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Merrill Lynch Predicts $200 Wii

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the not-a-bad-price dept.

Burlap writes "In a story at Forbes, Merrill Lynch predicts that Nintendo will severely undercut the competition with a $200 price point on the Wii." From the article: "An executive from SEGA, one of Nintendo's largest publishers, told Forbes.com on Tuesday that he expects the Wii to sell for less than $200. Post said the Nintendo machine, which features a wireless controller that responds to players' body movements, 'will appeal to a broad demographic of both hard-core and casual gamers.'"

4 of 341 comments (clear)

  1. Hmmm by JeffSh · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Console itself will be $200 isnt too far stretched, just still don't expect to get out the door without spending upwards of $200 MORE on games and accessories.

    The raw console will be $200 with your standard one controller, but you'll not have everything you want for far more.

  2. Re:That sure sounds nice, but... by PsychicX · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Analysts may be really unreliable people, but it's pretty hard to jack this up. If we look at the link from the PS3 article (clicky), we notice that every Nintendo console ever has launched at $200.

    It's kind of a no brainer.

  3. Re:That sure sounds nice, but... by Crazy+Man+on+Fire · · Score: 5, Insightful
    If I had sixty cents for every dollar I had, I'd be Canada.
    Actually, the rate is currently $0.903409
  4. Re:Slow Down Cowboy! (waited 1 hour so far to post by tomhudson · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Nintendo's not just going to lower the price of the console - they're lowering the price of the games as well:

    FTFA:

    may be easier to create new software for, and Post thinks third-party game publishers "are responding favorably to the lower-cost publishing environment for the Wii."

    TRANSLATION: "Lower-cot publishing environment" == "lower licensing fees" + "fewer resources to develop each title"

    If they're able to cut the price of a game down to $20-$25 bucks (

    1. $4 per-unit license
    2. $4 game developer/publisher
    3. $4 manufacturing costs
    4. $ distribution chain
    5. $4 retailer

    ... they'll do 5 things:

    1. take a huge bite out of the underground market for chip mods/pirate games
    2. beat the crap out of the competition
    3. get rid of game rentals - why rent when for $20 you can own?
    4. more than make up the $$$ on volume
    5. developers/publishers also get a much larger market, as the games become impulse buys. At $20, every game becomes a million-unit seller.
    After all, with a console at $150, and games at $20-$30 a pop, it's the no-brainer buying decision.

    At $50 - $70 a game, people think twice, 3, 10 times before they buy ... at $20, they'll buy one a week.