Topics

101

Nintendo Gaming / How much more is there to the Revolution that we don't know?

« on: November 23, 2005, 08:48:57 AM »

I was reading the latest IGN Nintendo Minute (#20) where someone asks if there is more to know about the Revolution.  George Harrison says there are a lot more details about its capabilities and gameplay still to be revealed.

What if the controller, revolutionary in itself, isn't the only new thing?  We haven't seen the attachments other than the analogue stick, so maybe there's something major there.

I remember rumblings about an online service rivalling Xbox Live's, but I would see that more as doing what others are already doing.  Unless it's, like, multiple times better.  Not having experienced Xbox Live myself, I don't really know, but I guess it'd sound good if it was at least comparable.

What could it be?  Is it truly revolutionary?  If there really is more to it, it's kind of sad to see the speculation having stopped once the controller was revealed in September.

Though at the same time, it might not be much at all.  They would probably save further innovations for a later Nintendo console so that the Xbox 720 and PS4 won't have an edge in that department even if they copy the one-handed remote controller.

102

General Chat / Am I a jerk for pestering the local Blockbuster for not getting Mario Superstar Baseball?

« on: November 10, 2005, 02:22:31 PM »

Ever since the game came out in late August, I've been constantly bugging the local Blockbuster Video to get it.  I was surprised that I even have to; the game was the featured GameCube game of September on the Blockbuster web site, and they've always gotten other Mario games which were almost always rented out.

I mean, come on, if you have games for a Nintendo console out, it's only common sense to have, you know, MARIO games!  Based on the past rental records of other Mario games, any manager who somehow doesn't know about games should still be able to make a basic enough deduction that it would be a game worth making available.

And it's like nearly mid-November, they still don't have it in, and they keep giving me inconsistent responses as to whether or not they'll ever get any copies.  They don't know.  They won't.  They will.  They don't know again.  Make up your mind!

They've gotten several copies of new games, like Call Of Duty 2: Big Red One, Gun, etc.  This includes new Nintendo-published games like Pokémon XD and Battalion Wars.  So it's not like they've given up on the GameCube yet, or even Nintendo games.

So why not Mario Superstar Baseball?

And soon Super Mario Strikers is coming out, and I can see that there's no guarantee that they'll have that either.

It's so frustrating - I rarely buy games because I play them to death when I devote a weekend to a game when renting it, so my game choices are essentially limited to what Blockbuster gets in.  They don't get every GameCube game in, but until now it hasn't been an issue, and considering it's a freaking Mario game, I'm surprised I have to even keep asking.  I feel I have to now because it will become less reasonable as the game gets older.

I'm probably sounding like a whiner, but am I really being unreasonable?  If they once had a whole row on the shelf for Ribbit King, is it so hard to even get ONE copy of a guaranteed hot rental?

103

Nintendo Gaming / How possible would it be for Nintendo to acquire/emulate old Sega games for Revolution?

« on: June 26, 2005, 11:34:04 AM »

If I'm remembering correctly, no Sega console has more buttons than the N64.  So there's no issue there.  However the Revolution is able to allow control for NES, Super NES, N64, GameCube, and Revolution games, it probably wouldn't be too hard for the Master System, Genesis, 32X, Sega CD, Saturn, (and maybe even Dreamcast) games.

So the issue would be technical, though I think that's minor (assuming the later Sega consoles didn't have some crazy and unique thing that's too bothersome to emulate) and whatever marketing and property rights there are to get in the way.

Unless Sega's going to come back with hardware of their own one day (which seems unlikely), it seems like Sega should, or bring it up with Nintendo, if they haven't already.  Other than Fantasy Zone or whatever on the NES, Sega hasn't had a game on a Nintendo console until the GameCube, so it's not like they would already be talking about other software.

I've grown up with Nintendo games since the NES, so while the rerelease and official emulation of old games for Nintendo systems is sweet, there's a good chance I've played them several times over before.  Having Sega games as well would allow a former competitor's past to not fade away, and then every gamer around or over the age of 20something would have a nostalgic reason to pick up a Revolution, no matter what they played in the past (assuming they weren't, like, Turbo-GrafX-16 or CD-i or 3D0 fans or something).

Plus, if they don't, there's always the possibility that Sony or Microsoft might steal Nintendo's retro-thunder by getting the rights to the Sega library and having a game download service of their own.  A monopoly on old games would really ensure a Revolution in every nostalgic gamer's home.

[D]

104

Nintendo Gaming / "DS" in DS titles?

