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GameCube (Games) Entertainment Games

GameCube Production to Halt 515

Posted by CowboyNeal from the all-caught-up-and-then-some dept.
avayre writes "Nintendo is to press the pause button on production of its GameCube consoles while it clears inventory of unsold machines. the company's president said on Thursday. But Satoru Iwata promised the struggling games company was developing a radical new product to be announced next year -- however he gave few details save to say it would be a departure from mainstream gaming consoles 'that will have a big impact on the world.'" My prediction is that it's just downtime until Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles ships. That'll help move those units that are gathering dust.
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GameCube Production to Halt More

GameCube Production to Halt

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  • Sega flashback (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Jarlsberg ( 643324 ) * on Friday August 08, 2003 @07:59AM (#6643675) Journal
    So is it just me, or does this remind anyone else of the whole Sega kaboozle - Genesis went down, Sega released the radical Dreamcast, and... well everyone knows what happened next...

    • With the handheld market pretty much tied up.... (Score:4, Interesting)

      by Hogwash McFly ( 678207 ) on Friday August 08, 2003 @08:05AM (#6643705)
      would it actually hurt Nintendo at all to follow Sega's path and go multiplatform? With the Game Boy raking in huge wads of cash they could focus on making those classics for Xbox/PS2, slicing a chunk of the market from their would be competitors and spread the ole 'Games are fun' ethos for which Nintendo has become famous for, without get caught up in the hardware wars.
      • Seems like Nintendo'd be in a better position to go third party than Sega was. Sega, for all the great games they make, haven't been able to sell them since the Genesis days. Nintendo has a much higher "mascot factor" (imagine all the Zelda or Mario games they could sell on PS2), and they are not nearly as strapped as Sega was when the ditched the DC.

      • Re:With the handheld market pretty much tied up... (Score:4, Insightful)

        by SmallFurryCreature ( 593017 ) on Friday August 08, 2003 @09:16AM (#6644119) Journal
        You say forget the console hardware race, just make games their games for the other platforms so they can maximise the potential of their great games without the hassle of having to compete with two giants with deep pockets?

        Then perhaps focus their hardware into the one area they are the supreme almighty ruler, the handheld gaming market? Perhaps make the next gameboy a truly excellent piece of engineering and marketing without such obvious ommissions as a backlight or a headphone jacket?

        Perhaps realize that a fair proportion of gameboy owners are adults and make more adult type games for it?

        Put a technology like bluetooth on it with easy matchmaking capabilty?

        Extend the battery life by realising adults can hold a heavier device then a 8yr old and can pay more for both hardware and software?

        Realize that the iPod has shown their are plenty of rich bastards out there who are willing to pay top dollar for true excellence? (archos is way way way way cheaper and offers the same base product)

        That is crazy talk mister.

  • Nintendo..xbox killer? (Score:3, Funny)

    by linuxislandsucks ( 461335 ) on Friday August 08, 2003 @08:01AM (#6643686) Homepage Journal
    they stil loutsell xbox :)

    Maybe MS should buy the company?
    • Do you have numbers to back that up? About the only place that the GameCube might be outselling the XBOX is Japan and this is due to jingoism more than anything else and I'm not sure even this is still true. XBOX surpassed GameCUbe in units sold in the US and Europe a long time ago.
      • Accurate worldwide sales figures are a little difficult to come by, but all the numbers I've seen suggest that there's very little difference between GC and XBox in terms of units sold. XBox is dead in the water in Japan, GC is in a fairly similar state in the US, and not much better off in Europe.

      • Re:Nintendo..xbox killer? (Score:5, Informative)

        by Dylan2000 ( 592069 ) on Friday August 08, 2003 @08:21AM (#6643796) Homepage
        I did see the numbers saying Gamecube was maybe 5-10% ahead of Xbox worldwide but I can't seem to find them. I found this though

        http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/54/31836.html [theregister.co.uk]

        ..the overall sales figures (which, interestingly, put Cube and Xbox almost neck and neck on a global level, with around 9.5 million units each - so why are so many US-based analysts desperate to write off the Cube?)

