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Wii to Launch Nov. 19th for $250 495

Posted by Zonk from the right-price-right-on dept.
PygmySurfer writes "According to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Nintendo is going to announce today that the Wii will go on sale on November 19th in North and South America, at a cost of $250. It will come bundled with Wii Sports and channels for such things as viewing photos, as well as news and weather. Finally, Wii will also make it possible to browse the web on your television. Nintendo will also announce that 25-30 games will be published this year, as well as about 30 classic games available on the virtual console, costing about $5-10."
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Wii to Launch Nov. 19th for $250 More

Wii to Launch Nov. 19th for $250

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  • From IGN (Score:5, Informative)

    by Phaed ( 953768 ) on Thursday September 14, 2006 @01:40AM (#16101803)
    Since the original link seems to be dead - http://wii.ign.com/articles/732/732669p1.html [ign.com]
  • Joystiq [joystiq.com] has the closest I can find to live english coverage. There's also a live stream [irwebcasting.com] of the conferance, however it's just coming up 403 for me. Perhaps they're only letting .jp IPs through?

  • not sure i believe the article quite yet (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Frag-A-Muffin ( 5490 ) on Thursday September 14, 2006 @01:44AM (#16101824)
    The article came out before the Japanese conference. (Which is happening as I type this) They're live blogging it over at kotaku [kotaku.com]

    I'll believe it when they Iwata announces it.

  • Wahoh! (Score:3, Insightful)

    by 7Prime ( 871679 ) on Thursday September 14, 2006 @01:45AM (#16101828) Homepage Journal
    Interesting, I predicted the bundled Wii Sports just earlier today. When I started thinking about it, the idea of $250 with Wii Sports didn't seem too bad, provided a controller and nunchuck (which is still remains to be seen, as I can't access the article), this may lesson Wii sales SLIGHTLY, as many people were starry-eyed with the $199 price tag (myself included), but I think it might be a better bet, in the long run, for Nintendo to release it with a game of THEIR making that centers around the controller, so that the first experience people will get with the Wiimote is a very solid one. I'm a bit dissapointed to have to wait another 2 months, but it'll give me time to finish Final Fantasy XII at least. And it's just in time for the Thanksgiving weekend. Strangely, it's positioned to be released a week after the PS3, which I think is a GREAT idea, since it will basically give them a week of free press (from Sony) and advertising, and then drown the PS3 the next week.
    • Bah, you were just copying me. I remember that discussion this afternoon =P Anyways, Nintendo met expectations here. They came in with a price under every other "new" console on the market, and while the launch date is a disappointment (didn't they promise to be out before PS3?) the bundle of Wii Sports is a nice surprise. $250, eh, more expensive than I would have liked, but I understand their pricing.

      To me the biggest news is that the Virtual Console will be available at launch, with 60 titles by 2

      • Re:Wahoh! (Score:5, Interesting)

        by 7Prime ( 871679 ) on Thursday September 14, 2006 @02:08AM (#16101937) Homepage Journal
        Things are starting to not add up. A Sunday release? 2 days after PS3... that seems EXTREMELY risky to me, if not foolhardy. Plus the fact that the article was taken down, this could all be pure speculation. I'm going to guess that the $250 price tag is correct, but I kinda doubt the date is, something's just fishy, the next few hours will probably tell.

        • Re:Wahoh! (Score:4, Funny)

          by Wind_Walker ( 83965 ) on Thursday September 14, 2006 @02:18AM (#16101988) Homepage Journal
          The post-PS3 launch does seem a bit odd, since they had previously stated that they would be at market before the PS3. It could be that Nintendo saw the problems Sony is having with meeting production quotas and having to slash their deliveries, and are banking on something like....

          Tom Tucker: "Our top story tonight, more video game news just two days after riots destroyed many gaming storefronts from the unexpectedly horrible launch of the Playstation 3. Diane has more, Diane?"

          Diane Simmons: "Thanks Tom. Wii. Sure it sounds like a penis, but what else is it? It's the new Nintendo console and it's causing quite a stir. We go live to Asian reporter Trisha Takinawa for a report"

          Trisha Takinawa: "Thank you Diane. Nintendo released the strangely-named console today to rave reviews. As you can see here, waving around this long slender shaft causes action to occur on-screen. It's quite a reversal from the usual manner of things. Retailers report they have plenty of Wii to go around, and that it's something people just can't wait to get their hands on. Personally I bought two and will be using them tonight in the privacy of my bedroom. Tom?"

