[Wii] Official Nintendo Wii thread

I think there are really only two things to be extremely disappointed in:

1) Metroid Prime 3's release, but, then again, it's not like I'd rather them rush it. There will be plenty of other games to keep us all occupied until it finally comes out.

2) The prices of the VC games. If you still have an old NES or SNES around, you can just buy them used for about the same price Nintendo is offering, and I don't get to own anything, just the right to play it. I'd almost rather play with the computer anyway. The one exception for me is N64 since it's so hard to play those with a gamepad (and I don't have an adapter), but $10 is steep for a game that came out 10 years ago.

Otherwise, I'm quite pleased with everything. 11/19 is perfect, the price is just fine (although I had wished they'd bundle a better game with it). The only other nuisance I can think of is the price of a second controller. I'm mostly a solo gamer, so I may never buy a second one until I absolutely need to. With the prices of games, you'll still get out of the store for 50% less than if you were picking up a PS3 (if you can even find one in stock anywhere), and a couple hundred less than you would for a 360 (assuming you don't get the core system).

I'm quite excited. May have to take the 20th off from work (since when do game-related things come out on a Sunday?).

Jam it back in, in the dark.

The fact of the matter is that $250 is nothing. People complaining about it, just save a few more bucks over the next few weeks, it's not a big deal. We should be fortunate that there even is a console on the market where you can get a decent package for under $300.

Nintendo's business involves making money on the console, something Microsoft and Sony have the luxury of not needing to do. You can't just say, "Well, the 360 is almost just as cheap!" because Microsoft is spending quite a bit more on their console than Nintendo is.

Nintendo's package is at the high end of what they were promising, but it isn't extreme. It's not like when Toyota jacked up the prices of the Prius $3000+ just beause they saw it was a hot item. We're complaining about, what, having to spend an extra $50? Sony fans will be shelling out hundreds more than they expected to a year ago. Part of the premium here is surely all the attention Nintendo has gotten since E3, and for a company in a distant third for, well, pretty much the entire decade so far, can you blame them for making a bit more on the console?

The controller is expensive, and the VC games are outrageous (but we've established that many, many of us can choose emulation if we want anyway, and we still don't know what kind of license fees that companies like Hudson are requiring). But expecting so much more from the system to say that Nintendo is ripping us off? That they don't care about consumers? That is absurd.

I guess this is why it is bad to have Internet forums with 1500 posts on a single topic before the company has announced finalities.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Not to mention that, like with the 360 launch and surely the PS3 launch, if you want one at the launch date, you either have to get extremely lucky or pay $500 or more over retail.

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I don't think it is unreasonable, no. I really wish it had been bundled with a good game (I don't want an extra controller, to be honest, I'm a solo gamer and they don't have any titles yet with two, so I'd rather have a game, but I can see the value in having an extra one).

Nintendo has shown that people are willing to shell out in obscene ways. I can't count how many people rushed out to buy a DS Lite, even though they have a perfectly good working DS Original at home. Played all the games perfectly, but was heavier and not as bright, so let's give Nintendo another $130 to replace something I got a year ago. Obviously, if people are willing to do that, I don't see why Nintendo would think that people who wanted extra controllers or another game at launch wouldn't spend a little more.

This next console cycle, I expect, will last until 2010, probably, maybe a little after that. Sony is going to be licking its wounds, so there won't need to be XBOX 3 for a while. We're talking $250 over 4+ years, where gamers didn't even want to make their $130 DS last that long.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Well, we're not talking about having to buy something that works for only one game. It's not like, "Fuck this, I'm not buying another Wiimote! It will only work with Wii Sports!" I remember saying that about the GBA connector cable when Crystal Chronicles came out. Another Wiimote will be universal across all games.

The PSX, Gamecube, PS2, XBOX, 360, and PS3 all have been bundled with 1 controller, and no one complained about having to buy another. So the only reason to be real upset about this is a game that would require two Wiimotes, not a single of which has been announced.

We're still walking away (I believe) with the better system, and you can get out of there with two games and another controller for the price of the 360 (non-core).

Or maybe I'm just disappointed in the backlash I see here. Nintendo always said "Wait until we tell you something" and we all speculated and now that Nintendo didn't meet our guesses, people are upset at a company that will probably put out the most enjoyable console since the Dreamcast. (At a price almost exactly the same as their last console without a jump at all in the price of games, unlike the other two consoles.) All because we might have to spend $50-$100 to get what we guessed we would get. *shrug*

I was speaking idiomatically.

Guys, the economics of this isn't just a straight exchange rate. It also matters the likelihood that someone in the region will buy something at a set price.

You can have a higher price versus an exchange rate if a price is not viewed as higher. What Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony are saying (in part) is that $250 holds the same value in the US when considering electronic entertainment as <however much it is> in Europe, Australia, or Japan.

There are also other differences in shipping and marketing that are factored in. Don't just look at an exchange rate.

Originally Posted by Technophile

Stating way early on that the price won't exceed $250 rather than saying "it'll be $250", implies that the price is going to be less than the stated amount.

I mean, the last I checked, "won't exceed $250" means "won't exceed $250"...I must have missed a couple days in English class that you made it to.

How ya doing, buddy?

Oh my God, Sam & Max.

I find it odd that my Wii might come with a DOS emulator. And I wonder what the pricing might be. Not that it would really matter. I mean SAM AND MAX.

FELIPE NO

Oh my god. I am so out of the loop.

Sam and Max. Sam and Max. <3

How ya doing, buddy?

Gamestop and EB have been crap places to buy games for a long, long time. My pre-order will probably come from Amazon or I'll go at midnight at a place without pre-orders.

Originally Posted by Infernal Monkey

Also I think I must post this.

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Jam it back in, in the dark.

