Slashdot Mirror

The creator of Mario and Zelda created a real-time strategy game where you are a spaceman who crash landed on a planet, and with the help of hundreds of little native creatures (Pikmin) you have to gather your spacecraft parts. Preview

Looks quite impressive. A creative approach to the RTS genre that I'm sure will attact a large range of players. Will be released tomorrow here in the US. I know it's on my Christmas list! ;)

Xbox is pretty great. I picked one up a few days ago and have gotten four games. I did a lot of research before buying. Here's what I've found.

-Halo - Wow. This is seriously one of the best games I've ever played. For a FPS, the play and control is actually pretty good for a console. The graphics are good, and I find myself really getting into it. It's a great game, and anyone that enjoys immersive action games would appreciate it. You can check out an IGN review at http://xbox.ign.com/reviews/15922.html.

-Dead or Alive 3 - WOW! I find it exceptionally hard to stop playing this game. The graphics are *stunning* and the fighting is great. This is really a game you get to play with someone else. It's fun the first 20 or so times by yourself, but after that, there's not much to go for. It also did very well with an IGN review, which you can get at http://xbox.ign.com/reviews/16249.html.

-Project Gotham Racing - This is a very cool game indeed. Great for those that like racing and want something new. The tracks are pretty good and the cars are awesome. I personally don't have the racing wheel yet, but I find controls with the standard Xbox pad to be pretty good. Definitely enjoyable. IGN review at http://xbox.ign.com/reviews/16195.html.

-Amped - This is probably my favorite of the bunch. I cannot take this game out of the console. Besides looking absolutely stunning, it's really addictive to play. There are tons of ways to go down the mountains, and I find myself making 15 or 20 runs in a row just trying to get the trick off just right. Very satisfying game experience. Highly recommended. IGN review at http://xbox.ign.com/reviews/16174.html.

I'd strongly recommend buying a second controller. They're $40 each but you really wanna play this thing with someone else. Especially Dead or Alive 3 - it's great fun having the guys over and playing DOA3 for a few hours. If you're only going to be playing Halo or Amped and you'll be by yourself, don't bother with the extra controller. Also, if you're getting it for someone that's likely to just play games by themself. But personally, I need the second controller - I'm all about gaming with friends.

Anyway. That's what I'd want for Christmas if I didn't already have it. The games that I listed above are great and they'll undoubtedly be appreciated by any gamer.

Xbox is pretty great. I picked one up a few days ago and have gotten four games. I did a lot of research before buying. Here's what I've found.

-Halo - Wow. This is seriously one of the best games I've ever played. For a FPS, the play and control is actually pretty good for a console. The graphics are good, and I find myself really getting into it. It's a great game, and anyone that enjoys immersive action games would appreciate it. You can check out an IGN review at http://xbox.ign.com/reviews/15922.html.

-Dead or Alive 3 - WOW! I find it exceptionally hard to stop playing this game. The graphics are *stunning* and the fighting is great. This is really a game you get to play with someone else. It's fun the first 20 or so times by yourself, but after that, there's not much to go for. It also did very well with an IGN review, which you can get at http://xbox.ign.com/reviews/16249.html.

-Project Gotham Racing - This is a very cool game indeed. Great for those that like racing and want something new. The tracks are pretty good and the cars are awesome. I personally don't have the racing wheel yet, but I find controls with the standard Xbox pad to be pretty good. Definitely enjoyable. IGN review at http://xbox.ign.com/reviews/16195.html.

-Amped - This is probably my favorite of the bunch. I cannot take this game out of the console. Besides looking absolutely stunning, it's really addictive to play. There are tons of ways to go down the mountains, and I find myself making 15 or 20 runs in a row just trying to get the trick off just right. Very satisfying game experience. Highly recommended. IGN review at http://xbox.ign.com/reviews/16174.html.

I'd strongly recommend buying a second controller. They're $40 each but you really wanna play this thing with someone else. Especially Dead or Alive 3 - it's great fun having the guys over and playing DOA3 for a few hours. If you're only going to be playing Halo or Amped and you'll be by yourself, don't bother with the extra controller. Also, if you're getting it for someone that's likely to just play games by themself. But personally, I need the second controller - I'm all about gaming with friends.

Anyway. That's what I'd want for Christmas if I didn't already have it. The games that I listed above are great and they'll undoubtedly be appreciated by any gamer.

