# Take a Wii November 19th **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 14, 2006, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-a-wii-november-19th/372719 "2006-09-14T18:20:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![brianjedi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@brianjedi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianjedi)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2006, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-a-wii-november-19th/372719/1 "2006-09-14T18:20:37Z")
Nintendo announced the launch specs for the Wii today: [http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/285027\_nintendo14.html](http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/285027_nintendo14.html) $250, November 19 in North America. The big surprise: a real pack-in game, Wii Sports, which includes bowling, baseball, tennis and golf. 25-30 games should be available this year, including Zelda, but no Mario until next year. Nintendo may end up winning this round of the console war. Sony’s priced themselves out of the market with the PS3 and Microsoft is targeting a different market with the Xbox 360. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2006, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-a-wii-november-19th/372719/2 "2006-09-14T18:25:40Z")
I know what I’m getting for Christmas! OK, technically I’ll be getting it for my oldest daughter. But that’s just a ruse, technically 😃 ---
**Author:** ![FlyingRamenMonster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@FlyingRamenMonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingRamenMonster)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2006, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-a-wii-november-19th/372719/3 "2006-09-14T18:32:53Z")
I heard about this earlier today and am very happy with the news. I was crossing my fingers for a $200 launch but $250 isn’t bad, especially with Wii Sports included. It’s plenty affordable now and should be even more so by maybe mid-2007, when I’ll probably be finished fawing over my new PS2 and many anticipated games will have come out. Huzzah! Now we just have to see how badly Australia gets screwed by the currency conversion. ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2006, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-a-wii-november-19th/372719/4 "2006-09-14T18:39:57Z")
That’s so cool. I want to play with one first and see if I like the controller scheme, but $250 gives a new system a lot of leeway for me. A $250 intro price makes a $199 after hype price totally realistic, and then maybe even a $149 move after that. ---
**Author:** ![c\_goat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@c\_goat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/c_goat)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2006, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-a-wii-november-19th/372719/5 "2006-09-14T18:59:50Z")
I find the GameFAQs polls of the day pretty interesting, on this subject: [Yesterday](http://www.gamefaqs.com/poll/index.html?poll=2568) [Today](http://www.gamefaqs.com/poll/index.html?poll=2569) I may even take a Wii, myself, and accept the fact that I’ll never play FF XIII and MGS4. ---
**Author:** ![borschevsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/97f17d/32.png) [@borschevsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/borschevsky)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2006, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-a-wii-november-19th/372719/6 "2006-09-14T19:38:55Z")
[QUOTE=brianjedi] Wii Sports, which includes bowling, baseball, tennis and golf. [/QUOTE] Boxing too. Looks like I’ll be picking one up at launch, probably with Zelda and an extra controller. I work that out to be $360 US, which is actually a fair bit, but nowhere near a PS3 obviously. Also I was reading today on IGN that they have the controls right on Metroid. First person controls on consoles have always felt like a hack to me, so it’ll be great if the new control works like they’re saying. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2006, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-a-wii-november-19th/372719/7 "2006-09-14T19:50:31Z")
I haven’t had a nintendo product since the super nintendo and even then only a handful of games I rarely played. Looks like there’s been a lot of fun games out, mario series and the like. I may look back into them with this new one. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2006, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-a-wii-november-19th/372719/8 "2006-09-14T21:08:34Z")
Was planning on getting one when the rumored price was $200 and I’m still planning on it. Assuming that the included game is any good, I’m happy to pay $50 for a golf/bowling/tennis/baseball game. What I really want to know is how expensive the extra controllers are going to be. That’s probably going to set me back another $100 by itself. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2006, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-a-wii-november-19th/372719/9 "2006-09-14T21:09:07Z")
[QUOTE=FlyingRamenMonster] I heard about this earlier today and am very happy with the news. I was crossing my fingers for a $200 launch but $250 isn’t bad, especially with Wii Sports included. [/QUOTE] For me, it went from “Must by this holiday season” to “Maybe buy this holiday season.” I still like it, but factoring in the cost of an additional controller pair and another game puts it up to $360 or thereabouts. I might just wait until next year and the inevitable price drop, especially since I’m slightly iffy on some of the launch titles right now. (On the other hand, playing SNES StarFox for $8 is a steal, IMO :D) ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2006, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-a-wii-november-19th/372719/10 "2006-09-14T21:17:20Z")
We want Wii! We want Wii! ---
**Author:** ![Asylum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/53a042/32.png) [@Asylum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asylum)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2006, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-a-wii-november-19th/372719/11 "2006-09-14T22:04:00Z")
[QUOTE=c\_goat] I find the GameFAQs polls of the day pretty interesting, on this subject: [Yesterday](http://www.gamefaqs.com/poll/index.html?poll=2568) [Today](http://www.gamefaqs.com/poll/index.html?poll=2569) I may even take a Wii, myself, and accept the fact that I’ll never play FF XIII and MGS4. [/QUOTE] This is just anecdotal, but I’ve noticed that the poll responses on Gamefaqs usually have a pro-Nintendo response, so the results may just be the result of a unrepresentative sample. Specifically, I recall a poll asking which consoles people owned and the Gamecube was by far the favorite, which is not in line with console sales. I’m a Nintendo fanboy, BTW. ---
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2006, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-a-wii-november-19th/372719/12 "2006-09-14T22:45:38Z")
> [@](#): > > there is no need to master the complicated combinations of buttons and triggers that make many video games so intimidating to the reflex-challenged. This right here just sold me. ---
