Wii could have been $100

[gunntims0103]

news via play.tm

But it isn't. It's more than that.

Nintendo design brainiac Shigeru Miyamoto has revealed - somewhat pointlessly - that the Wii console could have cost as little as 100 USD, and this was in fact the company's original aim.

Speaking to Business Week, Miyamoto-san stated that "Originally, I wanted a machine that would cost $100. My idea was to spend nothing on the console technology so all the money could be spent on improving the interface and software."

Of course, it didn't happen (the Wii weighs in at 179 GBP in our neck of the woods), but could have were it not for the NAND flash memory and other 'pricey parts', according to the designer. Despite his desires, Miyamoto reveals that the system's design team reckoned a high-spec console would cost 50,000 Yen (about 500 USD) to build, but graphical prowess was 'compromised', and plans for a powerful CPU ditched.

"Our goal was to come up with a machine that moms would want - easy to use, quick to start up, not a huge energy drain, and quiet while it was running," Miyamoto revealed, explaining that games rather than technology was the focus during the design process. Which I'm sure we've heard somewhere before. More on this as. We. Get. It.

[abeisgreat]

Sweet!!!

[royalty]

no it would have been sweet if u could buy them for 100 dollars instead of 250


it would have been even sweeter if u could buy them at quickie mart for 3.99 with a slurpee

[Nafogel]

aw, well its still pretty cheap, $250 is nothing, and certainly a lot less than $600 for a ps3...

[Quay Cur]

if you've got that much of a problem with paying $250 for the coolest videogame system of all time then just wait a year or less. about a year after the 'cube came out it was $100 down from $200. i'm sure something similar will happen with this.