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GameCube (Games) Portables (Games) Entertainment Games

The Nintendo Indifference? 94

Posted by simoniker from the vicious-mario-slander-or-intervention? dept.
Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing to a new Nintendojo editorial entitled 'The Nintendo Indifference' This noticably bitter editorial on the state of the Big N begins: "I bought my GameCube with the expectation of the delivery of the promise of innovation, and you failed to deliver. Worst of all, I don't forget. Because of your misleading statements, it's time for a reckoning, Nintendo. You owe me." Has Nintendo really "failed to be innovative as a first party developer for their console", or did the writer of this editorial just get out of bed on the wrong side?
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The Nintendo Indifference? More

The Nintendo Indifference?

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  • blech (Score:5, Insightful)

    by sweeney37 ( 325921 ) * <mikesweeney@gma[ ]com ['il.' in gap]> on Tuesday June 03, 2003 @10:39PM (#6111522) Homepage Journal
    While he makes some valid points, it's hard to take this guy seriously. His ranting and raving is almost as bad as some of the trolls that lurk around slashdot.

    He was saying to the audience in attendance that the Nintendo Difference for the GameCube was that their would be no "Mega Sequels," only innovative games like Pikmin.

    What developer doesn't make extravagant, exuberant claims at an E3 press conference?

    He goes on and makes some interesting comments about Mario Sunshine, but then he makes this comment:

    Secondly, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind 'Wanker'.

    C'mon, how old are we? You have to resort to name-calling to get your point across?

    The whole thing is pure dreck, I can't believe the ravings of an immature, name-callling child makes the news.

    Mike

    • Re:blech (Score:1, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Well look who's calling people immature name-calling children?

      You cock-gobbler.
    • *ahem* I hate to ask this, but why is this news? If you scan the article even briefly you can see it's complete childish crap. You can't wake up on the wrong side of the bed when you sleep in a crib.

      Slashdot editors, just fyi, if an "article" starts of with calling people homo's it's probably not worth our bandwidth. I feel embarassed for Nintendojo for having that hosted.
    • It took you as far as The Wind 'Wanker' to realize the immaturity of this child? The comment about homosexual mushroom haircuts didn't tip you off? (BTW, while fungi exhibit both sexual and asexual reproduction, there is only one gender. QED all mushrooms are inherently homosexual.)

      The kid was burned by hype and is bitter, plain and simple. While the Cube has many sequals, some of them are considered the best games in the industry right now. Nintendo has a long history of true sequals, sequals that bu
    • I can't believe the ravings of an immature, name-callling child makes the news.

      I find it interesting that you call Slashdot "the news". The news contains facts.

      (So I Married an Axe Murderer, sort of)

  • Just Like GBA? (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward
    I bought a GBA when the first came out. It's almost unplayable. I only bring my GBC when I travel. I'll probably buy the new GBA someday, but I'm think Nintendo has to shape up.

    • Re:Just Like GBA? (Score:3, Insightful)

      by LazerImp ( 678727 )
      Have you tried Wario Ware, Inc for GBA yet? If you haven't, go out and buy it now. Seriously. If you're complaining about Nintendo's lack of innovation on the GBA, Wario Ware is possibly the oddest, most different game I've ever played. And I love it. And so does every single person I've showed it to.
    • C'mon now. Almost unplayable? Granted, you can't play it indoors in a dimly lit area, but I have logged hundreds of hours on my un-modded, stock, bought on day 1 of release GBA and I still play it every day on my breaks at work.How much fun do you have at the airport trying to find a TV to plug your GCN into? I would be the one snickering at you, but I'm too busy playing Golden Sun: The Lost Age...

  • Pikmin Was Unique (Score:5, Interesting)

    by MBCook ( 132727 ) <foobarsoft@foobarsoft.com> on Tuesday June 03, 2003 @10:52PM (#6111624) Homepage
    Pikmin and Animal Crossing

    What more do I have to say? Those were two great games, that were also very inavative. What is this guy looking for? Oddities like "Mr. Mosquito"? Yes Nintendo has lots of sequels, but if you look at E3 this year that's just about all there is.

