Slashdot Mirror
Inside The Nintendo GameCube
Mortin writes "Icrontic.com has ripped apart a Nintendo GameCube. They document the entire procedure with a myriad of pictures. It's neat to see how clearly the Xbox and GameCube differ in respect to physical hardware." Luigi's mansion looks cool. The Star Wars game wasn't very fun. But the cube is so tiny, it's cute!
Rogue Leader is a great game. It's fun, the graphics are stunning, and the difficulty matches the levels well, without being too easy or two difficult. Luigi's Mansion is fun, but requires little or no skill and is far less satisfying in the end. Thank you for your OPINION, of course.
well i was gonna try but i couldnt think of anything to write either
I sig, therefore I was.
Dunno what game you were playing, Taco, but Rogue Leader is a damn cool game IMHO. Looks great and is lots of fun. It gets pretty hard, but fortunately this is one of the few games where I don't mind replaying the levels until I get it right.
... can the gamecube be overclocked?
... can the gamecube boot linux?
... can the gamecube design nuclear weaponry?
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).
--
Don't sweat the petty things, and don't pet the sweaty things.
After viewing these "myriad" of pictures, I am left asking myself only one question... why are we taking apart a GameCube again?
you would think they'd allow for a slashdot?
Taco, do you frequently rip open things that you find cute? Remind me never to let you near my dog.
-Chris
All GameCube units across the country should be ripped apart. Keep it up, guys! If you are thinking of "dissecting" your GameCube, remember to smash the hell out of it with a hammer first, and smash your games to bits. Whee! ~another crazed Xbox & PS2 fan
Oops!
The link is already slashdotted. I couldn't find a cache on Google. Here is an alternative link to another gutting of the Gamecube. All this Gamecube gutting reminds me of Ben Heckendorn's next project at VCSp to make the Gamecube into a portable... watch for it.
To go off on a tangent for a paragraph or so... I would pick the GameCube over the Xbox any day. Personally, I believe the Xbox is simply Microsoft's way of trying to monopolize yet another market with their inferior stuff. With the Sony PS2 and GameCube on the market, I believe there is no room for the Xbox. If you want a computer to run Linux or one of the BSDs on, get a real computer and don't support Microsoft. And if you don't want a whole computer, pick up a Circuit Cellar or some other magazine and get one of those 4x4 inch boards that contains a complete Pentium computer with everything, sometimes including even the sound hardware. Seriously, I really honestly believe that Microsoft is leveraging their monopoly in the area of operating systems and office productivity software to obtain monopolies in other areas as well. They've been talking about getting into the games market for about 5 or 6 years that I remember. (There were articles in the gaming magazines about 5 or 6 years ago with Bill Gates' pictures all over them.) I think Microsoft has done quite enough to put perfectly good companies out of business and take over markets with their inferior products (only because of the strength and vigor of their marketing).
Now back on subject:Both the GameCube and Sony's PS2 are very nice machines. I like how, over the years, these things have slowly transformed from machines designed only for video games into machines that serve as a nice component in a home theater (or, as they were called in the 80's, home entertainment systems--this makes more sense to me than home theater, as a theater is a place where you watch plays, a cinema is a place where you watch movies (so it should be called a home cinema rather than a home theater) and an entertainment center can contain any kind of component that serves to entertain). Nice article, and pictures.
Oh well.
slashdotted, time to fire up my little prog that will request the page as many times as possible (given my limited bandwidth) till I get the page. If more people do this, then slashdot will be a true DDOS tool.
Since most of you who're slashdotting it right now might have seen this part, you'll know why I'm asking this question.
Why do console manufacturers use proprietary screws?
Now, in recent years, console manufacturers have let off a bit, but after the NES, Nintendo has gone crazy with the security screws. My SNK NeoGeo Pocket Color has one triangular screw that has prevented me from taking it apart. The GameCube has those weird things. I think the GBA has a full set of those wacky triangular screws.
Why do they not want me to see inside of it without marring the case? Is it warranty related? One of the first things I do with my things (after I've enjoyed it in its virginal form) is to take it apart. But I also hate ruining cases/screws, and I don't feel like investing the $35 it takes to get the proper bits for certain equipment.
Is there any good reason? I cannot imagine anything mechanical that makes a phillips head any worse. Has Nintendo or anyone ever commented on this issue?
Too bad IGN, Nintendo, and your "relative" have no facts to back that up. In our area, the XBOXES are outselling the GCN at LEAST 3:1, with EB going through entire shipments of 10+ in a day, while GCN shipments of the same size take about two days, if not a little more.
Everywhere I go, I see XBOX stuff on the web. XBOX over the internet, xbox info on the same site listed above on how to change parts, etc.
Regardless, both will sell, and both will sell well. But don't act like a Nintendo fanboy and start bashing CONSOLES. If you want to bash something, bash the GAMES.
I'm happy to say that upon reassemble of the unit, it still works.
he spelled it wrong but at least he did it.
BOSTON SUCKS!
Nintendos done everything right.
As far as hardware goes, PS2 went for all polygons and no textures and is barely better than Dreamcast.
Dreamcast went with good textures, low polygons, and PS2 was able to hype up 60 million polygons per second and make Dreamcast sound cheap.
What Nintendo did, was alittle of both, Polygon power thats 12 million polygons per second, which is twice the power of the Dreamcast.
And 64 megs of ram, This is more ram than any other system and not just any ram but FAST ram.
Nintendo realized the quality of rendering, and the special effects are more important than the pure polygon power.
PS2 has better special effects and you see it in certain games, Theres a new water racing game for the PS2 which has the most realistic water i've ever seen, photorealistic and definately better than wave race. Problem is, while PS2 games have better physics, the color quality is horrible. Metal Gear Solid 2 the best game PS2 has to offer right now, clearly lacks color and textures, and this is why a game like Shenmue on the dreamcast actually looks more realistic. Color and Textures are very important, not just physics.
Xbox has the most potential hardware wise, A pentium 3 which can be used for Physics and a high quality graphics chip, However Gamecube is easier to program for, so while Xbox has the potential to destroy the game cube, right now Gamecube games look better simply because its easier to right them, so with Xbox you have an almost Sega Saturn style system which gives programmers too much power
and while Microsoft makes good development tools, we have yet to see what Xbox can do and most likely wont see what it can do for a couple of years.
So why do i believe Gamecube did everything right?
Cheap, Its cheaper than all the competition.
Marketing, It has some of the best commercials I've ever seen.
Power, while Xbox may be more powerful, Gamecube has better looking games.
I expect Gamecube to outsell all systems this year and Next year and perhaps be the console to Dominate. If the Marketing remains at this level, and Xbox doesnt get some good games fast, I dont think Gamecube will have any serious competition. PS2 is still in the picture, but they better have an ace up their sleeve or they will go the way of the Dreamcast.
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/. effect again. Oh well, I guess I can wait two days for the hits to slow to a reasonable amount again.
Anyone have a mirror up?
Once again, this article looks like an old rerun
Too bad the link is slashdotted already.
Though the inside of the gamecube can be found here (from the other slashdot article)
lots of interesting stuff they had in the x-box breakdown. The 2 blank slots for ram for instance and wondering if u could solder some in, the possibilites for replacin the HDD...it was a pretty neat look at a new type of console game.
