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Games Entertainment

Next Generation Nintendo Revealed 168

Posted by CmdrTaco from the but-will-it-have-a-zelda dept.
dwlt writes "I'm sure lots of people have sent this already, but take a look at the story on videogames.com for the full scoop on Nintendo's Game Cube (gotta catch 'em all!), and Game Boy Advance. The controller is kind of crazy, though..." Let me tell ya about the countless hours spent in the geek houses drinking and playing Mario Kart 64: Kurt The Pope is a wildman under the influence of alcohol, and the new one looks cool.(thanks to those of you who wasted no time in submitting a new Slashdot icon too ;)
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The Next Generation of Nintendo Revealed More

The Next Generation of Nintendo Revealed

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  • beshaw! (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Give me an Intellivision any day. You kids and your new fangaled gizmos. The Intellivision is much better THEN anything on the market period!
  • more screen shots and spec etc at http://cube.ign.com/

  • Your Xbox conclusions are pretty uninformed.

    2) the x-box will be a waste of money. i've said this countless times in the past. it is a scaled-down PC. by the time it comes out (christmas of 2001 is projected) it will be obsolete already. as it is the hardware is not very impressive.

    It'll be an order of magnitude better than any other console, including PS2.

    especially given that it will likely cost $300-400 .. you will be able to by a video card for your PC to make it outperform the x-box by the time it comes out.

    It will be priced competitively, meaning $300 or less. (probably $300 though). Nobody would buy a $400 console, look at Neo-Geo's failure years ago.

    And yes, you will be able to buy a more powerful PC graphics accelerator then, but guess what - no games will utilize it! Games shipping next year can't even assume the presence of hardware TnL (GeForce or better) - they still have to write for the market segment with TNT 1 and 2 cards. *EVERY* Xbox game can and will take advantage of every last drop of performance the CPU/GPU can crank out, which will make them much more impressive than the best PC games at the time.

    also, other than the developers that M$ *buys* (see: bungie), it is very reasonable to expect that every game which comes out for the x-box (which will run windoze and direct-x) will also be released for the PC.

    Also not true. Some console game genres don't port well to PC platforms (like fighting games), and some PC game genres don't port well to consoles (real-time-strategy games, for example). There's plenty of Playstation games ported to the PC, and I don't see Sony in any trouble...

    Oh, and let's not forget that a $300 console plus $40-$50 games is much, much cheaper than a top-of-the-line $3000 PC gaming rig, plus $50-$60 games.

  • Well, i go by the rule that a game should cost $1 for ever hour of fun that you get from it. This pricing plan works best for adventure/arcade/FPS games, as i dont think anyone would have bought civ for $400, or EverQuest. Years and years ago i bought a copy of Monkey Island 2 for $30, and it took me almost 60 hours to beat. that made me happy.
    dave
  • *Jason steps down from his high horse*

    so anyways, after reading your post, I realized that you, in order to "flesh-out" your flame, you read my bio, where I call myself "fat and ugly".

    great. please pay at the second window.

    I am a software developer. I have no problems with the "end user", but if they're uninformed, I get a bit mad. Yes, I've pirated some software. hell, I even have a bunch of NES roms on my computer, even *gasp* some that I didn't even buy. the point I was trying to make was not one of "I have repented for my sins", but merely one of "I've been there, grew up, and started contributing to the industry that I cherish".

    now, about my arrogance. if there is any, it only was because I called the person an end user. you, however, have said I stuff twinkies down my throat, called me a prick, and tried to no avail to belittle me. by doing so, you have proved to the world around you that if I had one moment of arrogance, you have a lifetime of prejudice and segregation to draw from. this isn't an attack, but merely an observation.

    now, to the issues you addressed.

    I'm gonna make a reply to this comment with the URL of the scan from that Nintendo game.

    there is no such thing as a "Rom burner". it is a "Rom dumper". you can make one from the simple tools acquired from your local radio shack, and make a serial interface to your computer.

    All games are easy to pirate, unless you don't want to spend the time doing it. you can copy any CD you want to, PSX, Dreamcast, even most current PS2 games, as they're not using DVD's yet (ridge racer V and Tekken Tag Tournament are on 650 MB disks).

    wanna know the games I pirated?
    all the Quake games
    both Unreal's.
    Both Diablo's.
    Duke Nukem 3D.

    however... I did own them. I made copies for my friends. so I did pirate them. I support my game developers. I acknowledge that when I'm pirating something, I'm breaking the law, and I am stealing. I don't try to justify myself somehow. I broke the law. I also purchased bleem!, and I contribute to software developers that make emulators and videogames (Bloodlust software, mainly).

    If you read your history on how sony got such a large market share (and read the marketing tactics of most console makers in history), they depend on the games' revenue to make up for the losses they suffer from the system's price. if you say they're not taking a risk by doing this, I direct your attention toward such failed attempts as the Sega Saturn, the Neo Geo Pocket Color, and the Sega master system (which actually did the best of these examples). they took a risk, and suffered a loss.

    I really do not have proof that they're not going to have cheaper prices for the game cube's games, but nintendo has learned from the history of the N64... they'd have to be stupid not to. the cartridge format almost killed them. partially due to size, and mostly due to price.

    I dislike nintendo. I was involved in a lawsuit with them due to their stance on Emulation... however, I'll still buy their product because of the strong games like Metroid and Zelda... and I HATE pokemon... but I am a fanboy. :)

    Survivor is a soap opera. I love how you call me a media tool (in so many words), but yet, you are the poster child for "hooker with a penis" by TOOL.

    your anti-nintendo sentiment has no reason to be here. the proof that you're spouting this sentiment on a NINTENDO-RELATED STORY only proves that you're here to flame.

    and that last sentence replying to my priceofQuake == priceofQuake3 statement.... it didn't reply. you had no retort. you just started calling me a prick. I applaud your arguementative skills.

    *Jason claps*

    that was my arrogance, and it was warranted.

    have a nice day.
  • the reason that nintendo games are cheaper is because they're OLDER. I distinctly remember purchasing The Legend of Zelda when I was 8... it was 49.95 at Toys R Us. I still have the recipt, as it was the purchase that made me want to contribute to the gaming community.

