Messages

1

Nintendo Gaming / RE:GameCube goes on-line?

« on: September 12, 2003, 03:50:17 PM »

Wouldn't this entire concept make Gamespy tunnelling useless. Why use Online Lite when you can have online?

Assuming this was in fact drawn up at E3, as BigJim said, wasn't that the same time that Gamespy agreed (or at least had a press release) to make the tunnelling software. What the hell is Nintendo going to do with real online (AOL) and fake online (Gamespy)? Are they going to give developers the option to avoid online server costs (I'm assuming they'd have to pay some sort of fee for Nintendo/AOL to host the games) with the tunnelling or what?

I'm scratching my head about all of this. Maybe one online strategy could be seen as a "building block for the future," but two? Something's in the works.

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Nintendo Gaming / RE:Daredevil VideoGame?

« on: August 19, 2003, 05:29:54 PM »

My brother's in programming, actually, and he's working on this game. 5000ft has a lot of internal problems and will probably disband soon. Daredevil will probably come out with the Daredevil 2 flick, if there is one. Don't get your hopes up, though...the game's gonna suck.

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Nintendo Gaming / RE:High Heat Baseball bought by M

« on: August 17, 2003, 03:49:47 PM »

Nintendo had an exclusive baseball game (Ken Griffey Jr. something or other) and basketball game (NBA Courtside) on the N64. Courtside even carried over to the GC for a year. I'm guessing these games didn't sell, so Nintendo discontinued the franchises and now wants nothing to do with sports games.

They've got Madden. And really, that's all you need.

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Nintendo Gaming / RE:N5 Launch Games List!

« on: August 16, 2003, 07:24:09 PM »

When you consider Pokemon's target audience (kids) and their amount of disposable income (none), putting Pokemon online isn't the greatest idea (unless it's free).  

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Nintendo Gaming / RE:Gamecube only $99 after September?

« on: August 15, 2003, 06:37:32 PM »

You don't drop the price of a hot item (GBA SP) just to make a cold item (GC) look better. Even if Nintendo does drop the GC price to $99 (though $120 seems a lot more plausible), the GBA SP pricepoint won't be moved. They have to get at least one x-mas holiday out of the system at full price.

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Nintendo Gaming / RE:N5 Launch Games List!

« on: August 14, 2003, 04:59:40 PM »

There's no need to overwhelm the customer with a lot of great games at launch. Even if Nintendo could have 10 or more 1st/2nd party games ready for launch, they'd be much better off staggering their release schedule so that these games are released over the course of 6 months to a year. As they say, 3 is the magic number, so I believe Nintendo would benefit from having three HUGE killer apps at launch. Something in-house, completely fresh and original (which I can almost promise is coming at launch), the game that has system-seller written all over it, Too Human, and something from a third party...perhaps an RPG. Assuming the in-house game is fairly "light" (but not kiddy...a difficult tightrope to walk), you've pretty much covered all your bases with these three games.

Pokemon is a TERRIBLE idea at launch. As Cell pointed out, Nintendo has to change its image, and since the general gaming public HATES Pokemon, it would be unwise for it to be mentioned at all during the launch period. Bring it out at x-mas so all the kids will ask their parents for Nintendo's console; you've just pushed several million more consoles without alienating the shallow, casual gamer.

As for the rest of their many, many franchises, I think Cell's idea of holding off on them is best. While Zelda could be pulled off with a thoroughly badass Link (though this isn't likely considering WW2's '04 release), most of the other stuff will simply make people think 'teh kiddy.' Nintendo should in no way compromise their integrity by making some lameass GTA ripoff, but they should do their best to trick the customer into thinking they've changed their design philosophy. Nintendo keeps on making quirky stuff like Pikmin, along with a sprinkling of uber-cool games like Metroid and F-Zero, with ED and third parties cranking out the M-rated games that gamers so adore, and the Big N has it locked. Totally. Nintendo doesn't need to change its style; they just need other developers to fill in the gaps.

On the matter of sports games...Madden is a necessity. Everything else pales in comparison. Everything (well, unless you're talking about Japan, in which case Winning Eleven would be the best bet). Get Madden online, as both the PS3 and Xbox2 versions will be, and launch before those consoles, and you've got a very nice share of the market.

In conclusion, this is Nintendo's ideal lineup.

-Too Human (becomes more likely by the day)
-RPG (anything by Square will be 10x more effective)
-original Nintendo game (I know this is coming)
-RE5 (RE4 sales will dictate whether this game is multi-platform or not)
-Soul Calibur 3/Tekken 5/Virtua Fighter 5/SOMETHING (Nintendo's getting comfy with Namco...I wouldn't be surprised if they nabbed Tekken)
-Madden NFL 2006 (pivotal)
-Racer...? (I'm not positive about this one...what's Ninty gonna get to compete with Gran Turismo 5?)
-Wave Race (good tech demo)
-Rogue Squadron 4/Pilotwings (better tech demo)

Follow this up with an x-mas lineup of:

-Pokemon RPG (doesn't matter whether it's online...it'll sell)
-Mario platformer
-Pikmin 3
-AC 2
-whatever the hell else Nintendo wants

Nintendo's hugest advantatge over the competion is the fact that they can actually make games. When you've got a developer powerhouse coupled with a slew of great 2nd and 3rd party stuff, you're going to outclass the competion by a mile. The PS3's probably already won, but I think Nintendo could easily steal back some market share and completely stomp the Xbox 2.  

