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Wii Price Points

Wii

'Following its overwhelming debut at E3 2006, Nintendo today announced the current fiscal year unit shipment forecast for its new home game system, Wii. Nintendo also confirmed that the price of the Wii system, which incorporates unique freehand control, will not exceed US$250 in America, ¥25,000 in Japan and will be at a similar, affordable price in Australia.

The company plans to ship six million systems to retailers around the world between its launch in the fourth quarter of 2006 and the end of its fiscal year on 31st March 2007. The projections are part of a full year financial forecast that sees growth of 18% in sales globally, based on anticipated continuing strong demand for the Nintendo DS portable game system, as well as a successful launch for Wii.

The company also said it expects to sell 17 million Wii games in the period. Exact launch dates, details of the launch library of games, and information on the unique 'virtual console' aspect of Wii will be announced soon.'

Let's step back and take a look. First of all, most people are expecting an October release. Secondly, there's been some debate in the US about how $250 is just $50 less than the lower price 360 system. Perrin Kaplan, the Vice President of Marketing and Corporate Affairs at Nintendo of America, seemed smug at E3 when discussing price (vaguely, of course), so launching at $199.95 or $229.95 seems more likely.

Using my handy-dandy currency converter, I work out US$250 to be AUD$330, which just so happens to be the launch price of the Gamecube when it hit. So in other words, we're getting twice the grunt of a Gamecube, Wi-Fi, innovative controller, free online play and WiiConnect24 service, and a DVD player for the same price as the 'Cube.

Despite the discussion in the US (hey - they're annoyed that Xbox 360 titles sell for US$60, which is AUD$80!), if they match the prices they quoted, Wii will do well down under. It has to be said, though: $299 would be much more appealing to the non-gamer should they walk past the tag in the store.

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