Nintendo US Press Event!

[nmaster64]

Watch the conference now! | Visit the official site now!

The New York Times and USA Today have now both confirmed it: the Wii will cost $250 in the US, and go on sale November 19. Indeed, it seems there's no avoiding that these are the facts...but now let's see what Reggie has to say about it all...

Update 1: Reggie is introduced. "The next step in gaming is bringing gaming back to the masses."

Update 2: "One price, one configuration, one color." 25,000 retail locations, 4 million units shipped globally by the end of calendar 2006, with the majority stock going to America.

Update 3: One Wii remote, one nunchuk both included, and Wii Sports included, making the first pack-in game at launch since the SNES. Wii Sports has expanded a bit, for instance they are now demoing Wii Bowling. The final package now includes tennis, golf, baseball, bowling, and suprise! Boxing!

Update 4: 25-game launch lineup, led by of course, Zelda.

Update 5: Talks about Wii Channels. This encompasses a large part of the Wii interface, including the avatar-creator we saw at E3 2006 when Reggie and Miyamoto had their faces on their tennis players.

Update 6: Talks about Wii Shop Channel, which let's you purchase Virtual Console games. Games are priced like this: 500 for NES games, 800 for SNES games, and 1000 for N64 games. 1000 what you ask? Wii points of course! Unlike Microsoft's confusing system though, here 1 point = 1 cent.

Update 7: Talks about Mii Channel. This is the avatar-creator program we've heard about. They created a rough little version of Sam Jackson, and then showed highly accurate versions of Miyamoto and Reggie.

Update 8: Talks about Photo Channel. This is a standard picture/video viewer. It throws some very simple editing and effects as well though. You can make slideshows too! The Wiimote works just like a mouse in the Wii interface.

Update 9: Other channels include things like weather, news, and Internet. You do need to purchase the Opera browser with some Wii points, but afterwards you'll have what seems like a great browser, the controller seems to work well here. There's also a messaging system in place to send messages to other Wii's and even, surprisingly, cell phones. No more details about all that.

Update 10: Additional Wii remotes will be $39.99, separate from the nunchuk, which will be an additional $19.99.

Update 11: GameCube Twilight Princess now pushed back to December.

Update 12: All first-party games and most (if not all) other Wii content will be capable of the 16:9 aspect ratio used by HDTVs, but will not be in high definition.

Update 13: And maybe the worst announcment of the day: Metroid Prime 3 has slipped, along with Super Mario Galaxy, to 2007...

Update 14: It's over. What a day for bad news...

[Dhaka]

for update 3... didnt mario 64 launch with the n64?

Nmaster: No.

[bignds]

Awesome. Now i mwaiting for the European press conference tomorrow. I say a price of £200, with Wii Sports. I dont suspect Euro launch to long after Japenesse launch, so maybe 10 of December at the most, latest.

[Autocon]

I notice it says the browser has to be bought with Wii points before it can be used... Any word on how many points, and how to earn points (short of actually spending money)?

[sasuke]

yea what would the point be of points if they cost money anyway, it would be cool if you got them from winning games on wi-fi or something

[nmaster64]

I'm not sure about having to buy the browser...it seems to come with it, but there are conflicting reports...

[Autocon]

Internet Channel: This channel dramatically changes the relationship between a user’s home, the television and the Internet. Users download the Opera browser with Wii Points. Then they can surf the Internet right from the comfort of their couch. They can do quick research while watching a television program (“What was that actor’s name again?”). Or book travel plans and shop during commercials. The service is compatible with Macromedia Flash.

I was basing the "buy the browser" thing on this statement from your "Official Word on Wii" report (also Update #9 of this article). If the browser is indeed free, that would be sweet, 'cause otherwise I probably won't get it. Since I plan on keeping the Wii in my bedroom, next to my PC, and running it through my TV-input (using the A/V cable), what would really be the point in me getting a browser on the Wii?

[nmaster64]

Ok, yes, I did some more digging. It is confirmed you will have to buy the Opera browser to surf the internetz. However, the cost has not been stated.

Update! ''The browser will normally cost money, but Nintendo will make it available for free download until June of [2007].''

[Pilot_51]

Originally Posted by nmaster64

the Wii will cost $250 in the US, and go on sale November 19. Indeed, it seems there's no avoiding that these are the facts...

Hmm, more than the expected $200, that's sort of disappointing, especially with only one Wiimote. We can be sure to see a price drop probably around Q2 2007. November 19, 1 month past my prediction, but not surprising, DS launched Nov 21st 2 years ago, only 2 days further in the month than Wii. I guess that means I'll be predicting around Nov 20th for future Nintendo systems.

Originally Posted by nmaster64

Update 6: Talks about Wii Shop Channel, which let's you purchase Virtual Console games. Games are priced like this: 500 for NES games, 800 for SNES games, and 1000 for N64 games. 1000 what you ask? Wii points of course! Unlike Microsoft's confusing system though, here 1 point = 10 cents.

That means N64 games are worth 10000 cents, or $100, that's outrageous! Are you sure you got that right?

Edit: I finally got the video downloaded (it was really slow) and confirmed you were wrong. Reggie said the 500 points is equivalent to $5, so that's 1 point = 1 cent, not 10 cents, which is a reasonable price and a lot easier to understand.

Originally Posted by nmaster64

Update 13: And maybe the worst announcment of the day: Metroid Prime 3 has slipped, along with Super Mario Galaxy, to 2007...

I wouldn't say "worst" just yet, delays usually make a game better than it otherwise would, and I still have my hopes for online play, just like the MPH delay put it online.

[ShadowMarth]

Well they said "less than $250". Anyone with a brain knows what that means... The only really dissapointing parts to me were the controller prices, and the fact that starting mid next year the browser will cost money.

MP3 just looks too dang good to be disappointed to wait a bit longer.