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Drought? What drought?

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epicac:
I was just reading a thread on a different forum where a Gamecube owner was complaining about a lack of titles. The idea that there’s not enough quality games on this system is extremely foreign to me. I admit I’m relatively new to the GC lifestyle (having gotten my own last December), but from where I’m sitting it seems like there’s so much to go around I’ll never have time to finish it all.

I’m a peculiar situation gaming-wise since I’m a college student with no job (maximum free time), and because of scholarships I have a sizable income to blow on entertainment. Since getting the Cube I’ve bought nearly all the games ranked near the top of GameRankings through internet sites and auctions. Surprisingly I didn’t go broke, and there’s still a handful of games I wouldn’t mind owning.

I was able to afford all these great games, but I feel like I’ll never have time to play them all. The only games I’ve put any serious time into have been Super Mario Sunshine (finished), Metroid Prime (35%), and SSX Tricky (huge high scores, but not finished). At this rate it’ll take me all year just to beat the games I already own, much less upcoming time-consuming releases like Master Quest, Skies of Arcadia Legends, and The Wind Waker.

Depending on how picky you are, if you bought every game you wanted to play you’d either run out of money or run out of time to play them. So long as you’re not one of those, “I only buy 9.0+ games” people you’re likely to fall into one of these two categories. What’s really scary is that when asked what 2003 games I’m looking forward to, I can easily blurt out 10-15 titles that I have an idea will be worthy of a buy. Where will I find time to play all those games?

Even though the Gamecube library is the smallest of the three major consoles, it’s still big enough to keep me perpetually gaming, perhaps even after Gamecube’s demise. I don’t think I’ve met a person who genuinely starved for a good GC title.

Sean:
Well said, epicac!  Seriously, one has to wonder whether or not most people who buy a lot of games actually PLAY THEM.  A handful of good/great games can go very, very long way, if you take your time and savor them, and ESPECIALLY if you have a lifestyle that is well-rounded enough that you aren't merely playing videogames constantly.  I don't mean to sound rude by saying that, but just to make a point--of course, I don't think it's the case that most game-buyers (who aren't necessarly gamers) simply beat their games too quickly, although I guess there is a case to be made about the simplification of modern games.

I've often used the argument, "Yeah, XBOX, which is a decent enough system, to be fair, has more games than GameCube.  So what?"  The fact is, my belief is that the GCN has a good-game to bad-game ratio that's definitely more good than the XBOX.  In fact, of the exclusives on XBOX, I can only think of two or three games that are out that I truly MUST play: Halo, Panzer Dragoon Orta (what Saturn owner could turn this down?), and the Shenmue II remake--even though I have the DC UK import.  Couple that with Shenmue III and a few others, and the XBOX would certainly keep me busy for a while.  However, the first and second party Nintendo titles ALONE (and there are many 7/10 and 8/10 games from third parties that warrant a buy very much) are more than enough to a) bring much fun into your home for a very long time and b) prove quantifiably that Nintendo is working harder than ever before.

Your comments about gamers who only buy the 9's and 10's were very apt.  First off, a lot scores are just badly rationed out, and very often (as at IGN, for instance) do not gel at all with the written review.  I dream of the day when everyone reads every word of reviews, skips the scores, and the scoring system dies out for good.  It never will, I guess, but it never hurts to dream.  A lot of those 7's and 8's are true gems.  Heck, I can't say how many different critics have given some of my favorite Treasure games "mediocre" 6's and 7's.  If I went by the reviews sometimes, I'd miss out on something truly great.  

Gamefreak:
I don't agree with your reasoning....I only buy 9.0+ games (ever since SNES days in elem. school) and I still run out of time to play my games. And I only have 5 GCN games. I bought my gamecube about a month after it came out. Let's see....I've finished Smash bros. (but it's still my most played game), finished Rogue Leader, 92% or so done with Eternal Darkness first time, 36 shines in Mario, and have 2 more bosses in Metroid Prime. I'm about 1/4 through Metroid Fusion, not even close to finished with Advance Wars, and not even close with A link to the past (but i beat it on SNES). I finished Warcraft III but play online, and halfway through GTA3 on PC. And I have about 2 months to get all that done before getting owned by Zelda. Trust me, just 9.0+ games are enough to keep anyone busy. And also those games are usually the longest games. High school keeps me pretty busy of course though, and I'm in all honors and college level courses. So homework eats up a lot of time, and I'm not the only one. And if you don't have homework you have jobs (maybe some college kids excepted)...And if you are an unemployed college dude you might not have the money to buy games. (my grandfather gives me money for no reason, and I got thousands set aside, so I'm set to go for a while). Many high school kids won't have enough money to buy all the games they want either. (in elementary school though me and my friends were pretty good with the whole parents buying you games part...)

edit: when I say 9.0+ games I mean 9.0+ according to ME I usually play games before I buy (cept for Zelda or something of course)

CitizenKaine:
I dont particularly see a drought, but I do finish games quickly usually.  Its pretty rare that it will take me longer than a week to beat a game.    (I beat mario sunshine after a day and a half, hated the ending.)  Some games are good enough to play twice.  Im going through Metroid Prime again at a more leisurely pace.  I think what an earlier poster mentioned about simplification of games was pretty close to the mark.  Im not saying I could do any better mind you... Im sure its a very difficult balance to strike.  A developer would probably prefer to have an easier game that people will play as opposed to one that becomes frustrating enough that people dont finish it.  Still, there are a lot of games out, certainly more than I can afford, now if blockbuster would just carry more then 10 of them, I could actually experience them. heh

Kaine

Sean:
GameFreak, I think, by saying you still don't have time to play games and you only buy 9's, you're backing up what we're saying even more.  You buy the "best" and still don't consider yourself totally without things to do.  If you go one step further and can afford to get the 7's and 8's, too, it's compounded that much more.

And, Citizen Kaine (great name), I will admit that hardcore gamers who get games like Metroid Prime tend to beat them very quickly (at least, in fewer days, if not fewer hours), but often those hardcore gamers play those sorts of games more than once to "100%" the thing, you know?  Anyway, I think we're all pretty much in agreement here, when you get to the bottom of it.  No need in overexplaining it all...  

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