Viewing Thread:
"The Megaton Mystery"

My good friend Shelly Friend (not a word), that nice PR manager of Nintendo UK exclaimed that the Nintendo Megaton announcement is ‘a load of rubbish’. Well Shelly I think you’re great and everything but how the hell do you know? You are the PR manager of the UK not the sodding director of Nintendo of Japan, you are on a need to know basis and until the announcement affects the UK you really won’t know. But then again who am I to criticize, Shelly would know far more than me and considering how quiet Nintendo have been she seems right. So then where did this Megaton thing start? How would we know if it was announced anyway?

Well the news that Nintendo were going to announce something so big it would see Gamecube sales skyrocket came from a few reputable sources. One of these sources was the, in the know, Japanese Gamecube magazine Denjiki. Sadly if they claimed this a few months back the information would be gospel but sadly the magazine had lost some of its reputation. In the month of June the magazine announced that Nintendo are working on a re-release to The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time with improved visuals, a music CD and the 64 DD add on Ura-Zelda, they said the announcement would come in a week. But it didn’t… oh hang on. Although the announcement didn’t come in July, although it wasn’t a stand alone game and although it doesn’t come with any music CD a re-release of Ocarina of Time has occurred and so they were a bit off but inevitably they were right. So could the same happen here? Does the announcement occur at the end of the year or sometime next year like at E3 for example? Is it an announcement of a list of several announcements?

I could analyze all the rumours revolving around the Megaton announcement but I will merely comment on them as they have been discussed to death. It is more likely Nintendo will announce a few big name games and quite possibly online ones; it is highly unlikely it has anything to do with any buyouts. Either Microsoft or Nintendo will not buy SEGA… and this is due to several reasons. SEGA sports wouldn’t want to support the Gamecube, AM2 like to work on all consoles particularly Microsoft and so these two wouldn’t go if Nintendo waved some money in their faces and it is the same the other way round. Nintendo have ties with SEGA with the Tri-force deal, Amusement Vision (Monkey Ball and F Zero) and the Sonic Team (Sonic and Phantasy Star) love Nintendo and so these two wouldn’t go if Microsoft waves some cash… so that rumour was never to be believed. Capcom is equally unlikely although could inevitably be true, after all Capcom is suffering financial problems… yet that was only after disappointing yearly sales and with tones of titles scheduled next year not just on the Gamecube, Capcom’s next year could be a prosperous one. And I know for certain they won’t be giving up the ghosts because of an unsuccessful year. So why did this rumour keep coming back and back? Because we wanted it to, there have been and will be hundreds of Megaton rumours but the one that sounded the coolest was the Capcom/SEGA buyout and so we harked on about it and that is how a rumour spreads.

So the Megaton announcement could still occur… that is if it hasn’t already. Lets say the Megaton announcement is more of a collection of big and small announcements that all increase the sales of the Gamecube… in fact together they’d cause the sales to raise dramatically. We have been so wrapped up in this entire Megaton business that some news articles have passed us by which we have all nodded, smiled, briefly discussed about and moved on. Now it started badly with the EU fine, Rare being sold and Microsoft overtaking Nintendo in Europe but towards the end of October things started to pick up, here is a list of the news articles (not in chronological order) that I have been very interested in.

1: Gameboy Player

Nintendo unveiled a new peripheral for the Gamecube. The Gameboy player allows you to play EVERY Gameboy game ever made and this adds another element to the Gamecube. The GBA player will cause Gamecube sales to rise especially for those who cannot afford a standalone Gameboy and Gamecube… it also means the GBA can be played on full screen that will please those retro gaming fiends! This is a great way to capitalize on the incredible success of the GBA, the GBA link up would have an effect on the Gamecube sales but this GBA player extends that even further! It could even propose new gameplay ideas. The main attraction about it all has to be the fact that Nintendo’s game library has risen quite dramatically with the inclusion of this device.

2: Pokémon craze re-launched!

