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GameCube (Games) Entertainment Games

Nintendo's Next Seems on Track, Despite Reports 78

Posted by simoniker from the storm-in-teacup dept.
KaiEl writes "The Video Game Ombudsman has a breakdown of the myriad reports stemming from a Nihon Keizai Shimbun story (picked up by GameCube Europe) that says Nintendo 'has decided not to release a new video game console to follow its current GameCube for the time being,' and 'will instead diversify games and sell newly developed peripherals mainly for the GameCube.' Despite the existence of some breathless initial stories from IGN and 1UP, this story may already be dead in the water thanks to firm denials by both Nintendo of America and its Japanese parent, Nintendo Co. Ltd. Still, just the intimation that Nintendo may be planning to sit out the next round of the console race will surely have the Internet rumor mill buzzing."
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Nintendo's Next Seems on Track, Despite Reports More

Nintendo's Next Seems on Track, Despite Reports

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  • Where else is there to go? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by dTaylorSingletary ( 448723 ) on Tuesday February 10, 2004 @12:17AM (#8234593) Homepage
    The Gamecube is the most solid system Nintendo has yet released. Metroid Prime shows off its full capabilities, and I really don't know where they could go from there. What more do people want out of a home console system, besides more games? Why battle a war that is really about shiny things? Think back to the days of NES, the wide-range of game selection available both good and bad (as well as horribly mediocre and superb beyond all belief) -- why not concentrate on the system it has now? I have been nothing but impressed with the capabilities of the Gamecube. I can't imagine a system being more able to provide an entertaining gaming experience, within the current framework of the concept.

    Until a true revolution in gaming has arrived, ripe and ready for consumption, what need is there for yet another console? It seems to me that Sony and Microsoft at this point want to release new systems because their current ones are incapable of handling the demands of the games they want to create, or want created for them. I do not see Nintendo yet having this problem with the Gamecube.

    It's as if the gaming industry thinks that to remain relevant they have to release a new console every three years. Let the damn things breath. The public needs to be able to take a breath before it can be taken away by a "new gaming experience."
    • You're right in that there seems to be an unnecessary rush to get new consoles out to market. They aren't giving existing consoles time to mature properly like they used to.

      NES debuted in North America in what, 1984? Followed by the SNES in 1993 I think? 9 years or so between the two.

      Some of the later NES games outdid some (early) SNES or Genesis games for how good they looked.

      On the flip side though, there is someplace to go. Yes, Metroid Prime looks beautiful (though I disagree about that being the

    • Re:Where else is there to go? (Score:5, Interesting)

      by b0r0din ( 304712 ) on Tuesday February 10, 2004 @12:53AM (#8234767)
      While I'm not a big fan of the gamecube in many ways, such as its fairly ugly control scheme (maybe i'm just a playstation snob) I love the sort of family/party gaming attitude it brings to the table. My girlfriend can play the same games, unlike a lot of the stuff out for XBox and Playstation (although Sony is pretty diverse, they also make games like Manhunt) Old school Mario will not be soon forgotten.

      Still, I think it's sad that the Playstation has really changed the face of games, to the point where now 3D is required in every game. Let's face it, there is more control, but it's harder to get into a game now when there is no standard between three or four games, R1 moves you left in one game, analog stick in another, R2 in yet another...it makes it hard to get into a game and be able to come back to it after even a few days if you've forgotten the controls.

      Maybe it's the old school in me, but what happened to more 2D games? I highly doubt that everything has been exhausted in this department. And why has there not been a successful VR platform or a big change in accessories? DDR basically uses the old nintendo pad. I was really hoping by now there'd be a huge improvement in peripherals. Eye Toy is an example of some innovation, so is feedback. I think the short-lived product cycles are stifling innovation in these categories.

      For now, I think graphics are respectable. So why not go from here and begin to innovate the whole genre? Make some more interesting games. Take a page from Dreamcast and make quality games, not a host of crappy sequels.

      • Re:Where else is there to go? (Score:5, Interesting)

        by samdu ( 114873 ) <samdu@@@ronintech...com> on Tuesday February 10, 2004 @01:26AM (#8234909) Homepage
        Take a page from Dreamcast and make quality games, not a host of crappy sequels.

