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Nintendo Confirms New Console In 2005
GweeDo writes "It is official. Nintendo will be releasing their next console right along side Sony's PS3 in 2005. The news was released here by cube.ign.com. They also went on to say that Retro Studies is working on a Prequel to Metroid Prime. The best quote to all you people that said Nintendo was leaving the console market is this: 'Iwata emphasized Nintendo's plans to stick in the console industry by saying, "When we withdraw from the home game console, that's when we withdraw from the video game business."'"
can't wait to buy Nintendo's next "cube" and have 3 games for 6 months!
"Luigi's Mansion II..This time, he blows for Mario!"
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I can't picture a gaming market without Nintendo. Mario, Zelda, Metroid... all classics. I got the cube when Metroid came out, and I'm glad I did .. it is superior to the PS/2 in many ways.
I just wish the plethura of games that PS/2 and XBox compete with also appear on the cube (and further systems).
--------
Free your mind.
I thought Sony wasn't goiing to use the Playstation name anymore?
but Nintendo beware! Bill's XBox will be coming into the second generation - and we all know by the third generation it will suck less. A lot less.
It's Christmas everyday with BitTorrent.
I can't imagine the shit that goes down over in Sony and Nintendo's dumpsters. The competition between the two companies is so fierce, I wouldn't be suprised if "dumpster diving" was a promotion-worthy pasttime!
Reply or e-mail; don't vaguely moderate. Ex-O'Reilly/MIT employee, now a full-time Google employee.
While some may label them bastards for their hard-nosed stance on emulation (but with them releasing so many great remakes for the GBA, can you blame them?) and arrogance, the fact is that, compared to the Everything-Box multimedia behemoths of Sony and MS, this is the equivalent of a mom-and-pop general store that's been around for generations vowing to stick it out against the Wal-Mart and the Target raking it in on either side.
I can't believe this! I JUST bought a GameCube, and now its going to be obsolete in just 2.5 years! Argh! Why do these development companies have to keep developing!!!
I think this is great news for all who like video games... More competitors = (Better Games + Better Prices + More Options).
My penguin ate my sig
Nintendo is not the king anymore.
Gamecube is far less competitive than PS2.
nintendo is a juggernaut. they have a lock on some of the most lucrative franchises in the gaming industry (zelda, pokmon, metroid, etc), so why would anyone scoff and say they would not develop another console to compete? playstation fanboi trolls?
"Powers. I have them."
I hope for their sake they have a realistic plan for designing the hardware and consider it a contender to go head-to-head against Sony. The GameCube is great, but it's not nearly as good (from a hardware standpoint) than the X-Box or what's in store for the PS3. Either way, they MUST be planning on making a PROFIT from the console. Why else would they want to go through the trouble of spending mucho dollars of R&D? Anyone who keeps the myth of "platform makers losing money on the hardware" can finally shut the hell up!
or after Microsoft buys them out? :-P
When we withdraw from the home game console, that's when we withdraw from the video game business.
And when that day comes, will they flush everyones favorite plumber down the toilet?
Where does the school board find them and why do they keep sending them to ME?
Does anyone know what happened to Sega?
I remember a time when the big three where:
* Nintendo
* Sega
* Sony
Artaxerxes
I don't think there's any doubt that a large part of Sony's current dominance is due to it coming out much earlier than the other formats (although not completely - otherwise we'd all be playing on Dreamcasts...)
With the next generation, I think the battle will be much closer, and fought much more on who can get the most really kick-ass games out the quickest.
I think Sony will still have a fair advantage from having done so well in this generation, and as usual Microsoft will be at a disadvantage in Japan, but it's definitely going to be close...
Nintendo of Japan president Satoru Iwata says...
...
consumers today apparently don't want to sit in front of the television to play games for hours and hours.
Really? Why has Sony sold about 8 billion* PS2's?
However, it is good to see Nintendo vowing not to bow out... (And to see them planning a release around the same time as the other boxes.) Looks like they learned their lesson (show up late, get no pie.)
*estimated
... we all couldn't imagine a videogame market without a SEGA home console and, who could have seen it before, releasing games for Sony and Nintendo consoles!
This is not intended as flamebait for the SEGA lovers, since I was a fervent DC evangelist since the day it was released in Japan.
So, a market without Nintendo hardware is possible, just as a market without SEGA hardware is now. We still get their great games, but not on their hardware.
id like to see what type of new features there planning on putting in this thing, graphics, interface, game media, etc.
I hope there not going to rush this thing so fast that they forget to turn up with a good product.
Selling software wont make you money, selling a service will.
For me this raises a few questions. Will it be backwards compatiable with the Gamecube much like the PS2 is with the PSX. This helped the PS2 in its first year a lot. It gave it a huge library of games to let you play while you waited for more PS2 specific titles to come. Then their is the question of Gameboy Advance integration/connection. Nintendo has pushed the link technology alot and is only starting to push it more (GBPLayer in May). What will see from them that way? Also, will we see a more advanced GB soon after that desinged to work wonders with the new console? Who knows. It is all speculation right now, but it will be interesting to see.
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I certainly hope, like many others, that Nintendo starts so shift their focus away from targeting children with games like Mario, Yoshi, and Pikachu and start trying to appeal to the MMORPG & other ultra-gamer community as well. I know this (and the fact that I don't like M$'s X-box) is what has made me a PS and PS2 buyer. Although, I must admit it would be a pity if they didn't continue the Super Smash Bros. series.
I'm the Devil the Windows users warned you about.
i've been following the video game industry for some time now, and it is interesting to evaluate the advantage of being a 'first mover'.
during the genesis/snes wars, the first mover advantage most defn. helped sega when the technologically super snes arrived. the installed base invalidated the technical differences to a degree, and sega did pretty well for themselves.
during the saturn/ps1 wars, sega again had first mover advantage. but they negated that advantage by 1) coming out at too high a price point (i think $300) and 2) missing the boat w.r.t 3D gaming - the saturn just couldn't handle it.
during the latest dreamcast/ps2 wars, sega again had first mover advantage, and the DC did do well initially. i think what screwed it was that ps2 was LIGHT YEARS ahead of DC tech-wise - the first-mover advantage was simply negated this time (as opposed to the smaller difference of degree between the genesis and snes).
nintendo, which has traditionally always had late console releases, now realizes that first mover is vitally important. hence the latest announcement. the GC just came too late - the PS2 is a powerful box with TOO MUCH of a installed base. lets hope that their latest technology is on par with ps3 and xbox2 so they can remain competitive for the long haul.
smd4985
What the heck is going on with Atari these days? Did another company purchase the name, and start produceing games with their name? Or did the original company manage to survive some how?
:)
Is it possible they are just a division of a parent company now, being used to get the Famous name on some games once again? And we will never see more than such? Or are they an independant company, that may once again become a player in the console gameing industry?
To me the current stats us Console games is going the way of the buffalo. The freedom and variety of console gameing is being cut down by all these M$ purchases. I had a buddy of mine say, "Well, that is going to suck, who the hell wants to play the same damn game with a different name?" Is this going to cut down on the variety of new games? The Quality? The number? Price? How about the other console platforms? I am curious what other slashdotters think.
Ohh ya, I am happy with my original NES. You should see the thing hooked up to my 52" big screen and suround sound.
- Ice_Hole
"I couldn't give him (Bill Gates) advice in business and he couldn't give me advice in technology." Linus Torvalds
No word on whether the new system will be backward compatible.. hmm. With a distance between consoles as short as this one, they will probably be making a serious mistake if they don't make the new one backward compatible. Especially when the old system has as many great games as the GameCube.
I don't know.. i feel like i ought to be annoyed at nintendo for springing this on us after such a short time. Thing is, though, if they keep making consoles as small, relatively cheap, and with as many great games as the gamecube has (i've already got more games that i absolutely love for the gamecube than i had for the entire run of the Playstation.. and i've had this thing like a month now), i wouldn't really mind paying $150 every few years.
Especially because i suspect were nintendo to release a keyboard and hard drive for the gamecube, and announce some networked games, tomorrow, and the drive/keyboard/broadband adapter cost $150 all together, i'd probably buy it. And a bunch of the PS2 people will probably spend about as much as that on their keyboard/HD/broadband combo as soon as the online Final Fantasy game comes out. That in mind, a new game system coming out just a scant three years after the last one came into its own doesn't sound so bad.
That said, God dammit, nintendo, where the fuck are our internet-playable gamecube games? When are you going to realize this is something people actually want? Even if "internet playable" just means "it's an ordianary 2-player video game, but player 2 is in Ann Arbor"? Wouldn't the fact that all of your first run of the online adapters sold out the first day you had them in stores even though the only thing you can play with it is a mediocre port of an old dreamcast games have been a tiny clue?? Are we at least going to get some internet playable games when your next-gen console comes out in 2005? I'd settle for that.
