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Games Entertainment

Nintendo Unveils GAMECUBE At Spaceworld 2000 143

Posted by Hemos from the i-still-just-want-a-psx2 dept.
Mark Programmer writes: "After several months of secrecy, Nintendo finally unveiled their new GAMECUBE system at the Spaceworld 2000 Expo in Japan. While many companies had new systems out for display, Nintendo was one of the few to have an actual playable demo involving 128 fully-rendered independent Marios shoving each other around in real-time. Check out these screenshots or (if you've got the bandwidth) download the demo movie. (By the way, whenever you see GAMECUBE in print, it's in ALL CAPS. I guess that's because Nintendo likes to PLAY IT LOUD.) *grin*"
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Nintendo Unveils GAMECUBE at Spaceworld 2000 More

Nintendo Unveils GAMECUBE at Spaceworld 2000

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  • Re:This isn't news. It can't be (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward
    No silly, obviously you should submit this same Nintendo story in about a month.
  • The motto should be "Old news for Nerds. Stuff that mattered... long time ago."
  • Yes that's right, standard normal every day DVD specification, just on a smaller disc.

    Vermifax
  • Yeah, but even if the controls were very close together, how would you simultaneously use a joystick, a crosspad, seven buttons, two shoulder buttons, and a trigger?

    The PSX doesn't let you use all the inputs simultaneously either (try using the cross, buttons, shoulders and joysticks together squid boy ;) but tries to get around it by letting you EITHER use:
    1)the cross and the buttons
    2)the cross and the right joystick
    3)the left joystick and the buttons

    without it being awfully inconvenient to switch. 'Course, the layout would have to be really well thought out b/c you can't make the switch instantly (e.g. it would suck if you used the cross to move, the buttons to fire and the joysticks to aim, unless you're a sniper)

    and at that point, the only problem with the N64 is that the switch is more inconvenient.

    A PSX controller with fewer shoulder buttons, a proper crosspad, triggers, and right and left N64 udders for comfort would kick ass. I'd get one.

    That said, my favorite N64 games were probably Snobo Kids and Blast Corps. PSX games are generally not as fun; very cool, but it's not quite the same.
  • Well, it's been a while since I used an N64 (had one, got stolen, got a PSX to see how the other half lives) but I loved the controller. At least, the ergonomics. Looked ugly as hell.

    But it was designed to be flexible; there are three ways of using it.
    1) The center and right udders, which is most common.
    2) The left and right udders (using the crosspad instead of the analog stick)
    3) The left and center udders (do any games even use this?)
    and of course this governs the shoulder and Z buttons as well. I'd have to fault the game designers for bad layouts; who can use all three parts of the thing simultaneously? You don't have enough fingers.

    The PSX controller has a shit crosspad, and the double shoulder buttons are confusing as hell. The micro udders are also really annoying - it's never comfortable to hold.

    Never used a DC, but it doesn't strike me as a good design.

  • Due to the high open/close wear, every system that has had a front-loading tray has had very high hardware failure rates in the tray mechanism. Look at both the original Sega-CD and 3DO systems as examples. Both of which were eventually re-issued as top-loading systems that had no problems. Also consider the TG-16-CD/PCE-CD, CDI, CD32, Saturn, PlayStation, Dreamcast, yadda... yadda... yadda...

    You don't here about high failure rate in the lids breaking do you? In fact the only one of that list that had any kind of significant problems was the PlayStation, since pretty much everything else BUT the lid breaks ;p

  • Why aren't slot-loading CD mechanisms the standard yet?

    This thing looks pretty cool, but I HATE the flip-top lid. Can anybody tell me why they haven't yet proliferated (like in laptops)? Are they expensive? Do they take up a lot of space? Require a lot of power? I know Sony has a Discman with one, so I know any of these can be overcome....

    Does anyone else feel this way, or am I just a ranting, maniacal fool with too much time on his hands reading about Nintendos when I should be working?

    "Blech."
  • I myself am a quake addict. I have played quake for a long time on the PC. I tried it this summer on the PlayStation and couldn't handle the controller.. They are uncomfortable, cause calluses on your hands and fingers, and just are't as accurate as the mouse/kb. I know that you can purchase a mouse for the PS, but honestly, why would anyone want to use that seemingly HUGE controller that comes w/this new cube?

