Wii officially $250 on Nov. 19

Kazuya · Post by **Kazuya** » Mon Nov 06, 2006 12:16 am

Inuyasha wrote:After learning more about wii, I am very excited about it but not sure If I will pick it up. I love the fact they pack 4 games with the system and also how you can download old games. Also love the controller and that you can play gc games on it.

Only thing that concerns me is if wii is going to be one of those systems where it's fun for the first few days then you get tired of it really fast.

But what a great deal at 250 bucks.

Not sure if I'd call the Wii a "great deal" at 250 bucks. The Gamecube came out at $199 and was every bit as powerful as the competition, with some of the best looking games for the last generation (Resident Evil series, Zelda, etc). The Wii is coming out year later than the 360, but is significantly weaker and doesn't even support HD. Of course, one can't put a price on waving your arms around in front of your couch like a fool, but for just $50 more you can get the core 360. I know Nintendo is trying to emphasize other things than just raw power with the Wii, but they'd better hope during the traditionally long lull between their AAA games that their loyal fan base doesn't get a gander at some of the HD PS3/360 games. Nintendo's consoles have always been strong technologically since the Super NES so this is uncharted waters for them.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Mon Nov 06, 2006 12:44 am

I have a bit more perspective on the Wii since I bought my first DS Lite last week. After playing the DS Lite all weekend, I'm not sure if Nintendo is going to grab as many mature and senior gamers with the Wii as it has with the DS Lite.

I can see why the DS Lite is drawing 40-and-older gamers -- a group of which I'm proudly a member! -- into the hobby. Many of the games are so f*cking intuitive and simple on the surface, with replay value and a TON of fun. Plus the touch screen really is an innovative way to play videogames, and it's pretty inconspicuous and discreet, which I think is a plus for older gamers.

I just can't see as many 40-plus gamers who are entering the hobby for the first time standing in front of their TV's or even sitting on their couch and swinging their arms and gesticulating to play video games with a Wii for very long.

The DS Lite is just the PERFECT mature adult gaming machine. It's small, portable, with fun, simple games and a control system that's unique, intuitive and discreet. Plus Nintendo markets the "Touch Generations" line of DS games directly toward mature newcomers and gaming veterans, and if Clubhouse Games is any indication, the Big N has nailed the concept.

I'll use the "my mother and father" test. My mother is 71; my dad is 78. I could see them trying the Wii for about 10 minutes to be good sports and so we could have a laugh and then never picking it up again. I could see them trying the DS Lite and enjoying it for a while.

Same with my older brothers and sister, who are 51, 48 and 44, respectively, and never have been gamers. The Wii would be a good gag for them for a night, but I could see them playing pick-up-and-play stuff on the DS Lite for a while.

To me, the DS Lite is more of an extension of tools that many adult non-gamers use, such as mobile phones with touch screens and PDA's, so they're much more comfortable playing that in joyful discretion than something that causes them to stand or sit in front of a TV and make motion often with their limbs.

I know my older siblings would consider that geek; they would consider the DS Lite cool. The Wii will be successful, but I'm not sure it will be the genie in a bottle as Nintendo hopes for older non-gamers that the DS Lite has been.

Just a different perspective now that I've had my mitts on a DS Lite for some serious playtime.

Take care,
PK

bdunn13 · Post by **bdunn13** » Mon Nov 06, 2006 1:15 am

PK,

Have your parents tried the DS?

I am a tech junkie and therefore give tech gadgets as gifts. I have given my mom a nice digital camera for Mother's Day and a nice printer for her birthday.. and a year old laptop that i don't use for a downstairs computer..

My dad passed away 18 months ago. She stays busy during the day but at nights she does not watch much TV and looks for things to do. I was wondering if you think a DS would be good. She is a little younger than your parents.

Thanks,
BD

Diablo25 · Post by **Diablo25** » Wed Nov 08, 2006 8:44 am

FYI: Not sure if this was posted in here yet but....I got an email yesterday from Gamestop.com (and I'm guessing EB.com)...they are going to be pre-selling Wii bundles starting on the 9th. I don't really have any interest in the Wii but I know some of you guys do. The bundle advertised in the email was like $600+. I checked their website and the news was nowhere to be found...as you were.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Wed Nov 08, 2006 10:03 am

bdunn13 wrote:PK,

Have your parents tried the DS?

