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GameCube (Games) Entertainment Games

GameCube Dropped To $99 At Online Retailer 118

Posted by simoniker from the soon-nintendo-will-pay-you dept.
JFMulder writes "Retail partners Amazon.com and Toys 'R Us announced today that they were dropping the Gamecube console price down to $99. Even though Nintendo is probably losing money now on the GameCube, this is the move that Nintendo may be hoping will close the little gap between Xbox and GameCube in worldwide sales, and help it gain a solid lead over Microsoft in the coming months." A Reuters story mentions further indications that an official announcement is on its way, and all on Nintendo's 114th birthday, too.
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GameCube Dropped To $99 At Online Retailer More

GameCube Dropped To $99 At Online Retailer

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  • So can anyone explain to me how Nintendo has been making video games for longer than we have had computers?

    Even the original tube type calculator didn't appear to somewhere in the 1950's? Now if they are just talking about some person whose name is Nintendo they should really just say so.

    As for me my ps2 still working just fine.

    • Re:114th birthday (Score:5, Informative)

      by Snowspinner ( 627098 ) <{ude.lfu} {ta} {dnaslihp}> on Tuesday September 23, 2003 @09:34PM (#7039752) Homepage
      Nintendo started as a playing card company, and slowly evolved into a video game company as the technology came into being.
      • Ok, that makes sense. But you would think someone would have mentioned it. It implied that they had been making video games for a long time.

        Today is the 114th birthday of our favorite video game company!

        • I'm pretty sure when they mentioned that Nintendo was founded in 1889 they were assuming everyone would figure out for themselves that Nintendo started out doing something else before moving to video games.

    • Re:114th birthday (Score:2, Redundant)

      by NiceGeek ( 126629 )
      I believe Nintendo started out making playing cards back in the day.
    • "So can anyone explain to me how Nintendo has been making video games for longer than we have had computers?"

      You see, Nintendo often makes more than one game at a time, so by applying a Rosen'esque algorithm, you can arrive at that number by multiplying the number of years the company has actually been around by ...
    • For years, they made playing cards in Japan. IIRC, it was sometime in the 1970s that Nintendo began producing electronic games and, eventually, video games. Do a Google search for "History of Nintendo" and you'll probably find a much more detailed account.
      • http://www.dojomediaserver.com/specials/Famicom/ti meline.html

        They go from the first company to mass produce plastic playing cards in Japan to the first company to produce micro-processor controlled arcade games in Japan.

        Anyway, it has some sparse details, but is interesting.
  • A have a girlfriend that loves the cartoonish Mario style games. I couldn't justify a Gamecube before, but I can now. Thanks Nintendo.
  • what's to stop Microsoft from cutting prices too, If they're already losing money with each XBox they sell?
    • Unless MS can cut the costs they would loose yet more cash per console. Besides that even more people would get it and chip it then before, and they would loose even more cash. But perhaps it is a loss they would gain on in the end - but probably not before the next box comes out 2005-2006. I would welcome a price cut on the X-Box as then I would see a reason to buy it - as it really lacks some quality games(that I'm intrested in). Now I would chip it, so me buying it would probably just hurt MS :&.
      • Given how narrow the gap is between Xbox and Gamecube sales right now, it is quite conceivable that there will be a point in time where the people who bought XBoxes just to chip them or install Linux on them and never buy any games will be enough to ensure Micorosoft's lead over Nintendo by a very narrow margin and continue to claim they are 2nd in the console wars and have the press believe them (as long as nobody looks anywhere besides America and Europe.)

        The PR value of that is worth far more than the

    • Nothing really (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Daetrin ( 576516 )
      Microsoft can drop the XBox's price if they're willing to take even more losses, and they probably will. However once you get below $100 you've crossed a certain psychological threshold. Even if the price difference between an Xbox and a Gamecube is no greater than before once Microsoft makes it's own cut, the Gamecube will probably be perceived as a better deal now that it only has two digits in its price (and even though in many places taxes will push it back above $100, it's the sticker price that counts
      • The $100 dollar threshold you speak of really could mean next to nothing to a multi billion dollar company. I dont see microsoft having any real concerns about losing terrific amounts of money. If xbox had more quality games the $100 would mean less than nothing. I do own an xbox and i definetly wish that there were more good games for it.
        • That really depends on the multi-billion dollar companies. Some companies care very much about the bottom line and a shift in profits of that magnitude ($149 to $100 IS HUGE - have you seen that commercial, which I believe is for some Microsoft product, where an IT worker is proud because he's found a way to save a nickel - realizing that saving a nickel a billion times, is a lot of money) will affect that bottom line. Microsoft has committed to the X-Box division losing money for this round of consoles but
          • In short, you're right that MS isn't concerned over losing large amounts of money on the X-Box but they aren't going to just lose indiscriminate amounts.

