Nintendo plans new game product (1 Viewer)

[Neil M]

In reality, neither system is a failure. Both systems came in too late to damage the Ps2's holding. It will be in the next generation of consoles that the three companies really duke it out. Personally, I think that the playing field will even out and we're going to have 3 systems for at least a couple more generations. Sony won't leave the market, Nintendo sure as hell won't leave the market, and Microsoft will do whatever it takes to stay in the market. I love how people give advice in these threads about what these comapnies should do. It's sort of funny reading people's comments about business when they know very little about business.

 

[Neil M]

In short, the Xbox versions often times offer a more complete package than their GameCube counterparts.

It's an interesting theory but I suspect that most people own one system or the other. Sure, there are people like us who own both but I think we are probably in the minority. I think the real reason the gamecube versions sell less is because the retailers don't devote much space to the gamecube software. You take a third-party game like Splinter Cell and I can find lots of copies of the X-box version and none of the gamecube version. I guarantee you that there are lots of people who don't even know the game is out for the cube. I know this is the case with one of my friends. He was going to buy an X-box just for that game and I told him that a cube version was out. I think its just a matter of what the retailers are pushing. You look at a best buy ad and there are X-box games advertised every week. Sometimes they don't even advertise gamecube games. I think that is the real reason why some X-box games are selling more than gamecube games.

 

[Bruce_S]

It sounds like Nintendo is on a verge of Sega dilemna -- SURVIVAL! But for how long? The only thing keeping them in the game right now is the GBA. I don't think, if Nintendo come out w/a good console to compete with the PS3/Xbox2 - they are going to be out of the hardware business.

As Sony going to enter their realm in the portable with the PSP next fall - They are feeling the pressure now. The only thing I can think of with this new product is going to be something to counteract the PSP for fall. This may be Nintendo last stance to stand in the gaming business before become next Sega. However, I have a feeling that Sony or MS will attempt to buy them out. Imagine Sony and Nintendo becoming ONE? Microsoft would have a hard time getting a majority of the market share.

We shall see!

-bruce

 

[Michael St. Clair]

New product might be a handheld Gamecube. Discs are small, like the PSP. But can they get the power consumption and the price down?

Personally, I think that the playing field will even out and we're going to have 3 systems for at least a couple more generations.

Again, the market has never supported three players for more than two generations. We'll have to see.

 

[Neil M]

Again, the market has never supported three players for more than two generations. We'll have to see.

That's true. But the market also has never been this big so we shall see.

And another thing....the real pressure in the future will be on sony. Nintendo and Microsoft can go up the ladder, Sony will be fighting to keep their position. It's easy to get up to the top, it's another thing to keep the top.

 

[KevinRB]

I hope this is better then the "Big Surprise" promised by Xbox magazine.

 

[Jeffrey Forner]

Originally posted by Neil M:
It's an interesting theory but I suspect that most people own one system or the other.

Are you saying that most people own either an Xbox or a GameCube? I ask because I originally read that as saying that most people just have one console period. In which case, I would argue that the vast majority of single-console owners probably have a PS2.

Just checking...

 

[Neil M]

I was saying between the X-box and gamecube. Obviously more single console owners would have a ps2. I would really like to know how many people own more than one system but I have yet to see those numbers. Basically, my point was that people probably either own an x-box or a gamecube so there has to be another explanation as to why the sales are different. I mean, console sales are similar and yet there is a wide gap for some games. I wasn't counting the Ps2 because the reason is clear why they have the highest sales. I really don't have any theory except for the retailers pushing the x-box over the cube.

 

[Camp]

The question you all should be asking yourselves is why these games aren't selling as well for the GCN as they are for the PS2 or Xbox. In the case of the PS2, the answer is quite obvious. The PS2 has the largest user base by far out of all three consoles. More hardware sold will naturally lead to bigger software sales.

