There is nothing like the feel of a retail game box in my hand. The smooth disc and instruction manual which I read over lunch only further the experience. I hope retail stays alive.

Don't overvalue the controller in your estimates. It's not a full featured tablet. It's simply a controller with a display screen with the heavy lifting provided by the console.

There are quad core tablets coming out this year brand new for $199 retail, and the controller is not anywhere near that league or type of product.

The Wii U demos seem to be a small step up from current Xbox and PS3 and those are at $199 right now. Wii U should launch $249 - $299. Anything higher and people will wait 12 months for the 720 or PS4.

NES and SNES games back in the day were also $50 - $60 for new releases. Factoring in inflation, that is like $80 - $100 in buying power today.

If you take advantage of pre-order discount deals, $50 for a new release is already obtainable. On top of that, if you later sell your game on eBay, you just got a nice chunk of your money back, making gaming very affordable.