Wii Price Debate Rages - My Two Cents
Many people seem upset over the $250 price point for Wii. I actually had an arguement with Pam over it last night - her side of things was basically this: Even if the pricing for the Wii isn't giving the same relative value that you're getting with the 360/PS3, it's still half the price of the competition. If Nintendo can deliver a product that is half the price of its competitors and manage to turn a profit - good for them! Value or not.
That is a perfectly valid point. However, I tried to explain to her why people are upset and she eventually managed to see the other side of things.
It basically comes down to this - those who have been following Wii since before it was even called Revolution have been listening to a humbled Nintendo talk about doing what's best for the industry. They openly criticised Microsoft and Sony for focussing on graphics and making gaming too expensive for developers and gamers alike. They criticised Microsoft and Sony for alienating the non-gamer and the former-gamer.
Nintendo promised to deliver a machine that was small, cheap, and efficient. It would open the doors of gaming to everyone and bring gaming into the true mass-market.
Then came an outstanding E3 2006 performance, and the attitude changed. Instead of talking about value and getting gaming prices under control, Nintendo cut every corner imagineable, and priced the upper-bound of what they believed the market would bare on every aspect of the machine. The word from the company changed from humbled after being beaten into an embarassing 3rd place world wide to the cocky arrogance gamers commonly berate Sony for.
Anyone who followed the pricing announcement were plainly told by Nintendo themselves that the Wii will be very profitable for them as opposed to their competitors who are offering more features and much greater value at a hit. As a fan and consumer that hurt - the Wii is going to end up costing the same as a 360 or PS3 over the course of ownership because of the cut corners.
When Wii was announced to not be HD compatible, fans shrugged it off because Nintendo was promising things would be cheaper as a result. When Wii was announced to only have 512MB of onboard storage, people shrugged it off again citing the extra $100 it costs to have a harddrive in the 360.
Now it comes down to Wii being priced at $250. No external HDD support so if you want to download many games, you're going to have to go out and spend $100+ on a few gigs of SD memory. Now we're up to $350 USD. When you add up how much more you're paying for controllers (You need a wand ($40), a nunchuck ($20) and a classic controller ($20)) that's $80 USD for a set per person.
The GameCube launched in the United States on November 5th at a price of $199.
How is the Wii more affordable for the masses with $80 controller sets, expensive flash memory upgrades and a base unit at $50 more than their last console? The bottom line is that people feel decieved. Nintendo didn't skimp on power or storage space to save the comsumer money - they did it to maximize their own profits. Nintendo didn't include Wii Sports to add value - they did it so you'll go out and buy more controllers. Nintendo didn't remove DVD playback to keep the price of the console down, they did it because they wouldn't see a return on the addition of the feature.
Is the Wii cheaper than the competition? If you look at the cost of ownership over the next 5 years... barely. The price is fair for what you're getting, and I and many others will gladly pay but in terms of value - it is definitely not what Nintendo promised, or what the competition is delivering. I think people have a right to be upset and/or disappointed.
However, you have to hand it to Nintendo from a business standpoint. If there's one company that knows how to make money in this industry, it's Nintendo. Despite being in third place worldwide, Nintendo made significantly more money this last generation than Microsoft and Sony combined. With the profit margins on Wii looking to exceed industry records by leaps and bounds, Nintendo should be sitting pretty for many years to come whether they take back the market leader crown or not.
As a fan, that's one thing you can definitely take comfort in. Wii will deliver a fun, unique experience that you won't be able to find anywhere else at a price cheaper than the competition.
Personally, I'd pay the same price for the Wii as I paid for the 360 despite the massive disparity in value. The Wii will deliver in the place it matters most - not with high-resolution textures, not with obnoxious lighting effects, but in pure, old fashioned fun.... and for most, that's worth paying for.
That is a perfectly valid point. However, I tried to explain to her why people are upset and she eventually managed to see the other side of things.
It basically comes down to this - those who have been following Wii since before it was even called Revolution have been listening to a humbled Nintendo talk about doing what's best for the industry. They openly criticised Microsoft and Sony for focussing on graphics and making gaming too expensive for developers and gamers alike. They criticised Microsoft and Sony for alienating the non-gamer and the former-gamer.
Nintendo promised to deliver a machine that was small, cheap, and efficient. It would open the doors of gaming to everyone and bring gaming into the true mass-market.
Then came an outstanding E3 2006 performance, and the attitude changed. Instead of talking about value and getting gaming prices under control, Nintendo cut every corner imagineable, and priced the upper-bound of what they believed the market would bare on every aspect of the machine. The word from the company changed from humbled after being beaten into an embarassing 3rd place world wide to the cocky arrogance gamers commonly berate Sony for.
Anyone who followed the pricing announcement were plainly told by Nintendo themselves that the Wii will be very profitable for them as opposed to their competitors who are offering more features and much greater value at a hit. As a fan and consumer that hurt - the Wii is going to end up costing the same as a 360 or PS3 over the course of ownership because of the cut corners.
When Wii was announced to not be HD compatible, fans shrugged it off because Nintendo was promising things would be cheaper as a result. When Wii was announced to only have 512MB of onboard storage, people shrugged it off again citing the extra $100 it costs to have a harddrive in the 360.
Now it comes down to Wii being priced at $250. No external HDD support so if you want to download many games, you're going to have to go out and spend $100+ on a few gigs of SD memory. Now we're up to $350 USD. When you add up how much more you're paying for controllers (You need a wand ($40), a nunchuck ($20) and a classic controller ($20)) that's $80 USD for a set per person.
The GameCube launched in the United States on November 5th at a price of $199.
How is the Wii more affordable for the masses with $80 controller sets, expensive flash memory upgrades and a base unit at $50 more than their last console? The bottom line is that people feel decieved. Nintendo didn't skimp on power or storage space to save the comsumer money - they did it to maximize their own profits. Nintendo didn't include Wii Sports to add value - they did it so you'll go out and buy more controllers. Nintendo didn't remove DVD playback to keep the price of the console down, they did it because they wouldn't see a return on the addition of the feature.
Is the Wii cheaper than the competition? If you look at the cost of ownership over the next 5 years... barely. The price is fair for what you're getting, and I and many others will gladly pay but in terms of value - it is definitely not what Nintendo promised, or what the competition is delivering. I think people have a right to be upset and/or disappointed.
However, you have to hand it to Nintendo from a business standpoint. If there's one company that knows how to make money in this industry, it's Nintendo. Despite being in third place worldwide, Nintendo made significantly more money this last generation than Microsoft and Sony combined. With the profit margins on Wii looking to exceed industry records by leaps and bounds, Nintendo should be sitting pretty for many years to come whether they take back the market leader crown or not.
As a fan, that's one thing you can definitely take comfort in. Wii will deliver a fun, unique experience that you won't be able to find anywhere else at a price cheaper than the competition.
Personally, I'd pay the same price for the Wii as I paid for the 360 despite the massive disparity in value. The Wii will deliver in the place it matters most - not with high-resolution textures, not with obnoxious lighting effects, but in pure, old fashioned fun.... and for most, that's worth paying for.