Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Analysts expect Wii price at ¥19.800 ($170 or €135)



The Nikko Citigroup has lowered their estimate of the Wii´s price tag significantly. They now expect the console to launch at ¥19.800 in Japan, which approximates to $170 and €135, respectively. They had previously estimated the Wii´s price at ¥25.000 ($215 and €170, respectively).

IGN has the story:

The firm arrived at the new, lower price point based on its expectation that Nintendo will be able to procure the Wii's CPU for less than expected.

This report is just another prediction by a financial institution and shouldn't be taken as confirmation of the Wii's price. For now, the official Nintendo word is that the system will be sold for under 25,000 yen in Japan and $250 in America.


As I had just started discussing in the comments section, I believe it´s crucial for Nintendo to stay below the 200 mark in both the US and Europe. Only a maximum price of 199 will successfully set them apart from the 299 price tag of the basic Xbox360 version.

Of course, console prices are not merely converted based on current exchange rates. Many other factors are taken into consideration, like shipping, regional adjustments or even the labour costs for support helplines. So we cannot expect as low a price tag for the US and European territories as Japan might get. But this story is a good indicator that Nintendo could stay below the 200 mark in both of those territories, if only they want to.

Source: IGN
Thanks to: PJNobody4

36 comments:

Falafelkid said...

Added a countdown to Nintendo´s GC press conference. Thanks to Albert for the code.

Anonymous said...

They will never go lower than 200$. I bet they will add more stuff though, like a second controller, the classic controller and Wii Sports.

Anonymous said...

wii ram specs 100% real i know you wont believe me.....

hollywood 3mb 1t sram-r gpu catch
hollywood 64mb 1t sram-r main shared catch cpu/gpu
sub die 64mb 1t sram-r main ram

access/sound ram 16mb edram

512mb flashdrive


texture catch 16mb bandwidth
hollywood main ram 32gb bandwidths
64mb sub die ram 32gb bandwidth
16mb access ram 1gb bandwidth
flashdrive 1gb bandwidth

82gb system bandwidths

5ns latency all 91mb of 1t sram-r


latency/bandwidths clearly way way better than xbox/cube

latency/bandwidths above a xbox360

with no HD TO SUPPORT

ENOUGH SAID wii kicks ass at 480p

Falafelkid said...

Hi Anonymous.


latency/bandwidths above a xbox360

with no HD TO SUPPORT

ENOUGH SAID wii kicks ass at 480p


Can you give us any kind of indication as to how you come to know this?

Also, could you please try and explain what latency and bandwidth mean? I am no hardware guy, so I didn´t understand a single word you posted. Hope you can clarify this.

Anonymous said...

Freak!

Anonymous said...

siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh........

manomanomanoMAN. this is getting soooo friggin tiresome. every single FUCKING day i scour the internet for new information. a tidbit. a rumor. (yes falafelkid, RUMOR, not RUMOUR ;D just kidding) anything at all... i've been doing this every single fucking day since e3'05. i'm tired. i'm very very very VERY tired.

please nintendo. please.
please.
please.
PLEASE.

stop this craziness immediately. your fanbase is tireeeeeeeeed. very very tired. please end it. just load the bullet in the chamber, and pull the trigger. END IT.

i'm losing it here.

-"superfan" tactics.

Anonymous said...

Nintendo really need a price point that will appeal to the non-gamers, the sector of the market that it's currently chasing. To do this it needs to market the console at around £150.

Sickr

Anonymous said...

SPRECHEN ZE DEUTCHLAND????

VASSER PFEIFFER!!!!!!!!!

Blizz419 said...

tactics you know it would help if you ended it with those annoying posts on here and on joystiq they almost never add anything to the discussion they just annoy

RGB said...

Stabby said...
They will never go lower than 200$. I bet they will add more stuff though, like a second controller, the classic controller and Wii Sports.


Never say never. How can you say it will 'never' (I think you mean it 'wont' as of course it will be below $200 at some stage) go below $200? Dont be influenced by other people, under $200 is more than likely. I always believed it will be $199, pretty much like how much their other systems launched for.

RGB said...

tactics you know it would help if you ended it with those annoying posts on here and on joystiq they almost never add anything to the discussion they just annoy

Heh. I expect a profane response from Tactics.

Jason said...

$225

Falafelkid said...

Hi Jason.

