# Rumor: Wii price cut in October **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [September 12, 2009, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rumor-wii-price-cut-in-october/509786 "2009-09-12T03:17:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2009, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rumor-wii-price-cut-in-october/509786/1 "2009-09-12T03:17:05Z")
Attention SDMB members who are considering buying a Wii: wait until October. Rumor has it a price drop is happening then. > **[Wii Price Drop Looks To Hit First Week Of October](https://kotaku.com/wii-price-drop-looks-to-hit-first-week-of-october-5357766)** > > Advance retail listings forwarded to Kotaku indicate that Nintendo is planning to issue its first price drop on the Wii, with a less expensive version of the console—currently priced at $249 USD—coming the first week of October. That is all. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2009, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rumor-wii-price-cut-in-october/509786/2 "2009-09-12T21:05:05Z")
Will this make Wii uncatchable in the console wars? They were already considerably ahead as far as I know. Who would’ve thought that the loser of last generation would come out of nowhere and just demolish big bad scary Sony this generation? Beating Microsoft is just icing on the cake. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2009, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rumor-wii-price-cut-in-october/509786/3 "2009-09-12T21:18:21Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > Will this make Wii uncatchable in the console wars? They were already considerably ahead as far as I know. Who would’ve thought that the loser of last generation would come out of nowhere and just demolish big bad scary Sony this generation? Beating Microsoft is just icing on the cake. “Uncatchable” is a pretty open term. In what regard? Price? Probably. Anything else I can add here will get me pounced on. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2009, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rumor-wii-price-cut-in-october/509786/4 "2009-09-12T21:20:10Z")
> [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](#): > > “Uncatchable” is a pretty open term. In what regard? Price? Probably. > Anything else I can add here will get me pounced on. No, please explain. I really haven’t followed this generation a tenth as much as I followed last generation, so I’m sure there’s plenty I don’t know. I’m pretty sure Wii is leading by a considerable margin in total sales, and I’m also pretty sure that, at least at one point, they were the only console selling at a profit. Is that not right? ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2009, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rumor-wii-price-cut-in-october/509786/5 "2009-09-12T21:26:27Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > No, please explain. I really haven’t followed this generation a tenth as much as I followed last generation, so I’m sure there’s plenty I don’t know. I’m pretty sure Wii is leading by a considerable margin in total sales, and I’m also pretty sure that, at least at one point, they were the only console selling at a profit. Is that not right? That’s all right. The Wii is lightyears ahead of the PS3 in install base and a healthy margin ahead of the Xbox 360. For a while, there was a very real possibility that there would eventually be more Wii Balance Boards in the hands of gamers than PS3 systems. But Wii Fit sales have slowed down and PS3 sales have picked up, so that’s not happening anymore. Out of the three consoles, the Wii and the Xbox 360 are both profitable, but it didn’t start out that way. The Xbox 360 sold at a loss for a while there and Microsoft was eventually able to get costs down. The Wii was always profitable. On the other hand, the PS3 has never been profitable. And they continue to lose money on the PS3 Slim. About the only place the Wii doesn’t cream the competition is total games sold. There, the Xbox 360 just barely beats it out. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2009, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rumor-wii-price-cut-in-october/509786/6 "2009-09-12T21:30:30Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > No, please explain. I really haven’t followed this generation a tenth as much as I followed last generation, so I’m sure there’s plenty I don’t know. I’m pretty sure Wii is leading by a considerable margin in total sales, and I’m also pretty sure that, at least at one point, they were the only console selling at a profit. Is that not right? Oh, it is, but I’m very ambivalent about the quality of games they put out. Granted, I haven’t immersed myself in the games, but the ones that I have played have all had fatal flaws that stopped me from enjoying them. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2009, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rumor-wii-price-cut-in-october/509786/7 "2009-09-12T21:31:44Z")
I wonder why Blockbuster has 2 walls each of PS2 and 360 games and half a wall of Wii games. Are they just misreading the market that badly, or MS and Sony have the best sales reps or what? (Of course this is purely a thought exercise since no one rents games at Blockbuster anymore anyway - they’re 9 freakin’ dollars now :eek:.) ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2009, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rumor-wii-price-cut-in-october/509786/8 "2009-09-12T21:32:48Z")
I just got a Wii. I’m starting out with Mario & Metroid. As usual, I don’t see a tremendous number of other games calling for my money on the Wii. But as usual, I didn’t get it expecting there ever to be as large a selection as XBox & Sony. I was pretty disappointed the makers of Resident Evil are totally blowing off the Wii this generation, for instance. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2009, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rumor-wii-price-cut-in-october/509786/9 "2009-09-12T21:33:21Z")
