Messages

626

Nintendo Gaming / Paper Mario for GameCube?

« on: May 16, 2003, 12:30:52 PM »

I personally think Mario RPG and Paper Mario are about equal.
Neither had that good a story. Paper Mario's story was very simple and predictable. Mario's RPG was definitly original and surprising but also incredibly lame at times.
Mario RPG had gameplay that was more advanced but kind of tedious and boring at times while Paper Mario's gameplay was too simplistic but more enjoyable.
Mario RPG was challenging but completely devoid of artistic style. Paper Mario had all kinds of artistic style but wasn't very challenging.
I really liked both games despite there flaws, but hopefully the next RPG game featuring Mario will combine the best qualities of both games.

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Nintendo Gaming / me Software support wanes for GameCube

« on: May 16, 2003, 11:29:09 AM »

MS once said something along the lines of "we are clearly in a number two position in the industry" which is what caused so many people to conclude it was beating Nintendo in hardware sales but the wording was so vague it should have been obvious to everyone that wasn't the case.

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Nintendo Gaming / Any more conferences by Nintendo?

« on: May 15, 2003, 07:34:17 PM »

The lack of many new announcements leads me to believe there will be a Spaceworld this year and Nintendo is saving most of its surprises for it.

629

Nintendo Gaming / Nintendo To Make Big Announcements?

« on: May 11, 2003, 03:51:33 PM »

MS already tried to buy Nintendo and failed.
Besides, Nintendo (a company that makes hundereds millions in the gaming industry) would be stupid to let itself be bought by a company that is currently losing millions in the industry.

People need to get over this idea that MS can just buy anyone.
A company can only be bought if it wants to be bought. It's been reported that MS has tried to buy Nintendo, Sega, and Square and obviously none of them let it happen.

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Nintendo Gaming / Did Miyamoto promise a realistic Zelda next?

« on: May 11, 2003, 12:14:46 PM »

Unless it just recently happened, no, he never promised a more realistic Zelda next.
He did promise there would be another Zelda on the Gamecube and said it MIGHT be more realistic.
I doubt it will be anything like the SW2K demo though. If it doesn't use cel-shading, it will probably just look more like Super Mario Sunshine. Not entirely cartoonish like Wind Waker is, but not really realistic either. But, considering how positive the reviews have been, I think the next game will probably be cel-shaded too. Most of the reviewers agree the cel-shading actually adds to the game. Assuming Nintendo pays attention to the reviews its games get, I think we'll see a lot more cel-shading from Nintendo in the future.

631

Nintendo Gaming / FF:CC needs more than one GBA?

« on: May 09, 2003, 08:48:59 AM »

"What's so terrible about FMV?"

Sounds like it would be a big problem with this game because of how customizable the gameplay is. The cut-scenes will presumably have to be different depending on the number of players, the characters chosen, etc...
FMV just wouldn't work for that. Square would have to make many different version of each FMV to reflect all the different gameplay scenereos. Real-time cut-scenes are just the obvious choice for a game like this.

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Nintendo Gaming / Gamecube has stronger lineup this year?

« on: May 08, 2003, 06:34:31 PM »

"Super Mario Sunshine did go on to sell over 2 million worldwide...."

I didn't say the game didn't sell well, just that it didn't cause that much of an increase in hardware sales.

633

Nintendo Gaming / Gamecube has stronger lineup this year?

« on: May 08, 2003, 05:42:53 PM »

It's a lot stronger in the sense that it plays more to Nintendo's strengths.
I think 4P party games are Nintendo's biggest asset. These are the games that will convince PS2 owners to buy a Gamecube as a second console. They are also Nintendo's strongest link to casual gamers. Last year, Nintendo just made the big mistake of relying too much on 1P games to sell consoles. I suppose Super Mario Sunshine was suppose to be the console's big system-seller but, the problem was, there were already plenty of 3D platform games on the PS2.


 

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Nintendo Gaming / Is GC going down a hole?

