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Nintendo Game Cube On (Limited) Preview In 12 Cities

Posted by timothy on from the fanning-flames dept.

psxndc writes: "Nintendo has set up "Cube Clubs" at various US cities that allow you to go in and play (mainly first party) Game Cube games. Cube Clubs exist in Boston, San Francisco and Minneapolis, with plans to run in a total of 12 cities. I went to the Boston one today. Most games were disappointing, but Rogue Leader and suprisingly Luigi's Mansion were a lot of fun. More info on Cube.ign.com. A recap of the SF one is also there." Anyone else with first-hand reactions from this?

4 of 268 comments (clear)

  1. Played it in Minneapolis by Murdock037 · · Score: 5, Informative

    I played a few of the games at the Mall of America on Friday night, and on the whole, it was impressive, if not mind-blowing.

    Luigi's Mansion, the new Smash Bros. game, and Pikmin looked pretty decent, but far and away the most impressive game showing was Rogue Squadron. (There were a few games missing-- Zelda and Metroid aren't due out for awhile, so don't expect them in any of the other cities if you go.)

    Unfortunately, even the ones there weren't marvelous. There's nothing on deck that I saw that would make me want to buy a GameCube come November 18th, even though it's a hundred bucks cheaper than Xbox or PS2. There's no flagship title yet-- it's missing a Metal Gear Solid 2 or a Halo.

    Of course, Nintendo had everything running under the best possible conditions-- you have to wonder what the games will look like on regular televisions, instead of the HDTV screen they had up. The remarkable detail crammed into Rogue Squadron could easily get lost.

    The controller was a bit less awkward than that of the N64, but it's not the kind of thing you'll get used to right away.

    My affection for Nintendo left over from the original NES will probably lead me to pick up a Cube after the holidays. But even after an hour's worth of hands-on I'm not exactly dying to do so.

    1. Re:Played it in Minneapolis by melatonin · · Score: 5, Insightful
      probably lead me to pick up a Cube after the holidays. But even after an hour's worth of hands-on I'm not exactly dying to do so.

      I don't think Nintendo's going for a strong launch. They don't really need to come running out the door screaming HEY LOOKIE AT WHAT WE GOT!

      They've got the same stuff that they've had all along; their franchises. And that value is stronger than ever now that Pokemon is so strongly established (they haven't even announced a pokemon game yet!). They already know how well their franchises are going to work (Zelda '2' for the N64 sold like hell, even though the game was a piece of ass). Now's a good time to show off some new stuff, like Luigi's Mansion and Pikmin (which looks amazing).

      The N64 had a lot of flaws. It was notoriously difficult to develop for (although it sounds like the PS2 is worse), and the cartridges where incredibly expensive for developers. It was just much more cost effective(and in many ways, more rewarding) for developers to develop for the PSX. So Nintendo was quiet at the time and worked on the Gamecube in the background. The N64 was a flop in Japan and enjoyed moderate success in the states. The best thing they could do for it was to replace it :P

      No more cartridges, no more pain-in-the-ass programming. They built it as a platform from the ground up to play games. The PS/2 and the X-Box aren't for that- they're made to take over your living room (pah, AOL vs MSN). The Gamecube ends up being a lot cheaper than the others too.

      I expect that they intend to sell quite a few right now without trying too hard- they've got the kids cornered (who can expect Pokemon), and it's much cheaper. The launch titles at least prove that the system is capable; I don't expect most people to say 'it sucks' and dismiss it entirely (of course, some people will anyway. PIII RULEZ d00d!).

      Next year, we can probably expect Zelda, Mario, and Metroid. Wow. And I can't begin to imagine what form F-Zero would be like on this thing. And then there's whatever Rare will make for the system. And then you have some very strong third party support.

      Nintendo's drawing power is their franchises. There's no point in putting them all out at launch. Let Microsoft use up Halo, let Sony use up MGS2 to fight Nintendo. Nintendo already sounds like it has the next couple of years down solid. What are Sony and Microsoft going to deliver that's bigger than what they're doing this year? (I suspect that's there's an answer to this- I'll admit that I'm a bit ignorant here).

      So why buy one now? Because duh, you like playing games! (and you don't think consoles suck because they're consoles). There's not much point in buying a PSX or N64 right now. The DC's a great choice (now that it's soooo cheap), but it doesn't have any long term potential. The 'cube is going to be fun now, and it won't be letting up any time soon. And the price is good.

      --
      Moderators should have to take a reading comprehension test.
  2. Gamecube is Spectacular by uwmurray · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I haven't been to one of the 'cube clubs' but I've had my cube (import) for over a month now, and I can assure everyone that it is a great (little) system. The visuals in all three of the japanese launch games (Luigi's Mansion, Waverace - bluestorm and Super Monkey Ball) are fantastic, Luigi's and Waverace are particularily impressive. From a hardware standpoint I'm pretty impressed, Nintendo, ATI and IBM have done a great job designing this system, the footprint is small, the graphics look sharp, from what I hear it is a dream to write for and the controllers are out of this world.

    As far as the funfactor of the Games:

    Luigi's:
    Great fun, great visuals but kinda short, I beat it (without knowing any japanese) in a bit over 7 hours.

    Waverace:
    Really intense. Spectacular graphics, awesome wave physics and good difficulty. Split screened with friends on a bigscreen is really wild.

    Monkey Ball:
    This game alone justifies the purchase of the system. I don't think I've ever had as much fun playing a game (on a console) with friends as I have with this one. The premise is wierd, (you manuver a monkey trapped inside a plastic ball through courses) but insanely addicive. Buy the system and buy this game.

    Anyway, just my two cents.

    Andrew Murray

  3. What is 60 fps... Interlaced? by alexhmit01 · · Score: 5, Informative

    Okay, a standard television can do 640x480 interlaced (called 480i if you follow DTV specs). This is 60 fps interlaced, which is really 30 fps. Alternatively, you can do a 240p signal in the 480i system, which is what the original Nintendo system did. (IIRC)

    With a HDTV-ready system and a Gamecube, you can do 480p, which is 640x480 progressive, which can provide a true 60 fps signal.

    Because of the size and shape of my living room, I have a standard size television, which is a 4:3 ratio. Some of the HDTVs are full-screen (4:3) and some are wide-screen (16:9). You can send a 16:9 signal to a 4:3 television and it letterboxes (or you swap the aspect ratio and get tall, thin people). You can send a 4:3 signal to a widescreen and reverse letterbox (on the sides) or stretch it and get short, fat people. :)

    In supporting 480p, the Gamecube offers a true 60 fps, as the entire screen updates every frame. With a standard television, running at 480i, you will really only effectively get 30fps, as it takes 2 frames to draw a full image.

    Interesting, the 1080i ration for HDTV (which can also carry a 540p signal) is interlaced. Interlaced is fine for things without that much movement, games and heavy movement systems benefit from progressive images. Computers have all but abandonned interlaced signals, and with HDTV, you'll have to find a TV/STB combo that does what you want. The 720p resolution will be amazing for HDTV and the "next" generation consoles after this crop.

    Alex