The "General Games Chat" forum, which includes Retro Game Reviews, has been archived and is now read-only.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.
I couldn't believe my eyes today when I read that the XBox has now pipped GameCube sales (sure, for one week only, but still unbelievable) in Japan, the most anti-XBox country in the world. Nintendo can make the best games in the world, so this truly shows that the company are the most ignorant and stupid in the world. They have no business knowledge (rich coming from me, but I don't run Nintendo).
They never advertise the GameCube, and if they do, it's during daytime TV on channel 5, basically, when nobody is watching. The adverts are good, but after years of abuse they are still aiming at the wrong sort of customer. Statistics show that gamers are becoming older, but Nintendo just isn't catching up with the times. I like my occasional kiddy games, by Nintendo have to change their image. When I talk to friends about the fact why they don't like Nintendo, they usually say it's because they're too kiddy, and in a way, I have to agree.
Nintendo's policy in the past year or two seems to be that gameplay and pure gaming is the number one priority, and I love this, but your "average gamer" doesn't. The average gamer doesn't read reviews, your average gamer can't tell the awful Carmageddon from the supreme Zelda, and Nintendo must realise that there are more of the "casual" gamers than the hardcore lifelong Nintendo's fans they are aiming at. This is why Fifa outsells the Pro Evolution series, even though Pro Evolution is better, and why Tomb Raider always breaks the record. It is these brainless zombies that run the gaming industry, the ones that have the most cash, and they have to realise this.
As much as Nintendo may hate it, times have changed, and they have to too. The only thing that kept the N64 alive was Rare, and now they're gone. They made classics such as GoldenEye, Perfect Dark and the Banjo-Kazooie series, so what does Nintendo do? Get rid of them, that's what. Yes, they got a bit of cash, but now Microsoft have one of the greatest developers on the planet (even if they take a bit long to make a game). This lack of support from other developers and publishers is something Nintendo has had since the days of the N64, and one reason why it suffered bad sales so much, even though it had more great games than any other console, made mainly be Rare, do you see?
With Codemaster reportedly pulling the plug on Nintendo with big-selling games such as Colin McRae on the horizon, which would attract many of the "casual" gamers, Nintendo had a rather shiny gem in their crown.
Since the days of the N64, when I first became a true Nintendo fan, I have seen nothing but Nintendo failing. It really annoys me when I'm looking for games for my console, I have to look at the highest shelf at the furthest back point in the store. However, Nintendo's poor business brain and lack of intelligent can't be all to blame, can it?
I can't help but feel that Nintendo is being discriminated by most stores (not Special Reserve, of course), and it really does affect their sales quite badly. At the front of shop windows, you always see PS2 being advertised, Vice City, XBox being advertised, Splinter Cell, and yes, these posters do appeal to the older gamer arriving on the scene and the "casual" gamers, (God I hate them, why the heck is Fifa better than Pro Evolution, oops, I'm rambling...) If Nintendo does manage to get a decent poster up there, they are always advertising Mario Sunshine, which we true gamers know is one of the greatest games of all time, but sadly for Nintendo, the majority don't think that, and they have to realise that.
The GameCube, much like the N64 was, is always at the back of the store given just a few shelves of space, whilst the PS2 and XBox are given one-third of the store each, in the best position possible to show off their "quality". I'm sure that this is illegal, and Nintendo can do something about it, but they have to become more mature, more adult and more modern.
Resident Evil was the greatest thing to ever happen to the GameCube. It turned a few heads towards Nintendo's flagship and made them think,
"Wait a minute. I guess Nintendo aren't so wimpy after all". Then Eternal Darkness followed, then Metroid Prime, and because of these superb adult games, sales in America took at rather big increase, escalating ahead of the XBox. However, Nintendo's needs more of these games, but there seems to be an achilles heel in Nintendo, and that is, WHY DO THESE GREAT GAMES COME ON THE GAMECUBE MONTHS AFTER EVERY OTHER CONSOLE?
Guess what, Hitman 2 is coming out on the GameCube, but it's been out on everything else for months, and everyone else who wants it has bought a PS2 or an XBox and has no interest in the GameCube. Rumour mill also says that Nintendo could be getting Splinter Cell, yeah, when those people who are deciding between an XBox and a GameCube have chosen an XBox because they want Splinter Cell NOW, not in a few months time. This loses many potential customers, and these customers are moving to the rivals. Nintendo is missing out on money and customers.
I believe that the one game series that could help the GameCube a lot is the Grand Theft Auto series, but Nintendo probably refuse to publish it for the GameCube because of, you know, what the game is like. *Cough*. If you ask any gamer out there what game they would love to have on their console (if they don't already have a PS2, and about 99% of people do have one, it would be Grand Theft Auto 3 or GTA: Vice City). Nintendo need to open their eyes, look up to the skies and see, THEY ARE WRONG!! THEY ARE FOOLS!! THEY ARE FALLING BEHIND!!
