Nintendo Claims No.2 Spot, PS2 Sales Down Year-On-Year

jkcity writes "In an interview with Nintendo's Perrin Kaplan on IGN Cube, she claims: 'We basically won 2003 [in the U.S.] and moved ourselves to the number two spot, and Microsoft's Xbox to number three', also noting: 'Year-on-year we were up 68.5% [in December] based on units sold. We sold about 1.1 million GameCubes in December... For the whole year we were up 35%. Our competitors were both in the negative.' But an analyst quoted in an [overly harsh?] BBC News story is less impressed, suggesting the console 'did not do as well as I would have expected'." Elsewhere, a Reuters story notes that PlayStation 2 sales in the U.S. "fell 27 percent to 2.94 million units in November and December from four million units a year earlier", but the console still seems to be outselling the GameCube's increased Xmas volume.

Comments

Overly critical

[DrDoombender]

The article that talks about the Gamecube not doing very is overly critical. They make is sound as if Nintendo is on its last legs, nobody likes them anymore and about to go bankrupt.

"Does it want to be in the handheld, the kiddie market or compete more externally in the wider market?"

first and foremost, this part of the article is totally ridiculous. A console can be many many things. In fact, Nintendo has had the opportunity of a lucrative handheld market, while also being a console business. Why do you have to cater to one and only one market? Obviously you don't. I think if anything there are two things that Nintendo is doing wrong. The first is their image, people DO still think of the gamecube as primarily for kids. I do, but I also own the Mature titles. So perhaps their image needs to be dealt with. The other thing is with their lack of cheaper titles. I can play $15 greatest hits PS2 titles and $20 PS2 GH games. While it usually costs around $25-$30 for a GH equivalent on the gamecube. Who cares if the GC is cheaper, the games are often more expensive when it comes to older titles. Perhaps Nintendo should consider making more of their titles around the $20-$25 mark.

Also in the market, it talks about how the PS2 had a year's headstart over Microsoft and Nintendo. However, the first year the PS2 was out, lots of gamers were dissappointed with the lack of titles. I think having a headstart doesn't necessarily give a company an advantage. Nintendo and Microsoft have some great titles, but yes, I am aware that the PS2 has a huge selection of titles (but is that due to them being Sony, or having a headstart, and could you say the same if we were talking about Nintendo or Microsoft?).

I do agree however that Nintendo should not be underestimated. They don't have the resource of Sony or Microsoft, but they do have experience. I think that they will be around for along time.

The only other problem I have, is that at this point I see no reason for Nintendo to make a next gen console. The GC still has alot of potential left in it, and it seems absurd to make gamers buy a new console, and new games for it. Also, it might be good to see what Sony, and Microsoft come out with so they can top those consoles. All the while, continuing to increase the number of the titles for the GC. On the otherhand, it makes perfect sense that the PS2 be phased out to the PS3 since the PS2 is seeing its age.

In any case, don't count Nintendo out just because they don't have the buy power of Sony and Microsoft. Money doesn't bring success, talent does.

Re:Overly critical

[cgenman]

You forgot one.

"If you ask me if they are still going to be in the console business in 2008, I would say no," he said

Interesting theory, and would be accurate if mindshare equaled success, but in the larger business world, you have to make money to stay afloat. If the XBox continues to hemmorage money indefinitely, Microsoft will cut it. If Sony's games division lost lots of money (ha ha), Sony would eventually cut it. If NEC's TurboDuo was still profitable, it would still be around. Nintendo is making money, by all accounts in quantity, and would be ludicrous to get out of the business that has served it so well for... Four generations of hardware.

Furthermore, with Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony all buying chips from IBM and ATI, development costs can be kept in line. Nintendo, having developed more gaming systems than all of their rivals combined (and having taught Sony how to build theirs), is in a pretty good position to create something amazing on a realistic budget. They do need to stop hiring case designers from Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory, but overall they are in a good position to make good hardware. Remember, the GameCube is comparable in power to the XBox at a significantly lower price, and unlike Sony their designers have spent their time creating the next generation of system, rather than revising the old one so that it doesn't break every 6 months.

The market might be ripe for another console in 2 - 3 years, but we're getting to the point of diminished returns. With actual collision detection and *gasp* 64 colors, the Genesis was a significant jump over the NES in terms of graphics and gameplay. The PS1 jumped beyond that to actual, though extremely blocky, 3D, and unlimited CD storage. The PS2 smoothed out those hard edges into tasty NURBS and boosted storage again to DVD, while making gameplay far more fluid. And the next generation of consoles? You can always keep boosting draw distance, pushing poly performance, and making the world more persistent, but are those enough? The only things that I could see as compelling enough for an upgrade would be a return to VR (there's finally the power, you know), or a really good Havoc based physics co-processor. Even then it would be a tough sell.

Well see. We always do.

A Gamecube Christmas

[Prien715]

Statistics about sales are all well and good, but sometimes they don't paint a realistic picture. I got a 'cube for X-mas with no memory card, so I attempted to find one.

My first stop was my local Walmart. Despite the large volume of games for PS2 and X-Box, the gamecube shelf was completely bare, not a single game was left. Needless to say, they didn't have any memory cards.

I went to my local mall and visited every store that carried the cube and found similar situations. I finally stopped at EB Games who had 3rd party cards (the Nintendo brand was sold out).

If anyone asks why weren't 'cube sales weren't higher in my area, it's pretty simple. No one had any left. I suspect other people in other areas may have similar stories, but at this point, Nintendo beat the sales predictions of every retail chain to the point of clearing their inventory. And that's a good season.