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As time progresses, it's becoming more and more apparent that developers are preferring to port their previous titles to Gamecube than to develop new, original ones.
Companies such as Electronic Arts, Sega and Acclaim will be contributing a large percentage on these ports which, alone, stand for over half the total number of launch titles. Is this a problem? Should developers spend more time and resources creating original titles rather than giving Gamecube owner’s games that they may already own on a different console? Well, let's investigate a little further!
To be honest, porting games over to other consoles is merely a way of developers making quick, easy money. If the game has already been highly acclaimed on it’s home console, chances are people are going to buy it.
One thing which people constantly complained about with the N64 was the lack of titles for it, good or otherwise. Every six months, along would come an absolute classic from the likes of Nintendo or Rare and then a sort of games drought would occur. So, does this mean that loads of ports on Gamecube, which take very little time to develop, will eradicate these game droughts? Probably. So is this a good thing? Again, probably.
The chances are, developers (or publishers, rather) are only likely to publish a game on multiple platforms if it was successful on the first console it hit (as previously stated). And, I think it’s reasonable to say that games are only likely to be popular with the gaming masses if they’re at least a half-decent game in the first place (let’s forget about Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, here).
So, what I’ve established is this – ports are likely to create a steady flow of games, giving your average punter plenty of variety throughout the year. What’s more, these titles are most probably enjoyable titles than are at least half your moneys-worth. So does this mean that ports are a good thing and should be heavily supported by Nintendo? Not necessarily. Read on…
Firstly, if a game is ported from PS2 to Gamecube (for example), the Gamecube owner expects more than a ‘direct port’. They want extra levels, new modes, improved graphics etc. Not only to make it seem as though the developer has actually put some effort into porting this game onto their beloved platform, but also so that they can say “look here, PS2 owners – the game is better on my platform than yours.”
This however, is not necessarily the case will all ports coming over to the Gamecube. Crazy Taxi, for example, is a direct port of the same PS2 title which was, in turn, a direct port of Dreamcast version which was a port of the arcade original! Yes, it’s all very well and good if your Gamecube punter has never seem or played Crazy Taxi before, as it’s a highly respectable title. However, chances are that the potential customer has already played the game previously. So, why could they possibly want to spend £40 (or more) on a game they’ve already played? For them, the title may as well not even exist on the platform!
Also, wave upon wave on ports on the Gamecube can make the console develop a bad reputation of mainly having games that PS2 and X-Box owners will of already experienced. Or am I getting a little carried away here? Would a company like Nintendo actually let their console get bogged down with port upon port? Probably not. Although in recent times, Nintendo have actively encouraged more and more developers to pile aboard S.S. Gamecube and if this issue goes without restrictions, things could turn sour for Nintendo.
So, to summarise – lots of ports on Gamecube could be a good thing IF:
1) The title in question is already worthy-enough to be put on sale under the Gamecube brand.
2) Is enhanced substantially enough to practically make it a worthy purchase for owners of previous versions.
3) The number of ports on Gamecube is far out-numbered by the number of original titles. After all, it’s these original titles that will really capture Gamecube’s massive potential and advance gaming as we know it, just the N64 did.
Thanks for you time, if you bothered to read.
Uncle Albert
Companies such as Electronic Arts, Sega and Acclaim will be contributing a large percentage on these ports which, alone, stand for over half the total number of launch titles. Is this a problem? Should developers spend more time and resources creating original titles rather than giving Gamecube owner’s games that they may already own on a different console? Well, let's investigate a little further!
To be honest, porting games over to other consoles is merely a way of developers making quick, easy money. If the game has already been highly acclaimed on it’s home console, chances are people are going to buy it.
One thing which people constantly complained about with the N64 was the lack of titles for it, good or otherwise. Every six months, along would come an absolute classic from the likes of Nintendo or Rare and then a sort of games drought would occur. So, does this mean that loads of ports on Gamecube, which take very little time to develop, will eradicate these game droughts? Probably. So is this a good thing? Again, probably.
The chances are, developers (or publishers, rather) are only likely to publish a game on multiple platforms if it was successful on the first console it hit (as previously stated). And, I think it’s reasonable to say that games are only likely to be popular with the gaming masses if they’re at least a half-decent game in the first place (let’s forget about Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, here).
So, what I’ve established is this – ports are likely to create a steady flow of games, giving your average punter plenty of variety throughout the year. What’s more, these titles are most probably enjoyable titles than are at least half your moneys-worth. So does this mean that ports are a good thing and should be heavily supported by Nintendo? Not necessarily. Read on…
Firstly, if a game is ported from PS2 to Gamecube (for example), the Gamecube owner expects more than a ‘direct port’. They want extra levels, new modes, improved graphics etc. Not only to make it seem as though the developer has actually put some effort into porting this game onto their beloved platform, but also so that they can say “look here, PS2 owners – the game is better on my platform than yours.”
This however, is not necessarily the case will all ports coming over to the Gamecube. Crazy Taxi, for example, is a direct port of the same PS2 title which was, in turn, a direct port of Dreamcast version which was a port of the arcade original! Yes, it’s all very well and good if your Gamecube punter has never seem or played Crazy Taxi before, as it’s a highly respectable title. However, chances are that the potential customer has already played the game previously. So, why could they possibly want to spend £40 (or more) on a game they’ve already played? For them, the title may as well not even exist on the platform!