I think that the most biggest reason why Nintendo fail is their poor timing, the way they appear on the scene way after everyone else. It's like on that episode of The Simpsons, when Bart and Homers' horse runs faster than any other horse out there in the race, but sets off when all the other horses have finished.
The PS2 had a good year and a half before the GameCube hit our superior British shores, and the XBox had a good two months over the GameCube. By the time the GameCube came out, most people got bored and decided to get the other consoles. If I would have known when the GameCube was coming out, I would probably have not bought a PS2 for the Christmas of 2001. (Dramatic orchestral music).
If the GameCube came out before the PS2 and the XBox, (and one adult game), I can guarantee it would be the GameCube shifting 50,000 units a week, not the PS2. They are fools, and by the looks of it, the PS3 and XBox 2 will be out in 2005 or possibly very early 2006, whilst the GameCube 2 will probably be out quite a few months, possibly a year after that. This will mean more than a head start for Microsoft and Sony, and more failure for Nintendo. I guarantee that if it wasn't for Pokémon and the GB and GBA, Nintendo would be long gone.
Once again, I have to mention the poor show of Nintendo over the Christmas period, the most popular period for gaming. The people buying new consoles over the Christmas period were mothers with very young children who don't have a clue, and poor people.
I think that the fact drilled into our heads the most over this period was that the XBox was Ł200 with four games. God, how much did they tell us that, and these people took notice. They didn't know what the games were, they just thought,
"Wow! What a bargain!" So they bought it, if they already bought a PS2, which everyone at every shop, magazine and TV show had told them to do. (Once again, the discrimination against Nintendo. I remember going into a computer shop and I decided to listen in on a conversation. The man of about 21was asking the shop keeper which console he would reccomend. He said not the GameCube because it is purple and very kiddy, even though it does come in black. He said the PS2 or the XBox, but the PS2 has GTA3 whilst the XBox is the most powerful. Uh, who cares. Power is nothing, games are, and that's what matters, if only the dumb public would realise. I'M FULL OF RAGE!)
Nintendo was the cheapest console over the festive period, but nobody knew, and nobody cared. Over Christmas, Nintendo should have definetely advertised fully the offer of the GameCube with one free game of any choice BACK THEN, OVER CHRISTMAS, not now. Ridiculous.
Well, I hope you have enojoyed this post, and I am glad to get rid of my anger. Maybe you can spread the word that Nintendo are the best, but I have to talk to the executives of Nintendo a bit, or take over the company myself. Who knows, whichever is easier.
They never advertise the GameCube, and if they do, it's during daytime TV on channel 5, basically, when nobody is watching. The adverts are good, but after years of abuse they are still aiming at the wrong sort of customer. Statistics show that gamers are becoming older, but Nintendo just isn't catching up with the times. I like my occasional kiddy games, by Nintendo have to change their image. When I talk to friends about the fact why they don't like Nintendo, they usually say it's because they're too kiddy, and in a way, I have to agree.
Nintendo's policy in the past year or two seems to be that gameplay and pure gaming is the number one priority, and I love this, but your "average gamer" doesn't. The average gamer doesn't read reviews, your average gamer can't tell the awful Carmageddon from the supreme Zelda, and Nintendo must realise that there are more of the "casual" gamers than the hardcore lifelong Nintendo's fans they are aiming at. This is why Fifa outsells the Pro Evolution series, even though Pro Evolution is better, and why Tomb Raider always breaks the record. It is these brainless zombies that run the gaming industry, the ones that have the most cash, and they have to realise this.
As much as Nintendo may hate it, times have changed, and they have to too. The only thing that kept the N64 alive was Rare, and now they're gone. They made classics such as GoldenEye, Perfect Dark and the Banjo-Kazooie series, so what does Nintendo do? Get rid of them, that's what. Yes, they got a bit of cash, but now Microsoft have one of the greatest developers on the planet (even if they take a bit long to make a game). This lack of support from other developers and publishers is something Nintendo has had since the days of the N64, and one reason why it suffered bad sales so much, even though it had more great games than any other console, made mainly be Rare, do you see?
With Codemaster reportedly pulling the plug on Nintendo with big-selling games such as Colin McRae on the horizon, which would attract many of the "casual" gamers, Nintendo had a rather shiny gem in their crown.
Since the days of the N64, when I first became a true Nintendo fan, I have seen nothing but Nintendo failing. It really annoys me when I'm looking for games for my console, I have to look at the highest shelf at the furthest back point in the store. However, Nintendo's poor business brain and lack of intelligent can't be all to blame, can it?
