So, the Wii announcement was made, new videos circulated the whole of this big, scary internet for days until the buzz died down to a gentle murmur. Now is the aftermath; now is the time for consideration and reflection on what we have seen. However, the most popular question doing the rounds at the moment is not "What do you want to see on the console?" nor "How do you think the Wii-mote will be used?" But instead "Why is the Wii so damned expensive in Europe and the UK in particular?"

At the �179.99 price tag, the Wii is approximately �10 more expensive than in mainland Europe. With currency fluctuations in the states and Japan it is difficult to pin an exact difference on the price difference, but it is generally supposed that it is between �25 and �40. This has raised more than a few eyebrows, a thunderous gnashing of teeth and a cacophonous wailing that threatens to drown the euphoria at finally having a date for the console has elicited. But can you really put too high a price on a new console?

Well, actually, yes you can. Not, however, in this case.

First things first, the Wii is debuting this Winter. It is not six months or two years into its life cycle; it is being released for the very first time to the public at a price when compared to its competitors is extremely reasonable. Remember the PS2? That reliable, high-quality and top value console? Do you also remember its ridiculous launch price? And the Xbox? And the Xbox 360? All released at a price much over the suggested �179.99 retail price of the Wii, people decried them as expensive but still bought them in their thousands.

However, there is perhaps a deeper, more vanity-inspired notion at work here: we Nintendo fans think that we are just plain better than everyone else. There fore we deserve to be treated better. Yes, Nintendo provides us with a consistently high-quality stream of games. Yes, we have had throughout the lifetime of Nintendo machines some of the greatest and most memorable IP's in the history of gaming. Yes, Nintendo appear to be far more dedicated to maintaining a good standard of output than their competitors. But does that make us, their fans, any better? Do we have a right to feel like the top bods in Japan are our personal friends?

The answer is no. And the same is true in a much wider context. Developers, publishers and manufacturers are not best friends with the gamer; they are in the industry to make a profit, just like any other industry out there. The difference is that our industry is about entertainment, and to make money you have to entertain. Do you go to the theatre and expect the actors to single you out as an individual for thanks? No. Do you go to a concert and expect a hand-written note addressed personally to each attendee from the band? No. So why expect anyone in the gaming industry to be any different?

Yes, they have a desire to please you; because only by appealing to the desires and hopes of gamers can they expect to reap adequate reward for their investment. This manifests itself in many ways: from yearly updates of popular franchises, to adding popular characters from other games to bolster sales and prop up otherwise unappealing titles. One could tritely cite the FIFA example as proof of this. But Nintendo are just as guilty as other companies �slap Mario into a game and it is almost an invitation to purchase. The Pokemon franchise in its numerous iterations has time and again proven to be nothing more than a licence to print money �no matter what the format or how terrible the game is.

But returning to the Wii and the feeling of superiority that we as Nintendo fans have held for so long over supporters of rival consoles, is it really deserved? Are we any more preferred by our adopted manufacturer than say and Xbox gamer? No, of course we are not. Yet we have come to expect preferential treatment from them, and not entirely undeservedly. Nintendo have the habit of putting there fans through the mill much more than their competitors, with delays, rampantly uncontrolled speculation and a steady if alarming decline in third-party support for their home consoles. We feel that through these hardships that we are some how chosen, somehow blessed by our hardiness. And Nintendo can take full advantage of this in continuing with delays, under-delivering and over-promising.

Gamers have in their hands the power to change this: by altering buying habits as a demographic, we have the opportunity and means to alter the perceptions of developers and publishers, forcing them into taking more and more risks with their titles. However, try telling your son that they cannot have the new FIFA game, or your daughter the latest Sims expansion pack, and you will have a guaranteed battle on your hands.

So what do we do? Do we alter our buying habits in a bid to force developers and publishers to sit up and take note? Do we establish a revolution in the gaming world? I will let you make that decision, after all, "we" are the people.

Iun Hockley
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