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The Wii Takes NYC
The news came in late from Japan, with details on the North American launch. This morning, Nintendo's New York press conference expanded our understanding of what's going to be happening on November 19th. 1up has coverage of the event, as well as Japan's virtual console pricing, the opening lineup details for Japan, and news that the ex-FFXII director is excited about the Wii. Hopefully this will mean innovative support of the platform by Square/Enix. Over at Gamespot, they have their own conference coverage, as well as a rundown on the system's media functionality and first-hand comments from the engineers that built it. Finally, for a bit of analysis, Next Generation explores what the return of the pack-in (the inclusion of Wii Sports with the console) means for the industry at large.
Before people complain about the prices. I think the prices are great $250 for a console and a game. I cant wait till nov 19
So with the weather channel, news channel, internet browser and picture viewer/editor, Nintendo's goal is to rope totally-non-geeky people to buy something that does what a PC does better, but that's easy to use and affordable. Then, if mom of grampa wants to try out a game, it's just a click away.
Can't say how it will turn out as my crystal ball is at the dry cleaner's, but I think this could work. I mean, I don't live in a very tech-literate country (france), but I know more than a few people who'd want to give the "digital lifestyle" a try. And yeah, I know peter moore coined that term first.
As a casual gamer, I can't say I care about those addons. Hey, it's free, and it could be good, but it also means some people were out coding this instead of a mario game. But it's an interesting strategy nonetheless.
I'm pretty excited. Don't think I'll get one right at launch, but I'd be surprised if I don't have one by the end of the year. I've never bought a regular console, I've generally always been a PC gamer (though I did have the original Gameboy), but I think I am convinced. $199 would have been great, but $250 is still ok.
viva la wii.
Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum sonatur.
Why did they choose to launch is so briefly after the PS3? They're basically ceding copycat Sony the honor of "first console with a motion sensing controller as a standard feature". (other than the one you know about that no one's heard of, of course) Did they really need an extra week or so to get their act together? I doubt it.
Apology to Ubuntu forum.
Capitalizing on just how hip irony is, they create a virtual version of Samuel L. Jackson. After character creation, you can transfer your "Mii" to your Wii-remote, so that you can take them with you wherever you go.
Can Snakes on a Wii be one step closer to a reality?
The pack-in analysis is kinda interesting.
... and once you're in a buying pattern...
If they enjoy Wii and Wii Sports for a few weeks, and then allow it to gather dust, like so many other toys, the company's gambit will have failed, and it will need to fight it out as an also-ran third place player.
Well, it's a risk I guess. But I imagine that anyone vaguely social who bought the basic Wii package on its own, would be out buying one or more extra controllers very shortly thereafter. It looks like a game that cries out to be played multiplayer.
This stuff is great. Seriously. I like that they are doing this.
However. I never, EVER want to hear from the Nintendo fanboys about how their favourite console eschews all the 'useless bells and whistles' to focus with laserlike intensity on pure gameplay.
Obviously not. They are as eager to pack on the feature-creep as Sony and MS.
(and to reiterate - i like these features, and I have defended Sony and MS for them. Just stating the common N-fan counterargument is that it was all extra fluff that distracted from the point of the thing.)
If Jesus wants me it knows where to find me.
What backlash? Could you give us some examples of this backlash you are talking about. As far as I, and a lot of other people are concerned, this is a good price. You get the Wii onec controller and a game for half the price of the base PS3. Ad on another controller+numchuck and 4 more games and you're still only equalling the price of the base PS3. The only way I could see this backfiring is if Micrsoft announces a 360 price drop, but I son't see that happen. They may put out a holiday bundle but I don't see a price drop coming any time soon.
Just to make sure everyone noticed, wii.com just updated to English too.
How to use coral cache: http://slashdot.org.nyud.net:8090/~oscartheduck
I honestly think that if Nintendo had released at a $200 price tag they would have simply covered every gamer out there, as well as the broader audience that they are shooting for. At $250 its so easy to say "well... I could drop an extra $50 and buy a xbox 360 core system" (even though its a striped down hunk of junk compared to its real older brother)
So the thing I'm curious about is if they are trying to do this in order to make bank on the release. (Nintendo always tries to turn a profit on the console as well as the games. What an insane business model) and then once the period where they sell out instantly every time a shipment comes in is over they will drop the price, hopefully causing another huge wave of adoption.
"What backlash?"
You obviously aren't reading console sites if you aren't aware of the massive backlashing going on all over the Net at this very moment. Almost everyone was expecting a price in the 150 to 200 dollar range
"backfiring is if Micrsoft announces a 360 price drop"
Microsoft isn't relevant to the next gen battle. The 360 is dead in Japan, and barely alive in Europe, and selling worse than the first Xbox in the US.
