Quote: Wii's classic games to be priced less than US$10
6/7/2006 12:05:49 PM, by Ben Kuchera
Nintendo President Saturo Iwata spoke yesterday at a Japanese marketing event (Japanese source), revealing information about "virtual console" pricing and the Wii's relationship with the DS. Iwata revealed that games for Nintendo's "virtual console" that will allow Wii owners to play old titles on their consoles will be priced at ¥500 and ¥1,000, roughly US$4.50 to US$8.99. For reference, classic retro games for the Nintendo GameBoy sold for upwards of US$35 for some titles, US$19.99 for others. Uptake was understandably low, as gamers were reticent to pay that much for old content.
Retro gaming may prove to be a big boon for Nintendo. Microsoft's Xbox Live Marketplace has already captured the attention of many gamers with games costing 400 to 1,200 Microsoft "points," which translates to US$5 to US$12.50. Nintendo's pricing is roughly competitive with Microsoft's, but the ability to launch with a massive library of retro games could easily overshadow Microsoft's service, which has been anemic in terms of new titles since launch (though we wait in anticipation for Paperboy, Contra, and others). Are gamers more likely to buy Zuma for US$10, or Majora's Mask?
Iwata also talked about ramping up production of the DS Lite from 1.6 million units a month to 2 million. Demand for the system in Japan has been near insatiable, and with a June 11 launch in the United States, the added production will hopefully keep the system on store shelves so it can take advantage of the success of the New Mario Bros. and Brain Age. The system has been a license to print money for Nintendo, with ten games in Japan that have already sold over a million copies.
Iwata talked up the Wii's capabilities in terms of DS connectivity, including the ability to share demos and the fact that the DS could also be used as a touch screen controller for Wii games. He also hinted that future DS games will be able to be played on the Wii, with added or expanded content as a teaser.
Downloading DS demos via the Wii is a nice touch, but not that surprising. Being able to use the DS as a touch screen for the Wii, however, offers up the possibility of being able to use the Wii to play DS games on your television. The GameBoy Player was a successful product for the GameCube, allowing gamers to play their GBA games on their televisions, and if the Wii features such an ability, Nintendo has a better chance of converting DS gamers into Wii owners.
From the picture Iwata is painting, it's clear that the Wii is designed to profit not only from new games sales but also by working closely with the DS, and placing an emphasis on inexpensive classic games purchased online. It's hard to underestimate the worth of Nintendo's back catalogue, and the addition of classic Sega and Turbografx titles adds considerable appeal for gamers who cut their teeth on Nintendo's early consoles.
Unfortunately, we still don't know when the Wii will launch or how much it will cost. Iwata said the launch date and final pricing for the Wii will not be announced until September.
...I'm basically wondering if it would be possible for someone, say Blizzard, to make a spectawesulum Mario based strategy game. I'm thinking it would need to be real time or something, and it would totally use the remote.
I've got it bad... so far this year I've bought over 60 games (at least, probably a bit more than that), and two consoles. ... and I want like five more...
... "but how do you play them all?" Ah, simple! I don't! :D ... okay I'll play them a bit, but most of them just get put down to maybe play sometime. By now I justify it mostly by saying "I'm getting them as much just to HAVE them as I am to actually PLAY them".... which is a reasonable point, though when I don't have much money, have even less income, and keep buying piles of old games... well, I need more money. :D
Just within the last year...
July '05: SNES. I'm up to 35 games.
January '06: PSX. 29 games already... ack...
May '06: Genesis. 21 games now. Less money has been spent here than on the SNES or PSX though... cheaper console ($40 for the SNES with just a controller, $21 for Genesis with two games and a controller), and many cheaper games too.
... and now I'm interested in a Saturn (though that's probably not realistic), Dreamcast (just $40 for a console with controller, memory card, and a couple of games...), and PS2 ($85 for just console, controller, and memory card, or $100 for that with two games)... and I've only got like $400 at the moment, having spent upwards of $300 since getting home from college. Pawn shops and local gaming stores are a mixed blessing. On the one hand now I have all this cool stuff, but on the other hand... well look at all that money gone... :D (well some of that went to Gamestop and EB too, of course, but not nearly all...)
I vote gluttony! I stay at home rather than trying to get a date because there's still some cold macaroni and cheese sitting on a shelf in the fridge that you "need to take care of"!
This is hilarious, his alternative is basically "I calls them like I see them, facts be damned!"
Why bother formulating some protocal to eliminate tester bias when that might run the risk of disproving your hypothesis? Pfft! That's the problem with the scientific method! They can't prove the amazing things I can with my new method! For example, lead floats on water! I proved it, right there! Let's see "scientists" do that!
I'll prove my postulate true if it's the last thing I do!
You guys may have already talked about this, but I just read it today.
StarCraft Ghost was indefinately postponed. I knew it had been cancelled for GameCube, but I was still looking forward to playing it on Xbox. I doubt it will ever be released now... Wonder if we'll ever see a StarCraft 2 RTS game (not that I even have time to play War3...)
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