The Avatar asks, Everybody has been lamenting

about the lack of information from Nintendo regarding the status of Metroid Prime. In all

that mess, we've forgotten about one game that staying true to the 2D roots of the series:

Metroid IV! What's the word on that game?

Dragona Says: As of now, there isn't.

Nintendo hasn't actually commented on the game officially... not even to say just who is

developing it! I imagine we'll hear more at E3.

Jonathan Says: Dragona is exactly right. Nintendo

wouldn't even talk about Metroid IV last E3... I asked a dozen employees of NOA, their PR

company, and various second-parties, and no one would even tell me who is developing

Metroid IV. (I think it's probably Intelligent Systems or Nintendo Software Technology,

for what it's worth. NST has a lot of people with great handheld experience on GBC, and

presumably not all of those folks have moved on to GameCube projects...)

But anyway, E3 is the place to be for Metroid IV info. Expect Metroid IV to be playable

and much prettier than it was last year. ;-)

Mark asks, Do you know of any other games coming out that are going to utilize the 5.1

surround sound technology that Factor 5 made?

Max Says: I've actually heard a few developers

express interest in it, but no one has announced concrete plans to use it in any upcoming

games as of yet. Maybe this will change at E3.

WindyMan Says: Let's just clear something up

before we continue. Factor 5 didn't "make" this technology. Dolby Pro Logic II

has been around for some time now, even if it's still fairly new technology. Of course,

the audiophiles at Dolby Labs are responsible for this, it's just that F5 made it work on

GameCube.

As for who else could utilize it, I expect all EA Sports games to use it, as well as

future Rare games (because it's a bit unlikely DP will have it, as it's still an early

game). Basically, if developers took the time to make Dolby Surround games on the N64,

they'll probably do DLPII 5.1 sound with their GameCube games.

TYP Says: Windy: Factor 5 may not have made Pro

Logic II, but they made the utilities to encode it on the GameCube.

Jonathan Says: Well, here's the deal. Dolby Pro

Logic II support, as far as I know, was NOT included in the original GameCube dev kit

sound package. Factor 5 finished up the tools fairly well into Rogue Leader's development

and actually didn't announce the technology until right before the GameCube's launch.

Other developers won't be able to encode DPL2 into their own GameCube titles until Factor

5 and Nintendo can get the newest sound tools out to everyone else...and we don't even

know if that has happened yet, although I assume it will eventually if it hasn't already.

But regardless, we probably won't see anymore DLP2 games until late 2002 or early next

year because of the time it takes to ship new sound tools out to developers.

Atkar asks, Nintendo has stated that summer 2002 would be the "real" launch of

the Cube. If this is the case, do you think Nintendo has done better than the sales show?

They haven't released Mario, Zelda, Metroid Prime, RE, StarFox, or Eternal Darkness, but

they've already sold 1.5 million in the US. And since they and third parties had to rush

the software, releasing good-to-great games like Rogue Leader, Pikmin, SSB:M, THPS3, Super

Monkey Ball, SSX Tricky etc. is pretty impressive.

Now, what do you guy's think? Has Nintendo done a great job considering they released the

console before they wanted, and haven't even released a Mario game yet?

TYP Says: This is a very good question. I hate

predicted sales figures because they are pointless. But from what I've seen, I think

Nintendo has done pretty well. It's not GREAT, and right now they're in 3rd place...but it

is hardly a distant third. If most of these belated games are killer apps, Nintendo could

be in a very good position. On the other hand, if games like Star Fox, Eternal Darkness,

Resident Evil and Metroid fail to deliver (either in content or in hype/awareness)

Nintendo could be in trouble. Mario and Zelda are sure to sell Cubes, but one has to

wonder how many have already been "pre-sold" before the "real" launch,

as you put it.

Mike H. Says: Yeah, I suppose I'd day Nintendo's been successful, but by their own

admission they haven't exactly been blown away by GameCube's results either.

Someone in the Forums recently brought up a great point. In retrospect, holding off on the

number of franchises that Nintendo has to work with may be to their advantage. The early

adopters crowd garnered Nintendo, at the very least, solid success thus far. When Mario is

launched this year, especially in Japan where Mario IS Nintendo, it will be like launching

the GameCube twice. The seed will be planted for another mad rush and bang-up holiday

season. And it won't be anything less than that.

Zelda will contribute to that success as well, whenever it's finally released. The others

will be icing on the cake.

Jonathan Says: Nintendo is the MASTER of creating

post-launch holiday software frenzy. See Diddy Kong Racing, Ocarina of Time, Donkey Kong

64, and all the handheld Pokemon games. Regardless of how great PS2 and Xbox software is

this Christmas, Nintendo will absolutely own the holiday game sales because that's what

they do best. Remember that NOA engineered the "Tickle Me Elmo" syndrome over a

decade ago with the NES...actually, they did it multiple times with the NES and SNES.

Dreylem asks, Several of my GC games don't recognize the memory card in slot B. They will

ONLY search Slot A. Do I have a defective Cube? Why the hell are there two memory card

slots if the games will only read the one in slot A?

TYP Says: Your system is only

broken if it can't read a card in Slot-B in the system menu (when there is no game in the

Cube). Slot B is primarily for copying files, but I agree: games should read both slots as

a rule. Why most developers don't allow loading from Slot-B is beyond me--it isn't

impossible. Sonic Adventure 2: Battle does it quite easily. In an idea world, all games

would check both slots for saved game info and would offer to save in either slot. People

with two memory cards should never have to take them out.

