It is looking more and more like Nintendo may have no option to make the Wii cheaper at retail, despite what Satoru Iwata says. Here’s why:

It has been at the same price for a long time now, during which it has become a lot cheaper to make. Especially with the volumes they are churning out. And they were making a profit in every unit from the beginning. So there is plenty of room to drop the price.
They are ramping up production to 25 million units a year. Initially these will just meet the backlog of demand but once that is done they will need to use the price mechanism to shift them.
Their release schedule is looking very weak. Right now we have Super Smash Bros, Brawl, Mario Kart and Wii Fit. Then nothing mega and lots of shovelware. Compare that with the PS3 and 360.
GTA IV. This is going to transform the balance in the market strongly in favour of the HD consoles. The Wii is going to look increasingly last gen.
To make the most money out of the Wii back catalogue of games Nintendo need as many platforms out there as possible. At a lower price they will sell more Wiis and milk it on the software.
The Microsoft Xbox 360 price cuts now make the Wii look very expensive. You get a whole lot more for your money with the 360.
So when is this going to happen. Q3 08 is my best bet. But it could be a little later. It depends on what the market is telling them.

http://www.bruceongames.com/2008/04/...wii-price-cut/ ...

Two teenagers were arrested Tuesday afternoon on suspicion of trying to steal almost $1,400 worth of the new Grand Theft Auto IV video games from a Best Buy store in Oakdale.

The latest game in the notoriously violent series was released on the same day.

Capt. Jack Kettler said police were called to the store at about 4 p.m. Tuesday. A store employee reported seeing two boys walking out of the store with some merchandise.

Police apprehended two teenagers in a nearby parking lot. They said one, a 15-year-old boy, had eight copies of the video game and faces a misdemeanor theft charge. The other, police said, was a 16-year-old boy who had 15 copies of the game and faces a gross misdemeanor charge.

http://www.twincities.com/allheadlin...nclick_check=1 ...

Two teenagers were arrested Tuesday afternoon on suspicion of trying to steal almost $1,400 worth of the new Grand Theft Auto IV video games from a Best Buy store in Oakdale.

The latest game in the notoriously violent series was released on the same day.

Capt. Jack Kettler said police were called to the store at about 4 p.m. Tuesday. A store employee reported seeing two boys walking out of the store with some merchandise.

Police apprehended two teenagers in a nearby parking lot. They said one, a 15-year-old boy, had eight copies of the video game and faces a misdemeanor theft charge. The other, police said, was a 16-year-old boy who had 15 copies of the game and faces a gross misdemeanor charge.

http://www.twincities.com/allheadlin...nclick_check=1 ...

The public got its first look Tuesday at controversial video game Grand Theft Auto IV.

Multimedia Watch The Video It's jammed full of sex, drugs, and lots of blood-soaked violence, and it's flying off store shelves.

"It's a good game, man. You get to run over cops, kill people, run them over," one man buying the game on Tuesday said.

For some people, that is a disturbing sign of the times.

One of the groups lining up in criticizing the game is Philadelphia's police union.

It's expected to be the hottest-selling video game ever, and it was the reason hundreds lined up at midnight to buy the shoot 'em up thriller, chock full of sex and violence.

"The glorification of killing of any police officer is just wrong. I mean, it desensitizes people to the real mayhem that's going on out on the streets, and we already have a real problem with people not valuing human life," said Eugene Blagmond, of the Fraternal Order of Police.

But that didn't seem to stop gamers from lining up Tuesday, including four police officers in the span of an hour spotted buying the controversial game.

Gamers said the critics' contention that these games could spur violence against cops is wrong.

"It's a way to get out frustration, you know, so that you wouldn't do that in real life, I would like to believe," another man said.

"People don't seem to have a problem turning guns on cops, and this game -- I know it's just a game, but people sometimes have trouble separating reality from fantasy," Blagmond countered.

Estimates are that Grand Theft Auto IV could make upwards of $400 million in its first week alone.

http://www.ksn.com/news/also/18415839.html ...

The public got its first look Tuesday at controversial video game Grand Theft Auto IV.

Multimedia Watch The Video It's jammed full of sex, drugs, and lots of blood-soaked violence, and it's flying off store shelves.

"It's a good game, man. You get to run over cops, kill people, run them over," one man buying the game on Tuesday said.

For some people, that is a disturbing sign of the times.

One of the groups lining up in criticizing the game is Philadelphia's police union.

It's expected to be the hottest-selling video game ever, and it was the reason hundreds lined up at midnight to buy the shoot 'em up thriller, chock full of sex and violence.

"The glorification of killing of any police officer is just wrong. I mean, it desensitizes people to the real mayhem that's going on out on the streets, and we already have a real problem with people not valuing human life," said Eugene Blagmond, of the Fraternal Order of Police.

But that didn't seem to stop gamers from lining up Tuesday, including four police officers in the span of an hour spotted buying the controversial game.

Gamers said the critics' contention that these games could spur violence against cops is wrong.

"It's a way to get out frustration, you know, so that you wouldn't do that in real life, I would like to believe," another man said.

"People don't seem to have a problem turning guns on cops, and this game -- I know it's just a game, but people sometimes have trouble separating reality from fantasy," Blagmond countered.

Estimates are that Grand Theft Auto IV could make upwards of $400 million in its first week alone.

http://www.ksn.com/news/also/18415839.html ...

The "near future" for the impending iPhone data plan for the deaf was apparently four months. Dubbed the Text Accessibility Plan for iPhone, it comes with unlimited text messaging, browsing and email. It's now available for new and current iPhone users for $40 a month, though you've gotta clear an eligibility application to get it.

http://gizmodo.com/385376/iphone-dat...ble-40-a-month ...

According to Fortune, AT&T's going to further subsidize the iPhone down as much as $200, making the final retail price a scant $199 with two-year-contract. The rumor is that the $200 bonus will only be available in AT&T stores, not in Apple stores, so people buying and exporting or using it with T-Mobile will be paying the higher price. Current first-gen iPhone users probably won't get this $200 subsidy when upgrading either, unless perhaps they renew for another 2 years.

http://gizmodo.com/385429/atts-3g-ip...99-this-summer ...

New released today



For Niko Bellic, fresh off the boat from Europe, it is the hope he can escape his past.

For his cousin, Roman, it is the vision that together they can find fortune in Liberty City, gateway to the land of opportunity.

As they slip into debt and are dragged into a criminal underworld by a series of shysters, thieves and sociopaths, they discover that the reality is very different from the dream in a city that worships money and status, and is heaven for those who have them and a living nightmare for those who don't.

The action thriller Grand Theft Auto IV every gamer is craning their necks for and dying to get their hands on has arrived. This amazing game pushes your next generation consoles to the very limit and yet retained the smooth slick gameplay without glitches or massive loading time. This is one of the games that brings out the true worth of a PlayStation3™ or an Xbox360™.

Although the action, gun fights, drinking and gore are all highly exciting, they do not detract from the actual worth of the story. Criminals are portrayed as criminals, there is nothing glamorous about them, but it is precisely because of this honest portrayal of them that's why the gamers can identify with them. They, too, are people propelled by their desires or vulnerabilities. Liberty City is a place filled with these people, and given life by these people.




Rockstargames' Grand Theft Auto IV combines breathtaking graphics and sounds with a plot that shames even some of the best selling Hollywood movies. The Asian version for Xbox360™ has arrived today, shipping for US$ 59.90 only. The US versions for Xbox360™ and PlayStation3™, both sold for US$ 64.90 only, will arrive on Friday, 2nd of May.

Also arriving on the 2nd of May are the Special editions of the US versions of Grand Theft Auto IV for Xbox360™ and PlayStation3™ and are sold at the same price of US$ 129.90 only.

Aside from the games, Grand Theft Auto IV Signature Series Guide is also released on the same date and is sold at US$ 19.90 only.

The Grand Theft Auto IV products available at Play-Asia.com are:

Xbox360™
Grand Theft Auto IV US US$ 64.90
Grand Theft Auto IV ASIA US$ 59.90
Grand Theft Auto IV (Special Edition) US US$ 129.90

PlayStation3™
Grand Theft Auto IV US US$ 64.90
Grand Theft Auto IV (Special Edition) US N/A

Guide Books
Grand Theft Auto IV Signature Series Guide US US$ 19.90

http://www.play-asia.com/SOap-23-83-...9-en-84-n.html ...

New released today



For Niko Bellic, fresh off the boat from Europe, it is the hope he can escape his past.

For his cousin, Roman, it is the vision that together they can find fortune in Liberty City, gateway to the land of opportunity.

As they slip into debt and are dragged into a criminal underworld by a series of shysters, thieves and sociopaths, they discover that the reality is very different from the dream in a city that worships money and status, and is heaven for those who have them and a living nightmare for those who don't.

The action thriller Grand Theft Auto IV every gamer is craning their necks for and dying to get their hands on has arrived. This amazing game pushes your next generation consoles to the very limit and yet retained the smooth slick gameplay without glitches or massive loading time. This is one of the games that brings out the true worth of a PlayStation3™ or an Xbox360™.

Although the action, gun fights, drinking and gore are all highly exciting, they do not detract from the actual worth of the story. Criminals are portrayed as criminals, there is nothing glamorous about them, but it is precisely because of this honest portrayal of them that's why the gamers can identify with them. They, too, are people propelled by their desires or vulnerabilities. Liberty City is a place filled with these people, and given life by these people.




Rockstargames' Grand Theft Auto IV combines breathtaking graphics and sounds with a plot that shames even some of the best selling Hollywood movies. The Asian version for Xbox360™ has arrived today, shipping for US$ 59.90 only. The US versions for Xbox360™ and PlayStation3™, both sold for US$ 64.90 only, will arrive on Friday, 2nd of May.

Also arriving on the 2nd of May are the Special editions of the US versions of Grand Theft Auto IV for Xbox360™ and PlayStation3™ and are sold at the same price of US$ 129.90 only.

Aside from the games, Grand Theft Auto IV Signature Series Guide is also released on the same date and is sold at US$ 19.90 only.

The Grand Theft Auto IV products available at Play-Asia.com are:

Xbox360™
Grand Theft Auto IV US US$ 64.90
Grand Theft Auto IV ASIA US$ 59.90
Grand Theft Auto IV (Special Edition) US US$ 129.90

PlayStation3™
Grand Theft Auto IV US US$ 64.90
Grand Theft Auto IV (Special Edition) US N/A

Guide Books
Grand Theft Auto IV Signature Series Guide US US$ 19.90

http://www.play-asia.com/SOap-23-83-...9-en-84-n.html ...