Slashdot Mirror

I'm just wondering since your opinion seems to be somewhat askew from everyone else's.

I'm just wondering since your opinion seems to be somewhat askew from everyone else's.

Yes; the point appears to be to load Linux/other OS over the network. There is some discussion on Planet Gamecube about Linux on Gamecube.

You don't need a full CD's worth anyway, nor could you do much with it anyway, except run it straight off the CD, or buy a really big SD card (they use SD cards? I really didn't double check this), which would make the point of doing it at all rather obscure.

Oh wait this is Linux. I want Linux in my ceiling fan and vaccum cleaner...because!!! Gentoo, while you're at it.

Nintendo just dropped the price of the GC. Now sales have gone up significantly. And with the sales of the consoles are sales of games. I'll bet that Nintendo will be back in the black real soon.

If you'd read the story I'd linked above you'd see that actually the GC is outselling the X-box slightly. So I don't see how that would make them be losing miserably to Microsoft. Nice try.

Struggling games company? Yes the GameCube isn't selling well but that does not mean that Nintendo is struggling. Far from it. In fact just the other day at PlanetGameCube they posted a story about Nintendo posting a profit. Doesn't sound like struggling to me.

I would say Yes. There were systems built into cartridges on the N64 at least that would stop you playing import games( on the N64 you had to have a joining cart, which you plugged the import and a home cart into) As the import devices started appearing, I believe later carts blocked them forcing you to either buy games when they were released in your home country or buy a new import converter cart that got around the new measures, so in other words if it is intentional, expect freeloader v2 in a month

Anyway, had my Japanese GC since launch day and had it modded a couple of days after the mod was discovered so I'll be enjoying F-Zero in a couple of days!

Another article on it here

I finally found an article detailing the multiplayer details of the GB Player.

Just pulling back, not stopping all together. Sometimes it helps to gather all the facts than to take a single quote out of context.

http://www.planetgamecube.com/news.cfm?action=item &id=4469

I had a chance to play this at E3. You can see my impression here. It's a really cool game. It felt a bit early, but it should be awesome by the time it's out.

You mean that giant blob of hyper links and advertisements that's impossible to use, compared to something that's elegant like PlanetGameCube?

Granted, Gamespot covers more (I think), I just don't have time to decipher the alien interface.

"The Matrix game was pre-ordered 4 million times, as far as I know"

No, that's way off. The most pre-ordered game is still Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker at 650,000 preorders. There were a lot of Matrix preorders, but the real number is probably around 300,000 -- nowhere near 4 million.

Considering the game itself just broke 1 million units, this only adds further doubt to your inflated numbers.

The Game Boy Player is the piece of hardware that is going to be bundled with GameCubes, and it supports Game Boy Advance, Game Boy Color, and original Game Boy software.

No hacky GB-bridge type thing required.

Nintendo is making money on the GameCube, unlike Microsoft with the Xbox. Plus they have 5 billion dollars in the bank at last check, so they're set to go under, it won't be for a very long time.

There's a really good breakdown of the presentation over at PGC

Nintendo is making money on the GameCube, unlike Microsoft with the Xbox. Plus they have 5 billion dollars in the bank at last check, so they're set to go under, it won't be for a very long time.

There's a really good breakdown of the presentation over at PGC

I dunno. I'm still more excited about SSX 3 for the GC.

it would be cool to see what could be done with this genre using today's technology and wizardry

Actually, since you asked.. have you heard of Ikaruga? It's supposed to be one of the greatest shooter games of all time, as well as one of the most challenging, and it's just been retooled graphically and otherwise for the Gamecube and rereleased (It was originally a dreamcast game).

Also, despite being a 2d topdown shooter, it supposedly has an absolutely fantastic storyline and pushes the gamecube to somewhere near its technical limit. I haven't played it or seen screenshots, and i don't really plan on playing it, as i wasn't a huge shooter fan, but i've heard nothing but nonstop spooging about it for the last month. Apparently this game is just targed specifically at everyone who misses fun little space shooter games, and manages to hit some kind of pinnacle for the genre.

(I like my gamecube. It's nice to have a machine that seems to be specifically designed to target "everyone who thought video games were better before the invention of the CD-ROM". ^_^)

All the major retail chains jumped the street date. Gamestop, EB, etc.

I'm perhaps not so surpised that /. gets a PR from the Gamespy people about it, when places like PlanetGamecube had a story about it being out early as of Wednesday.

