How dumb are Nintendo?

[Boom]

http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=52836

Unbelievable, they release games in the US months before Europe (or not at all) and now they want to shut down the importers. If they released games in Europe in a timely fashion, this wouldn't be a problem. Obviously Nintendo can't cut the games fast enough to handle the localisation changes. Not a very smart move except from a profit point of a view.

[Lord Nikon]

I fail to see how it affects global nintendo profits anyway...

The indie retailers who are importing the games are buying legit nintendo games in the first place.

Globally nintendo are not losing sales over this.

The only issue I can see is console charts. Major retailers won't get the sales totals so the game won't appear as high in the charts when it is officially released.

[Boom]

Affectively Nintendo most likely has extra-cost involved in transferring the game to the local market (how many European lanaguages are there anyway? Not to mention any localisation settings that need to be provided and any PAL conversion). So they go to that trouble yet people don't bother buying them because they've imported them already from the US. Don't you notice that games appear to be more expensive in Europe?

Originally posted by Lord Nikon
I fail to see how it affects global nintendo profits anyway...

The indie retailers who are importing the games are buying legit nintendo games in the first place.

Globally nintendo are not losing sales over this.

The only issue I can see is console charts. Major retailers won't get the sales totals so the game won't appear as high in the charts when it is officially released.

[kronas]

typical nintendo and nobody sees why i have a go at them :rolleyes: i dont see a good enough reason to stop imports they dont lose out do they ?

[Boom]

I'm not defending Nintendo cause they're just shooting themselves in the foot by handing cease and desist orders. If they combined a shutdown of imports with releasing games within in Europe within a minimum of a month from US or Japan, they wouldn't have this problem.

Originally posted by kronas
typical nintendo and nobody sees why i have a go at them :rolleyes: i dont see a good enough reason to stop imports they dont lose out do they ?

[Lord Nikon]

Yes, but as has been said the way to stop this is not by throwing out c&d orders, but to organise a GLOBAL rollout of the games.

This doesn't just apply to games

TV Series are shown in the US a couple of months minimum before the UK, Films are released in the US first, etc etc. People will want to see them at the same time as their friends around the world.

The internet has created a global community, yet the people who produce TV series / Films / Games / DVDs et al have yet to realise that.

People aren't pirating the games they are BUYING legit copies, albeit ones not intended for their region, they are buying them as imports not because of price differences, but because their region's version is not out yet.

If you are gonna release something, then release it around the world on the same day, that way people CAN buy it locally, if that means delaying the release date slightly in a region or 2 then so be it. But LEARN from this.

[Lord Nikon]

I never said you were Andre, just expanding on what you had said :D

[timewarrior2001]

like I said, Nintendo must be running out of money from Donkey Kong and are now clutching at straws:D

[dr wadd]

Originally posted by Lord Nikon
People aren't pirating the games they are BUYING legit copies, albeit ones not intended for their region, they are buying them as imports not because of price differences, but because their region's version is not out yet.

Not strictly true, if you can get a big enough order together to spread the shipping costs then it can be a fair chunk cheaper to import. I got my Cube, the 3 launch titles and a memory card imported from Hong Kong at the Japanese launch, and even with shipping and import tax it was cheaper than it would have been to wait for the PAL launch. Just got Ikaruga and a GBA Player from Japan, £50 for the pair as opposed to £40 for one of them here.

[Lord Nikon]

TBH dr wadd the problem with console pricing in the UK is down to the government as much as anyone else...

one word TAXES

the UK is being taxed into oblivion

Do you realise that out of every £10 you put in your car as fuel £8.60 goes to the government?

that means just £1.40 goes to the petrol company... nice percentage huh? yet they govt always blames the petrol company for the prices.

[dr wadd]

But I did pay import tax on my original Cube package, which is actually slightly higher than VAT, and it still worked out cheaper (including the shipping) than waiting for the PAL release.