          Glenn Quagmire: "Giggedy giggedy giggedy."

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by 7Prime ( 871679 )
            Now I'm totally convinced this is misinformation. They just confirmed that Wii Sports will NOT be packed into the console... bottom line, the date and price have not been announced yet. Notice that this information was NOT part of the actual translated press release, and should not be trusted. The very fact that they have messed up this means that it is unreliable.

            • Re:Wahoh! (Score:5, Insightful)

              by Wind_Walker ( 83965 ) on Thursday September 14, 2006 @02:33AM (#16102057) Homepage Journal
              I have a feeling that we'll find out very very different released in Japan and the other territories. The Seattle PI article seemed very reliable and sourced Reggie himself in a phone interview. I have a feeling that they're both right.

              Japan gets a $200 console with one controller, North America gets a $250 with 2 controllers and Wii Sports to help "sell" the common people on the system.

              Either way, I'm going to bed. This will all be sorted out by 11am tomorrow morning.
        • A Sunday release? 2 days after PS3... that seems EXTREMELY risky to me, if not foolhardy.

          I dunno about that. Sony's not going to have many units, and they'll likely sell out. Nintendo will be there to comfort those poor brokenhearted folks who didn't get their PS3.
      • Replying to your own post is bad form, I know, but WHOO HOOOO!!!! From Joystiq:

        2:06 a.m. EST [update 10]: The press release is up. It lists the contents of the Wii box: Wii console, Wii remote (w/ strap) Nunchuck attachment, Wii AC adaptor, Wii A/V cable, Wii console stand(?), sensor bar, sensor bar stand and two AA batteries.

        They neglected to include Wii Sports, but that's ok. Everything I wanted, even if the price is $50 more than I hoped. I'm pleased with Nintendo.

    • Seems to me that Wii sports wouldn't really shine without a 2nd player. They ought to ship 2 controllers in the box. Then they could even make games that are meant to be played with one controller in each hand.

  • Meh... (Score:2, Insightful)

    by MageWyn ( 6983 )
    I'm not sure that I want Wii Sports. Too bad I can't switch to another game or take $50 off the cost to lose it.

    DragonQuest: Swords anyone?

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward
      The cost to nintendo in bundling the game is nowhere near $50, maybe $5 at the very most (99.9% development time). The game is bundled to introduce you to the controller interface, not to be $50 worth of entertainment.

  • Good news for normal humans (Score:4, Insightful)

    by svunt ( 916464 ) on Thursday September 14, 2006 @01:47AM (#16101839) Homepage Journal
    Personally, I start to lose count after a squillion frames a second, I'm sure my eyeballs are only getting 800x600 resolution these days, and I'm just totally over the idea of paying $500+ for a machine, and $50+ for games, when they're extremely high-res, high-speed, and SHIT. The Wii gives me hope that there's something out there for people who like gameplay, not graphics, and have better things to spend the big bucks on than a friggin' procrastinaion console. Nice one, Nintendo.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by SilentChris ( 452960 )
      We'll see. I am an ardent supporter of all the consoles (more competition = better games). While some attempts to introduce better "gameplay" by Nintendo have been successful, others have felt flat.

      For example, I just bought Starfox for the Nintendo DS (I waited for the reviews and decided 80% from most gaming rags was enough). The game controls almost entirely with the stylus. You would think that would grant you slightly better control, but it doesn't -- everyone I've seen playing the game is constant

  • Awwww :( (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Quiet_Desperation ( 858215 ) on Thursday September 14, 2006 @01:55AM (#16101868)
    C'mon! Bundle Zelda! You'll sell fifteen billion of them.

  • Article pulled (Score:3, Informative)

    by 12ahead ( 586157 ) on Thursday September 14, 2006 @01:56AM (#16101872)
    The Article has been pulled. Whether that adds to the credibility of the info or not should all be clear later today when the Japan press conference [gwn.com] is over or after the press conference in the US tomorrow.