    If you don't want to spend the money to buy a game, then either rent it, or just don't buy it. I've pirated quite a few games in my life, but for consoles, I will purchase every game that I own. Piracy is not a valid form of protest, it is simply stealing something that you don't want to pay for.

    Quake 3 is being pirated because people like you don't want to pay for something. Period. I bought every Quake game because I support Id Software. I purchased Diablo because I supported Blizzard Entertainment. The list goes on and on...

    The reason that cartridges cost so much is because it is a far more pricey medium. The CD format is less expensive. the average CD costs roughly 15 cents to press, while it takes fifteen dollars to make a cartridge. that is the sole reason that Nintendo 64 games cost so much. the media is more expensive to produce. I acknowledge that the companies are making quite a large chunk of change off the media (CD-based systems even more so), but if you look at the business model of Sony, Sega, and Nintendo, they actually LOSE money on the consoles, and they try to make that money back on the cartridges/CD's they sell.

    When Nintendo finally debuts the Game Cube, the media will be substantially less expensive merely because of the media being less expensive.

    Oh, and the original Quake sold for $49.99, and Quake3: Arena originally sold for $49.99.

    Guess you got the original Quake in one of those "bargain bins"...

    Judging from your opinions, I can safely say that you have been, and will always be, an "end user."

  • you're dumping roms.

    unless you're BURNING them to a CD, you're dumping a rom. ever heard of a rom dump?

    duh.

    smile, satan loves you.

    mushroom blue
  • actually no, I am far from end user my friend. I am just disgusted at the over-pricing and "fleecing" of the users out there. As for people like me? game companies would go out of business because we would BUY the game after it hits the 1.2 price bin, and not even play it until then. But then I am also one of these evil people that dont pay for their OS (BSD/Linux) or their productivity software (BANAL,StarOFFICE,Gimp) or pay for the "EXPERT" assembly of a computer (A monkey can build a modern PC from components, I can slap them together in 5 minutes...SCSI-III and all the complex goodies!). I am that evil presence! I am a consumer with a clue! and when Q-III hits the el-cheapo bins, I buy it! (one for each computer here, legal lan parties!)

    So yes comrade... I am that type of person... a person that the RIAA fears and the Computer software companies fear... A consumer with a clue.

    Thanks for the compliments!
  • Let's see- nintendo cartridges cost $35.00 to $25.00.. Super NES cost $55.00 to 35.00.. and N64 games shot the roof at $89.00 to 45.00. Whhat's the pricing scheme for this next one? $129.95 to $89.95? Hell, a friend of mine that would never think of pirating games really considered it with his N-64.. He blew a cork when after getting the N-64 (when it was first released) that the games were way overpriced. now? he bought that zip drive based N-64 game backup system... and hasn't bought a game cince.

    When will the "programming community" realize that these are GAMES, and not navigational aid software for scud missles? A game shouldn't cost more than $45.00. (and that is way too steep in my opinion) Everyone bitches about the RIAA's price fixing.... how about these overpaid geeks writing entertainment software? (The companies not the slaves) and console games cant even compare to the games written for the PC and Stand-up machines.

    They wonder why Quake III is being pirated like mad, while most people own at least 1 copy of Quake I... (I have 4 LEGAL copies of Quake I!) Could it be the price?? Nahhhhh. These people are just evil thieves...
  • Ten years from now Trapezoidal Hexecontahedron [get2net.dk] will be all the rage. (With built-in gyroscopes to keep them from rolling away).
  • You're probably looking at Mario Kart Advance, which is for the GBA, effectively a portable SNES. Look for the cube specific stuff, I don't think there is a kart game among them, there is Zelda, Metroid, Pokemon & Luigi screens though.
  • What ever your opinion might be, it may be worth noting that the controller interface looks the same as N64 interface. If this is indeed the case then maybe you can use your favourite N64 controller with the console.
  • I doubt that it is a USB connector, since it just wouldn't make sense: added cost, unnecessary complexity and I doub't the 127 device support would make any sense. Nah, I reckon it is just some sort of compact, properity device adapter.
  • Wow, what insight.

    It Says RIGHT ON THE PICTURE: Broadband Adapter

    __________________________________________________ ___

  • Yes, you are right games should be cheap, women should be better looking, and there should be free pony rides for the kids.
  • The buttons do NOT look like they'd work well with most games - I wonder how easy it would be to play Mario on that thing? The C-buttons worked on the N64 controller because they were not in the middle of the A and B buttons - and they were nicely arranged to make using them somewhat easier.

    Actually, Shigeru Miyamoto himself designed the controller. Just like the N64, the GameCube's controller was desgined for Mario.

    Now then, I could go on a rant about how stupid the GameCube name is (Nintendo3 [cubed] would have been better, alluding to the previous generation), or the fact that the machine is butt-ugly. But it all comes down to the fact that they want to keep the entire thing simple, and maintain the fact that this is a toy, and it's about playing games.

    Thus, you have the HUGE departure from the look of the PSX2. Although I must say, the strap on the back is interesting. But how would you carry the controllers around? And I'd be concerned about damaging the optics jerking it around like that.

    Then again, Nintendo knows this thing will be used by kids, and they always keep those things in mind.

    So despite it's kiddie look, I can't wait to get my hands on the damn thing! Those pictures of Luigi's Mansion and Metroid look fabulous!

  • ...a system cannot live on Zelda and Mario alone.

    Maybe not, but what about Zelda, Mario, and POKE-MON?

  • Um, you can play it on a handheld device? You don't need a TV? This is Mario Kart Advance, for the Game Boy Advance. The fact that you can't tell a handheld shot from a console shot is just one of many signs that the GBA will be sweeeeeeet.

  • that means they aren't wasting their money.

    besides final fantasy and need for speed, exactly what games are shared between the PSX and the PC? hmm not a lot really.. the vast majority of PSX games are not available on the PC.

    it will not be an order of magnitude better than the PSX2, sorry, you are on crack. you are buying M$ PR hype. if you knew how to read the technical data on both systems and understand them, then you'd see this. but that's ok. i expected several replies like yours when i made the post.

    you are entirely right very few people would buy a $400 system,.. most parents are not going to buy their kids $300 systems either. the N64 and PSX didn't start selling a lot 'til their prices dropped. the manufacturers have learned that they can introduce the systems at higher prices and still sell a lot to insane hardcore gamers (i.e. me, probably you, and a lot of other /. readers) and then lower it later for the more mainstream market. though, actually, come to think of it, they probably do sell most of them to people that consider themselves hardcore gamers. actually that would be an interesting graph to see, the curve of PSX sales over time.

    anyway, my point was, the x-box is going to suck ass. sorry, that $300 system vs. $3000 computer comparison is bullshit and you know it. they won't have to buy a new computer, most people (especially those buying consoles) have computers already, and all they would have to buy is a better video card. thus the $300 comparison.