[Boom]

Back on topic, Nintendo are effectively shooting themselves in the foot. They are going to p!ss off the people that like their games yet are unable to get it locally because they don't provide a worldwide rollout (which IMO is difficult for consoles and much easier for PC).

If Nintendo could just release the games only a month behind (and at obviously fair price respective to currency exchange, which I hasten to add helped Nintendo's bottom line in their last financial report), I'm sure the impatience of ordering from abroad would wear off and Nintendo wouldn't have to go about p!ssing their fans off.

[dr wadd]

Even if Nintendo released games simultaneously on PAL and NTSC, and even if the price were the same, I'd go for NTSC import as Gamecube titles generally have lousy support for 60Hz in their games. Even though the Cube is capable of supporting 60Hz, there are too many games that don`t make use of it. This was the primary reason why I switched from a PAL to an NTSC N64. When I did, I got almost exactly the same selection of titles for the new machine. Cost and impatience weren`t factors there, simply the need to have the console running at 60Hz.

[TigaSefi]

Most if not all games these days have an option for 60hz by pressing the B button during startup. I imported Mario Golf and it fabulous on the GC.

[dr wadd]

Originally posted by TigaSefi
Most if not all games these days have an option for 60hz by pressing the B button during startup. I imported Mario Golf and it fabulous on the GC.

Until I can be certain that *all* games have a 60Hz option then a PAL release of a Nintendo console is not for me.

[Boom]

And Nintendo's moronic behaviour only gets worse from Spong:

Nintendo has announced that it will release the PAL version of genre-defining RPG-***-life-simulation Animal Crossing this October, in conjunction with Card e-Reader.

However, amazingly the PAL release will only be issued in Australia, a country where Nintendoââ‚à ƒâ€šÃ‚¬ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚¢s GameCube userbase is laughably small.

Why this decision has been made is still unclear. Nintendo Europe has time and again stated that the content found within Animal Crossing was deemed undesirable by European gamers. Yet Australia, land of kangaroos, weird football and, you know, other strange stuff, has been deemed perfect.

Speaking to a GameCube owner in Uxbridge this morning told the whole story. †œWhen I heard this I was almost sick out of my ears,ââ‚ƚ¬Ã‚ÂÂÂ� said Darren Barnes, a long-time gamer and Nintendo fanatic. †œWhy on earth would Nintendo do this kind of thing to us again, after promising that things would get better?ââ‚à ‚¬Ã‚ÂÂÂ�

And Barnes makes a good point. Nintendo Europe has been promising fairer treatment for Europe, with faster localisation turn-around and a release schedule in line with that enjoyed in Japan and the US.

Itâ₠¬ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚¢s also worth pointing out that Nintendo Europe has recently issued yet more heavy-handed legal warnings to UK retail foretelling of harsh punishment for those importing any non-European stock. To make matters worse, NOE recently gloated in UK trade mag MCV that its latest band of writ-writing, warning of fire and brimstone for anyone daring to import Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire, had been a great success.

Truly, a disgrace.

[Jarandco]

This weeks sales were below 1000! thast really bad xbox was about 4,000!

[TigaSefi]

All major releases of Nintendo top names have 60hz modes. I just discovered that Star Wars II has indeed 60hz mode hehe. It still a great game.

[Boom]

Thanks for that Tiga.

So back to my original point, Nintendo Europe needs to pull its thumb out of its @ss and bring games in a good time frame instead of like 3-6months later or not at all like Animal Crossing!

Originally posted by TigaSefi
All major releases of Nintendo top names have 60hz modes. I just discovered that Star Wars II has indeed 60hz mode hehe. It still a great game.

[TigaSefi]

True but the beauty of Nintendo games are it's longevity and massive replay values so I am quite happy to wait 4/5 months however Mario golf takin' the pee by not comin' out till next year. (I have it on NTSC format and it great)

[Boom]

Just saw that article. Ouch! That's to be expected in summer months, but that is low.

Originally posted by Jarandco
This weeks sales were below 1000! thast really bad xbox was about 4,000!