-- super ugly ultraman
10 years of losing money to Sony.
Some people are gluttons for punishment.
It's a seuqel that is planned, which makes sense as the game's ending (at least at 100%) leaves open the possibility. Considering that Prime takes place almost immedeately after the first Metroid, I don't see how it could easily spawn a prequel.
STOP MISUSING APOSTROPHES, YOU MORONS!!!
I dunno, with the amazing specs being leaked about the PS3, the next nintendo better knock our socks off. If anybody leverages their monopoly position on a different market, it's nintendo. The only reason I have a gamecube is so that I can link to my GBA.
People who think they know everything really piss off those of us that actually do.
"When we withdraw from the home game console, that's when we withdraw from the video game business."
So withdraw already! I have zero urge to play any games on the Nintendo systems. Frankly, I think their games have gotten somewhat fruity (as in weak stories and characters) and thus hurting the game play value so, so much. The last game I enjoyed was Mario Cart.
PS2 seems to have just better designed games and do not seemed to be focused just at kids 3-10 y/o.
-Valiss
For the next 15 or so years Nintendo will have an attribute that MS and Sony cannot completely kill. I grew up playing Nintendo systems. I loved playing Mario and Zelda and Metroid games. I absolutely loved it, and while I don't even own any of the current generation gaming systems, I still feel a flutter of nostalgia when I look at Nintendo products. Some part of me wants to support the company that brought me so much joy as a kid. And I can still play those same characters in new, awesome adventures. As long as Nintendo continues to develop products that are not significantly worse than the competition, I believe that their loyal consumer base (some loyalty to the company, some loyalty to the trademark characters) will keep them afloat for at least a few more generations of systems.
Although, I would like to hear that Nintendo is doing something revolutionary, instead of the same tired cartridge-based technology improvements.
Man, I can't believe someone would consider Nintendo a mom and pop operation. That's just so ridiculous. Listen, just because a company isn't Microsoft, that doesn't make them "good." Do a little bit of research before you spout off.
I hate liberals. If you are a liberal, do not reply.
So, is this the "Megaton" announcement which I was getting so excited about a while back, or are we still waiting for that one?
This kind of comment really dissapoints me, personally. To see a perfectly successful game producer limit themselves to consoles, especially when then line between computers and consoles grows increasingly vauge, seems counter-productive these days.
We already know that the profit (if any) from the consoles themselves pales in comparison to the licensing fees they get from other companies using their patented hardware. Nintendo makes alot of excellent games. What do you really think of when you think of Nintendo's greatest successes? It's not any of the hardware, it's the software, the names we know like Mario, Metroid, and Zelda. Leaving the console business doesn't mean leaving these household names behind, as Sega has found out, accidentally as it may be.
No news from the gaming industry would please me more then to see Nintendo in the PC gaming business. Even my mom "gets" the idea that having excellent games distributed exclusively for various $200 pieces of hardware doesn't make sense.
"You know, Hobbes, some days even my lucky rocketship underpants don't help" -- Calvin
"When Nintendo leaves the home game console business, that's when we leave the video game business."
Yup. When they stop selling consoles, they're done. It's not like they've ever made a game for another console...
The arcade is the only market I can think of that they might have a foothold in, but they aren't very prominent there. I think it's safe to assume that when they leave the console industry they leave the whole video game industry. That's not that big a statement.
Lack of eloquence does not denote lack of intelligence, though they often coincide.
I wonder if Nintendo will continue to chase after the young gamer market. The biggest slam I hear from people about the 'cube is that it's all kids stuff. Having an 8 year old, I don't mind seeing all the titles out that are kid friendly... but with the new embrace of the older male market with games like GTA and the like, I'm wondering if Nintendo will forsake its past and try and get a chunk of the 18-30 market.
The rampant pirating of Dreamcast games made the system lose money, as with most consol system makers much of their profits were on the games they sold. It was just too easy to copy the games. That said the dreamcast was and is a great consol.
Come on, this isn't news. This is speculation on the obvious.
'Iwata emphasized Nintendo's plans to stick in the console industry by saying, "When we withdraw from the home game console, that's when we withdraw from the video game business."'"
"Read my lips, no new taxes" - George Bush
"Let them eat cake" - Marie Antionette
"No one will ever need more than 16KB of RAM" - Bill Gates
I think they also need to work on appealing to adults. i think xbox and PS have the current angle of appealing to an adult crowd. their game quality is as good as ever, but people dont want to see mario and co. as the only characters on the screen.
From what I recall, the PS2 being backwards-compatible was a nifty bit of sound engineering thinking. For the cost of a couple of extra pennies per unit, they used the CPU of the PSX as the graphics chip on the PS2. Not only did they already have the manufacturing capability set up (no small feat), but games were instantly backwards compatible, because the GPU would simply revert to being the main CPU when a PSX disc was inserted. No emulation!
Since he's referring to that more people want to play mobile GBA games rather than sit at a console in front of a TV. Sales wise, the Gameboys have outsold even the Sony behemoth(s). Meaning, there are more portable game players in the world than console gamers... Sort of.
So with PS3 and the new Nintendo system scheduled for 2005, can we expect XBOX 2 in 2004?
can't sleep slashdot will eat me
I must admit I'm a little surprised by this. Nintendo is notorious for hating to develop new consoles; they prefer to rake in the profits through licensing rather than actually spend all that money on R&D.
Their usual strategy is to wait until their competitor is about to launch their new console, then announce that they (Nintendo) are coming out with one too. That way they can cut into the potential market for their competitor's console, as a sizeable chunk of gamers (especially the younger ones with a lot less disposable income) decide to wait for the Nintendo offering.
From the infogrames corporate faq:
The reason Nintendo fans buy their systems is for the Mario, Metroid, Zelda, Pokemon type games. These are just geared for all ages. Nintendo tries to capture the largest market and make truely enjoyable products for ALL gamers. I would hate to see big bouncing breast volleyball games with medicore ratings instead of a damn good Mario game.
That someone is now obtaining rights for the domain name that will be the source for all your linux Ports for this next generation console.
Not to mention finding out how the said group can get an advanced copy of this new console to see if linux can be installed on it.
Heh
Dolemite
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Name just one console where the player can be eaten by a grue?
[/curmudgeon]
Trolling is a art,
From the perspective of a casual gamer (I know crap about the industry) - I always thought Sega dropped the ball with Dreamcast. I owned the Dreamcast, then the PS2. I was never really impressed with PS2. The Dreamcast produced such great looking titles, whereas the PS2 titles are all mediocre grainy games (with some exceptions, of course). I would have loved to stuck with Dreamcast, but I always percieved that Sega dropped support plus the brand recognition and hype factor of the ps2 made it much "bigger" than it really was. I view the failure of the Dreamcast not on technical merits, but rather, marketing ones.
Just my take from the outside.
Retro Studies is working on a Prequel to Metroid Prime
That's such a fitting name for a studio working on a Nintendo game... but actually it's Retro Studios. =)
Tom the Sigless
Well, not really, but we can already guess at what their first patch of games will be:
Come on Nintendo, surprise me and make the flagship games of your next console ORIGINAL and nnot aimed at 8 year olds... GC has excellent games while still a kiddy image... Shame.
Hate me!
It will probably have a hard drive that spins backwards...
(This is only funny if compare Xbox's greatest feature, the hard drive, to the GameCube's best security feature, the fact the GD-ROM spins backwards...)
uh.. does the portable market mean anything to you? it does to them. the gameboy advance the ONLY portable game in town, it's sales are still going strong, and including gameboy, gameboy color, and gba games, not to mention nes emulation, there are SEVERAL THOUSAND available games.
the portable market won't be drying up for nintendo any time soon.
In some ways, backwards compatibility hurt the PS2. I remember reading in its first year that Sony was having trouble convincing developers to make PS2 games instead of PSX games. And the developers had good reasons:
- proven development tools for the PSX
- PSX had a huuuuuge market share compared to the PS2, even after several months
- writing a game for the PSX meant the PS2 market was open to the game, but not vice versa
Now, obviously the first reason applies to any new console, but given the general crappiness of the PS2's development tools (by every account I ever read they were shoddy as hell -- hopefully Sony paid attention and will do better on that score with the PS3) developers were leary of committing time to learning the new tools and learning the ins and outs of the new hardware given that with no new effort they could make a PSX game that'd work on 25 million units.What you ended up with was a whole whack-load of developers who teetered on the fence for the first year of the PS2 trying to figure out when the best time was to jump on the bandwagon. Without the the backwards compatibility, certainly some of those developers would have jumped to the PS2 earlier. Okay, so Sony wasn't exactly hurting for games, but you have to wonder what some of those games from the end of the PSX era might have looked like a on a console that was truly capable of 3D rendering! :)
Wood Shavings!