BDunn:

No. They were over last Sunday night for my daughter's birthday party, but it was a big family gathering, filled with food, football and foam (beer). Not much time to trot out the new toy.

If an older person has any interest in gaming, I would think the DS Lite would fit them better than any system simply because of the more mature-oriented titles like Clubhouse Games, Brain Age, etc., and because the touch-screen interface is so damn intuitive and easy for most games.

Take Clubhouse Games, for example. If you know the real-life version of the games on the cartridge, there's absolutely no reason you need to read the manual. I think I finally opened the manual the third night I played the game, just to start exploring some new games to me.

It's that easy to pick up and play.

Take care,
PK

Diablo25 · Post by **Diablo25** » Thu Nov 09, 2006 10:26 am

Diablo25 wrote:FYI: Not sure if this was posted in here yet but....I got an email yesterday from Gamestop.com (and I'm guessing EB.com)...they are going to be pre-selling Wii bundles starting on the 9th. I don't really have any interest in the Wii but I know some of you guys do. The bundle advertised in the email was like $600+. I checked their website and the news was nowhere to be found...as you were.

Anyone going to try and order one today?

sportdan30 · Post by **sportdan30** » Thu Nov 09, 2006 10:49 am

Not for $600 plus!

Sport73 · Post by **Sport73** » Thu Nov 09, 2006 11:49 pm

I stand by my predictions that the Wii will be within reach before the end of the year even if you didn't pre-order.

That doesn't mean you'll get one on launch day, nor as easily as strolling in to the store and seeing 20 on the shelves, but with a little effort you'll be able to get one...

Why? Not because of supply and demand. Instead, it's because the NORM for a platform launch is now scarcity of product and HYPE. Nintendo's PR/Marketing group is smart enough to know that if the Wii is too EASY to come by, it'll be described as a 'failure' or percieved as not 'hot'. Make it too HARD to come by and you've lost sales, and the ability to entice Christmas shoppers.

I expect to see the Wii sell out on day 1. Then begin hitting stores the following Thursday in sporadic bursts. Enough that you can watch your Target closely and grab a system, but random enough that the Web community is posting on Wii sightings by the minute.

Mark my words. 6 Million Wii's will be available, but you'll never know it.

Zlax45 · Post by **Zlax45** » Fri Nov 10, 2006 12:40 am

How is that Trauma game on the DS? Think it will be any good on the WII?

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Fri Nov 10, 2006 9:33 am

Zlax45 wrote:How is that Trauma game on the DS? Think it will be any good on the WII?

Trauma Center is a very fun but very hard game on the DS. My biggest problem with it is the unevenness of the difficulty. Should be interesting to see how it works out on Wii, but if Atlus got a handle on the controls then it will be a very unique, fun experience.

Naples39 · Post by **Naples39** » Fri Nov 10, 2006 2:07 pm

Far Cry trailer with controls shown; http://dl.qj.net/index.php?pg=12&fid=11211&catid=259

Notable points are slashing with wiimote to melee attack, throwing nunchuk to throw grenades, and 'stabbing' with wiimote to zoom in on scope. Also, using dual fire triggers for when the player is going double-fisted with two guns looks very satisfying...

Graphics are a little underwhelming though. Not bad, just are what they are.

reeche · Post by **reeche** » Fri Nov 10, 2006 2:53 pm

Dave wrote:
Zlax45 wrote:How is that Trauma game on the DS? Think it will be any good on the WII?
Trauma Center is a very fun but very hard game on the DS. My biggest problem with it is the unevenness of the difficulty. Should be interesting to see how it works out on Wii, but if Atlus got a handle on the controls then it will be a very unique, fun experience.

I read somewhere that they had addressed the difficulty issue. Can't remember where though.....

Spooky · Post by **Spooky** » Fri Nov 10, 2006 4:02 pm

Got to try the Wii out at the EB I work part time at. We have a Kiosk now. Unfortunately, the only demo is Excite Truck (I was hoping for Wii Sports).

