Whereas our to defer Antoine Morcos is in this moment even with the conference Nintendo Europe which should begin in a little less than one hour, our fellow-members of ITR publish an interview of Stéphan Bole, chairman of Nintendo France which speaks to us about the future of the Nintendo consoles on the French ground. In addition, according to Stéphan Bole, new Zelda on GameCube will leave well at the end of the year to Europe.
Did the format Game Boy Advance see his sales decreasing with the advertisement of the next portable console Nintendo DS?
Stephan Bole: Not, quite to the contrary: the exit of the news Nintendo DS in last quarter 2004 in the United States drew overall the market from the portable consoles upwards. With the occasion of the festivals of Thanksgiving, which always represent a capital moment for the industry of the video game the in addition to-Atlantic. At the time the 20 last years, the record year in term of sales of portable consoles over the week of Thanksgiving had reached 800 000 machines. On the whole, over this period in 2004 Nintendo pulverized the preceding record and sold 1,3 million portable consoles including 500 000 Nintendo DS. These figures illustrate well the dynamics of this market and the complementarity of the two models.
Which will be the positioning of Nintendo DS?
Nintendo DS is the fruit of the "historical" strategy of Nintendo : on the one hand to offer products innovating with here of the new functions like the double screen, the management of the 3d, the touch screen, the voice recognition or the multijoueurs without wire and on the other hand to make this technology accessible to all. Nintendo DS was conceived to offer new prospects for play all while being addressed on an equal footing as well to the amateurs of video games as to the neophytes: its interface of play was created in this direction. Our heart of target for Nintendo DS will be centered initially on the 13 to 24 years. The console will be entirely compatible with the cartridges of the various models of Game Boy.
As is a specialist in the video game, which the position of Nintendo compared to the phenomenon going up of convergence within the interactive leisures?
The historical know-how of Nintendo, they are the video games. It is what we propose to the consumers: products exclusively dedicated to the play which made all the reputation of the mark near the players. Moreover, with the passing of years, criticisms sometimes formulated against the products of the mark relating to for example coloured "or childish imagery the" of certain universes gradually disappeared because the users recognized the true strong practical values in term of jouability and depth of play which are attached today to Nintendo. But this specialization in the video game does not prevent us from remaining with the listening of the market trends. Today, we think that the consumers want video game above all and that convergence is before a whole dream of industrialist. But so tomorrow we think that there is a true market of mass for a "convergent" product with video telephony or it, it will be easy directly to work with our industrial partners like Matsushita or Sharp for example. The console Q of Panasonic (note: video GameCube hybrid and reader DVD) exit only in Japan in is an example.
How do you prepare today the French launching of Nintendo DS?
As always for a new Nintendo console, we will do everything to ensure a launching under the best conditions. American and Japanese launchings were truths success and even exceeded our hopes: 1,6 million consoles were sold in sell-out in hardly three weeks! The objective of Nintendo is from now on to exceed the three million machines sold at December 31, 2004 then five million once the console launched to Europe next March. To answer this keen demand, the output of Nintendo was increased and I can to already say you that we will have more Nintendo DS for European launching than of GBA SP at his exit.
Which will be the price of Nintendo DS in Europe?
We will communicate all the details of launching during January (this after midday). With regard to the selling price, Nintendo always marketed its new consoles at prices "general public". Nintendo DS at all events will be positioned under the bar of the 200 euros.
Nintendo repositioned GameCube in October 2003. How the sales did react this year to the falls of price of the concurrent machines?
We did not suffer from the repositionings of the concurrent consoles: the dynamics of success known into 2003 was perennialized and the shares of market of GameCube remained stable over 2004, established on average to 23%. It is a dynamic format which ran out with approximately 332 000 specimens over 2004, for its third year of presence on the French market. I point out that if GameCube had indeed passed to 99 euros in October 2003, we also proceeded to a repositioning this year via the pack proposed with 99 euros gathering the console plus Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, one of greatest successes of the run out support with 450 000 specimens in France. A bundle at aggressive price which enabled us to preserve our shares of market in the competing ultra context of end of the year. To date, the French park of 1,07 million GameCube has just exceeded in two years and half only that of his/her older sister Nintendo 64 which had been established to 1,01 million over five years.
Which is today the heart of target of GameCube?
