Cube price cut works

[London Geezer]

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

a bit like when Michael Jackson released his last album, and everyone thought it would sell 839823 billion copies "because it's Michael Jackson"... and at the end it sold little more than a million copies... am i the only one seeing a pattern here........ or did i just have too much coffee...

 

[rabidrabbit]

MicroSoft -> Monopoly -> jvd's Boa -> Ben -> Michael Jackson...
...no, don't see a pattern, at least one that'd make sense.

 

[cthellis42]

Ok, I was following that conversation until the end there... Heh.

I don't think we have to worry about one console taking over for a while, because if NOTHING else the big three can live off the fanbois and through exposure grab other folk.

Meanwhile I've weaned myself off Office products, but I still need at least ONE Windows machine, so... It's hard to avoid monopolies! <snf>

 

[ChryZ]

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?section_name=ret&aid=2385[/URL]]Argos re-introduces GameCube following price cut
Rob Fahey 17:23 10/10/2003

Key catalogue seller back on board

Major UK catalogue retailer Argos has re-introduced Nintendo's GameCube to its range several months after dropping it, with newspaper advertisements promoting the console at its new UK price point.

Argos had initially dropped the GameCube after deciding that sales of the console were not high enough to continue listing it; the company's sale of its stock of the console at £79.99 garnered significant coverage, as it caused the Cube's sales to rocket past the PS2 for a week earlier this year.

With the official price point now resting at £79.99 (€99 in Europe), the company has obviously decided to begin stocking the console again - an extremely positive sign for Nintendo in the run-up to Christmas, even if it does come too late to make it into the current edition of the Argos catalogue.

The company is advertising the Cube at £79.99, and is including a free controller and a £10 gift voucher to sweeten the deal.

 

[London Geezer]

To see if Microsoft could ever become a monopoly in the console market, we should see WHY and HOW they becamea monopoly in the PC market.

once we understand that, we will be able to tell whether or not the competition they face in the console market will ever find themselves in the position MS's competition in the PC market were.

see my point?

 

[Qroach]

People should be more worried about Sony becoming a monopoly in the consle biz than MS. Oh wait, they basically are already... They are a lot closer then MS will ever be in this market. Why isn't anyone worried about them?

Just what London-boy said is exactly the point. The situation in the consle amarket is completely different then the PC market. MS didn't have any HUGE companies to compete with when it started out. Back then the PC world was a new market. The console biz isn't a new market.

 

[London Geezer]

People should be more worried about Sony becoming a monopoly in the consle biz than MS. Oh wait, they basically are already... They are a lot closer then MS will ever be in this market. Why isn't anyone worried about them?

Just what London-boy said is exactly the point. The situation in the consle amarket is completely different then the PC market. MS didn't have any HUGE companies to compete with when it started out. Back then the PC world was a new market. The console biz isn't a new market.

thanx!!! love it when people agree with me... oh hold on it's Qroach...
anyway... people aren't worried about Sony becoming a monopoly YET because as good and as successful as they are, they aint a monopoly and i don't think "crushing the competition until they get out of the market completely" is their first objective, unlike MS did 20 years ago in the PC market. i think their attitude is a bit different. they look pretty happy to be "the best ones" out of the 3. they don't wanna be "the only ones". see my point?
still, what do i know about what Sony wants...

 

[zidane1strife]

But the price for that will be a firm 3rd place this gen for XBox.

This is why I think sony won't lower the price this yr, if gcn sales keep this high for the next few months... Xbox would indeed be in a firm 3rd place...

Combined with the losses from lowering to 99 next yr, and the losses from xbox2... it might be enough to make investors pull the plug...

They are a lot closer then MS will ever be in this market. Why isn't anyone worried about them?

Well, at least I ain’t more worried, due to the fact that sony doesn’t have dozens of billions in the bank. Just one mistake, or a significant move by a competitor could really throw them into second place or out of the market… that is not the case when you’ve got billions in the bank and billions coming in every few months, and can massively cut costs, increase marketing, etc while being in a losing position.