  • No. The reason(s) for buying a console is:

    It costs $200
    It is designed for my 32-inch TV
    No 30-minute DirectX downloads every time I get a new game
    A standard, decent controller the game was designed for
    No crashes


    the X-box will not cost $200.

    you can hook your PC up to your TV (and as i said, and i am 100% right on this, almost all games which will be created for the X-Box will also be released for the PC except those made by companies which M$ has controlling interests in) if you really want to, but really, if i could i'd rather play most games on my 19" monitor than my 32" tv...higher res is better in most cases (than a couple more inches. obviously this isn't the case where you need to have a lot of people see the screen at once)

    the x-box will run direct-x... i even said this in my previous post,.. you obviously didn't read it. you think they'll never update direct-x again? this is M$.. they will not be able to leave it alone. it has a hdd for a reason.

    a standard controller is a Good Thing for some games,... but not enough to warrant buying a console.

    i'm still skeptical about the x-box's no crash promise.. in fact, i'd go so far as to say i don't believe it. it's going to run windows and direct-x.
    ...dave

  • ..that just anybody can have children.

    your post was so self-absorbed i really don't want to answer it at all, but i will.

    Not everyone plays PC games and like the experience

    thank you captain obvious,.. your revelation astounds me. next you are going to tell me that not everyone is named dave matteson and not everyone lives in ann arbor and works at the u of m.. wow.. thank you sir! i would never have known without you!

    You might because you are surperior to the majority of U.S. population with your technical skills.

    now the fact alone that you think playing PC games requires technical skills tells me you are probably a mac user, and you are very, very dumb (not all mac users are but some are, just like a lot of linux users and windoze users,... and you are one of these dumb people.)

    You represent a minor percentage of the population as a whole

    yes and you would be surprised what a minor percentage owns game consoles, and what a major percentage owns PCs. (of the US and other industrialized countries of course,.. the world as a whole is lacking in computers.. well i wouldn't say lacking, it's probably a good thing,.. but most people the world over do not have them...)

    Most people in this world are stupid as hell

    this is the only thing in your post that is intelligent at all. unfortunately you do not seem to realize you are one of the throng of stupid people who annoy intelligent people like me.

    Consoles are fun. They are meants to be played in the living room, with other people, preferably with aids of alcohol and other substances. PC games are different; they are traditionally enjoyed in solitude in the physical sense of the word; the on-line aspect is virtual.

    that might be how /you/ play console games, but not all console owners play sports games. most do not, in fact. sorry to burst your bubble. a lot do, but not near all.

    the fact that you would say something about 'traditionally' and 'on-line' in the same sentence shows how ignorant you are. on-line gaming started getting big with DOOM.. that was maybe 7 years ago? not really very long.

    People don't buy consoles, and by extension, their games because they can't get it on PC

    yet again, your ignorance makes you wrong.

    yes. they. do.

    look at why you bought your console if you have one? i am sure it was to play a game that you couldn't get for the PC, or that if it WAS available, was not as good (some games are good on both, but most usually have a situation where they are better on one or the other)

    people bought N64s to play Mario64 and Zelda64.

    people bought PSXes to play... i dunno crash bandicoot, NFL'99, Gran Turismo, et cetera.

    people will only buy the X-Box if there is a 'killer game' for it which makes people want to buy it. this is doubtful because who is going to program games for a Windows/Direct-X system? PC developers! they will port their PC games to the X-box. companies which have been console developers will already be busy making more games for the PSX2 by then, and will not be interested in starting X-box projects. they have finite resources. the PSX2 will be (and *is*) very wide-spread, the X-box has an uphill battle and it is doomed to failure.

    the only reason /anyone/ anticipates it is because they are mongoloids who read M$ PR hype and eat it up like pigs in shit.

    All this techno-jargon about the specs of different consoles? They don't care

    techo-jargon? hmm what techno-jargon did i say? you are a very stupid person.

    no, most people do not care. but i can tell you one thing, the teenage boys who will be pressuring their parents to buy the consoles do care.

    it won't come into play as much as you'd think by looking at how much the game sites focus on it, but it does matter. it matters especially because the consumer needs to look at the console's games and go 'whoah', like they did with the PSX and the N64 and they are doing with the DreamCast and PSX2 now. this won't happen with the X-Box because their home PC, or their friends' PC will be smoking it in the graphics (and especially sound) departments.

    As long as the console looks cool, the games looks playable, people will buy them.

    wrong. i am out of energy to discuss this point anymore, but it is wrong.

    you are very, very stupid. please shut up. go back to lurking.

    i don't like you.

  • hahahahahah man you're dumb :) i don't know what your native language is, but it's not english, obviously,.. and your thought processes are not in the language of 'logic' ;P

    i addressed all your arguments in my post. sorry, sir you are wrong :P
    ...dave
  • RayChuang sez:
    "If Microsoft allows X-Box games to be written with Linux, X-Box games may graphically be the most impressive of them all."

    First off, the concept of Microsoft allowing this is pretty funny. And how exactly would writing the games with Linux have any effect on the graphics?

    =wl
  • I still have my working Intellivision. It's nice to break it out and play a game of space invaders once in awhile.

    For the rest of you who don't have an Intellivision Console, there's always emus [zophar.net]. Yes, someone made one...
  • Well, lets see. The original NES had a 5.25" floppy disk addon come out in Japan, which was actually rather popular over there, tho it never came out here. The PlayStation was really just the SNES CDROM, but Sony released it as we know it instead because Sony insisted on getting a higher chunk of the profits per game than Nintendo would get. And again the N64 had a disk drive addon come out in Japan, and they were seriously considering releasing it here, until it got delayed for years... So, I'd say the ports are worth it.

