Nintendo GameCube drops to $99.

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Originally Posted by Hero

SGGG~What about the Tales game?

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It looks mildly interesting. I just read a preview.. I can't decide if I like the art/style or not. Some things look neat, others less so. :\ If I already had a Gamecube I'd consider it but certainly it's not worth buying a system for.

If I do get a Cube I'd most likely pick up Super Monkey Ball, Wave Race, Beach Spikers, Billy Hatcher, Mr Driller Drill Land, and Knight & Knight (if it actually exists), and a few others. Maybe this one.... Basically, it would be nice for some multiplayer games... but none of those games are must haves. Skies 2 would be a killer app though. ;)

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Originally Posted by ChaoofNee

When's this gonna be official? I don't see it on any retailers' site...

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who said anything about it being on a retailer's website? ;)

mwahahah

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Originally Posted by Dragonmaster Dyne

funny that they just announced a price drop and its also been announced that an iso ripper and loader will be released shortly.....i smell another Dreamcast downward spiral brewing.

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If you are insinuating that piracy lead to the death of the Dreamcast you are mistaken.

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Originally Posted by bahn

who said anything about it being on a retailer's website? ;)

mwahahah

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OMFG TNL EXCLUSIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111111

...awesome!

ask your local retailers what's up with dem deals.

Well, I think this is indicative of a few things:

1) While it might not be a HUGE spike, $99 at the Holiday Season will certainly increase their sales during that period from what they would have been at the previous price point. More GCs in living rooms AFTER the Holiday Season means, theoretically, more software sales in the 1st quarter/1st half of 2004.

2) Let's not forget how much Nintendo has been heralding the connectivity issue as the Second Coming, or somesuch. The $99 price point will be a key factor in consumers decisions as to whether they think the connectivity is "worth" it, since the feature requires GBA's, and that's what Nintendo is really pimping anyway, trying to ride the GBA wave out to keep them as far above water as possible until it's time to launch the GC2 and GBA2. Expect a big Connectivity marketing push during and after the Holiday Season.

3) Nintendo is feeling the heavy burden of being #3 in North America and Europe and is a bit, how shall we say... panicked? The thing that separates Nintendo from the problems SEGA had, though, is the Big N's balance sheet: It's pristine, the best in the industry. So while they'd love to be making buckets and buckets more money than they are, they aren't in danger of becoming extinct or even completely ineffectual in the hardware business, certainly not this or next generation, and I totally expect that in the next generation Nintendo will have taken a good hard look at what put them in this current predicament and take huge strides from the outset to come out of the gate with a new image.

4) Consider this a bit of a cleaning house, too. They stopped production on the Cube because units were sitting on store shelves and they were still spending money in production when it wasn't neccessary. The $99 price point will help clear inventory faster and allow them to concentrate on the GameCube and GBA successor without putting more money than they have to into GameCube production.

--Scourge .

I hate to say it but Nintendo has to do a LOT more next gen otherwise those cursed mainstreamers are gonna drive them right out of the home console business. I seriously doubt launching at the same time as the PS3 will help much but I suppose it's better than nothing. Pity their current position is almost totally due to the unbeliveably poor choice of carts over CDs way back when (something i think about a lot with anger whenever I hear bad Nintendo news). Oh well, one of my friends who I never thought would get a GC is now very tempted.

Perhaps they'll go agnostic.

(man, imagine that!)

Then again you could buy the Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles GameCube Bundle at a low, low bargain price ;)

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles GameCube Bundle

actually, it was 151 pieces. ;)