I just wanna say that the DVD drive on the Wii is a peice of crap. (compareing it to DVD drives) For it to cost 31$... and be that crappy. Your crazy. I dont know where those numbers come from but I doubt them.
Here is a slot loader CD-RW drive that can read DVDs.

http://www.logicsupply.com/product_info.php?products_id=309 

Does it read gamecube-sized discs, kwaad?  They had to modify an existing design, and from what I've read that took time and money.

Personally I would've preffered a top-load type disc drive, I think the Wii would last longer hardware-wise myself. :o 

Yeah, slot loaders chew up CDs and DVDs. The PS3 can get away with it becuase of how durable BluRay is. (I havent found any scratches on my PS2 discs *yet* but I wont be suprised when I start getting them)
EDIT: I dont know if it reads mini-discs or not. There arent many, and the information on them is slim to none. I'm just saying, I dont think anything over 20$ is a legit number for a DVD drive. The BluRay drive on the PS3 only costs sony around 150$ now, I'd say in 4 years the drive on the PS3 will cost under 50$. (that might sound high, but DVD has been around for almost 8 years now)

@RolStoppable:

If you are into that kind of reading, you may want to check out these books as well:

- Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind

- Marketing Warfare

These two books were co-written by Al Ries and Jack Trout, who argue that differentiation is key; you will probably find Blue Ocean expands on this concept, but it's nice to follow the evolution of marketing. Marketing Warfare is a great read, especially using actual wars from the past to compare with present-day marketing warfare and the theories postulated by Carl von Clausewitz. Actually, they are both great reads.

- Primal Branding: Create Zealots for Your Brand, Your Company, and Your Future

Want to know why Apple has their share of fans?

Want to know why there are Nintendo fanboys? The Sony Defence Force? The proliferation of Xbots? Primal Branding is the book for you.

Do you have any objective proof that blu-ray drives cost $150 or are you pulling that number out of your ass?

"Personally I would've preffered a top-load type disc drive, I think the Wii would last longer hardware-wise myself. :o"

Of course, that only applies to the Wii. The PS3's slot-loading disc drive will of course last longer than Nintendo's, right?

"I'm just saying, I dont think anything over 20$ is a legit number for a DVD drive."

http://www.pricegrabber.com/search_attrib.php/page_id=7/popup1%5B%5D=10:355/popup7%5B%5D=10:394/sortby=priceA

Not one DVD drive that is slimline and slot-loading is even remotely close to $20. But of course, being Nintendo, they always rip off their consumers, unlike Sony, right?

@FishyJoe:

Seems like he can do really "CELL-powered" magical things with the amount of stuff he can store in there...

http://www.pricegrabber.com/search_attrib.php/page_id=7/form_keyword=blu-ray/sortby=priceA

 No, it doesn't. But you can't just say "Wii sports = 10 cents" even though it probably costs like 10 cents to make another copy and maybe ~ 25 cents for the packaging.

 When I said "valued" at 50 dollars, I meant the value the company gives to the game in the eyes of the consumer. That also reconciles the $250 price tag vs. the $200 price tag (approx) in Japan, since Wii sports isn't bundled in Japan.

There is a marked difference between cost, price and value.

Cost is what it takes to make the thingy (the price paid to acquire, produce, accomplish, or maintain anything)

Price is what the consumer pays for the thingy (the sum or amount of money or its equivalent for which anything is bought, sold, or offered for sale)

Value is what the consumer perceives they get from the thingy (relative worth, merit, or importance)

Cost and price are objective.

Value is subjective.

A pack of cigs is going to cost you a certain price. The value of your lungs being destroyed by tar from smoking is subjective.

A Van Gogh painting cost probably $3 to make, and originally sold for perhaps $10. Van Gogh wasn't that highly "valued" when he was living, but nowadays collectors see tremendous value in buying an orginal Van Gogh at $13 million. (I sure as hell don't!)

Like what That Guy said, many people perceive Wii Sports at 50 bucks a pop tremendous value; it could be sold at a lower price, hence offering "more value", or charge even more and still be perceived as tremendous value with no impact on sales whatever. Being subjective, there may be people that think even 75 bucks a pop for Wii Sports is tremendous value, just like those fancy DS Lites encrusted with Swarovski crystals with Mario and Yoshi on them.

It's funny to see people criticising Nintendo for having a healthy profit margin, when Sony has amassed most of its fortune from higher profit margins compared to its competitors.