Nintendo sets date and price for Wii

Japan to get new console before Christmas

14 September 2006 9:28 GMT / By Stuart Miles

Nintendo has announced that it will launch its new next generation games console, the Nintendo Wii, in Japan on the 2 December for just 25,000 Yen (£110).

The launch and price will mean that it will be considerably cheaper than both Microsoft's Xbox360 console and Sony's PlayStation 3, which will have launched just 23 days earlier.

If the price translates to the UK, it will mean that Nintendo's console will be £189 cheaper than the Xbox360 and a whopping £340 cheaper than the Sony PlayStation 3 which doesn't launch in the UK until March next year.

The price confirms rumours on the Internet that have suggested the console would be priced cheaper due to the company's focus on games rather than trying to make the console a home entertainment hub with next generation DVD capabilities.

No word as yet on whether Nintendo will launch the console, which has a motion sensored controller that looks like a remote control, in both America and the UK at the same time, or before Christmas and if so how much it will cost.

We will keep you posted.

Full tags

Gaming, Nintendo Wii, Gaming hardware, Nintendo