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Games Entertainment

Nintendo Declares GCN Most Popular Console Ever 535

Posted by CmdrTaco from the they-musta-made-a-ton-of-the-things dept.
PhReaKyDMoNKeY writes "According to IGNCube, Nintendo has declared GCN the fastest selling console ever. Additionally, Nintendo claims that Luigi's Mansion is the most popular launch title in history as well. I couldn't seem to find the actual press release, but here's a related news story from Nintendo's site. I don't know how valid the claim is, since it's in their best interest to exaggerate, clearly, but it seems like the console demand in general is pretty high. " Now mind you every store in town seems to have plenty of Gamecubes in stock, but if you want an X-Box, you have to kill for it. Fortunately most people in a video game store are like 12, so I can destroy them with my mind bullets.
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Nintendo Declares GCN Most Popular Console Ever More

Nintendo Declares GCN Most Popular Console Ever

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  • GBA (Score:3, Troll)

    by bonzoesc ( 155812 ) on Thursday November 29, 2001 @11:23PM (#2634525) Homepage
    Nintendo's success is good, considering that their longtime competitor was destroyed by Sony. Good thing they have a monopoly in portable game systems to help them out, too.

    Of course, they could be lying.

    • Re:GBA (Score:2, Insightful)

      by bteeter ( 25807 )
      Their monopoly in portable gaming is well earned. The Gameboy/Gameboy Color/Gameboy Advance are all great systems. Not great technically necessarily - but they are a hell-u-va lot of fun. The games are well suited to the system, and the system is well suited for gaming.

      I don't see any competition on the market at all. Fortunately, it isn't really a bad thing since the GBA and GC systems are pretty cheap, as are the games.

      Take care,

      Brian
      --
      Do you want a free Palm m100? [assortedinternet.com]
      --

      • And their monopoly isn't because nobody else has ever provided competition. It's just that the competition was generally either ridiculously overpriced, technically inferior, or had crappy games. Sega GameGear? Atari Lynx/Jaguar? etc.
        • Comment removed based on user account deletion
      • According to a reputable source on the somethingawful forums, all GBA games are down to $29.99 - I'm going to stock up on some Advance Wars, Mario Kart, and Golden Sun for... uh... presents! For other people! Yeah!

  • Mind Bullets? (Score:4, Funny)

    by Red Avenger ( 197064 ) on Thursday November 29, 2001 @11:23PM (#2634526)
    What are these mind bullets you speak of and why do you want to destroy little children with them?

    • Re:Mind Bullets? (Score:2, Insightful)

      by GooseKirk ( 60689 )
      That's telekinesis, Kyle!

      How about the power... to move you?
    • What are these mind bullets you speak of and why do you want to destroy little children with them?

      That's telekenesis, Kyle!
    • Cmdr Taco, you claim you can shoot Mind Bullets and THEY are 12?

  • Press Release (Score:5, Informative)

    by redink1 ( 519766 ) <redink1NO@SPAMhotmail.com> on Thursday November 29, 2001 @11:25PM (#2634534) Homepage Journal
    The press release is available at Planet GameCube [planetgamecube.com].

  • Why you can still get them (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Nerds ( 126684 ) on Thursday November 29, 2001 @11:26PM (#2634541) Homepage
    Now mind you every store in town seems to have plenty of Gamecubes in stock, but if you want an X-Box, you have to kill for it.

    Two reasons:
    * Nintendo shipped about twice as many GameCubes to start with.
    * The second shippments have already arrived in many places.
    • Yes, Microsoft didn't start production of the X-Box until only a few months before the GC came out, so they had hundreds of thousands fewer consoles. This is one of the reasons Nintendo delayed the GC a few days, so that they would have many more consoles available.

      All this being said, I still haven't been able to get my GC yet....

    • The initial shipment of X-Boxes was 200,000, whereas the initial shipment of GameCubes was 700,000. In addition, 97% of X-Box vendors claim they sold out during the first week, whereas 49% of GameCube vendors claim to have sold out. Nintendo claims a better launch than Microsoft. That makes sense in light of the total units, no?

      Seems like there's enough numbers to prove Mark Twain correct yet again.

      • The initial shipment of X-Boxes was 200,000, ...

        I love the way the initial shipment of XBoxes keeps decreasing in the eyes of the /. posters. First it was 350,000 units, then 300,000, and now it's only 200,000. And still Microsoft hasn't released numbers yet, so all of those are pure speculation. I'm guessing that the shipment was closer to the 350,000 mark, if not higher. As well, Microsoft is shipping 100,000 units per week through the holiday season.


        Anyway, let's just wait until Microsoft releases some numbers before we go speculating too much, eh?

        • I love the way the initial shipment of XBoxes keeps decreasing in the eyes of the /. posters. First it was 350,000 units, then 300,000, and now it's only 200,000. And still Microsoft hasn't released numbers yet, so all of those are pure speculation. I'm guessing that the shipment was closer to the 350,000 mark, if not higher. As well, Microsoft is shipping 100,000 units per week through the holiday season.

