Nintendo's next-generation game console Wii will arrive on time and at prices lower than its rivals, the company said yesterday.
Satoru Iwata, president of Nintendo Co, the Japanese maker of Super Mario and Pokemon games, said yesterday that Wii will go on sale on Dec. 2, costing ?5,000 (US$215).
The company, which also makes Game Boy and Nintendo DS handheld machines, had promised Wii for sometime in the final quarter of this year, and so it's managing to avoid the embarrassing delays announced recently by rival Sony Corp.
The Kyoto-based manufacturer had already said Wii wouldn't cost more than ?5,000. It didn't immediately disclose overseas prices.
Wii -- pronounced "we" and meant to conjure the idea of fun for everyone -- will be going head-to-head against PlayStation 3, the upgrade from industry leader Sony, to woo game fans during holiday shopping.
"We want to propose a new lifestyle with Wii," Iwata said. "We want everyone in the family to play with it every day."
Wii is considerably cheaper than PlayStation 3, set to sell for US$499 and US$599, depending on the features, and ?9,800 in Japan.
More critically, PlayStation 3, initially planned for earlier this year, has already been postponed twice. The decision to delay PlayStation 3 in Europe for four months until March was announced last week.
In a demonstration yesterday, Nintendo showed Wii will come with an Internet browser, and can be used to look at and edit digital photos on a TV monitor.
Wii can also be used to get weather forecasts and news reports, features that are meant to widen the machine's appeal to people not used to games, Iwata said. Games for older Nintendo consoles will be offered as downloads, he said.
Nintendo says Wii, which offers easy-playing games, meant to appeal to people regardless of gender, age or skills, won't be competing directly against PlayStation 3 or Microsoft Corp's Xbox 360 because Wii targets a different audience.
Instead of old-style console remote controllers with complex buttons, Wii has a wireless wand-like remote that can be swung around like a tennis racket or a baton for conducting a virtual orchestra.
Microsoft's Xbox 360, which went on sale last year, could also get a lift from the delay and shortage of PlayStation 3.
A low-end version, already sold as the Xbox 360 Core System in the US and Europe, is scheduled to arrive at stores in November for ?9,800, about ?0,000 cheaper than its standard version.
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