Nintendo unveiling next-gen console at E3 2005

[Qroach]

Teasy,

In that the majority of people out their will realise that they only have a couple of years of support if they buy a GC now.

I seriously doubt that. I've worked in a number of video game stores years back, and only the hardcore gamers (which is a very small section of the market ever knew about the new consoles coming out). I was literally suprised to see how many people would say, "a new version is coming out already? ...and I just bought mine.". You just don't equate the cheap price with longevity, even if it starts cheap or not. If it doesn't say "sale, special, discount, or somehting along htose lines, why would the average gamer expect it to be replaced with something else.

They'll all have seen the $199 ads when it was released in 2001 so they know this product isn't new.

who says they saw those ads? Or even were interested back then?

I mean its been halved in price and so it makes sense to then presume that its lifespan is already at least half gone.

Like I said before, that makes sense to you and I, but we're not the average video game consumer.

In other words I agree that if you buy a console full price you expect to get a longer lifespan from that then from a console that is now half price. But that's also just the same for XBox and PS2.

I don't really agree that because GC started cheaper that means its lifespan should be shorter then the other systems. Again their is some truth their since starting lower means less price drops are possible before hitting 'end of the line' prices. Also the fact that your paying less, in most markets, usually lends itself to "ok this may not last as long as the more expensive version, but its cheaper". But in general I don't think GC was released with a lower price then XBox and PS2 because it was planned to bow out early this gen.

I think there's a slight contradiction in what you are saying. First you keep saying that "if you buy a console at full price". Gamecube IS selling at full price. $99 is the new price point for the console. It's not on sale, clearence, or labled as discontinued. 99 bucks is the price it's going to stay at for the rest of it's lfe, or at least until it's ready to be discontinued.

Second, with GC now having a full price tag of 99 dollars, what you just said doesn't apply.

Third, when you said "ok this may not last as long as the more expensive version, but its cheaper" if true, but ONLY if there's more than one version of the product you are buying. (Like the panasonic Q that's now discontinued) There's only one version of the gamecube on the market, so you can't say I'll get the cheaper version since it won't last as long as the more expensive version.

 

[Urian]

IBM for the CPU?

When did Nintendo say this?

I ever believed that N5 will come with a only designed for N5 processor build by NEC (at the same style of EE in PS2).

 

[jvd]

I worked at gamestop for 2 years .

Parents come in all the time and buy systems . I remember people coming in and getting a psone and us telling them they can preorder the ps2 which was coming out in 2 months . They were like no this will last a long time .

Not because they didn't know that there was a new system coming out . But because the psone was only a 100$ , had years worth of tittles at that point .

Every console I remember except the n64 had a replacement console coming out while the current console was priced at a 100$ .

 

[Qroach]

2 months is quite different than 2 years. with Ps2 arriving in 2 months they'd have a better chance of hearing when it was arriving compared to 2 years.

Also PSone didn't start selling at the 99 dollar price point as early as the gamecube. However I can remrmber just as many if not more in the years I worked at Compucentre and a mom/pop video game store and people bought the console without a clue the new system was coming out.

Either way, the price point doesn't mean how long the system would be supported. The average consumer doesn't think like that.

 

[gurgi]

It's not as if an entire console's library disappears once its successor is released. It's not as if the fun goes away and the GCN has nothing to offer if a GCN2 comes out. Consumers aren't aware of a consoles life unless it's "over"? Explain that inconsistancy to me.

 

[Qroach]

Consumers aren't aware of a consoles life unless it's "over"? Explain that inconsistancy to me

Well first of all I didn't say that. I said the average consumer doesn't assume a console like the gamecube, is no longer going to be "current" (in other words supported with a continuous assortment of new titles) just because it's selling at a low price. That's all we are arguing about.

 

[gurgi]

I thought we were talking about a consumers perception of a console's 'longevity'. As long as there is a library of games.. I don't see the issue (regardless of price). If a consumer is early to the table.. they are there for a console's life. If a consumer buys a console late in its life.. they haven't played all the games previous to that purchase. The same content is available to both consumers.

If a consumer cares enough that later and greater technology is available, they probably bought the GCN when it first came out anyway. If not, a new Nintendo console isn't going to bother them.

 

[Qroach]

I thought we were talking about a consumers perception of a console's 'longevity'

Yes, a consumers perception of a console's 'longevity' based on price. Jvd and teasy were saying with gamecube selling at 99 doallars you should expect the next gen systems to be around the corner, and myself and a few others have argued, that the average consumer doesn't expect that based on price.

 

[gurgi]

I was referring to this:

showing the nextgen console THIS year would be too early and pretty much signal the decline of Gamecube.

Price may make a difference to a consumer's perception of a consoles life. I just don't think it's relevant. The only issue I see in cutting a console's life short will be cutting development short. All that matters as far as a GCN owner is concerned is the library of GCN games. That, despite having a shorter lifespan, the console has a solid lineup. This, of course, is for the consumer to decide. I don't think price makes much difference on top of that.

 

[cthellis42]

To many consumers, consoles are simply toys, and "toys" that cost $100 are perfectly fine. They don't understand or care about generations or software-support ranges or whatever... They just see many consoles fiercely fighting, are expect prices to keep getting knocked down because of it, and likely buy whichever one they had already decided to anyway. Then they're off to buy a "128MB GeForce card" (without knowing anything about it) because it's $100 as well, and expect to be able to play all the games they want well for the next few years too.

 

[Megadrive1988]

IBM for the CPU?

When did Nintendo say this?

I ever believed that N5 will come with a only designed for N5 processor build by NEC (at the same style of EE in PS2).

It's been known (confirmed actually) for months that Nintendo's N5 console would be using IBM for the CPU.

there are dozens of articles and news stories about it.

google.com and google groups are your friends. 8)