West Coast Connection Forum
Lifestyle => Sports & Entertainment => Topic started by: Black_Smoke on September 14, 2006, 01:11:01 AM
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US Wii Price, Launch Date Revealed
The news we've all been waiting for.
September 13, 2006 - Nintendo fans finally have a price and release date for the company's new generation console, Wii. The Big N is set to officially announce that the system will hit retail in North and South America for $250 on November 19. The New York Times published with the story and seems, in fact, to have beaten Nintendo Co. Ltd with the news.
Nintendo's Wii console will come packaged with one Wii remote, one nunchuck attachment, an AC adapter, an audio/video cable, a sensor bar, sensor bard stand, a Wii console stand and two batteries. The US package will also come bundled with a copy of Wii Sports, a compilation sports game that best shows off the mechanics of the system's unique controller. Wii Sports features tennis, baseball, golf and previously unannounced bowling and boxing games.
Nintendo said it would provide Wii owners with more than 25 unique games this year.
Wii's much talked-about Virtual Console download service, which enables gamers to purchase classic games, will offer a library of some 30 titles when the system launches. Titles will include entries from the Mario, Zelda and Donkey Kong franchises, Nintendo said. Virtual Console games will cost between $5 and $10 each. Specifically, Nintendo Co. Ltd. announced that Virtual Console games would cost 500 yen ($5), 800 yen ($8) or 1,000 yen ($10); we're presuming these prices are for NES, SNES and N64 games respectively.
The Big N confirmed that it would charge $50 for its new Wii games, which is $10 cheaper than the cost of typical Xbox 360 titles. (Please note that this is First-Party games, prices have not been announced for Third-Part Wii games -- publishers are free to set their own prices on Wii titles.)
Nintendo Co. Ltd. revealed that Wii's various controllers would be available to buy separately at launch. The Wii remote will cost 3800 yen or about $40; the nunchuck 1800 yen or about $20 and the classic controller 1800 yen or about $20.
In a surprise announcement, Nintendo said that it wanted to make Wii a living room centerpiece by shipping the system with features outside of the videogame realm. Wii will include a photo channel, enabling users to display their digital photos through the console. It will also boast regularly updated news and weather channels. In addition, the system will ship with the Opera Web browser, enabling users to connect online.
One of the channels available on Wii is called the "Mii Channel." Here, players can customize avatars by selecting from a variety of face shapes, hair styles, color schemes, and so on. The hook is that these avatars can not only be stored on the console itself, they can also be transfered to the Wii remote itself -- presumably so players can easily access their personalized characters and take them with them when playing against friends.
Sony recently announced that it would ready 400,000 PS3s in North America and another 100,000 in Japan for the system's launch. Nintendo said it plans to ship 4 million Wii units worldwide by the end of the year.
Nintendo will launch Wii in Japan on December 2 of this year for 25,000 yen, it revealed. North America will get the system first.
-IGN.com
http://wii.ign.com/articles/732/732669p1.html
November 19th,around 2 more months,glad to see wii sports will come bundled with the system for free 8)
oo shit,just watched a video,u can surf the net on the wii ,sweett 8) 8)
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this is great news, cant wait to get this. is the price $250US?
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No word yet on a uk date and price? thanks for the heads up! can't wait! :-)
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good shit.. quite interested in wii.. :D
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Wii Wii, monsieur
I was under the impression from previous reports that there would be some free download 1st party classic games, but I guess not. Another thing of note is that Nintendo is spending less than 200 bucks to make each one, meaning Nintendo will realize a profit on each system sold, which is half-ass backwards from the strategy of the other gaming companies but a solid business plan anywhere outside the video game industry.
I predict Nintendo will sell the SHIT out of these things. 25-30 launch titles for the system? 10 new games a month on the virtual console? MONEY IN THE BANK
Another interesting thing, showing the brilliance this time around of Nintendo... they announced the system would drop for less than 250, but that's (in everybody's mind) for a core system with no games... then they set the price at 250, and include (old school NES/SNES style) a free game with the system. Nobody's done that at launch in over 10 years. The genius is though that it's a sports game, so you'll immediately feel the need to run out and buy a second controller.
