Wii/Wii U

[Paranoid_Android]

I don't have a DS, so I don't know, but is the Wii likely to have multiple accounts per console, a server list, matches with elaborate rules, and all the bells and whistles of a basic RTS game?

 

[Mic_128]

I'm pretty sure that the Opera Browser is a free DL til June, but after that, it costs N Wii points. It's still free to use if you have it, though.

You're half right. It's free to download and use til June, then if you want to keep using it, it's just a one off payment of a few Wii points.

 

[maelstrom218]

I don't have a DS, so I don't know, but is the Wii likely to have multiple accounts per console, a server list, matches with elaborate rules, and all the bells and whistles of a basic RTS game?

I think it's been mentioned in an article that was linked a few pages back, but apparently you'll need only 1 friend code for all games, though my memory might be a bit off considering my old age.

 

[Omnigamer]

I just remembered something from a long time ago... does anybody know what became of Raid on the River? I remember hearing of it way back when we were still discussing "Revolution" outlooks, but I haven't heard anything about it since then.

 

[SmashBros.Guy]

Wii is going to be awsome. Legend of Zelda: TP, Disaster: Day of Crisis, Rayman RR, the list goes on and on. Wii will definately change the way we game.... for the better.... forever.

On IGN they have a thing for the Wii explaining in detail what the Wii is and how it works. (like a Wii launch Guide) http://wii.ign.com/launchguide/

 

[Deleted member]

You're half right. It's free to download and use til June, then if you want to keep using it, it's just a one off payment of a few Wii points.

Is that absolutely 100% confirmed?

 

[Zink]

Full tech specs.
729 MHz IBM PowerPC "Broadway" CPU
243 MHz ATI "Hollywood" GPU
24MBs "main" 1T-SRAM
64MBs other 1T-SRAM
512MBs internal flash memory
3MBs texture memory on GPU
Built-in 802.11b/g Wi-Fi capability
One SD memory card bay
AV multi-port: S-video, composite, component
Analog (left/right) audio / DPLII
Four GameCube controller ports
Two GameCube Memory Pak slots
Two USB 2.0 ports
Compatible with up to four wireless Wii-motes
Self-loading media drive
Accepts 12cm Wii and 8cm GCN discs; no DVD movies
I think my laptop has better specs.

 

[Sensai]

Mic, I could've sworn that the whole 'Opera til July' thing was to get people to buy it like hotcakes...it wouldn't make much sense if they said that you had to pay after you had it for free already.

Then again, this is the company that's selling the Wii for 250 dollars and controllers for 60....greed.

 

[Skywalker]

Full tech specs.
729 MHz IBM PowerPC "Broadway" CPU
243 MHz ATI "Hollywood" GPU
24MBs "main" 1T-SRAM
64MBs other 1T-SRAM
512MBs internal flash memory
3MBs texture memory on GPU
Built-in 802.11b/g Wi-Fi capability
One SD memory card bay
AV multi-port: S-video, composite, component
Analog (left/right) audio / DPLII
Four GameCube controller ports
Two GameCube Memory Pak slots
Two USB 2.0 ports
Compatible with up to four wireless Wii-motes
Self-loading media drive
Accepts 12cm Wii and 8cm GCN discs; no DVD movies
I think my laptop has better specs.

Nice. Very nice.

 

[Mic_128]

Is that absolutely 100% confirmed?

Yes .

 

[applejack]

Then again, this is the company that's selling the Wii for 250 dollars and controllers for 60....greed.

Xbox 360= $300-400, $50 controllers.
PS3= $500-600.
Wii=$250, $40-20 controllers.

the Wii costs a lot less than the competition and those controllers probably take some money to make. Least of three evils.

 

[Destiny Smasher]

I find it amusing that people are like, "Well, yea, Wii is $250, but I mean, when you add three more controllers, it costs as much as a 360, etc."

Um...Yah. A 360 with just ONE controller.
PS3 controllers are, what, $50? And 360 are about the same?
This is fancy technology compared to the others, so yea, it's gonna be a little more expensive.
And while $60 for a controller isn't very mainstream, and $250 doesn't seem so mainstream...look at the iPod, look at a lot of other things that sell well that aren't too cheap.
It's not about price so much as it is functionality.
If people want Wii, they're going to save up and buy it.
The price seems a little too expensive to me, but then again, Nintendo is actually making a PROFIT.

But man, I am so worried I am not gonna get one at launch.
I'm going to New York City on December 3rd, so I'm hoping that if I can't pre-order one at launch, I can pick one up from the Nintendo World Store then. I am gettin' pretty antsy, though--it really looks like it's still gonna hard to get one at launch or shortly thereafter.
But I'm sure Nintendo will have the supplies ready to get one to everyone by the end of the year.

