Nintendo drops Wii price to $199
(Credit:
Nintendo)
Nintendo has officially announced that the price of the Wii will drop to $199.99, effective on Sunday. The long-rumored $50 price cut comes in the wake of recent price drops for the PlayStation 3 ($299, with built-in Blu-ray player) and Xbox 360 ($299 for the 120GB version with built-in DVD player and Netflix support), which have boosted sales of the Sony and Microsoft consoles. (To date, the Wii remains the best-selling home game console of the three.)
Other than the price cut, there are no other changes to the current Wii bundle--you're still getting the console, along with the Wiimote and Nunchuk controllers and the bundled Wii Sports game. By contrast, there's at least one rumor that the U.K. will get a Wii package that adds the MotionPlus peripheral and Wii Sports Resort to the mix. Meanwhile, white remains the only color choice in North America (Japanese consumers can choose black as well).
Nintendo also took the opportunity to officially announce the release date for New Super Mario Bros. Wii, which had previously been slated for a vague "fall 2009" window. The multiplayer Super Mario game will hit store shelves on November 15.
So, what do you guys think? Does the price drop make the Wii more attractive? Would you prefer a more enticing bundle? Or are you holding out for the Wii HD? Share your comments below.
On Sale Now: $184.99 - $249.89
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John P. Falcone covers home theater and network entertainment products. He's been writing for CNET since 2002. 
It should've done HD from day one. How much more could it possibly have cost to add the hardware? $5/console, if that? Adding a blu-ray player would make a difference because even if it never got played, it would still serve as a <$200 blu-ray player.
I hope it goes without saying that there's no point in making it a blu-ray player if it doesn't also play standard dvds, since most people with blu-rays have a bunch of standard dvds, so leaving that out would mean you still need 2 players.
Not sure which part of your comment reveals the most ignorance. Hmmm.
After due consideration, I've decided it's a tie. Dang, you're good.
1. Your minute attention span (half-hour, really?) is obviously not shared by millions of Wii owners.
2. Hardware cost for HD would have to include much more powerful CPUs, more RAM and VRAM -- a lot more than $5. That's why PS3 and XBox are more expensive, duh. Also, Microsoft and Sony are losing money on the hardware, while Nintendo is making a nice profit on the hardware.
3. Hardware cost isn't the only consideration for the inclusion of HD. Programming for HD is much more time-consuming (i.e., expensive).
4. Sony is losing money on every PS3 they sell, because they included Blu-Ray. If Nintendo put in a Blu-Ray, they would either lose money as well or be forced to jack up the price -- probably both, like Sony.
5. Blu-Ray players can also play standard DVDs. Do the words "blindingly obvious" mean anything to you?
Not only does HD add significantly to the manufacturing cost, the market for it has yet to reach critical mass - even Microsoft have removed the HD cables from their 360 bundles. Actually I'd love it if the wii was also a blueray player as I could get rid of one box and two cables from under my TV.
BTW just admit it, whether we own an xbox, ps or wii, it's all just playing with toys ;)
MS has been making profit from the xbox360 for awhile now, so you are ill informed dude.
To be honest i still think the Wii is overpriced because compared to the xbox360, you get a better deal. A reasonable price for all systems would be $150 for the wii, $250 for the xbox360 elite and PS3 should stay the way it is since it offers the most.
Who is losing money here? You are! You basically bought a redesigned Gamecube for $249 and that's not including the games and countless plastic devices for the controller. Sucker!
Microsoft is losing money somewhere when it has a 54% fail rate with the 360s and having to boost the warranty up.
They lost money before, but do your research and you'll learn that they actually made profit this year. Google is your friend.
I dont see anything to make me buy a wii ... ill wait to wii HD ...
Maybe a Wii hd will be more serious.
I'm not saying I'm a huge fan of the Wii or the lack of quality games from it. But I feel like every time I read an article about the Wii, saying it's just a "gimmick-y machine" and "the novelty will wear off". Guess what? It sold out for 3 years! There's something wrong with your argument!
Nintendo doesn't need it to be a "serious gaming system", because they're not trying to sell to serious gamers, as it's obviously a limited market. They're trying to sell to everyone. I'm not sure if that will come in the form of a "Wii HD" that does the same thing as the current Wii at higher resolution, but it is going to be something that regular, non-hardcore-gamers find appealing. And it will sell. Just like the current Wii.
It's the top selling console because it's best @ attracting casual and non-traditional gamers. Its previous price advantage was also a HUGE incentive as was all of the ad nauseum buzz over the active user interface.
In my household the Wii got a ton of use...initially. Then as the attention turned to more maturing interests, it just sits there...collecting dust. 'Baby' games is what I hear often enough. And when we've been brave enough to try T-rated and older versions geared and modded specifically for the Wii, we've ALWAYS regretted the choice...which is why our 360 and PS3 gets the lion's share of the use these days.
Kids love the Wii, but then they turn into teens. Only those still mentally stuck in grade school seem to have any affinity for the thing...or are too "non-gamer" to know the difference.
BTW, I don't think I've EVER seen the pile of Wiis as high as it been at our local Costco, and it's been this way for over a couple of months. Same thing at the local Fry's. Not much different @ Best Buy. The "novelty" HAS INDEED worn off, or at least those who really want the Wii have it. Yet the other day I was there @ Costco and there wasn't a single 360 Elite and only a couple of PS3s...and besides, last time I heard BOTH the 360 and PS3 OUTSOLD the Wii in the U.S. in the last reported month cycle. The so-called "expensive" HD rigs have caught up. The hardcore are feeling the vindication.
