Nintendo slashes the price of the unreleased Wave Bird controller, as well as bumping up the release date ...
UPDATE: Nintendo has issued a second press release changing the wording to make it clear that the $24.95 drop of the standard controller is effective IMMEDIATELY. If you like the corded controllers, go get one NOW! Electronics Boutique has already sent out a news blast stating that they are in compliance with the new prices.
In a startling move this morning (coming on the heels of the Sony PS2 price cut), Nintendo has cut the price of it's standard controller to $24.95. Even more suprising, the wireless Wave Bird controller will launch at $34.95, five dollars cheaper than the originally announced price.
The Wave Bird will also now launch on June 10th ... 14 days earlier than expected.
Strangely, Nintendo is now understating the distance with which the Wave Bird can be used, from 10 meters (about 30 feet), to just 6 meters (20 feet). Considering Nintendo has demonstrated the controller working at much larger distances, this is confusing. Still, this is easily triple the distance of the regular controller.
The Wave Bird operates on two AA batteries, and will last over 100 hours. Here's the full press release...
REDMOND, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 14, 2002--Nintendo gives gamers the ultimate freedom when it introduces the WaveBird(TM) wireless controller for NINTENDO GAMECUBE(TM) on June 10 at a new lower MSRP of $34.95.
Capable of maneuvering Mario, mastering Samus's combat or piloting Fox McCloud's Arwing from up to 20 feet (6 meters) without wires, the device transmits radio frequency (RF) signals to a receiver plug that fits into one of the controller sockets on a NINTENDO GAMECUBE. Nintendo is also lowering the price of the standard controller to a suggested $24.95, effective immediately.
The same size of the standard NINTENDO GAMECUBE controller, the WaveBird has a slightly extended lower end to accommodate two `AA' batteries that provide more than 100 game play hours of wireless control. The RF standard enables the wireless connection to stand true
-- even under the covers or behind a wall. With 16 different channel frequencies to choose from, four WaveBird controllers can easily hook up to a single machine, enabling a totally cordless multiplayer experience.
"Nintendo always strives to improve the players gaming experience," says Peter MacDougall, executive vice president of sales and marketing at Nintendo of America Inc. "The WaveBird controller, with its new lower price point, exemplifies our commitment, allowing players to get comfortable and enjoy new freedom, while still being connected to the on-screen action."
As the worldwide leader and innovator in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co. Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its popular home video game systems. The systems include Game Boy(R), Nintendo(R) 64, Game Boy Advance and NINTENDO GAMECUBE. Since the release of its first home video game system in 1983, Nintendo has sold more than 1.4 billion video games worldwide, creating enduring industry icons such as Mario(TM) and Donkey Kong(R) and launching such franchises as
Zelda(TM) and Pokemon(R). As a wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo's operations in the Western Hemisphere.
For more information about NINTENDO GAMECUBE or any other Nintendo product visit the company's Web sites, www.nintendo.com or www.nintendogamecube.com.
Planet GameCube apologizes for the innaccuracies in the original report. The press release confirms the Wave Bird's price as $34.95, and not $24.95 as reported elsewhere.