Rize Says: It's amazing the stuff that developers

won't put into games. Everything from obvious gameplay features to support for the second

memory card slot. I think reviewers should start checking for this and lowering scores

because of it. Then maybe they'll start doing things right! I'd also prefer that games

didn't limit me to a single file per card.

Mike H. Says: Common sense, right? Perhaps now

that the first wave of titles are out the door, developers will keep the obvious in mind

from here on out.

By the way, there is NOTHING wrong with your GameCube or memory cards. Game developers are

at fault for this one.

Daniel Says: TYP's right about Sonic. I've got it

saved to slot B just because I can. I must say that some of the memory card management

bothers me. The fact that many games still don't allow for more than three save files

baffles me.

Ryan asks, What do you guys feel about Nintendo's current game plan? What do you

guys feel they are doing right and wrong so far? Do you feel that Nintendo will return to

the glory days of the NES and SNES?

TYP Says: I'm not sure. I was initially very angry

about the whole June thing, but after talking to a (non-console gamer) friend who was

stating how great Goldeneye was, I'm not so sure. I know how many delays Goldeneye went

through, and if these GameCube delays yield games of such legendary status I suppose it is

worth it. But Nintendo needs to understand how such a draught can be a deterrent for the

common gamer. I'm hoping at least Doshin makes it over to the US, but if Sin &

Punishment didn't I have to question if any "Japanese" Nintendo game will make

the jump...

Rize Says: Nintendo's plan is very simple

actually. They simply want to make a lot of money, but at the same time keep their

reputation for making the world's best games. If this means that GameCube has to launch

without Mario... there's not much we can do about it. I suppose it's a good plan though; I

bought GameCube for Nintendo's games. Anything else is just a bonus to me.

Mike H. Says: I still feel they should be

embracing 3rd party support more than they are. If they want to be picky about the

companies and titles, fine, but I wish they would lighten up a bit.

Their method of "fewer but greater" titles will be enough to keep their system

afloat in the realm of competition, but I don't think a typhoon will strike MS or SCEA

buildings. They build platforms for themselves first. Sony and MS obviously build for 3rd

parties, for better or worse. The difference between their practices is faster

profitability. Somehow or another, Nintendo's methods just seem to work... for themselves.

But is it really better for gamers? I don't speak for anyone but me, but there are

virtually no GameCube titles that interest me until mid year. THAT's not good at all. I

can only tolerate "fewer but greater" so much.

Speaking on the last question, the glory days of NES and SNES will be hard to return to. I

look back on those times fondly. There was a simplicity about 2D games that made them far

more enjoyable for me, and being a kid at the time with no other worldly worries helped a

great deal.

That's why I'm so big on these GBA remakes... nostalgia baby. But I want some more

original content as well. Ahem. Still waiting for that GBA-to-TV adapter.

Daniel Says: I honestly feel that NCL is doing a

much better job managing their release schedule in Japan than NOA has been here. There

still isn't a lot coming out there, but new first and second party games have been getting

released about every four to six weeks. NOA may have brought everything out in time for

the Holidays, but now there isn't much to look forward to until the summer. Plus, we still

don't know the status of Animal Forest or Animal Leader. Both could get more attention in

a time like this than if they have to compete against Mario, Turok, and Zelda later this

year.

Jonathan Says: Well, the GameCube lineup through

May isn't so bad if you don't already own a PS2...I'm about to rent NBA Street, and Spy

Hunter too when it comes out. Word.

Ondr0013 asks, Because this is going to be the biggest and best E3 in video game

history, I would be stupid not to purchase the E3 Video/DVD/CD when you release it. Not

only that, but I know the proceeds serve a good cause. When do you think will be the

earliest day that I can find it in my mailbox? Will you release it in one form or multiple

forms? What will these babies be priced at? How long do you think the video will run?

Mike H. Says: If we do something, it may only be our

second E3 video, but it would be the BEST E3 VIDEO EVAR!!111111

But seriously, we know there is already a buzz. People are getting pumped about the event

and the video possibilities. There are a lot of details still to iron out. However, this

E3 video would not disappoint in quality or launch time because we listen closely to what

people want, and we're surrounding ourselves with great people.

As usual, we'd focus on content you won't find for free on the internet. There would be

tons of game footage and goings-on, but we also suck you into the experience by doing what

those 1984789457089245 movies on the internet don't do. We tell a story. They wouldn't

even compare.

Rize Says: I think we've learned a lot in the

video department. Just comparing the E3 and Space World videos shows that. The Space World

video was completed and sold much quicker than the E3 video for example. I think you can

expect a much quicker production this time around.

Max Says: There were problems galore with our first video project, but we've learned a lot from the experience. This time around, you can definitely expect a more timely and quality production. PGC should also have more contacts than last year, which should make for some great content... Not to mention all the great games we'll be seeing!

Daniel Says: I thought I heard that we weren't

doing a video.

Jonathan Says: To quote Jeffrey Rush of Shakespeare

in Love:

"I don't know; it's a mystery."

Mike H. Backtracks: Oh yeah, uh, what video?

What's E3?