This on the other hand was just basically a take out all the screws we can and see how many pieces we end up with type thing. Nothin wrong with that, heck who doesnt enjoy rippin perfectly good electronics apart and seein if it will still work when you throw it back together....but the x-box one seemed a heck of a lot more interesting
Here's my whole deal on the GameCube. It's long. Sorry about that. But I wouldn't feel fair if I said all that stuff on the Xbox in a previous post, then left the GameCube swaying in the wind. So this whole thing is my honest opinion. Take it as it is.
The size of the past
About a month ago, I bought my first Nintendo Entertainment System.
Growing up as a child, I never had a Nintendo of my own. My parents waited until I had left home to stop being poor, so I didn't know the joys of the little sister. That means no Kid Icarus, no Castlevania, and especially no Final Fantasy.
Until a month ago, when a chance run into a Software Etc made me notice the Final Fantasy (not II, III, or otherwise) - an original Final Fantasy game. 20 minutes later I bought it, and went out to find myself a Nintendo to play it on.
20 years is a long time to wait, and its interesting how Nintendo's systems have evolved over the years. Some things, like the output plugs for the systems, have remained the same since the Super Nintendo Systems. The cartridges have gotten a little bigger and could hold more memory, but they were still cartridges, made to deliver their information as quickly as possible so game players could focus on playing games rather than waiting for the information to load.
That also meant there was a trade-off. Companies that went with the PlayStation system could use disks that held far more information, which means more cinematic gameplay, sometimes at their benefit, sometimes to their detriment.
But now Nintendo has joined the rest of the disk based world with their little square wonder, the GameCube. And in true Nintendo fashion it's brutally efficient at doing one thing: providing gaming entertainment.
Hip to be Square
The first thing I noticed when I opened up the box was my little black GameCube is small and perfectly square. Actually, the first thing I noticed was the handle that let me pull it out and walk around the house going "Look at this little thing?"
The GameCube weight between 3-4 pounds, and while it's small, it feels solid, and the little guy is quiet when you turn it on. To be honest, Nintendo did cheat - the power cord has a large brick on it that's used for AC/DC conversion, and that big brick is a slight problem when you're trying to find a place to plug it in. (The power brick alone is almost as heavy as the GameCube itself!)
The GameCube is a simple system. On the top are 3 buttons - On, Reset, and Open so you can insert the mini-DVD's (more in that in a moment). The front as 6 slots - 4 controllers, 2 memory. The back has inserts for the power and Video Out (which uses the same plugs as your old Nintendo 64, which uses the same plugs as your Super Nintendo), as well as another plug for Digital Out - and since I don't have a system that supports that, RCA works just fine for me, thank you very much.
The bottom is where you upgrade the system. Two serial ports and one high speed port are covered by smooth covers, set up so that when you do plug in future add-ons (like a broadband adapter or modem), they'll be perfectly flush with the system so you won't notice them in the way.
The system is made to play games, so forget any ideas about putting in your music CD's or movie DVD's inside. The individual games come in small, 3 inch disks that are burned with DVD level technology (so they can store lots of information in a small space). Nothing else is going to fit inside, and while there are reports of a GameCube compatible DVD player in Japan being released sometime in the next few months, the unit you buy from Nintendo doesn't aspire to any of that.
It just plays the games, kids. I can't stress that enough, because it does it so well.
It's Flipper!
The original code name for the GameCube was the Dolphin, and it makes sense that the ATI graphics card that powers the GameCube was named Flipper. (Unless you haven't been born in the last 30 years like myself, you might remember that Flipper was the dolphin star of a popular TV show. Like Lassie in the water.)
ATI proves they know how to do graphics, because so far the first set of games for the GameCube look incredible. I've been playing with Super Monkey Ball, and the game looks incredibly smooth. The spheres look perfectly round, colors and textures are bright and colorful, and the other little tricks like lens flare and so on never slow down the system at all.
Or another game sure to be popular this year, Rebel Assault II. The first mission alone, a recreation of the Battle of Yavin where you get to destroy the Death Star, looks like you're inside the movie. But the next mission after that which has you flying through a nebula, and I was impressed by the sheer beauty of space, the distant stars shining through interstellar gas in a sight any science fiction fan would sell their soul to be a part of.
Quick Load
One problem with most CD or DVD based games is the long load times, or the wait to load or save games to memory cards.
The opposite is true with the GameCube. Somehow, maybe because the mini-DVD's are so small the seek time is less, games load up very quickly, and games saved to the small memory cards (which resemble the PlayStation 2 memory cards, only half the size (and at 4 MB, half the storage space)) quickly store their information so you can get right back into the game.
Either way, the near lack of wait between the time you say "Start Game" and the time the game launches keeps you from getting bored.
Fits like a perfect, tiny glove
You know what they say about a man who can drive a stick? Yeah, me neither.
As much as I've tried to avoid it, sooner or later I have to mention the recent review of another console's controller, the Xbox. Like the Xbox controller, the GameCube's contains several buttons and features:
* Two analog sticks
* One D-Pad
* 3 finger triggers (two on the right, one of which is the Z button, one of the left)
* 5 buttons - A, B, X, Y, and Start
And while the controller is made for hands slightly smaller than my own, it was still very comfortable. I could reach every single button (except for the Start button, which really doesn't count) with my thumb, and the finger triggers were pretty accessible, except for the Z button which was a further stretch for my right index finger. I believe that there's a larger model made by another company, but as it is the default controller is comfortable enough to use for long stretches. (In fact, I recently bought a second during Thanksgiving so me and the kids could play the games together. Made me a big hit in the family, I can tell you.)
The buttons give a good response so you know they've been pushed down. The main finger triggers also have a "click", which means that just pressing down the trigger means one thing, while "clicking" it all the way down can mean another. For example, in Rogue Squadron II, pressing down the right means to accelerate, while clicking it can activate the S-Foils or hit a Turbo Boost.
The controller has rumble technology, which means it can vibrate depending on what's going on in the game. It isn't terribly strong, but it's effective enough.
Inside the Cube
When the GameCube is first turned on, even its boot-up sequence is cute as it "rolls" a purple cube on the screen to form the GameCube logo.
The menu system is also made of a cube, and moving the controller in each of the four compass directions gives you the various options, like sound, video, time, memory, and launching the game itself. The cube menu is transparent, and each item is clearly depicted in little squares that make up the letters, continuing the cube tradition.
There's nothing outside the ordinary, so let's move onto the big event.
The Games
Compared to the Xbox or the PlayStation 2, the GameCube doesn't have a lot of games available at its launch, and if history is a key, it probably won't have as many as its competitors. (Take a look at the games for the PSOne compared to the Nintendo 64.)
But those games that are out, the two that I've been playing with are both incredibly fun. Listed here are "Gut Level" reviews of the games - these aren't final scores, but just my general impressions after spending around 24 hours with them and the system.
Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader:
For fans of the Star Wars game, this is as close to flying the X-Wing and other crafts as you're going to get. The controls are simple enough - the left analog controls your direction, left and right trigger buttons decrease/increase speed, A to fire the primary weapons, and B to fire the secondary weapons.
