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The Wii can be used to view the local weather view Connect24
It's here: the Nintendo Wii is a mere 10 weeks away... in Japan

As expected, Nintendo today lifted the embargo on the official pricing and launch date for the Nintendo Wii.  Nintendo President Saturo Iwata held a press event yesterday in Japan to reveal the final details of the Nintendo Wii that hadn't been announced during the E3 expo.  In Japan the console will sell for 25,000 Yen ($212 USD) and will be available on December 2, 2006.

Virtual Console games, titles that are downloaded rather than purchased on disc, will cost under $10 as originally stated by Iwata in a June 2006 press conference.  Iwata specifically claimed during the conference that Virtual Console games the for the Nintendo 64 will be priced at approximately 1000 Yen ($8.50 USD) while Nintendo and Super Nintendo games will be less than 800 Yen ($6.80 USD).  As many as 60 of these "classic" Virtual Console titles will be available at launch.  Like the Microsoft XBOX Live marketplace, "credits" can be purchased for use towards new VC games.

However, users aren't just going to buy the Nintendo Wii to just play Virtual Console games. Pricing for games in the US will be between $40 and $57 per new title.  Iwata promises that at least 25 Wii titles will be available by the end of the year, including new Mario and Zelda series games that were very thoroughly showcased during the E3 convention.  A "Wii Sport" package will be bundled together (but not included with the console), including a Tennis game to demonstrate the Wii nunchaku controller.

In addition to the launch info, Iwata also announced some new details about the functionality of Wii.  Specifically, the company plans to use Wii Connect24 to not just browse the internet, but also to bring some TV functionality to its users.

Nintendo has made several announcements earlier this year on the joint development that company has done with the Opera community, including the browser in the DS library and publically announcing that the Wii would use Opera for web functionality. 

Nintendo Japan has released the official price and launch announcement on its website, and is available here (English).  One remote (controller + nunchaku) are included with the base console, and additional remotes can be purchased for approximately $40 USD.

The equivalent $212 price tag for the US is essentially in line with what analysts and Nintendo representatives have been saying since May of this year.  MCV Magazine reported just a few days ago that the Wii would launch for the equivalent of $280 in the EU on November 24, 2006, but did not mention a US launch date or price.  A conference in New York City tomorrow will reveal the final US launch date and pricing.

Sony has announced that the Playstation 3 will launch in the US on November 17, 2006.  The Microsoft camp is also expected to announce a new gizmo this holiday season -- the XBOX 360 external HD DVD player. Two versions of the Playstation 3 will launch in Japan on November 11, 2006 for the equivalent of $499 and $599. 

During the E3 conference in Los Angeles, Nintendo America president Reggie Fils-Aime claimed that the system would sell more than four million Wii consoles by year's end.  Sony recently released an announcement claiming that only 500,000 Playstation 3 consoles would ship worldwide at launch.

More details in Japanese are available at Wii.com, but the embargo for the US and European details does not lift until 9AM EST on September 14, 2006. 

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US price and date
By raisinbrainMMM on 9/14/2006 2:23:44 AM , Rating: 2
New York Times reported that Wii will sell for 249.99 in the US and the release date is November 19. Its on IGN as well




RE: US price and date
By RandomFool on 9/14/2006 8:43:46 AM , Rating: 2
The IGN article pretty much falls in line with what I expected. Although I was really expecting the Wii to come with two controllers since they seemed to have had a focus on multiplayer. Oh well.

Is it just me or does 40 bucks for a controller and 20 bucks for an attachment seem kind high to anyone else? I haven't bought a controller since the orignial playstation so i suppose it could be normal.


RE: US price and date
By LtFarva on 9/14/2006 9:52:46 AM , Rating: 2
Well considering the retail price of a 360 controller, its not bad.


RE: US price and date
By FightingChance on 9/14/2006 10:34:40 AM , Rating: 2
Controllers are one of the high margin items that help make up the difference of selling the system at a loss, along with memory units (actually cheap NAND flash) and other items like wireless adapters.


RE: US price and date
By xlmussel on 9/14/2006 3:43:17 PM , Rating: 2
I think nintendo is actually making money off Wii hardware sales if you believe the iSuppli estimated cost to build a Wii. Bravo nintendo, another first.


RE: US price and date
By FITCamaro on 9/15/2006 12:57:01 PM , Rating: 2
Yes but thats mainly because the Revolution is nothing more than an upgraded Gamecube. The biggest thing they changed was from using those mini-DVDs to using standard size DVDs.


Where da games at?
By knitecrow on 9/14/2006 8:31:39 AM , Rating: 2
Sure the Wii is cute looking and is relatively inexpensive but about games?