- Godai
I was looking forward to seeing cross platform Nintendo games, I read in EGM (I think) that there were rumors that Nintendo would go the way of Sega. I guess it is all for the best because we need competition in the market.
Ask any PS2 developer and he(/she?) will tell you that it is murder trying to develop for it. It has something like 5 different processors. There is a PS1 sitting within the PS2 and is connected by a bus. Some functionality sits within the PS1, such as the gamepads.
The PS2 has a huge learning curve. And you have to write your own rendering engine plus it is poorly documented and poorly translated from the Japanese. Just compare PS2 launch titles with recent offerings. It took developers a good 2 years to learn how to get the best out of the machine.
With the Gamecube, they did not have to worry about backwards compatibility. And there is an opengl-like api as well.
There honestly isnt much loyalty in the game market. people want the top of the line.
Nintendos advantage is their games are great for kids. I mean little kids like my daughter. The console is just kid friendly where the PS2 and XBox are less so. Almost every game on the XBox is for 18+ adults. PS2 is almost the same but with selection of kids games that just aren't as great as Nintendos.
As long as Nintendo keeps it's target audience at the 16 and under crowd they will do fine. MS and Sony will compete for the older crowd until one of them gives up.
Because Nintendo has gone on the record to say they design games for ALL ages. Which is true, who DOESNT want to play a totally fun Mario game? What about Resident Evil 0, or Eternal Darkness with are mature games? Right now the Gamecube has just as many all-ages games as they do mature-ages games. You just need open your mind a bit and play what you think is FUN, and not limit yourself to what other nonesensical JUNK other people say.
I always shout out the names of the character whose's baby pictures they're showing during the song. Like this:
As long as we got each other (Mike!)
We got the world spinnin' right in our hands
Baby (Carol!) you and me...
I know that the appeal of consoles is a nice uniform platform that developers can depend to perform the same from user to user, along with a nice set of tools to make the whole process easier. However, where the game companies usually take a loss on the hardware (don't think nintendo did so bad this last round), I'm wondering why nintendo, sony, etc. haven't banded together to distribute a 'universal gaming platform' of sorts.
Here's my idea - the key lies in standards & pluggable components:
1) dvd format should be fine for all games
2) usb 2.0 or firewire should handle everyone's controller/input needs just fine
3) make the cpu, graphics, sound, network & bios/rom pluggable
3) all games would just list their requirements based on these 4/5 components... always with all versions being backwardly compatible. Also it's be key to make switching these things in & out very simple... like putting an old game cartridge in.
Sure they're competitors, but this is the type of thing that'd benefit everyone in the industry... and it's not like they couldn't still maintain their branding & licensing profits... that's where the pluggable bios/rom comes in.... if you want to play a nintendo game on your ugc (universal gaming console), pop in the nintendo card! sony... the sony card!
Anyways... that's just something I've been thinking of, I'm sure it's not an original idea... but it sure seems to make a lot of sense to me.
Why should they? Sony and MS are going for the Teen and above market. Nintendo has always had the kids market and I know a LOT of parents who let their kids play anything Nintendo because they know it's kid-friendly.
You want games for older kids/adults, buy a PS2 or an XBox. You want games for kids, buy a GameCube. (That is in NO WAY a slap at Nintendo or the GC.)
Boobies never hurt anyone. - Sherry Glaser.
I bought the GameCube for Metroid Prime, and I would have bought an N64 if there was a Metroid game for it. I'm almost 22 years old but it makes me feel like a little kid again everytime someone even mentions those delightfully menacing energy-sucking, three-eyed, Metroids. If Nintendo has anything going for it, it is capturing the imaginations and hearts of players and when it takes hold with one character, or one game, it doesn't let go easy. *goes to dig-up old Nintendo Power's with Metroid comics* I'm hopeless =(
...they'll suceed, IMO.
First, Nintendo needs to learn a lesson from its portable market. Biggest reason why I'll get a GBA SP? OR why everyone got GBAs to begin with? *Backwards compatibility*
Sony has it with PS2. It made getting a PS2 much more lucrative than a GC, since I could finally play the FF games, as well as GTA series.
Nintendo should maintain bacwards compat. for Gamecube games, and move up to full sized discs like the PS2 for better soundtracks and even more graphics goodies. I'm not a tech genius but I imagine the system can differentiate between big and small legacy discs...if my $5 cdrom drive can read those funny shaped business card discs, Nintendo should be able to accomplish this.
So...bigger discs for more goodies, and backwards compatibility with Gamecube. Go Nintendo.
Oh, more adult targetted games wouldnt hurt. And maybe online play...but my first two points are the biggies.
http://thechubbyferret.net - Ferret pictures and informative links.
I think I am going to hold out til 2016 to buy a new gaming console.
::.. check out some Cell Phone Reviews
Spend a few bucks on hardworking open-source projects, and screw the conglomerates. Buy a bike, go out on a date, exercise!
Microsoft: Linux is best after all
That is correct from a hardware engineer's viewpoint. But a software engineer would definitely not use the word "nifty" to describe the PS2.
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I thought Sony wasn't goiing to use the Playstation name anymore?
Nintendo never claimed any right to the PlayStation trademark. You're remembering this hoax.
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I hate liberals. If you are a liberal, do not reply.
The sound and controllers are run by the orignal PSX chip. Part of the idea behind the PSOne was to reduce the size of the PSX so it could be integrated into the PS2. Sony has created a one chip PS2/PSX combo for use in the future consoles, so the future for their backward's compatiblity looks golden.
I never understood the real appeal of the backwards compatibility. If you have any PSX games, chances are you have a PSX.
sin(6cos(r)+5A)
No, the reason the PS3 will not launch in 2004 is the same reason why Lord of The Rings (all 3 of them) was shot in 1 swipe and aren't released simultaneously--milk the public as much as possible, then, and only then do you release something better. There's no way the PS2 will reach it's end in 2004, and I'd be surprised if even in 2005 they released PS3.
Nintendo Planning Next Console
... We will get ready for a (new) battle in 2005 although foreign game developers are now saying that rival next-generation systems won't come until 2006."
Quit the console race? Never. Nintendo wants to win it.
January 23, 2003 - It appears that Nintendo is finally learning its lessons. In a Reuters interview posted this morning, Nintendo of Japan president Satoru Iwata commented on the company's long-term intentions in the console wars to follow its current GameCube hardware.
"We are developing a new home video game console with a plan to release the new system around the same time as rival makers do," said Iwata. "The PlayStation 2 debuted one-and-a-half years ahead of the GameCube. If we had launched the GameCube at the same time as PlayStation 2, the result would have been different.
Iwata emphasized Nintendo's plans to stick in the console industry by saying, "When we withdraw from the home game console, that's when we withdraw from the video game business."
Iwata also commented on Nintendo's current strategy: "Our focus for 2003 is to offer new types of games which allow consumers to play both on the GameCube and Game Boy Advance."
Nintendo's newfound focus on the future can perhaps be attributed to its most recent sales reports, which put it in close competition with Microsoft's Xbox for the number two spot in the industry behind Sony's mammoth PS2 market share. Nintendo missed projected sales of 10 million GameCube systems by 10%, as well as falling short of its projected 55 million units of software sales.
On a down note, when asked about these lacking sales, Mr. Iwata blamed the videogame market, saying, "consumers today apparently don't want to sit in front of the television to play games for hours and hours." This comment leaves us completely baffled, as we're not entirely sure how the president of NCL hasn't noticed the millions of PS2 units shipped each month, in addition to the 1.5 million copies of Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto: Vice City that shipped from retailers.
But no matter what the reason for the sliding sales at the end of 2002 (and we're fairly confident that it's not a lack of consumer interest in videogaming), we're certainly thrilled to no end to see Nintendo taking an early and aggressive approach to its next console strategy.
Stay tuned to IGNcube for the latest breaking news on Nintendo's post-GameCube plans.
Retro Studios Reunites with Samus
Studio begins work on Metroid Prime sequel.
January 23, 2003 - Sources at Texas-based Retro Studios told IGNcube this morning that the company is in planning stages for a sequel to the hit GameCube adventure Metroid Prime. Executives at the company recently made an internal announcement to employees that the project has been cleared by Nintendo.
No details were given about the sequel, but one employee under the condition of anonymity did note that team members were throwing around the idea of including a multiplayer mode in the sequel.
No release date has been set for the project, but a tentative date of sometime in 2004 is likely.
We contacted Nintendo for official comment, but the company did not return our phone calls in time for publish.
We will of course be tracking the development of the game over the next several months. Stay tuned to the site for more.
Don't throw away those Cubes yet, kiddies. Nintendo, Sony, et al are notorious for spreading rumors of new consoles "just around the corner," then releasing them years later when the market is finally ready. Remember how many extra years we had to wait for "project reality?" or the Playstation? If you go by the original announcements, the PS3 and XBox2 should already be out by now.
