Retail: Consumers Eager For Upcoming Release of Microsoft, Nintendo Games
November will be a busy month for video game fans and video game retailers. Both Microsoft and Nintendo will be releasing new video game systems within one week of each other, and both of these will be up against new titles for the already existing Sony PlayStation 2.
The Microsoft Xbox will be released Nov. 15. Nintendo’s Gamecube will come out Nov. 18.
Lamont Ward, manager of Fort Worth, Texas-based Funcoland’s San Diego store, said he’d probably sell out of both systems the week they arrive. He has long since stopped taking pre-orders, and it’s possible that some customers who pre-ordered units may still go home empty-handed, he said.
“We didn’t keep taking reservations until the last minute because we don’t want the same thing to happen to us that happened with the PlayStation 2,” Ward said. “Neither company has specifically guaranteed a certain amount to be out to us. So we don’t want to have a bunch of reservations, then they turn around and tell us that we’re only getting 20.”
Ward added that some special orders date back to December , for a system that wouldn’t be out for another year. Serious gamers have been that worried that the new systems would sell out, he said.
“The same thing happened with PlayStation 2 , people know now, because they were going, ‘Awww, I’ll get it when it comes out,’ when PlayStation 2 came, but they weren’t able to,” Ward said. “People who reserved a PlayStation 2 a year before it came out, got it the day it came out.”
No Clear Popular Winner
At this stage, it’s too early to determine whether the Xbox or the Gamecube will sell better. Casual gamers wanting a better gaming system with better graphics and sound seem to prefer the Xbox, while people who like particular titles have been gravitating toward Nintendo, Ward said.
Compared to Microsoft, Nintendo lacks the same third-party support and licensing deals for other companies to make games for its platform. However, it has a reputation for making better games, he said.
Ward predicted the Xbox will have 30 games available during the holiday season, but only three or four of these will be popular titles. By contrast, Nintendo will have only 12 games available for its system, of which 10 will sell well, he said.
Meanwhile, Ward expects Sony’s PlayStation 2 will remain popular. It has more than 200 titles already available, including titles released for the original PlayStation, and has a built-in DVD player , a feature that is not standard on the other systems, he said.
The Gamecube won’t cut into PlayStation’s market share, since Nintendo remains popular with pre-teens, while the PlayStation 2 caters to teens and young adults, Ward said.
As for the Xbox, PlayStation plans to release a flurry of new games, timed to coincide with Microsoft’s release. Ward cited rumors that Sony isn’t planning to discount its system as a sign that the company isn’t too worried about competition, he said.
No Impact From Terror Attacks
Ward doesn’t expect consumer wariness, in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks to affect his business too much. People already seem to be recovering from the effects of the tragedy.
“The first day or two after, we had to close early, because this mall was closed. People stayed in their houses; nobody wanted to go anywhere,” he said. “People are coming around again now. I think for the first week or two people were kind of spooked about the whole thing. But I’m sure during Christmas time, people will be going about their business, like they normally do.”
One area of his business that will be affected is that consumers may shun some titles. More people may turn away from violent video games in the wake of the tragedy, Ward said. Ward said the situation is similar to what happened after the shootings at Columbine High School in 1999. In that case, parents became concerned that video games were causing violence, while in the wake of the Sept. 11 tragedy, families are tired of seeing violence of any kind, he said.
“I’ve noticed now a lot of parents are in here with their children, buying games; normally, it would just be kids. And they don’t want to buy anything violent,” Ward said. “And kids are even saying, ‘Well, I can’t buy that; my mom won’t let me keep it,’ much more than they usually do.”
Ward said the Sept. 11 tragedy has already affected two game releases. PlayStation’s highly anticipated Metal Gear Solid 2 was originally expected to sell 5 million to 6 million copies. Now, however, its future is uncertain.
Sony released a statement that the game’s ending , kept under wraps until last month , features a terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. The company had briefly considered delaying the game to rework the ending, or not releasing it at all, Ward said.
Now it seems the game will be released after all, but with a warning label, he said.
Similarly, the PlayStation game Syphon Filter 3 was delayed until January, with no reason given, Ward said.
Robbie Bach, a spokesman for the Xbox division at Microsoft, said only a handful of Xbox titles will be available in November. However, Bach pointed to contracts Microsoft signed with 27 software developers to ensure that more titles are available by the end of the year.
Nintendo of America, meanwhile, expects a run on its Gamecube. Already, it has announced that it will increase U.S. shipments of its home video game console to 700,000 systems for its Nov. 18 debut and 1.1 million by Dec. 31, said Peter Main, a spokesman for Nintendo.
As with the Xbox, the Gamecube will have only a handful of titles available when it debuts. However, Nintendo expects to have 17 titles for the Gamecube out by the end of the year, along with two other games for the system in the first quarter of 2002, he said.
“Our industry has learned the dangers of arriving at a launch party without enough gifts,” he said. “By increasing our Day One shipments to almost three-quarters of a million, we not only should come close to meeting total demand at launch, but also assure a virtually uninterrupted restocking through the holiday season.”
Wayne Yodzio, vice president and divisional merchandise manager for Toys R Us, Inc., echoed that theme.
“We strongly applaud Nintendo’s move to reduce the anxiety of customers who can’t find the video game products they want,” he said. “While there is still no guarantee supplies will fully meet demand, at least we can promise them we’ll effectively be restocking Nintendo’s new console on a constant basis through the holiday and beyond.”
