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GameCube (Games) XBox (Games) Entertainment Games

GameCube - Doubles U.S Share, UK Status, Zelda Bundle 65

Posted by simoniker from the valiant-contretemps dept.
nakedxray writes "Yahoo posted a Nintendo press release earlier this morning claiming that the GameCube has almost doubled its marketshare in the U.S, rising from 19 percent to 37 percent. The $99 price point seems to be paying off. Now, how about those online games?" Nintendo are again lagging in UK sales, however, as "the Xbox is now outselling Nintendo's machine by over two to one", according to GI.biz, although a UK variant, including Mario Kart:Double Dash, of the allegedly forthcoming U.S. Zelda bundle may help revitalize Nintendo's hardware in that market. Update: 11/04 20:59 GMT by S : The U.S. GameCube Zelda bundle is no longer 'alleged', since it's due on Nov.17th for $99, and the Zelda disc is available separately "by [consumers] registering their Nintendo GameCube system and two... hot holiday titles... [or] by subscribing to or renewing their subscription to Nintendo Power magazine."
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GameCube - Doubles U.S Share, UK Status, Zelda Bundle More

GameCube - Doubles U.S Share, UK Status, Zelda Bundle

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  • I like UK choices--the Commodore 64 to be specific. I can't say it fared too well for the Lynx or the Jaguar video game systems. I hope the sales of XBox aren't forshadowing something.

  • Alledgedly forthcoming zelda bundle. (Score:4, Informative)

    by Captain Rotundo ( 165816 ) on Tuesday November 04, 2003 @04:00PM (#7389356) Homepage
    I e-mailed Nintendo's public relations office about this release and was told:

    Currently we are considering several premium offers for Nintendo GameCube for the holiday season, and a Zelda bundle is among them. But no decisions have been made yet.

    I think you can take this to mean that they probably will do the promotion, but can't say so since retailers would obviously be upset if you told potential customers to wait before purchasing. of course maybe not, either way I am waiting to see what happens before running out for a gamecube.

  • my 2 cents (Score:4, Insightful)

    by schapman ( 703722 ) on Tuesday November 04, 2003 @04:04PM (#7389403)
    I have come to realize that consoles boil down to: PS2: the ultimate for RPGs and some sports/action. good for sitting at home alone and gaming XBox: Great for sports and action (and another other typical "North American" styled game. good for a night of drinking and gaming w/ friends Nintendo: Fun. Though I only buy nintendo products looking at 1st party games... and nintendo makes amazing games. Ive had more success w/ 3rd party for sony than any other company, and xbox has so far seemed one of the best for sports games.
  • wtf, Zelda's a good start, but I'd much rather see a new version of Mario All-stars, with Super Mario World, Mario 64, and SMB 1-3.
    • wtf, Zelda's a good start, but I'd much rather see a new version of Mario All-stars, with Super Mario World, Mario 64, and SMB 1-3.

      Most of those you can buy for the Gameboy, thus why Nintendo won't give them away for free on GC. This is the same reason Zelda:LTTP isn't one of the bonus games in the Zelda bundle.
    • I think when it comes to Mario, they're relying on the GB Player and the Super Mario Advance line.
  • ...Pokemon Colosseum comes out. I'll pick up a few FPS and flight sim games too. Rebel Strike looks like a winning game.

  • PPC for $99 (Score:3, Funny)

    by SmashPot ( 721474 ) on Tuesday November 04, 2003 @04:52PM (#7389902) Homepage
    What a steal, a PowerPC for only $99. Hmmm, what could I do with 5 of these? a $300 Apache web cluster, and a $200 MySQL cluster......... seems pretty appealing to me.

  • From a UK shop floor (Score:5, Informative)

    by GreatDrok ( 684119 ) on Tuesday November 04, 2003 @05:04PM (#7390040) Journal
    I recently started working part-time in a UK shop and have been steadily selling consoles for the last few weeks in the build up to Christmas. What I noticed is that when the price of the GCN dropped to 79 there was a flurry of sales but that appears to have dried up somewhat now. PS2 sales have been steady and strong, DVD playback is surprisingly still important to people, as is the wide choice of games including PS1 games (great for younger kids). Xbox is barely shifting despite currently being bundled with four games. I've sold 1 Xbox, 3 GCN and a lot of PS2s in five days of work.

