Why is the GCN failing to sell as well as the PS2 and XBox?

Malfunction

Malfunction

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Seriously. I still can't get over this. Nintendo has ALL of the original, retro, oldie games, plus a ton of new things....so good. No other system can offer you Zelda, Metroid, or Mario first of all. Classic gaming icons. I just don't understand this.

I mean, sure, PS2 has Square games, but most of the FF games past 7 weren't that amazing.

Most XBox owners rave about Halo, but nothing else.

Am I missing something here? GCN is smaller, just as pretty and powerful as a PS2 (actually slightly better, officially), and it offers much better games than an XBox will ever have.

?????????????
 
I think its Nintendo's image. People think that Nintendo is "kiddie" which is total bullsh**. Plus I think that the PS2 and Xbox are hyped up tons more than the GCN. I've played my Gamecube a lot more than my PS2 and Xbox. I love that little console. :) Its my favorite console this generation.
 
You are looking at only the american sales; I think if you compared worldwide sales you would see Nintendo head to head with all the other major consols.
 
I totally think GC is by far the best overall console with ps2 coming in a close second and xbox just sucking it up.
Why?
Halo 2 is just doing what computer games have been doing for years. If it want a good multiplayer FPS experience I'll go play on my computer. Although the characters looked really nice I found the atmosphere and level design lacking, go play RE4 on the gamecube to see a nice ass console game.

Chicks dig mario kart. End of sentance. Peroid. Proven fact. They can't get enough of it for some reason, why? I'm not 100% sure, but **** I'm not complaining when I have girls asking if they can come over to play some mario kart. When was the last time you had ask to come over girls to play GTA or halo? Yeah that's what I thought.

The new zelda's I'm not such a fan of. But some people enjoy them.

Super Smash Brothers is also another amazing game. Again it doesn't shine untill you get 2-3-4 people fighting it out. It's easy to learn the basics but is by far one of the hardest games to master. BTW fox owns.

I got my gamecube used on ebay with 3 controlers(1 wireless) memory card and 3 games (39.99 69.99 and 29.99 are the retail prices) for 225.
(note all prices in CAD). I then got RE4 and another controller which brought the total up to about 300(CAD) for 4 good games (SSBM Mario Kart RE4 and Zelda WW) and 4 controlers.

Everyone says its a kiddy system. This is because they are whores. Just because a game doesn't have hookers being ****ed or aliens being blasted doesn't mean it's kiddy. The GC has some of the most challenging games out there. Don't believe me, play a Metroid Prime game or try a good multiplayer game of Mario Kart or Smash Bros.
Not to mention RE4 is one of the most mature titles I've ever played(HL2 doesn't even touch it's level of gore)

That's just me personally, probably because I use my computer for more serious gaming while I look to my GC for social gaming. I guess if I didn't have my computer I might be more partial to the other systems. So uh, I've whored myself out to nintendo enough for tonight.... god I'm tired.
 
PS2 & Xbox have the multi-use appeal. If you wanted a console and you were in the need of a DVD player as well, you'd go for the Xbox/PS2.
 
Blakeb155 said:
PS2 & Xbox have the multi-use appeal. If you wanted a console and you were in the need of a DVD player as well, you'd go for the Xbox/PS2.
Click to expand...
True, but most console gamers also own computers, and probably DVD players. PS2 (sometimes) and Xbox (all the time) try too hard to be the ultimate entertainment system, but they don't really compare to the PC. The Gamecube doesn't need a DVD player. Gamecube + PC together make a great combination.
 
I think GC games are far better written and considerably more indepth as a whole. Sure there have been stinkers, but there are way more stinkers per capita on a playstation than a gc, and if it wasn't for halo (which I think is a GREAT game) Xbox would be long gone.

For instance, there is no series that I truly look forward to playing than the zelda series. I think that the FF series is almost all hype, everything is just overdone and PERSONALLY(I know many won't agree) I think that they are all crap, except of course seven(?) cause cloud kicks ass. Some may be put off by the lighthearted nature of the zelda games but I feel it makes them all the better.

