Topic: Reggie Says Revolution will be "under $300"

[TheYoungerPlumber]

Nintendo’s spokesman reaffirms Nintendo’s affordable pricing with a tangible figure.

In an interview with News.com, Nintendo Vice President Reggie Fils-Aime discusses his company’s New Year’s resolutions.    


Most significantly, Reggie reiterates that Nintendo’s new console will be affordable at less than $300.    


<small>  Since you mentioned pricing, I assume the Revolution will be accessible to gamers for substantially less than $700?    


Fils-Aime: That's correct. The next-generation console from Nintendo, code-named Revolution, will cost less than $300. Our third resolution is to stop turning away new players.  </small>    
When asked about projected sales during Revolution’s launch window, the executive remains confident in Nintendo’s strategy.    


<small>  Fils-Aime: We will sell more units than Xbox 360 did here in the United States in our launch window. I mean, in December we sold more GameCubes in the United States than Microsoft sold 360s, and Revolution will do better than that.  </small>    
Reggie also discusses upcoming games such as Tetris DS, its commitment to non-traditional gaming, and the company’s current image in the console arena.  Visit News.com for the full story.

[MysticGohan]

This sounds pretty exciting, and wow, I do believe we'll see just what Reggie was talking about. But in the end does this mean GameCube will or has outsold Xbox in all territories?
I think so

[Ian Sane]

How much did the Cube cost at launch again?  Here in Canada it was $300 but that's obviously in Canadian funds and the exchange between the two currencies back then was way different.

Anyway I figured there's no way the Rev would cost more than the Cube.  Still $300 isn't really cheap.  It is in comparison to the other consoles but it's not in an impulse buy range.  I guess it depends on what Nintendo is going for.  $300 would be good in that no one would probably think it was a cheapo inferior console at that price.

[Robageejammin]

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We'll be showing a lot of titles at this year's E3, and we think that's where consumers will get a flavor for the full range of titles and the full range of activity that we will have for our launch window.

WOOTNESS!

[Nile Boogie]

$279.99usd? Hopfully it includes:
• 3-months of download service
• Freehand plus 2 attachments
• Gamers Demo Disc
• Non-gamers Demo Disc
 

[Ian Sane]

"• Gamers Demo Disc
• Non-gamers Demo Disc"

Any particular reason for two seperate discs?  Why not just have everything on one?

[TMW]

Hrm...this kind of throws the $200 price out the window...as in market speak, under $300 means $299.  

Still...not too bad.  I still plan on getting one at launch.

[stevey]

WOOT! The revolution is close.

[vudu]

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How much did the Cube cost at launch again?

According to this mailbag the GameCube launched at $199.  The N64 also launched that that price.  (Both according to Rick.)

I'd like to point out the obvious:  $199 is under $300.  It could just be Nintendo doesn't want to show its cards too early (at least wait for Sony to announce a price point for the PS3).  It could also be that Nintendo is loading you up with all sorts of attachments for the remote and it adds up after a while.  Or, maybe the Revolution just costs more to make than everyone is guessing.

On a side note, congrats to PGC for being the second hit to come up on Google when I search for how much did gamecube cost at launch.

[The Omen]

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199.99.  The N64 also launched that that price. (Both according to Rick.)

Are we sure about this?  I seem to remember paying $249 with SM 64.

[Nosferat2]

I hope for a 249.00 USD price point. 300/299 starts to get pricey for most and 200/199 looks cheap for a next generation console at launch.

[Ian Sane]

"Are we sure about this? I seem to remember paying $249 with SM 64."

SM 64 wasn't a pack-in so you probably got a bundle of some sort.

[GoldenPhoenix]

I can confirm both N64 and GC were 199.99, mainly because I remember them at that price . I personally hope the system is around 300$ because that could indicate that the technology is not as underpowered as many seem to think.

[BlkPaladin]

I think Nintendo will keep with tradition and keep under $200.00 for the US. It may seem cheep but it is in line with their vision of console game that it should be easily accessible to non-gamers who may not want to spen a lot of money for entertainment.

[Hostile Creation]

I can still see it being from 200-250 dollars, though it could conceivably be a little higher than that.

[Artimus]

Every single Nintendo system ever released was 199.99 at launch, included the NES. Anything more and I'll be very disappointed.

[Pryopizm]

It's possible that they may go for the higher price point for two reasons:

1)  They like selling their machines for a lower price than the competition while also making a profit per console sold.

2)  The higher price point could help change the perception of their console simply being a "toy."



Either one is BS to me.  Assuming that the stats leaked by the developers are correct, then $199 would be the perfect price to pitch the new-fangled controller and the virtual console and still make a profit.

Also, I'd like to know whether or not they're actually going to use displacement mapping.

