Nintendo’s next-generation video game console, the Wii, made a big splash at this year’s edition of E3 in Los Angeles, leaving many gamers drooling and wondering how much it is going to cost and when they can get their hands on it. Today, Nintendo announced that the price of the machine will not exceed $250 in the U.S. or 25,000 yen in Japan. In addition, the company said it will ship six million systems to retailers worldwide between the fourth quarter of 2006 and March 31, 2007.
The Nintendo Wii incorporates unique freehand controller, which works like a television remote and is designed to make gameplay more intuitive. The remote can be swung like a tennis racket or sword, or turned sideways and rotated like a steering wheel. In addition, users will have access to a vast catalog of popular games created for past Nintendo systems.
The Wii replaces the GameCube, which has been a third-place finisher behind Sony’s Playstation 2 and Microsoft’s Xbox. With its impressive E3 debut, the Wii has pundits predicting that Nintendo will emerge as the leader in the next-gen battle. Microsoft currently has the lead since it’s Xbox 360 beat the other two to market by about a year, but gamers haven’t exactly been overwhelmed with the initial lineup of games. Both the 360 and the PlayStation3 will sink or swim based on the quality of the games since the machines offer greater processing power but little innovation.
The launch of the Wii and continuing success of the Nintendo DS handheld system has the company forecasting global sales growth of 18% by the end of the fiscal year. During the period, Nintendo expects to sell 17 million Wii games. Exact launch dates, game titles and details on the Wii’s ‘Virtual Console’ aspect will be announced soon.
Photo: Nintendo President Satoru Iwata shows off the Nintendo ‘Wii’ and its wireless game controllers at the 2006 Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, May 10, 2006. (Robert Galbraith/Reuters)
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