The analysts have gathered in full force around Nintendo's latest offering. Amidst the hype and hoopla of the console itself, one must remember that the pricing and release dates have not been announced yet. It is the job of these analysts then to speculate and further our interests in the meantime.

Forbes seems to think it should not be much more than 200 USD. This would be in remaining consistent with Nintendo's pricing strategies that have been seen so far. It would also mean that the Wii is perfectly positioned to add damage to Microsofts Xbox 360. A 200$ console would become popular and also prompt game developers to create more titles for this one rather than its comeptitors.

Post said the Nintendo machine, which features a wireless controller that responds to players' body movements, "will appeal to a broad demographic of both hard-core and casual gamers." The Wii, which has less processing power than Sony's and Microsoft's offerings, may be easier to create new software for, and Post thinks third-party game publishers "are responding favorably to the lower-cost publishing environment for the Wii."

In addition, the analyst said he's expecting 2007 to be a big year for software for the next-generation consoles and that sales could exceed the earlier 17% growth forecast.