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The Nintendo sixty-four, was brilliant, it revolutionized the games we played today, it played host to some of the greatest, smartest and hilarious games around. It was the best console of the last generation. But despite this the system did have its problems. Some Problems are firmly set at Nintendo's very own roots so the Big N will have to work extra hard in order to straighten out these problems:
N64 Problem: Cartridges
Instant loading, and saving without memory cards lost the war against CD's. CD's are cheaper for developers to use, stock they don't sell gets sent back to them so they can make games over them and was an extremely attractive prospect to developers and forced some third parties from Nintendo. CD's can also fit much larger games onto them meaning FMV's. Despite the advantages to CD's though loading times and Piracy were an issue, what could Nintendo do?
Gamecube Solution: Optical Disc
The Optical Disc is a mini DVD, other than the size making the thing look cool it also reduces loading times and some games such as Eternal Darkness hasn't a noticeable loading time. The Optical Disc is also unlike any other CD especially as regards size; this means piracy is going to be VERY hard to do (although not impossible). The Optical Disc has all the advantages of a CD but with larger space, harder to pirate and smaller loading times. A good move by Nintendo to sort out this problem.
N64 problem: Game Drought
A large problem early on in the N64's life was the infamous game drought. Nintendo kept delaying and there were months with no games at all!
Gamecube Solution: More Games.
Nintendo are working very hard to prevent a reoccurring drought, they have signed, Left Field, Silicon Knights, Retro Studio's, Camelot, HAL etc... since the N64 days so there is more development teams ready for the Gamecube. Current second parties such as RARE are expanding as are Nintendo themselves. Some games such as Pikmin are now being developed, these games are great but short and means Nintendo are releasing many more games.
N64 Problem: Price
The N64 as expensive was one reason why they lost out. Games even in it's final year were being released at £60 (Conker's Bad Fur Day). Nintendo's own licensing fee's bumped up the price of games and The Playstation were releasing games at £30 compared with the N64's £60 you begin to see the problem. You may be buying into quality but not everyone can.
Gamecube solution: Cheaper games/system
Although not cheaper than the Playstation 2, the Gamecube's games are the same price (and a little cheaper than the x-box in some cases). Despite not beating the PS2 matching it is a huge step especially considering the price variations on the N64. What Nintendo have done to a brilliant effect is release the Gamecube at between £150-£170. A single handed stroke of genius, with a £300 X-box on the market and a PS2 that has been around for nearly a year and a half still at the £200 price mark you can see that Nintendo have done something very clever here. Price has been well and truly sorted on the Gamecube.
N64 problem: Appeal
The N64 had adult titles despite popular belief, Shadowman, Perfect Dark, Conker and Turok to name but a few, but I must face it Pikachu, Mario and Banjo bouncing around everywhere created the wrong impression. Those three games aren't kids games but people thought they were. And this is the hardest image to shake, people relate Nintendo to children and when Nintendo released the Limited Edition Pikachu N64 it was easy to understand why.
Gamecube Solution: More Adult titles
With the large increase in 3rd party developers Nintendo are getting the more "mature" titles that the Playstation once had claim to. Tony Hawks 3, Soul Calibur 2, Turok Evolution, Bloody Roar and Ridge Racer are a few examples of un-kiddy games appearing on the Gamecube. But these are games already on the Playstation and Nintendo need to do something drastic to rescue their depleting teenage and adult users. They grabbed Silicon Knights a horror developer as a Second Party, now Nintendo themselves were developing adult titles such as the awesome yet twisted game Eternal Darkness a much anticipated AAA title. Too Human is also planned by the horror specialist. Another major move was Resident Evil, the adult game the Japanese love the most and one, which will shift millions of Gamecube's single handily. Instead of Pikachu consoles Nintendo are producing Gamecube's with Resident Evil pictures splashed over the box (A move that will sell millions of Nintendo's small box of tricks). The Resident evil franchise on the Gamecube means 5 adult titles heading Nintendo's way. Despite these changes it is still likely Nintendo will keep their “family fun” image, but at least it’s a start and will keep older gamers interested.
N64 Problem: Lack of Third Party Support
The N64 lacked heavily in this department, something that made Sony so large and helped cause the N64 game drought. Acclaim were the first to publish an N64 game in the form of the adult title Turok. Squaresoft helped push developers away from Nintendo but the fact the N64 was hard to develop for, that attractiveness of CD’s and later the Playstations popularity caused Nintendo to suffer. The N64 was luckily saved with a few brilliant Nintendo titles and of course Goldeneye.