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Wii Wii, monsieur
:D
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looks like the wii is only going to be one color white. they should have had two colors white or black.
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is anywhere taking pre-orderrs or reservations.
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The Wii is region-free, making it possible to play the excellent japanese games we never see over here sometimes.
Here's a list of 101 Wii games in development in Japan.
JAPANESE LAUNCH TITLES:
TITLE / PUBLISHER / RELEASE
Elebits / Konami Digital Entertainment / 12/02/2006
Ennichi no Tatsujin / Bandai Namco Games / 12/02/2006
Hajimete no Wii: Your First Step to Wii / Nintendo / 12/02/2006
Kororinpa / Hudson / 12/02/2006
Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess / Nintendo / 12/02/2006
Machi-Kuru Domino (Working Title) / Success / 12/02/2006
Necro-Nesia / Spike / 12/02/2006
Red Steel / Ubisoft / 12/02/2006
SD Gundam Revolution (Working Title) / Bandai Namco Games / 12/02/2006
Super Monkey Ball: Ukiuki Party Daisuugou / Sega / 12/02/2006
Swing Golf Pangya / Tecmo / 12/02/2006
Tamagotchi no Pikapika Daitouryou / Bandai Namco Games / 12/02/2006
Trauma Center: Second Opinion / Atlus / 12/02/2006
Wario Ware: Smooth Moves / Nintendo / 12/02/2006
Wii Sports / Nintendo / 12/02/2006
Wing Island / Hudson / 12/02/2006
POSTLAUNCH 2006 JAPANESE TITLES:
TITLE / PUBLISHER / RELEASE
Bleach Wii / Sega / Dec-06
Cooking Mama: Minna to Issho ni Oryouri Taikai! / Taito / Dec-06
Crayon Shin-chan / Banpresto / Dec-06
Furifuri (Working Title) / Taito / Dec-06
Mahjong Wii (Working Title) / Koei / Dec-06
Need For Speed Carbon / EA / Dec-06
Pokemon Battle Revolution / Pokèmon / Nintendo / Dec-06
Rayman (Working Title) / Ubisoft / Dec-06
Sengoku Musou Wave / Koei / Dec-06
Sudoku / Hudson / Dec-06
Tsuri Master (Working Title) / Hudson / Dec-06
FUTURE WII RELEASES:
TITLE / PUBLISHER / RELEASE DATE
3D Action game (Working Title) / Takara Tomy / TBA
3D Boxing Action game (Working Title) / AQ Interactive / TBA
Action Game (Working Title) / ASNetworks / 2007
Action Game (Working Title) / Epoch / TBA
Action game (Working Title) / Takara Tomy / TBA
Action Game (Working Title) / Banpresto / TBA
Action Game (Working Title) / From Software / TBA
Action RPG (Working Title) / From Software / TBA
Bachindaa / Hudson / Feb-07
Barnyard (Working Title) / THQ Japan / TBA
Baseball Game (Working Title) / Konami Digital Entertainment / TBA
Battle Action game (Working Title) / Takara Tomy / TBA
Biohazard Umbrella Chronicles (Working Title) / Capcom / TBA
Bokujou Monogatari Wii (Working Title) / Marvelous Interactive / TBA
Bomberman Land (Working Title) / Hudson / Mar-07
Call of Duty 3 / Activision / TBA
Cars (Working Title) / THQ Japan / TBA
Crossword / Hudson / Mar-07
Dairantou Smash Bros. X / Nintendo / 2007
Densha de Go! (Working Title) / Taito / TBA
Disaster (Working Title) / Nintendo / Spring 2007
Donkey Kong Taru Jet Race (Working Title) / Nintendo / 2007
Doubutsu no Mori (Working Title) / Nintendo / TBA
Downhill Jam (Working Title) / Activision / TBA
Dragon Ball Z Sparking! NEO / Bandai Namco Games / Jan-07