Great observation, Jeffrey. I think it's looking more and more like the answer is that the market will not support three platforms. The argument that platform success can be achieved at a smaller scale has always been rediculous, IMO.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

I think the market can support 3 platforms, but that would mean keeping them all on equal level. As things are, the PS2 has too much of a head start for more than one other platform to be overtly successful. If all 3 consoles had sold the same and come out at the same time, then they could all stay afloat. The problem is, this is an ideal circumstance. As things are now, all 3 companies are willing to spend a lot of money to stay alive, so I don't think their viability is an issue. As to whether or not Nintendo stays profitable is.

 

[Masood Ali]

MEG-A-TON

 

[Richard Paul]

From the day the Gamecube came out Nintendo has targeted kids so I'm a bit surprised that they didn't expect a smaller market. Most gamers are over 24 years old which gives a good indication of why the X-Box is beating the Gamecube in sales. In fact the X-Box isn't competing so much against the Gamecube as it is against the PS2. Nintendo showed me best who they where making games for when they turned the Zelda franchise into a cartoon and Link into a child. It may have been a good game but that showed me that Nintendo was and always will be a kid oriented company. That doesn't mean that Nintendo made a mistake so much as they decided who their customer base would be.

 

[Neil M]

From the day the Gamecube came out Nintendo has targeted kids so I'm a bit surprised that they didn't expect a smaller market. Most gamers are over 24 years old which gives a good indication of why the X-Box is beating the Gamecube in sales.

First of all, I'm not so sure there are more gamers over the age of 24 than under that age. I mean, I don't know any male under the age of 24 who doesn't play video games wheras i can name alot of people over 24 who don't play at all but they used to. So I don't think that is really a true statement. Secondly, console sales are similar. It is third-party game sales that are different. There has to be an underlying reason for this. Is it demographics? Probably. Or it could just be that Gamecube owners want more exclusives. Nintendo has done alot to cater to older gamers and the results just aren't there yet. Nintendo has done alot of things right with the gamecube and they are going in the right direction.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

Nintendo showed me best who they where making games for when they turned the Zelda franchise into a cartoon and Link into a child

Because Link wasn't a child in Ocarina of Time or Majora's Mask, right? Because adults are totally incapable of appreciating quality use of a graphical technique, right? They made that move because it fits the game the best. If you've played the game, you'd know it's actually pretty good.

And the game still sold pretty well. A lot better than "mature" games like BMX XXX.

And actually, the average gamer is 27.

 

[BertFalasco]

And actually, the average gamer is 27.

Link please.

 

[Michael St. Clair]

I think that had all three been released simultaneously, we probably would have seen an even field.

Nah, only one of the three would have been backwards compatible to the Playstation. And that same one would have had the strongest EA support from day one.

 

[BrianB]

Bert, the IDSA (which of course isn't an unbiased source of info...) states the average age of a game player is 29 years old.

The report is available here.

 

[BertFalasco]

Good deal.

 

[Jeff Kleist]

The problem is that Nintendo designs toward Japanese tastes, and then expects the mainstream US market to like it too.

Unfortunately, that's not the case, and that's why they are a "kiddee" system in the eyes of mainstream consumers.

3 systems are not good for the market, and SOMEONE, I don't care who, needs to go

 

[Morgan Jolley]

I think that each console needs to pick a market and run with it. Nintendo is trying to get the family-friendly market (you buy a game that your kids will like to play, but it also offers a nice challenge for you). MS is hitting the "teens and up with spare cash" market (you buy a game that takes advantage of XBL, HDTVs, and 5.1 sound, which means you have to buy the necessary peripherals/software to fully take advantage of that). Sony is trying to more or less just keep getting games on their console since they're already in a distant lead for this generation.

The next round, who knows what everyone will be going for. They'll probably all be living on their previous fanbases.

And Jeff, you're right. Nintendo is doing the opposite of what MS is doing. To be honest, Sony is doing their ad campaigns the best. They've been targeting their advertising based on which market they want to get, and it's been working since Day 1.