Thoughts from a (girl) Gamer

So yesterday was the Nintendo press release at E3 where they finally unveiled their new HD console, the Wii U. Now, I’m not going to go into how stupid I think the name is. I’m not going to go into the hard core gamer title line up it’s going to have. I’m not going to go all fan boy about an HD Zelda title on that platform.

I am however, going to talk about something else… the price. This is what interests me the most.

How much is Nintendo going to be selling this for? This thing is going to have to be crazy expensive unless they have some secret magic happening…. Let’s break down why.

1. The console.

Okay, so this is an HD Console. And I guess the first place to start would be by looking at the other HD consoles. When the 360 launched, you got the premium 360 for $399. When the PS3 launched the 20G memory version was $499.  As Sony and Microsoft both improved their systems and the demand lowered, the price has dropped over time. Now you can get  a 360 for $299 and a PS3 for the same. In addition to taking into consideration that the Wii shipped for $250… the Wii U is going to have to ship for more than $300. The current HD systems are selling for that much, this one supposedly has better specs… and it’s newer. It will have to be more expensive that the 360 and PS3 currently are. It just has to be.

2. That God Damn Controller.

Now, this is the part that really makes me feel like this thing is going to have a high price tag. Have you seen this controller?!

The controller is like some cross between a handheld system and a tablet computer! The controller includes a 6.2 inch touch screen, four triggers , microphone, gyroscope, inward facing camera, a Home button, and an accelerometer. In addition, it transfers content between the console and the controller, can be used for video chat, web browsing, can be used as a game device with out the TV… It’s insane.

So if you consider that… The 3DS prices at $250. And this has more functionality that that… Low end tablets (non-iPad) run at $150-@200… So the controller alone has to be like $200 worth of technology…

And what about multiplayer games? Do you need two of these things?

If you had the price of the controller to the price of the console… You’re looking at a minimum of  $500. $300 console + one $200 controller. That can’t be right?!?!? That’s before games or multiple controllers or anything? Are they really try to sell something that expensive? I’m just dumb founded.

HOW  MUCH IS THIS THING GOING TO BE SOLD FOR!?!?!

Guess we will just have to wait and see.