It was evident from the beginning that the Factor 5 crew was interested in fun. When it first starts, you see a group of StormTroopers dancing to the Cantina Theme before the camera pans back to reveal the LucasArts logo. It's cute, and just ads that grin to your face before the game even begins.
The missions are fairly simple in and of themselves, usually spent blowing up the Imperial Forces in the various crafts. But expertise in being quick, accurate, or not getting dead are rewarded by giving out Gold, Silver, and Bronze awards that can be used to collect points for better ships in other missions.
As far as the graphics, it is amazing. Flying down the Death Star Trench with the Tie Fighters roaring after me, it almost looked like the gray, dominating trenches of the Death Star trench.
The other interesting graphical feature depends on the time of day. On planet based missions, the sun moves depending on what time the GameCube reports, so missions flown in late afternoon will have the sun setting, while missions played in the middle of the day has the sun high overhead. It was a surprising detail, and one that just adds to the cool factor of the game.
Probably the most aggravating thing is the radar system. I'm used to the old Tie Fighter/X-Wing system, where the left circle is the back and the right is the front (or is it the other way around?), but for Rogue Squadron II there's the only the one on the upper right, and I often had problems knowing if something was above me or below me.
Gut Level Score: 8 or 9
Super Monkey Ball:
Oh, yes, I'm sure that PETA will just love this game.
Sega, I love you. This game is a blast. Imagine one of those marble mazes, where you'll tilt the maze about to move the marble through the hallways, avoiding the tiny holes.
Except in this case, the mazes are huge, the size of a football field, and the marbles are encased with...monkeys. Cute little monkeys that try to run and keep up with the marbles as they race down the ramps at 70 mph, while you try and grab the bananas (I believe sponsored by Dole) while keeping them falling off the edges down into oblivion.
First, the graphics are even better than Rogue Squadron II. It's bright, the balls are perfectly round, the the little monkeys have all sorts of expressions as they're rolled around, expressing shock or glee as they race about your tilting world.
The game has that "Ah-ah-woah!" feeling as you just barely keep your Monkey from falling off the edges so you can get that one extra banana, or the sudden fear as parts of the mazes break off to float away, leaving you to make split second decisions of whether to play it safe, or go for broke.
Then there's the party games and mini-games mode. I've only played one of the party games, Monkey Fight, where you control a monkey with a boxing glove and try to punch the other monkeys off the board. Boxes will drop down that will give your monkey's various abilities, but primarily it's a romp to move around the board, trying to keep a wall at your back so you aren't knocked off.
Sega captured the very essence of gaming with Super Monkey Ball - it's just flat out fun.
Gut Score: 9 or 10.
Closing the Box
I like the GameCube, and I'm not going to be ashamed of that. It's almost half the size of its competitor, but it's like looking at a puppy around some big dogs. It's cute, it wants to please you, and it's got the charm and energy to make playing with it funner than playing with the bigger, dogs that might know a lot of cool tricks, but they don't make you want to scratch the back of their lids. Er, ears. I like the system, I like the games, I like the controller, and I'd gladly buy it again, and gladly recommend its purchase to anyone who just wants to have fun.
As always, I'm John "Dark Paladin" Hummel. And that's my opinion.
52 Weeks, 52 Religions with John Hummel
parent is obviously a troll.
What do you expect? Look at the ads on TV, they are just a billion trillion times better than any I've seen. Then look at the price, its cheaper. Then look at the games like Luigis Mansion, Metriod Prime, Starwars. And even if these games all suck, we know two things.
1. They are better than the average Xbox game.
2. The ads make each game look like its the next coming of christ or something.
Xbox has crappy ads which look as bad as Sega and their Dreamcast ads.
Xbox needs better games and better marketing for the few good games they do have. Lastly to compete with gamecube Xbox would need a cheaper price tag.
If you use Linux, please help development of Autopac
...I should stop staying up so damnably late (early?)! I want to see this, but the site is still blasted to hell. At two in the morning, too...
Everyone on slashdot has a journal.
Gay homosexual? This should be mod'd redundant, not troll! Christ, you moderators fucik your grannies!
I went into a chinese restaurant once... and I wanted to eat egg foo young.. aparently he was not working that night.
Xbox is in the same situation as PS2, but Xbox is more powerful, and Microsoft has more influence in the USA.
Xbox will survive. This isnt a question. Because with enough money a failed console survives.
Sega didnt survive not because their console didnt sell, Sega didnt survive because Sega didnt have the money to compete with the likes of Sony and Microsoft, When Xbox came into the picture thats when Sega called it quits.
Xbox is taking the Market that Dreamcast was going after.
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your an idiot
In Soviet Russia you dant have to put up with these crappy jokes
Sega was in first place and actually the Dreamcast still has more units Sold than PS2, Xbox and Gamecube.
The problem isnt selling the units, Its the fact that Sega didnt have the money to compete with big companies like Sony and Microsoft who were buying Developer support left and right.
Sega was losing third parties because SEGA didnt have the money to keep them. Third parties dont like to hang around a company which is bleeding money left and right, They prefer the stability of a Microsoft or Sony.
Sega couldnt make enough money off of Dreamcast on their own, and unlike Nintendo Sega didnt have enough money to save dreamcast on their own, Sega was in debt.
Sega had no other choice but to kill Dreamcast, not because Dreamcast wasnt selling, or Because Dreamcast was a bad system, but because Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo left no third parties for Sega. Money is made on game sales mostly from Third Parties.
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Sega Dreamcast sold well. Sega however always does bad in Japan and good in the USA and this is where Sega seems to look (oh we arent selling in japan, lets scrap this system, who gives a damn if it sold 9 million units in the world, it sold 500k in japan)
Nintendo however has the money to pull an N64, N64 did way worse than dreamcast however, Nintendo has gameboy to fall back on, Pokemon, etc etc so if N64 didnt sell Nintendo didnt lose money but gained it.
Sega just had Dreamcast and nothing else, Dreamcast was losing money and Sega was and maybe still is on the verge of going out of business.
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I doubt they've even heard of Slashdot until they've been hit.
You die too easily.
The Sega Genesis only sold 16 million systems.
Poorly? 10 million systems in 2 years?
Sales werent the problem, Its lack of third party support, Third parties dont like to develop for multiple consoles anymore, and Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo all had more money than Sega.
For the same Reason Microsoft Dominates the PC, and Apple is in the position they are in, is the reason why Sega couldnt survive, Sega had less money than everyone, even a few developers like EA have more money than Sega.
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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.
So are you- it's "you're".
> Too bad IGN, Nintendo, and your "relative" have
t em &id=2408
> no facts to back that up. In our area, the XBOXES
> are outselling the GCN at LEAST 3:1, with EB going
> through entire shipments of 10+ in a day, while
> GCN shipments of the same size take about two
> days, if not a little more.
And where are your facts? eh?
everything I've seen and heard says that the gamecube is selling excellently and the xbox is selling well but notvery well. the gamecube sold out in about 3 days, and nintendo had to increase shipments of another 200,000 boxes to the us, with an estimate of 1.3 million by Christmas.
http://www.cube-europe.com/news/221101a.html
Oh, and by the way, GameCube had the BIGGEST LAUNCH EVER! that's right, bigger than the xbux
http://www.planetgamecube.com/news.cfm?action=i
so, uh, neener neener neener!