        Yeah, that worked out well for Sega, everyone do that. :) Actually, I love my Dreamcast and it does have a much better stable of diverse games than any other console, but you HAVE to make the sequels and you HAVE to have EA Sports in order to support the console for the other interesting stuff. Besides, some sequels are keen, like SOCOM II and the Rogue Squadron games on the 'Cube (they just keep getting better - I think they may be tapped out, though).

        As for 2Ders, you DID buy Viewtiful Joe, didn't you? If you didn't, you forfeit all rights to complain about the lack of 2D games.

      • Re:Where else is there to go? (Score:4, Insightful)

        by caitsith01 ( 606117 ) on Tuesday February 10, 2004 @01:59AM (#8235029) Journal
        "maybe i'm just a playstation snob"

        Are you serious? The PS2 controller has got to be one of the worst ever... only eclipsed my MS's monolith.

        I just wish Nintendo had stuck closer to the N64 design - now *that* was a controller.
        • Irony: Microsoft's Sidewinder series of PC joysticks and gamepads (also includes wheels and headsets) are some of those most comfortable controllers ever. They fit your hand every bit as well as the GameCube controller, except nobody would be able to complain that they're too small.

          And instead of following in that tradition, they decided to take inspiration from forest wildlife [penny-arcade.com] when it became really important to have a single, great controller design.
          • I have a MS SideWinder gamepad. It's a little too big for my (Scandinavian) hands, my hand hurts after a while, and it's hard to use the directional pad without accidentally pressing two directions at once. I regret buying it; should have gone with Logitech...
          • I couldn't agree more. I've always raved about the Sidewinder (the old version...not that silver USB turd). The only complaint I have about the Sidewinder is the D-pad. My guess is they tried adding a couple analog sticks to the Sidewinder to create the X-Box controller and it simply got out of hand (pun semi-intended). I also think the N64 controller, while not as comfortable as the Sidewinder, was very innovative in how it gives you several different ways to grip the controller.
      • Question: If the Playstation was what made it "required" for games to have 3D, why is it that the original "standard" for a 3D platformer (Mario 64) was a Nintendo game?
        • Question: If the Playstation was what made it "required" for games to have 3D, why is it that the original "standard" for a 3D platformer (Mario 64) was a Nintendo game?

          Because although the PS1 was released far ahead of the N64, no one had really released a solid 3D platformer before Mario 64. Anyone that released a 3D platformer at all was trying to figure out how to do it well, and missed in one way or another.

          The PS1 really pulled a lot of market share by having an arcade version that meant easy port
        • I remember back when the original Playstation was new on the market there was a lot of talk about it not having the horsepower to handle "true" 3D a la the Nintendo 64. The first batch of PSX games, correspondingly, were either fully 2D, or a sort of limited 3D/2D hybrid (the Crash Bandicoot games, for example). I seem to recall the fuss over the now basically forgotten Croc, which was the first major Playstation game to pull off the "total 3D" style of Mario 64 reasonably well.

          Still, how soon people forge
      • Interestingly the other day I noticed a PS2 controller to Gamecube converter [game.net].
      • What I like best about the Gamecube controller is the button layout. It's much easier (for me, at least) to distinguish bewtween different shaped buttons than different colored buttons.
    • I was going to post a comment about the same thing, but you've hit the nail right on the head. Let sony and Microsoft worry about the next big thing in game consoles. We're at a point where these machines are incremental advances of 32 bit gaming. Outside of drastically improved graphical polygon pushing capability, the gaming genres haven't moved much beyond what the 3DO, PSX, and Saturn accomplished in the 1990s. Nintendo is wise to polish the GameCube and diversify its current library rather than drop th
    • Yup, I agree. I just bought a Gamecube and Metroid Prime and put the PlayStation 2 away for a while. The first time I walked through a patch of ferns at the edge of a misty lake, and watched the condensation from the waterfall appear on my helmet visor, I was amazed. No slowdown glitches, no aliasing problems... The graphics are fantastic, like Riven or Myst III: Exile, except all in true 3D with real time lighting. Really, let's be reasonable, what more do you need?