            I think their primary concern is keeping the amount coming in higher than the cost of the hardware. Even if they're losing money on the advertising and R&D, they won't take it below cost.

            Frankly, I don't think Nintendo will be losing money at $100, either, at this point. They've been making money off the Cube from the start, and it's been selling at
        • The $100 dollar threshold you speak of really could mean next to nothing to a multi billion dollar company.

          I'm confused about what you mean. The $100 threshold is significant to the consumer. It's not particularly significant to Microsoft or Nintendo except in the response it elicits from the consumers.

          If xbox had more quality games the $100 would mean less than nothing.

          Do you mean the $100 price of the GameCube? You seem to be putting forth what is almost a tautology. Yes, if the XBox were enough bet

      • I don't know if that perceived value will make up completly for the deficiencies, real or imagined, of the Gamecube vs. the Xbox, but it will certainly help.

        Well, it's definitely not imagined, since this is a North American price cut and North America is the area where the GameCube is losing ground to the Xbox. It's really no different than the Xbox price cuts in Europe and Japan that aren't being passed on to North America. If the customers in a region aren't buying the console in sufficient numbers, the
    • Microsoft seems to be competing more with PS2 then with Gamecube. I think if they drop the price, Sony and MS should follow suite. Plus, you get more bang for your buck with PS2 and XBOX then with a GC. Not trying to knock GC for all those getting up in arms, it just doesn't have any features. I'm talking like PS2 innate DVD player + huge selection of games + online, compared to Xbox's hardware and capabilities + Xbox live. I do like my Gamecube somewhat, so don't get your panties in a bunch, I'm not kno

      • Re:OK, but... (Score:2, Insightful)

        by PainKilleR-CE ( 597083 )
        Microsoft seems to be competing more with PS2 then with Gamecube.

        How is Microsoft competing more with PS2 than with GameCube when the XBox sales are much closer to the GameCube's sales than to the PS2's sales?

        The simple fact is that Microsoft is #3 worldwide, and if Nintendo can get a decent increase in sales in the US, Microsoft will be #3 here, as well. Microsoft set their system up to compete with the PS2 (DVD playback, online capability, etc), but that's not what they are currently doing.
  • the original NES was $99 if I remember correctly. How much were NES games back in the day? I don't remember them being $50 each, the way GameCube games are now.
    • I remember atari 2600 games comming out at $40 to $50 each. I thought it was ridiculous then, somewhat still do now.
    • Comment removed based on user account deletion
    • I *distincly* remember saving up $30 to buy Zelda and Mike Tysons Punch Out, back in the day.

      Also, I've got some new in the box 2600 games with price tags around $30 as well. Of course, thats a pre-crash price. I've got numerous new 2600 games with price tags of $2.99 on them too.

      As for the systems, I beleive that the 2600 was $300 when it was first released, and for some reason I think the NES deluxe set (with ROB) was $200 originally.

    • Re:question (Score:2, Informative)

      by apezaholic ( 681909 )
      Nes, Snes, N64 and gamecube all launched at $200. Games have always cost about 40-50 bucks too.
    • I don't remember them being $50 each, the way GameCube games are now.

      An Intellivision game (one generation back from the Nintendo) could be produced by one person in a few months.

      A modern game requires resources comparable to a major motion picture.

      I don't know what the Intellivision games cost, because those days predate any concept of money I might have had. But it's rather impressive how much more $50 buys then it used to, even over the NES days. Personally, I consider video games a steal. (Especiall
    • I remember buying games typically from $10-30 though the high rollers were sometimes as high as $40 (I remember picking up the original Final Fantasy for $10 at Toys'R'Us ironically). But there has been inflation since the 1980s.