$225 was a price tag thrown into the ring by IGN, wasn´t it? I still very much hope for $199, simply because it´s psychologically important.

RGB said...

As I have analysed in the past $199 fits more into Blue Ocean Strategy. Anything over does not. If anyone has the chance go and read the book (I have) and you will realise the importance of day 1 price points in creating Blue Oceans.

Anonymous said...

Grandmaster B:

Thanks for mentioning a book we have to read and then not telling us what book it is. Really great!!!

Seriously, despite what everyone says about Nintendo needing a price not to look too cheap. The fact is the cheaper the better for reaching not only mass market sales immediately, but also gathering support by nontraditional buyers. A Non-gamer will play games occassionally, but they many never buy a game. However, if the price is right, it could become an impulse buy for the nongamer.

$199 is a very fair price for a brand new console. However, if Nintendo could reach that $149/150 price point and take a small cut from profit, then Nintendo will reach the Mass Market appeal that is the DS's price point. Look at how that has been saling all around the world.

Adults are buying that system just for Brain Age Training. And at a very low price point, I can see Adults and other non-gamers buying the Wii just for WiiSports.

Falafelkid said...

Hi Spak-Spang.

Thanks for mentioning a book we have to read and then not telling us what book it is. Really great!!!

Well, you might think he didn´t mention the exact title of the book, when in fact he did.

The book is actually called Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant.

Anonymous said...

Falafelkid:

Hey thanks for the heads up.

I guess it is time to visit the library.

Or the bookstore for a brief scan of the book.

Anonymous said...

Blizz vs. Superfan Round 2!

Fight!!!!

Anonymous said...

**destroys all punctuation in blizz419's posts**

HAH! now your posts will barely be intelligible at all!

Superfan WINS! PERFECT!

-"superfan" tactics.

Falafelkid said...

Hi Tactics.

I think it'd be ridiculous not to include at least 2 wiimotes... and i really really think they should pack in wii sports... :/

Here´s my two cents: Wii console retails for $199, including one controller and Wii Sports.

Why? Including two controllers is really nothing the non-gamer public would expect. I am sure they understand that there´s one included and you have to buy additional ones.

What they don´t understand, however, is why there are no games included with a console. Think about it for a moment and it really seems totally ridiculous to fork out hundreds of dollars for a gaming console that does not play games out of the box. it´s like the good old PC days in the eighties when a basic computer didn´t include a disc drive. They soon changed that.

Anonymous said...

hmmmmm that's an excellent point, falafelkid. i guess my logic fails a bit with that in mind, but i was thinking about the whole "inclusive" "wii can play together" branding, and it's association with being multi-player out of the box... :/

it seems kinda self-defeating to include just one controller, but i definately see your point... and after seeing what wii sports looked like, i'm really really hoping they pack that in for the non-gamers. i really feel like store employees will need to be on nintendo's side here, too... which isn't something i EVER see at game stores, unfortunately. it'd just be nice to see "mom's" reaction to "this one is 600, has one controller, no memory card, and no games in the box. this one is 199, has 2 controllers, and comes with a 3-game cd in the box."

mom: "...whaaa?"

thanks again falafelkid, and sorry for flaming a bit... but i do have a name to live up to, apparently ;)

btw the leipzig counter rocks. i can't WAIT. i've been lazy to do the math as to what time it'd be in my timezone. looks as though it'll be timed perfectly for me to be just getting to work when it starts... which is cool :)

-"superfan" tactics.

Falafelkid said...

Hey Tactics

it'd just be nice to see "mom's" reaction to "this one is 600, has one controller, no memory card, and no games in the box. this one is 199, has 2 controllers, and comes with a 3-game cd in the box."

Absolutely. I mean you are totally right about including two controllers. I just think it´s more important to actually include a game, so that´s more likely in my opinion. But very good point there ;)

Oh, and the counter is off somehow I just noticed. It reads 6 days, no hours and thirty minutes remaining - which is wrong, I am sorry. I´ll try to fix it asap.

Anonymous said...

haha, how funny... i was thinking earlier how i seemed to always "luck out" that it always said "0 hours" whenever i looked at it... that's hilarious. wonder what's wrong with the code?

also: when i think about it, the "all-inclusive"/"multiplayer" branding can be supported by the inclusion of *FREE* online support right out of the box... although i haven't heard that wii sports will be online... hmm. now that i think about it, i bet wii sports will in fact use the WFC. that would definately help.

you are totally right though, that consumers know better by now and won't necessarily expect more than one controller to be packed in. nintendo seems to be of the "expect the unexpected" mindset lately though.

here's to hoping for some sweet secrets/suprises come leipzig and beyond!

