Wii to retail for about $170, regurgitates EA chief
by James Ransom-Wiley 
{ Aug 21st 2006 at 5:55PM }
Executive VP and COO of EA's worldwide studios, David Gardner, has tossed out "$170" as the rough dollar equivalent of the Nintendo Wii price tag in Japan. At least, that's what he overheard. "I've heard in Japan that the price is about $170," Gardner recently told GamesIndustry.biz.By now, most of us have also heard that $170 figure quoted, or more accurately, the 19,800-yen figure that was published in Nikko Citigroup's report last week. Sorry folks, Gardner hasn't let any juicy details leak here. So let's dead this misleading story before it gets any more press, 'kay?
[Thanks to everyone that sent this in]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Twisted Imp @ Aug 21st 2006 6:00PM
Ugh,come on guys we have seen so many of these so called "Price Tags",I say we should just wait to hear it from Nintendo themselves.
[-Z-] @ Aug 21st 2006 6:00PM
$199, I'll pass nintendo this generation. I'm pretty sure they going to come out with 720p version. I will buy the 720p version then. For now, XBOX 360 and PS3 for me.
LegendarySyko @ Aug 21st 2006 6:01PM
$170 seems like an odd figure for US. Im think $199 myself.
soma @ Aug 21st 2006 6:01PM
If ever a fanboy of another console should start to sweat, it should be upon hearing a competitor's next-gen system retailing for $170!
reguy @ Aug 21st 2006 6:02PM
'So let's dead this misleading story'
what kind of second grade writing is that??
or at the very least that sentence is very confusing...
ACE @ Aug 21st 2006 6:03PM
Before anyone accuses me, I am not a fanboy for anyone. But at 170 dollars, the Wii might easily outsell both other next gen consoles. But then again maybe not. Plus I've lost respect for sony recently. Their advertising is terrible, and theve made some really, truly stupid mistakes. Anyway, I have a 360 and the Wii will definitly be my next buy.
josh @ Aug 21st 2006 6:09PM
seems weird that they would release at that price, but if it was really only $50 more than a DS, i'm sure it would sell like crazy... but i think the $199-249 are probably more accurate.
still, as a wise poster above said, why don't we just wait til the announcement is made.
Henry @ Aug 21st 2006 6:10PM
@ [-Z-]
So you base your games console purchases on the screen resolution they support? Your loss buddy.
vidGuy @ Aug 21st 2006 6:11PM
$199 in the US with 2 remotes, 2 nunchuks, and Wii Sports.
Joe @ Aug 21st 2006 6:11PM
I agree with number 5. "Dead" is not a verb.
Darth Pixel @ Aug 21st 2006 6:12PM
I can sell you a rock for $100 and tell you it's the best next-gen hardware.
Will you buy it?
Games make consoles desirable.
If Wii doesn't get the games people want to play, it doesn't matter it's cheap.
eric_with_a_k @ Aug 21st 2006 6:14PM
Sorry soma, the problem with your argument is that Wii is not a next-gen system. It's a Gamecube with a new controller. Nintendo could have easily just sold the wii-mote as a peripheral for the Gamecube. Instead they've repackaged a failed system, slapped a new controller on it, and giggled as sheep line-up to purchase a system they already own and were never happy with.
Franky Digital @ Aug 21st 2006 6:16PM
@ Darth Pixel: "If Wii doesn't get the games people want to play, it doesn't matter it's cheap."
Thank god there's a ton of already-announced titles based on the same long-standing franchises that people.
jopojelly @ Aug 21st 2006 6:18PM
whose never been happy with a gamecube?
I could care less if it even was just repaekaged GC, if it has the next Super Smash Brothers I'd gladly pay 250 if that's all it played.
Omega697 @ Aug 21st 2006 6:21PM
eric_with_a_k, you are so right! The thing that's hard to believe is how badly the GameCube did with its free Nintendo WiFi Connection, its Virtual Console that lets you play generations of video game classics, its 512 MB of flash memory, and its DVD player! Connect24 was surely the worst feature of the GameCube - I could never even figure out how to activate it! Come to think of it, I never figured out how to activate any of those other features either!
soma @ Aug 21st 2006 6:22PM
Well Eric, I've been thinking like you have for some time now. I think if the Japanese really take to this system then we'll have some very nice games coming out. We can't rely on the Western part of the world to deliver quality titles.
[-Z-] @ Aug 21st 2006 6:32PM
@Henry,
LOL Why is it my loss, just that I don't buy a console, I lose out so much..WOW, You must be a Nintendo Games Collector or something. I don't really see that if i don't play Zelda or Red Steel, my cars will explode or something bad will happen?
redspear @ Aug 21st 2006 6:34PM
Darth Pixel I agree.. Games are what makes a console.
