"Nintendo President Satoru Iwata has decided to let slip the company's plans to take on Sony and Microsoft in the pricing department. Without getting too specific, Satoru Iwata said that the Nintendo Revolution will debut for less than US$300, which will make it cheaper than the PlayStation 3 or even the Xbox 360 Core System.

There had been rumors previously that Nintendo was heading for "bargain" territory with their new console, but they were wild. Some speculated a cost as low as $99, although that seems ridiculous given how much they charge for things such as the DS ($129) and the Micro ($99). Given Satoru Iwata's comments (trans.), it now looks like a $250 price, or perhaps even a $199 price is likely.

The Revolution will be cheaper in part because Nintendo is stepping away from HD support. The company is betting on low initial HDTV adoption over the next few years; less than a quarter of American homes will have HDTV by the time the Revolution launches. But consumers aren't the only people Nintendo wants to tempt with frugality. Game developers should also be able to crank out games for less cost, which in theory should mean that we end up paying less for the games. Everyone wins. (Earlier this month we reported on the likely hardware configuration in the Revolution.)

Much of the Revolution's success is hinged, however, on its controller. Pegged as innovative, gimmicky, or a crap magnet, the controversial controller looks to be the newest thing coming to gaming in 2006, and it has people talking." [more]