Messages

651

Nintendo Gaming / Mario Kart LAN

« on: April 23, 2003, 09:42:13 AM »

I appologize for my ignorance, but can someone explain to me how this LAN gaming thing works?
Is it basically just connecting two or more Gamecube's over a phone-line? Is it limited to local areas or could you play against someone over a distance?

652

Nintendo Gaming / Mario Kart Screens !! Exclusive !!! 100% Genuine !

« on: April 23, 2003, 09:32:38 AM »

I think the graphics are just fine.
People need to stop judging graphics by how technically impressive they are and start judging them by how appropriate they are for the game. Nintendo is obviously just trying to retain the simplistic and cartoonish atmosphere of the original game. Ultra-detailed, realistic textures just wouldn't look right in Mario Kart.
Some parts of the screenshots make the game seem blurry or jagged but I'm sure that's just in the screenshots and not the actual game. That's been the case with several of Nintendo's past GCN titles. For whatever reason, Nintendo's games just don't photograph well.

653

Nintendo Gaming / Mikami gets demoted

« on: April 22, 2003, 05:56:23 PM »

You're right. I shouldn't have said "hit". It's really not the kind of game intended to be a hit anyway. It's more of a niche title and I'm sure it didn't cost anywhere near as much to develope as Capcom's big PS2 games. It may not be a hit in the US or Europe but it could do better than Capcom expects in those regions and end up being profitable.  

654

Nintendo Gaming / Mikami gets demoted

« on: April 22, 2003, 05:34:58 PM »

If Capcom doesn't treat him right, I'm sure he'd be welcome at Nintendo.
Capcom does seem to be a bit of a sinking ship. Maybe Mikami would be smart to ditch the company losing millions and join ranks with the company making hundereds of millions. I'm sure Nintendo would be more forthcoming with the creative freedom as well.

Reading over the news article, I actually think it may have been entirely his decision.
Judging by the reviews, Mikami's PN3 may be the black sheep of the Capcom 5.
Maybe he simply felt someone else at Studio 4 was more deserving of the position.
I doubt any higher ups at Capcom would demote him because of the poor sales of the game. At least not until after it was released in all the major regions. For all Capcom knows, the game could end up being a huge hit in the US or Europe.

655

General Gaming / Scared by the Ps2 lineup at E3

« on: April 21, 2003, 01:02:25 PM »

Why is it that everyone always sets themselves up for a dissapointment at these shows?
There are all these fake lists for each console going around. The actual line-ups won't be anywhere near as good as these amazing fantasy line-ups featuring games that either aren't real or won't be released for a LONG time and definitly won't be at E3.

As for who will "win" E3. If winning means drawing the biggest crowds, Nintendo obviously will win. Mario Kart alone will probably guarantee that. Despite barely showing any games, Nintendo "won" E3 two years ago simply because it had Smash Bros Melee which drew the biggest crowds and made Nintendo's section of the show the most popular.

656

General Gaming / What will be at E3?

« on: April 21, 2003, 12:49:53 PM »

Last year, didn't Miyamoto say this would be the year of original titles?
Almost all the games listed on the E3 list from Nintendo are part of existing franchises. So my guess is these original titles will be the big surprise at E3.
I doubt we'll see Mario 128 or any other big franchise titles not already listed though.

657

Nintendo Gaming / Another Zelda in development?

« on: April 20, 2003, 11:29:42 AM »

Miyamoto has already confirmed that there will be another Zelda for the GCN.
It will probably end up being one of the very last games released on the console.
I don't think it will be a traditional Zelda game though. Miyamoto seems to be getting bored with the same old formulas in his games. I think that's one of the key reasons he liked the cel-shadeing. It made Wind Waker into more than just some graphically updated Oot.
So my guess is the next Zelda game on the GCN will be a huge departure from the norm.

658

Nintendo Gaming / RE's exclusitivity status

« on: April 19, 2003, 03:04:11 PM »

"The Capcom Five ain't looking good so far. P.N. 03 sold below expectations as well as RE0. Capcom might be setting their profit expectations a bit too high. Greed is a bad thing."

I wouldn't be surprised if PN3 simply joins the ranks of titles like Super Monkey Ball, Sonic Adventure 2 Battle, and the REmake which underperformed in Japan but WAY overperformed in the US.
But even if PN3 does sell below expectations in overall worldwide sales, it won't be such a big deal. The game seemed to be very low-budget and was made by a small development team, presumably in a very short amount of time. What Capcom really needs to worry about is its big-budget, resource-sapping PS2 titles underperforming. The problem with the PS2 is its userbase of very casual gamers only seems to be interested in one or two BIG titles a year and so many other titles that deserve attention are ignored. The GTA games hogged ALL the spotlight this past year.