      There are other factors on both sides. Games now have addins inconcievable a decade ago. That copy of Starcraft you bought also helps pay AT&T to maintain Battle.net. While games are bigger and more complex than ever, tools have made it easier (programming a console game 10
    • I remember seeing Toys R Us ads having the Nintendo priced at $150 in 1988. Games were $30-$40, though I seem to recall Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves going for $50. That was one of the later titles so pretty soon afterwards prices were slashed so the SNES could move in for good.
    • $99 for the NES? Definately not. I'm sure it at least $150 at one time. As for games, I think $50 was the standard.

      Course you have to take inflation into account. $50 in the 80's was worth a lot more back then than now. Which is why there is discussion about raising prices, but us consumers will never let them. (Read : warez)

    • I paid $108 with tax in Seattle for NES + Mario 1 + Duck hunt. Funny how I remember that exactly. If your paying $50 for any GC game your getting ripped. Blockbuster had brand new prime titles for $20 not long back.

    • Re:question (Score:2, Informative)

      by PainKilleR-CE ( 597083 )
      the original NES was $99 if I remember correctly.

      It depends on when you got it. If you were a very early NES owner and got the package with the robot (the only one available at the start), it could have been as much as $400. My parents bought the bundle with the light gun (not the orange one) and Duck Hunt/Super Mario Bros. cart. for $115, about 3-5 years after the system was released.

      How much were NES games back in the day? I don't remember them being $50 each, the way GameCube games are now.

      It depe

    • Re:question (Score:1, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward
      yeah... they were $60, $70 and sometimes $80 a piece.

      Really I wish this mentality would die. Prices aren't increasing, during the last wave, Sony successfully drove down the pricing model with no indication of it rising (in the console model).

    • Re:question (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Metal_Demon ( 694989 )
      I remember when gas use to cost 75cents a gallon. Videogames are actually getting cheaper when you think about it. As inflation goes up videogame prices don't. Consoles are deffinately cheaper. Finally now with this price drop I will have all 3 consoles. Not that I don't have too many games to play right now already.

  • Losing Money? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Snowspinner ( 627098 ) <{ude.lfu} {ta} {dnaslihp}> on Tuesday September 23, 2003 @09:36PM (#7039767) Homepage
    Actually, I doubt Nintendo is losing money on the Gamecube. Most sources will say that Nintendo was turning a very small profit on the Cube when it launched at $199, and that was a couple of years ago - the prices on the components have fallen off considerably since then, as electronics tend to do, and production efficiency has increased. I'd guess that if Nintendo is taking any kind of loss on the GC, it's only since the price cut to $99, and it's very, very slight.

    • Re:Losing Money? (Score:2, Informative)

      by QueenNina ( 544235 )
      I hope Nintendo's losing money, because the retailers that sell the consoles are. Right now, if you just buy a console without any accessories or games, my store loses money. One accessory or two games will break us even, and one controller, one memory card, and three $40-50 games will make us enough of a profit to pretend it actually does something for the store.... Not a high-profit industry at store level. :) So if Nintedo's selling it to us at a price higher than we have to sell it for but they're mak
      • I confess, I have a bit of trouble believing that. If that's true, why do retailers like KB Toys offer additional game bundles? And, for that matter, why would stores stock the Gamecube at all? Considering its allegedly sluggish sales and your claim that retailers lose money on it, I'd expect it to be dropped. Provide some linkage?

  • Depends what $99 includes (Score:5, Insightful)

    by jvmatthe ( 116058 ) on Tuesday September 23, 2003 @09:40PM (#7039798) Homepage
    If it's $99 for a Cube and nothing else, then this is not a terribly significant event. Before it was $149 for a Cube and a game (Zelda, e.g.) or $149 for a Cube and GameBoy Player [curmudgeongamer.com] (GBP). Each of those extra items is roughly $50 retail, so the Cube itself could have been thought of as being $99 for a while. Regardless, they can now advertise is as $99 and people may actually think that it's a new deal. In a sense, it is, since now they can pick the game to go with their new cube (instead of having to buy a specific one) but the net effect is still that the Cube cost $99.

    Now, if in fact the $99 price still includes either a game or a GBP then this is a significant deal. Honestly, with the GBP the Cube becomes a great little system to have. I recently finished Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow [curmudgeongamer.com] entirely on the GBP and that was a GREAT experience. Other GameBoy, GameBoy Color, and GameBoy Advance games also benefit from the big screen format, although you may finally realize how awful some of that 8-bit sound was on your older games. Those older games are relatively cheap to get used, so you can get by inexpensively on those. Add in Animal Crossing and other great games on the Player's Choice list and then you're talking a good time. Heck, you can even play Soul Calibur II, if you want.

