Gamecube Price Drop

kenji4861 · Post by **kenji4861** » Fri Jun 13, 2003 2:56 am

Since on the radio interview yesterday, people were talking about being disappointed about price drops.

At Costco, the Gamecube bundle is going for $119.99 - included Smash Brothers, memory card, strategy guide and the system. Sounds like a decent price drop.

Also might wanna check this out
http://www.lik-sang.com/news.php?artc=2953

Jack Burton · Post by **Jack Burton** » Fri Jun 13, 2003 10:57 am

I'm not exactly sure how they're doing that....must be some sort of internal deal that they've got going....because you don't get the free game that you're supposed to (one of the 4) and you don't get the demo disc with that either.

Here at EB games and every other store I've been to (minus Wal-Mart) everyone is honoring the free game + free demo disc deal for the Gamecube. And also...at EB, if you bring in an ad, which we have in our store, you can also get NFL2K3 along with those other two games for free

But, hey, who am I to say that a $120.00 Gamecube isn't a good deal? It is. But remember that you can also get one for that much at EB Games for just getting another controller or a memory card, and a game.

-Jack

Evilmagicpirate · Post by **Evilmagicpirate** » Fri Jun 13, 2003 6:44 pm

Wow! At this rate, I will be buy a GC at Christmas for $75..

Jack Burton · Post by **Jack Burton** » Fri Jun 13, 2003 8:52 pm

Also, at this rate, the GC will go the way of the DC even faster than that console did. Sad, but probably true...

-Jack

RurouniQ · Post by **RurouniQ** » Mon Jun 16, 2003 11:18 am

Oh that's just a load of wishful thinking on your part, Jack. Nintendo's keeping themselves afloat. Sales might not be the best, but they're still turning a profit on the Cube, and with some of the games coming out on the cube in the upcoming year, I seriously doubt that'll happen. Seriously, you're going to see a lot of sales of SC2 for GC just because of Link; that's one of the smartest moves Nintendo's ever made. I finally got around to playing the Viewtiful Joe demo, and HOLY SHIZ it is a great great game. If word of its greatness spreads around and people get a chance to play the demo at stores, it has the potential to move consoles; it's that good. Then of course, there's the non-crappy Resident Evil 4, the new F-Zero (which I wasn't really looking forward to until I saw the latest movie), the new Starfox, and the inevitable demise of the N-Gage and the PSP (my money says it'll drain power worse than the Game Gear did). No, I'm afraid Nintendo will be able to survive just fine until 2005, when they release their new console. I'm one of the first to admit that Nintendo has made quite a few mistakes with the Gamecube, but they're correcting them with the new console. DVD playback, more universal controller, and they're already working on correcting their "kiddie" image.

Evilmagicpirate · Post by **Evilmagicpirate** » Mon Jun 16, 2003 6:09 pm

RurouniTrelane wrote: I'm one of the first to admit that Nintendo has made quite a few mistakes with the Gamecube...

Do you recall a rather long arguement over at DDRSTL about the gamecube.. and that you were not the first to admit it had quite a few mistakes at the time. I seem to recall that you, Siege, Break, and even Jack were claiming that the GC was a flawless system.... I suppose after going 6 months and only having 3 good titles released you can't help but change your mind though.

Post by **BreakmanX** » Mon Jun 16, 2003 8:57 pm

The argument was that the ps2 wasn't the most powerful system =P

The GC has definately had some mistakes, as has all the systems, really.

Evilmagicpirate · Post by **Evilmagicpirate** » Mon Jun 16, 2003 11:52 pm

I think the arguement covered all bases... including why the Dreamcast failed.. and why ninendo was so awesome for saving the VG industry in the 80's..

Jack Burton · Post by **Jack Burton** » Tue Jun 17, 2003 1:31 am

I just was defending the fact that the ps2 wasn't the most powerful system...

As for the GC...

They made some HUGE mistakes that still aren't fully corrected...

They're trying to go in the right direction...the free game/free GameBoy Player/free demo disc deal helps...but seriously...if Nintendo needs to package all of that together just to get systems to sell, don't you think there's something wrong?

Also, I'd really start worrying when GC/GBA connectivity begins to be something that you use to try to market the GC.

Seriously though, the image problems they have are still huge...people walk into EB and ask which system is the best in my opinion...I say "well, it's all about the games..." I say the ps2 has the most rpgs and the most sports games, the xbox has great shooters and action games, and the Gamecube has the best platformers like mario and zelda.

RIGHT THEN...it doesn't matter who it is...the next line out of their mouth:

"Man, Gamecube is for kids....i don't want a console with a handle. And, it's purple."

I tell them that it also comes in two other colors: Jet and Platinum, but they don't want to hear it, even after I tell them about the price of it and the free game/free demo disc deal. They've dug themselves a hole, and no amount of remakes will help them with where they've gone.

They need a cure-all, and I seriously just don't see one coming anytime soon...I'd like to be wrong...but I just don't think I am...