659

Nintendo Gaming / CNN.com artcile on GC w/ N strategies

« on: April 16, 2003, 07:15:24 PM »

I agree that the games are (and should be) held to higher standards and I'd be fine with it if the article said Metroid sold well, just not as well as it should have and that Mario Sunshine got great reviews, just not as great as people expected. But, instead, it implies Metroid sold poorly and says Mario got lukewarm reviews. It's just irresponsible journalism. It gives less informed people who may read the article the wrong impression of things.

660

Nintendo Gaming / CNN.com artcile on GC w/ N strategies

« on: April 16, 2003, 05:46:05 PM »

The article makes some good points but I have a problem with a few bits.
Saying Metroid Prime sold "only 800,000" copies is idiotic. Selling 800,000 copies is amazing. Especially for a "mature" game on a supposably "kiddy" console that's part of franchise that all but the most hardcore of gamers had completely forgotten about. It may not have sold as well as it could/should have but throwing the "only" in there makes it sound like it sold poorly which couldn't be further from the truth.
Super Mario Sunshine didn't get "lukewarm reviews" either. It was one of the best reviewed games of last year. It may not have gotten the kind of perfect scores across the board that so many previous Mario games have gotten (though it did have its share of perfect scores) but the reviews were far from lukewarm.
The article also over-complicates the situation. Nintendo has fallen behind for one reason. It didn't match MS's bundle deal. If Nintendo had followed in MS's steps and included two free games (let's say Waverace and Rogue Leader) with the console over the holiday season it would have beaten the XBox in holiday sales and might even be number two in the US right now.
Instead, Nintendo decided to be stingy and put the Gamecube with NO FREE GAMES up against the console with TWO FREE GAMES and it doesn't take a genius to figure out why it didn't fare that well. People can blame advertising and image all they want and I don't doubt they play some role in things but it really all came down to the undeniable fact that "consumers like free stuff". If Nintendo takes that to heart come the next holiday season, I'm sure it can take back the number two spot with relative ease. Especially with Mario Kart (which has a huge following among casual gamers) likely to be the big holiday title.

661

Nintendo Gaming / RE's exclusitivity status

« on: April 16, 2003, 11:56:04 AM »

I could understand if RE lost its exclusitivity status if the games sold poorly but they didn't. They may have not sold as well as they would have on the PS2 but that shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. Mikami had to have expected this. He just disliked the PS2 so much he was willing to take a hit in sales. The REmake sold WAY above Capcom's very conservative projections and though REO didn't live up to Capcom's ridiculously hopefuly projections, it still sold more than well enough to call it a success, especially considering how soon after the REmake it was released and the heavy competition it faced from other "mature" games during the holiday season.

I think all this talk of the games going multi-platform is just wishful thinking from Sony/MS fans. There's been talk of just about all of the Gamecube's big exclusive third-party titles going multi-platform. Rogue Leader, Monkey Ball, Sonic Adventure 2 Battle. There was actually talk of the RE games not really being Gamecube exclusive even before the REmake came out.
But, unlike XBox exclusives, Gamecube exclusives seem to remain exclusive and I don't think the RE games will be an exception.  

662

Nintendo Gaming / nintendo's return to glory

« on: April 16, 2003, 11:51:11 AM »

The thing to remember is that Nintendo hasn't really lost all that much.
It's basically as big a fish as ever, the pond has just gotten a LOT bigger in recent years and Nintendo is now sharing it with bigger fish than it ever had to in the 80's and early 90's. It went from just facing Sega to facing Sony AND Microsoft!!!
Nintendo "ruled" gaming at a time when gaming was a relatively small market dominated by so called "hardcore" gamers and companies that specialized strictly in gaming. Things have taken a complete 180 since then and now casual gamers are dominating and the market is MUCH larger and being driven by huge companies with reaches far beyond the gaming.

663

Nintendo Gaming / Do You think that Nintendo will ever change their image?

« on: April 16, 2003, 10:14:41 AM »

Where'd you get that E3 list, and are you sure it's accurate?
The only list I've seen is on IGN and half those games aren't on it.

664

Nintendo Gaming / Do You think that Nintendo will ever change their image?

« on: April 11, 2003, 10:27:42 AM »

Nintendo has already made it clear it has no intention of "changing it's ways".
It's going to continue making the same kind of games it's always made regardless of whether they're "cool" or not and I, for one, respect that. Even if Nintendo did somehow convince everyone that its console was cool without having to change its game style, it wouldn't be worth the trouble. People would run out and buy the console but they still wouldn't buy Nintendo's "uncool" games. In that case, Nintendo might make some more money from hardware sales and royalty fees but that wouldn't make up for the massive amount of money it would have to spend on advertising to convince people its console is cool. A lot of so called Nintendo "fans" seem to think Nintendo should sacrafice everything that makes it Nintendo and become just like Sony to be number one again and that probably is the only way it could ever be number one again. So, realizing that, I'm perfectly happy with Nintendo where it is. It's still number one in profits and that's where it really counts anyway.
Nintendo is in the enviable situation where it gets to do whatever the hell it wants, not worry about being popular, advertise very little, and still make hundereds of millions of dollars each year in a time when just about every other company in the world is suffering. Seriously, no one should pity it.