Gamecube Solution: More Third Party Support
The N64 was hard to develop for? Well then the Gamecube isn’t and it isn’t, designed specifically to play games and with constant help from Nintendo themselves the Gamecube was a dream to work with and so more third parties popped their head round the door. The PS2 helped with this as it became harder to work on (talk about a switch) and so developers were keener when it came to working with Nintendo. The switch to the cheaper optical disc was also a factor in the increase in third parties. Proof of this increase can be found in Namco, a previously Sony only company, now they have confirmed huge hits such as Klonoa, Ridge Racer and Soul Calibur 2 on the Gamecube and Tekken is still rumored. Capcom have almost jumped ship from the PS2 to the Gamecube especially when it comes to the Resident evil series. Konami are showing just as much support as always although Metal Gear Solid would be nice, Acclaim are doing the same with their major titles such as Burnout and Turok still making Nintendo appearances although why Shadowman 2econd coming isn’t on the Gamecube considering how the original was mainly an N64 title is beyond me. Squaresoft are very keen to work with Nintendo and other developers are announcing games left right and centre such as previous X-box title, outlaw golf announced for later this year. The Third Party increase is a delight to see but it still doesn’t match the PS2’s or X-box’s support.
And that’s the major points covered, many Sony fans wonder why the Gamecube is such a big thing to us considering that the PS2 will still thrash it but the fact is we loved the N64, we thought it had the best games (and we were right) and enjoyed it thoroughly. The Gamecube has taken that N64, removed all the problems and sorted them out (or as much as possible); the Gamecube is already something that will soundly thrash its older brother and gain a little bit of ground on its competitors. That is why ladies and gentlemen May 3rd can’t come soon enough.
Here’s to the future
Dringo.
N64 Problem: Cartridges
Instant loading, and saving without memory cards lost the war against CD's. CD's are cheaper for developers to use, stock they don't sell gets sent back to them so they can make games over them and was an extremely attractive prospect to developers and forced some third parties from Nintendo. CD's can also fit much larger games onto them meaning FMV's. Despite the advantages to CD's though loading times and Piracy were an issue, what could Nintendo do?
Gamecube Solution: Optical Disc
The Optical Disc is a mini DVD, other than the size making the thing look cool it also reduces loading times and some games such as Eternal Darkness hasn't a noticeable loading time. The Optical Disc is also unlike any other CD especially as regards size; this means piracy is going to be VERY hard to do (although not impossible). The Optical Disc has all the advantages of a CD but with larger space, harder to pirate and smaller loading times. A good move by Nintendo to sort out this problem.
N64 problem: Game Drought
A large problem early on in the N64's life was the infamous game drought. Nintendo kept delaying and there were months with no games at all!
Gamecube Solution: More Games.
Nintendo are working very hard to prevent a reoccurring drought, they have signed, Left Field, Silicon Knights, Retro Studio's, Camelot, HAL etc... since the N64 days so there is more development teams ready for the Gamecube. Current second parties such as RARE are expanding as are Nintendo themselves. Some games such as Pikmin are now being developed, these games are great but short and means Nintendo are releasing many more games.
N64 Problem: Price
The N64 as expensive was one reason why they lost out. Games even in it's final year were being released at £60 (Conker's Bad Fur Day). Nintendo's own licensing fee's bumped up the price of games and The Playstation were releasing games at £30 compared with the N64's £60 you begin to see the problem. You may be buying into quality but not everyone can.
Gamecube solution: Cheaper games/system
Although not cheaper than the Playstation 2, the Gamecube's games are the same price (and a little cheaper than the x-box in some cases). Despite not beating the PS2 matching it is a huge step especially considering the price variations on the N64. What Nintendo have done to a brilliant effect is release the Gamecube at between £150-£170. A single handed stroke of genius, with a £300 X-box on the market and a PS2 that has been around for nearly a year and a half still at the £200 price mark you can see that Nintendo have done something very clever here. Price has been well and truly sorted on the Gamecube.
N64 problem: Appeal
The N64 had adult titles despite popular belief, Shadowman, Perfect Dark, Conker and Turok to name but a few, but I must face it Pikachu, Mario and Banjo bouncing around everywhere created the wrong impression. Those three games aren't kids games but people thought they were. And this is the hardest image to shake, people relate Nintendo to children and when Nintendo released the Limited Edition Pikachu N64 it was easy to understand why.
Gamecube Solution: More Adult titles
With the large increase in 3rd party developers Nintendo are getting the more "mature" titles that the Playstation once had claim to. Tony Hawks 3, Soul Calibur 2, Turok Evolution, Bloody Roar and Ridge Racer are a few examples of un-kiddy games appearing on the Gamecube. But these are games already on the Playstation and Nintendo need to do something drastic to rescue their depleting teenage and adult users. They grabbed Silicon Knights a horror developer as a Second Party, now Nintendo themselves were developing adult titles such as the awesome yet twisted game Eternal Darkness a much anticipated AAA title. Too Human is also planned by the horror specialist. Another major move was Resident Evil, the adult game the Japanese love the most and one, which will shift millions of Gamecube's single handily. Instead of Pikachu consoles Nintendo are producing Gamecube's with Resident Evil pictures splashed over the box (A move that will sell millions of Nintendo's small box of tricks). The Resident evil franchise on the Gamecube means 5 adult titles heading Nintendo's way. Despite these changes it is still likely Nintendo will keep their “family fun” image, but at least it’s a start and will keep older gamers interested.
N64 Problem: Lack of Third Party Support
The N64 lacked heavily in this department, something that made Sony so large and helped cause the N64 game drought. Acclaim were the first to publish an N64 game in the form of the adult title Turok. Squaresoft helped push developers away from Nintendo but the fact the N64 was hard to develop for, that attractiveness of CD’s and later the Playstations popularity caused Nintendo to suffer. The N64 was luckily saved with a few brilliant Nintendo titles and of course Goldeneye.
Gamecube Solution: More Third Party Support
The N64 was hard to develop for? Well then the Gamecube isn’t and it isn’t, designed specifically to play games and with constant help from Nintendo themselves the Gamecube was a dream to work with and so more third parties popped their head round the door. The PS2 helped with this as it became harder to work on (talk about a switch) and so developers were keener when it came to working with Nintendo. The switch to the cheaper optical disc was also a factor in the increase in third parties. Proof of this increase can be found in Namco, a previously Sony only company, now they have confirmed huge hits such as Klonoa, Ridge Racer and Soul Calibur 2 on the Gamecube and Tekken is still rumored. Capcom have almost jumped ship from the PS2 to the Gamecube especially when it comes to the Resident evil series. Konami are showing just as much support as always although Metal Gear Solid would be nice, Acclaim are doing the same with their major titles such as Burnout and Turok still making Nintendo appearances although why Shadowman 2econd coming isn’t on the Gamecube considering how the original was mainly an N64 title is beyond me. Squaresoft are very keen to work with Nintendo and other developers are announcing games left right and centre such as previous X-box title, outlaw golf announced for later this year. The Third Party increase is a delight to see but it still doesn’t match the PS2’s or X-box’s support.
And that’s the major points covered, many Sony fans wonder why the Gamecube is such a big thing to us considering that the PS2 will still thrash it but the fact is we loved the N64, we thought it had the best games (and we were right) and enjoyed it thoroughly. The Gamecube has taken that N64, removed all the problems and sorted them out (or as much as possible); the Gamecube is already something that will soundly thrash its older brother and gain a little bit of ground on its competitors. That is why ladies and gentlemen May 3rd can’t come soon enough.
Here’s to the future
Dringo.
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Dringo wrote:
"I'm a Nintendo fan"
I gathered that....
"the N64 was the best ever,"
In your opinion... mind you, it's your post I guess!
"now the majority of its problems are being fixed"
Like I said, not one of these problems should have happened. They were a result of ninty being arrogant thinking that they could get away with:
1) Not allowing other developers to have dev kits or realease games to start with. This is what led to sqaure badmouthing ninty and defecting
2) Delaying again and again, only to put a £250 price on the console, and then dropping it, thus screwing loyal gamers who bought a console at launch.
3) Charging v. high prices for publishing games on cart thinking that developers would flock to them for the "privilige" of putting games on a Nintendo console
4) Assuming that normal gamers would do the same, and buy the Ninty console coz it was made by them! They didn't even consider Sony as a threat.
"Gamecube will now be the best thing ever."
Yer... maybe for you.... I prefer sex myself
Sonic
"I'm a Nintendo fan"
I gathered that....
"the N64 was the best ever,"
In your opinion... mind you, it's your post I guess!
"now the majority of its problems are being fixed"
Like I said, not one of these problems should have happened. They were a result of ninty being arrogant thinking that they could get away with:
1) Not allowing other developers to have dev kits or realease games to start with. This is what led to sqaure badmouthing ninty and defecting
2) Delaying again and again, only to put a £250 price on the console, and then dropping it, thus screwing loyal gamers who bought a console at launch.