No, what is more likely is that Nintendo is countering Sony's mindshare ploy with a mindshare ploy of their own. This is the first real year for the Game Cube, and by my calculations that means that unless they fail miserably in the market, Nintendo won't release a new system until 2008. Nintendo knows this business, and they know that to be successful you have to make the majority of people wait just a little bit for a new system. The launch of a new system is a huge financial burden... why would they go running in to do that when they are so profitable at number 2?
This Sig is a mnemonic device designed to allow you to recognize this author in the future.
I suspect you say that with your tongue in cheek, but i would just like to ask anyway: All those of you who are miffed about the fact your brand-new gamecube will be obsolete in two and a half years:
Do you get as annoyed about being coerced into spending $150-$200 every two or so years for an incrementally improved version of your operating system that doesn't really add much, as you do about being coerced into spending $150-$200 every three or so years for a completely new and improved game console?
Just curious.
Irritable, left-wing and possibly humorous bumper stickers and t-shirts
If you have any PSX games, chances are you have a PSX.
Disc consoles have moving parts. Moving parts wear out. Thus, disc consoles wear out. A worn-out PS1 console (whether PSX or PSOne form factor) won't play PS1 games. Thus, owners of a dead PS1 can buy a PS2 to replace it, rather than a PS1 and a Gamecube.
Will I retire or break 10K?
I was thinking about geting to smoking pot but now I don't want to. Thank you Shashdot.
for quite some time into the dreamcast. "we'd never pull out of the console business" and they were even designing their next gen console from the articles i read.
Title exclusivity sucks ass. I hate that each of these consoles has at least one extremely compelling title that is available only on that console.
It means having to have multiple consoles in order to play the games that you want to play... My house now has all three current generation consoles (Got my son a PS2 Christmas of last year, picked up an Xbox for myself last summer, and ended up getting a Gamecube this year at the after Christmas sales).
At least I'm covered when a new game comes out, but even then I'm faced with difficult decisions. When we want a game that's available for more than one platform, we have to decide which version to get, resigned to the knowledge that we're gonna be committed to playing said game at one of three locations (The Home Theater, the kids' playroom, or my son's bedroom).
It makes PC gaming look so much more attractive than consoles, knowing that I had software portability; that one title could be played on any of the PCs.
I also have to concede that First person shooters suck on consoles. I long for the Keyboard and Mouse combo whenever I play Halo. I'll never be half as good at it as I am at Quake.
I also have to take issue with your assertion about Better Prices. It may be valid for the hardware (PS2 and Xbox for $200, Gamecube for $150), but it's completely invalid for the game titles themselves. A new game costs $50 (at a retail store), regardless of the console you're buying it for. I have seen no indication that games for Platform X are any less expensive than they are for Platforms Y or Z.
I wish there was a single platform specification, with multiple hardware vendors building compatible systems, all capable of running the same software. Then you'd have real choices.
(Oh yeah, I guess there is... They call them PCs)
For those that would die defending it, Freedom
has a sweet taste that the protected will never know.
Almost reminds me of the Turbo Grafix 16. I seem to recall being able to play its' games on the go on a color(!) screen using the same hucards. The more I look at this, it REALLY seems like Nintendo is moving in such a way that we'll be able to use GB/A games on our GC^2 off the bat. Wouldn't it make sense (other than possibly eating into GBASP EX+a :)
for them to make something better than PS3 and Xbox they sure don't have very far to go.
~ now you know
I see a LOT of complaints that Nintendo makes "kiddy", that they don't make anything an 18-30 year old gamer would want to play, etc., etc.
The complaints obviously don't come from anyone who has actually played a GameCube game for an extended period of time. Nintendo has done an excellent job appealing to both young kids and older GAMERS, IMO.
All of Nintendo's "big" GameCube games are extremely fun to play. Cartoonish characters
appeal to younger players, but it is the solid, fun games that have kept Nintendo fans loyal since the 80s.
Take SSB: Melee, for example. It is filled with characters kids will like based on appearance. Mario, Luigi, Pikachu, Yoshi, etc. It is also extremely fun, but has tons of retro Nintendo goodness that only an older gamer will appreciate (I doubt an 8-Year old understands who the "Ice Climbers" are).
Animal Crossing is yet another game that looks like it is "for kids" at first glance, but delivers some interesting, innovative gaming as well as the ability to play old NES games... a feature that was obviously designed for older fans.
And then, there is Metroid Prime, which is probably the best console game released within the last two years.
Most of the GC games can be enjoyed by anyone. As more people who grew up with the original NES start to have children, Nintendo might actually be able to reclaim the top spot. Why? Because parents will be able to purchase their family a console that they can enjoy for the retro-ness, and their kids can also enjoy.
Honestly, my PS2 got more use in 2002 as a DVD player and a PS1. I haven't been impressed with too many games that have come out in 2002 for it. On the other hand, the my Cube has been getting a lot of play time, and will continue to do so since Link and I will have some serious princess rescuing to do come Spring.
What Nintendo HAS NOT done well is appealed to casual idiot who thinks that having sex with a hooker and then running her over to get your money back is the epitomy of good, "mature," gameplay. This is a good thing.
"You spoony bard!" -Tellah
I like the software but not the hardware... but only because I already have a PS2. I'm getting very tired of these "For this particular console only" games. Each console has its merits and I chose PS2 because I had a PS1 that I loved, and I still had a lot of PS1 games. Now that I have a PS2, I don't want to buy an XBox or a GameCube. I already have a great console, why should I have to buy 2 more so that I can play all of the games that are out?
Further, where am I going to put two more consoles and how am I going to hook it all together? I have two consoles plugged in now (N64 is the other) and I don't have much free space in my gaming table (a coffee table with shelves in the front where I put my consoles and all the games, game mags, game books, etc.
Why can't we have one console to rule them all?
Seriously though, I think I would be more likely to pay more for a console that could play games from 2 of the big 3 than buying two consoles. If there was a PS2 that was licensed and able to also play GameCube games, or XBox games, at least it would help with my space issue. As it is, I have to consider the extra cost of another console, new controllers and other accessories, and then find a place to stick it.
Anyway, back to my original reason for posting... I like Nintendo games. They have some great games available for their console but I would prefer if they were to follow Sega and stop making hardware. As it is, they aren't getting much money from me (I buy N64 games still - there were some good games for that system) but if they were to release their games for PS2, I would buy a lot of them. I don't know what kind of profits they make on their hardware, or how that would be affected if they were to license their games for PS2, but I think overall they would sell more games because there are more PS2's in the world than GameCubes... and if they did a tri-license and included XBox, they would do even better... but one has to wonder how many consoles they would sell if their games ran on PS2 and XBox. I bet the hardware numbers would go in the shitter real quick.
Maybe you can clear this up for me: What are the advantages (real world, not just statistical) of the GameCube? If all else was equal, would there be a good reason to get a GameCube over a PS2 or XBox?
How is it that one careless match can start a forest fire, but it takes a whole box to start a campfire?
try this instead. nintendo claims 2005 or 2006. "Industry veteran Nintendo, which has fallen well behind leader Sony Corp and vies with newcomer Microsoft Corp for the number two spot in the console market, suffered poor sales of its flagship GameCube console during the crucial holiday shopping season. In contrast, Sony said this month it had sold 8.5 million PlayStation 2s during the shopping season, up 24 percent from a year earlier, and that accumulated shipments topped 50 million units worldwide." funny, the ps2 didn't seem to have such a bad holiday season did it?
"Consumers today apparently don't want to sit in front of the television to play games for hours and hours."
:D
Actually, the article says that this quote from Nintendo isn't accurate because there are so many people with PS2's, when the article I believe is misunderstanding Nitnendo.
See, most PS2 gamers are very casual gamers. The majority of the PS2 titles really suck. Casual gamers don't hold a game up to as high a standard as hardcore gamers. They WILL buy the latest movie liscense, or that Britney Spears Dance Beat shitheap of a game. While there are many very excelleng games for the PS2, oddly enough they aren't the games casual gamers play, except maybe Grant Theft Auto 3/VC which is selling to both the casual and hardcore.
A hardcore gamer will most likely have both a Gamecube and a PS2. In some cases a Gamecube and an XBox, and no PS2. The real fanatics have all three.
Still, what I've noticed about hardcore gamers, is that they WANT complexity and difficulty. They want depth, and freedom. There are games on every platform for the hardcore gamer, but when it comes to games that the unskilled, unwashed, untalented casual gamer wants, the largest number appear on the Playstation. The Playstation IS the video game equivilant of "pop-culture". The video game industry, because of the Playstation, is starting to mimick the music and movie industry.