Which reminds me are they making a new one anytime soon? And is it going to be like windwaker, because I really liked windwaker.
 
Nintendo owns the handheld market.
 
SixThree said:
Nintendo owns the handheld market.
Click to expand...

Actually I think PSP is selling more. Although the DS looks more appealing to me.
 
Harryz said:
Actually I think PSP is selling more. Although the DS looks more appealing to me.
Click to expand...

There's more to the market than the PSP.
 
Worldwide, the GC is doing better than the Xbox (even if the difference is very close). :) Especially in the far east, where it has a good 1.5 million units lead (people there see the Xbox as just a PC, and they don't want that for a games console). Sony, of course, are in a world of their own, trampelling all over the other two by miles (I would say this is due to name recognition and developer/publisher support).

Harryz said:
Actually I think PSP is selling more. Although the DS looks more appealing to me.
Click to expand...

Nope, the DS is killing the PSP in Japan (by the end of 2004 in japan, Nintendo DS has sold 1,286,007 units while Sony PSP has sold 352,295 units) And thanks to Sony's idiotic pricing for the US release, it isn't going to get any better.
 
Sony consoles look sexy and trendy. As Kage said, image and brand name sells.

The PS2 is also a good console with a massive library of good titles. It simply wouldn't sell this well otherwise. However, I do prefer the GC.

It's a shame that so many dismiss the GC as a kids console. A friend of mine came round to see Resident Evil 4 the other day (he's one of these ppl who'd never consider buying a GC) After a few seconds his jaw had hit the floor. The next day he owned a GC and Resident Evil 4. Two weeks later he'd finished twice and declared it the greatest game ever made. Now he had a GC he decided to pick up some other titles. First it was F-Zero - jaw hit floor, 'best game eve' etc Then it was time for Metroid Prime - he nearly exploded.

On the weekend I came round with some friends, joypads, Super Moneky Ball, Smash Bros, Mario Golf, Jungle Beat etc and showed him that party gaming hadn't died with the DC. His actual words: 'i've never had so much fun playing video games'

Now there's no stopping him - Zelda, Viewtiful Joe, MP2 and (much to my amusement) Paper Mario 2 - which he loves. He's actually telling me and friends how great the GC is (which i've been trying to explain to him for years :rolling: The cheek!) His PS2 now has a visible layer of dust over it.

The fact is, these are just the best video games around today, on any system - simple as that. Next i'm going to borrow a few GBA's and show him 4 Swords :) (jaw will hit flor, 'best game ever' etc etc)

And for the ppl that consider Nintendo consoles as being for kids - well, it's your loss :/
 
Malfunction said:
How can ANYONE enjoy and FPS on a console, besides Metroid, for the sheer quality of lock-on capabilities which actually keep the game challenging?

Oh, and if you think Nintendo is at all kiddie-intended, read this:

http://www.aethiamud.org/communist_mario/
Click to expand...
Whilst I love nintendo, and don't see it as kiddy, you don't honestly believe that do you? :LOL:
 
Problem is the back library of Third-Party games for the Gamecube is very small. Theres not enough.
 
crushenator 500 said:
Whilst I love nintendo, and don't see it as kiddy, you don't honestly believe that do you? :LOL:
Click to expand...

Hah, I can't decide if I believe it or not. All of the facts lead up to Mario being a commie, but then again, he's Mario, and he's Italian. A funny read though. :LOL:
 
Venmoch said:
Problem is the back library of Third-Party games for the Gamecube is very small. Theres not enough.
Click to expand...

There's far more than there was on the N64. Infact some of the best GC titles (Resident Evil 4, Viewtiful Joe, Monkey Ball, Symphonia etc) are 3rd party.

There's also more than enough great games in total to make it a good purchse - with even more on the way. There's more games worth owning on the GC than on the PS2 (imo)
 
SHow me some market stats so we can actually discuss something...were all talking about hearsay...and Ive heard...while they may be third overall, Nintendo is actually competing quite well with the other 2 in North America, and are doing very well worldwide. But like I said, its just hearsay...so lets get some actual links to statistics in here and lend some credibility to the conversation.
 