  • Letdown. (Score:4, Funny)

    by Spazntwich ( 208070 ) on Thursday September 14, 2006 @01:56AM (#16101873)
    I'll admit, I bought into the hype.

    I let all of the pre-coverage get me to expect either a release date earlier than 1 month before Christmas, or a price closer to $200.

    $250 and late November is kind of a letdown.

    The most irritating fact? $5-$10 virtual console games. What with the price of ram back in the day, it sounds like they'll be making around a dollar for dollar profit margin that they were in the 90s. If you convert it to % profit margins and consider the fact that bandwidth costs are minimal, they're making a profit margin in the hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of percents.

    This single set of facts has turned me from eager to get a Wii into more of a wait and see approach.

    Oh well.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by AuMatar ( 183847 )
      Don't forget that its 250 with a game. That more than makes up the $50 difference to me.
    • +1 Funny

      I think the mods are laughing at you, not with you.
    • $5-$10 virtual console games.

      500 yen for NES games, 800 yen for SNES games, 1000 yen for N64 games. Sounds fair to me. Sure, it's about 100% profit margin, but to me these games are worth more than they're asking for, so I don't mind it.

    • The costs of these games for Wii was non-zero. Costs of developing the base emulator aside, each of the games had to be betatested and the emulator patched in case bugs were found. If you seen how emulation goes, each game has a ton of exceptions which are included in a mile-long .ini file which gets loaded with the ROM. Still, the file doesn't fix them all, and the games suffer some glitches. If Nintendo is to emulate old consoles using a new emulator, they must test, fix, modify, test again all the ages o

      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        by 10101001 10101001 ( 732688 )

        The costs of these games for Wii was non-zero. Costs of developing the base emulator aside, each of the games had to be betatested and the emulator patched in case bugs were found.

        Include the cost of the base emulator and amortize the cost. You're still looking at an incredibly low value relative to most modern games.

        If you seen how emulation goes, each game has a ton of exceptions which are included in a mile-long .ini file which gets loaded with the ROM.

        True and false. One, most emulators (NES and

        • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

          by SharpFang ( 651121 )
          So as usually, the truth is in the middle :P
          The cost of debugging a 10 years old game with the emulator will certainly not be 1/5 of a new title, but neither it will be 0.01% of the price of the download. Sales of these old games are expected to be lower than the new titles too. Nintendo will be making a good penny on the old games but this is NOT money for free - the actual cost of one download, including preparation of the ROM with betatesting and emulator corrections will not be near the sale price ($4-$

  • from Joystiq (Score:4, Informative)

    by drwiii ( 434 ) on Thursday September 14, 2006 @02:01AM (#16101891) Homepage
    1:55 p.m. [update 8]: And the other shoe drops. Famitsu is reporting a December 2 launch and 25,000 yen price for Japan. $215 USD

  • Sweet spot (Score:3, Insightful)

    by trellick ( 67244 ) on Thursday September 14, 2006 @02:02AM (#16101897)
    Have to say, that I think Nintendo have got the pricing just spot on! No only for the console itself, but for the classic games ($5 -> $10), a very very clever strategic move.

    No only that, but the price of the new games at ~$10 less than the X360 - gives a clear indication that Nintendo see the X360 as their main competition. Maybe they think that Sony have dropped the ball with their pricing and PR machines!?

    No, I'm not a fan boy of any console (in fact I'm a dedicated PC gamer) - but it seems that Nintendo have employed some very smart people for this entire project, considering no-one was really thinking them as a major console player (again) and then last years' E3 and, suddenly, they are ahead of everyone else in terms of buzz. Clever stuff.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by voice_of_all_reason ( 926702 )
      $10 for kid icarus? You've got to be shitting me.

      Even for the rare ones, you can most likely pick up NES carts on ebay or at a funcoland-like store for a fraction of that price. Without the piss-poor emulation deficiencies that have plagues previous nintendo rereleases (remember the game boy color Nes Series line?)

