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Xbox Japan Boss Explains New Price Cuts
Thanks to 1UP for their article covering Japanese Xbox boss Yoshihiro Maruyama's comments regarding yesterday's significant Xbox price drop in Japan. Maruyama explained that the price cut wasn't a reaction to Sony's Japanese PS2 price drop: "This discount was in the works for the end-of-year shopping season before SCE's announcement. The timing was on our own terms, and we aren't simply following the leader here." He also tried to explain why the Japanese videogame market is shrinking, suggesting: "You see companies in the U.S. using a multiplatform strategy, developing games for several consoles at once, with Electronic Arts leading the way. However, Japan concentrates all its development on the top platform alone, so it's easy to run into dead ends."
Don't know how large this percentage is, but it's certainly large enough to make it economically feasible for Hori to make a GC-specific SCII arcade stick.
For people who have access to both a PS2 and a GC, and who take fighting games seriously enough to use a stick, the only reason to buy the PS2 version over the GC version would be in the situation that they already have an arcade stick for the PS2 and don't want to buy a second for the GC. In every other respect (ignoring console specific characters, blech) the GC port is superior: better graphics, and, most importantly, free of the slowdowns that plague the PS2 version in some stages.
"Agree with the GC controller problem though. A lot of games would be ridiculously hard to port for control reasons alone - the horrendous d-pad alone is enough to kill the play control of so many games."
Agreed here as well. The original GameBoy and all Nintendo consoles from the NES to the N64 had controllers with d-pads of the perfect size, shape, and construction quality. But the GameCube controller and all GameBoys starting with GameBoy Pocket all have pads that are too small for comfortable and effective use.
"I can't believe games like Ikaruga or Soul Calibur II are ported to the GC..."
I don't know why not, unless it's due to bias. Ikaruga for GCN uses the GameCube's excellent left analog stick (the industry's best in terms of lateral placement, height, accuracy, and hat feel). Soul Calibur II can use it too, or it can use the d-pad, just like the original Soul Calibur on Dreamcast.
"(And the fact that SCII on GC outsold the other versions shows that play control simply isn't that important to many gamers.)"
Note that the Dreamcast controller was pretty crappy for 2d fighters because its shitty elevated d-pad was difficult to rock in circular motions accurately, but that didn't stop Capcom and SNK from throwing full support behind the DC, and it didn't stop these games from being successful, arcade perfect ports.
Besides, the fact that the Cube version of SC2 sells better than the PS2 and Xbox versions doesn't prove your point. Depending on whom you talk to, it may even contradict your point. For example, I enjoy using the GameCube controller for most games, and I don't have a midget's fingerspan, either. But when I'm using my GameBoy Player or I'm playing arcade ports, both of which are designed around more traditional controller schemes, I can use my Hori digital pad or my custom joystick for games that feel more natural that way.
So, contrary to your assertion, I bought the GameCube version because it is better than the PS2 version in every important way, including the fact that the Cube controllers at my disposal work great for me. (I have similar multiple controller setups for each of my systems, because no default controller is perfect for every game.)
I have the Playstation to GameCube adapters too, but really, I find that they were a waste of money. I could have bought a Wavebird for the price of these two cheapo dongles. The best tool for the job of playing GameCube games is hardly a Playstation controller.
If you haven't tried them, Sega's sports titles are defintely worth a go. the football game is probably the best I've ever played. Sure, you can't change the price of hotdogs like you can in Madden. But the gameplay is dead on, the presentation is fantastic with its espn trappings, and the online play is nice. It's on both xbox and ps2 and probably worth at least a rent.