Topic: GCN 2 possibly delayed...

[jmoe316]

IGN Cube - New Console Delayed

I am still unsure if I like this or not. On one side, we are missing out on a whole new system, and new systems, no matter from what company, are always cool.  But on the other hand this could be very good, especially on our wallets . Instead of a new system we could get hard drives, maybe DVD players, who knows. And plus, by the last generation of the system, developers are masters at maximizing the potential of the hardware, so we'd get a good few years of awesome games right? By then, they would know all the tricks and stuff to create some brilliant games. i think i am for this for the reason of saving my wallet and seeing what hardware we get out of this!

EDIT: Just wanted to add this quote incase some people may not click the link: "Nintendo still plans to release a new console, but for the next three years it will be content with merely adding features to the GameCube. "  Looks like we'll be having the cube till 2007-2008.

[couchmonkey]

Why is Nintendo intent on proving moronic Wall Street analysts right when they claim it is going the way of Sega?

My best guess is that this is a strategy to stay dominant in the handheld market - marketing DS, a new Gameboy and a new home console all in the space of two years might be expensive and "cannibalistic".

Having said that...SEGA!!  This is exactly what killed Sega...pumping out peripherals that didn't really add that much value to the hardware and releasing new systems out of sync with the other major players.  I love Nintendo, I don't own any other systems and I'll buy the next console anyway, but frankly, even I'll go buy a PS3 or an Xbox 2 if Nintendo doesn't release a competing system within a year of their launch.

I can only pray that this is a mistake...bad translation, misinformation, anything!  Either that or I'll pray Nintendo really has an honest-to-goodness secret up it's sleeve, but I'm not holding my breath.

[Pinnacle]

I hope Sony and Microsoft follow suit and delay their systems as well. Alot of people just got their new consoles. Console generations may become longer as systems take longer to hit the $99 dollar mark. Poor people aren't going to jump in at the start of every gen when a console costs 300 dollars at launch no matter how good the system is.

Add ons dont do well in the US traditionally (with a few exceptions) and personally I'm not going to pay for any. Im fine.


Personally I think alot of developers should team up and merge with a console maker to take on Sony's near monopoly of the games industry but thats just me.    

[Retroyoshi]

I don't think this is about introducing new gadgets for the cube- I think it's more about realizing that most consumers won't be able to tell the difference between this gen and next.

Also, if Nintendo decides to delay entry into this generation and support the cube, they will instantly have the highest installed base for "next generation".  This may actually be the best move they have made in a while (and still have a $99 price point).  Remember, there are a LOT of people that just bought a cube this christmas- it would be a bad thing to drop support and introduce a new system only a year after a new user base is built.

I'm also thinking that the DS has something to do with this....

[mouse_clicker]

It's IGN, take this with a huge grain of salt. :/

[couchmonkey]

I actually tend to agree that the improvements that can be made to the next-gen systems are going to be minimal, which is one reason why Nintendo may have done this, but having said that, I don't think it will stop Sony, and it's definitely not going to stop Microsoft, which is what worries me.  I believe that a lot of consumers will buy those systems even if they show no marked improvement in technology, and that's where I think Nintendo could be left in the cold.  If PS3 and Xbox2  aren't that much greater than the current systems, than Nintendo's next system obviously won't be much greater than PS3 or Xbox2, either.  In which case, Nintendo may lose out on a huge share of the market.

[Retroyoshi]

The impact coule be minimized just by releasing a "special edition" of the cube.  Perhaps a version that also plays DVDs like the Q, or maybe with a gameboy player built in, or something similar.

Maybe pack a gameboy advance with it?

In any case, more "big guns" are coming this christmas (the new Zelda and Mario), and if the userbase grows again- all of those "new users" will be left in the cold.  Also, I have a feeling that despite Halo2 and whatever PS2 launches this christmas- unless they delay their new consoles a lot of people may hold off for the "new ones".  Then again, they might hold off on the Nintendo console also- but like I said, a new model, Mario game, and a $99 price point might do wonders for it.  