    I currently own a PS2 and GCN. Might get an Xbox but I doubt it as the two consoles and PC give me plenty of choice.
  • I don't have a current console, much preferring PC games (back to C&C:Zero Hour after this note), but the $99 price tag from Nintendo was tempting. Not tempting enough, though. But now I can get four Zelda games for free? Sweet. Sign me up. Sure, I'm only one customer, but Nintendo will make a few bucks. Game Cube, an extra controller, memory card (I assume these are still needed?), and a copy of that Metroid game. Just for starters.
    • I just bought a cube last week or so after reading all of the pro-nintendo propaganda on ./ :D

      I haven't owned a console since the NES.. I'm more of a PC gamer. The $99 price tag did it for me, and I *really* wanted to play metroid prime, but I never could bring myself to drop the money on a console.

      I'm very please with the GC so far. It's nice to be able to just sit back in the recliner and play. It seems a bit more relaxing than playing a PC game with the mouse and keyboard (although, those games have

    • Re:Zelda? Sold (Score:2, Informative)

      by Malor ( 3658 )
      Be sure to check out the game "Viewtiful Joe". You may want to rent it first if you're a serious PC gamer, as it's a (brilliant) semi-3d take on 2-d platformers, and you may not like that style if you're not used to it. It's incredibly good, but very difficult. I think it's the best game on the Cube, except possibly Wind Waker.

      Metroid Prime is very good; if you played the original you'll particularly enjoy it.

      I really like my Cube. I own all three consoles, so I don't care which one does best. Right
      • Ah, Viewtiful Joe, the game that alternately delights me and pisses me off, time after time. I finally managed to beat Fire Leo, Inferno Lord, and now I'm getting whumped on the last level.

        Anyway, yes, give this game a try. I'm kind of sad that nobody I talk to seems to have heard of it, which is a real shame, since VJ is one of the best games I've played in a long time, and a refreshing change from the usual fare. And a great reason to get a gamecube... the reason I did, anyway.
        • I believe Viewtiful Joe has been selling very well. (You can find some sales figures through Google.) So don't be too sad - just get some friends with better taste in games. I suppose they're too busy playing the Matrix game to take note of Viewtiful Joe's release.
      • Metroid Prime is very good; if you played the original you'll particularly enjoy it.

        Fwiw, I didn't particularly enjoy the original and I still thought metroid prime was absolutely brillant.
        • Didn't particularly enjoy the original?? Blasphemy! Soneone ban this man from the gaming boards! :-)

          Actually, I never played the truly original Metroid. I was referring to Super Metroid, which I thought was one of the best games on the SNES.
          • At least in Super Metroid (which I didn't play enough to have an opinion on), you had a map. In the original, it was mostly endless wandering through identical caverns without any indication of what you needed to do. Admittedly, Prime may have went slightly too far in the other direction by "holding your hand" a lot, but it's better than endless, endless wandering with no guidance, hoping to find the one wall you could walk through.
  • Cause thats what a nintendo power renewal or sub costs.

  • The Horror... (Score:2, Informative)

    by wickedj ( 652189 )
    How could they possibly skip the best game in the series?!?!?!?!?!? A Link to the Past was the finest Zelda game ever. They skipped right over the SNES. Anyone know why or have any ideas? I guess they could probably rerelease it on its own to make more money but why jump from Zelda II to Ocarina? (What about the awful Philips CDi versions too? Not that I want those attrocities to be rereleased.)
  • I may just have to get the shiny Platinum 'Cube along with Zelda since it's only $99. I've had a black one from launch day, but it would be nice to have a 2nd GC for LAN titles. Who am I kidding... fucking Mario Kart!

    Maybe Nintendo should do a reality show with 4 people living in a house with 4 rooms, 4 GameCubes and 4 GBA SPs.
  • ...I'm getting me a new magazine subscription. I never really wanted Nintendo Power before, but if they're giving something away that I would typically pay $20 for, then it's worth it...
  • Nintendo has found a way to get me to subscribe to Nintendo Propaganda magazine again, after all these years.

