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Nintendo Drops GameCube Price to $150
DarkZero writes: "According to Planet Gamecube, Nintendo, as was expected, has dropped the price of the GameCube to $150. As the consoles currently stand, the GameCube is $50 cheaper than both the X-Box and the PS2, letting it retain half of its price edge on its competitors. Neither Sony nor Microsoft has commented on it yet, but Microsoft might decide to lower the price of the X-Box a little bit more in retaliation. Yay, competitive pricing!"
MS might just be totally confused! "You mean we have to lower our prices to sell stuff?"
This is how capitalism should work! Competitive pricing is great for all involved: the consumer gets the best possible deal for the product, while the manufacturer is rewarded with high sales for their product. It also encourages companies to create products that satisfy the consumer's needs(aka - what the buyer wants).
Way to go!
Attention all planets of the Solar Federation! We have assumed control! - Neil Peart
All this "console war" is great, but still can't afford 60+ for a game that's going to last me less than a week.
What you don't realise, nintendo has a nice chunk of change stored up as well... seeing as they own Pokemon which is what helped them through the N64, and they have been making money from their Cubes since day 1. Nintendo isn't going to be pushed out of the hardware market any time soon.
Blink
"Microsoft might decide to lower the price of the X-Box a little bit more in retaliation. Yay, competitive pricing!"
I have to admit that I highly doubt it... I'm sure microsoft set their current price-drop in line with expecting Nintendo to drop theirs to their current mark.
As far as I know, Gamecube can't play DVD's either, correct? That's an awesome value-added feature. I was on the verge of buying a DVD player myself as well, but ended up just picking up a playstation 2 and killing 2 birds with one stone.
X-Box plays DVD's as well, right? I think the $50 difference is reasonable.
They are already losing lots of money selling xbox the price it is today, why dont MS give theyre xbox away for free? :))
Fabio - Sumare/Sao Paulo/Brazil/South America/Earth/Solar System/Milky Way/Universe
http://www.morroida.com.br
I guess nobody told them big-boxers (nor their customers) that the price has been cut. They were both selling PS2 systems for $299 without any included games in Rochester, NY, USA.
ACHTUNG! Das computermachine ist nicht fuer gefingerpoken und mittengrabben. Ist nicht fuer gewerken bei das dumpkopfen.
API newswire May 20, 2002 10:02 AM
Richard Head reporting from redmond WA...
Microsoft Announces Xbox Bundle to Compete with Console pricewars.
Microsoft this morning in a retalitaory move against Nintendo and Sony's attempts to undermine the sales of the Xbox has announced that they will not be lowering the price of the Xbox but will in fact be bundling it with several high quality applications.
Steve Ballmer in a private interview said, "The public has been clamoring for a killer app for the Xbox and we have decided to give it to them. As of today we will be selling Xboxes with free copies of Microsoft BOB for their PC and a special ported version of BOB for the Xbox. we are confident that this will crust the competition."
Sony and Nintendo represenatives were unavailable for comment.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
> That's low enough for me! I'm off to get my
> GameCube. Really, that's about as much as I'm
> willing to pay for a non-upgradable piece of
> hardware that will be obsolete in a year...
You mean something that's usually non-upgradable and obsolete in a year like, ohh, a video card for a PC? Some of the fancier graphics cards cost more than a console!
Unless things get *really* lousy in the console market, video game consoles have a staying power greater than a year. Even the *Dreamcast* was around longer than a year!
Consider the Playstation. There are still games being released for that old beast.
-- Rick
...to match their competitor they nearly drove Netscape out of business.
Just a thought...
As much as competitive pricing is a good thing, I hope there's some margin left at the end of the day or this market will turn into a winner take all for whoever's got the motivation and money to stick it out.
My next sig will be ready soon, but friends can beat the rush!
Microsoft and Sony will use their cash to push Nintendo out of the hardware market.
It's not quite that easy -- Nintendo also has tons of cash, because of the success of the GB/GBA; they're actually quite good at making money, even if they lag a bit in the hype department. Microsoft could probably do it if they bled money like mad for a long time, but I'm not sure even MS is that crazy.
All the players in this war are strong, and I think they're all in it for the long haul. And remember, Nintendo, unlike MS & Sony, doesn't do anything else except games -- they can't afford to lose.
We live, as we dream -- alone....