Spashdown
Splashdown is the name of it
Mpeg1
Spashdown Trailer
Movie 2 Spashdown movie
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Ya, I'm quite a fan of Rogue Leader. It's kind of hard towards the end...but you learn how to take the levels and there is a million things you can unlock. Fighting off rebels on the Death Star as vader is an awesome level to unlock ;). It is one of the better in flight shooters I've played. I love it ...great game :).
"Things are more moderner than before- bigger, and yet smaller- it's computers-- San Dimas High School football RULES!"
Trying to use the equation:
"white man = big penis" ?
Obviously you've never been bludgeoned w/ a black man's penis before... but try asking your mom about that, junior.
Although, it's not really important. Cubes did sell better at the Toys R Us in my town. A woman behind the couter told be that all the xboxes were gone in about 6 hours, yet the Cubes were going to be finished off in less then 2.......moreover, they had a larger shipment of Cubes.
"Things are more moderner than before- bigger, and yet smaller- it's computers-- San Dimas High School football RULES!"
"Sorry, but show me the man in the freak-suit ....seeing splash screens on my TV doesn't make me want to buy the game"...for every yen there's a yang.
Marketing rule #1.....don't waste budget selling to someone that is already sold.
Marketing rule #2....say the name, say the name, say the name....
...try to sell it to everyone, except the ones that will buy it without needing to be sold. And make sure they hear the name!
The freak-suit stops you from changing the channel...anything past that is just branding.
You stayed around for the screen-shots because they've already sold you.
None of the MS ads are targeted at you (they want people that haven't been hooked on MS yet) and you don't see it...pretty typical MS fan, actually. Spoon fed and waiting for more.
I bet you're a smoker too...right?
As for 'incredible graphics, cinematic scenes, and compelling gameplay'...now I think you're a MS troll. Mind if I take a look under your skirt for a second? I smell shill...
Sony has the weakest System.
Sales in the USA are more important than Japan, Genesis never sold in Japan and N64 didnt sell well in Japan until late in its life and only because of pokemon.
PS2 cant keep up in the graphics department, cant keep up in the price department, or the games department with Nintendo.
Ps2 can keep up with Xbox but this is America and Microsoft has too much influence here.
I expect Gamecube to lead in the USA.
Xbox to be second.
Ps2 to lead in japan but fail in the USA.
Why? PS2 has games, but so do all the other systems.
Ps2s price is expensive, yet its the weakest.
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Who modded up that insightless garbage? Mod parent down!
Yes, I know how to spell it. That I choose not to should tell you something. I geuss subtelty is lost on your peolpe
In Soviet Russia you dant have to put up with these crappy jokes
Cmdrtaco might not think the Star Wars game is very fun, but Cliff and I do. Cliff is busy destroying towers right now, in fact -- this game is making me want to buy the GameCube and glue the lid shut ...
timothy
jrnl: http://tinyurl.com/c2l8yr / foes: http://tinyurl.com/ckjno5
I've seen other unix ports about on BSD pages, when looking to 'upgrade' my Qube. (they both use a MIPS proc(i think) so thats one part out the way :)
N64 uses a MIPS processor, but GameCube uses an IBM PowerPC Gekko processor. I'm not sure G-what Mac processor Gekko compares to.
Will I retire or break 10K?
Seriously, I really honestly believe that Microsoft is leveraging their monopoly in the area of operating systems and office productivity software to obtain monopolies in other areas as well.
Would you care to explain how Microsoft is leveraging their monopoly to get into the gaming market? This is nonsense.
To go off on a tangent for a paragraph or so...
A paragraph or so? So you mean all two paragraphs are fsckshit? I'll agree with that.
Having an ATI GPU doesn't give me worm and fuzzies. Everybody has driver problems but ATI's problems are bad enough that people yawn at the new Radeon even though some say its as fast or faster than the Geforce 3.
Maybe they spent so much time on the Flipper, the PC chipsets played second fiddle.
Jesus saves....And takes 1/2 damage.
What? You think nothing can be Easier than DirectX now? Now you think No company can compete with Microsft here?
Nintendo has been making DirectX like software since before Microsoft even created Windows 1.0.
Who do you think is better at making development software, Nintendo whos been doing it for 20 years, or Microsoft?
Redstorm and all these PC companies love Microsoft, but their games arent as good as alot of Japanese game companies.
Sure Microsoft will have the support of all American developers, but the Japanese developers prefer the game cube.
Just like some people prefer Linux over Windows.
The reason Gamecube is the easiest to program for, is if you look at the games, all of them look good, theres not a single ugly Gamecube game.
Look at Xbox or PS2 and i can find some games which look like shit, worse than Dreamcast, these games show that the system is hard to program for.
Dreamcast game was easy to program for too thats why the standard dreamcast game looked pretty good.
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who the fuck modded this down from +1 funny?
That's the funniest shit I've ever heard in my life. Ouch, my tummy hurts :(
You can't legislate goodness. Let each to his own destiny, by will of his freely made choices.
rice_burners_suck thinks microsoft-sucks and finds a way to bring it up. This is pure opinion with no fact, just the standard anti-MS accusations. There's nothing new or useful here. This is neither insightful nor on-topic.
For those of you that enjoy having actual factual sales figures prior to getting into such discussions, this article from BBC News Online shows that the GameCube has sold 500,000 units so far, while the XBox has only sold 300,000. I can't think of a more impartial and authoritative news source than that.
this console looks well made. i would buy one of these over an xbox anyday, not to mention its not an M$ product.. be careful.. we will wake up one day reading the Microsoft times, turning on our televisions to watch Microsoft run television, and our kids will grow up in a microsoft controlled world. my first console as a kid was the original Nintendo, and I awed at playing mario bros. and duck hunt (yeah, lame) if you like consoles, buy a gamecube, because it is a console.. not a glorified computer. if you want a microsoft world, by all means buy an xbox. i like consoles, and i like gaming.. but i will stick to my preference, FPS games. its been cool looking at the guts of this console, even if the webserver has been DDOS'd by us slashdotters. :)
we should be leary of that xbox... it might assimilate you in your sleep.
so, protect your kids and yourself and buy a gamecube.
we were discussing this on irc (irc.justirc.net)
and many of our users say down to the xbox, and long live nintendo
now here is my question, to the actual owners of this hardware..
does it boot from the cd, like playstations do?
or does this load an os from a rom?
if it does boot from a disk, why couldnt someone hack up a loader and start it up using ppc linux? :)
im sure this is already in the works.
Jesus. How the hell were we supposed to know your chose to misspell it? Nice job with the humourous (?) misspellings, by the way... COCK GOBBLER.
Mod parent up!
As long as they both sold out, it's pretty hard to guage which has greater demand at this point, so stop spreading your Microsoft-bashing FUD.
Nintendo = Apple
As time goes by, it is clear that Nintendo is becoming the Apple of the video game world. What that means for its future is obvious -- it will always have the maximum respect, others will always try to steal something from it, it will always be the acme of its time, and it will never be defeated.