The next gen race is between Nintendo and Sony. Both will certainly sellout through the holidays, but this pricing blunder and the huge negative reaction from Nintendo fans is a serious problem for the Wii.
Massive backlashing on the NET? OMFG!!! We'd better call the army in to defend Nintendo headquarters!
Almost everyone was expecting a price in the 150 to 200 dollar range
Everyone stupid, maybe. Besides, not too many people were expecting a pack-in game.
The way this reads in the real world is on the top-left corner of USA Today's front page this morning. "Wii to launch at $250, half the price of the cheapest PS3."
I have seen the future, and it is inconvenient.
I forsee myself as being the exact demographic that Nintendo wants. People that don't have the time to play lots and lots of games, but still need something to distract them every now and then. People like me (Or at least me, I can't speak for others) don't necessarly want to spend a load of money on something that HAS to be cutting edge to find a nice distraction from studying, work, etc. But rather something that provides a nice distraction, is fun to play and isn't overly complex (Unless I want it to be, like an RPG or something). I bought a DS and I love it. Yesterday during a study break I played Electroplankton (More or less a musical toy than a game), and for about 15 minutes I put on my headphones and I was in a nice fun little zone of happy. It was fun, and after the 15 minutes were up I went back to studying. I could have played it longer if I wanted, but I chose not to, and in a little dose like that I was perfectly happy. Will the Wii take a similar approach? I realize that the success of the DS doesn't mean the Wii will be successful, but if Nintendo can provide people like me with a nice little distraction that refreshes me, then I think I know where I'll be spending my money. (And if I don't buy a Wii, there are lots of old PS2 games I never played, and they are going into the bargin bin once the new consoles roll around). Either way, I will find myself a distraction. If Nintendo does things right (And I test a Wii), they'll have me too.
US will get the Wii November 19th.
Japan will get it December 2nd.
Now figure that one out.
Interesting feature. Al Roker would be proud.
If it's anything more than a glorifed version of the Weather Channel webpage (and closer to the real weather webpage, complete with other departments), I'll be impressed and probably use it. Otherwise it's probably just a feature I won't use.
-Rob
Biblical fiscal responsibility
I notice that a lot of people seem to compare the Wii's price to that of the PS3... Yes the PS3 is *very* expensive, but the x-box 360 core isn't much more than the Wii..
...
The core you say? But thats crap, it's missing so much! It depends, if you compare it to the Wii (games aside), the controller is (more or less) all that the 360 doesn't have (this is of course a big lacking), on the other hand the 360 has pretty impressive horse power (games like dead rising show how horse power when properly applied can be more than just nice graphics, getting all of those zombies on one screen requires some oomph).
So is the price really that amazing? The Wii is nothing special hardware wise, sure Nintendo is taking a profit, good for them, and MS makes a loss on the 360, but what does the consumer care? All they see is $250 vs $300...
Now what about the controllers? You have to buy the parts *seperate?*... Being in australia that $20 and $40 will probably be a sales price of $95 AUD total... That is almost twice what we were paying for game cube controllers.. How can you justify that? Sure the controllers are innovative, but then again as mentioned the 360 is powerful, loss or profit aside, the public sees the price. Really tho, just how much can it cost to make a controller?..
As a small credentials check, I have owned just about every nintendo platform there is (virtual boy aside...), so I definately don't want to bash them, but really, as someone who is approaching the Wii from a gamers perspective, I have to wonder if it is all it is really cracked up to be. $250 is cheap for this generation, but it is still a lot of money, the game cube launched for $200, 5 years ago (to yesterday), and the Wii's hardware isnt *that* far ahead of it, I would have thought that it could all be manufactured for much less.. Well, I am sure it is, but Nintendo really is being a little greedy here
As a final note, maybe its worth it, as in one of their major markets (japan), and hell, in europe, they really are only competing against the PS3 unless some major things change with the 360. Being in a country with US like tastes (finding game cube games here in australia is hard, EB is about all that stock them these days), it is frustrating...
A Wrist-strap for the Wiimote
I was just watching the video, wondering how many of these things were going to get broken when the removal of centripital forces from your hand allows the device to go flying towards the TV. Now I feel much safer.
To quote Mel: Swing Away!
Q: How many games will support Widescreen aspect ratio and how would you compare the visuals to other next-gen systems?
A: Most titles will support widescreen. Nintendo has a different paradigm for what turns on the consumer. "If you want power, you're going to go somewhere else."
How many other companies would be as forthright as this? Nintendo friggin rocks. As I was playing Monkey Island 2 with SCUMMVM last night I realized how little cutting-edge graphics matter in the construction of an outstanding game. I haven't been this excited about a console since the SNES. I'm getting in on the ground floor with an extra wiimote and Warioware.