Dragon Quest Swords / Square Enix / Spring 2007
Excite Truck / Nintendo / Jan-07
Eyeshield 21 (Working Title) / Nintendo / TBA
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Crystal Bearer (Working Title) / Square Enix / TBA
Fire Emblem: Akatsuki no Megami / Nintendo / Feb-07
Fishing Game (Working Title) / ASNetworks / Summer 2007
Forever Blue (Working Title) / Nintendo / 2007
GT pro series / MTO / TBA
Gun Shooting game (Working Title) / Sega / TBA
Harry Potter (Working Title) / EA / 2007
Heroes / Spike / 2007
Horce Racing Action game (Working Title) / Koei / TBA
Hoshi no Kirby (Working Title) / Nintendo / TBA
Java / Spike / Spring 2007
Jigsaw Puzzle / Hudson / Mar-07
Kawano Nushi-Tsuri Series (Working Title) / Marvelous Interactive / TBA
Mario Party 8 (Working Title) / Nintendo / 2007
Mario Strikers Charged (Working Title) / Nintendo / 2007
Marvel Ultimate Alliance / Interchannel-Holon / TBA
Metroid Prime 3 Corruption (Working Title) / Nintendo / 2007
Mobile Suit Gundam (Working Title) / Bandai Namco Games / TBA
Music simulation game (Working Title) / Konami Digital Entertainment / TBA
New Action Adventure Game 1 (Working Title) / Konami Digital Entertainment / TBA
New Action Adventure Game 2 (Working Title) / Konami Digital Entertainment / TBA
New RPG (Working Title) / Koei / TBA
Noumiso Konekone Puzzle Takoron / Compile Heart / Summer 2007
One Piece: Unlimited Adventure / Bandai Namco Games / TBA
Original Action game (Working Title) / D3 Publisher / 2007
Original Simulation game (Working Title) / Marvelous Interactive / TBA
Pac-Man Carnival (Working Title) / Bandai Namco Games / TBA
Princess Company / Starfish SD / TBA
Project Hammer (Working Title) / Nintendo / 2007
RPG (Working Title) / Konami Digital Entertainment / TBA
San-X Allstar for Wii (Working Title) / MTO / TBA
Shooting Game (Working Title) / ASNetworks / Summer 2007
Simple series (Working Title) / D3 Publisher / 2007
Soccer Game (Working Title) / Konami Digital Entertainment / TBA
Sonic and the Secret Rings / Sega / 2007
Soothing character action game (Working Title) / MTO / TBA
Sponge Bob (Working Title) / THQ Japan / TBA
SSX (Working Title) / EA / 2007
Super Mario Galaxy / Nintendo / 2007
Super Paper Mario (Working Title) / Nintendo / 2007
Sword Fighting Action game (Working Title) / Interchannel-Holon / TBA
Sword of Legendia (Working Title) / Bandai Namco Games / TBA
The Dog Island (Working Title) / Yukes / 2007
Tiger Woods PGA Tour (Working Title) / EA / 2007
Totsugeki Famicom Wars W (Working Title) / Nintendo / 2007
Wii Music (Working Title) / Nintendo / 2007
Wii Yawaraka Atama Juku (Working Title) / Nintendo / Spring 2007
Also, 24 third party companies have announced that they will be releasing their classic game catalogues on the Nintendo Virtual Console system...
Atlus
Bandai Namco
Banpresto
Capcom
Chunsoft
D4 Enterprise
Enterbrain
Hal Laboratory
Hudson
Irem
Jaleco
Kemco
Koei
Konami
NCS Masaya
Netfarm
Paon
Rocket Company
Sega
Square Enix
Sunsoft
Taito
Takara Tomy
Tecmo
30 games will be downloadable at Launch, with the 24 companies and Nintendo working their asses off to make 10 games a month available for download, as well as new exclusive mini-wii games.
