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Key Publishers Scaling Back GameCube Titles, Zelda Sequel Hints
Thanks to Gamesindustry.biz for its article discussing the list of specific games and publishers going without GameCube support, mentioning: "Joining the swelling ranks of publishers without any Cube titles in their portfolios (which already includes the likes of Acclaim and Eidos) is Lucasarts, which currently has no titles for the platform on its internal schedules." It goes on to note: "While support from Japanese publishers remains strong... Western third-party support for the Cube is facing a serious decline this year." Elsewhere, 1UP reports that a Game Developer's Conference lecture by Nintendo's Eiji Aonuma had oblique news on a GameCube Zelda sequel, since he "showed in his presentation a slide reading 'Wind Waker 2: 2XXX,' so we can expect to play the game within the next 996 years." Aonuma also "strongly hinted at the prospect of a new Legend of Zelda or Zelda-related game for the DS."
But it's worth saying again.
Relevent Penny Arcade Comic
People always talk about how Playstation and XBox have more games than the GCN. They sure do, but have you seen those games? They are all the random, crappy, hollywood licensed, violence without gameplay, total crap games. On the GameCube you have to compete with Nintendo to sell software and so very few developers can hold a candle.
When a Nintendo game comes out for the GCN it sells zillions. When other games come out for the cube the players compare them to the Nintendo games they have and say "screw that! it isn't worth my money or time." So what you get on the cube is quality before quantity. If you stop making games for the cube your only two possible reasonings can be these
1) You're stupid
2) You can't compete with Nintendo in quality.
3rd parties can succeed on the cube *cough*soul calibur 2*cough*. Cube owners are just too smart to buy stupid generic movie based game number 3.
The GeekNights podcast is going strong. Listen!
When's the next platform due - 2005? That's a year or so away. If developers were abandoning a future system before it hit the market, Nintendo would be in trouble. Right now they can just coast to the next system on sequels to their best games (Metroid 2, Wind Waker 2, Mario Tennis).
That was sarcasm.
You mean I cant play crappy, repetative, inane, consumerist based Starwars games with poor writing on the gamecube?!
OH NO!!
Oh well, I still dont own a gamecube yet. Gotta get one and play through metroid.
I already posted my thoughts on lucasarts.
no
I have a GC. I love it. I also have a PS2, which I love, but I spend more time with the GC. I know a lot of folks with two systems.
I don't think the GC was originally meant to be a secondary system, but it is cheap enough that it works well as one. And as a second system, the titles that matter are the unique ones. And Nintendo has a lot of great titles that are unique to the platform.
As an aside, some people say that they are not innovative since the same characters are used, but I don't see why they care. Even if Super Monkey Ball 2 still has a monkey in a ball, it is still a blast to play, and the same with Mario Cart, Super Smash Brothers, and other titles. The game play is fun, and for a game that is the important part.
Hyperbole is the worst thing ever.
But the other games are innovative, because they have different names than the Nintendo games! Ugh.
Some people really seem to think that it's a bad idea to take a risk on innovation (even though they don't mean innovation, just new trademarks) when you can just improve on something everybody already loves. Doing the tried-and-true thing is generally better business, and generally produces better product.
Of course, the characters in the games are largely meaningless, except for their contribution to the atmosphere. The fact is that Nintendo's games--even the games using old characters--are the most innovative, high-quality games out there. They're always trying something new. Even the water jet in Mario Sunshine was pretty out there, considering the absolutely massive effect it had on gameplay.
Bah, I personally don't care if lots of developers start ignoring my Cube. I probably wouldn't have bought their games anyway. The only two third-party GameCube games I own at the moment are Rogue Leader (developed by Factor 5) and Viewtiful Joe. The Nintendo games are just better, and I doubt anybody, corporation or consumer, is really going to suffer from this at all.
Nintendo makes extremely innovative games. They just put the same characters in all of them. I love the Nintendo franchises, so I think this approach is fantastic.
It's ridiculous to declare that the new Zelda game won't be innovative based only on the title.
I'd rather be lucky than good.