« on: May 08, 2003, 05:21:07 PM »

I definitly think the Gamecube has a brighter future than the XBox does.
So many of the biggest third-party developers have gotten close to Nintendo recently. There are so many joint-venture projects in the works. I think Nintendo's strategy of forging real relationships with developers will, in the long-run, do a lot more for it than MS's practice of simply paying off developers for exclusives.
Of course the XBox's complete failure in Japan will prevent most Japanese developers (which are still, by far, the most important developers to have on your team) from supporting it too strongly. This is what will REALLY hurt MS in the long-term.
Of course, it goes without saying that Nintendo has superior first/second party support over MS. So if it really does gain the upper-hand for third-party support (and I'm confident it will), there's no reason Nintendo won't be able to leave MS in a distant third place. It may take a while though. It wasn't until the very end of the SNES's run that it gained a notable lead over the Genesis. I think we'll see something similar happen with the Gamecube.

635

Nintendo Gaming / Maybe shedding some lite on Hideo Kojima's father son game

« on: May 07, 2003, 06:14:12 PM »

From my understanding, the rumored father and son game from Kojima was just the result of a misunderstanding. In an interview he said he was thinking of making a Gamecube title and that his next project would have something to do with father and son.
Basically, they were two seperate thoughts and, with the latter, he just met he was going to take some time off to spend with his family. It was just a figure of speech that some people didn't take figuratively.

636

TalkBack / Sega and Sammy Call it Quits

« on: May 07, 2003, 03:40:38 PM »

I'm sure it won't merge with MS.
Too many of Sega's developers would just go mad with rage if that happened.
It's almost a given that Yuji Naki would leave. He abandoned Sega before for much less of a reason.
If Sega's going to merge with anyone, I think it will be another company like Sammy.
Some company it will easily overshadow. But I wouldn't be surprised if Sega somehow found a way to tough it out on its own. It does have quite a few games coming out in the near future (including the Gamecube's FZero SADX) that will likely sell very well.  

Another thought : Why would MS even want to buy Sega? Haven't all of Sega's exclusive XBox games (which MS must have paid a lot of money to get) completely bombed?
Sure the bundle deal with the two Sega games caused a notable increase in hardware sales but the same would have happened with ANY two games.

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TalkBack / New Player's Choice Titles for $29.99!

« on: May 06, 2003, 06:29:06 PM »

Nintendo has said it's very weary of making software cheaper out of concern for the health of the industry.
At this time when so many developers are losing millions and facing possible death (fortunately, Nintendo isn't even close to being included in this category), it realizes that lowering the price of software could have terrible consequences.
A lot of developers are losing money on the PS2 because all last year gamers were preoccupied with buying the greatest hits games instead of new software. So many of the greatest hits game stayed high on the charts all year while so many new games underperformed. Why buy any other racing games for full-price when you can get GT3 ultra-cheap afterall. Good for gamers, but bad for third-party developers of racing games.

638

General Gaming / What game are you looking forward to most in E3 this year?

« on: May 06, 2003, 05:33:21 PM »

"thats y my most anticipated game of the show is perfect dark"

Are you sure the game is even going to be shown at E3?
I know it's rumored to be shown but I don't think anything's official.
I have some serious doubts about the game anyway. The key members of the team who made the original PD left Rare. They started a new development team which created Timesplitters 2 which got all kinds of critical praise. So, given that, it seems obvious that a lot (if not all) of the FPS-making talent that was once at Rare is gone now. A development house is only as good as its leading developers and Rare has lost a lot of leading developers these past couple years.  

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General Gaming / Stealth I.E. E3 line up for 2003-2004!

« on: May 06, 2003, 04:52:48 PM »

"Hey You Pokemon" definitly sounds like a voice recognition game.
It could actually be kind of cool. I'm sure it would be far more advanced than "Hey You Pikachu".

"The Wanderer" sounds like an RPG to me.