BTW, I gotta add, the name "wii" is perfect. You can use it with anything. "Mini-wii". "Wiimote". "Mii". It's crazy.
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No release date for Europe specified :(
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is anywhere taking pre-orderrs or reservations.
the eb by me had a reservation list for wii and ps3 since like last year,best bet would b to check eb or gamestop or lineup early at walmart or sumthinn lol
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Wii arrives in Europe on December 8 for £179
Nintendo's next-gen console to launch in Europe for £179/249 euros on December 8, AU$399.95 for the Aussies on December 7.
Nintendo has announced that its next-generation Wii console will hit Europe on December 8 for a recommended retail price of £179/249 euros ($335.87/$314.57). The release date puts the region's launch a few weeks behind the US, where it debuts on November 19, and Japan, where it hits stores on December 2. With the recent postponement of the PlayStation 3 in Europe until March 2007, Nintendo's Wii will be the region's only console launch this Christmas.
Australia will get the Wii slightly earlier, on December 7, for AU$399.95 (approx. £160/$300.38). Both the European and Australian packages will contain the white console, one Wii-mote controller, the nunchuck attachment, and the game Wii Sports. In Europe, software will cost £34 to £39 (49 to 59 euros), and there will be 15 to 20 games available from launch. Among the confirmed launch titles are The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Need for Speed: Carbon, Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam, and Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz.
As for accessories, Wii owners will be able to buy extra remotes for £29 (39 euros), a nunchuck for £14 (19 euros), and the classic controller for £14 (19 euros). For more details on the worldwide release of the Wii, check out GameSpot's launch centre.
-Gamespot
http://www.gamespot.com/news/6157699.html?tag=latestnews;title;0
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is anywhere taking pre-orderrs or reservations.
the eb by me had a reservation list for wii and ps3 since like last year,best bet would b to check eb or gamestop or lineup early at walmart or sumthinn lol
hrm damn, the one i went to today still wasnt taking reservations on wii system. but i was able to reserve my copy of the Legend of Zelda game which is one of the launch titles i believe. they said they're going to start taking preorders for the system sometime in october. i want this shit so bad, i havent been this interested in video games in awhile. but i did pick up mario hoops 3 on 3 today, and also megaman zx for the ds system.
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where does wii stand graphics-wise in comparison to the 360 or ps3?
its its even close...im interested...btw how much does the 360 cost?
peace
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where does wii stand graphics-wise in comparison to the 360 or ps3?
its its even close...im interested...btw how much does the 360 cost?
peace
not close. If your more into graphics then innovative gameplay then it would be best to pick up a ps3 or 360.
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where does wii stand graphics-wise in comparison to the 360 or ps3?
its its even close...im interested...btw how much does the 360 cost?
peace
(http://wiimedia.ign.com/wii/image/article/732/732722/the-legend-of-zelda-twilight-princess-20060914082131255.jpg)
(http://wiimedia.ign.com/wii/image/article/732/732722/the-legend-of-zelda-twilight-princess-20060914082134302.jpg)
Screenshots of the system's graphic capabilities
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^
I think it will look better than this. Look at the sword in the first picture, that looks crap. Missing some Anti Aliasing.
.. but yeah, graphics wise it won´t be able to compete with the other systems but so what? Like stated, in the long run -> gameplay > graphics.
.. and I´m glad that it will be region free. Dope shit.
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the wii isnt about being the console graphics wise, or the biggest 'format'.. nintendo is where gameplay is king.. not graphics or 'mines bigger than yours' battles
thats why it costs half what the others will..
nintendo is about playability and fun..
if you want big huge blockbuster games NOT ALL will be on wii.. but you'll get some cool fun games instead
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if they put PES on it.....im buying it...i just told mt sister in australia to keep an eye out
peace
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I found a very interesting quote from a Nintendo guy, this is what I'm talking about. Ideas and attitudes like this in that industry are brilliant, in my opinion.
