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Nintendo Resumes Production Of GameCube
Thanks to Gamesindustry.biz for their article revealing that GameCube consoles are rolling off the production lines in Japan once again, as revitalized demand for the system "finally outstrips the backlog of units which had built up at Nintendo's warehouses", following the suspension of GameCube manufacturing earlier this year. The article points out that "Recent price-drops combined with the roll-out of key software titles [including the Zelda bundle] for the machine in all three major markets have given the Cube new life in the run up to Christmas", as Nintendo VP George Harrison "...told the Wall Street Journal that he expects to sell two million Cubes in the US market this Christmas."
I'm not surprised. For $100 I'd consider buying one just for the hell of it. There's nothing that I really want on it (until Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles comes out), but for that price, if I spend a few hours playing it EVER, then I've gotten my moneys worth.
For a while there was talk of a Zelda GameCube bundle, with all of the Zelda games, plus the new-er iteration. Really looking forward to it - first reason to actually buy a GameCube. Perhaps this is the first step in seeing that roll out? Probably a Christmas hold off.
Informatus Technologicus
I'm here, but I never said they were doomed to fail. Just that they were losing big in the US and still are. They are basing that 2 million number on the fact that sales skyrockted for the one week after the price dropped. Well duh. But will they sustain it through the holiday season to hit 2 million consoles in the US from now until 1/1/04? Even given 4 weeks to pull it off they would have to sell 250k consoles per week. Clearly not. At best its wishful thinking, at worst they are deceiving investors. But then they aren't really an American company so they can lie all they want over here.
Hey, you can keep Mario Kart, I bought it once before, I'm still not going to buy a console just to play the same games again.
What with the recent ruling by the Library of Congress regarding copying obsolete video games, the Gamecube was, technically an obsolete system. The actual wording of the law was that a system shall be considered obsolete if it is no longer manufactured OR is no longer reasonably available on the commercial market. Since only one of those conditions needs to be true, Nintendo may have resumed production just to keep copying of GameCube games illegal. Makes me wonder if they'll start making NES, SNES, and Virtual Boy systems again, but they'd also have to make them "reasonably available on the commercial market" (pre-owned doesn't count as "commercial").
Happiness is relative, Based upon the way we live.
Still are?
Did you miss the news that they doubled their market share already?
the xbox is now in third place.
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It's nice to know that the "Haven't you heard? Nintendo doesn't make the GameCube anymore!" trolls will have to find a new line.
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When Pokemon Colosseum comes out. I'm also going to grab the GBA game adapter for the GameCube, along with Rebel Strike and Zelda. But I won't even consider getting a GameCube without Colosseum. Anyone at Nintendo listening?
Don't really think that "stop the production of the gamecube" "dropping the price" "restart the production" are three unrelated decision... maybe I'm just xfiling (but well the thruth is out ther, no?), but to me it sounds like a multi step marketing strategy:
1) Big N claims that GC struggle in misery, developper ain't to do any further game, etc.
2) This generation of consoles is over (or so says Nintendo), everybody start to speak about GC2, Xbox2, PS3, Big N stops the production of the GC.
3) Price are dropped so much that everybody who possibly would rather play Zelda or Mario buy the GC (hey man it's just 99 bucks)
4) Nintendo starts the stats festival: "we're up of 3% while the others are down of 15%", GC+GBA dominate the console market with a combined share of more than 50%, etc
5) Eventually Nintendo restarts the production of the GC, so the next Xmas season will start with a diffuse feeling that Nintendo is doing very well and GC is about to win the console's war.
Mike, you are ever the trustworthy analyst. You seem to have a strong anti-Nintendo bias, what with every one of your gaming posts being a backhanded slap at them. But hey, we all know how right you were about the NGage being so freaking awesome in comparison with the GameBoy Advance, so I guess you've helped us all realize how pathetic Nintendo is.
Keep it up, buddy. Your cred around here is skyrocketing.
