Dude, the basic xbox is $300, $250 is in no way blowing the competition OUT OF THE WATER
The average consumer is going to stick with what they know and either buy the 360 for $300 or if they're budget concious they can always pick up a cheap PS2.
It makes loads of sense for Nintendo to lose a few bucks on a system, if it's going to increase their customer base.
I think shipping it with a game is unlikely, but....
We know there's going to be a "virtual console" that will allow people access to play older games. I think it's likely that they will offer some kind of free access to that and the ability to download/play wii demos.
Well, you've gotta add vat onto the conversion price. Say 120% of 175... gives you 210 and 117.5% of £120 makes £140. The numbers now are starting to look a bit similar.
It also depends on how many units they think they're going to sell in each of the territories. If they think they'll shift more in the US then they can afford to sell them cheaper.
There's a good article on nintendojo about how/why nintendo should keep the cost of Wii down.
Anyway, getting back to pulling numbers out of asses, I'm betting that Wii is going to perform well in Japan but they're going to have to go for sub $200 in the US where they face major competition from the 360 core. I think $179.99 is a good price point, with 200/£150 in Europe.
Think about it, there's no way the core is going to be at $300 this Christmas. If it sells at $250, and the Wii sells at $225, no casual gamer / parent is going to buy the Wii.
Personally I'm more interested in how much a second controller and the Zapper attachments are going to set me back.
It looks like a light gun with the remote in the front part and the nunchuck in the handle. (Though some ppl are saying the nunchuck is too large to fit?)
Now, I'd also advice you against teaching C++ and VB for novices.
I would definitely agree with your point about C++. I've never been a fan of VB (although I'm sure it's improved since I last used it.) Even so, if VB doesn't enfoce good habits the lecturer still can. What he, bblazer, teaches is going to depend on how well they've been taught C++/VB and he's going to have to cater for the less well taught students.
I know a couple of Universities where they're starting off by teaching everyone Eiffel and Java. And so students have an overview of how a program works before they're taught "proper" programming languages.
Every college professor in the world will disagree with you. University is a place for learning how to learn, not a trade school for the job market.
I agree, I know plenty of Maths grads that I would hire sooner than CS grads. Sorry, I assumed that a community college at a level somewhere between a university and a trade school.
I did learn how to debug by using prints but once I started working and coding actual programmes, I discovered debugging to be far easier on screen. Even with a text based editor. Maybe I needed to learn from prints but I don't really think so.
AFTER they know how to program,
They've already done programming modules, if he discovers that they can't programme then he'll have to change his plans anyway.
the real world uses *both* - IDEs and command-line+log files. if you can't do the latter, you're of no use to me.
What I was saying is that when you're coding you write most of your code in an IDE, I think he should teach the minutia but I think he should teach it afterwards when the students have something to apply it to, not before when it goes over their heads or they forget about it because they don't "need" it.
debugging through prints. Now I remember why I hated programming.
I'm going to disagree with the parent and say IDEs. Although I think his point about software development and programming being two separate things has merit.
They should - although you shouldn't assume - have already been taught how to programme. Are they're going to use an IDE when they leave college? You are supposed to be training them for the work place.
First and foremost - teach them good practice, tight simple modules with good comments.
Introduce them to an IDE, show them a couple if you've got time. Assign them tasks using the IDE. Go through the source code line by line. (starting at the end?) Write some really crappy code and get them to fix it using the IDE. Chuck out the IDE and get them to fix more crappy code using whatever masochistic tool you like. Have them debug each others work.
What I'm saying is try to replicate your experiences of the real world as much as possible. Just because IDEs weren't available when a lot of us were being taught doesn't mean we have to perpetuate a crappy situation.
Teach them to be efficient and fast - show them how to use what's available to them so they're not reinventing the wheel.
Ok, now that I've written efficient, we're going to have people argue that IDEs don't produce efficient code. One word... Java?
Slashdot Mirror
Off topic, I know, but does anyone know why prices do not include tax in the USA?
Because us Europeans have consumer protection laws?
Oh, on that point, we also have 12month guarantees which will push the price up slightly too.