 

[London Geezer]

and call me a f-boy (F for FAN, dont start throwing names ) but i rather have Sony as a monopoly than Microsoft... i mean i wouldnt want a monopoly at all, but if it has to happen, then the last one i would want in it has to be microsoft.
Sony has to its side the fact that they do make some wicked hardware, and to be honest i for one would rather have an "all-in-one-entertainment-system" made by Sony and their unique (if not problematic) hardware, than Microsoft and their PC-centered mind.
at least it would look good in my living room....
i think this post was pretty useless, but well...

 

[LisaJoy]

and call me a f-boy (F for FAN, dont start throwing names ) but i rather have Sony as a monopoly than Microsoft... i mean i wouldnt want a monopoly at all, but if it has to happen, then the last one i would want in it has to be microsoft.
Sony has to its side the fact that they do make some wicked hardware, and to be honest i for one would rather have an "all-in-one-entertainment-system" made by Sony and their unique (if not problematic) hardware, than Microsoft and their PC-centered mind.
at least it would look good in my living room....
i think this post was pretty useless, but well...

I am going to agree with you on that, I am a seperatist(I want consoles and PC as seperate Beings with seperate gamestyles.. I dont want to play sports titles on my PC, but at the same time I wont touch RTS, shooters or MMORPG's on consoles).

I think I am a PC gamer at heart while my kids prefer consoles, I think people who prefer consoles dont see the extra depth in PC gaming that consoles cant offer, they dont know or care about Mods, Map Editors and such, so they could never understand why I cringed when they wanted Halflife on PS2 when they would never play it on my PC)

 

[Teasy]

Johnny Awesome

I don't agree, but whatever

Which part didn't you agree with?

london-boy

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

Was that a good thing though? (Sega going sw only). AFAICS Sega's overall quality of software has dropped quite significantly since they went multiplatform. Or that's the impression I get from reviews of new Sega games and the new Sega games I've played recently compared to the MD, DC days anyway.

 

[zidane1strife]

I think I am a PC gamer at heart while my kids prefer consoles, I think people who prefer consoles dont see the extra depth in PC gaming that consoles cant offer, they dont know or care about Mods, Map Editors and such, so they could never understand why I cringed when they wanted Halflife on PS2 when they would never play it on my PC)

I understand the depth of many pc games, but for me it is not about engaging my intellectual side, but my emotional side... the zelda series, metroid series, metal gr series, chrono series, and countless others... ah, the memories.... They evoke so many emotions...

 

[LisaJoy]

I think I am a PC gamer at heart while my kids prefer consoles, I think people who prefer consoles dont see the extra depth in PC gaming that consoles cant offer, they dont know or care about Mods, Map Editors and such, so they could never understand why I cringed when they wanted Halflife on PS2 when they would never play it on my PC)

I understand the depth of many pc games, but for me it is not about engaging my intellectual side, but my emotional side... the zelda series, metroid series, metal gr series, chrono series, and countless others... ah, the memories.... They evoke so many emotions...

Oh I agree with you as well, I LOVE those games, I think what I was actually implying but not very clearly, I hate when consoles soak up PC games, they dont work well and for some reason it really bothers me...

in that same light, I would not care to see any game you mentioned on PC, they are where they belong.

 

[Sonic]

As a SEGA fan myself I am not really biased anymore in regards to who wins the console race. I can tell you right now I would never want MS in the top position because once they have that, it will be much easier for them to become a monopoly. As a SEGA fan I'm supposed to hate and despise Sony for everything they do and for sending SEGA to softwar eonly. Instead, I hate the company I work for but love it at the same time. I can see where SEGA took its bad turns from within the company, so no bias against Sony.

I wouldn't mind if another outside company came in and launched a console with a $200 million marketing campaign and another wad of cash thrown at developers to support it. It would certainly be interesting.

Back to topic, Nintendo needs this price drop to be effective. If the current sales trend continues, especially through the holiday season then they will get a lot more 3rd party support. Nintendo needs the GCN to sell at least 2 million through the holidays to see its current status improve. I would love to see them sell more than that and become a power player once again.

However, things probably own't change that much. Sony will still be #1 for the rest of this generation, MS will remain #2 in North America from the looks of it, and Nintendo will be #2 worldwide. The best thing that could happen to the console market right now is for Nintendo to look at where it is right now and decide to fight in a way, to actually market more and let everyone know that the Gamecube is where it's at.