    What is there for the XBox or PS2 that's so innovative? I already mentioned "Mr. Mosquito", there is that new game for the PS2 that uses a camera, and Ico was very innovative in many ways. The XBox had... um... I'm not quite sure. MechAssault was somewhat unseen on consoles. I'm sure there are a few more but let's face it, none of the consoles has a ton of innovative games.

    So where are they? The PC gets lots of odd games, although they aren't often very big. What does get a ton of games? The GBA. WarioWare Inc (I'm playing this now, it's fantastic), HamHam Heartbreak is sorta unique, it just gets lots of stuff.

    All that said, what's so bad about sequels? I'm looking forward to Pikmin 2. There are many sequels that I'm looking forward to. The "sequels suck" thing is just more generalizations that come from games like "SofaSalesmen Tycoon" and "Army Men 312". Many games have sequels done to death, but many are great. I can't wait for Advanced Wars 2 either.

    So in short, Nintendo is doing a very good job. Shut up and go find a good game if you want one instead of waiting for the next big thing. Mario Sunshine was no Mario 64, but it was still a pretty good game. Zelda, on the other hand, was simply fantastic. I don't mind sequels if they are well done and top rate.

    • Well, I posted this list in response to a Dreamcast fanboy's theories about inventive games being the cause of Dreamcast's failure, but it didn't get much attention, so here it is again.

      If you think PlayStation hasn't done anything for game innovation, what about Rez, Irritating Stick, Frequency, Herdy Gerdy, Roll Away, PaRappa The Rapper, Incredible Crisis, Stretch Panic, Mad Maestro!, Mister Mosquito, Fantavision, No One Can Stop Mister Domino!, Vib Ribbon, Kinetica, Monster Rancher, Shadow Of Destiny, S
    • The systems that are inexespensive to delevope for will have the innovative quirky non blockbuster games.

      Even if a GBA game costs 20.00 ea. for liscensing, The entire project start to finish takes less time and resources then designing one level in a game like Max Payne.

      Here is a thing that pisses me off though.

      Doom II costs 45.00 at the only place I found it for sale.

      DoomII is nearly a decade old. And the engine was ported to the GBA by some Open Source hackers in almost no time. How can it possibly
  • Or is it ignoramii?

    Anyway, the guys fails to look at the fact that the concentration of original games is higher than that of the other systems.
    He calls Mario Sunshine a crappier version of Mario 64... what the hell? Sunshine is a great game, and has a cool angle to it. I mean, c'mon, how many games do you see that have you spray the enemies with water and clean up sludge?
    Wind Waker is another great game. I'm perplexed as to how he feels it is the same as OoT or MM... neither had sailing, the enemy AI was levels below WW, no droppable weapons, I could go on for a while.
    Metroid Prime. So its a sequel. Its a brilliantly executed sequel. The only "fps" I'll ever play on a console.
    As stated, Animal Crossing and Pikmin stand on their own.

  • Ok (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Apreche ( 239272 ) on Tuesday June 03, 2003 @11:06PM (#6111721) Homepage Journal
    How does a guy who writes an article like this get posted to slashdot? Seriously. Even my "Hopefully this will lead to more truly innovative and quality titles like Splinter Cell, Nascar: Dirt to Daytona and Burnout 2..."

    If you think those games are innovative there is something seriously wrong with you. Of the three Burnout 2 is probably the most so, and only in it's awesome crashing action.

    Nintendo makes the most innovative and fun video games in the world, they always have. So, slashdot, if you're going to continue posting quality stuff like this why not post some of the shit that I write when I'm bored and sleepy?

  • If that "essay" had been posted on /. (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Snowspinner ( 627098 ) <{ude.lfu} {ta} {dnaslihp}> on Tuesday June 03, 2003 @11:20PM (#6111810) Homepage
    It would be moderated down to -1 Flamebait instantly.

