Post by: Bloodworth on March 16, 2004, 03:52:46 PM
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.
Post by: Bloodworth on March 16, 2004, 03:58:03 PM
Post by: mouse_clicker on March 16, 2004, 04:01:39 PM
Post by: nickmitch on March 16, 2004, 04:03:34 PM
oooh things just keep getting better!!!
Post by: Djunknown on March 16, 2004, 04:33:49 PM
Now if they could just ramp up production of 'Cubes....
Post by: mouse_clicker on March 16, 2004, 04:36:59 PM
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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.
Post by: Rob91883 on March 16, 2004, 04:50:04 PM
EBX in Century City mall, Los Angeles is stocked with at least 8 GameCubes
Post by: TheYoungerPlumber on March 16, 2004, 04:56:07 PM
Post by: Ian Sane on March 16, 2004, 04:57:28 PM
Post by: BlackNMild2k1 on March 16, 2004, 05:29:42 PM
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).
Post by: mouse_clicker on March 16, 2004, 05:52:38 PM
Post by: Jonnyboy117 on March 16, 2004, 07:28:31 PM
Post by: Sir Campbell on March 17, 2004, 12:54:17 AM
Post by: joshnickerson on March 17, 2004, 02:44:29 AM
Post by: mouse_clicker on March 17, 2004, 04:01:52 AM
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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.
Post by: KDR_11k on March 17, 2004, 04:04:43 AM
Post by: couchmonkey on March 17, 2004, 05:47:06 AM
Post by: jasonditz on March 17, 2004, 08:35:36 AM
Post by: ruby_onix on March 17, 2004, 12:03:02 PM
- 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.
Post by: mouse_clicker on March 17, 2004, 12:16:58 PM
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.
Post by: Ian Sane on March 17, 2004, 12:31:31 PM
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.
Post by: BlkPaladin on March 17, 2004, 06:57:31 PM
Post by: mouse_clicker on March 17, 2004, 07:03:33 PM
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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.
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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.
Post by: Mario on March 17, 2004, 07:24:32 PM
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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.
Post by: Bloodworth on March 17, 2004, 07:34:45 PM
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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.
Post by: mouse_clicker on March 18, 2004, 10:25:31 AM
Post by: couchmonkey on March 18, 2004, 11:13:03 AM
I only have one more thing to add: who here has actually noticed a shortage of GameCubes where they live? There was a shortage here in January, but every retailer I've visited in my city in the past several weeks has had an ample supply of Cubes.
Post by: vudu on March 18, 2004, 11:23:27 AM
Post by: mouse_clicker on March 18, 2004, 11:46:11 AM
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But whether or not the demand for GameCube is actually "huge" is impossible to tell, since Nintendo isn't producing enough units!
Perhaps you missed something, but the simple fact that half of Nintendo's retailers are sold out of Gamecube shows that there's huge demand.
Post by: Mario on March 18, 2004, 11:55:38 AM
No it doesn't. Prove to me that there are hundreds of thousands of people who want GCNs but can't buy them. More people are buying Xbox's and PS2s, and whether or not that's because they can't, or don't want to buy a GCN, is not easily determined, and you can't assume that everyone wants a GCN and can't get one. I don't believe the demand for GCN is huge, or ever has been.
Post by: mouse_clicker on March 18, 2004, 12:04:19 PM
Look, I'm not saying demand for the Gamecube right now is bigger than the PS2's, or anywhere near it. And I'm certainly not saying the shortage itself is a good thing. What I AM saying is the reason for the shortage is good because it shows that so many people want a Gamecube that many places don't have any left.
Post by: Nintendork SP on March 18, 2004, 12:31:42 PM
Post by: Kairon on March 18, 2004, 01:04:30 PM
Early last year they stopped GC production because they were building up too much inventory, too much stuff taking up space, too much stock they couldn't move at the time. But with this price-drop, holiday season, etc., it seems that Nintendo may not have started up production soon enough to meet demand.
Sure, the GC is obviously selling now. But let's not forget that One GC customer with a GC now is better than Two when that supposed "high-demand-must-buy-GC-now-or-I-will-die" MIGHT (read: won't) happen.
So in essence...Nintendo should've started production sooner and anticipated this.
Carmine M. Red
Kairon@aol.com
Post by: mouse_clicker on March 18, 2004, 01:16:12 PM
Post by: Kairon on March 18, 2004, 02:06:41 PM
Carmine M. Red
Kairon@aol.com
Post by: mouse_clicker on March 18, 2004, 02:15:57 PM
