Would you pay $600 for a new WiiU?

[Donkbaca]

That seems to be the rumored price:
http://www.tgdaily.com/games-and-entertainment-brief/60228-ridiculous-prediction-pegs-600-wii-u-price

[Mikezilla]

There are very few things I would spend 600 bucks on, and a WiiU sure as hell isnt one of them. I scoffed at sony when the launch price of a PS3 was 600 bucks. Granted it had a blu ray player and that was the new thing blah blah blah, but I just got mine last year, and I dont plan on buying the new ps3 when it comes out either. Who knows how much that thing will be.

As I get older, I find myself paying less and less for gaming. I rent games as opposed to buying them, and I dont get the new systems as soon as they come out either. Kinda weird buy whatever. I also dont have any kids, so I wouldnt really need to get this unless they came out with a kick ass new mario, zelda, or metroid.

Speaking of metroid, Retro Studios, the amazing studio that brought metroid prime to your homes, is rumored to be doing the next zelda. I got a nerd boner when I read that. I hope its true. 

[Howard_Casto]

Read the article... that is NOT the rumored price.  That is the price an Australian EB put up as an estimate for pre-orders and then quickly pulled down. 

In the past EB/Gamestop have posted the WII for 350 bucks, and the kinect for 250 just as an example. 

The wiiU will be in the 300-400 dollar range and you can bet on it.  Nintendo won't do another round of embarrassing over-pricing like they did on the 3ds.  That is, unless the hardware specs on the wii U are significantly higher than that of the ps3, but I doubt that.


About Retro Studios...

I'll remind you that RS also did the latest Donkey Kong Country game.  While it wasn't a bad game by any means it was by all accounts unimpressive with motion controls that even came across as akward and a little tacked on.  Certainly it wasn't on par with the work they did on Metroid.  RS should make metroid games and ONLY metroid games.  They suck at everything else.

[Mikezilla]

I'll remind you that RS also did the latest Donkey Kong Country game.  While it wasn't a bad game by any means it was by all accounts unimpressive with motion controls that even came across as akward and a little tacked on.  Certainly it wasn't on par with the work they did on Metroid.  RS should make metroid games and ONLY metroid games.  They suck at everything else.

How can you say they suck at everything else? Donkey Kong country returns was a great game, sometimes even super hard, I would NOT say it sucked. Yeah the motion controls were kinda lame, but that was the thing they felt they had to do considering it was on the wii. And the controls were easy for kids. Have they done anything else besides 3 awesome, almost flawless games vs one fun game with mediocre controls? Thats not a bad record in my book.

[versapak]

I'll buy it, like I do everything else, when it's $150 with a game. 

It's been amazing to watch the 3DS price drops, in less than a year it's been selling for ~50% of launch price.   

Holiday sale prices don't exactly equate to a price drop.

That being said though... There have indeed been some pretty damn good 3DS sales.

[Howard_Casto]

I'll remind you that RS also did the latest Donkey Kong Country game.  While it wasn't a bad game by any means it was by all accounts unimpressive with motion controls that even came across as akward and a little tacked on.  Certainly it wasn't on par with the work they did on Metroid.  RS should make metroid games and ONLY metroid games.  They suck at everything else.

How can you say they suck at everything else? Donkey Kong country returns was a great game, sometimes even super hard, I would NOT say it sucked. Yeah the motion controls were kinda lame, but that was the thing they felt they had to do considering it was on the wii. And the controls were easy for kids. Have they done anything else besides 3 awesome, almost flawless games vs one fun game with mediocre controls? Thats not a bad record in my book.

I didn't say DKCR sucked, I said it was unimpressive.  All I know is all of the motion controls on nintendo's other first-party franchises are seamless and don't hinder gameplay EXCEPT DKCR, so don't blame the wii platform on RS's poor implementation.  It wasn't bad, and the art direction was certainly impressive, but everything else about the game was just kind of "meh".  It kind of reminds me of the DKC sequels back on the snes.  You were blown away with the first game, with the second it was like "ok this isn't quite as good but at least there are more levels to play" and by the third one you are like "you play as a big baby!  wtf?"  I was really excited about the game when I first got it, but by the time I finished it, I was over it.  To me, that's the sign of a mediocre game.