« on: June 05, 2005, 02:44:25 PM »

Mr. Driller: Drill Spirits
CastleVania: Dawn of Sorrow
Snowboard Kids

Okay, the Snowboard KiDS is a joke; it's not like they can help it.  And Dawn of Sorrow is a direct sequel to Aria of Sorrow, so at least they made it make sense.  But Drill Spirits?

I guess they want to avoid the inevitable "DS" suffix.  Yet they might still want to refer to it for some reason...

When you consider all the Nintendo prefixes and suffixes, it's scary that "Super Mario 64 DS" is only one word different from "Super Advance 64 DS", which would be the most loaded yet most meaningless title.  (Other than the fact that it would probably be a 3D game on the DS.)

Do you think having a recognizeable suffix helps, or does it enforce the misconception that the same games are just being reimagined for each console/handheld?

105

Nintendo Gaming / Nintendo On Video: Accuracy of Peach's castle count?

« on: May 13, 2005, 05:42:57 PM »

"The Princess is in another castle."

Yup, Mario's going to be busy. That's a lot of castles to check. 512 million in total.

The thing that seems strange about this so-called fake video is how well Peach's castle looks. I doubt even with the best N64 emulators can you capture the textures of every polygon so perfectly, or at least without any visible oddities. And then to reconstruct the castle? Seems like a lot of work for a fake.

I thought the count was impressive, fake or not, because it seems to accurately count the number of castles that have passed across the screen. You'll notice at some points, the number jumps up suddenly, like when the camera reveals that the surface of castles is the path leading to a castle made of castles, or when during the mega-castle roof climb the camera swings around to show the rest of the field.

As it climbs the spire, the camera is angled in such a way as to only pick up one side of it, so the castle count goes up by exactly one just as any viewer would count them.

The biggest jump is after reaching the pinnacle of the pinnacle, and then you notice there are WAY more in the horizon. Aside from a seeming pause before hitting 512 million, (though the last one appears on-screen before the count finishes, as it should), it seems very accurate.

Strange thing for me to pick on, but that part is the most impressive to me, not the distorted Mario and Samus at the end. I love the Super Mario 64 music that fits it so well.

I'm guessing they chose Peach's castle because it's one of the most recognizeable 3-D areas, ever. More memorable than any place in Sunshine, or any other Mario game, or any other game, even. It also has simpler polygons than most, being a first-generation N64 game. There probably isn't any bump-mapping or fancy lighting or even any motion, aside from the flags at the beginning. So I don't think the number of castles is unrealistic, if you see it as a non-game scenario with minimum extraneous things to calculate.

Anyone else notice that the original castle seems to be at the very location on the field where Mario starts his adventure?

Even if it is a fake, no one can deny the impressiveness of this segment. Most of the rest of the clip is easy to create, but not this.

106

General Chat / I drew Kirby...in PSP.

« on: April 03, 2005, 08:10:33 AM »

http://img133.exs.cx/img133/9456/pictochatkirbybyjonleung3eu.png

I made this in Paint Shop Pro, before even remembering that the NES game Kirby's Adventure teaches you how to draw him!

And then after I made it, I realised that I drew it in Paint Shop Pro, so it was done on a PSP and not on a DS.  o_0  

107

General Gaming / I never heard of THIS...(new Nintendo arcade game)

« on: February 17, 2005, 05:45:32 PM »

I come to Planet GameCube every day and never even HEARD of this Mario Kart arcade game.  Apparently it just came out.

http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/game/docs/20050218/aou04.jpg

It's got Pac-Man in it, too.  o_0

Probably won't get a release any better than F-Zero AX, though.  :/

[B]

108

Nintendo Gaming / Could they really distinguish this apart from the Game Boy line?

« on: April 22, 2004, 06:01:07 AM »

Nintendo has called this their "third pillar", a new product distinct from their GBAs and GCNs.  But could it really be the start of a whole new line of products separate from consoles and (Game Boy) handhelds?

Obviously details are still scarce about the DS, but I still don't see enough to consider this an entirely new product.  It's still a handheld, and primarily for playing games.  It might hit a different market if it did more than play games, like playing videos or running applications but I don't see this kind of thing coming from Nintendo.

By not having the Game Boy name attached to it, and insisting on that difference, sure, that's a sign.  Though the average Joe consumer would call any handheld a Game Boy.

The "Game Boy" name itself sells a lot...the product must be radically new enough to distinguish itself apart from the other Game Boys (at least to those other than the average Joe) if they won't even call it a Game Boy.  Otherwise, as I joked on other boards, they should call it the Game Boy Advance DuAl Screened System.  Note the acronym.

I had more questions than this, but I'm guessing like everyone else, we'd have to wait until at least E3 for further details...*sigh*