Messages

501

Nintendo Gaming / RE:Nintendo & Microsoft -- UNITED?

« on: September 01, 2003, 07:20:21 AM »

If a site from Brazil says it, it MUST be true!

Since MS and Nintendo are using the same chip manufacturer, I could maybe see them agreeing to give their consoles nearly identicle architecture to make cross-platform development super easy. That would be a great benefit to third-parties, especially if the PS3 is going to be very difficult to port to/from as rumored. But it would have to be something small like that.
Nintendo is one of the most respected and praised companies in the Japanese business world. Actually teaming up with MS or any big, American company would destroy its reputation in a heartbeat. It just won't happen.

And I agree that it's unfair for the article to imply MS has some kind of technological superiority when it comes to to console design.
The Gamecube has been praised by many developers as the easiest console to
develope for, it's proven itself to be about as powerful as the XBox without having to be nearly as bulky, and it's a hell of a lot cheaper to manufacture. There's a very good argument there that Nintendo did a better job designing its current console than MS did.

502

Nintendo Gaming / RE:mario kart bonus disk question

« on: August 29, 2003, 01:27:39 AM »

I'm not even sure the Mario Kart bonus disk has been confirmed for anywhere. I thought it was just a rumor.

503

Nintendo Gaming / RE:M$ and Nintendo?

« on: August 29, 2003, 01:16:55 AM »

"Well, I happen to know that Microsoft WANTS to team up with Nintendo in one form or another. They originally wanted to buy Nintendo before this generation, but it didn't happen 'cos of Mr. Yamauchi anti-MS stigma & Microsoft wanting Nintendo to ditch their GAMECUBE system altogether."

Yamauchi isn't the only one with an anti-MS stigma.
If Nintendo did anything with MS, it would destroy Nintendo's reputation in Japan with consumers and especially other Japanese companies.
Nintendo is one of the most respected and most praised companies in the Japanese business world and there's no way it would throw that all away.

"That way Nintendo & Microsoft games can be played on either Nintendo or Microsoft systems. They take themselves out of competition with each other all the while never hendering the other companies plans. They'd have to make it to where the developement tools would make the new games compatible with both systems and they'd have to agree on certain things like peripheral/controller specifications, but the systems themselves could be whatever each company wants them to be."

That would work out great except Nintendo's console would be a huge failure. Everywhere except maybe Japan.
Nintendo has constantly stressed that it relies on exclusive games to sell its consoles. Take away the exclusive games and people don't buy Nintendo consoles anymore.
If both an MS and a Nintendo console played all the same games, the vast majority of people would buy the MS console.
Nintendo would essentially end up being nothing more than an unofficial MS second-party.

"Two completly different systems from two different companies BUT that play the same exact games and thusly helping themselves against a common enemy (Sony) while at the same time taking themselves out of competition with themselves."

As long as Nintendo and MS were still seperate companies with seperate consoles that consumers would have to choose between, they would still be in competition.  

504

Nintendo Gaming / RE:M$ and Nintendo?

« on: August 28, 2003, 08:50:40 AM »

Not only would this partnership allow Nintendo to get rid of a lot of those pesky profits but, even better, Nintendo would get a shiny, new knife RIGHT IN THE BACK the moment MS saw the oppurtunity


Nintendo is making a lot of money in the console market.
MS has lost a TON of money in the console market.
Iwata recently reaffirmed that Nintendo is a profit-driven company.
Seems pretty clear to me why no one should take this rumor seriously.


I'm really starting to think Nintendo fans will believe ANYTHING no matter how ridiculous it is as long as it leads to the possibility of defeating Sony. There was this INSANE rumor last year about Nintendo finding a way to sue Sony and steal the Playstation brandname along with all the profits made off of it. It was a part of the "megaton" thing and was reported on several sites. AND PEOPLE BELIEVED IT!!!!!!
LOTS OF PEOPLE!!!!!!!
WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE!!!!!!

Actually, come to think of it, I heard this rumor that Nintendo's next console will be made of God himself and only people who buy it will go to heaven! Sony is dead!

505

Nintendo Gaming / RE:M$ and Nintendo?

« on: August 28, 2003, 07:42:22 AM »

"Its not simply wishfull thinking. Ive read this before in mnay places including IGN...."

So what?
There have been tons of crazy rumors that have been widely circulated that turned out to be completely bogus.
This whole MS/Nintendo thing is as ridiculous as those reports of Starfox Adventures being moved to the PS2 last year.
The most I can see is Nintendo and MS agreeing to have similar architecture so developers can easily develope games on both consoles together.
That would be mutually beneficial and most importantly would help the fight against Sony.  

506

Nintendo Gaming / RE:Should Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles really use GBA connectivity??

