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UK Retailers Dumping Gamecube?
GameCube Europe is carrying a story stating that major United Kingdom retailers are dropping the Gamecube from their stock. From the article: Argos [has] reduced the GameCube from the RRP of £79.99 to only £39.99 and have also reduced the cost of games and accessories by a drastic amount.
Still, it's not like Nintendo is going out of their way to woo 3rd parties. I mean the gamecube was originally supposed to go head to head and be neck-and-neck with the PS2 but there was no developer support for the GC at all and all the exclusivity deals with 3rd party killer apps (MGS, GTA, FFX, etc) killed any hope for the GC and even Xbox as well from really competing with the PS2.
...that with all the bad press the GameCube gets, it's still sold more units worldwide than the Xbox.
I guess it's true that money can buy you whatever you want, and in this case Microsoft has bought public perception...
It would be really sad if what caused the failure of Nintendo was not them loosing money, or them not having fans, but companies being short sighted enough to drop support for Nintendo simply because it's not selling as well as Xbox and PS2 stuff. As it is Nintendo could live enitrely on it's fanbase for an indefinate period of time, but if you can't walk into a store and buy the games, then it doesn't matter how many much money you're making. If it ever comes to those dark times, hopefully Nintendo will have the forsight to just open up an online store, or start their own chain of Nintendo stores. Or both.
--The universe will not be altered by forum threads, even those which are very wry. --Tycho Brahe (Penny Arcade)
What would surprise me though, is if Nintendo just would let this pass without action.
I'm 20 and I still play my game cube Every Day
With great games like Super Smash Bros Melee, Metriod Prime, All The Zelda Games and I love the Mario Party games.
Not a Twitter sockpuppet... but I wish I was.
We could sit here and debate what a great library the Gamecube has, but the bottom line is that it's competitors offer a wider selection of games and that's appealing to consumers (and people who play games, I'd think).
Go to the site's gamecube listing. "Offer ends 21st January 2005. " Last thing you do is trust anything from GameCube Europe. They're just as bad as Nintendo Now.
One thing I took notice of that was interesting...Nintendo likes to shout from the roof tops that a game is exclusive to their system. "Only for Nintendo Gamecube." But check out the handful of great first party games on the PS2 for instance...I don't hear people raving about how Ratchet and Clank: Up Your Arsenal is a "Playstation 2 exclusive!" You know why? They don't have to play the "Hey, uh, we have some stuff over here, too," game.
Earlier this summer I decided that a console system would really be nice. I've been a PC gamer for years, but my latest console was my beloved SNES. Yes, I think that the PC is, in many ways, a superior platform for many games there are plenty of things that a console does better that I was missing. I wanted something that I could just pick up and play some basic, light games on yet still gave me something to really sink my teeth into when I felt like it. I wanted something where I could just sit around and play with some friends or my girlfriend without each of us just staring into our own, distant screens. As far as game selection I wanted something that had a good lock on some exclusive titles that I would enjoy.
After looking at all of these factors I really had to choose the Gamecube as being the best of the batch. It has four player support out of box (unlike the PS2) and a number of great multi-player games that are fun for groups (Super Smash Bros., Mario Kart). It also has some really great exclusive titles (both the aforementioned, Zelda, Metroid, Paper Mario, Eternal Darkness). The major titles I'd be missing are often not only ported to the PC where they're often better (e.g. Grand Theft Auto), but many are originally designed for the PC and only co-developed for consoles. What's left is often multi-platform meaning I won't miss out (e.g. Prince of Persia, X-Men Legends, Tony Hawk). It also has a few revamped PS1 games that I'd wanted a chance to play (Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil) but had missed out on. Online play is something I'd often be able to get better on the PC regardless and while it would suck for a few titles, it was something I could deal with.
Thus, in my opinion, at least, while the Gamecube might not be the best system for someone who will be playing consoles exclusively (I do miss Katamari Damacy, Burnout 3, and some others) if you already have a PC it's probably the best console to pick up to scratch those itches that only a console can.
Move along, nothing to see in this article. I mean, did anybody actually read it? It starts off like this:
A while ago Argos reduced the price of the GameCube console because they wished to get rid of their stock. After an incredible increase in sales they decided to carry on stocking it, but seem as if they wish to get rid of it now.
Let's all ponder that for a minute. "A while ago" Argos "wished" to get rid of their stock, and now they "wish" to get rid of it again. The trouble is, people just keep buying the stupid things! Poor Argos, their wish just never comes true! Those pesky customers just will not stop giving them their money.
Seriously, though, two points:
1. This is not new. The article itself says Argos first did this "a while ago", meaning (since this author can't seem to remember exactly) in 2003.
2. The rest of this article is nothing but speculation. "it is worrying that retailers are seemingly giving up on the GameCube" is an opinion based on an assumption based on nothing. The article itself says that prices were reduced previously and yet GameCubes are still on sale - why not assume this is simply a sales-generating tactic that's now been used repeatedly? Do stores never have loss-leader sales in the UK? (Rhetorical question - they obviously do, because Argos did it before with the GameCube.)
Nintendo's in a lot better shape than people seem to think they are. Just read their financial reports and look at the worldwide sales data (it's out there, though Europe's the toughest to come by - NPD and MediaCreate reports are pretty easily obtainable from various sources, though). They're profitable and they've got the #2 home console and #1, #2 and #3 handhelds in terms of current worldwide sales.