    Its claims are absolutely ludicrous. Mario Sunshine has a worse camera than Mario 64? Wind Waker is identical to Ocarina? Games like Smash Brothers that made dramatic and substantial improvements on their originals aren't worth putting out? Sequels that expand on popular and fun ideas are bad? These are just stupid ideas, made no smarter by his "witty" retitling of games to be "Wind Wanker" and "Mario Squirt-Gun", or his claiming that Miyamoto would "wet himself" if a game contained real violence. (News flash: Miyamoto was a producer on Eternal Darkness, one of three games actually praised by the ranter)

    God, you have no idea how depressed I am that the buzz story on Nintendo is "the company is doomed". The company is only doomed because of the arbitrary perception that it is doomed. Its consoles are profitable, its games reliably top "best of year lists", and it has a sizable installed fanbase. It's only assholes like this that are going to kill what is, in my opinion, the only company still reliably putting out games that remotely resemble the hobby I grew up on.

    Hm. That "essay" appears to have pissed me off more than I thought. I guess I'll go find some more Shines until I calm down.
    • If that "essay" had been posted on /. It would be moderated down to -1 Flamebait instantly.

      Actually, anything criticizing Nintendo gets instantly modded down to -1 Troll [slashdot.org], not Flamebait.

      Anyway, back on topic, I agree-- the editorial was mostly off base, Nintendo's making quite a bit of money, and they haven't really promised anything they didn't deliver. Still, I'm a bit disappointed with my Gamecube. I bought Mario, Zelda, and Metroid, and the only one I bothered to play more than 10 hours was Metroid
    • A lot of us are still pissed at the lackluster game linup for the N64. I got burned buying that console, and I doubt I will ever buy a Nintendo console again. If it hadn't been for the fact that I owned the Bond game during the time I was in college dorms, the system would have been a complete waste of my money.

      Frankly, I've looked at the linup of games for the GC, and I'm underwhelmed. It seems like after a few interesting titles, such as Metroid and well... Metroid, there just isn't much there.

      Maybe its
    • It won't die no more than Apple has died after the thousands of times its death has been predicted by tech-journalists for years on end.
    • The main reason I have bothered to continue to support Nintendo's platform, and purchased a GameCube, and continue to play and track down old N64 games:

      Nintendo's committment to putting out highly playable games... and Miyamoto's huge successes. (They haven't all been sparkling gems, but I can't think of any other game developer with such a string of successes).

      Having played through 20 or 30 shines in Mario Sunshine, I can say that I won't bother to finish the game; it is good, the graphics and impressive
    • Wow, I read the essay and I'm quite stunned: in the first paragraph he's talking about "a very small Japanese gentleman" (well, yeah, a lot of Asians are somewhat smaller than us burly Americans; get over it...) with his hair cut "like a homosexual mushroom" (what the hell does that mean? You can identify gays by their haircuts?)

      Then his attack on Miyamoto ("a real gun would have made Miyamoto pee in his pants from fear"). The use of the phrases "sucks," "Mario Kart: Double Ass." "Nintendo's two faced B.S.
      • The most frustrating thing is that the kind of person who writes things like this editorial will spew off crap like that, and then turn around and say "OMG, Doom 3 looks so awesome!" with a straight face.

        Don't get me wrong, Doom 3 does look great, but put into context with the rest of that rant, the writer looks like a moron. (see his comments about Splinter Cell and some racing games near the bottom of the editorial) People like this can't see the irony of their prejudices, and won't listen to reason.
    • Indeed. If Slashdot has lowered itself to accepting stories from immature twits, I'm sure I can come up with some dandy essays written by petulant 5-year-olds denied their cookies at snacktime. In fact, the scribblngs of your average 5-year-old may be more edifying than what this guy puked out.

      Grow up. The Gamecube is a fine system with stellar games.
    • Mario Sunshine has a worse camera than Mario 64?

      I think so.

