Wii for Europe: £179, 8th December

I was starting to look forward to Wii, but while £180 isn't amazingly bad value considering what you get, the fact that it's over £40 more than the US with more expensive accessories and games means that I feel very bitter - and £180 is more than I'm willing to pay for the console.

If the Wii drops to £130 before the holidays next year then I may get one depending on what kind of feedback I get from people who own one, otherwise I'll skip this generation.

Nintendo are idiots for doing this to Europe once again. They haven't changed a bit, and I feel very angry and disappointed at the company.

PS I've just pre-ordered TP for the Gamecube! I was waiting to see what price and launch date the Wii was before buying. However, I still think Nintendo will cancel the GC TP so I'm not holding my breath. You've just lost out on £150 of my money, Nintendo, if you'd put the Wii at that price you'd have had a very happy customer.

PS2 I don't care about DVD playback really, although it would have been an advantage to have an all-in-one box (I only own a Gamecube). Disappointed first online titles are 2007 starting with Pokemon too.

PS3 Agree totally with FurryClint.

This is bullshit! £180 for a console that doesnt play DVD's, isnt even HD, devs arent keen on making online games free for the console and no hard drive?

Its only a bit more powerful than an Xbox 1 for crying out loud!

Nintendo can go f**k themselves for all I care!

isnt there a stupid amount of tax us UKers have to stump up compared to others?

+ there's always that problem of pricing to low and sugesting an inferior machine to the mass casuals

stoopid duble posts...

The PS3 and 360 are both region free to. But the publishers are the ones that region locking their games.

Yeah, I think a lot of people are forgetting that UK & Ireland have tax rates that are almost 3 times the average US rate. Not only that, consoles have a steep import tax (hence Sony's reason for trying to market the PS3 as a 'PC', so it could dodge taxes).
I mean, we *do* have a socialist health-care system! Not like those money-grabbing Yanks, lol!

Feck it. Maybe I'm just getting too old for games and I can't justify the price anymore....?....

There's a general EU tax on electronic devices like the Wii, X360 and PS3 and all the EU-countries also have some Added-on-price tax, taxes on consumption, VAT tax, the yanks don't have. In the UK its 17.5%, in Belgium its 21%.

Also, a lot of people seem to be victim of months of mental conditioning that the Wii will be priced at around 200 euros...Hype that others totally not related to Nintendo (who stuck by their "not more then 250 euro's" line) created and you people are so stupid to pick it up and see at is very likeable truth. Your own fault, get over it!

I also like the level of argumentary idiocy in the "buying a 360 core now!!" comments. the 360 core is even more crap, a lot more...it also has NO HARDDISK, you need a HARDDISK to go online...where you have to PAY for the real worthwhile parts, Xbox controllers cost 10 quid less then the wiimote-nuncuck combo and doesn't even come a lightyear close of the capabilities of the Wii-controller. Hell the Xbox360 WiFi-kit only costs 50 quid less then the entire Wii...which has in-built WiFi. The list can go on...real long.

Nintendo just weant from "potentially the best launch ever!!" (which was again hyped by everyone except Nintendo and you whineasses fell for it again!) to a standard bussiness sense making consolelaunch with quite a healthy supply of hardware to boot (4 million people untill year's end). MS had screwed over Europe more at launch, Sony is screwing Europe even more.

Don't ask Nintendo to uphold itself to promises and expectations itself did not establish. Oh yes, Wiisports is so a Triple A title...it's the most fun i ever had with a game in a very long time!

SNAP! (on the tax thing)

Yeah, you're right about rushing out to buy an X360. For a second I thought I would, but in reality you'd have to go for the €400 pack, and another controller, and the games are €20 more expensive, AND you have to pay online, AND AND they did screw Europe over at launch....

so yeah, you're right.

But listen, Gamecube was €200 when it launched, and that was near cutting edge graphics technology. The Wii is not. Okay, it is customised and slick and small, but I still think they could have comfortably sold it for €200.

Then again, WTF do I know? Idon't work at Nintendo, I'm sure they did their research and found that people would buy it anyway.

I had my expectations on price based on my own knowledge and not from the "hype" from other sites

"And you people are so stupid to pick it up and see at is very likeable truth. Your own fault, get over it"
I don’t remember/recall anyone saying they where expecting a 200 euro price point. Don’t be so broad with your dumb arse tarnishing.

You don’t need an hd for the core to get online - a memory card will do for online gaming.

The 360 controller is the most comfortable one I have ever played with and does the job I want it to do - I see a waving wand as a gimmick that will not last. You are entitled to your own opinions (as are all) but don’t just assume things

lol, I've gotta disagree with you there! I know its just your opinion, but you can't deny that everyone in the press who has played with it has stated how mcuh fun it is. Me, the biggest Nintendo geek of all, was convinced the DS and it's touch screen was an auto-flop, but look what that's showed us.

360 is a lovely controller, though. Man, can't wait for GoW!

naa i cant see it working, couple of games of wand waving and the fuss will be all over ;)

Dry your tears people, as much as we hate that price its not all bad. With PSP and 360 Core just over its shoulder (no matter how crap the pack is) Nintendo will drop the price if needed.

£180 is still under £200. Don't forget PS3 is gonna be over twice the price without any games at £450.

Many of us can get a Wii and still generate that money spent back by March for PS3 if you want that too at launch.

Though I know I don't want to pay more, I'd have no problem using that extra £30 as a deposit on my Wii tomorrow.

Intersting, just went to play.com. They are cleverly using the Wii E3 video to help sell the Wii. If more sites doen this kind of thing they'd see more sales. Always remeber you have the option to import a Wii though, I'm sure some will.

If anyone can remember back that far, the GameCube was originally priced at £179 (or it could have been £169), before Nintendo cut the price about a week before launch. So it's not totally out of the question for Nintendo to redress the price issue having seen what is evidently quite an uproar.

I personally don't think £179 is that bad at all for what you're getting - it's not only graphics chipsets and HD outputs that cost money.

For a moment yesterday I thought I'd be sitting here reading the headline "Wii delayed till 2007"

The console price is a bit much but at least it's with a game. I wonder how limited Wii Sports is. It does however look like fun.
but god the controllers are a bit too much. 45 quid for a second controller! I don't see the point in only getting the wii-mote without the nunchuck.
I hope import versions will be easy to find at lower prices.
I am unhappy that the dvd fuction is removed though. Yeah ok, I've got about 400 other options to watch dvds and it's not like I actually bother watching things right now but it'd be nice to have it, nice not to have to unhook this box and wire up that one or at least only have one thing sitting next to the tv

I base my disappointment of the price on the fact that in Japan it is around £113 and in America £130, not on hype. even allowing for tax it seems a lot more than the other territories.

There is nothing idiotic in feeling the 360 core is now a better value option than the Wii at £20 less. The 360 has a solid list of games, the Wii is untried. It's gone from an impulse buy for me to wait and see. The 360 Core does not need a hard drive to go online as far as I know however it is irrelevant as I don't use XBox Live.

The expectation I did have based on Nintendo's own comments is DVD playback. Not essential but still a last minute feature removal that seems worse given the price.