Nintendo sales flagging, price cuts soon, consumers reject $149 (1 Viewer)

[Morgan Jolley]

I love Nintendo's market strategy, can't wait to play Metroid 2 on my PS3

They're going to port the old Game Boy game onto the PS3? Why would they do that?

 

[Camp]

Good research, Romier. Those numbers are troubling to look at -despite the fact that they don't include a few retail heavies like Walmart and Toys R Us.

On the retail side I can add one thought that relates to the poor timing of Nintendo's problems. The Xbox rather than PS2 is the current focus at most retailers. Why? Because Xbox has the most upside for growth. The PS2 installed base is so phenomenal retailers really don't have to work to get sales from Sony owners. We can continue with the Sony business as usual while focusing on growing the number of Xbox owners. The goal now is to work on converting PS2 & GCN owners (and gaming newbies) into Xbox owners. Suddenly we can hit them up for totally new accessory and game sales.

How does this further hurt Nintendo? In effect retailers have selected the Xbox as the new focus. It's poised to be the biggest growth console on the market today and that leaves Gamecube out in the cold.

 

[Trevor Harveaux]

I own all of the consoles, and the company I work for is developing for all consoles EXCEPT the GameCube. At this point in the game, Nintendo needs to work on getting people to buy 3rd party games more than anything else.

As such, it would take a few things for ME to build up my GameCube library. Which is only 4, compared to over 30 Xbox games.

1. A new controller. I love the function of my Wavebird, but the only buttons they got almost right are ABYX. The D-pad is WAY too small. The Left analog stick has odd ridges around the button making smooth movements jerky. The right analog stick has the same problem, compounded by the small top, rendering it all but useless for FPS games. The shoulder buttons...Not bad, except the plastic needs to be deeper on the insides so my fingertips don't get scrunched when pressing down. The Z button, worst button EVER. Period.

2. A HD pack of some kind. The progressive cables should be sold in stores, and true 5.1 needs to be implemented.

3. DVD support. The game cube is only $30 cheaper than the Xbox. For the extra 30 you get unlimited saved games (worth $15-40 depending on your number of saved games) and DVD capability (for an extra $20).

4. Online support. Xbox Live rocks my world. Microsoft is really pushing developers in include Live support in future games. Nintendo lacks focus/drive here.

The GameCube has become the "back-up" system to most people who own multiple consoles. There is no compelling reason to buy a GameCube game over the competition unless you only own the cube. Fix that, and you fix the problem.

 

[Allen_Appel]

In other words, the GameCube should be exactly like the Xbox. Only smaller.

I don't expect Nintendo to abandon hardware (nor the US/EUR market), but they are certainly losing the third-party sales race and will likely continue to do so. Why don't they lower the prices of their games? The money Nintendo loses from not selling a game at all is more than the money they'll lose selling it at a discount. I would buy a lot more games for the GC if they cost less than the other console versions (Chessmaster for the GC is $50, while the PS2 version is only $20 and online besides). I have 24 GC games, and only one was purchased at the full price. Why not bundle the GC and GBA games that are interconnected?

Is it the collective opinion that there can be only two consoles? Besides an obvious "I want Mario on Xbox!" attitude, why do people care if Nintendo is in third place? They make plenty of money from the GBA and first-party titles and will probably always lead MS in Japan. I'm perfectly happy to buy their excellent first-party games and the cheaper third-party offerings.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

What Nintendo needs to do is release their exclusive games faster and more often. The reason people buy their console is because they're fans of Nintendo. You buy a PS2 for the variety, the X-Box for the power, and GameCube for the first and second party exclusives.

 

[Michael St. Clair]

I don't have a problem with 3 consoles, but when's the last time more than two consoles in a generation did really well?

PC Engine did reasonably well against Super Famicom and Megadrive, but only in Japan. So that is a qualified success at best. Then they released the PC-FX, and quickly dropped out.

Since then we had Sega get kicked around for a generation or two, and they dropped out of the market.

When has a third-place console done well enough to stay in the business?

I'm just not sure the market will ultimately support a third console.

 

[Trevor Harveaux]

The problem is, Nintendo needs third party support. If only Nintendo is developing for the system, then there will be even less of a reason to pick one up. While I agree Nintendos first party games are top notch, the viability of the system is really in third party support, and that seems to be dropping fast. I really dont think the system can be supported by Nintendo games alone.

Developers are not to keen on making exclusive GameCube games, and you can't really blame them. Cube game sales are way below those of the other systems. I get sales sheets every week, and every week the cube (software) numbers are way below Xbox, which has sold about as many systems. Granted, Nintendo has lowered the rolaties they recieve (which is why Cube games are sometimes cheaper), but that still doesn't overshadow the fact that the games sell better on other systems.

I dont think having prices cheap on the Cube with help. It might, but I fear it will just make people think that the games are inferior in some way to the games on the other consoles.

They key is to make the Cube somehow more attractive to play games on.

 

[JayV]

Heretofore, I refrained from jumping into the fray, but:

In other words, the GameCube should be exactly like the Xbox. Only smaller.

Allen, the Xbox should be exactly like the Xbox, only smaller.



-j

 

[Kevin Reckelhoff]

business world in Japan is that it is completely legal and moral to 'bend' the truth

as opposed to business in the rest of the world?

 

[Michael St. Clair]

as opposed to business in the rest of the world?

Well, things the SEC and FTC won't allow here are allowed in some other places.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

The problem is, the GameCube is already getting third party games. It's getting some of the biggest titles (like Enter the Matrix). They're not selling well on the Cube, so Nintendo has to get some more exclusives. The REs, the Capcom 5, and Nintendo's games are the things that are going to draw people in.

 

[Michael St. Clair]

They're not selling well on the Cube, so Nintendo has to get some more exclusives.

Exclusives aren't enough. You need both. If you only have cross-platform titles, you lack identity. If you only have exclusives, you ignore the mass appeal of large franchises.

 

[Mark Hedges]

They're not selling well on the Cube, so Nintendo has to get some more exclusives

I look at that sales list and my problem is that I don't see many games on there that are worth buying (to me). Most 3rd party multiconsole games are just over too quickly to be worth $50, IMHO.

The only 3rd party game that I bought is LOTR:TTT. I still kind of regret not renting it though because it is so short. It is a fun game but I don't feel I got my moneys worth as much as I did w/ Zelda, Metroid, Resident Evil, Eternal Darkness, etc.

Mark

 

[Michael St. Clair]

Mark,

They may not be fun to you and me, but big multiplatform franchise titles like LotR and The Matrix sell a ton of copies and make good money (in royalties/license fees) for the console maker.

And the absence of such titles will make mainstream gamers question the viability of the console.

They are important.

 

[Carlo_M]

Well my fear of the $99 price tag is this: they'll not bundle any games with it.

I still held off buying at $149, even with a bundled game, because I thought the price should be lower. I'm not going to pay over $200 just for a couple of games for my girlfriend (Mario Party and Kart). And even if they drop the console to $99 but have no games included, that's still over $200 for a couple of games. If they drop to $99 and bundle one of those two games, then I'm in.

Luckily a couple of XBox games have interested her and so I haven't heard her even inquire about a Gamecube in quite a few months.

Nintendo is the king of the handheld markets, but they're in third place in the consoles. They have to do something if they want to remedy that. Either drop prices to entice on-the-fence consumers like me, or go the route of Sega.