Pedro asks, Do you think anime-themed games will get more space in America?

There's DBZ: Budokai for the PS2 and it's selling like hot cakes... and I see

people complaining about Konami's GC support, but then again there is a Yu-Gi-Oh

title for it in Japan. Do any of you have an idea if One Piece: Treasure Battle

will ever be released in the U.S., since it's being published on the US version

of Shonen Jump?

Rick Says: I don't think anime has anything to do with it. I think it

has to do with them being popular programs, regardless of the genre of the

program. I also think it has a lot to do with those shows being aimed at kids,

more than anything else.

Alex Says: I'm a gigantic fan of Anime. There are some great

stories out there that could be perfectly translated into console form. When

watching the imaginative film, "Spirited Away," all I could think about was,

"wow, this could make for one hell of a great game!" As far as titles which have

tried: I don't think a single one of them have found the magic format. "The Wind

Waker" successfully incorporated a lot of anime influences. I don't think

Nintendo suffered much by missing out on a DBZ port.

Jonathan Says: One Piece is a far cry from Dragon Ball Z. But

yeah, in typical publisher fashion, at least a few companies will try to jump on

this bandwagon, whether it really exists or not.

Mike Suzuki Says: With the

growing popularity of anime in the US, I'd expect to see more and more Japanese

anime-based games making their way to other markets. Of course, the series'

popularity will usually be the determining factor. If a show is on TV and

develops a decent following, then a publisher might just take a chance and bring

a game based on that show over. As for One Piece, unfortunately, I think it'll

be a while before it comes over (if it ever does). Being in the US Shonen Jump

is a first step towards popularity, but that's not quite the same as having a

weekday or Saturday morning TV show.

Jeremy asks, What does having Treasure as the developer for Wario World do to

the status of the game? To me that seems like it can't go wrong, but I haven't

heard anything real promising about it yet.

TYP Says: Wario World held some promise last year, but it

lacked...for the lack of a better word...personality. I can only hope this was

due to its VERY early state. Treasure has a pretty good track record, but they

aren't flawless from what I've read. There has been no mention of

transformations, which has me worrying about the game's Wario factor, but if

Wario World turns out to be a fun, side-scrolling brawler with a Nintendo

franchise slapped on (and hours of Martinet commentary if we're lucky) I'll

probably still be happy.

Alex Says: From what I've read and seen, it looks like the

developers over at Treasure played too many Crash Bandicoot games before

creating Wario World. There's still not enough info. available to know if the

end product will turn out to be a Crash Rehash. I agree with Michael that the

game has yet to show us a "personality" of its own. I'm a sucker for

side-scrollers, so even if Treasure doesn't come through for the greedy

anti-hero, I'll be all over his GameCube debut like stink on Isle Delfino

sludge.

Jonathan Says: The only 3D game like this Treasure has made in the

past is Stretch Panic for PS2, which is considered a mediocre, though very

funny, platformer. Still, Wario World has surely come a long way since we saw it

at E3 last year. I don't think Nintendo will let them release it until it's

quite satisfactory. Wario World has already been delayed several months from its

original date, so it seems Nintendo is pushing Treasure hard to get it right.

Mike Suzuki Says: I'm not sure that having Treasure as Wario

World's developer is either a positive or a negative. Most acclaim for the

company has come from the shooters they've made. Wario World looks to be an

action/platformer/brawler so we'll have to see what Treasure can do with that

type of game. Last year's E3 demo was very rough and didn't impress many. We'll

have to see how it is at E3 this year, though. They've had a year to work on the

game so hopefully it's come a long way.

Manunited asks, After GameSpy announced that they were developers for the

Cube, it left a lot of us thinking, "Dear god LAN and online gaming finally!"

Since that time people have quieted down, but we are all left with that burning

question, what games other than Mario Kart could we expect to see with LAN

support, and when will the GameSpy software begin circulating into games?

Rick Says: I am under the impression that Miyamoto is VERY high on

the LAN gaming concept, more so than Internet due to the simplicity of it. That

said, I expect that we're going to see Nintendo get behind LAN gaming in a big

way at E3. It will surprise me if we don't see most (if not all) of Nintendo's

titles with some sort of LAN gaming feature. GameSpy's technology will NOT be

used in the games directly, but rather, will be a great way to get these games

online in an "unofficial" way.