"This may sound paradoxical, but if we had followed the existing Roadmaps we would have aimed to make it “faster and flashier.” In other words, we would have tried to improve the speed at which it displays stunning graphics. But we could not help but ask ourselves, “How big an impact would that direction really have on our customers?” During development, we came to realise the sheer inefficiency of this path when we compared the hardships and costs of development against any new experiences that might be had by our customers.
It must have been about a year after we started developing Wii. After speaking with Nintendo's development partners, I became keenly aware of the fact that there is no end to the desire of those who just want more. Give them one, they ask for two. Give them two, and next time they will ask for five instead of three. Then they want ten, thirty, a hundred; their desire growing exponentially. Giving in to this will lead us nowhere in the end. I started to feel unsure about following that path about a year into development....
Normally when you decide to use new semiconductor technology, you do so solely for the sake of more extravagance and higher performance. In the case of the CPU, you try to progressively improve its processing power, which in turn raises its power consumption and increases its size. Sophisticated semiconductor technology is required to realise this goal. While you could use such cutting-edge semiconductor technology in order to facilitate this kind of extravagance, you can choose to apply this technology in other ways, such as making chips smaller. We have utilised the technology in this way so that we could minimise the power consumption of Wii. If the chip becomes smaller, we can make the size of the console smaller. With a smaller chip and minimised power consumption, Wii can be left on 24 hours a day. This is what I meant when I said that the way Wii makes use of state-of-the-art technologies is completely different from the way in which they are used in other devices...
Of course, the issue of performance was not secondary. Anyone can realise “low performance with low power.” Others tend to aim for “high performance with high power.” With Wii however, Nintendo alone has pursued “high performance with low power consumption.” So, while Wii embraces cutting-edge technology and high performance, the direction it is aiming in is completely different from that of previous systems.
Using state-of-the-art technology in unprecedented ways is far more complex, difficult, and requires more technological know-how than simply using the technology to improve performance. The Wii system is far more complex than that of the Nintendo 64 and GameCube. Furthermore, since Wii is compatible with GameCube software, we have not only tried to create something new, but we have also retained some of the old functionality. Honestly, this was not an easy task." - Nintendo Integrated R&D general manager, Genyo Takeda
I saw in another interview where they discussed the things they went through to design the system. Sony is thinking 'bigger, better" and doing things like jerking the vibe out of the controller so they can hack a motion sensor in and rip Nintendo off.
Nintendo spent 5 years designing and testing various things, like for instance, they want you to leave the system on 24 hours a day, so things will download automatically to it. One of the geniuses that works there said "Oh, you can't do that, people will hear the fan running while they're trying to sleep and unplug it!" so they spent like a fucking YEAR trying to figure out how to make the fan turn itself off at night, and then back on in the morning, without overburning the console. You think Sony or Microsoft ever gave thought to customers like that? They also limited the 'nintendo' logos on the console's operating system, becuase they don't want people to think of it as a mario/zelda machine, and instead think subconsciously of the word "wii", so everybody in the house will want to use it for shit.
Nintendo's been making games for people since the 60's. They love it, it's all they'll do, and the only people they'll hire are people who are in love with making games. Sony and Microsoft make computers and t.v.s. That's why I love Nintendo so much, nobody else is even close.
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BTW, the Third Party developers are going bananas over the system. Many developers have halted early-production games for the PS3 and Xbox 360 systems, and changed them into Wii-specific games, because they're so much cheaper to design, and the advanced controller makes it fun to make games again. Here's some quotes from them.
"The Wii is changing audience interaction, opening up whole new experiences that have never been possible in video games. With the instinctual control of the Wii Remote, Nintendo is advancing the gaming experience to the broadest audience of gamers. Activision is excited about the launch of the Wii and the opportunity it offers. So much so, we plan to have five titles available at launch - our strongest lineup ever for a new console. We have more development resources devoted to the Wii than to any previous Nintendo platform. The Wii is likely to have a profound impact on the size, growth and overall opportunities for the video game market."
- Robert Kotick, Chairman and CEO, Activision, Inc.