          If you're looking for neutral commentary about the Xbox and GameCube, you're certainly not helping the situation. Nobody knows if Microsoft is shipping 100K units a week through the holiday season, least of which is you. According to most reports I've read over the last few days, the word was that Microsoft was actually having production problems due to difficulty obtaining all those PC components, and the fact that they burned up some equipment in the factory when they were "overclocking" their manufacturing line during crunch time.

          But again, nobody really knows any of this, so this is just idle speculation on the parts of a lot of people. But I will say this, though - First off, if the truth isn't bad, then there's no reason to hide it. Why does Microsoft need to hide their launch/shipping numbers? It's certainly not because they're trying not to be unfair - No company would willingly offer its competitors such an easy advantage. And if Microsoft's ship numbers were actually worth reporting, you can bet your $330 DVD player that they would've reported them. Any victory in business is still a victory, no matter how small.

          I don't think this is a case of a lot of anti-MS posters gang-banging on Microsoft for what they see as an attempt to cover their asses. I think it's a case of a lot of reasonably intelligent people calling bullshit when they see it. And I'm not a fanboy one way or the other, but I certainly smell something fishy here too.

        • Re:Why you can still get them (Score:4, Interesting)

          by tb3 ( 313150 ) on Friday November 30, 2001 @10:33AM (#2636149) Homepage
          Anyway, let's just wait until Microsoft releases some numbers before we go speculating too much, eh?


          Or not. Microsoft never releases sales figures. They just say "greatest" or "best ever" or other fuzzy statements. Check the article on the Reg a couple of weeks ago about Gates' keynote speech and associated press releases that played fast and lose with the XP sales figures. Microsoft won't admit the thing isn't selling until they quietly stop making the things.

    • Me: "dialing the local Target"
      Target: "some mumbo jumbo crap, a nice menu"
      Yevette: Electronics department, Yevette speaking"
      Me: Hi, how many of the new X-Boxes do you have in stock, my kids are wanting one for Christmas and I was wondering if I should wait or go ahead and pick one up now.
      Yevette: Lemme see, I see 6 in the case, and we may have a few more in the back. But with the Christmas rush coming and [I stop her there]
      Me: Okay, I'll be down to pick one up tomorrow, thanks.
      Yevette: Thank you for calling Target blah blah blah.

      What do you mean you have to kill for them?
      This is true, I actually called today before leaving work.

  • Supply and Demand (Score:4, Insightful)

    by CMcTortoise ( 246171 ) on Thursday November 29, 2001 @11:27PM (#2634546)

    Microsoft just failed to meet the demand for the XBox. Nintendo made several hundred thousand more units, so their supply is more suited for the corresponding demand. Yeah, it might be the best selling console, but that's just because there are more units out for sale.



    And, if the Gamecube is a hundred bucks less, let Nintendo milk capitalism for all it's worth.

    • and this is what will crush the X box.
      If nintendo has a magnitude more boxen out there then the developers will look at the gamecube as a better moneymaker than the Xbox.

      Man this looks exactly like how Atari Slit their own throats.. The Jaguar was an excellent system had the best graphics and audio of it's time and for several consoles after (It was better than the supernintendo) yet it died a horrible deah because it was impossible to buy and therefore never had a decent number of games for it. so it died.

      Microsoft had better get their butts in gear and start cranking them out like madmen. Otherwise everyone that wanted an X box will be happy with t heir Gamecube by the time they are able to get an X box.
    • No, no, no. You have it all wrong! :)

      Micros~1 didn't fail to meet demand. This is a very old trick. Purposely limit your supply, and when these things fly off the shelf really really fast, it will seem in the minds of Joe Six Pack consumer-types that these things must be really super-popular and therefore this is the product that he must have.

      People are stupid. They assume that because something is hard to get, it must be popular. (in high demand). They completely ignore the SUPPLY side of the equation. :-)
  • On their limited launch titles I assume at least 5 or 6 more games will be out by this time next year right?

  • CmdrTaco (Score:5, Funny)

    by anti11es ( 167289 ) on Thursday November 29, 2001 @11:29PM (#2634556)
    Fortunately most people in a video game store are like 12, so I can destroy them with my mind bullets.
    At least CmdrTaco has found some group of people he can compete with and beat.

  • NYC (Score:4, Interesting)

    by mosch ( 204 ) on Thursday November 29, 2001 @11:30PM (#2634560) Homepage
    In NYC gamecubes are possible to find, as are games. Controllers on the other hand are nowhere to be found.

    X-Box games, controllers, systems and accessories on the other hand are in every single store in midtown.

    • Re:NYC (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Nerds ( 126684 ) on Friday November 30, 2001 @12:05AM (#2634706) Homepage
      Well, I'm just out of Philly, but it's similar here, all of the electronics stores are out of GC accessories. Stragely enough, Target has plenty of them, and they're selling the controllers for thirty bucks, five dollars less than everyone else.

      Then again, I guess it makes sense for XBox stuff to be around, since a) there weren't as many XBoxes to sell at launch b) most of the people who got them were preorders and those came with a second controller anyway and c) the GC seems to have more games where people want four controllers to play with friends (Super Monkey Ball, Wave Race, and Smash Brothers next week).
    • The X-Box controllers are probably still around because people are breaking axles on their SUVs trying to bring those behemoths home. Hong Kong was happy to see the X-Box controllers though, since they can now make a pirate console system that can hold a CD player AND a cart slot. (For the uninitiated, there are pirate systems with a number of games build in that look like Playstation and Nintendo 64 controllers.)