Cuz the kotaku thread got out of hand. Too many clueless people. Here's my take on the launch:
:\ ) What they also do is avoid being over-shadowed by the PS3 launch (say if they were to launch a few days before the PS3).
:) I'm sure they contemplated $199, $229, but decided for launch, they could probably get people to pay $249, but they'll also include a game. That's a business decision, which for the most part makes sense. It'll probably sell out at launch anyhow.
.. wifi. Take a look at the cost of the wifi adapter for the 360. Now let's do some stupid math (as people generally like to do when comparing apples to oranges) and deduct the cost of a 360 wifi adapter ($100+!) from the Wii. That makes the Wii console $150. Wait, it still comes with a game. The game won't be full priced (as confirmed by the Japanese press conference last night). So say $25 for the game. That brings the console down to $125. Less than half the price of the 360?! See, I can do stupid math too! :) My point is, $250 pricing should have been expected, and I myself was predicting $249 with 2 controllers and Wii Sports. I Was close. The price is fine. It's still $50 cheaper and comes with a game. THAT'S what non-gamers will see. ("Wow, this system is newer AND it's cheaper AND it comes with a game!")
1) The date. Everyone was hoping for an early release (me included!) but I'm assuming the business strategy is to go after the poor schmucks that won't be able to get a PS3. The PS3 launches only 2 days before it, and there will be VERY few of them. (Half of which will be bought up by people only to be put up on ebay
2) a) Pricing. They said it would be under $250. When companies say that, it'll probably be $249.99. Which it basically is
2) b) For those of you saying "$250? Pshaw, XBOX 360 Core is only $300. People will think it's only $50 more and buy a 360". Right, let's compare a 360 Core system that comes with nothing. To a system that comes with a game, and ahem
AirSpeak - http://itunes.com/apps/AirSpeak
The $250 price point rules out a Wii for me. I don't actually need a console and for whatever reason $200 was my limit for buying this one. It seems a shame too- I hate sports games and so both Sports and the nunchuck seem wasted on me. Get rid of them and let me buy Zelda instead for the same $250 and I would have bought one as soon as I could get my hands on it. I'm not even talking about dropping the price- get rid of the crap I (and I'm sure many others) don't want.
-sirket
You're for some reason working under the assumption that people think the 360 is better to begin with.
I wouldn't pay for a 360 *even if it was the same price* as the Wii.
I have been holding out specifically for the Wii. The Wii looked totally revolutionary from the beginning, and is just getting better and better. Nintendo seems way ahead of MS in creating a media portal with the Wii - the 360 has no free browser, weather listings, news service, photo editor, etc. All these features,along with the media player capabilities, make the Wii a good buy even if you don't plan to ever play a game in your life! In comparison, the media extender for the 360 costs money, and there is no browser at all.
Of the multitude of links, there wasn't one to Next Gen's summary. Here's a further condensed report:
...
$250 : main system, 1 Wii-mote, 1 nunchucks, Wii Sports
$40 : extra Wii-motes
$20 : extra nunchucks
$50 or less : new Nintendo made games (no cap on third-party games)
$5 : downloadable NES games
$8 : downloadable SNES games
$10 : downloadable N64 games
$?? : Opera browser
and the gamecube version of Zelda:TS will come out ~3 weeks after the Wii version; Metroid Prime 3, not 'till 2007.
Build it, and they will come^Hplain.
"I don't think there would have been as much of a negative reaction if Nintendo had more interesting games to show, but so far they have an awful lot of standard console games that have been slightly tweaked to use the Wii controller."
Lots of games using lots of ways to use the controller. Lots of ways for you to know this already. Zero ways to take your post seriously.
"I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)
For anyone that hasn't yet done it, check out the Nintendo Wii page and watch the demo videos of the system interface. Amazing stuff and surprisingly intuitive. Combined with a decent web browser, this could not only be a killer game console, but could well be that perfect balance between entertainment center and household information hub.
8==8 Bones 8==8
-Eric
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
If this were really happening, what would you think?
Hopefully I'm not bashing anyone because obviously its just how i feel. But the Wii is the console I really really want my friends to buy. I want to go over there and I want to sword fight for an hour and then I want to come home and settle into some Dead Rising on my 360... and heres why.
I think the wii-mote is a really cool idea. Similar to ideas in the past, the power-glove, the fishing-rod, the gun. But so much more so and can definitely be used in interesting ways. My apparent (i haven't touched anything yet) problem with it is that when i want to play video games I want to sit down on my couch, put my feet up and unwind. I fear that with the wii-mote you'll be forced to move around! Oh no. What if i just want to sit there but the sword game I'm playing requires me to be all active and crap.
Eh maybe it won't be a problem, but as i said, I really want my friends to get one.