From what i have seen the Wii has more exclusives by far than the PS3. The Wii also appears to be getting some ports as well as redesigned ports CoD3 is a different team. It has some of the titles that are launching with the PS3(blazing Angels). And a bunch of games in there Virtual Console, plus I heard small but unlikely rumor that it will be able to play saturn disks which if it turns out to be true would give me a chance ot play games I never did.
Aside from that Dragon Quest 10 and Secret of Mana Online are rumored to be in development again a rumor.
The PS3 has Warhawk, Heavenly Sword, and Genjii 2. Genjii 2 is famous for
"Attack the Weak Spot For Massive Damage" and "Giant Enemy Crabs".
FF13 and MGS4 are much later in life and if history is any indicator if the PS3 does not sell well enough compared to other platforms in the past. FF4(N64) was completely reworked and became FF7(PS). From a games perspective you will get 85-90% of PS3 titles on the 360+ their exclusives and different games on the wii.
reguy @ Aug 21st 2006 6:39PM
Omega697, I like ya man but the wii IN MY OPINION is the gamecube+. case in point, nintendo wants to sell gamecube games with wiimote functionality. If that is not proof that the new remote could have been sold as a gamecube attachment then i dont know what is.
David @ Aug 21st 2006 6:43PM
Verbing weirds language.
Josh @ Aug 21st 2006 6:44PM
What do you mean this isn't new news, James? This came from an EA exec, not some analyst, making it much much much much more official.
Considering consoles are usually a little more expensive in Japan than in the US, I think Wii may just come out at $149.
We'll know in two days, anyway.
otakucode @ Aug 21st 2006 6:50PM
I always buy a console for a specific game... until a game that makes me want it comes along, the console does not get purchased. I bought the original Playstation for Final Fantasy VII and barely ever played anything else on it. I got the PS2 for Silent Hill 2 but got considerably more play out of the system, just bought my second one a couple months ago. I got the Gamecube for Resident Evil Zero and when that sucked hardcore because of the completely antiquated and gamer-hating control scheme Capcom cursed it with, it was lucky that I had also picked up Eternal Darkness which was infinitely more playable and well worth a console purchase. Got the Xbox for.. hmm... I don't recall off hand. But I recently got a 360 for Dead Rising and for Live Arcade. Yeah, I'm a horror/zombie nut and those types of games put consoles in my living room. But the Wii will be purchased for Twilight Princess and the Virtual Console. Still hoping they don't come out with anything I HAVE to have thats exclusive to the PS3 before its price drops....
Addison @ Aug 21st 2006 6:52PM
well we hope, Josh, we hope.
B33 @ Aug 21st 2006 6:57PM
$200 seems like a more likely price. $170 doesn't seem likely. Just wishful thinking.
Sean DL @ Aug 21st 2006 7:11PM
"If Wii doesn't get the games people want to play, it doesn't matter it's cheap."
Very true..but if you want people who never picked up a game controller/console before to play games, price is very critical in going after this market.
See Brain Age. Price help make it the worldwide hit it is, besides being good.
makesevenupyours @ Aug 21st 2006 7:17PM
i really doubt it goes at under 199. 229, and 249 seem most likely to me...
cringer8 @ Aug 21st 2006 7:17PM
Just two more days, guys. We will know almost everything in two days. Can we wait that long before making speculative statements and outlandish claims?
I, for one, can't wait to see some *actual* game play on *finished* hardware.
corwin @ Aug 21st 2006 7:25PM
Theres no way it would be only $170. That would be a such a marketing and business flaw. To launch any kind of new technology at a lower price than most peoples expectations would be such a loss for any company.
LinconPark-man @ Aug 21st 2006 7:31PM
YEAH RIGHT. JUST TWO MORE DAYS UNTIL NINTENDO GETS THE SHIT KICKED OUT OF THEM BY MICROSOFT. ITS LIKE A JOCK KICKING THE SHIT OUT OF A NERD (AHH, THE GOOD OL DAYS) LIKE MY VARSITY COACH ALWAYS SAID "HURRY UP AND KICK THE SHIT OUT OF THOSE NERDS!"
Evan @ Aug 21st 2006 7:39PM
"the wii ... is the gamecube+"
Just like an AMD Athlon is a 386+.
