Strangely Nintendo Wii games are sold more cheaply in more affluent countries.
For example, in the USA, a NTSC Wii games such as Super Smash Brother Brawl (SSBB) are sold at USD 49.90. However in Asian countries like Singapore which also uses NTSC Wii, the same SSBB game is sold for S$79.90 (about USD 57.50).
Is this 'observation' unique to SSBB? I'm afraid not. The highly rated game from Capcom, Zack and Wiki, is selling at USD 29.90 in the United States. However in Singapore, the same game retails at S$ 65.00 (about USD 46.80). Why is there such a great price disparity?
Singapore has a lower GDP per capita and standard of living than USA. The cost of living is also much lower. A Big Mac cost S$3.30 (about USD 2.35) in Singapore. On the other hand, the same burger probably cost USD 3.20 in the States. If so, one would expect the price of Wii games to be corresponding cheaper in Singapore.
Unlike PS3 and XBox 360, Wii games rarely produce high quality graphics. They are much cheaper to produce than their next gen counterparts. This lower barrier to entry has caused Wii to be flooded with tons of shovelware.
In Singapore, all Nintendo products (including Wii and NDS hardware and games) are solely distributed by Maxsoft. If Wii does not sell as well as PSP, PS3, Xbox 360 in Singapore, maybe one should consider whether it is due to the amount of money that one has to pay for these last generation standard games.
Friday, March 21, 2008
New software that allow you to play Wii games from all region
Great news for all Wii users. A new Wii software 'Freeloader' has been published. For as little as USD 19.90, users can use it to play any Wii discs from any region. Fantastic news.
Implication: Like DVD Region coding, Wii games also comes with region coding. They are:
a) NTSC - Japan
b) NTSC - USA
c) PAL - For European and Australia/New Zealand
So if your Wii console is NTSC- USA, you can't use it play a Wii game that comes from the PAL region.
Differences in region coding is a minor issue if the same game is launched at different region at the same time. Unfortunately it does not happen in reality. Some games take as long as a few months before it is launched on another continent.
Worse still, some games may not be launched at all at another region. E.g. Gottlieb Pinball Classics and Wii Chess are only published in PAL. So if you own a NTSC Wii, you have to buy another PAL console to play these wonderful games.
The newly launched Freeloader from Datel take care of all these problems. To play games from other region, 'load' the Freeloader disc before inserting games from another region. Simple. (Update: According to Internet, Nintendo is aware of this loophole and has taken steps to plug it. Maybe this is the reason why Freeloader price has crashed.
Implication: Like DVD Region coding, Wii games also comes with region coding. They are:
a) NTSC - Japan
b) NTSC - USA
c) PAL - For European and Australia/New Zealand
So if your Wii console is NTSC- USA, you can't use it play a Wii game that comes from the PAL region.
Differences in region coding is a minor issue if the same game is launched at different region at the same time. Unfortunately it does not happen in reality. Some games take as long as a few months before it is launched on another continent.
Worse still, some games may not be launched at all at another region. E.g. Gottlieb Pinball Classics and Wii Chess are only published in PAL. So if you own a NTSC Wii, you have to buy another PAL console to play these wonderful games.
The newly launched Freeloader from Datel take care of all these problems. To play games from other region, 'load' the Freeloader disc before inserting games from another region. Simple. (Update: According to Internet, Nintendo is aware of this loophole and has taken steps to plug it. Maybe this is the reason why Freeloader price has crashed.
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