backtop


Print E-mail del.icio.us 56 comment(s) - last by iSHADE.. on Sep 10 at 6:41 PM

Slightly late but still cheaper than the competition

According to reports, Nintendo's long awaited -- although not nearly as long as Sony's PlayStation 3 -- will be launched on November 24th of this year in Europe. An article in MCV magazine reports that Nintendo's Wii console will also be launched with a price of roughly $280. At this price, the Wii will still be less expensive than Microsoft's XBOX 360 and Sony's upcoming PlayStation 3.

DailyTech previously reported that Nintendo's Wii was going to launch during September or October. Industry insiders had predicted that Nintendo would give its new console some light during the Thanksgiving time frame. It appears now that the console will have a slight push back, at least in Europe. 

Just yesterday Nintendo released a press release stating "Wii is on track to ship in Q4, Nintendo plans to ship 6 million systems to retailers around the world between its launch in the fourth quarter of 2006 and the end of its fiscal year on March 31, 2007."  The November 24 date is consistent with this statement.  Even still, the MCV report has already stirred up controversy.  GameIndustry.Biz reports that Nintendo's UK General Manager, David Yarnton, told the publication "They're not far off, but they're definitely not right."

Nintendo is still expected to make an official announcement next week on the date of its console for the US and Japan.  Sony recently made an announcement that the PS3 launch in Europe would also face delays.


Comments     Threshold


This article is over a month old, voting and posting comments is disabled

Date
By SixFour on 9/8/2006 5:13:39 PM , Rating: 2
Don't know about the price but why would Wii come out on a Friday?




RE: Date
By encryptkeeper on 9/8/2006 5:23:38 PM , Rating: 2
That's the infamous "Black Friday". It's right after thanksgiving, on what is traditionally the BIGGEST day of sales for the year.


RE: Date
By encryptkeeper on 9/8/2006 5:24:46 PM , Rating: 1
It really wouldn't be a good day to release it on, retailers would want it to release on a day where sales are usually much lower than this day.


RE: Date
By Knish on 9/8/2006 6:58:33 PM , Rating: 2
The SNES was launched in Japan on black friday 1990. The DS was launched in the US on black friday 2004. Playstation 2 was launched in europe on black friday 2000.

Hey but you armchair marketers know best.


RE: Date
By psychobriggsy on 9/8/2006 8:16:14 PM , Rating: 2
Because both Japan and Europe have Black Fridays ... oh wait.

However for a cheap 'next generation' console, it makes sense to release it on a day that hordes of people are beating each other senseless to buy a cheaper microwave. In their blind bargain-hunt mode they'll buy them all without thinking.


RE: Date
By tophat on 9/8/2006 7:01:27 PM , Rating: 2
No. You're betting on the momentum of the Wii to drive traffic into your store whereas you know for a fact that you will have guaranteed traffic into the store on the day after Thanksgiving. Retailers, as with anyone, would bet on a sure thing. Not on momentum nor speculation.


RE: Date
By Zapp Brannigan on 9/9/2006 6:03:34 AM , Rating: 2
it's just being released on a friday in the EU because all game related stuff is. All games related release dates are on a friday. I don't know why, it just is.

It's nothing to do with marketing or anything, it's just the standardised release day in the Europe.


Jumping the gun
By encryptkeeper on 9/8/2006 2:21:07 PM , Rating: 2
Dailytech DID jump the gun here. The 280 price tag is referring to a 149 Pound price tag in England. European markets are always higher than here in the US. Don't worry just yet. The date could be accurate though, as Nintendo has just acquired the Broadway processors, and having a September or October release would be damn tough. I'm sure they'd still like to get a jump on Sony, even if it's only a few days. Next week, we'll get the official announcement, so again, don't freak out.




RE: Jumping the gun
By Vertigo101 on 9/8/2006 2:25:56 PM , Rating: 2
If it's over $225, I'm not buying untill a price drop, and I stand buy that. And that's only if there's a game besides Super Mario Galaxy that looks half-way interesting and playable. (I'm getting Twilight Princess for the GC, its rightful home.)