Xbox is pretty great. I picked one up a few days ago and have gotten four games. I did a lot of research before buying. Here's what I've found.

-Halo - Wow. This is seriously one of the best games I've ever played. For a FPS, the play and control is actually pretty good for a console. The graphics are good, and I find myself really getting into it. It's a great game, and anyone that enjoys immersive action games would appreciate it. You can check out an IGN review at http://xbox.ign.com/reviews/15922.html.

-Dead or Alive 3 - WOW! I find it exceptionally hard to stop playing this game. The graphics are *stunning* and the fighting is great. This is really a game you get to play with someone else. It's fun the first 20 or so times by yourself, but after that, there's not much to go for. It also did very well with an IGN review, which you can get at http://xbox.ign.com/reviews/16249.html.

-Project Gotham Racing - This is a very cool game indeed. Great for those that like racing and want something new. The tracks are pretty good and the cars are awesome. I personally don't have the racing wheel yet, but I find controls with the standard Xbox pad to be pretty good. Definitely enjoyable. IGN review at http://xbox.ign.com/reviews/16195.html.

-Amped - This is probably my favorite of the bunch. I cannot take this game out of the console. Besides looking absolutely stunning, it's really addictive to play. There are tons of ways to go down the mountains, and I find myself making 15 or 20 runs in a row just trying to get the trick off just right. Very satisfying game experience. Highly recommended. IGN review at http://xbox.ign.com/reviews/16174.html.

I'd strongly recommend buying a second controller. They're $40 each but you really wanna play this thing with someone else. Especially Dead or Alive 3 - it's great fun having the guys over and playing DOA3 for a few hours. If you're only going to be playing Halo or Amped and you'll be by yourself, don't bother with the extra controller. Also, if you're getting it for someone that's likely to just play games by themself. But personally, I need the second controller - I'm all about gaming with friends.

Anyway. That's what I'd want for Christmas if I didn't already have it. The games that I listed above are great and they'll undoubtedly be appreciated by any gamer.

Xbox is pretty great. I picked one up a few days ago and have gotten four games. I did a lot of research before buying. Here's what I've found.

-Halo - Wow. This is seriously one of the best games I've ever played. For a FPS, the play and control is actually pretty good for a console. The graphics are good, and I find myself really getting into it. It's a great game, and anyone that enjoys immersive action games would appreciate it. You can check out an IGN review at http://xbox.ign.com/reviews/15922.html.

-Dead or Alive 3 - WOW! I find it exceptionally hard to stop playing this game. The graphics are *stunning* and the fighting is great. This is really a game you get to play with someone else. It's fun the first 20 or so times by yourself, but after that, there's not much to go for. It also did very well with an IGN review, which you can get at http://xbox.ign.com/reviews/16249.html.

-Project Gotham Racing - This is a very cool game indeed. Great for those that like racing and want something new. The tracks are pretty good and the cars are awesome. I personally don't have the racing wheel yet, but I find controls with the standard Xbox pad to be pretty good. Definitely enjoyable. IGN review at http://xbox.ign.com/reviews/16195.html.

-Amped - This is probably my favorite of the bunch. I cannot take this game out of the console. Besides looking absolutely stunning, it's really addictive to play. There are tons of ways to go down the mountains, and I find myself making 15 or 20 runs in a row just trying to get the trick off just right. Very satisfying game experience. Highly recommended. IGN review at http://xbox.ign.com/reviews/16174.html.

I'd strongly recommend buying a second controller. They're $40 each but you really wanna play this thing with someone else. Especially Dead or Alive 3 - it's great fun having the guys over and playing DOA3 for a few hours. If you're only going to be playing Halo or Amped and you'll be by yourself, don't bother with the extra controller. Also, if you're getting it for someone that's likely to just play games by themself. But personally, I need the second controller - I'm all about gaming with friends.

Anyway. That's what I'd want for Christmas if I didn't already have it. The games that I listed above are great and they'll undoubtedly be appreciated by any gamer.

Aw, man - that's a pretty shitty state of affairs. But I suppose it does graphically illustrate why developing products based on licenced properties is generally a Bad Thing (or at least something to be done with extreme care) for any game developer. (Being someone who has been bitten by having a licence holder suddenly refuse to let us release our finished game because of Sony's attitude to all things not Playstation 2).

