| RolStoppable said: 1. Lack of differentiation - The sixth generation saw a juggernaught in the PS2 and competitors who tried to mimic it instead of building an own identity. There wasn't much of a reason to own two consoles last generation, unless someone really needed to play the limited exclusive catalogue of the Gamecube or Xbox. This explains why the PS2 victory was that big. 2. Nintendo got innovative with its games - Nintendo games don't sell accordingly to the hardware base, rather the hardware sells accordingly to the quality of Nintendo games. The Gamecube had undoubtly the worst outings in many series with Mario using a watergun in his biggest game on the system, Link became a toon and Mario Kart had two drivers per kart. If it hadn't been for Super Smash Bros. Melee being a sequel like it should be, then the Gamecube would have sold less than 20m units. Also, another generation in which Nintendo didn't release a mainline Mario game. 3. Nintendo cared more for profits than marketshare - For the most part, this explains why the Xbox sold more units. Nintendo knew that throwing money at the problem wouldn't pay off in the end, so they rode it out and profited as much as possible. The Gamecube made money when all was said and done while the Xbox accumulated losses in the range of $4 billion. In that sense, Nintendo could have given $99 Gamecubes worth $4 billion (40 million consoles) away for free and still have been more profitable than Microsoft. Things that are commonly mentioned, but aren't actual reasons: 1. Mini discs - The vast majority of games in the sixth generation didn't exceed 1.5 GB, so that really wasn't an issue. Besides, it's not like multi-disc was an impossible option. 2. Lack of DVD playback - In Japan, the Panasonic Q was a Gamecube with DVD playback, didn't help sales. The Xbox had optional DVD playback and didn't help its sales either. |
Good thing some logic rolling around. It is very easily forgottent that while Nintendo lost in unit sales, they still made profit with the Gamecube.
Above: still the best game of the year.
