King Trode Posted August 7, 2003 Share Posted August 7, 2003 http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?p...d=1059478780944 Nintendo is to press the pause button on production of its Game Cube consoles while it clears inventory of unsold machines, the company's president said on Thursday. But Satoru Iwata promised the struggling games company was developing a radical new product to be announced next year - however he gave few details save to say it would be a departure from mainstream gaming consoles "that will have a big impact on the world". The halt in production will last until autumn as Nintendo struggles against competition from Sony's PlayStation 2, the leading console in the global market, and Microsoft's XBox. PlayStation 2 has shipped more than 51m units since its launch in 2000 compared with under 10m for Nintendos competing Game Cube, which was launched in 2001. Mr Iwata, who gave no figures on how much inventory was left to clear, acknowledged that the group had stumbled with the Game Cube console and conceded that it had made a strategic mistake by not ensuring that it had a consistent flow of attractive software for the Game Cube. But he cast doubt on the ability of Nintendo's competitors to continue attracting users with games that are becoming more and more graphically sophisticated and difficult to play. "Games that are sophisticated require a lot of time and energy," he said. As games became more complicated, players were given up playing and this was leading to the gradual shrinkage of the market, he warned. "We are thinking of launching a completely different kind of game. We are confident that we can develop a product that anyone can enjoy and that will provide people with a new kind of excitement," he said. Mr Iwata declined to provide any more details about what kind of new product Nintendo is working on, saying only that the company would make a further announcement with details next spring. He did, however, suggest that the new console would aim to return the games industry to its roots of providing fresh excitement through games that can be enjoyed by anyone, including those who do not normally play video games. Investors are concerned that Nintendo has not risen to the challenge provided by competitors, such as Sony and Microsoft, by targeting the casual user, which is where most of the growth in games demand has been coming from. Earlier this year, Nintendo's share price plunged on news that Sony would launch a handheld game, challenging Nintendo in a market that it has dominated. It was hit again when Sony announced a new multi-function machine that would combine a DVD recorder with the PlayStation. Nintendo's share price, which closed at Y9,690 on Thursday, is 19 per cent below this year's high of Y11,890. Nintendo's mission is to develop simple games that anyone can enjoy, and by doing so bring back those people who have given up playing games into the market. If Nintendo succeeds in doing that, it might even achieve sales of Y1,000bn, Mr Iwata said. That compares with sales last year of Y504bn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dazzla Veteran Posted August 7, 2003 Veteran Share Posted August 7, 2003 Mr Iwata, who gave no figures on how much inventory was left to clear, acknowledged that the group had stumbled with the Game Cube console and conceded that it had made a strategic mistake by not ensuring that it had a consistent flow of attractive software for the Game Cube. Oh. My. God. Deja Vu. They were saying this crap when N64 was around; Nintendo, wake up and smell the sony flavoured coffee, get your ****ing act together! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangbang023 Veteran Posted August 7, 2003 Veteran Share Posted August 7, 2003 Wow reading the title only, I freaked. These guys though have had terrible marketing. They don't have the most powerful system, and the public knows it. Instead of making sure people know that it's not just about the power of the system but the software you buy for it, they make these uninformative commericals that do nothing but make them look like a console for children. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kairon Posted August 7, 2003 Share Posted August 7, 2003 ^They sure do have the best games IMO though.What good is a powerful console if you don't have the good games and/or games to support it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
123_kid Posted August 7, 2003 Share Posted August 7, 2003 I was worried but I have since calmed down . I got my GameCube yesterday too... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-=SD=- Posted August 7, 2003 Share Posted August 7, 2003 Also, check out the g4 forums, there is a thread there showing the "power" of the Xbox to the GC and it looks impressive for the GC. It's hard to say one is more powerful, I mean it's kinda like a Mac vs PC comparison. If I didn't need money I would keep the GC for the new Zelda game and Resident Evil 4, I don't think it's any worse than Xbox except Microsoft spends money like crazy. Though that is one thing I wish Nintendo would do sometimes, for marketing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mystical112 Posted August 7, 2003 Share Posted August 7, 2003 Also, check out the g4 forums, there is a thread there showing the "power" of the Xbox to the GC and it looks impressive for the GC. It's hard to say one is more powerful, I mean it's kinda like a Mac vs PC comparison.If I didn't need money I would keep the GC for the new Zelda game and Resident Evil 4, I don't think it's any worse than Xbox except Microsoft spends money like crazy. Though that is one thing I wish Nintendo would do sometimes, for marketing. tru say... they have fun multi player games but the solo thing is not all that great.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SOOPAH256 Posted August 8, 2003 Share Posted August 8, 2003 yeah, i don't think nintendo will really ever go bankrupt, and have to shut down completely. they just have become a much smaller competitor as opposed to when it was at the top of it's game. they'll need to come out with better stuff, to compete with microsoft and sony. i think they can pull through. the gameboy advance series is doing very well. perhaps counter sony's psp that will be released in 2004 with another device that enhances the gba. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughing-Man Posted August 10, 2003 Share Posted August 10, 2003 Well they screwed themselves to begin with when they said they were not going to produce games on the standard DVD format and that the GameCube would not have DVD movie capabilities. That was one of the main reasons I did not purchase the console. And also because of the fact they dumped that cool looking Link and Gannon they originally said was going to be in the new Zelda game and instead made a "powder puff girl" version of Link. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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