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Originally posted by Xantar
TheGame:
So what you're saying is that if Microsoft had a monopoly, they wouldn't exploit it?
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Not exactly... M$ and Sony are bigger wealtyier (sp?) companies than Nintendo. Nintendo just seems desperate for $$$ in every move they make, Sony and Microsoft haven't shown this so far in the console market, so I can't say they would or wouldn't exploit a Monopoly.
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All I was saying was that if Microsoft and Sony had the sort of fanatical following (among other things) that Nintendo has, they'd exploit it, too. Why is it that Nintendo is more out for the money than Sony?
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Look at how Nintendo prices everything... you can't tell me they aren't trying to maximize the profit off of everything they make.
1) GCN at launch lost a estimated $80 per unit sold, while Ps2 and Xbox lost more than $150 each. If they really wanted to make $$$, they could have dropped the price and relyed on game sales to carry them like Microsoft and Sony. But Wait! The games were the weakest on the market, so they relyed off of Hardware sales and dumb Nintendo fans to go out and buy ports and below average games like Luigi's Mansion and Wave Race.
2) GBA costed $99 at launch, you cant tell me that they weren't making at least a $40 profit on it. Not only that, they can't take the time out to develop a new mario or Zelda game, instead they port games from NES and SNES and they sell like they are new either way.
3) Gamecube's memory cards. Instead of releasing a "full" 8MB card, they release a 4mb card that can't handle ports. Why? Cause it costs them a handful or quarters to make, and they can sell it for $15 (which is a HUGE rip off). Why wait til this year to release the 251? So games can have memory that exceed 59 blocks, and people will have to go out and buy another rip off card at a rip off price. In 2003 they could do the same thing (it's not like most sports games on Xbox/Ps2 can fit on a 251 block card anyway).
Now give bigger examples of Microsoft and Sony sacrificing gameplay for $$$.
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Think of what would have happened if the original Playstation had been cartridge based. The N64 would have killed it. But if Sony and Nintendo had switched places, do you honestly think Sony would have made a CD-based system knowing that they will be able to sell it anyway?
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Um, no. Because Ps2 would have been an example to prove your point... but it isn't.
Ps2 sets the Standards for Game hardware, Xbox is abouve it, GCN is below it in everything but graphics.
Ps2 would have sold no matter how Sony released it... but they still put effort into it as far as hardware features and game quality.