I don't see how this is a gamble. If Nintendo is selling the system at a profit (and I'm sure they will be) then they've made some money. It might only be a couple of bucks, but it's still profit - even if it gets thrown in the trash the moment it gets home.
If you look at the competition's model, they're gambling way more that their customers are going to buy a bunch of games in the future, in order to recoup the loss they're taking on the console.
Registering accounts later than some other chrisb since 1997
"What is Internet Explorer 7? Are you saying we can't access the normal internet?" - I love tech support. Really.
Do people realize that you WILL be able to use a NORMAL controller for the games too? So even if the wiimote stinks, the system will still be a good buy. If the wiimote gets old, or tiring, or even if it doesn't work right... it's not going to be the only control option!
I thought we were expecting $200 to $250? With a pack-in game $250's plenty reasonable. I want a Wii for $5, too, but I'm not all huffy that they actually want to make money.
Hahahaha! The Wii is half the price of the PS3. Any lower and I'm not sure if people would consider it a contender. The Wii is not the one that is overpriced.
"What is Internet Explorer 7? Are you saying we can't access the normal internet?" - I love tech support. Really.
Based off the movies on wii.com, this thing will probably set Japan aflame in numbers similar to the DS and DS Lite. Further comments below...
The centerpiece of the Wii (or, at least, what's being displayed here and touted as a Big Reason to get one) resembles an AOL-TV like Internet portal, but it can play games. I'm not going to expect this thing to be my Firefox replacement or anything.
Launch lineup: Strong, good potential. Excite Truck. Ha ha ha... that's excellent. Hopefully I'll be able to make and store a crapton of courses. Wii Sports is more likely than not a bargain at the perceived price of $50, especially if there's more than one course available for Wii Golf. Tying in Miis' skill levels and performance is a good idea. Probably doesn't have advanced features of any of the five games (will Golden Tee for Wii, if it comes out, support the concept of topspin/backspin/natural fade/draw?) but is a good multiplayer title to have regardless.
-Rob
Biblical fiscal responsibility
so... I know this is really jumping the gun... BUT how possible do you think using the Wii as a music/video player would be? Couldn't you just stream it through opera from a local apache server or something... and hell they've already said opera will support ajax, maybe you could look pretty doin' it. Just a thought.
OK they keep talking about how "We ARE using state of the art technology, but we are applying it to POWER CONSUMPTION instead of SPEED."
a phics race. I completely do. Suspension of disbelief occurs for me in a game of atari pitfall.
Ok, I understand the desire to get out of the more-and-more-and-more-quote-realistic-unquote-gr
But why am I supposed to care about power consumption of my game console? The only explaination they give for this is that now its possible to leave the Wii on 24/7, opening exciting new possibilities. Whatever on the vague explanation, and double whatever on the 24/7 bit because my gamecube is on right now, and has been since a game of mario tennis friday night.
Why stick up for big business?
Everything I say is a lie. Except that... and that... and that, and that, and that, and that... and that.
I see a lot of people saying, "what??? $60 for the Wii Controller?" and I just wanted everyone to think about this for a second. For one, the Wii comes with a Wiimote and Nunchuck, so ditto for single-player games. As for multiplayer games, there has not been a single multiplayer game announced that uses the Nunchuck, in fact, I doubt there will ever be one from Nintendo. The point of the Wiimote is it's momentary usability, and an attatchment just makes that clunky in party situations. Down the line, if we see offline multiplayer FPS games, we'll probably see multiplayer games with the Nunchuk, but for now, think of your secondary controllers (for multiplayer games) as being strictly non-nunchuck (say that 3 time fast). So for completely active mutli-player support, additional controllers are $40. The standalone Nunchuck is basically just for replacing the bundled one when it breaks or gets lost.
Multiplayer Gaming (defined): Sitting around, discussing single-player games with my friends, at the bar.
Noise.
You're making some assumptions here: 1. people want wifi, I'm sure there are a percentage of people who don't already have wifi, so they'd have to buy a wifi router, you didn't figure that into your costs 2. people want the pack-in game, sure it's a "free" game, but if it really was $25, how many people would actually buy it? I would have preferred to get $25 credit toward downloading games Given that the Wii is really a Gamecube++ and the fact that I don't feel like I got my money's worth from my current Gamecube, I'll probably pass on the Wii until it gets to the $150 range and games are $25. However, I'm also waiting on a price drop on the X360 as well. I'm not even considering a PS3 at this point.
"If you want power, you're going to go somewhere else."
Tsk tsk -- thou forgest thy roots:
http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=13553
FIXME: Add a sig here
We must be watching different videos. I've only seen the weather and the main menu videos so far (they're kind of slow to load right now), but I'm impressed with how smooth the pointer is!