      When I have played SMS, there are too many times when Mario is obscured by an object and the camera doesn't compensate, so I can't see what I am doing. There are times when the camera moves around so that you can see what is approaching, like on the path up to the windmill, but these times are so rare that they catch me off guard and it disorientates me. This can also happen mid-jump, which can cause me to miss the landing. In contrast, I neve
      • That's really odd. I found, in both M64 and Ocarina of Time that the limited camera control, particularly the fact that you couldn't move the camera on the fly, was frequently a problem. The C-Stick camera on Wind Waker and Sunshine was vastly more playable for me, with the exception of that one level in the amusement park where it was impossible to get a close-up view because of the wall. I always felt in total control of the camera, and got quite good at manipulating the camera while I moved and did other

  • Far from doom.. (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Mean_Nishka ( 543399 ) on Tuesday June 03, 2003 @11:36PM (#6111927) Homepage Journal
    True, they won't get doom on the Gamecube, but Nintendo is far from its demise. Let's not forget that Nintendo played second fiddle to Sony PS1 for the life of the n64 console.

    Frankly, I think Nintendo is the only innovative game maker left in business today. We had a lengthy discussion on /. the other day on this very topic.. Nintendo, time and again, is the innovator in this industry. As we've seen with Apple (the innovator in the PC industry) they've carved out quite a profitable niche in the marketplace, which is where Nintendo may find itself.

    Nintendo, like Apple, has some very innovative games, does things nobody else does, but is later copied by everyone else in the industry :). I love my Xbox by and large it's generic crap that I'm playing on it :). The games look great, but I have yet to find a game that immerses me like the Nintendo titles.

    On the Gamecube alone, you have great first party titles like Pikmin, Animal Crossing, Zelda, Mario Sunshine, etc. etc. Nintendo knows how to make a great video game, and the Gamecube is by far the best canvas they've ever had to express their innovative approach to video games.

    All one needs to do is just play Zelda Wind Waker for an hour or two to see just how amazing these people are. It's just an astounding game.

  • I don't think we need to waste another moment (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Kris_J ( 10111 ) on Tuesday June 03, 2003 @11:46PM (#6111978) Homepage Journal
    Do we really care about the opinions of someone who has the phrase "with his hair cut like a homosexual mushroom" in the opening paragraph?

  • Wrong target of attack (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 03, 2003 @11:47PM (#6111982)
    We have seen some innovation, and also a lot of evolution. Pikmin, Metroid and Animal Crossing are very innovative, whereas Mario Sunshine and Zelda are both improvements and refinements on the older installments. One should ask what Sony and Microsoft have offered in the way of innovation...

    I am not sure where you can fault Nintendo in terms of game design - and Nintendo have never really swamped the market with titles, instead releasing only one or two a year. From the few we have received it is clear that first party offerings are up to scratch.

    A better (and valid) attack would be on third party support. Nintendo is very much a first (and second) party platform, which in many ways limits the appeal of their system.
  • Nintendo has always focused on the children's market. This was the correct strategy when they first started with the NES because very few adults played video games. It was children who were most able to immerse themselves in Super Mario, Contra, etc. and children propelled the buying of consoles, games, etc. Nintendo designed graphics have always been cartoonish and cute rather than hard edged and realistic. The most recent Nintendo mega-hit remains the Pokemon craze, something almost exclusively target
    • See, I think that the people who grew up on Super Mario and are still gamers are, in a lot of cases, still interested in Mario. It's the next generation, currently in high school and middle school, who have never played the original Zelda that have no interest in Nintendo titles. And I don't think it's edginess that sells. Lord knows FF7 wasn't edgy.

      I think it's a distinctly different style of game that sells - not in terms of content, but in terms of what's emphasized in design. I don't think a lot of cur
      • See, I think that the people who grew up on Super Mario and are still gamers are, in a lot of cases, still interested in Mario.