"Four Star Xtreme Racing" is obviously a racing game and the only racing games I'm interested in at the moment feature Nintendo mascots.

I automatically assume Star Wars games suck when they're announced. Maybe "I, Jedi" will be an exception but I doubt it.

"Redwall" kind of sounds like a puzzle game or something.

"Bumper's Full Assault" sounds like a bumper-car battle-game. Maybe it will even be an online game. But I'm probably way off on this.

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Nintendo Gaming / Gamecube to drop price on system on May 15th 2003?

« on: May 06, 2003, 02:52:06 PM »

I'm sure it won't happen in May. Nintendo just added Zelda to its bundle offer and there's no way Nintendo is going to sell a Gamecube w/Zelda for just $99.
I do think a price drop to $99.99 later this year - either at the start of the holiday season or along with the release of Mario Kart - would help Nintendo a lot though.
One hundered dollars is the magic number, basically. If something is over $100, it's an investment that people are really hesitant to make. But, if something is under $100, many people are willing to buy it on a whim or at least with little thought or hesitation.
There are three groups of people Nintendo is trying to go after but seems to failing at thanks to the price. Firstly, Nintendo has said since the start that it wants PS2 owners to buy a Gamecube as a second console and I'm sure there are a lot of PS2 owners who would like to but just aren't willing to at $150. Secondly, though the Gamecube has the reputation of being a "kiddy" console, as far as I can tell, very few kids actually own one. The Gamecube's current userbase seems to consist mostly of older Nintendo fans. Parents just aren't willing to buy a $150 game console for their kids anymore. Instead, they're just buying them GBAs because they're so cheap. Basically, a price drop would open the flood-gates to millions of people who otherwise wouldn't be willing to buy a Gamecube. It could make all the difference.
Best of all, unlike MS, Nintendo can drop the console's price without taking much (if any) of a loss. The cost-effective design of the Gamecube is a huge advantage Nintendo has that it just isn't taking advantage of.
The Gamecube may be $50 cheaper than the XBox but that was more than cancelled out when MS started giving away two free games with its console. I hate to admit it, but I can't blame people for picking the XBox over the Gamecube over the holiday season. It was simply the better deal.  

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TalkBack / Entertainment Weekly Names Zelda All-Time Top Game

« on: May 06, 2003, 02:17:15 PM »

I think the problem with these lists is the people who put them together are afraid to put too many Nintendo titles on them because they don't want to seem biased.  But, as a result, Nintendo nevers gets the praise it deserves. Honestly, I think at least a third of the 100 greatest games of all time are by Nintendo.

642

Nintendo Gaming / Kirby's Air Ride

« on: May 06, 2003, 08:25:32 AM »

I think there's a lot more to Kirby's Air Ride than most people think.
I doubt it's just a traditional racing game. I get the feeling it's more of a racing/adventure game with levels and boss-battles, etc...
Hal is a great developer and it's not just going to create some useless MK clone. I'm sure the game will be more than unique enough to warrant it being released the same year as MK and those fiends at IGN will eat their words.

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Nintendo Gaming / Nintendo's Sexy New ad Campaign!

« on: May 05, 2003, 05:56:27 PM »

I think including Zelda with the bundle deal was a smart move on Nintendo's part. The game seems to be getting a lot of attention. The problem with so many of Nintendo's other titles was that they just weren't different enough to make an impact. SMS was great but, at the end of the day, it was just another 3D platform game and there are plenty of those on the PS2.
At least Zelda's unique art style differentiates it a bit. I suspect we'll see the GCN's hardware sales increase again this month.

BTW, that guy is way too sexy to be in a gaming ad.
Did Nintendo pick him out of an Abercrombie & Fitch catalog or something?
Maybe the Gamecube's just there to hide the logo on his shirt.
 

