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Portables (Games) Businesses GameCube (Games) Nintendo

A Method To Mario's Madness 41

Nintendo sure has a lot of people scratching their heads, with news of the Revolution's hook still a ways off and Zelda moving ever further into the distance. Gamemethod thinks they know what's up, and have an editorial talking through Nintendo's strategy. From the article: "The most problematic system for Nintendo appears to be the GameCube. Clearly, support for the indigo box has declined rapidly over the past couple years, with third-party publishers cutting off support and many of its exclusives (especially those from Capcom) spreading to other consoles after experiencing little success with the GameCube's limited user base. GameCube has seen a couple terrific first-party exclusives recently; such as Metroid Prime 2: Echoes and Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door; but in order for the system to hold up at all against the technologically superior Xbox 360 (not to mention the original Xbox and PlayStation 2), Nintendo needs a new killer app for their console.". Gamemethod aren't the only ones thinking about the big N. IGN has a rundown on the new GBA Micro, and Press The Buttons unearthed some gems: legally viewable Super Mario Bros. Super Show episodes. That's more Italian plumber than you can shake a stick at.
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A Method To Mario's Madness

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  • Required Plugins (Score:2, Informative)

    by jonoid ( 863970 )
    Safari 412.2: Upgrade Required - MSIE Netscape
    Windows Media 0.0: Not Installed
    RealPlayer 0.0: Not Installed
    QuickTime 7.0: Potential Firewall Problem


    Well, so much for watching Mario.
  • Bud does anybody know how to download them for keeps as opposed to merely view?
  • A link to these episodes was posted months ago on a forum I visit (old news, Slashdot!) and I had a lot of fun watching them. My little siblings enjoyed them, too.

    I didn't remember them being so goofy, though.

  • by Momoru ( 837801 )
    Ah...takes me right back to after school in 4-5th grade. Always used to look forward to Zelda fridays.
    • I used to think the cartoons were great
      Nowadays i watch the cartoon and get really annoyed at how unlike Link the cartoon Link is ..
      I mean he is supposed to be the holder of the triforce of courage .. not a goofy jerk.
      Well i suppose it isn't as bad as any character in Mario the movie..There was hardly any head jumping and no koopa shell combos .
      It would have been great if they had Terry Gilliam to direct , of course then the princess would have been eaten by Bowser in the end and Mario would have gone mad
    • The cartoons, alas, don't hold up. Especially compared to the best things they showed on WB and Fox a few years later. (The Tick! Freakazoid! Earthworm Jim! Why are these things not on DVD yet? Okay, I know why for Tick, but still....)
  • Stupid editorial... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Gothic_Walrus ( 692125 ) on Saturday August 27, 2005 @04:34PM (#13417291) Journal
    The GameCube's lineup this holiday season is extremely weak...

    Say what you will, but I call bull on that. Say what you will about them, but the Mario games are usually very well done, even if we've seen them before. Mario Party 7 may not be all that exciting, but Strikers and Superstar Baseball could both be fun.

    I don't think I'd call the Mario DDR a "gimicky" title; it's the first DDR we've seen on a Nintendo console (in America, at least), and odds are it's going to sell. Exclusive songs are always a good thing, and not everyone has a PS2, Xbox, or a DDR setup.

    The Pokémon game is the closest we've gotten to a fully 3D version of the series. Even if the series has lost most of its popularity, I still know gamers that are going to jump on this and love every minute of the game.

    And Fire Emblem? The first Fire Emblem game we've seen on a console here? It's definitely not a gimmicky Mario title nor a Pokémon rehash; going from the popularity of the GBA versions, it looks like the writer chose to ignore it after his initial mention because it didn't suit his purposes.

    Perspective, people. This isn't a bad lineup at all, unless you make it out to be one.

  • by I(rispee_I(reme ( 310391 ) on Saturday August 27, 2005 @05:54PM (#13417682) Journal
    "complete with opening theme song ("Do the Mario!")"

    In my hood, they played "Do The Mario" during the closing credits, and the show opened with the Plumber Rap. Don't know what turf the article author's repping.
  • Feh. (Score:3, Interesting)

    by RyoShin ( 610051 ) <tukaro.gmail@com> on Saturday August 27, 2005 @07:34PM (#13418213) Homepage Journal
    Comparing the Gamecube the XBox 360 is like comparing the N64 to the PS2. Yes, they will overlap, but they are in different generations.

    Besides, by the time the 360 hits the streets, Nintendo will be downplaying the GCN to prepare for the release of the Revolution.

    As for "killer app", if they meant a new AAA game, someone forgot about a certain Twilight Princess... (which, yes, unfortunatly got pushed back.) :(

    If they're talking about a totally new franchise, however, the GCN isn't alone in this- all of the consoles need new breath, this gen or the next. These days, it's Sequal Mania, where the big money is being pumped into sequals (or remakes) for previously-known money-makers. At least with Nintendo's franchises, they try to add new things (such as masks that transform you, or an annoying talking watergun,) but with such things as GTA, Halo, etc., it's just rehashing the same formula with a different mission objective or location.

    Part of the problem has been stated before- games these days are multi-million dollar budgets and can take more than a year to complete. With this kind of money and that kind of time, a lot of companies don't want to risk a flop.

    If Nintendo (or, hell, anyone) opened up their dev kits to startups and the common man (what is is now, something like $10K for a dev kit? Whip up something more basic and hand it out for $1K), as well as making it easier for companies to create and distribute their own games, you'd see a vast increase in Gamecube share.
    • If Nintendo (or, hell, anyone) opened up their dev kits to startups and the common man (what is is now, something like $10K for a dev kit? Whip up something more basic and hand it out for $1K), as well as making it easier for companies to create and distribute their own games, you'd see a vast increase in Gamecube share.

      You're absolutely right, but you're ignoring the economics of the game business. Even Nintendo makes most of their money from a percentage of game sales. Opening the platform up (at least,
    • I remember catching the video feed live via ign, and Satoru Iwata mentioned that they will be opening up development for Revolution to the average person. I'd have to relisten to it for his exact words, but that's basically what he said, that development would be much easier, for everybody.

      It seems that everyone has neglected that one little piece of info. Probably much to Nintendo's glee.
  • There never was any support for the Indigo Gamecube. Even on launch day, everybody wanted the Black ones! The store I worked for at the time had Indigo cubes sitting unsold all the time, but the black ones sold the day they arrived, everytime!
  • "but in order for the system to hold up at all against the technologically superior Xbox 360 (not to mention the original Xbox and PlayStation 2)"

    Technologically superior XBOX and PS2?

    HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

    HA HA Ow! Ha ha

    Oh my god. I haven't had a laugh that good in a while. Thanks internet idiot!
  • "We're faster than the others, you'll be hooked on the brothers! UGH!" I was in 8th grade when these were on. Used to watch them and the Turtles toons. I would just watch the Lou Albano parts (was a big Houston wrestling fanatic, and he 'managed' a wrestler at some point), then switched channels.

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