Possible release and price for Wii - story pulled off IGN.

[dbiersdorf]

IGN had a news that said the Wii would launch on November 12th at $230. The news story has since been taken down. Could be true, who knows.

Same day as Gears of War = not smart.

[joshnickerson]

Actually, since the target audience that Nintendo's going after would have no idea what Gears of War is, it might not be such a bad idea.

I'm calling schenanagins on this though... that $229 price point is just a bit too weird to be true.

[dbiersdorf]

Target audience? Just because Nintendo wants to hit non-gamers doesn't mean they don't want to appeal to gamers as well, hence games like Zelda and Metroid.

Actually, when I think about it, having Zelda and Gears of War released on the same day would be *extremely* interesting.

[exit]

The news story has since been taken down. Could be true, who knows.

It was probably taken down because they made total asses of themselves, which isn't a very uncommon thing with IGN. They tend to put up any idiotic thing they can think of and probably posted this so they could have an "exclusive", only it blew up in their face.

I don't really see how a game being released can compare to a console, but then again I've just now heard about Gears of Wars.

[dbiersdorf]

Don't be so quick to judge, Advance Media Network posted the news at the same time (or sooner) and had to take it down as well.

Article is back up,
http://wii.ign.com/articles/723/723894p1.html

Oddly though this paragraph was included in the first news post, but was taken out for the second one.

"Insiders claim to have seen final hardware. The Broadway CPU is allegedly in the 750 CL line, a continuation of the 750 GX series. IBM may be working on a revised Broadway chip with a lower clock speed for a future Nintendo handheld — presumably one that plays GameCube discs."

[heybtbm]

It was probably taken down because they made total asses of themselves, which isn't a very uncommon thing with IGN.

So true.

[Mr.FoodMonster]

I don't buy that date, I think it'll be out sooner.

[Beefy Hits]

$230 is steeper than I was expecting.

[slip81]

Most likely bogus information. A new console (and a Nintendo one at that) is big news, and I doubt only one or two sites would know the launch date and price of something that big.

My guess is when the official annoucement comes if will be all over every electronics site and mag around

[AMG]

Same day as Gears of War = not smart.

If this is in fact true, I don't think it'll be a problem at all.

Launch day Wii buyers are most likely die hard Nintendo fans that will be picking up the console regardless of any other games/consoles being released within that time frame.

[aaronpetrosky]

Man, if the Wii is more then expected. Some people are gonna go insane. All you hear about is how cheap the Wii is gonna be.

[Pico956]

Man, if the Wii is more then expected. Some people are gonna go insane. All you hear about is how cheap the Wii is gonna be.

IMO 2-300 dollars is damn cheap for a next gen console. If people moan about it being about $250, I'll be suprized. I mean come on, 360 is $400!

[Mr.FoodMonster]

I'm pretty sure Nintendo all but spelled out that it's going to be $250, and I've been expecting that price for months now. Cheaper than that is just awesome, but I don't see that happening.

[Ed Oscuro]

Actually, when I think about it, having Zelda and Gears of War released on the same day would be *extremely* interesting.
Launching games on the same day is just a ploy to rally the fanboy machine into action. Are you saying that's EVER been interesting? :D

[RCM]

I have my fingers crossed that Wii launches for $199. If MS drops their systems (core/premium) by $100 next year Nintendo can no longer claim to be the cheapest ticket in town.

360 could drop to a yen in Japan and Wii would still outsell it over there!

[j_factor]

I'm pretty sure Nintendo all but spelled out that it's going to be $250, and I've been expecting that price for months now. Cheaper than that is just awesome, but I don't see that happening.

Really? I came to the conclusion that the price was gonna be $200.

For two reasons. Number 1, the NES, SNES, N64, and Gamecube all launched for $200. They've bragged about Wii being cheap, but it wouldn't be anything to brag about if they're actually charging us $50 more than ever.

Reason number 2 is a statement coming from Nintendo. True, they've only said that it won't exceed $250 in the US. But they also said they won't launch it for any more than 2500 yen in Japan -- Gamecube was 2500 yen on its Japanese launch, and was $200 here.

[2Dskillz]

I am still failing to see the facination with Gears of War.

When I first started hearing so much hoop-la about it I imagined it must be something very revolutionary. When I finally read a large article in Game Informer I found out it was yet another FPS, they said that it stood out because you had a team and used cover. Is this really all that it takes for a FPS to stand out?

sorry if this is a bit off topic.

[Crazycarl]

I am still failing to see the facination with Gears of War.

When I first started hearing so much hoop-la about it I imagined it must be something very revolutionary. When I finally read a large article in Game Informer I found out it was yet another FPS, they said that it stood out because you had a team and used cover. Is this really all that it takes for a FPS to stand out?

sorry if this is a bit off topic.

first of all it's not a FPS. It's Third person, and it not so much the you can take cover, but the fact that you have to. Personally seeing Cliffy B playing that game shows me that the AI is so good that jumping into the middle of the action will get you killed in a second. So you have to hide behind walls, rocks, and anything else that that can keep you from being ripped apart. The graphics are second to none, phisically blown away (infact Kojima was in the same way, and you could tell he was blown away). And the very last thing is the fact that you have a chain saw on your gun, and you will be able to curb stomp the locust. :angry: :angry:

ok lets get back to the topic on hand.

