Author Topic: Nintendo February Sales Data (Read 7495 times)

Bloodworth · « **on:** March 16, 2004, 03:52:46 PM »

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles is the top game of the month, and Nintendo reveals that the North American warehouse is out of GameCubes.

DID YOU KNOW? - NINTENDO CONTINUES TO DRIVE INDUSTRY GROWTH

March 16, 2004

What's driving the video game industry? Three words: games, games and games!

And who's driving the growth in the games market? Nintendo!

According to the independent sales data just released by the NPD Group, in February:

* Two new exclusive Nintendo titles captured the No. 1 and No. 3 spots on the best-seller list. Final Fantasy®: Crystal Chronicles™, made exclusively for Nintendo GameCube™, was the month's top-selling game, followed closely in the No. 3 spot by Metroid®: Zero Mission, exclusively for Game Boy® Advance (the No. 2 title, Electronic Arts' NFL Street, is also available on Nintendo GameCube).

* The top platform for game growth is Nintendo GameCube, with total game sales up 46 percent over the same period last year.

* When games for Game Boy Advance are included, Nintendo added two software market share points from the competitors from January.

* On the hardware side, U.S. lifetime sales for Nintendo GameCube have now surpassed 7 million systems, while Game Boy Advance has flown past the 20 million unit mark.

* Nintendo is also working overtime to meet the overwhelming demand for its highly sought Nintendo GameCube. By February, nearly half of all U.S. retail locations were out of stock…and Nintendo's North American warehouse was empty. Since cutting the suggested retail price of Nintendo GameCube to $99.99 in September 2003, unit sales between October and February are up over 50 percent from the same period a year ago.

Bloodworth · « **Reply #1 on:** March 16, 2004, 03:58:03 PM »

There's a lot of positive spin there, but not being able to get a GameCube really isn't a good thing.

mouse_clicker · « **Reply #2 on:** March 16, 2004, 04:01:39 PM »

I hope Crystal Chronicles continues to sell well- I was worried it would sell horribly with the bad impression people will get from the multiplayer requirements and as a result Square wouldn't make anymore Gamecube games.

nickmitch · « **Reply #3 on:** March 16, 2004, 04:03:34 PM »

oooh things just keep getting better!!!

Djunknown · « **Reply #4 on:** March 16, 2004, 04:33:49 PM »

Well, it seems Square has no real excuse to crank out one more console title. Gotta give it up to Game Designer's Studio for a good all-around game. One could say this experiment worked.

Now if they could just ramp up production of 'Cubes....

mouse_clicker · « **Reply #5 on:** March 16, 2004, 04:36:59 PM »

Quote
One could say this experiment worked.

My thoughts exactly- I get the impression that what really motivated Square to develop and release such a title with odd requirements was the fact that Nintendo was basically paying for the entire thing, so even if the game flopped it wouldn't affect them. You see what happens when a developer can truly experiment and try new ideas, not being bound by whether or not it will actually sell? This is the direction the industry needs to move in.

Rob91883 · « **Reply #6 on:** March 16, 2004, 04:50:04 PM »

FF :CC was creative, but I'm more of a single player, so most of the potential was killed on me . Yet I enjoyed this title more than past Final Fantasy games because it's actually somewhat different. I just wish that Games Designer's Studio makes a game concentrating on Single player, or at least co op with less Requirements. ( If that ever happens)

EBX in Century City mall, Los Angeles is stocked with at least 8 GameCubes

TheYoungerPlumber · « **Reply #7 on:** March 16, 2004, 04:56:07 PM »

I thought I'd point out that "Game Designer's Studio" is a company on paper alone. Square-Enix developed this game--GDS is how Square snuck around its loose agreement with Sony when FFCC was originally announced. I don't know if GDS is still needed for future projects now that Square and Enix are one.

Ian Sane · « **Reply #8 on:** March 16, 2004, 04:57:28 PM »

When good exclusive third party games sell well it's always good news. Let's hope this gets us another Square Enix game. Hopefully a single player game this time without the Final Fantasy name shoehorned in.

BlackNMild2k1 · « **Reply #9 on:** March 16, 2004, 05:29:42 PM »

*crosses fingers* Here's hoping for a Secret of Mana game, good w/ 1, 2, or 3 people and who's stopping them from adding a 4th?

never played Sword of Mana<?> the playstation sequel, and it doesn't make sense to have a 3 to 4 player game on a console that only has 2 controller ports (no one owns a multi-tap).

mouse_clicker · « **Reply #10 on:** March 16, 2004, 05:52:38 PM »

Black: Have you played Crystal Chronicles? It's basically a 3D Secret of Mana- in fact, I wouldn't doubt the idea originally developed as a Secret of Mana game. It wouldn't be the first time they slapped the Final Fantasy name on it.

Jonnyboy117 · « **Reply #11 on:** March 16, 2004, 07:28:31 PM »

I have to think that any positive PR Nintendo gets from GameCube being "sold out" must be outweighed by the people who are going to the store to buy the system and can't get one. This situation seems mostly due to poor production capabilities, not overwhelming demand.

