[pc999]

Nintendo's new Wii console could be yours later this year for less than expected. Tokyo-based Nikko Citigroup has issued a report on Nintendo's rising stock price, and between all the jargon is the financial institution's forecast that the Wii will carry a Japanese price point of 19,800 yen.


Nikko Citigroup previously forecast a 25,000 yen price for the Wii. 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.

Now this is getting interesting, but isnt 5000 yen (about 50$?) to much for the CPU alone, much more to be just a "lower price than expected"? On the other side better than expected yields could explain why thet will launch 5,5M consoles till the end of the year.


I hope there isnt any redution in the HW too.

[Hardknock]

I'm sure if they wanted to Wii could launch at $150 or lower and still be very profitable for Nintendo by the end of the generation. But I honestly don't expect them to do so this early in the game. $199 seems to be the sweet spot for early adopter plus comes at a significantly lower price compared to the 360 and PS3 for the casuals.

[digitalwanderer]

Hell, at $170us I'd buy two just so the kids didn't fight over it.

[cthellis42]

Originally Posted by digitalwanderer

Hell, at $170us I'd buy two just so the kids didn't fight over it.

You know you'll be buying one more for you, too.

[digitalwanderer]

Nah, I play it when they're not around...they're still jealous of how much better I am at games.

[drpepper]

I hope they drop the price of the DS if the Wii is 170$. I still don't know why the Fat DS is still the same price as the Lite since the Lite is so much better.

And in other news... Ars Technica is reporting in an interview from USA today with Reginald Fils-Aime; it states that online play will be free.

How this is approached was not covered though. I hope they get rid of that attrocious friends code crap.

[StefanS]

Originally Posted by drpepper

And in other news... Ars Technica is reporting in an interview from USA today with Reginald Fils-Aime; it states that online play will be free.

How this is approached was not covered though. I hope they get rid of that attrocious friends code crap.

The USA Today interview can be found here. There's not much in it but for those interested. Anyway, Nintendo has stated in a few interviews that they intended to keep their online services free. So no real surprise here.

Unfortunately the friends code system is here to stay. That has also been confirmed in a few interviews. Although there's talk about reforming the system. So maybe they'll use universal friend code or included a lobby or something.

As for 170$ that would be pretty sweet. But I am not sure if there's a chance of that actually happening.

EDIT: About FC: Apparently Nintendo is very concerned with privacy issues. So that's why they relie on the friend codes thingy.

[digitalwanderer]

Excuse my ignorance, but could someone give me a thumbnail of the "friends code system" is? Free online gaming sounds like me, but I have no clue what you're talking about.

EDITED BITS: Never mind:

Friend codes are game and cartridge specific "addresses" assigned to every player that uses Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. Each friend code is a combination of the game and the Nintendo DS that game is in. If you use your game OVER WI-FI in a different Nintendo DS, your friend code will change, and it will change to a new friend code every time you use a different Nintendo DS. The codes are usually assigned one per player, per game; the codes allow a player to store a list of friends with the same game and play with them when both parties are online. The codes come in different formats for different games. For example, the codes of Mario Kart DS and Tetris DS are six digits followed by another row of six digits, while Animal Crossing: Wild World's codes comprise three groups of four digits separated by hyphens. Friend codes in Mario Kart DS and Tony Hawk's American Sk8land allow the player to search for opponents that are in their friend list and are also searching for a match against "friends" with the same game. In Animal Crossing: Wild World, friend codes are absolutely required to visit another’s town via the Wi-Fi connection, perhaps due to Nintendo’s privacy concerns or the potential in-game vandalism that could occur from unauthorized visitors to the player's town. Adding a friend can also allow text and/or voice chat, as in the case of Metroid Prime: Hunters and Animal Crossing: Wild World. In "Animal Crossing Wild World", every Wi-Fi users codes of which you obtain, are stored in your "Friend Roster" so you can keep a record of whose town you visit.

On July 18, 2006, a page was leaked on Nintendo's official website stating that Wii would use the Nintendo Wi-Fi connection in much the same way as the Nintendo DS does, with a Friend Code system and no charge to play.[5]

[Rolf N]

"We are now expecting our expectations to be proven wrong by reality."

[nintenho]

Originally Posted by zeckensack

"We are now expecting our expectations to be proven wrong by reality."

...greatest toy ever?

[Rolf N]

Originally Posted by nintenho

...greatest toy ever?

Who, me?
I was just referring to the first post. I found it funny how it said, basically, that the expectation was wrong, so here is the new expectation. It goes without saying that the first revision of the expectation can't have been very good. It was just false, they say themselves.

And now that same organization with a refreshed track record of false expectations is presenting: its latest, revised expectation. Is that a credible source?

