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.

Comments

I can verify this in New York City

[galaxy300]

I decided to buy a GameCube last week. I went to *every store in Brooklyn* trying to find one. None of the game stores, none of the electronics stores. After about two hours I finally got to Toys-R-Us, which happened to have 2 in stock. No memory cards, though. Had to go back to Gamestop to get that.

Sheesh. It was worth it, though. I love the thing.

Re:I can verify this in New York City

[PainKilleR-CE]

The truth, of course, is that the Dreamcast was not being restocked and that stores had stopped carrying it because it was dead as a system.

But you have to also remember that Sega stopped producing and supporting the Dreamcast before it became hard to find. In this case, Nintendo is producing the system (they started the manufacturing back up near the time of the price drop) and is definitely still supporting the system.

Additionally, since hardware sales are up over the previous year, comparisons to the DreamCast become even more problematic. The DC really didn't even have a 2nd year in which sales could be compared to the previous year, because it was cancelled 15 months after the US release.

Well, Nintendo better fix that problem soon...

[Zangief]

It would be stupid for them to not have enough GCs to meet demand. This makes me remember when PS2 was launched, and there were not enough units in America to meer demand.

Since Nintendo, at some point stopped the manufacturing of GC, they must have keeped all this time a low hardware stock (at least GCs...GBA's stock must be huge). That hit them now.

Oh well, Nintendo moves in misterious ways.

Re:Well, Nintendo better fix that problem soon...

[b0r0din]

I doubt this will be the case. If you can't get them at your local store, just go to amazon or ebay. Hell, I just bought one myself on ebay for 60 bucks. Believe me they aren't selling out anywhere on the web from what I can tell. I've noticed the Platinum color is more popular, but you can still get Indigo, and it's the same thing.

Anyway, I'm guessing this movement is the result of a lot of things. The big one is the price. $99 bucks for a new game system is not unprecedented, but it has certainly been a while since they were selling that low.

Two, they've tied in their best-selling GBA portable into their system very well, people who have that GBA are now interested in the games that run on both, etc.

Three, have you looked at their games lately? Mario Party 5 and Mario Kart Double Dash are amazingly fun, family games. I recently switched from PS2 to GameCube because my girlfriend loves Mario Kart and she thinks Manhunt is disgusting
(it really is, too). They've got a really wide variety and they focus less on adult-themed games.

Four, the DVD market has expanded fully. Back when the PS2 and later the Xbox was launched, very few people had DVD players - the PS2 was an attempt to get people to buy a device that could play games and DVDs. Now that the market is flooded with 40 and 50 dollar DVD players, people don't need the PS2 for that reason, plus most PS2s don't have the kind of full-feature DVD aspects like 5.1 surround. Plus, the PS2 has maxed out on graphics. The Gamecube's graphics are better.

Five, it's trendy. Nintendo is sort of like the Apple of the video game world. They release different gamecube and gameboy colors, they appeal to old school by re-using old games like Mario 3 and incorporating a gameboy player so you can play those games on a TV, and they stick to their niche market. 2-D games, 3-D games, they have it all. Sure it costs more, but that's just smart marketing.

Here's why - at least for me

[seigniory]

I already bought an XBox, I already bought a PS2 - love them both. Variety is the spice of life, right? For $99, it's a great deal for something I know I'll use, but didn't want as my #1 system when I had a choice of 3. Probably the same for a lot of people.

You've got to be kidding me...

[nicksthings]

This is an effin' joke. My store hasn't received ONE Gamecube system since mid-December when we sold out during the holiday. Not one. Neither have any of our other stores for that matter.

High demand during the holiday season is only half the story and in fact, it's a very skewed perspective. Why can't you find any Gamecubes? BECAUSE NINTENDO HAVEN'T SHIPPED RETAILERS ANY IN CLOSE TO THREE MONTHS. It's ridiculous to paint a picture like there's still this mad rush to buy Gamecubes, because that's simply not the case.

On the regular, I'm still selling Xbox and PS2 systems AND also being restocked on these items. I'm sitting on a number of used Gamecubes, of which I sell every now and then.

This isn't a knock on the Gamecube, but this story is absolutely ridiculous and total PR bullshit. By the same token, let's go ahead and say Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga for the GBA is the biggest selling, most popular game of the past three months because well, I haven't had but three copies, tops, sent to my store from Redmond, Washington in that time frame.

This spin makes me sick. I am, however, receiving a whopping FOUR platinum Gamecubes later this week. Yes, FOUR! Thanks, Nintendo! Limited edition color my ass.

Bottom line, Nintendo is notorious for under shipping and barely, if not at all, meeting demand.

ooh profit

[h0mer]

January software sales were up 101 percent

This is bigger news, since games are what make the money. More systems being sold would mean more software being sold, chicken/egg etc.

The most important part of the software sales is what games were bought specifically. I'd like to see if 75%+ is Nintendo first and second-party games. It would look great if Prince of Persia and some other third-party games sold well.

It's very important that Nintendo keeps good relations with third-parties. Nintendo DS is going to need developers for this completely new hardware, the GameCube successor is going to need a lot of games also. In the meantime, support needs to be maintained for GBA/GC.

I want Nintendo to start looking and sounding like a winner again. This is just the first step.

Adult games...

[JMZero]

Mario Party 5 and Mario Kart Double Dash are amazingly fun, family games. I recently switched from PS2 to GameCube because my girlfriend loves Mario Kart and she thinks Manhunt is disgusting
(it really is, too). They've got a really wide variety and they focus less on adult-themed games.

I've noticed that the adults that I talk to - professional people, parents, etc - uniformly prefer fun games with mild presentation: ranging from Mario Kart to Project Gotham to Super Monkey Ball to Halo. Nobody is crazy for Postal or Manhunt or Xtreme Beach Volleyball. "Adult" themed games, like "adult" movies, would be more aptly named "adolescent".

Adults, typically, have grown out of their desire to see nothing but boobs and blood. Adults don't think "ooh, I can't enjoy this because the graphics are cartoony and that's baby stuff".

When people complain about Nintendo making kids games, they should at least get the criticism right: Nintendo doesn't fail adults, it fails wide-eyed 15 year old boys.

Price Drop In Games!

[superpulpsicle]

I have to admit if they keep dropping the price like that, it's pretty tempting to get a system.
But the system you ONLY buy once.

I'd rather see all gamecube games come out at $29.99 because they are on the lower end of the market. Is it me, or does it seem like PS2 games are always the cheapest?

This might be true

[Pluvius]

Though I wouldn't be surprised if Nintendo was just putting a positive spin on simply understocking the retailers, it's possible that the GC really is doing well in the US right now. I can think of two reasons for this:

1. The GC is only $99.

2. Tax refund checks are coming in.

I'd say that #1 is the major reason for it. I don't pay income taxes, but I still went down to the local Wal-Mart a few days ago to get a GC (and yes, they were sold out). My reasoning is similar to the reasoning I had when I bought a Dreamcast: Hey, there aren't that many games on the GC worth buying the system for, but it's only $99. With the DC, Soul Calibur and the Virtua Tennis series were enough to justify the cost; I figure it's the same with Zelda, Mario, and Metroid on the GC.

Rob