        Which means I can't say the Gamecube is outselling Xbox but neither is the reverse true. Surprised?
      • I would have loved to see numbers backing that up in the fscking article! It doesn't surprise me that M$nbc fires off an article about a struggling Nintendo, shows sales comparisons between the PS2 and the GameCube, and omits the numbers for the XBox. They didn't want to paint the XBox with a similar brush, no doubt. And furthermore, unit sales aside, I don't think Microsoft is breaking even yet, on a per unit basis! How long are they committed to running in this race. Lastly, I own a GameCube for the

    • Re:Nintendo..xbox killer? (Score:3, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Maybe MS should buy the company?
      They tried [gamers.com]. MSFT didn't have the slightest chance to do so.

  • Release GC Linux! (Score:5, Funny)

    by Trigun ( 685027 ) <evil@evilempiDEB ... .cx minus distro> on Friday August 08, 2003 @08:03AM (#6643699)
    That will get a bunch of them to sell.
    They stack well in a server room!

    • Re:Release GC Linux! (Score:5, Funny)

      by jankinz ( 695579 ) on Friday August 08, 2003 @10:06AM (#6644480)
      that would be awesome! i've got the $150 saved up for the 'cube, now to scrounge up $699 for my linux license...

    • Re:Release GC Linux! (Score:3, Interesting)

      by drinkypoo ( 153816 )
      Actually, if the boot licensing cost were high enough, Sony actually could make money selling Linux for GC. It really would sell a ton of units, or at least it would sell all the used GCs really rapidly, which would lead to people having to buy new GCs, which would eat up that stock. It would sell a ton of the ethernet adapters, too. Given that the Gamecube has a 400MHz PowerPC and, what, 32MB of some quite fast memory? It might end up being very useful for certain types of problem, and inexpensive enough t

  • Gamecube's Flaw (Score:2, Insightful)

    by joynt ( 686645 )
    The fact is this system is mainly aimed at the younger generations...cartoony graphics, cartoony games, mostly harmless adventure games, while the major console market is in the older generations. These young kids who want the gamecube simply can't afford it, while the people who can tend to lean towards the consoles with good shooters/action/sports games.

    • Re:Gamecube's Flaw (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 08, 2003 @08:08AM (#6643725)
      Yes, clearly, once one gets old enough one has no use for anything but gratuitous violence. :) I personally like the "mostly harmless" adventure games, like mario and zelda, even with their lack of blood and gore, because the puzzles are just as interesting and challenging as they are in more "adult" games.

      • Re:Gamecube's Flaw (Score:3, Insightful)

        by ryanwright ( 450832 )
        I personally like the "mostly harmless" adventure games

        Likewise here. It's nice to be able to enjoy games with my six year old daughter, and see the smile on her face when she kicks my ass in Super Smash Brothers. ;) Nintendo wins hands down for parents such as myself.

    • Re:Gamecube's Flaw (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 08, 2003 @08:10AM (#6643734)
      this is not entirely true. nintendo's primary market is the japanese gamer, who tends to have greater affinity for the "cartoony" character. this doesn't play as well in the west because there is significantly more cultural definition between what is childish and what is more "adult". thus, the western gamer will tend to denigrate a game with cartoony graphics as childish, while and eastern gamer will be unaffected by it or even gravitate towards it.

      think *anime*

    • Re:Gamecube's Flaw (Score:5, Interesting)

      by YomikoReadman ( 678084 ) <jasonathelen@nOsPaM.gmail.com> on Friday August 08, 2003 @08:17AM (#6643776) Journal
      As I recall, when Nintendo announced GC at E3 a few years ago, they made the statement that it was aimed at anyone who enjoys playing games. I'm 23, I own a gamecube, with ambitions to buy the other 2 systems (PS2 for FF, Xbox for Steel Battalion), and out of all the games I've played on any system, Nintendo games keep my attention longer than any of them, and are way more innovative and fun. As far as most of the games having cartoony graphics, the only game I can think of like that is Zelda, and since you mentioned "harmless adventure games", I think you should go back and play the Resident Evil series again.. survival horror, IMO is not a harmless adventure game. Insofar as the console market being mostly older generations, that is a byproduct of the fact that kids don't have the market power to buy stuff, combined with the fact that 90% of games on systems other than GC being rated M, sports games aside. I for one, applaud the big N for having some cojones and going and making fun, innovative games, like Pikmin and Animal Crossing(BTW, I know more adults than kids that play that) which, if people would look for a game that's not just kill people break stuff.

