Korea's Wii controllers are a steal

by Eric Caoili { Jun 8th 2008 at 4:00PM }

As if Korean Wii gamers weren't lucky enough, what with all the preorder incentives publishers have been handing out over there, apparently, shops in the East Asian country are selling Wii remotes, nunchuks, and Classic Controllers at hella cheap prices.

Blogger Nuck Rumas shot the photo above of a Korean Lotte Mart's Wii shelf, and, in addition to the Wii system's foreign packaging, you can see some surprisingly low-priced accessories. Wii remotes are marked at ?28,000 (approx. $27) -- compare that to the $40 stores usually charge in the U.S. Of course, compared to Wii remote prices in several other territories, $40 is a bargain, too:

Japan: ¥3,800 (approx. $36)
Canada: $44.99 (approx. $44)
Australia: $69.95 (approx. $67)
New Zealand: $99.95 (approx. $76)
Europe: €39 (approx. $61)
UK: £29.99 (approx. $59)

Also, Classic Controllers and nunchuks in Korea both sell for ?15,000 (approx. $15), compared to the $20 U.S. retailers ask for them. That might not sound like much of a difference, but keep in mind that shops in Korea don't charge an extra sales tax at the register. It all adds up!

Tags: classic-controller, korea, nunchuk, pricing, wii-play

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Ashley Boyd @ Jun 8th 2008 5:11PM

Further proof the term 'PAL' is a lie.

Rob Bourne @ Jun 8th 2008 5:35PM

Wow, £14 is a steal, not bad

Simon Roby @ Jun 8th 2008 5:35PM

All those prices seem perfectly normal to me.

Korea has a lower cost of living than the US.

In Europe the insane cost of video games can be explained by both the higher cost of living and luxury taxes.

As for Japan, while it does have a very high cost of living (worse than most of Europe in fact), electronics are overall much cheaper, especially if it comes from local companies such as Nintendo.

Rob Bourne @ Jun 8th 2008 5:36PM

ffs my avatar still hasn't updated and I must have done it over 10 times now.

/golfclap

TheOverlord#2 can has Mario Karts?(MK:2578-3517-9859) @ Jun 8th 2008 7:55PM

Do you use Firefox?

Parsnipzilla @ Jun 9th 2008 4:33AM

Me too.
I'll try it with IE, see if THAT works

Nushio (NDF - Blue) @ Jun 9th 2008 12:36AM

You're forgetting Mexico.

699 MXN for a Wiimote ~ 65 USD
349 for a Nunchuck or Classic Controller. ~ 32 USD

Parsnipzilla @ Jun 9th 2008 4:32AM

And once again New Zealand gets screwed over by the rest of the world.

Thanks a bunch WORLD

Rob Bourne @ Jun 9th 2008 4:46AM

@ Overlord

I use FF at home but even here at work it doesn't seem to want to play ball. I suppose the last thing I can do is try IE at home *shudder*

Marcelovk @ Jun 9th 2008 9:53AM

Add Brazil to the list...

One game avg BR$ 200,00 = 122 US$
A WiiMote BR$ 300,00 = 184 US$
A Nunchunk or a Classic controller BR$ 150 = 92 US$

Cheap huh...
Thanks to our law...