In Japan, Wii went on sale for ¥25,000. Nintendo's intention is to make it a household device for everyone. Which is not to say something that can be used by everyone (although it will be that), but something that will be bought by everyone. It wants, in short, to make Wii consoles as ubiquitous as DVD players. (Interestingly, although Nintendo has removed DVD movie playback from the spec sheet, it plans to launch in Japan an enhanced Wii capable of such feature.)
It is not quite so cheap in western markets, of course, clocking in at £180 in the UK, US$250 in the US and AU$399 in Australia. It has been said that Nintendo intended to bring Wii to the shelves for £150, $200 and $348 in UK, USA and Australia respectively, but became influenced by pressure from the larger retail chains, which raised concerns over margins and low so-called "basket value" (ie, the amount of revenue generated from a customers overall purchase at the till). Although it's difficult to sympathise with such fears when you begin to add up the cost of a Wii console, a copy of Twilight Princess, a Classic Controller, plus, well, let's throw in another Remote so we can get going straight away with two players on the packed-in Wii Sports - oh, and I'd better take 2000 Wii points, too, in case there's anything on the Virtual Console download service that takes my fancy.
Nonetheless - and this point is a vital one - AU$399 is still a low enough for committed gamers who're already investing in an Xbox 360 or PS3 to be able to pick up the Wii as a second console.
But planning a revolution by "only" reinventing game control and wrapping it around super-affordable technology was not enough for Nintendo. In the same way that other companies would have designed DS with dual-screen functionality and left it at that, believing that their work was done, Nintendo's Wii development has progressed, and it has been building an entire network strategy around its new console in the from of WiiConnect24 and Wii Channels. And this new network strategy, more than a dozen new Mario or Zelda or Pokemon or Brain Training games, represents the company's future.
Make no mistake: Wii's approach to network entertainment isn't just a bolted-on afterthought, it is fundamental to the console's make-up, and has the potential to be remembered as the touch of genius that put Nintendo consoles back into the centre of the living room. Whereas in the past, Nintendo home consoles have been static, and entirely dependent on the next cartridge/disc their users were able to throw their way, the plan is for Wii to never stop adding value to its users' lives. Some days that may manifest itself in the mere seconds it takes to boot up and access its web browser on the living room TV. On others it may be turning on your console to find a surprise package awaiting your attention from a fellow Animal Crossing resident or Nintendogs owner or Pokemon collector. It may lie in downloading independently produced Wii games or free demos for your DS via Virtual Console. In theory, it could be the offer of a new suite of Brain Training challenges for not very much money, with no need to journey to a shop for the privilege. Perhaps, in the not-too-distant future, it's turning on your Wii and being able to use it to watch the Nintendo TV channel, consisting of nothing but Nintendo-related content such as show reports, tips and interviews (and advertisements for lots of new Nintendo games, of course). There are, after all, plenty of Wii Channel slots remaining to be filled…
Is Nintendo's package a more convincing one than Microsoft's established Xbox Live strategy? Like-for-like comparisons simply cannot be drawn: Microsoft's solution is more directly game-oriented, where Nintendo is lifestyle-centric. As for Sony, it's difficult to make any comparisons between Wii and PS3 network ambitions.
What is certain that, while Wii may be more comparable to its predecessor than Xbox 360 and PS3 in terms of what's inside the casing, in every other respect that matters it is absolutely unlike GameCube, whose most exciting network ambitions ran to linking up a GBA to play as Tingle in Wind Waker or a cluster of handhelds to a spin to Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles.
Wii is differnet to GameCube and different to any other console that's ever been made. But it's only when you get the opportunity to use it yourself, to jiggle its controllers and poke around with its Channels, that the difference will really become clear.
