console.
How can u possibly hope that a subscription service would precede a pay per game strategy? This is Nintendo we're talkin bout. The pricing of the downloads is pretty cool. Although, i could buy N64 games for 10 bucks right now. I'd expect them to be cheaper on the download service. The NES and SNES ones are fine.I was surprised by the 250 price thing. Really thought $200 would be the limit. Makes it a tiny bit harder to throw my cash at, but it's still a decent price.That Zelda graphics thing is interesting. Wonder what made them make the graphics more anime-like.Prime 3…i can wait.
It boggles my mind that people will complain about the price of the console, after seeing how much PS3 is going to cost and Xbox360 is costing.$250 and we're complaining? I mean come on people… what will suffice you then? 250 for a console that will change the way we all play videogames is a pittance to pay compared to the others.
It's not a complaint, it's the truth. At 200, i'd buy 2 if i wanted. At 250, you gotta be a bit more conservative.And remember, this mainly matters because of those new ppl Nintendo wants to grab ahold of. You gotta think of every one of their target consumer's budgets. 250 is very different than 200.
I'm happy with the "pay per game" model. Quite frankly, I would have been much less excited about the Wii had it required yet another damn monthly fee. Besides all the normal monthly bills (mortgage, lights, etc.), Netflix, Cable, Phone, Cell, Internet, TiVo…I just wouldn't be jumping to add another monthly fee when I already could play every single Nintendo title ever created on my PC.But at a couple of bucks a whack, yeah, I'll buy them for the convenience of playing them on my TV. And I assume we will "own" them at that point (though they likely will be tied to your individual console), which is what I want. Some type of ownership, i.e. if I move to a desert island I want to be able to play my downloaded games, not have to connect to the service just to play.The N64 price doesn't bother me because, honestly, most N64 games blew chunks in my opinion. I can think of maybe 5 I'd buy. That's not a troll, just my personal experience with the console. In fact, the only ones I can tell you for sure I'd get would be Mario Kart and SM64.I also hope they give ample opportunity for FREE game credits. For instance, buy a Wii game, get 5 download credits; obviously a NES game would require less credits than, say, an N64 game. Nintendo will do well to offer some type of "rewards" program. Right now the only one is buying three products and getting a 3-month subscription to NintendoPower…so I've held off registering more than 3 because I don't see the point yet. I'm hoping they score me a few downloads some day. 🙂
With PS3 at £330 here and then Wii launching for what I can only guess will be £150, they wont sell as many as youd think they should do. Sorry to be a party pooper, $250 is whack, if they made it $200 they would sell it. The graphics dont look better than a GCN at this point, youd have thought a GCN x 2 power increase would have made them put something on the graphics.Also that pricing structure isnt good, $10 is about £6 for an N64 game – I can go on ebay and get the cart for that price and at least I physically have something for my cash, its why I dont buy music from iTunes as there is no point when I can get physical stuff for the same money.If thats true then they are shooting themselves in the foot a bit.Still probably going to get one but if they put it at the £200 mark here they will sell a lot fewer than I thought they would, especially now sony has a Tilt control and a 60 gig disk + BD drive for £330.
Good point Rollin. But I still would tend to believe, the new demographic would be more turned on by, not turned away by, the much lower price of Wii when compared to its competitors. Knowledgeable or no, people looking to buy their "1st" console will look at the competition and be pleased by a cheaper price, even if it's 250.
Nope… $250 was almost exactly what I thought it would be selling for. C'mon! The PSP, a portable, is the same price! And people are buying it!! Besides, when was the last time a console sold for $200 or less??
This would be awesome! If this is the case, I will preorder the badboy and have it on release day!
InvisibleMan said…"Besides, when was the last time a console sold for $200 or less?? "The GameCube!