Wii to be region-free
This thing is starting to look like it has all the ingredients to be a big success.
$250 is more expensive than the $200 we had all hoped, but then again, it does come with an actual game... I don't think this has happened with a mainstream home console since the SNES. I'm sure we'd all prefer Zelda as the pack-in to Wii Sports, but it is more than you'll get with the PS3. Zelda is a launch title, regardless, which makes purchasing the system at release a lot more enticing.
"You spoony bard!" -Tellah
It's curious how many people are kind of crestfallen now that they know the Wii has a release date, a price, and is confirmed come with x, y, and z accessories. It's almost like people were expecting Nintendo to give it to them for free. "What do you mean it's going to cost $250?!!" Well, it's a piece of very advanced technology being sold by a company that would like to make money. Of course the controller is $60! A wireless XBox controller is 50 and it doesn't do half the stuff the Wiimote + nunchuck does. Of course it's not going to come with Zelda! Everyone who buys a Wii will pay for it separately. OK, so you would pay $200 for it but not $250 - that's just fine. I understand that the fact that it is $250 frustrates some people too, that it puts it out of their price range for what is considered reasonable. But don't act like Nintendo just violated you bodily or something.
I also think the price comparisons with the Xbox360 Core system are interesting. Someone made an excellent note above that "well, that's great, and yes it has to be competitive on price... but people will pay the money because they want the *Wii*, not because they are balancing the pros and cons of different consoles." Normally I don't think this would be the case, but the Wii is bringing something very unique to the home entertainment system.
It's not a genie in a lamp, people. It's a video game console. It looks very fun and interesting and of the highest quality, which I would expect from Nintendo. It will cost money, like all things do. Why must every purchase nowadays be considered "voting with your dollars?" It's a fun toy. Buy it if you want it.
Incidentally, $250 is a great value. You get the system and all of its online-ness, including built in wireless (wireless radios aren't pennies-cheap) and all the online capabilities that *don't require a subscription,* unlike Xbox Live: If you have a wireless router in your house, just power up the system and you are online. It comes with a full wiimote+nunchuck controller; if you want multiplay, another wiimote will cost you $40 and you can probably skip the nunchuck. This is a little more spendy than a 360, unless you want to pay $50 for the wireless 360 controller. The system comes with Wii sports: sure, not a AAA title, but it's something to play if you don't feel like buying another game right away, and it's something *else* to play after you get a little tired of 8 straight hours of Zelda. No other console comes with anything to play. You can purchase Virtual Console games for about 5 bucks online... the only reason everyone considers this so expensive is because pirating ROMs is free and a lot of people do it. Geometry Wars for the 360 costs about 5 bucks and no one complains about that - hell, it's the most popular game for the system. If you could pirate it for free, no one would buy it, because there's a big mental jump between pirating a $5 item and a $50 or $60 item.
Hard drive? No. But Nintendo chose to go with the inexpensive industry standard: SD cards (correct me if I'm wrong, but I am under the impression that the Wii has a 500 MB-ish built in flash chip and you can use any old SD card as a memory card). This is the best of both the "memory-card" and "hard-drive" worlds: huge storage that's very portable. I'm surprised no one has commented on this yet: SD cards are a great deal for the Wii. They're cheap and getting cheaper, and there's no lock-in. Anyways, a key feature is that you can be playing Wii tennis/boxing/golf/what have you on a Wii with a friend for less than or equal to the price of owning a Core 360 with one controller and no games.
The 360 Core is the closest competition to the Wii in terms of price. The 360 has more power going for it (and can play DVD movies), but let's compare what you don't get with the core, and you DO get with the Wii.
The Unique controler you touched on.
Wi-fi built in. No adapter needed.
Free online multiplayer.
Save games (the Wii has internal flash memory for the Saves, with the core you need to buy an additional memory card or HDD)
SD-Slot for slideshows/ video.
A game included (with 5 casual games in the package)
Hardware Based Backwords compatibility (100% BC with GC games, controllers and Memory cards)
The Wii has everything you need 'out of the box' to start playing (for $250). The 360 Core, does not. It may look cheaper on the shelf, but once you add it together you're over $400 to play a game anyway.
I don't know, but the big question it raises for me is: Does it have a fan?
I have a NES, a SNES, and a GC. Guess which one was the first to take a dive? You can probably tell from context, it was the GC. Why? The fan died, and now after about five minutes of playing it overheats and needs a good twenty minute break. My NES takes five minutes to get a game working, but after that is as stable as the day I got it.
This is a minor issue, all things considered, but not having a fan means less noise, less dust being drawn through the internals of the system, and overall more reliability.
