Well, it’s official. The Nintendo Wii will (love that) launch on November 19th in the US for $250. The Japanese will have to wait two more weeks until December 2nd when they can get their Wiis for 25000 yen or $212. The US version, while more expensive, will come bundled with Wii sports unlike the Japanese version.

At first glance, it seems silly to launch two days after the PS3. But think about it. The PS3 will only have 500k units out for launch. Those will DEFINITELY sell out first day itself. Then, an agonizing wait until they ship more units. In the meantime, you have the Wii, selling for $250/350 cheaper available in abundance. People who couldn’t get PS3’s will certainly consider the Wii as a good, cheaper alternative. So in that sense, this is a smart move.

First-party games will cost $50 although third-party titles might cost more. No DVD playback but that’s ok. The Wiimote will cost $40 while the nunchuck attachment will be for $20.

*OLD POST*

Now this is by no means reliable information, but if you check this link, you will find a magazine snippet that mentions the pegs the Wii price at $150. Furthermore, if you go to Amazon.com and run a search for “wii” or “wii games,” you’ll see a few Wii titles listed for pre-order. Amazon also mentions the launch date for these titles as October 31, 2006. Could it be that the Wii is launching on that day? It’s plausible - they would want to launch before the PS3 hits stores and games like Red Steel are going to be launch titles.

The price seems unlikely. Even though specs-wise, the Wii is not as spectacular as the 360 or the PS3, $150 is way too low for a new system. Plus, the DS already sells for $130 so just $20 more for a full-blown console doesn’t seem right. They will probably stick to the $200 price they have adopted for every single console launch or bump it up to say $225 or so and throw in an extra controller or a game. I think it would be great if they bundled a game and/or an extra controller. Then, it’s multiplayer ready right out of the box. Even if there’s no extra controller, I know my roommate is getting a Wii so I’ll chip in for an “exclusive” controller heh.

Amazon did get the Vista pricing right even before MS officially announced anything so I’ll keep my fingers crossed and impatiently await Spetember 14 when Nintendo is expected to reveal a price and launch date for the Wii. I just hope I have no homework to do when the Wii does finally arrive.