I’m more and more convinced that this generation of videogame consoles is going to be a b-school case study for a generation. It features three giant companies all converging on the same space with completely different agendas, and these agendas are what shaped their offerings to the market. As this essay makes clear, Sony is using the PS3 to launch a video format, Microsoft is using xbox 360 to get into the videogame console market, but Nintendo is using the Wii to make money:

Nintendo will make money from every unit of Wii hardware and software sold, according to Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime.

“We will make a profit on the entire Wii proposition out of the box–hardware and software,” Fils-Aime told Reuters.

“That really is a very different philosophy versus our competitors. We are a company that competes only in the interactive entertainment space, so we have to make a profit on everything we do.”

It’s fascinating, really.

On a side note, it seems that there is an argument for bundling a game with the Wii console, even at the expense of the price point.

As my colleague Mr. Last mentioned, we were graced yesterday by the presence of Gunnery Sergeant R. Lee Ermey who told us about Unmet Needs, a very worthy cause. But after all was said and done, I couldn’t resist asking two questions. One, considering the various rumors surrounding his landing the role of the drill sergeant in Full Metal Jacket, what exactly is the truth behind his getting cast?

“I was a technical adviser on the set,” said Ermey, who in fact wanted the role for himself, despite director Stanley Kubrick already having someone else in mind for the part of Gunnery Sergeant Hartman. And so Ermey waged a behind-the-scenes campaign of auditioning and interviewing until it came to Kubrick’s attention. The director relented, gave Ermey a shot, and was easily won over. (Ermey does not reveal who was the original actor cast for the role.)

As for the dialogue, Ermey wrote most of it himself, “taking lines I used when I was a drill sergeant in San Diego and taking a few other lines from other drill sergeants as well.” It was all written down ahead of time, he explains, except for the “reacharound” line. “I don’t know where that came from,” he admits sheepishly, “and it sort of threw me off, but Stanley liked it and kept it in.”

Ermey had argued forcefully with Kubrick over the instances of Hartman striking a recruit. “That would never happen,” he insists, except for the occasional subtle jab in the solar plexus.

Now at 62, Ermey is still lean at around 6-feet tall. He came to our office wearing fatigues and boots and has visited Iraq and Afghanistan three times. He looks pretty much the same as he did when he starred in Full Metal, though his eyebrows have gone wild.

My second question was how much he benched. “At my age, I stick to mostly lightweights and work on repetitions, nothing too heavy. I bench about 125.”

Matus is too modest to note it, but he has a fantastic piece in the WSJ today on the history of magic and its place in today’s culture landscape. Any excuse to write about Ricky Jay is a good excuse.

Bonus tidbit: Who would have thought that Doug Henning gets credit for reviving magic in the ’70s?

Eagle-eyed Galley Reader P.G. notes a lost detail inside yesterday’s Wii announcement:

The Wii is going to let users browse the internet from their TV with Opera! How frickin awesome is that! Why didn’t they just call the console the Nintendo “FU Microsoft”, or “FUMS” for short. Refresh my memory, the Xbox360 still requires connectivity to a media center PC to browse the internet, it’s got no built-in browser, or so I thought.

I just had lunch with this guy, which was about the fourth coolest thing I’ve ever done. (Warning: Do not click that link if anyone within earshot will be offended by very, very bad words.)

He talked about a charity which is worth your valuable time, it’s called Unmet Needs.

Unmet Needs is an offshoot of the VFW and it helps the families of servicemen and women who, with their spouses off fighting our wars, have been left in the financial lurch.

Besides the fact that this is a noble and important cause, it’s also one that both sides of the political spectrum should be able to get behind. Conservatives should help because this is crucial to the war effort and liberals should help because the necessity of Unmet Needs is a testiment to the failure of our government to take care of the best among us.

If you can, please help, by either donating money, or volunteering your skills and time. Just click here.

She recaps the new Today show:

“I haven’t been more excited to come to work since the day Bryant [Gumbel] announced he was leaving!” Matt Lauer replies, and you believe he really means it. If you close your eyes and try to imagine it’s still 1991, it’s almost as if Katie Couric never happened to the show.

Today it’s all about Meredith, starting with carefully orchestrated, good-natured ribbing between the two hosts.

It’s still ‘Matt Lauer and Meredith Vieira,’ ” Meredith says of their billing on the morning infotainment show.

“I don’t think that’s going to change,” Matt says.

Is the joking over already?

It turns out that the rumors of a $170 Wii were somewhat exaggerated. The official report is now out with Wii launch details and the price point is $250–but that includes a controller and a game–Wii Sports.

The console will hit stores on Nov. 17 and Nintendo says they’ll have 4 million units shipped before the end of the year.

Wii will also let you download classic Nintendo games through Wii Channels. You buy 20,000 Wii Points for $20, and then download games that cost: 500 pts. for NEW; 800 pts. for Super NES; 1,000 pts. for Super Nintendo.

There’s more. Follow the link and scroll down. Holler if you still live with your parents.

Blog Crush is reporting that Rachel Bilson is Joss Whedon’s Wonder Woman. For those of you who care, here’s a clip of her modeling the costume.

That’s just for you, M.G.