So the NYT article was correct.
Meh…

Points?

Did I hear cries of terror?

Cant wait till the 19th. Its on a perfect day too. A weekend is great for camping!!!!

I don’t want to spend points on the browser!

Check out the Wii Tennis screen over at Wii.com! Looks greatly improved, graphically.

http://wii.nintendo.com/software_wii_sports.html

I am absolutely thrilled with all of this news. Im gald to see that Nintendo didn’t decided to under-price the system and lower its percieved value.

Only thing Im unhappy about is the white only on launch day. Wheres my black!

The picture thingy plays videos!

I’m assuming it’s some kind of MPEG4 variant. This is good news indeed. One step closer to Wii being an all in one client media hub out of the box.

omg too much wii info at once overload overload

# - Gamecube version of Zelda: Twilight Princess slated for December 11
# - Metroid Prime 3 now planned for a 2007 release

So, in other words, nothing I want at launch.

The Wii’s available at launch.

welp… we sorta got the package i wanted. i’m sure that the system will only come with one controller, which is a shame.and now the wiichuk (chukmote? charles mote? LOLLERSK8) will cost you about 60 dollars… more than the games themselves.

i mean, there’s no reason to complain. it’s buying a disc versus buying the equivalent of a handheld computer. it’s not like other controllers, and to put in all the features we wanted (rumble AND sound AND motion sensing AND adaptable AND a teensie bit of memory in it) has to be expensive. still… i can totally see me making my friends buy their own controller if they want to come play my system now. but hey, maybe that’s a good thing. maybe it’s for the best that it doesn’t also recharge, or we could be looking at a SP-priced controller.

but seriously, besides the high price of the controller, everything seems to be coming up roses. i was drooling over all the videos that have been posted, and i’m more excited than ever to get my hands on this tiny wonder.

wiiiiii?

@ Oktober - same here, but I’ll buy the Wii version instead. Even though link’s not a soutpaw anymore =P

Count Down
http://www.timeanddate.com/counters/customcounter.html?month =11&day=19&year=2006&hour=0&min=0&sec=0&p0=198
It is 65 days, 13 hours, 21 minutes and 32 seconds until Sunday, November 19, 2006 (Philadelphia time)

December 11 for CG Zelda ?!!
Suck my analog stick Nintendo !

Im excited.

Totally excited that the information’s out there. Now I can officially know how much money I’m going to need.

Bit of dissapointed in the price from the controllers though. I think we’re getting a little bit boned at $60 for the remote/nunchuk combo. Throwing in the exchange rate, the nihonjin are getting it for about 45-50. Now I mean you have to realize that the wii mote is not only wireless, but has a speaker and rumble features, but even still, shelling out more than a game for a controller is just not something I like doing.

Dammit.

Well, $249 is out of impulse buy territory, so I guess they must be planning on a huge campaign to give people opportunities to actually play the games.

If Microsoft were to reduce the price of the 360 core system to $249, Nintendo could be in trouble. I don’t think Microsoft will do that before xmas, though, and if they did anything with pricing I think it would be to phase out the core system and drop the price of the bundle, but not by $100.

oops, sorry for the double post, but…. How long before we look back at this picture the way we look back at the N64 kid and NES/SNES ads now?

http://wii.nintendo.com/images/02_game/feature_main_img_life style_tennis.jpg

I can almost smell the Fark photoshop contest already. None of which changes my intention to preorder one, possibly two of these.

i wanna know how you get points,and it sucks zelda is pushed back on the cube.

Soooo… when 360 and ps3 tries to be a media hub everyone here cries “itz about teh games! nintendo wont du that!”. Now that it has a media hub everyone’s “Omgz Ninty is teh inovaytor! Me luv it! ^______^ Kwaii! Yatta!! teeee!”.

Brilliant.

The NYT Article was right… Erk, who knew -_-;
Time to pre-order *crosses fingers*

Nintendo Wii - Hardware info:
“It also will be home to new games conceived by indie developers whose creativity is larger than their budgets.”

My life is complete

I was looking forward to picking up a Black Wii. I am a little let down that it will only come out in white. Anyone know when they might release the other colors (black in particular). And has it been cofirmed that the DVD feature was removed?

