The Little Cube That Could
 

It's nice to know that such a old company can still compete with bigger and more funded companies so well and then to outsell them. This is a glorious time for Nintendo.

http://cube.ign.com/articles/453/453...html?fromint=1


The Little Cube That Could
GameCube outsells PS2 and Xbox.

October 09, 2003 - Throughout this generation of consoles, Nintendo has stuck to their angle of having the lowest priced console on the system. However, until recently, their lower price point has done little to increase GameCube sales. On September 25th, Nintendo decided to drop the GameCube's price once again -- from $149 to $99. While many gauged this as a final act of desperation, the new purchase price has had the desired affect.

Within the first few days of the announcement, some retailers were selling as many as 70 GameCubes a day (although sales appear to be declining). Last week's sales data shows that the GameCube outsold the Playstation 2 by 20% and the Xbox by 145%.

This is good news for Nintendo, who recently posted their first net loss.

IGNcube will post more on Nintendo's sales figures as they're released.

That's good for Nintendo and all, and while I don't dislike Nintendo, you have to take into consideration the fact that the only reason Gamecube beat out the PS2 and XBox sales is because everyone already has a PS2 and XBox. Of course it will beat PS2 and XBox out; there's not many customers left that want one. I am definitely glad that Gamecube is being sold to more people though; games like Eternal Darkness, Metroid Prime, Wind Waker, and Super Smash Brothers Melee shouldn't be missed. They are literally worth owning the system for.

-Lasereth

I'm not a huge Nintendo fan, generally because I'm not their target market. With a few rare exceptions, they primarily focus on the younger audience segment. Its unfortunate, as they deprive themselves of a fairly large potential market. There just aren't enough games on the GC for me to make it worth it. Even at $99.

Still, it's good to see them doing well, as any competition just means better things for us consumers. I don't want to see them fail the way Sega did.

Yes, I still have my DreamCast.

Yes, I still play it....

Veritas en Lux!
Jimmy The Hutt

Unfortunately it's people like you that make the cube seem like it's built for younger audiences...last time i checked, all systems have games for younger audiences. Next time you're in a video game store, check out the gamecube, they have the same games as the other systems, but because of people like you who think that colour=for kids.

Nintendo has repeatedly said that their target audience is not little kids. They have been bringing in third party games like hitman 2 and timesplitters 2...which are most defenitly not kids games.

Nintendo has the best core games of any system (I have a PS2 also, so I'm not completely biased)

Games like Eternal Darkness (Rated M), Resident Evil 0 (M) and others are most defenitly not made with kids in mind, and are nintendo exclusive.

I believe my good friends at PA said it best with:

http://www.penny-arcade.com/images/2001/20011214l.gif

In short, things will only change for nintendo if people like you (and the other couple million people exactly like you) realize that nintendo is a business. they are not in this to make kids games, they are in this to entertain the masses...who are a majority 18+. unfortunately, as long as someone is out there saying "did you see the graphics in that new zelda game...that cel shading is for kids games" or "mario sunshine is made for kids because it has lots of colour and no ragdall physics in it"

As a comparison, how many people here have watched and enjoyed movies like toy story, monsters inc, shrek, ice age, finding nemo, etc. Didn't you know that those were movies made for kids? They've got bright colours, and no killing in them....i guess that means you really shouldn't have enjoyed them.

Grow up, and take games for what they are. Entertainment. Colours should not make a difference.

First GameCube & XBox have roughly the same numbers sold worldwide.

Second, the potential market is huge, the are still many millions of people who have no system at all. The market is not saturated

Third, many people (it seems to me) are now picking up a second or even third system to get access to the various system exclusive games making a PS2 owner just as likely to pick up a GC/XB as someone without a system at all.

I cant stand it when people say that nintendo only makes kid games, its so very annoying. There are lots of games out there for Gamecube that are not "kid" games. Nintendo let BMX XXX be more uncensored than the X Box of PS2.

It's a shame it was a crappy game.

