$500 NES

[clok]

Yes, wasn't there some story that Nintendo can spend 2X what it is and still have cash 25 years from now? They all going to be in trouble if they cant get some games that Spark the players. Titan wasn't it, Destiny might do it, but I been saying it for a few years, you cant keep making FPS games with cosmetically changed guns and environments and expect people to keep playing them. Of course Halo proved that making them easier could draw crowds in.. 2 guns (how was this an improvement? regenerating health that encourages you to hide, not shoot better).. I still say BF 1942 was the apex of the team based game play.

[danny_galaga]

I don't think $500 is too much for what they've done (making a run of maybe 100's of aluminium cases cannot be cheap). But it is way more than I myself would spend...

[northerngames]

not to argue but I dont see $450 worth of case there even if it were titanium 

[danny_galaga]

not to argue but I dont see $450 worth of case there even if it were titanium 

You know that when you sell something, you don't add up the costs of the individual components, and then sell it for that cost, right?

[Howard_Casto]

Well you can get a aluminum pc case with a power supply for well under 100 dollars.  You can get a high end case for 200.  Since the NES inside is virtually worthless and would cost nothing to acquire, 200 bucks would be about the maximum price point.  I know that limited runs of stuff costs more, but as the consumer how is that my problem?

I just mentioned this over in EE... it all comes down to the big picture. 

Is 500 bucks about right for what they are selling taking materials into account?  Possibly (but as I said it still seems overpriced).  Do you get 450 dollars worth of quality by buying the gilded nes... nope... plays just as good as a crappy $50 ebay find.

getting back off topic for a min:

I haven't visited this thread in a while, but pbj's graph is extremely misleading.  In the 80's Nintendo was literally the only company in most markets, unless you count the practically bankrupt Atari.  That means they had almost 100% of the market, so of course they sold more consoles than in the 90's when they had Sega taking a good chunk of the market share and in more modern times when both Sony and Microsoft are sharing the market with them. 

In their gc days they were selling roughly 1/3 of the consoles than they were in the 80's with the nes.... and they shared the market with two other companies.  So they are going just as well as they did before...... they just have healthy competition now and don't monopolize the market.  The graph clearly reflects that.  Dips in units sold are directly related to the amount of big name competition they had at the time.  Nintendo's just a modest toy company... Microsoft is the largest computer software manufacturer in the world... Sony, while in a rough patch atm, is still the largest consumer electronics company AND film company in the world. 

Considering the vast amount of resources Sony and $M can, and do dump into their games division, and compared to Nintendo's still healthy, but much more limited funds... they are doing extremely well.  It always amazes me how Microsoft can spend more money than a small State's yearly budget on a new Halo and a Mario game made for a little under a million dollars can wipe the floor with them both in terms of sales and quality of the game. 

[danny_galaga]

Well you can get a aluminum pc case with a power supply for well under 100 dollars.  You can get a high end case for 200.  Since the NES inside is virtually worthless and would cost nothing to acquire, 200 bucks would be about the maximum price point.  I know that limited runs of stuff costs more, but as the consumer how is that my problem?

It's not your problem, because you aren't going to buy one. A Ferrari is also a 'limited run' product. If you yourself don't see the value, that's great. Someone else may. For me, Ferrari or Hyundai, they both get me from A to B.
You certainly aren't business material. Obviously this case is in the 'high end' category. So, $200. Acquiring stuff costs nothing? Today, I spent several hours going to pawnbrokers and op shops looking for some power supplies. Even if they had what I wanted, and given them to me for FREE, the cost is two hours of my time. The guts of the NES are not going to be free however, add to that the afore-mentioned time factor and it is plain to see the cost is not just $200 for a high end case. Parts, assembly, design, marketing.  I think if the case is equivalent to a $200 PC case, then $500 for the whole deal is actually reasonable, looking at it purely from what you should cost things. But like I say, I myself wouldn't buy one.


Also, I don't think it would look as groovy in an aluminium PC case 

Edit:

Just saw their other product

http://www.engadget.com/2011/04/18/analogue-interactive-crafts-a-neo-geo-mvs-from-walnut-yours-for/

To me, that is closer to something I would splurge on...

