Put your money where your Wii is

Throughout its illustrious history in the video game industry Nintendo has put forth an absurd amount of peripherals complementing each respective system. From the odd "Power Glove" to the "Gameboy Printer," Nintendo has succeeded in cluttering up our living rooms while thinning our wallets.

Fast forward to today and we see Nintendo applying similar business strategies but on a larger scale. The $250 price tag on the revolutionary Wii console seems inviting, but with every rise there is a fall.

A Wii-mote and nun-chuck together costs $60. Compare that to Microsoft, which offers their controller for $40 and $50, for wired and wireless respectively.

As we all know, the Wii is not oriented for one player, or even two for that matter. When four people play Wii, their collective worth in accessories alone is over $180.

However, I am not writing this article to point fingers at Nintendo President Satoru Iwata for raping our wallets; my main concern with the plethora of peripherals is where they all should go.

In my house, we have "Rockband," "Guitar Hero," "Mario Kart" with Wii Wheel, DDR mats, Wii Zappers, four GameCube controllers, four Wii-motes and four nun-chucks.

Since Nintendo has failed to invest in the furniture market I have not felt compelled to purchase a closet for the sole purpose of storing these accessories. These expensive accessories have found their way to the backside of the couch, and this result is most undesirable.

I also have failed to mention the impending Wii-Motion Plus which will cost you a to-be-determined price and become necessary as an add-on to each controller for the newest games.

Nintendo's business strategy has always been "accessibility to the masses." The big N has achieved this through an extensive library of titles in many different genres.

The core fans will always be satisfied with the next installment of the "Zelda," "Mario," "Metroid" and "Smash Bros." series.

However, attracting new users and increasing their market share is where Nintendo excels. What the game critic would call "shovel-ware" is loosely translated in gamers' terms as "games that suck."

Nintendo sees it otherwise. By encouraging developers to design many games of many styles and genres for their Wii console, Nintendo has been able to tap the previously dry well of users.

Today one can venture into the local Game-Stop and become inundated with choices with the wall of Wii games.

The casual consumers are most likely basing their decision on the flashy image on the front of the box. The combination of all these factors is why Nintendo's worth has almost doubled in the past two years. Unlike competitors Microsoft and Sony who sell their consoles, the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, respectively Nintendo makes a profit on every Wii console sold. Microsoft and Sony fix their sights on the number of games their users buy.

Nintendo on the other hand has produced a system that revolutionized game-play with innovative motion controls, but skimped on the graphics capabilities and multimedia experience, which has allowed Nintendo to keep their prices well below competitors' while expanding their user base.

Wii games sold at retail are usually $49.99, compared to $59.99 for other console titles.

But when the price of accessories and add-ons are factored in, again Nintendo wins the prize for being the priciest. Don't be surprised if you see the "Nintend-rack," the latest and greatest for all your peripheral storage needs.

Eddie Makuch can be contacted at emakuch@keenequinox.com.