Wii for $170?

Nintendo has said for months that their Wii console would be shipping this year for less than US$250. IGN recently pegged the price point at US$229. Now, according to this article, the Wii may ship for as little as US$170 in Japan.

A few caveats. First, this is an analyst report predicting a game console price point, which means it's likely about as accurate as throwing darts at the multiplication table. Second, even if the cost of producing the CPU are less than estimated, the cost of all of the other electronics are notoriously volatile. Finally, and contrary to my first two points, consoles and other hardware tend to be more expensive in Japan than in America. My guess: $199 with one Wii-mote, a demo disc and no full games when the system launches in early November.

H/T - Evil Avatar