      • Re:Gamecube's Flaw (Score:5, Insightful)

        by PainKilleR-CE ( 597083 ) on Friday August 08, 2003 @08:44AM (#6643910)
        I think the real problem is that the biggest market for games tends to be the teen-to-early-20s, where a lot of people are more worried about appearance than reality. Hell, I had a 9 year old looking down at a good portion of my game collection because it was either 'for kids' or 'boring' (the latter being the large number of RPGs, the former being the Nintendo titles he already has and played through at least once). All he wanted to play was GTA because that's what kids think is cool.

        I have a PS2 for RPGs and Tekken primarily, and bought GTA3 and Vice City because I occasionally enjoy them. I also bought GT3 for it because it's simply the best racing game I've played to date. I have an XBox primarily for Halo and have bought a handful of titles for it, both exclusives and multi-console titles, and find that the multi-console titles are usually best on it, so I'm not disappointed (and I'll probably buy KOTOR this weekend, as it seems to be the 2nd must-have title for the XBox, and given that it's both Star Wars and the 1st well-received exclusive (until it comes out on PC) RPG on the system, it obviously appeals to me). The GC is simply the system I've bought the most games for recently, and that I've played the most since I bought it. Part of that is because I bought it recently, and am playing catchup buying older titles, but another part of it seems to be that the games are just fun without having to put a lot of time into them, which means I can play a game without having to have a lot of spare time (ie all of those RPGs on the PS2 that I usually play on the weekends and often don't touch all week). Also, it helps that I haven't had a Nintendo console since the NES, and there's a good amount of nostalgia involved with Mario, Zelda, Metroid, etc. without having gone through it all with the 2 systems between then and now. Oh, and that Game Boy Player with Wario Ware and Castlevania.
      • Comment removed based on user account deletion

    • Re:Gamecube's Flaw (Score:2, Informative)

      by iLEZ ( 594245 )
      Yeah, childish games like for example the Resident Evil series, Splinter cell, Baldurs Gate, Blood Omen 2, Blood Rayne, Call of Duty, Dead to rights, Enter the Matrix, Eternal Darkness, Hitman2, Killer 7, Medal of Honor Frontline, Metal Gear Solid, Ghost Recon, Sum of all Fears and XIII.

      And i wouldnt let my kids play BMX XXX or Beach Spikers. =)
      They can pry my gamecube from my cold, dead hands!

    • Re:Gamecube's Flaw (Score:3, Insightful)

      by mystran ( 545374 )
      I don't know if a qualify as a "younger" gamer (I'm only 21), but personally, I like Nintendo's games more than most other games, because they are more rich on content.

      One gets bored to violence. One gets bored to "darkness" and "evil". Once you've spent 10 years of your life with the games for the "older" you get tired of all that. And who cares about sports?

      I'm not saying that I don't want to play a violent game though. I don't really care, if the game is otherwise good you'll ignore it anyway, and if

    • Re:Gamecube's Flaw (Score:5, Funny)

      by G-funk ( 22712 ) <josh@gfunk007.com> on Friday August 08, 2003 @08:51AM (#6643967) Homepage Journal
      Just because unlike the XBOX small children can lift it, doesn't mean the GC is aimed at them.
    • Somewhat true, but with the next version of GTA on GameCube I don't think it will be much true anymore. Plus theres Resident Evil 0, Hitman, lots of other "mature" games available for GameCube. You can't blame Nintendo if the game developers were roped into a contract for X time to produce exclusively for a specific console.

      Not only that, "Cartoony Graphics and Cartoony Games" don't mean they don't kick serious ass. I'm 22 and I love Zelda The Wind Waker, it's probably one of the best games I have ever pla

    • Re:Gamecube's Flaw (Score:3, Insightful)

      by MunchMunch ( 670504 )
      Yeah, I hear that alot about Gamecube. But I can't really understand it. You see, I'm 22 and I own a console that was aimed at the 14-25 or so age group--the PS2. And, to be honest, I also only own about 3 games for it, because nearly all the games released for it are 'mainstream' (formulaic) crap. You're correct though that these are usually shooter/action/sports games--its just too bad that nobody seems interested in doing that style with enough originality to get me interested.

      It reminds me of w

  • "Pause" button? (Score:2, Interesting)

    by MrFredBloggs ( 529276 )
    "struggling games company was developing a radical new product to be announced"

    I make that the "stop" button.