The point Nintendo was making that the article seemed to miss was that gamers now days DON'T want the complexity, difficulty, and depth that Nitnendo's first part games tend to have.
I just hope this doesn't mean Nintendo is going to give up their "Quality vs. Quantity" policy, and start releasing huge piles of crap.
If you love good games but have refrained from getting a Gamecube beause you already have a PS2, you are denying yourself some really wonderful gems. I can honestly say I've enjoyed almost all of the Nintendo first party titles. Yet, with few exceptions, nearly every game I have on the PS2 or XBox goes unplayed after the first few times. They're just so "blah". (Like I said, there are exceptions...)
I have all three systems. I have the most fun with the Gamecube. A lot of people I know agree once they've played a few of the Gamecube games. Esspecially Metroid.
"Everything you know is wrong. (And stupid.)"
Moderation Totals: Wrong=2, Stupid=3, Total=5.
I think it's more likely that after shooting 3 films back to back, each one would need at least a year of post-production before release, and that's why they're spaced out.
Of course, PJ could have just waited three years and then put out all 3 films at once, which would be box office suicide, because the films would be in competition with each other for ticket sales.
Considering that a number of half-assed programming attempts at a software-only PSX emulator were almost successful, the behemoth force of Microsoft could have easily created a software-based emulator for PS1 titles that would be run on the XBox and look even better than the PS1. Then of course, they would have ended up helping undo the DMCA when defending the inevitable lawsuits from Sony. Ah well.
Beach Spikers is a great game when you have friends over that don't play games. Pour a couple of drinks, hand out the Wavebirds, and you got a game that's easy to play. Just because it has bouncing breasts doesn't mean that it isn't a good game!
My Xbox is in a drawer, haven't gotten around to finishing Buffy, the one game that I got the system for. OTOH, I got a stack of Gamecube games... Animal Crossing is easily the best and most played, but there are a bunch.
Alex
you've got to be kidding, nintendo has nver produced ANYTHING that was backward compatible.
both Sony and MS beat the heck out of them there.
[begin sarcasm]Obviously, anybody can see that they only reason that Nintendo felt the need to announce their new system was because they felt threatened by The Phantom! Who can compete with 32,000 games? Who can compete???[/end sarcasm]
They were shot together, but the post production on each film takes a significant amount of time, and was done one film at a time. ROTK is still in post production.
What are they going to call it.
They took the sequil route when they went from NES to SNES, then developed under then name Nintendo Ultra 64 before changeing it to Nintendo 64, or N64 for short. Game cube was originaly project Dolphin and the final name was kept secret. Sony and Microsoft are easy to figure out, PS3 and Xbox 2, but I don't think Nintendo will call it Gamecube 2, or Super Gamecube, Maby it will be called Project V or Project 5, since it will be there 5th major entry into the non portable gameing market (depending on how you count the virtural boy).
-- Any comments seen here are not mine, but a mixture of alchohol and lack of sleep.
It's been pointed out in this thread that Nintendo was basically the Microsoft of the game industry in the late 1980's (90%+ of the industry, antitrust lawsuits - ring a bell). The difference is that everyone still liked them (how could we not - Mario! Zelda!)
Since then Nintendo has fallen from the king of the hill, partly due to the fact that the hill is so much bigger nowadays, but also due to some bad decisions. The Genesis came out before the SNES and Nintendo played catchup until right before the end (Donkey Kong Country pulled them slightly ahead of Sega's numbers, but Sega was still quite the contender). Then with the Nintendo 64, Nintendo pretty much got cocky. I loved the N64 but lots of the decisions they made (cartridges, no Metroid, etc.) were bad. Plus they were doing things like relying on Pokemon, franchises and the children's market. It was as if they didn't realize a portion of their target audience were now grownups
Now we have the new Nintendo. The old Nintendo stayed with a moribund format, the new Nintendo is DVD-based (though 3" DVD's). The old Nintendo wouldn't let a Metroid game be made, the new Nintendo released two last year. The old Nintendo would have had only one good game at launch, and a Mario one at that - the new Nintendo had lots of good games, none of which were Mario, and the Luigi game they did was completely non-traditional. The old (old) Nintendo would never have let a dark, violent game on their console, the new Nintendo scored the exclusives on the Resident Evil franchise. The old Nintendo would forget its roots, the new Nintendo rerelases old NES games in the form of a pack of cards. For that matter, only Nintendo would have thought of that. The old Nintendo would have swamped its console with Pokemon - the new Nintendo has yet to.
The old Nintendo would just tell its customers what they want, the new Nintendo asks its customers what they think of Xbox live.
Imagine what Microsoft would be like if, in ten years, they fell from the top of the heap and had to fight for customers all of a sudden.
I'm a longtime admitted Nintendo fanboy and it's becoming easier to do so.
Schnapple
Nintendo's games are golden. They are the games I go to over and over when I want to just gel out and have fun. When I think back over the years to the games I have the best memories of, most of them were made by Nintendo. Zelda (all of them), Metroid (all of them), Super Mario Bros (again, all of them), Mario Kart, Pikmin, etc... Not that other people haven't made good games (Konami, Capcom... those were the good old days), but for games that I could stick in the console, fire up and enjoy, Nintendo was the best.
One other thing: has anyone noticed how quickly Nintendo's Gamecube games start? (Here, I mean specifically the ones made by Nintendo.) I can usually have the power on and be playing in the amount of time it would take to get past the first developer's logo on a PS2 game.
Anyway, all that to say this. I look forward to a new console by Nintendo, but whether they made a new console or not, I look forward mostly, to their games.
I went dormant for 2 years and played no games, at all. I bought a Gamecube when Starfox(moan) came out a few moths ago, and got Metroid(yippy!) for holidays. I also bought the PS2 recently for DVD/Gaming. The Gamecube has better sound and graphics. The realtime hair in Starfox had me staring at the title screen for a few minutes the first time.
Nintendo pushes the edge of gaming while others walk the edge. Nintendo games have always set the bar for everyone else. 2 words...Shigeru Miyamoto.
I saw an Xbox once at my cousin's. Couldn't get over the size of it. Good graphics...shitty console IMHO.
a mate at work loves driver 2 and GTA3 on his ps2. The purchases are justified cause he's got a dance mat and Britney and 'the whole family love playing it'. The kids are also big fans of the new Harry Potter game.
You may think it's only casual gamers buying the crap, but sometimes it's a cover for serious gamers.
this may be flamebait but - oh well....Yet another Nintendo System with yet another version of Zelda, Mario, and Metroid....3 years after that i'm sure their will be yet another NES with yet another version of Zelda, Mario, and Metroid....
not that the games are bad, but i'm going to stick with Sony or the Xbox, who's consoles have more of a variety of games and are not quite as redundant.
Ave Molech Setting
I don't care what anyone says, the gamecube is the best! I mean it is the cutest and that is what really matters, right?
The majority of gamers are in their mid-teens to 25ish
Actually, that's a popular myth; average gamer age is closer to 28. Full picture from the IDSA press release included below; note that it's a coupla years old, but with last year's launch of the adult-skewing XBox, I'm certain the avg age has not gone down any:
* * *
Washington, D.C.-Sept. 12, 2000 - American adults, whether they be moms and dads or even grandmas and grandpas, are increasingly playing computer and video games, according to data released today by the Interactive Digital Software Association (IDSA), the trade group representing U.S. computer and video game publishers.In fact, Baby Boomers are a significant audience for game publishers.
The findings are part of a survey fielded by Peter D. Hart Research Associates earlier this year that showed that 32 percent of Americans who play computer and video games are age 35 or older, with a remarkable 13 percent age 50 or over.
In addition, the study showed that 43 percent of game players are women, and that the average age of these women is 29 years old. Overall, the study showed that 60 percent of all Americans, or about 145 million people, say they play interactive games, exploding the myth that most gamers are teenage boys alone in their rooms.
"The popularity of video games with Baby Boomers reflects the increasing variety and sophistication of titles available and the appeal of entertainment with which users can interact and control," said IDSA President Douglas Lowenstein.
"Whether the title is a fishing game, a quiz or puzzle game, a historically based strategy game, or a complex simulation game, you can bet it is increasingly realistic and immersive and offers what today's technologically savvy adult expects."
IDSA data also shows that these grown-up game players are not simply playing alone -- they're also playing with their children and friends as part of their regular social activities. According to IDSA's fifth annual Consumer Survey, 25 percent of most frequent game players play with their parents, 27 percent play with their spouse, 33 percent play with siblings, and 43 percent play games with other family members.