-"superfan" tactics.

Falafelkid said...

Code should be fixed in a minute... please bear with me.

Falafelkid said...

Fixed!

Anonymous said...

it still says 0 hours... am i really just lucky this time? :D

-"superfan" tactics.

Anonymous said...

fixed! had to do a shift+reload... why i don't know.

-"superfan" tactics.

Anonymous said...

Amazing Raid over the River demo...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNZSc1ijqn4

You have to change the width and hight though.

Anonymous said...

BUY RAID OVER THE RIVER, OR WE MAY NEVER SEE SADNESS. FACT. BUY IT PLEASE.

-"superfan" tactics.

Anonymous said...

"PSWii" & "Wii60"


playsation & Xbox 360

Wii playable on both...



/almost Gold

Anonymous said...

huh? elaborate.

Anonymous said...

...As my work start to eat up further of my spare time I dedicated to this blog along with the near release of Nintendo Wii this winter – I would like to thank you all people for sharing bits and pieces of god, bad and ugly information about this wonder console. I would like to thank Andreas for keeping this blog alive and hope he succeeds in his new career of choice as Game Designer...

...Now I know you won’t miss at all. Even thought I would like to share some of my moments in this blog. If you guys have nothing but spare time, then read what I’ve posted. This in hope that I might remind some of you that this is purely about business and positive side effects comes their after...

What I meant is that in search of some truth of Nintendo – you might most of in its foundation.

Now, take care yer all! And enjoy your self when this huge rock is falling near your door steep in October…ehem…or in November? hehe








Anonymous said...



…I just want to say that I would love the Nintendo to name Revolution (the console) to just - Nintendo

It would make sense if they're really are going for an Apple approach.

Apple products, however have names such as iTunes, iPod, iMac – but people still tend to recall them as, Apple...

Nintendo would archive their maximum marketing potential if they choose to name the REV, Nintendo. People will in the end recall their next products as Nintendo and so. Not that people haven't used that "term" before but what I want to say is that the “Brand Positioning” of Nintendo's witch until now have been - Super, Ultra/64, Advance, DS it would make a marketing breakthrough if the name "Nintendo" were chosen and be recognized.

See what Nintendo have said about them self and or what their creations stands for the past decades?

A family experience system.
Entertainment console.
Fun to use.
We are innovative.
We are creating new market/new streams of income to you (developers)
We are creating new gaming experiences to you (gamers)


What Nintendo as a company and as an entertainment provider (console-games) are trying to do is to survive! And they are doing it very well by creating what a few marketing gurus referred to is a - Blue Ocean…

Blue Ocean you wonder?

Think the general businesses conducted by any game houses as being a Red Ocean. Breaking out from the mould. Nintendo where simply creating a new market (ocean)
When they relized what the gaming market are headed.

And when they have archive their goal by surprise the general public and developers, including the mass media, what would it be better than name their wonderfully next wonder to just - Nintendo?

/madox


5:53 PM 07 December 2005




…well thanks for the interview Fala.

I had hoped this Zelda game would use the Rev-controller in strategic point-of-view as I mention earlier.

And I think Mr. Miyamoto even "confirmed" that Kid Icarus somehow might be in a corner when he attempted to shot you with an arrow. ;)


…anyway how can I contact you Fala? email? I've something private I need to discuss with you if you don't mind :)


/M 4:09 PM December 2005




…like great Post Production houses. Nintendo’s desire to bring most of its own console technology to the fullest. And like Industrial Light & Magic and the Soho based Glasswork who did not wait for Aliaswavefront's next Maya versions to knock on their door. No, they developed their own 3d software’s. Hired great talented software programmers ect. This is what Nintendo is doing. Developing its own unique R&D, in this case, 3d graphic advancement.

Its just an evolution that some god company need to become great!


/madox 1:06 PM December 30, 2005





Falafelkid!

Great blog! Keep it up with this kind of atmosphere, always!

Now:

1. Would you consider have this interview on DV-video so that we can watch it on this site?

2. I don't know about you guys but I would like to know if they (BigN) have any projects based on their longtime partner Sharp's 3d display technology that might pop up on any new Gameboy?