  • my virtual boy is the xbox/ps2/gc killer (Score:5, Insightful)

    by *weasel ( 174362 ) on Friday August 08, 2003 @08:06AM (#6643714)
    lets not forget the last time nintendo tried to 'innovate' and developed something 'radical' and 'never before seen' in game hardware.

    methinks they should stick to making awesome games, and handheld game systems that you can play for more than 2 hours. (imo, the feature that kept the gameboy on top all these years despite better-equipped rivals).

    (btw: i think this whole thread counts as console-war trolling)

  • World impact (Score:5, Funny)

    by Timesprout ( 579035 ) on Friday August 08, 2003 @08:07AM (#6643720)
    that will have a big impact on the world

    They are going to build a Segway console. Its the only possible thing that could have global impact (apart from a large meteor).
  • Nintendo have always been good with Hand helds. How about a portable N64 or something which plugs into the gameboy advance ala the old Sega 32x

    Rus

  • Down and Out? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by TimSneath ( 139039 ) on Friday August 08, 2003 @08:10AM (#6643732)
    It's a pity - Nintendo's first-party games have often set themselves apart from the competition. But once a console starts to appear to fail, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy - it's very hard for a console to pull itself back when it's on a downhill slide.

    If only Nintendo had produced some more innovative games like the PS2 EyeToy, rather than spending large amounts of effort updating established franchises. Games like that are console sellers, because they appeal to all ages and move gaming outside of a comparatively small niche.

    • Re:Down and Out? (Score:3, Insightful)

      by iainl ( 136759 )
      I'd have to disagree, unfortunately. Innovative games just don't sell as well as re-hashes of franchise titles. My Dreamcast is a wonderful bundle of joy, with innovation coming out of its ears and all the crazy peripherals you could ask for (cameras, maracas, fishing rods, dance mats, microphones, dual sticks you name it), but not enough people bought them.

      Meanwhile its damn hard to think of a popular PS2 game which isn't a sequel. Their innovative titles (Ico, Frequency, City Of Desperation etc) sold har
    • You guys seriously overexaggerate this issue. Nintendo didn't sell as many consoles as they thought they would this quarter. So what? They were the only one of the three companies that actually was really profitable this last quarter. The console is not starting to "fail". There currently has just been a shortage of excellent new games on al three platforms over the last few months.

      If EyeToy isn't a niche device, then I don't know what is. Games like the big franchises (e.g. Final Fantasy and Gran Tu

  • Excuse Me? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by BigDork1001 ( 683341 ) on Friday August 08, 2003 @08:13AM (#6643747) Homepage
    But Satoru Iwata promised the struggling games company was developing a radical new product to be announced next year

    Struggling games company? Yes the GameCube isn't selling well but that does not mean that Nintendo is struggling. Far from it. In fact just the other day at PlanetGameCube they posted a story [planetgamecube.com] about Nintendo posting a profit. Doesn't sound like struggling to me.

  • ganecube needs the killer games (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Lumpy ( 12016 ) on Friday August 08, 2003 @08:14AM (#6643752) Homepage
    Where's the mario Kart gc? or the other really fun to play games that are nintendo?

    But this seems to be the complaint I have with all the platforms right now. Multi-player games are rare outside of sports games. Mario Kart has always been a big seller and the version for theN64 completely rocked and was one of the games that kept that platform alive for as long as it was (goldeneye is another)

    But the biggest problem with the GC is that cince it's aimed at the kid market, the kids cant afford the games. Sorry, your game is NOT worth $50 - $60 bucks. $20.00 to $40.00 is the range that is acceptable to kids with a paper-route and certianly inside the parents instant purchase model.

    Playstation2 is killing because if the "classics" line if $19.95 games from last year and older.. I see those constantly picked through and bought while noone is really looking at the overpriced games.

    I believe the GC to be a superior machine. I own it as well as the PS2 and the PS2 is kicking it's arse because of the large amount of low-cost games that are available.

    • Re:ganecube needs the killer games (Score:5, Informative)

      by BigDork1001 ( 683341 ) on Friday August 08, 2003 @08:18AM (#6643780) Homepage
      Mario Kart is scheduled to be released on Nov. 17. Mario Golf which can be played with up to 4 people was just released. Mario Tennis will be out at some point. Smash Bros. has been out for a while. The GC version of Medal of Honor:Frontline has a multi-player feature. Can't forget the Monkey Ball games. Bomberman Generations is a lot of fun with 4 people.

