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

Actually no

[gasaraki]

According to wordwide sales and ownership, Gamecube is not dying. In fact, in many countries it out-sells... Oh wait, sorry. I just assumed this was like all the other Gamecube articles.

January...

[oOMeggieOo]

But doesn't January typically increase sales for nearly every product out there? I mean, that's when the stores are trying to get rid of their old items and cutting down prices 'n whatnot. And...if you're a person that's not really loyal to any one gaming system, the gamecube would be the easiest to pick right now considering its cheap price. Well, at least, it has a cheap price compared to the PS2 and XBox. Personally, now I'm tempted to go get one. The only reason I wanted a gamecube was for Super Smash Brothers Melee..but now that they have Zelda, Final Fantasy, and a few other good games offered only on their system. And, of course, the cost is lower, though not so significantly lower to really save any money..but..significantly lower to make my mind automatically think I would be getting quite a bargain deal.

Re:January...

[Anonymous Coward]

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.

Re:January...

[edwdig]

They aren't saying that January's sales were higher than average sales or anything like that. They said that this past January there was a huge increase in GameCube sales compared to the previous January.

Microsoft and Sony are both showing decling system sales. Nintendo is the only one who's sales are inreasing.

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

[BigDork1001]

http://central.masterzen.net/uploads/post-38-10569 41764.jpg

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)

Re:I can verify this in New York City

[galaxy300]

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.

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.

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

[mahdi13]

Nintendo always has problems figuring out the right levels to produce things at.

Keeping from overstocking is not a problem. Nintendo tries very hard not to overstock their products and do not saturate the market with something they want everyone to think is the 'new hot thing'. They let the customers figure out what they like, when they want it.
Sony is a completely 'in your face' company that wants you to get this and get it now.
Overstocking is a very dangerous thing for business. If it doesn't sell as well as you hoped, you're left with warehouses of product that nobody wants, which has a huge overhead of
1) Paying for the warehouse space
2) Holding onto products that don't move which forces you to considerably drop prices in hopes that it will make people want it more.
3) Causes them to release the old products at a considerable discount in hopes to move the product and avoid more of a loss by landfilling the overstock.

Granted that #3 worked very well with the system and people can see a good deal when they see one. But over estimating this is one of the things that killed (aided in) the Dreamcast, it took Sega over a year to clear out their warehouses of Dreamcast systems at $50 (over a 200% loss per system).

I think Nintendo is doing a good thing by making only what they need, if it pisses someone off because that person is not resourceful enough to find one and they get an Xbox instead or wait a month...it's not going to bankrupt Nintendo because they have sold enough already to be able to eat the (few) lost sales.

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.

Re:You've got to be kidding me...

[YomikoReadman]

For someone who works in a games store, you appear to be way out of the loop. The platinum color of the GC was reissued as a standard color around Christmas.

Re:You've got to be kidding me...

[Anonymous Coward]

it couldn't possibly because THEY ARE SOLD OUT AND HAVE NONE TO SHIP TO YOUR STORE

see, I can shout in all caps and be cool too. Now go restock the deer hunter Online display monkey boy

Re:You've got to be kidding me...

[MMaestro]

On the contrary, Nintendo is very good at meeting supply and demand better than some other company *cough*PS2launch*cough*.

Nintendo is simply trying to avoid manufacturing costs since they already have enough units manufactured as it is. Its cheaper to do a little supply juggling than to start production of a few thousand units only to find out no one wants to buy them. Nintendo is simply trying to finish off selling what they already have out in the market instead of glutting it.

Re:You've got to be kidding me...

[edwdig]

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.

Re:You've got to be kidding me...

[prockcore]

For someone who works in a games store, you appear to be way out of the loop.

Who said he worked at a games store? For all we know, he works at Bed Bath and Beyond.

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.

This Explains A Lot

[kannibal_klown]

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).

Easily Explained

[tyndyll]

Its all because of Linux. Viva the Revolution!!!

From Experience

[V50]

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.

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?

GC cheap, games expensive

[Mr. Piddle]

I was just about to buy a gamecube, but realized my cheap ass would have to pay more for GC games (on average). 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. I saw $60 on the Zelda bundle and choked.

Re:GC cheap, games expensive

[PainKilleR-CE]

). 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).

Hang on a sec there.

[Inoshiro]

"Four, the DVD market has expanded fully. Back when the PS2 and later the Xbox was launched, "

The Xbox and GameCube launched within a week of each other in November, 2001. The the Xbox has very OPTIONAL DVD playback because the fact is, most people who care have about 3 or 4 things that can play DVDs now. Only on the PS2 do you pay for something you're not going to use.

You're very right that it might've been a big deal in 2000 when it was Dreamcast vs. PS2, but in 2004 it's not, much like it wasn't in 2003 and 2002.

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