      The cube is a lovely piece of hardware t

  • Come on you shills, buy a gamecube! (Score:5, Funny)

    by caitsith01 ( 606117 ) on Tuesday February 10, 2004 @12:24AM (#8234630) Journal
    I mean, seriously, for $100 you get:

    - a reasonably powerful games console
    - the satisfaction of not supporting M$ or $ony
    - the pleasure of an object of unusual grace and beauty
    - a console 1/100th the size of an X-Box controller
    - Pikmin, Metroid Prime, F-Zero, Monkey Ball
    - a large dose of Japano-chic

    And for all you Apple fanboys/girls out there, come on, Nintendo couldn't be any more like Apple:

    - poses as heroic independent company adrift in a sea of evil corporate competitors
    - main executives have funny names and wear silly clothes
    - console is underpowered but 'easier to use'
    - designers actually thought about what the final product would look like
    - relatively fewer titles available, but the ones you can get are 'better'
    - a variety of brightly coloured designs to choose from
    - you can connect an even smaller, more expensive object to the main system for an enhanced experience
    • the satisfaction of not supporting M$ or $ony... Nintendo couldn't be any more like Apple:

      Please recheck your facts. Nintendo is as bad as $M and $ony. $hin-tendo is as money hungry as any other corporation, and as I recall they made deals with stores such as Toy R U$ to perpetuate a monopoly that pushed competitive groups out of their market. It wasn't till many lawsuits and regulations that Nintendo finally lost its stranglehold on the market.

      I also don't find satisfaction in deny microsoft or sony

      • Hey, relaxxx bloke.

        I know it's not underpowered, I was kidding around about the general perception. I mean, relative to the X-Box it's bad for polys, good for textures. I'm happy with it.

        Also, I know what Nintendo are like, and indeed this was actually part of my semi-ironic comparison with Apple, who are the most monopolistic pimps on the face of the earth. Nintendo's own reluctance to accept competition has and will cost them very dearly.

        As for MS... I do take a great deal of satisfaction in denying th

        • Re:Come on you shills, buy a gamecube! (Score:4, Interesting)

          by samdu ( 114873 ) <samdu@@@ronintech...com> on Tuesday February 10, 2004 @01:38AM (#8234965) Homepage
          the PS2 is a heaving load of junk and it pisses me off that so many pathetic 16 year olds are so overcome by the kewl-factor that the PS2 routinely outsells two much better consoles.

          The PS2 - I wouldn't call it junk. There are some truly stellar games that look absolutely georgous on it (ICO comes to mind). But it does lag behind the other two consoles in raw power and graphics prowess. That's because it was released a year ahead of the other two machines, and frankly, the graphical difference is not mind-boggling. This weakness is also its strength. Because it had a year on the other two consoles, it was able to build a great library of games (and that it plays PS1 games doesn't hurt). What it comes down to is games and the PS2 has them in spades.

          I would say the biggest weakness the GC had is that it can't play DVDs

          I'd agree whole-heartedly, but less for the reason you mention (it is a good reason, though). Probably the biggest complaint publishers had about the N64 was that Nintendo hard-headedly stuck to the proprietary cartridge format that held less data and was far more expensive than the CD-ROM format that everyone else had moved to. Well, with the GameCube, they are still operating with a proprietary format. It still cost more to publish games on those mini-discs than if they had chosen a standard DVD drive. The next machine from the big N had better have some sort of standard storage medium, or third parties are going to remain reluctant to develop for it.
          • The PS2 - I wouldn't call it junk. There are some truly stellar games that look absolutely georgous on it (ICO comes to mind).

            I think he's referring to something else when calling the PS2 'junk.' The XBox, while not exactly elegant, is basically a decent PC and has a decent overall design. The 'Cube, with its beautifully integrated design and customized PowerPC processor is a really tight little piece of engineering.

            The PS2, however, is a mess. How many processors do you have to program in parallel
            • I think you really should take a deep look at the PS2. It's hardware is _great_. Several processors that's very good at doing their own thing. (PC's are somewhat similar these days, a CPU , a GPU, Sound processors, even the network cards are doing processing(TCP checksumming, some with crypto accelerators))
              RAM almost at the speed of the processor, mostly eliminating the processor caches. 128bit is very nice for multimedia.