3. Is he planning to buy any Nintendo stock's before REV gets out? And furthermore, could he advice "when" it's the right time for somebody else like me/us to buy?

4. I've made or come up with creative ideas on how a advertising campaign (print/video) based on what I think the REV might be like. Would it be possible to send these ideas to him or Nintendo for a comment? If yes advice how I/we might do that?

5. How deep are they analyzing the booming mobile phone market?

Well that’s was all. Thank you

/M 6:38 AM 02 Mars 2006































…Nintendo's product and services always seem to hype everybody up and especially the gaming industry in general = good marketing.

…but then. It turned out that it wasn't that special at all. They also tend to use technologies and services that have had it days or at least been out there but not really well received by the market. And after a well dune analysis they come up with that same tech/service with profitably (economically) changes.

I would love to have the 3d-thing being utilized by REV, but after a more an carefully thought, I believe that the truth might be closer to ground more than we think it is... :(

Sorry for my bad spelling.

/M

12:01 AM 17 Mars 2006




…Well, I think it was not the reason that Square choose to break the relationship with Nintendo a while back ago. That time, they wanted so badly to show the world that with better looking graphics they could make game experience more interesting and vivid in witch it did - to some extend. Square didn't want a cartridge-based medium with some maximum of + 300 Mbit to be in their way to expand business strategy. Simply put, they saw a potentiality in Sony's CDROM-based PS1!

So what I wanted to say is that in the past both Nintendo and Square did mistakes. Nintendo did an economic and Square did a perception one. Both sides however have undone these mistakes - Nintendo by “choosing” a path for developers. And by that they trashed the old habit of being "I can charge how much I wanted to - since I'm the man" kind-of-attitude. This was something Apple Computers really was showing its customers in the 80'.
Then Steve Jobs sailed back to the sinking ship of apples on a Blue Ocean. And I dare not think otherwise that Hiroshi Yamauchi wouldn't have dune the same before he finally left the company.
Because what that old man did (on his final days/month) together with others at Nintendo; they had finally showed the world that game experiences was not just about better graphics but that the fundamentally characteristics that really was the force behind it will lead millions of peoples around the world to smile - and I think that’s what Square now relies...

/M 1:04 PM Mars 07 2006





best regards

/M/Madox/Silver

RGB said...

Nintendo will not include two remotes with the system, I am fairly positive on this and have always stuck to this conclusion and agree with Fal.

With including another remote, it will only bump the consoles cost. Let people decide if they want an extra remote.

But the main thing is companies like Nintendo, Sony and MS all make huge loads of cash from these accessories, especially at the same time someone is purchasing the system. You will find the average joe bloe will easily spend money on extra accessories without thinking. I've seen marketing reports on these type of purchasing habits.

There are a few arguing points to that but I wont go into it.

BTW Fal thanks for clarifying the full title book name. Basically common sense to assume it was the title.

BTW Spak-Spang; I wouldnt suggest skimming through it to fully understand it. However the first two-three chapters are sufficient enough. The rest is more implementation.

Falafelkid said...

Hi Silver.

I am sad to see you go. You were an active member of this community for a very long time and you contributed constructively to it. I do hope you still find the time to pop in once in a while. At any rate, thank you for being here until now.

Regards, Andreas

RGB said...

I want to know what is in store from Nintendo on the Japanese title range.

We have Mario Galaxy and Zelda, Wario Ware and what else?

I am also very keen to see what else the rest of the Japanese companies have in store.

Super Paper Mario is also off the GC release list and rumoured to be a possible Wii title. If so this is definately a game I will get on launch (if it releases on launch).

By the way I am quite excited about System 3's announcement to develop for Wii and DS. We will see Leaderboard (I enjoyed this on C64 as a kid) and Gottleib pinball classics. Gottleib pinballs were not the best but I hope they can bring their better tables to the game and implement the controller well.

DS will see the almighty Last Ninja game return as well as bundling the C64 (or Amiga) versions with the game. Impossible Mission and California Games also in the works.

If Nintendo can bring these type of developers to both systems I will be very pleased. C64 saw many games that were developed by nobodies and were still enjoyable. And I am sure there are many more programmers and designers out there that have plenty of ideas to put forward.

I grow tired of unorginal ideas by a majority of larger corps out there today so I sincerely hope the smaller guys (indies) can bring a lot to the table. I really hope digital distribution will be incorporated for such titles as it will ease the access for people like me.

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