    And the one factor that makes it most worth it: it comes with a 56k modem, but Ethernet is going to be an addon.
  • I thought that cube was one of those cd player clock radios that I keep seeing in Walmart.
  • The part of nintendo's site with that exact same shot makes it clear that the shots are not examples of games in development, just stuff that looks cool. There's a bunch of LuigiWorld stuff, Some nice Link vs. Gannon fight shots, a couple Metroid shots, a couple Pokemon's, and some rooms full of Marios (like 50 or so).
  • Wario stadium rocks! I love that level.
    --
  • Alas, Square and Nintendo parted ways a long time ago. Square hangs out with Sony now..

    That'd be almost like Microsoft porting IE to Linu-- oh. Nevermind.
  • I definitely concur. Astrosmash was fun, and I don't think any game will ever top Night Stalker. It's a pity I don't own a playstation, or I would have gotten the Disc with the 30 Intellivision ports on it.


    --Brogdon
  • I've gotta say, Nintendo's got this habit of making things that look odd or ugly, yet somehow making 'em quite a trip to play with...

    ------------

  • "GameCube software will be released on small (8 cm diameter) 1.5 GB proprietary optical disks manufactured by Matsushita"

    Hasn't nintendo learned from their past two consoles that propietary media can only hurt a console? (Besides, I wanna be able to p1r4t3 g4m35 d00d).
    =)
    ~Marshall


    --
    Homer: "No beer, No TV make Homer something something";
    Marge: "Go crazy?";
    Homer: "Don't mind if I do!"
  • Is it me, or does that new game boy look a lot like Game Gear? I remember in my days of youth owning both GG and GB - even though critics said Game Gear was too large (it definately wasn't pocket size).

    I wonder what the critics will think of that size now?
  • someone i know has written a small ncurses-based astrosmash clone that is known to compile on Digital UNIX and Linux (and i'm trying to build it on MacOS X).

    source code can be found here [harvard.edu].

    support a larval hacker! if you grab the source and build astrosmash, send the author an email!

    -steve
  • yeah, i have a working intellivision II with about 40 games for it. it's hooked up all the time right next to my atari 2600 (wood grain), my commodore vic-20, and my n64. old school games rock. emus are alright, but there's nothing like the real thing.

    Erian


    -
  • i hear ya man. give me tron deadly discs and i'm set. 4 bit graphics rule!

    Erian


    -
  • Maybe so, but you forgot to check off the No Score + 1 Bonus button. That means your post was rated a 2, which it should not be. Now your most recent post, to which I am replying, probably will be modded down too!

    uhhh stuart huh huh huh
  • with the obvious additions of the metroid games, the obligatory pokemon games, and whatever games rare pumps out (usually the donkey kong games).

    Maybe it's just me, but I personally have absolutely no taste for all of the fighting, sports and racing games that seem so prevalent on all of the consoles. I would say now that nintendo has a good media for their games (read: lots of memory) they can finally start making good rpg's. That's the only thing the N64 lacked, and I would say that the rpg's on the SNES were far better than any other console rpg's.

    Too bad they won't get square back and enix abandoned the US. oh well, I didn't like FF7 and FF8 anyways, give me my bioware games.

    Moller
  • PC games are all produced on CD or DVD now, when have you seen one that was cheaper than a floppy disk based game? They wont be cheaper, at best they will be the same price, and I doubt that. There is no reason for them to reduce the price below what people are already paying, it cuts into their greed margins.
    The comparison was not to floppy, but to previous Nintendo systems that used cartridges. Cartridges are expensive, and that tends to drive up the price of the games. With CD/DVD or floppy, media costs are negligible, and game prices are essentially determined by what they are worth to the consumer. So unless N-cube games are so impressive that they are seen as offering greater value than Playstation games (which is unlikely, since consumers quickly become jaded about improved graphics), they will probably cost about the same.
  • First of all, putting the d-pad where they did seems like a bad idea to me - but I'd have to have the controller in my hand first. I find that my thumbs "work" just about right for the button-use position and the stick-use position on the DualShock - I'm not sure that I'd find myself being able to use the Nintendo controller quite as easily.
    The positioning of the analog and D-pads on the PS controller gives priority to the D-pad--it gets the prime position in line with the thumb, such that the distal joint of the thumb controls the Y direction and the proximal joint controls the X direction. The toward-the-center position of the analog pad is a bit harder to learn and affords less precision, because to movement on the X or Y coordinates requires complex coordination of two joints. The reversal of the positions of these two pads on the Nintendo stick is an acknowledgement that analog control has become dominant, with the D-pad now relegated to the more awkward position.
  • However, the PSX quickly became "King of the Consoles" despite this fact, because, unlike Nintendo, both Sony and the game producers recognised the fact that games consoles are no longer the sole domain of ten year old kids - and consequently produced games with more adult, complex, violent, and engaging themes...this diversity resulted in unprecedented sales, in turn leading to more concentrated development efforts and games of a standard which few could have predicted...a profitable feedback loop.
    Actually, very few of those "more adult" games were from Sony--they were produced by 3rd party developers who previously developed "more adult" games for the SNES. They migrated to the PS because it's CD format made it a cheaper, and therefore less risky, system to develop for.
    For Nintendo to avoid abject failure, they have to kill off the juvenile Mario, Waveracer, and Pokemon, and start targeting that nameless bunch of beer drinking lads shamelessly gathered around Tekken, Fifa or Metal Gear Solid on a winter's night. Having glanced at the demos linked to, Nintendo look like making the same mistake all over again...also, why make the same mistake as Sega in using a proprietary CD format??? Regardless of how apparently unpleasant the PS2 is to code on, consumers will pick it up not only to play sequels to some of the finest console games ever, but also as their domestic DVD player.
    I don't think it hurts Nintendo to have games like Mario, any more than it hurts Sony to have games like Ape Escape. Note that Tekken and Metal Gear are both from developers who previously developed for Nintendo consoles, but moved to the PS because of its cheaper format. If anything, Nintendo has become more adult, with games like Goldeneye and Perfect Dark from its subsidiary Rare.

    The odd format is clearly an anti-piracy move, and will probably pay off. I think Sony will clearly pick up some PS2 sales because of DVD compatibility--that's certainly why I'm buying one, since the games so far do not impress me much. However, it is questionable whether that will translate into strong game sales, which is what is important to developers--it clearly has not in Japan. In any case, Nintendo is coming in a year later, and I suspect that DVD video will be much less of a draw by then; most people will already have DVD players of one sort or another, and stand-alone players will probably be even cheaper than they are now.

