Nintendo has announced launch dates for its GameCube console.
Japanese games firm Nintendo has confirmed the launch dates for its GameCube console. It will launch in Japan this July, the US this October and in Europe in spring 2002. The console will be a rival to Sony’s PlayStation 2 and Microsoft’s Xbox.
It’s likely to do well in Japan. The Japanese love affair with technology shows no signs of waning. The high performance and impressive graphics of the GameCube, combined with Nintendo’s demonstrated ability to produce content that appeals to the Asian market, should ensure its success.
In the US, things will be trickier. The console will go head-to-head with Microsoft’s Xbox this fall. Without doubt, Microsoft will mount a major PR blitz for its first move into the console market. At the same time, the PS2 will continue to gain market share. Things will be even worse in Europe. By the time it arrives, the Xbox will already have launched. Consumers may well be bored with the marketing hype surrounding the Microsoft product, making the GameCube’s launch something of a non-event. And again, the PS2 will continue to build market share.
Realistically, the GameCube will never be the number one console. The PS2 will dominate in the US and Europe for the foreseeable future. More interesting are Nintendo’s prospects against Microsoft. Nintendo does have some key advantages – its enormous experience in games development and resulting brand strength, combined with the GameCube’s integration with the GameBoy Advanced, the new generation of the world’s most popular handheld console.
But a fight against Microsoft will be a bloody war of attrition. The US firm has demonstrated itself willing to put enormous resources into extending its dominance into new markets before – and will do again. Meanwhile, Sony will do everything it can to throw spanners into its rivals’ works. Nintendo will have to act quickly to secure public interest in the GameCube.