    Just my worthless .02

    - Bill
  • actually tv is 720x480, for the most part. of course you lose every other row of pixels, so it's actually quite a bit smaller than that, but when creating still screens for tv, they are created in 720x480. the fun part was creating a page with two pixel wide horizontal lines one pixel apart and sending it to the tv. yipes. now _that_ will wig ya out.

    ------------------------------------------
    the amazing bc
    latin/funk flugelhorn & trumpet
  • that ten years figure could be way off. It sure *feels* like ten years though.

    It's actually eleven [landfield.com] years, and I recall the Lynx and Gameboy came out around the same time, which was sad given how much better the Lynx really was in terms of graphics and sound. But I believe the Gameboy had better battery life and Nintendo behind it, which is likely why it sells to this day.

    Sad, really. I still love my Nomad, though.

  • He then looked at the sun, cursed at me, and ran underneath my neighbour's back porch.

    Does that mean we'll have 6 more weeks of summer?

    --K
    ---
  • And how naive do you have to buy to buy it and actually think you're getting an Apple product?
  • Which only reiterates my point: Apple's defense of their equipment appearance is NOT about preventing consumers from getting ripped off, it's about defending their business strategy based on image.

    (Which is one of my problems with Apple generally is their overemphasis on image. I like style, but it's not the first or even second thing in terms of importance).
  • Is Apple really concerned that people are going go shopping for a Macintosh in a screwdriver shop (IIRC, the lookalikes were generic cases, not from name brand system vendors) and buy a PC clone all the while thinking its a Macintosh?

    C'mon, that'd require fraud so obvious and deliberate that it would require the knowing participation of the defrauded consumer.

    The real reason that Apple did that was to protect the /image/ of their machines because that was what was largely selling them. If you could get a 1337 translucent box from anybody, it makes the Mac just another Mac and seriously curtails its desirability among the haircut set that buy them.

  • "Instead of going for the highest possible performance, which does not contribute to software development, our idea was to create a developer-friendly next generation TV game machine that maintained above-standard capabilities."

    Good lord, somebody finally got it! I have owned every system Nintendo has released and my least favorite was the N64. The majority of the games just plain sucked.

    News to other game makers, I don't care about the power of the box if the stuff on them sucks. This goes for PC games as well.

    Here's hoping the new Metroid will rule me.
  • Apple won't sue; this is old

    You, sir, need to have more faith in the US legal system!

    While IANAL, I believe that you don't have to prove intent in violating intellectual property rights (the foundation of the L&F lawsuits). And US companies tend to just sue first and ask questions later.

  • http://www.angelfire.com/electronic/dokidoki This [angelfire.com] little java app has 115 marios on screen at one point.
  • Hehehe.. damn..

    Well at least then my PS2 for X-mas will have a better chance ;>
  • You're dead on about the battery life of the Nomad/Lynx/GameGear. That was Nintendo's entire reason for sticking with a black and white screen - a PocketGB runs for up to *ten* hours on two AAA batteries. The best the GameGear ever got was 2, and that was on a real good day (and probably with high-drain batteries).

    It wasn't that Nintendo couldn't develop a Lynx/Nomad/GameGear quality handheld. It's that they couldn't develop one that would sip power as good as the GameBoy can, and when it comes to portable gaming, I don't give a hoot whether I'm playing a game with the flashiest graphics for an hour - the one I'll play more is the one I CAN play more - the one with the longest battery life.

    I'm curious to see if Sega/Sony/Microsoft/Nintendo are looking into grabbing Crusoe-type technology for handheld video games. It's true that the LCD grabs the most power (that's why the GB Color uses a passive backlit screen) but I'm sure that the processor requirements were scaled down massively for power consumption. I don't know about the battery life of the WonderSwan/NeoGeo Pocket, but the battery life of the Lynx/Nomad/Game Gear killed them all.

    Atari was quite frankly stupid for producing the Lynx as powerful as it was. The Lynx tended to average an hour and a half on batteries! I had more friends who hated the thing even though the games were cool simply because I could still play my Gameboy during study hall near the end of the day and their batteries had died at lunch.

