IGNcube editor in chump Matt Casamassina has said that he thinks that the Nintendo Wii is too expensive at $250 and three weeks late (in the US of Zod, of course). He's wondering what Nintendo is up to, pawning this shoddy, underpowered console off on us for $50 more than expected and weeks after the PlayStation 3 comes to market (not in Europe, mind you, where it'll beat the PS3 by several months. But the pricing issue stands universally.)
"As a gamer," Matt tell us, "I want Wii to sell for $200 for a number of reasons. It has about one tenth the processing prowess and one fifth the RAM of, say Xbox 360, and it also lacks a true hard drive. It doesn't play DVDs. It doesn't play music CDs. Yes, you read that correctly and yes, it's true. In fact, in many ways, it could be called a turbo- charged GameCube. So why the $249 price point?"
He continues, on the issue of timing, to say that Nintendo should launch earlier to capitalise on the vastly superior supply it has over Sony's expected paltry 400,000 units or so on launch.
I don't think that either the issue of pricing or timing will harm the Wii one tiny bit, for two reasons:
- As Casamassina points out himself, the added $50 sticker price is not going to deter the early adopter crowd who crawl over one another around the Christmas period to get the next big thing. Anyways, $250 is still $250 - $350 less than the PlayStation 3 will be going for, and the Xbox 360 is no charity giveaway either. The Wii remains the cost effective console for the mainstream audience, and anyways they can just drop the price fifty quid come January.
- The Wii is in a class of its own compared to the other two competing consoles. It is unique and so most of those thinking of buying a Wii have an Xbox 360 and intend on getting one, intend on buying a PS3 and a Wii; or else they intend to buy a Wii and ignore the other consoles. Therefore, the other console makers are, relative to Nintendo's calculations, irrelevant to the largest degree.
The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 are in a premium category of their own. Some might say a bit too premium. They cater to a particular audience, have a particular style of game in mind and will compete with one another. The Nintendo Wii is a different experience, and a damn sight cheaper at that. It will succeed by virtue of ignoring any perceived competition.
Comments (5)
I beg to differ on the "Damn sight cheaper" comment. It is only $50 less than
the Xbox 360 core package. When you look at value, it is not there. I am
probably going to buy one, but I do think it is overpriced. The $299 Xbox 360
is a much better value for anyone who is a gamer. But as stated before, it
will probably be bought by people who own a 360 or PS3. But it isn't as cheap
as it should be. And as much as they say it caters to a different crowd. It
will be bought by gamers. I don't see people who are not gamers buying it
because of the weird controller. Not embracing it because of it. But gamers
see it as a new experience in gaming.
Posted by Anonymous | October 3, 2006 5:35 PM
Posted on October 3, 2006 17:35
Any gamer who buys the Xbox 360 core package would want to have their head
looked at... And it's that new experience that I think will draw many people,
myself included, to the Wii.
Posted by --Aaron | October 4, 2006 1:25 AM
Posted on October 4, 2006 01:25
It seems to me that Matt doesn't know which way to lean. He offers up his
honest criticism, but then steers the reader away from it by providing a reason
as to why Nintendo is doing what they're doing. A split personality? Maybe,
but it's his blog and he can run it any way he wants to.Biggest reason I have
for not picking up a Wii on launch day? It isn't green. Give me green,
Nintendo. Or something other than "Ipod" white. ;)
Posted by the_other_aaron | October 5, 2006 9:39 AM
Posted on October 5, 2006 09:39
PlayStation Black, perhaps? Like with Apple's black MacBook though, you pay more
for the colour. White is the new black.
Posted by --Aaron | October 6, 2006 3:27 AM
Posted on October 6, 2006 03:27
360 value is alot more then the Wii. Even if it can play game is still great
piece of hardware. I got mine becuase I wanted to play 1 game agaisnt a friends.
NOw thats stupid reason a buy the system. But what I use it for 98% of the time
(the game was boring and I rarely play it now) is for the media center extender
and dvd player. I already have HTPC, it too complex for my family. But the
xbox360 is perfect for them, and alot better then any other stand only media
extender out now. Add in a DVD player (witch al most no extenders have) and it
great for teh living room.
Posted by Anonymous | October 12, 2006 11:20 AM
Posted on October 12, 2006 11:20