We had the coverage too but for spanish speakers if you wish to add us to your press coverage list.

Thanks

over here: http://tinyurl.com/p5fec

DVD removal confirmed. http://wii.ign.com/articles/732/732730p1.html

@ NOBULLET - Haha, totally agree. I actually see no use for the Wii Pictures thing whatsoever. Seems pretty tacked on to me.

Look how cool the picture editor is though!

I have no problem with multifunctionality in a games console. Unless it dramatically inflates price. I think it’s clear that it’s not doing so for the Wii, and that it probably did for the PSP, for example. However, I have no problem with it in principle.

I could definitely do without the photo, weather, and news programs… And the $50-too-much price, but ah well.

From the Wii packaging box:

“Wii Sports Included!”

lol, guess that clears things up…

You have to pay for Opera? Screw that, weather and news is enough for me, if I need more I’ll just turn on my computer. I actually kinda like the extra non-gaming features. Not because I really wwanted them but because they’re actually things that can be used by everyone in the family, which would make them more comfortable with the controller, and get them closer to playing games, and eventually fllfilling the Nintendo dream. Or at least that seems like the plan, hopefully it wokrs out.

A: You just need a connection at home — Wii has WiFi and Ethernet, there is no incremental cost from Nintendo.

ETHERNET? 4truz??

POINTS??!!

This makes me nuts…Nintendo has much more creativity than that. I really hope Nintendo decides not to call the Virtual Console currency “Points” like Xbox Live.

I hope others agree! Vote! Vote! Vote!
http://www.insomnimania.org/modules.php?name=Surveys&op=resu lts&pollID=3&mode=flat&order=&thold=-1

What’s the big deal with calling them points? It’s just a name.

IGN has a snippet saying that the browser will be available for free until June.

http://wii.ign.com/articles/732/732745p1.html

“Internet Channel
Go here to access the Opera internet browser. In addition to supporting flash (making this a step up from the DS browser), the browser uses the Wiimote to zoom in and out. The browser will normally cost money, but Nintendo will make it available for free download until June of 2006.”

…why is nintendo pulling a sony..didn’t all the fanboys claim that a console should only play games?..aslo WHO WANTS TO BROWSE IN 480p that is a horrible idea! it’s been done before and it’s been proven dumb. also they better have support for blue tooth keyboards..shooting letters on a vr keyboard would get old FAST. I like the image viewer but the editing part seems tacky. Why does it not play dvds? It should be able to do all the decoding in software without any trouble. Probably licensing issues and price considerations…

The point system also just sounds like a soft limit on purchases around launch time so their servers dont get killed by all the new users buying all the possible content (nintendo does not have a good online reputation).

The price seems about right for the hardware+software. They must not be losing too much money on the hardware (compared to the competition)

time to see what the “general public” wants come november

Console price: 250 is alright I guess. Not nearly as bad as GAF makes it out to be. People will buy it at 250. When they look at the 360 ($340/$400) and the PS3 ($500/$600) all they will know that the Wii is the cheapest. They don’t know that Wii is weaker or doesn’t have HD output or doesn’t do all these mulimedia things. Average people will compare the prices, look at the games, test the new remote, and if that seems like a bargain to them they will buy it.

VC Games: 10 a month is good. I hope they release at least 1 new game every week and not blow their entire load at the end of the month or something. A constant stream of games would be ideal. The launch games… I’ll buy Donkey Kong and Super Mario World. Although, $5 for Donkey Kong is rape prices. I’m not gonna buy Mario or Zelda again for $5 dollars, sorry. I was expecting $2 $6 $8-$10 as the pricing system, but this is acceptable I guess.

VC Points: Thank you Nintendo, that is the RIGHT way to do points. The problem with points with Xbox Live is that they charge some abnormal number of points that makes it look like you’re paying less than you actually are. Nintendos point system is the correct way to do it. 2000 points = 20.00 dollars. 100 points = 1.00 dollars. You don’t need to go online and reserach how much 25 points is in real money, just add a dot after two zeros and thats how much you’re paying.