[Cap]

i'm all for extending the life of the gamecube, but i dont think that add ons would be the way to do it. making another model with a hard drive for saves and a dvd player would be good, but there should be nothing added on to the system that will make games unplayable from one system to the next. at least in my opinion anyways. just keep making high quality games and i'll keep buying them. if i have to buy extra peripherals to play them, i wont.

[Bill Aurion]

If it's true:  Thank you, Nintendo!

I REALLY didn't feel like moving on to the next generation so soon...

[TooShort]

  If Sony and M$ don't follow Nintendo's lead with delays of their console sequels -- this will be a huge mistake. Nintendo's line-up this generation has been nothing spectacular, and even though people are buying GCN now, that doesn't mean that those sales will continue, especially for three more years.

 In my opinion, the software this generation has not had the Nintendo touch. If I had known the quality of some of the big-name GCN software (i.e. Mario Sunshine, and to a lesser extent Zelda) before the system came out -- I might not have bought the system. I loved Nintendo when they made unbelievably great games. But they have some how managed to lose the knack of producing great games. Mario Sunshine pales in comparison to Mario 64, GCN has nothing to even compare to GE or PD! There have been no great multi-player games for the current console; SSMB:M was decent, but, like the Marios, I still prefer the original. TS2's multiplayer was alright, but it wasn't exclusive and GCN's wasn't the best version of the three. And besides that, if I'm gonna play a FPS with some friends I'm gonna play Halo, and later on Halo2 and PD0 (on the Xbox!!!). TS2 can't shake a stick at Halo. Nintendo's current and announced software lineups just can't sustain good sales for another three years! Plus on top of all that 3rd parties have already started to jump ship.

 The gist of this rant is this: Unless Nintendo makes some major changes in its software development philosophies, makes games as good as they were last generation and attracts more development houses to their current system -- there is no way that this system will last three more years.

P.S. keep in mind I didn't even mention online gaming!! Just imagine where online gaming could be in three years....and Nintendo will still be stuck in years past, forcing single-button games upon people and demanding that online gaming is not what gamers want!  

[Ian Sane]

I think I speak for everyone when I say WHAT THE F*CK?!  This information is just, well, weird.  Is IGN full of sh!t or has Nintendo gone nuts?  Either way I'm confused.

Nintendo has been saying in like every interview that games are too complex for the average person and simple games are the future of the industry.  They then go and completely ignore their own statement by making a portable with two screens and now they want to make hardware add-ons as well?  Seems to me that that's going to confuse people more than anything.  The simularites with Sega's own demise is unreal as well.  Surely Nintendo isn't stupid enough to think hardware add-ons will be accepted.  The 64DD BOMBED.  Surely they remember that.  Sega had to leave the console market because of this sort of crap.  Surely they noticed that.

This also is in stark contrast with what NOA has been saying all along.  They always talk about being commited to matching the competition with the next console.  So now that's not going to happen or what?  Has NCL just made these decisions out of nowhere without alerting NOA or was NOA just full of it all along?

I'm going to wait and see if any new info comes up because these just seems like such a dumb idea I don't even think Nintendo would think they could do it.  I'm hoping for some clarification or it turns out to be a mistranslation.

One good thing of all this though is that if Nintendo decides to emulate the fall of Sega maybe their last console will be as cool as the Dreamcast.  One can only hope.

[Bill Aurion]

Last I checked, there were more people that didn't care about online gaming than did...

Actually, this rumor doesn't make too much sense at all(as much as I'd like the Big 3 to hold off on their next-gens)...As Ian said, in two recent interviews it was said that the GC2 was in progress, so it just doesn't add up...

[kovu_br]

So in 2006, when all 3rd parties will be focussing on development for the next gen consoles, Nintendo will still keep the Cube as it's home console?

If that's so expect to see pretty much no third party releases in 2006 and 2007.

Sure I bought the Cube primarily to play Nintendo games, but still...

[Ian Sane]

"A new gamer will go into the store to see a 300 dollar Xbox2 or PS3, then look at the 99 dollar GC, and will most likely go with the cheaper one..."

