Nintendo Wii Rumor Roundup: Price, Launch Date and More

Here we go again with the Wii guessing game.

That's in reference to the Wii, Nintendo's entry in the next-gen console race, which might cost $200-$250 in the US. But a UK preorder claims £149.99, which due to higher European prices fits the bill nicely. Meanwhile, Sports Illustrated for Kids predicts a November 6th US launch.

First, the preorder rumor: HEXUS Gaming reports on a Web sighting of a preorder page for the Wii with the £149.99 price I just mentioned, and a possible October 15th launch in the UK. According to HEXUS, the price appears "slightly steeper than expected, but still way cheaper than both Sony and Microsoft's next-gen consoles." That begged the site to ask if Shopto.net merely was taking a wild guess, or if they "let the cat of the bag before Nintendo have had a chance to announce the price" which, of course, would be quite the surprise. Of course, that doesn't necessarily provide a clear indication that the pricing and/or launch date is indeed finalized, but it's a start.

As for the US launch, Sports Illustrated for Kids (the version of the venerable Time Warner sports tabloid for younger readers) is standing firm on the November 6th rumor, which has been mentioned time and again as it is, with everything from gaming enthusiast sites such as Cubed³ and even a [literally] drunken videogame exec pinpointing the date, even going so far as to say a Japanese launch would happen within ten days before the US launch happens. Now this isn't finalized, either, so I'm eating it lightly salted - but it does fall in line with the rumors that have already hit the Internet. And there's another side to the launch rumor: another Time Warner journalist (from the CNN/Money website, no less, and in that site's Game Over feature to boot) has said that a late-September/early-October launch isn't out of the question, either.