      Seems to be a lot of multi-player games to me.

      • smash bros is fun, but the rest dont have the addictive quality like some other games.

        It is going to take a company like nintendo to get away from the lame 3d games and back to the fun games...

        You want a killer game for the GC that will rocket it to the top? Frozen bubble.

        Yes that linux game written in perl.

        EVERY person I show it to get's addicted. hell I installed mandrake in a dual boot on 4 computers already JUST BECAUSE of that game.

        It would take a programmer 4 weeks to make a GC version of frozen
    • I agree, if they were to even drop the GC price to $99 and still included say Mario Sunshine, just like they did on the NES, they'd sell like hotcakes this holiday season.
    • I can't believe you have a GC and don't know when Double Dash is coming out.. that's just wrong. ;)

      I agree though, multi-player games seem to be seriously lacking. I try to get more multiplayer games because I figure my gf can play them with me and maybe won't get quite so mad when I spend too much time playing games.

      I was also kind of disappointed with Mario Golf Toadstool Tour. I don't really care for sports games much but I like the nintendo themed sports games. While Mario Golf had the characters

  • Lets not forget... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Hogwash McFly ( 678207 ) on Friday August 08, 2003 @08:16AM (#6643770)
    that Microsoft buying Rare [cnn.com] could have done nothing but harm Nintendo's cause. If you think of the games that Nintendo have become famous for, most people would name those that have had Rare input: Goldeneye, Perfect Dark etc. With Rare out of the picture, the "inconsistent flow" of "attractive software" would be anything but improved.

    the group had stumbled with the Game Cube console and conceded that it had made a strategic mistake by not ensuring that it had a consistent flow of attractive software for the Game Cube.

    • Re:Lets not forget... (Score:2, Interesting)

      by iainl ( 136759 )
      "If you think of the games that Nintendo have become famous for, most people would name those that have had Rare input"

      While Goldeneye was a stunning game, and probably the second greatest console FPS ever (yes, I like Halo a lot), its worth remembering that (a) Mario 64, Mario Kart, Zelda etc. were great too, and (b) nearly all the talent at Rare has since left to do other things (Timesplitters 2 was pretty natty, thanks to ex-Goldeneye guys, for example).

      Personally, I think Microsoft paid through the no

    • Re:Lets not forget... (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Quarters ( 18322 )
      Nintendo stated that when they sold Rare the income from Rare titles only accounted for (something like) 1.1% of their 2nd/3rd party revenues. Rare games, while great, were always late and over budget. GoldenEye was outstanding, yes, but no other Rare game on the N64 approached the sales of that one game.

      Rare has yet to prove themselves as a benefit for Microsoft. You can't claim that Nintendo selling Rare was a hindrance to them until Rare proves themselves on the XBox.

      Since Microsoft bought Rare how m

    • Perfect Dark, Rare's last decent game, was released in 2000. Their Gamecube game (the starfox one) was in development since, and got released a while after the GC launch. It wasn't even a quality game. One game every two or three years is certainly not going to bolster a consoles sales.

    • Re:Lets not forget... (Score:4, Insightful)

      by RickHunter ( 103108 ) on Friday August 08, 2003 @08:46AM (#6643927)

      Let's see... What games made Nintendo famous?

      Mario, Metroid, Zelda, Castlevania, and Mega Man. Two of those a third-party, but they're not from Rare. Three are in-house developments.

    • None of those guys even work for RARE anymore. They went on to start their own company (Time Splitters was one of their games).

      The RARE that you knew during the N64 era is gone. Now, they're left with nothing. If you think that Nintendo sold off their franchises that RARE developed, then you're sorely mistaken. RARE's got Conker, but do most people care?

    • Re:Lets not forget... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by gamgee5273 ( 410326 ) on Friday August 08, 2003 @12:02PM (#6646050) Journal
      Wait...Rare means "inconsistent flow." There just isn't an emphasis with them to get games out on time. Let's look at some of Rare's chestnuts, shall we?

      1) Conker: Live and Uncut - The first Rare game for the Xbox is going to be an port of the N64's "Bad Fur Day" with Xbox Live multiplayer thrown in. My question is: if this is a port, why hasn't it come out yet?