Yup they have made 3 awesome METROID games and one run-of-the-mill DKC game.  So you really just proved my point.  They should stick to metroid, as they suck at everything else.

[Donkbaca]

3ds sales got a boost from Mario Kart and the Mario game.  Nintendo is crossing its fingers that they cross the 3 million mark for the year.

EB australia isn't the only place touting the $600 price, there are outlets in England and France that are listing the same thing.  I'll humor you though:

Would you pay $400 for what essentially is a Nintendo Xbox 360, sans the capability to play dvd's and with no xbox live?  Substituting the Nintendo exclusives (Zelda, mario, smash borthers, mario kart) for the 360 exclusives ( Halo, GoW, Forza)?

[SNAAKE]

I have $200 for a new wii-whatever

NOTHING MORE

[Mikezilla]

I'll remind you that RS also did the latest Donkey Kong Country game.  While it wasn't a bad game by any means it was by all accounts unimpressive with motion controls that even came across as akward and a little tacked on.  Certainly it wasn't on par with the work they did on Metroid.  RS should make metroid games and ONLY metroid games.  They suck at everything else.

How can you say they suck at everything else? Donkey Kong country returns was a great game, sometimes even super hard, I would NOT say it sucked. Yeah the motion controls were kinda lame, but that was the thing they felt they had to do considering it was on the wii. And the controls were easy for kids. Have they done anything else besides 3 awesome, almost flawless games vs one fun game with mediocre controls? Thats not a bad record in my book.

I didn't say DKCR sucked, I said it was unimpressive.  All I know is all of the motion controls on nintendo's other first-party franchises are seamless and don't hinder gameplay EXCEPT DKCR, so don't blame the wii platform on RS's poor implementation.  It wasn't bad, and the art direction was certainly impressive, but everything else about the game was just kind of "meh".  It kind of reminds me of the DKC sequels back on the snes.  You were blown away with the first game, with the second it was like "ok this isn't quite as good but at least there are more levels to play" and by the third one you are like "you play as a big baby!  wtf?"  I was really excited about the game when I first got it, but by the time I finished it, I was over it.  To me, that's the sign of a mediocre game.

Yup they have made 3 awesome METROID games and one run-of-the-mill DKC game.  So you really just proved my point.  They should stick to metroid, as they suck at everything else.

Youre contradicting what youre saying. DKCR is the ONLY other thing Retro has done aside from metroid. First you said everything other than metroid sucked, then youre saying that DKCR is unimpressive but a decent game, then youre going back to saying it sucks. Besides, how much more of an "in depth" Donkey Kong game can you make? I think they came a long way from the original... All Im saying is that given the property they have to work with (Zelda) I would bet that they would come up with some ground breaking like they did with Metroid.

[DaveMMR]

I would not pay $600 for any console (not even a PS3). That being said I highly doubt they'll go that route.  I am guessing they'll hit that "sweet spot" of $250 ~ $300 at launch.

Then again, no one ever thought Sony would pull a $600 MSRP either - especially since they priced their first two consoles very competitively.  I'm confident Nintendo saw what happened there and will not try and repeat someone else's mistake.

[Donkbaca]

There is no way it comes out for less than 400 bucks unless Nintendo decides to lose money on the hardware, and they aren't going to do that in the wake of the 3DS mess

[lilshawn]

There is no way it comes out for less than 400 bucks unless Nintendo decides to lose money on the hardware, and they aren't going to do that in the wake of the 3DS mess

give away systems, profit on games? $100 a game??

[Howard_Casto]

I'll remind you that RS also did the latest Donkey Kong Country game.  While it wasn't a bad game by any means it was by all accounts unimpressive with motion controls that even came across as akward and a little tacked on.  Certainly it wasn't on par with the work they did on Metroid.  RS should make metroid games and ONLY metroid games.  They suck at everything else.