  • Playstation 2 (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Junta ( 36770 ) on Thursday November 29, 2001 @11:30PM (#2634562)
    How could they do any better than Playstation2 did this early? The only way they may be selling more Gamecubes than Sony sold Playstation 2s is by having more available... Playstation 2s completely sold out for a long time... I would think it would be quite some months before you could make a call like that... Since I can go to the corner K-Mart and pick up a Gamecube, I find it hard to believe that they are doing better now than Sony did last year when there were no Playstations 2s to be had moments within hitting the shelves.
    Besides, the X-Box and Gamecube are only marginally better hardware-wise, if at all, yet the game selection is horrid thusfar. I predict it will be like the original Playsation all over again, first to market does better even in the face of superior consoles that follow, through sheer numbers of available titles.
    But if the Gamecube truly *is* more popular, we'll have to wait until about April of next year to see for sure..
    • To an extent console releases have always relied on the 'oh my god - its sold out everywhere - it must be the most popular thing on the planet!' story to hype themselves.

      Its refreshing to see Nintendo take the other tack- and talk about actual numbers.

      I could release a new console, I'd call it Kylie ("just going to play with Kylie a couple of hours"), and issue a 'oh my god...' press release having sold ONE. I'm sure in a lot of territories the PS2 DIDN'T actually sell out for very long, but the common perception is that it was unavailable for MONTHS worldwide. I had no trouble buying mine!

  • Comment removed (Score:3, Insightful)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Thursday November 29, 2001 @11:31PM (#2634572)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion

    • Re:In histroy != America (Score:2, Informative)

      by war2k1 ( 15869 )
      Do you maybe mean the video game market in Japan?
      The population of Japan (according to the CIA World Factbook 2001) is approx. 126,771,662, whereas the population of the US (according to the same source) is about 278,058,881. So, unless these are some sort of freakishly large dwarfs i think your statement might be erroneous.

  • The reason... (Score:3, Redundant)

    by m3000 ( 46427 ) on Thursday November 29, 2001 @11:32PM (#2634575)
    The reason it's easier to get a Gamecube than an Xbox is because there are a whole lot more Gamecubes to be had. Nintendo has shipped hundreds of thousands more Gamecubes than XBoxes, and so there are just plain more to sell. IGN also has an interview [ign.com] with a Nintendo spokeswoman about the whole thing, clarifing it a bit.

    • Re:The reason... (Score:2, Informative)

      by .pentai. ( 37595 )
      THANK YOU!
      It does my heart good to see someone remind others that just because you can find it, doesn't mean it's not selling well...

      And of course add on to this the fact that something like 100,000 more GC's are shipping every week.

      Other fun facts:
      Gamecube hardware made more money on its opening day than Harry Potter did in its opening weekend at the movies...

      Gamecube sold twice as many units as Xbox did in its first week...

      etc. etc. etc.

    • Re:The reason... (Score:5, Funny)

      by krmt ( 91422 ) <therefrmhere@yah o o . com> on Thursday November 29, 2001 @11:46PM (#2634631) Homepage
      Nintendo has shipped hundreds of thousands more Gamecubes than XBoxes

      Pretty smart of them in my opinion. It would have been a bad idea if Nintendo had started shipping more X-Boxes than gamecubes ;-)

  • More reliable source for press release (Score:4, Informative)

    by bobobobo ( 539853 ) on Thursday November 29, 2001 @11:32PM (#2634577)
    Here is the original press release from yahoo

    http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/cn/20011129/tc/nint en do_reports_record_gamecube_launch_1.html

  • Mind bullets? (Score:3, Funny)

    by Mahtar ( 324436 ) <aborell@gmail.com> on Thursday November 29, 2001 @11:32PM (#2634579)
    Do us all a favor and save your mind bullets for the first person to propose a bewoulf cluster of Gamecubes.

    Although, now that I mention it, that would be kinda cool--think about it, a bew--*ack*

  • Ohhh! Look at me! (Score:2, Redundant)

    by Shaheen ( 313 )
    I've got a product that sold a lot of units really quickly!

    Note that this is the same way SEGA started out with Dreamcast. Dreamcast destroyed the previous record for 1st day sales when it came out (9/9/99 by the way). Nintendo is saying they've done the same, basically.

    Popularity in the video game market is way more than preliminary sales figures. We'll see who really has the best games about a year from now.

    /me predicts Xbox. Let the flames begin.
    • So you are saying that selling more consoles at alunch puts Nintendo at a disadvantage? The Dreamcast was and is a cool system, the first of the next generation consoles. What killed it was the fact that everyone was all hyped up about the PS2 by Sony. That's ok though, Sony got killed by the hype of the X-Box and Gamecube. Right now the Gamecube is less expensive, more powerful (pure numbers, and the proof is in the games, they look better, way better), and has lots of good games now, with some really great games scheduled every few weeks for a while down the road. The X-Box has Halo. Madden and NFL Fever are great games, but won't sell the system because you can get Madden and NFL 2k2 for gamecube and PS2. Dead or Alive isn't making the spash I thought it would, and all the other games just aren't strong enough. The X-Box had three racing games, two snowboarding games, two footbal games, a FPS, a Fighting Game, and a Party game. They didn't need the redundancy. The Gamecube's games are original and very fun, and aren't rehash's of older stuff. They are what people want, next generation games, not old games with better graphics.