[Knoxxville]

Nothing against Reggie, but really, is it any suprise that more Gamecubes were sold last Christmas than Xbox360's?  I mean, with the shortage and ludicrous ebay scalping going on, little Jimmy still had to get SOMETHING from Santa, right?

[Ian Sane]

I've now read through the whole interview (well I read it on Gamespot but it seems to be the same one) and there's one point that Reggie brings up that I strongly disagree with and it's important because this point is largely the justification for Nintendo's whole strategy with the Rev.

"This industry has become more and more focused on the niche, and at Nintendo, we've opened our systems to a wide range of consumers."

I think it's quite the opposite.  I think the industry has become more mass market.  When I was a kid only kids played games.  Now people of all ages do.  I find that games are becoming more homogenous and more cliche.  Game difficulty has dropped like a rock.  Everything is a sequel.  There was a time where Nintendo and Sega were THE game companies.  Now it's companies like EA that just release the same mass market dumbed down disposable product over and over.  Madden is the number one game and it's so unessential that people replace the previous version every year.  Graphic design has become bland with few games offering unique looks.  Gaming is mainstream and it's become a whole lot less interesting because of it.

Now I guess then you can argue that Nintendo is addressing the problem with the innovative Rev controller.  That COULD address the staleness of the industry if implemented well.  But Nintendo's plan seems to be to be even MORE mass market.  If Nintendo thinks that THIS is what niche is what the hell do they consider mass market?

[IceCold]

In context, I think by niche he means stagnant and repetitive. Like you said, the games industry has become extremely generic, and because developers want to make a profit, they keep making the sure bet games. That's what I think he means by it; that the industry is not expanding its boundaries. You won't see GTA or Madden sell any more consoles than it did this generation. And the industry may keep going strong for a while, but eventually, because of the saturation, it's bound to deteriorate.

EDIT: And regarding Reggie saying that more GameCubes were sold than 360s, well, it's his job to promote the product, even though there's obviously reasons for it.

[Strell]

Am I the only one who thinks "less than 300" is too nebulous and maybe even alarming?  299.99 is "less than 300."  I hope that doesn't preclude a sub 250, or even sub 200 price, but I think 300 is a little too high.

Here's hoping we get a better idea soon.  I am frothing for Rev info right now.

[IceCold]

Like someone else (sorry) said, he probably gave a vague number because Nintendo wants to know what Sony's price will be before they commit. The general idea is that it will be less than the 360 and, barring a miracle, the PS3 as well.

[vudu]

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I've now read through the whole interview (well I read it on Gamespot but it seems to be the same one) and there's one point that Reggie brings up that I strongly disagree with and it's important because this point is largely the justification for Nintendo's whole strategy with the Rev.

"This industry has become more and more focused on the niche, and at Nintendo, we've opened our systems to a wide range of consumers."

I think it's quite the opposite. I think the industry has become more mass market. When I was a kid only kids played games. Now people of all ages do. I find that games are becoming more homogenous and more cliche.

Apparently you didn't read the next sentence in the interview.

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This industry has become more and more focused on the niche, and at Nintendo, we've opened our systems to a wide range of consumers. Whether it's consumers older than 35 or female gamers

Look at the Xbox 360 launch lineup.  Pick one game that would appeal to a female gamer.  Any that might interest your dad?

Reggie is talking about how all games these days involve either saving the world from destruction, destroying the world, or sports.  There's very little else, especially for consoles.

[ruby_onix]

I don't think "less than $300" is a $299 price announcement. I mean, the question was "less than $700?" This is just a way of safely narrowing it down without talking about what Nintendo doesn't want to talk about yet.

BTW, as for the N64 price, the PlayStation launched in Japan at 40,000 yen ($400). When it launched in America (Sept 95), it dropped to $300 (30,000 yen). Two months later, Nintendo unveiled the N64 at Shoshinkai and said it would be 25,000 yen/$250. Six months later at E3, Sony undercut everybody by dropping a full $100 down to $200, sending Sega panicking into a similar pricecut, and making Nintendo laugh arrogantly, saying everyone else needed to be $50 cheaper in order to compete with the N64.

The N64 launched in Japan one month later (June) at 25,000 yen, but it fizzled after it's weak two-game launch (despite one of those games being Mario64), prompting NOA to push for a price drop down to $200, which was approved mere days before the American N64 launch.

[~*Adolph*~]

I don't know I think Nintendo is already thinking of doing bundles. Bundles always helped Nintendo in the past so its logical they start one now.

I mean Revolution plus Super Smash Brothers 3: $259.99.

i am guessing Nintendo will pak in the remote/core controller not the nunchuk thing.
I honestly think the nuchuck controller stick thing will never be released, and the attachmee used for a microphone.

I am also guessing a demo disk will be included that has tons of games that are playable
and a seperate DVD that will show only videos and explain some stuff about revolution and stuff.


oh yeah i am thinking DVD movie playback will be built in from the start no attachments or anty89ng. I don't know