Topic: Where did all the Gamers Go?

[couchmonkey]

Hey, here's a question: why have people (especially ex-Nintendo players) ignored the GameCube?  I'd like to hear actual, specific reasons that people you know gave for giving up on Nintendo, then if this thread keeps going maybe we can get into our personal theories.

As for me, my cousin, who owned all of Nintendo's previous systems, said that he didn't think there were many games for the system.  I've also run into one or two people online who were disappointed that Nintendo didn't release an exclusive FPS.

[Hostile Creation]

My one friend owns an Xbox, and while he likes the Gamecube and plays it often, I think he got sucked into the mainstream gaming "cool" stereotype, though not so much that he refuses to play Gamecube.  I figure he'd just be embarrassed to own a Gamecube or something.
More later.

[Rhoq]

Keep in mind that I am 28 (29 in 2 weeks)…

All of my friends range in age between 25 and 40. I own a GameCube because I have always been loyal to Nintendo and, overall, I like what they have to offer gamers. I enjoy all sorts of games and don’t shy away from a good game just because it’s rated “E”.

One friend (25) got a PS2 so he could play games like Grand Theft Auto and Manhunt. I enjoy senseless violence as much as the next guy, but he's amused by the violence and profanity that make up those kind of games. My feeling is that it gets old really quickly, and once you get passed the novelty of hearing your game characters say "Fu*k" a few hundred times, it gets old pretty quickly. Not for him. He'll laugh everytime he hears it or everytime he sees someone get killed, execution style - or blown up, etc. For me, yeah it's cool at first. After awhile though it bores me. I need more substance than a game designed to amuse high schoolers.

Another friend (26) is currently contemplating buying an X-Box. He would have gone with a GameCube but his interest in the ‘Cube died when LucasArts decided to stop releasing games on Nintendo’s console. His main interest right now would be all of the Star Wars games currently available on the X-Box. He is also interested in X-Box Live – another blow to the GameCube. Had Nintendo offered an on-line service for the GameCube, this particular friend would have already bought one by now – despite the lack of new Star Wars games. He is also concerned with the lack of “M” rated games on ‘Cube. He's the kind of person to refuse to see a movie if it’s rated anything less than “R”. His loss, I guess.

Another friend (36) bought his daughters a GameCube and I allow them to play their games on my ‘Cube whenever he stops by my house. He is thinking about getting a GameCube for himself because he is interested in playing Resident Evil. He’s been obsessed with Nemesis ever since we saw Resident Evil: Apocalypse in the theater over the Summer. I think once he’s sees RE4 – he’ll be sold on the system.
 

[Ian Sane]

Nintendo's userbase consisted of two types of people: Nintendo fans and general videogame fans who liked the NES and SNES because it had the most games.  When the Playstation took away most of the third party games the general fans all dropped Nintendo leaving them with just their loyal fanbase.  The N64, however due to it's poor showing in the console wars, disappointed a lot of fans and towards the end they gave up on them.  So when the Gamecube launched and there was no real sign of any improvement on Nintendo's part less people showed interest.  You can't blame them.

Nintendo had to show everyone they were back in the saddle with the Cube yet they had only one playable third party game at E3 2001, no online plans at all, a flagship launch title that could be beat in a weekend, and a huge six month drought following launch where virtually no games were released.  With the N64 fans got fed up over the poor third party support and huge gaps between major releases and sure enough those exact problems were present for the first year of the Cube's life.  Anyone who felt burned by the N64 rightly assumed that with the Cube things would be no different.

Ironically the Cube has since improved a lot yet is now probably more ignored than it was during the first year.  Chalk that up to poor marketing by Nintendo and a tainted image caused by the poor first impression.

[S-U-P-E-R]

Being a nutcase that now has to have every system, I find myself playing the GC least because I have trouble finding challenging games. (When I do play it, it's usually Smash, Ikaruga, or another multiplayer/fight game) The high profile single player games (Zelda, Metroid) just aren't cutting it for me, at all, and I passed up on buying them after not enjoying the last couple. It seems to me like they're not challenging or interesting enough and are better suited for the really old/really young/really casual/not hardcore people.

(I'm buying RE4 as soon as I get to the mall, though.)