I can't help but feel that Nintendo is being discriminated by most stores (not Special Reserve, of course), and it really does affect their sales quite badly. At the front of shop windows, you always see PS2 being advertised, Vice City, XBox being advertised, Splinter Cell, and yes, these posters do appeal to the older gamer arriving on the scene and the "casual" gamers, (God I hate them, why the heck is Fifa better than Pro Evolution, oops, I'm rambling...) If Nintendo does manage to get a decent poster up there, they are always advertising Mario Sunshine, which we true gamers know is one of the greatest games of all time, but sadly for Nintendo, the majority don't think that, and they have to realise that.
The GameCube, much like the N64 was, is always at the back of the store given just a few shelves of space, whilst the PS2 and XBox are given one-third of the store each, in the best position possible to show off their "quality". I'm sure that this is illegal, and Nintendo can do something about it, but they have to become more mature, more adult and more modern.
Resident Evil was the greatest thing to ever happen to the GameCube. It turned a few heads towards Nintendo's flagship and made them think,
"Wait a minute. I guess Nintendo aren't so wimpy after all". Then Eternal Darkness followed, then Metroid Prime, and because of these superb adult games, sales in America took at rather big increase, escalating ahead of the XBox. However, Nintendo's needs more of these games, but there seems to be an achilles heel in Nintendo, and that is, WHY DO THESE GREAT GAMES COME ON THE GAMECUBE MONTHS AFTER EVERY OTHER CONSOLE?
Guess what, Hitman 2 is coming out on the GameCube, but it's been out on everything else for months, and everyone else who wants it has bought a PS2 or an XBox and has no interest in the GameCube. Rumour mill also says that Nintendo could be getting Splinter Cell, yeah, when those people who are deciding between an XBox and a GameCube have chosen an XBox because they want Splinter Cell NOW, not in a few months time. This loses many potential customers, and these customers are moving to the rivals. Nintendo is missing out on money and customers.
I believe that the one game series that could help the GameCube a lot is the Grand Theft Auto series, but Nintendo probably refuse to publish it for the GameCube because of, you know, what the game is like. *Cough*. If you ask any gamer out there what game they would love to have on their console (if they don't already have a PS2, and about 99% of people do have one, it would be Grand Theft Auto 3 or GTA: Vice City). Nintendo need to open their eyes, look up to the skies and see, THEY ARE WRONG!! THEY ARE FOOLS!! THEY ARE FALLING BEHIND!!
I think that the most biggest reason why Nintendo fail is their poor timing, the way they appear on the scene way after everyone else. It's like on that episode of The Simpsons, when Bart and Homers' horse runs faster than any other horse out there in the race, but sets off when all the other horses have finished.
The PS2 had a good year and a half before the GameCube hit our superior British shores, and the XBox had a good two months over the GameCube. By the time the GameCube came out, most people got bored and decided to get the other consoles. If I would have known when the GameCube was coming out, I would probably have not bought a PS2 for the Christmas of 2001. (Dramatic orchestral music).
If the GameCube came out before the PS2 and the XBox, (and one adult game), I can guarantee it would be the GameCube shifting 50,000 units a week, not the PS2. They are fools, and by the looks of it, the PS3 and XBox 2 will be out in 2005 or possibly very early 2006, whilst the GameCube 2 will probably be out quite a few months, possibly a year after that. This will mean more than a head start for Microsoft and Sony, and more failure for Nintendo. I guarantee that if it wasn't for Pokémon and the GB and GBA, Nintendo would be long gone.
Once again, I have to mention the poor show of Nintendo over the Christmas period, the most popular period for gaming. The people buying new consoles over the Christmas period were mothers with very young children who don't have a clue, and poor people.
I think that the fact drilled into our heads the most over this period was that the XBox was Ł200 with four games. God, how much did they tell us that, and these people took notice. They didn't know what the games were, they just thought,
"Wow! What a bargain!" So they bought it, if they already bought a PS2, which everyone at every shop, magazine and TV show had told them to do. (Once again, the discrimination against Nintendo. I remember going into a computer shop and I decided to listen in on a conversation. The man of about 21was asking the shop keeper which console he would reccomend. He said not the GameCube because it is purple and very kiddy, even though it does come in black. He said the PS2 or the XBox, but the PS2 has GTA3 whilst the XBox is the most powerful. Uh, who cares. Power is nothing, games are, and that's what matters, if only the dumb public would realise. I'M FULL OF RAGE!)
Nintendo was the cheapest console over the festive period, but nobody knew, and nobody cared. Over Christmas, Nintendo should have definetely advertised fully the offer of the GameCube with one free game of any choice BACK THEN, OVER CHRISTMAS, not now. Ridiculous.
Well, I hope you have enojoyed this post, and I am glad to get rid of my anger. Maybe you can spread the word that Nintendo are the best, but I have to talk to the executives of Nintendo a bit, or take over the company myself. Who knows, whichever is easier.