RE: Jumping the gun
By mjcutri on 9/8/2006 2:41:38 PM , Rating: 3
I've never paid the initial price for a console. I think it's dumb to pay $50-$100 more just so you can have it "first." I usually wait 6-12 months to get a console because it's usually $50 cheaper and the first release games are $10-20 less as well. On that note, I'm defitely buying a Wii, probably after the first price cut. Nintendo games are just more fun to play, especially with other people. My wife is a die-hard PS2 fan, but we play mario golf/cart/smash bros. on my game cube far more often than we play anything on her PS2.


RE: Jumping the gun
By Korvon on 9/8/2006 4:57:30 PM , Rating: 2
Yah, but dont you think $50 for 6-12 months of game play is worth it? I could see waiting a month... maybe two... but you pay over $10 to see a 2 hour movie in a theater. For the amount of hours most people play on a game console, its not a bad deal. IMO.


UK
By LtFarva on 9/8/2006 1:54:12 PM , Rating: 4
This is for the UK (as stated in the link). It's not mentioned anywhere here. It will be no more than $249 in the US. Well, at least that's what Nintendo said.




RE: UK
By kelmon on 9/9/2006 7:55:12 AM , Rating: 2
£150 price point is a sweet position for me and takes things back to the good ol' days when consoles didn't cost a fortune. I remember paying the same many years ago for a Super NES so, given inflation over the past 15-years, £150 is going to be cheaper in real terms so I'm actually very happy with this news. Unfortunately, at this time my wife is saying "no" given that I'm about to blow £2000 on a new laptop so the Wii will probably have to wait. Still, for everyone else this news should be welcomed.


europe
By regnez on 9/8/2006 2:19:48 PM , Rating: 3
that is the launch date and price in europe, where everything costs more and launches late. cannot believe the article fails to mention that.




RE: europe
By Chadder007 on 9/8/2006 2:22:45 PM , Rating: 3
DailyTech has been leaving news out like that here lately it seems... :/
US launch will be a little sooner (a few weeks) and price will be less ($249).


$250 or Less in the US
By SGTPan on 9/8/2006 2:27:39 PM , Rating: 2
Even at $200.00, Nintendo will likely still be turning a profit on the hardware at launch... something unheard of in recent years for consoles. If damn near every source indicates prior to this that the Wii will debut at $250 or less, I wouldn't be so quick to believe this "News".




RE: $250 or Less in the US
By encryptkeeper on 9/8/2006 2:42:58 PM , Rating: 2
This is for the UK price only....


What is that, the 4th or 5th UK price post???


RE: $250 or Less in the US
By Xavian on 9/8/2006 3:08:44 PM , Rating: 2
This is pure speculation at this point, Nintendo themselves have said this.

The Magazine could very well be posting rumours.

http://gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=1957...
is Nintendo on this.

For now ill take this with a large pinch of salt, considering no-one knows the true launch date of the Wii till the the 3 events hosted on September 14th in Japan and US and September 15th in Europe. THAT is where they will give out this info, not here and now in a magazine.


By LucidDefender on 9/8/2006 2:48:04 PM , Rating: 2
http://gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=1957...

[quote]Nintendo UK boss David Yarnton has told GamesIndustry.biz that reports the Wii will retail for GBP 149 and will be in shops shortly before November 24 are "definitely not right".

The claims, which appeared in an article by trade publication MCV, are "only speculation, and definitely not fact," according to Yarnton. [/quote]




By robber98 on 9/8/2006 3:14:40 PM , Rating: 2
I LOL'd at you


By robber98 on 9/8/2006 3:15:33 PM , Rating: 2
sorry.. I was reply to the other post =\


one more time
By Lazarus Dark on 9/8/2006 2:33:48 PM , Rating: 4
well, i figured we should have at least five more posts to say that this is the UK price and date and the US price and date should be lower and sooner respectively.

But seriously, I'm a total dailytech fanboy but this one is a glaring error. c'mon Kris.




RE: one more time
By KristopherKubicki (blog) on 9/8/2006 3:27:21 PM , Rating: 1
Sorry I've been out of the office all week. I cleaned up this article a bunch though.