« on: August 28, 2003, 05:15:45 AM »

"That raises another point- it's so much better playing games with people that are sitting right beside you. Not to say an online FF:CC wouldn't be fun, but the level of interaction between 4 guys all in the same room rather than thousands of miles away is much greater, and in my opinion that makes the game so much better."

I completely agree.
I've read a lot of funny comments from people who have imported the game about how interactive they get with their friends while playing.
Gabe from Penny Arcade said he's sure someone will DIE because of this game.
I can totally see it happening. You're at some huge boss or something and one of your friends screws up and causes the entire group to be defeated. Things could get ugly. So online gaming may be safer but it's definitly not as fun IMO

 

507

Nintendo Gaming / RE:Should Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles really use GBA connectivity??

« on: August 27, 2003, 07:33:34 PM »

"I would rather have online than the short cut version. That is games using LAN networks or GBA linking. Unfortunately that is not a very logical idea financially at the time in console gaming. So we have to buy excessive amounts of hardware instead."

For a lot of people, the LAN and especially the GBA linking is a lot cheaper than online gaming would be. There are no doubt a lot of Gamecube owners (probably the majority, in fact) that already have a GBA of their own as well as friends with GBAs. The only thing they might be missing is the inexpensive link-cables and one is even included with FFCC.
As for LAN. At least it's free once you've got it set up.
So I don't think either "short-cut" is unfair to consumers. Most people would probably prefer them over having to buy a modem accessory, get broadband, and pay monthly fees for online gaming.

"Everyone knows this game won't be the same if you play it alone. If it were online though you would never have a prob finding a friend to play with or need a single GBA."

Yeah, but you would need to go through the trouble of making your console online-ready and paying monthly fees. I think MOST people would find it a lot easier just to find some real friends.

"Next gen why don't they skip the bs and just pack in a next gen GB that doubles as the console controller using wireless technology."

That wouldn't be fair to consumers who don't want a GB. Nintendo isn't forcing consumers into anything right now. You can buy FFCC and play it alone or you can not buy it at all. It's every Gamecube owner's option to spend money on the connectivity feature or not. Forcing consumers to buy a GB with its next console would take that option away.
It's not like Nintendo could just give it away free with the console afterall. It would have to increase the price.
 

508

Nintendo Gaming / RE:Should Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles really use GBA connectivity??

« on: August 26, 2003, 02:22:20 PM »

"The GBA should be used to sell GC and GC games rather than using the GC to sell the most successful system on the market."

It is selling Gamecubes. GCN sales doubled when the game was released in Japan.
It's actually an ingenius way to sale Gamecubes. People who already own Gamecubes are buying the game, inviting their GBA-only friends over to play it, and hopefully getting them more interested in buying a Gamecube themselves.

"Lets say the average smuck who has a PS2 sees the commercial and wants the game. There is no way he has three friends with GBAs and the money to buy a GC, FFCC, a memory card, extra controllers, a GBA, and a link cable."

First off, remove "extra controllers" from the list. The game uses GBAs INSTEAD of controllers.
The memory card would be needed with ANY game.
There's an excellent chance the PS2 owner already has a GBA and, unless he's a total shut-in, he probably has at least one other friend with a GBA which is enough for multiplayer. Four players is just the
The link-cables are very inexpensive and one is even included with the game.
But  all you really need to buy to play the game is a Gamecube (w/controller) and memory card because. . .

"I would rather have just bought the game and been able to sit down by myself and play it like Kingdom Hearts."

You can!
The 1P mode doesn't require a GBA. You can play it with the normal controller. You can buy it for the 1P mode and maybe sometime in the future you'll be able to try the multiplayer with GBAs.

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Nintendo Gaming / RE:the official "if i was running nintendo" thread

« on: August 26, 2003, 07:39:55 AM »

People should keep in mind how easy Sony has had it so far.
The Sega Saturn was notoriously difficult to develope for as was the N64 which also used the expensive cartridge format. This sent the majority of third-parties running to the PSX which was both cheap and easy to develope for. This generation, Sony has also had it easy. The DC never really had a chance and the PS2 had already sold a ton of units and saturated the market by the time the XBox and GCN were released.
Sony has been so successful because all the competitors it's faced have had handicaps that have kept them from getting the kind of third-party support they need to be serious competition. But that will almost certainly change this next generation assuming Nintendo and MS come through with consoles that are released on time and are easy to develope for.

The PS3 probably will still "win" next generation and I really don't even care. The important thing is Sony's near-monopoly of the market is bound to fall and the third-party support will be much more evenly distributed.
Nintendo shouldn't have to rely almost entirely on its own first and second party games to sell systems and, if all goes well, it won't have to much longer. Just look at the kind of support the Gamecube is getting from some of the biggest third-party developers like Namco, Sega, and Capcom despite the HUGE lead the PS2 has over it. Now just imagine the kind of support Ninendo's next console will get if it's released before the PS3 has a chance to gain a similar lead.  