The enemies of Democracy are
While I'm still psyched for the release of the Wii, these announcements left me a bit underwhelmed. I was, as most others were, expecting a $199 price point. I would have been fine with a $229 price point. But a $250 price point, even if only $20 more, just seems a little out there. I realize that the conversion factor between the Dollar and Yen has changed in the last five years, but it seems to me like they set a higher price point because their competitors were yet higher still.
Also was the fact that they had previously stated that the release price would be below $250. Using $249.99 is, if you ask me, them just weaseling out of it. "But it's a penny less, so we kept our promise!"
I think the hardest part, though, was hearing that not only would the Wiimote and Ninchuck come seperately, but would cost $40 and $20, respecitvely. Some sort of combo pack at $50 would be great, but this seems like way too much for an extra controller. The Gamecube controller, for some time, was only $20-25. Granted, the Wavebird was a bit heftier at $35, but then it wasn't a standard piece of equipment. I was planning to buy a Wii for myself at launch, then another for my family (with a Wiimote for each member, five in all) for Christmas, but the higher-than-expected prices for both the console and the controllers pretty much destroys this thought.
Considering the difference in technology, we aren't going to see a third party Wiimote for some time (if ever!). They would probably be less friendly than the real Wiimote, but they would be cheaper.
I think packaging the two pieces seperately is going to hurt developers, too. From what I had seen, I expected that the Wiimote/Ninchuck were basically one unit, with the option of replacing the Ninchuck with another peripheral should a game call for it. With only a stardard Wiimote, you lose two buttons and the joystick, not to mention the motion censors in the Ninchuck itself. A lot of the demo games seemed to make use of the Ninchuck, and I wonder how they'll be able to perform without it.
Did we get pricing for the Classic Controller?
I wonder why the Gamecube version of Zelda is coming out later than the Wii version. They're probably hoping to push more Wii units by only offering the Wii version for a short time, but I think it alienates those that have been waiting for the Gamecube version for over a year now (I still have my pre-order slip from August 2005).
Wii console itself != PS3 console itself. Wii is just an over-clocked GameCube, while PS3 is like a supercomputer in a box.
I see a lot of people mentioning that at $250, Nintendo is pricing their system dangerously close to Microsoft's core system. While that is true, there are a few things to remember.
1. The vast majority of electronics store will have the full Xbox 360 package in the limelight. Barring a shortage, they're going to push you towards the more expensive model. I can't think of any electronics store I've been in since summer started that had a core package in plain sight. Stacks of the $400 system everywhere, but the green box is nowhere to be found. For someone walking in, the Core and Wii comparison may never happen.
2. The Wii package is more complete. While many people will probably pick up another game, a controller, and maybe a points card for some VC games none of that is necessary for the console to be usable. You can pay your $250, go home, and have fun. Either Xbox 360 requires that at the very least you buy a game or something off of Live for your $300-$400 to give any return.
3. Packaging. Looking at the Wii's packaging reminds me of the iPod or anything from Apple. It's right there on the box, it's obvious what is in the box. You don't have to lift or move the box to understand what it is. Nifty as the Xbox 360 boxes are, they have a distinct "new fangled technology" feel to them. For those of us that already know what it is, it's not a problem. The uninitiated may look at the box and feel intimidated.
I'm sure there'll be people who are going to say, "Hey, that Xbox isn't much more. I think I'll grab that." It would be silly to rule that out, even if the Wii was $199. However, I doubt that the number of people who fit into this category will be significant enough to hurt Nintendo or help Microsoft much.
Thunderclone: ONE MAN ENTERS! TWO MEN LEAVE! ONE MAN ENTERS! TWO MEN LEAVE!
I agree. 250 dollars without 2 controllers. Shit price for shit value.
A Good Troll is better than a Bad Human.
The part where they say that a Wii-mote AND a nunchuck will be included in the base package! So there's no need to worry about developers not using the features.
Well in a larger sense, you may have noticed the consistent climb in energy prices over the past few years, and recognize the fact that that trend is likely to continue for many years, and that energy conservation is going to become a serious reality much sooner than we like to admit.
But on a more immediate level, the console is smaller, quieter(doesn't need big/loud fans), and cheaper. All three of those appeal to me.
And on a more imaginative level, Nintendo is one step closer to cramming all that hardware into a portable system, if they ever decide to do it. While I don't imagine that the Wiimote would translate well to a portable console, much software code and programming knowledge/experience could probably be transferred.
Sony ranted about how the PSP was a lot like a portable PS2. I don't see them shoving a PS3 into a portable anytime soon. The Wii hardware I can imagine doing so much more easily.
One time I threw a brick at a duck.
They were talking about genuinely powerful systems back then, though. SNES might not have had "blast processing" (whatever the hell that Genesis BS meant) but it had the Mode7 scaling and rotation engine plus it could render 256 colour graphics unlike the Genesis' 16. Today, the Wii is in fact a powerful system but not so much as the competition.