    Sure, you won't be playing Halo 2 or the next Grand Theft Auto, but there is still some good gaming to be had on that cheap Cube.

    • (http://curmudgeongamer.com/)
      If it's $99 for a Cube and nothing else, then this is not a terribly significant event.

      This is what it is, at least at Amazon.com.
    • That would kick ass if it did include the GBP. I've been wanting to check out Final Fantasy Tactics Advance but I'd rather not use a GBA and can't justify paying $150 for a system I'd play maybe 3 or 4 games on.

    • Re:Depends what $99 includes (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward
      "Honestly, with the GBP the Cube becomes a great little system to have."

      Honestly, there are people who think it already is. :)

      But really, I've had a Cube since launch. Even if I'd known that 2 years later I'd be able to get it for half price, there's no way I wouldn't have still bought it right then and there. I've played enough fun games on it in that time to make it worth what I paid for it, and being able to play the crossplatform games with a comfortable controller is good. Wavebird is the only wir

    • I really enjoy "Super Smash Bros. Melee" and Metroid Prime. But I bought it for the GameBoy Player; all these SNES remakes and updates are exactly what I've been missing ever since "3D" took hold... (I second your recommendation for the Castlevania games, by the way).
      • Super Smash Bros: Melee is an absolute riot with four players. Everyone cracks up when someone gets the donkey kong hammer. Complete mayhem.
        Come to think of it, a lot of Nintendo's games tend to be in that same boat. Mario Party 4, F-Zero GX, Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles, Mario Kart: Double Dash... They're all primarily social games.
        • Yep. Look at it this way. Cube = 64's 4 player ports + SNES-ish Pad Design + Optical Discs (which is why the 64 lost in the first place). Throw in GBA paraphernilia (link cable and the player) and you got probably Nintedo's most robust system to date. And there's a network adapter coming at some point according to the information on Mario Kart Double Dash
    • Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • I know all sorts of stuff has been done to PS2 and X-box, but what about GameCube? Anything interesting that we can do to it now that it's "under" $100?

    • Re:Anybody ever hack these? (Score:5, Informative)

      by MORTAR_COMBAT! ( 589963 ) on Tuesday September 23, 2003 @10:08PM (#7039973)
      It's really too bad, but Nintendo really did a bang-up job of making the system very difficult to hack.

      It's too bad, because the system itself is a great little system - standard PowerPC-based processor, ATI graphics - well suited to simple programming.

      However the disc format being 'backwards' - the disc spins in the normal way but is read from the outside-in instead of the inside-out like other discs - makes it difficult to even read and write a disc.

      However software exists which makes a good effort at reading the discs, so it is only a matter of time before we'll see Linux or NetBSD running on the thing.

      But it's really too bad that it is so difficult, because Nintendo could have sold the devices at $199 for a nice profit, including a Linux disk or something, making it a simple browse the web from the set-top solution, etc.
      • However software exists which makes a good effort at reading the discs, so it is only a matter of time before we'll see Linux or NetBSD running on the thing. But it's really too bad that it is so difficult, because Nintendo could have sold the devices at $199 for a nice profit, including a Linux disk or something, making it a simple browse the web from the set-top solution, etc.

        And how big do you honestly think the "I wanna buy a cube to run linux/etc on!" market is? A couple hundred? A couple thousand?

      • But it's really too bad that it is so difficult, because Nintendo could have sold the devices at $199 for a nice profit, including a Linux disk or something, making it a simple browse the web from the set-top solution, etc.

        Several companies tried business plans like that around 99 or so. It didn't work.

        • True, but linux is free, so once you have the distribution set up duplication is nothing. They can include linux in every gamecube box, use it or not.

          If you have USB ports (PS2 does, but don't know about GC) a cheap keybaord makes kword (free) work, and support a few USB printers. They might even manage to force printer manufactures to go to a standard driver if they define a standard for USB printers that attach to their box, and there is no way to attach them otherwise. (That would be nice, but farfet

    • Re:Anybody ever hack these? (Score:4, Funny)

      by Guppy06 ( 410832 ) on Tuesday September 23, 2003 @10:21PM (#7040041)
      " I know all sorts of stuff has been done to PS2 and X-box, but what about GameCube?"

