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Wii Hardware To Be Profitable At Launch
Next Generation reports on comments by Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Aime, stating that the Wii will be profitable out of the gate. It's been well-publicized that the consoles offered by Sony and Microsoft are subsidized by those companies. From the article: "Nintendo, however, has traditionally avoided the 'razor and blades' business model by selling its consoles above what they cost to make. Fils-Aime confirmed to Reuters that the Wii would carry on the tradition. 'We will make a profit on the entire Wii proposition out of the box -- hardware and software,' he said. 'That really is a very different philosophy versus our competitors. We are a company that competes only in the interactive entertainment space so we have to make a profit on every thing we do.'" The comment is undoubtedly meant to assuage analysts nervous about the relatively late release date and somewhat higher than expected price for the Wii.
Nintendo is insane. They feature weird (and not always functional, in the case of some 3rd party games, see madden) interfaces, mediocre (but good-looking, at least in the case of the Wii and DS lite) hardware. And... profitability. Which is totally out of the ordinary. Microsoft and especially Sony are REALLY pushing the graphics/hardware bubble this generation - and either of those systems on HD will produce some fantastic experiences. But then I've read that both of those systems may not turn a profit for their companies for years to come. Obviously, this isn't a viable strategy for companies. Great graphics are awesome for the end consumer, but if MS/Sony take a huge loss, why did they bother? Sony has a reason with the blu-ray drive... but is promoting a format worth hundreds of millions and potentially billions of dollars of lost profits? Hell of an advertising campaign.
Well its not just the $250 price. Its the $250 price with only one controller, and complete controllers costing $60. 250 Dollars didn't convince me not to purchase it, $310 did. Plus, no ether port. I have to buy a wireless adapter. --30 bucks more, I'm sure. . Ochhh $340.. oH wait. there is more. You don't get Opera for free/ Gotta purchase it. $10-25. ukkk. $355. $355 for a OC GC with wii-motes. Oh yeah, don't forget the tax. OK $400!! Damn I think it will be a great system, but it is not cheap. It is not family friendly. I want to play a game with a family member. But I'll have to buy it used in two years.
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