The next gen race is between Nintendo and Sony. Both will certainly sellout through the holidays, but this pricing blunder and the huge negative reaction from Nintendo fans is a serious problem for the Wii.
Except I'm one of those Wii fans - and I'm psyched! I could easily buy a Wii, an xBox360, and a PS3 each month, plus games. But now I just have to buy a Wii and since I work at an international university (UW) I can swap games with the students here hot from Japan and - they work!
Quite frankly, this obsession with Sports and FPS games really bores me. I spent seven years in the Army, don't want to spend more FPS time, but the idea of doing sword fights, fencing, and jumping from planet to planet - now THAT gets me interested!
Plus, I know Spore will be on the Wii in 2007, about three months after it comes out for the PC.
I ain't buying HDTV till the price drops to $300 for a nice big one anyway - that's 2009.
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
There were rumours of a microphone built into the Remote, has that been substantiated?
The other question is interaction with the DS. There were rumours that the Wii could serve as a download station for games and demos for the Wii and could also be used as a separate controller. Any word on that?
Does anyone know what Canadian pricing will be? I haven't found mention of it... I'd be happy with $250 but I'm scared that it'll be higher because of the exchange rate. I'm also hoping that the release date is the same. I usually don't jump on board right at a product release like this.
With today's rates (roughly), 25000 yen converts to $235 CDN but $250 USD converts to $280. I'm still going to get a Wii without a doubt (regardless of the awful name), but $280 plus $100 for another controller and game is a big jump from the $199 price tag that people have been tossing around.
Of all the little bells and whistles they could have added on, this one seemed the most obvious.
"Nintendo of America's vice president of marketing and corporate affairs, Perrin Kaplan, confirmed to IGN Wii today that its forthcoming Wii console will not play Hollywood DVD movies. The decision to remove the functionality was made in order to deliver the machine at a cheaper cost and because most people today already own DVD players."
http://wii.ign.com/articles/732/732730p1.html
Just makes no sense if they are really trying to "make Wii a living room centerpiece by shipping the system with features outside of the videogame realm" (http://wii.ign.com/articles/732/732669p1.html)
I don't know, the functionality just seems overrated to me. I agree the interface looks cool and obviously very intuitive, but the channels themselves? Here's my cynical view:
Mii Channel: Avatars themselves are nothing new. I happened to just discover Yahoo! Avatars the other day, as you mentioned. Neat, but I wouldn't say they're taking the world by storm. This *could* be pretty big with the female audience (main demographic of Sims users), but you'd have to convince developers to use these avatars everywhere in their game.
I guess in a way, these avatars are just Nintendo's way of competing with the gamer pics on the 360. Same concept, only taken to the next level. But it's only a nice accessory, the same way customizable gamer pics are on the 360. Cool, but not OMGWTFAWESOME cool. (And it's yet TBD what the PS3 will have)
Wii Weather & News: But we've done the AOL-like portal on the TV, many times, and it's never been a huge success. For example, my cable box has this exact same feature, although obviously the look & feel and the interface is different. I guess if it's super-customizable, that might be a benefit, but I don't think Nintendo should be in the business of building something like that.
I think the main reason why News/Weather portals have never really taken off on the TV, is because most people are already set on getting news and information their own way. Many people (like myself), will continue to use the Internet to get our fix. Other folks read the newspaper, or listen to the radio, or catch the news from TV stations. I can't imagine the Wii news as being compelling enough to want to change my daily routine, *just* so I can catch it on my new console.
That said, I can understand why Nintendo did what they did with the channels. It's just more "me too" features to compete with the functionality that the 360 and PS3 provide (or will provide). They're by no means system sellers, but icing on the cake, and extra bullet points on the box
Note, I am biased (see my profile), but I will be buying a Wii this year. However it'll be for the games and not because of Wii channels.
-- jchenx
Almost everyone was expecting a price in the 150 to 200 dollar range
Um, no, anybody with the slightest bit of a clue was expecting between 200-250. $250 was the upper range, because that's what they said the upper range was, and $200 was the lower range because that's what every other Nintendo console in the past has been released for. The only question was can they keep the price that low despite inflation and their more-than-your-average controller. $150 was never even on the table, except in some idiot fanboi's fantasy, or in some other console fanboi's attempt at revisionist history.
Notice how the Japanese release is not bundled with a game, and costs 25000 yen, the same as every other Nintendo console ever.
The American release is bundled with a game, unlike previous console releases, and costs $250. This may not be as good a deal as we wanted -- how could anyone say "no" to a $200 Wii + game? -- since Wii Sports probably isn't worth $50, but it isn't unreasonable. The previous predictions of 200-250 did not take into account bundling with a game.