> [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](#): > > Oh, it is, but I’m very ambivalent about the quality of games they put out. Granted, I haven’t immersed myself in the games, but the ones that I have played have all had fatal flaws that stopped me from enjoying them. Again? **LOUNE** , you’re obviously a big game player, but you just don’t get the Wii. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2009, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rumor-wii-price-cut-in-october/509786/10 "2009-09-12T21:36:00Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > I was pretty disappointed the makers of Resident Evil are totally blowing off the Wii this generation, for instance. Don’t be. Ironically, Wii has the best version of Resident Evil this generation, that being Resident Evil 4. RE5, by comparison, was garbage (not that it was surprising, considering the original director is no longer involved). The only thing that made it worth playing was co-op, and even that was pretty sub-standard. > [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > That’s all right. The Wii is lightyears ahead of the PS3 in install base and a healthy margin ahead of the Xbox 360. For a while, there was a very real possibility that there would eventually be more Wii Balance Boards in the hands of gamers than PS3 systems. But Wii Fit sales have slowed down and PS3 sales have picked up, so that’s not happening anymore. We’ll see. Don’t forget Nintendo’s essentially relaunching Wii Fit in a few weeks with Wii Fit Plus. It is true that the sales of PS3 have increased substantially, but it’ll be interesting to see if that’s sustainable. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2009, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rumor-wii-price-cut-in-october/509786/11 "2009-09-12T21:37:58Z")
> [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](#): > > Oh, it is, but I’m very ambivalent about the quality of games they put out. Granted, I haven’t immersed myself in the games, but the ones that I have played have all had fatal flaws that stopped me from enjoying them. If you’re into hyper-realistic games and graphics, the Wii is just not for you. I like it because I like the “fun” factor in a game - I’m not really into the immersion that people get from games like Ghost Recon or Splinter Cell. I do wish Wii would put out a realistic racing sim but I can live without it; I doubt it’ll happen. Mario Galaxy may not be your cup of tea, but surely you cannot point out a legitimate “fatal flaw” in it. Excuse me if this isn’t one you’ve played. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2009, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rumor-wii-price-cut-in-october/509786/12 "2009-09-12T23:59:31Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Again? **LOUNE** , you’re obviously a big game player, but you just don’t get the Wii. Not “again”, but “still”. Mario Galaxy is probably the best game I’ve played for the Wii, and it’s not even close. There really isn’t anything wrong that it does, it’s almost that it plays it too safe. It’s basically Mario 64 with updated graphics and a different background. There’s nothing wrong with that, but there’s nothing special about it. It’s as solid as a 4 or 4.5 out of 5 stars as you can get. Again, I’d love to be proven wrong. I would happily defy anyone that has a Wii game that they adore to send it to me and I’ll play it and send it back when it’s finished. I want to love the Wii. I had Nintendo products in my house ever since I was a little sprout. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2009, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rumor-wii-price-cut-in-october/509786/13 "2009-09-13T00:08:20Z")
> [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](#): > > It’s basically Mario 64 with updated graphics and a different background. I honestly can’t even comprehend this. It’s about as original as you can get while still being recognizable as a Mario game. The spherical words and gravity-based gameplay were very significant additions that fundamentally changed the way the game is played (and to a lesser degree, even the pointer-based additions were clever). If you can’t appreciate that, that’s fine. But to essentially say that it does nothing new is simply not true…especially in comparison to virtually every other sequel out there. Your complaint is one that could be realistically lobbed at the Halo, God of War, Smash Brothers, or the Madden series. But Mario Galaxy? No. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2009, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rumor-wii-price-cut-in-october/509786/14 "2009-09-13T02:17:03Z")
> [@Red\_Barchetta](#): > > I honestly can’t even comprehend this. It’s about as original as you can get while still being recognizable as a Mario game. The spherical words and gravity-based gameplay were very significant additions that fundamentally changed the way the game is played (and to a lesser degree, even the pointer-based additions were clever). > > If you can’t appreciate that, that’s fine. But to essentially say that it does nothing new is simply not true…especially in comparison to virtually every other sequel out there. Your complaint is one that could be realistically lobbed at the Halo, God of War, Smash Brothers, or the Madden series. But Mario Galaxy? No. Oh come on. Mario above ground! Mario underground! Mario on an airship! Mario in a pipe world! Mario in an ice world! Mario in…space! Really, with the license to print money that Mario is, I’m surprised they haven’t churned out more. No, I really don’t feel like ground was broken with Mario Galaxy, but that’s fine, because it still does what it’s supposed to do and does it very well. I wasn’t too crazy about the pointer-based additions. It’s a Mario game that doesn’t make very good use of the Wiimote, however, I don’t see what more a Mario game could do with the Wiimote. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2009, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rumor-wii-price-cut-in-october/509786/15 "2009-09-13T03:36:11Z")