    Anyone else remember the old Dragon Warrior subscription deal, way back when?

    • I snagged the Dragon Warrior deal. And played the HELL out of that game. Made the subscription well worth it. That was a good RPG. I was an Enix fan long before I became a Square fan.
      • Dragon Warrior was great. I actually had the game before the Nintendo Power deal, but many of my friends jumped on the deal, and that deal is exactly what this one reminded me of.

        Of course, back then, I was already a faithful Nintendo Power subscriber. I was also 9, and my propaganda-o-meter was woefully underdeveloped. Though not to be too hard on Nintendo Power - most "official" magazines of console manufacturers have hard doses of self-promotion (very high on 1st party titles, very critical of competin

  • Ok, this is too great of an opportunity for me to pass by. Despite the fact that I've got a PC, a PS2, and a library of unfinished games, I've got to pick one of these up.

    Question: other than the new Zelda and Metroid, what are the best titles out there for the Gamecube that I can't get on my PS2?
    • Here are some titles i have had a great time with, YMMV

      F-Zero GX
      Phantasystar Online (even split screen its cool)
      Mario Kart (out soon)
      Pikman
      Skies of Arcadia (assuming you didn't have it on DC)
      Smash Brothers Melee (one of the best party games ever)

      There are others, but those are a few of my favorites.

    • Re:I'm in! (Score:2, Informative)

      by GaimeGuy ( 679917 )
      Ok, here's a list of all my Cube games (I love them all)
      Animal Crossing - exclusive (Nintendo)
      Beach Spikers - Exclusive (Sega)
      Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg - Exclusive (Sega: platformer by Yuji Naka)
      Burnout 2: Point of Impact
      Capcom Vs. SNK 2 EO
      Cubivore (known as Animal Leader in Japan)- Exclusive (Nintendo)
      Def Jam Vendetta
      Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem - Exclusive (Silicon Knights)
      F-Zero GX - Exclusive (Sega, yes, you read that right.)
      Ikaruga - Exclusive, but it was also released
      • Wow.. quite a collection. :)

        I'll probably just pick up the new Zelda, Metroid, Mario, and possibly Viewtiful Joe... then hope I have enough time to play them on vacation. :)
        • I'll just like to add to that list, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles. Its out in Japan already and currently getting ported into english (2004ish release). I already have a cube and thats the biggest title I'm waiting for atm along with Mario Kart Double Dash.

          • I don't like any of the Final Fantasy games. In fact, I don't like turn-based combat. I think it is silly.
            • Crystal Chronicles is different than the other Final Fantasies. it's hack and slash, kind of like Diablo if you've played that.

              • Hmm, well maybe I'll check it out then. Although, the Final Fantasy storylines (from what I know of them) have always seemed a little silly to me. They seem very geared towards the Japanese audience, which isn't exactly what I look for in a game.

    • Question: other than the new Zelda and Metroid, what are the best titles out there for the Gamecube that I can't get on my PS2?

      In my opinion and that of others I know who have played it as much as I have, Smash Bros. Melee may be the best game of all time. Seriously. However, this requries you to know other people who are also willing to put a lot of time into it and get to a high skill level. The game is so deep that you can play many, many hours and still be learning new things. Like Soul Calibur (haven'

  • I know I want to get the Zelda disc, but the question is which of the 3 methods should I go for? Buying a 2nd Gamecube has never been an option for me, so that's out. That leaves the other 2.

    I already have Mario Kart: Double Dash on preorder, so to get it using the register 2 games method is a possibility. I'll only need 1 more game. However, of the other 3 listed, I'm only remotely interested in Mario Party 5. Would this game be worth it?

    The other option is what I'm leaning towards, if for no other
    • How interested in video games are you? Nintendo Power is a beautiful piece of propaganda but it does announce upcoming games and give you news about Nintendo's product line. Do you care about getting this news at all? I would imagine that as someone who reads Slashdot, you probably get most of the information already. Although, I got a subscription to GMR and it's excellent bathroom material. If you've got no interest in getting the latest news, go with Mario Party - and then force it upon your friends. Oth

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