Here's hoping the supply note is true
By Chris Peredun on 9/8/2006 1:59:05 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
The magazine also goes on to state that there will be plenty of supply to fill the demands of consumers on launch day as well as through the holiday shopping season.


I don't feel like standing in line at 0700h just to get my hands on one. The local stores aren't doing preorders for fear that they'll have another "360 Situation" on their hands if their shipment gets cut back.




By creathir on 9/8/2006 2:19:16 PM , Rating: 2
Or another PS3, PS2, PSP, or any other major console release. This is just the name of the game... I really do wonder why people stand in line like that... If you pre-order early, you'll get one. Easy as that.

- Creathir


Wii-won't
By Havocgm on 9/8/06, Rating: 0
RE: Wii-won't
By iSHADE on 9/10/2006 6:41:06 PM , Rating: 2
THIS IS NOT OFFICIAL. Infact it has been proved false by Nintendo, along with the words; "This info is far off."


RE: Wii-won't
By iSHADE on 9/10/2006 6:41:28 PM , Rating: 2
THIS IS NOT OFFICIAL. Infact it has been proved false by Nintendo, along with the words; "This info is far off."


Probably US price
By Lonyo on 9/8/2006 3:58:14 PM , Rating: 2
$200 is still VERY possible for the US price.
The DS Lite is £100 in the UK, or $130 in the US.
150 * 1.3 = $195 possible price for the Wii.




RE: Probably US price
By Burning Bridges on 9/8/2006 5:14:37 PM , Rating: 2
Only who said it would cost GBP150 ???


This is A RUMOR
By ktlewis02 on 9/8/2006 5:09:24 PM , Rating: 4
And it has already been dismissed by Nintendo. What a sloppy ass reporting job by daily tech once again:

Here's the real story:
Nintendo UK boss David Yarnton has told our sister site, GamesIndustry.biz, that reports the Wii will retail for £149 and will be in shops shortly before November 24 are "definitely not right".

The claims, which appeared in an article by trade publication MCV, are "only speculation, and definitely not fact," according to Yarnton.

"They're not far off, but they're definitely not right," he told GI.biz.


AND YES IT WILL BE UNDER $250, GOOD LORD PEOPLE




By psychobriggsy on 9/8/2006 2:46:16 PM , Rating: 2
So ... £149.95 is £127.62 ex. VAT.

127.62 GBP = 238.046 USD

So I doubt that the US price will be above $229.95. Given the level of price markup over here, it's probably $199.95.




pure speculaction at this point...
By Xavian on 9/8/2006 3:05:41 PM , Rating: 2
This is pure speculation at this point, Nintendo themselves have said this.

The Magazine could very well be posting rumours.

http://gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=1957...
is Nintendo on this.

For now ill take this with a large pinch of salt, considering no-one knows the true launch date of the Wii till the the 3 events hosted on September 14th in Japan and US and September 15th in Europe. THAT is where they will give out this info, not here and now in a magazine.




Better gaming for $280
By PrinceGaz on 9/9/2006 8:17:53 AM , Rating: 2
I was going to get a Wii but I think I'll have a better gaming experience by spending the $280 on the Bigfoot Networks KillerNIC for my PC instead. That gamers network-card has to be better value than the Wii.




nintendo system launch
By jdmackes on 9/9/2006 1:09:27 PM , Rating: 2
Actually, nintendo didn't launch the DS on black friday, there have never been any systems launched on black friday to my knowledge. They always launch before, generally a week or so. Nintendo always seems to launch their systems on Sundays though, so I would speculate that it would be either the sunday before, or two sundays before black friday.




Sounds like BS
By bunnyfubbles on 9/8/2006 3:12:30 PM , Rating: 1
It'll be a hard $199 or $249, any other price completely breaks all trends




Price
By Vertigo101 on 9/8/06, Rating: -1
RE: Price
By Havocgm on 9/8/2006 1:51:35 PM , Rating: 2
$280 for a next gen console, which beats out both MS and Sony by at least a 100 bucks, that's still worth it.


