Wii = ultra affordable?

[Mendel]

Somehow people generally seem to think Wii is affordable while xbox 360 and ps3 are not. Well, I kinda agree on ps3 but seeing as at least around here xbox 360 core package costs the same as wii and usually there is some kind of game bundle with little to no extra cost.

So to me it would seem to depend on whether you want to connect through wlan or ethernet.

If you want ethernet, wii will require extra accessory and that would make it more expensive, vice versa with wlan.

So what do you think, is wii being affordable just pr or is there something to it?

 

[superNoid]

Personally I think the Wii is an utter rip off for what you're getting. $250 for a GCN+ with a new controller, lack luster online, minimal graphical increase (if any), no component cables included ($60) and no Mario, Metriod, or Smash Brothers title at launch, is an utter joke. I understand the appeal of jumping on the bandwagon of a launch system but PERSONALLY I wouldn't buy the Wii right now.

I'm waiting for SMG, SSBB, an Metriod to all be out and a price tag <= $149. Only then is it worth the price. Many will disagree, however I'm not made of money and I see buying a Wii now as a waste of hard earned cash.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

So what do you think, is wii being affordable just pr or is there something to it?

It's about £50 cheaper than XB360 in the UK, I think. £180 versus XB360 core at £193 at Play, which also needs a memory card. if you want WiFi, it's more.

So not ultra affordable, but also it's priced reasonably without much hidden extras. Then again, for multiplayer it's probably comparable with XB360 when you add up the pricier controllers.

 

[Johnny Awesome]

Not to mention how expensive the controllers are for Wii. A Core 360 is pretty good value when compared to the Wii, especially when you consider that you can play the visually best game available (GoW) on it and the Wii's only good game is a Cube port (Zelda).

 

[digitalwanderer]

I'm seriously thinking of putting off a Wii until after the holidays, I'm smelling a price drop and there just aren't enough titles out yet that I think my kids will like.

 

[Johnny Awesome]

Yes. Nintendo did their standard trick of showing off a ton titles that aren't going to ship for a year or two to generate interest from hardcore gamers, when in reality Zelda (announced at E3 2004 btw) is it until next Christmas when Mario and Metroid finally arrive. I'm waiting until 2008 when there are actually some great games for it and it's $149 (which is all I'd pay for year 2002 graphics). All IMO, of course.

 

[Citrous]

All you wii haters are just jealous. lol.

Zelda alone is worth $250+ the cost of the game.

Playing Madden 07 where you actually throw and catch the passes. Just unreal.

Bring a few chicks over and watch how quickly they get into the wii, it's just incredible. Not to mention it will play all your old GCN games and still use all the peripherals for it.

The wii is the biggest surprise out of all three consoles imo. If you had asked me a few months ago I would have said everything you guys just did: it's a low tech rebadged system with a gimmick controller. I would be eating those words now though.

All that said, if I didn't already have mine, I'd prolly wait for the rumored price drop. It's supposedly right around the corner. Lemme see if I can find the link Digi.

 

[Johnny Awesome]

I'm not worried if the neighbourhood girls like the system or not, but rather whether I feel it's good gaming value for myself. I can play Zelda for $50. Why would I pay $300? If you're spending the extra $250 to get laid by your ladies of the night, that's cool, but otherwise I think it's a waste of money right now.

I'm not a hater. I own a Cube and think it has some great games, but I learned last generation that a Nintendo system is the kind of system you buy in year 3 to get good value out of it, especially while 3rd parties are working the kinks out of the new controller.

 

[pc999]

I think that Wii is very expensive IMO, for the price with carrys it should have much more inside, the controlers are also very expensive, the online also seems inferior to others consoles and what seems to be the best games are yet to come.

This does not mean that it isnt a good console because IMO it seems like in the future (or with future gamesfeature) will be really good, but it is and (if there isnt a price drop/pack soon enought) will still be a very expensive piece of HW for what you get.

 

[thatdude90210]

I've barely touched my 360 since getting my Wii at launch. In that time, I've completed Rayman raving rabbits, spent over 20 hours of Zelda TP, and even more hours on Wii sports. It's just more fun, and that's something you can't see by adding up the cost of components.