      2) Starfox Adventures - The last Rare game for Nintendo and the only one for the GC. I bought it used and I've gone about an hour into it. It just isn't compelling. So it's now sitting on my shelf waiting for me to become bored enough to play it - and I've been home for three weeks with pneumonia!

      3) Conker's Bad Fur Day - Rare's last game for the N64, and probably the best. It's underrated, it's fun and enjoyable. Multiplayer, akin to GoldenEye and Perfect Dark, too! But it has cute characters, and we all know that cute characters must mean that it's a kids game, even though it's rated "M." Because of that, I persoanally think Conker belongs on a "kids" console (Xbox players won't be interested - I think they don't understand satire).

      4) Perfect Dark - Not bad, but not great. Maybe it was on the wrong platform, but it just didn't impress me past the "This is like GoldenEye" feelings...

      5) GoldenEye - How many years has it been since it came out? Six? Come on - a six-year-old game does not a major developer make.

      Rare is mediocre - period. Stop dreaming about GoldenEye - it ain't 1997 any longer and the gaming world has changed. Rare has to stop resting on its laurels and do something new...but that may not happen until Perfect Dark Zero comes out in...whenever.

      The truth is, Nintendo was divesting itself from Rare - that's why MS was able to buy them. Rare just isn't worth the money. Let MS have 'em.

  • Oooo! Tell me now! (Score:2, Interesting)

    by dollar70 ( 598384 )
    This radical new concept could be prelude to a subsciption based service where you would never have to actually buy the games, but rather pay for play access on any game that has been released for it. Since Nintendo always sticks to cartrige based games anyway, this would be easy for them to rapidly deliver over a typical broadband service.

    --
    I always thought Nintendo was the Japanese word for "No Blood".

  • "...it would be a departure from mainstream gaming consoles 'that will have a big impact on the world."

    I guess I should clean up my bio-port for this new console!

    Death to the Demoness Allegra Geller!" [imdb.com]

  • My Prediction... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by cnelzie ( 451984 ) on Friday August 08, 2003 @08:22AM (#6643798) Homepage
    ...is that it is just another console system. The market is simply unable to support more then two consoles effectively, especially with all the various exclusive titles and multi-platform release titles that exist today..

    However, it is just a console, like the Xbox and the Playstation. They are hardly worth their time...

    By the time they are worth their time, they will have evolved into full computer systems that are closed systems, similar to the early computer market when C-64's and their ilk reigned supreme. (Meaning no upgradeability.)

    A few years after that... Somebody will release a "Back to Basics" console system with simplistic controls, quality graphics and easy to follow storylines that will take the market by storm...

    That might take ten years or more though...
    • A few years after that... Somebody will release a "Back to Basics" console system with simplistic controls, quality graphics and easy to follow storylines that will take the market by storm...

      That might take ten years or more though...

      You can cut down your wait time by ten years or more, since Nintendo has ALWAYS produced games with simplistic controls, quality graphics and easy to follow storylines.

      But you did say the wait was for a "A console system with easy to follow storyline", which I have yet t

  • FUD (Score:5, Informative)

    by Rydia ( 556444 ) on Friday August 08, 2003 @08:23AM (#6643801)
    NINTENDO IS NOT STRUGGLING. They were Nikkei's company of the year last year. The reason their stock has lost ground was because they are so heavily invested in the dollar, which took a beating by the yen. They have not operated at a loss in over two decades. They have, at last number I got, 3 billion in the bank, and last year they made more money than SCE. They are, as last I heard, neck and neck with Xbox in the US, but numbers are hard to come by because a lot of retail release figures exclude places such as Walmart, Nintendo's top distributor. Yes, in Europe they are struggling, but they are doing fine and dandy everywhere else.

    For a place that complains about so much FUD, you would think people would know the difference between Sega (operating at a loss for a decade with millions in red) and Nintendo. It's astounding.
    • The 'Nintendo sells millions of extra GCs at Walmart' myth has been pretty much debunked by Nintendo's own sales figures. And since they track shipped figures rather than sell-through (well they would - it's where they get paid, and they can't track sales to consumers as accurately) the fact that they're stopping production due to overstocking suggests the numbers are worse for them than their reports suggest.