      <FLAMEBAIT>

      You see, unlike those other two consoles, the Cube is fun right out of the box. :)

      </FLAMEBAIT>
    • Theres modchips that just let you play imported games. I don't think there is really much interest in hacking the GC, it died off pretty quick. And the price tag of the Panasonic GC is just outrageous, and that is what will be hacked first. It plays regular DVD's, but costs about $400 if I remember right.

  • Okay, so it's not #1... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by NanoGator ( 522640 ) on Tuesday September 23, 2003 @10:11PM (#7039988) Homepage Journal
    ... doesn't mean it wasn't successful. How much cash did Nintendo rake in?

    Now I'd be worried if Nintendo was shaking up its executives...
    • exactly!
      even though Nintendo was number 3 in US sales, they made a profit on all their gamecubes(along with the zillion plus gameboys, advanced and sp that are flyign off the shelves) while the Xbox was number 2 and LOST money on every sale.

      Granted, MS came in saying they could lose 2 billion, just to get their foot in the door, get a feel for the market, and get some fan base for the xbox 2 release.
  • If you go here [amazon.com] you'll see that the console is marked as being currently out of stock. Now I am sure that Amazon/Toys r Us has a few Gamecubes lying around (and if you go to Amazon.com and search for the Gamecube, you can find them for the regular 149.99 price) so they must have accidently let that price go live. Nintendo hasn't announced the price yet, so the retailers aren't supposed to start selling it. So it's going to be a few more days.

    Anyway, I'm planning on buying one. I already own a PS2 and would r

    • Agreed. I've been doing the Nintendo/Sony dual system thing since the PSX and N64. Sony for RPGs and square-soft fanboyage and Nintendo for some solid good ol fun. And with the Nintendo planning on rolling out the network adapter for Mario Kart Double Dash, hopefully they'll be able to compete on equal grounds with the Xbox (provided the peripheral makes it here)
      • The network adapter is available, it's just a little hard to find in stores. You should be able to find it online fairly easily. (hey, how else are people supposed to play Phantasy Star Online?).

        I've seen the modem adapter far more often than the network adapter, but that might be more of an indicator that the modem adapter isn't selling as well (since cable and DSL have pretty good subscriber numbers in my area).
    • I work at a Best Buy and I sneaked a peek at next week's ad. It is in there for $99.99 after a $50 price drop. Since the ads are printed about 6 weeks in advance, the retailers have all known about this for awhile. Im amazed this didnt leak sooner.

  • Actually... (Score:2, Informative)

    by KaiEl ( 680059 )
    "Even though Nintendo is probably losing money now on the GameCube, this is the move that Nintendo may be hoping will close the little gap between Xbox and GameCube in worldwide sales, and help it gain a solid lead over Microsoft in the coming months."

    Actually, Nintendo doesn't want to close the gap between XBox and Gamecube in worldwide sales... because that would make their lead smaller. I get my facts from this GameSpy article [gamespy.com] which Slashdot linked to [slashdot.org] less than a week ago.

    GameCube worldwide sales:

  • Look at it this way (Score:3, Interesting)

    by shoptroll ( 544006 ) on Tuesday September 23, 2003 @10:32PM (#7040103)
    Let's look at it this way

    1) M$ just got done in an interview proclaiming that Nintendo wasn't an issue anymore. If Nintendo wants to beat out the Xbox they're going to have to do it by pushing more boxes out than XBox. This will guve them what... a $100 advantage to the XB, which M$ probably can't afford to drop any lower since they're already losing money on each console manufactured

    2) Nintendo has already cut production of new units and are trying to clear out the warehouses. Simple supply and demand here.

    3) Nintendo has a lot of hot stuff coming in November. A lot of people aren't really in the know but this is probably a pre-emptive shot in the upcoming Xmas console battle.

    4) This also puts the GC on the same value as the GBA, which should prevent Nintendo from "shooting themselves in the foot" (not really happening though) with the price difference between GC and GBA SP. (My next guess is a buy one get one half off deal if this doesn't work.)