    Ah, the memories of a video game junkie.
  • Yeah, its called a Playstation. Most older multiplayer games used the link cable and two TV's. mmmmmmmmmmm linked Wipeout.
  • But wait,there was a playable demo of Star Wars Rogue Squadron for the Cube @ Space World. Check out: http://cube.ign.com/news/23965.html and see someone playing SW but with the bells and whistles turned off. Nintendo Rulez
  • Stop saying CD DAMMIT! It's propriety mini-DVD. DVD NOT CD!!!!
  • You stupid neanderthal cave-men retards.
    What in fucking hell do u plan to do with this system? Why do u care about the breakability of a fucking hinge? Do you plan to test it's durability as soon as you take it out of the box? Shit, I'm nearly 21, and I can't remember ever breaking any of my toys when I was a kid. Plus a spring loaded hinge will last a helluva lot longer than a front loading tray (ie. mechanical moving parts). Seamlessly adding many more years of life to a gaming console damn, those Nintendo folks are geniuses.
  • No mods have, but I must give props. That was funny.
  • I bow to your superior knowledge, Moustache-son.

    I guess you just can't fit a game on a couple hundred meg anymore... heck, when PC games started coming on 2 or 3 1.44MB floppys I got worried...

    --
  • Looks like a standard small CD to me... Check out your current CD player - see the inset in the tray? It's for CDs that size. Some examples of CDs that size - music singles (not typical, but I have seen them), those linux business card CDs, and the small CDs that came with some books (Tom Clancy, etc...).
    --
  • This could probably fit (it would in mine). From everything I've read it's tiny...like 6x4 inches. Of course this is just what I've read off of websites and we all know how reliable those are...

  • "Nolan Bushnell invents Pong" That would be par for Slashdot, since Bushnell DIDN'T.

    Well spotted! :)

    The bloke to blame for our collective misspent youth is either Willy Higginbotham (Invented a 'bat and ball' analog computer demo in 1958) or Ralph Baer (Magnavox, et. al. in the 1970s.), depending on your p.o.v.

    I'm not just a pretty face, y'know. Hell, I'm not even a pretty face!

  • heh bull. Nintendo is full of crap. I know two guys working on it down at Retro Studios down in Austin texas... Dave "Zoid" Kirsch, the creator of the original CTF mod for Quake, and Jack "Spell it with one 'T'" Mathews, the guy who did gamespy (before it got bought by planetquake) and some QW programming and did the engine work on "SiN"...
  • you obviously never played Super Smash Brothers. That game... egads, the time I wasted playing that...
  • The original launch date was this Christmas. It'll make the currently stated launch date. The hardware is done. They're just waiting on the games, which are already well into development.
  • Retro Studios (a recent Nintendo 2nd party developer) is making Metroid. The 1st person Metroid rumor stems from the fact that Retro is working on 2 games, a 3D action adventure and a 1st person shooter. Metroid is the former.
  • Hello McFly! Who's going to carry their TV to their friend's house to play against each other?? 27" TVs are plenty large enough for N64's 2x2 split screen and they're so cheap nowadays. Now, a network jack to hook up to my hub so I can download new skins for James Bond(even into memory, with ADSL, that's no problem), now THAT would be cool.
  • It might fit but the discs are put in from the top of the box so it wouldn't be too practical. It's a much more imaginative shape (for a game console) than a PS2.
  • .. why the hell does link look like a girl?! =)


    ------------
    CitizenC
  • Well this is good to hear (although we're getting a little offtopic). If you check out the MDB [classicgaming.com] there's a link to some guy who investigated Retro Studios' servers (no actual cracking involved) and managed to find evidence that they worked for Nintendo. It's pretty funny.
  • Considering that Nintendo categorically denies that there is any Metroid game in development, I wouldn't worry too much. I agree that it shouldn't be a FPS though if and when a new Metroid does come out.
  • I agree with everything else on your list but Mario 64? Come on, that game was horrible. It totally destroyed the normal flow of Mario games. It was akward to control, didn't have the usual powerups, and didn't even have Luigi. Need I say more?
  • At the time it was released, I hated it :-) Not looking back on it.
  • I think the reason they used Cartridges on the N64 was because of load times. Back then, 2x cd-roms were top of the line. Just compare the load time of an N64 game and a PSX game, and you will see why they chose cartridges back then.
  • funny how the guy who points out the article is a dupe is moderated as redundant.. either someone has a sense of humour or is really just stupid. :)

    coooolfish
  • My biggest complaint about the nintendo64 was the multiplayer capabilities. The split screen sucks unless you have a huge tv.

