GetDotted Domains

Viewing Thread:
"Something computer companies have to decide!"

The "General Games Chat" forum, which includes Retro Game Reviews, has been archived and is now read-only. You cannot post here or create a new thread or review on this forum.

Mon 28/05/01 at 14:47
Regular
Posts: 787
Long, long ago (well, about 10 years) there was a little something called the Gameboy). I would say that 85% of hard-core gamers would have played on this machine. Back in its day, it was a “must have” for everyone. I think that one of the nice things was, to us and to Nintendo, was that it appealed to girls, as well as it did boys. I think that this was partially to do with the great success of the Gameboy, not just in this country, but worldwide, and the fact that the games weren’t all male related.

As kids of the digital age, I think we all craved about having a portable NES in our hands on those boring car journeys we had. We are wanted to have something to do, but we never dreamed of having something as good as what we have today. Nintendo are not silly, they know what us gamers want. So, come 1988, they released their fantastic new handheld machine, which quenched our thirst for a hand held computer. At last, we could finally say goodbye to those boring journeys and look forward to playing the games like Mario, which would keep us entertained for hours on end.

As the gameboy was a huge success, Nintendo couldn’t help but make another handheld. This was called the Gameboy Pocket. What was new then? Well, surprise, surprise (as Cilla Black would say) this was a hand held that could fit in your pocket, mainly due to the original having the same weight and dimensions of a breeze block. The same thing happened, as before, it was a huge success.

Later on Nintendo found the technology to release another gameboy. The next Gameboy (named Gameboy Colour) would be in full colour. We could finally say goodbye to the black and white gameboys and say hello to the new coloured ones.

Where am I going with this? Well, Nintendo was very lucky to have the GameBoy so well liked by people. Let’s just take a second to look at the Sega GameGear. This had a bigger screen, and it was in colour (unlike the GameBoy original). The only problem was that, despite the fantastic games and Sega’s magic, the machine ate batteries for breakfast with its backlight screen and was far too chunky, being almost twice as big as the gameboy.

And even though Nintendo didn’t upgrade the machine for a long time, people were still buying the original Gameboy, leaving the GameGear to be a bit of a flop really. Now, let’s turn things around. Lets imagine that the GameGear was selling more than the Gameboy, then that would be it for Nintendo with the hand held side of gaming.

This is where we have to feel sorry for companies that didn’t quite get there. Even if their first attempt wasn’t super, if it was selling well then they would make money, and therefore have the money to make a new handheld.

This doesn’t just go for the computer companies, but also for the game companies. If they release a game that sells well, they are obviously going to make sequels.

This is where it starts to leave a sour taste in my mouth.

I wish companies would quit will they are ahead. I would hate to see a company go bankrupt just because they rushed into trying to make another console without putting as much thought as the previous consoles had. Why would they do this? Because money gets the better of them. I’m not saying that computer companies should stop making consoles altogether after they release a console that sells well, just to wait a long time until they release another.

I think this is a good tactic because the longer you keep gamers waiting for a machine, the more they are going to want to get it.

This leaves companies in a hard position. Deep down, they know that if they wait too long to release a console, another company could release theirs and then gamers would get that instead.

Personally, I think that companies should risk it, and wait as long as possible to release their console. I have four reasons for this,
1) It will keep the gamer waiting, therefore making them want it more.
2) The company will have more time designing, making, and just finishing the final touches to the console…everything counts, you know!
3) It would also (and this is very important) give the game developer longer to make the launch titles, making them look and play like they have not been rushed. Also, if a certain developer is having troubles, they know they are not being pushed too fast to make a game.
4) If you wait until rival consoles are released, you may find that people could be disappointed with them, and wait for your one to be released instead.

All these are some pluses in waiting to release a console, but you also have to look at the minuses.

1) As stated before, a company could halt the release too long, resulting in the gamer to look elsewhere for a computer.
2) Argh, I hate this one. HYPE. People are going to be hyped so much about the console because they have been waiting so long, and maybe their expectations have gone too high. This will leave them disappointed with the console, then they are bound to tell their friend that they are disappointed with it, and then the friends are going to think twice about buying one.

I really do think that the decision (when to release the console) is a very important issue with gaming because it could be the key to success or if you do not get it right, the slide to hell. I would hate if the decision was all down to me, wouldn’t you?

Sega decided that they wanted to release their 128-bit console before everyone else’s and just look at what has happened to the Dreamcast. Okay. It made some excellent games, and was loved by thousands but at the end of the day, come March 2002 the Dreamcast will stop producing games for all us Dreamcast owners. Now, let us just think for a moment. If Sega could turn back the clocks, do you think they would have released their console a little latter on?

If you ask me, they would have released it a couple of months either side of the Ps2 launch release, but that’s just a guess.

And maybe if Sega released the Dreamcast later on, it may have been much more successful and we wouldn't be seeing headlines such as “Dreamcast. RIP”. We will just never know though.

