Cube price cut works

[Johnny Awesome]

I'm just stating the facts guys. I own both systems, but Nintendo fans are deluding themselves if they think that Nintendo can win a price war in the US with MS.

A possible scenario is that Gamecube price cuts will hurt Sony's encroachment into the kiddy/parent market, so Sony will drop price to stamp out the threat. Then MS will drop price when Sony does.

Xbox isn't directly threatened by Gamecube since the Xbox doesn't really have enough kiddy titles to appeal to parents anyway, even at the $99 price point, but Sony is trying to make inroads there so they might make a move to stop Nintendo. This would force MS to follow suit to preserver their share of the late teen/early adult market.

 

[jvd]

I'm just stating the facts guys. I own both systems, but Nintendo fans are deluding themselves if they think that Nintendo can win a price war in the US with MS.

A possible scenario is that Gamecube price cuts will hurt Sony's encroachment into the kiddy/parent market, so Sony will drop price to stamp out the threat. Then MS will drop price when Sony does.

Xbox isn't directly threatened by Gamecube since the Xbox doesn't really have enough kiddy titles to appeal to parents anyway, even at the $99 price point, but Sony is trying to make inroads there so they might make a move to stop Nintendo. This would force MS to follow suit to preserver their share of the late teen/early adult market.

They are already winning the price war. Not only does ms loose money on each system sold because of the cost of hardware but you have to add extra because of the software they give away. While nintendo is breaking even. So its really ms that can't win a price war with nitnedo. They want to be compared to sony . So they will keep thier price close to sony not close to nintendo.

 

[Qroach]

While nintendo is breaking even.

That simply isn't true... nintendo is not breaking even. Not all the money Nintendo lost was due to a strong US dollar.

 

[Magnum PI]

While nintendo is breaking even.

That simply isn't true... nintendo is not breaking even. Not all the money Nintendo lost was due to a strong US dollar.

i think jvd was talking about the fact gamecube are supposed to be sold w/o loss.

it may be lost financing production of consoles that were not sold.

now that they are sold, you can bet that it will make more than compensate for the 1st half losses.

 

[oli2]

Just a few points :
- What part of total console/games are sold during last 3 monthes of the year ?
- During N64 gen, at what time since launch did the N64 reach the 99USD point ?

My point is this drop is an espacially good move from Nintendo. Whether it will work or not is another question ...

What is quite funny with Qroach and Vince, is that whatever MS move it is genial, but whatever Nintendo does it is failure sign !

I take as an example the price drop of the Xbox in Europe :
- 425 € at the beginning
- 249 € after 3 monthes
- 199 € now.

No one said "it's over for M$", "they should leave the market" or so on.

 

[darkblu]

i, too, find it funny how people are willing to attribute some insight extraordinaire to ms for their 'lose-a-mass $' strategy with the xbox hw and at the same time those same people moan/ridicule nin for their willingness to sell the hw at break-even levels. come to think of it, the mere fact that nin succeeded up to now in selling the GC at clearly over-priced levels (and keeping up within some 1.3M units behind the box) whereas ms have to eat a big bag of salt with each batch of xboxen is sorta amusing (to me, i.e. but that's just me ; ) and to try make this post a bit more on-topic - the GC price cut surely worked for me - i'll be getting a cube these days 8)

 

[cthellis42]

Frankly, it's been working for just about everyone I know. That's pretty much a good sign. ^_^

 

[jvd]

Only a die hard anti nintendo person would say the cube at 100$ is not a good deal or would pass on it . At 100$ bucks your getting a system that plays some of the best games this gen . If you can't see that then you are very bias . Any system at the 100$ price point is a great deal. Well unless its the jaguar .

 

[Qroach]

Who here has said that the cube at 100 bucks isn't a good deal? Of course it's a good deal! Nobody here has argued against that, the only argument is if these sales will last, and how does this improve the software issues.

The only reason you're saying that is becuase you're not listening to what others have been saying.

 

[Squeak]

Xbox isn't directly threatened by Gamecube since the Xbox doesn't really have enough kiddy titles to appeal to parents anyway, even at the $99 price point, but Sony is trying to make inroads there so they might make a move to stop Nintendo. This would force MS to follow suit to preserver their share of the late teen/early adult market.

What are all those "kiddie" titles on Gamecube you speak of?

 

[jvd]

Who here has said that the cube at 100 bucks isn't a good deal? Of course it's a good deal! Nobody here has argued against that, the only argument is if these sales will last, and how does this improve the software issues.

The only reason you're saying that is becuase you're not listening to what others have been saying.

Actually I have been. That was my last general statment. I was going to leave that as my last post here because its boring argueing over people who feel its the death signs of the cube or that the xbox is in a better postion because they are priced the same as sony . I will leave this as my last post though

 

[Teasy]

Xbox isn't directly threatened by Gamecube since the Xbox doesn't really have enough kiddy titles to appeal to parents anyway, even at the $99 price point

You know fine well that GC sells to all markets, and a price drop helps sell to everyone not just parents. So stop your tiresome trolling.

I very much doubt that MS are stupid enough to believe that GC is not their competition. If they are then they can sit back and dream of competing with PS2 (because that's what it is, a dream) all day long. But the price for that will be a firm 3rd place this gen for XBox.

 

[Johnny Awesome]

I don't agree, but whatever. It doesn't change my point: If MS needs to drop price then they will. It's that simple.

