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Games Entertainment

Panasonic 'Q' First Look 194

Posted by CmdrTaco from the stuff-to-lust-after dept.
austinij writes "National Console Support has purchased and taken apart the Panasonic 'Q', a Nintendo Gamecube/DVD player device in one. Pictures and brief descriptions are included. Lets hope for a review soon! " That just looks so nifty. I've heard of DVD players including PS1 support in the not so distant future too. Apparently its fairly inexpensive to do it now.
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Panasonic 'Q' First Look More

Panasonic 'Q' First Look

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  • Consoles & DVD's? (Score:3, Redundant)

    by FortKnox ( 169099 ) on Friday January 04, 2002 @11:13AM (#2785135) Homepage Journal
    DVD manufacturers make money selling DVD players.

    Console manufacturers loose money selling consoles (but make money on royalties on the games).

    Why would DVD manufacturers be interested in attaching something that would really cut profits? Unless the companies name is "Sony" I'm assuming they aren't getting a cut of the game royalties...

    • Re:Consoles & DVD's? (Score:1, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Console manufactures do sell their machines at a loss initially, but as production increases and the cost of the components drop over time this is not necessarilly true for the whole of a consoles life span. Given the age of the PS1 I imagine it is now possible to make a profit on the hardware itself
    • This is just a guess but I'm going to assume that the major DVD companies have the factories and necessary equipment to efficiently produce the consoles. Whereas Nintendo/Sony who only release a new console every couple of years have to invest a large amount of capital to produce one product.
      • The console makers lose a lot of money on the wages for the designers of the boards, and have to make money on selling the games. While they allready have the board designed, they can only hope that more devices capable of playing their games will improve sales.

        Also, people might want to buy a DVD-player from a well-known-source (one only wanting a DVD-player won't buy a Playstation) like Panasonic, but might be willing to spend a couple more bucks for the "extra" capabilities (like playing a game).

        I personnally think this is a good idea, because it can only boost the sales of the games, and so the original goal of the sales department of sony is reached.
    • Apparently its fairly inexpensive to do it now.

      I'm guessing CmdrTaco really doesn't know what he's talking about but act like he does.

      DVD makers are making huge profits anyways. DVD is the fastest media format format to take off.

      Console makers CHOOSE to loose money on the hardware in order to sell lots more software. Console gaming software licenses aren't cheap, SONY and others know they can only sell so many hard units... although the software sales can go on forever.

      With rival companies selling PSX enabled DVD players they have another feature to promote. Maybe they will get ANOTHER cut of the pie since they are actually helping SONY.

      But then again... CD player makers all pay tribute to Sony and Philips, and they are still around.

      My DVD has built in mp3 decoding, I bet they paid for that too.

    • Re:Consoles & DVD's? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Artifex ( 18308 ) on Friday January 04, 2002 @11:33AM (#2785252) Journal
      Why would DVD manufacturers be interested in attaching something that would really cut profits?

      The answer is pretty simple, actually. Adding console functionality to a DVD player (which already includes display conversion electronics and a drive unit, along with rudiments like power supply and case) is probably much cheaper than producing a whole console. Coupled with the fact that the console vendor (Sony, Nintendo, et al) might be enticed to partially subsidize the production (because the loss to them per unit would be less than for a full console), and the fact that consumers will be willing to pay somewhat more for a combination unit (which is probably priced much less than the DVD unit and the console would cost together if bought separately), it's probably a break-even or better situation.

      Besides, even if they ended up losing 5% of their profit margin on the machine, but sold more units as a result, they'd still go for it. The DVD player market right now is crowded and commoditizing (products with similar features compete on price), so almost any differentiation is something to be sought, from a development and marketing standpoint.

      • Not to cast doubt on your argument, but then why didn't Nuon [nuon-dome.com] succeed? There are a few products [mjsg.com] available, but not the breakout success you'd expect from simple product differentiation.