  • I'd buy it just for Metroid. Hell, I bought N64 just for MarioKart and Zelda.
  • and the main reason for buying a console is?

    to play games you cannot get on the PC!

    No. The reason(s) for buying a console is:

    • It costs $200
    • It is designed for my 32-inch TV
    • No 30-minute DirectX downloads every time I get a new game
    • A standard, decent controller the game was designed for
    • No crashes
  • I'd buy it just for Metroid. Hell, I bought N64 just for MarioKart and Zelda.

    I'd do the same. I bough my N64 just for Zelda, but now that I've played Mario Kart I'm glad that's on there too.

    Now all we really need is Shadowrun, god I miss that game.

  • ATI has bought ArtX some month ago. But Game Cubes graphics has nothing to do with the current ATI graphics boards.
  • 350MB compared with basically infinite

    Whoa, the N64 cartridges didn't even have that much memory. One the largest carts out there is 256Mbit(Nintendo likes to makes the size sound larger by using bits instead of bytes) and that only 32MB...Im pretty sure there are larger carts out there now, but nowhere near 350MB given the current pace oh how fast those carts grew(Mario 64 was only 64Mbit = 8MB)
  • [...]more importantly it will allow developers the freedom to concentrate on creativity without worrying about technical limitations

    That suggests to me that devlopers will want to keep about the same tech level as current games, which is silly. Game companies always, in my experience, try to push the limits of their system's abilities. So it seems more likely that everyone will want to make games for this cube as graphically cool and polygon-pumped as possible.
    That didn't make much sense, did it? Oh well. It's early.
    -J
  • Maybe the new icon should be a Sony dual-shock controller. It certainly looks as though that's what the new Nintendo controller is - a poorly redesigned dual-shock.

    Looks pretty cool... but I'm a PSX-type, so I probably won't go for it.

    (Side note - with one of those USB adaptors, PSX controllers are excellent for Linux gaming)
  • They will lower the price, if they intend to compete with Sony and Microsoft.
  • Looks more like a 250w PSU to me. Except this one comes in diferent colours...
  • The "nLunchbox".

    ---------///----------
    All generalizations are false.

  • So much for being able to just put one in your pocket. A Gameboy shouldn't be larger than a Palm III, and maybe have some minimal organizer capabilities (maybe via another cart) so that you could just take one thing with you in a pinch.
  • Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • Hmm, reading the article I run across this line: An additional broadband ethernet card will be available at the console's launch.

  • Huh? (Score:2)

    by CaseyB ( 1105 )
    ...comes packed-in with a 56k modem that may be used to post scores, exchange data with other players, download characters or play head-to-head on Nintendo's broadband Blue-Tooth network.

    A 56K modem to communicate on a broadband Bluetooth network.

    Those are three concepts that have nothing to do with each other. What was the author smoking?

  • Hello, Metriod.

    Hello, Metroid.

    Have you heard about the new site, slashdot.org?

    It is my source for video games news. I learned how to install Linux from it. It told me the evils of Microsoft.

    I hear that 90% of the posts at slashdot.org are made by trolls.

    Aahhhh, the trolls. Aaaahhhhh.

    (Sorry, that damned commercial won't leave me alone!)

  • *ahem* *cough* Need I point out that the propietary "GD-ROM" has not seemed to hurt the Sega Dreamcast at all?

    I think the fact that the game cube is so damn small is pretty cool, think of the library of games you can carry around with them only being 8cm in diameter?
  • a lot more information is on nintendo's official spaceworld site [nintendo.com]. the screenshots of Samus Aran (yes, METROID LIVES!!!) alone make me want to get this console.

    however, the controller absolutely BLOWS. how am I going to be able to play a fighting game on it? at least the n64 had the button arangement...

    perhaps someone will just make a fighting game-oriented gamepad, and we'll all be happy.

    oh well, if they make another Zelda game, and a Metroid game, I'll buy this system.

  • While the Nintendo Gamecube looks like a potential winnner, the problem is that it's not "forward-looking" enough in terms of technology.

    If the specs on X-Box are correct, not only does X-Box support full DVD discs (which means you can put in 4.7 or 9 GB of data on the disc), but it also has a 8 GB hard drive for "scratch data," which means extremely fast loading of new scenes in the game even in high-resolution 32-bit color fully anti-aliased mode. Given that X-Box will use nVidia graphics chip technology (anyone who's seen the GeForce2 GTS running a game in 32-bit color at 1280x1024 resolution are usually extremely impressed, and the X-Box is supposed to use an even better nVidia chip), it'll certainly be able to do very realistic lighting and other graphical effects. And X-Box has true surround-sound capabilities you normally associate with a Creative Sound Blaster Live! card.

    If Microsoft allows X-Box games to be written with Linux, X-Box games may graphically be the most impressive of them all. And given what I've read, several Japanese game companies are chomping at the bit to really push the limits of graphics using X-Box.

  • I write optimized assembly code for high-performance computer systems that use a PowerPC chip with AltiVec, the family that is used in the N-cube. Although you describe the N-cube as a more conventional design, making effective use of the AltiVec features requires careful attention to detail, just as you describe for the PlayStation 2 system (whose specifications I have not seen). When we want the performance the system can give, we count CPU cycles for instructions and even consider the internal CPU stages and resources. Programming for the N-cube will not be conventional.

    This is misinformation: The PowerPC processor used in the Game Cube is a new variant designed by IBM. AltiVec is a Motorola-exclusive technology, found only in the MPC7400 (aka G4). The Game Cube does not have AltiVec! Therefore, programming for it will be much more similar to programming for the 750(aka G3), and hence far more conventional. Now, what I'd like to see is someone port Darwin to this thing... probably more trouble than it's worth, though.


    Supreme Lord High Commander of the Interstellar Task Force for the Eradication of Stupidity

  • You are missing a very, very important point: Console systems do not compete with PCs . That is not the market they are aiming for. Of course you can get a PC that is more powerful. That's assumed. The other thing you miss is they want you to buy a 405MHz machine for $200. Tell me how this is in the same market as the $1500 and up computers you're talking about. It isn't. Don't confuse the console market and the PC market. They do not compete. If you are willing and able to buy a PC, then buy a PC, don't waste your money on any console. The console market is aimed at children who want it for Christmas, and at people who don't have the technical savvy to be reading slashdot.