              I'd also like to know what hardware features are holding back PS2 games so much, comp
              • I'd also like to know what hardware features are holding back PS2 games so much, compared to the other consoles.

                The PS2 has less power than any other home console of the current generation (including the DreamCast). On top of that, many graphics features that were well-supported and documented in the hardware of the other systems (again including the DreamCast) were either unsupported or poorly documented in the PS2. The most obvious of these (especially in the early titles) is FSAA, which Sony eventually
                • Not only that, but the PS2 lacks any real support for texture compression. So in addition to its slim resources, it has to use fancy tricks for coloring textures, and the results aren't pretty. Such is the reason why many games are hindered with terrible green or brown hinting in textures. The system relies on 8 bit color tables, like those in 256 color gif files. Games like Metal Gear Solid come to mind, where everything is green. Some could say that it fits in from an artistic standpoint and blend's
                • The PS2 is less powerful than the Dreamcast? Bullshit. Please back up your comments with verifiable facts or shut up.
          • I would say the biggest weakness the GC had is that it can't play DVDs

            But nowadays, everyone has a DVD player, so I don't think it hurts it anymore.

            Well, with the GameCube, they are still operating with a proprietary format. It still cost more to publish games on those mini-discs than if they had chosen a standard DVD drive. The next machine from the big N had better have some sort of standard storage medium, or third parties are going to remain reluctant to develop for it.

            You mean, something like a s
          • It still cost more to publish games on those mini-discs than if they had chosen a standard DVD drive.

            That's only because Nintendo charges higher licensing fees. There might be a few cent difference in actual production costs, but nothing significant.

            PlayStation games aren't made on normal discs either. You have to get the discs pressed by Sony. Their discs just happen to be closer to standard discs than Nintendo's, but there isn't much of a difference between any of the three. Remember, Panasonic release
        • yeah, I started to catch onto the humor of what you were saying towards the end. Right about where I said, Now mind you that I find the humor in your statements.

          heh. You got some funny ideas. 12 year olds using money obtained from drug dealing or worse, selling copies of Windows I would say the biggest weakness the GC had is that it can't play DVDs

          I dissagree with that. Lots of people claim the lack of DVD support is a drawback. I doubt that, you can get DVD players so cheap now, that they are practica

          • Well, there's one more point to make about GameCube's similarity to Apple, and it's the presence of a PowerPC CPU (not to mention the cube form factor).

            Still... the lack of DVD functionality can be a minor drawback if one is cramped for space, power outlets, or wiring acumen. It can be quite handy to have a single system do everything. On the other hand, it's better in the long run to have a few systems, each doing something well.

            But I wanted to point out something related to Dr. Doombender's assessment
            • My GameCube and DVD player could fit twice in even a PS2, let alone an XBox. DVD player was also less than $50 and has some nice features you won't find in a non-dedicated device.

              So I think that in this case it's better in the short run too, really.
        • "PS2 is a heaving load of junk"

          Exactly. I know it plays great games, and Ico looks great, but the fact is the failure rate on the PS2 is incredibly high. It's quite rare that a PS2 can read CD games, DVD games, audio CDs, and movie DVDs after a couple years. I payed over $200 for my PS2, and it pisses me off that I can no longer play any game with a blue-backed disc.

          The warrenty is 30 days. I can pay Sony, and shipping both ways to fix something that shouldn't wear out in less than 2 years. Righ

    • Buy a GameCube? (Score:3, Interesting)

      by Anonymous Coward
      $100 dollars for all you say doesn't sound bad ... except, the games are still $50 a pop, right?

      I'm a very casual gamer, and that's what's keeping me from the cube. My first console was the Dreamcast near the end of its cycle, and I picked up tons of game for $25 dollars or less. A month or two ago I finally decided to get something else, and I really thought about the 'cube, but the cost of the games was the main thing against it.

      The second thing was that I really wanted to play more RPGs, which there we
      • $100 dollars for all you say doesn't sound bad ... except, the games are still $50 a pop, right?

        3 of the 4 games he mentioned can easily be found for $20-30 a pop, and there are plenty more that can be found in the same range.