Here (PGC)
and some nice pics Here. Boy, this is late!

The GBA is being updated, with the GameBoy Advance SP: which will feature a LiIon battery and self-lit screen, in a more compact form factor. And the GBA is getting MP3 and other features soon, and I see no reason why a cellphone via headset or wireless gaming should be any problem should the market demand them. And the gameboys have had FM radio options for years (I have one for my GB, GBC, and GBA)... And on top of that, not only does Nintendo make the best games (period...) but justabout every developer that exists makes games for GB. There are open source GB games and GBA plays all GB and GBC and GBA games. There are literally thousands of GameBoy games that the GBA will play. More than any other system ever made. In my not-so-humble opinion, I would rather have a GBA with GREAT games (like Metroid and Zelda) than a cell phone with "Snake extreme 3D". Besides, with all the GB games - you can probably get a version of just about any game for your gameboy... And one of the problems I can see with an "all-in-one" unit is that you can't do too many things at once. As it is I can play games on my GBA, listen to my iPod, and recieve a call on my cell phone... I would like to see something like PalmOS on GameBoy though. That would be nice...

Then I guess this and this must be a figment of my imagination then?

Then I guess this and this must be a figment of my imagination then?

Check out Game Rankings for some overviews of scores only. This can help weed out the trash on each system, and highlight some great buys.

I'm a Nintendo fan myself so here are some resoucres I have found helpful:

Planet Gamecube - Great news, reviews, and info
IGN Cube - lots of Insider-only material, but decent reviews.
N-Sider - They update very infrequently, but their reviews and editorials are insightful and some of the best I have seen.

My own GC picks (in no order):

Metroid Prime
Timesplitters 2
Super Mario Sunshine (you should have this already!)
Super Smash Brothers: Melee (same here)
Super Monkey Ball 2
Eternal Darkness (although it was released a while ago)
Pikmin (this one as well)
Animal Crossing
Sonic Mega Collection

But if you don't have one yet, buy a Gamboy Advance! It has many, many excellent titles, and is portable!

Here, I'll take the opportunity to shill for a website my buddy's an editor for, and see if /. can bring the hosting company to it's knees.

Planet GameCube news

Planet Gamecube's coverage of the story

Check out their forums for some intelligent discussion. I saw the news there around 11PM Central. Bloomberg's Coverage

Sony's share has been diluted to 10%, so this looks like a win for Nintendo. Remember, Yamauchi's Fund Q let Square develop for Gamecube and GBA when Sony owned a fifth of the company. I couldn't care less, though. DQ might be good, but all Final Fantasy games after FF3 (6 in Japan) sucked. Note to Square: focus more on gameplay, like Miyamoto (IMO, the Mozart of videogames).

Since Square and Enix are merging. I still see the friendlyness of Square and Nintendo to be more money-motivated than anything else.

Mech Assault is ok. It's fun. But I haven't really had the chance to play past the first 5 or so levels. RE0, Metroid Prime, and Metroid Fusion are much more addicting. And everyone has to see Steel Battalion in action when they visit :)

Consoles tend to have a large variety of controllers available as well, including a keyboard/controller combo and wireless controllers. The only type of controller that I've never seen for a console is a mouse.

my guess is that to significantly take online gaming out of the hands of the PC, consoles will have to absorb some of the PC attributes. They've already started with the network adapter and the HD but eventually they'll have to go all the way to the keyboard.

Eventually??

"Also, in the console market the big players (Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft) are less willing to endorse innovative risky games and game ideas."

You're right. There was nothing at all risky about games like Pikmin or Animal Crossing, was there? They're both just your typical gaming fare, aren't they?

Insult Microsoft and Sony all you like for taking no risks. Like them or not, like the games or not, but Nintendo put out a lot more "risky" games then most companies.

Accusing Nintendo of not trying new things is ludicrous.

"Also, in the console market the big players (Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft) are less willing to endorse innovative risky games and game ideas."

You're right. There was nothing at all risky about games like Pikmin or Animal Crossing, was there? They're both just your typical gaming fare, aren't they?

Insult Microsoft and Sony all you like for taking no risks. Like them or not, like the games or not, but Nintendo put out a lot more "risky" games then most companies.

Accusing Nintendo of not trying new things is ludicrous.

