Mike asks, I don’t know if you guys at PGC

got your newest Nintendo Power yet but there is something odd that needs mentioning. There

is a complete absence of Eternal Darkness from the entire issue. Knowing that it comes out

in February (now delayed -ed), you would expect that the next

issue would have at least some sort of preview, but there is no mention. Also, it is

missing from the Game Watch Forecast list and the Nintendo Subscriber Bonus issue, which

mentions all the big upcoming titles of 2002, does not mention it either. I bring out this

point because I, as well as many others, have been long awaiting this title. Do you know

of anything drastic happening to our beloved Eternal Darkness or did Nintendo just goof

and delete it from everything?

Rize Says: Nintendo is well aware that the

readership of Nintendo Power leans towards the younger crowd. In the beginning of 2001

before Conker's Bad Fur day was released, many readers noticed that BFD wasn't mentioned

in Nintendo at all because of the mature nature of the game's content. Obviously, Nintendo

Power doesn't avoid covering all mature games, but perhaps they've decided that Eternal

Darkness is just a bit too much as was Conker.

There certainly hasn't been any word of the game being cancelled or anything crazy like

that.

Rick Says: The Nintendo Power audience is MOSTLY

children. Mature titles aren't suited for coverage in the magazine.

Jonathan Says: If ED isn't in NP's release list at

all, that's probably more indicative of the game being delayed, which corresponds to

everything else we've heard lately. But don't expect ED to be on the magazine's cover or

get more than one of their pitiful "reviews," if even that. Think back to

Nintendo's Perfect Dark promotions and how they tried extremely hard to keep the game's

hype away from younger people. They'll be doing the same thing with ED.

Zosha Says: j00ny nailed it. It's much the same as

what happened with Conker. The difference being that Conker wasn't ever mentioned

in the actual mag. It's not like Eternal Darkness has been cancelled, so don't worry about

it.

Gary asks, where is Too Human? It seemed to be a great-looking game, but then there was

nothing. Not one single source of news of the game.

Rick Says: Silicon Knights has stated time and

time again that Too Human would not even be discussed until Eternal Darkness was out the

door.

In fact, I think they're beginning to regret having shown any of it at all. Too Human does

look pretty great, but they need to focus on making Eternal Darkness all it can be.

Jonathan Says: I doubt Silicon Knights even has

very many resources devoted to Too Human right now, because they're so focused on

finishing Eternal Darkness. I don't think you have anything to worry about; we do know

that Too Human's engine is up and running, and the story itself has been finished for

YEARS. Actually, Denis Dyack commented recently that the Soul Reaver (a magic sword) was

originally in Too Human, and they thought it would be cool to include it in Legacy of

Kain: Blood Omen. Now Crystal Dynamics and Eidos have actually released two LoK games

based entirely around the Soul Reavers. That's how long Too Human has been in the works.

The game has still never been officially shown for GameCube, and I personally don't expect

it for quite a while, but you can check out our preview for probably more Too Human info

than you'll find anywhere else.

Billy Says: Could we see Video of this game at E3

2002? You never know.

Too Human information is really no where to be found. Then again, there really isn't a

whole lot of Eternal Darkness information either. Meaning, solid information. Sure we know

characters, a some of the gameplay that will happen, but that's it. We don't know much

about the plot.

If you think Nintendo is secretive, I think Silicon Knights is about the same.

Pray we'll see something at E3.

A number of people ask, Do you have any idea when we will be able to get Wavebird

controllers?

Jonathan Says: Probably sometime in the first half

of 2002. I know that's not very specific, but the Wavebird is obviously not a priority for

Nintendo right now. They'll release it when they're good and ready.

TYP Says: It will coincide with the premiere of my home theatre setup. Right now

I'd say both are in the mid-2002 range. A good time would be shortly after E3, where it

could be hyped and demonstrated with Mario and Zelda :-)

Billy Says: Yes, unfortunately, I don't see

Nintendo releasing the Wavebirds until Summer/Fall 2002. It's a sad thing too, because I'd

love to get 2 of these. I'm sure we'll see more on this at E3 2002.