    What I think would kick serious ass was the network capability between cubes (maybe thats what the serial/parallel ports are for?). First of all, you don't have to render 4x as many characters on one box, and secondly you can't just glance across the screen to see where your opponent is.

    Now, the split screen is a feature they should keep, and I think its obvious the did given that there are 4 controllers/cube, but does anyone know if there is such a game console with this network multiplayer capability?
  • uh they won't, seeing as you know cobalt owns the whole cube thing...
  • Anyone have a clue what's up with those gameboys in the picture? It would have been nice of nintendo to explain what purpose they serve in conjunction with the gamecube.

  • Of all the recent and upcoming consoles, the Nintendo really is the most unimpressive piece of plastic crap I have seen in a long time. -Nintendo still believes that the gamer market consists of 10 year olds, but in a recent study in Australia the average gamer age turned out to be 22. I know it is something similar in Europe, probably higher (rpgs, strategy games, adventure games and simulators sell better in Europe than the US). US and Japan I don't know about, but I guess average age is closer to 22 than 10. Despite this, Nintendo sticks with a console design that owes more to Barbie's Playhouse than iMac. Don't you love that hot pink "Princess Peach" color scheme? It even has a cute little strap so you can take it over to your friends clubhouse! Why not giving buyers a free pacifier with every box while they are at it?

    Hahaha if you bothered to realise then NGC comes in a variety of colours other then Pink. Also the carry strap might not/probably won't even be on the the other country versions, because it is a very Japanese concept. But the main point is, who cares what it looks like, so long as it has awsome games then it can look like a cardboard box for all I care.

    Unlike PS2, PC and Xbox, it can't play normal DVDs.

    Thankgod I say, to be honest I do not want to have to fork out an extra 100 bucks just for some second rate DVD playback without a remote. By the time NGC is going to be released most consumers will own a DVD Player anyway. Plus it is one less thing that can break down/encounter problems, I buy a console to play games not watch movies.

    I can understand that companies worry about piracy, but in the long run I think Nintendo's new proprietary mini-CD format (cute, of course!) will lose them customers.

    Why? You have not backed that up. From what I have heard the mini-DVD (not CD) is cheap for developers and while it doesn't hold as much as a big sized DVD it still holds a huge amount (much more then CD). So I see nothing wrong with it. I actually like it, mini-DVD's sorta James Bond/Mission Impossible like....

    The hardware looks less impressive than PS2, Xbox, and even Dreamcasts and mid-range PCs. The controller has gotten pretty bad reviews. "Wavebird"...come on.

    It is clear to me that you have not bothered to read any articles. The hardware is easily on Par (if not better) them PSX2 (not to mention the fact that developers can't even develop correctly for the Emotion Engine on the PSX2, yet..)and it blows away the Dreamcast. I do not know much about the Xbox so I won't comment.
    The controller has actually recieved a lot of praise! Its button layout is apparently very very good and it is extreamlly comfortable to hold. The Wavebird isn't the default controller, it is a prototype wireless controller that Nintendo is also developing.

    Utterly uninspired titles. They keep basing 95% of the games on the bloody Mario characters that were worn out in the frigging 80s. Oh yeah, and I forgot, now they have Pokemon too to fill up the remaining 5%. -They only have one big developer, and that is Miyamoto or whatever his name is.

    How can you say uninspired titles? Mario64 was revolutionary, it paved the way for 3D console games. I agree Pokemon is a bit over the top but why not, kids love it and is a huge money maker, Nintendo would be fools not to flaunt it!
    One developer???? Are you insane?? Rare, Factor 5, Retro Studios and many many I could name, all are first rate developers!
    I think you need to craw back under the rock from whence you came!


  • Is ... (Score:1)

    by nsane ( 86431 )
    the CUBE the same as Dolphin?
  • I somehow _STRONGLY_ doubt this, Nintendo having a highprofile game such as Metroid made by a non-Japanese team is HIGHLY unlikely, actually, it not being made by Miyamoto is unlikely. Then theres the fact that you mentioned people who make PC games and have had no previous work with Nintendo or console games as far as I'm aware.
  • IGN [ign.com] has some nive piccys that convey the size of the controller, console, and the mini-DVDs.

