Wii U $300 Price To Be Cost of New Nintendo System? Rumor and Speculation

The Wii U Controller Tablet & TV in background. Thanks to Gametyrant for the photo.

Wii U price $300 dollars? That may be what Nintendo will charge for the upcoming next-generation console, according to a new rumor.

Reportedly, the cost of the components that the Wii U is made of tap out at a price of about $180, which means that Nintendo would be making a substancial profit if the final Wii U price ends up being $300 or anything above that amount. As the launch price of systems go, according to history, $300 is actually fairly cheap to charge for an all-new videogame system, particularly one that has such an advanced tablet (with its own built-in touchscreen, like an iPad) as a controller.

Of course, we don’t know how accurate the report is regarding the component parts that make up the Wii U, so all of this should be taken with a grain of salt. It is simply speculation after all. But the source at “Forget the Box” claims its component prices are accurate.

The Wii U console with tablet controller. Will it cost $300?

Additionally, the same source says that the GPU that powers the Wii U will be in line with the power of competing current-generation consoles (Xbox 360 & PS3), while exceeding them to a lesser degree, but not exponentially being more powerful. Nintendo went this route in order to “keep hardware costs down to maximize profits” according to reports.

How much do you think the Wii U will cost at launch and is $300 too high of a cost for you to pay for the Wii U system? Considering that the PS3 launched at a whopping $600 (and that iPads still go for that high) and that the Xbox 360 launched at $400, then $300 seems like an entirely reasonable price, and I think that may be the price Nintendo does indeed launch at.

We may learn the price details of the Wii U at E3 2012 (June 5–7), although Nintendo has gone on record saying we WON’T learn the price at E3. But we’ll wait and see.

Here’s the debut video of the Wii U from E3 2011.

 

Led Zeppelin: Rock Band Game Announcement Coming At E3 2012?

Is Led Zeppelin: Rock Band in development? We’ll find out soon, as E3 2012 approaches.

Rock Band: Led Zeppelin is a title gamers and fans have been clamoring for for years now, but may the game finally actually be in development?

According to rumors and speculation Internet super sleuth website Superannuation, a film editor from Passion Pictures has listed “Harmonix Rock Band Led Zeppelin” on his resume… which would mean the game is something he has already worked on… If the resume is to be believed as evidence.

While Passion Pictures may sound like a lowrate p0rn film outfit, it is in fact the name of the company that worked on the opening sequence for Harmonix’ huge hit from 2009, The Beatles: Rock Band. Which adds much more weight to this rumor being real.

Here’s The Beatles: Rock Band launch commercial.

If it is true that a Rock Band: Led Zeppelin title is in development, then it is very likely that we’ll hear about it within a month, as E3 2012 is just around the corner (June 5–7). Of course, you’ll want to take this rumor with a grain (or gallon) of salt…

Speaking to GameSpot, Harmonix director of communication and brand manager John Drake stated, “As we’ve noted before, we’re constantly in talks with all major artists and labels. That said, Harmonix has never been in development on a Led Zeppelin game, though we’d obviously be thrilled to have them in Rock Band. No idea why this is listed on this person’s resume.”

In addition to releasing The Beatles: Rock Band (2009) and Green Day: Rock Band (2010) in the past, Harmonix has always said they’d be interested in doing more band-based games, and Led Zeppelin has always led the charge in fan interest, even topping a survey in 2010 where the developers asked what bands players would most like to see get their own game. Others answers given in the survey included Pink Floyd (#2), The Eagles (#3), Queen (#4), and U2 (#5).

 

Xbox 720 Durango (Codename), Successor to Xbox 360 System, Already Manufactured? Dev Kits Given To Developers?

A fake mock-up of the next-gen Xbox 720 Durango (codename).

Is the Xbox 720 Durango already being manufactured and are Xbox 720 development kits already in possession by top-tier game devs and publishers?

That is one of the rumors that is making the rounds on the Internets.

According to GameSpot and IGN, an unspecified source has leaked news that the Xbox 720 Durango, or it’s development kits rather, are being assembled already at a manufacturing plant by Flextronics, a Texas-based Electronics firm. This would make sense as some rumors have stated that certain developers have already gotten the first Xbox 720 Durango hardware (called a Development Kit) so that they can start making games for the upcoming next-generation console. Whether the specs have been finalized already or not is an open-question. Typically developers start working on games on a PC with “target specs” before they then transfer their code over to the actual development kit (i.e. the game system itself) once they get their hands on one.

According to other reports, Microsoft insists that the Xbox 720 Durango will NOT be shown at E3 2012… although one finds it hard to believe that the system won’t make some kind of appearance.

Nintendo is set to reveal their next-generation console, called the Wii U (also a name that could change) at E3 2012. It first made it’s big splash debut at last year’s E3 2011 and will likely be released this year. And the PlayStation 4 is also heavily rumored as coming soon… possibly this year. Possibly not. It looks like the console manufacturers Sony and Mirosoft, with the exception of Nintendo, may be holding off one more year before unleashing the next-generation on gamers.

Flextronics was the same company that manufactured the original Xbox, so it would make sense that Microsoft might return to them for the Xbox 720 Durango’s assembly. Microsoft even had them, along with two others, originally tapped for the Xbox 360’s assembly. Another rumor says that Flextronics also has “comprehensive marketing, software, and hardware tests of the next Xbox” already ongoing.

E3 2012 is only one month away (taking place taking place from June 5–7) so we will find out soon whether the next-generation is indeed hitting this year or not! Are you ready?!

I sure as HELL am NOT! lol. I still have games from the PS2/GameCube/Xbox1 generation I’ve yet to get around to playing…. :( My current-generation game playing is completely abysmal. Much to my dismay….

Here is a video showing off some of the wild rumors regarding the Xbox 720 Durango from earlier this year.