        • Re:Consoles & DVD's? (Score:1, Informative)

          by Anonymous Coward
          "Not to cast doubt on your argument, but then why didn't Nuon [nuon-dome.com] succeed? There are a few products [mjsg.com] available, but not the breakout success you'd expect from simple product differentiation."

          I think it would be lack of marketing/brand (I've never heard of either of them but I have heard of Nintendo), the software does not seem as compelling (compare Nuon's games to the gamecubes line up). An even better example would be the PS2 where outdoor ads tout it as being a "games movies music" machine.

        • Re:Consoles & DVD's? (Score:2, Interesting)

          by Artifex ( 18308 )
          Sigh. I thought it would be obvious that by product differentiation, I meant positive differentiation. Nuon was a marginal, more expensive format, that wasn't relevant to what consumers wanted:
          • nothing significantly new, different, or already in demand was offered - "interactive" titles had already been tried with CD-I and other formats, to say nothing of the fact that the games were not overwhelming - how many people can name a single Nuon game? Did any of them even get covered in gaming magazines?
          • DVDs had not yet achieved significant penetration in the market, to the extent that there were still few players on the market, and features like DTS and progressive-scan were still the hot selling points.

          Personally, I feel Nuon was an excuse to re-key the coding scheme of DVD, and get rid of the plain-text keys that people are exploiting in the current specification, but was otherwise an engineering feat looking for a problem to address. Shoving a Gamecube (which people want) into a DVD player satisfies the desires of people who want both, or who want one but are interested in the other. I know I'm trying to hold off on buying a Gamecube until this hybrid hits the US - most of what I use my Playstation 2 for is playing movies, and my justification for buying the hybrid is that it's a secondary DVD player for another room, that also plays a different format of game than what I already have.

    • Next Logical Step? (Score:2, Interesting)

      by AixGE ( 536006 )
      If it is reasonable/cheap/easy to integrate PS1 consoles into mainstream DVD players, then will we be seeing PS1 consoles integrated into our DVD-ROMs? I'm not sure what the implications would be or whether it would be reasonable to do, but being able to use your PC to also natively play console games is sort of an interesting idea.

      Gran Turismo anyone?

      Mmmm.... High Resolution Monitor... (Insert Homer Simpson drooling sound)

    • Compete with SONY? The PSX2 has built-in DVD support. And SONY and Nintendo can only make so many units....more decks means an increase in sales for them.

      I'll bet you dollars to donuts Sony, Nintendo, et al. are OEMing this stuff to DVD manufacturers at a a loss, so the DVD manufacturers aren't paying for the loss, the console makers are.

    • Re:Consoles & DVD's? (Score:2, Informative)

      by iainl ( 136759 )
      Oh dear. Something weird going on with the mod system when its only the posts at 0 or -1 that remind people for the nth time. Not everyone loses money on console hardware sales [actsofgord.com]. This is one myth that just won't go away.
    • Nintendo does not lose money selling consoles. They've stated that they expect to lose a little bit on each launch GameCube, but get costs down to the point where they're making a profit per machine by early 2002. That's well in advance of when they'll have to cut prices to stay cheaper than the competition.

  • DVD players with PS1 support... (Score:5, Funny)

    by sailracer6 ( 262434 ) on Friday January 04, 2002 @11:14AM (#2785142) Journal
    Do you mean... the PS2?
  • Just a bunch of small pictures of the PCB's, etc. I can't see any of the interesting bits - i.e., the part numbers of the IC's.

    Well, now I know the connectors glow blue. That's rather neat.

  • Bah. (Score:5, Funny)

    by wo1verin3 ( 473094 ) on Friday January 04, 2002 @11:16AM (#2785168) Homepage
    If i woke up, walked to the kitchen, 10 bux says that I'd put the toast in the GameQube, and put the DVD in my toaster.
    • Yeah, it's lucky my frontload drive loads horizontally - I'd end up cramming a waffle in there at 6 am.
      • Although I may have actually purchased one if I --> COULD -- cram a waffle in there and have it come out cooked.