I'll agree with the XBox thing; it hasn't sold that well. But I still stand true that most of anyone that's going to buy a PS2 has already bought one. That explains why the sales are being beaten by the Gamecube's insane price drop. I'd hit it up if I didn't already have one!

And the GC for kiddies argument is crap. Give me a break; check out Metroid Prime, Resident Evil 1/0 and ETERNAL DARKNESS. These games aren't for kids, and neither is the system. Shigeru Miyamoto just has a knack for making cutsie characters in some of the games he designs, but you know what, he can...because Miyamoto does whatever the hell he wants to.

-Lasereth

The Nintendo rep came into work the other day, it was a sad sight, you could tell that he didn't believe in a word he was saying, in fact I wouldn't be surprised if he had a hip-flask inside that big black Mario jacket of his.

After talking a bit about the e-reader "Now everyone into gaming is... going... to... want... a... gamecube"

I love my gamecube, hopefully nintendo will try to focus a bit on online gaming now that they're actually selling kind of well. :\

I know it was a shitty game and i dont think i ever played it but i was just saying at least nintendo is pushing the limits with its censors. I love my gamecube. I also love my ps2 and dreamcast.

the thing is, its only selling well because of the 99 dollar price drop, now im all for that, and i love nintendo, and im glad they are doing better, but 2 weeks ago, ps2 was beating them. But nintendo needs the boost in sales, i dont want my fav system to be goiing down

2 weeks ago, and for the past 2 years, ps2 has been beating everyone down....

There's some simple math, here.

Nintendo was overloaded with unsold units. They halted production and dropped their price by 33%.

They need to sell150% what they were selling before to meet the same--unsuccessful--level of revenue they had before.

So the real question is, how much DID this boost their sales, month over month, normalized for seasonal effects? If it was like 5 times the sales after the price drop, then it was a good business decision.

/wave "hi xbox, nintendo and ps2 fanboys!"

In all seriousness, do we really need to care? Nintendo has alot of money regardless of whether or not this generation of consoles is doing well or not. They aren't going to stop making their next system and I'm tired of doomsayers who say otherwise, where the hell do you get this info?

I have all 3 systems, but I haven't played my gamecube once since I beat Wind Waker and dont get me started on how short Metroid Prime was, I could kill a game developer for not adding just 10 more hours to it...

My sentiments exactly...sort of. The "colorful" "kid" games on GC are usually really good games for people of all ages, just like Toy Story and Monster's Inc are "colorful" "kid" movies for people of all ages. I feel sorry for people who refuse to play "kid" games thinking they're only for kids, just like I feel sorry for people who think Ice Age is just for kids...

Now, I own every system made other than the Jaguar, Neo Geo, and X Box. Two because of availability problems, and one because it sucks. Just telling you so that you know my opinion is unbiased.

I love the Game Cube. The games are so much fun. The only system I play more is my SNES. I think the games are better because instead of worrying about graphics all the time, they worry about game play, new options in play, and storylines. The whole link system with the GBA is great too, especially in Wind Walker. I think that the only reason that PS2 sales were up originally were that they had certian titles (GTA Vice City) that Nintendo would never carry. I also think that PS2 is geared to younger audiences, as well, as being the trendy system. I have nothing against PS2, but I will always go back and replay my GC games first.

Oh yeah, the one exception is Dead or Alive. God, I love that game.

What does the GBA link system actually do?

It does different things for each game it is compatible with. For WindWaker, it acted as a sort of map. When sailing, it would buzz if you went over something underwater. I think it was called the Tingle Sense. Also, if you have Metriod Prime for GC and Metriod Fusion for GBA, you can upload the Fusion suit on Prime. I know it works with a few other games, but am at a loss right now. It really does a lot of neat things.