Remember when a certain console that cost $199 at launch sold 410,000 units in the first week?

Look where it is now.

Not to knock it -- I love my Dreamcast, and especially now it is an incredible value.

Ian

Remember when a certain console that cost $199 at launch sold 410,000 units in the first week?

Look where it is now.

Not to knock it -- I love my Dreamcast, and especially now it is an incredible value.

Ian

The reason it's easier to get a Gamecube than an Xbox is because there are a whole lot more Gamecubes to be had. Nintendo has shipped hundreds of thousands more Gamecubes than XBoxes, and so there are just plain more to sell. IGN also has an interview with a Nintendo spokeswoman about the whole thing, clarifing it a bit.

super monkey ball is quite simply one of the most fun and addicting games i have ever played.

you have the main game, where you move your monkey (in a ball.. super.. monkey ball) around the screen to the end. you basically tilt the board and make the monkey move around.

more than this, you've got monkey fight, which is incredibly simple and incredibly fun, bomberman-level fun, monkey target, where you launch your monkey and attempt to land on some targets in the ocean, monkey race, where you race other monkeys around a track, and then three unlockable games, monkey billiards, monkey bowling, and monkey golf, which is 18 holes of miniature golf.. this game has seven games built into it, and i can not stop playing it.

i bought tony hawk 3 and rogue squadron 2 at launch, along with super monkey ball, and i have played them a combined total of an hour and a half. super monkey ball? probably 20 times that.

i realize this comes off as rambling.. but dammit, this game rocks. ign review aqui.

the most addicting, and best (imo) game for the gamecube yet.. made by sega. no surprise.

hmm. i bet this is offtopic..

I dont think Nintendo is targeting kids with these ads.

Let Slashdot be the judge.

Zelda ad 1

Zelda ad 2

Zelda ad 3

Luigis Mansion

GameCube



Xbox commercial
Xbox2
Xbox1

Xbox site Has the rest

I dont think Nintendo is targeting kids with these ads.

Let Slashdot be the judge.

Zelda ad 1

Zelda ad 2

Zelda ad 3

Luigis Mansion

GameCube



Xbox commercial
Xbox2
Xbox1

Xbox site Has the rest

I dont think Nintendo is targeting kids with these ads.

Let Slashdot be the judge.

Zelda ad 1

Zelda ad 2

Zelda ad 3

Luigis Mansion

GameCube



Xbox commercial
Xbox2
Xbox1

Xbox site Has the rest

read about it here , has great info about the hardware design, the slick memory architecture and the support form IBM.
GameCube is a really slick box, very efficient and astounding considering that Nintendo just about breaks even with it considering the $200 price tag (and considering that at $100 more, MS is supposedly losing about $150 per xbox). Overall very impressive. By the way, Rogue Leader is a great game, but one that requires a little work to get into. Quite frankly, flying something at high speeds in a real 3d environment is a little more involved than running around and shooting. I don't think Taco really gave this game a chance, then again he seems to be somewhat of an xbox cheerleader these days.

Check out this article over at ign.com. Nintendo is claiming 2:1 sales over the xbox and 25% more units sold than the PS2 in it's first week.

I have a relative who works for Best Buy corporate and she says the Gamecube is outselling the Xbox across the US in their stores by a substantial margin as well.

Xbox will be dead in a year. The game industry doesn't give a shit about third place (ask Sega).

Race with the Crash Bandicoot characters

You forgot:

Race with the Crash Bandicoot characters

Race with the Super Mario characters.
Race with the Disney characters.
Race with the Looney Tunes characters.
Race with the Hanna Barbera characters.
Race with the Donkey Kong characters.
Race with the Star Wars characters.
Race with the Austin Powers characters.
Race with the South Park characters.
Race with the Muppet Show characters.
Race with the Disney characters again, except something went wrong and only three disney characters are there.

You know where were heading, don't you? Mary-Kate and Ashley mall racing, that's where.

God help us. God help us all.

Race with the Super Mario characters.
Race with the Disney characters.
Race with the Looney Tunes characters.
Race with the Hanna Barbera characters.
Race with the Donkey Kong characters.
Race with the Star Wars characters.
Race with the Austin Powers characters.
Race with the South Park characters.
Race with the Muppet Show characters.
Race with the Disney characters again, except something went wrong and only three disney characters are there.