        I grew up on SMB (and SMB2, SMB3), and I'm definitely not interested in Mario. OTOH, I am interested in Zelda and Metroid, which always seemed to me to be at least a little higher up the evolutionary ladder than SMB anyway.

        It's the next generation, currently in high school and middle school, who have never played the original Zelda that have no interest in Nintendo titles. And
    • Is it just me, or does it piss you off when people call the GameCube childish?

      First off, there are plenty of games out for Gamecube that are NOT childish, and that children should not be playing (BMX XXX, BloodRayne, Eternal Darkness, Mortal Kombat, Resident Evil). And Secondly, a game does not need to have blood, guts, and nudity to be fun for adults to play. I'm sorry but I'd rather play Metroid Prime than any of the games listed above any day. If you think that a game is no good because it isn't violen

  • Well everyone is entitled to their own opinion... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by nekoes ( 613370 ) on Wednesday June 04, 2003 @02:00AM (#6112536) Journal
    I guess.

    This guy just seemed utterly deranged over Nintendo. Maybe it's just the grass is always greener on the other side, but I'm currently an owner of both the Xbox and PS2 consoles, and I have to say that both software lineups, put together, for both consoles, have been depressingly lackluster. I can count on one hand the games worth owning for these two systems. However when I think of the GC, I've got like 10 or 11 games all in my mind.

    Could just be the grass is always greener. But it could also just be that both these consoles are another example of quantity over quality.

    Sure, there's games like ICO and Halo that make the respective systems sort of worth owning. The FFX and Suikoden 3 rpgs for PS2 weren't that bad, along with Kingdom Hearts. I can't think too far beyond those as far as games I would play go. And all of the Xbox titles have been ports of PC games, or currently have their titles being ported to PC. Everytime I'm out looking for a decent Xbox game to pick up, I've generally already got it for PC, or it's coming out for PC, so why spend so much money on a gimped product?

    (gimped being no online play, not editable, etc)

    I can't really come up with anything else to either go against or with parts of his point, I know the GC games I've seen have been extremely good, and I'm on the verge of picking a system up up (they are super cheap now too..)

    Pikmin looked good, Mario Sunshine didn't seem all that bad... all of Nintendo's sequals are top notch (Zelda, Mario, SSMB, Metroid) and the just announced games like Giftpia and Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles are looking spectacular.

    I can't say that I agree with schotty when he says that more games is better and it's sad that pretty much every other platform has more, especially since there are so few out on both Xbox and PS2 that are really worth owning.

    That, to me, is sad.

    And I guess I'm also wondering how this guy's article is worthy /. ... I guess it makes good conversation for an otherwise slow moving news pool. :P
  • Here's the most outrageous quote in the whole mess:

    "It seems like the only difference between Nintendo and the other consoles is that Nintendo is apt to lie about their intentions, whereas Sony and Microsoft give you what you want and lots of it."
  • Well, I agree that it wasn't the best of articles. The childish comments (Wind Wanker) hurt it more than anything else. Still, there are some valid points in there. Me, I have grown up with Nintendo and gone through the Famicom, the Super Famicom, the N64, the Cube and a handful of GameBoy's. It's difficult to pinpoint, but despite the lovely visuals of the current Nintendo titles, there is something missing. Something that was there before, when Nintendo was the unchallenged king of the videogame world, b
    • I somewhat agree with you, however it's true of all consoles. It might be the whole loss of childhood innocence type thing, the nostalgia value placed on old games. Or maybe Nintendo has lost it's touch, but if so, it's a touch that Sony and Microsoft don't have either. Or maybe games have gotten too complex, the most addictive games are always things like Tetris after all. Or maybe it's just the fact that now that i'm an adult and have a job i don't have the ability to immerse myself in games the same way
    • Yeah, I think there was some sort of 'magical spark' all of Nintendo's games used to have that just generally aren't there today. Wind Waker, Sunshine, Metroid, etc. are all great games, there's just that magic missing. And I know Nintendo's still capable of it, it is definitely there in Wario Ware.
    • Indeed, it seems they have chosen to live off the pokemon license.
  • While the guy can tone down the anger I agree with him.
    I have the Cube and so far am highly disappointed with lack of online support and games.
    The only reason I havent given mine away or sold it is that another Star Wars game is slated for release only on GameCube, which is one reason I even have the GameCube, Rogue Squadron. Other than that the thing is a dud.
    • I _mostly_ agree as well. I had an N64 instead of a PS1. My brother had a PS1 and used to tell me about how many games he had for his PS1 vs my N64. Sure, he had more games to choose from, but I believe a higher percentage of N64 games were high quality in comparison to PS1's library.

