Wii Accessories, Mark-Ups Revealed

By Shawn White / Sunday, 08 October 2006

Tech-oriented site Engadget acquired CompUSA's hardware/software mark-up sheet for an assortment of Wii-centric products, as well as pictures of accessories to be sold with the console at launch.

According to Engadget, the Wii console's profit margin holds at $12.49 (retail price of $249.99 minus manufacturing cost of $237.50), which after factoring in costs related to shipping and retailer portions, coincides with statements by Nintendo executives that the company would break even immediately on Wii hardware.

Additionally, CompUSA's sheet affirmed that a few third-party titles, like Red Steel and Rayman Raving Rabbids, will retail for $49.99, as will first-party games like The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. These games are marked-up (from the manufacturing cost to get the retail price) by about nine dollars.

While the prices for the Wii Remote and Nunchuk have already been stated - $39.99 and $19.99, respectively - the mark-up sheet revealed the Wii Points Card (for Virtual Console downloads) will retail for $24.99, the Classic Controller for $19.99, and the G-Pak Travel Bag for $29.99. Mark-ups for these items range between five and nine dollars.

Prices for some items - such as the Wii controller gloves, dog tags and lapel pins (seen below) - were not provided by Engadget. However, the controller gloves provide users the ability to customize the color of their Wii Remote(s) should they not prefer the white color all initial units will launch in. The purpose of the dog tags, presumably, is to identify a person's Wii Remote(s).