Thursday, September 14, 2006
Nintendo gets Wii ready for holidays
Company plans to put console on market Nov. 19
By SETH SCHIESEL
THE NEW YORK TIMES
In a move that may allow Nintendo of Japan to take advantage of stumbles by its main rival, the company plans to announce today that it will release its new Wii video-game console in North and South America on Nov. 19, just as the holiday shopping season begins, and that the machine will cost $250 in the United States.
Nintendo executives said this week that the company also would announce today that more than 25 new games would be available for its video-game machine this year, a substantial portfolio from several genres that is intended to help the company broaden the appeal of its console. The company plans to ship 4 million of the Wii consoles worldwide this year.
Nintendo also will explain today a plan to expand the video-game market beyond its core of young men.
Today's announcement comes as Nintendo's main rival, Sony, has been forced to delay and scale back the introduction of its own game machine, the PlayStation 3, at least twice amid serious troubles with that company's new Blu-ray Disc technology.
Last week, Sony said that the PlayStation 3 would not be introduced in Europe until 2007 and that it would ship millions fewer units worldwide this year than it had promised. The top version of the PlayStation 3 is expected to cost around $600.
Another competitor, Microsoft, has sold more than 5 million of the Xbox 360 game console since its introduction in 2005 and hopes to sell more than 10 million by year's end.
Nintendo's Wii (pronounced we) is less technically ambitious than Sony's PS3, which is why it will cost far less and be far more available in stores this holiday season. To market the Wii, Nintendo hopes to make up in innovation and accessibility what the machine lacks in sheer silicon horsepower.
Nintendo is No. 3 in the console video game market, behind Sony and Microsoft. But while those competitors have largely focused on appealing to hard-core gamers, Nintendo is now trying to appeal to a broader audience.
"Our goal is to bring gaming back to the masses," Reggie Fils-Aime, president and chief operating officer of Nintendo of America, said in a telephone interview. "You see that in our pricing, you see that in the number of units we plan to make available this year and you see that in how we are positioning the Wii to appeal to every member of the household, including but not limited to the hard-core gamer."
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The Wii's major innovation is a wireless controller that the user can tilt and point to produce action on the screen. In a sword-fighting game, for instance, the player can simply swing the controller to thrust and parry with an on-screen blade; there is no need to master the complicated combinations of buttons and triggers that make many video games so intimidating to the reflex-challenged.
Nintendo intends to announce today that every Wii will come with a game compilation called Wii Sports -- including tennis, golf, baseball and bowling -- meant to show off the machine's intuitive controls. (Most consoles, including Nintendo's GameCube, do not come with games included.)
Nintendo plans to announce that 25 to 30 top-tier games will be available for the Wii this year. The most-anticipated game comes from Nintendo itself: an installment of the long-running "Legend of Zelda" series, "Twilight Princess."
Nintendo also will deliver a driving game called "Excite Truck" this year but will likely provide a minor disappointment to gamers in saying the next version of the popular "Mario" franchise will not arrive until 2007.
Nintendo intends to charge $50 for its Wii games, $10 less than the standard price for Xbox 360 titles and the same price generally charged for GameCube games.
Top games expected to be introduced for the Wii this year from third-party publishers include a version of "Madden NFL" from Electronic Arts, the sword-fighting game "Red Steel" from Ubisoft of France, an addition to the "Sonic" action series from Sega of Japan and a "Tony Hawk" action-sports game from Activision.
While Nintendo is certainly counting on the success of top-tier games sold at retail, many gamers may be at least as excited by the Wii's Virtual Console, which will allow players to download versions of older Nintendo games from the Internet.
Nintendo plans to announce today that about 30 classic games will be available for download when the Wii is released, including ones from the "Zelda," "Mario" and "Donkey Kong" franchises. Downloadable games will cost about $5 to $10 each.
More broadly, Nintendo hopes to make the Wii a living-room centerpiece by including various media channels meant to appeal to and draw in people who do not consider themselves gamers.
There will be a photo channel that will allow users to use the Wii to display digital photographs on television.
There also will be an easy-to-use interactive news channel and weather channel.
Perhaps most intriguing, the Wii will make it possible to browse the Web on the television. Microsoft's Xbox 360 does not permit this because that could negate the need to buy a Windows PC.
