I'm going to premise this blog post by saying, if you're a Nintendo fanboy, please try to refrain from simply lashing out and replying with something that is mere rhetoric. Anyway...moving on.
I wasn't sure just what we'd be required to pay for Wii MotionPlus; the thing's pretty little, regardless of whatever technology is inside it. However, I'm listening to IGN's most recent Tech Fetish podcast, and they're saying we can expect a $25 price tag per unit. Wow!
Wii remote = $40, nunchuk attachment = $20, MotionPlus = $25 = one god damned expensive controller!
Eighty five dollars for a controller!? You've got to be **** me! The boys on IGN were also speculating that Nintendo will push the MotionPlus to be a requirement for most new games, so eventually we'll be required to have the attachment (or maybe even buy entirely new controllers, should Nintendo decide to nix sales of the original altogether in preference of selling an entirely new controller with the MotionPlus tech built-in) in order to play new games on the Wii.
Now, I'm no fanboy of either MS or Sony; I have always made the Nintendo systems my first purchase during whatever generation they've come out on, and then later bought the other systems when they either came down in price or the next generation arrived and those systems became dirt cheap. But I'm pretty sure this will be the last generation where I walk down that road.
Next time around I think it will be reverse for me, where I'll wait for the generation to be pretty much over before buying a Nintendo home console, if I buy one at all. I don't mind paying top price for merchandise, so long as I get what I pay for. But this bait and switch stuff -- cleverly disguised as add-ons -- leaves more than a bad taste in my mouth. It leaves me very insulted and feeling like I've been scammed by a snake-oil salesman. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice...I don't intend on letting that happen.
I know it's only video-game entertainment, but we're a modest family and we pay a lot for this entertainment. After a hard-day's work, when we want to kick back and unwind, we should be able to enjoy what we paid for, not be required to wait for the next-best thing because what we bought ended up not being the product that was advertised. Disgruntled? You're damn right!
Nintendo has been advertising lobster at McDonald's prices, but the reality is just the opposite. We've gotten very little and, in the end, paid much more -- and will continue to pay more -- than we had expected.
-GD