        I was hoping that GameCube would have cheaper games, but their "player's choice" or whatever it is called is still in the $30 dollar range and there aren't that many of them

        Most of the "Player's Choice" titles can be found for less than $30 as well, especially if you're willing
      • If you were willing to buy used games, you can often save a fortune on them. One of my friends has very good luck with buying games on ebay [ebay.com]. (hopefully that link will work) Used games can often sell for under $20 even.

        Or you can always do things like check for used games at places like EB, or your more local game shops. Other than that though, I do agree that the games are expensive. But they are worth going for if you ask me. $100 for the console itself isn't a bad price, and they've got games tha

      • Re:Buy a GameCube? (Score:4, Informative)

        by 13Echo ( 209846 ) on Tuesday February 10, 2004 @11:43AM (#8238676) Homepage Journal
        I got many of my Gamecube games at value prices:

        Pikmin - $19.99
        Eternal Darkness - $14.99
        Ikaruga - $19.99
        Starfox - $19.99
        Resident Evil 0 - $19.99

        And many more. I think that even Metroid is close to that price range right now, as are many of the other games that I once paid full price for.

  • In Other News... (Score:3, Informative)

    by illuminatedwax ( 537131 ) <stdrange@alUUUum ... inus threevowels> on Tuesday February 10, 2004 @12:53AM (#8234766) Journal
    This story from Yahoo! [yahoo.com] should shed some light on the situation.

    --Stephen

    • Good article. I noticed this bit:

      Nintendo President Satoru Iwata has said on numerous occasions that the video game industry has started to alienate fans by developing games that are too complex and too heavily dependent on graphics.

      As I a Nintendo fan-boy that has owned ever Nintendo console since I was 12 years old, I'm starting to find myself more and more dissatisifed with the company. Don't get me wrong, I really do enjoy my GameCube, and I have a ton of fun with the big games for the system.

      • I think there might be a distinction between simplicity and challenging. Super Monkey Ball is as simple as it gets. You use the analog stick to make the monkey move (technically, you're changing the pitch of the platform, but that's besides the point.) But the game is anything but easy when you get into the more challenging levels. I spent many hours playing that game before I was able to beat all the levels. The game no longer as challenging as it once was. But I still pick it up an play it every onc

        • I'm a proud owner of SMB2 and I love the game. You make a good point in terms of a game that is simple, yet challenging. However, the game I play the most often, and have since I purchased it, would be Soul Calibur II. It's a rather complex fighting game with astounding graphics. And it's a favorite of my friends too.

          It also doesn't seem to fall into Nintendo's notion of what a great game should be. There general focus seems to drift further and further from what I'm getting interested in as I get

  • Excellent News I say (Score:3, Interesting)

    by metroid composite ( 710698 ) on Tuesday February 10, 2004 @02:37AM (#8235202) Homepage Journal
    The Super Nintendo was a good jump above the NES. The PSX and the N64 allowed 3D, though at the expense of either low space or long loading times. The PS2 and GCN got rid of the above weaknesses, and have very detailed 3D already. Seriously, WHY buy a new system when I pretty much can't tell the difference between the graphics?

    I've been hoping this would happen, and now that it has I'll probably go out and buy a GameCube. Nintendo: don't upgrade systems until there's VR or lots of HDTVs around or something to make it worthwhile. I'd be quite happy hanging on to the same system for 10 years...like my old GameBoy actually....

    • Did you RTFA?
    • The PS2 and GCN got rid of the above weaknesses

      .. have you ever played DragonBall Z: Budokai on the PS2? that game has to have the SLOWEST loading time for any game I've ever come across (even longer than Halo between levels, which at the very least is justifiable).

      While I'd agree that the graphics capabilities of the different consoles are mostly equivalent, I'd say the graphics quality differs between games because of the developers.
      Some are too lazy or unwilling to tune the graphics for a specific pl

    • While the GCN (for the most part) solved the weaknesses it suffered with the N64, the PS2 is a shoddy, crappy ass upgrade from the PS1. The thing that saves the PS2 is by developers coding either very, very, very good game engines (Final Fantasy and the Medal of Honor series) or very, very, very bad game engines (DBZ:Budokai, pretty much ever first-gen game of the system, EyeToy).

