EA drops Cube prices down under
‘Nintendo won’t compete, so we will’
EA is testing the water down under by dropping the price of its GameCube titles in the run-up to Christmas. Clearly dissatisfied with sales of Cube ports, EA's MD for the region Bob Katz used the opportunity to attack Nintendo. "Given Nintendo's disappointing reluctance to compete with Microsoft and Sony, Electronic Arts are leading the way in helping to ensure that hit GameCube titles are accessible and affordable to the general public," he said.
Nintendo has been criticised in recent times for failing to attract gamers to its system. Sales of ported software have been very limp since the system's launch in Europe and Australia this May, with many now speculating that Cubes play second fiddle to PS2s in many homes, with ports being purchased for PS2 - often the system the games were designed for in the first place.
EA's move is rather unprecedented, and means that often hard done by Aussie gamers will be able to pick up the likes of James Bond 007: Nightfire, Medal of Honor: Frontline, FIFA Football 2003, Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 and others for a much lower price.