So far I have not seen any compelling games in the pipeline (sure you have zelda, mario and red steel looks interesting.) Retro gaming will only get you so far and I for one am not spending money on retro gaming.

The Xbox360 has the following games to look forward to: Gears of War, Halo 3, bioshock, Lost planet, mass effect, Too human, Forza 2, Fable 2, Assassins Creed, GTA4, Resident Evil 5

The choice is simple for me.




RE: Where da games at?
By Loc13 on 9/14/2006 8:45:46 AM , Rating: 2
http://wii.ign.com/articles/730/730221p1.html

check out the game list for wii, all of these should be available by the end of the year. But again, it depends on what type of games you like. If graphics is high priority for you, then xbox360/PS3 is the way to go. Wii is about enjoying a different gaming experience.


RE: Where da games at?
By Korvon on 9/14/2006 11:34:03 AM , Rating: 3
Far Cry? Call of Duty!?!?! On the Wii?! Would love to play a FPS with that controler... use it like a snipe gun. Duck Hunt 2.0.


RE: Where da games at?
By One43637 on 9/14/2006 7:55:29 PM , Rating: 2
quote:

by Loc13 on September 14, 2006 at 8:45 AM

http://wii.ign.com/articles/730/730221p1.html

check out the game list for wii, all of these should be available by the end of the year. But again, it depends on what type of games you like. If graphics is high priority for you, then xbox360/PS3 is the way to go. Wii is about enjoying a different gaming experience.


true, but since the price point is close to the $200 USD range, a lot of people that already have a 360, me included, will be more inclined to purchase one.


RE: Where da games at?
By TheDoc9 on 9/14/06, Rating: 0
RE: Where da games at?
By Nightskyre on 9/14/2006 1:31:06 PM , Rating: 2
So, what you're saying is if you're willing to break copyright you don't have to pay for things.

Seems fairly consistent with what people have been saying and doing for years.


RE: Where da games at?
By PrinceGaz on 9/14/2006 1:44:15 PM , Rating: 1
quote:
and the entire Nintendo Library is completly free.


Not legally it isn't. If you're going to support piracy, you may as well say all games for every platform are completely free. And all movies, and music, etc.


Wii two days after PS3?
By JSK on 9/14/2006 2:37:31 AM , Rating: 2
Hrm odd choice. I would have thought Nintendo would have wanted to beat them out of the door. Unless they expect the serious lack of PS3 product those first few days to only push customers to their Wii.

"sorry honey they are all sold of that that ps3 you wanted, how about a wii?"

"that sounds great mom!"

I will pick up a ps3 just to sell it and buy a wii, and then a ps3 when the availability is a bit more common.




RE: Wii two days after PS3?
By Sunrise089 on 9/14/2006 4:24:58 AM , Rating: 2
agreed - everything here is great - console pricing, download pricing, game pricing all as expected, but the date is odd. Maybe they figure Sony will blitz advertising before launch and have zero product available anyways, so it's better to launch second. More likely they realize launch days don't matter if the system is good and available. There will be no PS3s in many areas, and the 360s are out already, so the Wii can pretty much show up and sell whenever it wants to at ~$200. It will without a doubt be the first console bought on launch day for this user however.


RE: Wii two days after PS3?
By JeffDM on 9/17/2006 12:47:42 AM , Rating: 2
I'm still not convinced that the Wii is really competing against the PS3, so the date relative to PS3 probably doesn't matter so much. It just has to be out before Black Friday to hit the shopping season.


RE: Wii two days after PS3?
By JeffDM on 9/17/2006 12:50:08 AM , Rating: 2
Oops, I made a mistake, I didn't read the actual release date. A December date is pretty odd, I think, I would think it would be more sensible to be released in November for the reasons I stated - Black Friday.


US release date announcement
By encryptkeeper on 9/14/2006 9:34:15 AM , Rating: 2
I think the US release date (and price) is supposed to be made official tomorrow from New York. The ~$212 price range + $40 bucks for an extra controller (from the sound of the article, the nunchuck attachment was included in that price)isn't too bad. The date DOES sound funny, but I bet they got a little behind from having to devote extra time to churning out those 21,000,000+ DS units.




RE: US release date announcement
By xlmussel on 9/14/2006 9:51:32 AM , Rating: 2
shortage in US = people wait on line, "what no Wii? oh well, I'll get a 360."

shortage in Japan = people wait in line, "What no Wii? RIOT!!!" hack, slash, pain, blood.


RE: US release date announcement
By a1016neo on 9/14/2006 10:06:11 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
I think the US release date (and price) is supposed to be made official tomorrow from New York.



Tomorrow is Today


By encryptkeeper on 9/14/2006 10:27:03 AM , Rating: 2
Oh, my bad, I thought the US event was Friday.