Page:
Quite simply, Vice City is amazing, it deserved the Christmas number one spot. Mario Sunshine, deserved a top sales spot, it got it. There is some justice out there. Buying a game is a lot like making love to a.....
Belldandy wrote:
> Exactly...GTA Vice, Xmas #1 for sales. Tell me, how was Mario Sunshine
> really any different than in the ways you mention, from Mario 64 ?
More power. Different and imaginative worlds. Great, paradise atmosphere. FLUDD. Yoshi. And much more..
> Besides, you miss another major selling point of Halo 2....Xbox Live
> compatible downloads, multiplayer co-operative and versus play...Halo
> was great, it had everything you could ask for apart from online play
> !
So Halo 2 will be Halo with online play? Oh the excitement!
> Come to think of it, SSBM is essentially a spruced up N64 game as
> well..
To be fair - if you say that about SSBM, you could say that to any sequel. Yes, it kept the main gameplay mechanics - but it was a bloody good sequel all the same. Think of all the new additions!
> Exactly...GTA Vice, Xmas #1 for sales. Tell me, how was Mario Sunshine
> really any different than in the ways you mention, from Mario 64 ?
More power. Different and imaginative worlds. Great, paradise atmosphere. FLUDD. Yoshi. And much more..
> Besides, you miss another major selling point of Halo 2....Xbox Live
> compatible downloads, multiplayer co-operative and versus play...Halo
> was great, it had everything you could ask for apart from online play
> !
So Halo 2 will be Halo with online play? Oh the excitement!
> Come to think of it, SSBM is essentially a spruced up N64 game as
> well..
To be fair - if you say that about SSBM, you could say that to any sequel. Yes, it kept the main gameplay mechanics - but it was a bloody good sequel all the same. Think of all the new additions!
I agree, after playing about an hour of it, i wanted to do something else, it is so overrated, it's horrible. Games like Nightfire, (i know it isn't great) are labe;ed rubbish, but i have had much more fun on that, then Halo.
Halo didn't have originality, the atmosphere wasn't great and 3/4 through it got boring. I could ask for more.
AfroJoe wrote:
> People bought an Xbox for Halo. Loads of people have Halo - why get
> Halo 2? What is the point in playing the same game again - the same
> game, but with enhanced visuals, more levels and more guns in the
> multiplayer mode?
>
> Well, actually, I should be asking that question to PS2 owners...
Exactly...GTA Vice, Xmas #1 for sales. Tell me, how was Mario Sunshine really any different than in the ways you mention, from Mario 64 ?
Besides, you miss another major selling point of Halo 2....Xbox Live compatible downloads, multiplayer co-operative and versus play...Halo was great, it had everything you could ask for apart from online play !
Come to think of it, SSBM is essentially a spruced up N64 game as well....
~~Belldandy~~
> People bought an Xbox for Halo. Loads of people have Halo - why get
> Halo 2? What is the point in playing the same game again - the same
> game, but with enhanced visuals, more levels and more guns in the
> multiplayer mode?
>
> Well, actually, I should be asking that question to PS2 owners...
Exactly...GTA Vice, Xmas #1 for sales. Tell me, how was Mario Sunshine really any different than in the ways you mention, from Mario 64 ?
Besides, you miss another major selling point of Halo 2....Xbox Live compatible downloads, multiplayer co-operative and versus play...Halo was great, it had everything you could ask for apart from online play !
Come to think of it, SSBM is essentially a spruced up N64 game as well....
~~Belldandy~~
idlewild wrote:
> Only thing I can see you are scared of is it's public image amd how
> much credit you'll get for it on the street.
erm no
> Only thing I can see you are scared of is it's public image amd how
> much credit you'll get for it on the street.
erm no
*checks wallet*
Too damn well......
:)
Too damn well......
:)
*looks at 2003 release schedule*
Nah Nintendo are anything but failing.
Nah Nintendo are anything but failing.
And do you know why you thought it was the best console? Because the games where mostly of high quality, especially those made by Nintendo - and that image would be spoilt if sequels were made in the same fashion as EA. I think Nintendo prefer to be the way they are - after all, their cusotmer base IS growing - and they would rather be a company making games that are within their culture (by that I mean originality, pure gameplying fun, blah blah)then a big hitter without a face.
Look here fools, here's what I was aiming to say. Nintendo clearly has all the ability to be the top games company in the world again, but it's to dumb to see past what they want to see. As much as they hate it, they have to make those boring, pathetic, useless sequels (mainly made by EA) that ignorant PS2 and XBox owners love to by. (Even though I own a PS2, but a GameCube as well). Nintendo's reputation has been so badly damaged by the N64, but I thought it was the best console ever with allllll those great games. They are well behind everyone, and they have to do something. The sweat-tramps.
Page: