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Possible Early Release for the Nintendo Wii 97

Posted by Zonk from the christmas-in-september dept.
ForensicPenguin writes "CNN has an update on a possible early release for the Nintendo Wii console. From the article: 'While Nintendo has not made any formal announcements about the launch date for the Wii, most of the industry has expected the machine to hit retail at approximately the same time as Sony's PlayStation 3 (which is set for November 17). Now, industry observers — and insiders — say they expect the system to be available in October, with late September a dark-horse candidate.'"
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Possible Early Release for the Nintendo Wii More

Possible Early Release for the Nintendo Wii

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  • Yay! (Score:5, Funny)

    by spykemail ( 983593 ) on Thursday July 06, 2006 @11:54AM (#15667481) Homepage
    There is a God, and He doesn't like Sony.

  • Basically... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Churla ( 936633 ) on Thursday July 06, 2006 @11:59AM (#15667514)
    Sony to Nintendo : People love us, they don't care how much we charge, they don't care how expensive the games are, they don't care that were really just revamping and polishing the same old game concepts. We win...

    Nintendo to Sony : We'll beat you on price, we'll beat you on innovation, we'll beat you to market. P.S. Die in a fire.

    Microsoft to Consumers : Look at all the fun you can have buying an Xbox 360 AND a Wii for the cost of a PS3...

    Nintendo to Microsoft : You.. in teh fire too.
    • that was one of the funniest things i have read in a while.
    • blockquoteNintendo to Microsoft : You.. in teh fire too./blockquote

      Dont frigging DO that! I snorted coke out my nose when I read that part, and that HURTS.
      • Dont frigging DO that! I snorted coke out my nose when I read that part, and that HURTS.
        Great. This thread has now been flagged by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America. :P

  • Rumor already denied (Score:5, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 06, 2006 @12:00PM (#15667521)

    Rumor has already been denied. [nintendowiifanboy.com]

  • Will it run... (Score:1, Funny)

    by waif69 ( 322360 )
    Gamecube games? Will it have more games than Gamecube? Will the price be set noticably below Sony and M$ like that Gamecube was?
    • Gamecube games? Will it have more games than Gamecube? Will the price be set noticably below Sony and M$ like that Gamecube was?
      yes, yes, and yes. welcome to last year.
    • You really need to RTFA. It answers almost every question you ask. Then you can read that particular editor's other stories, which will likely take care of the others. Or search Slashdot's archive of duped stories about the Wii's backwards capable systems.
      • Why RTFA when you can post a question to /. and have hundreds of /.ers rush to point out how stupid you are (and in the process answer your question)?
        • That's a well-known joke in the linux community. Example, don't know how to get the driver for your geforce card running under ubuntu? "Ubuntu sucks, it can't even yadda yadda!" And you'll get more helpful answers than RTFM's if you'd asked politely ;)
    • What kinda /.er are you? You cannot title a post "Will it run..." and then not proceed to put "Linux" in the body of your post!

  • Speculation (Score:5, Informative)

    by LoverOfJoy ( 820058 ) on Thursday July 06, 2006 @12:01PM (#15667537) Homepage
    It's important to remember this is still speculation. As far as I can tell it's based only on a comment by P.J. McNealy of American Technology Research that Nintendo has already started manufacturing the final units and Microsoft started manufacturing 69 days before launch.

    But Microsoft didn't really get enough units manufactured for launch and Nintendo may have learned from their mistake. So it's very possible that the launch will be later than this guess.

    • Re:Speculation (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 06, 2006 @12:33PM (#15667800)
      But Microsoft didn't really get enough units manufactured for launch and Nintendo may have learned from their mistake.


      Is it possible that Nintendo is not manufacturing Microsoft Xbox 360s and their units/day capacity might also differ?

    • From the article: "Because of manufacturing problems, Microsoft was not able to come anywhere close to meeting worldwide demand." The way I remember it [slashdot.org], Microsoft forced retailers to sign a "sell-out" contract, artificially inflating demand for the product by witholding units. So it completely sold out on day one, and by day two they were selling for big money on eBay and everyone just had to have one. It was less a mistake on Microsoft's part than the calculated manipulation of consumers. Unfortunately

    • Re:Speculation (Score:3, Interesting)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Nintendo is a company that (always) trys to prevent long term "selling out" by producing a large enough supply to meet demand; in fact the DS Lite was the only piece of Nintendo hardware that has ever been in a true (long term) shortage position in Japan. With this in mind there are several reasons why Nintendo is starting to manufacture so early:
      • They could be planning an early launch in Japan; launching 6 weeks earlier in Japan could reduce demand on system/game sales enough to prevent shortages in North A

    • It's important to remember this is still speculation.

      If the news here was in any way important, remembering it would be more important, I guess....

      Still, your basic point is solid: predicting Nintendo's actions based on those of Microsoft as a precedent might be a liiiittle bit unreliable. You think? I think.

  • Tech secrets (Score:5, Funny)

    by Rob T Firefly ( 844560 ) on Thursday July 06, 2006 @12:02PM (#15667545) Homepage Journal
    Nintendo engineers have revealed that the accelerated release will happen thanks to "a flashy glowing star thing we found in the employee fridge. After that it was simply a matter of holding B and running to the right."

