Was Nintendo right to opt out of the graphics arms race?

[Soundwave]

Wyrdness said:

Soundwave said:

Even at $250 the Wii could have been a lot more powerful than what it was. Again $200 was what the GameCube launched at just 5 years earlier and that was a monstrous upgrade over the N64. 

Nintendo didn't want to risk it. I also think the Wii was probably supposed to cost $199.99 ... they only went to $250 once they started to get positive word of mouth from initial showings of the system and Sony dropped the bomb of $599.99 for PS3. With PS3 being $600, I think Nintendo realized they could get away with $249.99. 

But Nintendo themselves has said now in hindsight not making the Wii more powerful to support things like HD resolution was a mistake (well Miyamoto has said it). 

I think some people here are forgetting how new the execution of motion controls was at the time, it would have surely been the main factor pushing the price up, as for HD that's just a plain no don't care what Miyamoto said as lets go by what happened with the WiiU where Nintendo said they underestimated just how demanding development in HD was which lead to the platform's trouble output. Had the Wii had HD they would have experienced those problems with that platform instead which with the position they were coming off with the GC would be disastrous so they were right not going for HD with it

The $250 price was bullshit lets be honest. 

They were effectively selling $99 hardware that was modestly overclocked with a new controller that was maybe $10 or $15 more to manufacture than a regular controller at best. 

The hardware was a rip off. But the experience overall felt new enough and it took on fad/craze status that Nintendo could've charged $300+ for it at that point. 

But actual hardware value was a joke. People who complain about the Switch 2's price today ... at least you are getting your money's worth. That is easily $450 of value in today's dollars in terms of hardware features/tech. Wii was a massively overpriced GameCube effectively at a time when GameCube's were sitting in discount bins for $79.99 the same year they launched the Wii. 

Last edited by Soundwave - on 04 January 2026