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GameCube Demand Spiking in U.S.?
LlamaRama writes "Reuters reports that Nintendo has nearly sold out of GameCubes in the United States, with Nintendo spokeswoman Perrin Kaplan explaining: 'Store shelves are just running very dry... I'd say about 50 percent of our stores are out.' Seems like the holiday rush on GameCube might last a few months past December!" Kaplan also indicated that "...January hardware sales were up 60 percent year-over-year, while January software sales were up 101 percent" following last year's GameCube price cut to $99, though it's unclear how these increased totals compare with current PlayStation 2 and Xbox sales.
I mean, that's when the stores are trying to get rid of their old items and cutting down prices 'n whatnot.
The gamecube has remained at $99.
Gee I dunno. Hrm...fun games that everyone can enjoy. I know with every GC topic there's a list but here it is again because perhaps you haven't seen it before
Super Monkey Ball
Pikmin
Viewtiful Joe
SSMB
Zelda
Metroid Prime
Mario Kart
Mario Golf
Bomberman(Great Multiplayer)
"Armed forces abroad are of little value unless there is prudent counsel at home" - Cicero
This explains a lot.
My brother's unit died over the weekend. Fortunately, he purchased the extended warranty from BestBuy (you know, that thing they bug you about every single time).
However, I found out the hard way that none of the stores nearby had a unit in stock (in any color). I visited 2 of the stores that are each within 15 minutes from my house, and then called a bunch of others. NOBODY had it in stock!!!!!
Well, I guess we'll have to wait a while then. Personally, I'm annoyed I purchased an XBox instead of a GameCube. Those games are fun (I love the blue sparks).
About a month and an half ago I decided to buy a GameCube. The first store I went to was sold out of several of the games I wanted, but had a few Cubes. The second store had no Cubes, and only one copy of Super Smash Bros Melee. Both were sold out of Nintendo Memory Cards, so I had to settle for a crappy 3rd party card. I ended up buying the lone copy of SSBM from store #2, and my Cube, memory card, and 2nd controller from #1.
A week later I go to buy more games. All the stores in my town were sold out of good GameCube games, yet were mostly full of PS2 and full of Xbox games. I ended up having to buy my games at an out of town Wal-Mart, the only place that wasn't sold out of good GCN games.
Additionally, while looking for my GCN games, I saw about 3 other parties come, and leave empty handed, which was more than I saw buying PS2 games.
In my area, at least, it sure seems demand for GameCubes shot up.
Right, except in this case the sales people said that they were having trouble keeping them in the stores. Every time they got a new shipment, they'd sell out within a few days. Doesn't exactly sound like a dead system.
seriouslyexcited.net
Read the story. Nintendo currently has the production lines at maximum capacity. It just takes time to make the systems and ship them from Japan to the US.
). I am very used to paying less than $20 to $25 for PS2 games and was disappointed to see most GC games were still above $25 to $30.
On average, I've paid $15-25 for most of my GameCube games, the exceptions generally being the newest titles (F-Zero, FF:CC, Mario Kart, Viewtiful Joe). Even the more expensive titles that were not new ran in the $25-35 range, and have since become "Players Choice" titles and dropped another $5-10. Generally speaking, though, the prices on the games seem to drop before they reach "Players Choice" status, to the point where they get the label around the same time they hit the typical price point ($30). If you look at the lists most people post of "must have" games for the Cube and take out the newest titles, you'll probably find that you can get most of the titles in the $15-30 range, especially if you're willing to buy used (but then new copies of games like Eternal Darkness have been going for less than $20 and it's almost not worth the couple of dollars difference for a used copy).
The PS2 has been out longer, of course, and has far more titles. Eventually you're going to end up with a handful of titles worth buying in the $20 bin. I've got to say, though, that in terms of proportions of good to bad titles in the price range, you're still better off on the Cube. If you're looking for pure numbers of titles, of course the PS2 is going to hit it off, you just have to be careful what you buy.
I saw $60 on the Zelda bundle and choked.
umm what Zelda bundle? I'm sure Wind Waker may still be going for $50 in some places (I got it with my Cube after finding Metroid Prime for $20), but anything else I'm aware of Zelda-related has been freely bundled with either the Cube itself or with a pre-order of Wind Waker. Either bundled disc can be picked up used on occasion for $10 (which could explain finding a Zelda bundle for $60, but they're not supposed to be selling new discs that way afaik).
-PainKilleR-[CE]