Yet More proof (asif we needed anymore) that competition _WORKS_
Imagine, just imagine, if the OS market was like this. i CRINGE to think about how good our operating systems would be (think VR, 3d Interfaces that are common, everything you'd want from an OS)
sigh. I wish it really was the OS market.
Microsoft IIS is to webserving as KFC is to healthy eating
Give away the razors and sell them the blades...
-S
--- What parts of "shall make no law", "shall not be infringed", and "shall not be violated" don't you understand?
Someone should bring this up in all the little court cases Microsoft is having right now. Pricing, innovation, quick to market, online services...when was the last time you saw microsoft work this hard to get market share? Seems to me, the layman, that this competition thing makes them work a bit harder, get product out a bit faster, and make something worlth having. Then again, it might just be a cheaper piece of shit with one good game. At least with other products on the market I can pay 1/3 less for that pos.
Neck_of_the_Woods
#/usr/local/surf/glassy/overhead
Sony (holding royal flush): I raise you $1.
Nintendo (holding 4 aces): I'll see your $1 and raise you $2:
MS (holding jack-squat): I'll see your $2 and raise you A MILLION BILLION DOLLARS.
Sony: Fold.
Nintendo: Fold.
MS: Mwahahahahahaha.
By opening the packaging that contains this X-Box, the user agrees that he or she will not purchase a competing console, play games on a friend's competing console, or even look for more than five seconds at a competing console when walking through a store. Furthermore, by plugging in the Microsoft X-Box, the user consents to any and all changes that the Microsoft X-Box may implement in the user's household, including the notification of Microsoft corporate headquarters in the event that a competing console is detected in the household, and the neurological reprogramming of any of the user's offspring to become better Microsoft customers.
That ought to help good ol' MS take its rightful place in our homes and lives.
In a world without walls, there is no need for Windows.
Instead of lowering the price on the XBOX, Microsoft could bundle in their dvd kit at the current $199 price for value added competition instead of direct price competition. It would be a smart move for Microsoft because 1) producing that kit is probably cheaper than lowering the price of the xbox $50, 2) it provides a great advertisement angle--"More raw power than Gamecube and a FREE DVD Player!", and 3) people are suckers for 'free' stuff and value added items.
Because the price gap between the Xbox and Gamecube is now just $50 dollars, I think consumers on the fence will be looking beyond just the price and more towards the things the consoles can do. And with the DVD kit, the Xbox wins the features competition, not necessarily because people would actually use the DVD features; but just because people like a bargain.
No, wait, maybe he was philosophising on something else...
...we are from the government - we are here to help...
special liscensing where you can get it's system for half price... but with this plan you have to pay it for all the game systems in your house, whether or not you own them.
___
It's the end of my comment as I know it and I feel fine.
Let's not forget that Nintendo is also quite good at making GAMES, which is the whole point of this business. Who cares which hardware is better, which system has the best GAMES?
Exactly! Give the man a goddamn prize!
I've got a coworker who's got an Xbox, and keeps telling me about the specifications of the thing. I keep asking him, "So what games can I get on it now?"
"Get Halo!"
"And?"
"And... NHL 2002?"
I'll probably get a PS2 first (DVD and games together, so I can finally ditch Windows), but the Cube is cheap enough that I could probably get both now. Super Smash Brothers rocks my world.
And on a side note, I always thought it would be a cold day in hell when a Sonic game was available on a Nintendo system. I'm starting to feel my age. :)
Most people's opinions of consoles after a purchase depend almost completely on what games they bought. Most people with a gamecube purchased Star Wars: Rogue Leader and maybe Waverace or something to that effect, perhaps with no extra controllers.
To me, buying a good game library is like designing a game (but with far fewer decisions): you need to have a cohesive strategy, or else you risk having a boring console. For me, it was multiplayer gaming. Satisfied, I am.
If anyone thinks that Nintendo's laid it's cards out on the table, I think they're gonna be surprised. The future shows a lot of interesting things: Mario Party 4, a new Mario Kart, a new Zelda game, a new Starfox game in the vein of Zelda64, something from Squaresoft in the way of Final Fantasy, Super Mario Sunshine, Bomberman (this month), more Resident Evil games from Capcom, Mario Golf/Tennis and of course, Metroid Prime, which is being developed by a friend of mine who is nothing more than completely convinced that it's going to be the game of the year.
but what you'd really want is a beowulf cluster of these running linux and connected to your yopy!
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