**Author:** ![Heckxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f1d935/32.png) [@Heckxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heckxx)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2006, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-a-wii-november-19th/372719/13 "2006-09-15T04:32:51Z")
Ive been anticipating the Wii for so long. Usually my brothers and friends buy all the gaming systems around my household, but for once, I feel like i want to buy Wii right when it comes out. Wii has all the features I want (super innovative, classic gaming capabilities, mario games) and none of the features I dont want (HD support, dvd, expensiveness) I hope the controllers don’t cost that much. Being thats its the whole wireless business, it may be more pricey then many of us might expect. ---
**Author:** ![Cyberhwk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7993a0/32.png) [@Cyberhwk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyberhwk)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2006, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-a-wii-november-19th/372719/14 "2006-09-15T04:45:24Z")
Am I the only one worried that swinging the controller around might start to get a little old after a couple of hours? I mean I’m sure it’s light and everything, but still swinging your arm to return every single volley while playing tennis is going to have to get a little tiring after a while? Also, how is it going to work. If you slash right, you’re going to need to bring your “wiimote” back to center. Is this going to register as a slash left? By all accounts it’s a fantastic system (and I put my name on the call list at EBGames) but I still have unanswered questions. ---
**Author:** ![BraheSilver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@BraheSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BraheSilver)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2006, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-a-wii-november-19th/372719/15 "2006-09-15T06:49:18Z")
[QUOTE=Cyberhwk] Am I the only one worried that swinging the controller around might start to get a little old after a couple of hours? I mean I’m sure it’s light and everything, but still swinging your arm to return every single volley while playing tennis is going to have to get a little tiring after a while? Also, how is it going to work. If you slash right, you’re going to need to bring your “wiimote” back to center. Is this going to register as a slash left? By all accounts it’s a fantastic system (and I put my name on the call list at EBGames) but I still have unanswered questions. [/QUOTE] You don’t need to swing your whole arm around like a maniac. You can flick it in the direction you’d like to point it, but then it’s not really like playing baseball! There’s a sensor bar that you place near the TV. It registers the movement of the remote, so moving “back to center” isn’t the same as “swing left” because it knows that the remote was facing to the right after you slashed right. ---
**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 15, 2006, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-a-wii-november-19th/372719/16 "2006-09-15T07:45:06Z")
[QUOTE=rjung] I still like it, but factoring in the cost of an additional controller pair and another game puts it up to $360 or thereabouts. [/QUOTE] Until you factor in the cost of an additional 360 controller as well, then we’re back at square one. In addition, the Wii comes with built-in internal memory, whereas the $299 Xbox 360 does not, which one would require to save games. And finally, if reports are to be believed, the Wii will ship with component cables, unlike the $299 Xbox. Plus it comes with that free packin game. Wii is still significantly cheaper than the other systems. ---
**Author:** ![c\_goat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@c\_goat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/c_goat)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2006, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-a-wii-november-19th/372719/17 "2006-09-15T13:58:14Z")
[QUOTE=Asylum] This is just anecdotal, but I’ve noticed that the poll responses on Gamefaqs usually have a pro-Nintendo response, so the results may just be the result of a unrepresentative sample. Specifically, I recall a poll asking which consoles people owned and the Gamecube was by far the favorite, which is not in line with console sales. I’m a Nintendo fanboy, BTW. [/QUOTE] Yeah, you’re probably right. I haven’t read enough polls to notice a pattern. I still find it interesting though, because I would have expected the Sony fanboys to show up as well. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Carnage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/max_carnage/32/12775_2.png) [@Max\_Carnage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Carnage)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2006, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-a-wii-november-19th/372719/18 "2006-09-15T14:23:56Z")
[QUOTE=iamthewalrus(:3=] Was planning on getting one when the rumored price was $200 and I’m still planning on it. Assuming that the included game is any good, I’m happy to pay $50 for a golf/bowling/tennis/baseball game. What I really want to know is how expensive the extra controllers are going to be. That’s probably going to set me back another $100 by itself. [/QUOTE] From [IGN.com](http://wii.ign.com/articles/732/732669p1.html): > [@](#): > > Nintendo revealed that Wii’s various controllers would be available to buy separately at launch. The Wii remote will cost $39.99; the nunchuck $19.99 and the classic controller about $20. ---
**Author:** ![FlyingRamenMonster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@FlyingRamenMonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingRamenMonster)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2006, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-a-wii-november-19th/372719/19 "2006-09-15T15:58:06Z")
Nintendo of Australia has announced the Wii will be released on December 9, for $399.95 AUD. [[link]](http://palgn.com.au/article.php?title=Australian+Wii+launch+details+revealed&id=5327&sid=0cd9adfd65aaff5fce83d8305bbea1a8) For Europe, I’ve heard both November 24 and December 8. Could someone else confirm? ($400 for a Wii? Damn, that bites.) ---
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2006, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-a-wii-november-19th/372719/20 "2006-09-15T16:26:49Z")
[QUOTE=Red Barchetta] Until you factor in the cost of an additional 360 controller as well, then we’re back at square one. In addition, the Wii comes with built-in internal memory, whereas the $299 Xbox 360 does not, which one would require to save games. And finally, if reports are to be believed, the Wii will ship with component cables, unlike the $299 Xbox. Plus it comes with that free packin game. Wii is still significantly cheaper than the other systems. [/QUOTE] And if I’m reading it right, takes SD memory cards in addition to Nintendo memory cards, and accepts GC controllers and games. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/take-a-wii-november-19th/372719.md?page=2)