With Microsoft's XBox 360 priced at a record high of $399 (or $299 if you don't want to be able to save or play old games) and the Playstation 3 widely expected to follow suit with a pricetag in the same neighborhood, is next generation gaming out of reach for the underfunded? Not if Nintendo has its say.
Company president Satoru Iwata confirmed in an interview with Yahoo! Japan that the Nintendo Revolution will debut for less than the $299 price tag of the bare bones Xbox system. This also puts the new Nintendo console below the price range of the PS2's launch, and seems to indicate that the Revolution will be priced on par with the Game Cube, which initially sold for $199. Perhaps unfortunately, it's almost certain that this comparative discount comes at the cost of power and graphics technology that Sony and Microsoft fans can expect.
Personally, graphics aren't everything to me--especially when we're talking a difference of at least a hundred smackeroos between the Revolution and the PS3. Given that I'm underfunded and probably won't be able to afford more than one next-gen system (and I can buy the one thanks to the housing allowance on my scholarship), price is important to me. Besides, if the rumors are true, Nintendo is more than making up for their lagging in the graphics department with other innovative features, like the controller and the announced ability to download and play old Nintendo games.
Source:
IGN
| SaffireWeapon | Comment 1: 2006-01-05 06:12 |
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I have this very same problem, I find that new consoles are way too expensive for US the underfunded, and when the price becomes affordable, a new next gen console is released, makind the one I'm planning to buy obsolete.
I have given serious tought to getting a REVOLUTION. The new controller looks refreshing, and it looks like a vey simple technique controller, and you can use the controller like Clasiic NES for the Classic games, but I see they miss two buttons (If I'm not mistaken), which leads me to believe there will be no Super NES downloadables, which means no FF 4 classic, or Chrono Trigger, or STar Ocean, or... you get it!
Anyway, I sure know mre and a few buddies will have a great time playing games we used to play back in the day, with a sharp image, not the crappy emulator images!
!! |
| The Ancient | Comment 2: 2006-01-05 17:30 |
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I bought a Gamecube over an X-box simily because it was cheaper. Subsequently any multi-platform game that I wanted ended up being purchased for the gamecube. I think Nintendo knows what they are doing. Though I'm not sure how many multi-platforms there will be for the revolution given it's unique controller... |
| Rangers51 | Comment 3: 2006-01-05 17:59 |
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Quote (The Ancient @ 5th January 2006 12:30) I bought a Gamecube over an X-box simily because it was cheaper. Subsequently any multi-platform game that I wanted ended up being purchased for the gamecube. I think Nintendo knows what they are doing. Though I'm not sure how many multi-platforms there will be for the revolution given it's unique controller...
In response to both of the posts above me, there's no reason to think that there won't be more controllers for the Revo. I do believe we have posts about the Revo in other threads in this forum that illustrate it's a modular design.
I'll go so far to say that if they follow through on this, it frankly wouldn't surprise me to find unofficial adapters to actually use other controllers from other systems. But don't count it out based solely on the controller design yet, IMO. |
| BloodAngel | Comment 4: 2006-01-05 18:02 |
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It has to be noted that Americans just don't realise how well off they are in the Global Market, especially in regards to Gaming.
With price marks of $399 on 360's, in England we'd only be paying just over £200, which even for a part-time school dweller is only a few weeks wages. Rather, for the same console, shops have been giving us a massive £600 tag, almost triple the state side price.
As ever these prices will fall, and the comment about the next generation being in the shops by the time these are affordable is pure rubbish. Within 6 months of the X-Box being released over here it had plummeted to a third of it's price - and with 2 new consoles being released withing the next 18 months, the same will happen again.
On the subject of buying a revolution - why bother choosing such a gimmick? That $100 dollar gap goes into a system with far more of a following, a bigger profit margin all adding to more, better, and better value games. Would a back catalog or a very gimmicky controler persuade me to purchasethe number 3 console? Only if I came into money, and they actually moved away from the ideal present for a 5 year old. |
| FallingHeart | Comment 5: 2006-01-05 20:12 |
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The revolution will be able to play SNES and N64 games, using the attatchement input on the bottom of the controller, as I'm pretty sure they've confirmed. That's one of the cooler parts of the system, is that fact you can create a unique attatchment for any game you produce.
I think that revolution will be getting even less third party support this time around, even with the controller shell, becaue of the massive difference in graphic capabilities (Hi-Def for example) compared to the other two major consoles.
The controller doesn't look gimmicky, it looks innovative, and well built. If you consider it a gimmick you might not have considered what you can do with it. And, what makes you think that the revolution will be the number 3 console? maybe it'll become one of the best sellers of all time. And, I can't say the GameCube is only for 5 year olds. Even if it is more family-oriented you can't deny the many mature first person titles that they have. (Eternal Darkness, MGS:TTS, Metroid Prime series, Resident Evil 4)
But finally, to the topic: Any price launch more than $149 would be pretty unreasonable IMO. IGN keeps predicting anywhere as low as $99 to as high as $199. If the console was only $99 there is no way I could pass that up. Most people think a launch of $199 is a bit of a rip off, and $99 might not be prophitable enough, so I'm guessing $149 and hoping for a $99 launch. |
| SaffireWeapon | Comment 6: 2006-01-06 03:09 |
![SaffireWeapon]() |
Quote (FallingHeart @ 5th January 2006 15:12) I think that revolution will be getting even less third party support this time around, even with the controller shell, becaue of the massive difference in graphic capabilities (Hi-Def for example) compared to the other two major consoles.
Maybe the REVO will open the door for new third party companies with new ideas for new styles of gameplay. I'm sure the REVO conroller will inspire new creative games with a new kind of gameplay expirience! |
| Silverlance | Comment 7: 2006-01-06 03:59 |
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lol@childish console wars. 
I haven't read the thread so forgive me if this has already been discussed. Nintendo is probably staking their revenue on games and accessories and lowing the prices for the sake of selling more systems. What they lose on the console itself, they most likely hope to make back with the rest.
Well, hey. Nintendo's been in a pretty bad financial mess lately so they're probably basing this decision on past mistakes. Maybe the GameCube was too expensive to encourage people to buy one and they went for the other systems instead. Maybe they hope to boost sales because they realized their consoles didn't nearly make as much money as their other products and felt this would encourage more game sales in the long run (more console owners -> more games being sold.) I dunno. Haven't seriously followed this stuff since late high school (back in the golden days of the SNES, during the first years of the PSX and N64!  )
We'll just have to see how it works out. My REAL theory is that they felt nobody would want a controller that looks like a sex toy, so they figured the low prices might encourage people to silently ignore the crippling blow their dignity will take. ;P |
| laszlow | Comment 8: 2006-01-07 00:46 |
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If Nintendo can turn a profit per-console with a setup like this, then they could certainly gain ground in the console wars. I'm very eagerly anticipating the Rev's launch.
First of all, Nintendo is not in financial trouble. The Gamecube was not nearly as successful as the PS2, but it was a far cry from the financial disaster that was the N64 and their ludicrous dominance of the handhelds market the past, oh, decade and a half puts Nintendo in the black. They still retain the most devoted following of hardcore gamers in the market, and all of the rumors about the Revolution controller I've read have been extremely positive - everyone seems to say that the thing is damn fun to play with.
In any case, the Revolution seems to be making a pretty strong showing, and if the system emulates old games via download, possesses a "classic look" controller shell to go along with the funky remote, and has a strong library of games, then it very well might be the first console of the next generation that I buy (not counting my inclusion in the "purchase by committee" of my friend's 360). |
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