Types of Games Purchased by Frequent Gamer Players
age 50 and over in the Past Year (source: IDSA Consumer Survey)
Game Genre Percent Age 50+ Who Purchased that Genre
Puzzle/Board Game/Card 25.5 percent
Action 12.7 percent
Learning 10.4 percent
Role Playing/Adventure 10.0 percent
Driving/Racing 10.0 percent
I recently wanted to purchase a game console around christmas time. I went to EB at the mall and noticed that they stock 5 times more games for PS2 and Xbox than they do for GC. It turned out there really are many more games for PS2 than for any system. Upon closer expection I found that most of the games for PS2 were really crappy, whereas all the games for GC were very high quality. PS2 games are hit or miss. GC games are hits and more hits.
What is with the lame reefer madness link???
/. team sitting around saying:
...,
Slashdot taking up the never ending war on drugs now? I can just see the
"Well we have conquered the online community market, what next?",
"I know lets become crime fighters, and start putting a bunch of 15 years olds in jail for carrying around a joint.",
"Yeah good idea, just let me finish this ciggy and down another overpriced caffinated beer before we go out cruzin' for weed-head punks."
Somebody mod this guy up. Any bleeding-edge computer will play the latest games well for 2-3 years, max. Contrast that with the typical console lifecycle (and the console's much cheaper price!) and you have a relatively cheap gaming experience.
.well, a lot of insulting words come to mind, that's all.
If people want to argue that PC games are better than console games, that's fine--people will always disagree on that. But don't tell me PC gaming has a better cost/benefit ratio--that's . .
I'd suggest you don't use Slashdot as your only news source, or you will suffer permanent brain damage.
Sorry, but the parent here is overrated and in error by a long shot.
Yes it is quite illegal for you and I to download/copy the games and play them on an emulator. Why? We don't own the rights to say Super Mario Bros or the NES hardware. Hense any emulation done outside Nintendo is probably illegal.
Oh wait...Nintendo DOES own the rights to the (S)NES and all those games they made! They can do ANYTHING they want with those properties. If they want to emulate a NES on the GameCube and feed it the Metroid ROM, perfectly legal.
They'll tell us that emulation is illegal cause for us, it is. They on the other hand can do whatever the hell they want with their games.
Hypocritical.....pthhh
I think the difference between Nintendo and Sega comes down to branding and the fraction of games for that system that were ONLY on that system. The examples given were great: Zelda, Mario, etc. Sega tried, and Sonic was a good series, but it just never became synonymous with Sega the way Mario did with Nintendo. Nintendo had better (and more) platform-exclusive games, and it was easier to identify the Nintendo "style." Also, Nintendo never released their games for other systems - which resulted in brand dilution for Sega, and ultimately, their removal from the console market.
-Looking for a job as a materials chemist or multivariat
Becuase Sony doesn't seem to care much about their online gaming product. Their support is terrible. My Sony Network adapter worked sporadically, and I had to deal with inept customer service people via email to try and figure out whether or not it was a faulty adapter or a router setting that was keeping things from working properly.
Xbox Live on the other hand works much more efficiently, and becuase M$ is charging for it, they actually want to help with support. Sony has nothing to gain if I play SOCOM or Twisted Metal Online. Their business model is all wrong.
So why do I own a Gamecube and an Xbox? Simple. The common game list is much smaller than Xbox and PS2. Gamecube has "fun" games like Animal Crossing and Zelda that are somewhat cartoony, and not all blood and guts. They also have Metroid Prime which is incredible, and their broadband adapter got me setup with Phantasy Star online in seconds with ZERO CONFIGURATION.
It asked if I wanted to connect via the broadband adapter, I said yes, and then I was connected. No DHCP, IP numbers, or anything.
Xbox and PS2 seem to be almost mirror images of one another in terms of game selections. Large amounts of common games, and smaller amounts of exclusives. PS2 has the Grand Theft Auto series, which I grew tired of, and Xbox has some of its own exclusives, like Morrowind. Regardless, I think one of the most important features of the xbox will be its increasing use of its harddrive and the Live service to update content. New Levels, new types of characters. Keeps games fresh.
Well this post has gone on far enough. Conclusion: Xbox over PS2 for reasons stated, Gamecube in addition, to suppliment the blood and guts games with a serving of happy little cartoons.
There are in the business of making and selling video games and hardware. That's what they are doing here, and doing so in a time frame that makes them competitive. Durr.
are people just so against chronology they can't make sequals anymore?.. and i seem to remember someone telling me that metroid prime took place directly after the original metroid... wouldn't that mean they're is already a prequal... or better yet metroid prime is a freakin sequal? i just don't understand why we gotta play games in reverse order these days i feel like i'm watching momento (good movie) maybye i am the only guy who after finding a good deal on a game has to go and find all the earlier games before i will even open the new one but still some people have to miss chronology in games prequals don't gimmie that epic continuance feeling sequals get... ok so maybye i am alond here
Do you know why the PS2 was such a success ? let me tell you : because of fud!!!
Sony promised us 75,000,000 polygons, remember ? magazines were drooling over the PS2...
And when PS2 came out, it had already outsold Dreamcast before the customers/magazines realized the problems (difficult to develop for, fuzzy textures, etc).
Release dates do play a big part in who buys what system, but Nintendo doesn't sound like it's accounting for why or how their consumers make decisions to pick a console! Honestly if they had released the GameCube closer to the unveiling of the Playstation 2, how many more sales would they have generated? How many additional impulsive buys would that have accounted for? How many people would still buy the Playstation 2 for GTA?
The biggest question on the minds of my friends back in '95 was, "Do I buy a Sega Saturn now, wait for Sony's first console system, or preorder an N64?"
My buddies started to fall in to three distinct camps. First there were the impatient gamers that wanted to satisfy a fix right now! Naturally they snatched up the Saturn and voiced no regrets. The next bunch were the tech savvy spec hunting gamers that assumed the market would follow whichever system had the best hardware (please don't remind me of the 3DO). Even after the Playstation was released, and it was becoming obvious that Nintendo was going to take a lot longer to ship, there were still countless people that I knew that stuck with the philosophy that if Nintendo was taking it's time to do things right it was probably worth it to wait for their system(even if it meant waiting another year)! Last, but not least, there's the slow-to-let-go, trend-following fan-boys-and-girls that were too leary to fork over hundreds of dollars to a company that was just getting it's feet wet in the game biz. As would be expected the last bunch became product loyalists, either standing devoutely behind Nintendo and their SNES's or advocating the virtues of buying the already-here Sega Saturn system. To be fair, there were those that just wanted to wait to see which developers would sign up with which systems. And others who just wanted to make sure that the system they bought had GOOD games worth playing, developers be damned! That's probably another camp or two entirely, but who's counting?
So you have players operating on indulgence/instant-gratification, product superiority, product loyalty, the number of developers backing the console (which probably has it's roots in the adage, "a 1000 monkeys all banging away at a 1000 keyboards for a 1000 years, and eventually you have to get something good"), and what seems most important, IMHO, GOOD titles worth playing.
It just rather irked me that Iwata sounded so desperately clueless in this interview! Yes, getting it out the door sooner would be great, as long as you don't compromise any of the other things needed to sustain your system! Duh! If they're trying to finger why their sales are low they should look towards their software and hardware. For having spent as long as they did to release, they only surpass the PS2 by a foot on the yard stick.
What do you get when you cross a mountain-climber with a mosquito? Nothing! You can't cross a scaler with a vector.
Nintendo's failing was that it was too rigid in its "we are Nintendo, so we are right" ways. The phenominal success of the PS2 should tell them something: It has to look cool, it has to act cool, it has to play all the old stuff, and by this point it had damn well be able to play regular CDs and DVDs. To do otherwise means your product is at a weakness compared to the competition, and will not sell as well. Period.
If you look at the big picture, you see a stagnant GameCube market and an uninterested GBA market. Nintendo may own the portable market, but just like Sega, the home console market will ultimately lead to their undoing if they stay on their present course.
Nintendo historically has the tag of being a "kid's system". This is often cited as a slam against Nintendo's offerings (save maybe the Game Boy Advance).
:)
In a console market where *three* machines are openly competing, and each succeeding enough to sustain its market presence, I personally think that targeting certain audiences with each console would be a good thing.
It's no secret that Nintendo is actively trying to ditch the "kid" label. Signing Capcom to an exclusive deal for certain Resident Evil titles is a clear indicator of this. So what we have is three machines each trying to be The One Console for everyone.
I would prefer a console market where each system has their own target audience. I would like a Nintendo that focuses on perhaps the "kid-friendly" (which aren't by definition "childish", but have both agreeable content and simplistic enough gameplay that kids can enjoy it) market. Perhaps another console focuses on certain genres or another age group, and another focuses on something else.
Gamers that wish to have their fingers in more than one pot are free to buy multiple consoles (as we already do), but those that fit squarely in a single market and only intend to buy one console can have the console that meets their desires.
If only it were that simple... we'll probably continue to see developers push for the ever-present "multiplatform" releases in attempts to bring in the most sales possible. But a sharp definition of target audiences, if it were possible, could be healthy for the industry, as well as lower development costs (if your target audience is all on one console, you need not waste resources on multiplatform releases).