    5) If Nintendo is still doing the free game with purchase deal then microsoft is seriously going to be in a lot of hot water. You're talking a $150 difference in the setup fee for a GC vs. Xbox.

    • 1) M$ just got done in an interview proclaiming that Nintendo wasn't an issue anymore. If Nintendo wants to beat out the Xbox they're going to have to do it by pushing more boxes out than XBox.

      So they don't need to do anything all since they're already pushing more units than Microsoft? :)

      !^@$%@%1 Microsoft FUD.

      • Well thats in japan...

        In America and I think Europe (which AFAIK Nintendo has been giving the proverbial shaft for a while (they just got Animal Crossing recently I believe)), Xbox is trouncing on the 'cube by a good amount.
        • Yes, but if you look at the worldwide sales figures, Nintendo is ahead overall by a small margin of 100,000 units or so. Not anything to get really excited about, but enough to make a mockery of Microsoft's FUD that they're in second place.
          • BTW, what's this FUD?
            • What's the term or what's Microsoft's implementation of it?

              FUD means "Fear, Uncertainty, Dismay" it's a term for marketing strategies based on spreading (usually) false information designed to make people have negative opinion about a competing product.

              I'm using the term slightly wrong, in that Microsoft isn't directly targeting Nintendo, but is doing so by reference. Microsoft is taking the data for America and Europe, and ignoring the data from Japan and probalby a few other places, and using that sel

            • Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt. I think it is originally from a Digital exec who was refering to IBM's marketer's speak on DEC's products. It seems to have taken on the meaning of any marketing message that makes you think worse of other companies products. As a side note this is what is always blamed when the less elegant solution wins.
        • Nintendo will be releasing Animal Crossing in Australia. [slashdot.org] It doesn't look like it will ever be out for Europe
    • >> which M$ probably can't afford to drop any lower since they're already losing money on each console manufactured

      I love when someone talks about what Microsoft can't "afford" to do.

      NEWS FLASH: Microsoft loses money on EVERY PRODUCT NOT NAMED "Windows" OR "Office".

      The Xbox's situation is neither new nor special.

    • This will guve them what... a $100 advantage to the XB, which M$ probably can't afford to drop any lower since they're already losing money on each console manufactured.

      This is Microsoft here... the only reason they're not giving them away free in cereal boxes is that it would be egregious product dumping and found illegal. (Well, maybe not the only reason, there are issues of consumer expectations and such, but Microsoft has the cash and the apparent desire.)

      This also puts the GC on the same value as t
      • This is Microsoft here... the only reason they're not giving them away free in cereal boxes is that it would be egregious product dumping and found illegal. (Well, maybe not the only reason, there are issues of consumer expectations and such, but Microsoft has the cash and the apparent desire.)

        Not to mention that a lot of parents might be pissed when the cereal box weighs more than their kids. Supermarkets might be a little irritated that the cereal boxes are taking up 250% of the space they were previous
  • I'm not much into video games, so I may be completely off the mark here... but isn't lowering a console's price point below $100 a death knell? The only two recent consoles that have gone that low are the PS One and the Dreamcast. PS One had a replacement already (the PS 2), before it reached the $99 point, but we all know how the Dreamcast turned out...

    • Re:Death Knell (Score:4, Insightful)

      by BTWR ( 540147 ) <americangibor3NO@SPAMyahoo.com> on Tuesday September 23, 2003 @10:44PM (#7040163) Homepage Journal
      isn't lowering a console's price point below $100 a death knell?

      While Dreamcast's $50 price was bad publicity, the Genesis, NES and SNES all went for below $100 during the middle part of their generations.
    • Well, when I bought my SNES (about halfway between the releases of the SNES and N64), it was either $100 for the system by itself, or $130 for the system, 2 controllers, Mario World, and another bonus game that varied depending on the store. I got it with Mario Paint and the mouse, but I also saw it Mario Kart bundled. I think there was a version that had Mario All Stars + Mario World all on one cart.

      I know I bought my N64 at $150 a year after release. I'm pretty sure it dropped to $100 a year after that,
      • I think that was Mario All-Stars + Mario World on two carts. To my knowledge there wasn't any cart that had both games on it.

        I know that for a long time Nintendo was giving Mario All-Stars away for free via a mail-in for anyone who got Super Mario World with their system.