    Supreme Lord High Commander of the Interstellar Task Force for the Eradication of Stupidity

  • Hey, I bought Quake 3. $29.99 from outpost w/free overnight shipping. Good deal. For a game that good, I'll reward Id.

    __________________________________________________ ___

  • If it weren't for the fact that I don't recognize the scenery, I would have said these were from Mario Karts 64. Don't get me wrong, I love Mario Karts 64. But what's new about this?
    --
  • Warning... incoming game.
    Warning... incoming game.

    It's a game cube! Look out!
  • But if you're going with DVD's, CD's, or even diskettes, you're going with a standard format. That way you can sign up with a company to press them out en masse without having to design special plastic molds or casings just for your games. The fact that your manufacturing cost is minimized leads to more competitive pricing.

    Proprietary cartridges still cost more to make than standard CD/DVD's. The only major benefits they offer are durability (very good for kids who like to toss cartridges around, whereas CD's will scratch rather easily) and piracy protection, at least until the standard is reverse-engineered by some enterprising bootleggers.

  • lemme 'splain a couple things to you..

    1. yes the kind of dev environment the system provides matters. but not as much as you'd think.. the console game development world is not like the PC world. companies like id software do not exist.. it is a very expensive proposition getting a game released on a console, you can't just release some shareware version across the net, etc. (at least not yet.) the decision whether or not to make a game for a system is generally made by a bunch of suits. now, the reason the n64 was so lacking in games that the n64 cartridge was only capable of holding about 20 megabytes (of course if they wanted the cartridge to cost $200 they could have made higher capacity ones, but they were already expensive enough at that size... $70).. so, this precluded a lot of the question of what platform to develop for in the past. the new nintendo has 1.5gig capacity per disk, and i would assume, can swap disks while running. so, while that is less than the DVD discs of the PSX2.. it should be enough to bring developers back. nintendo is a bit more fascist about content than sony as well...

    2) the x-box will be a waste of money. i've said this countless times in the past. it is a scaled-down PC. by the time it comes out (christmas of 2001 is projected) it will be obsolete already. as it is the hardware is not very impressive. especially given that it will likely cost $300-400 .. you will be able to by a video card for your PC to make it outperform the x-box by the time it comes out. also, other than the developers that M$ *buys* (see: bungie), it is very reasonable to expect that every game which comes out for the x-box (which will run windoze and direct-x) will also be released for the PC.

    and the main reason for buying a console is?

    to play games you cannot get on the PC!

    because look at the games *i* have my playstation for : Gran Turismo (1 and 2) and street fighter alpha 3. both of these would run much better, and be more fun on my PC... but they are on the PSX, so that's why i have it.

    we are at the same point we're always at when new consoles come out,.. they get ahead of PCs in graphics for a couple months, but not all that long... the x-box will have no time ahead of the pack, the PSX2 i expect will have 8 months to a year, the nintendo, even less.

    anyway that's enough rambling.
  • This is false. The Net Yaroze was not "an early plus" of the PlayStation. It came about well after the PlayStation peaked. I am not aware of any games developed using it that actually made it out to non-Yaroze users.

    =wl
  • SpaceworldLive.com [spaceworldlive.com] also has continous updates from many different sources. Like for instance this movie [zdnet.com] of the Gamecube presentation.
  • You're getting ripped off if you pay over $60 for any game at any time. I've NEVER paid over $60 for ANY N64 game. It pays to shop around instead of automatically buying it at EB.

    Secondly, part of the reason game prices were so high is that Nintendo charged quite a bit of money to use their carts. However from what I've heard NIntendo is not doing that with their DVD format, so the cost of a NGC game should be about 10-20 dollars lower than an N64 game. But time will tell.
  • Yes, it does come in 5 colors! 5 controllers [ign.com] and 5 systems [ign.com]
  • I've wondered for a while when the videogame industry would eclipse the movie industry and take over the entire entertainment sector.

    Actually, video games have made more in their "opening weekends" of sales than most movies have. Mortal Kombat for the SNES was one of the first to do this (over 50 million the first weekend).

    With the capabilities of this system approaching photo-realism, producing games is going to cost so much that the publishers are probably going to have to look for financial backing somewhere; I wouldn't be suprised to see some of the entertainment giants jumping into the videogame market now.

    This happened in the mid-1990s, and there were many casualties. Don't you remember all the talk of Silliwood, the merging of Silicon Valley and Hollywood? It was generally a major failure all around.

    Video games do make a lot of money, but so far there hasn't been much luck breaking out of the "for kids" mold. Games are fun, I admit, but in general the big hits (not hardcore games for the PC, which tend to be fringe products), tend to be of the "try and die and repeat" school, which don't have much appeal if you're older than about twelve. The Sims is maybe the best example of a different form of entertainment.
  • Um, did you say 50 million? I really really hope you mean dollars grossed and not copies sold

    Of course. When you hear "50 million" in reference to how well a movie did, do you think it means "50 million people saw it?"
  • WHy did Nintendo include expansion ports?

    They add significantly to the cost of the console, and yet almost nothing ever comes out to utilize them.

    Genesis, 3DO, PSX, N64, JAGUAR etc. all had expansion ports. Nothing of use ever came out of it with the exception of the gameshark.

    CD-ROMS, Bulky-Drives, Modems, VCD Players, increased performance hardware(a la 32X)... nobody uses them, because nobody develops for them. The game support for add-on peripherals is always ridiculously low... WHy make a 32X game when I can make a Genesis game? The install base of peripherals is necessarily a subset of the original hardware, so the market is guaranteed to be smaller!!

    The only exception I can think of is the addition of a highspeed connection. But nintendo has a *seperate* slot for that!! What useful periph. could ever come out? The memory expansion pack for the N64 might be considered a successful peripheral, but it *came* with the games that required it!! Not really a peripheral at all? It may as well have come attached to the cartridge!

    Tell ya what.. remove the expansion slots, and drop the price $30... that's make me MUCH happier.

  • Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • "GameCube software will be released on small (8 cm diameter) 1.5 GB proprietary optical disks manufactured by Matsushita." That doesn't sound like a CD to me.
  • I will try not to sound too harsh, but rtfa before you spout. The Gamecube can also read regular DVD's and developers are free to put out games on regul;ar DVDs, they just offer the proprietary DVD format to thwart piracy (probably not possible - but they're trying to appease their developers). It is unclear if it will include software to play DVD movies, but Nintendo has a deal with Matsushita to produce DVD players with GameCube functionality as well. Also, a 400mhz machine this is built from the ground up to play games could easily give a $3000 PeeCee with a 1Ghz processor, 256Mg memory, and whatever 64mg video card you want to put in it a good fight in the performance category, and Nintendo has made it clear that they will not charge more than $200 for this machine. Take another look at those screen shots. A dreamcast looks as good as anything out for PeeCee right now, and the Cube will easily be much more powerful. Take another look at those screen shots.
  • Is it just me? Or am I the only one who thinks that calling something a cube doesn't make it a cube.

    From the article:

    At just 6" x 6" x 4.3"

    It's not a cube. NOT a cube.

  • Man, compatible processing power to the SuperNES? And full colour too? Can you imagine? I'm sooooo hoping that SuperNES titles will be released for it....like, can you imagine Final Fantasy III for GameBoy? Or multiplayer GameBoy StarFox? Gnnnaaaaaahhhhhhh....
  • Can we port xbill to those? ;) Hours and hours of plenty family fun and the DOJ plays it too!
  • How excited were you all to see this screenshot [zdnet.com]? I think that the return of Metroid is the only thing that would make me want to get this system.
  • Amiga was WAY before my time.
  • What I found interesting was that the system memory was bested by the video card memory (16 MB system, 24 MB video card). This is the first console- nay, the first system, I've seen do this.

    A window on the future perhaps?

  • If you think Zelda didn't sell 10 times better than Mario Kart, you're clueless.
  • I read somewhere (can't quite remember where) that the port is like USB, but not quite. (real technical, huh?)

    If you've owned a Game Boy at any time, you've probably noticed that the game link connector also looks a lot like a small USB port, that's because it's a very early version of the same technology that was used for USB.

    I'm going to assume that the GameCube (sucky name, I liked Dolphin a lot better) uses a proprietary format, because they would have hyped USB compatiblity to no end on that page if they had it.

  • Has anyone noticed that the controller looks like a cross between a PS2 dual-shock controller (for overall styling/layout) and the Dreamcast controller (for position of the analog/ditigal controls + buttons).

    It certainally looks a lot more comfortable than the DC controller though, that thing sucks (Virtua Tennis has given me a serious case of sore-thumb). IMO Nintendo have always done the best gamepad design, the NES might not have been super-ergonomic (what was at that time), but the d-pad rocked. The SNES controller added more buttons and those now-ubiquitous sholder buttons. The piece de-resistance really was the N64 controller, it just oozed quality. If you have one, you might not have noticed that without a rumble/memory pack in it balances perfectly on your finger.

    Sony may have stolen the show with their dual-shock for a bit, but I have faith in Nintendo and know that both the GB Advance and Game Cube will perform brilliantly.

    Besides, lets face it, we all know that the games are where its at, and you can't beat the big N for that (aided and abetted by Rare [rare.com] of course). Can you tell I'm excited about this? :))

  • Nintendo Open Sourcing GB Advance? (Score:3)

    by SgtPepper ( 5548 ) on Thursday August 24, 2000 @03:25AM (#831600)
    Hrm...this caught my eye:

    Developers can use the C programming language to take advantage of this functionality and create software at a low cost. Based on the foundation of a developer-friendly environment and a system configured with few restrictions, developers can create an unequaled level of entertainment and create the kinds with the kind of depth everyone will want to experience.

    And the rest of the site focusing mainly on the "Developer Friendly" atmosphere of the new systems. Maybe Nintendo is looking to tap the extensive community of open source developers to overwhelm the market with games for their consoles?

    Just a crazy off the wall thought...

  • Re:Nintendo Open Sourcing GB Advance? (Score:3)

    by generic-man ( 33649 ) on Thursday August 24, 2000 @03:42AM (#831601) Homepage Journal
    I think they're trying to take a cue from one of the early plusses of the Sony PlayStation. While Nintendo and Sega were charging thousands upon thousands of dollars for developer licenses, Sony was allowing people to program in C on the Net Yaroze. An enormous developer scene emerged, which created an enormous library of games. Nintendo, on the other hand, had TWO games available for the N64 at its launch (Super Mario 64 and Pilotwings 64). While they were certainly excellent games, the lack of software was a big turn-off to someone who just paid $200 for a system and needed a $70 (!) game to go with it.

  • Let's get it over with... (Score:3)

    by Andy_R ( 114137 ) on Thursday August 24, 2000 @03:14AM (#831602) Homepage Journal
    Ok, here goes... Cube, Cobalt, Apple, NeXT suing each other, patenting various solids, ive got a sillier patent than yours, nCube name used before how about a Beowulf cluster of these?

    Ok, that's them done, let's discuss the damn products can we?

  • The bottom line (Score:3)

    by Docrates ( 148350 ) on Thursday August 24, 2000 @03:15AM (#831603) Homepage
    Both the Cube and PS2 have similar technical specs, making a declaration of one as king impossible. To me, it will al go down to which system has the best and easiest to work with development platform. Sure people always says "it's about the games stupid!", but a good deal of how good the games are depends on how good the development platform is, which is mainly why most developers are going crazy about the X-Box even if many gamefans are still skeptical.

    I've heard PS2's development system is a nightmare, but t
  • ...Sony's DualShock? I've found that the Dual Shock controller is one of the nicest controllers I've ever used, it's got about the right weight, and the controls are all placed right where your thumbs/fingers are. I'd have to get a better picture, but that controller does not look like it would be very easy to use...

    Granted, the DualShock would be impossible to use if the people making the controller forget that you can only use the d-pad(directional pad)/left-stick or the buttons(/\ [] O X)/right-stick - but most games keep that in mind (because they also are compatible with the standard controller).