Freedom of choice is good. I just want our choices to be distinct enough from each other.
"When we withdraw from the home game console, that's when we withdraw from the video game business."
Yeah! Kick some ass Iwata!
What are you planning to do with it, run an enterprise Oracle server on it?
It's a game system, fer cryin out loud. At $150, it's very reasonable, too. It plays a lot of great games now, and by 2005, there will be a lot more great games.
You also have to figure that any new game system will take at least a year to replace an old system, so developers will still be cranking out great GameCube games through 2006. Some of the PS1's best games came out AFTER the PS2 had been released.
But I see a lot of misinformed posts here. It's been said before, and I'll say it again:
"It's the games, stupid!"
Sure, PS2 is ahead because of it's first-mover advantage, but that's has to do primarily with the quantity of games it offers. Moreover, nintendo only appeals to people who already like nintendo! You can't get a 15 year old who never played the original marios and metroid interested in game cube, because they're all too cutesy. Halo, a dearth of sports games, and a lot of FPS games are much more marketable. It's all about the games- the fact that the game cube is moderately inferior to the xbox doesn't hold it back. Nor does the fact that the PS2 is very inferior to both, and more expensive than the cube hold IT back, because it has GAMES.
Enough ranting.
Read jack phelps dot net
Everyone always says that the Xbox is enormous. I'm watching my son play Mario Sunshine on my cube right now. In order to play it, you must pull the GameCube out of the entertainment center. Same thing with the Dreamcast next to it. The Xbox, on the other hand, stays put in it's place just above my receiver. My reciever is 1.6 x 1.8 times as large as the Xbox.
My point is that unless it uses batteries, design is more important than weight. It is way easier to pop a game in my Xbox than my GameCube. Way OT, but worth mentioning.
"My God, this must be a truly remarkable corn chip, to be so widely and confidently touted."
Don't forget the PS5!
It's a 2,048-bit console featuring a 45-Ghz trinary processor, CineReal graphics booster with 2-gig biotexturing, and an RSP connector for 360-degree online-immersion play.
Wait, 14 years from now? Crap!
you've got to be kidding, nintendo has nver produced ANYTHING that was backward compatible. both Sony and MS beat the heck out of them there.
First off: That's not actually true. The Game Boy Color was backward compatible with the Game Boy, and the Game Boy Advance was backward compatible with the previous two Game Boy platforms.
Secondly, while no *home* console system nintendo has ever released has been backward compatible (unless you count add-ons like the 64DD and the [japan only] Famicom Disk system), Nintendo has also always in the past always been cartridge-based. This is no longer the case; the gamecube is optical disk based. It is not really particularly easy to maintain compatibility from machine to machine when each machine has a different cartridge format that is going to be a different size and shape. Optical disks, however, are a different beast; this thing alone shows that it is perfectly possible to create one laser that can read both the DVD format and the Gamecube format. If nintendo continues with the optical disks thing, and there is every reason to believe they will, nintendo very well could just allow disks of either sort to fit in their next-gen console.
Now, here's my prediction: Nintendo once released a $50 super nintendo addon that let you play game boy games on it, and now has out a $50 gamecube addon that lets you play GBA games on it. A few years into the Super Nintendo's lifespan, they released a "redesigned" NES, that could play all the NES games but was very small and very cheap, just for everyone who'd never had an NES. From this i'd say Nintendo knows how to milk every last cent out of an expired franchise. My guess would be that if it turns out to be technologically inconvenient to make their next console backward-compatible, Nintendo will just release along with the console a $50 "compatibility card", or something, that will allow people who never had a gamecube to enjoy both systems relatively cheaply, while still making the new system as cheap as possible for those of us with gamecubes.
But what do i know.
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And anyway, how can you say MS beat out nintendo in the back-compatibility department? MS has only released one console, ever, remember? Wait to make statements like that until the Xbox2 (and maybe, to, be fair, the GC2) is actually *out*.
Irritable, left-wing and possibly humorous bumper stickers and t-shirts
All I want to know is will it take advantage of HDTV? TV screens are such low resolution!!!
Mike
First, let me state that I am very much a Nintendo Loyalist. This is due partly to customer loyalty. The primary reason however, is that the Game Cube currently has the games that I want to play.
However, I am forced to agree to an extent with the 'kiddy' image the console has. People who willfully deny this are quick to point out games like Eternal Darkenss (which I own), Resident Evil (which I do not), and Metroid Prime (which I also own) and BMX XXX (which I would not use to wipe my rectal cavity). By all accounts, 3 of those are great games. I can vouch for this for Eternal Darkness and Metroid Prime.
However, Nintendo has not gone very far out of their way to encourage mature content for their console. There are no games like GTA for the console. And the other games that exist for the Game Cube which might appeal to those seeking more mature games, invariably end up on both the X-Box and PS2 anyway.
If Nintendo was willing to put more first party developers to work on their mature games, the situation would shift very rapidly to Nintendo's favor. But doing so endangers thier kid friendly image, which in turn hurts the bottom line.
Konkers Bad Fur Day was a very mature game, and quite funny. But alot of clueless parents bought the game for their 5 year olds (and somehow missed the very obvious NOT FOR KIDS warning on the box). They then realized their error, and it caused alot of problems for Nintendo.
Still, if Nintendo is willing to put more effort into getting games like Eternal Darkness and Metroid Prime out, then their policy of developing for all ages would be the truth.
END COMMUNICATION
Despite what people claim, there is essentially no difference between the big three in terms of their ability to deliver the current state-of-the-art gaming experience.
As to it being separate, who cares? They're all under $200; less than it costs to buy a graphics card.
The only reason to buy any console is the unique games available for each.
Frankly, if a game costs $50, and the Gamecube costs $150, it seems reasonable to buy another console to play the games you want.
You were mistaken. Which is odd, since memory shouldn't be a problem for you
fp!
Not to mention Bleem. Where did that go, anyway? Couldn't Microsoft have just bought Bleem, perfected it, and released it for the XBox?
seriouslyexcited.net
Dude, you must be worse off than this guy
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One fish / Two fish / Red fish / Blue fish
ShyaOS - Think Differently!
I'll be really upset if they totally botch this (likely to happen) the way they did Resident Evil (ugh...truly awful).
I'd be curious to see who they cast for the role of Samus though.
If you can't beat them, arrange to have them beaten. -George Carlin
now its just a matter of releasing games that support it. I have the Gamecube Broadband adapter and play Phantasy Star Online daily. It took about 4 seconds to configure the cube for network play. Sadly, the nintendo website lists no games that plan on supporting online play as of now.
This whole rumor was based on a poorly translated press release that they were temporarily stopping production on Phantasy Star Online and their internet adapters while they built more capacity. The wrongly interpreted rumor has outlived the actual suspension of the online products by several weeks now.
Will it be backwards compatiable with the Gamecube much like the PS2 is with the PSX?
Nope!
But it's better to *own* a "Fucking Dick" than to *be* one :P
From cube.ign.com
Sadly, similar physics have not been used for any of the body attributes so players looking for jiggling breasts will need to wait for Itagaki's Xbox offering; this quite honestly hurts on the realism level too as it points out that these girls are static objects, not moving, flowing athletes
and
For instance, in some cases, the team of girls will slowly embrace and caress each other in a fashion that couldn't possibly be construed as anything but erotic. It's kind of out of place, but we're not complaining.
I'm tired of bothering with illiterate AC's in high school with tiny dicks so obviously this is all the reply you're going to get from me, you fucking retard.
I hate liberals. If you are a liberal, do not reply.
Loderunner on the Apple ][ is all you need.
I am tired of bothering with illiterate AC's in high school with tiny dicks so obviously this is all the reply you're going to get from me, you fucking retard.
I hate liberals. If you are a liberal, do not reply.
I miss my TG-16. Even though it was essentially a more colorful NES, it still had some great games.
Anyone else just get a whiff of nostolgia at the mention of TurboGrafx?
If you can't beat them, arrange to have them beaten. -George Carlin
Think about what you wrote. They didn't use the PSX CPU as the PS2 graphics chip. They used it as the I/O processor.
My solution was to sell the PS2, get xbox with xbox live, Ghost Recon and now play that online.
Actually, I don't think this parent was knocking beach spikers. I belive he was talking about DOA: Extreme Beach volleyball. From what I have read online, it's a pretty shoddy game. It has the bouncing breast physics, but that's about it. Beack Spikers has static models, the jiggle factor is non-existant. I own Beach Spikers, and I totally agree with you about the fun factor. It's a great game, and one that anyone can pick up in about 15 minutes. Best party game I own.
Don't ever start your posts off with pompous wormshit like that again.
Man, I can't believe someone would consider Nintendo a mom and pop operation.
