There are several reasons, actually, but I'll limit myself to the top two.

For starters, you're comparing the purchase of the base unit (a one-time deal) to a constant subscription. Simply put, if you bought the 360 (for $200) and a $250 Wii in 2005, your Live subscription would mean you've paid an additional $200 by now, and you can look forward to doing the same for every year going forward. That $250 you spent on your Wii, by contrast, is a steady amount.

I'd also add that you're setting up a disingenuous comparison. The $200 360 is very bare bones, and can not in fact do everything that a regular 360 can. Adding things like wireless and a hard drive (the former a luxury, the latter much less so) bring the price to above that of a Wii. Indeed, a much more accurate comparison would be that of a Wii with a 360 Pro, which data suggests many many many many many more 360 owners choose over the Arcade version, but I'm sure you already knew that. I wonder why you didn't bring it up?

But I'm sure that, to you, none of this matters. You seem to have this odd opinion that hardware manufacturers should be losing money on hardware. While I would have been happier if I bought my Wii for less, I knew full well what I was getting into with my money, and I (as well as the majority of the public, it seems) thought that that was a fair price for a luxury item.

Let me anticipate you. You're going to babble about HD, hard-drives, etc., and how on a purely tech level the Wii is overpriced. I don't care. Apparently, the majority of gamers don't care. Like other gamers, I play games, not hardware. Do you feel that the Wii's games suck, making the system not worth the price? That's nice, but seriously, nobody cares.

To summarize: your rebuttal stinks because it's comparing apples to oranges, and because it's disingenuously using a unit that the vast majority of 360 owners didn't buy. A tech-oriented argument will get you nowhere with a luxury entertainment device. And your subjective tastes in entertainment don't matter to anyone but you.

There are several reasons, actually, but I'll limit myself to the top two.

For starters, you're comparing the purchase of the base unit (a one-time deal) to a constant subscription. Simply put, if you bought the 360 (for $200) and a $250 Wii in 2005, your Live subscription would mean you've paid an additional $200 by now, and you can look forward to doing the same for every year going forward. That $250 you spent on your Wii, by contrast, is a steady amount.

I'd also add that you're setting up a disingenuous comparison. The $200 360 is very bare bones, and can not in fact do everything that a regular 360 can. Adding things like wireless and a hard drive (the former a luxury, the latter much less so) bring the price to above that of a Wii. Indeed, a much more accurate comparison would be that of a Wii with a 360 Pro, which data suggests many many many many many more 360 owners choose over the Arcade version, but I'm sure you already knew that. I wonder why you didn't bring it up?

But I'm sure that, to you, none of this matters. You seem to have this odd opinion that hardware manufacturers should be losing money on hardware. While I would have been happier if I bought my Wii for less, I knew full well what I was getting into with my money, and I (as well as the majority of the public, it seems) thought that that was a fair price for a luxury item.

Let me anticipate you. You're going to babble about HD, hard-drives, etc., and how on a purely tech level the Wii is overpriced. I don't care. Apparently, the majority of gamers don't care. Like other gamers, I play games, not hardware. Do you feel that the Wii's games suck, making the system not worth the price? That's nice, but seriously, nobody cares.

To summarize: your rebuttal stinks because it's comparing apples to oranges, and because it's disingenuously using a unit that the vast majority of 360 owners didn't buy. A tech-oriented argument will get you nowhere with a luxury entertainment device. And your subjective tastes in entertainment don't matter to anyone but you.

Well, you seem to be glossing over that whole problem of people having a life expectancy of only 20-40 years...

Hanging around a bar until 70 beats that, IMO.

This has got to be the best post in the thread.

Too funny... 

There are several reasons, actually, but I'll limit myself to the top two.

For starters, you're comparing the purchase of the base unit (a one-time deal) to a constant subscription. Simply put, if you bought the 360 (for $200) and a $250 Wii in 2005, your Live subscription would mean you've paid an additional $200 by now, and you can look forward to doing the same for every year going forward. That $250 you spent on your Wii, by contrast, is a steady amount.

I'd also add that you're setting up a disingenuous comparison. The $200 360 is very bare bones, and can not in fact do everything that a regular 360 can. Adding things like wireless and a hard drive (the former a luxury, the latter much less so) bring the price to above that of a Wii. Indeed, a much more accurate comparison would be that of a Wii with a 360 Pro, which data suggests many many many many many more 360 owners choose over the Arcade version, but I'm sure you already knew that. I wonder why you didn't bring it up?

But I'm sure that, to you, none of this matters. You seem to have this odd opinion that hardware manufacturers should be losing money on hardware. While I would have been happier if I bought my Wii for less, I knew full well what I was getting into with my money, and I (as well as the majority of the public, it seems) thought that that was a fair price for a luxury item.

Let me anticipate you. You're going to babble about HD, hard-drives, etc., and how on a purely tech level the Wii is overpriced. I don't care. Apparently, the majority of gamers don't care. Like other gamers, I play games, not hardware. Do you feel that the Wii's games suck, making the system not worth the price? That's nice, but seriously, nobody cares.

To summarize: your rebuttal stinks because it's comparing apples to oranges, and because it's disingenuously using a unit that the vast majority of 360 owners didn't buy. A tech-oriented argument will get you nowhere with a luxury entertainment device. And your subjective tastes in entertainment don't matter to anyone but you.

This console pricing is not much to argue.  Comparing Ninty $250 to MS $199 isn't fair given that the $199 wasn't opening price.  Try opening prices for comparison and that would be more realistic.  Even with $199 does that include wireless controller?  NO.  Built-In WiFi?  NO.  WiFi option was $100 extra which bring that plastic box with limitations back to $299 easily.  That's one thing that Sony and Nintendo have done that's been great...  sell a console and keep it consistent.  Sony's only changes are in disk drive storage options.  MS has console with wifi and wireless controller, wifi absent with wireless, no wifi or wireless, etc.  They market to unsuspecting shoppers a value that isn't much of a value when they decide to try something with their console that someone else is doing with another model.  Example, Wii and PS3 have WiFi.  MS with their many options had some 360s with wifi and some without.  My nephew with his first one kept trying to connect to his house's wireless internet.  I tried helping him and so did his dad.  Found out his model didn't have built in WiFi.  What a shame.  Everyone buying a Wii or PS3 had the same system basically as everyone else they knew with the same system.  360 owners that received theirs as gifts (like my nephew) or others that just aren't familiar enough with the hardware were disappointed to find that they all didn't have the same consoles.

If you want to compare something to the $199 360, then wait until Wii hardwires it's controller to the front of the console and removes the WiFi guts from the system.  Then you'll have a comparison.

Funny thing about that, at least microsoft has a lan port on their console for people that want to have the best connection possible. If you want to plug in directly to the wii you have to buy an attachment, lol.