I think this just comes back to 3rd party support, which I'm quite certain is the magic power-up for winning each console war. It seems like it wouldn't be that hard to get, right? Give dev kits to EVERYONE and their mothers and undersell Sony on licensing fees and stuff. Most games, most shelf space, most popularity, it all goes hand-in-hand I think.

Oh, and then I read Ian Sane's post after I wrote this one. Yeah, what he said.

[odifiend]

I have a friend my age (18) and he buys or receives every systems somewhere during a gaming gen.  He has a Gamecube but doesn't play it at all.  He essentially does not like all the cuteness and color of Nintendo's games and he'll just pick up 3rd party games for his PS2.
Ty:  Did you not play Metoid: Echoes?  It is a lot more challenging than the first anyway and how could you not get a kick out of how your suit has like an autopsy mode.  I love that, um...ROCK!

[mantidor]

In my case all my friends stop buying Nintendo consoles for one single fact, the consoles and their games are just too expensive, and since here in Colombia you can easily get games for a single dollar for the PS1, and 4 dollars max for ps2 and xbox, ( not mentioning the already popular N64 emulator for the xbox ) it really is a no brainer for parents which console to get. Of course since I only have Nintendo consoles Im labeled as the "Nintendo freak", the "rich kid" which really I am not at all, or people, including my dad, just tell me" how can you expend so many money on one single game when you can get 20 for the same price for other consoles?" its sad, but its the truth of what happens here.

Another point in favor of xbox and playstation consoles that I came to know just recently is that most games came in spanish, which is not the case with Nintendo. But still piracy is the most important factor in the success of any console here, as I said, is just sad.

[Munky]

I didn't pick up a Cube until a year and a half into it's life because I was hooked on my Xbox. It had the games I wanted to play, while at that point in time the Cube didn't. And it's still like that a lot, but I give a lot of Cube games a try to see how I like it and most of the time I like the Xbox version of the game better for it's online capabilities (depending on the game). But I still enjoy my Cube (especially with RE4 out now).

[GoldenPhoenix]

I honestly think it has more to do with image, Playstation and Xbox are considered the "Mature" systems. For example the other day I overheard three guys talking, they knew little about GC except it was "I LOVE HALO 2". Now why such a shift? Well probaly since Sony and MS started catering more to "adults" with "adult" games, so that reinforced the notion that Nintendo and its systems, along with games are I LOVE HALO 2. 3rd Party Support probaly has some to do with it, and the turn off that some viewed N64 as, but I feel image is what is the driving factor now!

[SgtShiversBen]

For me, I've converted alot of my friends.  My roommate fell in love with the fact that Nintendo gives away so much of their classic games within their games.  He also fell in love with Wind Waker and the way it went.  So with that, he bought his GameCube at the age of 19.
My girlfriend, because of playing mine, fell in love with my GameCube with Ikaruga, F-Zero, Monkey Ball, Pikmin and of course Mario Party.  When she saw that you can get Mario Party for free for buying one, she decided to and go hers at the age of nineteen.
My other friend was a different story.  He was a PS2 extremist and hated everything Nintendo.  Then one day he came over to my apartment and played me some Smash Bros.  Offended that I defeted him in such a "easy" game, he bought one and me and him go at it nonstop.  Now he's fallen in love with the games all over again.  He got creeped out by the RE:Remake.  Ikaruga kicked his ass like nonstop, Tales immersed him like a little lost dog, and Pikmin brought out the RTS gamer inside of him.
My other friend is just stupid in that he was all "Will Smash Bros. ever come out on PS2?!?" and when we say to him "No" he's all "Well that sucks, I'll just play from Tony Hawk then, it's the same."  Even though that's one less sell, I don't really trust this guys judgement on the fact that he's stupid and thinks that the PS2 version of Half-Life is better than the computer version.  Also he thinks that the Spyro games are better than Mario.  Oh well.

[Famicom]

People I've spoken to have passed on the GC because of a lack of the more niche genres like racers, aerial combat, etc. Also when I went to GameStop to pick up my reserved MP2, the lady at the counter got into a casual (yet one sided) conversation about how people have been in a mad dash to trade in their Cubes due to "no good games". Apparently a Cuber herself, her pleas of "wait for RE4" to those customers didn't do much convincing. Mario haters have increased over the years too, and we know they won't be supporting a Ninty console anytime soon.

