A brief history of Nintendo consoles, and why Nintendo Wii should be $199

May 12, 2006 on 2:57 pm | In nintendo, nintendo wii, video games, wii | 34 Comments

Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)

US Release: October 18, 1985 (limited initial release)
US Price: Initial limited release $100, later sold for $199 as the NES “Action Set”
Units sold: 60 million

After the video game crash of 1983, Nintendo help revive the video game industry with the release and it’s first home console, the Nintendo Entertainment System. The NES, an 8-bit video game console, was released in limited markets in the USA in October 18, 1985, followed by a nationwide release in February of 1986. The NES(bundled with “Super Mario Bros.”, the first modern platform game) sold 60 million units worldwide.

Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES)
US Release: August 13, 1991
US Price: $199
Units sold: 49 million

The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, or SNES was the second home console from Nintendo, better known as the Super Famicom in Japan. Nintendo became the best selling 16-bit video game console, despite it’s late start, beating out other home console’s like Sega’s Genesis. The SNES, which was release on August 13th, 1991, and was bundled with “Super Mario Word” went on to sell 49 million units worldwide.

Nintendo 64

US Release: September 29, 1996
US Price: $199
Units sold: 32 million

Nintendo’s third home console, the Nintendo 64, was first introduced as Nintendo Ultra 64(referring to it’s 64-bit processor) on November 24, 1995(code named “Project Reality”). On February 1, 1996 just five months before its Japanese debut, Nintendo dropped the “Ultra” from the name, due to a possible trademark infringement. With only 2 launch titles, the Nintendo 64, or N64 was released in the US on September 29, 1996. The N64 sold 32 million units worldwide.

Nintendo Game Cube

US Release: November 18th, 2001
US Price: $199
Units sold: 20 million

The Nintendo GameCube was Nintendo’s fourth home video game console. Released in the US on November 18th, it has sold over 20 million units as of early 2006. Code named “Dolphin”, the GameCube is the most compact and least expensive of the that generation’s era consoles.

Nintendo Wii

US Release Date: November 2006 (?)
US Price: TBA

First announced at E3 2005 as the Nintendo Revolution(code name), the Nintendo Wii will be Nintendo’s fifth home video game console. On April 27, 2006, Nintendo announced the official name of the console as Nintendo Wii.

“Wii sounds like ‘we,’ which emphasizes that the console is for everyone. Wii can easily be remembered by people around the world, no matter what language they speak. No confusion. No need to abbreviate. Just Wii.”

Shortly after the new name of the console was announced, Nintendo received a mixed response of criticism, disbelief and sometimes confusion.

What makes Nintendo Wii special and different from the XBOX 360 and PS3 is the motion sensing controller(or wiimote).

From wikipidia:

The primary controller for Wii uses a one-handed remote control-based design, which, when turned on its side, can be used like a gamepad. Named the “Wii Remote” (often referred to as the “Wiimote”), the controller communicates wirelessly with the console via Bluetooth, with which it is possible to operate up to 4 Remotes as far as 10 meters from the console. Using internal sensors and an external sensor bar placed near the display screen, the movement and position of the Wii Remote can be sensed in 3D. The controller also contains an internal speaker and a rumble motor for audio and force feedback functionality.

The Wii Remote features an expansion port, with which it is possible to augment the controller, with various shells and add-ons. Nintendo has announced several such expansions, including a “nunchuck” controller with an analog stick, a “classic controller” for playing games that require more traditional gamepad functionality (such as Virtual Console games), and a “zapper shell” for traditional shooting gameplay.

Why the Nintendo Wii should be priced at $199

Looking back at the history of Nintendo, you can see that every video game console which they released was priced at $199. Even when the PlayStation, PS2 and XBOX came out at $299, Nintendo kept their launch price at $199.

It is probably safe to assume that Nintendo will keep the same price strategy for Nintendo Wii, and analysts seem to agree. Nintendo has lost a great deal of market share over the past few years, especially with the GameCube. However, with the release of Nintendo Wii, they have a chance to win back some of this market share, and the pricing of the console is probably going to be on of their biggest strategies. With the lower end XBOX 360 and PS3 systems starting at $299 and $499 respectively, a price of $199 will drive a lot of sales for Nintendo.

Bet on the Wii will selling for less than $200, says Scott Steinberg, vice president of marketing for Sega, one of the major game publishers for Nintendo consoles. Prices for both the Microsoft and Sony machines are higher due to their heavy-duty processing power, and the PS3 will also feature Sony’s next generation Blu-Ray DVD drive.

It’s clear that Nintendo stole the show at this year’s E3. There is a lot of interest out there in their next-gen new-gen concole, and priced at around $200 will definitely help Nintendo recapture some of the older and more casual gamers that they have been going after, as well as the hard-core player.

Nintendo is expected to release pricing and availability date information sometime in August or September.