      I agree 100% that Nintendo are no Sega at the moment, but to claim that they are doing 'fine and d

  • This seems to be a comment on our culture... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by magicsquid ( 85985 ) on Friday August 08, 2003 @08:44AM (#6643904) Homepage
    Teenagers in the U.S. seem to belong to the category that they don't want to look like they're doing something immature. If they do anything viewed as potentially "un-cool" then they risk being "un-cool." The problem is, the stuff they turn to in order to be mature and cool are games where they run over hookers and shoot random people in the streets (i.e. GTA III).

    Nintendo clearly hasn't been aiming for that crowd, and I for one am happier for it. I grew up with the NES, and since then have owned every console they've put out. They continue to make games that I get a great deal of enjoyment out of (Legend of Zelda : The Wind Waker, Super Mario Sunshine, Metroid Prime, Eternal Darkness, etc.), and they are consistantly failing to sell as well as other more mediocre games on other consoles. Worldwide, the GameCube and the Xbox are even in sales, but you would never know it by talking to a teenager. It's a shame too, because Nintendo has stated that if they ever stop making a console, they will leave the market rather than make games as a third party. If that should ever happen, the world will have lost one of the most influential and innovative developers in existence, only to be replaced with games focusing completely on graphics and/or violence.

  • I'm worried that more and more we're going to get a lot less choices as far as the quality of the gaming consoles of the future, and seeing the 100-ton gorilla that is Nintendo going downhill really doesn't do much for the future outlook.

    Nintendo has been screwing the pooch for awhile with their game marketing. Let's face it, no one is spending $200+ for their eight years or younger to play video games when they're just as happy with a Sega Genesis/Nomad or the SNES. This is the market that the cube has

    • The reason Nintendo is sucking isn't because the Game Cube isn't a nice box, it's that the GAMES suck.

      Rubbish. Complete and utter rubbish.

      Sorry, I normally try to be more rational and thoughtful in a post, but this time I thought I'd better emphasise my position. How many of these 'rubbish' games have you played? I bought a Gamecube on the strength of just two games - Pikmin and Super Monkey Ball. Brilliant, both of them. Luigi's Mansion was also a nice change for the norm.

      I tried the big sellers - Ma

    • Mario Kart on SNES and 64 are 2 of my all time favourite games. Don't get me wrong I like my violent type games (currently addicted to GTA vice city) but the kiddy games are good to. I do think u have a point. They shouldn't just have kiddy games. LEt third party developers bring them out and classify them 15+ or something so the kiddies don't get them.

  • again...... (Score:2, Insightful)

    by 514x0r ( 691137 )
    developing a radical new product

    so, once again, nintendo owners will have to go buy all new games.

  • Strange... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by SageMadHatter ( 546701 ) on Friday August 08, 2003 @09:32AM (#6644225)
    ...I find Nintendo's losing market share rather perculiar. The only real difference between the two competitors, is that one releases many more adult theme games than the other. Funny, because by the looks of it, it appears that the GC has 3 good 'kiddie' game per 1 good adult game from PS2.

    But what is even more funny, is that if Nintendo continues on the same track of creating fun family games, it's going to end up back on top, due to a generation of gamers settling down, getting married and having kids. I've had 5 friends in the last year talk about what console they should get for their rugrats and each one ended up with the GC, because of the family oriented games.

    Mad Hatter

  • the N5 console (Score:4, Interesting)

    by paradesign ( 561561 ) on Friday August 08, 2003 @09:34AM (#6644242) Homepage
    will be their big announcement.

    itll be a ppc970 (aka G5) and a radeon post 9800 chip. since the GC is basicly a G3 and a radeon, thisll let it be backward compatable, a HUGE selling point. I doubt theyll change the media though, maybe make it a little bigger, but still not standard. and the pricell be right. people complain that the Xbox is just a PC, well the GC isnt that far off, chip wise.

    • Except that it's not. (Score:5, Informative)

      by AtaruMoroboshi ( 522293 ) <Anthony&overwhelmed,org> on Friday August 08, 2003 @10:16AM (#6644561) Homepage

      This new product is going to be announced in early 2004. The N5 is going to ship in 2005 or early 2006 (according to Nintendo at the same press conferance where they mentioned the new technology for 2004.)

      This alone suggests strongly that they are not talking about the N5, simply because they wouldn't want to focus attention on a console that isn't coming out for over a year.

