Once again, Perfect Stu, that's a nice argument if you have the numbers to back yourself up.
Yes, Nintendo is going to lose some gamers by not going online. But how many are they going to lose?
Let's be more specific for the sake of our problem here. How big will the GameCube's userbase be if it has an online plan? How many do they stand to lose over the next, say, 5 years if they don't go online? What does this translate into in terms of potential profit lost? Related to this is the question of how many gamers will be playing online in 2005 and how many will have broadband. Just saying that the IGNCube boards have gotten depressing doesn't cut it. So fans on the internet aren't happy. Well, what numbers does that tranlate into? How many people, to within a few ten thousand, will buy the next Nintendo console when it launches?
And of course, how much does it cost to set up an online plan? This depends on what online plan Nintendo chooses, of course, but we can be sure that they know what the costs involved are.
My point has been that Nintendo knows this information. You don't seriously think that Nintendo doesn't realize that they will lose some fans by not going online, do you? But apparently, Nintendo has decided that the loss in potential revenue is worthwhile compared to the cost of setting up a viable online plan. It may very well be the wrong decision. I never said Nintendo was perfect or prescient.
But they have solid, real numbers. You don't. And so you can't tell me with any kind of certainty that it's worthwhile for Nintendo to go online. Spouting an ethereal concept like "loyalty to customers" doesn't cut it.
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