Just like Apple, Nintendo produces the world's best software for superior consumer hardware. There is Mac OS X and Metroid. There is QuickTime and Mario. There is Aqua and Zelda.
Mac OS X is so advanced that its raw, God-like potential will not be fully appreciated for at least several years. It is untouchable -- just like Metroid. Both share an existence to unique and powerful that nobody dares making something similar. Just as Apple has embarked on a new journey for its latest version of Mac OS , Nintendo has done the same for Metroid Prime -- changing Metroid into a first-person experience.
Mario is the ultimate ruler of all video game characters, just like QuickTime owns all other media players. Everyone who tries to make a fake Mario (i.e. Sonic the homosexual hedgehog) fails miserably and ends up blowing their brains out.
Have you ever tried to look at porn movies that just can't be viewed with QuickTime player? Wimp has never worked, and Real just sucks (it will "Real"ly make you lose your boner). Real and Sega might have a beautiful but meaningless future relationship.
Aqua is Apple's gorgous new interface. Nintendo also has a legendary new look for its Legend of Zelda series that is going to combine cartoon nostalgia with revolutionary graphics.
If that doesn't convince you, just look at the GameCube's hardware. Its CPU is a PPC, which comes from the same family of chips as the one that your Mac has (and the superiority of the Macintosh can always be proven).
Apple and Nintendo even have the same mortal enemies -- Fugly, boring, evil machines with disgraceful, uninteresting software. And Microsoft.
Samus Aran could easily take out any character from Halo. In fact, she could take them all on at the same time. She probably wouldn't even break a sweat, considering that they would probably turn traitorous, just like the company that made them -- Bungie.
That is why I urge all hardcore Mac users who are interested in purchasing a video game console to get a Nintendo GameCube. If Nintendo retakes the video game world, then it will not be that difficult for Apple to own the computer world.
If you have already purchased (or have been given) an Xbox or a PS2, simply bring it outside of a video game store, with a sledgehammer, and tell everyone how boring, crappy, and slow the system is, and how you are not going to give Bill Gates any more of your money. Then smash it to fucking bits. If you have an Apple or Nintendo shirt, wear it for extra impact.
We can do this. People just have more fun with Apples and Nintendos.
The PS1 became popular because it had a simple API set that was easy to develop for. The games looked like garbage, but there were a lot of them, and they could be copied if you had 20 bucks for a mod chip.
/ATi Hardware. Nintendo claims that delopers are going to be able to port games to the cube quite quickly....I belive that. If anything, xbox games will be fast ports. From what I hear the move from Direct X 8.x to openGL is not that hard to make now that Direct X has matured.
The PS2 is a lot harder to develop for, however I guess developers have figured out the guts and made well needed tools by now.
The only thing that is really selling the PS2 again is games. It can play the old ugly PS1 games and I got a jump start in the next-gen market. Developers have phisically had muuuch more time with the PS2 on the market.
However, Game Development for the xbox and Cube should be fairly rapid. Developers already have tools for Direct X 8 and Open GL games, and many developers are also use to the Nvidia / Intel hardware and the IBM
Unfortunatly, Sony scrapped the one thing that made the PS1 so popular. Now they are just riding on a brand name, the heat of an old console, and the obviouse advantage of a jump start in the next gen market.
Don't get me wrong, the PS2 is going to sell well, but Sony is kind of screwing their future if you ask me. Ine about 3 months there is going to be a ton of xbox and cube titles.... things are going to get intese. When Super Smash Brothers, Zelda, and Metroid Prime come out we are going to see a jump in Cube sales for sure....trust me.
"Things are more moderner than before- bigger, and yet smaller- it's computers-- San Dimas High School football RULES!"
...nor write games, for that matter.
And, before you ask, why yes, I do work in the industry as a programmer.
Man, you're missing out. I know it's a PS2 title too, but Tony Hawk 3 is freek'n video-crack... to say the least.
And, well, we'll see what happens once Zelda, Metroid Prime, Super Smash Bros, and all of those exclusive (and visualy stunning) new Resident Evil games come out.
If you ask me, the best looking cube games are still a few weeks away....which is unfortunate, they would've really been great to have from the get-go.
"Things are more moderner than before- bigger, and yet smaller- it's computers-- San Dimas High School football RULES!"
Gamecube's launch in North America was full of sub-par remake titles (a few fun multiplayer games, but no system sellers), which are now having to compete with a very impressive PS2 selection.
If Super Monkey Ball isn't a system seller, Super Smash Bros. Melee (whose box unfortunately looks nothing like this) surely is.
Will I retire or break 10K?
so stop spreading your Microsoft-bashing FUD
Umm.. dude, this is slashdot...
python -c "x='python -c %sx=%s; print x%%(chr(34),repr(x),chr(34))%s'; print x%(chr(34),repr(x),chr(34))"
why was it modded that high to start! he shouldnt discuss his emotional problems with anyone but a shrink. WHY did it lower myself to this level!
The PS1 suffered greatly until Sony released some decent tools for it. That's why the first games for the PlayStation sucked so badly.
I haven't seen a GC in the flesh so I didn't realise it had a fan. What's the noise level like?
Sure. This is what you should expect on slashdot. Someone telling you to trust them, they are a _____, and you do not know anything.
Slightly OT, but please read before moderating.
I would like to see a "consoles" category on Slashdot. That way, all of these articles about the Gamecube and Xbox could go in their own category, which users could then remove from the front page. Right now, they are in the generic "technology" category, which contains many other articles that might be interesting to those of us who couldn't care less about the latest console hack.
Thanks--
Nintendo = Apple
As time goes by, it is clear that Nintendo is becoming the Apple of the video game world. What that means for its future is obvious -- it will always have the maximum respect, others will always try to steal something from it, it will always be the acme of its time, and it will never be defeated.
Just like Apple, Nintendo produces the world's best software for superior consumer hardware. There is Mac OS X and Metroid. There is QuickTime and Mario. There is Aqua and Zelda.
Mac OS X is so advanced that its raw, God-like potential will not be fully appreciated for at least several years. It is untouchable -- just like Metroid. Both share an existence to unique and powerful that nobody dares making something similar. Just as Apple has embarked on a new journey for its latest version of Mac OS , Nintendo has done the same for Metroid Prime -- changing Metroid into a first-person experience.
Mario is the ultimate ruler of all video game characters, just like QuickTime owns all other media players. Everyone who tries to make a fake Mario (i.e. Sonic the homosexual hedgehog) fails miserably and ends up blowing their brains out.
Have you ever tried to look at porn movies that just can't be viewed with QuickTime player? Wimp has never worked, and Real just sucks (it will "Real"ly make you lose your boner). Real and Sega might have a beautiful but meaningless future relationship.
Aqua is Apple's gorgous new interface. Nintendo also has a legendary new look for its Legend of Zelda series that is going to combine cartoon nostalgia with revolutionary graphics.
If that doesn't convince you, just look at the GameCube's hardware. Its CPU is a PPC, which comes from the same family of chips as the one that your Mac has (and the superiority of the Macintosh can always be proven).
Apple and Nintendo even have the same mortal enemies -- Fugly, boring, evil machines with disgraceful, uninteresting software. And Microsoft.
Samus Aran could easily take out any character from Halo. In fact, she could take them all on at the same time. She probably wouldn't even break a sweat, considering that they would probably turn traitorous, just like the company that made them -- Bungie.
That is why I urge all hardcore Mac users who are interested in purchasing a video game console to get a Nintendo GameCube. If Nintendo retakes the video game world, then it will not be that difficult for Apple to own the computer world.
If you have already purchased (or have been given) an Xbox or a PS2, simply bring it outside of a video game store, with a sledgehammer, and tell everyone how boring, crappy, and slow the system is, and how you are not going to give Bill Gates any more of your money. Then smash it to fucking bits. If you have an Apple or Nintendo shirt, wear it for extra impact.
We can do this. People just have more fun with Apples and Nintendos.
I can't understand why ive seen next to no mention of Tony Hawke Pro Skater 3 here on slashdot! That game alone would be enough for me to buy the Cube! (nb. I know its on ps2 aswell but mario wont be! :]) THPS2 i played on psx more than i ever played even games like Civ on pc. Something like 3 months averaging 10-30 hours a week!!
:)
But too my point, games like Halo, etc dont appeal to me in the slightest.. That whole genre hasn't appealed to me since Quake2, and in the same way the Xbox or PS2 (for that matter) doesnt appeal that much too me, Ive got 3 pc's for those games.
But everyone's different, so as you were..
For another look at the ongoing console wars from someone who actually runs a gameshop for a living you should check out this commentary on the relative success of the Gamecube v. Xbox at the Acts of Gord.
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
If you use Linux, please help development of Autopac
There's already car powered screen thingys fro the top of the cube.
Saw it in Fry's, much like the PSOne units
shut up rear admiral
Please, you arent a programmer compared to guys like Miyamoto who have been programming games for the past 20-30 years.
IF you are truely better than them then prove it in your games ELSE shut up.
If you use Linux, please help development of Autopac
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..
that tiny island called Japan? With 120 million people on it? Size does matter after all.
Cool! Amazing Toys.
Bitter geek
"Things are more moderner than before- bigger, and yet smaller- it's computers-- San Dimas High School football RULES!"
Quit whining about it like a sissy and get yourself some man beef.
Very true, but there are ways to do that kind of thing in hardware. For instance, pixel shaders make it very trivial and inexpensive to get correct refraction/reflection on water. Look at any XBox game that contains water for an example (Munch's Oddysey especially, but also DOA3. And Blood Wake, which will be out shortly, has the best water effects I've ever seen -- to the point that the keel-cam made people seasick, and thus Microsoft chose to get rid of that viewing option). The point? When it comes to simulating water, the XBox win hands down, no competition at all. But again, it does require a developer to at least have some grasp on the physics behind water and waves, like you said.
You and I are one in the same my friend...
One in the same.
What, exactly, is your point with this statement? Let's think, just for a little bit, about whether what you said changes anything-- [thinks, thinks some more, comes to a conclusion]. NOPE! It's still an entirely accurate statement.
Just because Company A doesn't produce as much as Company B doesn't mean you ignore that Company B sold FAR more units at retail than Company A did (even if both sold out). While the numbers don't show all sides of the issue, it does show that Nintendo indeed sold twice as many units as Microsoft did. No FUD in there. I'm not afraid. I'm quite certain. And there's no doubt.
All I know about Bush is I had a good job when Clinton was president.
Both consoles sold out you say? Thats rather amusing considering that the last 2 Funco Land stores that I have been in still have Gamecubes in stock, but no X-Boxes.
Could just be the market in my area is having trouble selling Gamecubes for some reason. Of course, I do live in low income L.A., makes me wonder why they would have more in sotck of the cheaper console.
N64 was hard to develop for on purpose, Nintendo didnt expect competition from Sony and wanted the most powerful System possible to compete with Sega.
If you use Linux, please help development of Autopac
With 'myriad pictures' not 'myriad of'...
or you know, you could just be a liar
They are so bashed =( I'm crying cause I want microsoft to be even more rich and well-off. I want them to have the chance to rape america 2, maybe 3 more times before the public finally gets a clue.
Come on microsoft, I'm bending over. Shove some proprietary shit down my throat again that locks me into your monopoly corperate model. I just love it.
BTW, STOP BASHING MICROSOFT!!! IT"S JUST NOT FAIR!.
Gamecube doesn't have 64MB of RAM, that is the XBox you're thinking of. The Gamecube has only 40MB of RAM according to Gamespot:e cu be_dossier/
http://gamespot.com/gamespot/features/video/gam
> The Star Wars game wasn't very fun.
Did you turn the system ON??! Because the Star Wars game I have for my Gamecube is nothing short of spectacular, beautiful, AND fun.
To each his own, but IMHO Star Wars: Rogue Leader is superb!
--- witty signature
they didn't sell out around here, I can still pick up at xbox or a gamecube... so maybe your point amounts to exactly jack shit and 43 cents. :-P
--
Don't sweat the petty things, and don't pet the sweaty things.
from a hardware perspective - are any of the current offerings significantly better than the dreamcast? I don't think so. In fact, with an impressive library of games - and I am sure, a flood of used to hit soon - why not pick it up for $50 bucks?
... a beowulf cluster...
SW Rogue Leader is an amazing game. The PS2 and xbox have SW Starfighter which doesn't even rate compared to the experience of Rogue Leader. Rogue Leader is a great example of a beautifully designed and executed game. It proves the gamecube is fully capable of competing with the other two consoles (even though Nintendo isn't hyping the specs of their new machine). If you want to reexperience the attack on the deathstar, you can do it right out of the box with the gamecube and a copy of SW Rogue Leader.
Then... make sure you play it with the component cables... so you get the progressive graphics. WHAT a difference: rock solid stars in the background, crisp graphics, smooth images as you swoop around the world. Amazing.
= Joe =
Sorry, both consoles did not sell out. I can't go down to EB and get a GameCube, but I can still get an Xbox. It's easier for me to get an Xbox than it is some PS2 games -- though that's changed in the last week.
Of course, on the flip side, I played my brother's GameCube over the holiday and he said he just walked into a Target and bought it, plenty for everyone apparently.
I don't really care though, I'm sticking with the PS2 until the GameCube gets some better games out.
Stupider like a fox! - H.S.
same here - the best buy has tons of XBox and PS2 consoles, zero gamecubes. sold out.
-sam
burn the computers. go back to the abacus.
I know the kid who runs the website. He has no idea how to confiugre apache.
s px?prodno=1573748
Mortin, Keven, what ever....
If you don't know how to configure apache then don't post your less then informative articals on slashdot.
--
pick up your anti-Icrontic t-shirt @ http://www.cafepress.com/cp/store/productdetail.a
As has been pointed out, Nintendo put twice as many boxes on the shelves as Microsoft did, so you have to expect it to sell twice as many units--which is exactly what it's doing since both are selling out. While that does make your statement correct, it also means that this is in no way an accurate measure of consumer demand. Demand could be greater for the Xbox, and it would still be outsold 2:1 by Gamecube until MS gets more boxen on the shelves of retail outlets.