[KnowsNothing]

A girl who can succesfully play Ikaruga is hot.

Anywho, by just listening to my friends I have concluded that it is indeed lack of games that hurt the Cube the most.  Not many people just fall back on the "it's for children" or "it's stupid" as much as they did when the cube first launched (blol it was everywhere), but now it's just that the selection of sports games or shooters isn't there on the Cube.  They all seem to like Nintendo games, and alot loved the N64.  Everyone loves Mario.  They just passed up those few Nintendo games for more sports or racing games.  Bupbow.

[SgtShiversBen]

Damn straight she is, but she's even better than me!!  She's beaten the damn game while I'm stuck on Level 4  Oh well, as long as I can kick her ass in Smash Bros (but get mine kicked back in Monkey Soccer)

[couchmonkey]

Yeah, sports, racing and FPS's really seem to get casual gamers hot and bothered in North America.

Well, I agree that a perception of lack of games has been a problem for Nintendo.  I think the general "I LOVE HALO 2" image still hurts Nintendo too.

The recent editorial by Jonathan Metts on PGC made some interesting points about letting NOA do it's own thing...I agree, but one thing NOA will never be able to "fix" is NCL's tendency to release lots of cute, cuddly, cartoony games.  That's as it should be, I don't want EAD to throw a bunch of gratuitous adult content into its games, yet it creates a problem since those are the games that the system is trying to sell itself on.   I guess more Western partners could be part of the solution.

[WhoDey]

I'm 32 and have been a Nintendo gamer since the NES. The GC was an easy sell to me. I bought it on launch day with no hesitation, and a couple years later, no regrets. I play it nearly every day and have a library of around 60 games.

My brother in law also bought a GC at launch. I was surprised to hear this because his main focus is sports games. Not surprisingly, he sold it within a month and got an XBox. He's a lot happier with that because there are tons of sports games.

Another friend's family got a PS2 because it was considered the best system by them. They mainly play war games and popular licensed games.  

[Nimbus]

I love the Cube.  I owned every sys since the golden nes era.  Before that I owned a Coleco Vision (and everyone else owned an Atari 2600).  Where did all the Gamers go you ask?  Well, they're still somewhere out there but many of them don't play games anymore (don't have time etc...) or simply they are playing on another console.  
I'm 28 and the Cube will probably be my last Nintendo console for a while.  Let me explain:  It's all about Revolution.  I was hoping for a backward compatible system from the big N but now my hopes are destroyed.  The controller will not even features the D-Pad nor A & B buttons.  The 3rd party support is already low for the Cube when games can  be ported to it without much efforts.  Imagine with a system that is not compatible with any others (more populars) on the market.  Why bother?
I was loyal during the N64 dark era and I can understand why peoples where unsure about the Cube.   The Cube is not a failure, it's a total success.  The failure, it seem, is Nintendo, failing to attract more third parties and catch up with our century.  Who's to blame: Nintendo, for volontary isolating themselves from the mass market.
I hope you understand: dunring the 64 days, they told us that they would be more agressive, geared toward the future, that Mario would get attitude etc...  I don't believe it anymore.  Now I'm enjoying my Cube (I even have a spare one boxed just in case) but I'm trully unsure about revolution.   On a side note:  Nintendo should really team whith Apple for their next system.  If they do, I might just grab one anyway...  

[KnowsNothing]

Those controller issues are just rumors, for one.  Nobody has any clue what the hell the Revolution is about.

It will probably be backwards compatible with the GC.  All they have to do is have the conroller ports accept a GC controller when a GC game is inserted if the controller design change is so drastic.  And I highly doubt that Nintendo will make their next console impossible to port to.  It's suicide.  

[Nimbus]

I understand about the controllers ports, KnowsNothing.  But basically they (N) are saying that they'll revolutionize the gaming industries.  IMO it can only scare peoples and 3rd party more and more.  But IF it is truly backward compatible THEN I will surely buy one.  The Cube games are sooooo goods.  I'm enjoying RE4 and Echoes right now.  I'm in heaven.  

[Nimbus]

sorry, double post!