    I trust Nintendo / Miyamoto when it comes to controller design. Now if only they made PC peripherals... Maybe I should invest in a N64 pad to USB converter...

    As a casual gamer, I'm hanging out for the cube much more than X-box or PS2. Gimme another Mario Kart, and watch me waste another year or two of my life :)

    --zaugg

  • For a bunch more information on the Gamecube, point your eyes at the screen and summon cube.ign.com [ign.com] into your browser window. You can also find a couple of jaw droppingly fantastic Star Wars Rogue Squadron videos here [ign.com].

    I for one intend to put myself into cryogenic storage until this thing is released next year as I just can't wait for the new Mario and Zelda games :-)

    Simon
    -
    Time is relative, lunchtime doubly so.
  • According to the "specifications" link at the above page, it's 150x110x161 mm. At 25.4mm/inch, that's about 6x4x6.4. The websites you've read seem to be right...
  • New "Constitution" signed

    psxndc

  • What?? Granted Nintendo didn't have _tons_ of great titles but Perfect Dark, Zelda, Banjo Kazooie, Mario Party, Mario Tennis, and Mario 64 all come to mind off the top of my head. You're doing yourself a disservice if you haven't played these.

    psxndc

    What do you think the "n" in my handle is from?

  • Thank you. :-)

    psxndc

  • At the time Mario was released, it was the epitome of what a 3d game should be. It was revolutionary. Looking at it now you might think it had horrible control, but as far as camera control, very few games match it. But its your opion and you're entitled to it.

    psxndc

  • it's not, and don't call me shirley.
  • Er, this happened about a month ago. Check out the connections between Apple and the GAMECUBE. http://www.themacjunkie.com/archives/8.23.00.ninte ndo.html [themacjunkie.com]
  • Apple has sued everyone else that has made anything even close looking to their products, is Nintendo next? I find it completely redicilous that they sued that many OEMs over "all in one" machines, they've been around even before Mac was. I think TRS-80 came out before the Lisa which were both "all in one" so mabye Tandy should sue apple. (rant alert eh?)
  • Actually, the game boy advance's hardware was finished quite a long time ago (3-5 years ago), the reason it never came out was because the regular gameboy came out with the gameboy pocket, which made oodles of money, thus, no need for the advance. in the meantime, they improved the battery life of the GBA. and actually, the best handheld ever was the TG-16 express. i liked the lynx though, i still play my brothers from time to time

  • Well that's easy enough to explain. The GBA is going to be usable as a controler for the cube, with its own little private screen. Think choosing a play for a sports game, and you'll get the idea.

    My biggest problem with the GBA is the lack of a decent number of buttons, I mean 4 just isn't cutting it anymore. Oh well.

  • They're using some sort of mini-CD, to reduce the odds of piracy. While that's a vaguely intelligent idea, they're also using a flip-top insertion design-- considering that this thing's designed for kids, and has a handle on the back (making it look like a lunchpail), I can guarantee that the CD lid will be the first thing broken.

    The last I heard, this thing was 4x4x6-- it's frigging tiny. No word on the size of the (Fisher-Price inspired) controller-- which seems to be designed not to fit in an adult hand properly.

    Personally, I'd have used a front-loading CD-cartridge design, myself. If they're intending for the user to truck it around wherever, that flip-top is a damn bad idea.

    And why on Bob's green earth is the damn thing so fugly?