  • Let the fanboy war begin! (Score:4, Interesting)

    by GundamFan ( 848341 ) on Thursday July 06, 2006 @12:03PM (#15667551)
    The editors must love watching the various console fanboys and trolls fight over what will happen 6 to 12 months from now. I am going to wait untill a game I actualy want to play (MSG4: Substance comes to mind and no I don't care what platform it ends up on) is released before I commit to any of these systems. P.S. Someone pease reply to this message with something about how the 360 is out and "the best console ever".

    • Re:Let the fanboy war begin! (Score:4, Funny)

      by caffeinatedOnline ( 926067 ) on Thursday July 06, 2006 @12:09PM (#15667601) Homepage
      The 360 is out and is the best system ev0r! /peerpressure
    • But like... the manufacturers have told us how good their consoles will be... I mean are. Sony says the ps3 is going to be $600 which means that it's like... $600 of awesome. The Wii will obviously be horrible because it's not the most powerful system on the market -- I mean, come on, they're trying to tell us that it has innovative games... I don't buy a console so I can play games, I buy a console so I can use it to calculate scientific theories or so I can watch the best-rendered cut-scenes. Is it jus
    • (MSG4: Substance comes to mind and no I don't care what platform it ends up on)

      MGS4 is one of the few next-gen titles I'm really interested in playing, too. However, I do care what platform it ends up on, because I'm not going to shell out £425 for a PS3 to play it! Guess I'll wait for the console to drop to a reasonable price (£130 max) like I did with the PS2, Xbox and Gamecube (and Saturn, and Dreamcast...)

    • Re:Let the fanboy war begin! (Score:5, Interesting)

      by ZorbaTHut ( 126196 ) on Thursday July 06, 2006 @01:26PM (#15668354) Homepage
      I almost always agree with this. I have the Three-Game Rule. Once there are three games I really want for a system, I buy it.

      It's looking like the Wii is going to have three games on launch day that I really want, though - so, if I get the option, I think it might be the first console I've ever pre-ordered. I've got to admit, I'm excited about that one.
    • I'm really hoping the best for Nintendo. They screwed the pooch with the N64 and were almost totally on their own with the GC. I'm genuinely excited for their new system, though. And I haven't been excited over a console debute since the SNES. Wii's controller will either make or break Nintendo. They can't exist in third place for much longer especially if the controller becomes a lame duck. Maybe it's this huge bet that they're gambling on that's really got me jazzed. Or it could be because there's some ac

      • They can exist in third place all right (Score:4, Insightful)

        by ianscot ( 591483 ) on Thursday July 06, 2006 @02:22PM (#15668911)

        They can't exist in third place for much longer...

        Nintendo is profitable. They make money on their current consoles and games. By contrast, Microsoft's lost $7 billion in the last four years trying to gain market share with the Xbox and stuff like MSN.

        It may be that Nintendo needs more market share -- I've heard arguments either way. You could make just as good an argument for MS's XBox division being in crisis as for Nintendo, though.

        • But it's only a matter of time before they become unprofitable.

          The more market share they lose, the less attention they will get which will equal lower sales. The GC is in last place of the installed console base when compared to its peers and this is directly reflected in their library size and diversity. Their own quality games are the only thing keeping them from extinction.

          As for the Wii, my biggest fear is that their controller will be hard to use, which means less console sales and less games by 3rd

          • As for the Wii, my biggest fear is that their controller will be hard to use, which means less console sales and less games by 3rd parties. Their graphics are not on par with the other next gen consoles so that makes them look even less attractive to 3rd party developers who are in competition with each other to make the latest and greatest in a sea of games...

            ...The deciding facor to ANY console's future is getting the majority of GOOD 3rd party games.

            The other side of the third party coin, though, is

    • Comment removed based on user account deletion
    • I am going to wait untill a game I actualy want to play

      You have gone to the Nintendo Wii site, right?

      There's lots of games in lots of genres for the Wii to play.

      The only people who should hold out are people obsessed with FPS. Don't recall tons of games for that, just a couple for the Wii.

  • Skeptiiciism (Score:2, Funny)

    by Kesch ( 943326 )
    I think that I wiill just wait and sii what Ninetendo says before getting iixcited.
  • They have repeatedly said that it will not launch until the 4th Quarter this year. I don't see any reason this should change. However, I do see an early October launch as a possibility. It would still be in Quarter 4. In fact October 1st is a Sunday , and ass we all know Nintendo loves to release consoles on Sundays. We'll just have to wait and see.
  • I was in Gamestop and EBGames the other day, and happened to look in the pre-order section for Wii games. Several of the games were listed as being released on October 2nd. COuld this be foreshadowing, or just a made up date?
  • I still think that the Wii will be bought by more people because of the affordable price. If anything, after-school programs could buy/receive a donated Wii for much less than the PS3. It can also target lower income families who might be able to afford a Wii.