You know where were heading, don't you? Mary-Kate and Ashley mall racing, that's where.

God help us. God help us all.

Race with the Super Mario characters.
Race with the Disney characters.
Race with the Looney Tunes characters.
Race with the Hanna Barbera characters.
Race with the Donkey Kong characters.
Race with the Star Wars characters.
Race with the Austin Powers characters.
Race with the South Park characters.
Race with the Muppet Show characters.
Race with the Disney characters again, except something went wrong and only three disney characters are there.

You know where were heading, don't you? Mary-Kate and Ashley mall racing, that's where.

God help us. God help us all.

Race with the Super Mario characters.
Race with the Disney characters.
Race with the Looney Tunes characters.
Race with the Hanna Barbera characters.
Race with the Donkey Kong characters.
Race with the Star Wars characters.
Race with the Austin Powers characters.
Race with the South Park characters.
Race with the Muppet Show characters.
Race with the Disney characters again, except something went wrong and only three disney characters are there.

You know where were heading, don't you? Mary-Kate and Ashley mall racing, that's where.

God help us. God help us all.

Race with the Super Mario characters.
Race with the Disney characters.
Race with the Looney Tunes characters.
Race with the Hanna Barbera characters.
Race with the Donkey Kong characters.
Race with the Star Wars characters.
Race with the Austin Powers characters.
Race with the South Park characters.
Race with the Muppet Show characters.
Race with the Disney characters again, except something went wrong and only three disney characters are there.

You know where were heading, don't you? Mary-Kate and Ashley mall racing, that's where.

God help us. God help us all.

Race with the Super Mario characters.
Race with the Disney characters.
Race with the Looney Tunes characters.
Race with the Hanna Barbera characters.
Race with the Donkey Kong characters.
Race with the Star Wars characters.
Race with the Austin Powers characters.
Race with the South Park characters.
Race with the Muppet Show characters.
Race with the Disney characters again, except something went wrong and only three disney characters are there.

You know where were heading, don't you? Mary-Kate and Ashley mall racing, that's where.

God help us. God help us all.

Race with the Super Mario characters.
Race with the Disney characters.
Race with the Looney Tunes characters.
Race with the Hanna Barbera characters.
Race with the Donkey Kong characters.
Race with the Star Wars characters.
Race with the Austin Powers characters.
Race with the South Park characters.
Race with the Muppet Show characters.
Race with the Disney characters again, except something went wrong and only three disney characters are there.

You know where were heading, don't you? Mary-Kate and Ashley mall racing, that's where.

God help us. God help us all.

Race with the Super Mario characters.
Race with the Disney characters.
Race with the Looney Tunes characters.
Race with the Hanna Barbera characters.
Race with the Donkey Kong characters.
Race with the Star Wars characters.
Race with the Austin Powers characters.
Race with the South Park characters.
Race with the Muppet Show characters.
Race with the Disney characters again, except something went wrong and only three disney characters are there.

You know where were heading, don't you? Mary-Kate and Ashley mall racing, that's where.

God help us. God help us all.

Race with the Super Mario characters.
Race with the Disney characters.
Race with the Looney Tunes characters.
Race with the Hanna Barbera characters.
Race with the Donkey Kong characters.
Race with the Star Wars characters.
Race with the Austin Powers characters.
Race with the South Park characters.
Race with the Muppet Show characters.
Race with the Disney characters again, except something went wrong and only three disney characters are there.

You know where were heading, don't you? Mary-Kate and Ashley mall racing, that's where.

God help us. God help us all.

Race with the Super Mario characters.
Race with the Disney characters.
Race with the Looney Tunes characters.
Race with the Hanna Barbera characters.
Race with the Donkey Kong characters.
Race with the Star Wars characters.
Race with the Austin Powers characters.
Race with the South Park characters.
Race with the Muppet Show characters.
Race with the Disney characters again, except something went wrong and only three disney characters are there.

You know where were heading, don't you? Mary-Kate and Ashley mall racing, that's where.

God help us. God help us all.

Sega people have said Shenmue 2 will be an Xbox title. I'm not sure about the rest of the series (since before Shenmue 1 they've said it will be like a five game or more series) though. An interview about it can be found at http://dreamcast.ign.com/news/39017.html.

Read the review at IGN.com. While some of the features are better (zoom from 1x to 10x!), one thing it lacks is - DVD progressive scan output!! That's right, while the games will output in progressive scan movies will not.