510

Nintendo Gaming / RE:Cant EAD make decent graphics?

« on: August 22, 2003, 08:55:04 PM »

"Mabye I am expecting too much. Mabye i'm used to the days when EAD were leading the industry in the graphics departments (see Mario 64, Mario Kart 64 etc.) Mabye I have been expeting those days to continue or something, I
dont know."

You have to keep in mind that the N64 was a lot more powerful than the PSX and Nintendo was one of very few developers that knew how to harness that power. Obviously, things are different this generation and Nintendo doesn't have such an advantage.
Nintendo's games are still among the most impressive graphically (despite what cr*ppy screenshots would have you believe) but you can't expect them to be leagues above the competition's like Mario 64 and Zelda Oot's were.

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Nintendo Gaming / RE:Cant EAD make decent graphics?

« on: August 22, 2003, 02:23:05 PM »

You should NEVER judge a Nintendo game by the screenshots.
For whatever reasons, the screenshots seem to ALWAYS look like cr*p while the games themselves actually look really good.  

512

Nintendo Gaming / N/A

« on: August 21, 2003, 06:32:18 PM »

N/A

513

Nintendo Gaming / RE:the official "if i was running nintendo" thread

« on: August 21, 2003, 05:03:35 PM »

You mentioned the GCN lagging behind the XBox in some markets but didn't even touch on why that's the case.
The GCN was practically tied with the XBox until the previous holiday season when it really fell behind because MS started giving away TWO free games with its console. A move which Nintendo did NOTHING to counter-attack. Not until AFTER the holiday season when it started giving away just ONE free game. MS simply gave consumers a much better deal and it worked.
If Nintendo had matched the offer and started giving away two free games last year, I'm confident the Gamecube would have beaten the XBox over the holiday season - at the very least, it almost certainly would have kept the XBox from gaining any kind of notable lead.

As for Europe. The GCN was actually doing a lot better than the XBox up until MS gave Europeans an even more generous bonus offer than the one in the US. Not only that but it made sure to get Splinter Cell out in time for Christmas while Nintendo's Metroid Prime was delayed into the new year.

Nintendo's main problem is it just hasn't been aggressive enough. It needs to match any of its competitors' offers and make sure it gets its games out as soon as possible to as many markets as possible.
Fortunately, Nintendo seems to have realized its mistakes. It's supposably making the very aggressive move of dropping the price of the GCN to a very competitive $99 later this year and most of the big holiday titles for the US are scheduled to make it to Europe before the end of the year too.

514

TalkBack / RE:More Sakurai Details

« on: August 20, 2003, 09:04:17 AM »

"I think he quit for the reason that he wanted creative freedom, not sequel nr. 10."

If that were the case, he'd of left a LONG time ago.
Hal has pretty much just been doing Kirby game after Kirby game for over a decade now.

I think his departure has to do with the changes at Hal. Nintendo is supposably making Hal a MUCH larger studio that will be devoted to a larger number of games. I think Sakurai just liked Hal being a small, cozy development studio doing one or two games at a time.  

515

Nintendo Gaming / RE:Nintendo puts 10 million $ to advertising in Australia

« on: August 20, 2003, 08:55:29 AM »

Yeah, this is kind of idiotic.
Nintendo didn't take any drastic measures to help the Gamecube when it was struggling in Australia. Did nothing when it was dying in Australia. It's only after the console has basically died, been buried, and forgotten in Australia that Nintendo finally decides to do something.

Who knows. This might work though. I doubt Nintendo is going to spend 10 million in advertising only to allow stores to get away with not even selling its console. I'm sure Nintendo is aware of stores giving its console the shaft and intends to do something about it.

But, seriously, none of this really matters all that much.
Australia is such a tiny and almost insignificant market afterall.
I'm surprised Nintendo isn't just dismissing it entirely.

516

TalkBack / RE:F-Zero Anime Revealed

« on: August 20, 2003, 12:04:10 AM »

This could be a really neat show.
Just as long as it doesn't go over-board with the 3D racing graphics.
There are so many interesting characters in the FZero titles, coming up with equally interesting stories for them shouldn't be much of a challenge.
Hopefully this show will make it to the US too. Maybe it will end up on the Fox Box along with Kirby and Sonic.

517

Nintendo Gaming / RE:Nintendo has stopped Gamecube productions?

« on: August 19, 2003, 12:34:19 PM »

"They must have thought they were going to sell them, this tells us that sales have indeed failed to meet expectations"

Yeah. Iwata himself admitted that.

"and that management has come to the conclusion that they "MAY" not sell the inventory they already have, thus the temporary suspension."

That's ridiculous. Of course it'll sell the remaining inventory.
With the GCN supposably dropping to $99 and a slew of big-name titles coming out this Fall including Mario Kart and Metal Gear Solid, Nintendo will not only sell the existing inventory but will be sending out and selling even more by the end of the year.

