CNN Money sees Wii launching as early as September [update 1]

by Ludwig Kietzmann { Jul 5th 2006 at 8:55PM }

The words of CNN Money's Chris Morris, which suggest a Wii launch in late September or early October, are certainly tantalizing and not entirely unrealistic. Getting the machine onto store shelves and into our loving, embarrassingly weak arms would give Nintendo a healthy lead on the PS3 and Microsoft's glut of holiday titles, not to mention the joy it would grant fans of intergalactic bounty hunters and pointy-eared archers. Morris cites an earlier analyst report by P.J. McNealy of American Technology Research which notes that Nintendo already began manufacturing final retail consoles on 21 June, providing ample time until a prospective September launch.

Further evidence comes in the less sturdy form of past release dates of Nintendo consoles, with only the Gamecube missing an October or September release window. Of course, if the Wii launches worldwide immediately, one would expect a strategy similar to that of the DS launch -- that one happened in November as well. While it's not entirely unfeasible, Morris' suggestion is still swathed in speculation. With no details available on manufacturing, Nintendo may have simply started up the production line early (if they did so at all) to avoid launch shortages which plagued the Xbox 360 and are sure to plague Sony's machine.

Unfortunately, it looks like the only words we can fully trust right now are the ones from official (and sober) Nintendo men and women.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

[Update 1: Nintendo has (predictably) put the kibosh on this one, with a spokesperson stating, "There's no change in our plan to release the console in the last quarter of this year."]

Tags: Chris Morris, ChrisMorris, CNN, Launch window, LaunchWindow, Legend of Zelda, LegendOfZelda, Metroid Prime, MetroidPrime, Nintendo, Satoru Iwata, SatoruIwata, Super Mario, SuperMario, Twilight Princess, TwilightPrincess, Wii launch, WiiLaunch

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

GSI @ Jul 5th 2006 9:01PM

September launch?

HA! Not gonna happen.

Enigma @ Jul 5th 2006 9:02PM

September?

With what games are they to launch with then?

Zak @ Jul 5th 2006 9:02PM

Considering I said that it would be October 10, a whole two weeks ago when I sent this in, remain unsurprised.

Shogan @ Jul 5th 2006 9:05PM

I don't think it'll happen either, but I am hopefull. If it launched tomorrow, I'd buy it tomorrow though. :)

Indepth @ Jul 5th 2006 9:07PM

It's more than just wanting to release early, you need to have developers on board with that too. You can't simply move the date up and expect third parties to be able to easily comply...unless games are far enough along that it doesn't matter. But I'm thinking that's not the case.

epobirs @ Jul 5th 2006 9:10PM

Since all indications are that this is a direct outgrowth of the GameCube it has the great advantage of requiring far less debugging than an entirely new machine. Being in the stores well in advance of the PS3 could lock up a lot of consumer dollars while Sony is still sweating over production yields.

poke50uk @ Jul 5th 2006 9:10PM

"Nintendo may have simply started up the production line early (if they did so at all) to avoid launch shortages which plagued the Xbox 360 and are sure to plague Sony's machine."

Now theres a diffrence.. between a shortage (ie like pink/blue DS at xmas).. and a certain games retailer keeping back stock on purpose on behalf of microsoft to increase interest for the xmas rush..

as for september release.. I pray for it to be correct.. but I do believe that it will be before the ps3.. and quite a while before.. to avoid even kids saying "Im just gonna wait till the ps3 comes out"

Mr BoomStick XL @ Jul 5th 2006 9:26PM

WOW! I know that some of you may think that I'm a BIG G-Boy for saying this but I'm REALLY excited about the Wii(and not in that way)! The reason I say this is because me and Nintendo go waaaay back and even though I think the controller is a bit to gimickky I like the idea of playing the older Nes,S-nintendo and N64 games!! I have always had a GREAT time with the Nintendo brand!!

Fitsimmons @ Jul 5th 2006 10:03PM

I agree, that even if they could launch the hardware in Sept. that the launch lineup would suffer because of it. They promised about 20 games for launch and I think they would be better off to wait a short time for those games to be completed. No need to launch early with a sparse lineup, whats the point in that. Still, I think Oct, LATE Oct is reasonable. They could squeeze a month on Sony if they are lucky, but will that make a difference with the different markets they are targeting? Also, I'm not convinced that the PS3 won't see a slight delay yet.

GSI @ Jul 5th 2006 10:06PM

If it were to be a late October launch (which I also doubt) that would be great b/c my birthday is in late October. Any cash I would receive from family members would go right to the Wii.

Aaron @ Jul 5th 2006 10:11PM

The Wii could launch after the PS3 and it will still do better....but if we can get it early, that would be great.

Jay @ Jul 5th 2006 10:22PM

Can't wait.

Nintendo's King @ Jul 5th 2006 10:30PM

If this is true Nintendo Wii release date in the USA need to be 9/11/06 or 10/18/06. Because of the The Twin Towers to pay a TRIBUTE to NEW YORK CITY on 9/11/06 People will say that Nintendo do care about the USA and/or on 10/18/06 a to pay a TRIBUTE to the LAUNCH of the 1'ST Nintendo (The NES) in the USA on 10/18/1985.

vidGuy @ Jul 5th 2006 11:12PM

Some of the rumored launch titles still looked in need of work when they were shown at E3, Red Steel being the biggy. Nintendo already has a strong lineup with Zelda and Metroid, but they really need a stellar launch, so the third party games are important.

September? Naw. Maybe mid-October, but early November feels so much better.

I'm saying November 3rd.

skyrous @ Jul 5th 2006 11:43PM

I file that under "would be nice but not counting on it" If they really do plan on having 20 titles ready certainly some of them would be ready earilier than others. With zelda they weren't starting from scratch and nearly a year overdue, that one has to be done by now.

They launch with 5 or 6 titles early and then have a new every week or two until christmas. It keeps the buzz going and further blunts sony's ps3 push by being on the market a month or more early. it also gives people more time to investigate and report on the VC and the other online features before people have to decide whether to plunk down $700+ for a ps3 plus a game and accessories.

If they don't have enough games ready they're better off launching closer to christmas so the launch titles will still have hype behind them. But if they can make good on the 20 game promise I see nothing wrong with a september release.

Darcrequiem @ Jul 6th 2006 1:36AM

Well devs seem to think that the Wii is going to launch in September or October, so its not like Nintendo is pulling a Sega Saturn. In fact a lot of these early launch Wii stories are based on developers thinking the system is launching well before November. I think the Wii is launching in October personally, if Nintendo and devs can get the 10 to 15 launch titles polished by September though....I wouldn't blame them for September launch.