Nintendo wanted new console to retail under $100

Speaking to Business Week, Miyamoto said, "Originally, I wanted a machine that would cost $100. My idea was to spend nothing on the console technology so all the money could be spent on improving the interface and software.

So, why wasn't the Wii released at under $100? Well it appears that the price was bumped up because of "NAND flash memory and other pricey parts."

Miyamoto said that at first, Nintendo "didn't think it was possible to build a powerful machine for less than 50,000 Yen" (£220), and some of the biggest concerns were power consumption, cooling and boot-up times.

The Mario creator revealed that the company had to compromise and "give up on a powerful chip." He added that, "Many of our employees initially wanted high-definition graphics. But they agreed with us that graphics wouldn't matter if the games weren't fun to play."

Despite the compromises made, Miyamoto says that the Wii is "much faster" than the GameCube.