Now, this are good news for the Big N!, I couldnt believe some people were happy with some pointless discount, and a new line up of games that includes pacman for 4 players, meanwhile their console was basically discontinued. Good for you! now let good titles for next year roll. ...
According to this story from IGN, Nintento sales have quadrupled and market share has doubled. From the article:
GameCube now runs a 'strong second' to PlayStation 2 in monthly sales, at least based on October sell-through data." It doubled its previous 19 percent [marketshare] piece of the pie to 37 percent. Combined with sales of Game Boy Advance SP -- it accounts for 'half of all system sales in 2003.
Still are?
Did you miss the news that they doubled their market share already?
the xbox is now in third place.
You are confusing 'market share' with 'user base'.
I put my books on Amazon, Smashwords, Demonoid, ISOHunt and Pirate Bay. Search for 'Michael Cargill'
6) Profit!
True. When Xbox hit its alltime high of 24% market share earlier this year during the DOAXBV release, the Cube fans had nothing to fear. The worldwide installed base of the Cube was still much higher than that of the Xbox.
Now that the Cube is doing 37% market share, the Xbox fans also have nothing to fear. Although the Cube lead is again growing, the lead itself had since shrunken to within 200,000 units of the 3rd-place Xbox by the next financial quarter from then.
What world are you living in?
Yay me!
Clearly you are confusing "market share" as in sales for the week, versus "installed user base" which is consoles in homes. The second is the important number in every venue but Nintendo of America press releases. C'mon man, know what you are talking about before you try to correct someone. Mod this man down -1 Just Plain Wrong.
My bad, that should be 8 weeks. Ya preview and ya preview....
I'm still not going to buy a console just to play the same games again.
Ok, enjoy Tomb Raider and Sonic on your n-Gage.
--Jeremy
Jesus was a liberal
Um... they doubled their installed base.
Every gamestore owner I've talked to has told me the Gamecube is flying off the shelves, selling better than it ever has.
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No, they didn't. You don't understand what you are talking about.
care to explain it then, slowly and in detail, so that I might understand?
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Don't bother asking. Mike Hawk rarely provides details to back up his posts---instead preferring to leave his posts vague and ambigious.
care to explain it then, slowly and in detail, so that I might understand?
When Nintendo said that they had doubled their market share after the price drop, that meant that they were suddenly selling twice as many consoles and no extra PS2's or Xbox's were being sold.
Example:
Pre-price drop, the percentage of consoles being sold was 50% PS2, 30% Xbox and 20% GC.
Post price drop, the percentage of consoles being sold was 40% PS2, 20% Xbox and 40% GC.
Note that this doesn't mean that sales for the PS2 and Xbox dropped, it just means that sales for the GC rose.
Nintendo most certainly have not doubled their installed userbase in such a short time - that would mean selling a few million consoles in less than a month and totally outselling the PS2 as well.
I put my books on Amazon, Smashwords, Demonoid, ISOHunt and Pirate Bay. Search for 'Michael Cargill'
I'll agree with you that the installed base is by far the more important factor, although i wouldn't say that market share is completly irrelevant.
However it's a bit biased of you to be singling out Nintendo for this behavior. Every time something similar happens to Sony or Microsoft they crow about it just as loudly. How long has Microsoft been claiming that they're beating Nintendo in the console wars, and how often do they remember to mention that thwy're talking about America, and they're third place world wide in installed user base? When Sony was talking about how much better than the Dreamcast the PS2 was going to be, did they ever mention that it was going to have almost no games at launch and comparable graphics? They're _all_ guilty of that kind of crap, the only thing that changes is which positive looking number they're touting this week.
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This is a good thing, Because Nintendo has always had the games like Zelda and Mario, and it would be sad if those games disappeared.
/ \ / \ / \ / \ ( l | 3 | 3 | 7 ) \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/
Did you see Mr. Mentalist's explanation?
Do you understand now?
Do not correct people when you do not understand what you are talking about.
perhaps if you were less interested in being a dick and more interested in being informative, you would have made it clear what you were talking about right from the get go.