Topic: Best system launch ever?!

[RiskyChris]

First time I've ever agreed with Ian.

Though some may argue that Link's Awakening was part platformer, as far as the Zelda series goes =)

[ThePerm]

i think Metroid  will launch with the  rev  because  its development time  matches previous metroid cycles.

[mantidor]

Its impossible that we are going to get both Mario and Metroid at launch, its just too good to be true.

Where did people get this idea anyway? no one has ever said both of these games are going to be launch titles.

[Mario]

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If they make Metroid Prime 3 a first person shooter I won't buy it. If I could somehow sabotage the sales of such a title I would. Anyone who wants Metroid to play like Halo isn't a real Metroid fan and doesn't deserve to have the franchise ruined to suit their tastes. If you don't like Metroid then tough sh!t.

LOL or maybe a FPS can be a good game, don't Metroid fans like good games? I agree somewhat (and I want to keep the exploration / immersion as the main aspect), but that's just insane.

Anyways TokyoEAD have to be working on a game right now, Jungle Beat has been finished for over a year, and NST must surely have something. I think we're going to see a pretty crowded launch...

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Originally posted by: mantidor
Its impossible that we are going to get both Mario and Metroid at launch, its just too good to be true.

Where did people get this idea anyway? no one has ever said both of these games are going to be launch titles.

If they are it'll be a new Mario, Metroid and Zelda game all at the same time

[Shorty McNostril]

But does it have to be metroid that sells the controller.  We apparently have a few different fps's coming out for the system, why not use them to do the talking instead of metroid.

I agree with ian also that using an fps style would make the game more difficult, and there has been plenty of complaining about the difficulty of prime 2 with lock-on.  

[Myxtika1 Azn]

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Originally posted by: Mario
If they are it'll be a new Mario, Metroid and Zelda game all at the same time

Super Smash Brothers Revolution??? I'm game!

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

worst launch ever

[Spak-Spang]

Nobody has commented on whether or not Metroid Prime 3 will be launch or not.  The reason it is speculated is because we already know it is in development, the Metroid Prime 2 revolution demo shown really rocked, and it is one of the few games we know about that has had long development time on the Revolution.

We believe Mario will be launched because the President of Nintendo commented on this fact.  He personally asked Miyamoto to make Mario a priority for launch.  You don't take a directive from your company President very lightly.  This game is being pushed for launch in a big way.

Finally, Super Smash Brothers Melee is also being pushed for launch.  Two of these games we know Nintendo desperately wants to get out at launch.

Nintendo probably feels Metroid is needed for the US launch as a mature title, so I think it is safe to say these games will be out within 4 months launch if not on launch day already.

Remember, Nintendo has slown down Gamecube development for some time, and they are very busy prepping games for a launch.  Read how many games just from Nintendo are being prepared.  Not all these games will be launch games, but you know the first year of the Revolution is being prepped to include a nice lineup (hopefully with very little drought.)

If there is a drought we have the virtual console to keep us busy.

[decoyman]

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Originally posted by: MaryJane
I think you're thinking is too narrow. aiming is hard with a traditional controller. (imagine how hard duck hunt would have been without the light gun) but with the nrc aiming will be a natural function. raise your hand if when you first started playing video games like mario, and you wanted to make him jump really far you would move the controller to, subconscienciously hoping it would help him jump further. ::raises hand::

MaryJane's got a point here. Anyone who's played a FPS on a computer with a keyboard and mouse knows how easy it is to run and gun quickly and accurately. After being raised on FPSs on the computer with mouselook, I've hated playing console FPSs because of the clunky, groggy movement and aiming of the dual analog setup. Metroid Prime 1/2 sidestepped this by offering lock-on. But now, both the revmote AND the touchscreen on the DS allow a similar sort of freedom, so they're taking advantage of it.

... But Ian also has a point, in that the distinction between the two game types (FPS vs. FPA) is becoming somewhat blurred with MP:H. Of course, changing such a basic feature as lock-on or free-aim is going to change the emphasis of the action somewhat. But how much? And I don't think that the only difference between a FPA and a FPS is in having or not having lock-on. The big unknown right now is the single player quest. If it's as beefy as has been implied, and more importantly, there's major emphasis put on exploration (the single-most distinguishing characteristic between a FPS and a FPA for me), then I'd still label this game a FPA.

