Nintendo Allows 'Open Price' For GameCube; Promotes Touch! Generations

According to an official Nintendo of Japan report translated by import game website Game Science, Nintendo is allowing retailers in Japan to set its own price for the GameCube console from October 27th. The ailing console’s price is currently fixed at ¥14,000 ($122), but the loosening of restrictions from Nintendo will allow shops to drop the price by whatever amount they deem suitable. The move is not as desperate as it may sound to Western observers, however, as Sony instigated a similar policy with the PlayStation 2 in May 2005, which has kept the console’s sales buoyant throughout the rest of the year. In other similarly translated news from Nintendo, the company is adding information to Satoru Iwata's claims at his Tokyo Game Show keynote, noting that 82 percent of purchasers of what it refers to as its 'Touch! Generations' software line for the DS (including the two Brain Training games and Nintendogs) have subsequently bought a second DS title. Of these apparently satisfied customers, 45 percent bought a traditional video game, with the remaining 55 percent bought an additional Touch! Generations title. According to data from Famitsu, 1.85 million units of Touch! Generations software have so far been sold in Japan, including 697,940 units of Nintendogs, 615,074 units of DS Training For Adults and 531,750 units of Gentle Brain Exercises. Following this success, Nintendo is planning a Japanese conference in November to show case a new wave of Touch! Generation titles including a DS Training For Adults sequel, and the Eigo Zuke English language training software. It's believed, though officially unconfirmed, that the initial DS Brain Training titles are due for release in the West in 2006.