        They could just remove fan/heatsync components and vent the hot air to the top of the unit.

        If anyone creates a waffle mod please send me a note, I'm willing to purchase a kit.

    • Re:Bah. (Score:5, Funny)

      by msouth ( 10321 ) on Friday January 04, 2002 @01:10PM (#2785934) Homepage Journal
      well, being a lot smarter than you, I would put bread in my GameQube...

  • Does this mean... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Uttles ( 324447 ) <[moc.liamg] [ta] [selttu]> on Friday January 04, 2002 @11:18AM (#2785176) Homepage Journal
    Does this mean that Nintendo is allowing "clones" of their hardware so that any 3rd party that wants to include GameCube functionality can pay them some royalties and BAM, now your TV has a built in GameCube (or something similar)??

    I'm ignorant as to the Nintendo-Panasonic relationship and I don't know anything about their hardware licensing but if they are planning on letting 3rd parties have access to it, they might be onto a really good idea. I know it's a completely different situation, but remember how Macintosh used to keep everything Mac, no 3rd party, but PC's were all about the 3rd party? Well we see how that turned out...
    • No that doesn't mean that nintendo is allowing clones Panasonic developed the mini-DVD's and memory cards for the gamecube so they are allowing them to sell the hybrid and this also meets the demand for the people who want their console to be a DVD Player too why you would bother when you could get a DVD player and the gamecube for less I dunno.
    • Does this also mean that there will be standards for game consoles now? Even if it is a de-facto standard, it would be nice to just take controllers, memory, etc. from my console to my friends (diff make) console ... oh wait -> someone already thought of that, wasn't it called USB?

    • Re:Does this mean... (Score:1, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Nintendo does this all the time. Back in the N64 days they've licensed the console to Sharp so they can integrate it with a 29" color TV - yes, a TV with a N64 built-in!
    • Matsushita (Panasonic) is Sony's biggest competitor and rival. Nintendo and Matsushita have become pretty friendly.

      Panasonic has been taking stabs at the video game market for quite some time now. Remember that Panasonic made the first 3DO systems (the REAL). This is their second major attempt, and this time their doing it with Nintendo.

      3DO did licensing too (well, they only did licensing, they weren't a real hardware company, although I remember they had some manufacturing assests). That didn't work well at all. Part of 3DO's problem is that the companies making the consoles always tried to make a profit. Nintendo has a successful business model losing money on the consoles; I'm not entirely sure what Panasonic gets out of it.

      Except that (hell, I can't remember where I read it), in a few months, Nintendo expects to actually profit off of selling Gamecubes. Looking at the motherboard, it's not that hard to believe. Panasonic could make good money on the Q.

      (Hmm. I don't seem to have any sort of argument here, but it is a bunch of interesting info, no? :)

    • I thought they made $ licensing games and lost $ on the actual hardware...

  • Anti-Piracy??? (Score:2, Redundant)

    by Quasar1999 ( 520073 )
    Wasn't the whole reason Nintendo made their gamecube small, so that it wouldn't accept standard 80mm disks to prevent piracy (since the smaller disks, especially writeable, are harder to come by)???

    I don't see Nintendo being happy about this...
    • IIRC, the Panasonic player was not going to come to the US - it was going to be a Japan-only item.

      If this is in fact the case, I would imagine that the Panasonic device will be designed from the ground up not to be able to play US discs. (Firmware notes that it is an 80mm disc and refuses to boot it since it knows that all the games in Japan are "normal sized" discs).

      What we REALLY need is a software device to allow consoles to provide basic word processing etc. functionality. Instead of having to pay $300 for a game system and $2000 for a computer - why not simply create a $150 hardware and software combo to allow your Gamecube/playstation/dreamcast/nes/whatever to be a wordprocessor for kids to use in school.

      Just an idea I had for a while...

      -RickTheWizKid
    • I would imagine that the Q can tell the difference between a gamecube disk and a standard sized disk
      and it won't (or shouldn't) allow you to play a GC game on a standard sized disk.