"We are including all of these capabilities as part of our overall strategy to expand the gaming market," Fils-Aime said. "Broadening the market is important because it will breathe new life into this business. Otherwise, this industry is moving down a path of being more and more limited to the hard-core gamer."
ajam escribió:Parece que es mentira
Respuesta al articulo en ign
http://wii.ign.com/articles/732/732669p1.html
Wii Price, Launch Date Revealed
The news we've all been waiting for.
by Kathleen Sanders and Matt Casamassina
September 13, 2006 - Nintendo fans finally have a price and release date for the company's new generation console, Wii. The Big N is set to officially announce that the system will hit retail in North and South America for $250 on November 19. The New York Times broke an embargo and published the information even before news hit out of Japan.
Nintendo's Wii console will come packaged with Wii Sports, a compilation sports game that best shows off the mechanics of the system's unique controller. Wii Sports features tennis, baseball, golf and a previously unannounced bowling game.
Nintendo said it would provide Wii owners with more than 25 unique games this year.
Wii's much talked-about Virtual Console download service, which enables gamers to purchase classic games, will offer a library of some 30 titles when the system launches. Titles will include entries from the Mario, Zelda and Donkey Kong franchises, Nintendo said. Virtual Console games will cost between $5 and $10 each.
The Big N confirmed (ya ?) that it would charge $50 for its new Wii games, which is $10 cheaper than the cost of standard Xbox 360 titles.
In a surprise announcement, Nintendo said that it wanted to make Wii a living room centerpiece by shipping the system with features outside of the videogame realm. Wil will include a photo channel, enabling users to display their digital photos through the console. It will also boast regularly updated news and weather channels. In addition, the system will ship with the Opera Web browser, enabling users to connect online.
Sony recently announced that it would ready 400,000 PS3s in North America and another 100,000 in Japan for the system's launch. Nintendo said it plans to ship 4 million Wii units worldwide by the end of the year.
poyo escribió:Y de Europa, ¿no sabe nada? Más que nada porque a mí me la trae al fresco lo que cueste la consola en japón o usa.
ENRk escribió:Hasta que no lo confirme Nintendo yo no me lo creo. No puede ser que en Japón valga 25000 Yen (168€) y que aquí valga 250€ (sabémos que aunque la conversión de 250 $ a € son 198, nos harán la paridad a 1,1).
The Sabbat escribió:Van a sacar una consola un domingo? Lo dudo mucho.
maesebit escribió:250€ es un buen palo, menos mal que por lo menos regalan el Wii Sports. Aun asi, es casi lo que cuesta una 360 Core, como le de a MS por sacar packs con juegos de regalo (que lo hara) Nintendo tiene todas las papeletas para comerse un mojon en el momento que los fans de la marca ya hayan comprado su consola.
Creo que deberian ser mas agresivos. Mucho mas. Se la estan jugando a cagarla como con GameCube por tacañeria pura.
Ah, no?Bidule escribió:que de paso sea dicho no me parece a mí que fueran especialmente tacaños.
La falta de juegos fue consecuencia del hundimiento progresivo de la consola. No la causa.Bidule escribió:Lo que hundio GameCube fue la falta de seguimiento en los juegos.
Claro. Pero es que Nintendo no es Sony, ni GameCube era PlayStation. Y ahora Nintendo tiene que bajar de su nube de una vez, que ya va siendo hora, y darse cuenta de que en el mercado de sobremesa son unos Don Nadie. Que hace una decada que dejaron de estar en la cresta de la ola, y que ellos no son Sony, ni su marca PlayStation.Bidule escribió: Nada mas lejos. También se necesita de una tarjeta de memoria en PS2 y que yo sepa eso no hundió la consola, ni su alto precio frente a GC y Xbox.
maesebit escribió: La falta de juegos fue consecuencia del hundimiento progresivo de la consola. No la causa.
maesebit escribió:Lo primero que tienen que ofrecer el fabricante de hardware a los editores es una plataforma de edicion segura. Y eso se consigue con un proyecto fuerte y agresivo que consiga mucha cuota de mercado.
maesebit escribió:Nintendo tiene que bajar de su nube de una vez, que ya va siendo hora, y darse cuenta de que en el mercado de sobremesa son unos Don Nadie.
