In an event concerning the start of the season for the Seattle Mariners, in which Nintendo is a lead investor, Vice President of Marketing George Harrison indicated that the company is considering lowering the price of the GameCube console.
Such a cut would only come into effect however, if Sony go ahead and cut the price of their PlayStation 2 console.
Sony are currently considering two options. The U.S. price of a PS2 is currently $299 but Sony might reduce it to either $199 or $249. According to Harrison, GameCube prices will follow Sony's lead and will most likely be affected if the PS2 reaches the $199 mark.
Although Sony have denied any such possibility it is widely acceopted that a PS2 price cut will be announced at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in May.
According to Harrison if Sony do choose to greatly reduce the price of their PS2 Nintendo will have to follow suit and cut their GC price before August, in order to better exploit the holiday season. Harrison also suggested that if both Sony and Nintendo reduce prices, Microsoft will have to do the same with their XBox. Sounds like a joint effort by the Japanese to strike at Micorsoft where it hurts.
Harrison also announced that Nintendo expect to have shipped 2 million GameCubes in North America by March 31, implying that 500,000 units where shipped in 2002 after shipping 1.5 million between its November 18 launch and the end of 2001.
As far as software is concerned, Harrison claimed that there is no reason for Nintendo to drop below their $49.99 price but that they will seriously consider introducing a discount range of games later on.