665

Nintendo Gaming / Nintendo lowers profit expectations... again

« on: April 09, 2003, 02:46:09 PM »

I think everyone's just overcomplicating this.
It seems to me that the economy should get almost all the blame. Nintendo expected people to run out and buy its consoles in droves each time a "big" game came out and they did just that years ago in the Clinton years when the economy was great but things have changed a lot since then. The economy is bad in the US and really bad in Japan.
People just want to buy "safe" systems like the PS2 and GBA. The PS2 because it has such a huge selection of games and is "trusted" and the GBA because it's so cheap. I actually think one of the GCN's biggest problems is that parents are buying GBAs for their kids instead of consoles for that exact reason.
Who knows. Maybe the economy will get better in coming years and Nintendo's consoles sales will go WAY up. Or maybe Bush will blow up the world and console sales won't matter anymore anyway. For now, Nintendo will just have to settle for making a massive ton of money as opposed to making a massive, MASSIVE ton of money while just about everyone else in the gaming industry is losing millions and facing possible death. How I pity Nintendo!

666

Nintendo Gaming / 2003, last year before Nintendo switches focus to GC2?

« on: March 31, 2003, 08:28:09 PM »

As much as it sucks that Nintendo has to release its new console so soon, I do think it will work out for the best. Nintendo will no doubt have some great first/second party titles for the launch but, more importantly, it will have some great third-party support as well.
Nintendo began this generation with basically no third-party support at all but it's been gaining it back recently and gaining strong alliances with key third-party developers. I'm sure that Capcom, Namco, Sega and the other Nintendo-friendly developers will have some great things for the Gamecube's launch as well as games for the months after launch so a N64/GCN style post-launch drought will be avoided.
The GCN started this generation late, limping and with one hand tied behind its back.
Nintendo's next console will obviously start off in a much healthier state and I'm confident Nintendo will gain a lot of ground with it.
 

667

Nintendo Gaming / Mario Kart Discussion

« on: March 31, 2003, 08:17:53 PM »

Wow. That sure is a lot more characters than we're used to in Mario Kart games.
I wonder if there will be more than eight racers at once in the new game.
There are a few characters I'm definitly glad to see. Dr Mario is my favorite character in Smash Bros and I've loved Baby Bowser since I first saw him in SMW2:YI. Getting Diddy and Dixie along with DK is also great. I think from now on, the newer Kongs will be treated as true Nintendo mascots and be included in these types of games. Rare really screwed up the Kongs during the N64 days and I'm looking forward to Nintendo restoring them to their former glory. A lot of people don't seem to like Waluigi but I personally think it's great for Luigi to have an evil twin like Mario does. Plus the guy was hilarious in Mario Tennis.
The best additions by far are the Koopa Kids though. I've been waiting forever to see them again.
The characters I'm not sure about are E Gadd who was kind of enjoyable in LM but just doesn't seem like a Mario character, the random baddies like the Goomba and Shyguy, and wasn't Plum just some stupid character created for Mario Golf? Why is she in the game? I guess maybe they just wanted another female character. There are a lot of girls who like Mario Kart afterall.

668

Nintendo Gaming / 2003, last year before Nintendo switches focus to GC2?

« on: March 31, 2003, 08:02:40 PM »

I'm sure it will be like the transition from the N64 to the GCN. A lot of Nintendo's resources will go into the next console but some will stay behind and continue work on the GCN. Some of the N64's very best games were released over its last two years including Majora's Mask which was actually released around the time the PS2 was.

Actually, I think the GCN will follow in the SNES's foot-steps and get a major boost near the end. The DKC games helped the SNES to a decisive victory over the Genesis near the end of the 16 bit days and I bet Nintendo (or one of its second-parties) is working on something now that will make sure the GCN will end this generation several million units ahead of the XBox.

It really is a shame Nintendo can't allow the GCN to have its seven to eight years but the competition just wouldn't allow it. The last time Nintendo took a stand and did something that was right for gaming - sticking with cartridges to avoid the horrible PSX style load times which would have made most N64 games about half as fun - it had major consequences. Unfortunately, Nintendo has to do what's right for it in the business and not what's right for gaming. There, sadly, is no place for nobility in the gaming industry at the moment.
   

