Gamecube Hits US Early

semaj writes "It looks like retailers are being told they can sell them as they come in instead of waiting for the November 18 offical release date. PlanetGameCube has the story. Go!" So, anyone want to get us a review unit or two?

Comments

Get the XBOX !

[NTSwerver]

It has much better features

Request.

[RyanFenton]

Please people - remember be kind to your local software/electronics store employees. This is likely to be a long week for quite a few of them with unaware management.

:^)

Ryan Fenton

not around here

[egomaniac]

I called all around, and not a single retailer had any idea what I was talking about. They all planned to stick to the 18th, and found it amusing that I was even asking if they would be selling early.

This seems to be the case pretty much everywhere, as I've been surfing Usenet and various message boards trying to find out where these alleged stores are. As far as I can tell, they don't exist -- not one person has posted credible information about a store selling GameCubes *anywhere*. Not one.

I have a feeling the date will get broken, but it hasn't been so far. I would love to be proven wrong -- if anybody knows of a store in the SF Bay Area which is selling GameCubes, speak up!

Re:Another overpriced system with overpriced games

[A Commentor]

You can also get a N64, Nintendo SNES, Sega Saturn, or Sega Genesis really cheap...

;-)

Re:Very clever...

[Cutriss]

...of Nintendo, in the attempt to get a jump on the xbox. Of course, they might have been planning this all along. I wonder what other interesting marketing tricks msft and nintendo have in store for each other.

Well, while it doesn't explain why Xbox games are already on the shelf, it does explain why GameCube games were shipping rather early. My local MallWart has Super Monkey Ball, Wave Race, Luigi's Mansion, and Rogue Leader in stock right now, and has had them for a week already.

It seems like a really good way to counter all the Xbox hype - Xbox launches with what seems to be half of its original units (~350K), and the GameCube strikes by launching four days early and with DOUBLE the number of units. Too bad it couldn't launch with double the number of games, but as far as that goes, it can work both ways.

If your console launches by itself with 20 games, then the perception is that you're launching with that many games because ten or fifteen suck titles will make the other five or ten look REALLY good. Launching against a competitor, however...Launching with more games seems to display market confidence.

I'm worried. I'm no fanboy, but I want Nintendo to win here because I think Microsoft has tainted enough marketspace as it is...

Re:Why Not a PC?

[NineNine]

PC's are still too complicated for games. To run most games on PC's, you still have to use a DOS-based OS, (Win 95/98/ME) and deal with all of the headaches that that brings. If I want to play a game, I want to have FUN. Configuring memory access or video drivers, etc. i snot my idea of fun. I like the idea of putting a CD/DVD in the game box, and pressing one buttton. It works first time, every time.

Also, game boxes are MUCH cheaper. I paid $300 for a PS/2. To get the same quality games on a PC, I'd have to buy a P3 something, an expensive video card, a large monitor, a joystick, etc.

And, even better, the new consoles are also DVD players, so with one box in your living room, you can play games, watch movies, and listen to music, and none of the boxes are more complicated than having a "power" and a "reset" button.

Exactly...

[Da VinMan]

I wish I could mod you up instead.

This is exactly the path we'll be adopting. We bought a Nintendo 64 which my wife is perfectly happy with (when she gets the time to play it anyway). I would have to talk her into buying a new console. But, why the hell would I buy one? The PC *is* a better gaming platform (expecially with my Athlon 1.2Ghz + GeForce 2 GTS rig + CABLE connection + ad nauseum). So that means I don't want a new console, my wife isn't ready for one, and our children are too young still to even care (if they ever do).

I love the look of Halo and other games coming out, but they're just not worth the $$$ of new hardware. Also, it seems wasteful to buy yet another console while we've still got a perfectly good and under-utilized one already. Combine that with a decent PC and no console for us.

Also - Is is just me, or are there just too many damn games coming out (PC and otherwise)???!!! I mean, I barely have time to finish the games I already have. I can ill afford the time spent on new ones. Maybe I should just crawl under a rock until I finish the ones I have. When I come out again, there should be a whole new lineup about 2 generations in quality further along.

Now, if Halo comes out in regular PC format, I may just jump at that. But that's the last one. Really..

I'm serious.

Really.

Re:Why dedicated games machines?

[egomaniac]

Great for the non-technically inclined who doesn't understand how all the components in a computer work.

That's not how I look at it at all. I program computers for a living, and I still prefer console games to PC games.

Reason #1: Controls

The main issue is the controller. PC gamepads are inferior to console controllers and very few people have them in the first place. So, PC games can all be played with the keyboard/mouse. A game like Mario 64 simply doesn't translate to the keyboard, so game manufacturers just don't make games like that for the PC -- most people wouldn't have a suitable controller.

Reason #2: Gameplay

This is a correllary to Reason #1. Console games have controllers more suited to action gaming, and therefore end up with more action games. If you like action games (as opposed to FPS games or RTS games, which are easier to control on the PC), you'll do better on a console. If you like FPSs or strategy games, stick to the PC.

Reason #3: Audience

Consoles are cheap and easy to use. PCs aren't. Because of that, there are at least ten times as many console gamers as PC gamers, and therefore console games tend to be higher budget and have higher production values. Only a few PC game companies, like Blizzard, have a large enough audience to justify multi-million-dollar budgets. Tons of console games have budgets that big.

Reason #4: Graphics

Console games look better, despite the fact that PCs are more powerful. This is due to the fact that developers know the exact capabilities of the console, and can tweak and optimize to their heart's content, while in PC gaming they have to run on everything from a PII-400 to a P4-2000, with every video card you can think of as well. You usually end up with better-looking console games as a result. Console games also tend to be smoother -- even high-end PCs stutter now and then, and anything running Windows is more infinitely more likely to crash than a console.

Reason #5: Experience

My PC is up in my office. My consoles are down in my living room, hooked up to my entertainment center. This is the case for everybody else I know, as well. Given the choice, I'd rather kick back on my couch and let the surround sound wash over me while watching the action on my TV than sit at my keyboard.

Reason #6: Party Gaming

The PC rules the online world, no question. However, many of us find multiplayer gaming a lot more fun when your friends are in the same room, because trash talking and beer passing are a lot easier. Having four people hooked up to a GameCube, all playing the same game, doesn't sound at all weird. The only PC equivalent is a LAN party, but those are a very niche gathering.

It's not just about tech savvyness, folks -- consoles have a lot of advantages over PCs.

Re:Why Not a PC?

[squaretorus]

Its all about the games. The GameCube is a TV Game - it says so on the box. Its built to enable Nintendo style games to be written easily. This - to me - makes it a thousand times more attractive than the PS2 or Xbox, both of which are pretty much PCs with bits missing. CPU speed etc doesn't come into it - give it 6 months and the PS2 / Xbox 'numbers' will be laughable compared to a £800 PC from PC World - the GameCube will still rock! Why?

Ah - the warm feeling looking forward to Mario Kart Cubed! Show me a PC game that comes CLOSE to the purity of Mario Kart and I'll sell my Nintendo shares - until that far distant day there'll be a nintendo cluttering up my living room floor!

Wrong on some points...

[Amon CMB]

- You can now hook up a USB ethernet/modem device to a PS2 and play Tony Hawk 3 online.

- Sony's official modem/ethernet accessory and 40 GB hard drive are both out in Japan.

- You can get a Zip Drive for PS2

http://www.ebgames.com/ebx/categories/products/pro duct.asp?pf_id=210436

I think you answered your own question....

[kaisyain]

Try playing PowerStone 2 on your PC. You can't because:

1. The game will never be available for the PC.
2. Virtually no PC game allows head-to-head play without everyone owning their own PC and then networking them together.
3. Even if all of the above were satisfied you can't crowd 6 people around a 17" monitor.
4. Even if you could, most people don't have couches and tables around their computer for spectators to watch them game.

The PC may have more titles but consoles have different titles. When are you going to see Gran Turismo 3 on a PC? How about Shen Mue? Crazy Taxi? Dead or Alive 3? Devil May Cry? Metal Gear Solid 2? Mario Party 3?

Most of those games don't have any comparable counterpart on the PC platform.

You buy a console because you want to play the kinds of games that come out for consoles. Just like I don't buy a console because I want to play a good RPG...those are usually only available on a PC.

PS2, X-Box, and Gamecube (oh my).

[smack_attack]

First off, let me tell you that I am biased, I have a PS2 and about 15 games (and about 30 or so PS1 games). That said, I am not looking to buy either a X-Box or Gamecube.

Ok, now that I have that off my chest, I would like to declare the current state of affairs in the gaming world:

The lineup.
- PS2 has already won among those 16+ (adult gamers).

- Nintendo will always win with kids under 16 because it's their parents who buy it for them. Nintendo is going to trounce X-Box in X-mas sales.

- MS has a place, but it's a shame that for now it's going to be last. X-box reminds me of Nader, because you know he's not going to win, but he's going to take votes away from someone else. in this case, taking sales away from PS2. X-Box is the other console geared at 16+ crowds.

For the sake of brevity, I'm going to leave Gamecube out of the rest of this discussion, Nintendo knows their target audience and how to market to them, bravo for them, they aren't going out of business anytime soon. X-Box however has a LONG road to travel, uphill, in snow. The PS2 is already beginning to release 2nd generation titles and is slated to release additional hardware/mods to their console soon (I believe it was Q1 2002, if anyone knows the exact timing, let me know). X-Box has still yet to prove itself as a worthy contendor to any console.