644

Nintendo Gaming / Anyone else find it strange ... MGS3

« on: May 05, 2003, 05:01:31 PM »

When the MGS remake sells well on the Gamecube, there won't be any reason for Konami not to port MGS3 over. I'm sure the only reason MGS2:S wasn't ported is because Konami wasn't sure if the Gamecube userbase was the right market for it. The Resident Evil remake proved Gamecube owners are into "M" rated games with zombies, but do they want an "M" rated game with no zombies?

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Nintendo Gaming / Donkey Kong GC, Donkey Kong Racing and Yoshi GC...

« on: May 05, 2003, 10:11:13 AM »

I want Yoshi to be a side-scrolling game. I was dissapointed by Yoshi's Story but Yoshi's Island on the SNES is my favorite side-scrolling game of all time.
I would love to see a cel-shaded sequel to the game on the Gamecube.

646

Nintendo Gaming / GameCube SP

« on: May 05, 2003, 09:58:14 AM »

Nintendo has made it clear that it's trying to distance itself from Sony and MS. Sony and MS are turning their consoles into multimedia machines for a very mainstream audience. Nintendo sees this as an oppurtunity to be the ONLY company left creating a traditional game console for more serious gamers. This means it will appeal to a MUCH smaller audience but the HUGE benefit is it won't have to directly compete with Sony and MS and will have an entire market all to itself. In time, we'll be able to say Nintendo has a monopoly on the hand-held and console-gaming markets while Sony and MS will be fighting it out for the mutlimedia machine market.
Creating a version of the GC with DVD/CD playback would just undermine that plan.

Perhaps releasing a new clear-case version of the same old Gamecube and advertising the hell out of it could do something for Nintendo's image though. But, really, the jet black and platinum Gamecubes already look cooler than the XBox and PS2 combined. So I don't buy into this notion that people aren't buying the Gamecube because of how it looks for a moment.

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Nintendo Gaming / XBox's big game is Halo 2, what is GC big game of 2004?

« on: May 04, 2003, 04:44:04 PM »

"Rockstar would win it fdor Nintendo, i dont like GTA much, but it is the trute that GTA is the number-one reason PS2 did so well, and probobaly the biggest system selling game around."

The GTA series is just a fad. It's to this generation what Mortal Kombat was to the 16-bit generation.
People will eventually get sick of it. It won't have the kind of staying power games like Mario and Zelda have had. Nintendo is better off investing in something that will really help it in the long-term. Rockstar may be the holy-grail developer at the moment but so was Midway at a time and now it's regarded as one of the cr*ppiest developers in the world.
Rockstar may not have a fate quite as sad as Midway's but I think Nintendo's latest acquired developers, SK and Retro, will eventually do more for it than Rockstar ever could.

 

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TalkBack / Climax Working on GameCube FPS

« on: April 24, 2003, 06:34:01 PM »

"When Metroid doesn't sell ....... this won't either."

Metroid sold. Last I heard, it sold over 800,000 units. It also caused a notable increase in GCN sales in November. The GCN actually sold on par with the XBox that month.
In December, things took a turn for the worse though.

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Nintendo Gaming / Where is Toad?

« on: April 23, 2003, 09:51:36 AM »

Yeah, I think there will be some secret characters.
Sonic might even be in it, just as Miyamoto suggested.
I don't see why Toad would be demoted to a secret character though. Maybe he just serves a different role in the game now. Maybe he hosts the game like in some of the Mario Party titles.

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Nintendo Gaming / smash brothers

« on: April 23, 2003, 09:46:36 AM »

I don't think Nintendo should make another Smash Bros just for the Gamecube but I'd be fine with a new Smash Bros title for the Triforce arcade system. Especially if it featured Namco and Sega characters. You have to admit, it would be appropriate considering the Trifroce was co-developed with Sega and Namco.
I can't be the only person who thinks it's really strange that Nintendo itself has yet to announce a single game it's developing for its own arcade hardware. Maybe there is another Smash Bros game nearing completion to be ready for the Triforce's launch.
Of course, if it were on the Triforce, it would inevitably be ported to the GCN eventually.