RE: Price
By 05SilverGT on 9/8/2006 1:53:10 PM , Rating: 2
The only thing that's next-gen about the Wii is the controler. The rest is a pumped up Gamecube with DVD. No reason why this thing should be more then $199.99. At that price or lower I'll probably buy one.


RE: Price
By ascian5 on 9/8/06, Rating: 0
RE: Price
By ViperROhb34 on 9/9/06, Rating: 0
RE: Price
By One43637 on 9/8/06, Rating: 0
RE: Price
By ahodge on 9/8/06, Rating: -1
RE: Price
By Keeir on 9/8/2006 1:54:58 PM , Rating: 2
The references article (MCV) refers to a Wii at 149 pounds in Britian. Thats a fair sight different than a direct conversion to ~$280 because of other factors.


RE: Price
By Chadder007 on 9/8/2006 2:21:03 PM , Rating: 2
Tis true. It will probably still be around $249 here in the states.


RE: Price
By radams on 9/8/2006 2:49:33 PM , Rating: 2
Taking VAT out of the picture, The Wii costs about 238 dollars, converted. That's right in line with everything Nintendo has aimed for.


RE: Price
By Alphafox78 on 9/8/2006 2:14:49 PM , Rating: 2
I agree, I was ready to pay $200, as I recall reading somewhere thats what is was to sell for. thats almost 50% more than I was expecting to pay; for a casual gamer, this is just too much.


RE: Price
By Lonearchon on 9/8/2006 2:23:15 PM , Rating: 2
That is base on £149 which direct conversion is 280. But as every who lives in the UK will tell you the price is alway jack up higher than the us sometime even £=$ Conversion by companys. So expect it to come in around $199.99-$249.99 here in the us


We were led to believe the price would be $200...
By jskirwin on 9/8/06, Rating: -1
By middlehead on 9/8/2006 2:00:59 PM , Rating: 2
I don't know who's been leading you, but $200 has never been Nintendo's position. They've said 'under 250.' Could mean 249.99, could mean 225, but whoever's been 'leading' you towards 200 isn't very bright.


...better be under 200
By NotAok on 9/8/06, Rating: -1
RE: ...better be under 200
By Xavian on 9/8/2006 3:06:25 PM , Rating: 2
EVERYTHING is a gimmick, till its popular, then it becomes industry standard.


RE: ...better be under 200
By NotAok on 9/8/06, Rating: 0
RE: ...better be under 200
By Xavian on 9/8/2006 4:35:40 PM , Rating: 2
lets see:

Nintendo was the first to:

Add Rumble to console controllers
Use an Analogue stick for its controller
Bring controllers/gamepads to the console industry
To use Light Guns in the industry
To use Motion Sensing tech in its games (Kirby's Rattle N' Roll) was back in 2000/2001.
and more.

Now only 2 on that list didn't become industry standard and seems likely that with the Wii both of those could very well become industry standard in the generation after the PS3/Wii/360.

Many of Nintendo's Innovate ideas become extremely popular and i dont see the Wii being any different, you can dismiss it as being gimmicky, but the TRUE gimmick lies in the PS3's motion sensing, its not very effective and is barely useful in only a couple of niche genres. Sony are the ones who said they 'dont do gimmicks' and now they do.

The fact is, the Wii has more hype for it, then any of the other next-generation consoles, it looks set to take market leader in Japan and possibly Europe and the US. It may seem gimmicky to you now, but in the next 5 years i bet it'll become industry standard.


RE: ...better be under 200
By SilthDraeth on 9/10/2006 10:37:08 AM , Rating: 2
True a lot of games use the DS's 2nd screen as a map. But that isn't the DS's fault. Even so, having a 2nd screen to use as a map is still very useful, if not innovated.


"Intel is investing heavily (think gazillions of dollars and bazillions of engineering man hours) in resources to create an Intel host controllers spec in order to speed time to market of the USB 3.0 technology." -- Intel blogger Nick Knupffer














botimage
Copyright 2010 DailyTech LLC. - RSS Feed | Advertise | About Us | Ethics | FAQ | Terms, Conditions & Privacy Information | Kristopher Kubicki