Also, wave upon wave on ports on the Gamecube can make the console develop a bad reputation of mainly having games that PS2 and X-Box owners will of already experienced. Or am I getting a little carried away here? Would a company like Nintendo actually let their console get bogged down with port upon port? Probably not. Although in recent times, Nintendo have actively encouraged more and more developers to pile aboard S.S. Gamecube and if this issue goes without restrictions, things could turn sour for Nintendo.
So, to summarise – lots of ports on Gamecube could be a good thing IF:
1) The title in question is already worthy-enough to be put on sale under the Gamecube brand.
2) Is enhanced substantially enough to practically make it a worthy purchase for owners of previous versions.
3) The number of ports on Gamecube is far out-numbered by the number of original titles. After all, it’s these original titles that will really capture Gamecube’s massive potential and advance gaming as we know it, just the N64 did.
Thanks for you time, if you bothered to read.
Uncle Albert
Page:
MoJoJoJo wrote:
I miss the snakes, Mr T and Zombie Dave!
And don't forget Fat Sow's dissin' of just about every news article. Violet Berlin, on the other hand, will be missed by absolutely no-one.
I miss the snakes, Mr T and Zombie Dave!
And don't forget Fat Sow's dissin' of just about every news article. Violet Berlin, on the other hand, will be missed by absolutely no-one.
Uncle Albert wrote:
> MoJoJoJo wrote:
> Port-me-do? Someone's been reading Digi too much
Do you
> see?
No, I've been reading too much of the OLD Digi. It's simply not the
> same any more...
True... true...
I miss the snakes, Mr T and Zombie Dave!
> MoJoJoJo wrote:
> Port-me-do? Someone's been reading Digi too much
Do you
> see?
No, I've been reading too much of the OLD Digi. It's simply not the
> same any more...
True... true...
I miss the snakes, Mr T and Zombie Dave!
AfroJoe wrote:
> You've been reading NGC very closely haven't you?? :D
Still, it was a good
> post and a worthy winner of GAD. ;-)
Yes, I've been reading every issue of NGC very closely but I can't remember anything about ports in there.
Thanks a lot SR! I can now revise in the right state of mind. :)
> You've been reading NGC very closely haven't you?? :D
Still, it was a good
> post and a worthy winner of GAD. ;-)
Yes, I've been reading every issue of NGC very closely but I can't remember anything about ports in there.
Thanks a lot SR! I can now revise in the right state of mind. :)
You've been reading NGC very closely haven't you?? :D
Still, it was a good post and a worthy winner of GAD. ;-)
Still, it was a good post and a worthy winner of GAD. ;-)
if only gta3 would be ported ... sigh ;-(
On a basic level, more games on the shelves, will sell more consoles. If people aren't sure which console to buy, the uneducated are unlikely to choose the one that stores dedicate little shelf space to. Having a wide range of games is far more appealing.
Ports benefit developers greatly, but also, encouraging ports could eventually lead to more exclusives and debuts on the Gamecube. If you allow developers to port their games onto your system, then they're going to work with the development kits. As such they may find that they like working with these development kits, and build an original game on this system. Namco for one have announced that they will be releasing a number of titles in 2003, so it's likely that they're developing these firstly for the Gamecube. Not that they won't be debuting other games on other systems.
Also, if developers want to port onto the Gamecube, Nintendo could always try to get them to debt other games on the system.
Then again, some genres just won't be worth porting to the Gamecube. I can't see too many 3D adventures/platformers being chosen ahead of a Nintendo franchise. But a game like Burnout, a realistic and exciting racer, is something that has not been represented well for Nintendo in recent years, so it's more than welcome.
Ports are good for the industry. They help the developers make more cash from their decent games, and they give the gamers more variety on each platform. As long as we're aware of shoddy ports, and avoid them we can only benefit.
Ports benefit developers greatly, but also, encouraging ports could eventually lead to more exclusives and debuts on the Gamecube. If you allow developers to port their games onto your system, then they're going to work with the development kits. As such they may find that they like working with these development kits, and build an original game on this system. Namco for one have announced that they will be releasing a number of titles in 2003, so it's likely that they're developing these firstly for the Gamecube. Not that they won't be debuting other games on other systems.
Also, if developers want to port onto the Gamecube, Nintendo could always try to get them to debt other games on the system.
Then again, some genres just won't be worth porting to the Gamecube. I can't see too many 3D adventures/platformers being chosen ahead of a Nintendo franchise. But a game like Burnout, a realistic and exciting racer, is something that has not been represented well for Nintendo in recent years, so it's more than welcome.
Ports are good for the industry. They help the developers make more cash from their decent games, and they give the gamers more variety on each platform. As long as we're aware of shoddy ports, and avoid them we can only benefit.
MoJoJoJo wrote:
> Port-me-do? Someone's been reading Digi too much
Do you see?
No, I've been reading too much of the OLD Digi. It's simply not the same any more...
> Port-me-do? Someone's been reading Digi too much
Do you see?
No, I've been reading too much of the OLD Digi. It's simply not the same any more...
Stay away from my bins!
Time to call in the Snakes or even...........
Mr.T!
Mr.T!
Port-me-do? Someone's been reading Digi too much
Do you see?
Do you see?
Page: