Wii Autopsy Discovers Manufacturing Cost

***wraggster*** · December 14th, 2006, 17:42

The Wii has been cracked open, its entrails spilled, its blood consumed and its organs dissected, categorised and sold off to the highest bidder. The market value for each is as follows:

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

If these guys have done their sums right, Nintendo are making just under $40 profit on every Wii sold. At such an early stage of the consoles development, and with sales so healthy, that's good news for anyone at Nintendo that's involved in the counting, or spending, of money.

via kotaku

**steve-b** · December 14th, 2006, 17:45

that is a smart move by Nintendo. The lower spec and thus cheaper hardware means they don't really need to 'win' the next-gen console war to turn a profit. I'm sure PS3 and Xbox 360 sell at a loss so they really need to get lots of consoles out there to turn a profit.

**shadowprophet** · December 14th, 2006, 19:10

Still. I hope nintendo wins this next gen.

on the flip side and completely off topic. who here besides me has lost all faith in the psp??

*sigh. final fantasy crsis core was supposed to be its saviour, But they have made us wait so long. I really dont even care if the psp dies anymore

Still though. The homebrew scene will make sure we havnt seen the last of the psp for a long long time to come

**steve-b** · December 14th, 2006, 19:13

it feels like Sony has forgotten about its baby station. maybe once the buzz wears off PS3 we will see something nice happen to the PSP. It will always have a special place in heart :P

**shadowprophet** · December 14th, 2006, 19:22

Originally Posted by steve-b

it feels like Sony has forgotten about its baby station. maybe once the buzz wears off PS3 we will see something nice happen to the PSP. It will always have a special place in heart :P

I used to be the most die hard psp fan there is..
Ive just become dissenchanted with the little device.

Still, I would be lieing if i didnt add that it was because ive been playing the wii

Oh and to add to the list of cost on the wii, people forgot to add in material costs for the console caseing and wii-mote and packaging, and development costs for wii sports. I realize these are easy to overlook, however those didnt just apear out of thin air for nintendo :P

I would say there profit per console is something more along the lines of 15- 25 dollars if that

**Jonesyxxiv** · December 14th, 2006, 20:06

Originally Posted by shadowprophet

Oh and to add to the list of cost on the wii, people forgot to add in material costs for the console caseing and wii-mote and packaging, and development costs for wii sports. I realize these are easy to overlook, however those didnt just apear out of thin air for nintendo :P

Also cost of labor.

**Strumtoo** · December 15th, 2006, 13:25

they wont make much money on the consoles, keep them as cheap as they can so they get into as many households as possible, then they will forever make money on the games for the life of the console..

***quzar*** · December 16th, 2006, 09:34

Um.... yea, whoever made this is an idiot for the reasons shadow listed. Although, I'm sure that nintendo got better prices than cited for 'wholesale prices' but i doubt they make more than a very very small percent of profit off each console, either that or they lose a small amount. I would say no more than 5% in either direction (+/- ~10$).

**shadowprophet** · December 16th, 2006, 10:04

Originally Posted by quzar

Um.... yea, whoever made this is an idiot for the reasons shadow listed. Although, I'm sure that nintendo got better prices than cited for 'wholesale prices' but i doubt they make more than a very very small percent of profit off each console, either that or they lose a small amount. I would say no more than 5% in either direction (+/- ~10$).

Theres the motion sensor bar and the nunchuck.
if anything nintendo is lucky to break even on each console sold

**Uruz 6** · December 16th, 2006, 10:25

Originally Posted by steve-b

that is a smart move by Nintendo. The lower spec and thus cheaper hardware means they don't really need to 'win' the next-gen console war to turn a profit. I'm sure PS3 and Xbox 360 sell at a loss so they really need to get lots of consoles out there to turn a profit.

If microsoft and sony decided to do the same we would be stuck with not-so-good-machines - sure it's cost-effective and the lower price IS good but really I'm willing to pay more (the 360 ain't that pricy) and enjoy something "stunning" rather than "innovative"; besides these things, in my opinion, gets old quickly: what will happen when the ps3 and 360's games will keep getting better and Wii's will have reached the limit?

Guess nintendo just needed some quick cash