Remote and nunchuck: Wait… so it will cost $60 for the Remote and Nunchuck? That’s really a lot. $40 for the Wiimote sounds pretty fair, but $20 for the nunchuck? $15 Sounds more acceptable, I think.

Boxart: Eh. Not bad, but I cant say I’m excstatic for it. Acceptable.

Gamecube version of TP delayed: Haha, in your face Amir0x.

Metroid Delayed: VERY good choice. TP was going to overshadow it by a large margin.

You know, the questions I really want answered are:

1) How far away do you need to be from your tv/sensor bar for the Wii to work properly.

2) What’s the minimum recommended TV size.

Someone mentioned Donkey Kong…. I would totally pay 5 bucks for Donkey Kong, but only if it were a really faithful recreation of the arcade game, not just the squeezed-down NES version.

I’d pay 10 bucks for Donkey Kong ‘94 with the colors made to match the original arcade game.

WHY?! Why did they have to delay Zelda again?!

I can’t wait until DECEMBER!!

And, no, I won’t get the Wii version.

DAMN NINTENDO!

I wanted a Black Wii at launch!!!!!!!!!

Oh well, I guess I’ll have to wait a few more months for a Wii. You all better tell me if it was worth the wait.

I’m with you, MARC. Damn…I’m don’t like the price, I don’t like the boxarts, I don’t like the packaging…and I don’t like how Ninty is shutting the lid on this media circus.

So it costs $410. That sucks.

Wii system= $250
Extra controller= $60 (eek!)
SD card= $50.00
One game= $50.00
———
$410.00

roflcopter
this rox

1985 NES - $200 in 1985 = $378.25 in 2006
1991 SNES - $200 in 1991 = $298.83 in 2006
1996 N64 - $200 in 1996 = $259.40 in 2006
2001 GCN - $200 in 2001 = $229.81 in 2006
2006 Wii - $250 in 2006 = $250.00 in 2006

@Picto-Chat Predator: thats still hella more than you get with a Xbox 360 $400.

3 questions:

1- where’s my black!?
2- how many systems at launch?
3- $60 for a controller! WTF!?!

1. In Nintendo’s torture-the-people box.

2. 4 million worldwide.

3. They want to incourage more single-player purchases.

well my girlfriends mom is sold, shes getting one at launch

but i agree, 250 is not average joe friendly even if it comes with a game, it just doesnt say “buy me”…

I keep thinking about this and some things just bother me.

The VC pricing is just kind of ridiculous. The idea to me that totally stagnant video games bringing in nothing for any involved companies are suddenly worth 5 to 10 dollars purely for online distribution just makes no sense to me. Most NES games are miniscule, Nintendo has shown no interest in beefing the games up in any way, there’s no additions of any sort that can be seen in the available VC video of Super Mario World.

With Xbox Live, I can get older arcade titles for around the same price as an untouched NES game. The difference being that Live Arcade titles sometimes have redone graphics, online scoreboards, achievements and some even have new online play modes.

So what is really the excuse for this? I don’t understand it. I can download comparatively huge files from iTunes for 99 cents, so it’s definitely not the download size. Hell, even the average old-school arcade game on Live is 20 MBs.

I’m so bummed about the release date. Seriously, you could have done so much better Nintendo! What happened? From the start you said we’d get the Revolution before the PS3, regardless of what date Sony set. Now you’re debuting *last* of this generation! Here’s a clue for next time: put product on the shelf early enough and it’s like TWO holiday shopping seasons!

The $250 is fine, but $200 would have meant buying a system and an extra game at launch. The white-only ticks me off a bit - I can’t help but picture the top of my SNES yellowing over the course of a few years - but I’ll get over it.

The cost of VC games is a bit high, but it’ll just be a matter of weeks before someone figures out how to export games, upload them to the web, download to an SD card, and play them for free.

Sigh. A loud sigh.

The white Wii is perfectly fine with me, it’ll match my white DS Lite.

It would be way better if they dropped $10 off the price of a Wiimote + Nunchuck combo package.

WTF is up with it coming out after the PS3, though? >_>

It could still be ahead in Europe though.

