Wii Release Date: November 19
According to IGN, the Nintendo Wii finally has a launch date: November 19, 2006. That puts it squarely in the Q4 release window that Nintendo had earlier announced, and makes it prime Christmas fodder.
Release price? $250.00.
And get this: the Wii is scheduled to be released in the US before debuting in Japan. Japan won't be able to get their hands on the new N console until December 2.
Oh, and I forgot to mention that the US version will also come bundled with Wii Sports, a $40 game that showcases the functionality of the Wii's unique nunchaku controller.
So, to recap:
- The Nintendo Wii is ready to launch at full capacity with 25 game titles in its library - before Thanksgiving - for $250.00. It also comes with a free game.
- The Sony Playstation 3 has been mired in production delays. SONY cut its initial release estimate from 2 million units to 500,000 total units at launch - 400,000 for US, 100,000 for Japan. Europe won't get PS3 until March 2007. Oh, and the PS3 will run you $499.00 for the stripped-down version, $599.00 for the full version. No free game.
- The Xbox 360 is a year old. Sales have slowed and nearly come to a halt in Japan. Good luck Microsoft.
posted by cechols @ 9:16 AM
6 comments
6 Comments:
I'm still sticking with the PS3.
The best system will win, and why is there any reason to think the PS3 won't be the best?
Kerns:
You have to define best. If you mean best as in best-looking with the fastest processor, then yes.
If you mean best as in best game experience or best practical purchase or best game system to play, then I will bet you dollars to pesos that the answer is a resounding, "no."
The bottom line for me - and for most consumers - is the price.
Sony has priced its flagship console out of the range of the core game-buying demographic: the family.
Parents are not going to spend $600 on a christmas gift and another $100 on two games. That's a $700 investment just to get the thing in your living room.
You take your average parent who walks into Best Buy and looks at the game displays: the 3 consoles are all there.
One they've seen before - it's old hat.
The next has graphics that look great, but hardly more impressive than the Xbox they just looked at. And there's a huge $599 price tag on it...
Then they see the last console. It's tiny. The kids at the store are holding the "controller" and swinging it like a baseball bat - and they're actually playing baseball on-screen. To the parent, the graphics look just as good as the other two systems. And hell, look at how much fun they're having swinging that controller around.
Oh, and what's that? The price is less than half the PS3? It's only $250?
Sold!
Your average consumer can buy a Wii and own TEN games for the price of a PS3 and two games.
Xbox 360 sales have been bolstered only by the fact that it's had a year of being the sole "next-gen" console available.
Once it's no longer the only competetor, 360 sales will drop dramatically.
I mean, it was outsold this year 232,000 to 221,000 by the PlayStation 2! And it was outsold by the Nintendo DS and GBA, which moved over 300,000 units this year.
Read this MSN Money article. You don't have to take my word for it.
Plus, marketing is everything in video gaming. And nobody - not nobody beats Nintendo.
Gamers who can afford it, and who are in a demographic with disposable income will still buy the PS3. But they aren't the type of buyer that drives sales into the double-digit millions.
Go here to keep tabs. We'll see how the horses finish.
The gaming industry is huge. Bigger than movies. Gamers are shelling out big bucks anyway, and for what? Great games. That's why when I say best, I mean gameplay. The system that makes the best games with the coolest graphics will win. That's it.
Sony has been the leader since PS1 took hold of the market, and there's no reason to think that with all of the R and D that is going into this thing that Sony is willing to sacrifice at all any quality of gameplay.
Gamers are already spending the cash, and when the PS3 comes out, if it is as good as I expect it will be, then the gamers are going to gladly fork it over to the company that offers the best games.
You may be right about the price point, but it will come down. This competition won't be decided in the quarter that the PS3 is released. It will be the next two Q4's that will determine gaming, and probably multimedia dominance for the next decade or more.
Nintendo has disappointed me with their past two console systems. I only use my Gamecube for Resident Evil and the Gameboy player attachment. To be honest though, I haven't played a console game since May.
I just called Tom and he told me that more customers ask about the PS3 at his store. The price does shock them though.
Well, I see the arguement here. There's wii, not so wii, and freaking huge! I believe freaking huge wins. By the way, freaking huge is the pacman machine down at the putt-putt golf and games.
No doubt Sony is testing the elasticity of their product with that price point. They've done the research though, and I'd bet they know exactly what they are doing.
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