    • Re:Market Share (Score:2, Insightful)

      by whoop ( 194 )
      The simple way to spin that so Sony/MS can think they are better is for the media to just talk about dollars of sales rather than number of units sold. Watch about a week after each launch, they'll tell Nintendo's sales as "10 million consoles sold the first day" and Sony will ensure the press releases are like "The PS3 had $500 million dollars in sales in it's first week, setting a new record for the company."

      And in other news, the Gates Foundation has bought six billion Xbox 360s for every person in the
  • It would be nice if it came out earlier from the standpoint to rabid...err...enthusiastic gamers, but there may actually be more advantage in coming out around the same time as the PS3. If Wii comes out at the same time as PS3, the stark contrast in price will be more apparent. And coupled with PS3 shortages, Wii could gain a lot of sales by being both cheaper and more available. Being innovative and having a stronger launch line up would also help Wii versus PS3. This also depends on Nintendo being able to
    • The "stark contrast in price" will be apparent whether the Wii is launched day and date with the PS3 or it comes out tomorrow. It will be even more apparent since Nintendo will likely be buying plenty of commercial time through the holiday season touting their price.

  • Worst. Idea. Ever (Score:3)

    by RyoShin ( 610051 ) <<tukaro> <at> <gmail.com>> on Thursday July 06, 2006 @12:34PM (#15667810) Homepage Journal
    This is a horrible idea.

    After all, I don't know if I'll have enough saved up to buy all the Wii stuff I want by then!

  • I remember hearing once that Nintendo was planning on releasing the Wii shortly before Sony released the PS3; I seem to remember that their release date was going to be adjusted such that no matter what Sony was planning on doing, the Wii would be released first.

    Perhaps, with the console-gaming world enraged about having to spend over half a thousand dollars on the PS3, Nintendo doesn't really care any longer.

    Can anyone confirm this statement? If not, where the hell did I hear it?

  • Confessions (Score:5, Interesting)

    by SimDarth ( 975287 ) on Thursday July 06, 2006 @12:43PM (#15667877)
    I have a confession. I am a Sony fanboy. I am also the target audience for the PS3... older, an "early adopter", professional and informed. I know that the PS3 is the most advanced of the three systems. I also understand that the Xbox360 CAN compete with it, though. Unfortunately, I also have a skill called "fiscal responsibility". That means I won't lay $60-70 bucks to play Oblivion on Xbox360 or PS3 when I can play it for $40 on PC. That also means that my new console for the year will probably be a Wii. After all, I was raised on Atari and Nintendo so I can consider it "getting back to my youth." Either that or the cheapest mid-life crisis ever at $250 or less.

  • September, eh? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Jerf ( 17166 ) on Thursday July 06, 2006 @12:46PM (#15667904) Journal
    September, eh?

    Maybe they're going to release on September 9th. Dark horse consoles released on September 9th always do well, right? Certainly, getting crushed by a Sony Playstation after release on that date never happens...

    Although, ideally, you ought to wait until 2009 for 9/9/9
    • Although, ideally, you ought to wait until 2009 for 9/9/9

      Late 2009 sounds just about right for the release of the next-generation Nintendo console. This follow-up to the Nintendo Wii will feature dual-screen support (like their award-winning Nintendo DS) further revolutionized for innovative gameplay in a home-console setting.

      They will call it the Nintendo Wii2D2.
      • You're kidding around a bit, but the route Nintendo is taking with the Wii could indeed permit them to go with a shorter lifespan (measured by the time between release of consoles, not their "active" lifespan) for their home consoles.

        Because the Wii is behind the high tech curve (not an insult, just true), Nintendo could develop a high-def followup to the Wii - still backward compatible - in a relatively short period of time but still be able to sell it for their more reasonable price ($200-250) because

  • All I know is (Score:1, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    I haven't traditionally been a huge Nintendo fan but right now they've got me by the gonads and the Wii causes me some serious strife.
  • When I heard September I was scared, scared it would be delayed and pushed past Christmas.

    The Wii is going to need A TON of advertising money, more than either of the other consoles if it wants to "be all it can be".

    Also both Sony and Nintendo have a nasty habit of launching in Japan first...
  • "There's no change in our plan to release the console in the last quarter of this year. We are planning an announcement in September and it may be causing some confusion.'' - Yasuhiro Minagawa, spokesperson for Nintendo Co. Ltd.

    This comes after the CNN article from yesterday, which is pretty much just restating what they previously said. October also falls in the last quarter, so who knows, maybe they'll announce in September, "New console next month for $199."
  • if nintendo lets their wii out early.....

  • Lowered Expectations of why Wii wins (Score:3, Insightful)

    by WillAffleckUW ( 858324 ) on Thursday July 06, 2006 @05:39PM (#15671018) Homepage Journal
    The thing is, console gamers have been preconditioned for late released few-games-at-intro consoles like the PS and xBox series.

    All Nintendo has to do is wait until September and then start an all out assault by releasing their consoles in certain markets, with full introduction in October, to complete total console domination.

    The main reason to hold off on full release is to ensure there are lots of games for many different types of gamers available, and to stagger the announcements so it feels like everyone is going Wii and noone cares about PS3 and xBox360 any more.

    Strategy beats tactics every time. Well, except when you've got the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch ...

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