YouNewb breaks down the cost of a Wii, according to a Japanese economics site:

* Graphic tip/chip 29.60
* CPU 13.00
* DRAM 7.80
* Optical disk drive 31.00
* Power supply 11.30
* Production cost 19.50 (with the half price of PS3 editorial staff calculation)
* Cost total 158.30
* Wholesale price 195.99 (with 8 applying of price calculation)

The grand total is $158, so selling them at $200 to retailers would mean that Nintendo can take in a big profit. Amazing. I’ve heard from a game programmer that the Wii is not actually more than a glorified Gamecube, technologically. Rather, it’s their new control system that’s the innovation.

Here’s a photo of the magazine page, for you japanese speakers:

One Response to “Wiii Manufacturing Cost: $158”

1. wiis4less says:

   February 16, 2009 at 5:47 pm

   Cool, very interesting post. You would think that they they would not even make this much.

   Reply