Opinion - Is the price of Wii justified?

[koocha]

I got this back from Nintendo when I emailed them:

Dear Customer, thank you for your e-mail.

I am sorry that you feel disappointed but Nintendo have no control over the amount of import duty that is imposed, the sales tax (VAT) that is imposed, the transport costs to get product here from Japan, the distribution costs to individual retailers or the amount of profit margin demanded by them. These have to be paid by someone and unfortunately it is the customer

Kind regards,

Your Nintendo Team

[Steve]

Don't forget that Nintendo will actually make a profit on the hardware they sell, unlike Sony or Microsoft. That gives scope for some massive price drops in the future, if you ask me. Still, might not be the smartest way to do things... doubt it'll really make much difference tbh.

[DeathByDuke]

£113 in japan, £132 in the usa... what the?

and you justify this price with the free game? those other two prices also include that game....

rip-off UK as usual.

[iMc]

As ppl have said, a good price for a stand alone console, but in comparison the extra nearness to the 360 core does detract from the value.

if they chucked in another game and made it £200 i think people would be a lot more receptive. in fact i think people would fall head of heels if they got zelda in there for the extra £20.

just a thought mind you.

I'm sure shops like GAME etc will be going package deals such as this.

[Supermagicmatt]

I don't think £180 is too bad, considering it comes with Wii sports included.

But I wont be buying it before christmas, I think that before the PS3 comes out the price will drop by quite a bit.

Plus I dont have any money

[Whiternoise]

Perfectly justified.

And who says the Wii has crap graphics, these are good enough for me
http://img.hexus.net/v2/gaming/scree...eel1_large.jpg

With deals on places such as amazon, i can easily see the console going for £200 plus wii sports and another free game.. Considering that it's cheaper than the 360 even though that's [360] been out for a year i think we're getting a good deal. Still, the Japan and US costs are a bit annoying, but still.. i don't care, it's a damn good console 'nuff said.

Oh, and i think the thing still stands that some people will by both 360 and Wii becuase the games are both so different, so i dont' think competition with the xbox is really a problem.

[mancubas]

I also dont think its too bad, trying to imagine Wii sports whilst drunk

[Steven W]

As ppl have said, a good price for a stand alone console, but in comparison the extra nearness to the 360 core does detract from the value.

if they chucked in another game and made it £200 i think people would be a lot more receptive. in fact i think people would fall head of heels if they got zelda in there for the extra £20.

just a thought mind you.

Definately agree with that.

[Noli]

I think Nintendo are charging too much. I'll still buy it, but they're taking the piss somewhat. So while I agree with the article in that it won't stop me from being enthusiastic about it, I just don't like the author's attitude:

"If we're not used to it by now it's time we all woke up and realise that we'll always be paying more than our foreign friends whether we like it or not."

Fine, you go ahead and pay up but some people think that doing something about it, or even voicing their opinions, might make companies charge less. Why does an identical car cost thousands less on the continent? Or even in North England versus South!? Yes you can do something about it - you can go to the continent and buy your car there (and yes get right-hand drive) and pay for the little holiday with cash left over. Some people at least will vote with their pounds. I've got enough cash that I'll merely be annoyed but still buy it at release. However, Nintendo will pay the price by losing market share to MS (and Sony). Can't wait till people hack the region lock...

And yes it does irk that a console only £20 less than an xbox 360 doesn't have hi def to show off my projector like the other consoles can. Damn Nintendo and their brilliant, intriguing new controllers...

[Steven W]

I think Nintendo are charging too much. I'll still buy it, but they're taking the piss somewhat. So while I agree with the article in that it won't stop me from being enthusiastic about it, I just don't like the author's attitude:

"If we're not used to it by now it's time we all woke up and realise that we'll always be paying more than our foreign friends whether we like it or not."

Fine, you go ahead and pay up but some people think that doing something about it, or even voicing their opinions, might make companies charge less. Why does an identical car cost thousands less on the continent? Or even in North England versus South!? Yes you can do something about it - you can go to the continent and buy your car there (and yes get right-hand drive) and pay for the little holiday with cash left over. Some people at least will vote with their pounds. I've got enough cash that I'll merely be annoyed but still buy it at release. However, Nintendo will pay the price by losing market share to MS (and Sony). Can't wait till people hack the region lock...

And yes it does irk that a console only £20 less than an xbox 360 doesn't have hi def to show off my projector like the other consoles can. Damn Nintendo and their brilliant, intriguing new controllers...

You've said it all, you'll still buy it at release despite you saying that you disagree with the price, like all the other people who won't vote with their wallets and not buy Wii.

I disagree also with the UK being ripped off on most consumer products in comparison with a lot of countries. Unless everyone changes their attitude it will always go on. The fact is people will talk about the bad things but never do anything about it. I think we all need to voice our opinions and your opinion is a valid one. If enough people thought like you, emailed Nintendo and then followed through by not buying Wii, perhaps the price would be brought down, but sorry for being so cynical, most people won't, including yourself.

[Bluecube]

Think we need a vote here - who'll buy the Wii despite knowing they're being ripped off? Not me...

[TheBuZZard]

Price is same as the Gamecube was and is very reasonable indeed for a new console, I really dont understand how people were happy to pay £150 but suddenly an extra £30 is too much. I cant believe the price will be factor in many people buying one or not.

[Bluecube]

The price will be a big factor as it's now £30 closer to that of a 360 core package. Fancy doo dah controllers and a free game or not, I think the marketing muscle behind the 360 will ensure that people will go for the 360.

[uchiha_itachi]

I'm dissappointed, why? Because Nintendo proved with the ds/ds lite that they were capable of reasonable prices. We got it for £99 over here, in the US it was $149, not sure of the price in Japan, but worked out to be in the £100 region if I remember correctly. Everyone was aware of the US and Japan prices, hardly anyone imported one. Things were good, ds lites sold like hot cakes.

So why are we getting shafted so badly this time around? Comparing the prices to the US and Japan release something just isn't adding up. But then if you take into factor that the only part of the world which isn't getting the PS3 just yet, also gets a slightly higher priced wii. Things then start adding up.
Nintendo are clearly exploiting the fact that Europeans won't be have the option to buy a PS3 at the same time.

[Steve]

uchiha_itachi: Maybe Nintendo did learn from their DS pricing. Maybe what they learned was that it left their margins too small and that it wasn't a viable way of doing things...

[kalniel]

I think we all need to voice our opinions and your opinion is a valid one. If enough people thought like you, emailed Nintendo and then followed through by not buying Wii, perhaps the price would be brought down, but sorry for being so cynical, most people won't, including yourself.

Well actually I won't be buying it now

I would have had it been 150 quid, but to put it simply 180 *is* too much for me right now. I will be continueing with my gamecube until prices come down.

Who do I email to register this opinion with Nintendo?