> [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](#): > > Mario Galaxy is probably the best game I’ve played for the Wii, and it’s not even close. There really isn’t anything wrong that it does, it’s almost that it plays it too safe. It’s basically Mario 64 with updated graphics and a different background. There’s nothing wrong with that, but there’s nothing special about it. It’s as solid as a 4 or 4.5 out of 5 stars as you can get. Not much would have to be done to Mario 64 to make it the best game ever made. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2009, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rumor-wii-price-cut-in-october/509786/16 "2009-09-13T04:59:46Z")
> [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](#): > > Oh come on. Mario above ground! Mario underground! Mario on an airship! Mario in a pipe world! Mario in an ice world! Mario in…space! Really, with the license to print money that Mario is, I’m surprised they haven’t churned out more. No, I really don’t feel like ground was broken with Mario Galaxy, but that’s fine, because it still does what it’s supposed to do and does it very well. It was the most story-heavy of the main Mario series, which I really liked. The way gravity was handled was really ground breaking for me, at least. I’m not aware of any other games that have ever done anything like that before. Certainly not any Mario games. I’ve heard Yoshi’s Island dipped its toes into walking upside down and such, but that can’t compare with the 3D world in Galaxy. > [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](#): > > I wasn’t too crazy about the pointer-based additions. It’s a Mario game that doesn’t make very good use of the Wiimote, however, I don’t see what more a Mario game could do with the Wiimote. Then, by definition, you just don’t like the Wiimote. I’ve never played a game with better, more intuitive controls on any platform ever, including PC. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2009, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rumor-wii-price-cut-in-october/509786/17 "2009-09-13T05:14:36Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > It was the most story-heavy of the main Mario series, which I really liked. The way gravity was handled was really ground breaking for me, at least. I’m not aware of any other games that have ever done anything like that before. Certainly not any Mario games. I’ve heard Yoshi’s Island dipped its toes into walking upside down and such, but that can’t compare with the 3D world in Galaxy. > > Then, by definition, you just don’t like the Wiimote. I’ve never played a game with better, more intuitive controls on any platform ever, including PC. Galaxy did have a very nice 3d world. The gravity acted pretty much how I thought, although aiming things I was throwing was a little off, but that’s fine, because the entire thing was done so well. That could very well be. Picking up star bits is nice to do if you have a 3-year old you want to keep busy while you play, but I didn’t like it. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2009, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rumor-wii-price-cut-in-october/509786/18 "2009-09-13T05:15:59Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Not much would have to be done to Mario 64 to make it the best game ever made. I liked Mario 64, but I don’t think if I’d put it above Super Mario 3 or Super Mario World. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2009, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rumor-wii-price-cut-in-october/509786/19 "2009-09-13T14:47:51Z")
I’ll vote for Mario 64 being the most radically improved and just damn fun to play the hell out of. Mario Sunshine was pretty darn fun, and Galaxy so far isn’t pulling me in, gravity notwithstanding. I kind of like tooling around underwater. Being upside down gives me a bit of a headache and some of the camera angles make things harder than they should be. I’ve still got a long way to go in the game, though. Oh speaking of collecting those stupid starbits, does anyone know how to turn off the Wiimote’s sound effects? I like to play at night with headphones, but the Wiimote still makes a lot of noise. Where’s a good place to get a charger for the Wiimote? I’m burning through batteries. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2009, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rumor-wii-price-cut-in-october/509786/20 "2009-09-13T16:51:13Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > Oh speaking of collecting those stupid starbits, does anyone know how to turn off the Wiimote’s sound effects? I like to play at night with headphones, but the Wiimote still makes a lot of noise. > > Where’s a good place to get a charger for the Wiimote? I’m burning through batteries. Press the “Home” button, click the controller icon at the bottom, reduce volume by clicking the ‘minus’ icon/button. I’d also suggest getting a simple battery recharger over anything Wiimote exclusive–you can find 15 minute ones at any Target. Also, Mario Sunshine is categorically the _worst_ Mario game. Just sayin’ 😉 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rumor-wii-price-cut-in-october/509786.md?page=2)