      I bought a Cube instead of a PS2 or Xbox because of this. I was frustrated the first year with a lack of a Mario title, but hung in there. The breaking point for me was when I looked a xmas 2002 lineup and saw a bunch of
    • Although I don't agree that the GameCube doesn't have the software (quite a few GameCube games are among my favorites), I completely agree that the GameCube's downfall is Online support. From the look of the console industry, online console games are about to EXPLODE. Sony got there killer app (SOCOM), XBox Live has quite the library now, with a ton of titles on the way, and GameCube has.... Phantasy Star? The future of these consoles is online. Sony and Micro realized this, and planned accordingly, but Nin
      • The future of these consoles is online.

        I agree. Online capabilities will play a vital role of consoles in the future. But that will be then, not now. Online gaming has a lot of growing up to do. When Nintendo does go online, they will have the advantage to avoid the mistakes their competitors are making now. Nintendo has the potential to offer the best online experience. They have, I believe, the largest and most popular (historically speaking) franchise of characters and fantasy worlds in the vide
        • Last year, when X-box live was released, I was floored not so much by Microsoft's steps towards an online component, but rather by the lack of a plan by Nintendo and Sony. I played a lot of x-box live for that first month, and now, 7 months later I have not purchased a single game that uses it? Why? because most of it is crap. The "Online content" prmoised by MS has mostly boiled down to one level or so every 3 months.

          What looked like Nitendo's mistake may not have been such a grave error after all. Cons
    • If Rogue Squadron is the only game you think is worth owning for the 'Cube, then the 'Cube isn't the console you should own. Period.

      Rogue Squadron isn't even that great a game (yes, I own it) other than their (amazingly well done) use of the Star Wars license.

      If you don't think that Metroid Prime, Zelda:Wind Waker, Eternal Darkness, Pikmin, Animal Crossing, RE0/1, or any of the other great titles for the system are worth owning, then just get a different system. If you only own the system so that you
  • Despite his childishness the guy has a point; Nintendo really aren't delivering on their promises for innovation and, more than that, they aren't producing solid sequels either. With the rarity of third party games and a total lack of support for online gaming its difficult to see anything the Gamecube has done right.

    Don't get me wrong; I own a Gamecube and I like a lot of Nintendo games. I own a SNES and an N64 as well. He's right that Mario Sunshine is a weak re-tread of Mario 64 though - its a fun game
  • Nintendo is taking a beating for not being innovative, from many different sources. If they aren't, then who is? Where do you see the innovation happening in today's video game industry?

  • Just another troll (Score:2, Informative)

    by matlokheed ( 602233 )
    Really. If you wanted to see this editorial it probably would've been just as easy to go to one of the Gamecube boards on gamefaqs (www.gamefaqs.com). Then just look for a "Nintendo sucks" topic and you're all set. The only thing that makes this significant is because this is an editorial on Nintendojo which has always been a fairly decent source for Nintendo news.

    I won't even bother picking apart the article. That's already been done before and with he proves a point with his confused ramblings. To p
    • Waa, waa! Get over what they said, I've got a GameCube and I love it; Metroid Prime kicked my ass the first couple of times I played it! I guess I can't compare my experience directly to his, I never had a N64; I don't think I'd be as disenchanted as he is anyhow.