Sir Campbell · « **Reply #12 on:** March 17, 2004, 12:54:17 AM »

Well, good to see that both of these games got their just credit. For all those out there worried about retail outlets being completely sold out, it seems just about all Memphis TN area outlets have at least few Gamecubes per store.

joshnickerson · « **Reply #13 on:** March 17, 2004, 02:44:29 AM »

My local Wally World just restocked with Gamecubes... platinums, no less.

mouse_clicker · « **Reply #14 on:** March 17, 2004, 04:01:52 AM »

Quote
This situation seems mostly due to poor production capabilities, not overwhelming demand.

No offense, Johnny, but I'll take Nintendo's word over yours. At least PR spin is based on actual fact.

In any case, shortages aren't always a bad thing- look at what it did for the PS2 at launch.

KDR_11k · « **Reply #15 on:** March 17, 2004, 04:04:43 AM »

The PS2 had no real competition, though.

couchmonkey · « **Reply #16 on:** March 17, 2004, 05:47:06 AM »

Anybody know what the actual sales were? To me the real question is whether or not GameCube managed to compete with Xbox and PS2, not how out of stock the GameCube is.

jasonditz · « **Reply #17 on:** March 17, 2004, 08:35:36 AM »

I think you guys might be overstating the "Gamecube shortage" as a problem for Nintendo. If nearly half of retail outlets are sold out that means more than half of retail outlets still had them left. Being required to "hunt around a little" to find one might be a good thing from the PR perspective.

ruby_onix · « **Reply #18 on:** March 17, 2004, 12:03:02 PM »

From the NPD thread in the GameCube forum.

- December -
PS2: 1,940,000
GCN: 1,160,000
XBox: 1,080,000
GBA-SP: 2,260,000
(note: Microsoft claimed that they outsold Nintendo by a whopping 500k units in the last two weeks of the month, which was our first indicator that Nintendo was having problems with selling out)

- January 2004 -
PS2: 338,000
Xbox: 192,000
GCN: 131,000
GBA: 299,000

- February 2004 -
PS2: 363,000
Xbox: 204,000
GCN: 137,000
GBA: 353,000
(at which point Nintendo mentioned the problem)

Edit: and in case you were wondering, the "score" so far in America is sitting at...

Cumulative Installed Base
PS2: 22,958,000
Xbox: 8,187,000
GCN: 7,133,000
GBA: 20,601,000

...with an average game ownership-per-console rate of...

PS2: 8.10
Xbox: 6.58
GCN: 6.09
GBA: 3.42

If Nintendo actually had the hardware to meet demand for all this time, they would be closing in on Microsoft's entire "million unit" American lead like it was nothing. But they're still tripping over their own feet. And May (E3) is rapidly approaching. And Wal-Mart is supposedly printing signs, getting ready for an XBox price drop.

mouse_clicker · « **Reply #19 on:** March 17, 2004, 12:16:58 PM »

A $30 price drop, certainly nothing huge- I'm surprised Microsoft is doing it at all. It doesn't put the Gamecube's $100 price in jeopardy.

Also, I would hardly say Nintendo is "tripping over their feet"- last I checked, having TOO many people buying your console wasn't exactly your fault.

Ian Sane · « **Reply #20 on:** March 17, 2004, 12:31:31 PM »

"In any case, shortages aren't always a bad thing- look at what it did for the PS2 at launch."

That was a totally different situation. There was a HUGE demand for PS2s. I don't think Cube demand has ever been what I would consider "huge". That sounds harsh but it's true.

BlkPaladin · « **Reply #21 on:** March 17, 2004, 06:57:31 PM »

Just a little tid bit about the Mana game being slaped with a Final Fantasy title. That's not really true. The orginal game that spawned the Mana series of games was Final Fantasy Adventure for the Gameboy. It was latter redone as Sword of Mana.

mouse_clicker · « **Reply #22 on:** March 17, 2004, 07:03:33 PM »

Quote
I don't think Cube demand has ever been what I would consider "huge".

Obviously it wasn't lackluster if half of Nintendo's retail outlets sold out of them.

Isn't it ironic, though? Nintendo gets slammed for not selling enough units then get slammed when they sell too many.

Quote
The orginal game that spawned the Mana series of games was Final Fantasy Adventure for the Gameboy.

Are you sure? I could have sworn Final Fantasy Adventure was in fact a Secret of Mana game that got a name change when it was released in America.

Mario · « **Reply #23 on:** March 17, 2004, 07:24:32 PM »

Quote
Isn't it ironic, though? Nintendo gets slammed for not selling enough units then get slammed when they sell too many.

Last place is too many? They're still not selling enough, and having no GCN's to sell contributes to that.

Bloodworth · « **Reply #24 on:** March 17, 2004, 07:34:45 PM »

Quote
Originally posted by: mouse_clicker
Are you sure? I could have sworn Final Fantasy Adventure was in fact a Secret of Mana game that got a name change when it was released in America.

Seiken Densetsu also had the Final Fantasy Gaiden title stuck in there as well, so even in Japan it was considered an offshoot of Final Fantasy, which is why there are crossover things like Moogles and Chocobos.

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Author Topic: Nintendo February Sales Data (Read 7495 times)