Now that the big questions surrounding the Wii launch have been definitively answered, it's time to go back and check on the collective predictive abilities of the Joystiq community and the internet at large.Among Joystiq bloggers, Jennie and Blake both picked the correct price at $249, while Blake and Ludwig were the closest to the actual launch date with guesses of Nov. 12. All the other bloggers are currently drowning in a pool of their own tears at their lack of predictive ability.
Among the commenters, only 12 of out of 78 recorded price guesses were in the $249-$250 range, indicating that Joystiq readers were definitely expecting a lower price. Not one comment guesser correctly picked the Nov. 19 date, though commenters Ryan (Nov. 15) and Iwata (Nov. 23) were only off by four days. Iwata also correctly predicted the packed-in controller, nunchuck and Wii Sports, but his prediction of a free virtual console game proves that there are limits to his psychic abilities.
Averaging it all out, Joystiq's $213.87 average guess was closer than the commenters' $208.80, and the Nov. 1 average blogger guess was a full week better than the Oct. 24 commenter average. So, basically, we're smarter than you, but not by much.
Looking over the well-publicized rumors from before the announcement, it seems one of the earliest was one of the most prescient -- EGM called the price way back on May 8. As far as release date rumors, IGN's insider source tip of Nov. 12 was closest but still no cigar. Could the plans have changed after IGN got their information?
So what's the take away from all this? Your guess is as good as ours. No, seriously, that's the takeaway ... when it comes to predicting launch details, your guess is as good as ours.
