Iwata: MotionPlus will be “affordable,” no more accessories planned
Monday, August 4th, 2008 at 10:52am by Jack
Worried about accessory overload and expensive Wii MotionPlus add-ons? Don’t be, says Nintendo president Satoru Iwata, because the accessory deluge is over for Nintendo (for now), and MotionPlus will be “very affordable.”
Now, we should expect nothing less from the head of a gaming company, as far as spin goes, but nevertheless Iwata was at the very least out front addressing an issue that is no doubt on the minds of many Wii owners today.
My guess is that MotionPlus weighs in at the $15-20 mark, with my fantasy weak knees guess being $9.99. I think the average owner will have two; one with Wii Sports Resort, and a second to play that game 2-player. I’ve seen little in Resort that would lead me to believe there’s a compelling reason to own four just yet. Alternatively, I would have been fine with Nintendo not releasing the Wiimote condoms last year. They could have used the savings to reduce the MotionPlus price even more (especially now that they’ll have new “Magnum” sized covers for the Wiimote+MotionPlus combo).
These are just my thoughts, however. Anyone agree with my completely made-up, arbitrary $15-20 ($10) price?
August 4th, 2008 at 12:48 pm
I’d been assuming $20 (based on nunchuck/classic controller pricepoints) and that seems to be the number bandied around by most speculators. Upon reading “very affordable,” though, I also suddenly wondered about $10. One can only hope.
August 4th, 2008 at 1:09 pm
I think around 15-20 .
August 4th, 2008 at 1:15 pm
ya i imagined $15 could be $20 like the nunchuk
August 4th, 2008 at 1:29 pm
I wonder if they will come out with a new Wii Remote that incorporates the MotionPlus into the existing design (unless the MotionPlus needs the extra length to work: I don’t know). So you’ll have the option of buying the add-on for a hopefully low price, or getting new remotes. New Wii owners wouldn’t have to but the plus then.
Or will new Wiis come with the MotionPlus, as they now come with the nunchuk?
August 4th, 2008 at 1:41 pm
Wait, NO MORE ACCESSORIES PLANNED?!
YES!!!
YES!!!
YES!!!
YES!!!
YES!!!
Screw the price guys, the sheer fact Nintendo COULD BE leaving the dark ages is enough positive news for me.
August 4th, 2008 at 1:49 pm
$20 would be a screw job. I’m going with $9.99. It is one of those things they KNOW should have been in the original, because from the first site of the Wiimote, they talked up how precise the thing was . . and now this will make it that way. I think they feel a little shamed that they couldn’t deliver the first time, so they are going to come out with this as a “well, NOW you can have what we promised, and we aren’t going to charge a bunch for it.” Manufacturing costs on that thing can’t be more than $5, and they make a killing on everything else, so I don’t see them as using this as a major revenue source. It will be a tool to sell more games, and you can’t do that by pricing it at $20.
August 4th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
“Very affordable” does not mean $15, it means that the MSRP will be $9.99.
Otherwise, it’s a lie.
August 4th, 2008 at 2:01 pm
I agree with the $15-$20 estimate…
However, more important questions that will certainly affect our budgests even more are these:
1) Is the MotionPlus going to draw power from the Wii remote, or is it going to have its own battery?
2) Is this going to reduce the life expetancy of the AA batteries in my Wii remote even further, forcing me to put in new batteries every other freakin’ day??
August 4th, 2008 at 2:10 pm
@InvisibleMan: Iwata said it would draw power from the Wiimote during an interview at E3, although it wouldn’t be too noticeable. Take that for what you will.
August 4th, 2008 at 2:11 pm
Motion plus will draw power, but it is supposed to be very efficient. Bluetooth is the biggest powerhog in the wiimote, so this probably won’t account for more than 5% of the power usage. If batteries are still an issue, why not get some good AA rechargeables? They last a long time, and if you have several sets you can always have a set ready to go.
August 4th, 2008 at 3:33 pm
I’m a peripheral whore. For me I’m hoping this is all hot air and they keep on comin. You’ll find me at GameStop this month picking up the Wii keyboard.
August 4th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
Let us be realistic:
Nunchuk: $20
Zapper/Link Bundle: $20
Wii Wheel: $10
This will probably be between $12-$18.
August 4th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
$20. Nintendo isnt in to being too cheap. and the gyros are expensive. Just now getting to consumer level. But sales from the Wii gen will lower the price for their inclusion into controllers for Wii2. We will see Wii2 controllers with all better tech and still only about $40-60
August 4th, 2008 at 5:28 pm
I think they will try to get as low as US$9.99 with this. After all, people will complaint that this is what the Wii remote should have been for starters. Also, I am pretty sure they will release a new Wii remote with the motion plus module built in and will not increase the price.
August 4th, 2008 at 8:59 pm
$15-$20 sounds about right to me also. I could see them packaging them with remotes also.
August 5th, 2008 at 1:29 pm
It’ll come bundled with a game. You buy one, you get the other. Everyone’s happy (especially Nintendo).
August 6th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
The regular Wiimote cover can fit the MotionPlus accesory. Try stretching it and it has a looooooooooooooong give that won’t tear.