Come on, though, we can argue all night long about what genre to classify this game under... Allow me to pose a question: would a Metroid game by any other genre name still play as sweet?

[Dirk Temporo]

If SSBO is ready for launch, it will be a perfect launch for me. I don't care what else may or may not be there.

[IceCold]

This most probably isn't possible, but F-ZERO! It would be the perfect display of the Rev's controls, graphics, and online system. Hmm, maybe Nintendo should buy Amusement Vision..

Mario Party should skip a year and not be released around the Rev launch. This would keep it fresher (well, for MP that is), and also it would allow Hudson to make an unforgettable Mario Party game. Online, crazy NRC minigames, maybe a few select "best of" minigames..

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BUT having PM3 will get the Metroid fans n board right away

Paper Mario 3?

The only thing I got from Ian's last post is that he is bad at FPSes and platformers

[Plugabugz]

I don't really mind what the launch is, as long as we europe dont have to wait a year after everyone else and barely get anything new for our patience.

[Jensen]

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Originally posted by: IceCold

The only thing I got from Ian's last post is that he is bad at FPSes and platformers

I don't know how you could be good at Metroid Prime, and bad at FPSs.   Metroid is already a tough action game, in addition to exploration. It's not like adding shooting elements to Myst...

Most of the bosses in MP break your lock-on, so you constantly have to aim in a (general) direction to lock on.  That can be much more frustrating than just aiming with a faster, more acurate pointer.

[Magik]

Metroid really isn't that tough.  Sure the initial time you pick up the controller and start playing is rather tough, but after that, the game's a breeze.  

Back to the topic, I don't agree with using the virtual console as a substitute for new games.  I want new games.  I want to experience new ways of playing games, not playing old traditional style games.  For some people, the virtual console can be used to fill the gap for droughts, but for most, I doubt it.

I actually wonder about SSB and Mario being launch titles because from all indications, it doesn't look like it's going to be launch titles.  From what I remember, development for SSB just started last year so it only leaves what?  A year and half before launch?  

Mario worries me because we've been hearing that Mario 128 was coming out 'soon'.... well the boat for GC has left and we're still no closer to an actually release date.  Having Iwata ask Miyamoto to get it done soon worries me as well cause what if he has to rush the game?  Does anybody want to end up with what happened at the end of Zelda:WW?

The launch is shaping up to be more interesting rather than exciting as you think more about it.

[Spak-Spang]

Actually I think aiming on a PC is much more difficult than on console.  Sure you can move quicker around the world, but trying to precision aim in a fast FPS becomes very difficult and headache inducing when you are chasing a moving character about.  I think this is the reason 1st person shooters are still for the hardcore.  First, the orientation to play can be painful, the controls and all are difficult to master, and finally you have to play online against people far more dedicated than you to play verse mode...it becomes redundant.

The Nintendo Revolution might be the best controller for FPS ever.  You can literally treat aiming like you are using a light gun, and when you get to the edges of the screen is when the screen starts to move with the character.  

First Person Shooters on the Revolution COULD practically be a completely different genre with that kind of advancement.  More like playing that Resident Evil light gun game, then a traditional FPS.  

This will give games like Metroid Prime more freedom to create intense bosses that require precision aiming to hit weaknesses, and will open up the game to greater puzzles and gameplay in the end.  

I believe that Metroid Prime 3 will be the defining FPS of the next generation, and then I predict a whole lot of clones to pop up on the Revolution to just copy the control style.

[wandering]

Ian, your biases are showing again....

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Originally posted by: Ian Sane
Super Mario 64 had an advantage no Rev game has. When it was first shown Nintendo was the market leader and thus everyone paid attention to it. It was a fantastic groundbreaking game but at the time both Nintendo and Mario were still popular. Metroid Prime was an amazing game but it wasn't marketed well and no one paid attention to it so it didn't sell like it could have. And who would have paid attention to it without any extra incentive? It's a Nintendo franchise game, Nintendo rehashes, so it must suck. That's not good logic but it's the biased attitude a lot of people have.

People paid attention to mario 64 because it was the first well-made 3d platformer and set the standard for 3d game design. The fact that NIntendo was the market leader had little to do with Mario 64's success. The fact that Metroid was a franchise game had little to do with it's (relative) failure....after all, Mario 64 was a franchise game too.

