GameCube launch=disaster!

Here is the article

True Gamecube picture points to financial games disaster

Reports surfacing in Japan are pointing to a grim picture of the Gamecube launch and the ramifications of world events for America this year


300,000 consoles? Looks like someone somewhere is telling porky pies. Sales figures released in Japan for Gamecube last week are telling a rather different story, and the outlook is not good. According to a string of reports, official numbers show a mere 174,856 machines were sold last week, alongside an almost staggeringly low 178,352 pieces of software.
It gets worse. Sega\'s addictive puzzler Super Monkey Ball, despite initial reports yesterday pointing to sales of around 80,000, only managed to move 22,645 copies. That, ladies and germs, is really, really bad for a piece on Nintendo launch software. Add to that the fact that only 22,645 people in a country containing a game-mad population of nearly 130 million saw fit to buy Wave Race Blue Storm, an "updated" version of the N64 classic water sports title, and you are looking at what could easily be termed as an initial failure.

Luigi\'s Mansion was the star of the show, bagging 137,677 copies at retail. That does not, however, make up for the fact that Japanese stores are reporting a sell-through of hardware of a practically pathetic 50 percent.

It gets even worse. A Nikkei report has been quick to latch on to the fact that the incredibly disappointing figures may not just be down to a weak launch line-up, but are also being affected by terrorist attacks against the USA last week. As CVG reported yesterday, American games stocks crashed after the re-opening of the New York Stock Exchange on Monday, but the situation among the Big Eight (Nintendo, Sega, Sony, Namco, Capcom, Konami, Square, Enix) in Japan is catastrophic. According to the service, combined losses among companies amounted to a staggering £17.5 billion in the last seven days. The outlook for the States in decidedly black in the wake of the Nikkei\'s nose-dive and terror attacks on New York and Washington.

"There is a strong likelihood that demand for video games will shrink fast at a time of emergency like this because they are not essential to national security," Hirotoshi Murakami, an analyst at Kokusai Securities told the Japanese publication.

"The Gulf War had little influence on game sales, but if US retaliation develops into a drawn-out war, little can be predicted about the fate of the game industry" an official at Capcom Japan added.


Patrick Garratt
Wednesday, 19 September 2001 14:21 GMT

It seams like Sony is going to keep Japan exlusive! Hmmm isn´t that good for Sony?

Originally posted by Bossieman
It seams like Sony is going to keep Japan exlusive! Hmmm isn´t that good for Sony?

It sure is..
I read somewhere that Sony has 85% of the Japanese market! :fro:

Interesting Fastson. Sony has only 15% left in Japan. Then Japan is completed.

DIE nintendo DIE!

Originally posted by mm
DIE nintendo DIE!

WORD

Originally posted by Bossieman

LMAO ROFL LOLOLOLOL


Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I\'m pissing my pants at that one.

As for the topic, I\'m disapointed with the poor start in Japan but I think it will be a different story in North America. I still can\'t wait to get my hands on a GC this fall.

I can\'t stand Nintendo so I\'m pretty happy.

Oh btw, I bought a DC today and having loads of fun with it.
Shenmue is truely epic

wow, its even lower than they expected that they sold on that day... wow. thats not good at all. they have to rely on america and europe to bring along sales, and with 3 games, almost all of which appeal to younger audience who cant afford to buy it at launch, well ithey will have trouble.

i really expected them to rival sony in japan.

Originally posted by JP
I can\'t stand Nintendo so I\'m pretty happy.

Oh btw, I bought a DC today and having loads of fun with it.
Shenmue is truely epic

I would like an explanation why you dont like nintendo, if your goin to say something that big you have to back it up

why does he have to back it up.

WHy can\'t he just not like Nintendo.

Originally posted by ddaryl
why does he have to back it up.

WHy can\'t he just not like Nintendo.

Because I\'m wondering how you can not like nintendo, or not like any game company for that matter, I dont care what company makes what consoles, as long as good games are coming out, and I think I was asking him

Why don\'t you like DC, or Sega for that matter?

It looks like you have got some talking to do buddy :rolleyes:

I don\'t like Nintendo, because their games are simply mindless.


Eric Jacob

[Titan]

Originally posted by mm
DIE nintendo DIE!

This is a dark day for Nintendo and I\'m laughing my @$$ off. I went on my friends nintendo site and went on his forums and started rubbing it in their face. I had a good time. My friends hate me now.