3) Charging v. high prices for publishing games on cart thinking that developers would flock to them for the "privilige" of putting games on a Nintendo console
4) Assuming that normal gamers would do the same, and buy the Ninty console coz it was made by them! They didn't even consider Sony as a threat.
"Gamecube will now be the best thing ever."
Yer... maybe for you.... I prefer sex myself
Sonic
I'm a Nintendo fan, the N64 was the best ever, now the majority of its problems are being fixed, Gamecube will now be the best thing ever.
The GC has improved on many problems with the N64... so what?
The fact is that the N64 only had these problesm because of Nintendo's pathetically arrogant attitude to the market- not even admitting Sony was a threat to sales, and shunning developers like Square.
Fact is that the N64 should have neverhad any of the problems it did.
The fact that they've been fixed means nothing except that the GC has a level start in terms of console performance. However, it lacks the brandname (Sony is far more synonymous with gaming for casuals), the sales base (100million PSXs sold worldwide!), and has even harder competition than the N64 did- now with MS on full force.
Of course, the GC will not fail- analysts have predicted a 20% console market share. However, it won't be the massively great sucess that this topic COULD infer... although what the topic is actually trying to imply is beyond me anyway!
Sonic
The fact is that the N64 only had these problesm because of Nintendo's pathetically arrogant attitude to the market- not even admitting Sony was a threat to sales, and shunning developers like Square.
Fact is that the N64 should have neverhad any of the problems it did.
The fact that they've been fixed means nothing except that the GC has a level start in terms of console performance. However, it lacks the brandname (Sony is far more synonymous with gaming for casuals), the sales base (100million PSXs sold worldwide!), and has even harder competition than the N64 did- now with MS on full force.
Of course, the GC will not fail- analysts have predicted a 20% console market share. However, it won't be the massively great sucess that this topic COULD infer... although what the topic is actually trying to imply is beyond me anyway!
Sonic
I agree with all of these points.
N64 was too expensive compared to other consoles, had not much third party support and was aimed at a younger audience.
But GC's aim is to solve that with CDs instead of cartridges, getting as much third party support as possible and more mature games on the console and personally I hope it will.
Nice post by the way!
N64 was too expensive compared to other consoles, had not much third party support and was aimed at a younger audience.
But GC's aim is to solve that with CDs instead of cartridges, getting as much third party support as possible and more mature games on the console and personally I hope it will.
Nice post by the way!
Dringo wrote:
> But come on TBN your not about to tell me the PS2 is better
> because it markets itself better... are you?
That's an interesting question. Better marketing (or marketing at all) leads to more sales, leads to more money in the console, leads to developers developing for it which COULD lead to a better console. That's purely conjecture though. However, I am still yet to see a single piece of marketing for the GameCube, or anything at all to let the general public know it exists. In Dixon's and Curry's Saturday adverts they are still comparing the Xbox (inaccurately) to the PS2, and not even hint of the GameCube anywhere. Maybe they think they aren't comparable, unlikely but you never know what goes through the advertising boss's heads.
> But come on TBN your not about to tell me the PS2 is better
> because it markets itself better... are you?
That's an interesting question. Better marketing (or marketing at all) leads to more sales, leads to more money in the console, leads to developers developing for it which COULD lead to a better console. That's purely conjecture though. However, I am still yet to see a single piece of marketing for the GameCube, or anything at all to let the general public know it exists. In Dixon's and Curry's Saturday adverts they are still comparing the Xbox (inaccurately) to the PS2, and not even hint of the GameCube anywhere. Maybe they think they aren't comparable, unlikely but you never know what goes through the advertising boss's heads.
But then again the NES continued after the SNES came out.
Dringo wrote:
> The Gamecube according to Nintendo should have a 7 year life.
Goody good!
:)
> The Gamecube according to Nintendo should have a 7 year life.
Goody good!
:)
Cooky wrote:
What
> I'm talking about is that the Playstation came out quite a bit before the N64.
> The PS2 came out helluva lot earlier before the Gamecube! So what do you think
> will be the release difference between the next consoles? Cos if they were to
> be released at a similar time, the Gamecube will be getting almost a year less
> life in it! Intriguing no?
:)
The Gamecube according to Nintendo should have a 7 year life.
What
> I'm talking about is that the Playstation came out quite a bit before the N64.
> The PS2 came out helluva lot earlier before the Gamecube! So what do you think
> will be the release difference between the next consoles? Cos if they were to
> be released at a similar time, the Gamecube will be getting almost a year less
> life in it! Intriguing no?
