So, the official Nintendo Wii channel is up and running now, which is very nice. What’s not so nice is the price and release date for the Wii: $249.99 on November 19th. Boy was I wrong. Does anyone else feel like they’ve been kicked in the nuts by that price? The Big N came out awhile ago and said that the system would be under $250, but the fact that they then made it one cent less just reeks of corporate altruism. I understand that $249.99 < $250, but, after numerous reports came out saying that the Wii was going to be around $150 - $170, I feel kind of let down. Don’t even get me started on the analyst reports that said that Nintendo could sell the thing for $170 (because of the increase in its stock due to fanboy support of the new console) or I may start to cry.
Good new things to come out of Nintendo Wii US launch details:
- Wii will be region-free (1st party titles guaranteed)
- Wii Sports included ($50 value)
- Wii Channels seem nifty
- Expert Mode on Metroid Prime: Corruption is supposed to be the best interface for a FPS outside of a PC according to IGN
Bad new things to come out of Nintendo Wii US launch details:
- Price: $249
- Launch Date: November 19th US launch (two days after the PS3 launches)
- One controller included
- Complete (Wiimote + Nunchuck) controllers are $60
- Only color available at launch: White (has Steve Jobs taken over?)
- Metroid Prime: Corruption has been delayed until early 2007
I feel better knowing that the XBOX 360 controllers cost $50 a piece and aren’t nearly as tech heavy as the Wii controllers, but, still, $60 for a controller? Ouch! Now you will all know how much I value your friendship by how deep the line is to play a game.
"Back behind the velvet rope, you!" *whip crack*
"Back, back I say!"
*whip crack*
The launch date does have a nice silver lining for Nintendo though: only 400k units of the PS3 will ship to the US, but 1 million units of the Wii will be here two days later. The PS3 shortage will be the Wii’s gain, but the fanboy in me wants it now! You remember those commercial for Life cereal back in the day? Where they showed a grown-up eating the cereal saying how good it was for you, then a kid version of the adult would pop into place (in the adult’s now baggy clothing and all) and say how much they loved the brown sugar taste... yeah, I’m a split personality on the entire Wii issue at the moment. I'm still going to pre-order, but I feel like a little love was lost in the course of one day. That hurts, Ninty. That hurts on the inside. *sniff*
-neil
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My blog is about the Nintendo Wii, Wii games, my Wii experience and video games in general. Anecdotes that *don't* pertain to video games or the video game industry will show up now and then. Game updates come more often. Theoretically.
4 comments:
Another upside is that fact that the one part of the controller is offically called a "Nunchuck". How can that not be awesome?
Sorry to break it to you if you haven't read Engadget yet, but the Wii is region locked.
http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/15/wii-to-be-region-locked-after-all/
A lot of sites are reporting that is region free, Engadget and Joystiq are speculating (in my opinion) that's region locked. They had a Q&A discussion with a Nintendo VP after the launch press conference and the VP said that the Wii was region free. It doesn't matter to me because I'll never use that feature, but I think it'd be nice. The *bigger* issue is the inclusion of a component cable with the unit, which is supposed to be bundled in... earlier I'd heard that they would be selling it seperately for $50. Please let it be included!
Now I'm seeing that it is up to the game developers to enable the region lock or not. Can't find the source, but sounds like the most likely option.
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