We've surveyed your irritation with the Virtual Console's rates and even had you calculate the exact amount of Wii points you've been swindled out of so far, but VGamp's Chris Sinclair argues that the game downloads aren't expensive at all. Chris listed eleven reasons to support his claim, even admitting that he would be willing to pay more for the retro titles. While he might come across as an inflexible apologist, some of his points make sense.
According to Chris, you're getting a deal whenever you make a purchase on the Shopping Channel. For example, let's say that you put out the cash for Soldier Blade, a title that sometimes sells for $50+ on eBay. You're scoring a discount on a relatively rare game that's guaranteed to work decades from now, and you don't even have to pay for the TurboGrafx-16 console or the controllers to play it with. As an added bonus, many of these emulated games look better than they ever did before.
Alright, so we're still not entirely convinced that Altered Beast is worth the 800 Wii points Sega is asking for, but we can see where Chris is going with this. What do you think? Does the pricing seem justified after considering his points, or do you still feel like you're being fleeced?
In Defense of the Virtual Console's pricing
Virtual Console cost calculator
According to the poll results we posted earlier today, 70% of our readers think Nintendo's Virtual Console pricing is way too expensive. If you're anything like us, however, you didn't let that get in the way of purchasing a few retro games anyway. Gunstar Heroes? The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past? Overpriced or not, how are we supposed to pass on that?We spotted an online calculator that adds up the total amount of Wii points you've spent or can expect to spend on the current Virtual Console lineup (Sorry, North American releases only!). If you have some Wii points saved up, the application will even display how much more points you will have left or will need to buy.
So how much has Nintendo robbed you of so far? How many more Wii points will you have to shell out in order to complete your dream collection? Drop a line in our comments and let us know!
[Via The Tanooki]
Wii Warm Up: Adding up the costs
A reader dropped us a note about the money he'd thus far poured into the Wii, and at first our jaws dropped at the amount ... and then we started adding up our own costs, and boy weren't we red-faced. Let's look at some of the basic items:Console: $250
Wii Remote: $40 (each)
Nunchuk: $20 (each)
Games: $50 (each)
Classic controller: $20 (each)
Component cables: $30
So let's assume that we're Little Lisha Fangirl, and we head out to get hooked up with the Wii goodness. We buy a console, one extra controller and nunchuk, a couple of classic controllers, and two games, as well as component cables. With tax, we're probably looking at a little over $500. Not too bad; after all, you're not buying extra shinyz for a PS3 or 360 plus the console for that ... you're probably not even getting a PS3 by itself for that. But then you start laying in a few extras. Third and fourth controller, say. A couple of those nifty controller gloves so you don't have to play guess-which-remote-is-player-one. And you have to have some Wii points, so you break out the credit card and load up. You pick up an SD card. And suddenly your reasonable console, when you add in a couple more games, is slouching toward a cool grand.
Ouch. We're even the inexpensive guys. How do you feel about the costs of gaming these days? It seems there are more games around than we could possibly buy and play and grok in fullness, but we do what we can. Still, do you ever feel overwhelmed by the hidden costs of gaming? That's today's question.
[Thanks, RD!]
Wii cost broken down
A poster by the name of DefectiveReject over at NeoGAF clues us all in to an interesting factoid: the Wii costs $158 bills to manufacture, not including the Wiimote and nunchuk). These guys take the spotlight to the console, shining its bright light into the various nooks and crannies of the system to find the total value of each of its parts, finally coming up with cost calculations for each component. Turns out, according to their findings, Nintendo is making around $40 bucks a console. Way to go Nintendo ...- Graphics chip: $29.60
- CPU: $13.00
- DRAM: $7.80
- Optical disk drive: $31.00
- Power supply: $11.30
- Manufacturing cost: $19.50
- Cost total: $158.30
- Wholesale price: $195.99
[Via NeoGAF]
The interactive Wii cost calculator [update 2]
Let's face it: the true "price" of the Wii is nowhere close to two hundred and fifty dollars. It varies wildly from person to person, dependent on launch titles, extra controllers, and virtual console points. That's why some clever folks at N-sider.com have put together a lovely calculator for you, to determine how much you'll be spending come November. It gives accurate descriptions of all confirmed launch titles, and takes into account just about everything you could possibly desire ... except, unfortunately, an SD card. Still, with the limited number of Virtual Console titles at launch, the chances that you'll be needing a additional storage immediately are pretty slim. Check below for the entire Wii Fanboy staff's expected costs!
Jason Wishnov - $476.94
Extra controller w/nunchuk, classic controller
Zelda: Twilight Princess, Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz
2000 Virtual Console points
David Hinkle - $667.70
Extra controller w/nunchuk
Elebits, Excite Truck, Rayman Raving Rabbids, Red Steel, Zelda: Twilight Princess, Trauma Center: Second Opinion
2000 Virtual Console points
Alisha Karabinus - $635.90
Extra controller w/nunchuk, classic controller
Excite Truck, Red Steel, Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz, Trauma Center: Second Opinion, Zelda: Twilight Princess
2000 Virtual Console points
Nikki Inderlied - $558.99
Extra controller w/nunchuk, classic controller
Zelda: Twilight Princess, Trauma Center: Second Opinion, Red Steel, Rayman Raving Rabbids
500 Virtual Console points
What are you guys spending? Let us know!
[Update 1: Added in Alisha's projected costs.]
[Update 2: Added in Nikki's projected costs.]