I love Nintendo games, but I hate its somewhat pacifist attitude when it comes to the business of it. I see MS and Sony going at each others' throats and really competing, it will only get more competitive next generation. If Nintendo were to start making moves it could very well be the best thing for them in the long run. A change of attitude and more agressive marketing and in business in general would cost them in the short run, but could be very lucrative and viable in the long term.

 

[LisaJoy]

Dont forget though, them being second all depends on what your looking at, Sure Sony has more consoles in more homes, but did you see the rankings of Software companys on the last NPD report? Nintendo was the #2 software company, second only to EA..

Sony was 5th I believe, and MS was pretty far down the list.. Pacifist or not it sure seems like they know what they are doing from my point of view.

 

[Nightz]

Source: Nintendo UK
UK GAMERS RUSH TO SNAP UP NINTENDO GAMECUBE!

The NINTENDO GAMECUBE has gone down a storm with British gamers on the first weekend of its new price of around £79, as sales of the console have risen by 400% in the first two days alone.

Excited fans arrived in store early to get their hands on the NINTENDO GAMECUBE, the only truly dedicated home video games console, eager to take advantage of the great new price of the console and exclusive games such as Metroid Prime and Super Mario Sunshine.

 

[jvd]

and call me a f-boy (F for FAN, dont start throwing names ) but i rather have Sony as a monopoly than Microsoft... i mean i wouldnt want a monopoly at all, but if it has to happen, then the last one i would want in it has to be microsoft.
Sony has to its side the fact that they do make some wicked hardware, and to be honest i for one would rather have an "all-in-one-entertainment-system" made by Sony and their unique (if not problematic) hardware, than Microsoft and their PC-centered mind.
at least it would look good in my living room....
i think this post was pretty useless, but well...

I am going to agree with you on that, I am a seperatist(I want consoles and PC as seperate Beings with seperate gamestyles.. I dont want to play sports titles on my PC, but at the same time I wont touch RTS, shooters or MMORPG's on consoles).

I think I am a PC gamer at heart while my kids prefer consoles, I think people who prefer consoles dont see the extra depth in PC gaming that consoles cant offer, they dont know or care about Mods, Map Editors and such, so they could never understand why I cringed when they wanted Halflife on PS2 when they would never play it on my PC)

so in that case you'd want nintendo to hold the market . Since sony wants to intgrate your living room into one box . which is worse than merging the pc and console world .

 

[jvd]

and call me a f-boy (F for FAN, dont start throwing names ) but i rather have Sony as a monopoly than Microsoft... i mean i wouldnt want a monopoly at all, but if it has to happen, then the last one i would want in it has to be microsoft.
Sony has to its side the fact that they do make some wicked hardware, and to be honest i for one would rather have an "all-in-one-entertainment-system" made by Sony and their unique (if not problematic) hardware, than Microsoft and their PC-centered mind.
at least it would look good in my living room....
i think this post was pretty useless, but well...

No trust me you wouldn't want sony to be a monopoly . It be just as bad as ms having the monoply


Oh and ms did have huge companys to go against in the os market , they had ibm and apple . If ms wants the market bad enough they will keep going and after a time they will start to invade on sonys market. Perhaps even over taking them for a time . That is what the consumer should want . They should want at least 2 companys on par with each other . They should really want 3 on par with each other . But i think a 3rd company will allways lag a little . .

 

[Nexiss]

I love Nintendo games, but I hate its somewhat pacifist attitude when it comes to the business of it. I see MS and Sony going at each others' throats and really competing, it will only get more competitive next generation. If Nintendo were to start making moves it could very well be the best thing for them in the long run. A change of attitude and more agressive marketing and in business in general would cost them in the short run, but could be very lucrative and viable in the long term.

I agree completely.

 

[LisaJoy]

Well, I could care less if my living room is more integrated, it already is.. CD,DVD, VCD, if they add game console to that, with an HDTV tuner and some other toys, fine..

but see, my PC is something I use for so many purposes, I love games the way they are.. MS is offering PC games with none of thier extras and none of the abilities that one has on a PC such as mapping, modding, modeling, custom coding..

if they are gonna merge PC's into the living room, I want the other PC functionality, If I could have played Halo online with mouse/keyboard and full mod support, with modeling and mapping appz, I would have been ten times happier.