The kiosk is interesting. The display is a 26" Samsung LCD that is nicer than the one we have for the 360. Not sure why they did that exactly, seeing as how the Wii is not a Hi-Def machine. Also, there are no component cables so we can't even display it in 480P. Weird huh!?!?

So, needless to say, Excite Truck looks like garbage on this display so they are definitely not trying to wow anyone with their graphics (which we already assumed by the machines specs but at least they could have tried to fake the general consumer a bit).

The game itself seemed really, really straight forward and nothing new to the extreme racing genre at all (aside from the obvious control difference). Granted I gave it the ol’ Tjung 10 minute try out, but it did absolutely nothing for me. The Wii-Mote is very cool though and I was impressed by the responsiveness. Since the game was not holding my interest, I quickly went to the Wii menu system to see their “dashboard” and try out the Wii-Mote to control the cursor. The responsiveness was even more impressive in the menu system which was great to see and feel.

The Wii-Mote itself feels extremely solid and fit nicely into my hand. It is fairly light weight so I don’t think there will be too many complaining about having to hold it up to play certain games.

I’ll post some more impressions after I get a bit more time with it when I work next (I just tried it out when running into the store to pick something up quickly).

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Sat Nov 11, 2006 1:19 pm

Looks like a lot of sites got their Wiis delivered to them over the past few days, so there is a ton of hands-on information available.

There are a few good videos at Destructoid.com by Robert Summa showing his initial experience with the console. He's been a fairly vocal critic over the past few months, but the hands-on experience has changed his tune, at least for day one.

F308GTB · Post by **F308GTB** » Sat Nov 11, 2006 5:06 pm

Spooky wrote:Got to try the Wii out at the EB I work part time at. We have a Kiosk now. Unfortunately, the only demo is Excite Truck (I was hoping for Wii Sports).

A buddy tried one out too with Excite Truck and had many of the same comments you had. He said the game looked terrible, was boring, and he also through in the comment that using the controller was just kind of gay. I honestly don't see any point in getting a Wii. The only Nintendo games that have ever appealed to me have been the Fzero series. Wii will have everything else on the better looking PS3 or 360 and the rest will be endless Zelda, Mario Kart, Metroid, etc sequels. Perhaps it will be something to pick up in 1.5-2 years when you KNOW if will be $150 and probably packed with a game.

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Sun Nov 12, 2006 1:39 pm

I had a chance to play Excite Truck yesterday at a nearby Gamestop.

The good - Thought it did a great job capturing the spirit of the NES classic. The focus on landing jumps well and the temperature guage were implemented really well. The controls really add to the experience, but the lack of feedback/rumble numbed the experience a bit--there's no reason to leave those out of this game (to me, this doesn't bode well for PS3 racing games).

The bad - Excitebike wasn't deep and neither is this game. While fun, there's no way this game should be $50 when you compare it to other popular arcade racers.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Mon Nov 13, 2006 8:19 pm

Wii to include DVD playback in 2007:

http://wii.ign.com/articles/745/745515p1.html

Odd timing, to say the least. But I guess it doesn't matter if the DVD version of the hardware released in 2007 costs more. But if it's the same $249 as the version without a DVD player, damn, you're telling your customers now that you could get a Wii with a DVD for the same price if you wait.

Then again, Nintendo knows impulsive gamers: Nearly all of them don't wait for anything.

Take care,
PK

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Mon Nov 13, 2006 8:40 pm

The timing is odd, but how much of the market does this really effect? I used my PS2 to play DVDs while in college, but since then I haven't used the PS2, an XBox, or a 360 for that purpose. PK, you're one of the very few people I know who would use it.

Nintendo even released a DVD-capable Gamecube in Japan, so it isn't a huge surprise that they'd do it for the Wii, even with the odd near-term timing...and it doesn't look like it is confirmed for a worldwide release; could be Japan-only again.

Since they plan on making a profit on each system from day one, I'm assuming that they'll make enough headway on costs to include the feature.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Mon Nov 13, 2006 8:52 pm

Yeah, Dave, you're right: The appeal of DVD playback for game machines is much less than I thought.

