Wii costs $158 to manufacture (Aside from controllers)

[DefectiveReject]

Graphic chip 29.60
CPU 13.00
DRAM 7.80
Optical disk drive 31.00
Power supply 11.30
Manufacturing cost 19.50 (The editorial department calculates PS3 at half price. )
Cost total 158.30
Wholesale price 195.99 (Calculate by eight multiplications of the fixed price. )

DRAM code name is "VEGAS"
LSI Codename is "NAPA"??

Moreover, the weekly Orient economy TK plus introduces the result of the cost analysis on Wii consigned to the merganser ply company. In the manufacturing origins of the main parts, Samsung and the drive are made by Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. in Nidec and DRAM in the fan, and it has not been clarified so far, and assembly is Umicawaza group (FOXCONN) . of Taiwan according to it. The main cost is as follows (dollar mark).

[Bad_Boy]

itprintsmoney.gif

[PantherLotus]

The Taj Mahal only cost 200k to build, aside from the jewel-encrusted walls.

[XMonkey]

The drive costs more than the graphic chip. Yay.

[Blimblim]

$31 for the optical disk drive? I have hard time believing it's that expensive when I can buy DVD burners at retail for half that price. I know the size factor is important, but still...

[DefectiveReject]

The Taj Mahal only cost 200k to build, aside from the jewel-encrusted walls.

I can’t find a cost for the damned controller you sarcy git
Nor can they give one, but still I doubt they cost in excess of $40 to make

[soundwave05]

Pretty much about what I expected.

The cost on the disc drive seems a bit suspect though it's slot loading and probably very small/quiet, so that might account for the higher cost there.

[Sega]

$31 for the optical disk drive? I have hard time believing it's that expensive when I can buy DVD burners at retail for half that price. I know the size factor is important, but still...

Have you used it? It's self loading, and it can take both normal sized discs, AND the tiny gamecube discs. It can take cube discs, even if you don't put it directly in the center too. I think the drive is pretty special. Plus, they probably didn't go with the very cheapest they could find. Nintendo tends to build strong hardware.

[SpoDaddy]

Smells like BS to me. Source?

[PantherLotus]

I can’t find a cost for the damned controller you sarcy git Nor can they give one, but still I doubt they cost in excess of $40 to make

:P

You're forgetting about R&D, bud.

[Blimblim]

Have you used it? It's self loading, and it can take both normal sized discs, AND the tiny gamecube discs. It can take cube discs, even if you don't put it directly in the center too. I think the drive is pretty special. Plus, they probably didn't go with the very cheapest they could find. Nintendo tends to build strong hardware.

I can (or could at least since they are not for sell anymore) get a slot loading DVD drive for 16 euros a few months ago. And that was retail price. Of course the fact that's custom made drives the price up, but I doubt it makes the drive 3 times more expensive.

[quetz67]

Never!

Besides the new CUP/GPU and more RAM this shouldnt be much more expensive than a Gamecube, which sure costs less than $100 to produce incl. a controller

[soundwave05]

We already know Nintendo is selling the system at a profit, so it can't cost more than $220 to make or so (the Japanese price). This would be a reasonable estimate, though yeah, the disc drive cost does seem rather high, even for a slot loading drive.

[DefectiveReject]

:P You're forgetting about R&D, bud.

Don’t all these costs incl the development? I believe that’s how it works.

AND A SOURCE?
I made it all up………

















www.toyokeizai.net
www.nintendo-inside.jp

[Milhouse31]

$31 for the optical disk drive? I have hard time believing it's that expensive when I can buy DVD burners at retail for half that price. I know the size factor is important, but still...

8cm & 12cm dvd slot loading are not very common. That's the only possible reason with it's so expensive

[EverSoTrendy]

Nintendo cares about its fans.:)

[Sega]

I can (or could at least since they are not for sell anymore) get a slot loading DVD drive for 16 euros a few months ago. And that was retail price. Of course the fact that's custom made drives the price up, but I doubt it makes the drive 3 times more expensive.

Well, the Gamecube sized disc loading isn't common for those types of drives, if I remember correctly. Also, it has be able to run both vertically and horizontally. And again, they probably didn't go with the absolute cheapest solution, as their hardware is usually quite solid. This DOES feel like the most fragile Nintendo system I've ever used though. Plus, all of Wii is about the size of a single DVD drive. It has to fit inside. All of those requirements limit their choices, and drive up cost.