      So they said they would be innovative, who's definition of innovative are we going by? His? Mine? Nintendo's? Does it matter? They said one thing, they did another; isn't that how it's always worked?

      • I guess I can't compare my experience directly to his, I never had a N64; I don't think I'd be as disenchanted as he is anyhow.

        I think that may be why the GC looks so good to me, as well. Hell, I didn't even have an SNES, I went straight from NES to Turbo Grafx-16 and the Genesis, and then took a few years away from console gaming (mostly my teenage years) to come back for the PS1 when FFVII came out (though I played quite a bit of Killer Instinct and Mario Kart on my roommate's SNES in college).

  • -1 Flamebait (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Rudy Rodarte ( 597418 ) on Wednesday June 04, 2003 @09:24AM (#6114205) Homepage Journal
    If you don't like it, don't buy it. I think that would send the strongest message to the folks at Nintendo.
    I am perfectly happy with the gamecube, and the current library. Sure, I'd like to see GTA on the GC, since I'll never buy a PS2(Sorry, buying a house. Gotta get ready for the assault on my wallet.) But, there are some great games coming up. I won't list them all here. Just visit Game Spot or ign.com to see the excellent upcoming games.

  • GameCube Has Many High Quality Titles (Score:3, Insightful)

    by syr ( 647840 ) on Wednesday June 04, 2003 @02:39PM (#6117214)
    Over at GameTab.com [gametab.com] we compile reviews for all platforms from all over the web. Just the other day we finished our "Game Charts" script which lets you search for games based on average reviewer rating on websites, price, platform and release date.

    What is interesting is analyzing all of the data concerning quality titles the individual console makers have produced. Here [gametab.com] is the page listing the top GC games (those with greater than 85% average reviews). As you can see Nintendo has released (including third party titles) 16 titles which have been very well received by the reviewing wing of the games industry. In contrast the PC industry released 27 games with similar press fanfare, the PS2 released 28 games, and the XBox 18.

    The GameCube has the smallest number of quality titles but if you factor in GameboyAdvance games the total rises to 29. And indeed if you are buying a GC soon it will come with the GameBoy TV adapter so you can play all your Nintendo games for $150 for the unit. The GameCube has always been cheaper than the other systems and that is a major selling point for it.

    If you look at the top rated games [gametab.com] you'll see 3 GameCube games in the top 10. The GameCube is producing very high quality games but it is getting hurt because third party developers are not supporting it as well (they create and optimize the game for the PS2 and then release that game for the XBox/GC hardware which is much more powerful). Also, the PS2/PC controls the highly acclaimed GTA series which has a solid hold on the Top 10 games.

    I'm not saying that Nintendo is not to blame for many of the woes felt by GC owners. I'm just saying it is possibly the best console to own (it's cheap and has a number of stellar 1st party titles not available elsewhere). Nintendo and Microsoft might have lost to Sony in this battle, but Nintendo is still very aggressive in their future plans and they have a stranglehold on the portable gaming market. The next round of consoles will be very interesting and with exclusivity contracts from the likes of RockStar Games (GTA) and Square (Final Fantasy) being expired soon or renegotiated frequently it is possible that Nintendo's next console will be able to compete on the same level as the PS3 and XBOX2.

    In the meantime I will be playing Animal Crossing, Metroid Prime and Wind Waker. And (unfortunately) waiting for Mario Kart, F-zero, etc. for the GameCube.

    My biggest beef with Nintendo is that it took nearly 2 or more years to get many of their 1st party sequels made. There's no real excuse for any of that. They should have been launch titles or at least released in 2002.

  • Some good points... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by gamgee5273 ( 410326 ) on Wednesday June 04, 2003 @04:25PM (#6118363) Journal
    ...and really weak execution. I think the GC is the bet of the most recent consoles (including the DC). It's a powerful little powerhouse that isn't trying to be anything other than a game console. Truly, I think we've seen a lot of innovative work from Nintendo for the GC.