I think Wiisports alone is worth the price of admission... and apparently Gamasutra agrees as they just named Wiisports as their "most important game of 2006" (Zelda tp was number 2, btw, just ahead of Gears)

 

[Rainbow Man]

Wii is a bit epensive that is true. And it's not so fast and powerful and all that. It's still a cool system however and it has some decent improvements with wifi, SDcard, USB and stuff. The pointer works surprisingly well and it's small and being essentially a GC means I can pack away that old thing now.

GC was always ridiculed for looking childish and probably suffered undeservedly because of that negative image. Wii on the other hand looks neat and professional and will likely be very successful on the whole. Not a bad thing all things considered especially as being slow means it can alwayd be cheaper than 360 and PS3.

Peace.

 

[NERO]

I can play Zelda for $50. Why would I pay $300? If you're spending the extra $250 to get laid by your ladies of the night, that's cool, but otherwise I think it's a waste of money right now.

I'm not a hater. I own a Cube and think it has some great games, but I learned last generation that a Nintendo system is the kind of system you buy in year 3 to get good value out of it, especially while 3rd parties are working the kinks out of the new controller.

I agree. I purchased a refurbed cube for 50 USD@eb in 04. I've only purchased 1st party games when they were all sub 30 and had a ball. I considered getting a wii, but used the same train o' thought you did; Do I play cube Z:TP for $50 or $300+ for the wii version? I decided that the $250 premium was not worth it for me at this time. I pledge allegiance to certain games, and if I can get'em on the cheap I will. I'm crazy enough about Zelda games to the point that, had Nintendo only released only the Wii version, I would have went for it.

 

[Rainbow Man]

What you say makes sense. Not everybody will feel a wii is worth the money right now.

Just be aware. when you do get a wii you will always have to plug in a GC memcard and controller to play zelda on it unless you re-buy the game for wii and start all over again since the wii does not allow transferring saves from GC memcards.. That assumes the saves between tghe two different versions are even compatible i might add..

peace.

 

[patsu]

Not sure about "ultra affordable" but from the high demand, polished UI, bundled noob-friendly Sports title and superb game reviews for Zelda, the current Wii price is right for many gamers, casuals and Nintendo.

They delivered the "fun" factor most successfully. If they sustain the demand (no indication why not), the industry will be happy to join the momentum further reinforcing the price.

 

[OtakingGX]

I think that Wii is very expensive IMO, for the price with carrys it should have much more inside, the controlers are also very expensive, the online also seems inferior to others consoles and what seems to be the best games are yet to come.

This does not mean that it isnt a good console because IMO it seems like in the future (or with future gamesfeature) will be really good, but it is and (if there isnt a price drop/pack soon enought) will still be a very expensive piece of HW for what you get.

So $10 more for a controller is very expensive, but the same price increase for each game you buy is not?

One of my brothers asked for a Wii for Christmas. I was considering getting the other a 360 until I thought about what I would have to spend so he could play a game on it. The $300 core package quickly turned into $400 to get a game and memory card. If he wanted to take advantage of Xbox Live, he'd have to spend $100 for the wireless adapter. Needless to say, he got a 30GB iPod instead.

I'd say being able to play a game right out of the box for $250 is a great deal. At this point, though, I don't think people buying them care what the price is. Half of the parents waiting in line in front of Target Sunday morning didn't even know how much the thing cost.

 

[scooby_dooby]

No it's not that affordable, my GF wants one, would run nearly $300 CAD, not happening

That money can go towards a ski-trip in Janurary

 

[Skrying]

$250 with a game included, its not that bad really. The game is lots of fun with friends, and its a great party game in stand for Mario Party at this point, which I'm willing to bet will be a massive hit for the system.

If anything, Nintendo has nailed the marketing for the Wii and has been able to give it the impression as being very affordable, which in some cases might be more important than being actually cheap.

