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for those that don't already know..
Nintendo stunned the European market this morning by announcing that its new GameCube console will launch on May 3rd at €199 and £129.
Coming just a week after Microsoft cut the Xbox from £299 to £199, Nintendo has upped the stakes again. Originally the GameCube's price had been set at €249 and £169.
"Europe is a very important market for Nintendo and we are committed to making it a success. On May 3rd we will launch the only dedicated games console, with an excellent software line-up, both for launch and throughout 2002, at a very competitive price. This is a very strong offer for consumers and one that we believe will ensure Nintendo¹s success across Europe," said David Gosen of Nintendo Europe.
Pre-orders for GameCube are already over 30,000 in the UK. The new price point will continue to drive consumer demand in the run up to launch and the total number of pre-orders is expected to reach over 50,000.
Nintendo has committed approximately 500,000 units to Europe for launch day, with a total of a million units for the launch period. Day one will also see over 20 software titles available, growing to 50 titles by the summer.
Nintendo had already shipped approximately four million GameCube machines to Japan and North America by the end of March 2002..
excellent news for consumers, but my only concern (being a retailer) is that Nintendo may well under-value their own product. I hope not, but it could happen...
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