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Nintendo Gaming / RE:Why is GCN considered to be a failure?

« on: August 10, 2003, 06:16:30 AM »

The N64 made money. The GC is making money. Neither are failures, technically.

On the whole though, the N64 could be considered a failure since so many gamers got fed up with Nintendo during that generation and apparently swore off the company. Thus, we have low GameCube sales. Nintendo had the industry in its pocket when the N64 launched, and if they'd used a disc format, the industry would be VERY different today.

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TalkBack / RE:$ega?!

« on: August 08, 2003, 07:21:40 PM »

A quick look at Sega's TGS game list shows that the Xbox love is running dry. I think they're about done with that console, except for the sports games. I'm not sure what they have against releasing some of their more "serious" games for GC. Give me Billy Hatcher AND Panzer Dragoon, and I'm a happy man.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Sonic Heroes sell through 2 million copies on GC. It will no doubt be the hugest third party game on the console.

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TalkBack / RE:Nintendo announces new games, rewards

« on: August 07, 2003, 09:08:11 PM »

The thing that surprised me the most about this whole thing is that Wario Ware is going to be released in October and DK at some point before the end of the year. Wario Ware seems a pretty simple game to put together, but Donkey Kong is high-budge, high-profile stuff. And it's going to be released within four months? Maybe we're being thrown for a loop. There's the ARCADE version of Donkey Kong too, and Namco has already "given" Pac-Man to Nintendo. Could this be a trade of '80s coin-op games?

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Nintendo Gaming / RE:Surprise Announcement! Wario Ware for GC! Donkey kong GC!

« on: August 07, 2003, 06:16:23 AM »

Star Fox looking bad doesn't correlate at all to Donkey Kong, unless they're being made by the same development team. That's like saying Zelda will suck because 1080 sucks, seeing as how they're both made by Nintendo.

This is all very exciting news. Wario Ware GC could be insanely awesome. They could have snippets of GC games! 10 seconds of the boating mini-game in Wind Waker. =) I hope they retain some 2D mini-games though. It adds variety. And coming out THIS YEAR? We'll be getting more information anytime now. Same with DK.

You failed to mention the VIP program. When you buy specified Nintendo VIP games (exclusive games, I'd imagine), you recieve points which can be used to "buy" products online. It's already happening in Europe, but all there getting is dinky screen savers and crap. Nintendo has reported that they will be adding games and hardware to the catalogue. Sounds great for us hardcore types. =)

As for the new product...I'd like to push that out of my mind so as not to get my hopes built up to insane proportions only to have them crumble down. You'd all be wise to do the same.

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Nintendo Gaming / RE:Gamecube rumors cleared up

« on: August 06, 2003, 08:25:20 PM »

Why did they call it Fact or Fiction? They weren't even sure of half the stuff (thus they're still RUMORS), and as the above poster pointed out, they just added fuel to the fire of other rumors (StarCraft on Xbox, a new Kid Icarus) and brought new rumors that were completely out of left field (Factor 5 on Xbox). Ah well, there was a bit of pertinent information buried in there. The next Zelda game will have a different Link and new gameplay elements, Prime 2 will have more third person parts, etc.

I'm with them on Too Human, though. Practically nothing is known of the game and it's already reached unbelievable hype on the Internet. Such a great launch game (assuming it's half as good as everyone hopes it will be). They shouldn't flood the market with great games at launch though. They really just need Too Human and a genuine Nintendo game, original or from a franchise. Even if other games are ready at launch, the schedule should be staggered so the next huge game doesn't come out for a month or two. Otherwise, you'll suffer from serious droughts later on, and the impatient types will sell off their consoles.

I guess I got a bit off topic...but IGN's article will only cause further turmoil for us poor GC fans. I still have uncontrollable spasms as a result of MEGATON.

[Michael8983]

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Nintendo Gaming / RE:April-June quarter sales report is out

« on: August 05, 2003, 05:36:09 PM »

Quote
Originally posted by: Michael8983
800,000 actually seems decent for a traditionally slow quarter for the market when Nintendo didn't have many big games released anyway.

Actually, Wind Waker was released at the end of March, so it should have carried a lot of weight during that period. I guess the cel-shaded graphics turned everyone off, though.

This will probably be the slowest quarter for Nintendo out of all four. F-Zero and SC2 will lure in some so-called mature gamers, and Mario Golf's here to entertain the so-called kiddy crowd. And the two quarters following will simply be insane. However, 800K pretty much squashes Nintendo's hopes of 6 mil this fiscal year.