  • I've heard rumours that the new Metroid is supposed to played from a first-person perspective. I can't speak for anyone else, but something that amounts to a Samus Quake mod just doesn't float my boat.
  • Man, finally a rendering of Meowth that looks good. Luigi looks absolutely awsome, isn't this the first time we have seen him since Super Mario World? He was missing from Mario 64. It looks like Luigi from the Super Mario cartoon show 3d-rendered, really cool. The effects on the ghost also look nice. Link looks real similar to what he did in Zelda: Ocania of Time, but the depth is deffinately there. I do have a problem of pictureing Link with an earring, though. I didn't get to see the movie, the sight is deffinately experiencing the slashdot effect, at least it hasn't completely crippled the site.
  • 4a. PowerPC processor based
    <O
    ( \
    XGNOME vs. KDE: the game! [8m.com]
  • The answer follows from these premises:
    • The Hylian body looks somewhat effeminate to closed-minded Americans. Link is a Hylian.
    • Males in the culture inside the game wear longer shirts than most Americans wear. Longer shirts look somewhat effeminate to closed-minded Americans. Link is a male in the culture inside the game.
    I'm not saying all Americans are closed-minded. I wouldn't care if Nintendo made Link look like one of the Precious Moments kids that inhabit RPGs <cough>Star Ocean [mailtribune.com]</cough>.
    <O
    ( \
    XGNOME vs. KDE: the game! [8m.com]
  • First of all, this story was already posted to slashdot a month ago when Spaceworld took place - the game show that just happened was the Tokyo Game Show. Secondly, the amazing Star Wars, X-Wing in the trenches of the Death Star, demo was in fact very playable - view some action here . It looks amazing. [ign.com]
  • Actually, the medium-quality jpegs make the graphics look BETTER, because they eliminate the jaggy edges that go with low-res console rendering.


    ------------------
  • Blockquoth the poster:

    Most of those games were just clones of each other.

    Not really. They are all in the same genre. You might as well say that 'Hexen' begat 'Unreal Tournament' so there's no reason to play the latter.

    Mario 64 is an action game. There's a lot of spatial problem solving and a lot of jumping on Goombas and getting coins. Zelda, on the other hand, is a wee bit more complicated. Link can't even jump with a button! On the other hand Mario has about 5 different kinds of jumps which you need to master to beat the game.

    The only similarities between Goldeneye and Perfect Dark is that they were both made by Rare (as well as Banjo-Kazzoie) and both are great games.

    I wouldn't call any of your 'similar' games "shit games" but then everyone has an opinion.

  • Well, the Lynx came out around the time (or a bit after) as the Turbo Grafix 16 hand-held, which played the same games as the console. But go figure, the GameBoy became the best selling video-game system in history.
  • There is no way that Nintendo could have ripped off Apple in this case. The G4 Cube was developed in complete secrecy. NGC was developed in complete secrecy. Nintendo's product was demonstrated less than a month after Apple's. No way they could have stolen Steve's idea and implemented that quickly. None.

    This happened over a month ago. Why is it newsworthy?

  • You gotta admit, S. Miyamoto's games may appear kiddie-like at times, but he never fails to serve up steaming hot, overflowing dishes of original gameplay. Contrast this with the PlayStation, where every other game seems to be "put a girl in hot pants and give her a gun". Tomb Raider, PE, Fear Effect, R. Evil, Dino Crisis... the list goes on and on.

    Nintendo is trying the same tactic with Perfect Dark. Hopefully this will help it shake its cutesy image and make room for various game types on Gamecube.

    Me, I own a PlayStation. Why? RPG's.
  • And I would be surprised if we see it before 2002, given Nintendo's track record.

    --

  • Most of those games were just clones of each other. Goldeneye begat Perfect Dark, Mario 64 begat Banjo-Kazooie and Zelda (Yes, the design and gameplay is very similar to Mario 64 in many respects)

    --

  • Looks to me like they're just asking to be sued [slashdot.org] by Apple [apple.com].
  • Apple didn't sue over all in one machines. They sued because certain companies made virtual duplicates of the visual appearance of their machines. It's a bit like if Ford came out with a Dodge Viper knockoff, they'd be sued into the ground and would deserve it. If they came up with a Viper competitor it would just be competition.

  • That's exactly the point I'm making about the N64 controller's layout. It may be comfortable, but no game can use all the buttons because their positions are too far apart. Maybe I've just got weird hands, but I find the PSX controller much more comfortable and practical. A pity, too. I absolutely love Rare's games.
  • >I trust Nintendo / Miyamoto when it comes to
    >controller design.

    Ugh. I don't. That wretched N64 controller is made of the weakest plastic on the planet. Not only that, but the buttons are so spread out that the crosspad and left shoulder buttons are useless. The analog stick is the most innacurate joystick that I've ever used.

    Now the Dual Shock controller for the Playstation is a work of art. You can swing that thing around, smashing it into walls, and it won't break. The buttons, all 10 of them (not including the sticks and crosspad :) ) are all real close together so you can reach everything at once. The two big, well-gripping analog sticks are wonderful for games like Apocalypse or Gran Turismo 1/2. Mucho kudos to Sony for making the Dual Shock the PS2 controller as well.