Sure it's based on the GameCube's architecture, but the GPU's specs are up to 3x that of the GameCube, and 2x the XBox1. The CPU is based on the G5, and should be at least 3x the GameCube's G3-based CPU. I think that's a worthy improvement.
corwin @ Aug 21st 2006 7:40PM
whoa, lincoln park-man. You must think this is the Army Recruitment Office blog. 'cause you know, with an Extreme attitude like that it could be of some use next to the brave men and women behind our united military forces.
Dr.Swiss @ Aug 21st 2006 7:48PM
LinconPark-man = joke post.
soma @ Aug 21st 2006 7:50PM
@ Evan-
If you think the Wii will be 3x as powerful as the GC and 2x as powerful as the XBOX (regardless of what the thrown around tech specs are), you're in for a very rude awakening.
LinconPark-man @ Aug 21st 2006 7:59PM
WHOA CORWIN IS THAT KIDDING I HEAR? FOR YOUR INFORMATION I DO FIGHT WITHTHE MILITARY. SOMTHING THAT WOULD NEVER EXCEPT SOMEONE LIKE YOU. AND ITS GREAT GAMES LIKE HALO AND GHOST RECON THAT GIVE ME THAT SHARP SKILLS WHERE IF I HAD TO I COULD SURVIVE IN WAR. WHENEVER SOMEONE IN MY COMPANY ASKS ABOUT MY SHOT ACCURACY, I PAY MY HOMAGE TO HALO. SO SAY ANYTHING TO ME BUT JUST DONT COME BETWEEN ME AND MY TARGET BECAUSE YOU MIGHT HERE A "GAIN THE LEAD" IN THE DISTANCE.
[-Z-] @ Aug 21st 2006 7:59PM
@Evan,
Your analogy on Athlon doesn't sound right. Athlon is K7 and 386 is well K3. There are 4 generation gaps there. Huge architecture differences. I do think They are more like K7(Athlon)-K8(AMD64) to be exact.
vidGuy @ Aug 21st 2006 8:00PM
soma, that's what Nintendo has been saying for the last year: 2 to 3 times as powerful as the GameCube. Rumors are a 1 to 1.5 GHz CPU and a 500MHz GPU.
Steve @ Aug 21st 2006 8:05PM
Oh Soma... when will you realize that mhz doesn't mean shit anymore. Take Intel's new Core 2 chip as an example. A 2.4ghz Core 2 chip clocked at 2.4 beats the living crap out of my overclocked 4.0ghz Pentium D chip. Even if the Wii is at 1ghz, using the PPC 750 CL (which the devkits were using, underclocked at 730mhz from its default of 1ghz) it's still almost twice as powerful as the XBox. Not to mention the advantages that the Wii CPU has over the 360's Xenon and Cell (out of order execution, which immensely helps AI and physics) and a fantastic dynamic branch predicition (again, AI and physics love this). Even the "almighty" Cell chip has the archaic in-order execution that makes programmers want to rip their hair out. Perhaps you people should read about these things before you comment.
A stripped-down Power5 archictecture (which is exactly what the 3 PPE cores in the Xenon and 1 PPE core in the PS3 are) perform like ass clock-for-clock in comparison to a real G5 or the enhanced G3 in the Wii. There are plenty of articles on ArsTechnica about the pitfalls of the PPE core inside the Xenon/Cell, if you'd like to read more.
fgdf @ Aug 21st 2006 8:06PM
the Wii idea, the concept, its worth to me $300 even $350, 360 and ps3 look so old in comparison its not even funny,
its like, this
http://www.letsgoretro.com/assets/gamezoneII_large.jpg
vrs
this
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v333/lordofduct/racketboy/revolution.jpg
corwin @ Aug 21st 2006 8:07PM
"you're in for a very rude awakening."
Wow soma, it not like its gonna be the end of my life if the new nintendo doesnt look like the Xbox420. We know it wont. Just dont be pissed when it is actually looks good enough for all your game buddies that youre gonna have to buy one just to play with your friends.
Unless you're in that "Nintendo killed my mom and dad" club that alot of dueshbags in these days.
corwin @ Aug 21st 2006 8:12PM
Steve, you're a nerd. I like that.
Nintendo's King @ Aug 21st 2006 8:20PM
$285 in the US with 1 Wii-Remote and AA batteries, 1 Nunchuk, 1 Wii-Classic Controller, 1 Wii Zapper, Wii- DVD Player, 1 Nintendo SD Memory Card and Wii Sports for me.
corwin @ Aug 21st 2006 8:28PM
how do you know this, nintendo's king?
ill trooper @ Aug 21st 2006 8:36PM
WHOA! LinconPark-man is awesome! I sincerely hope he submits more comments, and yes, I'm being serious, SOLDIER!
OoooOO-RAA!