For those unfamiliar with the idea, GameSpy offers an "Xbox Tunnel" software for

the PC that lets your computer emulate an Xbox to some degree, but is actually

sending network communications to the GameSpy server over the internet, making

your Xbox think it's on a local network, when in reality, you're talking to the

other connected Xboxes. In basic terms, it allows you to take games with LAN

play, but not internet (like Halo for the Xbox), and play them online. It's my

understanding that what we're going to see from GameSpy for the GameCube is

going to be very similar in nature, albeit this time, developed with Nintendo's

knowledge.

Alex Says: Two games that I would love to get "LAN-y" with would

be: Pikmin 2 and the second Animal Crossing. Something as simple as the original

Mario Bros. (before it went "Super") could be included with a bigger game

("Mario 128?" *drool*) and would be a lot of fun.

Jonathan Says: LAN gaming has actually been possible with systems

like the original PlayStation, PS2, and Xbox already, but it's not often used by

consumers because setup can be rather confusing and involve a lot of extra

hardware. It's also usually not very practical to set up multiple TVs and

systems in the same room. Expect Nintendo to offer solutions to these problems

when it starts pushing LAN gaming on GameCube.

As far as the games, LAN features can be nice for first-person shooters and

racers, but Nintendo is going to be really excited about the cooperative

possibilities it offers. I expect to see co-op LAN modes included in games like

Pikmin 2 and Star Fox Armada. F-Zero is also an obvious candidate for

head-to-head competition, alongside Mario Kart: Double Dash.

Mike Suzuki Says: As others have said, Pikmin 2 and Animal

Crossing 2 are good candidates for LAN gaming. Star Fox Armada could have it,

too. I'd love F-Zero to have LAN support, but that seems to be too far along

with no hint of LAN support whatsoever. Here's hoping that they've been keeping

that feature a secret and will show it at E3. I wouldn't rule out LAN support

for any new EAD titles unveiled at E3 as well as LAN support from Namco, Capcom,

Electronic Arts, and other 3rd parties with which Nintendo has strong relations.

TYP Says: As I mentioned in news comments, I think LAN gaming could

be great for GameCube, but I am concerned that many games will only support two

GameCubes. Limiting LAN gaming to two consoles makes the programming much

simpler, and a patch cable connecting two GameCubes directly is bound to be

easier to the average consumer. I certainly hope Nintendo doesn't throw 3+

system gaming out the window in order to make things friendlier! A cable similar

to 1st party GBA link cables and compatible with hubs would fit the bill nicely.

NewYork5A asks, Given the choice, would you rather the next Zelda game

feature the same graphics used in The Wind Waker, or the infamous Lost Graphics

Engine of Spaceworld 2000? I never minded the turn that The Wind Waker took, and

wouldn't mind seeing it again. Hardware still isn't good enough to do a

completely realistic Zelda justice, and the tiny imperfections would be much

more noticeable, taking you out of the game and making it less immersive. Also,

Zelda is a fantasy game, and many of the elements of the Zelda universe just

wouldn't look right in complete realism. I imagine things like the Moblins, a

talking boat (think Knight Rider) and even Link (sportin' some true-to-life

tights) coming off as rather creepy in Real Life-O-Vision. In addition, while

other developers are striving for realism, Wind Waker's presentation is

creative, stylish and even daring. Why look like every other game on the market

when you're capable of doing something much cooler?

Mike H. Says: I enjoy the way Wind Waker turned out, and I respect

Miyamoto for taking something of a calculated risk and sticking with his gut

feeling, allowing Wind Waker to grow into what it became. It's simply a terrific

game. That said, I do also appreciate the darker and more "realistic" graphic

formula of the old Zelda demo. If not for Zelda, I'd like to see it incorporated

into another new title that might be more suitable.

I would first like to see how far Nintendo can go with cell-shading, pushing the

envelope in how far they can perfect it with better animations and a higher

resolution.