I doubt we'll actually get to play with them at E3 due to the fact that GameCube

controllers were a popular souvenir last year.

All I know is that 4 Wavebirds and a fully modded Q will be damn sexy.

James asks, Why does it seem like the GameCube still isn't getting supported by third

parties as much as PS2 and even Xbox? For example, Sega is releasing tons of games for all

systems, but all of their more mature games appear on either PS2 or Xbox. It seems like

developers still peg the cube as a kiddie console and are wary of releasing mature content

for it. And the worst part is the Xbox is a newcomer to the console market and they are

getting more games than the Cube!!! I think its all marketing and I don't understand why

Nintendo doesn't do more to fight it.

Mike H. Says: Well, we

re-re-re-re-re-re-re-visited the "kiddie" issue in the last Mailbag, so we won't

go there again.

Nintendo's fewer games, and lack of games skewed to the older crowd is intentional and by

design.

Nintendo's targeting the younger audience. You're guaranteed to have fewer mature

titles. That's the way it's going to be, love it or hate it.

As for fewer titles, that too is by design due to the above issue, and also because

Nintendo is intentionally avoiding the insane saturation of titles that we know the PSX

had, and the the PS2 and Xbox will have. Nobody can say it better than Peter Main, so I'll

just quote the man straight from the E3 Keynote:

"The last generation of N64 and PlayStation 1, there

were 1300 titles published in this country combined, and about seventy percent of them

sold less than 300,000 pieces each. The new break even point on this next generation is

probably about 350 to 400,000 pieces to break even, and I submit whether it is internal or

external, we should be focusing on taking our brightest development resources and helping

licensees or others do fewer title, not more. Fewer titles better. Cover the genres

better, but we don't need twelve of every kind. There has been an absolute blood bath in

the development business over these last two years. We don't want all these bright ideas

going down the tubes with people chasing impossible dreams. The market size is huge, but

you better put your pencil to the paper and figure out when we all go out and sell 30, 40,

50, 60 million. Whatever that number is going to be of the combined console install base,

put a factor of ten on that, 400 million, 500 million and divide it by all those

developers and pretty soon you will see that if all that came to fruition you are going to

have a lot more red ink, so the focus has got to be with all of them, show me something

better. Take it back to the stable. Work on it a little harder. We don't need twenty five

of everything. Nobody does, and the development community will get a lot stronger as a

result of that."

I might add, the room (not only Nintendo fans) applauded

following these comments.

Rick Says: Because developers are wishy-washy, and

insist a platform isn't going to perform. They're just as much fanboys as the gamers are,

just on a different level.

Then the machine hits a user-base level where they just can't AFFORD to ignore the machine

any more. Then they backpedal and talk about what a great machine it is.

That's when you'll start seeing 3rd party support come in droves.

Jonathan Says: Compare the GameCube's present

third-party library to the N64's at this point in their lifecycles, and you'll see that

Nintendo has improved A LOT, even if they're still not where everyone thinks they should

be. GameCube has the first Sega-published game EVER to be released for another console,

not to mention one of the PS2's killer-apps for this season, Tony Hawk 3, at launch.

Between now and E3, Sega will have released Virtua Striker 3, Sonic Adventure 2 Battle,

and Phantasy Star Online for GameCube. For Xbox they have GunValkyrie and Jet Set Radio

Future, and PSO may be out by then. By my count, that's four games for GameCube and three

for Xbox, and I don't believe any of the three for Xbox will be rated M. So...I don't

really see where you're coming from with the Sega complaint. Sega hasn't formally

announced ANY GameCube titles for release after E3, and you know there will be quite a

few, so I think we have to wait for that list before making any judgements. I should note,

however, that one of the post-E3 games will definitely be Skies of Arcadia, and I don't

see how you can complain about that one at all. ;-)

TYP Says: Jonny may sound as if he's suspecting or

assuming Sega has more GameCube games planned. He's not. Peter Moore has suggested in

interviews that there are many unannounced titles for GameCube (and all other systems).

Sega (and many other companies) don't want to reveal titles further down the road because

a) ideas are all too easy to steal, and b) they don't want to detract from their latest or

upcoming games. Like Moore explained, this is most relevant for 3rd party developers, as

they don't need to assure gamers of a console's future. That is also why Spaceworld 2001

featured Mario and Zelda, which are for late 2002. As others stated, many developers are

just now jumping onto the GameCube bandwagon which means late-2002 games at the

earliest...

Billy Says: It's all about gameplay my friend.

Sega also doesn't release a heck of a lot of bloody-gorefest titles. Monkey Ball had

plenty of Suicide. Actually it's more like you putting a cute monkey in a ball and then

rolling him to his death. It's actually pretty violent if you ask me.

This whole adult thing really makes me sick. There's only a few mature games out there

that are actually GOOD. Sure, GTA3 and certain FPS's out there are solid, but that's about

it.

2002 will bring out a lot of the flavor in Nintendo's growing catalog. Just wait and see.

A lot of people ask, Do you think Nintendo will come out with a Mario or Zelda

All-Stars for GameCube?

Mike H. Says: Mario and Zelda All-Stars questions

are some of the most frequent we get asked. Are you listening, Nintendo?

The other question is in regards to the Square/Nintendo/GameCube relationship. THE

ANSWER IS STILL NO!

I would absolutely love to see Zelda and Mario classics on the GameCube in some pseudo

2D/3D manifestation, but it would seem that the GameBoy Advance is the platform of choice

for these types of games. (Boo, Hiss).

Nintendo says they're going to pay closer attention to what the gamers want. And I think

this would be it! Oh yeah, and swallow the pride for half a second and allow Square on the

list of developers.

Jonathan Says: Before we get to All-Stars, I'd

like to speculate on the curious release of Super Mario World on GBA before Super Mario

Bros. 3. I'm guessing here, but seeing as how SMB3 is the most popular Mario game of all

time, perhaps Nintendo is giving it special attention. At the least, I think we'll see a

significant upgrade to the game for GBA...way beyond the very plain SMW port. At the most,

and I know this is stretching it, but I don't think it's totally out of the question...a

2.5-D remake of Mario 3 on GameCube. Fully polygonal graphics, orchestrated sound, at

least one new world, and all kinds of bonus features and such. It sounds zany, but think

of the sales! SMB3 is seriously one of the best-selling games Nintendo has ever released,

right up there with Pokemon Red/Blue, and it seems to me that they'd want to give it

special treatment.

Okay, wild speculation aside, I do think there will be a GBA port of Mario All-Stars, but

not for a few more years. As for a Zelda All-Stars...either on GBA or GameCube, something

tells me that it's coming. The question is whether it would include the N64 games...if so,

GameCube is obviously the target platform.

TYP Says: Read what Jonny said :-) I'd also be

interested in a linear 3-D upgrade if it could be done well... As for a Zelda anthology...

I'm game, as long as it includes prettier graphics and sound and a few extras! I suspect

GBA would be the first target, but an interview a while back revealed that the Flagship's

Zelda 1 remake for GBC was canceled due to visibility issues on the smaller screen. GBA's

vertical pixel count is only slightly greater, so Zelda remakes may be more likely on

GameCube.

Billy Says: NO MORE REMAKES! ACK! PLEASE!

Zosha Says: The answer is never FF.

As for Mario/Zelda "All-Stars": It isn't going to happen in the way many people

wish. More likely, Nintendo will remake/re-release the titles for AGB (much to Billeh's

dismay) rather than make a compilation disc or some such for the GC.

After all, Nintendo is in the business of making money, and since Mario Advance and Mario

Advance 2 are burning the sales charts, why do anything different?

Max Says: Yeah, I expect to see lots more SNES, and even a couple N64 remakes make their way to the GBA. I have no problem with this and will likely snap them up as their released - eventually anyway. I'm a Nintendo addict and having many classics in portable form is something that completely appeals to me & I'm glad Nintendo is doing it.

As for a collection of games, there is a very ample NES collection included with the game Animal Forest - a game that looks like it will make it to North America. You'll be able to play Clu Clu Land, Balloon Fight, Punch-Out! and even the first Super Mario Brothers. Not quite the Zelda/Mario collection, but still quite a treasure trove of the old school!