Nintendo GameCube sold more than half a million systems to consumers during Thanksgiving week, easily surpassing its console competitors. Among all game devices, it trailed only Nintendo's portable Game Boy® Advance, which sold almost 600,000 units to U.S. buyers during the week.
"All along, our business plan for this year was to maximize consumer interest and sales during the fourth quarter," says George Harrison, Nintendo of America's senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications. "But frankly, we're overwhelmed by how successful we've been. Our price cut of Nintendo GameCube has ignited sales to the degree that it may turn out to be the best-selling console for the entire month of November. We're tracking to sell more systems in the last eight weeks of the year than we did in the previous 10 months combined."
Nintendo GameCube went from No. 3 to No. 1 in just two months, evidence that the Sept. 25 price drop to an MSRP of $99.99 and the hot new games were just what the public wanted. The library of games available for Nintendo GameCube now stands at more than 320, including America's current hottest game, Mario Kart®: Double Dash(TM) exclusively for Nintendo GameCube, role-playing and sports games, Pokemon titles for younger players and action and racing games for adults.
Numerous new and upcoming releases that will keep the momentum going include 1080®: Avalanche, a shred-'em-up snowboarding game; Mario Party® 5, the ultimate party game; F-Zero® GX, the fastest racing game on the market; Mario Golf(TM): Toadstool Tour, a golf game that appeals equally to novices and experts; Pokemon Channel(TM), the first-ever Pokemon game available for Nintendo GameCube; and Final Fantasy®: Crystal Chronicles(TM), an upcoming role-playing game that continues the hit franchise.
The worldwide leader and innovator in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its popular home and portable video game systems. Each year, hundreds of all-new titles for the best-selling Game Boy® Advance and Nintendo GameCube(TM) systems extend Nintendo's vast game library and continue the tradition of delivering a rich, diverse mix of quality video games for players of all ages. Since the release of its first home video game system in 1983, Nintendo has sold more than 1.8 billion video games globally, creating enduring industry icons such as Mario(TM) and Donkey Kong® and launching popular culture franchise phenomena such as Metroid(TM), Zelda(TM) and Pokemon®. A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo's operations in the Western Hemisphere.