      Could we have some upgrades? Anti-aliasing? Hardware specs that the Dreamcast outdoes? No decrease (and in some cases longer) in

  • some thoughts (Score:2, Interesting)

    by chadamir ( 665725 )
    Well upon reading through some of the replies to this post, I want to bring some thoughts of mine.

    1) the subject of realism in games: Too some, realism in terms of graphics, might be only second to gameplay, but to many it's important. If a game we're somehow able to look like an hdtv football game on television, it would be a vast improvement to a lot of people.
    2) the subject of hdtv: Someone said they should wait for hdtvs to be more prevalent, well i hate to break it to you, but they are. At this
    • I'm sorry buddy, but HDTV's are most definitely not common. What kind of HDTV can you buy for 400-500 dollars? Basically, an HDTV that is not really any better than the TV you have now. The only compelling reason to buy an HDTV right now is if you want a big screen TV and that is going to cost you some money. Not to mention that most of the HDTV's that are being sold right now can't even do 1920x1080. If I'm going to drop that kind of change on a television set, I better be damn sure it is going to las
    • Yea I'm saving, but not for a $500 "HD"TV. My first HDTV is going to do 1920x1080.

  • Lifespans (Score:3, Insightful)

    by fwitness ( 195565 ) on Tuesday February 10, 2004 @07:15AM (#8236145)
    I completely agree that there is currently no need for a new generation of consoles. The key demographic in the last few years has been the 18-25 (male of course) range that Sony has tapped into. Those "kids" are getting older and are not as impulsive as they used to be despite having more disposable income. Frankly, I'm tired of upgrading my console faster than my PC only to have to wait another year after release for quality games.

    All three consoles have plenty of horsepower, are for the most part net-enabled, and developers have created the tools to make excellent games on them. Unless someone can give me an irrefutable reason why the current crop of consoles *can't* do something, I'm sticking with these. Prettier faces and industry buzzwords don't count.
  • According to THIS news story [yahoo.com], Nintendo IS preparing a new console.

    Japanese video game maker Nintendo Co Ltd said on Tuesday it would launch a next-generation home console in 2005 or 2006 and denied a newspaper report that it would delay development of a successor to its GameCube console.

    The Nihon Keizai business daily said Nintendo would delay the launch of a next-generation game machine, but the Kyoto-based company said development of the next version of the GameCube was proceeding as planned.

    "Other

  • ...do nothing to the GC in general, but do add support for digital audio, component video and ethernet (and therefore open the gaming market to networked games). You can get the above as standards or add-ons for the xbox and the PS2, and while I will admin the GC is geared towards the family than the power-gamer, adding support for these things, even if after-market items, would make the GC just that much better.

    And fixing the damn GBA game cartiridge reader as to make it tons easier to remove and insert

    • And fixing the damn GBA game cartiridge reader as to make it tons easier to remove and insert new cartridges. The GBA reader - ingenious (to make the GC even more adaptable), but it's design leaves much to be desired.

      Insert: push in the cartridge.
      Remove: flip the switch on the right hand size.

      What needs to be easier?

    • Re:If nothing else... (Score:4, Informative)

      by DavidLeblond ( 267211 ) <me@dCOFFEEavidleblond.com minus caffeine> on Tuesday February 10, 2004 @09:34AM (#8237004) Homepage
      I thought Gamecube already had a component video cable. Sure, its sold seperately but its available.

    • Re:If nothing else... (Score:1, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward
      The GameCube already has component video and ethernet add-ons available. Support for digital audio would have to added internally, so I doubt that's even possible as an add-on (you'd just be converting the audio signal that's already coming out, which would be pointless).

      If you want better HDTV support and Dolby Digital, it's going to take a new console to get it. Sorry, you can't have it both ways. ;)

  • My prediction... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by JMZero ( 449047 ) on Tuesday February 10, 2004 @10:26AM (#8237587) Homepage
    Nintendo will hook up with "the beast" for a co-branded console - the XCube. It will be backwards compatible with the GameCube (it has a closely architecture), it will have easily the best first party support (bringing Nintendo brands and MS dollars), and a flabbergasting amount of power (better, proven architecture from IBM/ATI - more money to make it fly).

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