      I have played Tony Hawk 3, Rogue Leader, Luigi's Mansion, Wave Race, and Super Monkey Ball and they are all fantastic. Super Smash Bros Melee is getting higher praise then the original, Extreme G is shaping up nicely, and Madden, Courtside, Fifa, Crazy Taxi, and Pikmin round things off so that everyone should have a game that they would buy the console for.
  • Now mind you every store in town seems to have plenty of Gamecubes in stock, but if you want an X-Box, you have to kill for it.

    Goldman Sachs did a survey [cnet.com] among U.S. retailers in big cities, and so far 73% had sold out of the Xbox and 47% out of the Gamecube. Microsoft shipped an estimated 300,000 Xbox consoles around the nation, while Nintendo delivered some 700,000.
    [from Shacknews [shacknews.com]]

    Granted, this was a bit farther back in November, but the numbers seem plausible.
    And as always: "There are lies, damn lies, and marketing!" (or somethin like that)

  • X-box isn't hard to find here (Score:5, Interesting)

    by truesaer ( 135079 ) on Thursday November 29, 2001 @11:40PM (#2634606) Homepage
    What microsoft is going is selling most consoles as part of a package....meaning, you have to get some number of games and accessories at the same time. This is no doubt the most profitable way to sell them.


    A friend that was visiting about two weeks ago bought one for her kids...she has lots of them, so getting 3 games and an accessory was no problem along with the console, but this bumps the total price to $500.


    Still, its interesting that they're available this year at all. Remember PS2 last year? Impossible to find!

  • XBox is pretty popular around here, but abudant... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by neema ( 170845 ) on Thursday November 29, 2001 @11:46PM (#2634628) Homepage
    It seems to be all over the place. At least, the package for 500 dollars with three games and and an extra controller seems to be. The stripped down version is sold out in alot of places.

    What really pisses me off about the XBox: You can't play DVDs without that remote. You can't just use your controller. And that remote is another 40-50 dollars. Also, you can't save games without your memory card (also another 40-50 dollars). Meanwhile... doesn't the god damn thing have a hard drive built in? To be able to get the god damn console you'll have to buy a package, and the package doesn't even contain all the good stuff. It'd cost around 600 to get my ideal set up?

    No thanks.

    Maybe I'll just wait to attack the 12 year olds too. The difference: I'll wait till after they buy the XBox and walk out of the store with it to attack them.

    Me smarts.

    • Re:XBox is pretty popular around here, but abudant (Score:4, Informative)

      by mkarpinski ( 409464 ) <mkarpinski AT mac DOT com> on Thursday November 29, 2001 @11:54PM (#2634663)
      You do NOT need a memory card to save games. You only need a memory card if you want to transfer your saved games to another XBox.
      • I stand corrected. I guess the bastard at EB was just trying to sell me that damn memory card. He'll go down with the 12 year olds.

        However, I am quite sure of the DVD thing.
        • Yes you do need the RF unit to plug into the game port so the DVD pasrts will work... Though It's a pretty much standard RCA remote that comes with it (retail value $14.99), so once you have the RF unit you can use any universal remote (since the kit uses a RCA remote try RCA RF signals) or any RCA DVD player remote...

          I wish theyed sell a RF unit by itself & let me use my 'master of all electronics' universal 12 device remote for the box withotu paying extra for a remote I don't need...
    • remote is another 40-50 dollars
      Where 40-50 dollars is actually 35 [ebgames.com]
      memory card (also another 40-50 dollars).
      Where 40-50 dollars is actually 35 [ebgames.com] again.
      Or even less if you're willing to shop around a bit.

    • I know this is Slashdot, but... (Score:3, Interesting)

      by Anonymous Coward
      OK, now let's at least be reasonable, and try to get our facts straight. Coming off as fanatics is not politic in today's climate, and fanatics are usually the ones who make up facts and get all upset about them without anybody bothering to check them against reality.

      Wednesday night I paid $29.99 for my DVD remote kit at Target. I have been saving games since launch day on the hard drive without a memory card.

      Now, start looking at your criticisms and think: Can I save PS2 games without a memory card? Will any amount of money allow my GC to play DVDs? This sort of rabid mentality adds to the ammunition of those who think the open source movement is populated only by irrational zealots.

      Regarding bundling:
      I bought my XBOX on the morning of the launch at a Wal-Mart with just the console, an extra controller, and one game, exchanging my TRU pre-order bundle deposit for another game, though they would have been happy to just refund my $. TRU was ecstatic that I cancelled and one clerk was dialing the next guy on the list before the first clerk had finished ringing up my game, so it was possible to do an end run around the bundles, and I don't see anything about post-launch bundling at all...where are these people shopping?