Full tech specs.
729 MHz IBM PowerPC "Broadway" CPU
243 MHz ATI "Hollywood" GPU
24MBs "main" 1T-SRAM
64MBs other 1T-SRAM
512MBs internal flash memory
3MBs texture memory on GPU
Built-in 802.11b/g Wi-Fi capability
One SD memory card bay
AV multi-port: S-video, composite, component
Analog (left/right) audio / DPLII
Four GameCube controller ports
Two GameCube Memory Pak slots
Two USB 2.0 ports
Compatible with up to four wireless Wii-motes
Self-loading media drive
Accepts 12cm Wii and 8cm GCN discs; no DVD movies
I think my laptop has better specs.

Yes. Your laptop was also designed to do a whole lot more stuff than just play games.
[Wakka]An' it probably cost you a lot more dan two-fifty, yah?[/Wakka]

 

[maelstrom218]

I find it amusing that people are like, "Well, yea, Wii is $250, but I mean, when you add three more controllers, it costs as much as a 360, etc."

Um...Yah. A 360 with just ONE controller.
PS3 controllers are, what, $50? And 360 are about the same?
This is fancy technology compared to the others, so yea, it's gonna be a little more expensive.
And while $60 for a controller isn't very mainstream, and $250 doesn't seem so mainstream...look at the iPod, look at a lot of other things that sell well that aren't too cheap.
It's not about price so much as it is functionality.
If people want Wii, they're going to save up and buy it.
The price seems a little too expensive to me, but then again, Nintendo is actually making a PROFIT.

The thing is, the 360 is not being advertised as a multiplayer, "let's get everyone together" console. . .it's a traditional, hardcore, 1-player gamer console; that's why you don't necessarily need multiple controllers.

On the other hand, the Wii is being advertised as a console that the whole family can participate in. The central tenet of the Wii is having multiplayer play, and is marketed as such--yet Nintendo is paradoxically overpricing the controllers such that people are less likely to buy 3-4 of them, thus limiting the whole "get the family together" concept that Nintendo is pushing.

And the example you gave of popular things being overpriced (especially Apple products) isn't a good one--according to your logic, if something is popular, they'll overprice it. But if the item isn't even being sold yet, how can Nintendo tell if it's popular enough so that they can then increase the price?

Additionally, Apple is a horrid comparison to make. Their products are marketed not on the basis of functionality but on the basis of style and aesthetics. . .people buy Apple products because they're aesthetically pleasing and because it's the popular thing to do, not because they push innovation. A large number of MP3 players perform just as adequately, or even better than, the Ipod.

Of course, OSX really is worth the price, but that's a completely different matter.

 

[Sensai]

Xbox 360= $300-400, $50 controllers.
PS3= $500-600.
Wii=$250, $40-20 controllers.

the Wii costs a lot less than the competition and those controllers probably take some money to make. Least of three evils.

The Wii also costs a lot less to PRODUCE then the others one, also. Nintendo's selling everything at profit from day 1.

So why not just do like they always do and sell the system for 200, lose a little, but make up for it in hardware sales?

Maelstrom, you are a smart man. Good points.

 

[Zink]

I'm thinking Nin is a bit worried about not having a lot of market share. So they're selling for more so they can make profit earilier. Remember, it's not really profit until they make back R&D costs as well as production.
I don't think the controllers are that overpriced. Besides, most sites recommend only getting 2-3 full controllers- they believe it's unlikely that you will need 4 fulls at one time.

 

[ChRed2AKrisp]

The Wii also costs a lot less to PRODUCE then the others one, also. Nintendo's selling everything at profit from day 1.

So why not just do like they always do and sell the system for 200, lose a little, but make up for it in hardware sales?

Because they can. If a company can sell something for a higher profit and get away with it, they will. DOn't you think that if Sony felt they could get away with selling the PS3 for $700, they would do it? Of course they would. But they can't because there would be riots in the streets. Same goes for the 360, to a lesser extent.

 

[Destiny Smasher]

Good points above.
However, I think the idea is that since a lot of people will be buying Wiis, everyone can take their controllers over. But yea, that doesn't fulfill the family bit.

Even so, are you tellingme iPods were less expensive before and they suddenly spiked in price?
And come ON, look at the Wii and try to tell they are not copying Apple's aesthetics.

I actually wasn't aware iPods were overpriced, I figured they were just expensive but because they were sleek and held so much music people loved them. *shrug*

Now, concerning price...Know why it seems expensive? Because Nintendo is makinG MONEY. They're a business, they need to turn a profit.

