nick

Overthinking, Vlad. Nothing you ask is remotely interesting and it makes no sense. Nintendo's a fiscally sound but very conservative commpany. It's kept them in good stead for a century. We know this. Why the hullaballoo?

Wait, are you the MBA dude? Ah.

Yikes.

"Graphics dont matter: fine, but:

why are they charging 2.5 times as much as GameCube for GameCube 1.1 graphics + Wiimote?

why not sell the Wiimote as a special controller for GC; save people from buying the GC again."

If you don't get, then there's nothing we can do to help. Sorry.

"this sorry-ass tech demo" ...

Is a Miyamoto pet project and ties directly into everything the Wii stands for. So shut it.

"This is gay......You have to pay $$ to get the damn Opera web browser."

You've always had to pay for Opera.

Silly.

At $250 this thing is still gonna be absolutely titanic. The Mii channel changes everything for this gamer.

Wow. Those Wii videos of the interface are cool. Loved the one with the artcle and text (third one over). Magnification was cool, as was the way the text repositioned itself. Never seen it that way before. The character creation is neat. Nintendo's def. on to something here.

I think we're missing part of the story a bit. I mean, we're kind of blind to some of the tidbits – the WiiConnect thing with Opera and the web and news and weather. That stuff. This is a total sea change for Nintendo and everybody else. They've seen how the DS has become a little lifestyle thingie in Japan – and it's arguably becoming that over here (I see more and more adults, normal folks, chicks, etc with DS, at least here in the Bay Area) – and they're gonna really try to change video games forever. Thank god for Nintendo. Can't wait for my Wiiiiiiiiiiiii.

Seattle PI story's back up!

""
Nintendo gets Wii ready for holidays
Company plans to put console on market Nov. 19

By SETH SCHIESEL
THE NEW YORK TIMES

In a move that may allow Nintendo of Japan to take advantage of stumbles by its main rival, the company plans to announce today that it will release its new Wii video-game console in North and South America on Nov. 19, just as the holiday shopping season begins, and that the machine will cost $250 in the United States.

Nintendo executives said this week that the company also would announce today that more than 25 new games would be available for its video-game machine this year, a substantial portfolio from several genres that is intended to help the company broaden the appeal of its console. The company plans to ship 4 million of the Wii consoles worldwide this year.

Nintendo also will explain today a plan to expand the video-game market beyond its core of young men.

Today's announcement comes as Nintendo's main rival, Sony, has been forced to delay and scale back the introduction of its own game machine, the PlayStation 3, at least twice amid serious troubles with that company's new Blu-ray Disc technology.

Last week, Sony said that the PlayStation 3 would not be introduced in Europe until 2007 and that it would ship millions fewer units worldwide this year than it had promised. The top version of the PlayStation 3 is expected to cost around $600.

Another competitor, Microsoft, has sold more than 5 million of the Xbox 360 game console since its introduction in 2005 and hopes to sell more than 10 million by year's end.

Nintendo's Wii (pronounced we) is less technically ambitious than Sony's PS3, which is why it will cost far less and be far more available in stores this holiday season. To market the Wii, Nintendo hopes to make up in innovation and accessibility what the machine lacks in sheer silicon horsepower.

Nintendo is No. 3 in the console video game market, behind Sony and Microsoft. But while those competitors have largely focused on appealing to hard-core gamers, Nintendo is now trying to appeal to a broader audience.

"Our goal is to bring gaming back to the masses," Reggie Fils-Aime, president and chief operating officer of Nintendo of America, said in a telephone interview. "You see that in our pricing, you see that in the number of units we plan to make available this year and you see that in how we are positioning the Wii to appeal to every member of the household, including but not limited to the hard-core gamer."

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The Wii's major innovation is a wireless controller that the user can tilt and point to produce action on the screen. In a sword-fighting game, for instance, the player can simply swing the controller to thrust and parry with an on-screen blade; there is no need to master the complicated combinations of buttons and triggers that make many video games so intimidating to the reflex-challenged.

Nintendo intends to announce today that every Wii will come with a game compilation called Wii Sports -- including tennis, golf, baseball and bowling -- meant to show off the machine's intuitive controls. (Most consoles, including Nintendo's GameCube, do not come with games included.)

Nintendo plans to announce that 25 to 30 top-tier games will be available for the Wii this year. The most-anticipated game comes from Nintendo itself: an installment of the long-running "Legend of Zelda" series, "Twilight Princess."

Nintendo also will deliver a driving game called "Excite Truck" this year but will likely provide a minor disappointment to gamers in saying the next version of the popular "Mario" franchise will not arrive until 2007.

Nintendo intends to charge $50 for its Wii games, $10 less than the standard price for Xbox 360 titles and the same price generally charged for GameCube games.

Top games expected to be introduced for the Wii this year from third-party publishers include a version of "Madden NFL" from Electronic Arts, the sword-fighting game "Red Steel" from Ubisoft of France, an addition to the "Sonic" action series from Sega of Japan and a "Tony Hawk" action-sports game from Activision.

While Nintendo is certainly counting on the success of top-tier games sold at retail, many gamers may be at least as excited by the Wii's Virtual Console, which will allow players to download versions of older Nintendo games from the Internet.

Nintendo plans to announce today that about 30 classic games will be available for download when the Wii is released, including ones from the "Zelda," "Mario" and "Donkey Kong" franchises. Downloadable games will cost about $5 to $10 each.

More broadly, Nintendo hopes to make the Wii a living-room centerpiece by including various media channels meant to appeal to and draw in people who do not consider themselves gamers.

There will be a photo channel that will allow users to use the Wii to display digital photographs on television.

There also will be an easy-to-use interactive news channel and weather channel.

Perhaps most intriguing, the Wii will make it possible to browse the Web on the television. Microsoft's Xbox 360 does not permit this because that could negate the need to buy a Windows PC.

"We are including all of these capabilities as part of our overall strategy to expand the gaming market," Fils-Aime said. "Broadening the market is important because it will breathe new life into this business. Otherwise, this industry is moving down a path of being more and more limited to the hard-core gamer."
""

$5 - $10 for a game is not a bad deal for most. $5 for Bionic Commando? I'd buy it in a heartbeat. I'd pay $10 to get my Jet Force Gemini on again. Just to get frustrated all over again. Wonky shooting, etc. A pack-in takes the sting away for this kid. Wii Sports!

But good rumor round-up. I don't want to sound like a nanny-pooh.