Even I won't need it for whatever my next console will be, whenever that will be. Since I sold my Xbox last month, I'm going to grab a DVD player here in the next week or two.

Take care,
PK

Gamecocks625 · Post by **Gamecocks625** » Mon Nov 13, 2006 9:54 pm

Dave wrote: PK, you're one of the very few people I know who would use it.

My wife and I still use the PS2 as our DVD player. She hates it when I play the thing, but as soon as we go to blockbuster to rent a movie, it's her friend again.

Zlax45 · Post by **Zlax45** » Tue Nov 14, 2006 12:21 am

I am still on the fence for the Wii

RallyMonkey · Post by **RallyMonkey** » Tue Nov 14, 2006 9:41 am

It's odd. I was leaning Wii as a second console for the last few months, but as we near launch the desire is waning....and quickly. The post about using the controller being "gay" has pretty much what has kept me on the fence. It's bad enough i look like a tool when people walk in while i'm wearing my 360 headset, i can only imagine the looks if they saw me flailing about in my living room like speed addict trying to swat bees in a phone booth.

Strange thing is i've actually thought about a Cube for my upstairs TV. With two little kids and the Nintendo "adult" lineup (Zelda, Metroid, et. al.) this may just do the trick for something extra in the house. And for a lot less.

matthewk · Post by **matthewk** » Tue Nov 14, 2006 10:05 am

I'm not sure which way I'll go with the next gen. There are days I'm sure I'll cave on a 360 soon, but then I'll consider a PS2 for the Show and cheap gaming.

Having a 6 year old plays a part in my decision, because I'm trying to keep him in mind as well as myself. I just checked the 360 BC list, and still most of our favorite games are not on the list. If the 360 was 100% BC I'd have one right now. As it is, I'm not getting rid of games like Godzilla, MX Superfly, NFL 2k5, Splashdown, and others that we play regularly. I don't want both an Xbox and 360 sitting around either.

The Wii had me interested until I saw the demo kiosk at Wal Mart last night (No PK, I did not need to shower after my visit there

). Seeing the dmeo of people playing it just seemed...well...odd. Maybe it was the bad acting of non-gamer actors grinning away while fishing. Whatever the reason, the demo/infomercial did not sway me.

The one thing I do know is that there is no way I'm spending $500-$600 on a PS3. The SHow is the only game that would tempt me. As long as I have the PSP, I'll have my MLB fix.

For now, I'll just sit on the sidelines and watch. There are a lot of really cheap Xbox games both my son and I would enjoy, and a few PSP games I like to try.

Naples39 · Post by **Naples39** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 9:19 pm

Wii reviews starting to come in at IGN, though Zelda is still conspicuously missing.

Wii Sports - 7.5
Rayman - 8.3
Tony Hawk - 7.0
ExciteTruck - 8.0
Call of Duty - 7.7
Super Monkey Ball - 8.4
Trauma Center - 8.0

Even though COD3 has no online for Wii, I'll still probably try that as I really want to get my hands on an FPS for Wii. I'll also probably go for one of the mini-game titles, such as Rayman or Monkey Ball, though I haven't decided yet. Keeping an eye out for the Elebits review too.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 9:43 pm

Naples39 wrote:Wii reviews starting to come in at IGN, though Zelda is still conspicuously missing.

Wii Sports - 7.5
Rayman - 8.3
Tony Hawk - 7.0
ExciteTruck - 8.0
Call of Duty - 7.7
Super Monkey Ball - 8.4
Trauma Center - 8.0

Even though COD3 has no online for Wii, I'll still probably try that as I really want to get my hands on an FPS for Wii. I'll also probably go for one of the mini-game titles, such as Rayman or Monkey Ball, though I haven't decided yet. Keeping an eye out for the Elebits review too.

Those aren't exactly overwhelming scores for launch titles, especially by IGN standards. Zelda has to be the Grade-A launch title, the system seller.

I think the buzz of the Wii launch is being sapped by the ridiculous hype of the PS3 launch with the lines, media coverage and scattered violence. Sometimes I have to remind myself that the Wii is being released this weekend, too.

Take care,
PK