[THATinkjar]

I am still failing to see the facination with Gears of War.

When I first started hearing so much hoop-la about it I imagined it must be something very revolutionary. When I finally read a large article in Game Informer I found out it was yet another FPS, they said that it stood out because you had a team and used cover. Is this really all that it takes for a FPS to stand out?

While I may agree with you on some level, I still believe that this game merits a lot of publicity. Why? Because although Gears of War may be doing some things we've already seen and tried (in addition to one or two new aspects), Epic will be polishing and perfecting these elements, and taking the time to actually make them work well!

Every developer and publisher known to man sings from the rooftops about their games, so when someone truly has a winning formula - like Gears of War looks to be - I want them to be shouting even louder, which they seem to be doing.

We have all played too many games that have, quite simply, over-promised and under-delivered. Gears of War may be promising what we have been promised before, but I suspect it'll actually deliver in spades. Add to this some truly next-gen graphics, and Epic's trademark stamp on multiplayer, and you have a package that I'd much prefer over any innovative game that doesn't quite live up to its billing.

[Bronty-2]

I'm pretty sure Nintendo all but spelled out that it's going to be $250, and I've been expecting that price for months now. Cheaper than that is just awesome, but I don't see that happening.

Really? I came to the conclusion that the price was gonna be $200.

For two reasons. Number 1, the NES, SNES, N64, and Gamecube all launched for $200. They've bragged about Wii being cheap, but it wouldn't be anything to brag about if they're actually charging us $50 more than ever.

Reason number 2 is a statement coming from Nintendo. True, they've only said that it won't exceed $250 in the US. But they also said they won't launch it for any more than 2500 yen in Japan -- Gamecube was 2500 yen on its Japanese launch, and was $200 here.

Yeah but exchange rates change. I'm pretty sure 2500 y is more in USD than it used to be given that most major currencies have increased against the USD ever since bush took over. So I think 229 sounds like a pretty likely price actually - call it $30 of Iraq tax.

To put the drastic change in rates into perspective, I used to have to pay $1.60 cdn to get a $1.00 US. So that $100 item cost me $160. It's now around $110-115.

[studvicious]

I would bet that the release date is 100% accurate. Even a lot of retail websites are having the same date. With any luck we should be getting an official announcement soon... hopefully.

[Niku-Sama]

i know alot of us are seeing the PS3 and 360 prices to be way too high, i know i am and they dont really show any thing much more innovative than the previous system

i am sure nintendo has picked up on this price problem and it seems they've finally donw away with the propritary media which are both a big plus, although its not higly innovative they controllers do give it that little edge.

my guess is the system will be ~$250. its not going to be super hard core nulti processor/gpu system like PS3 or 360 because it comes to a point where you dont really need that

at the same time though, these controllers should cost a pretty penny probally ~$70 a pop

[ty896]

I'm pretty sure Nintendo all but spelled out that it's going to be $250, and I've been expecting that price for months now. Cheaper than that is just awesome, but I don't see that happening.

Really? I came to the conclusion that the price was gonna be $200.

For two reasons. Number 1, the NES, SNES, N64, and Gamecube all launched for $200. They've bragged about Wii being cheap, but it wouldn't be anything to brag about if they're actually charging us $50 more than ever.

Reason number 2 is a statement coming from Nintendo. True, they've only said that it won't exceed $250 in the US. But they also said they won't launch it for any more than 2500 yen in Japan -- Gamecube was 2500 yen on its Japanese launch, and was $200 here.


I think you mean 25000 ¥en (2500 is only about 20 bucks) :)

Now at today's rates 25000 ¥ will get you about $217. Given that the rates at release will be different and unknowable, not to mention that Nintendo knows early adapters will gladly pay a premium, I would guess $229 is as low a price as wii are likely to get.

To me this is good news, like others have said, $250 was the impression I got from the big N.

[Anthony1]

A little birdie told me October 18th and $199.99. Let's see if the little birdie is right. Supposedly the date and price will be announced at the Leipzig Games Convention later this month in Germany.

[j_factor]

A little birdie told me October 18th and $199.99. Let's see if the little birdie is right. Supposedly the date and price will be announced at the Leipzig Games Convention later this month in Germany.

I wouldn't expect them to announce anything at the Leipzig convention other than possibly Europe-specific information.

[Anthony1]

A little birdie told me October 18th and $199.99. Let's see if the little birdie is right. Supposedly the date and price will be announced at the Leipzig Games Convention later this month in Germany.

I wouldn't expect them to announce anything at the Leipzig convention other than possibly Europe-specific information.



Well, if the launch is being bumped up to as early as October 18th, like this little birdie told me, then they would want to announce that relatively soon, so both consumers and retailers could prepare. Plus they normally don't have much of a presence at the Tokyo Game Show, and if they announce it at the Tokyo Game Show, that would only be like one month in advance. I guess we will know if this tidbit of information is accurate when the Leipzig show takes place in a few weeks.