Another great aspect of the GC, the GBA Player. Final Fantasy Tactics Advance is so awesome on a full screen T.V.

i started with an NES and will remain faithful to the company as far as standing by their reputation.. but i don't have the sort of income where i can buy the three competing consoles.. so i usually go with the one that has the most games i'd probably like.. for this and the last generation it's been sony's product.. mainly the FF series, other RPGs and still others (baldur's gate:dark alliance[!!!], bloody roar, gauntlet, etc, etc..) are games i consider a system for..

personally, i'm glad sega went the route they did rather than quit altogether.. my only regret is that they licensed phantasy star online exclusively for xbox..

the little blue light speaks to me sometimes.. it says nasty things, it does.. nasty things about you..

^^

Uhhhh... Hunh. Read that again and tell me how unbiased you are.

I hope you're not talking about the XBox sucking when you mentioned the Neo Geo and Jaguar in the same sentence. :) The XBox is a great system; play the actual good games on it and you won't have a bad impression. The same goes for every game system. Read the reviews! If you play the good games on a system, then there is no way it can suck. I guess that's why I thoroughly enjoy my GC, XBox, and PS2.

-Lasereth

oh man, the neo did not suck at all..
It is a great system.. its's just now showing it's age for 2d games, but hell it's like a decade old so it's hardly a competitor with today's systems..
Anywho.. it's good the cube is selling more units.. but i will totally acknowledge that Sonyhas sold rings around everyone in the market right now. I just find a lot of games that I enjoy personally to be on the cube. If i got a ps2 and an xbox it would only be for select games, and since that isnt really practical.. i havent done it yet.

No. PC only for me. Far more expandable system. I know, that's not the point. I'm happy for Nintendo, what with getting so much mileage out of that cube. Plus, they're located in the area where I live, so they donate to the local employment.

I'm not going to pay 50 friggin bucks to play FFTA on my TV. If the player were a little cheaper, I might get it, but as it stands, so not worth it.

How can you say PS2 is geared toward younger audiences when in the same paragraph you mention Vice City?

You aren't paying $50US to play FFTA on your TV, unless you happen to own only that Game Boy game (including all of the old game boy games) and plan on never getting another. Otherwise you are paying that to play any Game Boy game ever made on your TV, so if you have 50 games you are paying a dollar for each one.

Well, I meet that first criteria(except for the never planning to get another). If I had 50 games at $35 a pop I would have already spent $1750 on GBA games, so there would be little consolation in getting to play them on my TV at an average cost of $1. I don't see myself getting more than 5 GBA games, really, so even $10 per game seems like a waste. I got the GBA to have something to do in the five minutes that smokers use for a cigarette, and I've got a cube for the prettier, bigger, better games. I'm not the kind of guy that has to get every piece of technology for a system, and while the player is a nice idea, I think it's overpriced. Half as much as the original system for an accessory that doesn't even add playable options is pretty friggin' steep.

think of it this way..
i could buy the player and play gba games on my bigger well lit color TV for 1/2 the cost of a gba or gbasp.
In that way, it's a gooddeal..

On the other hand.. it wont add to the gameplay experience in FF:Crystal Cronicles, or Windwaker, Animal Crossing, etc... so that's bad.

I thought about buying one, but i'd rather put that 50 bucks towards getting a freeloader and importing a game.

To each their own.

Not to mention you give up the whole point of the GBA, portability. Also, the GBA SP has remarkably good lighting, solves any concerns about the original GBA. Even if I were to find a fifty in the street, I still wouldn't get the player.

OK GEEZ!
we get the point.

I guess I'll just go over here and cry now.

Gamecube is definately worth the buy. Wind Waker is great, and they ported over Ocarina of Time! (one of the best games ever made in my opinion) And as far as Gamecube beig a kids system. . . Are you people blind? Do you not see that GC has remade all the good Resident Evil games? Among other M rated games? You call Resident Evil a kids game? "Look mommy I shot the zombies head off!" People like that need to open their eyes a little wider, stop obsessing about things like Halo 2 and Max Payne 2, and check out a Gamecube. I can assure you you'll think differently once you own one.

maybe i'll finally buy a gamecube... or maybe not..

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