http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/285027_nintendo14.html

Thursday, September 14, 2006

Nintendo gets Wii ready for holidays
Company plans to put console on market Nov. 19

By SETH SCHIESEL
THE NEW YORK TIMES

In a move that may allow Nintendo of Japan to take advantage of
stumbles by its main rival, the company plans to announce today that it
will release its new Wii video-game console in North and South America
on Nov. 19, just as the holiday shopping season begins, and that the
machine will cost $250 in the United States.

Nintendo executives said this week that the company also would announce
today that more than 25 new games would be available for its video-game
machine this year, a substantial portfolio from several genres that is
intended to help the company broaden the appeal of its console. The
company plans to ship 4 million of the Wii consoles worldwide this
year.

Nintendo also will explain today a plan to expand the video-game market
beyond its core of young men.

Today's announcement comes as Nintendo's main rival, Sony, has been
forced to delay and scale back the introduction of its own game
machine, the PlayStation 3, at least twice amid serious troubles with
that company's new Blu-ray Disc technology.

Last week, Sony said that the PlayStation 3 would not be introduced in
Europe until 2007 and that it would ship millions fewer units worldwide
this year than it had promised. The top version of the PlayStation 3 is
expected to cost around $600.

Another competitor, Microsoft, has sold more than 5 million of the Xbox
360 game console since its introduction in 2005 and hopes to sell more
than 10 million by year's end.

Nintendo's Wii (pronounced we) is less technically ambitious than
Sony's PS3, which is why it will cost far less and be far more
available in stores this holiday season. To market the Wii, Nintendo
hopes to make up in innovation and accessibility what the machine lacks
in sheer silicon horsepower.

Nintendo is No. 3 in the console video game market, behind Sony and
Microsoft. But while those competitors have largely focused on
appealing to hard-core gamers, Nintendo is now trying to appeal to a
broader audience.

"Our goal is to bring gaming back to the masses," Reggie Fils-Aime,
president and chief operating officer of Nintendo of America, said in a
telephone interview. "You see that in our pricing, you see that in the
number of units we plan to make available this year and you see that in
how we are positioning the Wii to appeal to every member of the
household, including but not limited to the hard-core gamer."

The Wii's major innovation is a wireless controller that the user can
tilt and point to produce action on the screen. In a sword-fighting
game, for instance, the player can simply swing the controller to
thrust and parry with an on-screen blade; there is no need to master
the complicated combinations of buttons and triggers that make many
video games so intimidating to the reflex-challenged.

Nintendo intends to announce today that every Wii will come with a game
compilation called Wii Sports -- including tennis, golf, baseball and
bowling -- meant to show off the machine's intuitive controls. (Most
consoles, including Nintendo's GameCube, do not come with games
included.)

Nintendo plans to announce that 25 to 30 top-tier games will be
available for the Wii this year. The most-anticipated game comes from
Nintendo itself: an installment of the long-running "Legend of Zelda"
series, "Twilight Princess."

Nintendo also will deliver a driving game called "Excite Truck" this
year but will likely provide a minor disappointment to gamers in saying
the next version of the popular "Mario" franchise will not arrive until
2007.

Nintendo intends to charge $50 for its Wii games, $10 less than the
standard price for Xbox 360 titles and the same price generally charged
for GameCube games.

Top games expected to be introduced for the Wii this year from
third-party publishers include a version of "Madden NFL" from
Electronic Arts, the sword-fighting game "Red Steel" from Ubisoft of
France, an addition to the "Sonic" action series from Sega of Japan and
a "Tony Hawk" action-sports game from Activision.

While Nintendo is certainly counting on the success of top-tier games
sold at retail, many gamers may be at least as excited by the Wii's
Virtual Console, which will allow players to download versions of older
Nintendo games from the Internet.

Nintendo plans to announce today that about 30 classic games will be
available for download when the Wii is released, including ones from
the "Zelda," "Mario" and "Donkey Kong" franchises. Downloadable games
will cost about $5 to $10 each.

More broadly, Nintendo hopes to make the Wii a living-room centerpiece
by including various media channels meant to appeal to and draw in
people who do not consider themselves gamers.

There will be a photo channel that will allow users to use the Wii to
display digital photographs on television.

There also will be an easy-to-use interactive news channel and weather
channel.

Perhaps most intriguing, the Wii will make it possible to browse the
Web on the television. Microsoft's Xbox 360 does not permit this
because that could negate the need to buy a Windows PC.

"We are including all of these capabilities as part of our overall
strategy to expand the gaming market," Fils-Aime said. "Broadening the
market is important because it will breathe new life into this
business. Otherwise, this industry is moving down a path of being more
and more limited to the hard-core gamer."

Can't wait.

It's confirmed $212 in Japan.

http://www.playfuls.com/news_04349_Nintendo_Wii_Comes_Out_on_December_2_for_212.html

Nintendo Comfirmed it.... Go to Nintendo.com and see