I don't want to repeat myself or other arguments already made, but one more time:
Taking out Netflix is not good for budget conscious shoppers. Netflix + basic highspeed internet costs less than a cable bill. If Nintendo wants price conscious Netflix shoppers to migrate to the Wii U for TVii, they're crazy. Price conscious shoppers aren't concerned about managing their extensive DVR collection, their Hulu + shows, their Netflix shows, and the shows available on their cable package. If they are price conscious, they have OTA + dvd's and vhs's. Maybe Netflix. The Wii U can't play dvd's (yes, this is still a dumb decision), and the Tweeting feature of TVii apparently only works with content produced by cable companies, not with Netflix or OTA.
Taking out Virtual Console is not good for budget conscious shoppers. People are psyched when they learn they can download the great games they grew up with for $5-$10 bucks. Nintendo missed a huge opportunity to actually advertise this fact, but it has spread by word of mouth. The Wii is a great option for price conscious people who want to buy used disc games and VC games. This cuts out half of that.
Last, please stop making the argument that the high prices is necessary because look at the price of a Wiimote+ & Nunchuck. Nintendo makes a
killing selling those pieces of plastic. They have manufactured tens of millions of them by now (didn't I see that they actually passed 100 million Wiimotes?). It is frankly outrageous how expensive they continue to be. The cost to manufacture a Wiimote+ & a nunchuck is not keeping the Wii Mini priced at $99. It just isn't.
Walmart has sold Wii's at 99 or less for two Christmases in a row now. Last year we know they took a loss on them - have we heard on this year? So Nintendo is either already or very close to selling a fully featured Wii (minus GC compatability) + a game + controllers for one hundred bucks. Now they've shrunk the insides, ripped out the online stuff, replaced the slot loader with a top loader, removed the SD cards, and are essentially selling a fancy disc-player that has a bluetooth receiver and an LED light bar, with some cables, and one full controller. I wouldn't expect it to cost that much more to manufacture than the Memorex DVD players you can get for $30, $20 on sale.
probably not. it looks like nintendo is targeting a very specific market with this.
no OS. no internet connectivity. no BC/VC. this would be perfect for kids to use in their room. just hook the system up to the TV and pop a disc in and play it. nothing to confuse them like multiple channels or the ability to rack up a bill buying VC items.
just because the average gamer is 36 years old doesn't mean they're all the same age. this thing is supposed to be simple and it is.
My 4 year old nephew knows how to get the Wii turned on and select the VC channel to play Donkey Kong. Kids are not complete morons. I also expect kids won't be happy when they go to play MKWii, see a pop up saying they need internet connectivity, and then find out that Nintendo sold a Wii that is incapable of playing games online.
Hell, you're right though, Nintendo can just wave a bright shiny object and distract them, they're all stupid.
