It's hard to compare the NES and SNES to modern systems. When the NES was released, the gaming industry was thought to be dead. It made sense for Nintendo to pack in everything it could, and in todays dollars the $200 NES is over $350, so this was an expensive package to purchase.

With the SNES, it was still following the model of the NES, and was facing competition from the Genesis in what likely remains the most brutal console war to date. It was released nearly 2 years later (in the US) and at a higher price.

In the past 16 years (yes, 16 years) it would seem the business model has changed, and conventional wisdom generally dictates that companies not use titles that would sell on their own as pack-in titles (it is questionable whether WiiSports would do so well on its own).

I really don't see them dropping WiiSports, unless it is for a sequel or update. The game effectively doubles as a controller tutor, and it makes sense for new consoles to have it. What does the CD cost to make? The packaging? If Nintendo is putting $10 of parts and labor into WiiSports I'd be suprised.

 good ol' nintendo customer service.  I called about getting my DS fixed a while back...very helpful service.

Nintendo strategy has been (and will be) to make money off software. They won't go subsidising software, but they may do so with the hardware.

So each time a new game comes out, retailers will offer a "Wii + game" package. Its a smart way to move hardware, and also to sell software (the difference may be $20 or $30 between buying them separately).

Each consumer will only do this once (as they only need the hardware once), then they buy full priced (or whatever) software.

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It may even be the retailers driving the completely - to compete for marketshare.

Do retailers have a margin on selling a Wii? (I know last gen, all consoles were sold at cost).

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There is no real reason for Nintendo themselves to offer a better "real" pack-in deal. Lets wait until the Wii stops selling out for starters ;) 

metroid prime was a definitive pack in at some point in time, you could still buy a gamecube without it, but it was because they already had shipped many gamecubes before the official bundle (even thou they dropped the price at the exact same time from 200 to 150 and a free game that was a great deal). I think mario kart was a pack in the next holiday season too.

what if Nintendo, along with Wii Sports, included some VC games already preinstalled on the console? They could go totally retro and already have Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario World downloaded. You know, since those games where included in old NES and SNES systems.

Yeah, either that or Mario Galaxy...

 That's very clever, Bezerker.

http://fiendishgleeclub.vox.com/library/post/customer-service-gone-shockingly-right.html

Also, a customer came in to my Toys R Us a while back and told me a story about a broken DS. They told her it would be 75 dollars to fix. They asked her how it broke, and she tentatively admitted that her son had stepped on it.

Their reply: because she'd been so honest, they'd knock 25 dollars off the price, and she'd only need to pay 50.

Wow.

Cool story about the lady in Redmond, WA.

I sent my Wii off yesterday for repair. I'm sure they will just send me a new console in it's place. I think it overheated or something. I am getting blotches of static on my TV screen whenever the Wii is on.

I'm hoping they are super fast about getting it back to me.

I think, whatever happens, wii sports cannot be excluded unless it is replace with wii sports 2, and the only additions to the bundles from nintendo would be Wii titled games, as mentioned before, like "wii.. play, health, insert name" but most likely imo, "wii music" could very well be a pack in if it turns out good

There won't be a galaxy bundle, that's like giving away your best selling game...