It is rather broad. We touch all the players, whatever their age. The standard deviation of the ages of the owners is thus broad, but the average age of the players was first approximately the 21 years year, it had aged with nearly 23 years last year. It should slightly renovate at the end of 2004. We estimate today that more than 94% of the park of GameCube is still active, which is very high compared to the standard. Among the users, we know that the "gamers" always traditionally played on GameCube and that a heart of 300 000 users in France can be described as " Nintendo loyal supporters" since they remain faithful to the consoles and plays of the mark. But as a pure video game console, GameCube allured not only the hardware-core gamers multi-equipped, but also succeeded with convinced of many occasional players.
How behaved the sales of GameCube plays over 2004?
It was sold approximately 2,3 million GameCube plays in France over 2004. A very satisfactory figure, in particular in the direction where we observe that the GameCube versions of the plays multiplateformes in the third editors position systematically in second position after the format PlayStation 2. One observed it in particular in this end of the year with titles like Need for Speed Underground 2 or Prince of Persia 2. With regard to the Nintendo software, 2004 were for us one year of positioning of new marks with titles like Donkey Konga, ran out in 50 000 specimens, or Animal Crossing, which will have been sold with approximately 33 000 parts. One of the common points between these new franknesses, it is the innovation via new concepts of play which make it possible so much to support the interest of impassioned to conquer new sections of users. Compared to the last year where we laid out of a title "killer app" like Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, we published over 2004 more titles for GameCube, but with for each reasonable objective. Our shares of markets on the software remain stable to approximately 36% on the GameCube format. In France, a dozen titles exceeded the 100 000 sold specimens, among which four titles were sold with more than 250 000 specimens: Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (470 000 ex), Super Mario Sunshine (290 000 ex), The Legend Of Zelda: The Wind Waker (255 000 ex) and Super Bros Smash. Melee (250 000 ex). At the end of 2004, the bottom of catalogue was particularly dynamic via in particular the Choix range of the Players.
Which are your prospects for the GameCube format over 2005?
In 2005, us should exceed the current standards of sales software on of course GameCube thanks to the park always installed in progression and a catalogue of titles with very strong potentials. Several blockbusters is indeed registered with planning 2005 of Nintendo like The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords for which we have an objective of more than 70 000 sales, Mario Power Tennis who benefits from a potential of more than 100 000 specimens just like Mario Party 6. Two other titles right now are very awaited by the players: Resident Evil 4 of Capcom that we will publish in Europe and which will mark a true rupture in the series thanks to a gameplay very directed towards the action. It will be of exclusiveness on GameCube for nine months and we project to run out 150 000 specimens of them. 2005 will be also the year of the launching of the next play of adventure of the series Legend of Zelda. Waited for the end of the year, this play which has created sensation at the time of its presentation to the E3 last will be one of the major assets of GameCube for the next year: we estimate the potential of the title at 400 000 parts in France. Year 2005 is thus announced very good for the software on GameCube: the ratio plays by console is currently of 7,2 titles on average per console but should reach 9,8 during the year 2005 to us.
Which assessment do you draw up sales of the range Game Boy Advance over 2004?
Let us recall that the consoles Game Boy Advance represent today the most widespread format in the world with more than 75 million sold machines. The GBA accounts for today 99% of shares of market on the segment of the portable console in France. 730 000 consoles GBA were sold in France during the year 2004, knowing that model GBA SP posted a progression of +14% this year and that we ceased delivering the first model of GBA during 2004. In France, the park installed is currently assembled to more than 2,6 million specimens without forgetting the 6,5 million the preceding models of Game Boy whose plays remain compatible. From now on positioned with 99 euros, GBA SP addresses an audience increasingly larger, with a heart of target identified in the players between six and 12 years. We will maintain this dynamics over 2005 with the objective to position GBA SP like an essential console for young people. The number of plays bought by console was on average 3,84 for the year 2004; it should go up to 5,64 over the current year. Sign continuous passion for the support, the consoles in edition limited like GBA SP pink performent very well: the 60 000 specimens set up of this particular model were sold three weeks before Christmas. By cumulating the sales of consoles GBA and Gamecube, Nintendo was the first salesman of game consoles in France over 2004. A console on two sold to Christmas is a Nintendo console.
Which is the share of the Nintendo plays on GBA?
As on GameCube, we represent a good third of shares of market for software GBA. Our best sales 2004 are currently Pokémon Vert Breaks into leaf and Pokémon Rouge Fire , which to date ran out each one with 280 000 specimens in France. The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cape performe also very well: us should reach the 90 000 sales for the play alone and the pack gathering a GBA SP more limited edition the play is with 50 000 sold specimens.
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