Peripherals

NOTE: I've had some comments suggesting this post has some type A fanboy-like statements in it. That's probably true; and I apologize for that. In truth, this post was written partially out of anger in response to people who have been spreading misinformation. I'm not going to remove any content from this post, because it is all true. However, I will change a few things. This post originally compared the price of the Wii to that of the PS3, which I think contributed to the accusations. I have gone through and replaced any PS3-related comments with more generic, hypothetical versions. Similarly, I was wrong to compare Wii Sports and Killzone 2, as they are very different games. I have changed that as well. The prices and statistics listed here are fact, and they were only intended to explain the relatively low price of the Wii and its accessories, not to put down other systems. Anyway, here we go.
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I don't know why I'm bothering to write this, as it's not going to make anyone come to their senses. But I'll do it anyway.

I'm really tired of all the complaining people do about the peripherals for the wii. They act like it's some secret scheme and that you have to pay hundreds of dollars to make the system playable. So let me try to explain why that's not true. As I do, keep in mind that I'm not including features of the consoles themselves (graphics, discs, downloads) or game library, because this isn't about choosing consoles; people buying consoles know that stuff going in. This is only about what it costs to get the "full experience" of that particular console.

1. The system comes more complete than any other system of this generation, because not only does it come with a "full controller" (wii remote and nunchuk), it also comes with a game. For most people, that's enough.

2. The Wii Wheel and Wii Zapper don't have any actual functions; they're just for fun. So nobody is forced to buy those; people who buy them do so because they want to.

3. Let's say you want to play with someone else on a console. So you need to buy another wii remote and nunchuk. Cost of a Wii, another controller, and an extremely popular multiplayer game: $310. Despite people hating on it, Wii Sports is and always has been a popular game. Since it comes with the Wii, we need to add a similarly popular game to another console for them to be equal. Since Wii Sports is a small game, let's add a cheaper game: a year-old Madden title, costing about $30. On average, that brings the console's total to $490.

4. With the Wii Motion Plus coming out, people seem to think that it's necessary for every controller and every Wii owner. VERY few games will require it. And if you still think it's too expensive, consider this: to get the same experience on another console, you have to wait at least 2 years for the newly-announced motion controllers to come out, and spend a hell of a lot more than $20 to get them. Either way, to get all the possible controller versions for any console, you'll have to pay a lot.

5. Let's pretend that the Wii Motion Plus is completely necessary and use a game that requires it. Wii console + extra full controller + 2 Wii Motion Plus + Red Steel 2 = $400. That's still a lot less than you'd pay for that experience on another console, without a motion controller. Since we know the other motion controllers will be expensive, let's add that price to the multiplayer package. $60 seems like a good estimate. That brings the non-Wii total to $550. That's still $150 more than the Wii version.

Full motion-control multiplayer experience on Wii with all functional peripherals for two players: $400.
Equivalent experience on another console: $550.

6. As for the Balance Board, the only game that requires it is Wii Fit. Since no other game requires it, it's the same as a Guitar Hero controller, which only Guitar Hero requires. Thus, suggesting the Balance Board is a main controller is like saying the Rock Band instruments are main controllers.

7. Still, just for fun, let's add the balance board to the Wii set up described before. It's still only $490, less than the other version.

8. But wait, since the Wii Console comes with Wii Sports and the balance board comes with Wii Fit, we have 3 games on the Wii side (Wii Sports, Wii Fit, and Red Steel 2) and only 1 on the other side (Madden). To even it out, let's add two games to the other side. Since Wii Sports and Wii Fit are low-impact games and Red Steel 2 is not, and we already added one to the other side for Wii Sports, let's add a low-impact and a high-impact game to the other side. And since Wii Sports and Wii Fit are so popular, let's make them popular games as well. The cheapest popular games are older sports games and Guitar Hero expansions. So let's add Guitar Hero Aerosmith for $30 (we'll assume our hypothetical gamer already has a guitar controller) and another major game for $60. This is especially equal because Wii Fit with the balance board is about $30 more than a typical Wii game.

So here's where we stand now:

Wii Experience: $490
Other Experience: $640

8. You may also say, "What if I don't like Wii Sports or Wii Fit"? Fine. Just to make my point even clearer. Let's take out the two cheaper non-Wii games, so that the Wii version still has more games, even though you might only play one of them. As you remember from before we added them, we get this:

Wii Experience: $490
Other Experience: $550

10. But what if you want to play Gamecube or Virtual Console games? Since a Gamecube controller works as a Classic controller, let's add two Gamecube controllers to compliment the other 2 Wii controllers. Amazon sells first party ones, brand new, for $9. Since we can assume a Wii owner will try Wii Sports, and if you buy Wii Fit you'll probably play it, let's put the equivalent non-Wii games back in too to balance it out. So...

Wii Experience: $508
Other Experience: $640

No matter how you slice it, even if you get something unnecessary like the Balance Board, the Wii gives you more for your money than another console would.

I guess the real point I'm trying to make is that people will buy the add-ons they want. It won't affect their console choice because it doesn't make the Wii any more expensive than the equivalent setup on another console.

In summation: If the "full controller" is what you need to play 99% of games, it's the Wii Remote and nunchuk, and the set costs the same as a 360 wireless controller. Since the wheel and zapper aren't needed for any games, they shouldn't be included either. Including the Balance Board is stupid, because it's the equivalent of including Guitar Hero controllers. And even if the Wii Motion Plus is necessary, it's still cheaper than you'll have to pay to get any motion control at all for another system.