Also, they do not seem to have more than 2x FF. When will these idiot console makers wake up and give me a 2x - 100x FF?

I bet he spends a lot of time cleaning his monitor too!

Not as much as the guys responsible for this work.

There is always Planetside . It's going to be what HALO was supposed to, or at least that's what I keep telling myself.

uhhh... there's this crossplatform online FPS already, it's called Quake 3 Arena, maybe you've heard of it?

not mmofps, but there's Planetside for that.

and playing an FPS with a thumb stick, ick. micros~1 probably isn't going to release a keyboard/mouse for the X-box anytime soon, in a vain attempt to debunk the "X-box is just a PC" thing. I can hear the kiddies whining already, how they can't compete with PC/Mac HALO players, because their thumbstick is useless for aiming compared to a mouse.

Sorry to reply to myself, but I found an earlier, but much more in-depth interview on the same website. Mandatory reading for the fans.

You guys may have seen this before, but I'll link to an old interview with head MGS2 weenie himself, Koji-boy. His comments are fun to read after immersing myself in the game for the past week.

And as long as we're tossing out links, here are a few relevant Penny Arcades. :-)

And All Through The Hizouse
Again, For The First Time

Everyone here is all upset because the X-Box runs Windows. Well, guess what. So did the much-beloved Dreamcast. When the Dreamcast came out, I didn't hear anyone moaning and groaning about Microsoft trying to take over the gaming world. What's different this time? So Microsoft is "making" the X-box: so what. That's just outsourced hardware. The Dreamcast ran WinCE and it eventually ran Linux, we can expect the same from the X-box, as well as the upcoming NetBSD port.

Operating system is hardly the most important consideration with regard to the X-Box. All consoles are sold at a loss, so if Microsoft decides to start selling outsourced hardware at a loss that runs Linux, that's pretty much a victory for us right there.

That said I think it's obvious to everyone in the industry that the X-Box is by far and away the most technically advanced console ever built. With nearly five times the polygon fill rate of a PS2 and 5 times the MHz of comparable Sega systems, this thing puts the wimpy PowerMac-wannabe "GameCube" to shame.

Don't let your prejudices blind you. The X-Box is an impressive piece of hardware - once everyone starts using them as Linux web servers you'll stop bitching.

You should check this out.

Record of Lodoss War was released for Dreamcast in the USA.

from IGN

First of course, you have to have broadband at home (dsl, cable, ethernet connect). Then you get a HUB. anyway, connect your xbox to the Hub, along with your computer, basically your computer and Xbox will be sharing your broadband connect now.

Now the xbox can play against any other xbox that it detects on the same subnet, i.e. I can play against anyone whose connected their xbox to my university ethernet connect.

Now, using a program that makes a VPN (virtual private network) like this one

and you use your computer to make a LAN with someone you know (you have to know their ip) and BAM! You have a what looks like a LAN to anything connected to your HUB, with anyone over the net.

Since there are tons of boards and irc channels devoted to Xbox, it shouldn't be hard to find ip addresses to make VPNs over the net.

Supposedly xbox developers have been doing this for a while to play with eachother over the net, and when you think about it there's not reason it shouldn't work, the Virtual network is indistinguishible from a real LAN, your computer can't tell the difference, and neither should the xbox.

http://cube.ign.com/news/37782.html

- Benad

Actually, this is happening with the GameCube. Panasonic is making a hybrid GameCube system that also functions as a DVD player. I'm sure more will follow, although whether these make it to the US or not, I don't know. But this is evidence that Nintendo is open to the idea you mention.

but I haven't heard of anyone sleeping over at a store to be the first to have one!!!

Consider yourself informed; about 30 people (including me) were camped out last night.

Let's not forget that Nintendo has been doing this a while. They're not going to roll over and die, they're going to roll their sleeves up and show the industry a thing or two.

Rumor places the HD/BBA releases in the first quarter 2002, in time for Final Fantasy X, which will require the Hard Drive. ps2.ign.com pegs FFX's release as January 2002. We'll see.

You can buy a USB e-net adaptor right now; unfortunately, the only game that can take advantage of it yet is Tony Hawk 3. Supposedly FFXI will be utilizing the BBA, as well as an upcoming game called SOCOM, with a release date of February 14th, 2002.