    1. Pikmin is beautiful, and a wonderful way to pass the time when home sick from work.

    2. Animal Crossing, while looking like an N64 game, really takes the whole "Sims" thing to a new level.

    3. Metroid Prime is the tighest FPS I've ever played, and I've played them since Pathways into Darkness [earthlink.net].

    4. And, to top all of them off, The Wind Waker is just an amazing game and is close to perfect. Yes, it does play like Ocarina, but it is Ocarina's sequel - I should hope it feels similar, at least.

    I could go on: Eternal Darkness, Lost Kingdoms, Lost Kingoms II, oh, and while it made its first home on the Japanese DC, the great Ikagura cannot be overlooked.

    And what do we GC'ers have to look forward to? Pikmin 2, F-Zero GX, Resident Evil 4, Viewtiful Joe, and Giftpia, just to name a few. When one considers that the typical console owner buys, tops, four or five titles for the console, I think the GC is in great shape (lord knows I own a small fortune's worth).

    I just don't think the argument is fully with merit. If this were English 101 I would have to make him redo the essay. If this were a /. post I would have to mod him down -1 Troll.

    • Damn...I forgot Super Monkey Ball (not necessarily SMB 2, though - that one's hard beyond belief). Now there's a great party game, especially the Monkey Fight!
    • When one considers that the typical console owner buys, tops, four or five titles for the console, I think the GC is in great shape (lord knows I own a small fortune's worth).

      Slashdot people seem to have this idea that console owners only buy a few games. Look around the web for sales data. The GameCube is selling an average of 12 games per console sold, and the Xbox is averaging about 10.

      PS2 numbers are probably lower as a very high portion of the Japanese sales (at least early on) were solely for use a
      • Those stats are taken from the last generation of consoles, and sales data for current consoles can be misleading. When you think of the last gen colsoles you can see the truth in that data: my wife's best friend has a PSone and two games (she has since bought a PS2, primarily for DVDs, and a third PSone game); my best friend has an N64 and owns three games; I own exactly one game for my TurboGrafx 16 (okay, not really last gen, but you get the point).

        You really can't tell what the trends are until the c

  • I can see the author's points but I'm kind of in the middle of the road on this subject. You have to admit that while some of these sequels are rehashes of N64 games, they still are a lot of fun. Also, I think Nintendo has their innovation focused on the wrong thing. They're pushing the whole Gamecube-GBA link, which is cool, just not very practical. How man people can really afford a GameCube and a GBA and Metriod Prime and Metriod Fusion?
  • truly innovative and quality titles like Splinter Cell

    So he rails on a Metal Gear Solid remake for about 3 paragraphs, and then wishes for 'innovative' games like Splinter Cell (a.k.a. Metal Gear Solid on estrogen -- note: I own both games, but I'm not particularly fond of either. That being said, MGS is a far better game than Splinter Cell IMO)?

    I mean, the whole rant was pretty stupid. It's extremely hard to take someone seriously when they use the wrong 'their' in the opening paragraph. But to not
    • Gee, and on top of that, his current favorite games are:

      F1 World Grand Prix, Madden 2002, and NHL 2002

      Loads of innovation in that lot.

      Not to mention that his most wanted game is "Your Mom." A real class act all around.

      --Jeremy

  • Lies! All Lies! (Score:2, Informative)

    by NintenDoctor ( 630435 )

    This guy is just another one of those whiners with nothing worthwhile to say. And while Burnout 2 is a very good racing game, to call it innovative is a total joke.

    Personally, I prefer a steady balance of new and old ideas. Innovation at the sake of entertainment is not a good idea, and I do not buy games just because they're the next big thing.

    If you're looking for something innovative on the 'Cube, get yourself a copy of the preview disc [ign.com] (supposedly, it's not for sale, but tell that to GameStop) and t

  • Maybe... (Score:3, Funny)

    by Guppy06 ( 410832 ) on Thursday June 05, 2003 @07:54AM (#6122391)
    ... he's just a little miffed about what happened to him at E3 '01 [nintendorks.com].

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