[soundwave05]

The noise of the drive probably also was an issue. Iwata insisted on a quiet drive, remember. And yeah, disc drives are the component that are most likely to break in modern systems, so they probably did not want to go absolutely dirt cheap on that.

[yilmazz]

I can (or could at least since they are not for sell anymore) get a slot loading DVD drive for 16 euros a few months ago. And that was retail price. Of course the fact that's custom made drives the price up, but I doubt it makes the drive 3 times more expensive.

You sure that the drives themselves are as small as the Wii drive? I highly doubt it.

[xsarien]

(Aside from controllers)

And shipping...
And marketing...
And packaging...
And labor...

(What's the point of this thread again?)

[DefectiveReject]

Well, the Gamecube sized disc loading isn't common for those types of drives, if I remember correctly. Also, it has be able to run both vertically and horizontally. And again, they probably didn't go with the absolute cheapest solution, as their hardware is usually quite solid. This DOES feel like the most fragile Nintendo system I've ever used though. Plus, all of Wii is about the size of a single DVD drive. It has to fit inside. All of those requirements limit their choices, and drive up cost.

I think its actually quite a solid device
I haven’t had a single problem at all with mine
Especially considering all the stuff this thing has, that other Nintendo consoles didn’t have.

[Hyoushi]

I can (or could at least since they are not for sell anymore) get a slot loading DVD drive for 16 euros a few months ago. And that was retail price. Of course the fact that's custom made drives the price up, but I doubt it makes the drive 3 times more expensive.

3 times more expensive? 16 euros is 21 dollars.

[Masklinn]

$31 for the optical disk drive? I have hard time believing it's that expensive when I can buy DVD burners at retail for half that price. I know the size factor is important, but still...

Slot-loading DVD drive that accepts both standard and mini (gamecube) DVDs, plus extremely slim form factor.

I'm not surprised.

I can’t find a cost for the damned controller you sarcy git Nor can they give one, but still I doubt they cost in excess of $40 to make

Well if we price the controller at $40 for both 'mote and nunchuck (~30/10 or 25/15) that puts the manufacturing price of the Wii package at ~$195. Throw in $5 for the PSU, sensor bar and crap A/V cable, that puts the manufacturing cost at ~$200

Wii retails ~$210 in japan (without Wii Sport), so they wouldn't make *that* much of a profit on the unit.

I can (or could at least since they are not for sell anymore) get a slot loading DVD drive for 16 euros a few months ago. And that was retail price. Of course the fact that's custom made drives the price up, but I doubt it makes the drive 3 times more expensive.

Slot-loading DVD drives that accept both 16 and 8cm DVDs are definitely not common.

And you should remember that while entry prices on DVD drives are ~15€, they can get up to 100€ (Plextor PX760)

[Striek]

Thats a surprisingly high estimate. And their wholesale price would be very quirksome, although thats for Japan I guess.

Also, thats a hilarious comparison between Wii and PS3. One retails for $50 above cost and one $400 below...

Nor can they give one, but still I doubt they cost in excess of $40 to make

I doubt its in excess of $10.

[DefectiveReject]

And shipping... And marketing... And packaging... And labor... (What's the point of this thread again?)

It’s the first time we’ve had actual figures on the breakdown of costs on Wii.
We had a similar thread for the PS3 and one for the 360.

[DefectiveReject]

Wii retails ~$210 in japan (without Wii Sport), so they wouldn't make *that* much of a profit on the unit.

The article states they make a minimum of 4000Y on each Wii sold

Thus, when the profit of 4000 yen has gone out whenever one is sold,

[ZeromusMog]

Never! Besides the new CUP/GPU and more RAM this shouldnt be much more expensive than a Gamecube, which sure costs less than $100 to produce incl. a controller

You need to stop reading GAF, it is poisoning your brain. The graphics chip actually is better than the cube's (SHOCK AND AWE), also on top of that it has a slot-loading drive, a wifi and bluetooth chipset, 512 MB of RAM, and an SD card reader, all in a smaller package. All the fanboy trolling in the world (for any side and from anyone) can't change the fact that the Wii does have newer, nicer, and smaller hardware than its predecessor. :P

I'm supposedly a Nintendo guy, but I can appreciate that the PS3 has some damn beautiful engineering. Can we agree that the Wii actually does, in real life, push a few more pixels than the Cube does and stop spewing this bullshit? Christ.

[xsarien]

Never! Besides the new CUP/GPU and more RAM this shouldnt be much more expensive than a Gamecube, which sure costs less than $100 to produce incl. a controller

Holy crap!
You lose at the Internet.

