James Delahunty
6 Jul 2006 17:21
Gaming Industry insiders and observers are saying they expect Nintendo's next generation Wii console to hit shelves in the U.S. by October, or possibly late September. According to an analyst's note from P.J. McNealy of American Technology Research on June 21st, Nintendo appears to be already manufacturing final retail versions of the console.
Last year, Microsoft only started manufacturing the Xbox 360 console 69 days before it launched on November 22nd. This late start caused a global shortage of the console, meeting nowhere near the consumer demand. If Nintendo were to get the console out in October, it would give it a head start over Sony's PS3 which has yet to begin production.
"October is a reasonable timeframe," wrote McNealy. Even if the console doesn't launch in October, the early start to production will help the company meet consumer demands. New console launches traditionally sell out quickly. Nintendo expects to ship 6 million units by March 2007.
While it lacks the graphics improvements that the Xbox 360 and PS3 tout, the console is aimed at mainstream consumers and ignores many of the traditional improvement expectations of next generation consoles. Nintendo's President Satoru Iwata also promised to keep the price of new games for the system lower than those for PS3 and Xbox 360.
Of course, at the core of Nintendo's promise to offer more fun at less costs is the innovative controller. Simply moving the controller in your hand prompts on screen movements, allowing the gamer to play more of an active role in the games. The high interest in the controller pushed Nintendo to steal the show at E3 this year.
Source:
CNN Money