      As far as Nintendo being unhappy about it, I'm fairly certain they'd be all over Panasonic's tukus in the legal arena if this wasn't a joint effort.

    • since the smaller disks, especially writeable, are harder to come by

      Actually they aren't harder to come by. 3cm disks are popping up because OF the GC and portable mp3 players using the smaller discs.

      I've heard rumors that the GC actually has a new way of reading the games so that you can't actually copy them [or copied ones are garbage?] but this type of effort is usually futile as someone will crack it.
      • IF i remember correctly, GameCube discs are burnt from the outside in, not the other way around. Currently there are no consumer burners that are capable of burning from the outside tracks of a DVD.
      • The difference between the GameCube's 3" platter and the 3" blanks you'll find at CompUSA is that the former is a DVD-type format (1.5GB), while the other is a standard 3" CD (185MB).

        So, the 3" platters that the GameCube expects may indeed be "hard to come by."

      • Yeah 3cm CD discs are easy to come by. But 3cm DVD's arnt. At least as far as i know, the GC's game discs are 3CM DVD Roms
        • Gamecube discs aren't even just 3cm DVD discs; for added fun they are written in the opposite direction - outside to in, so the spiral is the other way round. They really don't like making it easy.

    • Re:Anti-Piracy??? (Score:2, Informative)

      by bats ( 8748 )
      Nope. The Gamecube takes smaller discs not because Nintendo is concerned about privacy issues, but because they want to save money. The Ultimate GameCube FAQ [ign.com] describes how the DVD forum requires a $20 fee per unit for everything that can pay DVDs. In order to keep their price point (ie -- Xbox), they choose not to include that functionality. The Panasonic 'Q' combo unit costs more partly because of the DVD playing penalty.
  • Reminds me of the Panasonic branded 3DO, only this sounds more useful and will probably have more games (though I did love my 3DO). Nintendo should have the name recognition to help this thing along too. And it looks even more like a DVD player than did PS2- so lots of guys can sucker their girlfriends & wives into buying a new 'DVD' Player :)

  • Besides the obvious (Score:3, Interesting)

    by syrupMatt ( 248267 ) on Friday January 04, 2002 @11:21AM (#2785190) Homepage Journal
    Besides the obvious "I want one" factor, think if the following were incorporated into this:

    1) Cable/SatTV decoding
    2) mp3/mpeg/avi/etc. player
    3) tivo capabilities

    what you basically have is an inexpensive all in wonder unit. now i dont know the true specs of a gamecube, but if you could drop a hackable os onto it, you already have a media reader and storage capabilities (options) built in.

    people with a little expertise should start taking advantage of the big opportunities game companies are dumping into their laps.
    • "...what you basically have is an inexpensive all in wonder unit"

      As a representative of ATI, I must demand that you immediately desist in your use of my company's trademark. That is all.
    • Then when the head goes out on the DVD player (moving parts and what not) and you send it in for repair, you're up shit creek.

      1) No DVDs
      2) No Games
      3) No Cable Box
      4) No MP3s
      5) No watching recorded TV shows

      I hate convergence. I like all my devices seperate, so when the one with the most moving parts dies first, I've still got all the rest.
  • That said, the small amount of information I can gather (looking for gameqube and panasonic gameqube on google produces nothing substantial in English) The website describes pictures, and gives no background information.

    That said, would anyone mind filling us in on exactly why we need something to emulate a gamecube? I don't know how they could pay royalties and produce these puppies at a margin well enough to justify its development.

  • Cash cow for Sony? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by peterdaly ( 123554 ) <{petedaly} {at} {ix.netcom.com}> on Friday January 04, 2002 @11:22AM (#2785197)
    Licensing revenues could be huge for this. Other DVD manufactures put in "Sony Guts" (as the SNL saying goes.) Sony at least breaks even on the parts, and then get licensing fees. I bet Sony might not even really provide the guts, they just get big checks in the mail every week. Hell of a business to get into.

