Slack festive sales and an uninspiring christmas lineup could mean a GC pricecut is on the cards. Likely? You bet.

Nintendo Europe bosses are slapping their thighs with hot rods this winter. Why? Because their beloved GameCube is getting hammered by the opposition in the UK and Belgium.

Ok, so the GameCube may be second only to the PS2 on overall sales in Europe (depending on which statistics provider you believe). But Nintendo need to do some serious rethinking if they're hoping on shifting more Eurocubes this Christmas.

Starfox Adventures turned out not to be the epic we were all savouring for. Mario Party 4 is great with mates, but doesn't bear mainstream appeal. And as for the much-awaited Die Hard, well, it just isn't Hard enough. In more ways than one, mind.

We need a Mario Kart. A Metroid Prime (now, not in March). Zelda would also pull in the punters. But bog-standard ports of months-old PS2 games isn't going to get those systems snapped up.

Where are the big-announcements? Where are the future Cube titles? Where's Mario Kart, Mario 128, Donkey Kong et al? No more words or pictures. Why Nintendo? Just the usual 'can't be bothered' complancency which just doesn't work.

It's all well and good letting slip of a GBA add-on for the Cube, but when you already own a pocket-pixelator it's little consolation. We want whispers of new titles to get us hot under the collar. Even with the N64 we had lots to look forward to. That Nintendo sparkle is nowhere to be seen.

In the U.S they already have Metroid Prime & Resident Evil Zero to name a few. Yet in Europe these games are promised for 'March.' It doesn't take you three months to get a game translated in the real world, yet somewhere far away on planet Nintendo they haven't figured that bit out. Surely a company of Nintendo's calibre could employ a few more region localisers. Why make us wait? It really doesn't bode well for success Nintendo.

A price-cut would go some way to ease the consumer anxiety. Bundles with the killer-apps that we so deperately need. You no longer have Rare to pick up the pieces, Nintendo.

A price-cut isn't too unrealistic. Rumblings suggest that Nintendo are seeing how the Cube fares in the coming days, and will then make a decision. Time's running out NOE.

The lack of excitement is out of form for Nintendo. It's dissapointing, yet so true. The Nintendo 64 may have not been the commercial success Nintendo were hoping for, but at least it inspired. Back to the drawing board me thinks.