[SgtShiversBen]

I don't think it'll be something to worry about.  Nintendo has said that they wanted backward's compatability on their new system and even if it was just an addon or something, it'd probably still do good.  But if they do scrap the backwards idea, then I remember reading somewhere that they wanted to make the next GameBoy to be able to play your old GameCube games.  That's totally fine with me, by then with all the hoopdela that'll be out then, it'll be great to go back and destroy Angels in Tales of Symphonia.  Sad thing is it might be bad with the PSP saying it's all powerful.

[Infernal Monkey]

Quote
Originally posted by: couchmonkey
Hey, here's a question: why have people (especially ex-Nintendo players) ignored the GameCube?  I'd like to hear actual, specific reasons that people you know gave for giving up on Nintendo, then if this thread keeps going maybe we can get into our personal theories.

I haven't given up on Nintendo (I doubt I ever will, kthnx), but I will admit I'm certainly not a big a fan of them as I was. The disgusting treatment of PAL owning GC fans is probably the main reason. Sony and Microsoft both strive to get games out in the US and Europe around the same time, and Nintendo sits around and breaks wind. Oh yeah, it's okay, release Four Swords a year later. Oh Animal Crossing? Yeah, nobody wants to play that. Sure, release it two years after the US at full price. Good job. Custom Robo? Like hell you're getting that! I'm sure the GBA and GC will do well when publishers and retail stores drop support because Nintendo don't know what the hell they're doing. LOL why are we failing badly.

And while a lot of their sequels have STUNNED ME on GC (F-Zero GX, Wave Race: BS, 1080: A), some more important ones left a bitter taste in my mouth (Mario Sunshine, Metroid Prime and especially Mario Kart: DD). Of course, it's personal opinion. I could rant about why I dislike those games, but that's rather pointless. "Mario Kart had crap courses!" "NO IT DIDN'T" "WELL I THINK IT DID!" "OMG I HAT YOU"

And well, Nintendo just has a serious lack of good third party games on GC. But yeah, that's not really Nintendo's fault, I spose. I look at my PS2 collection and it's sad how many games would of done so much better on GC (sales wise). Seriously, c'mon Irem, port Disaster Report to GameCube. And Capcom? For shame, NOBODY FREAKIN' BOUGHT GREGORY HORROR SHOW OR UNDER THE SKIN ON PS2. ;__;

But hey, as of right now I'm currently getting excited in the pants for DS' release next month. I suspect it'll get kicked in the face (the top screen) as soon as Sony release the PSP in March, but hey. Whatever. Nintendo seem to be going back to their roots with the DS, silly obscure amazing games. Another Code and Yoshi Touch and Go! holla!  

[KDR_11k]

Monkey: SCEE doesn't deliver everything and they don't deliver it on time, either. I wanted to buy Xenosaga. Not out in Europe. Katamari Damacy got so much praise. Not out in Europe. Everybody's recommending Shadow Hearts: Covenant. Not out in Europe. See a pattern? But hey, at least we got Metal Slug 3 for the PS2, right?

[PJ gamer10]

I'm an Eb employee and it has gotten to the point that I have had verbal arguments with customers because they do not think

the Gamecube is a legitimate platform for games.  They are perceived as a tiku tiku tiku!  system. After RE4 launched me and my

co-worker who is a nother Big N fanatic put it on and let people play it. People couldn't believe the power of the game and the

system. We even sold a few Gamecubes because of it.  Most people however are waiting for the PS2 port. Even with the DS,

people will examine the PSP and say this is better. Im beginning to think that people don't want quality games anymore but

they want an image.

     

[PJ gamer10]

Sorry for the weird post im still new to this forum.

[mantidor]

the whole "tiku tiku tiku! " crap is really getting into my nerves, why the hell did it started? when? here in my country no one ever says the GC or Nintendo is tiku tiku tiku! ... AT ALL, Ive played Mario Party with my cousins, who are in their 20 and they've loved it, and the same with any game, even the Wind Waker. The reason Nintendo lost popularity here is as I stated due to how easy is to pirate games for other consoles, nothing more, nothing less. I still cant understand this imbecile attitude of USA's society... sorry for putting it like that, but its nothing less of stupid!

EDIT: if you meant weird post about the "tiku tiku tiku! " part dont worry, I think we Nintendo fans are just sick and tired of the word and thats why the admins of the forum censored it... well, thats the only logical explanation Ive been able to come up with, dont flame me or anything