Hmmm, let's take a look here.

When forecasting its profit margin for the year, Sony expected to take a hit from the upcoming PlayStation 3 launch; companies regularly lose money when making new hardware, so some financial hemorrhaging was to be expected. What Sony couldn't have foreseen, however, was the massive battery recall that ended up costing them a whopping $429 million and sent their bottom line screaming into the basement.

Yahoo breaks down the battery snafu: practically every laptop maker in the world has recalled Sony's lithium-ion batteries due to their unfortunate (though rare) habit of overheating and bursting into flames. The cost to Sony's profits is obvious, but the more subtle damage was done to the company's image as a mainstay of consumer technology. The recall couldn't have come at a worse time for Sony, whose gaming division also posted a loss of $366 million as a result of PS3 prep. Even Sony's movie business failed to impress, adding another $129 million to the company's total losses.

While Sony's decision to reduce the number of PSPs shipped in fiscal 2006 makes a certain amount of sense in light of this financial news, its decision to lower the cost of the PS3 in Japan by 20% is curious. Such a slash will reduce what little profit the company was going to make on the hardware that would have almost certainly sold out at the full asking price.

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3154680

First, the good news. As part of its earnings announcement today, Microsoft boasted that high Xbox 360 sales have boosted quarterly revenue for its Entertainment and Devices division by 70 percent. "Demand for Xbox 360 consoles, software, peripherals, and Xbox Live" increased the department's July-September revenue to $1.03 billion, up from $606 million during the same period the year prior.

"The Xbox 360 has sold 6 million consoles worldwide...to date and achieved record cumulative attach rates for software and peripherals in the United States, while Xbox Live passed the 4 million member mark during the quarter," the company said in a statement.

Now, the not-so-good news--just because the 360 is popular doesn't mean it's profitable. For the quarter, the Entertainment and Devices Division lost $96 million, versus the $173 million that it lost during July-September 2005. The Xbox 360 did not launch until November 22, 2005, so it was not on sale during the same quarter last year.

The Xbox 360 is currently the only next-gen console on the market, but it will face competition when Nintendo's Wii and Sony's PlayStation 3 launch next month. It comes in two models: The $299 hard drive-less core unit and the $399 wireless-controller-equipped premium package.

Overall, Microsoft took in $10.81 billion during the July-September quarter, the first of its fiscal year. That was an 11 percent year-on-year increase--the same percentage bump its quarterly operating income enjoyed, going from $4.05 billion during the same period in 2005 to $4.47 billion in this year's July-September quarter. Net quarterly income was $3.48 billion, which came out to $0.35 per share.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6160561.html?tag=latestnews;title;0

Although the Wii won't be on sale for weeks, Nintendo is already enjoying robust financial numbers. Today in Tokyo, the company reported a 54.4 billion yen (around $459.5 million) profit for the first half of its fiscal year, which ended on September 30.

The figure is a 48 percent increase from the 36.63 billion yen (approximately $309.2 million) the company reported during the same period the prior year. The Kyoto-based game giant rang up 298.82 billion yen (approx. $2.52 billion) in overall six-month sales, a massive 69 percent increase from the 176.36 billion yen (around 1.49 billion) it took in from April-September 2005.

To anyone following the game industry, the reason for Nintendo's success will be unsurprising. The company announced it has sold more than 10 million units of its DS handheld this year, a trend which accelerated after the sleeker DS Lite was released this spring. So far, the company has sold 26.82 million units of the DS and DS Lite since the platform debuted in late 2004.

Brisk sales of DS hardware translated to brisk sales of DS software. New Super Mario Bros. has sold 6.76 million units worldwide since it went on sale in May. Another popular game, Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day, sold 4.59 million units during the April-September period--bringing its lifetime sales total to 8.51 million units. The game hit Japan in May 2005, arrived on US store shelves in mid-April 2006, and came to Europe in June 2006.

Despite its surging sales, Nintendo's full-year outlook remains the same since it revised the figure upwards three weeks ago. The Mario factory now predicts its net profit for its entire business year, which ends on March 31, 2007, will be 100 billion yen (about $850 million), a 20.5 percent increase from its previous estimate of 83 billion yen (about $705 million).

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6160557.html

Now please don't take this as a fan-boy rant, because I actually like all three platforms for various reasons, but Nintendo seems to be doing quite well, wouldn't you say? How do you think they're still around even though, by numbers, they've been in last place in the console race? They make up for it in portable stuff and they make money from their products instead of losing it.

Last time I checked, it wasn't a company's obligation to LOSE money for the consumer.
Sensai, do you mean make up for it in software sales?

