Reuters is reporting that Nintendo may be considering a price cut for the Nintendo GameCube later this year, taking a cue from Microsoft and Sony, who are also believed to be poised to slash the price of their respective machines.
Speaking at a Nintendo event at a Seattle Mariners game yesterday, George Harrison, Nintendo America’s Vice President of Marketing said, "We haven't made a decision on a price cut. Sony's expected to make the first move and then we'll see where we stand."
This is indeed true. A PlayStation 2 price cut, at least in the US, is considered a certainty for later this year, as SCEA has withstood all pressure to cut the machine’s retail price of $299.99 since it launched.
Microsoft is also almost certain to hack a fair-sized chunk off the cost of the Xbox, the most expensive machine on the market. Selling at the same price as the PlayStation 2 and a third more that the GameCube in the US, its appeal is being seriously undermined by such a big price tag.
The heftiest of Xbox price point reductions is likely to be in Japan where the machine has sold poorly, mainly due to it being far more expensive than its rivals.
The PlayStation 2 price cut is expected next month at E3, with some analysts predicting Microsoft to follow suit, also at E3.
As far as a GameCube price cut is concerned, it is unlikely that anything will be announced before November of this year. Nintendo will no doubt wait and see if sales of its little box of tricks are affected by its discounted rivals in the marketplace.
This is all excellent news for you, the games consumer. Competition, and more importantly, extended competition means that Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft are all fighting extra hard to engender your support in the hope of relieving you of your gaming budget. When one company shifts the focus of competition towards pricing, the others feel obliged to follow, in order to save face in the eyes of you, the consumer.
Long may it continue!
Speaking at a Nintendo event at a Seattle Mariners game yesterday, George Harrison, Nintendo America’s Vice President of Marketing said, "We haven't made a decision on a price cut. Sony's expected to make the first move and then we'll see where we stand."
This is indeed true. A PlayStation 2 price cut, at least in the US, is considered a certainty for later this year, as SCEA has withstood all pressure to cut the machine’s retail price of $299.99 since it launched.
Microsoft is also almost certain to hack a fair-sized chunk off the cost of the Xbox, the most expensive machine on the market. Selling at the same price as the PlayStation 2 and a third more that the GameCube in the US, its appeal is being seriously undermined by such a big price tag.
The heftiest of Xbox price point reductions is likely to be in Japan where the machine has sold poorly, mainly due to it being far more expensive than its rivals.
The PlayStation 2 price cut is expected next month at E3, with some analysts predicting Microsoft to follow suit, also at E3.
As far as a GameCube price cut is concerned, it is unlikely that anything will be announced before November of this year. Nintendo will no doubt wait and see if sales of its little box of tricks are affected by its discounted rivals in the marketplace.
This is all excellent news for you, the games consumer. Competition, and more importantly, extended competition means that Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft are all fighting extra hard to engender your support in the hope of relieving you of your gaming budget. When one company shifts the focus of competition towards pricing, the others feel obliged to follow, in order to save face in the eyes of you, the consumer.
Long may it continue!
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George Harrison
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