Slashdot Mirror
Playstation 2 Outsells both Xbox and Gamecube
Laurens writes "Despite various claims of both Microsoft and Nintendo, this article by the Los Angeles Times has the first independant salesfigures on all 3 next-gen consoles. And it seems the good ol' PS2 sold best this holiday season." I'm an hour into FFX and don't foresee turning my PS2 off much this week. Can't talk now. Must see Lord of the
Rings, and then play more FFX. Is this a great time to be alive, or what?
The PS2 has the advantage that it plays ps1 games and DVD's.
Also if you have a ps1 what unit are you going to get? PS1 games don't look great but many are more fun than there ps2 conterparts and they are cheap.
Also more and more and better games are starting to appear for the PS2 MGS2, FF etc...
Plus the fact the sony appears to be able to churn them out quicker than demand doesn't hurt. That cube seems hard to find.
My sister bought a PS2 for her sons for two reasons alone (In order of importance):
1) It will still play all their existing PS1 games (a large catalog)
2) It plays DVDs out of the box.
The fact that it plays PS1 games is a HUGE factor in its success, IMHO. My other sister (who's kids have an N64) are not getting a new console this year because of the investment required to build up a new library of games. With the PS2, you get the best of both worlds: ability to start building up your new game library, while preserving your existing one.
Nintendo insists those are sell-through numbers. But who can trust them? They claim their initial shipment of 700,000 (150,000 of which went to rental places like Blockbuster, display kiosks, and the Mexican and Canadian market) sold out in the first two weeks and that they have sold - to consumers - more than 800,000 total.
If that's true then that is the fastest Nintendo has ever gotten rid of 800,000 TV consoles. If it's true.
Let me ask you this. Nintendo complained when NPD released their figures (which mirrored the article exactly, making me think they're using the same research) that they didn't take department stores like Wal-Mart and K-Mart into account, that they only surveyed speciality retailers like Babbages and Electronics Boutique and whatnot, and that Wal-Mart is in fact the biggest seller of GameCubes.
I have no way of knowing if that really matters or if that would change the numbers, but I can say that while my local Target, Babbages, and EB have been sold out of GC's for weeks, they keep reappearing on the shelves of my local Wal-Mart (as in, Nintendo is making Wal-Mart a priority for shipments).
Phallic Symbols in LOTR
Okay, I can't find the original article (spend time on Google searches for Square Nintendo fued), but a quote from it,
"Squaresoft president Nao Suzuki has finally spoken out about their relationship with Nintendo. In the Japanese newspaper Nikkei Business he revealed that it was their pride (or arrogance) that led the company to fall out with Nintendo.
He claims that when the company originally announced that Final Fantasy will be going to the Playstation back in 1997 Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi actually took it lightly, saying it "couldn't be helped".
However, Squaresoft then went on to publically diss the Nintendo 64 and amazingly convinced Enix to join the Playstation as well. Looking back he admits it wasn't a very smart move.
So it turns out Yamauchi isn't actually bitter about losing Final Fantasy. It's all about their attitude after and the fact that they got Enix to switch sides as well. You could say Yamauchi was stabbed in the back and is now out for revenge. "
Basically, if you want to understand how Nintendo behaved when they had dominance, read Game Over. If you remember the game shortages and runs from the SMB3 time period, you'll be fascinated to learn how it all went down.
Nintendo got their butt kicked by Sega on the guidelines because of Mortal Kombat. The fixed it by the N64, because it hurt them in the SNES/Genny fight (when Sony was developing the "Play Station" a CD-ROM multimedia system that played SNES games).
In a nutshell though, Square had a few problems with Nintendo.
1. The cartridge format limited FMV. This was the official reason for the fight. It probably wasn't the real reason.
2. The cartridge "costs." Okay, the Slashdot idiots that claim that cartridges cost $20 and CDs $5 don't understand the industry. Nintendo didn't charge "license" fees per say, they sold you cartridges. They outsourced the manufacturing, and included their license fees in the cartridge. This meant that you had to buy a bulk number, paying up front. If the game flopped, Nintendo got paid regardless and you lost out. This meant that Square was perpetually one failled game away from tanking.
3. Arrogance. Nintendo felt (correct, IMHO) that they made Square, so Square should be graetful. Square knew that they had a following, and people would follow them. They saw Sony's entry as an opportunity to negotiate better terms.
4. The Enix connection. Enix was a competitor (Dragon Quest/Dragon Warrior series of RPGs), in fact more popular in Japan. Why would Squaresoft bring their competition along? Part of it is cultural, Japanese corporates don't have the same cutthroat tendancies that are in the US. The CEOs of major competitors will all know each other, etc. That's why Sega was able to jump on with their rival Nintendo. The executives were friendly, so they changed from competition to somewhat allies quickly. The other reason is that they probably felt that most gamers would want to play Dragon Quest AND Final Fantasy. If you could only pick a console, and your choices were Final Fantasy and who knows, or Dragon Quest and Mario, Final Fantasy was in trouble. By keeping the RPG giants on the same page regarding the Playstation, RPG fans could safely ditch Nintendo.
Alex