And here's what I have to say to that--because they know Wii will sell anyway. So why not just pack in a min-game compilation and add another $50?

I honestly don't mind paying the extra money if it means my favorite game developing/publishing company gets to keep doing well in the market. I will admit, the controllers are expensive, and I do think they're too much.
But really, controllers are expensive, period.
Just because Wii is trying to be fun for the whole family doesn't mean Wiimotes are cheap tech.

Anyway, I'm not saying these price points are right, but Nintendo isn't making games just to make people happy, they're making gams to make money and earn a living, people.
If you think this is bad, I've got one word for you: microtransactions. I pray to God Nintendo doesn't abuse those WONDERFUL things...

Anyway, the big thing to keep in mind is that Nintendo ONLY does games.
Sony and Microsoft make a LOT more stuff than that. So of course they're going to make (or potentially lose) a lot more money, they're a much more broad scope of products.

 

[LieutenantSerg]

http://wii.ign.com/objects/821/821973.html

Check out the Vid Red Steel 4 players.
Thats why you need 4 controllers for this kind of action

 

[Destiny Smasher]

Yea, and the other two systems are focusing more on online play. I'm hoping Nintendo expands this later, there's a lot of potential for online play if they put forth a little effort.
SSB:B will be the first one to truly express this, I hope.

 

[1080]

They are breaking even with this price, so that leaves a lot of room for the price to go down.

 

[FireBomb]

Ugh...Sunday is the last chance I'll have to preorder the Wii at Toys 'R Us. I wonder how many hours I should get there before it opens...

 

[Chill]

I agree with pretty much everything you said DS. I'd be a little dissapointed if companies I liked went out of buisness because I wouldn't see anymore games from them. I did want to correct just one thing you said.

"Anyway, the big thing to keep in mind is that Nintendo ONLY does games.
Sony and Microsoft make a LOT more stuff than that."

Well, not really. They also "do" TV shows, comics, cards, toys, clothes, and all those other promotional tie-ins. If you compared Sony to Nintendo they would probably be much closer than you realize. Microsoft is of course way out of their league.

 

[Destiny Smasher]

This much is true, but Nintendo only deals in ideas, IPs, not actual MATERIALS (except for Pokeon toys and such, I suppose).

But yea, I did think about that afterward.
But I sincerely doubt Nintendo even comes close to Sony as far as the grand scheme of products they produce.

Anyway, yea, main point is, stop whining about the price, if the price bothers you, don't buy it.
Because if people don't buy it, Nintendo will take note and change the price.

But see, that';s thje problem: people whine about microtransactions, about how games should be better (EA *cough*) about how there should be more artistic games, and all this, but at the end of the freakin' day, people keep BUYING IT.
They keep buying regurgutated Madden, they DON'T buy Okami/Psychnauts, an dthey keep buying freakin' cheat codes and extra costumes on XBox Live.

I'm not complaining about the price because it seems fine to me, and I'm buying one.
So every single one of you who is disappointed by the price, don't buy a Wii.
Send Nintendo the message that you want more from them for your money.
Wait for the price to go down.
Simple as that. Money talks.
I don't that much for money myself, but as far as business goes, it talks.
If people keep paying for things they think aren't worth the money, they're sending the message that iT IS worth their money, as they keep BUYING IT.

Simple as that. I'm not gonna defend Nintendo's pricing because I do acknowledge that it could be cheaper. Things can ALWAYS be cheaper. But it's up to the consumer to decide if the price is right.

If people really think the PS3 is overpriced (like me) they won't buy it.
I think the PS3 is overpriced. As a result, I'm not buying one.

Sorry if I seem preachy, I'm just sick of everypne complaining aboutprices on Wii, PS3, XBox Live, whatever, but they STILL BUY IT. That's called being contradictory.

 

[supersmashboy]

Exactly. That's why I'm going to wait several years before getting a PS3. The price will be lower, and the games that are actually worth getting that come out between now and then will still be available, probably for a lower price as well. I have no problem with paying $250 for a Wii, so I'm going to be getting that at launch. I've never had a problem with my PS2, but it would also be smart to wait a while before buying a PS3 just because there's a decent chance that there will be several faulty launch PS3s, just like there were broken 360s. There have been next to no complaints about faulty Nintendo consoles as far as I know, so nobody should have to worry about having to replace a Wii.

 

[Mr.GAW]

I listned to something on IGN about a controller blowing up in a guys hand. (Wii) The guy said he had first degree burns, and the controller literally exploded when he turned the lights on or someting. Anyone else hear this?