So I'd peg the BBA release as early next year.

Rumor places the HD/BBA releases in the first quarter 2002, in time for Final Fantasy X, which will require the Hard Drive. ps2.ign.com pegs FFX's release as January 2002. We'll see.

You can buy a USB e-net adaptor right now; unfortunately, the only game that can take advantage of it yet is Tony Hawk 3. Supposedly FFXI will be utilizing the BBA, as well as an upcoming game called SOCOM, with a release date of February 14th, 2002.

So I'd peg the BBA release as early next year.

Do not expect the first XBOX games to really push the system. I've played both HALO and Munch's Odyssey on the XBOX and I agree that the graphics fall short of breathtaking. The first PS2 games were pretty pathetic, too - wait, most PS2 games are STILL pathetic. Check back in a few months when Sega starts releasing some of vast collection of excellent titles. Of course, Sega also has Shenmue 1/2, Crazy Taxi 2, Sonic 2, Ferrari F351, not to mention their sports games like NFL2K2 which beat the crap out of EA's PS2 counterparts.

If you do want to see breathtaking, take a look at screenshots for Double Steal here or here.

If the XBOX needs a "killer app" to survive, I have my money on Jet Set Future (video preview and official page). Jet Grind Radio on the Dreamcast is considered to be a masterpiece among console games (in graphics _and_ gameplay). Even if were a mirror copy of the DC version, it would be a huge hit, but Smilebit is adding multiplayer and much larger worlds to move around in.

STratoHAK

As a gamer that hearkens from the 2600 days, I am far more excited about the Gamecube than the X-Box. I can't wait to experience Miyamoto's Pikmin, SW:Rogue Squadron II, Perfect Dark, and the next Zelda (I like the 'toon look).

The problem is that the X-Box stole Halo away from the PC and, more importantly, will have Shenmue II next fall, according to IGN.
*Sigh* It might warrant making a friend who owns an X-Box.

Ah, well. Here's hoping my Cube preorder gets shipped early.

this [nonsense] is supposed to stop things like this happening.

Um, I just wanted to point out that the Resident Evil series is now a Nintendo EXCLUSIVE series! Only coming out on the GameCube from now on. See this link at ign. And, by all accounts, Star Wars Rogue Squadron: Rogue Leader is likely to be one of the best selling games this Xmas, and it's not exactly a kids game. I also don't think it would be fair to call Wave Race: Blue Storm, Tony Hawk 3, Crazy Taxi, or Madden NFL 2002 kids games. All of these are massively popular franchises. All of these are coming out at the GC LANUCH. In fact, of the roughly 15 or so launch games, only 1 of them is really a kids game. So I politely request that you do a little research before deciding what consoles you do or do not have any interest in.

why Nintendo elected to go with the 3 inch disc instead.

Nintendo isen't in the video game business for popularity, they are in it to make money. The 3 inch disks help with copy protection, and Nintendo wants you to use their system to by $50 Nintendo games, and not buy $12 DVD's from Sony/Universal/MGM etc.

Take a look at Nintendo's dicision to use a cartridge format for the N64: A lot of people don't realise, that although the N64 lost the popularity race to the PS1, they made vast quantities of money due to the relative lack of piracy, and the fact that the N64 sold a lot of 1st party Nintendo-produced games.

Nintendo doesen't view Microsoft and Sony as their real competition - their competition is Disney.

So yes, the 3" disk is bad from a consumer standpoint, but it makes all the sense in the world for Nintendo. If you reall want a GameCube/DVD player check out the Panasonic version: http://gear.ign.com/articles/306678p1.html

Being that Resident Evil is now a Gamecube exclusive [cube.ign.com] , that part of your argument doesnt hold.

Also, the new bond game from EA, and Perfect Dark (very not for kids) and Conker's Other Bad Day (very very not for kids).

Mario may look like a kiddie game, but there has not been many platform games which I would consider better than Mario 64, so yes I do enjoy playing them (at 21 years old). I do not enjoy Pokemon one bit though. Zelda is a great game, Im not sure I like the look of the new one, but its probably going to be a great game anyhow.

Dont forget Rougue Leader.

So while Nintendo has a 'kiddie' image left over from n64, it is clear that they are trying to target a much more broad audience this time around.

Besides, if you wait a bit, there are generic GameCube's comming out that will be full DVD players, as well.