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[landguy1]

Squilliam said:

landguy1 said:

After your basic agreement with my original thoughts, i hate to disagree now...

But, i think he was right about Wii Play.  It is what really showcased the originality of the system, thus becoming the real reason for the systems success.  I think that most of the big hits on the Wii have been unrelated to the motion control(except the WiiFit/Wiii Sports).  Most of Nintendo's cast of Marios and Zeldas will sell no matter what system they are on with or without the motion control.  It just helps to have such a monstrous install base to sell into.  Sure most of the games have motion control in them, but it is not essential, it just seems that they have it for the sake of having it.

 Either way, WiiPlay was essential to its success until it passed into Lemming status(about 6 days after launch!!).

The importance of Wii play is this:

Person buys one Wii with Wii Sports $249

Person buys one Wii play with Wiimote $50

Person walks out with two games, two Wiimotes for under $299.

People always forget that it isn't what it costs to buy the system but what it costs to walk out with enough to satisfy the end users. The added value was the fact that it represented a 2nd game for an additional $10 because I doubt many people bought the Wii with one Wiimote initially. This is the reason why they do so many bundles at Christmas, like for instance the 2007 3 game bundle for the Xbox 360.

I think that you effectively show why retailers and Nintendo like the Wii's price point, and it's need to buy accessories(like all systems).  But, most people who buy Wii's have already made that decision before getting to the store.  They haven't planned out all of the games and accessories, just the system initially.  Sure, they might buy some of those things when it is presented to them.  Most of the games bundling was/is to make an expensive machine seem cheaper...