IGNcube: So tell us, why is everyone at Nintendo so happy?
Perrin Kaplan: Well, number-one we did incredibly well in 2003 on both of our hardware systems. In fact, we basically won 2003 and moved ourselves to the number two spot and Microsoft's Xbox to number three.
IGNcube: And this is in the US or is this worldwide?
Perrin: In the US.
IGNcube: That's excellent news. Congratulations. So let's go over this from the beginning. How were December GameCube sales?
Perrin: Year-on-year we were up 68.5% [in December] based on units sold. We sold about 1.1 million GameCubes in December. We did a little under half a million in December of last year by comparison. For the whole year we were up 35%. Our competitors were both in the negative.
IGNcube: Wow, that's fantastic news.
Perrin: It's really good.
IGNcube: How about GameCube life-to-date sales in the US?
Perrin: We're at 6.8 million GameCubes sold in the US life-to-date and we sold about 3.17 million of those this year.
IGNcube: Excellent. That's in the US though. What about global sales?
Perrin: On global sales, I don't know if you saw but Iwata made a comment to Reuters that our global holiday sales were up 70% year-on-year.
IGNcube: What does that equate to exactly, do you have a figure?
Perrin: I don't have specific global sales but I do know that during the holiday all markets were up, which I have to say has not always been the case.
IGNcube: How many units of Mario Kart: Double Dash!! have you sold in the US so far?
Perrin: Mario Kart is a little over a million units sold in seven weeks, which makes it the fastest-selling GameCube game.
IGNcube: So it's going to finally dethrone Super Smash Bros. Melee, huh?
Perrin: Yep. Yep.
IGNcube: What about GameCube software sales for the year in the US?
Perrin: GameCube software sales for the year were up 53% over 2002 and for the December period in particular they were up 41%.
IGNcube: Microsoft reps said that sales of Xbox beat out GameCube during the last two weeks of December. What is your response?
Perrin: Probably two things. First, I'm not sure if that period is relevant when we have already won the year. And second, because we were selling so much so fast we have seen some retail outlets start to have dry shelves and that's probably why that happened.
IGNcube: Do you have any indication that GameCube sales have been sustained in January?
Perrin: You know, I would say not as heavily because we don't have as much product in the pipeline so we're trying to move it. We just plain started having some retailers run out of stuff.
IGNcube: All right. So you're saying that GameCube is now definitely number-two sales-wise here in the US, beating Xbox.
Perrin: Right.
IGNcube: What about globally?
Perrin: I'm not entirely sure yet globally. We're not going to know until our financials come out in the first week of February. The last number I have is from September, which is about 10.5 million units. So if you were even add the numbers we did over the holiday, our numbers would be quite a bit larger.
IGNcube: Have you noticed any change in third-party relations in regard to developing for GameCube since the console's considerable sales spike?
Perrin: I think it's probably too early to tell.
IGNcube: How did Game Boy Advance do in the US in 2003?
Perrin: We had an 18% increase in sales over the year before. We pushed about 8.2 million GBA systems for the year. We did about 2.5 million units in December alone. Meanwhile, software sales for Game Boy are up 34% for the year.
IGNcube: What is Nintendo's stance on Sony's PSP handheld?
Perrin: You know, it's really hard to comment on something we haven't seen and don't know anything about.
IGNcube: Do you think it'll come out this year?
Perrin: I don't know. You'll have to ask Sony. I'm sure it'll make every effort to get it out. Corporately, it needs to. It's on the downside of its lifecycle, for PS2 anyway.
We're ready for the competition.
IGNcube: Okay. Now GameCube is selling for $99 and it's doing great. But is Nintendo losing money on each unit sold?
Perrin: I would say that our losses are really negligible. It's such a small amount. Plus with the amount of software that's being sold we're still definitely in a solid profit situation. We're not in the position that I know that Microsoft has been in with the loss Xbox hardware.
IGNcube: Great. Let's talk a bit about 2004. Iwata's been making the rounds, no?
Perrin: Yeah, he does what is traditionally done by presidents of Japanese companies over there. Which is great, but it keeps everybody flying [laughs].
IGNcube: Save Iwata some time and tell us what this mystery machine is, will you?
Perrin: It's a mystery! I really can't tell you much other than what he's already said.
IGNcube: Is Nintendo working on the successor to GameCube?
Perrin: Well, you know, we're always working on our next system. The minute something launches we always begin [on the next], which is pretty much what we always have done.
IGNcube: Is Nintendo working on games for the system already?
Perrin: Yes. Yes.
IGNcube: Will we hear any more about it at E3 2004?
Perrin: Hard to say.
IGNcube: If we were to flip a coin -- one side mystery machine and the other the next-generation console -- which side would it land on at E3 2004?
Perrin: It might land on its side.
IGNcube: A little of each then?
Perrin: Hard to say. Right now we're looking at what we're going to do at E3 and those things all kind of just come together and the decisions get made in a matter of months -- we don't generally head into the year knowing exactly what we're going to show.
IGNcube: Understood. You're not going to tell us anything, are you? Without giving anything away, why should GameCube owners be excited about E3 2004?
Perrin: Great games. And some good peeks into the future. (And the future doesn't mean far future or near future, it's just future.)
IGNcube: Do you think you'll have a wealth of games?
Perrin: I think 2004 is a pretty good year for software.
IGNcube Can we expect surprises?
Perrin: I think Nintendo always has surprises, don't you? I think Nintendo will continue to be a very healthy, profitable company and we're going to continue to spend a lot of time to make sure that we have a very wide, diverse library. But as far as the rest of the year goes, we're really still formulating what our plans are going to be.
IGNcube: What's going on with Zoonami?
Perrin: I don't know, why don't you tell me?
IGNcube: We don't know -- that's the problem. Its website opens and then closes down once or twice per week. We've heard it's working a couple of projects for you guys. And that's about it.
Perrin: Things have actually been pretty quiet on them since I left [on maternity leave].
IGNcube: How's Metroid Prime 2 coming along?
Perrin: Metroid's coming along well.
IGNcube: Have you seen it?
Perrin: If I told you, you'd probably have to shoot me. Things are coming along very well. They're progressing nicely.
IGNcube: Playable at E3?
Perrin: I can't tell you. It's a mystery.
IGNcube: How about Too Human?
Perrin: You know, I have not checked on that one since I got back to work.
IGNcube: Okay. Let's rewind slightly. What do you have planned in the immediate future to sustain sales of GameCube?
Perrin: We are in the next week or so going to come out with what our software lineup is.