The games are downloadable to the GBA, yes. But that's only after you unlock them playing another game, Animal Crossing (known as Animal Forest + in Japan) for the Gamecube. Now, there's something you have to understand about Animal Crossing: 95% of people will not like this game. Imagine The Sims crossing with the talking animals found in Disney movies. That's a hint of what Animal Crossing is all about. You play the game for literally months before you can save up enough money to buy yourself a decent house, and winning NES games is purely luck-of-the-draw.

I've talked to people in Japan who have been playing the game literally for months, and they just won their first Famicom (Japan's version of the NES) game. And it's not like they play it for a day, then pick it up next week. No, no, the game continues even when you're not playing it, using the Gamecube's internal clock. The game knows when certain things happen (raffles, sales, etc) and will not let you jump in to play them later.

Also, the NES games are stored in local RAM on the GBA. Once you power it down, you're done. You gotta reload the game from your Gamecube.

Here is the GameCube keyboard.
http://cubemedia.ign.com/media/news/tgs2001/contro ller.jpg
http://www.planetgamecube.com/media/thhw009203971. jpg
http://www.planetgamecube.com/media/hw009203951.jp g

Here is the GameCube keyboard.
http://cubemedia.ign.com/media/news/tgs2001/contro ller.jpg
http://www.planetgamecube.com/media/thhw009203971. jpg
http://www.planetgamecube.com/media/hw009203951.jp g

If you bought it at Toys 'R Us, you can get back $100 if you kept your receipt and bought it within 30 days.

I think it's a great move by Toys 'R Us to keep people happy.

As for Nintendo, they're going to drop their prices at E3, I guarantee it. They stated back in April that if Sony dropped their price, Nintendo would follow suit and drop their price as well. I'm predicting a price drop down to $150 or $125. But, if they really wanted to make a splash, Nintendo would release a combo package of the Gameboy Advance, Gamecube, and the link cable that goes between them for $200 (a feasable price).

It won't matter, though. Nintendo is going to 0wn this E3, and this whole year. With new games coming out for all these franchises...

• Super Mario Sunshine
• Legend of Zelda
• Metroid Prime
• Star Fox Adventures

Wasn't it Yamauchi himself who said not so long ago, that essentially, after Square left Nintendo for Sony, that Square would be allowed to develop for Nintendo platforms again, over his dead body?

I'm assuming that since Yamauchi is retiring in a few months, that perhaps this is his way of making peace (and leaving a legacy) before his departure.

I'm happy with my gamecube purchase (I own seven games) and I suspect that the best is yet to come.

You are trying to say that GCN is the fastest selling of _just_ the next gen systems and trying to bash the poster. Well, your wrong on both counts. Quoting the article you read:

"To have outpaced any other videogame console launch ever would be notable in its own right, but to accomplish this under the current economic conditions is truly remarkable."

I would take that to mean that it _is_ the fastest selling console in history. You could also have read the post where a link was given to the actual press release where they also confirm the same thing. No media source is rearranging things as you say. Really.

The press release is available at Planet GameCube.

Spoken like someone who has never HELD the GameCube controller for themselves. It's not a Playstation rip-off. The controller is outstanding, much easier to hold than the Dual Shock, and incredibly comfortable.

The only downside is the ill-conceived "Z-Button" that really needs a counter part of the opposite side, or should just be eliminated. However, they did make it easier to find, adding a little nub so you know when your finger is on the button.

The best part is the shoulder buttons. They move very smoothly, with great response ... and the digital click when fully depressed opens a whole new world of gameplay possibilities.

As for the rest of your comments about the GCN ... remember, the box isn't being aimed at YOU. If the box looks out of place with all your home entertainment equipment, then you aren't Nintendo's market.

By the way, there's a Black one as well. And will look just fine sitting next to my PS2, on top of my receiver.

There's more great information at Planet GameCube as well, including information on one of thier die-hard staff in Japan as we speak for the launch.

Actually, Nintendo was going to change the name, but the public (myself included) PREFERRED the name "Advance". So it stuck.

PlanetGamecube covers all things Nintendo, including Gameboy Advance. Check 'em out.

... specially MS, is more fun than doing their marketing work for them.

Also, many gaming sites found this newsworthy, so I don't know why you're complaining :

planetgamecube.com
computerandvideogames.com
fgnonline.com
gamers.com
xbox.ign.com

MS did this with another game too. have they no shame?