Nintendo Does Good

While I have my concerns about the direction that Nintendo is taking with the Wii, I do have to applaud them for doing a lot of things right for the launch of the console. Unlike Sony and Microsoft, it appears that there will be plenty of Wiis to go around and anyone who wants one should be able to find one. The same will certainly not be true of the PS3, which will probably completely sell out by 10am on launch day. So, the true battle, at least in the month of November, will be between Nintendo and Microsoft as they attempt to win the hearts of PlayStation fans who might otherwise leave the stores empty-handed.

The other thing that Nintendo is doing well is the price. $250?!!! Everyone was feelin' that the console would be in that price range, but it's always impressive when it actually gets verified. The inclusion of a pack-in series of games is also a huge one-two punch of coolness as gamers haven't seen that sort of thing in a long, long time... and they are definitely going to appreciate it. I know I will when the day comes that I pick a Wii up. Yes, that's right... I won't be getting a Wii at the launch. The main reason is that I will be getting a PS3 and between that and all the good games still coming out for PS2, there simply won't be time for me to get my Wii on. I'm barely going to have time for PS3, as is, with FFXII, Okami, God of War II and other upcoming titles to keep my free time filled. Despite that, I hope that the Wii does well and outsells the 360 3-to-1. Maybe by March of 2007 Sony will actually get its act in gear and actually produce enough units to make people happy. 400,000 a month is most definitely not going to cut it and will probably just piss off a lot of gamers. We'll see. I know I'll be in line at the Metreon hoping to secure my place as one of the first people to get one of those shiny black boxes of HD gaming and movie goodness. Maybe I'll see you there.