Gamecube price cut
by Jolex Del Pilar

Monday, April 22, 2002

Nintendo answers Xbox pricecut in Europe. Could American price cut be close?

The latest salvo in the burgeoning European console price war comes this morning from Nintendo Co. Ltd. The company—who is launching its GameCube on May 3—has slashed the price of its console before it even goes on sale.

In an answer to Microsoft Corp.’s price cut on its Xbox machine, the GameCube will now retail for 199 euros (approximately $177 U.S.), down from originally announced prices of 250 euros (approximately $226 U.S.) and 129 pounds (approximately $187 U.S.).

The new price settles the GameCube in with a retail price of almost 100 euros (approximately $145 U.S.) less than both the Xbox and Sony’s PlayStation 2.

Nintendo plans on shipping 500,000 GameCube units for launch in Europe, with another 500,000 units to follow eight weeks after. Nintendo has also allotted 100 million euros to help market the GameCube in the European sector.

David Gocen, managing director of Nintendo Europe, told Reuters that the company has already taken 30,000 pre-orders for GameCube and expects that tally to hit 50,000 by the launch date.

--- Jolex Del Pilar, May 21st, Nintendo, Glory.