669

Nintendo Gaming / Mario Kart Discussion

« on: March 30, 2003, 04:52:42 AM »

I think the game will probably feature non-Mario characters but they'll be unlockable secrets. The game will start off like a traditional Mario Kart game but as you progress, you'll get to earn new non-Mario characters along with tracks and power-ups. It will probably be similar to Smash Bros where, after a tournament, a new challenger will approach.
You'll find yourself racing Kirby on a Dreamland course with a new Star Rod power-up or something. It could be really cool. Actually, my theory is that Kirby game ("Air Ride") Hal showed off a while ago was actually Mario Kart in disguise. I just find it hard to believe Nintendo would actually let Hal make a Kirby game so similar to Mario Kart. It just wouldn't make sense. I think showing off "Air Ride" was just Hal's way off showing off Mario Kart without anyone knowing and at E3 the truth will be revealed.

I know a lot of people will freak out over the idea, but I also get the feeling the game will be cel-shaded and this is the change Miyamoto was referring to when he said he couldn't show screenshots. The original MK was a very cartoonish game and IMO the more realistic style of the N64 sequel just didn't fit and kind of detracted from the light-heartedness of the game. So I wouldn't be surprised if Nintendo decided to go back to the SNES style with the help of cel-shaded graphics.

As for online play. I don't think it's needed and probably won't be included. LAN support might be cool though. I doubt a lot of people would take advantage of it though.  

670

Nintendo Gaming / P.N. 03 & Soul Calibur 2 scores

« on: March 12, 2003, 10:52:52 AM »

I'm not worried. I think it will still be a great game and get great reviews. This may just be the "black sheep" review. While most reviewers agreed that ED was a masterpeice, there are a few that made it out to be the most pathetic game ever and gave it terrible scores. While most reviewers gave SMS near-perfect scores there were a few like Gamespot that gave it surprisingly more modest scores. Same for Metroid Prime.

671

Nintendo Gaming / Wario World likely to suck?

« on: March 09, 2003, 02:47:48 PM »

The graphics don't suck. Like a lot of GCN games, it just looks terrible in screenshots for some reason.  

672

Nintendo Gaming / Reservoir Dogs for Ps2, X-box and...

« on: March 08, 2003, 11:58:45 AM »

Developers can be really sheepish.
Now that the king of all American developers, EA, has pledged so much support to the GCN, I think the rest will have a lot more confidence in it.
Same thing for Japanese developers. Konami is, if I'm not mistaken, the biggest third-party in Japan and the recent announcement of a MGS title on the GCN should shake things up. Of course, we probably have Capcom to thank for it. If not for the REmake which proved an "M" rated game can sell well on the console, I don't think Konami would be doing this.
So I think this is basically going to be a case of one good thing leading to another, and another, and another . . .  

673

TalkBack / EA To Focus More on GBA-GC Connectivity

« on: March 06, 2003, 12:34:47 PM »

I'm definitly thinking the connectivity will mostly be for zany customizations.
Like you could design your own arena and put things like lava pits in it or put your team-mates in red and blue overalls or add Bowser-escque spikes to the back of their uniforms. I think there will definitly be a paint program used to create your own advertisements/logos for arenas and put textures on uniforms (like in AC). Sure, this kind of thing could clash terribly with the otherwise realistic/serious atmosphere of EA's sports titles but . . . who cares? It would be fun and that's all that matters.

674

TalkBack / EA To Focus More on GBA-GC Connectivity

« on: March 06, 2003, 11:29:26 AM »

Reading some of these comments, I think some of you are taking this GCN/GBA connectivity thing to seriously. I don't think Nintendo intends for it to be some huge innovation that will drastically alter the gameplay of games. I certainly don't think it's Nintendo substitute for online play either. It's just meant to provide cool extras for people who are lucky enough to own both a GBA and GCN and allow some games to have certain optional, interactive features not available on competing consoles. There may be a few games like the upcoming Pokemon title that are built around the connectivity but I think most games will just use it in a gimmicky way, and I don't see anything wrong with that.
MP/MF used it a gimmicky way and people seemed happy with the results.

675

TalkBack / EA To Focus More on GBA-GC Connectivity

« on: March 06, 2003, 11:16:04 AM »

I don't see any reason the Gamecube versions wouldn't be online now that the modem has been released. It doesn't matter where Nintendo stands on online gaming. Whether the games are online or not is up to EA and now that the Gamecube is capable of going online, I don't see why it would leave that feature out of the GCN version. Especially since both Capcom and Nintendo have already revealed they're working on at least one online title for the Gamecube.

With Miyamoto's guidance, I'm sure the GBA/GCN connectivity features will be interesting. They may be gimmicky but sometimes gimmicky can be fun. We all know there are lot of people who would love to have Samus on their team in Madden and would definitly choose the GCN version over the XBox/PS2 versions just for that.