Nintendo Outsells Competition (1 Viewer)

[David J Wang]

Gamecube Sales Numbers

 

[Morgan Jolley]

Well, would you look at that.

There is a thread about X-Box breaking records (only one is mentioned) but this article mentions more than just one. Hmm...

 

[KeithAP]

Makes sense to me. It is substantially cheaper and seems to be more available than the PS2 was or the Xbox is. Especially with he economy like it is, I think Nintendo has a definite advantage. Their track record of being a leader in this area is also a big plus in the eyes of the consumers.

Should be an interesting battle in the console game market over the next year.

-Keith

 

[Steve Clark]

Those numbers do not mean squat to me. This was simply a matter of supply. The PS2 and possibly the XBox had higher demand at launch, however the GC came to the party with more toys. The GC announced they shipped a total of 740,000 units at launch whereas the XBox has been rumored at 400-500,000 units. Thus it would be news only if the GC did not outsell the XBox.

Also many analysts expect both the XBox and GC to be sold out by the end of the year. So once again, if the GC produces more units than the XBox through December, logic dictates that the GC will sell more units than the XBox this year. And of course, this result would mean absolutely nothing.

The console war is not a sprint, but a long distance race. It is a war and not a battle. When production of the XBox and GC finally outpaces demand sometime next year and shelves at retailers are full of these two consoles, then over an extended period of time we will start to get an indication of which console might win the war instead of a particular battle. Now throw PS2 into the mix, which will most likely reduce its price when both the XBox and GC units become readily available at retailers next year, and it really gets interesting.

 

[Joseph S]

Also many analysts expect both the XBox and GC to be sold out by the end of the year.

A monkey could provide that information. I don't need an analyst to tell me that a hot Christmas item will be in high demand through the end of the year.
When I went to college you could get a degree in Math with a nice background in Statistics and maybe a minor in Economics. However, most so-called analysts are nothing but glorified journalists with minimal info on that which they cover.
This is what happens if you rely on "analysts"
Analysts say buy, buy, buy...
As for the war, they're all second fiddle to the PS2 because they were beat to the market by a year.

 

[Andre F]

Those numbers do not mean squat to me. This was simply a matter of supply.

Well in my opinion this does mean something. It means Nintendo thought their roll out stategy through enough to get a lot of Gamecubes on the shelves. Which in turn means better numbers which equals more money!

-Andre F

 

[Mike_G]

However, Nintendo had the advantage of having the GC in production MONTHS ago. All they had to do was tweak a chip that went from "this is a Japanese console" to "this is an Amaerican console". I'd say that Nintendo had a relatively unfair advantage.

Mike

 

[Frederick]

Having more units definately helps, but let's not rule out other factors ...

The Gamecube is $100 cheaper than the competition (more for less comes into play these days), and for the price of the PS2 or the X-Box alone, you can get the `Cube, Luigi, and Pikmin, which parents would rather see their children play then running around gunning aliens in Halo or taking out prostitutes in Grand Theft Auto III. The Gamecube is aimed at a younger crowd, we're in a recession, and it's Christmas. To me, and this is only my opinion, Nintendo set themselves up to have a winner this year. Just going by the people who I've talked to at my job, there are far more getting their CHILDREN a Gamecube for Christmas than there are getting them an X-Box ...

Yes, I'm getting an X-Box right after I recover from Christmas. But I'm 31, with no children, and a HT setup in my apartment. I already have a PS2 and a `Cube. I feel (and again, this is my opinion) that Microsoft aimed the X-Box squarely at us, and we're outnumbered. I'm not surprised at all about the `Cube doing so well, and for the reasons listed above, it just may be the #1 selling system for Christmas ...

Freddy C.

 

[Andre F]

However, Nintendo had the advantage of having the GC in production MONTHS ago. All they had to do was tweak a chip that went from "this is a Japanese console" to "this is an Amaerican console". I'd say that Nintendo had a relatively unfair advantage.

I don't want to start any kind of a war but I disagree with that statement. How is it unfair to conduct business in a forward thinking manner. Again I think it's smart to be prepared. Of course none of this really matters. We should check in on this topic again in six months to a year.

-Andre F

 

[Calvin Watts III]

Of course none of this really matters. We should check in on this topic again in six months to a year.

At least a year...say Feb. 2003,when every system has been on the market,online play has (maybe) come into it, developers have had time to learn to get more out of the consoles,and the Christmas sales are in.
And screw a flame war..I want them all to succeed,because that means more cool games for me to play!
Calvin

 

[Shawn O]

So,is N telling the truth with these launch numbers or is it the same as the Japaneese launch number game?Not that it's any worse than the M$-EB luanch #'s game.

 

[David Proud]

Look Nintendo ain't going away, and nor is MICROSOFT.

The two system are not in full competition with each other. How many children games does the xbox have? Now look at nintendo, how many adult games do they have?

Nintendo is going after people 13 and under and Xbox is going after 20 somethings with lots of toys, HDTVS, home theaters, etc. The market can survive with both systems.

I wouldn't buy my kid an xbox, I would buy him a cute cube, with decent characters, they don't need to be playing halo like Daddy.

Microsoft has not realesed any sales numbers yet.

Besides money is not made in the consoles initially its just an investment into the market.

If we wanna get into numbers, in a cunsomer study

8% of kids 20 and under wanted an xbox for christmas

7% A ps2

3% Harry potter related items and Gamecube stuff.

The demand is def there for Microsoft, they just have to push out there boxes, and they are doing a good job of it.

 

[Andre F]

And screw a flame war..I want them all to succeed,because that means more cool games for me to play!

I couldn't agree more!