    And don't even get me started on the Dreamcast controller. Sega engineers should be shot.
  • Do you think nintendo will back on top? I just they come out with a cool ass metroid for this box.
  • What I meant by Crusoe-type technology was the "hardware in software" design. Portable chip design *still* uses legacy instruction sets, and the entire idea of Crusoe was not to emulate the architecture, but to emulate the instruction set. They also ended up emulating part of the architecture, as the north bridge is on die too, I believe. But the code-morphing software idea may be helpful by using a more powerful processor which is difficult to program for (like the Crusoe) and emulating a more standard instruction set. See also Nintendo's recent stance with the GameCube - they're interested in appeasing third-party developers, and the architecture lends a lot to that. Crusoe-type technology may allow them to use more powerful technology without sacrificing the ease of use.

    Or something like that...

    Patrick

  • Wow. "Old news for Nerds. Stuff that mattered". It's not as if we haven't heard this before [slashdot.org] or anything.

    What next? Will we see "Nolan Bushnell invents Pong" up on the front page?

  • Hey! You know what? Yesterday I was doing some gardening in my backyard. I lifted up this rock, and Hemos crawled out from underneath all pasty-looking. He then looked at the sun, cursed at me, and ran underneath my neighbour's back porch.

    Come on guys, I usually don't complain, but this is REDICULOUS. Even all the local news stations aired this story on the day it happened, and they're completely clueless towards this stuff.
  • And Slashdot has already covered it [slashdot.org].
  • As far as I can tell, a lid system is *easier* to break than a slot loader.
  • <humor>

    Has anybody else come to the conclusion that I have, namely that NonMindO's sprite editor must have crashed back in the late 1970's? The only thing they seem to be able to get out of it are Mario's. And that little splat of a character, Kirby.

    Heck, they even did a Tetris clone with Mario's

    It must run on Windows....

    </humor>
  • I really like how nintendo has stuck by the cartridge system even though every other company out there gave it up a long time ago.

    For console systems, I guess that it makes sense to use CDs (or their kin), they are cheap to produce and have high capacity. For portables, the only way to go is solid state. There is less chance of killing the game due to travel (scratches are a bitch) and the machine takes less power to run (therefore can runlonger on the same amount of power) because there are no motors. Witness the pocket gameboy running 10 hours on two triple-A batteries.

    I hope that the Nintendo GAMECUBE comes quickly to Europe, unlike the N64. It took forever to get here in Israel, and it *still* costs like $300. Madness I tell you! Madness!

    Rami
    --
  • Thats what i was thinking -- this news came out on shugashack, bluesnews, and even [h]ard|ocp had it over a month ago. Of course I submit a story about sex in space it gets rejected -- someone submits a story thats a month old -- it gets in. Maybe I should re submit?

  • Gimme another Mario Kart, and watch me waste another year or two of my life :)

    Mario Kart 64 had fifteen flaws in its gameplay. Mario Kart 3, for Game Boy Advance, returns to the old SMK style of gameplay with near-MK64 graphics (the GBA seems to have Sega Saturn-level graphics capabilities).


    <O
    ( \
    XGNOME vs. KDE: the game! [8m.com]
  • They are 8mm DVD-ROMs, capable of storing 1.5GB. No idea if they're "flippable" like normal DVDs.

    --

  • The GAMECUBE was shown to select people actually at SpaceWorld, the GameBoy Advanced was the main thing there for the public. Also, the GAMECUBE was NOT playable there (only Miyamoto played a few simple demos). It was on demo and to keep people wondering no one was allowed to hold the controller, only look at it. Way back at the "Europe's version of E3" headline I posted about the GAMECUBE being revealed but done in a way to not allow you to know much about the system and what it can really do. Just alot of eye candy. http://cube.ign.com [ign.com] has some great information too. The GAMECUBE will be revealed at E3 AND be playable THERE (not at Spaceworld) and be the main spotlight. Hemos, sorry to say, but this headline is Outta date.
  • It's not a CD3 - It's a 1.5GB mini-DVD.

  • ...is that convenient handle on the back. Think about how this ability to carry the console around with you - with one hand, mind you - will revolutionize gaming.