-Jack

Zukin · Post by **Zukin** » Tue Jun 17, 2003 8:58 am

As a matter of fact, I was contemplating why I haven't bought a GameCube yet when I could actually purchase a reconditioned GC system for the same price I paid for my Dreamcast.

It's not the color - I would buy a system that was pink with a floral print if I thought it had the power and games I wanted

It's not the lack of power - nearly every GC game I've seen looks beautiful and runs incredibly smoothly

It's not the price - factory reconditioned GC systems are only $99.99 from ebgames.com, and I distinctly remember seeing preowned Cubes on the site at one time for only $89.99

Therefore, my only logical conclusion was that the system just doesn't have enough exclusive titles, which is also one of the most common arguments against the Cube. As mentioned before, there are the awesome 1st-party games (Smash Bros, Zelda, Viewtiful Joe) but the vast majority of the releases are games that have been released across all 3 primary systems. While this is great if a person only owns a GC, an increasing trend is for casual gamers to own multiple systems (once only the claim of true hardcore gamers).

At the risk of sounding like an "armchair quarterback", seeking more 3rd party developers has the potential to not only save Nintendo, but make them much more profitable in the long run. A few "must-have" exclusive titles aimed at an older audience combined with the low price of the system would be a killer one-two punch that the other console companies would be hard-pressed to match. While 3rd-party development costs can often be quite prohibitive, it definitely has the potential to pay off and keep the GameCube afloat.

And now to present an idea that is so outlandish, it could actually stand a reasonable chance of success: Nintendo & Sega... two companies standing together in a strong partnership, overcoming the odds and striking a blow for the old school

RurouniQ · Post by **RurouniQ** » Tue Jun 17, 2003 6:13 pm

Evilmagicpirate wrote:Do you recall a rather long arguement over at DDRSTL about the gamecube.. and that you were not the first to admit it had quite a few mistakes at the time. I seem to recall that you, Siege, Break, and even Jack were claiming that the GC was a flawless system.... I suppose after going 6 months and only having 3 good titles released you can't help but change your mind though.

LOL Ya live and learn. I was young and dumb back in those days... Some naysayers would say that hasn't changed any, but I say, "Keep saying nay, you gay naysayers! I'll prove you wrong yet!"

masterzukin wrote:It's not the color - I would buy a system that was pink with a floral print if I thought it had the power and games I wanted

See, you're more of a true gamer than the average person. The average person plays games like Madden and/or Halo, and they're more concerned with style than power. (Yes, yes, I am aware Halo is uber-powerful; it was not intended to be an Xbox slam so don't touch it!)

masterzukin wrote:At the risk of sounding like an "armchair quarterback", seeking more 3rd party developers has the potential to not only save Nintendo, but make them much more profitable in the long run.

Oh, no, that's not armchair at all, that's a common belief in the gaming industry. Most gaming sites and reviewers think that's Nintendo's biggest problem right now, or at least one of their biggest.

Post by **BreakmanX** » Tue Jun 17, 2003 6:44 pm

A agree with most of that. But I'd say Madden and the Grand Theft Auto series would be more along the lines of casual games.

RurouniQ · Post by **RurouniQ** » Tue Jun 17, 2003 8:15 pm

That's true, how could I overlook GTA? Duh...

Evilmagicpirate · Post by **Evilmagicpirate** » Wed Jun 18, 2003 8:45 am

DVD PLAYA!!!
As much as I want a shiny little Cube to put in my room, I'd get more value out of another system that can also play DVDs.. I simply cant understand why they didn't make DVD play a standard feature...
Same with the Headphone jack in the GBA:SP.. I know they've said that there was a space issue, but I have this feeling that if they really wanted to they could have fit it in there.
And dont get my started about the screen on the origional GBA.. They said that they used a crappy screen to keep costs down... but I really dont buy their shitty excuse. Think about the afterburner! The materials in the pacakge are worth about $2 (a replacement lighted screen sell for $1.50, and the resistor and wire cost a few cents)... And remember, this is a solution that hobbyest designed in their spare time.. How could Nintendo, with its leagues of professional hardware engineers not find a similar such solution?! I know why, because they suck ass.

My 2 cents is that when it comes to hardware, Nintendo don't know what the hell they are doing anymore.. I wouldn't be suprised if the next generation Nintendo console only support a special type of floppy disc, had 4.5 controller ports, absolutly no 3D capabilities, and was shaped like a giant wang... atleast the games would still be good.. but thats about it.

Realm · Post by **Realm** » Wed Jun 18, 2003 7:22 pm

i totally, totally agree with EMP, and masterzukin too, well said guys. (except for the wang part. remember, nintendo seems to be addicted to that kid-and-family-friendly image,

) don't get me wrong, i love nintendo and always will, but they really need to quit dragging ass in some areas. (like MULTIPLAYER!) it's kindof funny how everyone talks about the gamecube's price being lower than xbox's as an advantage, but i really disagree. sure, it's cheaper on the shelf, but u get what u pay for, dude. there's a big difference between price and value.