http://www.videogamesblogger.com/2006/0 … -price.htm

It looks like the Japanese maximum price of the Wii will not exceed 25,000 yen.

Some netizens have pointed that every Nintendo system since the NES has always appeared at the $199 USD price point, so some speculate that the Wii will also cost that much.  Others say that even if it went to $250 USD, it would still be affordable.  Some even think at $250 USD, it could come with an extra controller (Can't have "we" if there is only one controller in the box).  Some think Wii Sports might be a pack-in game.

Is a $199 USD or $249 USD price tag good enough for you?

Software-pending, I'd probably pick one up at $199 as soon as I got the chance. I'd probably wait it out for $250 unless there was a game I really wanted.

But since I'll be playing Super Paper Mario and Valkyrie Profile 2 around the time the system launches and I want those more than any of the known Wii launch titles, that kind of forces my hand to wait, whatever the price is. I'll be surprised if Wii doesn't go throught the usual new system software drought.

Yep, I'll still get it. I know Nintendo consoles usually debut at lower prices than $250, but compared to the $400 and $600 of the 360 and PS3, $250 is just pocket change; especially considering how the games will be more than just jelly-covered high res upgrades of current games and franchises.

I've been updating it whenever I come across any news, so here's a thread about the launch and some post-launch titles, as well as those yet to be determined ones:  http://www.altpop.com/stc/forums/viewtopic.php?id=664

And for simplicity's sake, here is the potential launch window list CAPed here:

Launch:

Activision  Call of Duty 3 (IGN)
Activision  Marvel Ultimate Alliance (IGN)
Activision  Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam (IGN)
Atlus        Trauma Center:  Second Opinion
EA            Madden Wii (IGN - EA interview)
Konami     Elebits (IGN - Konami interview)
Midway     Blitz: The League (Midway press release says October 2006)
Nintendo   Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Nintendo - press conference)
Nintendo   Metroid Prime 3 (IGN - Retro interview)
Nintendo   Wii Sports compilation (contents inconclusive:  Baseball, Tennis, Golf, Airplane?, Ping Pong?, Duck Hunt?)
Sega        Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz
SNK          Metal Slug Anthology
Squinex    Dragon Quest Swords:  The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors
Squinex    Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Crystal Bearers
THQ          Avatar: The Last Airbender (IGN -THQ press release)
THQ          Disney/Pixar's Cars
THQ          SpongeBob SquarePants: Creature from the Krusty Krab (IGN - THQ press release)
Ubisoft      Rayman Raving Rabbids (IGN)
Ubisoft      Red Steel (Nintendo - press conference)

Possibly at launch:

Midway     Happy Feet (Midway press release says November 2006)

Holiday 2006:

Atari         Dragon Ball Z Tenkaichi 2 (IGN - Atari press release)

I'm getting the Wii for launch with, going by the list now, at least 5 and up to 9 of the launch titles, not to mention the Virtual Console titles available... here's hoping for, besides the obvious Mario titles, Punch-Out!, Earthbound, and Super Mario RPG.

Yeah, that's kind of what I meant. It's easily the best-looking next-gen launch line-up, but it's up against the last of this current generation's titles.

What can I say...I suck as an early adopter.

Bring on Smash Brothers!

Are you sure that launch list is accurate?
Cos I read somewhere that Metroid Prime 3 was going to be pushed back to 2007.

Anyway, I'm definitely getting a Wii if it's as ridiculously cheap as that.
But I was going to get one anyway for Twilight Princess alone.

Retro has said in interviews that MP3 is planned as a launch title.

While Nintendo can get away with charging $250 to gamers, it's not a mass market price, and it's the mass market that this system is being made for, so I think Nintendo has to go for $200.  Plus, there's something nifty about being able to claim the PS3 is three times more expensive.

For myself, I will probably buy it regardless if it is $200 or $250, but I will be annoyed if it's $250.

I want to say yes, but there's traditionally a spending-on-one's-self freeze in my family after Halloween for the sake of the Holiday Season. If I can wriggle some leeway, my answer would be yes, for the virtual console alone.

Yes, although I agree with the common sentiment here that it would be somewhat less of a sure thing at $250 than $200 unless it came with some nice pack-in extras (extra controller, etc).

BTW, is Wii confirmed to play DVD movies?  It would be nice if it did so I could go ahead and get rid of that big black behemoth of an Xbox sitting in my entertainment center.

For me it all depends on trying out that controller first hand. The price is good and I was more than impressed with what Nintendo showed at E3 but was still left with the feeling that it's possible that I could be fighting with the controller. If I try it out and control is tight and, well, controlable then I'll definitely be getting one.

The last time I read about this it was confirmed it's technically capable of that, but has the feature disable unless you unlock it with some stick you buy separately (so Nintendo's saves the DVD player license fee on the base unit once again). Now to think of it, Wii is one sweet looking unit even as a DVD player...

I really don't think the system is gonna debut at $250.00.  If you remember, Nintendo said the same thing about N64, but then it launched at $199.99.  Even still, I'd buy it at launch if it were $250.00, though I'd be a bit irritated...  But yeah, I doubt it's gonna launch at highter than $199.99.

I would not be surprised if the Wii, as a DVD player, performs better than the PS2's DVD system.  The PS2 DVD system gets the job done, but I've read it is not as good as many other standalone DVD players.

Does anyone actually use their games consoles as dvd players these days?

I do. And my PS2 plays fine 99% of my dvd collection, only dvd which it doesn't play is The One. And yes, I'm too lazy to buy separate dvdplayer and it wouldn't even fit into my shelf.

Totally, works great when you've got more than one tv in the house -

Also, I'll probably play the waiting game with the Wii until it's cheaper or you get something extra along with it.

Before I got a real DVD player, I interchangeably used my W98 1999 P3 PC, PS2, and Xbox as DVD players.  All are absolute crap compared to the real DVD player.

Problems with my PC as DVD player:
-Brightness/contrast too low
-Incorrect interpretation of aspect ratio (often confused letterbox and widescreen making letterbox movies look vertically stretched)
-Interlacing

Problems with the PS2 as DVD player:
-Lacking image quality
-Very noticeable pause during layer transition
-Flat out incompatible with many DVDs

Problems with the Xbox as DVD player:
-Massive interlacing problems
-Washed out colors
-Occasional disc read errors
-Incompatible with some DVDs (but more compatible overall than the PS2)

Problems with my real DVD player:
-If switching between fast-fowarding and rewinding very quickly over and over again, the audio occasionally gets out of synch with the video
-Not enough fast-foward speeds (it goes from x8 to x100 with nothing in between)
-Pause button is miniscule and in a really hard to find place on the remote

Even with the above probs in my real DVD player, it's still light years better than the other choices I have.

.