[jonezer4]

You guys really think the controller costs 40 bucks?

[Blimblim]

3 times more expensive? 16 euros is 21 dollars.

16 euros was with 20% VAT, and it was a retail price. You know as well as me that the price for one unit isn't the same as for millions of units. Without VAT it would be 13.2 euros, so I really doubt that if Nintendo wanted the exact same drive it would be more than 7/8 euros, so about $10.
Of course it's not the same drive, it's smaller, maybe sturdier, and accepts 8cm discs. But does that make it 3 times more expensive?

[ZeromusMog]

You guys really think the controller costs 40 bucks?

I'm sure Nintendo makes money off of it, as they're good at that, but I doubt the profit margin is huge. If it was, they'd just lower the price to make it "more accessible". I'm guessing it costs them 25 bucks-ish to make one of the things. Possibly 30 but that's cutting it close.

[DefectiveReject]

16 euros was with 20% VAT, and it was a retail price. You know as well as me that the price for one unit isn't the same as for millions of units. Without VAT it would be 13.2 euros, so I really doubt that if Nintendo wanted the exact same drive it would be more than 7/8 euros, so about $10. Of course it's not the same drive, it's smaller, maybe sturdier, and accepts 8cm discs. But does that make it 3 times more expensive?

A Sony HD TV is £1000
An ACER HD TV is £400

A Wii optical drive is $31
Your DVD drive was $21

Let you guess what I’m getting at!!!

Wii DVD drive also doesn’t play DVD’s, plays 8cm and 12cm discs and is MUCH MUCH smaller than a standard DVD drive. So is obviously proprietary in many ways, which has additional costs!

[Ninja Dom]

You need to stop reading GAF, it is poisoning your brain. The graphics chip actually is better than the cube's (SHOCK AND AWE), also on top of that it has a slot-loading drive, a wifi and bluetooth chipset, 512 MB of RAM, and an SD card reader, all in a smaller package. All the fanboy trolling in the world (for any side and from anyone) can't change the fact that the Wii does have newer, nicer, and smaller hardware than its predecessor. :P I'm supposedly a Nintendo guy, but I can appreciate that the PS3 has some damn beautiful engineering. Can we agree that the Wii actually does, in real life, push a few more pixels than the Cube does and stop spewing this bullshit? Christ.

QFT

[Hyoushi]

16 euros was with 20% VAT, and it was a retail price. You know as well as me that the price for one unit isn't the same as for millions of units. Without VAT it would be 13.2 euros, so I really doubt that if Nintendo wanted the exact same drive it would be more than 7/8 euros, so about $10. Of course it's not the same drive, it's smaller, maybe sturdier, and accepts 8cm discs. But does that make it 3 times more expensive?

Well. AFAIK the drive was basically done as a ground-up custom project by/for Nintendo, since no other slotloader like it existed (accepting dual sizes in the same way). So yeah, R&D and custom manufacturing probably costs a fair bit.

[quetz67]

You need to stop reading GAF, it is poisoning your brain. The graphics chip actually is better than the cube's (SHOCK AND AWE), also on top of that it has a slot-loading drive, a wifi and bluetooth chipset, 512 MB of RAM, and an SD card reader, all in a smaller package. All the fanboy trolling in the world (for any side and from anyone) can't change the fact that the Wii does have newer, nicer, and smaller hardware than its predecessor. :P I'm supposedly a Nintendo guy, but I can appreciate that the PS3 has some damn beautiful engineering. Can we agree that the Wii actually does, in real life, push a few more pixels than the Cube does and stop spewing this bullshit? Christ.

I already that it is more expensive because of more powerful CPU etc., but we are talking about some $100 difference probably. That would only make sense if they include R&D for the first x million units.

I think it is fine that Nintendo make tons of money, but instead of making $50 (or probably more) profit from hardware they could have actually spent that $50 on better hardware. Deciding against HD they could have made a console able to compete with 360/PS3 graphically, just at a lower resolution/fillrate

[g23]

Please someone post the it prints money gif!!11

[Ninja Dom]

Well. AFAIK the drive was basically done as a ground-up custom project by/for Nintendo, since no other slotloader like it existed (accepting dual sizes in the same way). So yeah, R&D and custom manufacturing probably costs a fair bit.