 

[GHost]

While MS can even give xboxen for free they're hardly a fast moving and flexible company (not anymore). Only thing that keeps them on the market is loosing money on pretty much everything, aside from desktop software. Do not expect too much innovation / flexibility from this company. Back to topic : I see MS as a slow moving huge beast which won't act fast enough to cut prices this holidays, because of the cube's success.

 

[jvd]

While MS can even give xboxen for free they're hardly a fast moving and flexible company (not anymore). Only thing that keeps them on the market is loosing money on pretty much everything, aside from desktop software. Do not expect too much innovation / flexibility from this company. Back to topic : I see MS as a slow moving huge beast which won't act fast enough to cut prices this holidays, because of the cube's success.

Ms is like a boa . It slowly wraps around its prey and crushes the life from it . Look what they did to netscape . They kept going at them throwing more money and time into it and giving the broweser for free . Every feature netscape offered ms put it into i.e . Now there is no netscape . Ms wanted thier own graphic api and it started as crappy dx and is now better and faster moving than open gl . Look at thier office program . It has taken over and has become the number 1 office program .


They will keep pressing till they take hold the console market with an iron fist .

That i hope will never happen . But i also hope sony never holds it with an iron fist (even the amount of the market they have now is to high imho .)
Heck i hope nintendo never takes control again . I hope that all 3 can split the market up and all make money . THat would be the best for us .

 

[London Geezer]

They will keep pressing till they take hold the console market with an iron fist .

That i hope will never happen . But i also hope sony never holds it with an iron fist (even the amount of the market they have now is to high imho .)
Heck i hope nintendo never takes control again . I hope that all 3 can split the market up and all make money . THat would be the best for us .

MS monopolising the console market was a fear we all had when they first announced they would get into the market.
to be honest, until Sony and Nintendo are in the market, MS won't monolpise anything. remember that Sony are very good at what MS is also very good at, that is Marketing and business strategies.
my fear is that MS and Sony will hold the market for themselves pushing Nintendo away....
i mean, it might be a good thing, like SEGA who went software-only-multiplatform, but "historically" it would be sad to see nintendo go from the hardware market....

 

[darkblu]

MS monopolising the console market was a fear we all had when they first announced they would get into the market.
to be honest, until Sony and Nintendo are in the market, MS won't monolpise anything. remember that Sony are very good at what MS is also very good at, that is Marketing and business strategies.
my fear is that MS and Sony will hold the market for themselves pushing Nintendo away....
i mean, it might be a good thing, like SEGA who went software-only-multiplatform, but "historically" it would be sad to see nintendo go from the hardware market....

console makers going sw-only is _not_ a good thing for the consumer. it's one less competitor on the platforms market -- a market where hw makers' fees dictate to a great extent the title's prices

 

[London Geezer]

MS monopolising the console market was a fear we all had when they first announced they would get into the market.
to be honest, until Sony and Nintendo are in the market, MS won't monolpise anything. remember that Sony are very good at what MS is also very good at, that is Marketing and business strategies.
my fear is that MS and Sony will hold the market for themselves pushing Nintendo away....
i mean, it might be a good thing, like SEGA who went software-only-multiplatform, but "historically" it would be sad to see nintendo go from the hardware market....

console makers going sw-only is _not_ a good thing for the consumer. it's one less competitor on the platforms market -- a market where hw makers' fees dictate to a great extent the title's prices

i know that... all i'm saying is that it would be cool to just have one system on which i can enjoy quality titles. so far i had to buy a system accompanied by a Nintendo system, just because Nintendo platforms were the only way to enjoy those titles... i'm saying that it would be cool to just have ONE system on which i can enjoy Sony-based games i got accustomed to love AND nintendo games...
also, as long as there is SOME competition, HW makers won't get too dictatory... the example u gave (prices rising without control) would be correct in a monopoly situation...
and i think, now that MS got into the market, they will stick to it until they get very good at it, until they can say "i'm top dog here, let's move to another market to demolish"... same thing with anyone else really, i wouldnt want Sony to have monopoly, because in that case the little irritating things that are wrong with them would be completely out of control. if Nintendo were to *somehow* become market monopoly, then i would assume that would be a case where software prices would rise A LOT. for some reason Nintendo software has ALWAYS been more expensive than the competition, from the SNES days (cant remember about the NES days since it was my dad who would buy the games)...

hopefully that day will be very far...

 

[Rodéric]

...i wouldnt want Sony to have monopoly...

If you don't want a firm to get a monopoly on a market, it's dead simple, don't buy its products for that market.

 

[GHost]

Ms is like a boa . It slowly wraps around its prey and crushes the life from it . Look what they did to netscape . They kept going at them throwing more money and time into it and giving the broweser for free . Every feature netscape offered ms put it into i.e . Now there is no netscape . Ms wanted thier own graphic api and it started as crappy dx and is now better and faster moving than open gl . Look at thier office program . It has taken over and has become the number 1 office program .


They will keep pressing till they take hold the console market with an iron fist .

They can't There's only one reason MS got to push for so long crappy software and APIs, allowing them to get the money first, and then get the fix (not quite successful when talking about office and browser) - it's called monopoly, and they are abusing that power. Believe me, MS would be dead long ago in the office and browser war if they didn't do those nasty tricks
MS doesn't have monopoly outside of the Windows environment, that is why they are failing everywhere else, embedded devices/sw, home entertainment stuff... you name it. They don't have the hand to become the iron fist you're talking about