:)
The Gamecube according to Nintendo should have a 7 year life.
Turbonutter wrote:
> Dringo, you seem to be overlooking the fact that the PlayStation 2 covers almost
> every one of those aspects, often better than the GameCube. You can't say the GC
> will be a success because it allegedly succeeds where the N64 failed. You're
> also forgetting marketing, and several other factors which I can't think of
> right now. Expect a thorough slating sometime tomorrow when I feel better.
Dringo realizes how stupid he was for not comparing the Gamecube to the PS2 in a post that compared the Gamecube to the N64...
You see TBN the N64 was a success it sold millions, it made millions it did better than the SNES, it didn't match Sony but definatly match Nintendo's targets meanwhile it had problems... despite the awsomeness of the console which right now i'd rather play than the PS2 it had some faults and now we are getting a console that was just as good as the last one so in my mind the best console ever but with all the problems ironed out... hence the excitment.
I could of done marketing as the N64 didn't do too much, again Gamecube hasn't SORTED the problem but has gone a long way in fixing it such as the placing of the Gamecube launch, the 100 million spending on advertisement, the GBA angle. But come on TBN your not about to tell me the PS2 is better because it markets itself better... are you?
> Dringo, you seem to be overlooking the fact that the PlayStation 2 covers almost
> every one of those aspects, often better than the GameCube. You can't say the GC
> will be a success because it allegedly succeeds where the N64 failed. You're
> also forgetting marketing, and several other factors which I can't think of
> right now. Expect a thorough slating sometime tomorrow when I feel better.
Dringo realizes how stupid he was for not comparing the Gamecube to the PS2 in a post that compared the Gamecube to the N64...
You see TBN the N64 was a success it sold millions, it made millions it did better than the SNES, it didn't match Sony but definatly match Nintendo's targets meanwhile it had problems... despite the awsomeness of the console which right now i'd rather play than the PS2 it had some faults and now we are getting a console that was just as good as the last one so in my mind the best console ever but with all the problems ironed out... hence the excitment.
I could of done marketing as the N64 didn't do too much, again Gamecube hasn't SORTED the problem but has gone a long way in fixing it such as the placing of the Gamecube launch, the 100 million spending on advertisement, the GBA angle. But come on TBN your not about to tell me the PS2 is better because it markets itself better... are you?
Turbonutter wrote:
> Dringo, you seem to be overlooking the fact that the PlayStation 2 covers almost
> every one of those aspects, often better than the GameCube. You can't say the GC
> will be a success because it allegedly succeeds where the N64 failed. You're
> also forgetting marketing, and several other factors which I can't think of
> right now. Expect a thorough slating sometime tomorrow when I feel better.
The Gamecube WILL be a success!
It won't be as much of a success as the PS2!
Mainly due to the fact that the PS1 sold really well, and the fact that the PS2 has been out for AGES, and the Gamecube still hasn't been released in the UK yet!
The Gamecube is going to be a nice recovery back to the right road for Nintendo! The Gamecube should do them pretty well, but it will be the next set of consoles which will be the real test!
What I'm trying to work out is what will be the difference between the release of the PS3 and the next Nintendo console!
What I'm talking about is that the Playstation came out quite a bit before the N64. The PS2 came out helluva lot earlier before the Gamecube! So what do you think will be the release difference between the next consoles? Cos if they were to be released at a similar time, the Gamecube will be getting almost a year less life in it! Intriguing no?
:)
> Dringo, you seem to be overlooking the fact that the PlayStation 2 covers almost
> every one of those aspects, often better than the GameCube. You can't say the GC
> will be a success because it allegedly succeeds where the N64 failed. You're
> also forgetting marketing, and several other factors which I can't think of
> right now. Expect a thorough slating sometime tomorrow when I feel better.
The Gamecube WILL be a success!
It won't be as much of a success as the PS2!
Mainly due to the fact that the PS1 sold really well, and the fact that the PS2 has been out for AGES, and the Gamecube still hasn't been released in the UK yet!
The Gamecube is going to be a nice recovery back to the right road for Nintendo! The Gamecube should do them pretty well, but it will be the next set of consoles which will be the real test!
What I'm trying to work out is what will be the difference between the release of the PS3 and the next Nintendo console!
What I'm talking about is that the Playstation came out quite a bit before the N64. The PS2 came out helluva lot earlier before the Gamecube! So what do you think will be the release difference between the next consoles? Cos if they were to be released at a similar time, the Gamecube will be getting almost a year less life in it! Intriguing no?
:)
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