Especially if you consider the PS3 to be the only other contender. The new Wii price is still half the PS3 base model. The only console that comes close in price is the base 360 model, but you said that isn't relevent. Okay, in that case this is anything but a pricing blunder. If you ignore Microsoft, then this is actually a smart move, because $200 would be way underpriced when the competition is $500. N makes more money, and can still say "half the price of the competition".
The only people who are "backlashing" or who consider this a "pricing blunder" are people who had unrealistic expectations.
The enemies of Democracy are
Madden and Mario Strikers (or whatever it's called) off the top of my head. Also Metroid (or any first person game) if it has any sort of multiplayer.
OTOH, it had a CPU that was half the speed, something that was was evident in games requiring a lot of sprites, which tended to slow down and flicker on the SNES and not the Genesis.
Was the SNES more visually pleasing? Yes, I'd say so. Greater number of on-screen colours played a huge part in that, and mode7 was pretty impressive. But which was "more powerful" really depends on how you frame the question, I think.
From the look of the backside of the machine: Yes, a fan will be included.
These days, it is. Not Free, but free.
So what?
No, seriously. I don't care if my gaming console is like a supercomputer in a box. I want it to be cheap and fun, and I don't give a shit how many MIPS the thing has.
Now, some of that happens to have something to do with me being an actual person with a wife and house and job and otherwise a life which is incompatible with gaming as anything other than a very occasional diversion -- but that's fine. There's no conceivable way I could justify a "supercomputer in a box" just for playing games, but I'm going to buy a Wii.
I suppose you could argue that the Wii gives the player more power to move their avatar more precisely. It's not easy to adjust the yaw 112 degrees with anything but a spatially sensitive controller.
Point being, don't go to the marketing guy for the facts.
Eh, either way, it's a pretty useless argument.
just some guy
This is especially important if you use the wireless features on the console, as wireless broadcast/receive uses up A LOT of power (DS Wifi very nearly halves the battery life on the DS).
just some guy
I'm still not convinced that the Mii channel is all that great. As I mentioned earlier, I think it's more analagous to the gamer pictures from Xbox Live, but with several pros and cons.
Pros: Can be used in games, very customizable, and it appears you can have multiple "Mii" avatars per person
Cons: Not all games may use it, may be somewhat limiting (only human models?), could have the problem of everyone looking pretty much the same
The nice thing about the gamer pictures is that there's really a wide variety of images to choose from. It's easy to show which happens to be your favorite game of the moment (or in my case, I have my college's logo right now). I'm guessing you'll eventually be able to do something similar with the Mii avatar (different clothing perhaps? maybe different models?), but you'll still be limited to something that has to be an avatar.
As for being able to use the avatar in games, it just sounds too gimmicky for me. I'd only see use for it in multiplayer party or sports games. Who would want to use their avatar in a RPG or FPS? I think Nintendo *wants* it to be for mainly casual use, which makes sense, but that limits what you can do with it. There's also the problem that many avatars may look pretty similar (especially in Japan!). However, that's easily fixed by releasing more customizable options (clothing, etc.).
I do agree that compared to all the other channels, the Mii is the most likely to succeed, but I just don't see it being a huge star or anything. I'm still going to want the Wii for the games.
-- jchenx
You are seriously going to mention "energy prices" in your reply? Energy prices? Running my gamecube all day uses about as much energy as I use in STARTING my car.
Thats a mild exaggeration, but seriously, I will say that energy efficient game consoles would have a completely insignificant effect on our energy consumption.
And if you are about to give me some pedantic "every bit counts" argument, save it. This is a total absurdity and you should be embarassed with yourself. I'd be willing to bet that switching all the nintendo engineers to Hybrid cars would have a greater effect on world energy consumption than making energy efficient nintendo's would. Remember in the 4th grade when your math teacher would tell you to "ballpark, to make sure your answer isn't crazy". You should do that.
Why stick up for big business?
As we continue to shove electronics into everything and anything that someone can imagine, all those little bits of energy being used will start to add up. One of the neat things about science and technology is that it continually builds on itself, so any progress made towards energy conservation is a good thing.
While the total energy of all the Wii's in the world might never add up to a statistically meaningful amount, computers and electronics as a whole are a significant and growing factor, and I welcome any research that improves the situation.
And on a more personal note, you need to chill out. Maybe instead of freaking out over one point I made out of many, you could just be appreciative that a few people took the time to answer your question, a question that you probably asked without bothering to think about yourself first. The fact that you ignored my other answers, as well as didn't respond to any of the other commenters who answered leaves me to believe that you were just trolling for someone to mention energy consumption so that you could rant about it, and use analogies about grade school.
Go outside more, goofball.
One time I threw a brick at a duck.