Christmas shoppers and Terrorists.
Another blow to the X-Box is also their strong selling point, games geared towards adults. Well, a year ago, many parents might have turned a blind eye to video game violence that their kids ingested, but now we have evil terrorists and we have to protect the children. Chalk that round up to Gamecube and their family oriented games.

The conclusion.
Gamecube will take the sales lead this season, with *gasp* X-Box right behind them. Sales of games for PS2 will be astronomical though as many buyers are now asking for titles instead of units.

Re:Street Dating Explained From the Inside

[Fjord]

From the article:

Nintendo has started shipping GameCubes. (YES!) This is a week earlier than was anticipated. While some stores claim to have been told by their corporate liasons to Nintendo that they will be fined if they sell early, this appears to not be the case.
Nintendo has told us that stores are free to sell the GameCube as soon as it arrives, in order to get a jump on the X-Box launching on Thursday. They also said that no store would be fined for breaking the release date.

There's actually a lot of really good information in the article.

Re:Very clever...

[SethJohnson]

I think what Cutriss was saying is that he prefers competition to exist in the console market as opposed to microsoft exploiting its monopoly to take over the market.

I'll probably get an XBox because MS seems willing to put their weight (and $$) behind it.

I think this is what Cutriss and I are afraid of. History has demonstrated that microsoft putting its 'weight (and $$) behind' something doesn't necessarily mean a benefit for consumers. In the console arena, this is going to mean more titles exclusively released for the xBOx, plain and simple. Would console gaming have been a better place if Tony Hawk Pro Skater had ONLY been released on the PlayStation? Is microsoft going to work with developers to help them make more games better, or will they work with developers to stifle releases on other platforms?

Here's a probable tactic that is a page right out of Bill Gates' playbook.

1. Offer to waive development fees and licensing for any titles released exclusively for the xBOx.
2. Over time, it will become 'more expensive' for developers to release a title on other systems because those console manufacturers' business model is based on licensing revenue for each title sold on their platform.
3. microsoft can afford to not make money from licensing for many years and can hold out while the other console manufacturers have their 'air supply cut off.'
4. After other console makers pull out of the market, microsoft raises their licensing rates for developers and owns the marketplace.
5. Bling-Bling.

The thing that has most bothered me recently with microsoft is that this is a company that doesn't have to partner with shit. They don't have to build alliances. If any other company wants to build a standard for their product to work, they've got to go out and convince a bunch of other companies to sign on with them. You'll usually see Adobe, Sun, Oracle listed in announcements for whatever XYZ web publishing standard a company is promoting. Since when did microsoft ever go out and say, "Here's this new thing, and all these other companies are really excited about it, and they've already committed to support it."? Take the .NET offensive. They just announce this thing and say, "Well, this is the way we've decided things are going to be. Get used to it."

2

Re:Win2k

[Mondrames]

For Windows 2000, you can try the following:

10. COMPATIBILITY MODE: Service Pack 2 (SP2) includeS a compatibility mode that lets programs run as if they were on a Windows NT 4.0 SP5 or Windows 95 machine. To enable this interface, perform the following steps:
Start a Run box (Start, Run).
Enter the following command: "regsvr32 %systemroot%\apppatch\slayerui.dll"
Click OK.
Click OK to the confirmation.
Now if you right-click a shortcut and select Properties, you'll see a Compatibility tab that lets you select whether the program target should run under an NT 4.0 SP5 or Win95 compatibility layer.

I'm assuming it is similar to XP's emulation

Re:Nintendo's games are horrible

[jacobito]

Yes. Grown adults do enjoy playing Mario, Zelda, and other "kids" games because they're fun, challenging, brilliantly designed, and imaginative. Grown adults also enjoy playing Monopoly, chess, cards, RPGs, soccer/football, and basketball, despite the fact that these games are equally enjoyable for kids.

Please explain to us how violence makes a game "adult" or mature. Seriously, I truly want to know. I suppose that if you're with the MPAA or ESRB, then violence makes a work of entertainment mature, but otherwise I don't get it. To me, the "adult gamer" brand of bloodthirstiness is a mark of the kind of "maturity" that begins and ends at age 14.

-jacob

Nintendo nervous about XBox?

[phillymjs]

IIRC, Sega began selling its ill-fated Saturn in a surprise, early release before the PlayStation debuted in the U.S. They did this at least in selected markets, because I bought one in Philadelphia the day they went on sale (I really liked Virtua Fighter). It could be argued that Sega, then a reigning home-system champ with the Genesis, was nervous about a newcomer and wanted to grab a market foothold.

Seems like Nintendo is now the nervous incumbent, trying to grab the bucks of people dying for a next-gen system and willing to buy the first one that comes out, and who will be unable to afford to buy a competitor's subsequently-released system.

~Philly