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Nintendo Gaming / RE:Sonys PSP vs. GBA- Does Nintendo have a chance?

« on: August 02, 2003, 09:18:46 PM »

Sony has absolutely no chance of touching Nintendo. Kids are the driving force of the handheld arket, and kids like Pokemon. A lot. Thus, they will continue to buy Game Boys as long as the Pokerehashes keep on coming. The series has been through two "true" sequels thus far, and I don't see any signs of it dropping off. With Pokemon, Nintendo is utterly unstoppable. Couple this with the excellently-timed release of the GBA SP, and Nintendo's pretty much at the finish line before the race has even started.

Sony's only logical plan of action is to completely ignore the child demographic and target the adult audience. With MP3 and movie playing ability, this is apparently their plan. Even then, though, I don't know how many people  want another handheld to go along with their Palm Pilots. Sony is crowing that the PSP will become the center of the handheld universe, when it's painfully obvious that the cell phone and only the cell phone will dominate. Phone capabilities are the only feature missing from Sony's Swiss Army Knife portable, and will ultimately stop the handheld from becoming huge.

Will Sony come mildly close to Nintendo's userbase? Hell no, lest they make something huger than Pokemon, arguably the biggest child phenomenon ever (though most of it's died down now, except for the games). Can they even make a profit? If they take a "loss for a gain" philosophy, losing money on each console sold, I'm not sure they can. They'd then become dependent on their software, and I'm sure lots of people would buy the console just to play MP3s and watch movies and whatnot. Thus, software remains on shelves, and Sony is in the hole, even if a fair amount of people are walking around with PSPs. Their only other option would be to charge an obscenely high price, alienating their thin-pocketed PS2 userbase.

Things will probably turn out moderately well for Sony. I'm sure it won't be a total failure, but I'm not sure we'll ever be seeing a PSP2.

Also, there's no reason to buy into Sony's BS PS specs (heh). They're undoubtedly overblown.

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Nintendo Gaming / RE:Will Nintendo EVER go online?

« on: August 02, 2003, 11:32:15 AM »

The only way for Nintendo to have any success online is to offer the service for free or for cheap (though it's killing Microsoft to host all those servers at their low price point). Either of those plans would move lots of software, but it wouldn't be enough to compensate for server costs. So Nintendo could go the other route and charge a fairly high fee, and watch their software sales plummet. Kids don't have the cash for online, and adults aren't keen on yet another bill to pay monthly. It's pretty much a lose-lose situation.

If Nintendo saw the long-term success of online gaming, I'm sure they'd take a loss now to hop on the bandwagon. The reality is, though, that no one knows for sure if online is "the future." Despite the constant crowing of the online revolution by gamers on message boards, these peeps make up only a fraction of the whole market. As long as Joe Donut who buys a couple of games a year doesn't give a damn (or doesn't know about) online gaming, it's a waste of money. Until casual gamers are on board, online gaming on consoles is just another minor feature that doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things, but does take a large chunk of change out of Sony's and Microsoft's pockets.

On that note...does anyone know if EA's making money off their online games? I think they've got all their sports titles online on the PS2, for free. I'm wondering if this is actually profitable for them.

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Nintendo Gaming / RE:Mario Golf 2

« on: August 02, 2003, 06:24:28 AM »

I'd bank on mini-golf being unlockable when you connect to the GBA version, or maybe if you hunker down and complete all the other modes. I hope it's available in come capacity, and in a more inspired form than Mario Golf N64. Even if it's not there, Mario Golf GC is still awesome. The truckload of modes make me very excited about what Camelot will do with Mario Tennis.

You don't have to buy the game at Target to get the Target Tour. Enter the code, play a round, win prizes (including a Nintendo office chair, I think). Hollywoodvideo's grand prize is some mountain stuff and a ton of Nintendo merchandise. You're gonna have to be able to shoot in the low 50s, maybe even the 40s, to win either grand prize though. Personally, I just want the kickass second runner-up hat (for 500 people) in the hollywood video contest.

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Nintendo Gaming / RE:Why All The "Perfect 10's" These Days

« on: August 02, 2003, 06:15:21 AM »

10 was never meant to mean perfect (despite all those damn rating scales that say otherwise). It simply means the best of the best. If anything, I see less 10s being tossed around now than I did last generation. Everyone was so mesmerized by the flash of 3D, they were handing out the accolades left and right. Ocarina of Time, for example, shouldn't have gotten a 10/10 on any 100 point scale, but it picked them up everywhere. Release the game now instead of then (with updated graphics, of course), and you've still got one of the best ever, but not something worthy of 10 from IGN or GameSpot.

Everyone's calmed down this generation, so you don't see too many 10s floating around where 100, or even 20 point scales are put to use. The 10s are still there on the 10-point scales, but that really just means 9.5+. There's still a ton of those games coming out, right?