But what about when those teens get older and find jobs???
It's a very odd game of schadenfreunde indeed that gets played every day on cnet. Why would you seek vindication that Nintendo's business model is inferior than that of Microsoft or Sony, who target a more hardcore audience, to the extent that you cruise the aisles of BestBuy smiling to yourself when you see the rack of unsold Wiis? Just enjoy the fact that there is a games console for everyone rather than trying to prove to yourself that you've made the coolest purchase.
I am well into my thirties and I find I don't have the time anymore for hardcore gaming, an experience I share with just about everybody who wants to keep their job and family. So I'm sorry to break it to you, but casual gaming is here to stay on all platforms.
Your hardcore experience will probably have to change too, because I can't imagine Microsoft and Sony sticking with that tradition controller to the same extent now that everybody has tasted the possibilities offered by the wiimote.
A lot of us say that. A lot of us actually have Wii's that were fun, but then they wern't that fun, you can't use them very well for non game things so they just sit while we go back to consoles that get it right. Take the DS vs. PSP. My PSP fits the same description. My DS gets used because here Nintendo got it right and Sony didn't.
I understand, there is a lot to be said for the novelty having "worn off", that people see that there aren't a lot of quality games for the machine because, to some extent, they're just hard to make. A lot of people's Wii's have started collecting dust, including mine, waiting for the possibility of being broken out at the next party. But, does that really mean that Nintendo didn't do something that caught our collective attention? That in an industry that has used controllers and tried to get the "latest and greatest graphics", there's room and a market for a console where people just pick up and play, they get involved, act socially and have fun? Microsoft and Sony appear to be in the process of validating the fact that Nintendo did something revolutionary for the video game market by trying to "clone" (to some extent) what Nintendo did.
@Renegade Knight:
I'm assuming that when you talk about using a video game console for "non-video game things", you mean as a DVD player, etc. Nintendo has always avoided the customary format, but really, would you want to have paid (up until now) $299 for a component DVD player? Nintendo was just trying to make a machine that you picked up and played. And it worked, you grabbed a Wii-mote and started bowling or playing tennis or whatever. Why complicate things with a DVD player?
I think Nintendo missed the boat with software support. With the right collection of games and a little more versatility from their OS, it could be a lot more useful and do a lot less "collecting dust." Nintendo didn't bank on their machine being a visual wonder or a web browsing computer or a DVD player. They counted on their machine being easy to pick up and fun to play selling machines. And it did. But people are tired of the same games and having a lot of other games that are "no fun" or "kiddie". With some innovation and effort from third party companies to work on games, some amazing things could be created. This is why I wonder about the Wii HD, if it really exists and who (especially of those already with a Wii) would buy it.
I think it would be irresponsible to call games like "No More Heroes" and "Madworld" kid's games.
I'd say your enjoyment is directly proporational to well..how much fun you are having with a game. You named two titles. That's my problem. I have zero titles that were not available on the other consoles and of the Wii ones I've gotten, nothing has been compelling to make me enjoy the Wiil nearly as much. Something is missing.
Super Mario Galaxy
Punch Out!!
Wii Sports Resort
Okani (which is a port, but I've read this one's much better)
Mario Kart Wii
House of the Dead: Overkill
Numerous Virtual Console and GameCube games... I don't know... mabye I'm just unique... This is my first gaming system, so I'm coming at it with a newer perspective. I was never interested in any of the other systems... I also play The Sims 3, Spore, Bioshock and Mass Effect on my PC, so if I want something more HD, as it were, I go there.
@mecdeva
It is fun. No thinking about it. I'm sorry you were already lost to this condittion to where only a Wii could save you.
Dont tell me you want the wii remote to work as your keyboard and mouse. If ps3 and xbox360 players are zombies at least you dont have to worry about them eating your brain, since it seems you lack one. Jc625007made you look so dumb lol.
Will not get one even at $150. Not unless it's HD.
F*** Yeah!
- by PaulDeveaux September 23, 2009 11:20 PM PDT
- Wow. What most people have missed here is that the Wii is not for "serious gamers." It is the game console for people who don't play video games. Similar to the iPhone as the smart phone for people who don't use smart phones. Nintendo has brought gaming to a demographic that would never buy an XBox or PS3. They have created their own market and own it.
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- by QwertyHead September 24, 2009 2:41 PM PDT
- So you're also saying that the Wii doesn't have serious games? If by serious, you mean ridiculousy violent shooters and action games designed for people who know nothing more about games then to jerk off to graphics? The Wii is for hardcore and casual gamers alike, and that's why it has the marketshare in console gaming.
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- by ccmike72 September 24, 2009 4:50 PM PDT
- wrong the wii has the market share in console gaming because it was way cheaper than the 360 and PS3 at launch and had a wonderfully novel new gimick. Parents wanted it because it was cheap and had kiddy games. Kids wanted it because it had kids games. Gamers looked at an said "eh a few good games" and some picked it up then let it collect dust and some avoided it all together.
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- by MeepMan September 25, 2009 4:28 PM PDT
- Well, ccmike72, if you believe that, then go ahead. Now try marketing your 360 at that price at launch, and guess what: you got yourself a deficit almost as big as the one caused by the stimulus plan (just a comparison, I think the stimulus package was a great idea)
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Showing 1 of 4 pages (149 Comments)Games make the system and the 360 and PS3 have the wii by far on that front regardless of genre.
I'm not a fan boy of any system and I'll a play a good game regardless.