Parasite said:
SHow me some market stats so we can actually discuss something...were all talking about hearsay...and Ive heard...while they may be third overall, Nintendo is actually competing quite well with the other 2 in North America, and are doing very well worldwide. But like I said, its just hearsay...so lets get some actual links to statistics in here and lend some credibility to the conversation.
Click to expand...

Gamecbue said:
The GameCube also remains surprisingly strong, given the bad press which it seems to receive from most quarters, with over 18 million units of the diminutive console now shipped worldwide.
Click to expand...

http://gcemu.dcemu.co.uk/ (scroll down)

Xbox said:
In July we announced that we had hit our annual goal and had sold 15.5 million consoles through the end of fiscal year ’04. We continue to be on track to sell in excess of 20 million consoles by July 2005.
Click to expand...

http://www.xboxaddict.com/news/view.php?News_ID=5761

PS2 said:
Sony's Playstation 2 is racing past sales records all the time and this weekend it passed, at full speed, the 60 million mark. The total number of PS2 console's shipped worldwide reached the staggering 60.03 million unit mark, a figure which its rivals can only fantasize about.
Click to expand...

http://www.megagames.com/news/html/console/60millionps2ssold.shtml (dated 2003)

Microsoft are third worldwide, then Ninty, then Sony. I don't know how accurate you want to consider these, but they're the most recent figures I can find (*except PS2, because it's been miles in the lead since the beginning so it doesn't matter how recent they are :p ).
 
I'm personally of the opinion that the GC is the best Console, from the point of view of a primarily PC gamer.

As a PC gamer, the old (though still inaccurate) idea that the X-Box is "a PC in a box" rings true - there is far too much overlap with the software libraries of PC and X-Box for it to be a good option. Without a PC, an X-Box may be the best console on the market, and it's certainly technically better than a PS2 with which it has a lot of Software overlap again (but here it has the advantage because PS2 games are inferior in graphical terms). The PS2 has the advantage for a PC gamer of having a larger of library of unique games - mostly because of the Japanese backing.

The Gamecube on the other hand, has heaps of uniqueness. For the PC gamer, it offers the most removed experience - the polar opposite experience - of what gaming is about. It has some excellent games and there is far less overlap with PS2, X-Box and especially PC titles. So why is it so unpopular? Yes, I think it's the kiddy image. Ninty doesn't help itself by manufacturing a console that "looks like a toy". Sony and Microsoft's efforts just seem to be more adult, and being "kiddy" just isn't cool, certainly if you're a guy (and the majority of gamers are guys).
 
Another thing that isn't taken into those numbers is reliability/durability. Nintendo GC beats all of the other systems out by a long shot. The only real problem with GC is with some of the older modles you can get a disk read error which can be fixed by a cleaning. I worked at Toys R Us during the holidays and found there to be quite a few people coming in to buy another x-box or ps2 because thier old one broke. Oh yeah nifty little fact(I heard 2nd hand so it could not be true) is that the dreamcast still outsells the x-box in Japan.
 
GameCube doesn't have very interesting games. RE4 is the only reason I'm considering to even buy a GameCube since its quite possibly one of the best games I've ever played, but everything else on the GameCube really isn't very interesting. No, I didn't like Metroid Prime. No, I do not like Zelda.
 
DeusExMachinia said:
No, I didn't like Metroid Prime. No, I do not like Zelda.
Click to expand...

That should be a crime of some kind! Maybe you could plead video gaming insanity.

(try Super Monkey Ball at least. Everyone loves that game, even my mum)
 
DeusExMachinia said:
I got the PS2 verision ;).
Click to expand...

Along with the big dead zone in the unresponsive analogue sticks. Not the way to play Monkey Ball ;)
 
If microsoft tries\does to buy squarenix like they once tried I'll take an Xbox 2.
Otherwize ima go with Revolution.


Or I'll stick with me pc.....which is the most likly answer.
 
Computer5k said:
Because PS2 and Xbox have internet :p
Click to expand...

So does the GCN, I think only one game has come out for the GCN that has online capabilities though.
 
