Nintendo Learns from Mistakes with GameCube

kukyfrope writes "Reggie Fils-Aime, Nintendo of America's Executive VP of Sales and Marketing, talks about what went wrong with GameCube and how Nintendo will not make the same mistakes when launching Wii. Reggie admits that the initial software lineup for the GameCube was simply not 'diverse and strong enough from a first and third-party perspective,' and by Nintendo's showing at E3 2006, the Wii will launch with a wide variety of games for may types of gamers."

Comments

Correction

[BinaryOpty]

I think you mean Reggie Fils-Aime President and COO of NOA.

Re:I think I read this article already....

[twistedsymphony]

my thoughts exactly... anyone who thinks the GameCubes launch lineup was bad forgot that the N64 launched with only Maro64 and Pilotwings64 available. Both good games but it was quite possibly the least diverse launch ever... well with the exception of maybe the Sega Saturn which launch with only Virtua Fighter... or the Jaguar CD which IIRC launch with absolutely nothing... yeah there's some diversity for you.

Re:I think I read this article already....

[barawn]

Seriously though...I've seen a few articles like this for the Wii, but I can almost remember them saying nearly the same things about how the learned from mistkes with the N64 and promised for 3rd party support for the 'Cube.

Note what he's saying, though: it's not just 3rd party support (honestly, I couldn't care less about where the game comes from) this time. Here he's saying "yeah, the launch titles weren't diverse enough - period."

That's a big deal. And actually, I personally think that the problem with the N64 was 3rd party support, and the problem with the GameCube was first-party support at launch. The Nintendo launch titles for the GameCube were.. well.. less than stellar. Note here that I'm going to glom first and second party together, as I'm never sure which ones are first or second.

Here's Nintendo's at launch titles for the GameCube:

• Luigi's Mansion
  
• Wave Race
  
• Rogue Squadron
  

Even afterwards, it, uh, wasn't that much better. Soon-after-launch titles:

• SSB:M
  
• Pikmin
  

Uh. Yeah. That's... not that stellar. Not even that many, either. It's not that they were bad games. It's just that they were... well, few. And not Mario. Or Zelda. Instead, Wind Waker showed up a year later. Mario, nearly a year later as well. Both felt like too little, too late.

There's still plenty of time for Nintendo to screw up, mind you, but delaying Twilight Princess to the Wii launch (which virtually everyone thought that was what they were doing when they announced the delay) is actually quite smart. If they can get a good fraction of the titles at E3 out the door by launch, they're going to have a much, much more successful launch than the GameCube.

Launch vs. launch window

[tepples]

Nintendo's GameCube offerings were the grand total of Luigi's Mansion and Wave Race: Blue Storm.

Day one isn't as telling as the launch window, which covers the entire period from launch in November to roughly December 18 (a week before Christmas). What came out on December 3, 2001, was a smash hit that sold a lot of GameCube consoles.

2nd party

[freeweed]

I'm going to glom first and second party together, as I'm never sure which ones are first or second.

The first party is Nintendo.
The third party is any outside developer.

The second party is YOU. What Gamecube games did you release? :)

Kidding aside, Pikmin was one of the best games released this decade. Kind of like Katamari in its uniqueness, except no waiting for the usual long Sony load times. This factor alone has kept me a Nintendo fan - the PS1 was absolutely horrid for the amount of time you had to wait, and even in the best PS2 games (Grand Theft Auto, I'm looking at you) I'm often spending half of my playing times waiting for some stupid cutscene or the next level to load.

Quality over quantity in my book, any day. I'd be happy if Wii only ends up having 10 games I like, because as with the N64 and Gamecube, they'll be GOOD.

Re:2nd party

[Dance_Dance_Karnov]

2nd parties are those stuidos owned by nintendo, like rare(back in the day) or retro studios now.

Re:2nd party

[barawn]

You're misunderstanding the relationship of 'you, me, him' in the use of those terms. First, second, third party don't refer to the relationship between the purchaser, the game developer, and the console manufacturer. They refer to the relationship between the game developer, the console manufacturer and the publisher.

As in, a first party game is first party because the console manufacturer develops and publishes the game themselves. ("I publish my game on my console.")