I doubt it.  When the PS2 was released you could buy an N64 or Dreamcast for less money and both of those consoles had a superior lineup of games.  But people didn't.  They bought a PS2 or waiting until they were available.  When the PS3 comes out people are going to assume the Cube is an out-of-date machine on it's last legs.  Maybe if Nintendo were the market leader they could pull this off but they're not.  People still bought an NES when the Genesis was released because Nintendo was the market leader.  This next generation will follow the PS3.  Nintendo can't release their console whenever they feel like it.  They don't have that kind of presence in the market to do that sort of thing.

[TooShort]

Maybe the decent sales of recent months has gone to Nintendo's head.... Maybe their under the impression they are the market leader.

[evilnate]

Quote
Originally posted by: Ian Sane
"A new gamer will go into the store to see a 300 dollar Xbox2 or PS3, then look at the 99 dollar GC, and will most likely go with the cheaper one..."

I doubt it.  When the PS2 was released you could buy an N64 or Dreamcast for less money and both of those consoles had a superior lineup of games.  But people didn't.  They bought a PS2 or waiting until they were available.  When the PS3 comes out people are going to assume the Cube is an out-of-date machine on it's last legs.  Maybe if Nintendo were the market leader they could pull this off but they're not.  People still bought an NES when the Genesis was released because Nintendo was the market leader.  This next generation will follow the PS3.  Nintendo can't release their console whenever they feel like it.  They don't have that kind of presence in the market to do that sort of thing.

Exactly.  If this is true, then this is a decision that would be made by a company that was the industry lead, and could afford to take a "wait and see" approach.  Nintendo is most certaintly not the industry leader right now, when it comes to hardware.

So, sort of on topic, if this is true, then what kind of add-ons are we likely to see.  A DS player?  A hard drive?  The GCDD?    There's still an unused port on the bottom of the GC.  What could fill it?

Honestly, at this point, my choice would be for a DD/DTS 5.1 output add-on.  Sure, it's not the most blockbuster thing in the world, but it might be nice.

[kovu_br]

Well, Nintendo's future ad-ons are supposed to "diversify playing styles by improving the gaming experience and connections with hand-held units rather than improve graphics and sound quality", which to me translates to "split the console's user base in limited groups which narrows the market for each game that uses those peripherals even more but pisses all users a whole lot".

[RandallFlagg]

I dont think this is bogus, as Gamespot is now also reporting the delay...

[TooShort]

No, it's definetly bogus, if you get my meaning.

[Perfect Cell]

This could be even stupider than the Nintendo DS. Add ons, were the reasons for Segas death. Nintendo has a terrible history with its own Add ons (SNES CD, 64 DD) Didnt Nintendo claim its console would release close to its competitors, to avoid the year advantage of the PS2? Then why this 180 turn? I dislike this so much. Sure, more time with a console is good for the wallet, but will bite Nintendo in the ass in the long run.

[Mario]

If this is true, then it's the greatest news i've ever heard. GCN will live on forever..

[Michael8983]

"Nintendo still plans to release a new console, but for the next three years it will be content with merely adding features to the GameCube"

Three years is probably just as estimate.
Fall of 2006 is ALMOST three years from now and that would be an appropriate release date for the console. There's a good chance the PS3 won't make it out until 2006 either. The 2005 release date has always had a big MAYBE attached to it.
As far as I'm concerned this would be the perfect scenereo. The PS3 slips into early 2006 then Nintendo comes out with a significantly better console at the end of 2006. Sure, Sony would still have a head-start but it wouldn't be THAT big a deal since it wouldn't get a single competition-free holiday season.  

[CaseyRyback]

this is quite possibly the dumbest thing ever. I know I love nintendo but c'mon a monkey could run the company more successfully than Iwata has been doing

Thank god NOA cleared it up for me, they updated and made me feel better.

[Rhoq]

IGN has since updated the article with a quote from NOA...

[Armed]

Hey as long as they get a good line up on launch, i think Nintendo will be fine; especially if they have Too Human, Super Smash Bro. as some of there launch titles!!!  Also it gives them a chance to examine the competitors hardware.  But i dont know about the peripherals, it seems more like a gimmick.