GCN in Europe

PAL GCNs arrive. Our hands-on report.

By Daniel Ekman

Updated: Jun 17, 2012 3:15 pm

Posted: Apr 30, 2002 7:00 am

The GameCube is just about ready to launch in Europe -- at long last. European Correspondent Daniel Ekman, who has recently received a PAL GameCube, talks about the coming debut and more below.

Today our PAL GameCube arrived and we couldn¿t be happier. The box, however, doesn't feature a handle. What a shocker.

So, we received a package, eh? Before we get into that, however, there are a couple of things that everyone should be aware of. There is, for example, currently a price war going on in Europe, with Microsoft lowering prices of its Xbox and Nintendo following suit. At the moment one can actually go into certain stores in Sweden and buy an Xbox for as little as $270! Please bear in mind that this is for a console that only a couple of days ago cost $486 over here. Meanwhile, Nintendo has lowered its price of GameCube from $290 to around $240, which is less drastic but still fairly good. At the same time, PlayStation 2 continues to retail for almost the same price as before, $310 that is. What all this boils down to is a situation where all consoles are almost evenly matched, price-wise, with the oldest one oddly enough having the highest price. Don¿t be too surprised if a price-reduction announcement from Sony arrives shortly, though.

But what happened to that package? Ah, that¿s right, now I remember:

Last week a package landed in our offices. How it got there we have no clue, but the tape strapped around it proclaimed that this was our European GameCube. We actually managed to safely remove the tape despite our trembling hands, which was quite a feat if you ask us. After a first look at the box within, however, we cried out in despair; there was no handle. Stricken with grief we still took out the box and opened it gently. Deep within was a purple GameCube. "Oh, joy!" we exclaimed, as an old fantasy of ours, which involves a black and purple GameCube sitting side by side, could finally be played out. But that¿s neither here nor there.

What, exactly, was hidden in the dark corners of the GameCube box with no handle? Well, inside was a thick manual that contained instructions in ten languages, a disappointing A/V cable -- we had really hoped for an RGB cable -- a power supply and a controller. Scattered among these things were lots of promotional material where one particular flyer distinguished itself from the rest: An offer to become a Nintendo VIP.

It's simple, really. Go to www.nintendovip.com -- which at the moment is ¿Under Construction¿ in typical Nintendo fashion -- and type in the unique PIN found at the bottom of the note. Nintendo promises impressive game videos, tips and tricks, all the latest info, and a membership in the Nintendo GameCube community. Hopefully there will actually be some interesting information there, as opposed to the usual ten-months-after-the-US titbits we're spoon-fed with in most official European newsletters.

Anyhow, after having connected the GameCube we booted it up, and lo and behold the power light glowed and a screen appeared asking us to choose our language. Hang on, what¿s this, something different from the US version? Yes, but after having looked further we found that probably nothing else differs between the NTSC and PAL GameCube versions.

Euro print ads for GCN

So, now we know that not all PAL GameCubes in the first shipment are defective. Good news, eh? But how is GameCube truly faring over here anyway? You surely must have heard the news that pre-orders have been all the rage both hardware- and software-wise with Star Wars nabbing the number one spot in the UK and Luigi going strong in all countries, but the fun doesn't stop there. People on the street seem to have a higher opinion about GameCube as of late -- if because of commercials or otherwise we have no clue, but it surely can¿t hurt. We talked to a couple of retailers today as well, and while some remained sceptical there were a whole bunch that only had good things to say about GameCube. Pre-orders were running high everywhere, and many predicted that the console would fare well during its first couple of months. In the long run, however, many believed that Nintendo might run into trouble, but how they came to that conclusion one could only begin to fathom.

Ali Manzuri at ExtremeGaming had a positive outlook and said, "There have been a lot or pre-orders for GameCube, so I believe that it'll sell very well indeed. While Xbox is my overall favourite at the moment, the game that I personally look forward to the most is definitely Resident Evil for GameCube." Ali went on to state that the first shipment of GameCubes had just arrived, and that while they wouldn't start selling them to regular customers before Friday, people who had pre-ordered could pick up their system today. Indeed, most stores we talked to just received their first shipment, so if you're sitting with a pre-order in Europe run or call to your store and ask if you can pick up your GameCube; you might just get lucky.

What about Xbox then? Xbox has, as many know, sold poorly in Europe since its launch. The recent price drop, however, effective as of the 26th of April, has altered the picture dramatically. Almost all retailers spoken to have tripled their sales of Xbox, and it doesn't look like the sudden rise of popularity is a one-week thing either. Many voiced doubts about Xbox's current line-up, though, and claimed it was too thin and needed more quality games. Only thing is that in the next two months there isn¿t really anything big coming, so most told us that they had to wait and see before making any predictions. Magnus Ekdahl at major retail chain Game comments: "There¿s Halo and then there's nothing. Basically we sell one copy of Halo per console, but other than that there are only the odd sale here and there. Dead or Alive, for example, sells at a much lower rate than expected. We hope that more good titles will arrive shortly, but I must admit that when looking at the release list for May and June it looks a bit thin." While he didn¿t really want to make any predictions, Magnus still believed that Xbox would sell quite well, as would PS2, while GameCube felt more like a wild card.

Miyamoto's excited about GCN's launch in Europe

Something rather curious is that Microsoft representatives visit most stores, including Game, a couple of times per month while Nintendo and Sony reps are mysteriously absent. Well, maybe they¿re making their rounds, but they surely aren't as loud about it.

PlayStation 2, on the other hand, has never fared better or worse depending on whom you talk to. Recent months have seen a decline in hardware sales, but software is still going strong with GTA 3 being the top seller despite having been out for so long. The below average hardware sales, though, probably stems from the fact that the market is saturated with PS2 consoles already and that other anticipated hardware has arrived or is just around the corner. On the other hand, sales will probably pick up again if and when Sony drops the price of the hardware.

That is where we are today, and with only three days till launch most pre-teens are probably wetting their pants already. Oh, hang on; GameCube isn't only for kids¿ always forget that, I do.

If you actually think that the above paragraph wasn¿t sarcastic, think again. Nintendo will finally bring GameCube to the European masses, and it's certainly not only for the young ones. GameCube is for everyone who's old enough to understand what gaming is all about, and in three days that message will come across to a lot of people. Congrats, Europe, your time has finally come.