Bidule escribió:Y no, no creo que la Core tenga que ver, el que tiene pensado pillarse la Wii no la compara con las demas, simplemente o le interesa y se la compra o no se la compra. Yo mismo, si todo sigue en pie y como previsto, este sábado tendré una 360, lo cual no pone en duda mi atracción por jugar a determinados juegos de Wii.
Orodreth escribió:
Si es que a la Core le puedes añadir memory o disco duro + mando inaámbrico + wifi y sí que se alarga la diferencia de precio pero lo que la gente en general va a ver en los centros comericales y demás es:
- mando molón vs gráficos de infarto en una pantalla HD bien grande.
- 250 vs 300
¿Lo de la reproducción de películas dvd finalmente estará incluido en Wii?
deathkiller escribió:Ya han empezado a salir periodicos escritos de prensa general en USA con la noticia, se puede dar por más que confirmada.
Metal_Nazgul escribió:me parece que no entendeis muy bien lo que significa la relacion calidad/precio...
son dos consolas que miran a mercados diferentes, eso ya lo sabemos, pero 250€ por una consola con tecnología de Xbox, es una maldita estafa.
no se qué es lo que no se entiende...
De todas formas, los juegos van a seguir siendo fundamentales a la hora de decidirse ( nos podemos remitir a las portátiles como ejemplo )
Pitxardo escribió:llenemonos de hype, confiemos en Nintendo, y ke por una vez hagan la conversion real, es decir 200€
ke opinariais si fuesen 200€???
Bidule escribió:Te equivocas. Después de navidades hubo muy poco juego que ponerse bajo el diente. ¿O es que un videojuego se programa en un santiamen si las ventas van bien? El mayor error de Nintendo fue el planning japonés, perdieron credibilidad por no ofrecer contenido adicional y sostenido.
No hace falta detener toda la cuota de mercado para que desarrollen para tí. Por esa regla de tres pocos juegos saldrían para X360 debido a que solo se vendieron 23 millones de Xbox. ¿Cuanta cuota de mercado tenía Microsoft?
Nintendo, por sus franquicias ya ofrece una plataforma de edicion segura. Lo que tienen que solucionar es que no se vendan muchos mas juegos de Nintendo que de thirds y Wii se situa justamente en esa línea.
Bueno, esa es tu opinion personal, no creo que sea compartida por muchos, a lo mejor por los desilusionados que viven de esperanzas y que creen que si Nintendo no es nº1 no tiene sitio en este mundillo. Andas equivocado en mi parecer.
Nintendo no tiene porque entrar a saco ni contra Sony ni contra Microsoft. Cada uno su aire.
The final pieces of this fall's video game battle fall into position today as Nintendo announces that its new Wii home system will sell for $250 -- half the price of Sony's cheapest PlayStation 3 -- and launch Nov. 19, two days after the PS3.
The two next-generation systems face Microsoft's Xbox 360, which will have had a year's head start; the anticipated 360 game Gears of War, out Nov. 7, is expected to boost sales.
But Nintendo is deploying a different approach than the others. The cutting-edge 360 ($300-$400) and PS3 ($500-$600) support HD video -- and the PS3 uses the just-out Blu-ray HD disc format -- while Wii (pronounced "we") depends on more conventional technology.
But Wii's unique wireless motion-sensitive controller has captured the attention of game designers and players. "We think all the other initiatives in the home console space have been much too hardcore-gamer-focused. We want consumers to be able to pick up (the Wii controller) and play," says Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime.
Nintendo plans to have 4 million systems shipped worldwide by year's end, he says. Sony recently reduced from 4 million to 2 million the number of PS3s likely to reach the USA and Japan this year. Analysts expect U.S. retailers to have about 400,000 PS3s and about 1 million Wii systems at launch.
Included with Wii is the Wii Sports game (with tennis, golf, basketball and bowling), the controller and a "nunchuck" attachment. Other details:
*Wii owners can download and play games from Nintendo's older NES, Super NES and Nintendo 64 systems and NEC's TurboGrafx. Initially, about 30 games (usually $5 to $10) will be available, including The Legend of Zelda and Super Mario 64. Games are saved on SD memory cards, which can also be used to import digital pictures.
*Built-in high-speed Net connectivity (including WiFi) lets Wii gather news and weather updates, plus messages from other Wii owners.
In the game-system battle, Wii "is a wild card," says DFC Intelligence analyst David Cole. "Is it going to be so unique that people are going to really rush and buy it -- or be leery?"