A collaboration between Nintendo & Panasonic (Matsushita)

[DefectiveReject]

I already that it is more expensive because of more powerful CPU etc., but we are talking about some $100 difference probably. That would only make sense if they include R&D for the first x million units. I think it is fine that Nintendo make tons of money, but instead of making $50 (or probably more) profit from hardware they could have actually spent that $50 on better hardware. Deciding against HD they could have made a console able to compete with 360/PS3 graphically, just at a lower resolution/fillrate

$40 profit per console
God knows how much profit from software
God knows how much profit on controllers and accessories.
$$$$’s profit from VC

Wii is a profit monster!!
Lets hope they start banging those games out!!

[Mii]

LSI Codename is "NAPA"??

It must be like fine wine?

[LiveFromKyoto]

You need to stop reading GAF, it is poisoning your brain. The graphics chip actually is better than the cube's (SHOCK AND AWE), also on top of that it has a slot-loading drive, a wifi and bluetooth chipset, 512 MB of RAM, and an SD card reader, all in a smaller package. All the fanboy trolling in the world (for any side and from anyone) can't change the fact that the Wii does have newer, nicer, and smaller hardware than its predecessor. :P I'm supposedly a Nintendo guy, but I can appreciate that the PS3 has some damn beautiful engineering. Can we agree that the Wii actually does, in real life, push a few more pixels than the Cube does and stop spewing this bullshit? Christ.

It has a processor on par with the first Xbox. Nobody cares.

[F#A#Oo]

I already that it is more expensive because of more powerful CPU etc., but we are talking about some $100 difference probably. That would only make sense if they include R&D for the first x million units. I think it is fine that Nintendo make tons of money, but instead of making $50 (or probably more) profit from hardware they could have actually spent that $50 on better hardware. Deciding against HD they could have made a console able to compete with 360/PS3 graphically, just at a lower resolution/fillrate

Meh...

I can't believe people are still harking on about the Wii not being HD...

Lol @ it takes only $50 to improve things!

[Ninja Dom]

I think it is fine that Nintendo make tons of money, but instead of making $50 (or probably more) profit from hardware they could have actually spent that $50 on better hardware. Deciding against HD they could have made a console able to compete with 360/PS3 graphically, just at a lower resolution/fillrate

That just isn't how Nintendo traditionally does business.

We know that they have aimed to sell all machines (from over 20 years) at profit from Day One. That philosophy won't change simply to compete with Sony or Microsoft - regardless of how much Nintendo do have in the bank.

I bet that while you've got gamers shaking their heads at Nintendo for how much cost they put into their machine, you've also got investors & executives at Microsoft & Sony shaking their heads at how much cost they've put into their respective machines.

[jj984jj]

No price for the flash memory?

[ZeromusMog]

It has a processor on par with the first Xbox. Nobody cares.

You say that like it's a 100% accurate statement. It's kind of an apples to oranges thing, really. In a simple explanation, yes, it's roughly around there, but the actual answer is somewhat more complex. I would dig up more on this but it's 2:30 AM here and I don't even know why the hell I'm up.

And as for all the crying about the Wii not being in HD, yes HD is very nice but it's just not mass-mass market yet, and by the time it is in 4-5 years Nintendo will be there with another $250 console to take advantage of it. Maybe it will even have a hard drive. Who knows! Nintendo will make money off of that one, too, though. ;)

[mrklaw]

The noise of the drive probably also was an issue. Iwata insisted on a quiet drive, remember. And yeah, disc drives are the component that are most likely to break in modern systems, so they probably did not want to go absolutely dirt cheap on that.

what quiet drive? My wii is pretty noisy

[flammie]

It has a processor on par with the first Xbox. Nobody cares.

A 700MHz PowerPC is much better than a 700MHz Celeron.

[MrSardonic]

Cost total 158.30 Wholesale price 195.99

factor in:

- controller cost
- r&d cost
- wii sports
- shipping

etc.

[SpoDaddy]

what quiet drive? My wii is pretty noisy

I was wondering if something was wrong with my Wii; when playing Excite Truck my Wii's drive makes audible chugging sounds.

[Monk]

And shipping... And marketing... And packaging... And labor... (What's the point of this thread again?)

Technically labor and packaging is accounted for. Shipping, profit and marketing to wholesalers is accounted for in the wholesale price i think:p

So $54 fopr the Wiimote, nunchuck, sensor bar, powersupply etc etc.

[Monk]

I was wondering if something was wrong with my Wii; when playing Excite Truck my Wii's drive makes audible chugging sounds.

Does it make scratching sounds, it only makes that "silencer" sound for me.