    Not to mention they get to milk more money out of their old games.

    -Pete

  • Too late? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by zrk ( 64468 ) <spam-from-slashd ... .net minus berry> on Friday January 04, 2002 @11:33AM (#2785253) Homepage
    I was going through the internal debate of which game system to buy in December. I was reluctant to buy the Sony because it was out for a year, and they hadn't dropped the price to compete with the Xbox and NGC.

    I was favoring the NGC, due to its 4-player capability out of the box(yes I know they others do with silly-ass dongles). However, when I heard that it wouldn't play full-sized DVDs, I was in a quandry - should I wait for the Panasonic player, or should I go with one of the other boxen?

    I don't like the Xbox because of who makes it (and it is an acceptable gaming system), and Sony could have stomped the competition by dropping the price of the PS2, sy, by $50, or adding some extras and keeping the price the same, but why they didn't is beyond me.

    Many of my officemates have PS2s, and one friend has an Xbox, and another has a PS2.

    In the end, I chose to do nothing but wait.

    I don't need another PC - I already have a homebuilt kickass system that does everything I need a computer to do. I don't care if you can get it to run Linux (see above).

    I want a system to have fun with when I have a bunch of friends over who don't want to stare at their own screens. We already do multiplayer gaming, but with boards, dice, tokens and cards. Occasionally we want something else, and a 4-player gaming system fits the bill quite nicely.

    Maybe someone here'll enlighten me on which one to get?
    • I was favoring the NGC, due to its 4-player capability out of the box(yes I know they others do with silly-ass dongles).

      I don't know who told you that Xbox doesn't do 4 player out of the box because it does or else I'm seeing things
      http://www.xbox.com/cms/images/system/xboxvideog am esystem/pim-xboxvideogamesystem-0003.jpg
    • Super Monkey Ball is the best multiplayer game I've played on console, aside from Goldeneye on the N64.
      • Yes, Golden Eye is nice

        Although I'd go with the Sega Dreamcast... better than PS2 [ok it doesn't play dvds], cheaper, cool games, lots of Multiplayer fun, and it can play mp3s and more!

        See:
        http://www.dcemulation.com
        • Although I'd go with the Sega Dreamcast... better than PS2 [ok it doesn't play dvds], cheaper, cool games, lots of Multiplayer fun, and it can play mp3s and more!

          I have Dreamcast, and love it. I would have to disagree with you on one point tho. The games. Don't get me wrong there are quite a few really great games (crazy taxi, ecco, soul calibre, et al). With Bleem you can play Gran Turismo 2, Tekken3, and MetalGear? on DC. But once you get the top 10 or 20, you start running out of options. I've rented scores of games that were only good for 10 min of play. Some games are real crap (rainbow6 on DC made me want to break the controller in half).


          Also, I believe you can only play mp3s (or run linux or MAME emulators, or anything you have to boot from CD for) on Pre-Oct-2000 units. I found one in summer 2001, so maybe they're still around, but I slightly doubt it.

          • Tip: If you want your DC to play CDR's get a older used system.

            Why buy them new?

            Actually there are several MP3 proprietary players [Pelican AMP] which will boot on any DC. I don't know if they can use the CDR's though.

            A simple twist of a screw gives you CDRW playback though.
          • Also, I believe you can only play mp3s (or run linux or MAME emulators, or anything you have to boot from CD for) on Pre-Oct-2000 units. I found one in summer 2001, so maybe they're still around, but I slightly doubt it.

            Do you have no shops around you that buy old games/systems and sell them back?? I can go out rith now and pick up one of those units for $25 and not have to hunt
    • We seem to value things similarly so I'll share my reasons for buying a PS2.

      Nintendo seems to have really raunchy business policies. Suing people, compromising design decisions to protect license fees, etc.

      X-Box is ...well... Microsoft.