      I've bought these games once, and played them to death. I've downloaded them again when nesticle came out, and played them to death. Who's the target market here? The nostalgia crowd is savv
      • NES games: 500 yen (approx. $3.50 USD)
        SNES games: 800 yen (approx $7 USD)
        N64 games: 1000 yen (approx $8.50 USD)

        Those prices are confirmed for Japan, no word yet on US prices (wait until about 10am for that). Personally, at those prices I'll be buying the cream of the crop (FF6, SMB3, etc) but not the lesser-known titles they might put up.
      • Most likely a month or two after release of the system people will find a way to upload pirated ROMs to Wii, making the service only a source for rare games you can't find ROMs for. But then this still builds the console user base, and encourages you to buy "native" Wii games.

  • Jumping the gun. (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Oscar_Wilde ( 170568 ) on Thursday September 14, 2006 @02:12AM (#16101957) Homepage
    Considering that the linked article is gone and that the Japanese launch date is apparently the 2nd of December, I think this whole "Nov 19th, US$250" thing might be jumping the gun slightly.

  • article pulled, inaccurate? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Karma Sucks ( 127136 ) on Thursday September 14, 2006 @02:15AM (#16101972)
    Let's play "spot the pattern."

    SNES launch price: 25000 Yen / 200 USD.
    N64 launch price: 25000 Yen / 200 USD.
    Gamecube launch price: 25000 yen / 200 USD.
    Wii launch price: 25000 yen / ??? USD.

    Hrm.

    • Exchange rates? (Score:4, Informative)

      by Pacifist Brawler ( 987348 ) on Thursday September 14, 2006 @02:34AM (#16102064)
      SNES US release date: Aug 21, 1991 Exchange rate: 1991-08-01 136.82 yen/USD
      N64 US relase date: Sept 29, 1996 Exchange rate: 1996-10-01 112.41 yen/USD
      Gamecube US release date: Nov 18, 2001 Exchange rate: 2001-12-01 127.59 yen/USD
      Wii US release date: Nov 19, 2006 Exchange rate: 2006-09-13 117.47 yen/USD

      So, yes a good guess for the launch price would be 200 USD.

      However, various sources [gamesarefun.com] disagree.

    • There was a Miyamoto interview that addressed this (Score:5, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 14, 2006 @02:50AM (#16102135)
      When Miyamoto told the reporter at the NYT that the new Nintendo console would cost $250USD, the reporter asked why it was $50 higher than previous Nintendo consoles. Miyamoto said it was due to differences in the exchange rate. So the reporter said "Fluctuations?"

      Miyamoto replied "Fluck you Amelicans too!"

      Rumor has it that this incident is why the Wii is being shipped later than expected too. I guess he's still a little bitter.
      • Oh man! *wipes tears from eyes* Is it just how late it is here? Did I really use up my last mod point? Sorry, that was funny!
    • The 25000 yen includes taxes. I'm led to believe that US prices when quoted exclude tax? (Correct me if I'm wrong). But it seems perfectly possible that 25000 inc translates easily to $200 ex (according to www.xe.com 25000 yen is about $212).
  • FTA it says the new ship date is because Sony has again pushed off their shipping date because of bluray problems.  Should be really good for Nintendo.  Not sure if SOny will make it for xmas time, but if they dont they will lose alot.

  • A little Family Guy for ya. (Score:5, Funny)

    by Wind_Walker ( 83965 ) on Thursday September 14, 2006 @02:28AM (#16102036) Homepage Journal
    The post-PS3 launch does seem a bit odd, since they had previously stated that they would be at market before the PS3. It could be that Nintendo saw the problems Sony is having with meeting production quotas and having to slash their deliveries, and are banking on something like....

    Tom Tucker: "Our top story tonight, more video game news just two days after riots destroyed many gaming storefronts from the unexpectedly horrible launch of the Playstation 3. Diane has more, Diane?"

    Diane Simmons: "Thanks Tom. Wii. Sure it sounds like a penis, but what else is it? It's the new Nintendo console and it's causing quite a stir. We now go live to Asian reporter Trisha Takinawa for a report, Trisha?"

    Trisha Takinawa: "Thank you Diane. Nintendo released the strangely-named console today to rave reviews. As you can see here, waving around this long slender shaft causes action to occur on-screen. It's quite a reversal from the usual manner of things. Retailers report they have plenty of Wii to go around, and that it's something people just can't wait to get their hands on. Personally I bought two and will be using them tonight in the privacy of my bedroom. Tom?"

