Latest Game Informer Mag Talks about VC Pricing

[MusicNoteLess]

Evidence: Game Informer Magazine, August 2006, Volume XVI - Number 8 - Issue 160, Page 20

There's a Small article in the latest GI...here it is, plagarized.

NINTENDO TALK PRICING
Virtual Console Taking Shape

"As much as we learned about Nintendo's Wii console at E3, the system's Virtual Console component remains a mystery. This feature allows for play of older Nintendo and third-party titles (so far Sega and Hudson are the only announced partners) on the Wii. Recently, however, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata declared that downloadable games for the system will range from 500 to 1,000 Yen, which equates to $4.25 to $8.75.
But perhaps there are even more surprises yet in store from the console. Patents filed by the company have been discovered, including an instant messenger service which would come with a user profile which would track any number of stats and info. In Japan, meanwhile, three new trademarks have been registered: WiiPointer, WiiCulture, and !!M, which is Wii mirrored and upside down."



Interesting. Discuss.

[Vinny]

I'm tried of speculation... and discussions on speculations. No more discussions on VC pricing until Nintendo releases official pricing.

End of discussion.

[botticus]

I hadn't heard about that announcement in Japan, but I guess that would likely translate to the expected $5 to $10 range.

[rlse9]

Didn't he say this a long time ago? Like at E3 maybe? Or sometime shortly after. I remember reading the article on one of the Nintendo sites. That sounds like decent pricing to me if it's accurate, under $10 for an N64 game is pretty good, finding the more popular N64 games used around here for that price is kinda tough. $4 for an NES game isn't bad, though I'm guessing the more popular NES games will be more on the higher end.

[Mookyjooky]

This system comes out in a few months and we dont know a thing about it? This really isnt a good sign.

[botticus]

This system comes out in a few months and we dont know a thing about it? This really isnt a good sign.
Not that we wouldn't appreciate knowing more info, but it doesn't really affect anyone if the info is released a year ago or day before launch. There's been a month or two lull since E3, they're just saving up details to hype the hell out of it come the fall.

[Stryffe2004]

With the Sony hype machine already in full swing and 5 million 360's sold, the big N needs to get people excited. The only people that really seem to be excited about the Wii are the Nintendo faithful. You don't win support from fans and fence sitters by not revealing anything. We don't even know how much the console is going to cost.

It's about three months before launch and there are still a lot questions. Nintendo already has ground to make up by not including high definition. Sony on the other hand has convinced many that they are the only choice for next gen machine because they have blu-ray. MS has a huge headstart. Nintendo needs to have buyers convinced as to why the Wii is a good buy. They need to have people convicned of that now, not two weeks before launch. Wake up Nintendo, before its too late.

[botticus]

Nintendo's hype machine won't likely start up again until they're ready to start advertising. The buyers they are going to actively attack are not the ones that read GameSpot and IGN for gaming news. Those people will take approximately two minutes to make up their mind about the Wii, whether they already have or wait to try it out the first month after launch. As they've said, there will be no convincing people to buy the Wii until they play it. What good does it do Nintendo to convince Mooky that he should buy the Wii in August, and then say nothing else about it until its release? If the games are good, the system will speak for itself. Word of mouth and the like are the only way Nintendo is going to "beat" Sony or MS.

Frankly the only people excited about the PS3 are the Sony faithful, as far as I've seen. Considering the only thing we know about the PS3 are its price, street date, and some games that will eventually come out for it. Oh, and Blu-Ray.

[Stryffe2004]

Nintendo's hype machine won't likely start up again until they're ready to start advertising. The buyers they are going to actively attack are not the ones that read GameSpot and IGN for gaming news. Those people will take approximately two minutes to make up their mind about the Wii, whether they already have or wait to try it out the first month after launch. As they've said, there will be no convincing people to buy the Wii until they play it.

I think that is the fault in their logic. Get the people in the middle who have not commited one way or the other to get excited about your console. I am not a big fan of Sony, but I respect their hype skills. People I know are setting up special accounts to save up enough to buy the PS3, based strictly on hype. It may be too late for Sony to pull a Dreamcast on the 360, but I would hate to see Nintendo end up as the whipping boy.

Sony has Metal Gear and Final Fantasy to get people motivated. Also, they are hyping blu-ray to be the equivalent of jacking into the Matrix!

[jalu6]

It's only plagerism if you don't cite the source. We won't kick you out of english class for posting it here.

But I agree. There needs to be a little less secrecy about this machine. Make with some details, Nintendo.

