GameCube Now $99
September 26, 2003

It is finally official, as today Nintendo announced that the GameCube’s price will be dropped to a clean $99.  The new price point will be effective immediately (Sep. 25th) in all retailers, and comes to us at a perfect time for the holiday season.  It's good to see Nintendo get a little more aggressive at trying to sell GameCube hardware for the end of the year, and hopefully this will turn around the slump in sales that they have been facing in other regions.  If you still don't own a GameCube, you have no reason to hold back anymore.

The move is an attempt to further boost the sales of the Nintendo’s fall lineup, which includes games like Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (November 17), Mario Party 5 (November 11) and 1080 Avalanche (December 1).

In addition to this move, Nintendo also expanded the Players Choice lineup as well as lowered the price on many of the more popular first party games in the Players Choice collection.  The full press release follows:

NINTENDO GAMECUBE PRICE DROPS TO $99!

New Hardware Price Spearheads Aggressive Holiday Campaign

REDMOND, Wash., Sept. 24, 2003 – Just in time for the biggest video game thrills of the fall, Nintendo of America Inc. today announced a new MSRP of $99.99 for its Nintendo GameCube™ home game console, effective tomorrow, Sept. 25. This great new price opens an $80 price advantage over its two console competitors.

While the price of Nintendo GameCube hardware is falling, the variety and affordability of great software is soaring. Coupled with expansion of the Nintendo GameCube library to more than 320 games by the end of the year, the new MSRP of $99.99 and added exclusive offers will further boost momentum for the console throughout the holidays.

Mario Kart®: Double Dash!!™, available Nov. 17 exclusively for Nintendo GameCube, is the most-anticipated game of the season. Nintendo has announced that customers who reserve a copy of the game in advance will receive a free bonus disc, loaded with game footage and gameplay previews for a wide array of upcoming hits.

In addition, Nintendo recently expanded the Player's Choice library offering discounted prices for a half dozen award winning games including Super Mario Sunshine™, Animal Crossing™ and Metroid® Prime.

"So far in 2003, Nintendo GameCube is the only home console showing an increase in unit sales compared to 2002," says George Harrison, senior vice president, marketing and corporate communications, Nintendo of America. "Every time a generation of technology has moved into the true mass market, Nintendo has prospered. This incredible new price and our great software offers are designed to accelerate that trend like never before."

"This is not only good for Nintendo, but great for consumers," says Lucky Evani, Toys 'R Us representative. "For $99, you can now buy video game technology that you couldn’t have purchased for $99,000 just a few years ago."

The hot holiday titles from Nintendo will include Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (Nov. 17), Kirby™ Air Ride (Oct. 13), Mario Party® 5 (Nov. 11), 1080º™ Avalanche (Dec. 1), and Pokémon Channel™ (Dec.1), as well as the highly anticipated Final Fantasy®: Crystal Chronicles™ and Pokémon Colosseum™ in the first quarter of 2004. In addition, the Nintendo GameCube fall lineup is replete with top quality interactive thrills provided by independent publishers that appeal to every game taste, ranging from sports to action to role-playing titles.

Reported By: 2nd Opp & Nick Arvites