Yesterday Nintendo of America announced that total North American shipments of Nintendo GameCube have now reached 1.1 million, with more than 800,000 sold through in the U.S., Canada and Latin America markets. With retailers report out of stock situations everyday, Nintendo will ship more than 125,000 GameCube consoles every week to replenish supplies. Nintendo GameCube has soared to record retail heights, becoming the fastest-selling home video game console of this generation. Nintendo Co., Ltd. in Japan has announced an increase in GameCube production to meet the strong demand in the US market. In Japan, Super Smash Bros. Melee has become the first GameCube game to sell over 500,000 units.
Source Nintendo
12/13/01
Nintendo And Square Talking Again
Bloomberg has reported that Square and Nintendo have been exchanging ideas on developing for the Nintendo platforms. While Square and Nintendo will not confirm the details of the talks, it is good to hear that both companies are talking again. Perhaps Final Fantasy XII will mark the return of Square games on Nintendo consoles…
"Rumors abound of Capcom's imminent desertion of Playstation in favor of Nintendo GameCube. If it's true, hopefully the result will be more titles of this caliber (Biohazard)... But confusion still reigns over Capcom's decision to switch allegiance. Will Capcom's PS2 development wind down? And will Nintendo demand exclusivity from Capcom to its platform? Although the sequel to DMC and Onimusha are still going ahead on Sony's hardware, it seems likely that the movement across to GameCube will become more pronounced in 2002. Also, Shinji Mikami who is fast becoming the public face of Capcom does not believe that the PS2's dominance in the short term will last, underlining the fact that most of his previous projects - including DMC and Resident Evil: Code Veronica were opposed by his bosses."
According to EDGE, Mikami claims he was forced to develop games for PS2 even though he dislikes the hardware himself. Looks like Biohazard may not be the only high profile Capcom game to land on GameCube. This information is from issue 104 of EDGE magazine from a article that featured Biohazard for the GameCube.
Source EDGE magazine
12/06/01
Nintendo GameCube UK Launch - Spring 2002
Nintendo of Europe has confirmed that the GameCube will arrive in the UK Spring 2002. In a press release they said "We are really excited about the launch of Nintendo GameCube in Europe in spring next year." It is expected that the GameCube will launch in early March 2002.
Source Nintendo
11/29/01
Nintendo GameCube - Fastest Selling New Videogame Console Ever!
Nintendo GameCube has soared to record retail heights, becoming the fastest-selling home video game console of this generation. Through its first week of availability, GameCube sold more than one-half million systems to consumers, at a rate nearly twice that of Microsoft's Xbox, and at least 25 percent faster than the launch of Sony's PS2 last year. Of initial North American shipments of some 740,000 hardware units, approximately 100,000 systems went to Canada and Latin America and another 75,000 to U.S. rental and other distribution channels. Of the approximately 80 percent destined for U.S. retail locations, virtually all are now sold out. The first of weekly replenishments of approximately 125,000 units are already arriving at stores.
"At a suggested retail price of $199.95, consumers can purchase Nintendo GameCube and two games for the same cost as rival, current generation game consoles alone. It's like getting two games for free," said Peter Main.