How can you say they suck at everything else? Donkey Kong country returns was a great game, sometimes even super hard, I would NOT say it sucked. Yeah the motion controls were kinda lame, but that was the thing they felt they had to do considering it was on the wii. And the controls were easy for kids. Have they done anything else besides 3 awesome, almost flawless games vs one fun game with mediocre controls? Thats not a bad record in my book.

I didn't say DKCR sucked, I said it was unimpressive.  All I know is all of the motion controls on nintendo's other first-party franchises are seamless and don't hinder gameplay EXCEPT DKCR, so don't blame the wii platform on RS's poor implementation.  It wasn't bad, and the art direction was certainly impressive, but everything else about the game was just kind of "meh".  It kind of reminds me of the DKC sequels back on the snes.  You were blown away with the first game, with the second it was like "ok this isn't quite as good but at least there are more levels to play" and by the third one you are like "you play as a big baby!  wtf?"  I was really excited about the game when I first got it, but by the time I finished it, I was over it.  To me, that's the sign of a mediocre game.

Yup they have made 3 awesome METROID games and one run-of-the-mill DKC game.  So you really just proved my point.  They should stick to metroid, as they suck at everything else.

Youre contradicting what youre saying. DKCR is the ONLY other thing Retro has done aside from metroid. First you said everything other than metroid sucked, then youre saying that DKCR is unimpressive but a decent game, then youre going back to saying it sucks. Besides, how much more of an "in depth" Donkey Kong game can you make? I think they came a long way from the original... All Im saying is that given the property they have to work with (Zelda) I would bet that they would come up with some ground breaking like they did with Metroid.

Nope I'm not contradicting myself at all.  If this were a company dealing with 3rd party franchises then I would agree with you, but these are Nintendo franchises, they are held at a higher standard.

Regular franchise to Nintendo franchise comparison: 

OMFG This is Awesome= Great
Great= Good
Good= Sucked
Sucked= Dear god Nintendo is going bankrupt!  It's the end of days I tell you!!  THE END OF DAYS!!!!

[Donkbaca]

Based on what you know about the WiiU, what would you pay for it?  Somebody should set up a poll. I am really interested in what you geeks think

[Howard_Casto]

I think all consoles are overpriced. That doesn't stop me from buying them though. It's as simple as the fact that if I want to continue to play the latest games, I need the latest console.

Mind you I can choose between a 360 and ps3, they are similar, but I pretty much have to buy the next Nintendo console if I want to keep playing nintendo titles. 

The xbox launched at around 300 bucks for a bare-bones unit... 400 if you wanted a harddrive.  The ps3 launched at 600. 

My guess is that the Wii U will launch at around 300-350 bucks, which is pretty reasonable considering the cost of that screen on the controller.  I might even consider 400 bucks to be fairly reasonable.  I'm really going to have to hold that controller in my hand before I can give a good price point. 

Anything higher than 400 and you'll sure hear me complain.... maybe enough to wait a year or so for the price to go down.  I'll still be buying the damn thing though.


I've really got to think that the game is going to be changing soon.  We already have systems capable of 1080p graphics.  Mind you both the ps3 and 360 could use a LITTLE more oomph as some games are still only capable of being rendered in 720p but it isn't going to make a significant difference. 

The only thing that could be improved upon from an upgraded xbox/playstation are minor things, like increased draw depth or more characters on the screen.  We are essentially already at photo-realism, or at least as realistic as you can get given current game development times and budget.  Also if we push the realism any further we are going to get into that creepy "uncanny valley" anyway. 


Where we are now kind of reminds me of the days late in the 16bit generation.  A few companies like sega tried releasing 32 bit consoles but the difference in quality was so slight that nobody bought them.  A ton of consoles fell to the wayside until we finally got to the 64bit generation and had a significant change, namely 3d rendering.

The wii U will sell pretty well, afterall the wii is showing it's age and you pretty much have to get it to play nintendo stuff.  The "720" and the "PS4" might be a hard sell though.  That is unless those launch titles look amazing.

[wizkid32]

What *exactly* is a WiiU?

[Howard_Casto]

3ds sales got a boost from Mario Kart and the Mario game.  Nintendo is crossing its fingers that they cross the 3 million mark for the year.