.Net strategy. They will make money through the $20/month subscription to MSN.
.Net.
And none of that supports your assertion that Xbox will be dead in a year. What so many people fail to remember is that Microsoft can afford to bleed money for several years on their Xbox division, and still remain a very, very profitable company overall. The problem with Sega was that they couldn't financially afford to play with the big boys anymore--that, and the fact that most gamers held onto their PSXs and/or N64s while holding out for the PS2.
Sega counted on the Dreamcast becoming a hit because it was going to be out so long before the PS2 that gamers would jump on it. And some did, and loved it. But the vast majority of people are not hardcore gamers willing to spend lots of money on getting every game console under the sun. The vast majority of console customers are average teenagers, twentysomethings, and parents who buy them for their kids. And most of them already had Playstation or N64 machines they were pretty happy with. And when they read about how this new Sega Dreamcast is coming out that has much better graphics and will have more realistic, cool games that the PSX or N64 can't do, they'd consider maybe shelling out the money for it--until at the end of the same article they see that Sony claims the PS2 will be out within a year of Dreamcast, and that it has this incredible Emotion Engine chip that will make things look completely realistic and have games that will be totally revolutionary.
Now, I remember clearly at the time that that's what happened in every article or TV spot discussing the Dreamcast--it's great, it's so much better; and the Playstation 2 will completely kick its ass and bring us to a new dimension of gaming realism, and be out within a year of Dreamcast. Now, we all know that most of that stuff was just Sony hype, and the PS2 isn't revolutionary, and came out a lot later than Sony originally said. But hindsight is 20/20, and people went by what they read and saw and heard, and by Sony marketing hype like Emotion Engine. Since Sega couldn't afford to bleed money like Microsoft can, they had to withdraw with their tail between their legs when sales didn't meet projections.
Now, Microsoft can and will happily bleed money if necessary. Why? So that they can get their box into every household they possibly can. And it will be a lot of households, especially once the price drops 6 months to a year from now. You see, the Xbox has one advantage that neither the PS2 nor the Gamecube has. It's just a PC with some proprietary connectors. As such, it's more versatile than the competition, and it has a much longer usable life.
See, right now Microsoft is downplaying the PC aspects of the Xbox, so that it will appeal first to the gaming market. MS wants it to appeal to kids, their parents, and dumb college kids who'd buy a Playstation instead of PC, for the gaming and entertainment/DVD features. In that respect it and the PS2 are perfect--Little Johnny gets a game station and his parents get themselves a DVD player; Johnny Fratboy gets a game machine and DVD player in one. The fact that you can buy a separate DVD player for the price delta between the Gamecube and the Xbox or PS2 doesn't matter, because Johnny Average wants one easy box instead of two that might be more complicated. Flashing 12:00 syndrome, and all.
Once it saturates the gamer market, and gets into a lot of homes already, Microsoft can suddenly unveil Phase 2. You see, if Microsoft had wanted to make their console more console-like and less PC-like they easily could have. In fact, they had to know that hardwar enthusiasts would start ripping them apart and turning them into PCs just like they did with Netpliances and all the other webterminals that were essentially PCs. And if people do that, it costs them money since they lose $ on the hardware, selling it at such a low price point. MS knows this, they are not stupid when it comes to business. They would have changed it to make it less PC-like and more unhackable, unless there were a reason to keep it PC-like. I mean, it even has what are essentially USB connectors with a different shape and slight changes, which certainly makes it easy for hackers to find a way to hook up keyboards and mice. They will, sooner or later.
But you see, this is Microsoft's Phase 2 for the Xbox. When the gamer market is saturated, they roll-out their own inexpensive keyboard and mouse and start not only appealing to a new market of Net users and people who need a PC, but also they already have a huge installed base of gamers who might not have bought a complicated computer thingy in the first place to play their games on, but now who figure "I need to use the Internet or get a computer anyway, so why not just shell out $40 for the Xbox keyboard/mouse and see if that's good enough." It will be integral to their
By starting the marketing as a game box, and then turning it into a PC that only works with their service second, they maximize their use of both markets, and get an MSN terminal into a lot more households than would have ever, ever, ever bought a crappy Netpliance or WebTV. Then they rake in the $20/month subscription fees for MSN. Oh, and for just $5/month extra, you can use their slick new network-enabled word processing suite on your Xbox, too, so that you can not only use MSN and the Interney and send and get e-mails, you can also write all your serious stuff and have it sent over the Net straight to your work or school. Brilliant. A few Linux hackers will get their OS running on it and cost them a comparatively small amount, but Joe and Jane Average will happily use their Xbox game console/Internet terminal/Hailstorm-driven word processing networked dynamo.
It's clear by how PC-like the Xbox remains, despite all the easy ways they could have modified it, that their intention is eventually to have it take over the function of a PC. And it fits in nicely with
Chasing Amy
(We all chase Amy...)
"The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws"-Tacitus
It wasn't fun? *sigh* Note to self: CmdrTaco != Good Game Reviews! ;-)
Xeph
Meanwhile, I sold both of the computers I built this year, and Dell still has thousands unsold in their warehouses! Woo hoo! I'm more successful than Dell!
Dumbass.
If it ain't broke, you need more software.
The Gamecube ads on TV are needlessly weird. Is the point to show the games or to show a production company can wedge odd, uncomfortable collections of things inside cubes in random places ? Yawn.
Just a helpful hint:
Use reverse drill bits when attempting to remove screws (which have strange heads) that are screwed into plastic
Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.
Holy shit, this is funny as hell. :)
Why bother.
I never challenged the 2:1 figure, but rather the inference you could take from it. The original poster claimed that the 2:1 ratio was due to the fact that the gamecube was more popular. When both systems sell out on the same day, you can't make such an assertion. If inventory levels had nothing to do with it, I'd agree and say that Gamecube was more popular.
And yes, the systems did in fact sell out on the same day (as backed up by Nintendo/Microsoft press releases and most news reports). The fact that you may see some in store is due to the fact that both companies are still manufacturing them and attempt to replenish inventory levels.
And lest I get labeled some kind of zealot... I'm not fond of Microsoft either. Hell... I'll buy an Xbox as soon as I can install linux on the thing!
since the xbox is x86/dx8 based, how long do you think it would take some developer to write a wrapper that would allow you to play xbox games on your PC?... i bet this will happen relatively soon.
--- sig moved for great justice.
You're right, it does read better after that.
All of these play games. Their primary target is games.
The GC just does games and thats all it could ever do from the hardware it has. It's very small and cheaper than the others. It doesn't have any frigne uses as the other systems. The games are more kiddie type though(pokemon ick). From the very design of the system it's cute and thats all it will ever be. It suffers from the usual dvd slow access and load times.
Playstation 2 has been out for a while. It has the advantage of being able to play the massive playstation one crowd of games. It works as a DVD player. Japan has a linux kit out for it(hopefuly one in the US soon). It's got USB ports on it. It can play audio cds aswell. The other two have a long way to come to match the shear diversity and magnitude of the PSX(1/2) game library. It suffers from the slow access and load times of dvd/cd still though.
