Welcome one, welcome all, to the Cube-Europe Roundtable. Every Sunday the staff members here will give their thoughts on the big issues regarding Nintendos console, new games, and anything that's relevant really. This weeks topic is:

Sales low, few games in the charts, do this spell doom for GameCube in Japan?

Tim: We all know that the GameCube did not sell as well as exepcted at it's launch in Japan. I think the slow start had to do with the fact that Nintendo underestimated GameCube's rival, the Playstation2. The company thought that everybody would go and buy the GameCube whatsoever, which is why they decided to quick launch the console with only two or three games. Not many consoles were sold as a result.

Eventhough the GameCube had a slow start, sales did pick up in Japan with the release of games like Resident Evil and SSB Melee. The rates are still not as good as they could be, but I think Nintendo will take over the land of the rising sun piece by piece. Titles like Mario, Metroid and Star Fox will surely contribute to that goal, which is why I am sure that the low sales do not spell doom for the GameCube in Japan. Things will only get better!

Gerben: Nintendo could have expected that the launch of the GameCube wouldn't be an enormous succes, with only three titles. In the US and Europe, many more titles were available at launch, gamers had a bigger choice, more gamers were satisfied, hence a more succesful launch.

Do the low sales spell doom for Japan? Not yet. However, if games like Mario Sunshine, Eternal Darkness, Metroid Prime are also not able to improve the number of sales, then Nintendo has a problem. However, I expect those games to do their job.

Jim: To tell the truth, I never knew sales in Japan were doing poorly. Infact, from all reports I have thought they had been doing quite well. Everytime i read something about Nintendo Japan, it is about their profits increasing. This is why it surprises me sometimes to see only 2-3 GameCube titles in the top 50 week in week out.

But then I think to myself; Japan has what, 26 games released? So to be putting 1/10 of their games in the top 50, is nothing short of an amazing effort. And things are only going to get better in the future with Mario Sunshine, ans Star Fox nearing release. The future of Nintendo is looking good, in fact, it's looking excellent

Conor: To be honest, I've been kind dissapointed with the reception in Japan to games like Doshin, Animal Leader, Animal Forest and Resident Evil. I expected Resident Evil to rocket to the top of the charts, breaking the million mark in a few weeks. Maybe I was being a little too optimistic :). But I've always believed that the games industry moves in cycles, busy season, dry season, busy season, dry season etc. Gamecube is currently in a dry season in Japan, it's only a matter of time before it's a busy season.

Mario Sunshine, Resident Evil Zero and Zelda are going to be well-recieved in Japan, the last few months of the year are going o be great for Gamecube. Starfox and Eternal Darkness aren't going to do so well I think, the Japanese have very different tastes to us Westerners. But I do think "doom" is too strong, it may not be doing as good as PS2 (but what is?) but it's beating XBox and setting Nintendo up for a great next few years. It's not that good, but it's good enough.

Marco: So sales are slowing down and low in Japan, but who didn't expect this. The hype of the GC as well as the other consoles has gone down (although I believe that PS2 is still selling strongly), but I do not think in any way this spells doom for the GC. I think that there is a bit of a gap between launch hype and the next releases of great games and we're in it right now (in Japan and North America) so sales are going to be low. After Space World, which I'm sure the Japanese will follow more carefully than they did E3, there will probably be another rise in sales of games and consoles due to more hype. The thing that really sells consoles is the hype of future titles. We (in Japan and North America) will soon be hyped again with many great titles coming out in the next six months and with Space World. RE was on the top seller list in Japan when it was released so I'm sure when the next RE is released the sales will go up again.

So in short slow sales does not spell doom for the GC, but if GC wants to keep the hype all they have to do is sapce out their best titles.

David: I dont think this spells the end for GC, no way. I think Nintendo's chances of knocking Sony off the top spot are slim right now, and the tables will only begin to turn as late as Christmas next year. Launching without Mario in Japan was a SERIOUS mistake, as Japan had no popular Nintendo icon to associate the GameCube with, except for Luigi. I love that Nintendo are so innovative, but at times it seems that they are digging a grave for themselves.

As for the low sales, GC isnt even a year old so why worry? they didnt space out their good titles well, so there were excellent, game-filled months to be followed by a severe drought of good Big N games. When GameCube gets out the sheer quantity of games that PS2 has now, the stakes will be much more even. The fact remains that unless Nintendo get Mario Sunshine out quickly, they stand a chance at losing Japan.

And on a lighter note, the N.1 selling PS2 game right now seems to be FFX, but give Squaresoft a year and we will have a Final Fantasy of our own.

When Mario comes, all will change

Javid: The launch in Japan never spelled success from day one with only 3 titles, and no appearance from the famous Mario. The release titles, though good, lacked that 'must have' feel bar Luigis Mansion but many steered away becasue of its length. But that was then, and this is now. There has been a slight draught in games for those in the east, but its all coming round slowly, but ever so surely. With releases such as Animal Crossing and Resident Evil in Japan sales should begin to rise as the word spreads, and once it sets in that Mario Sunshine is on the brink of being released, Cubes will sell like hot cakes, especially as its still the cheapests on the market. Add Zelda into the mix and its fair to say things are looking up for sure. Besides, alot of PS2 killer-ap titles are now out of the way leaving the field more open for the GameCube. They call it the land of the rising sun, well the sun is rising for the Cube. Be sure of it.

Din: I don't think the low sales in Japan spells doom for the GameCube. Yes it wasn't the greatest launch for Nintendo in Japan but that was because of the lack of games, which included Nintendo's Luigi Mansion and Wave Race: Blue Storm and Sega's Super Monkey Ball. It lacked a killer title, it lacked Mario.

When you look forward to the games that are going to be available for the GameCube you have got to feel that the sales in Japan will go through the roof. With titles such as Super Mario Sunshine and The Legend of Zelda soon to be released it can only help sell more GameCubes. Things can only get better for the GameCube in Japan so don't worry.


Join us next week on the Cube-Europe Roundtable, when we will discuss Satoru Iwatas recent comments on Nintendos stance regarding software, hardware and the companys future. So until then, goodbye, and good night.