A second party game is "You publish my game on your console."

A third party game is "They publish my game on your console."

Over time, those got twisted into "first party = console manufacturer", "second party = exclusive to one console manufacturer, but separate company", and "third party = non-exclusive to either" but the origin of the terms were correct.

First party titles...

[Hamster Lover]

I didn't buy a Gamecube until Winkwaker was released and that was a year and a half after the Gamecube was launched (Gamecube was launched November, 2001 and Windwaker was released March, 2003). Rogue Squadron, one of the three launch titles, was a beautiful looking game, but the controls sucked and there just wasn't enough gameplay to justify buying a Gamecube for that one game. I have to concur that the launch line-up was shit; there just wasn't a "must have" title until Windwaker.

The Xbox launched with Halo and Project Gotham Racing as first party titles and a football title, Shrek, Cel Damage, some racing games and several other third party games. It was not a bad selection with fairly broad appeal.

The Wii looks to have a great selection of games with Tennis, a Mario game, Red Steel, and a raft of other titles that I can't remember. I will be disappointed though if the Virtual Console games aren't available right away as I was going to buy a used N64 before I learned that the Wii would feature downloadable N64 games.

Re:PAL version of GameCube was composite only

[Fred Or Alive]

No it isn't, you could get RGB SCART as well[1], and there's also an RF adaptor if you have a really old or crap TV. For some reason Nintendo really liked messing around, so NTSC Gamecubes don't support RGB, and PAL ones don't support S-Video.

Anyway, who has a PAL TV that doesn't support RGB SCART but does have S-Video? I my experince RGB SCART is far more common than S-Video, and it's better quality anyhow.

[1] I bought mine for about £3 in a HMV clearance shortly before most HMVs stopped selling the 'cube.

Not at launch, but close...

[biff_larken]

I heard that Mario Galaxy would be doing what Super Smash Bros Melee did on the cube, where it's not exactly a launch title, but it will be released shortly afterward. At least that's the impression I've been given. I know SSB:Brawl probably won't be out until a year or so after the launch, but I would safely bet that we'll be hearing Mario "Wii"-ing around space within 4-6 months of that time.

Bullshit

[hsoft]

This is bullshit. Even Wikipedia is wrong. Definition from dictionary.reference.com:

third party
n.
1. A political party organized as opposition to the existing parties in a two-party system.
2. One other than the principals involved in a transaction: I pay rent to a third party, not directly to the landlord.

What interests us here is the #2. The "principals involved in a transaction" in this case are Nintendo and the Player. Nintendo is the 1st party and the Player is the 2nd party.

Are you the one trying to be funny?

Re:Bullshit

[cgenman]

Not to be too abrupt, but grandparent is right. In gamer circles and game development circles when you refer to 1st party, 2nd party, and 3rd party, you're talking about the console manufacturer's internal studios, the console manufacturer's owned studios, and studios which are independent. This has been standard nomclemature since Activision started.

If you're referring to the consumer, you generally say the consumer or (if you're not in marketing) the player. But really, the relationship is quite complicated.

For example, as a 3rd party developer, we actually sell our work to a 3rd party publisher. Who is a 2nd party to a different 3rd party publisher, who will probably handle the actual distribution this time. Who needs 1st party approval to sell it into the distribution chain. Who sells to the individual stores. Who sells it to consumers. In this case, under your definition if we're the 1st party, the consumer is actually the 6th party down the line.

So yes, in common usage 1st party developer is the console manufacturer, 2nd parties are the studios they own, and 3rd parties are independents. Wikipedia is correct.

*ahem* Excuse me, Nintendo don't make mistakes

[bunbuntheminilop]

They made $4.5 billion profit last year.

Re:*ahem* Excuse me, Nintendo don't make mistakes

[Dorceon]

No, they made a $873 million profit on $4.5 billion in revenues. Still, not too shabby.

Re:It makes a good 2nd console

[John Courtland]

Holy crap, it's bizarro-me. I just did the *exact* same thing. If you haven't picked up a wavebird wireless controller yet, do so. Probably one of the best pieces of hardware I've ever used.