      The PS2 plays PS1 games. This alone is such a novel thing in the video-game market that I want to vote with my dollars for them. And they seem to be more welcoming to developers. And they seem to be prepared to make the PS2 integrate with the rest of the entertainment system and with a home network.

  • Only caught a few pictures.

    Front Page [upnix.com]

    Just the pictures [upnix.com]

  • got one (Score:1, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Yeah I live in Japan and have had one of these for weeks. It is a dvd player and gamecube motherboard put into the same box and only share the dvd drive. It looks cool though and I am happy with it. I would assume if one had a dvd-r i would be easy to pirate games. The manual specifically says it can read dvd-r and cd-r disks
  • ...great for pirates. Seriously. The GameCube HAD an excellent antipiracy mechanism. Now all HK has to do is crack the disc, distrobution is no longer and issue.

    Nintendo made an excellent decision as far as anti-piracy goes with the disc size. I personally love them. I have a feeling that the majority of Q purchases are going to be for the purpose of pirating the games in the near future.

    Because of the price of the Q, I don't see piracy becomming a big deal. We know that there must be some heavy profit on each Q sold. This is probably to offset the potential piracy that Nintendo expects to occur.

    The only reason we even see a Panasonic Q is because Panasonic probably cut Nintendo a deal on the drives that are in every GameCube.
  • So now, the XBOX isn't the only console which can do this during regular game play. Granted, the game has to support it, but the hardware does.

  • Nice machine... (Score:4, Informative)

    by Zoid ( 8837 ) <zoidctf@gmail.com> on Friday January 04, 2002 @11:42AM (#2785317) Homepage
    Unforunately, Panasonic has no plans to release this unit in the US. For now, it's a Japan area only device.

    It's too bad, the idea of a shiny gamecube that can play DVDs is pretty cool. I'm also wondering if the lack of sales outside of Japan is related to piracy issues--you can fit 5.25" discs into it. One of the reasons the Gamecube uses smaller 3" discs is to prevent piracy since it's hard to get a hold of something that will make them.

    Lik Sang (a company that make mod and game copying kits) also disassembled the Panasonic Gamecube [lik-sang.com] including probably better pictures. They also modified it to play US games (remove the territory lock out). They mentioned it was a bitch to open--something like 45 special screws. Doesn't sound like a fun job to modify.
    • I remember reading a few months back that the GC's protection has already been broken.. I can't remember where though. I wouldn't be surprised to find people selling some pressed copies in HK.

      Not like it's impossible for you to use recordable media in the console.. see here:
      http://www.cdmedia-dvd.com/shopping/cdmedia/dvdr .h tm

      The only thing stopping you is that I've heard that Nintendo uses a different way of writing the data to the cd.. some kind of abnormal recording.. and you haven't cracked the protection..

      This is all speaking theoretically, of course.

      Besides, dvd-r drives are really expensive right now.. has anyone found them for less than $500-$600?

      (btw, sorry about not linking that above, I'm not quite sure how to do that on here..)
    • Unforunately, Panasonic has no plans to release this unit in the US. For now, it's a Japan area only device.

      That's okay...Japan is North America's beta testing ground...

  • Here's the official word (Score:2, Informative)

    by qurob ( 543434 )

    http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20011102/tc/tech_p anasonic_nintendo_dc_1.html [yahoo.com]

    Friday November 2 2:26 PM ET

    Panasonic Says No DVD/GameCube Hybrid in U.S.
    Audio/Video

    LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A hybrid DVD player and Nintendo (news - web sites)
    GameCube video game console set for a December launch in Japan will not be
    released in the United States at all, a spokesman for Panasonic said on
    Friday.

    Earlier this week in Tokyo, Panasonic, the consumer electronics brand of
    Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd. (6752.T), unveiled the "Q,'' which
    is a combination of a DVD player and Nintendo's new console.

    "It's simply a Japan device. ... Right now there are absolutely no plans for
    U.S. marketing,'' said Kurt Praschak, a Panasonic spokesman.