      On competition:
      A cheer rings out on /. everytime a new competitor springs up in the software market. Why would we want Sony / Nintendo to just draw a line at age 12 and agree to let Sony have those above and Nintendo have those below? Why isn't it a good thing that Microsoft is climbing in over the corpse of the Dreamcast?

  • Launch success vs. system lifespan success (Score:5, Insightful)

    by zsazsa ( 141679 ) on Thursday November 29, 2001 @11:47PM (#2634633) Homepage
    Remember when a certain console that cost $199 at launch sold 410,000 units in the first week [ign.com]?

    Look where it [ign.com] is [cnet.com] now [ft.com].

    Not to knock it -- I love my Dreamcast, and especially now it is an incredible value.

    Ian
    • I love my Dreamcast, and especially now it is an incredible value.

      I would feel my Dreamcast had MORE value to me if Sega hadn't decided to throw in the towel on the system.

      Stop making them? Okay, I can half-way understand that when there is a surplus of units.

      But to stop making games for the system though? C'mon!? Some stores have stopped stocking the games. Many of the last games to be released were cancelled. And a lot of the best games that were out for the system are no longer in stores, hard to find online, and not even in the pawn shops. All that's left on the shelves are games that nobody wanted or games that everybody has.

      Shen Mue 2 not being released though, that's the one that really bothers me.

      At least there are still emulators [dcemulation.com] one can play with...
    • Remember when a certain console that cost $199 at launch sold 410,000 units in the first week

      The difference is Sega does not have Shigeru Myomoto. They do not have Mario, Zelda, Metroid! They did not have a cool wave racing game, a cool snow boarding game. (Two of the funnest games to play on N64... sure to continue on GCN.)

      I owned a DC. Their best games were available for other platforms like PS2. They had no 'killer games' to keep their system afloat. They could not compete with PS2, so they gave up.

  • Uh Oh CmdrTaco (Score:5, Funny)

    by hexix ( 9514 ) on Thursday November 29, 2001 @11:50PM (#2634646) Homepage
    Fortunately most people in a video game store are like 12, so I can destroy them with my mind bullets.

    I hope you're not putting on the pounds, cause you're in danger of turning into the fat comic store guy from the Simpsons.

    • Re:Uh Oh CmdrTaco (Score:5, Funny)

      by DeadMeat (TM) ( 233768 ) on Friday November 30, 2001 @12:17AM (#2634746) Homepage
      In which case it's only a matter of time before we get the option to moderate comments "-1 Worst. Comment. Ever!"

  • violence in video games? (Score:5, Funny)

    by leroybrown ( 136516 ) on Thursday November 29, 2001 @11:54PM (#2634665) Homepage
    but if you want an X-Box, you have to kill for it.

    ...so it's not the games that cause violence, but the actual game consoles .

  • Its all about supply... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Amigori ( 177092 ) <eefranklin718 AT yahoo DOT com> on Thursday November 29, 2001 @11:55PM (#2634668) Homepage
    Nintendo knows they have a popular console on their hand and to meet demand, they needed product on the store shelves to buy. Microsoft also knows this, but they wanted to try and increase demand by limiting supply. This could hurt them because the purchaser might decide to buy Gamecube instead of Xbox, only because they can get their hands on it. Plus they can get 2 more games if they get NGC instead of Xbox or they can save $100. And me being my broke college self, I'd spring for the NGC anyways. Just my 2 cents...

    Amigori

  • ...and counterpoint. (Score:4, Informative)

    by Nindalf ( 526257 ) on Friday November 30, 2001 @12:02AM (#2634694)
    The Gord's Prophesy of the GameCube [actsofgord.com]

    Love the Gord. Fear the Gord.
  • here [actsofgord.com] is some info about the GameCube that you might find interesting.
  • Nintendo makes brilliant, well-crafted, and (above all) extremely fun games, and that makes people want to buy Nintendo consoles.

    Just a thought.
    • So true - that's why I'm going to import a NGC (I'm in Europe) before this Christmas.


      I have a DVD player, I have a computer. I want something to play games on - and the only thing that does exactly that on the market (with fun games) is the GameCube.

  • Rumor has it that Xbox had 300k initially, whereas Gamecube sent out 700k.

    Both of these, of course, pale to the 20 Million PS2 units out there.

  • Did CmdrTaco ever work in a Convenience store? (Score:3, Funny)

    by Nathdot ( 465087 ) on Friday November 30, 2001 @12:13AM (#2634735)
    I remember reading a news article [theonion.com] and CmdrTaco's "mind bullet" comment makes me wonder if it was him they were talking about.

    :)

  • Parody. Not a statement of facts. (Score:3, Funny)

    by rice_burners_suck ( 243660 ) on Friday November 30, 2001 @12:18AM (#2634749)

    Disclaimer: This post is either a parody or a bunch of opinions, whichever the author chooses it to be at any given time. It is a work of pure fiction and as such must not be taken as statements of fact, slander or libel. All persons, places or things mentioned herein are objects of the author's imagination. Any similarities to persons, places or things in the real world are coincidental and unintentional.