Gamecube is definately my favorite. For most people they didn't buy it because of the image. If I was caught up on such things as well then I also would have bought a PS 2. The only games I really cared for on the PS 2 were the GTA series which of course ended up comming out on the PC anyway.

As for the X-box there simply wasn't any desire then or now.
 
Even if it's already been said, the kiddy image should be killed pretty dead with Res Evil 4. 'nuff said.

And despite its looks, Tales of Symphonia is a very adult game.
 
Im Sorry But I Just Grew Up

Malfunction said:
Seriously. I still can't get over this. Nintendo has ALL of the original, retro, oldie games, plus a ton of new things....so good. No other system can offer you Zelda, Metroid, or Mario first of all. Classic gaming icons. I just don't understand this.

I mean, sure, PS2 has Square games, but most of the FF games past 7 weren't that amazing.

Most XBox owners rave about Halo, but nothing else.

Am I missing something here? GCN is smaller, just as pretty and powerful as a PS2 (actually slightly better, officially), and it offers much better games than an XBox will ever have.

?????????????
Click to expand...
Note: Im sure I overlooked some great games in this but thats for you to continue on... now lets get to it.

Well I am extremly biased because My favorite kind of game is First person shooting games with lots of twitch shoot-outs and blood splattered walls with Rag-Doll bodies flying.

So to me, there is only 1 option.

A PC, but, becuase Im an Ex-Console Maniac and

I have all the systems(with dust all over them)

I jumped right in here and I want to lay the smack down.

-- I type 70 words per minute and you are gettin' the full 15 minutes ---

Basically In my opinion, which Im entitled to:

Game Cube came on strong at the end and they may be the system to still make great sales well into the future.

With 2 Exclusive games Resident evil 4, and the new Zelda comming soon-

Either one of those games is a system seller single handedly.

One big reason that the other systems did better then GC at first is that PS2 and XBOX had DVD and CD capabilities.

Remember at that time you couldn't buy a made in china DVD player for $30, most everything was made in Japan, where they don't put kids to work for pennies where they can't even afford shoes.
but I've gotten off topic...

Without really reading what everyone else had to say...

Except for my #4 favorite franchise of all time:Resident evil 4, every good game on that system is either offered for ALL the systems or is corny.

When I was about 15 or 16 the super nintendo came out, and super mario world was the best game I had ever played.

Im sorry but I just GREW UP

I don't care if a million people tell me that Mario Kart is the best game.

I'm 29 years old and driving around on turtles and throwing bananas or whatever is for Kindegarteners (Thats the nicest word I will use but Im sure I will piss someone off, which I think is funny AtTheMoment ByTheWay)

Being a plumber?
Yea thats what I wanted to be when I pick my super hero. An old italian dude in overalls with a mustache from 1981. His voice is like he is talking to children, like barney.... its mmmeeee marrriooo.
my little 7 year old nephew loves mario, practicaly worship him...

IN my OPiNION, Nintendo SHOULD HAVE NEVER BROUGHT THIER 2D MASCOTTS TO 3D AND RUIN THEM, SAME WITH SEGA

Yea and I saw someone say something about lock-on targeting which is what I saw SOME of NGC games using. Lock-on targeting IS A PET PIEVE OF MINE. I DONT PLAY GAMES WITH LOCK ON. HATE IT. is for kids man, they can't aim.. Completely ruined metroid. What kind of controll scheme is that? I want precision aiming not lock-on.

the Cartoon Zelda was a cool look, and it played good, but It WAS HARD AS HELL!!
forget it, if I have to use Strategy guides I might as well watch someone else play it, hell forget it, I might as well watch a good movie instead...

I used to love F Zero on Super nintendo but........it was NOTHING special on GC,
just another game,
every other company in the world had already taken their fresh idea of a hovercraft game and completely drove it into the dirt

(games like the awesome Wipe Out, and a bunch of copy cats that sucked reallllly bad)before nintendo even made the game cube. What a disapointment

PS2 has AGED too much, my brother was playing the latest grand theft auto, (loved vice city) and the graphics were horrible. The programmers did their best but the PS2 is all but dead in my heart...