    The GameCube itself uses a smaller disc than the standard DVD format and is
    unable to play DVDs. The two companies announced earlier this year that
    Panasonic would produce its own unit with licensed GameCube technology.

    Panasonic plans to sell the device from Dec. 14 in Japan for the equivalent
    of around $325.

    The two main competitors to the GameCube in the U.S. console market, the
    Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq:MSFT - news) Xbox (news - web sites) and the Sony
    Corp (news - web sites). (6758.T) PlayStation 2 (news - web sites), both can
    play DVDs.

    The GameCube will launch on Nov. 18 at a retail price of $199. The Xbox
    launches on Nov. 15 at $299. The PS2, which launched in the U.S. in November
    2000, also sells for $299.

    Nintendo has said repeatedly in the past that its hardware is secondary to
    its games, and that it is not concerned with putting features like DVD
    playback in its devices.

    A Nintendo spokesman said he was unaware if there were any licensing
    restriction in Panasonic's deal with Nintendo that would keep the "Q'' from
    being released in the United States.
  • Ok, so, it looks like the guys at National Console Support are already figuring out how to make the thing play USA/JPN games, Im assuming since thats their business. Cool itll play full sized DVD disks, nice on the AntiPiracy side so what, not every game junkie thief has a DVDR sitting around (or am I wrong ?!!??) Soon yes but not yet, this isnt the same as writing over on a CDR,

    How different is the small format , since their written from the inside out couldnt you cut down a DVDR after its burnt , or better yet interface a full size dvd

    Ant Piracy will last all of about 6 weeks with this, Its a fact, hell the harder they make it the more of a challenge it is, the more succeptible to hardcore crackers trying to find a way around it.
    • Oops I was wrong ...

      THERE ARE ALREADY CONVERTED Q consoles for sale on Ebay....

      USA/JP game ready...

      STRIKE 6 WEEKS
      INSERT 6 MINUTES

      So much for anti piracy, since the JP are full sized ...
  • I modified my Japanese imported GC and I can say that the motherboard and even the outside bracket are identical to the regular version of the GC. The only difference here is the different laser housing, which surprisingly doesn't neccessarily allow for greater piracy. The GC discs are actually burned backwards (from the outside->in), which will make the biggest difference in replicating the discs. While they may not be bringing this product to the US, the modification is a very simple one which I was personally able to do in a matter of minutes. I just wouldn't look at this as the holy grail of GC piracy until there is more research done on the GC optical technology.

  • More pictures to drool over (Score:5, Informative)

    by qurob ( 543434 ) on Friday January 04, 2002 @11:51AM (#2785362) Homepage
    1 [coremagazine.com]
    2 [coremagazine.com]
    3 [coremagazine.com]
    4 [coremagazine.com]
    5 [coremagazine.com]
    6 [coremagazine.com]
    7 [coremagazine.com]
    8 [coremagazine.com]
    9 [coremagazine.com]
    10 [coremagazine.com]
    11 [coremagazine.com]
    12 [coremagazine.com]
    13 [coremagazine.com]
    14 [coremagazine.com]
    • Ewww.... One good reason not to buy this: I hate electronics that tell me "Hello" and "Goodbye". Creeps me the f*ck out.

      It's like some demented engineer had a skewed vision of what "user friendly" means.

      I suppose another good reason would be that I already have a gamecube and a DVD-player. And sometimes it's nice to run the two of those at the same time just because I can.

  • Consoles lose money? (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Why does everyone assume this? Please provide some evidence, more than anecdotal. I doubt they lose as much money as everyone seems to believe.
  • I thought this [slashdot.org] was the first look.

  • Several issues to clear up. (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Frag-A-Muffin ( 5490 ) on Friday January 04, 2002 @12:07PM (#2785446)
    Here are a few answers that may clear things up for you.

    First off, there *IS* a relationship between Panasonic and Nintendo. So to the guy that said Nintendo wouldn't be happy about it, you're wrong. They're very happy about it. Afterall, Panasonic makes the drives the NGC uses. (I think Panasonic also has a hand in the proprietary DVD-like format the cute little 3" discs use!)

