One thing that should be noted is that the stocks of Game Cubes and X-Boxes were not distributed based previous sales numbers, so a complete sell-through is not to be expected with the first shipment. Not everyone everywhere wants one. So while some places had a 100 people begging to be allowed to pre-order, other locations has systems sitting on the shelves.
The Game Cube shipped 700,000 units in the first week and sold out less than 50% of them. 50% of 700,000 is 350,000. In Japan, the console completely flopped. 140,000 units sold the first week out of a shipment of half a million. It still hasn't broken 300,000 units yet and Nintendo has only sent out another 64,000 units to stores.
The X-Box shipped 300,000 units in the first week and sold out 73% of them. 73% of them is 219,000.
The quick response would be to say "WOW! Nintendo is kicking their asses!" But that's simply not true.
A few points to consider:
- Nintendo has nearly 20 years in the market and has built up a loyal fan base. While Microsoft is starting from Square One and doesn't even have a single mass-market franchise like the Mario series to pull people in with. Nintendo should be pulling better numbers, but they aren't.
- The Game Cube launched in Japan with 3 games. The game library is growing slowly and Nintendo intends to produce the majority of the games itself. Which is good, considering the lack of developer support. Something that the PS2 has a lot of, and the X-Box is gaining.
- Consoles make money on the games. They lose money on the hardware. The GC sold an average 1.3 games in Japan upon its launch. And only 1.7 in the U.S. That is the lowest sales rate of any console other than the N64 (which had far fewer titles).
- Luigi's Mansion and Rouge Squadron are selling. Nothing else is. Fifa sold 4,400 copies in Japan between November 12-18. Did I mention it was the 3rd most popular GC game? Figures like thast speak for themselves, they tell developers "Game Cube games don't make us money". While, on the other hand, Microsoft is paying the way for developers to cover their some of their expenses while an installed base is established. Helps Microsoft a hell of a lot. The developers risk very little.
Nintendo should be doing a hell of a lot better than they are. And they are not doing as well as they claim. Sure, they shipped a lot of units to retialers, but remember, Apple shipped a hell of a lot of Cubes the first quarter they were availible. It doesn't matter how many you send out in anticipation of demand if the demand isn't there when the product arrives in stores.
It's leftover hostility from the desktop wars of years ago. The rest of the world has moved on. Some Mac users are still like those Japanese soliders, trapped on remote islands who fought World War 2 all the way through the 1970s.
The Game Cube shipped 700,000 units in the first week and sold out less than 50% of them. 50% of 700,000 is 350,000. In Japan, the console completely flopped. 140,000 units sold the first week out of a shipment of half a million. It still hasn't broken 300,000 units yet and Nintendo has only sent out another 64,000 units to stores.
The X-Box shipped 300,000 units in the first week and sold out 73% of them. 73% of them is 219,000.
The quick response would be to say "WOW! Nintendo is kicking their asses!" But that's simply not true.
A few points to consider:
- Nintendo has nearly 20 years in the market and has built up a loyal fan base. While Microsoft is starting from Square One and doesn't even have a single mass-market franchise like the Mario series to pull people in with. Nintendo should be pulling better numbers, but they aren't.
- The Game Cube launched in Japan with 3 games. The game library is growing slowly and Nintendo intends to produce the majority of the games itself. Which is good, considering the lack of developer support. Something that the PS2 has a lot of, and the X-Box is gaining.
- Consoles make money on the games. They lose money on the hardware. The GC sold an average 1.3 games in Japan upon its launch. And only 1.7 in the U.S. That is the lowest sales rate of any console other than the N64 (which had far fewer titles).
- Luigi's Mansion and Rouge Squadron are selling. Nothing else is. Fifa sold 4,400 copies in Japan between November 12-18. Did I mention it was the 3rd most popular GC game? Figures like thast speak for themselves, they tell developers "Game Cube games don't make us money". While, on the other hand, Microsoft is paying the way for developers to cover their some of their expenses while an installed base is established. Helps Microsoft a hell of a lot. The developers risk very little.
Nintendo should be doing a hell of a lot better than they are. And they are not doing as well as they claim. Sure, they shipped a lot of units to retialers, but remember, Apple shipped a hell of a lot of Cubes the first quarter they were availible. It doesn't matter how many you send out in anticipation of demand if the demand isn't there when the product arrives in stores.
Quote:
| Curiosity question. Why are Microsofts failings such an obsession with some Mac users? |
It's leftover hostility from the desktop wars of years ago. The rest of the world has moved on. Some Mac users are still like those Japanese soliders, trapped on remote islands who fought World War 2 all the way through the 1970s.