-Andre F

 

[Romier S]

Flames are inevitable in this type of thread. People want to justify their purchases to themselves. They dont want the system they bought to look bad for some really wierd reason. I think it makes people feel better when there system is "winning" so they can say I told you so. That is about the dumbest logic in the world IMHO.

With that said I have to commend Nintendo for the excellent sales of the Gamecube. I have to say its an awesome little system with great potential. There is nothing unfair here about these sales numbers. They got a good amount of systems out there, determined an attractive price point and consumers ate it up. Nothing unfair about that.

I knew this kind of thread would eventually pop up and I hope that the memebers of this forum are mature enough to keep this from becoming another "my system is better than yours" thread. As stated above Microsoft is not going anywhere, Nintendo is not going anywhere. Enjoy the games people!

Now that we have this news I wish Microsoft would say something about their launch figures.....

 

[Mark Evans]

Flames are inevitable in this type of thread. People want to justify their purchases to themselves. They dont want the system they bought to look bad for some really wierd reason. I think it makes people feel better when there system is "winning" so they can say I told you so. That is about the dumbest logic in the world IMHO.

Preach on, brotha! I was half tempted to start a separate thread calling for peace between system owners. It's funny, because if the X-Box is supposed to be such a mature gamer's system, why do some of the owners get as immature and whiny as Nintendo fanboys at their worst?

We have great toys people! We live in an age of great toys! And there's enough room in the toybox for everybody. I think very strongly that this may be the first time in history that the market manages to support three systems at once. And we all win! It's not a contest to see who's going to be right, it's a contest to see who gets enjoyment for what, and you should be ashamed of yourselves for barking at people just because a lot of them found joy in something you don't like.

I'm sick and tired of hearing people, backhandedly or otherwise, trashing other systems. Like that BS line about how the GameCube is only for little kids. Screw that. Just because a game looks a certain way makes it automatically for children? Right... For the last time, little Billy is not the target audience for Resident Evil, sorry.

And blah blah X-Box, evil empire, never gonna make it, blah blah. Get over it! Let people play what they want. Discuss the merits of each system without having to tear into the others. It makes you sound so insecure about your system that it's not even a funny joke, it's just sad.

Look, I don't want an X-Box. I don't. Period. I don't think anybody is a fool for having one, it looks like a great game machine, seriously. Halo in particular looks like a helluva lot of fun. But the games I want to play are on the GameCube. Period. That in no way affects the quality of the X-Box or its games, it's just how I as a consumer want to go with my gaming. The world is not going to end because I don't want an X-Box.

I don't bring that up in GameCube threads, I don't go hounding X-Box threads so I can slip in snide little asides about how much more fabulous the Cube is. Because it's not. They're both powerful next gen gaming consoles equally capable of amazing things. But it comes down, like so many others point out, to the games and who wants to play them.

Am I suddenly some mental invalid for wanting to play Super Monkey Ball rather than Halo? Doubt it. For the record, I'm a 23 year old male in professional school with a degree in biology. Apparently, I'm supposed to be in the X-Box demographic, but I'm not, because I'm not a demographic, I'm a person, and I am fully capable of choosing what system suits me best.

Same with all of you, so just pick a system, and enjoy it. Leave the petty politics and system bashing to hardcore gaming boards with their braindead punk clientele. This forum is like an upscale VIP lounge somewhere, where people can talk about things without acting like sixth graders.

Just enjoy the games everybody! Talking about who sold how much of what is accounting, and who the hell ever said accounting was fun was lying to you...

 

[Morgan Jolley]

Even if there is more demand for the X-Box, MS can't supply enough of them at launch and the weeks soon after as much as Nintendo can and will (they upped their numbers to 1.3 million by the end of the year). If MS doesn't supply, people will go to Nintendo.

Considering that MS launched with around 400k (which was made official by Bill gates on TV) and the GameCube launched with a higher number, I'm surprised the X-Box didn't sell out quicker. If there's only ten of a relatively popular item, it would make sense that it sell out quicker than 20 of another popular item.

All in all, there is a slightly higher demand for the GameCube. Its Nintendo, aka, the other top game company besides Sega and Sony. They have a reputation to help them, plus they have what some consumers see as a better product (size, brand name, and price are the only reasons one would prefer it over the X-Box, and sadly, the J6P of gaming looks at these as important) so it would make sense that there is more demand.

The X-Box doesn't suck. It just doesn't have that name Nintendo has.

 

[Joe michaels]

I hope that some of you here that see this will give Nintendo a little longer after you were talking about dumping your cubes already.

 

[Romier S]

I'm surprised the X-Box didn't sell out quicker. If there's only ten of a relatively popular item, it would make sense that it sell out quicker than 20 of another popular item.

Fact of the matter is none of us know what MS sold. Only MS does. So you really cant comment on how fast the X-box sold out or didn't. Until MS releases some kind of official statement .(If someone has seen reports on numbers please I urge you to post or start a new thread with this info!) with launch numbers we are pretty much in the dark.

Also the question of shipment comes into play. MS shipped 400k for launch which is a good number but they have also been supplying retailers with X-box's on a frequent basis after the launch. Are the shipments being supplied now part of the 400k or have more been manufactured in the time since launch? Some of the retailers on the forum may be able to shed some light on that question which is why I threw it out there.

It comes full circle to what I said before....Only Microsoft knows...so in essence statements like the one above which speculate on how fast or slow these consoles sell are just that..speculation.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

Those shipments were in addition to the 400k. There were 400k units in stores on launch day.

Yes, only MS knows how they sold, but they haven't said anything, so we can assume that it wasn't ultra stellar.

 

[Romier S]

Yes, only MS knows how they sold, but they haven't said anything, so we can assume that it wasn't ultra stellar.

I'll let that quote speak for itself. :rolleyes