My TV isn't all that great, and I have my PS2 in the component slots anyway so I can watch DVDs at the best quality possible. I've always just used the composite cables for the Gamecube and, while I do see it is a little burry compared to a PS2 game, I have to almost play them back to back to make any noticable difference.

Nintendo isn't going to put in 7 different cables for every possible configuration, and composite is still the best way to go to be compatable with the largest number of people. Is anyone really all that surprised? (Psst, it also doesn't have Blu-Ray.)

I do agree with the sentiment though; I'll be upset if they don't have component cables available for me when I pick up my Wii.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

The other thing to remember, I mean, yeah it sucks if you can't get a component cable the exact same day you get a Wii, but if they make us order it online, then, what, you play composite for like a week or two and then switch for the remaining 3-5 years.

I'm more worried about shortages of them (and controllers) than where I have to get it from.

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by Cobalt Katze

How does a speaker work as a microphone? Last I checked, they don't exactly function the same way.

I don't know how a speaker works as a microphone, but they just can. If you don't own a microphone and you need one in a pinch, plug a pair of headphones into the mic jack, they will work (it doesn't sound good, but it works).

The DS mic isn't used very often, but it is there. If Nintendo can cram it in, I can't imagine them not doing it.

How ya doing, buddy?

You know, putting my GC down for the pre-order wouldn't be so bad, but I'd be like GIVING UP my GC without any guarantee of when I'd be able to get the Wii. That's absurd.

It shows you something about their markup when the amount of business lost when not accepting cash is trumped by $50 of trade-in credit.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by Slayer X

Don't you have faith in Nintendo and their claim that there will be few if any shortages on launch?

More than I would Sony or Microsoft.

But then, when the 360 launched, we all saw people buyin' 3 or 4 or 10 of them just to make an extra buck on eBay. I don't want to have to go through that, so I'll be up at midnight if need be.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by Kilroy

If judged by Red Steel at the press conference in London, friday, then the answer is no. Pretty horrible controls. Elebits, on the other hand, had all the FPS control I'd want from a Wii game. Red Steel was jumbled, erratic and so on...

I don't know if it is true or not, but I've heard several times that the Red Steel controls are perfectly fine from far away, but don't work for crap when up close.

FELIPE NO

Heh, he's in Hawaii. :P So I guess at least part of something is accurate.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Well, the excuse is that the Wii is the 3rd or 4th system these games are being developed for, so why bother? They're gonna make their money from 360 and PS3 versions, so who cares about the Wii (see: all EA Sports titles for the Gamecube).

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by AcerBandit

Anyway I'll just hang outside a Best Buy or Walmart on launch day. It'll be fun.

Yeah, I'll be doing that too. The nicer thing is that the Wii is coming out on a Sunday, so no one has to miss work or school or anything like that.

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by Miles

Which also means more people will most likely be willing to line up for one (like moms and dads). :333

True, but after the debacle that was the 360 launch...I don't want EB Games calling me the week before launch telling me that I don't get mine on launch day unless I order $100 more shit.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

I haven't seen anything about it, did you get any other info, like how much, when they're opening, stuff like that? Being able to preorder something on a Sunday is much, much better for me than on a Friday (like EB/GS). Plus, I don't really like shopping at Toys R Us much, but I never get the feeling like they'd screw me over on launch if I did have a preorder.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

If I ever saw a Best Buy or a Circuit City here in Tucson organized, holy crap. Their Nintendo sections are always the worst: out of order, understocked, you can never find what you want. It is ridiculous.

I was speaking idiomatically.

We have a 24-hour Wal-Mart (or a couple) here, so I'm wondering how that works. I'm wondering if I can get there at like 10 pm and just have that be it. I'll have to check that out as it gets closer to the day.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

No luck for me.

I called the Target, they already were sold out. I drove by the Best Buy and people were still waiting outside 20 minutes after it opened and they were sold out. I then decided to drive by Circuit City, which had like 5 people outside. They apparently gave out 36 vouchers at 8 am (store opened at 10), so I went across the street to the Toys 'R' Us, which had the longest line of any store yet (Best Buy's was probably about 50-60, TRU was about 100). I called and they wouldn't tell me how many they had or if they had enough for all the people outside (assholes) so I left. On my way back home, I had a bit of a moment of clarity: Sears. I went by there and there were like 3 people waiting outside the store, so I said woo hoo. But then someone walked up and said they handed out 5 vouchers at 8 am. I went in at 10 since I was there anyway and they wouldn't give out the ones that people weren't there to claim yet.

My last ray of hope to get one today is Circuit City said any unclaimed Wiis would go on sale "about 1". I'm gonna go by at 12:30 on my way to a basketball game and give up for today if they don't have anymore left.

Boo. :\

Anyone have a late shopper tip?

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by AcerBandit

Mikey, your best bet is to call around be it Sears, Best Buy, Toys R Us, etc. Talk to their videogame department and ask when they'll be getting shipment in and if they have any controllers or games that you want left. Mo0's Toys R Us still has a bunch of Zelda and everything else so I'll be heading on over after lunch. I called my Best Buy and confirmed with the guy working there that they have heard that they should be getting a second shipment of about 50 Wiis later tonight at 6 PM. You should try talking to any around. They might also be getting more. Man, today is the most I've driven in FOREVER.

They said they are getting more TONIGHT?? 6 pm on a Sunday?

That's weird.

Anyway, good idea. I should have just gone ahead and picked up the games while I was at Sears, I didn't really think about that. I mean, a copy of Zelda and a classic controller are still the same even if you don't buy them where you got the system.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Well, actually, I saw them. They had a stack of TPs (more than Wiis) and it looked like they had enough Excitetrucks to go around. They were short on classic controllers though, for some reason, the 3 people I saw buy them didn't get the one they had.

Jam it back in, in the dark.