"With escalating costs for both developing games and for consumers buying new game systems, we applaud Nintendo's drive to spread gaming to the masses - and we fully support that approach. The Wii wasn't a whole new programming environment... So we had a lot of tools and tech that work in that environment. So those costs--and again, I hate these broad generalizations--but they could be as little as a third of the high-end next-gen titles... Maybe the range is a quarter to a half." - Brian Farrell, President and CEO, THQ, Inc.
"For established publishers, the Virtual Console model is a tremendous opportunity to extend our classic brands. Nobody ever thinks of a good book as retired - why shouldn't great games live forever, too?"
- Naoya Tsurumi, CEO, Sega of America
"In order for our industry to continue to grow, we've got to think about gaming and games differently. That's exactly what Nintendo is doing."
- Geoff Mulligan, COO, Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc.
"Nintendo's strategy is expanding the market. We are thrilled."
- David Pierce, President and CEO, Atari, Inc.
"The Wii control scheme opens up unexplored areas for our talented teams to innovate when creating games. It's invigorating for us. We believe that it will help create a new level of interest in video games and engage more players around the world."
- Laurent DeToc, President of Ubisoft North America
"I believe the Wii will attract new and casual gamers to the world of interactive entertainment. It's a fun, easy and economical system that will become a bridge to gaming for mainstream audiences. At EA, we are putting more support behind the Wii than any Nintendo hardware launch since the Super NES."
- Larry Probst, Chairman and CEO, Electronic Arts
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^^ gr8 read....this thread has done a better job selling me the wii that gamespy, ign, gamespot, e3 put together ;D
peace
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UK peeps getting ripped off again :/
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^^ gr8 read....this thread has done a better job selling me the wii that gamespy, ign, gamespot, e3 put together ;D
peace
Glad to have helped :)
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Official NZ release date is the same as Australia, and will retail at $499.95 NZD.
The Wii is fucked imo. You can get the 360 Core for the same price and it has about twice the power of the Wii. Nintendo has started behind the 8ball again, they've done it w/ the GameCube and will do it again w/ the Wii.
Fans are getting ripped!!!
**Edit....buyers will get ripped!!!
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You're in the minority. For instance, the system has already sold out on Amazon.com the first day it was available. "Fans Are Getting Ripped"... yeah, Ask Sony about how they're 'ripping' you fans off in New Zealand. They could give a fuck when the PS3 is launched around the world, whereas Nintendo's bending over backwards to launch it as close as possible everywhere, including New Zealand. you have the balls to say Nintendo is fucking the fans whenever your fav. system is truly fucking you personally by releasing the system in your country 4 months after they release it in America. Open your eyes. The ps3 is a big ps2. The Nintendo Wii is like nothing before. Nintendo makes games, Sony makes laptop batteries that explode.
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Nutty got sonned!
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indeed..
btw expect LOTS more info on WII over the weekend as the tokyo games show starts on the 22nd.. and maybe sony will have working ps3s like they didn't manage to do at e3.. ::)
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^ Didn't know TGS was this weekend, will def. be checking out all systems.
As for who will come out tops, we'll juss have to wait and see........
We always get things last down under, so it's no big deal. It's a plus for us as we get more games at launch date.
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notes a from a "wii party" (nintendo held these across a few cities to get feedback or somes hit)
gives best info on wii sports.. says which games are addictive etc
http://forums.nintendo.com/nintendo/board/message?board.id=General&message.id=38275
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maybe sony will have working ps3s like they didn't manage to do at e3.. ::)
And in Leipzig three weeks ago. :)
8 weeks till launch and they haven't shown a working console :D
I have a feeling they still can't get it right and are afraid of the bad press they'd get if they couldn't get it to work with people watching.
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how come amazon didnt send out email notifications for the Wii, i specifically signed up for that, and when i still visit the site it says that they will email Justin****@gmail.com when they are accepting preorders. I know the Eb games next to my work isnt taking preorderrs till October sometime.
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^ because they stopped taking preorders due to massive demand...
i posted another thread about that..