Won't be long before the military 'EXCEPTS' no one, the way things are going...
soma @ Aug 21st 2006 8:38PM
Like I said Steve, he shouldn't be suprised when the Wii doesn't look 3x as powerful graphically as the GC, nor will it have any type of advanced physics we should be expecting with next gen. Hell, I'm one who subscribes to the opinion that the X360 doesn't look 2x as good as the XBOX, so the Wii most certainly won't. Nobody will care about all those hardware stats and figures you throw around when the games will look very similar to last generation (and you know they will). Corwin, I'm already buying a Wii regardless of how good the graphics look. But no, the graphics won't cause my friends or anyone else to buy one. Horsepower isn't why a person is interested in the Wii.
corwin @ Aug 21st 2006 8:45PM
I hear that.
Steve @ Aug 21st 2006 8:46PM
The games looked similar to Gamecube games because they were running on Gamecubes. Will they be as pretty as PS3 games? No, but who cares. There's room for improvement on the Wii, too. Take first gen games as an example. Just look at shots of Perfect Dark Zero and compare them to Red Steel as an example (some shots of Red Steel look even better than PDZ). There's still plenty of room for pretty nice visuals, despite the fact that none of us are buying the Wii for that. Resident Evil 4 (best looking game last gen) times 2 sounds good, doesn't it? Don't expect Lair or Gears of War but don't expect Gamecube level visuals in the long run, either, despite the many rushed launch titles and ported Gamecube games that companies are rushing to put out. That's all I'm saying.
saboola @ Aug 21st 2006 8:47PM
I know what you mean LincolnPark-Man. Ten years ago, our crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime we didn't commit. We promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the Los Angeles underground. Today, still wanted by the government, we survive as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire... us. (BTW I got my mad rifle skills from playing Wolf3d and Commander Keen just like you! Woot!)
juanito @ Aug 21st 2006 9:00PM
i think the Wii is going to be more powerfull than most think, if you actually look at the textures that the Wii games have shown there is no way the Gamecube could have done them. the Wii can also be cheaper because it doesn't use high def, which takes up 20% of the cpu and gpu each. so the Wii doesn't need the extra 20% on both those componets, plus it doesn't need the power to process the hd movies which 360 and PS3 both have to be able to do. because the 360 has the hd-dvd addon and the PS3 with the bluray drive built in.
and for people that think that the Wii will be over $199, i think that is highly unlikely. no nintendo system has ever sold over $199. plain and simple. nintendo is staying true to there roots.
sockpuppettherapy @ Aug 21st 2006 9:11PM
Stupidity reigns when you hear something to the extent of "So-and-so system doesn't look 2x as powerful as the previous system." It merely shows the ignorance of the people debating, and the lack of thought on their own part.
Graphical improvement is NOT linear. Twice as much power does not translate to "twice as better picture quality," and to even assume such a thing is ridiculous.
Rather, it's more of an exponential curve. At lower levels, such as from 8-bit to 16-bit, the improvement of power easily translates to better graphical output. A crappy SNES game with horrid graphics are most likely still better than that of a decent, even a good NES game.
At this point, the addition of power must be tremendous in order to create MUCH better graphics. And as we've so far seen with most 360 games, that just isn't noticeable.
Compare it this way. If you're looking at triangles on a computer screen, it's easy to discern 1 from 2, or 2 from 4, or 4 from 8 triangles. But when you've got 1 billion triangles and go onto 2 billion? Or a trillion triangles to 2 trillion? To our eyes, to perception, that difference is hardly noticeable, if at all.
Even worse, most games, if not all, could have been put onto the XBox or the PS2 with graphical downgrades without actually changing any of the gameplay at all.
That's the problem. You're paying for something that just looks a little better with newer systems at this point, while the content hasn't changed. Microsoft and Sony have been selling people "specs," numbers that mean nothing. 20 to 30 times the power doesn't mean anything when there's little or nothing to base it by. It's a matter of mindlessness and stupidity rolled into one.
The contrast is that the Wii is selling a new experience. It's NOT a Gamecube with 2x or 3x better graphical ability and with an attachment. It's a system whose entire game interface has changed. The focus is on playing the game, not on how the game looks.
I think people are also not realizing what the hell they just did. This isn't a simple peripheral; the amount of research and development to create a system like this (i.e. a device capable of detecting accurate and real-time motion wirelessly) doesn't come cheap, even if the hardware itself is cheaper than, say, creating the PS3.
soma @ Aug 21st 2006 9:34PM
@ sockpuppettherapy
How does stupidity reign when we know what a saying like "2x" generally means in context? It is a hell of a lot more simple than typing out almost a dozen paragraphs like you did.