Anyway, I don’t like the box art. I prefer the mock-up boxart instead shown by people before. System price comes at around $210 to $220 so I think that’s respectable. Regardless though I’d rather wait until price drops, bug fixes, and cheaper Player’s Choice price ranges. I’m excited to how the system turned out overall.

“Soooo… when 360 and ps3 tries to be a media hub everyone here cries “itz about teh games! nintendo wont du that!”. Now that it has a media hub everyone’s “Omgz Ninty is teh inovaytor! Me luv it! ^______^ Kwaii! Yatta!! teeee!”.

Brilliant.”

No, you don’t get it. A media center goal would bring prices to levels far too high for people who just want the videogaming part of the system. Having a DVD player brings added expenses like licnesing and with the case of the PS3, well, you can see how badly the price went up. Having things like web browser or image viewers is fine as long as it doesn’t bring up the price for us. Don’t you see how even with these additions the Wii is still cheaper than the PS2 when it launched? The Cube was $200 when it launched and the Wii is basically $210 to $220.

So if you’re going to call people hypocrites for touting these additions when before they said they didn’t want them then fair enough. But if you’re one of the people who lambasted the GameCube because it lacked DVD playback and media hub functions only to put down the Wii because it now has some media hub functions then I don’t see how you’re not elligible to join Club Hypocrite.

@ Tony:

Cause games like Galaga for $5 plus online scoreboard is a better deal than Mario, right? And then you have to wait a month or more for Microsoft to release something new. With the VC there will possibly be a constant stream of content. 10 games a month could be stretched throughout the entire month, and these are classic Nintendo games. Far more worth the money than most of the stuff they’re releasing on Live.

I agree though that $5 for NES games is too much. I was expecting $2. All that means though is that I will be buying less NES games from the VC. But I’ll easily have more VC NES games than Live Arcade games by the end of the year, that’s for sure.

Galaga is ran in HD, it comes with totally customized menus, online score boards, achievement details, level selection, etc.

When you factor in that Wii will probably see a comparatively poor console verison of Galaga for $5, yeah, I think that’s a problem.

As of late they’ve been releasing things 2 to 4 times a month. I mean, it’s nice that Nintendo is putting out far more at any given time, but what does that have to do with the price? That’s a totally separate complaint.

Not to mention things like Gauntlet which now have a 4 player online mode, redone sprites, score boards, achievements, the ability to use the classic graphics… all for $5 as well.

I don’t even see the comparison. Maybe some people like Mario more, but it’s overpriced when you put them side by side. Even with brand new, never on anything else Arcade titles I’m spending the same I would for an old, untouched N64 game.

I like Nintendo and all, but I mean, it’s hard to not admit this is a bit much. I’m going to buy some stuff on there, but I’m going to be be a hell of a lot more choosey than I might have been if it was a few bucks less. I can go buy 85% of the NES library for less than $5 apiece.

Haha, yeah I really need my Galaga in HD…….

Wait, never mind… it’s Galaga.

Tony, your ability to buy most of the NES library for less than 5 bucks apiece is great, but I have a feeling most people - and especially the demographic Nintendo is aiming for - either don’t have an NES, don’t have a great game store around with many NES games, or don’t know or care where to get them. Downloads make things easier. For many of us, that’s a legitimate reason to pay a price premium.

$3/$5/$7 would be better for the VC games. For $5/$8/$10, they all had better be downloadable to the DS.

Re: controller prices, the PS2 gamepad retails ($26) for more than a good chunk of its library ($20-$25), and IIRC was a lot more expensive closer to launch. Yes, $60 is a bit much, but comparing it to the cost of other games isn’t really a big deal.

Now, the fact that 3 Wiimotes = $120… that’s something to bitch about.

The Wii Channels really impressed me.
Especially the Mii population and Wii Photo feature.

Everything is just a nudge over the price tag I envisioned, but my faith is still intact. This really means that I’ll splurge a little less at launch than I’d love to, and then stretch my spending over a longer course.

That, or I’ll whine a lot for Wiimotes for Christmas

come on, it comes with wii sports and mii you can download internet free. i love ninendo

Hi! Nice site!