    There are tons of GameCubes in the stores, but you'll have to kill for an Xbox, eh? Well let me tell you something: Xbox is a Microsoft product, and as such, I believe it sucks. For the uninitiated, I'm a biased, zealous, and most of all, sworn by blood oath Microsoft hater... who cares though? I got 50 Karma! Of course, this is because of some of my better posts, which ironically don't include any anti-Microsoft stuff. Well at least not excessive amounts of anti-Microsoft stuff. And I do admit that one of my computers has Windows 98 on it, but only because:

    • It came preinstalled, which means I payed for it anyway. I never buy computers prebuilt but this one is a laptop. I haven't found a way to build my own laptop yet. For everything else, I first decide what purpose the thing is supposed to fulfill and then plan, buy and configure accordingly. I believe that knowing how things work, configuring them correctly, constantly increasing your knowledge and experience, improving the system, and above all, maintaining it often and properly... results in systems that work efficiently and without problems during operation. Except, of course, when running Windows. <bias off>I really, honestly do have a lot of problems with Windows locking up and crashing, when none of my other systems do. Yes, I admit that I've had problems with my other systems. They're made by humans and as such are not perfect, but when it comes down to it, I never worry about, for example, FreeBSD crashing. It just doesn't, unless I'm really pushing the system to the max and doing about 3,000 things that I really shouldn't be doing at the same time! FreeBSD has never crashed under normal circumstances by any stretch of the imagination. It really takes heavy duty abuse to bring that down. But I always worry about Windows crashing, even during "normal" operation (especially during normal operation!) and guess what? It does. Very annoying, but true.<bias on> Now where was I? Oh yeah, the reasons I actually have Windows 98 on my of my computers (and hate every time I have to boot into that defective system).
    • I need to run several programs, which currently have no non-Windows replacement that I know of. Therefore, these programs run on my poor laptop... poor because it is forced to execute Microsoft code sometimes.
    Luckily, I am writing this on a FreeBSD box, running Opera 5.0 for Linux, so you can't say I'm a hypocrite. And my laptop also runs FreeBSD and BeOS. Some of the hardware doesn't work under BeOS. Everything (to my knowledge) works under FreeBSD, thanks to the FreeBSD on Laptops [ucsc.edu] site.) And I've established that I have no choice but to run Windows some of the time, due to programs which currently have no replacement, but this requirement is decreasing with every passing day, so that won't be a problem soon. Next time I get a laptop, I won't let them off so easy--I will pursue my refund from the manufacturer if it's the last thing I do.

    So where was I? Oh yeah, I was talking about how the Xbox sucks but went off on a big tangent. The Xbox sucks because it's a Microsoft product. Unless it will run Linux and NetBSD, in which case, it's quite possibly an adequate device when used as a cheap computer. Perhaps it could even serve as a good platform for graphics, as a "poor-man's SGI" (phrase shamelessly jacked--Be made that one up back in the days of their "one processor per person is not enough" days when they were still a cool company) of sorts. Anyone know how to cluster these things? (Or, even better, does anybody know how to take an Xbox, GameCube and PS2 and make one big graphics computer out of them? That would be a cool hack. Don't laugh--I know a guy who buys disposable cameras and uses the parts in real systems because it costs far less than buying the parts individually.)

    Well, here I done gone off on a tangent again. Anyway, I don't quite think that I want to support Microsoft by purchasing an Xbox. It's bad enough that I sometimes cause some of their code to be executed by allowing my laptop to boot that virus.

    Oh yeah, but there was an opposing viewpoint that I wish to include here, just so you folks don't say i'm a biased, zealous, and most of all, sworn by blood oath Microsoft hater, because that's what I am anyway. :-) Someone commented in another story that Microsoft actually loses money on each Xbox, in the hopes of making big bucks from video game sales. So even after everything else I said above, about not wanting to support them, etc., if it's true that they lose money, then I could buy an Xbox to run Linux and NetBSD and just not buy any games for it. Then, I'd actually unsupport them! I mean, hey, I might build a 10,000 Xbox cluster someday!!!

    Now let's see, I have to say something that's actually on topic, right? Hmmm, I'm at the Karma cap, so I must be doing something right, right? Well, for anybody who might be thinking of moderating this Offtopic, here's the ontopic stuff: The GameCube looks like a great toy.

    This post is Copyright 2001, rice_burners_suck. All rights reserved.

    Oh well.

  • Now mind you every store in town seems to have plenty of Gamecubes in stock, but if you want an X-Box, you have to kill for it.

    Totally the opposite in the Walmart electronics department where I work. Gamecubes are seen for maybe ten minutes at the most on our shelves. I can't remember the last time I sold an Xbox. My theory is that everyone who wanted a CAN$449 console and DVD player already got theirs a year ago.

  • Ummmmm (Score:2, Funny)

    by OmegaDan ( 101255 )
    Nintedo declares their new product the best thing ever?

    My father declares himself to be "The emperor of california" but it dosen't make that either.

  • Dude (Score:2)

    by LS ( 57954 )
    This is one of those sites that actually treats press releases as news... When will they learn?