        • A quick search on Ebay brings up this auction

          http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&it em =3048434152

          Both games, on one cartridge.
    • Quite the opposite. The system will be priced at twice the cost of a high-end new game, and bundled with a game. At that point it's practically "if you need a GameCube to play a game, we'll let you grab one from the pile."

  • Another price drop? (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Mike Hawk ( 687615 ) on Tuesday September 23, 2003 @10:46PM (#7040174) Journal
    Two things immediately pop into my mind with this news...

    #1 I remember someone at Nintendo taunting Microsoft for their Sega GT/JSRF bundle deal saying that bundles and price drops are an insult to early adopters. Well, insult on then.

    #2 I think of the fast food industry. They also did the price war thing. Then prices hit like $0.49 and customers realized that if they can sell it for so cheap it must be a piece of crap. The consoles might run into that soon. Hmmm, these consoles are $149 and this one is only $99. Whats wrong with this one that it is so cheap?
    • #1 I remember someone at Nintendo taunting Microsoft for their Sega GT/JSRF bundle deal saying that bundles and price drops are an insult to early adopters. Well, insult on then.

      I think you're mistaken. They've always offered bundles, and would regularly cut the price of their systems over their lifetimes.
  • Either Amazon/Toys R Us made a premature announcement with no gamecubes in stock, or they've sold out of their entire inventory. [amazon.com]
  • Can't recall where it was originally pointed out, but if Nintendo gave away a system to everyone in America, they would make a signifigant amount of money.

    270 million people in America, how many do you think will become loyal N-fans from getting a free system? Better still, how many do you think will purchase 1 new game within the next 30 days after getting a free system? Even better than that, how many do you think will continue to buy games?

    The video game industry already works on loss-lead economics
    • What I always find entertaining is how Nintendo abused everything during their topdays....Kind of makes Microsoft not look so bad...But then, maybe not. The Nintendo and SNES actually kicked ass.
  • Quite frankly I couldn't care less how much the console costs. The game prices are what annoys me. I refuse to pay more than $30 for a game unless it is really really good. As a GameCube owner, I am now down to buying about one game every 6 months because of this.
    • I refuse to pay more than $30 for a game unless it is really really good. As a GameCube owner, I am now down to buying about one game every 6 months because of this.

      Go to blockbuster. Blockbuster always has amazing deals for GameCube games. I picked up Metroid Prime brand new for $19.99.
      • I agree... I go there all the time to get oldies-but-goodies for my Xbox and GC. Heh, I bought a game for $6 once (Agressive Inline) which I played more than a game I bought for $50 (Mech Assault). I also use their GamePass thing and rent games for as long as I want for $20/month. Its nice because sometimes you feel like playing a party game (when friends come over) but other times you feel like playing a single-player game like an RPG.

  • Remember: (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Gothic_Walrus ( 692125 ) on Wednesday September 24, 2003 @06:16AM (#7041960) Journal
    The real profits are made by the software, not the hardware. Even if Nintendo is now losing money on the GCs (not bloody likely), they'll still be selling plenty of games to keep the GC owners entertained. Since Nintendo still has some A-List titles to release (such as Mario Kart and Mario Golf), they won't be suffering anytime soon.
  • Damn a 99 dollar console? The GBA-SP goes for 139 euro over here. Wow that exchange rate is a killer. What you say? Dollar is worth less then the euro? Guess europe is once again getting ripped off then.

    Oh well. Not like I was going to buy one anyway. Just wondering where the hell the price difference comes from. And please don't say thing like sales tax or wages. The tax difference ain't that big and the damn things are produced in china.

    Just pissed off because I pay nearly twice for HD what americans pa

    • Just wondering where the hell the price difference comes from. And please don't say thing like sales tax or wages. The tax difference ain't that big and the damn things are produced in china.

      VAT and import duties can be something like 15-25%. The price difference, after currency exchange, between a GBA-SP on Amazon.co.uk and amazon.com is ~50%. I'd imagine there's also a difference in cost associated with producing 220 power adapters for the rechargable battery pack (and the batteries themselves may be d
  • "Senior analyst Billy Pidgeon of the Zelos Group commented on the price drop, saying"

    In other words, "Some random guy with no real insight into Nintendo's productions costs says...". Talk about pulling things out of your ass.

    With guys like this out there, it makes you wonder if it's just a conicidence that 'analyst' starts with 'anal'.

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