View source for The console can't be as cheap as the handheld.


This has frequently come up in discussions about a potentially low Wii price. &nbsp;Usually the reason given is that it will make the console look too cheap, or that they'd cannibalize each others' sales at a similar price point. &nbsp;I say that history shows this not to be the case. &nbsp;These same arguments came up in late 2003. &nbsp;Game Boy Advance SP cost $99 at the time, and so did GameCube. &nbsp;What happened? &nbsp;By US numbers, both systems had their best holiday season ever. &nbsp;Two cheap systems didn't cannibalize sales; instead they were both successful for the same reason.

[[2001]], November + December

$199 GCN: 1.21 M

$99 GBA: 2.63 M

[[2002]], November + December

$149 GCN: 1.01 M

$99 GBA: 3.34 M

[[2003]], November + December

$99 GCN: '''1.91 M'''

$99 GBASP+original: '''3.44 M'''

[[2004]], November + December

$99 GCN: 1.15 M

$79 GBASP+original: 3.18 M

[[2005]], November + December

$99 GCN: 0.88 M

Micro/SP/GBA: 2.03 M