    Most gaming experts agree the greatest weakness of the playstation and the Dreamcast is immobility. For instance, my family used to live in Ohio. When we moved a year ago, we had to leave my Playstation behind. Why? It doesn't have a handle. The movers just stood there, staring at it, saying "I'm sorry sir, I just don't see a place to grab the thing."

    I know Microsoft is still working on their X-box design, but even if they started now I doubt they could develop a workable handle for their machine by next fall, as Nintendo is believed to have a 2-year lead in plastic handle technology.
  • It'll be a while yet. The Japanese/USA launches are slated for mid to late 2001... I havent heard any info on the Euro launch... Of course, keep in mind that Nintendo is known for missing/slipping dates, often by a wide margin.
  • This was already covered a month ago [slashdot.org], on August 24th, the day after the unveiling (August 23rd).

    Sorry guys...

    -- Piracy is a vicitmless crime, like punching someone in the dark.

  • Those CD-ROMs [nintendo.com] that it uses... maybe it is because of the image, but (to me) they look a little different than normal CD-ROMs....

    Perhaps they are trying to curb what happened with the Playstation, in terms of duplication.

    There is also the fact that Nintendo all but invented the idea of licensing games (avoiding the Atari anyone-can-make-a-videogame fiasco - see earlier Slashdot articles on the topic) -- perhaps developers will also have to license the ability to use the proprietary CD-ROM technology or format... I suppose this would be no different than it is now with the cartridge-based N64.

    Lucas



    --
    Spindletop Blackbird, the GNU/Linux Cube.
  • Checklist:
    1. cube
    2. small
    3. colored
    4. fast
    5. quiet
    6. easy to use

      How long will it be before Apple's lawyers come knocking at another door in Redmond?

  • Re:The GameCube CD-ROMs - Proprietary? (Score:3)

    by fiziko ( 97143 ) on Wednesday September 27, 2000 @03:27AM (#751111) Homepage
    The "specifications" link from the page lists capacity as about 1.5GB.

  • Graphics Qualitty (Score:3)

    by scott1853 ( 194884 ) on Wednesday September 27, 2000 @03:04AM (#751112)
    Can anybody explain to me why ALL screenshots for console systems are captured in medium quality jpeg? Aren't they support to be advertising how great the graphics are?

  • Playable? (Score:3)

    by nigelb0 ( 234670 ) on Wednesday September 27, 2000 @02:54AM (#751113) Homepage
    Actualy, the Mario128 demo was only pre-rendered. There were no playable Gamecube demos at Spaceworld.

    The Gamecube itself though sounds wonderful, and a 400Mhz PPC processor to boot.

  • Cartridge Vs. CD (Score:4)

    by Accipiter ( 8228 ) on Wednesday September 27, 2000 @04:53AM (#751114)
    Looks like Nintendo finally gave in, and switched to an optical format. Back when the Nintendo 64 was still in early development (waaay back when it was called "Project Reality"), speculation was running rampant about how Nintendo just might stick with cartridges, and not switch to CD-based formats.

    Nintendo announced that they were indeed continuing with the Cartridge trend, to the suprise of many. They stated that the CD-ROM format "does not include enough interactivity."

    Looks like they've reversed their position. CDs are much cheaper to manufacture, much cheaper to package, and can hold a lot more information than a cartridge. (If you notice, it appears the CD size isn't standard. It doesn't look quite as big as a regular CD, but it doesn't look quite as small as one of the Mini-CDs that your CD-ROM tray still supports. I'm guessing that this format is either a "new" CD size, or it is in fact one of the Mini-CDs.)

    -- Give him Head? Be a Beacon?

  • Re:Playable? (Score:4)

    by x24 ( 81159 ) on Wednesday September 27, 2000 @02:59AM (#751115)
    Nope, the only pre-rendered demos were Metroid and I believe one other (can't remember which). And Mario 128 was "playable", at least in the same way as the face in Mario 64 that you could stretch. Miyamoto was controlling it in real time.

  • This isn't news. It can't be (Score:5)

    by Emil Brink ( 69213 ) on Wednesday September 27, 2000 @02:56AM (#751116) Homepage
    Um, according to this page [dailyradar.com] over at Daily Radar [dailyradar.com], Spaceworld 2000 was on August 23. That's more than a month ago, dammit! Surely, this can't be news to many?

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