So, this is where I would like to ask you if you think companies should release their console before, the same time, or after rival consoles?

Have your say.

Cheers.
Mon 28/05/01 at 16:18
Regular
Posts: 6,492
Chop his beard off with the lift door, and youve got to get him too blow his nose somehow in the handkerchief youve got.

RastaBillySkank wrote:
> BONUS!!! Just the bloke!

I need something of the head and
> something of the body from LeChuck, I got his undies and dead
Mon 28/05/01 at 16:15
Regular
"You've upset me"
Posts: 21,152
BONUS!!! Just the bloke!

I need something of the head and something of the body from LeChuck, I got his undies and dead
Mon 28/05/01 at 16:13
Regular
Posts: 6,492
I amn't too interested in the next turok to tell you the truth, I had number 2 on the N64 and it was good but it will be out of it's depth on the PS2, Red Faction, Half life Deus X, Timsplitters 1&2, unless they work it seperatly for the PS2 and the GC then, it wont go very far.
Mon 28/05/01 at 16:09
Regular
"Fishing For Reddies"
Posts: 4,986
Not it won't, i'm talking about fresh developement....

You tell Aclaim to develop Turok Evo for the PS2 and Gamecube and I GUARANTEE they will finish the GC version earlier and the game itself will be much better quality!

Porting games from GC to PS2 will be quite hard...

Game
Mon 28/05/01 at 16:09
Regular
"Eff, you see, kay?"
Posts: 14,156
Damned filter! It wouldn't let me type ba11s, so now I've lost my posts. Well, I'm not going to post it again, so there.
Mon 28/05/01 at 16:06
Regular
Posts: 6,492
Game, your missing one major the point, the PS2 will have done about 50 laps before the Gamcube even gets released, and there are more games coming out on the PS2 that i would consider buying than there is on the Gamecube, as a previous N64 owner I do appreciate the genious of games like mario cart, but do i really want to play it again?? The only decent looking game is Rogue leader, but it doesn't look any better than starfighter!!
Mon 28/05/01 at 16:00
Regular
"Palace 5-0 Brighton"
Posts: 2,321
Bonus wrote:
> Thats my half baked idea anyway, they also released the PS2 well
> before the online capabilities were ready for the same reason, they
> can make more money out of hardcore gamers, when the pricecut comes,
> i'll bet you can buy a PS2, broadband modem and HDD for aroung
> £299, and the killer games will be shipping too.

Yes, I too think that will be the case.

lets just hope, the up and coming games
> live up to expectations.

I am sure they will, infact I am 100% certain that they will! :-)
Mon 28/05/01 at 15:59
Regular
"Fishing For Reddies"
Posts: 4,986
Bonus wrote:

F1 2001 is the first Sony produced game I have bought and, it truely is the best looking racer I have played, and for it to cruise along at the speed it does with no slow down.

***********

So Mr. Sony can get away with producing one or two games a year and you're happy....SONY is losing 3rd parties, and the ones they're keeping aren't focusing as much attention towards the PS2 as they were...the PS2 is a real git to develop for...you can develope a game 8 times faster through gamecube as you can do the Mapping, Lighting and Bumbing all in one...Sony have to go round the track 8 times to warm up...Nintendo only need to lap once!!

We may not see the effects straight away but I don't think that heavyweight gaming championship will be around Ken whatshisfaces name (Kutanurgi?) for a very long time!

Heh.....Sony.....what fruitcakes....gotta admit it though that that Kengo thingy game looks good!

Haiiiiiiiiya!

Lol....

Game
Mon 28/05/01 at 15:59
Regular
Posts: 6,492
Edge, I was making the point that SEGA know how bad things can get if your console isn't recognised in the mainstream, the commas around the little remark may give it away.
Mon 28/05/01 at 15:57
Posts: 0
Bonus wrote:
> Edge I get the feeling that you do not have aclue about the internal
> gubbings of a PS2, go to PS2 Physics thread and you'll be able to
> read what I wrote explaining the situation in there. As for your
> point game, I really can't see the gamecube getting a proper
> foothold outside of hardcore gamers, and that is dangerous, as SEGA
> know fine and well, the best thing they could have done is released
> the Gamecube and GBA together and use the GBA to help advertise the
> Gamecube along with those little critters that I really can't
> stand.


You mean Nintendo!

Freeola & GetDotted are rated 5 Stars

Check out some of our customer reviews below:

The coolest ISP ever!
In my opinion, the ISP is the best I have ever used. They guarantee 'first time connection - everytime', which they have never let me down on.
Thank you very much for your help!
Top service for free - excellent - thank you very much for your help.

View More Reviews

Need some help? Give us a call on 01376 55 60 60

Go to Support Centre

It appears you are using an old browser, as such, some parts of the Freeola and Getdotted site will not work as intended. Using the latest version of your browser, or another browser such as Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Opera will provide a better, safer browsing experience for you.