Wii Costs Nintendo $158 to Make

[thexfactor]

When the Big N said that it was making money off every Wii sold, it wasn't kidding. Japanese site Toyokeizai Online has a piece on the looking at the new consoles, with a distinct focus on the Nintendo Wii. The publication’s tear down of the console revealed parts from Broadcom, Qimonda, Samsung, Elpida and of course IBM and ATI. A Foxconn PCB print was found inside the console, pointing to the manufacturer. More interesting, however, is the tally for the cost of the components that make up the Wii. While already at a rock-bottom selling price relative to its competitors, Nintendo has admitted that it is making a profit off every Wii sold, which is definitely something Microsoft and Sony cannot claim when they launched their consoles. After going through the Wii’s innards, analysts estimate a total of $158.30 is what Nintendo is paying for each console. See the chart below:

Part - Price in dollars
Graphics chip - 29.60
CPU - 13.00
DRAM - 7.80
Optical disk drive - 31.00
Power supply - 11.30
Assembly cost - 19.50
Cost total- 158.30

That breakdown is just for the machine itself. With the way that Nintendo currently sells it, the costs for the Wii Remote, Nunchuk and Wii Sports would bump that number up. Assuming wholesale prices on the controllers and the cents it costs to press a DVD, Nintendo could be making around $40 on every unit. This is in stark contrast to the Sony and Microsoft model: analysts estimate $240 to $300 are lost on every PS3 sold, and another $200 lost on the Xbox 360.

DailyTech - Wii Costs Nintendo $158 to Make

 

[Params7]

That's why Nintendo succeeds even when they fail. The Gamecube was very cheap to manufacture too, and even though they finished last, last gen they still made profits whereas the Xbox selling second to the Ps2 didn't. Reason? Xbox sold cheaper than the price required to manufacture it.

So Ninty is making good profit on every console sold and not to mentiond 3rd party ties, can't say the same for $ony and m$.

 

[chic_magnet]

you could also add the cost of marketing and logistics.. so i guess 40$ is great!!!!

 

[Ck Nish]

That's great to hear. Let's hope Ninty can keep a steady flow of games coming in unlike last gen so they can reap the profits of each console shipped.

Params7, how was the Gamecube cheap to manufacture? Nintendo lost a lot on the Cube but MS suffered even more with the Xbox.

 

[Params7]

I read it somewhere (i'll try to dig up that article). Ninty did make profits on Gamecube I last checked.