Ronan
Dude, the basic xbox is $300, $250 is in no way blowing the competition OUT OF THE WATER
The average consumer is going to stick with what they know and either buy the 360 for $300 or if they're budget concious they can always pick up a cheap PS2.
It makes loads of sense for Nintendo to lose a few bucks on a system, if it's going to increase their customer base.
And, yes, hopefully with a game.
I think shipping it with a game is unlikely, but....
We know there's going to be a "virtual console" that will allow people access to play older games. I think it's likely that they will offer some kind of free access to that and the ability to download/play wii demos.
¥25,000 = $223.30 = 174.79 = £119.36
/= 225 /= £150 !!!
¥25,000 ~= $225
Well, you've gotta add vat onto the conversion price. Say 120% of 175... gives you 210 and 117.5% of £120 makes £140. The numbers now are starting to look a bit similar.
It also depends on how many units they think they're going to sell in each of the territories. If they think they'll shift more in the US then they can afford to sell them cheaper.
I, too, can pull numbers out of my ass.
Can I play too???
There's a good article on nintendojo about how/why nintendo should keep the cost of Wii down.
Anyway, getting back to pulling numbers out of asses, I'm betting that Wii is going to perform well in Japan but they're going to have to go for sub $200 in the US where they face major competition from the 360 core. I think $179.99 is a good price point, with 200/£150 in Europe.
Think about it, there's no way the core is going to be at $300 this Christmas. If it sells at $250, and the Wii sells at $225, no casual gamer / parent is going to buy the Wii.
Personally I'm more interested in how much a second controller and the Zapper attachments are going to set me back.
There is also going to be a "Zapper" attachment being developed...
e r-prototype-revealed/
http://www.joystiq.com/2006/05/10/e3-the-wii-zapp
It looks like a light gun with the remote in the front part and the nunchuck in the handle. (Though some ppl are saying the nunchuck is too large to fit?)
It looks really sweet.
Now, I'd also advice you against teaching C++ and VB for novices.
I would definitely agree with your point about C++. I've never been a fan of VB (although I'm sure it's improved since I last used it.) Even so, if VB doesn't enfoce good habits the lecturer still can. What he, bblazer, teaches is going to depend on how well they've been taught C++/VB and he's going to have to cater for the less well taught students.
I know a couple of Universities where they're starting off by teaching everyone Eiffel and Java. And so students have an overview of how a program works before they're taught "proper" programming languages.
Every college professor in the world will disagree with you. University is a place for learning how to learn, not a trade school for the job market.
I agree, I know plenty of Maths grads that I would hire sooner than CS grads.
Sorry, I assumed that a community college at a level somewhere between a university and a trade school.
I did learn how to debug by using prints but once I started working and coding actual programmes, I discovered debugging to be far easier on screen. Even with a text based editor. Maybe I needed to learn from prints but I don't really think so.
AFTER they know how to program,
They've already done programming modules, if he discovers that they can't programme then he'll have to change his plans anyway.
the real world uses *both* - IDEs and command-line+log files. if you can't do the latter, you're of no use to me.
What I was saying is that when you're coding you write most of your code in an IDE, I think he should teach the minutia but I think he should teach it afterwards when the students have something to apply it to, not before when it goes over their heads or they forget about it because they don't "need" it.
Ronan
debugging through prints.
Now I remember why I hated programming.
I'm going to disagree with the parent and say IDEs. Although I think his point about software development and programming being two separate things has merit.
They should - although you shouldn't assume - have already been taught how to programme. Are they're going to use an IDE when they leave college? You are supposed to be training them for the work place.
First and foremost - teach them good practice, tight simple modules with good comments.
Introduce them to an IDE, show them a couple if you've got time. Assign them tasks using the IDE. Go through the source code line by line. (starting at the end?) Write some really crappy code and get them to fix it using the IDE. Chuck out the IDE and get them to fix more crappy code using whatever masochistic tool you like. Have them debug each others work.
What I'm saying is try to replicate your experiences of the real world as much as possible. Just because IDEs weren't available when a lot of us were being taught doesn't mean we have to perpetuate a crappy situation.
Teach them to be efficient and fast - show them how to use what's available to them so they're not reinventing the wheel.
Ok, now that I've written efficient, we're going to have people argue that IDEs don't produce efficient code. One word... Java?
Ronan