      .
      • why noy? it worked with sony on the PS2. they started marketing that thing WAAaaaaayyy before it launched. its not inconceivable to think that they announce it initially early '04. do secret previews at E3 later in '04 then fully unveil it at E3 '05 for a fall launch and christmas success. if they wait till early '06 itll be DOA. it needs to be out for christmas. it dosent need to be the first next gen to release, but it needs to have the best hype... and then live up to it.

        or it could be the GC 1.5

    • Re:the N5 console (Score:3, Insightful)

      by barawn ( 25691 )
      The GC isn't far from a PC? Really? With 24 MB of low-latency DRAM which doesn't exist in the PC market, with a graphics chipset with 3 MB of embedded-DRAM (which also doesn't exist in the PC market, save in Bitboys' dreams)? Chips don't make a platform - interfaces do, and the interfaces on the GC are all extremely proprietary. It'd be like thinking that any ARM7 platform can play GBA games if they only used its graphics chips.

      The processor is a modified PowerPC architecture, called "Gekko", i.e. a PowerP

  • Console wars (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Forkenhoppen ( 16574 ) on Friday August 08, 2003 @02:33PM (#6648087)
    I really don't like how this has turned into a war between the different consoles. You'd think they'd sell these things based on their merits--the games, controllers, ease of use--but instead it seems to be more about numbers.

    Everyone always quotes the number of PS2 and XBoxes out there, and then scoffs at the Gamecubes. Okay, I understand what you're saying, if what you're most concerned about with is having a large number of people to play against online. If you're just concerned about having enough userbase out there that companies will want to fund a game on your platform, I think GC's still got enough. It's just a matter of actually connecting with your audience. I'll get to that in a second.

    PS2 development is a pain in the ass. So says anyone I've talked to who has worked on it. Sure you can licence an engine to get around that little problem, but then you're giving a cheque to someone else, too. And what about studios that already have their own engines in-house? Wasted money.

    XBox is good for companies used to developing for Windows. This is well-known. Unfortunately, for gamers it's just not the best option, unless what you're interested in is DOA3 or their Beach Volleyball game. Nearly every other popular game available for the XBox is also available for either the PS2 or the PC. Or they have worthy competition on another console.

    The Gamecube is just a nice gaming console. Its appeal is to those in the audience who are just after the games. They don't want to have to think about what kind of DVD player is included, or getting the specific type of surround sound system to get the audio working at 100% of potential. They just want something that they can plug in quickly, and get as much enjoyment out of it as the next person. DVD, MP3 ripping, hard drive attachments.. they'll just get another box to look after that. If they decide to get a new gaming system in a few years, it just means they won't have to look for a new DVD player when they get rid of their game console. Simplicity.

    I think by now it's kind of obvious where my prejudices lie, now, so lets get back to my little connecting with the audience theory.

    The reason I think Gamecube hasn't done as well as the others has to do with the way the game industry is set up. In order for a game company to keep operating, it needs to have cash flow. Guaranteed cash flow is even better. To guarantee cash flow, companies have a full playbook of possibilities:
    - Release sequels to popular games
    - Create franchises with a yearly refresh cycle, such as EA Sports
    - Integrate an online component into the game, and require the user to continue to pay for the priviledge to play the game with others

    Notice that nowhere in there is "Innovate new titles." This is not a guaranteed method of success, especially in today's gaming society. Why is that? I think it's because of the way companies handle their advertising.

    Let's say you're Nintendo. You have a totally new game idea, like sayyy... Pikmon. You want people to buy it. What do you do? If a product is totally new, with a totally different type of gameplay, then people are going to want to know how it plays before they go about purchasing it. They want more than a few pictures or videos or testimonials.. they want a FEEL for how the product handles.

    This is where demo discs come in handy. Sure, I can go into my local gaming store and maybe see a GC running Wind Waker, but how often do they put the game I want to try on for me to play-test? Am I going to be able to play it long enough to "get into it?"

    The XBox people know this; XBox Magazine comes with a demo disc every month. It features demos of upcoming games, some videos.. you know, the usual. You can play it in your very own home, at your own pace, with no annoying sales people or even more annoying my-life-is-games-ers telling you how to get past that certain point.

    Sony's PS2 people get it too; their PS2 Magazine also comes with a demo

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