    First of all, putting the d-pad where they did seems like a bad idea to me - but I'd have to have the controller in my hand first. I find that my thumbs "work" just about right for the button-use position and the stick-use position on the DualShock - I'm not sure that I'd find myself being able to use the Nintendo controller quite as easily. Although they're probably hoping that all the games will support the analog control as opposed to the d-pad. I'm not sure what they're thinking with the shoulder buttons, either - I think there's only one of each. I wonder if the parts where you'd grip the controller (the white lines sticking down) will have "Z-trigger" like things on them?

    The buttons do NOT look like they'd work well with most games - I wonder how easy it would be to play Mario on that thing? The C-buttons worked on the N64 controller because they were not in the middle of the A and B buttons - and they were nicely arranged to make using them somewhat easier.

    As always, the start button is in a location that's not overly easy to use, but the DualShock has that problem too (I'd move them closer to the d-pad and the buttons, but...)

    All in all, I think I still perfer the DualShock as a control over any other console controller. I wonder if the new Nintendo controller has force-feedback? Force-feedback can be really nice in some games - the controller jerking in your hands when being discovered in Metal Gear Solid is enough to make you jump. Games just don't play the same without it - and Sony did a good thing with the "dual" part, there are two different types of shaking the controller can do - the rumble pack for the N64 seems to have only had one way. Having the motors powered off the PlayStation and not a battery was nice as well.

    I'll have to actually get a controller in my hand before deciding, though - I didn't like the look of the N64 controller either, but it turns out to be fairly usable.

  • Re:The bottom line (Score:3)

    by skoda ( 211470 ) on Thursday August 24, 2000 @06:30AM (#831605) Homepage
    While I enjoy the typical kill 'em all games (e.g. UT and Starcraft), I like Nintendo for the reasons you don't. I appreciate knowing that almost any game I buy or rent for the N64 will not be gory, nor will it have offensive language. I like the furry creatures; they are often used to good effect in clever and amusing ways. But I also like the non-fuzzy games, like Star Wars, 1080, Wetrix, ExciteBike, KI:Gold, Vigilante 8, etc.

    But it's all an matter of taste. But I hope Nintendo maintains the strict content standards for the new system.

    -----
    http://movies.shoutingman.com

  • Ethernet? (Score:3)

    by Undocumented ( 225683 ) on Thursday August 24, 2000 @03:17AM (#831606) Homepage
    Did anyone notice this shot [zdnet.com]? Looks like an ethernet card to me.

    Now, while I have not read many of the articles surrounding the n-cube, the "perepherial atattachment area" on the bottom of the box looks very much like a male USB port.

    Any comments? I can imagine if this is a USB port the things that can be done!

    As much as I have diseregarded nintendo over the past few years (as well as most other console systems), I want one of these to try to hack. Actuall, better make that two, so I still have one to play on!

  • Better infomation at Nintendo (Score:4)

    by stx23 ( 14942 ) on Thursday August 24, 2000 @03:05AM (#831607) Homepage Journal
    Here [nintendo.com]. Wireless controllers, online connectivity, Metroid. Could be interesting.

  • Gamecube Tech Demo Movie (Score:4)

    by at-b ( 31918 ) on Thursday August 24, 2000 @03:28AM (#831608) Homepage
    The GameCube tech demo movie is also available as an .mpeg file, playable via your favourite OSS movie player. Die Sorenson codecs, die! P-)

    The file is right here [zdnet.com], a zipped mpeg. It's a direct download off ZDNET's servers, which should handle the load effortlessly. *grin*

    The tech demo shows some nice, although pre-rendered scenes featuring the inevitable Pokemon, a waverace game, some scened from a 3D shooter demo, and an X-Wing.

    Alex T-B
    St Andrews

  • PS2 system (Score:4)

    by DarkMan ( 32280 ) on Thursday August 24, 2000 @03:26AM (#831609) Journal
    The PS2 system is tricky because of two main systems.

    Firstly, it's designed with high bandwidth, and low cache. This is very different to the standard 'low' bandwidth and high cache. Whether better or not remains to be seen, but the fact is that by being very different, it is causeing problems for the developers

    The other point is that some of it's much vaunted power comes from the vector registers. And (speaking from experinece) these require careful coding to get the best out of (such as doing the sum on 32 memory locations rather than just the required 5 can be faster). As far as I know, the only people who really have experience with this sort of thing are the supercomputer programmers.

    Um, how many people write computer games and code on supercomputers too? Not darned many. Thus there is a lack of experienced deveolpers for the platform.

    The N-cube specs [nintendo.com] suggest, to me, a more conventional design, although I would hardly call that page detailed or technical.

    A more conventional design, means more deveolper experience, which, as you point out, means better games.

    Time will tell, but I am wondering about the disk drive used in the cube. Anyone familer with it?

  • Re:The bottom line (Score:4)

    by skoda ( 211470 ) on Thursday August 24, 2000 @08:44AM (#831610) Homepage
    "Why should Nintendo ultimately decide what I can and cannot see in my video games?"

    This is not a free-speech issue. A developer has no fundamental right to produce any game for any platform.

    It is Nintendo's hardware platform. They control the hardware and software production. Their approach has generally been to a strong Q&A, strict content standards, and a "few games, much quality" mindset. It's served them fairly well.

    This approach also works for Disney, childrens' book publishers, childrens' TV & movie producers, and certainly others.

    I'm not easily offended, and I enjoy bloody games at times. I just appreciate knowing that at least one content provider understands and respects that a large group of people prefer to have access to a generally "clean" source of entertainment.

    A peeve of mine is the labeling of graphic nudity, violence, or offensive language as "Mature Content," because it generally isn't. Usually it would be more accurate to label it "Immature Content" since the use of that sort of material usually reflects more junior high fantasies than mature attitudes on the subjects.

    For truly "Mature Content" that effectively uses brutal violence, extremely offensive language, and brief nudity, see the movie "American History X".

    Oh, I see it's time for my medication! I'm sorry, what was I saying? :)

    -----
    http://movies.shoutingman.com

  • Honesty in advertising? (Score:5)

    by CaseyB ( 1105 ) on Thursday August 24, 2000 @05:06AM (#831611)
    From the nintendo.com site:

    NINTENDO GAMECUBE Specifications
    The peak figures listed are all for maximum instantaneous performance and cannot be achieved with the actual game. However, following the conventions in the game industry they are listed for your reference.

    Wow, that's an extremely unusual thing for a hardware vendor to state up front about published specs. Kudos to Nintendo!

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