The GCN isn't selling nearly as poorly as people seem to think. The July US sales just came out and the GCN sold over 126,000 units and was only 10,000 units behind the XBox and the only big games it had in July was Mario Golf which was only available for the last two days of the month. Meanwhile, the XBox still had two titles selling VERY strongly at #2 and #3 on the chart.
All things considered, the GCN did ok in July and it will do a lot better next month with Soul Calibur 2 featuring Link and Fzero GC.

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Nintendo Gaming / RE:Nintendo has stopped Gamecube productions?

« on: August 19, 2003, 01:17:40 AM »

Nintendo has "TEMPORARILY" SUSPENDED Gamecube HARDWARE production and is expected to resume production later this year in time for the holiday season. It's nothing to panic over.

That Spong article is the most irresponsible peice of "journalism" I've seen since . . . my last visit to IGN  

519

TalkBack / RE:Nintendo Targeting China

« on: August 17, 2003, 02:16:59 PM »

I'm sure Nintendo will do everything in its power to keep the games as cheap as possible. The GCN discs are at least a lot cheaper to manufacture than the N64 cartridges. Iwata mentioned the rampant piracy and low-incomes in China at the press conference. He obviously understands the obstacles facing Nintendo's success in China but thinks he can make this work anyway.
Obviously, the GCN games won't be as popular as all the pirated PS2 games but at least Nintendo might make some money.

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Nintendo Gaming / RE:What did Nintendo Power give Metroid Prime?

« on: August 16, 2003, 03:11:20 PM »

The magazine has actually given some surprisingly low scores to certain titles.
Eternal Darkness got a ridiculously low score and even the GBA's launch-title Super Mario Advance was given a much lower than expected score. Sure, most of Nintendo's games get perfect or near-perfect scores but that's because they deserve them. People just assume the magazine is biased because it's the official Nintendo magazine. If the magazine were exactly the same except that it wasn't by Nintendo, no one would accuse it of bias.

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Nintendo Gaming / RE:GameCube and Game Boy Advance successors announced next Spring!!!

« on: August 15, 2003, 10:07:01 PM »

"Accually it will more than likely be a new model altogother. I don't think they are going to let Sony have any more leaway in any market. But it doesn't mean that they will abondon the Advance/SP."

Yeah, that's what I was saying. Nintendo could release a new GB for 3D gaming to compete with the PSP while continuing to support the GBA/SP. So it wouldn't really be a "successor" like the GCN was to the N64, but instead, co-exist with the GBA/SP.

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Nintendo Gaming / RE:GameCube and Game Boy Advance successors announced next Spring!!!

« on: August 15, 2003, 08:47:00 PM »

I doubt Nintendo is going to release a true successor to the GBA/SP anytime soon. It might just be another re-design like the SP was or maybe Nintendo is planning a second handheld to go along with the GBA/SP. The GBA/SP would remain as the 2D Gameboy while the new Gameboy will be for 3D gaming and marketed more at "hardcore" gamers.
There will always be a market for 2D handheld games but if there is indeed going to be a market for 3D handheld games soon also, it just makes sense for them to be on seperate handhelds.  

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Nintendo Gaming / RE:Gamecube only $99 after September?

« on: August 15, 2003, 07:08:23 PM »

I think dropping the price of the GCN is a great idea. First and foremostly because Nintendo can do it comfortably without taking the kind of huge losses MS is taking on account of its price cuts. With MS desperately losing millions to sell consoles, the least Nintendo can do is stop being so stingy and be willing to risk cutting into its HUGE profits just a little bit.
Nintendo already has a great line-up this Fall. With a price-cut and a heavy advertising push in addition, the GCN could gain back a lot of momentum.

As for the GBA SP. I wouldn't worry about it.
The thing is so popular people would buy it if it costed more than the GCN.  

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Nintendo Gaming / RE:Virtua Fighter Quest and Skies of Arcadia sequel news

« on: August 15, 2003, 06:53:24 AM »

If I recall correctly, the VF kids had heads that were actually as large if not larger than their bodies. So a 5:1 ratio shouldn't look all that bad. It probably won't even be noticeable since we're so used to seeing characters with large heads in RPGs.

525

Nintendo Gaming / RE:Donkey "Konga" Details

« on: August 14, 2003, 08:17:33 PM »

"Come on, you guys have to admit that this sounds like a Play-Skool toy idea. Playing konga drums with "Donkey and friends"? I honestly can't imagine myself sitting in my room and playing this thing."

Maybe you're just not familiar with how these kinds of games work.
It's not just some pointless, toy for kids where you just bang on drums.
These kinds of games are all about rhythm and are usually very challenging and require a lot of concentration and skill.
I doubt the drums will be required either. Like Samba De Amiga it will probably be playable with the standard controllers too.