    LS

  • There is NO Xbox shortage. (Score:3, Insightful)

    by IGnatius T Foobar ( 4328 ) on Friday November 30, 2001 @12:54AM (#2634838) Homepage Journal
    Don't kid yourself. There is no shortage of XBoxes. Microsoft is very carefully and deliberately manipulating the distribution and marketing of the XBox to create an astroturf-like imitation of the "Tickle-me Elmo effect." They want people to believe that XBox is so hot that you'd better run out and snatch one before they're all gone, but the reality is that everyone who wants an XBox will eventually get one. Mark my words: inventory will find its way into stores in plentiful supply two weeks before Christmas.
    • This wouldn't surprise me, but given the fact that it's readily available in some places and less so in others, my guess is that they didn't have the marketing data to ship the right amount of units to the right areas. Some places they overshipped, others they undershipped. All in all, I'd bet you're right that there's enough supply, but I think that the supply just isn't where it needs to be at present.

      I think all their crafty marketing tricks are involved in over-advertising the thing, to the degree where there are X-Box banners and fliers everywhere, but nary a gamecube one to be found. They just spent so much money that they saturated the ad space. That's what creates the illusion that they're so hot, walking in to the store and seeing big green X's everywhere will overwhelm most people.
      • X-Box banners and fliers everywhere, but nary a gamecube one to be found. They just spent so much money that they saturated the ad space. That's what creates the illusion that they're so hot, walking in to the store and seeing big green X's everywhere will overwhelm most people.

        I'm glad someone mentioned this.

        Am I just warped, or am I the only person laughing my ascii off whenever I walk into a store and see that there are no XBoxes, but under all of the XBox banners, posters, stickers, displays, and demo units, there are almost always plenty of Gamecubes?

        I have already decided to buy both the XBox and the Gamecube anyway -- but I've not been able to actually GET an XBox. At least Nintendo had no problems getting those Gamecubes out, so I'm not totally out of luck. :-)
    • Nintendo has a tremendous fan base from its NES/SNES days. Unlike PCs which have lots of original games and some sequels, console games are heavily about franchises and sequels. The franchise concept is an interesting one that doesn't seem as popular in the PC market.

      Nintendo's Mario franchise goes back to Donkey Kong. They milk this for all it is worth, and it has quite a fan base. We played Mario Kart 64 for months (still do occaisionally). It isn't a particularly amazing game, but the fact that you are playing SMB characters (complete with Stars and Turtle Shells) just makes it a little more enjoyable.

      Nintendo has a family of franchises with well known characters.

      As a result, Nintendo doesn't NEED to carpet bomb the media. They need to maximize their profits. They aren't subsidizing the hardware, nor do they NEED a huge initial adoption. They'll have a successful holiday season. Realize that the abysmal failure of the N64 was only a failure compared to the NES/SNES dominance. They shipped 30m units over time and made some cash. When the Pokemon craze hit, they rode that all the way to the bank.

      Nintendo's MAJOR problem is that they squeezed the Third parties too hard, and they bolted for the PSX instead of the N64. While the N64 has some AMAZING games (great replay factor, Bond, Hang Time, Kart... all playable for years), the companies that were "MADE" selling NES games stayed through the SNES but left to the PSX.

      The shame is, I'm mostly interested in Nintendo games. However, because of whatever business decisions Nintendo made, I may pick up a PSOne or PS2 for some games that bolted in this time that my fiancee really wants.

      Microsoft has a problem, NOBODY trusts them. If you are a game maker, you have to see the shit that they pull in the PC space. Nintendo's garbage let Sony pull off a coup, they established themselves as the non-game company. As a result, game makers weren't threatened by Sony.

      Sega (my brother has owned all their systems since the Master System) has LOTS of great games. Their franchises aren't as good as Nintendo's, but they innovate and create new ones all the time. However, their hardware was NEVER impressive, and they NEVER had third parties like Nintendo. You used to buy a Sega system for their games, now you can get them wherever. I still play some of my Genny games.

      The problem with Microsoft is that they have their own games division. They also have shown that they will hide APIs, etc., to help their products over the competition.

      If I was a game maker, I might take their subsidies to make games, but I'd be VERY nervous about cozying up too much. I would guess that the independant game makers helping XBox with games are hoping that XBox does well enough that they do well, but not too much that MS EVER has the power that Nintendo did 15 years ago.

      Sony was SMART with the PSX. They didn't carpet bomb the airwaves. They let the system get a following. People slowly fell in love with the system. Sony was a new player and played it smart. They courted developers.

      Microsoft seems to think that it get bully its way into the market. I'm not sold on that. Sony has a following because the Third Party companies LIKE working with them. They have GREAT game support. Nintendo has a GREAT audiance (including people over 21... most of the people I know want the new Nintendo system). Microsoft would be smart to play this cool and use their DirectX similarities to get games to the market.

      If you are launching a game for the PS2 AND PC, there is little reason not to make it a three-way launch for the PS2/PC/Xbox. The Xbox's superior hardware should help it with games on the PS2 AND Xbox.

      MS shouldn't be playing for this Xmas, they should be playing for next Xmas. PS2's market lead is HUGE, they need to be careful in playing catchup.

      Personally, I think that the market will be a two company market, Sony and Nintendo. As long as Nintendo's franchises remain popular AND they can sell the systems at a profit/break even, there is NO reason for them to be a software only player. Sega's hardware always seemed flimsy and while their games were always fun, they don't have the nostalgia factor that Nintendo has,

      The Tickle-me Elmo effect is a LOT easier to do with a doll than a game system that costs $500 with accessories... :)

      Alex

  • Are you dyslexic? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Cryptnotic ( 154382 ) on Friday November 30, 2001 @12:54AM (#2634839)
    GCN isn't the acronym. What would that stand for? Game Cube Nintendo?