    Glenn Quagmire: "Giggedy giggedy giggedy."

  • www.wii.com (Score:5, Informative)

    by Frag-A-Muffin ( 5490 ) on Thursday September 14, 2006 @02:33AM (#16102054)
    is now live!!!

    www.wii.com [wii.com]

  • FALSE (Score:3, Informative)

    by satoshi1 ( 794000 ) <satoshi.sugardeath@net> on Thursday September 14, 2006 @02:33AM (#16102055) Homepage Journal
    All false guys! http://www.joystiq.com/2006/09/14/nintendo-japan-c onference-not-so-liveblogging/ [joystiq.com] Check it out.
  • I have to wonder if the price is really going to be $250 in North America. I read that the $212.50 price for Japan INCLUDES tax. I'm still hoping for the lower price point we've heard rumors of. I'll be buying one either way, I just want Nintendo to kick butt this time around!
  • Had Sony not priced the PS3 at $600-friggin-dollars and shipped on time, I'm convinced that the Wii would have been $200 and that the Xbox360 would have seen a fall price drop.

    So, thanks Sony. Not only do you suck, but you suck so bad that you've created a halo-effect that causes your competetors to suck also.
  • The article is based on speculation made / info obtained from a "reliable source" prior to the Japan event.

    The Japan event placed the system at a launch point of 25,000 yen ($212 USD) on December second for Japan. If Nintendo follows the same pattern it used for the DS, I'd say the system is likely to ship close to November 15th at a price point of $200. While it seems like Nintendo won't have too many problems selling the system even at $250, I'm betting they will round the price down for the US market. (A

  • It will come in three sizes... (Score:3, Funny)

    by mjkjedi ( 717711 ) on Thursday September 14, 2006 @04:37AM (#16102453)
    Wii, not so Wii, and friggin' huge!

  • What about Europe? (Score:3)

    by Andy_R ( 114137 ) on Thursday September 14, 2006 @06:34AM (#16102744) Homepage Journal
    I think I speak for a lot of Europeans when I say...
    AAAAAAAAAARRRRGH when's it coming out over here?

    Here in Britain, Sony have already admitted they prefer selling to the rest of the world, and won't let us have any until after the Christmas sales rush, which has pissed off a LOT of gamers.

    The big question here is will Nintendo also treat us like second-class citizens and hand the British games market to MS on a plate by giving them a second uncontested Christmas?

  • So much is right, they can't go wrong.. can they? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by NekoXP ( 67564 ) on Thursday September 14, 2006 @07:30AM (#16102903) Homepage
    Bundling a game by force at least means retailers will have to think twice about "compulsory bundling" like they did with the XBox360. Remember when the Playstation 2 came out? A lot of people bought one in the beginning because they wanted a new console but ALSO because their original Playstation 1 was completely hosed through 6 years of play. They come into the store, with their $500 for the new box, and... oh.. I have to buy one of these "packs" with 2 shitty racing games in it? All I wanted was the PS2, the demo disk, a new Dual Shock ('cos my old one is friiied) and to play all my old games maybe with some texture filtering. Denied. Disappointed. Hand over the $750 :(

    I love love love the browser, and the weather thing, and virtual console.. just seeing R-Type in Nintendo's Japanese presentation made me wet. I want to play Super Mario World again, and when I get stuck, I want to press the HOME button, fire up Opera, and look for the GameFAQs article. Oh no more running for a magazine or booting the PC just for that!

    Playing all those old Gamecube games for $5-$10 in the bargain and second-user bins at Gamestop will keep me happy for SOOOO long.

    Yeah we'd all like it to cost $150, but Nintendo are apparently going to sell the Wii at a profit in contrast to the super-expensive loss-making XBox360 and Playstation 3. They have plenty of scope to cost reduce, lower consumer prices in the future, without it being a real financial tussle for them.

    HOORAY! I've never been this excited about a games console in my life.

  • BBC say 2nd December in Jp, no date known EU,US (Score:3, Funny)

    by speculatrix ( 678524 ) on Thursday September 14, 2006 @07:35AM (#16102922)
    BBC article [bbc.co.uk] says no data set for UK/EU/US, but 2nd December for Japan.

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