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Missy

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Is the Wii money train finally pulling into the station?

It's been good to be Nintendo over the last three years, but all great things can't last forever, can they? Times Online reports (via Gamasutra) that after cutting their 2008 profit forecast by a whopping 33 percent on Thursday, analysts are now questioning whether Nintendo's incredible success with the Wii may finally be slowing down.

Nintendo attributed the surprising forecast reduction primarily to the strength of the yen compared to other currencies, which is cutting into profits they make overseas. But currency fluctuations weren't their only concern, as they also announced they expect to sell one million fewer Wiis by the end of 2008 than they previously anticipated. The concerns hit the Tokyo Stock Exchange hard, with Nintendo shares dropping 4,000 yen (12 percent) on Friday -- the maximum allowed drop in a single day (via Reuters U.K.).

"[Thursday's] revision suggests that the roaring pace of Wii growth that we've seen until now may be over," said Hiroshi Kamide, an analyst for KBC Financial Products, to Times Online. "The numbers also imply that we are going to see a sudden collapse in the fourth quarter from record margins to some of the thinnest margins Nintendo has experienced for three years."

Mitsushige Akino, chief fund manager at Ichiyoshi Investment Management, also questioned whether this signals an end of Nintendo's unprecedented growth. "Nintendo shares have enjoyed a certain premium as people thought the company would do well even in economic conditions like this," he said in the Reuters report. "But now, a question mark is hanging over that assumption."

Other analysts, however, don't seem quite as concerned. "Although economic conditions are bad, we think the company's (annual) forecasts are too cautious," Nomura Securities said in a note to clients. "We think Nintendo is under-appreciated as one of Japan's top-earning manufacturers."

Goldman Sachs echoed this assessment, saying that "We believe the stock will almost certainly react negatively in the near-term. However, we would see a drop in price as a chance to buy on weakness."

It's worth noting that although Nintendo now expects to finish the fiscal year (ending March 31) with net income of 230 billion yen ($2.54 billion) rather than the previously expected 345 billion yen ($3.81 billion), they'll still be one of a few Japanese electronics manufacturers ending the year in the black.

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3172561

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Is the Wii money train finally pulling into the station?

Now, I cannot speak on the larger scale, but I work as the electronics manager of a department store and I cannot keep them in stock. Doesn't matter how many I get in at a time, they will be sold in less than two hours. On average I get five phone calls an hour from people looking for a Wii. I have had 20+ PS3s for five months now and cannot sell and single one.

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Nintendo today announced Metroid Prime Trilogy for release on the Wii in North America. The compilation will include 2007's current-generation debut of the space-faring adventure franchise--Metroid Prime 3: Corruption--as well as revamps of the series' two GameCube installments on a single disc. Originally released in 2002, Metroid Prime brought the series into 3D to overwhelming acclaim, and was followed up two years later by the similarly lauded Metroid Prime 2: Echoes.

Both the original Prime and Echoes will be updated with motion controls along the lines of those featured in Corruption. The two games will also support widescreen displays, and players will be able to unlock art and music by achieving a number of in-game objectives.

The first two Metroid Prime games have been included in Nintendo's Japanese "Wii de Asobu" line, a series of GameCube ports making their way West as the New Play Control line. The announcement leaves only two titles from the Wii de Asobu line that have yet to be confirmed for North American release: Pikmin 2 (released in Japan in March) and Chibi Robo (set for a Japanese debut in June).

Metroid Prime Trilogy is set for an August 24 release with a retail price of $49.99.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6210181.html?...adlines;title;1

I believe this starts the "lets release all our older games for the Wii" cycle. Expect Mario Sunshine and The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker next.

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I believe this starts the "lets release all our older games for the Wii" cycle. Expect Mario Sunshine and The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker next.

Actually, we had Pikmin and Mario Power Tennis already.

I'm happy for this new "trilogy" release; it's a great deal, and MP1 and MP2 are a couple of games that could actually use the new controls well.

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360 Arcade is $199.

The Wii is now $199 as well, comes with Wii Sports bundled in, has built-in Wi-Fi (instead of the 360's $99 wi-fi adapter), doesn't have extra costs for online functionality, and isn't missing an essential part of the console (the 360's hard drive).

As far as price goes, the Wii is practically a steal compared to the 360. (game libraries aside)

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360 Arcade is $199.

The Wii is now $199 as well, comes with Wii Sports bundled in, has built-in Wi-Fi (instead of the 360's $99 wi-fi adapter), doesn't have extra costs for online functionality, and isn't missing an essential part of the console (the 360's hard drive).

As far as price goes, the Wii is practically a steal compared to the 360. (game libraries aside)

I was just pointing out that the Wii isn't the cheapest console like he said.

No hi def, and the online is horrible. Friend codes are stupid. I'm not saying the 360 is a better deal, just that they offer completely different experiences for the same price.

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they offer completely different experiences for the same price.

I would argue against that, merely because the Wii doesn't require you to spend extra money to get the standard gaming experience for that console, while the 360 requires multiple after-purchase fees.

It's about choice. You only spend the money if you want that stuff. I use the cable instead of wifi for example. I agree the hard drive prices are way too much, but they are portable and built to fit the machines perfectly.

The different experiences I mean are high def vs 480p. Motion control vs standard control. The have different experiences when it comes to how you play, how it looks when you play it, and what you play.

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It's about choice. You only spend the money if you want that stuff. I use the cable instead of wifi for example. I agree the hard drive prices are way too much, but they are portable and built to fit the machines perfectly.

The different experiences I mean are high def vs 480p. Motion control vs standard control. The have different experiences when it comes to how you play, how it looks when you play it, and what you play.

I suppose. When I owned a 360, though, I felt like I was constantly being given a substandard experience if I wasn't paying for Xbox Live, since a lot of the best 360 games are online-centric.

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A report from the New York Times states the streaming video service Netflix will finally be heading to the Nintendo Wii, with an official announcement coming tomorrow.

"Our growth in the last two years has been propelled in large part by our investments in streaming content and in the streaming platform," said Netflix CEO Reed Hastings. "When the Wii application ships, it's going to really open up a large additional opportunity."

The report also says Wii owners will be able to subscribe at a minimum $9 monthly cost, and like Sony's PlayStation 3, will require a Netflix DVD to be inserted into the console before playing, which will ship to owners at no additional cost.

The service will be available this spring.

http://wii.ign.com/articles/106/1060659p1.html

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