EB australia isn't the only place touting the $600 price, there are outlets in England and France that are listing the same thing.  I'll humor you though:

Would you pay $400 for what essentially is a Nintendo Xbox 360, sans the capability to play dvd's and with no xbox live?  Substituting the Nintendo exclusives (Zelda, mario, smash borthers, mario kart) for the 360 exclusives ( Halo, GoW, Forza)?

Yes, but that's the UK, and consoles cost more over there even taking the conversion rate into account.  And like I've said, gamestop/EB has pulled this trick several times in the past... know your video game history. 

Well halo sucks, gow is mediocre and microsoft can't seem to make a steering wheel for you to play racing games on.  On the other hand all of the Nintendo titles you mentioned are wildly popular and usually end up being the highest ranked games of the year so it seems like a no-brainer to me.  Oh and you forgot Metriod, the "Wii ____" franchise and the newly re-invigorated Kid Icarus. 

But the problem is you are making the either/or argument.  Obviously I won't be throwing out my 360 when I get a WiiU.  Then again it will be more powerful than the ps3 and I'm not exactly enamored with microsoft's first party games so I'm sure it would be used much less.

[versapak]

and microsoft can't seem to make a steering wheel for you to play racing games on.

Except that they did make a steering wheel for you to play racing games on. It was discontinued due to poor sales, but it was around for quite a while. There are some very good 3rd party wheels now from Fanatec, and MadCatz has a new one coming out.

If you are looking for something more wii like MS has a new motion control wheel.

[Donkbaca]

I have the MS wheel, its awesome if you can find it.  There is a new motion control one, havent played it though. I imagine both of those are miles ahead of the stupid mario kart disk.

I do know my game history.  I also know that Nintendo has been positioning this console as an upmarket one, shying away from the bargain basement rep the Wii has.  And as I have said before there are stores in the UK, France and Australia that are all betting on the $600 price. Know your current events..

[Howard_Casto]

Maybe I should have said "wierd foreign countries" instead of the UK. 

A game in Australia, for example, can cost the equivelent of 80 bucks US.  Everywhere but Japan and the US has always had a significant markup.  Regardless, as I've already stated, gamestop/eb have gotten the price totally wrong in the past.  They always post on the high side so if they take pre-orders before the price is announced people won't cancel after finding out the price will be higher.

I KNOW my current events, you seem to not know your past events. 


At first I was bored so I humored you, but I think I'm getting out of these pointless discussions.  You say one thing, 5-20 people chime in and pretty much dispute everything you say and/or completely disagree with you and then you start another thread about how you think some nintendo product is lame or will ruin the company and the cycle is started all over again.

[Donkbaca]

Just reporting the facts and you just keep coming back with nonsense:

Me: They are going to lose money this year
You: know they aren't
Me: Their financial forceast shows them losing 250 million this year

Me: its going to be at least double the cost of the current gen systems
you: The Uk is ass backwards in pricing and EB is wrong
Me actually its different stores in three different countries reporting the same thing
you: Well all those countries, France, UK, Aus.  Are basically the same

I COULD just make up stuff and pretend to have facts, but I prefer to be right.

[Donkbaca]

  beats putting together year end ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- at work

[DaveMMR]

Grown men arguing about video games.   

Pinballjim, I hate it when you make the most sense.... 

[danny_galaga]

Maybe I should have said "wierd foreign countries" instead of the UK. 

A game in Australia, for example, can cost the equivelent of 80 bucks US.  Everywhere but Japan and the US has always had a significant markup.  Regardless, as I've already stated, gamestop/eb have gotten the price totally wrong in the past.  They always post on the high side so if they take pre-orders before the price is announced people won't cancel after finding out the price will be higher.

I KNOW my current events, you seem to not know your past events. 


At first I was bored so I humored you, but I think I'm getting out of these pointless discussions.  You say one thing, 5-20 people chime in and pretty much dispute everything you say and/or completely disagree with you and then you start another thread about how you think some nintendo product is lame or will ruin the company and the cycle is started all over again.

