Wii MotionPlus will likely make the Wiimote much better.
(Credit: Nintendo)The MotionPlus, a $20 accessory designed to improve motion detection for the Nintendo Wii remote control, will easily sell 10 million units after its market debut on June 8, an analyst contends.
Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter told Edge this week that the majority of those sales will occur when the accessory is bundled with Wii Sports Resort, EA Sports Grand Slam Tennis, and Tiger Woods PGA Tour '10 later this year.
He contends that 20 percent of U.S. and European Wii owners will buy those three titles, helping the Nintendo sell 8 million units of the Wii MotionPlus in just a few months. Pachter predicts another 2 million units will sell with new Wii consoles.
EEDAR analyst Jesse Divnich, also interviewed by Edge, isn't so quick to agree. He estimates that only 3 million units of the accessory will sell by the end of 2009 and that sales will reach 10 million units during Nintendo's next fiscal year, which starts in March 2010.
Although they don't agree on exactly when the 10 million mark will be reached, the analysts both predict that the accessory will be popular.
"I expect MotionPlus to be a sneaky success and ultimately attach to at least one third of the (Wii's) installed base," Pachter told Edge.
"Our forecast could be conservative," Divnich added. "Yearly sales could balloon much higher."
In addition to selling well, the MotionPlus is set to transform the Wii experience.
... Read more
(Credit:
Nintendo)
Nintendo announced the Wii MotionPlus Tuesday. It will cost $20 when it's released on June 8. The attachment, which is connected to the Wii Remote through the nunchuk port, will "bring 1:1 motion" to Wii gestures, Nintendo says.
The Wii MotionPlus will only work with games that are coded to support it, so older Wii titles are out. Virtua Tennis will support the MotionPlus when it's made available on May 19. EA's Tiger Woods PGA Tour '10 will also work with the accessory when the game hits store shelves on June 16. Wii Sports Resort, which will come bundled with the Wii MotionPlus, will cost $49.99 when it's released July 26.
Nintendo might run into problems with this accessory if it's trying to maintain its grip on affordability and value in the gaming space.
Nintendo goes out of its way to tell us that the Wii provides more value than any other console on the market. According to the company, the Wii not only boasts the best gaming experience, but it does so at a price--$250--that's far more affordable than competing products.
But now that the Wii MotionPlus is thrown into the mix, the cost to the consumer for a fully configured Wii controller just increased from $60 ($40 for the Wii Remote and $20 for the nunchuk) to $80 ($40 for the Wii Remote and $20 each for the nunchuk and Wii MotionPlus). Assuming you still use the Wii Remote that came bundled with the Wii, you'll spend $260 to have four remotes all sporting a nunchuk and Wii MotionPlus.
Isn't that a little steep?
... Read more
- prev
- 1
- next