Didn't Nintendo make dirty playing cards before they got into the console business?
Remember "Bring 'em on"? *sigh
You can say, "why can't I get my one single winner console? " and then put in a stupid Tolkien reference. Realize that, much like the Tolkien books, the unification of anything under one power leads to a downfall.
In the gaming world's case, that downfall was how Nintendo raped the market between 1985 and 1989. With carte blanche to force developers into any deals they wanted to, they ruined gaming. Remember Ultra Games? That was a "4th party" Konami used because Nintendo only let 3rd party developers release 2 titles per year. How about the price of the NES set: 200$ USD for 4 straight years. Sound monopolistic? It was.
Competition is good. It means that you have Sony and Microsoft and Nintendo being attentive to the needs of the developers and the needs of the game players. It means that you get more choice, because there is a refinement of target audiences.
I have connected to my entertainment centre right now: NES, TG16, SNES, N64, GC, DC, Xbox, PS2. My Sega Master System isn't connected because I can't find the AC adaptor. Why do I have them setup? Because I care about my gaming. Plus, for less than the cost of keeping one computer up to spec for Doom 3, I can have every console available + the hot games! This means I get my cool Wild Arms 3 and Suikoden 3 on my PS2, I get Metroid and Resident Evil and Sonic on my GameCube, and I get Panzer Dragoon and JSRF and DOA: XV on my Xbox.
If you don't have the money to buy a different console, don't post a whine about it on slashdot. Consoles come out every 5 years or so, and generally have a library of 10 to 15 games which kick ass (the Dreamcast was an exception, with over 20 excellent games). It's as real as the 18 month video card upgrade cycle in PC land.
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Internet Explorer (n): Another bug -- that is, a feature that can't be turned off -- in Windows.
The PS2 is light years ahead of the DC?
:p
The PS2 is not overpowerful at all; it was weaker than the DC in many respects! 2 megs of VRAM! Yay, now I get to retexture constantly with interleaved, hand-coded ASM! Seriously, its specs sucked, and the SDKs Sony did(n't) provide weren't helpful either.
Stop thinking about bits, mhz, and silly numbers that mean shit-fuck-all. Those were not why the PS2 "won". Look at it in context: DVD was really starting to take off (and the PS2 had that "built in"), and most people had at least some PSX games (guess what system can do those and sweet new PS2 games?).
Then you should consider the two previous two Sega console hardware releases, the 32X and Saturn. Ooh, now that kinda set the Dreamcast up as something which which would fail. I mean, the 32X sucked! Hey, if you want to play as a Hummingbird, it's the only system to have. Beyond that? Pure shit. Saturn? Yea, SMP is ready for consoles
Tech wise, any day I can get a system which came with online support out of the box, 4 player support built in (no multitap required!), a slim form factor, VMUs which enable neat mini-games, great SDKs that have easy-to-use antialiasing, proper amounts of RAM (16mb main, 8mb texture, 2mb sound), and even uses nifty, tile-based rendering is something I want to have. That's why the Dreamcast kicked ass, and why it was frustrating to see it not get the support it deserved.
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Internet Explorer (n): Another bug -- that is, a feature that can't be turned off -- in Windows.
I bought a Gamecube when Starfox(moan) came out a few moths ago, and got Metroid(yippy!)
:)
Dear god, I thought we had edited you OUT of reality!
Endless arguments over trivial contradictions in books written by ignorant savages to explain thunder in the dark.
I felt lots of nostalgia when I first saw the X-Box, it reminded me so much of my old Sony...Betamax.
It's just a huge, grey, ugly box....
I agree with the basic idea in your post, but while it may have hurt Sony, it was good for the Playstation ONE owners in the world, because they got a few extra games out of their PS1 before development for it died. Not everyone rushed to buy a PS2, and I'm sure they appreciated not having their platform abandoned so abruptly.
This is in stark contrast to nintendo, who pretty much stopped making N64 games once the cube was out. Good for their bottom line, but not good for N64 owners like me.
Gaze upon dumbass' most recent Journal entry:
Poop poop poop poop poop. Ahhhh, moist. Delicious? Somewhat. Poop poop poop. Avril Lavigne. Poop poop poop poop. Mmmmm....poop jack-off poop.
Edifying, isn't it? This combined with the fact that he's being a total asshole for no reason to other posters says all you need to know about this single-helix genetic error. Had I mod points he would be in the -1 basement by now. Fuck him and the boat he came in on.
I'm confused... how can an corporation be homosexual? Are any megacorps bisexual?
The reason Nintendo fans buy their systems is for the Mario, Metroid, Zelda, Pokemon type games. These are just geared for all ages. Nintendo tries to capture the largest market and make truely enjoyable products for ALL gamers. I would hate to see big bouncing breast volleyball games with medicore ratings instead of a damn good Mario game.
:-)
I can trust Nintendo to come out with a good, wholesome game. None of this trash where you have large-breasted female characters stripping down to progressively skimpier outfits to reward you for better gaming performance. Not on Nintendo, no-siree-bob. Guess I'll just go waste some clean, wholesome Metroids...
May we never see th
I'll grant that not everything that they release is fantastic, but I and most of the people I spent time with really enjoy Disney films. The films really do appeal to both children and adults. The stories are generally pretty simple (and when Disney's retelling a complicated story, they tend to smooth it out a bit), but I don't see someone not being able to enjoy them because they aren't eight years old.
May we never see th
I think what people keep obsessing over is the surface of the game. Mario Sunshine is bright and colorful, and looks like something for an eight-year-old. GTA or DOA have tons of skin, and look like something for a fifteen-year-old.
But what really makes the greatest difference is going to be what the actual gameplay is like.
I like both Tetris and Carmageddon, though they have wildly different surfaces. The gameplay in each is fun.
May we never see th
The arcade division Atari Games was sold long ago and has bounced round owners and is now the one owned by Infograms and being used to batch all their shit.
The Console / Computer biz is different. That was eventually folded into JDS around when the Jag died.
It's only a month since they were CONVICTED AND FINED for years of deliberate price fixing and intimidation in europe.
It happened, Creative released a card.
No-one noticed.
Sony and Microsoft are more apt to introducing games for an older audience... I am in my 20s, have been playing for the past 15 years, and I know I'm not alone. Though I loved Zelda and Mario, I'm tired of the cutesy crap; give me something with a real brain and/or skill challenge with a dialogue that doesn't sound like a kindergarten teacher wrote it.
DOA: Beach Spikers looks awful. The most bizarre thing was comparing Xbox IGN reviews to Gamecube IGN reviews. When you read the Cube ones, they talk about play control and fun. While Beach Spikers commented on the girls, it mostly focused on the game. The Xbox reviews almost ALWAYS focus on the gratuitous graphics, play control and fun are barely mentioned.
:)
Although, I need my Gamecube games to be more fun. With 4 wavebirds, I can have people over and drinking for a while. The Xbox, with two controlers, no wireless, I mostly play solo (or with one person), and I can't play more than an hour or my wrists hurt. So a 10 hour game is easily 2-3 months of game play.
Alex
Here is something slightly off topic. I am thinking about buying a PS2 just because PS1 games work on it. I'm a big RPG fan, and want to be able to play Chrono Cross and the FF games from PS1 on it. Is the PS3 going to be backwords compatible as well? Or was this a one time thing? Is this Sony's strategy?
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This is both a part of the programming, and the hardware. Nintendo backed out of a Joint venture with Sony (Which ultimately resulted in the PS1) Due to the "Unacceptable load times".
Nintendo knew that CDs were ALOT cheaper to produce, but the Cartriges offered a "better gaming experiance" (in fact Nintendo was amazed that any RPGs sold on PS for this reason). That's why the new System is Disk based, but it is DVD with progressive scan support. so now they have the best of both worlds. The hardware now supports progressive scan, but the Programers have to take advantage of that. Unfortunately Where Nintendo and Sega buy into the "Better Gaming Experiance" with progressive scan, 3rd parties are sometimes too lazy to include it (Like Tony Hawk, or Harry Potter) because they get a questionable ROI out of it.
actually, sony has sold "only" 40 million ps2s. i know the figure was estimated...but...it was way off.
there are like 6 billion people in the world today.
I hate it when people do that. There's no need to be a fucktard about it. What is it about geeks that they are unable to politely correct people?
I had a DX4/100 until 1998. Whenever people talk about their "slow" multi-Ghz machines, I merely look at them like their head has decided to open and extrude tentacles which have finger puppets on them.
I've never tried to program the consoles I collect; the closest situation being the NES emulator I've back-burnered for a few years. Although, if I had a choice, the GameCube has the most interesting/fun internals of all the most recent (past 2 years) consoles.
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Internet Explorer (n): Another bug -- that is, a feature that can't be turned off -- in Windows.