Yeah, on the face of it we get raped on consoles and games here. But once I read this UK ex-pats thoughts on exchange rates:

http://www.bobinoz.com/blog/5972/the-cost-of-living-australia-and-the-us-compared/

I stopped complaining. Besides, it's better to be here and benefit from the arbitrage of buying overseas, than to be somewhere else and have no choice 

[Donkbaca]

oh you anglo-franco-aussies, you are all so quaint

[danny_galaga]

oh you anglo-franco-aussies, you are all so quaint

yes, our AAA ratings are quaint too 

[Blanka]

yes, our AAA ratings are quaint too 

AAA ratings are just for sale. As easy as you can buy an iPad, Berlusconi could buy AAA for Italy if he really wanted and fkd some pssy of S&P's wifes. Bunch of faggots at S&P. Who puts Poor in its name anyway?

[ark_ader]

What *exactly* is a WiiU?

Remember when you said you should do research before you post?

This would be about the right time.

[danny_galaga]

What *exactly* is a WiiU?

Remember when you said you should do research before you post?

This would be about the right time.

[wizkid32]

What *exactly* is a WiiU?

Remember when you said you should do research before you post?

This would be about the right time.

1.  Firstly, that is quote mining (at best).

2.  More to the point, quit bumping your post count!

3.  Finally, Nintendo(h!) has yet to start putting up ads.  I'll know 'bout their new console a when they do.   

[shmokes]

Everybody always says the PS3 launched at $600. It's true that there was a $600 version. But there was also a $500 SKU and that one was by far the primary seller.

[ark_ader]

Everybody always says the PS3 launched at $600. It's true that there was a $600 version. But there was also a $500 SKU and that one was by far the primary seller.

I thought it was higher than that.  The PS3 was £600 at UK launch, which is right in line with your price with the manufacturer foreign exchange rate always at $=£.  I think that was due to a shortage of available units.

[shmokes]

The PS3 was £600 at UK launch

No it wasn't. It was £299 for the 40 GB model and £425 for the 60 GB model.

This is why it's so funny that anyone would believe this $600 WiiU rumor. I can't believe anybody is taking seriously the idea that a full six years after the PS3 was released Nintendo would try to charge $600 for a system that is no more powerful than the PS3. It's hilarious. It wouldn't make sense even if that new controller cost $100 to make (it doesn't--the thing is just a dumb terminal--it doesn't have its own processor--and it's using cheap, resistive touch tech). At $600 Nintendo would probably be turning a $300 profit on each unit sold, at least. It's so stupid. They'd never try that.

Most importantly, Nintendo knows what is obvious to everyone in this thread and even the most casual consumer. The WiiU will not sell at $600 per unit. Nintendo wants the WiiU to sell. Do the math.

[lilshawn]

north america and japan units where 20 and 60 GB models on release day with only the 60gb having the extra frills like wireless and memory card readers

the PAL regions never had the 20gb unit, only the 40gb

may account for the price difference argued here

[ark_ader]

north america and japan units where 20 and 60 GB models on release day with only the 60gb having the extra frills like wireless and memory card readers

the PAL regions never had the 20gb unit, only the 40gb

may account for the price difference argued here

Shmokes was in England at the time the units were released, I will have to defer as I was in the US.

On UK release my good friend got his 60gb for £600, but I will go and tell him he got shmoked on the price.  That will make his day. 

[shmokes]

My being in England, North America, or Mars wouldn't change launch prices. Nor does your incessant blabbering. This isn't really subject to debate. Just be less stupid and google it.

[wizkid32]

My being in England, North America, or Mars wouldn't change launch prices. Nor does your incessant blabbering. This isn't really subject to debate. Just be less stupid and google it.

 

[northerngames]

I can say no way becuase I dont even know what it is so I am good for now 

[lilshawn]

My being in England, North America, or Mars wouldn't change launch prices. Nor does your incessant blabbering. This isn't really subject to debate. Just be less stupid and google it.

 

sigh...

http://bit.ly/vFPuRa

[RTSDaddy2]

No way...just don't see it, not even at 300