Xbox is a computer designed to be a game platform. It has the best hardware specs of the three. It has a built in harddrive(no damn memory cards needed anymore) and an ethernet NIC. It works as a DVD player(with remote purchase). It works as an audio cd player and can have tracks ripped to the harddrive. It has the most and biggest potential of uses besides just games. The games are kiddie pokemon crap but could be beter like the PS2. With the harddrive it is able to partially offset the slow access and load times of the dvd drive.
Which did I buy? Well I got the xbox because of the game playability combineded with the hardware hackability of it. I would have a PSX2 as well if all my friends already didn't have one. I am staying the hell away from the kiddie console that is the GC though.
He has some great commentary. You gotta respect his opinion as someone with many years in the video game business. However, even if he is correct and the Xbox looses to the Gamecube and PS2, it still doesn't matter for Microsoft. Their goal isn't to just dominate the gaming console industry. It's to dominate the computer hardware industry.
Microsoft wants to get an affordable yet powerful computer into every home in America. The Xbox is just a means for them to get their foot in the door, so to speak. There already have been leaked plans that the second gen Xbox will be designed to take the place of a Tivo, DVD player, home computer, etc. Let's face it...what's stopping Microsoft from releasing Internet Explorer and MS Office for the Xbox right now?
I've never seen so many posts labeled off topic. What exactly is the topic here? Surely not the redundant pictures of a gamecube.
Someday I hope to understand how this moderating works.
Never underestimate the power of fiber.
No way xbox sold out - in southern New England I've walked into numerous Best Buys, Circuit City's, and mall gamestores and have seen plenty of xbox's on the shelves for the last two weeks. Methinks MS is artificially pumping their stats to just stay in the video game race.
> Xbox has crappy ads Come to think of it, I can't think of any good ad campaign msft has ever had. Win95 had a huge campaign that kind of flopped and those XP ads with the desk jetting around the desert was retarded. The Xbox is going _need_ some hip ads to attract their target audience, otherwise it will fail.
Strange that ebworld has X-Box's available, but not GameCubes...
The factors that make a good console:
> Cheap...
> Marketing...
> Power...
You missed one thing, arguably the most important: fun games. One of the major reasons people flock to certain systems is the games that are available. Tons of people bought a PSX for Metal Gear Solid. It was a great game, and those same people are probably wanting a PS2 to play MGS2.
Similarly, gamers who have seen or played Halo (and liked it) will want to buy an Xbox. Zelda or Star Wars flight sim fans will want a GameCube.
One of the most important aspects of gaining an audience is exclusive games. If a game is available over several platforms, people will look at the other exclusive titles before making a decision.
In this arena Xbox has a lot of catching up to do: Sony seems to have a larger developer base than Nintendo (I may be wrong), but both have a sginificantly higher number than Microsoft. Microsoft's saving grace is the fact that Xbox games are supposedly easy to create, because throwing around money won't help--Sony and Nintendo both have a lot of money.
Give me the system with the largest number of good games and the prospect of good games to come.
If you've got 5 people there, it's too bad that 2 of your 3 GameCube games are single player. And, that WaveRacer game seems ok to me so far, but nothing to get overly excited about.
If you want to have a better impression of the GameCube games out there, you should have picked up Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 (up to 2 players) and (I kid you not) Super Monkey Ball (up to 4.) I've got five games for the GameCube and these two are the ones I've played the most by far.
Super Monkey Ball is just nuts. Learn the patience to balance a monkey in a hamster ball on a tiny little platform. The party games are the biggest attraction. Ever since The Wizard of Oz, people have dreamed of flying monkeys, and with the "monkey target" party game, you can finally realize it like never before. I'm not kidding, me and my brother couldn't get enough of trying to glide our monkeys onto those targets.
I do sympathize though, I loved DOA2, and I'm sure DOA3 is a hoot.
-- dR.fuZZo
That isn't the same. In point of fact, that is the complete opposite.
Do a google search before posting.
I once dated a girl who was disappointed when her 800 MHz Celeron system died and the warranty replacement was a gigahertz P3 with double the RAM. The Celeron system was cuter, apparently.
Taco, you're scaring me.
WARNING: there is a trojan on your
Sold out just means that every console that Nintendo and Microsoft produced was sold to resellers.
Resellers have not sold out of their supplies on these though.
Then you would really hate rogue leader. It seems not harder or easier than Rogue Squadron, but it is more tedious.
got an mp3 version???
I have experience working with Nintendo platforms since the SNES (circa 1991). And their designs have always been propietary or heavily customized.
Regarding the GameCube architecture, it should be noted that the main goal for the system is to maximize the usability of the hardware by achieving a perfect balance on how the components work.
You'll find out very easily on the PC architecture, you will get a lot of bottlenecks caused by the great diversity of design goals within each single component. Just think: CPU, RAM, GPU, GPU's RAM, I/O all are clocked independently.
The highest bottleneck of them all is the memory latency and response. (note that this is irrespective to the memory clock or bandwidth) CPU and GPU performance are greatly affected by this, and faster memory is always exponentially more expensive.
Marketing people will always focus on the theoretical performance, which can NEVER be achieved when other components such as RAM and CPU are involved. There is no use for a really fast GPU when you cannot timely access vectors and textures when you need them.
The truth is that, for solving bottlenecks, and bring down the cost, power consumption and thus maximize profitability in a platform, you NEED to go propietary.
GameCube uses the GPU also as the central I/O chip, meaning that even the CPU must get through it in order to access main memory. This architecture, combined with the fact that main memory is not conventional RAM, but much faster SRAM, ensures graphic performance is very predictable, which is a return to the NES/SNES days, when you could count CPU cycles for a given algorithm while having breakfast, unlike all other consoles where you cannot accurately tell your infuriated boss how fast you can get the machine to perform.
GameCube also uses a (proprietary) hardware based vector compression algorithm, which along texture compression dramatically reduces the memory bandwidth needed for sending data to the GPU. So the resources are very well managed.
In all, the Xbox may look better in paper, and it DOES have more brute force, but in reality a piece of hardware that has more research on the special data patterns a game utilizes such as the GC, will certainly do more for less.
Also, don't be fooled, GC could theoretically achieve 100 Million poly/s (just a little short of the Xbox), but that number would neglect the t&l and texture pipelines. That's why you will only see Nintendo advertise "in-game" performance.
- Otaku no naka no otaku, otaking da!!!
Second experience today, playing Luigi's Mansion. Four minutes into the game, it's bombs. The screen freaked out for a second and the box automatically reset itself. :^/
Not much in the way of making a first (or second) impression. It certainly doesn't bode well, especially since all my experiences trying out PS2 were rock solid and engaging. I hope owners of GC are having better experiences than mine.
--Rick
--Rick "If it isn't broken, take it apart and find out why."
Mortin, why the hell do you waste your time posting articles here when you know you'll crash icrontic? I love I & spend a lot of time on the forums and these downtimes really tick me off. Please stop doing crap like this until you get your new server up! Why post an article that's not going to get seen and drive away your regulars?
Dreamcast sold 10 million systems. Where is it now?
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So why would they buy them for PS2?
If you use Linux, please help development of Autopac
DUH!
He was a programmer, then a designer, then a producer, and now hes a supervisor.
If you use Linux, please help development of Autopac