 

[primusfan]

No, but now i'm a little freaked out^^^

 

[jaej]

I'm probably not going to get a Wii until after Christmas, partially to avoid the rush, and partially to wait until more software comes out (SSBB).

And did you know that Nintendo makes about 2% more per console profit than Microsoft, who comes in second, does?

 

[REØ]

I listned to something on IGN about a controller blowing up in a guys hand. (Wii) The guy said he had first degree burns, and the controller literally exploded when he turned the lights on or someting. Anyone else hear this?

Are you serious? o_O That changes my whole plans of purchasing a Wii...

 

[Paranoid_Android]

I listned to something on IGN about a controller blowing up in a guys hand. (Wii) The guy said he had first degree burns, and the controller literally exploded when he turned the lights on or someting. Anyone else hear this?

That's possibly the least likely thing I've ever heard of.

 

[applejack]

I never heard that, but it might be worth it to play the Wii.

 

[Melaf]

ARF I freek out with the wii release on november 19th I have reserve it today and I gonna miss school for buy it and play Zelda TP


Guys do you know the release date for SSBB its the next march 30th its crazy.This was in a futur Shop website.

 

[D.A.N.]

I listned to something on IGN about a controller blowing up in a guys hand. (Wii) The guy said he had first degree burns, and the controller literally exploded when he turned the lights on or someting. Anyone else hear this?

I haven't heard a thing about that.

 

[Sensai]

ROFL.

I'm sorry, fellas. GAW, someone did say that. It's 100% sarcastic, OBVIOUSLY.

They were referring to the outlandish rumors concerning the Wii being buggy in the sunlight. They were just discarding it, but then Cassamassina (spelling) said that the controller DID explode. It was a joke.

There's nothing wrong with the controller.

DS: I understand economics. I'm not saying that Nintendo should GIVE Wii's away, I'm saying that if they charged only 200 dollars for the system (I think 150 would be great), EVERY household would get one. With 150 dollars (no game, of course), it'd be almost impossible to not pick up.

Can't believe you people believed the burns thing.../chuckles

 

[Mic_128]

Guys do you know the release date for SSBB its the next march 30th its crazy.This was in a futur Shop website.

The website was wrong, there is no date.

 

[Mr.GAW]

ROFL.

I'm sorry, fellas. GAW, someone did say that. It's 100% sarcastic, OBVIOUSLY.

chuckles

Wow... I feel pretty stupid. I listened to it going to sleep, but I could've sworn I thought it was real. Upon rechecking it, Sensai is right. Anyways heres the link:

http://wii.ign.com/articles/740/740913p1.html

Once again, I apologize for my stupidity.

EDIT: In the link below, around minute 36:15 the IGN crew does say that large amount of light (track lighting) does mess up the controller and sensor bar. No explosion, but still.

http://wii.ign.com/articles/742/742355p1.html

 

[kaid]

There is no physical way 2 AA batteries could possibly have enough energy to produce shrapnel, and even 1st degree burns would require specilized heating elements.

Closest I've heard, is at E3, a Wiimote sliped from someone's hand during Wii Baseball, and impacted the wall hard enough to break it. Now ALL games are required by Nintendo to have a "Put your wrist strap on" screen at the beginning.

 

[ChRed2AKrisp]

lol. I kept making jokes with my friends about flying Wiimotes, didn't think it would happen.

 

[Destiny Smasher]

Oh, you KNEW someone would do that sooner or later.

Anyways, yea, that 'blowing up' stuff was completely sarcastic, indeed. I love it when those guys joke around about stuff.

Anyways, Sensai, you do, in fact, have en extremely good point.
Here's what I think is going on:

This holiday season, Nintendo ships out Wiis for $250 a pop, knowing that people like me will pay $250 for it, giving them an economic boost at the start of the console's life.

Word of mouth will spread and (hopefully) their advertising campaign will pick up next year, so by next Christmas, they will drop the price to bring even more people in who weren't quite sure.

If they have a price that's too low right off the bat, they don't leave any room for price drops, plus, since every Wii at launch is going to sell anyway, they're making profit, which will then enable them to (in theory) make more quality products.

I could be totally wrong, but Nintendo seems big on those periodic price drops.

 

[D.A.N.]

I think you're onto something. I don't know if they'll drop the price so soon in less than a year, but they might. Gamecube had a quick price drop and they started packaging it with games in about a year and a half. Nintendo does do alot of price drops and packaging offers.

 

[supersmashboy]

It makes sense to have a pretty early price drop. I mean, they'll sell all the ones they can to the people who are willing to pay $250 pretty quickly, then they can do a price drop and sell even more while still actually making money.