I thought that was pretty interesting

[nintenho]

Originally Posted by zeckensack

Who, me?
I was just referring to the first post. I found it funny how it said, basically, that the expectation was wrong, so here is the new expectation. It goes without saying that the first revision of the expectation can't have been very good. It was just false, they say themselves.

And now that same organization with a refreshed track record of false expectations is presenting: its latest, revised expectation. Is that a credible source?

I thought that was pretty interesting

Are you saying Nikko Citigroup isn't trustworthy or IGN?

[sytaylor]

At $199 with some quality nintendo AAA titles making full use of that funky interface could be a tempting buy at christmas if the hype and marketing are handled correctly in North America.

[Guden Oden]

$170? Yes please!
Will make it a bit easier to afford that monstrous PS3 as well.


If Nintendo really wants to go for TKO this round, I would seriously suggest to them to introduce the console for as low a price as possible, and if indeed it is no more than a shrunken and slightly pumped-up GC with more memory and features, well, then that is definitely the way to go. I would think they could even do a CPU + GPU on a single chip if that would be more cost-effective, with today's lithography technology such a solution should be perfectly possible.

[Squeak]

That would allow for amazing bandwidth between the two cores and it would free up the external bus. Don't think it's going to happen though.

[Rolf N]

Originally Posted by nintenho

Are you saying Nikko Citigroup isn't trustworthy or IGN?

I'm saying that Nikko Citigroup's estimates should be taken with a grain of salt.

It happens all the time that analysts make estimates that turn out to be false. This isn't the fault of a single firm. What we have here is just a nice example, anecdotal evidence that trusting analysts isn't always the wisest thing to do. Trusting random people on the internet isn't either, of course. The point is that they may be just as wrong as any of us with their estimates.

In regards to the topic at hand, the 170$ price point is unofficial and should be taken with a grain of salt. As much as I'd like to pay less, AFAICS Nintendo is very successful with relatively overpriced items against an aggressive competitor, and I expect them to apply that knowledge to Wii prices.

[pc999]

Originally Posted by zeckensack

It happens all the time that analysts make estimates that turn out to be false. This isn't the fault of a single firm. What we have here is just a nice example, anecdotal evidence that trusting analysts isn't always the wisest thing to do. Trusting random people on the internet isn't either, of course. The point is that they may be just as wrong as any of us with their estimates.

In this case they base their price prediction based on a very specific reason, the price of the CPU, which they say it is about 5000 yen (50$) cheaper. That is why I asked that if 50$ for the CPU alone (specially given the "specs we are told") it is not to much.

[zoost]

170$? What a contrast with the PS3

[digitalwanderer]

Originally Posted by zoost

170$? What a contrast with the PS3

What? Just a couple of digits off, switch the seven and the one around and they're almost identical!

[Natoma]

http://wii.ign.com/articles/726/726803p1.html

In a financial report last week, Tokyo-based Nikko Citigroup forecast that the Wii would retail for $170. Now a big wig at Electronic Arts has thrown his two cents into the discussion, and it seems he concurs with the Japanese firm.

Speaking with GamesIndustry.biz, David Gardner, executive VP and COO of EA's worldwide studios, said, "I've heard in Japan that the price is about $170, but I don't know if the price has been set in Europe yet."

It is unclear whether or not Gardner is commenting directly on Nikko Citigroup's financial report, or if there is other evidence supporting this price model he's referring to. Calls to EA were not returned as of this writing.

Gardner also echoed comments made by Xbox boss Peter Moore at this year's E3 that the Wii will be many consumer's second next-gen console. "Nintendo has come up with a very clever strategy," said Gardner. "They've made a choice which is great for the consumer. Now we're going to have a choice whereby consumers can buy a Wii plus one other console."

And the plot.... stays the same? hehe

[Skrying]

$170? I want one I want one I want one I want one!!!!!!!!!

If it comes in at $170 then I'll be all over (Though I already was). Hmm, a cheap used projector and Wii = pwnage?

[Guden Oden]

Originally Posted by Skrying

Hmm, a cheap used projector and Wii = pwnage?

Let's just hope its lamp doesn't put out anything in the infrared part of the spectrum...

[Skrying]

Originally Posted by Guden Oden

Let's just hope its lamp doesn't put out anything in the infrared part of the spectrum...

Hmm.

[pc999]

Originally Posted by Natoma

http://wii.ign.com/articles/726/726803p1.html


And the plot.... stays the same? hehe

Meybe we will know the reason why he think so later in the interview.

The console at 170$ and (AAA) games at 35$ (like in the console about 2/3 of the price sugested initialy), would make me really happy (personally I cant see how will they sell so many games at full price and I also think this is not a price to a real mainstream/mass market product).

[digitalwanderer]

$35 a game would be sweet, probably prevent a lot of pirating too.