 

[patsu]

No it's not that affordable, my GF wants one, would run nearly $300 CAD, not happening

That money can go towards a ski-trip in Janurary

Which reminds me. Does Wii Sports include Skiing ?

The game is lots of fun with friends, and its a great party game in stand for Mario Party at this point, which I'm willing to bet will be a massive hit for the system.

Agree. I think Wii's real strength is in co-op/party/family gaming. That's what I plan to buy it for anyway. IMHO, it is the best form of gaming, online or off.

 

[SugarCoat]

I'm not really thrilled with nintendo any more so then Sony or Microsoft. Supply and production of the Wii and both versions of Twilight Princess is terrible around my area. I either have to simply wait or get lucky from an online etailer that likewise isnt going to stuff a bundle down my throat. I was hoping to play this game when it launched, not have to wait a month and a half to even find it.

I cannot stand any of these launch schedules, absolutly terrible. For a game that has always been ultra-popular to be underproduced after having a rather hefty delay, and during the holidays no less, is just pathetic in my opinion. Disappointing indeed.

All in all its been a rather crappy launch in terms of feeding demand by everyone. Sony might actually be the victor here because the damn things so expensive they actually remain in stock for longer periods.

Mostly i'm just really pissed off at how badly the ball was dropped on Zelda production. I'm hearing alot of places were actually shipped far under what they were suppose to get.

 

[swaaye]

All you wii haters are just jealous. lol.

Zelda alone is worth $250+ the cost of the game.

I've put about 45 hours into Wii Zelda and I'll argue with what you said. I think I'd prefer the Gamecube version because I honestly find the Wiimote annoying with the game. And, IMO, the game is definitely not worth going gaga over. It's interesting and somewhat fun, but it definitely does not do much of anything new. It's a LOT like Ocarina of Time, with better graphics (oh, did N do something so shallow?!?!)

With Wii overall, I'm put off by the $250 + the very limited hardware. I'm also not so fond of the machine's looks honestly. I think the Wiimote and it's white pure look reminds me of a medical instrument. Fun. Nintendo didn't need to jump on the Apple Ipod bandwagon. IMO Cube and N64 are a lot more slick.

I've also pondered the "graphics don't = fun" and figured out that a good part of why I play games is to see graphics develop. Otherwise, I'd still be playing DOS games cuz some of those have more depth and fun factor than almost anything in recent years.

Let me pose a point: Do you think Wii can possibly offer a racing sim with the same quality of PS3 or 360? I don't think so. Why? Because PS2 and Xbox 1 offer games of incredible quality already with Wii-equiv gfx and the next step is greater physics simulation and graphics, as usual. A Wii-mote steering wheel extension isn't going to make the game. If steering wheels are your thing with racers, you can probably eventually find one with real force feedback for the other consoles.

How about FPS games? Do graphics really not matter? Would I rather play Unreal or Crysis? Why am I fascinated by Crysis? Why are most gamers fascinated by it? Not gameplay, I bet. How about Alan Wake? UT2007?

Most genres, barring visual styles that don't get impacted significantly by graphics improvements (Mario's cartoon look, say), gets a large amount of its atmosphere by impressing the player with visual tricks/graphics. It's most definitely a large part of the experience with games. Mario's cartoon look was a real winner for N64 too cuz much of the game could be simple Gouraud shaded or very, very simply textured and look very Mario-like. Easy on the hardware.

If you think the average consumer doesn't notice the disparity between Wii and PS3/360 graphics, you are deluding yourself. It's sorta akin to bad visual FX in a movie. My dad, a guy who doesn't play consoles anymore (since SNES really) commented on Wii's graphics limits when he saw the goofy Wii sports look. He said, "so this is supposed to compete with PS3?". It was taken aback by his comment. It surprised me. He was soothed a bit when I told him it was less than half the price.

Wii games may offer some cool future experiences, but that's not a given.Wii Zelda looks like a Cube game, visually, and the remote adds zilch to anything in the game other than fishing. 3rd parties have already put out a lot of junk games for the console (Ubisoft). If I was a consumer watching the machine, I would NOT buy it right now.