    Secondly, all things point to the 'Q' *NOT* coming to North America. Single biggest reason. Piracy. I doubt anyone can (at this moment) get there hands on DVD-like 3" media! :) Well, I take that back. You probably can, it would just cost more than the actual games right now anyways. Later on in the future? I'm sure someone will come up with something. But unlike the PS2 and XBOX, piracy isn't gonna happen on the NGC any time soon. Nintendo has *ALWAYS* tried to keep piracy to a minimum with their proprietary formats. This is a good thing by the way. It keeps the software developers happy. Which means they'll make games for Nintendo. Which means people like me will be happy! :)

    Finally, to the dude contemplating what to get. I personally have a PS2 and picked up my NGC at launch. I don't think this is true for the rest of the /. crowd, but I like playing games with my friends. Super Monkey Ball and Super Smash Bros. has provided more than their money's worth already. That said, I can't wait til Mario Cart comes out! :) And I pray there'll be a version of Mario Party for it too. As 'kiddy' as these games may be, they definately do the job. It gives us great fun! And that's why I bought it right? So to answer, if you already have a DVD player (I did, in the PS2) then I would recommend a NGC if you have friends. If you do have friends and don't have a DVD player, than your decision is a little tougher. If you don't have friends at all then it doesn't matter what you get, does it? You'll be playing alone. :)

    Anyways, hope that helps someone. Anyone! :)
    • Many people, including myself, cast the Game Cube aside orginally.

      People think it is Kiddy.

      Although Nintendo's big cash cow is the 5-13 year old Pokemon crowd, that fad is nearly gone.

      Let's remember these are video games, and they are supposed to be kiddy and fun.

      Super Mario Brothers 3 is a game I still play, to this day! As is the original Donkey Kong. Sure, it's cartoony, no photo-realism, no blood and gore.

      Doesn't matter, they're fun.

      I for one, think games should be fun, and not super realism. There are exceptions, like Flight Simulators.

      There are some VERY cool games coming out for the GameCube. Remember other Nintendo classics such as Metroid?
    • Nintendo has a consistent history of really innovative hardware and software, which is one of the reasons I decided on a gamecube.

      This article [google.com] has a pretty good run-down of some major innovations by nintendo, including the standardization of analog controls and rumble features, the introduction of the big-headed racing game genre (Mario Kart), and the digital boardgame (Mario Party), all of which have been extensively copied by competitors at this point.

      The amount of games on PS2 doesn't really impress me either (after all, I can't buy them ALL). Sure, PS2 has 50 racing titles for every 1 on gamecube, but I'll take one great game like Mario Kart over 50 mediocre racers.
    • "Nintendo has *ALWAYS* tried to keep piracy to a minimum with their proprietary formats. This is a good thing by the way."

      Yes and no. I agree that reducing piracy is important. I disagree, however, that proprietary formats are 100% good. Projects such as porting FreeBSD to the Dreamcast and creating homebrew PSX games are predicated on being able to create media that is runnable by the machine.

      Unfortunately, "hacker friendly" (in the traditional, non-negative sense) is always going to be somewhat synonymous with "pirate friendly". Even worse, a game console has little incentive to promote a hacker friendly system but a very large incentive to block a pirate friendly one.

  • Piracy (Score:2, Informative)

    by drwiii ( 434 )
    I doubt piracy will be a problem, unless someone finds a BIOS hole like they did on the Dreamcast.

    GameCube games have a visible security thread on the inside ring of the minidisc that is checked by the system before it boots, good luck trying to duplicate it with any kind of burner.

  • is it just me or was the Q autopsy kinda lame.. i was hoping from something more than heres what it looks like if you open part of, now we are going to play games on it..

    It is interesting how it switches modes instead of the gamecube recognizing that the dvd is not a game and automatically popping up a cool menu much like other systems do when you put in an audio cd..

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