    No, the correct acronym is NGC (Nintendo Game Cube).

    • Re:Are you dyslexic? (Score:3, Informative)

      by JabXVI ( 141079 )
      Actually, GCN is the acronym Nintendo uses (their site appears to be down right now, but do a google search for "site:nintendo.com gcn" if you don't believe me). I don't get it either.

  • Funny, lots of X-Boxes, no Cubes here... (Score:4, Funny)

    by ivan256 ( 17499 ) on Friday November 30, 2001 @12:59AM (#2634855)
    There are four stores close by to my house that sell consoles. EB, Circuit City, Wal-Mart, and KB Toys. Only Wal-Mart and EB carried X-Boxes, but you can still find an X-Box or someone willing to book you one from a shipment in the next few weeks. All four of the store carry(ed) Game Cube, and all four stores have all their shipments untill christmas sold out. From what I understand Nintendo shiped more Cubes then X-Box...

    Of course it doesn't help that the local EB has blown five (5) X-Box demo kiosks since 2 weeks before release and have finally given up and dismantled the thing. (That's five blown consoles in one store in less then a month!) I know of alot of people that canceled their preorder or decided to go with a Cube because of that.

    Someday I'll own a Cube......
  • simple. they get one and wait until slashdot posts about someone hacking linux on it. screenshots, patches and all. the rest is up to nature.

    tuxracer would absolutely rule on one of these...

  • Very cool (Score:2, Informative)

    by BigBir3d ( 454486 )
    REDMOND, Wash., Nov. 20, 2001 - Young wizard Harry Potter may have worked box office magic over the weekend, but his potion of profitability actually was trumped by the powerful new NINTENDO GAMECUBE video game system. Movie industry sources put ticket receipts for the three-day opening weekend of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone at $93.5 million. But combined U.S. retail revenues for NINTENDO GAMECUBE (including hardware systems, games and accessories) reached more than $98 million in just its first single day of availability on Sunday, November 18.

    Found here [nintendo.com].
  • Microsoft hasn't been in the game long enough to understand their market. A console doesn't sell worth shit without games to play on it. In the console world the most important thing you've got are your licensees and the franchises they control. The Playstation's early hits were the games fresh out of the arcades from Capcom and Konami. There were a bunch of arcade games the Genesis and SNES couldn't come close to touching so there was demand for a more powerful system. Then it came into its own with games you couldn't get on any other system (FF7, MGS, GT1&2, Tekken, lots more) or games that really whomped the Saturn's ass. When they launched the PS2 everyone knew the money making franchises were going to have new games for the system so there was a huge demand for it. The fact it's sold 20 million units is testament to that. Sega unfortunately didn't have that sort of demand because they just didn't have the franchises everybody wanted. Nintendo is similar to Sony, they've got franchises that are nearly 20 years old. With the GC there's a be demand because they've got everything from Metroid to Pokemon and that is really selling the system. If the XBox survives long enough to develop its own franchises Nintendo and Sony will be releasing another generation of console. I really think dispite all of the cash Microsoft can infuse into the XBox it is going to go the way of the Jaguar. The Jaguar was a badass system but it was expensive and had no franchise support from anybody. It had really awesome specs but no games so it died a sad death as did Atari.
  • Give me a break. They are overflowing the shelves here. Everyone wants a Game Cube or the latest title for PS2.

    Of course, who wants to have to experience the green screen of death [hardocp.com] in the middle of a game? The thing doesn't even have a 3 button keyboard with Ctrl-Alt-Del. As described [slashdot.org] on /. of course.

  • I don't know what state you're living in, but XBox?? Damn. I was at college in Rochester, NY. Now I'm on break in Trumbull, CT, and I stopped in NY City. Major video game/electronics stores in all 3 of those locations seem to be in the same situation. GameCubes sold out on the 18th, but Nintendo shipped a whole bunch more real quick, and those are selling pretty fast. Stores that didn't have any either just sold out, have like 2, and all of them are getting more really soon. XBoxes it seems did not sell out on launch, and they have plenty of them. The XBox seems to be getting a lot more advertising, but we all know it needs it.

    I'm not dissing the XBox just because it's MS. (even though I feel like I should). I'm dissing it because the only reason there is to buy it right now is DoA. And frankly I don't like that game that much.

    However the XBox is a computer. A better computer than the one I have anyway. And it's only 300$!! If I could jam linux on that hard drive it would rock. Cheap servers will cool chassis for all! It may be big for a console, but it's small compared to an ATX tower.

    I own a GameCube. The reason for that is, well reasons, are Mario, Luigi, Samus Aran, Smash Bros, Donkey Kong, oh yeah LINK/ZELDA woo ha!

    Games for GameCube I must have = many
    Games for XBox I must have = 0

    Maybe Nintendo is lying about GameCube being the most popular console ever, and I wouldn't doubt it. They're probably adding up number from around the world or something. But who cares about that?

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