Is Gamecube in peril?

[zurich]

Well ths US had a record Xmas - worst in 10 to 15 years? Canada on the other hand had the best in the same amount of time

I'd actually be interested to see some Canadian numbers... various differences like our insane broadband penetration and huge cultural makeup is bound to differ our buying habits from the States'.

 

[wazoo]

The Euro graph is UK as usual.

 

[cybamerc]

Kolgar:

> I've read recently that EA's sports titles haven't sold very well on
> Gamecube, hence the company's decision to lower prices on GC
> software.

You shouldn't trust everything you read. A look at NPD TRSTS data clearly shows that EA is doing just fine on the platform.

> I think Australia isn't that much different from other parts of the world.

You can't deduct anything from the situation in Australia. It's a small region where Xbox is outselling PS2 and Cube has done horribly from the very beginning.

 

[BenSkywalker]

I have a feeling both Xbox and GC TT games were rushed to ride on the hype of the movie and holiday season, so I personally wouldn't expect much form either (especially considering EAs shitastic port jobs).

I just walked in the door five minutes ago with TT for the Box which I picked up while one of my friends was picking up the Cube port. I'll post back with how the Box port is, won't know on the Cube for a few days.

 

[Kolgar]

A look at NPD TRSTS data clearly shows that EA is doing just fine on the platform.

So how do we explain the reduced price of EA Sports's games on Gamecube? Did Nintendo make some kind of deal with them? Does EA have a soft spot for Gamecube owners?

Or are the games not selling?

By the way, I wouldn't put all my confidence in NPD TRSTS numbers, either.

Kolgar

 

[Qroach]

EA specifically lowered the price in order to move the games that aren't selling well. I don't think EA will pull support at this point, but they have reduced their support on previous nintendo consoles (specifically the N64 and it's lack luster sports sales)

 

[Legion]

what figures are those graphs based on?

 

[wazoo]

A look at NPD TRSTS data clearly shows that EA is doing just fine on the platform.

So how do we explain the reduced price of EA Sports's games on Gamecube? Did Nintendo make some kind of deal with them? Does EA have a soft spot for Gamecube owners?

Or are the games not selling?

Kolgar

In Europe, price have not been reduced at all.

 

[Qroach]

Wazoo,

In Europe, price have not been reduced at all.

Well typically, hockey baseball, basketball, and American football don't sell all that well in europe anyway. a reduce price there, would add nothing to sales on the majority of EA sports games...

 

[wazoo]

Wazoo,

In Europe, price have not been reduced at all.

Well typically, hockey baseball, basketball, and American football don't sell all that well in europe anyway. a reduce price there, would add nothing to sales on the majority of EA sports games...

Fifa is targeted towards Euro gamers, I think. F1 2kx also, I think.

 

[Qroach]

Wazoo,

Fifa is targeted towards Euro gamers, I think. F1 2kx also, I think.

So that's two out of how many sports games are sold in north america? Fifa games sell really well no matter what platform they are on. I don't know about F1, but euro sales don't have much to do with north american sports game sales.

 

[Legion]

does anyone know what goldni's graphs are based on?

 

[Teasy]

Well typically, hockey baseball, basketball, and American football don't sell all that well in europe anyway. a reduce price there, would add nothing to sales on the majority of EA sports games

Basketball does sell well here AFAICS, its actually well excepted here, but your correct on the rest of them.

EA also have Football, Golf, Tennis and Rugby games, all well excepted in Europe (obviously since they all originated in the U.K). No prices have been dropped here. If prices are being dropped on GameCube sports titles in the U.S because of poor sales then I wonder why European sports game sales aren't equally poor on GameCube?

 

[marconelly!]

Regarding LOTR:TTT on Xbox vs PS2 version from IGN review. From this, it sounds like the PS2 version is actually the best:

from the IGN review:

"When I first saw The Two Towers on PS2, I was impressed and eager to see how much better it would look on Xbox. Unfortunately, something's been lost in the port, because the Xbox version is inferior to the sharp and stunning quality of what was found on PS2. In fact, the Xbox version, visually, is hardly the one that will rule them all. There's a ton of texture problems, poor contrast, and less detail than what's found on the PS2. That's not acceptable for a game coming out two months later and on a system that is easier to program for and can churn out incredible graphics with little effort. The Xbox version boasts a solid framerate, but beyond that, it's not terribly attractive. "

 

[wazoo]

Wazoo,

Fifa is targeted towards Euro gamers, I think. F1 2kx also, I think.

So that's two out of how many sports games are sold in north america? Fifa games sell really well no matter what platform they are on. I don't know about F1, but euro sales don't have much to do with north american sports game sales.

yes, but it has when you are talking about the performance of EA games in europe.

 

[CaptainHowdy]

actually, EA only lowered prices on GC games in Australia, to compete.

 

[cybamerc]

Kolgar:

> So how do we explain the reduced price of EA Sports's games on
> Gamecube?

It's far from every game that's being sold at a reduced price. Some are also cheaper on Xbox - even Madden 2k3 which did pretty well.

> Or are the games not selling?

Most games are doing just fine. When you release as many games as EA does some are bound to fail but usually the ones that do badly on Cube also do badly on other platforms. Now some of the sports titles may not be selling as well as EA would like them to but that's another matter. EA is making money on the platform and there's no reason to believe it will pull support.

> By the way, I wouldn't put all my confidence in NPD TRSTS numbers,
> either.

You seem to almost want EA do badly on the Cube. NPD numbers are all we have to go by. If you have something more reliable by all means share it with us.

 

[Kolgar]

Well, how funny it seems that in my area, Madden 2003 for Gamecube is selling for just $19.99 at one store I stopped at today, while most every other store has the rest of the 2003 EA Sports line on GC for $29 - $39. Xbox and PS2 versions of said games are still $49.99.

I guess EA took one look at the anomaly in my rampaging metropolis (~200,000 people) and said, "Good Lord, let's slash prices there! It'll be a surgical strike, because everyone knows our GC sports games are selling well everywhere but Wisconsin!"

Kolgar

 

[cybamerc]

Kolgar:

> I guess EA took one look at the anomaly in my rampaging metropolis
> (~200,000 people) and said, "Good Lord, let's slash prices there! It'll be
> a surgical strike, because everyone knows our GC sports games are
> selling well everywhere but Wisconsin!"

You do realize that retailers are allowed to set prices below the ESRP. Anyway, there's no point in continuing this discussion. You seem unwilling to accept that EA is doing fine on the platform as clearly demonstrated by NPD numbers. Your reasons for saying otherwise are highly questionable to say the least.

 

[Kolgar]

Questionable to you because you aren't seeing what I'm seeing, which is very symptomatic of "N64 all over again." Well, not quite that bad yet, maybe.

Time (and eventually, maybe your NPD numbers) will tell!

Kolgar