TYP Says: NewYork5A makes a good point about a darker and

"realistic" Zelda: it would probably creep people out. I doubt EAD would want to

make a Zelda game that does this, as Miyamoto and Aonuma are both firm believers

in making games accessible to as wide an audience as possible. However, if

designed and marketed properly it could still sell quite well among older

gamers. If this darker game were ever to come into existence it would almost

certainly be developed by a 2nd or 3rd party. I wonder if Silicon Knights would

be interested in telling a tale concerning the more disturbing aspects of

Hyrule...

Rick Says: The problem with making a realistic game is that once

you start playing with "real world" looks, you're shackled to "real world"

physics. We instinctively know when something isn't reacting the way it

"should". Ever watch a movie with computer generated graphics, and no matter how

good those graphics are, you can always tell that it just isn't real?

When you're playing in a "fantasy" world, you get to have the player suspend

their disbelief. This isn't the real world any more, so you can accept things

that you know wouldn't react a certain way under real world conditions. I think

the problem with a "realistic" version of Zelda is that it could never be

realistic enough. It would always be missing the life that Miyamoto manages to

breathe into his games.

Of course, there's also been the debate that the Zelda series was never very

realistic, and that the graphic style used in Wind Waker is less of a departure

from previous efforts than the Spaceworld demo was. Sure, it looked really neat,

but it was very different, and wasn't very true to the world Miyamoto spent

years establishing.

Alex Says: I was surprised at how much I loved the look of The

Wind Waker. Nintendo dared to do something entirely different with the

cel-shaded design. I think the next game should be just as bold visually. That

doesn’t mean that it necessarily has to be the “darker” Zelda, but I think it

should be something that we haven't seen (in the series) before.

Jonathan Says: I don't see Nintendo

making a Zelda game as realistic-looking as that demo. Maybe if Zelda eventually

gets handed off to an outside developer, like Silicon Knights...but that's not

likely to happen anytime soon.

VicJun asks, We all now that Nintendo had a fiscal year in 2002, and there

struggling big time in this mother of all console wars, but do you think E3 will

be a turning point in the war for Nintendo?

Mike H. Says: A lot of people were saying that 2002 was going to

be one of the biggest years in Nintendo's history, with all of the games like

Mario Sunshine, Star Fox Adventures, Metroid, etc. And surely enough it was. But

it didn't turn things around for the company in terms of their placement in the

game wars. They're still fighting tooth and nail for 2nd place with Microsoft

just as they were a year ago. I don't think many believe the momentum is really

going to change for this generation. Nintendo will largely stay the course and

be aggressive where they feel they need to be successful today. How Nintendo

plans to change the rules next time around, if they choose to, is still unknown.

Alex Says: I don't think any E3 that went before has meant more

than 2003's does to Nintendo's future. This is "make or break" time for the

company. I think they need to respond to consumer wants by announcing some

Internet play (the only reason my GameCube modem isn't gathering dust, is

because it's situated at the bottom of my console), a more aggressive

advertising campaign, a competitive price drop and really letting the gamers out

there in the world know about the GameCube Game Boy Player. It's no secret that

even the most devoted PS2 and Xbox owners love the Game Boy Advance. I believe

the most important announcement Nintendo could make is that they are

implementing the player into all future GameCube consoles. People would see the

GameCube as two systems in one. Even if the Cube didn't drop in price, the

"two-for-one" would be incentive enough to pick one of the machines up.

Jonathan Says: E3's influence is

widely misunderstood. A company's showing at E3 can make a huge difference in

how they are viewed by the press, which has some eventual bearing on the

company's performance. But most casual gamers, who hold the vast majority of

money in the gaming market, don't even know what E3 is, much less which

companies performed the best at the show. E3 is a fantastic venue for the press

and hardcore fans, but it really has only a small effect on what happens on down

the road towards Christmas. Case in point: many show-goers agree that Nintendo

has had one of the best, if not the very best booth for the last few years. But

that success at E3 has not really done much for the company in the long run.

Mike Suzuki Says: I think Jonny's

pretty much hit the nail on the head. E3 is a big deal for media and enthusiasts

but it doesn't necessarily correlate to real world sales. E3 2001 had many

show-goers praising the GameCube and wondering how Xbox would sell (Halo had

some serious framerate issues at that show) but when the systems finally

launched, they were pretty much on the same ground. So while it'd be nice for

Nintendo to have a good show in 2003, I'd hardly say that the show will be a

turning point for Nintendo.