[Ecofreak]

With the Sony hype machine already in full swing and 5 million 360's sold, the big N needs to get people excited. The only people that really seem to be excited about the Wii are the Nintendo faithful. You don't win support from fans and fence sitters by not revealing anything. We don't even know how much the console is going to cost.

From all the video game news venues that I read, the Wii has substantially more interest and positive press than BOTH the PS3 and Xbox 360. There have been highly anticipatory pieces written in such national venues as Time, the Wall Street Post, CNNMoney, and the Washington Post while the press for the PS3 has been decidedly more negative.

It would make sense that people are more interested in the Wii than 360, however, as the 360 is already out and much of the mystery has already been solved. AND just because people are `interested` does not necessarily mean that they will buy it.

It's about three months before launch and there are still a lot questions. Nintendo already has ground to make up by not including high definition. Sony on the other hand has convinced many that they are the only choice for next gen machine because they have blu-ray. MS has a huge headstart. Nintendo needs to have buyers convinced as to why the Wii is a good buy. They need to have people convicned of that now, not two weeks before launch. Wake up Nintendo, before its too late.

1) Sony has hardly convinced ANYONE that blu-ray is a must have - due to the seemingly marginal gains the format offers over regular DVDs. On top of that, trying to convince consumers who already to not own a TV capable of fully utilizing blu-ray disks will make the sale even harder than before.

And Nintendo doesn`t care if MS has a head start since they don`t want to be the only console in the house - they are positioning the Wii to the compliment to BOTH the PS3 and 360. And, as the argument goes, the machine that acts as the compliment for the gaming consoles that are the `real` next generation machines ends up winning overall.

Nintendo is doing fine with their cloak-and-daggers strategy. I have never, in my 20 years of gaming, seen a marketing campaign as highly anticipated as this. The Wii is being hyped not by Nintendo, but by fans and curious individuals all across the net while Sony is left to toot its own horn.

[botticus]

I think that is the fault in their logic. Get the people in the middle who have not commited one way or the other to get excited about your console. I am not a big fan of Sony, but I respect their hype skills. People I know are setting up special accounts to save up enough to buy the PS3, based strictly on hype. It may be too late for Sony to pull a Dreamcast on the 360, but I would hate to see Nintendo end up as the whipping boy.

Sony has Metal Gear and Final Fantasy to get people motivated. Also, they are hyping blu-ray to be the equivalent of jacking into the Matrix!
I just don't see what is going to get people excited if it hasn't already. Officially announcing the price at $200 after it's been publicly stated that it will be "under $250"? Officially announcing the price of VC downloads at under $10 instead of "They will be somewhere between x and y yen"?

I mean, at E3, they showed you how to play three games. What's less secretive than that? The meat of the information is out there, it's just the finer details we're waiting on here. If we still didn't know if the Wii was going to be cheaper than the 360 or something along those lines, I could see the concern.

[David85]

Didn't he say this a long time ago? Like at E3 maybe? Or sometime shortly after. I remember reading the article on one of the Nintendo sites. That sounds like decent pricing to me if it's accurate, under $10 for an N64 game is pretty good, finding the more popular N64 games used around here for that price is kinda tough. $4 for an NES game isn't bad, though I'm guessing the more popular NES games will be more on the higher end.


Yeah he said it months and months ago. But if this dumbass thinks it's new news who are we to burst his bubble.

[foltzie]

This system comes out in a few months and we dont know a thing about it? This really isnt a good sign.

We know that MSFT didnt start producing final Xbox 360s until 70days before launch. Its been stated in a few places (Slashdot comes to mind) that Nintendo has started producing final Wii consoles (knowing that the console, sensor, and Wiimote are made seperately).

The only thing left is for Nintendo to announce launch strategy, which I dont expect them to announce until they can do it in one swoop in order to get the largest push possible... After all since leaving E3 as the critics darling they probably have some PR capital to burn.

[MusicNoteLess]

Yeah he said it months and months ago. But if this dumbass thinks it's new news who are we to burst his bubble.

Whoa buddy, no need for insulting.

[guessed]

Whoa buddy, no need for insulting.

I think/hope he was referring to the Game Informer reporter, not you.

[Sarang01]

Ummm for the people asking Nintendo to reveal more details they've ALWAYS done this shit so why even bitch? You're not going to convince them to do otherwise. Nintendo is going to do their own thing whether we like it or not.

[David85]

I think/hope he was referring to the Game Informer reporter, not you.


Mostly yes.