Oh, and you guys can stop arguing about mp3's lock-on now. Gamespot:

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The analog stick controlled your movement. The A button let you jump, while the B button fired your weapon. The shoulder buttons on the analog attachment let you switch visors, scan, and lock on to targets, although the lock-on feature was less necessary thanks to the precision firing available via just looking around with the controller. You could shift to the morph ball by pressing the select button on the main controller's face, which felt surprisingly comfortable to do in the middle of action.

 

[mantidor]

Im 100% sure lock on will be gone for MP3.

[Requiem]

Hmm this thread is getting lively...

Ian, I honestly believe you FEAR change. Metriod will lose the lock-on, so you are going to have to deal with it. And you know what? You just might like it .

As for my list being really optimistic, maybe it is. However, like I said before - Zelda TP, Metriod, SSMO, and the Camelot RPG will be launch titles (or at least relatively close to launch). There is no doubt about that. To me thats already an incredible launch, and the best yet. But I don't doubt that either WarioWare or Mario Paint REV are in the works for launch. Or maybe Nintendogs? Add another Nintendo-published game to the list.

Mario, the new IP, and the resurrection of an old IP probably won't hit till sometime in 2007. However, I do believe WaveRace or maybe even PilotWings will come out before the end of 2006. Honestly, what has that team had to work on after their 1080 release? Are they the same company that is working on Pennent Chase?

Well sh#t, my point is...add another Nintendo-published game to the list.

So that's 6 so far.

There's been somewhat of an oproar in support for Revolution. The one's that are likely to hit launch are

Ubisoft's FPS
Capcom's title (not the kojima produced one, which IS a seperate title)
EA everything (Madden, Fifa, Fight Night which could be a killer app)
New Sonic
Square's offering (most likely VERY far along; they were the first to comment on the REV: remember this quote "not just a console, not just a portable, but a birth of a new platform)
Midway's title
TRUAMA CENTER (could be a real cult classic, even more so then it already is)
THQ's title

That's about 16 (some may not make it). That's pretty damn good, especially cause I'll probably pick up at least 5 of those titles, which is unheard of....

Then factor in all those games that are waiting to suprise us at E3 and all third-party pullshit and you have a pretty decent sized launch.

And one more thing, though I understand the complaint that the Virtual Console can't be considered as a launch title or a substition for games, I really don't care. The fact is, I have been waiting to play SO MANY titles that I at one point wanted or simply lost. That is what makes this launch even more special for me...

If you guys can't see this as the best launch ever, honestly....get help...

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

Pilotwings was rumored to be under Factor 5, but they're currently confirmed on PS3 projects.

NST handles Wave Race and 1080, and GameCube demo discs, and I don't know how their resources are split considering they're finishing Metroid Prime: Hunters.

Pennant Chase is developed by Company Not Appearing In This Thread.  Don't remember who.  

[Magik]

It can be the greatest launch ever, but if there's nothing worth while coming out after or if there's droughts that we experienced with the GC, it's meaningless.

[Urkel]

The reason Metroid Prime underperformed was due to anti-hype. The fans were furious when it was revealed to take place in first person. On top of that, all the rumblings of Retro's internal problems made the skepticism 100 times worse. Almost nobody expected the game to turn out decent. Things started to turn around when it was playable at E3, but there were still plenty of skeptics left. It wasn't really until the glowing reviews came out that the hype started to begin, but by then it was too late to generate the kind of frenzy needed to take the spotlight away from all the undeserved hype Splinter Cell was getting.

[Magik]

Undeserved hype?  Splinter Cell was a great game that deserved the hype that it got.

If Nintendo put more effort into their marketing of Metroid Prime things would have been different.  If you think Metroid Prime underperformed that badly, than Echoes was attrocious compared to the original Prime.

[stevey]

I dont know if this has been posted but Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles is going to be a launch/near launch game!!  

[KDR_11k]

It only says this year, while that may be near launch it's not guaranteed to be so.

They'd do better to use another name for the game, FFCC is a tainted name that has negative associations because the game quite frankly sucked.

[Fro]

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Originally posted by: Magik
It can be the greatest launch ever, but if there's nothing worth while coming out after or if there's droughts that we experienced with the GC, it's meaningless.

That's when you rush out sparkling innovationy, low-priced titles for the post-launch lull... i.e., the cooking game.

Not to mention there's enough virtual console titles to keep everyone busy forever.