Wii is the first launch system for me in a while. I doubted them on the DS as I thought it wasn't more than a gimmick when I played it at E3 2004. But, like a lot of the developers, I'm genuinely excited at the possibilities and the stuff that's already been announced (Madden actually sounds neat and I REALLY want to play Zelda, but who doesn't?). Also, at $280 Cdn with a game, it's priced right as well. Heck, taking into account inflation, my N64 was more expensive (bought it a couple months after launch SOLELY based on Mario 64, which I had rented in Japanese 5 months earlier and was hooked) when I bought it at $200 US.
Seek, don't expect to see Mario until Summer of 2007 at the earliest, maybe even Xmas period (October-December). Metroid and Wario Ware, if we're lucky, we'll see by March (I say Metroid gets delayed). This is going by my expectations, not what they're saying (remember, Zelda 64 was coming out for 2 years). But there's enough 3rd party support with this one early on that it shouldn't (hopefully) see the delays of the 'Cube, which took a few months to really get going after the 15 titles at launch (over half of which were ports, like the EA stuff for the Wii).
I'm hopeful on getting a 360 shortly as well, but I am ONLY interested in the premium edition (the core is freakin' ridiculous) and I think by waiting 'til next summer, we're going to see a significant price drop. I don't really want to pay much more than about $200 Cdn for a used one as there's no real "MUST PLAY NOW" game for it (ie. Zelda or MGS 4) and right now they're about $320 Cdn used (Microshaft is screwing the Canadians with their 50% exchange rate on the systems). I really like the XBLA (I'll be getting a used arcade collection disc with the system) but that may also be surpassed by the Wii one as long as there's original content, which is the main appeal of the XBLA for me.
As for the PS3, it's WAAAAYYY to expensive and no real reason to get it IMO. I don't care for the Blue-Ray/HD-DVD thing as I'm not about to replace my entire DVD collection when component video into a plasma is fine for me. And I don't really care much for using my console as a set-top box, I have a PC for a lot of that. So, it's down to basically games and I ain't payin' $660 (again, won't bother with the cheaper version) Cdn to play MGS4, regardless of how much a$$ it kicks (I'll just rent the damned thing for a couple of days). So, I'll wait for a few years and get one for $200 or so, like with the 360.
My expected price for next-gen systems, not taking into account games I want NOW, is about $200 Cdn. So far, the Wii is the only one that's close enough to make me say "I'll get it now rather than wait for used". Halo 3 MAY change my mind on the 360, but I expect it to be in my range by the time that comes out. Although with MGS4, I may have to wait an additional 2 years before the system is down to a decent price.
I was there on that fateful day, were you?
