Post by: Penguin_Of_Thyme on September 14, 2011, 12:10:10 PM
Take a trip down memory lane with an online re-release of the Planet GameCube Japan Experience 2001, featuring classic PGC coverage of the Japanese GameCube launch.
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/feature/27830
Long, long ago, when bandwidth was scarce and grammatically challenged cats reigned supreme, an independent online magazine staffed by and written for Nintendo enthusiasts provided around-the-clock coverage of an upcoming purple powerhouse known as GameCube.
Today marks the tenth anniversary of Nintendo GameCube's Japanese release. Although this website changed its name from Planet GameCube to Nintendo World Report to reflect the times, the Nintendo GameCube was and, in many ways, still is its heart and soul. From Radio Free Nintendo's RetroActive features on last-gen classics to our coverage of promising Nintendo titles such as Luigi's Mansion 2 and the elusive Pikmin sequel for Wii U, GameCube's spirit lives on.
Nintendo GameCube—more formally written as NINTENDO GAMECUBE and abbreviated as GCN according to Nintendo's style guide—was the reason for this website's existence. And so, to cover the console's momentous 2001 release in its homeland, PGC Site Founder and Director Billy Berghammer didn't just visit Japan—he made a point of living there for months!
The Planet GameCube Japan Experience 2001 captures Billy's storied adventures in Japan and the excitement leading up to the GameCube's launch. And in celebration of this anniversary, now you can experience it through the magic of the Internet! Originally distributed on two CD-R discs, The Japan Experience was produced by former staffers and friends of the site. It chronicles Nintendo's 2001 Spaceworld show, system launch news, screenshots, impressions, and interviews—all with the now-retro PGC look-and-feel! Best of all, we've uploaded all of Billy's video footage (four hours!) for everyone to enjoy.
Relive our first peek at Super Mario Sunshine! Be shocked at Zelda's shocking new visual style! Join Billy as he visits Nintendo's headquarters building (well, from the outside)! Wait in line with Billy, the first American to own a GameCube! Join us as we go back to a time when the website and its staff were a little bit...greener....
Post by: MikeHrusecky on September 14, 2011, 12:55:39 PM
Watching and editing Billy's footage, and making the discs match the PGC website was a lot of fun.
Replicating hundreds of CD-Rs, especially at the time, was an epic pain in the butt. But totally worth it. Those were the days.
Post by: TheYoungerPlumber on September 14, 2011, 03:07:59 PM
Post by: Ian Sane on September 14, 2011, 05:44:23 PM
Meanwhile I was nostalgic for the SNES before the N64 was even done. But in that span of time I went from childhood to adulthood. It was a big change and was at an age where three years is like a huge chunk of your life.
I have no nostalgia for the Gamecube because it still seems strangely current. The games feel contemporary and modern. Maybe that's just adulthood blurring together or it's a statement on the stagnation of modern videogames. Either way it doesn't seem like the "good old days" or anything like that. It just seems recent.
Post by: Ceric on September 14, 2011, 05:51:15 PM
I find I have no real nostalgia for the Gamecube but it isn't like the Gamecube sucks or anything like that. It's because even though it's been 10 years it doesn't seem that way. I was an adult in 2001 and I'm an adult in 2011. My life has not changed very much in that span of time so it doesn't seem that long ago.It doesn't help me with that feeling that most of the games I do play were either around during the GCN (WoW and GCN games) or look like they could have been done on the GCN.
Meanwhile I was nostalgic for the SNES before the N64 was even done. But in that span of time I went from childhood to adulthood. It was a big change and was at an age where three years is like a huge chunk of your life.
I have no nostalgia for the Gamecube because it still seems strangely current. The games feel contemporary and modern. Maybe that's just adulthood blurring together or it's a statement on the stagnation of modern videogames. Either way it doesn't seem like the "good old days" or anything like that. It just seems recent.
Post by: oohhboy on September 14, 2011, 06:23:12 PM
I would like to think how I was playing Kirby Tilt and Tumble one handed like a bastard Wiimote on the show floor helped inspire the Wii motion controls. Yes, you may blame me. It was a pretty fun game, but the form factor was so awful it no doubt killed the game.
I have sweet steady camera skills, but I have no idea how to frame things properly. I suck at narration and was too stupid/tired at the time to stop. Also watch me butcher Japanese like a pro.
Christ, that Gamecube launch pretty much foreshadowed it's life span. Mostly just a bunch of Bakagaijin tooling around on what had to be the quietest launch ever. Yoshii was a chill dude.
Post by: Ian Sane on September 14, 2011, 06:37:26 PM
Prior to E3 2001 I assumed that Nintendo were really on the ball except for one crucial mistake: going with the cartridges on the N64. This was a major flub that had turned off virtually all of the third party support. But aside from that Nintendo were tremendously talented at making games and making a reliable high quality product. The third party support was the sole problem and it was entirely because of the cartridge thing. They were stuck with the N64 for five years and I assumed that once they went to optical discs, they would win third parties back and everything would be back to normal.
I started to second guess things at E3. Luigi's Mansion did not seem like a deep enough game to sell systems as the flagship title. It sounded like a total rental in previews (and that's exactly what it was) and such a title wouldn't sell ****. It needed something bigger like what Super Mario 64 was to the N64. Third party games were also incredibly scarce at E3. This REALLY concerned me. It suggested that Nintendo had made no real effort to court third parties back. I just assumed they would because isn't that what every console maker wants? Didn't they think that was important? What did they think everyone was complaining about for the last five years? And yet here was a system with no hardware restriction prohibiting any of these games from being made on it with only a handful of third party games announced for it.
But what really killed my optimism was the infamous Zelda switcheroo at Spaceworld. The Zelda games were some of the few N64 titles that Playstation gamers were outright jealous of. While Mario was considered "kiddy", Zelda was cool. The Zelda footage of Link battling Ganon was an instant killer app. Everyone wanted that game and it easily attracted the most attention of any of the rumoured Gamecube titles. Switching to a cartoon completely killed that momentum. The killer app? Gone. They destroyed it. Nintendo detractors would call Nintendo "kiddy" and here Nintendo played exactly into their detractors' hands. They made Zelda kiddy. The move was so obviously stupid and completely avoidable that I deep down felt it was over before it began. It revealed to me that Nintendo did not know what they were doing. The N64 cartridge thing wasn't a one-off flub, it was the perfect example of how out-of-touch Nintendo had become.
So by this point the Gamecube was no longer the Nintendo saviour I was hoping for. I was quite uneasy about it, though still looking forward to the new games that were due (I was especially interested in Pikmin). Ten years ago I was a Nintendo fan frustrated about the company's self-sabotaging incompetence. Isn't that pretty much where I am now? It seems no different. Nintendo was a still is a talented company that goofs up the most routine things and could be so much greater than they are.
Post by: Caliban on September 15, 2011, 01:04:23 AM
... Luigi's Mansion... It sounded like a total rental in previews (and that's exactly what it was)...
BLASPHEMY!
Post by: Chozo Ghost on September 15, 2011, 01:53:07 AM
I have no nostalgia for the Gamecube because it still seems strangely current.
I'm a bit surprised you didn't take this opportunity to suggest that the Gamecube never really died and that it simply got repackaged as the Wii and still lives on in that form. That might be part of the reason why you don't feel nostalgia for it too.
Post by: NWR_pap64 on September 15, 2011, 02:10:40 AM
I actually remember being a constant visitor to the site and thinking how cool these videos were, especially with all the Dolphin hype finally coming into fruition.
Who would have thought that I would be writing for said site nearly ten years later? :p
Post by: King of Twitch on September 16, 2011, 12:35:16 AM
Post by: Urkel on September 16, 2011, 04:04:08 AM
Post by: Lithium on September 17, 2011, 09:44:04 PM
I think for the tenth aniversary i'll buy a cheap gamecube, gut it and make a lunch box with it XD