[Howard_Casto]

Funny... my degree in business would prove otherwise.  Most people THINK they have business sense but actually don't. 

Doing a limited run of a very niche product and a high-end, overpriced one at that is very poor business.  Selling cheap crap on the other hand is good business.  Why?  Well if you sell a affordable product your business has infinite growth potential.  On the other hand selling a niche product, especially an over-priced one means that you'll quickly saturate the market of your potential customers.  It's why McDonalds is a multi-billion dollar company that's ever expanding and even the best 5 star chef's couldn't hold a candle to their yearly earnings. 

How many people still want a NES?  Not many.  Ok now take that number and cut it again... how many people who still want a NES are willing to pay 500 bucks for one for just a superficial upgrade?  Next to nobody.  You might be able to swindle a few people out of their money, but you'll quickly run out of customers.. it isn't sustainable.

You completely missed my point btw.  Your point was that it probably cost them a lot to make the case because it's made from aluminum.  My point was, nope.... that stuff doesn't cost a lot to produce as the pc industry does it much cheaper...  even with the high-end, low quantity, casing modding grade of cases.

As to the MVS...... Yeah let's take a device prone to overheat and put it in a wooden case... a material that insulates heat... what could go wrong? 

[SavannahLion]

As to the MVS...... Yeah let's take a device prone to overheat and put it in a wooden case... a material that insulates heat... what could go wrong?

I'm not going to get into a discussion about the merits of wood cases however....

I did locate one review that does mention this er.... thing does include cooling vents (this is a selling point?). Skip to page two if you want.
http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2011/05/hardware_review_analogue_interactives_wooden_neo_geo_mvs

[danny_galaga]

Funny... my degree in business would prove otherwise.  Most people THINK they have business sense but actually don't. 

Doing a limited run of a very niche product and a high-end, overpriced one at that is very poor business.  Selling cheap crap on the other hand is good business.  Why?  Well if you sell a affordable product your business has infinite growth potential.  On the other hand selling a niche product, especially an over-priced one means that you'll quickly saturate the market of your potential customers.  It's why McDonalds is a multi-billion dollar company that's ever expanding and even the best 5 star chef's couldn't hold a candle to their yearly earnings. 

How many people still want a NES?  Not many.  Ok now take that number and cut it again... how many people who still want a NES are willing to pay 500 bucks for one for just a superficial upgrade?  Next to nobody.  You might be able to swindle a few people out of their money, but you'll quickly run out of customers.. it isn't sustainable.

You completely missed my point btw.  Your point was that it probably cost them a lot to make the case because it's made from aluminum.  My point was, nope.... that stuff doesn't cost a lot to produce as the pc industry does it much cheaper...  even with the high-end, low quantity, casing modding grade of cases.

As to the MVS...... Yeah let's take a device prone to overheat and put it in a wooden case... a material that insulates heat... what could go wrong?

Even with your degree in business you are missing the point that not everyone wants to eat Macdonalds, and that if all anyone ever wanted to do if they set out to start a business is to make Macdonalds, the world would be a very boring place. While I would rather buy a Hyundai than a Ferrari, it's nice not to just see Hyundais on the road (",)

And sometimes of course, people start out niche (have you heard of this fella named Ford?) they sometimes end up 'Mcdonalds'.

[ChadTower]

It's why McDonalds is a multi-billion dollar company that's ever expanding and even the best 5 star chef's couldn't hold a candle to their yearly earnings.

Well, it's also because McDonald's is as much a real estate company as it is fast food.  Their strategies are actually quite brilliant. 

[pbj]

And they're actually stagnating pretty hardcore right now, btw.  Might want to update your half baked analogies there, Danny.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/mcdonalds-faces-millennial-challenge-010500618.html

[SavannahLion]

It's why McDonalds is a multi-billion dollar company that's ever expanding and even the best 5 star chef's couldn't hold a candle to their yearly earnings.

Well, it's also because McDonald's is as much a real estate company as it is fast food.  Their strategies are actually quite brilliant.

And brutal. From what I hear from some franchise owners, they're on par with the Girl Scouts and Subway for their cutthroat methodologies.