Gran Tourismo is my #1 favorite franchise of all time, and the reason I bought a playstation2 (for the generally disapointing gran tourismo 3 a-spec) so I'm sure to love it regardless of graphics, and pre-ordered my copy months ago. Odly its release date is my 30th birthday...

X-Box has my #2 favorite franchise of all time:
Street Fighter: Capcom Vs. SNK 2 EO

You can play online and move up the rank to best in the world.

I started playing Street Fighter on Super Nintendo 15 years ago

Over time they perfected an already perfect game
It STAYED 2-Dimensional. thats why IT OWNS.

Nothing like it. The best rush in the world to completely Devastate or even just barely kick some guys ass in another country who is ranked 2000 people above you...

... But I decided that $50 a year to pay to play it online is too much when I can just play PC online for free.

So X-box has fable, and I liked Colin McRea Rally 2005 which is great but why can't you hook x-box to a VGA monitor, its a PC practically. Its hard to look at low rez textures anymore after I got games like Half-Life2 and Doom3 and Medal of Honor(ANY)

I didn't even like Halo. Its ok If you dont have any of the other games I mentioned in good ways.

Final Fantasy III fantastic for the time and FFX was fun. I didn't like any of the other ones although FF9 (i think) looked cool, but I was done with PS by then

And Im done with my rant. I had alot to say, maybe becuase Ive been playing video games since video games were black and white.
 
Minerel said:
If microsoft tries\does to buy squarenix like they once tried I'll take an Xbox 2.
Otherwize ima go with Revolution.


Or I'll stick with me pc.....which is the most likly answer.
Click to expand...
I think it's unlikely that Square-Enix would be tempted. The X-Box is the one console they don't develop games for, and I'm willing to believe that whatever money Microsoft wave in their face to tempt them, Sony would double the ammount to keep the developer of some of their signature titles in place.

Mind you, I thought that the PS2 generation Square titles were complete and total arse anyway, and I wouldn't be tempted to get an X-Box 2 if they were moved over there.
 
SearanoX said:
May I ask, why?
Click to expand...


For games to be interesting to me, they need to have well presented plot thats good. Kind of like when I want to read a book. Same reason I don't play games like Serious Sam, Painkiller, and the like. Metroid Prime didn't have a well presented plot. And, the gameplay wasn't very fun.

Now Zelda....holy crap. Most overrated game series ever. But, of course, I'm no sour puss. The new Zelda coming out looks very interesting me.
 
reality or not, gamecube appeals to a younger audience
 
Something it should be applauded for - the GC appeals to all ages.

There's not many consoles I can enjoy with my mates, my girlfriend, my mum, and my mates little 10 year old brother :)
 
yes I agree (havent played any of the gamecube games but aquaintances talk highly of it, so I'm willing to give the benefit of the doubt) ..I just think people perceive it as a kids console ..justified or not, that perception goes a long way in steering mature gamers away from the gamecube. The average age of an xbox user is much higher than a gamecube user (speculation ..as I dont have any numbers ..but it just seems that way from what I've seen of people in my age-bracket (mid 30's)) Most of the dads I know have either an xbox or sony for themselves and a gamecube for their kids


edit: you play games with your mum? hehehhehehe my mom wouldnt know a video game from a cartoon. That's pretty cool :)
 
:) Mainly party games... Mario party/Golf, Super Moneky Ball etc (get Donkey Konga and some bongos, give her a few glasses of wine and your mum will be well away :) - as will the rest of your family/friends. Nintendo excell in many areas, but the ability to make solid fun games that stick their tongue out to age and gender differences is their strongest)

The DC still gets a look in too (bring out the fishing rods, lightguns, dance mats, and maracas, and only the moodiest of git will fail to to have a grin from ear to ear)

I agree that many see the GC as a kids console, and avoid it for that reason. More fool them, they are very wrong and just end up missing out on some of the best games around.

*hugs GC*
 
ya I agree ...btw you make the GC sound great ..should be a PR man :E hopefully GC will have learned from it's past mistakes and also try to reel in the "mature" gamer.
 
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