Feb Cube sales double

[Bad Religion]

Nintendo says February console sales double
3/19/2003 3:51:20 PM
LOS ANGELES, March 19 (Reuters) - Video game company Nintendo Co. Ltd. (JP:7974) on Wednesday said sales of its
third-place GameCube console more than doubled in February on the strength of promotions giving away a free game.

Nintendo, which is behind Sony Corp.'s (JP:6758) PlayStation 2
and Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT) Xbox in the U.S. console
marketplace and has conceded the GameCube would
underperform expectations in the current fiscal year, said sales
of the $149 console rose 110 percent in February over January.

The company is running a promotion where it gives away a free
game from a select list of titles with the purchase of a GameCube.
It also has a discounted bundle package that includes the game
"Super Mario Sunshine" in the box.

Nintendo also said that the pre-sale for the hotly anticipated "The
Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker" has reached 600,000 units,
ahead of the game's March 24 launch. Nintendo has been offering
a free disc with two classic "Zelda" games to those who paid
deposits to pre-order the new title.

Nintendo announced a deal earlier this month with top games
publisher Electronic Arts Inc. (ERTS) to keep EA's highly
successful sports titles, like "Madden NFL," on the GameCube
and give development support to the publisher.