After softcore response to the recent Pokémon movie in Japan it looked to set the tone that Pokémon has finally died in Japan after a good 7 years on the top. Ahem well so we thought, Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire the biggest GBA titles to date with some nice gameplay twists was launched in Japan and already has sold more than 2 million games (1.3 million in its first week)… compare this to the fact that Gamecube has only topped 1 million with Smash Brothers and the X-box hasn’t managed a million mark at all. This has also caused a dramatic rise of the Gameboy Advance, sitting well behind the PS2 and now sitting extremely highly in first place… one week it was selling 150,000 the next week 300,000 and so on (a 300% rise in sales) … the Gameboy has returned to its dizzy heights all thanks to the storming release of Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire.

3: Gamecube level pegging with the PS2 in Japan

Ok it was just for one week and I wasn’t sure it was true until my recent magazines confirmed it… Gamecube sales rocketed for one week and brought Nintendo neck and neck with Sony. How? Well it was simply Zelda. Yes this was the end of November and the Zelda release was a few weeks off but the concept of a two free games for pre-ordering the Gamecube event of the year was enough for Zelda to sell by the bucket load weeks before the game actually came out. Sadly the sales have dimmed quite a bit but it was still nice to see Nintendo doing so well, maybe the actual launch of the game will have a similar effect. Another major aspect at the time was the top 5 games list all were Nintendo games, the top 2 were the 2 Pokemon games, Biohazard 0 took the third spot, Super Robot Taisen: Original Generation for the GBA took number 4 and Mario Party 4 snuggled in at number 5.

4: Metroid Prime hailed as one of the world’s greatest games ever.

Several high profile magazines, websites and various other experts hailed Retro Studio’s as the best game of the year. Although it was only released in America this year, Metroid Prime is apparently a superior game to both X-box’s Christmas hit Splinter Cell and the PS2’s Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. The response received meant the game sold in excess of 250,000, although this isn’t on the same scale of GTA (or in particular Pokémon ruby and sapphire) it is a stunning feat nonetheless.

5: Zelda hailed as one of the world’s greatest games ever.

The battle between Nintendo’s biggest games this Christmas won’t have a victor until Zelda is released in the West and Metroid Prime is released in the East. But judging on the response of those strange Japanese folk it looks like Zelda lives up to the hype. Many sources claim that it is an entirely new Zelda experience and famous the world over Famitsu magazine awarded its fourth ever perfect score 40/40. Famitsu claim it is the best Zelda yet (and Ocarina of Time was one of the other perfect scoring games) and one of the worlds best ever games it sold 407.700 copies in just a few days… hmmmmm Zelda or Metroid? You spoil us Nintendo.

6: Three games for the price of one

This was am awesome precedent from Nintendo. The first two Zelda games (NES) offered gold coloured cartridges for those who pre-ordered… and that was the start of many pre-order deals involving the Zelda games… this has to be the best. By Pre-ordering Zelda in Japan you get a disc that contains a smoother running Ocarina of Time game and a smoother running remixed version Ura-Zelda. At the time this was the best game in the world and now you get it for free when you pre-order one of its sequels… truly stunning idea from Nintendo and something that would and did boost sales of the Gamecube.

7: Raylight Studio’s

Raylight Studio’s is one of the most overlooked pieces of information around. Whereas Nintendo has lost Left Field and Rare throughout the year, they have gained a Squaresoft Affiliate and a dedicated Capcom company… and most recently Raylight Studio’s. Raylight have made the Wings games as well as R Type 3. The company promises great things for Nintendo.

8: Capcom 5

Leave the biggest till the end. We all know what happened; Capcom’s fourth development company confirmed they are working on 5 Gamecube games, 4 due within the next year. Looking certain to go against the 5 Rare have planned for the X-box Capcom’s 5 are all system selling and 4 at least are stunningly original. Including the 2D/3D Viewtiful Joe that has sparked a lot of interest, the clever and stylized Killer 7 about an assassin in a wheel chair with 7 personalities, the game that is supposed to provoke the feeling of flying called Dead Phoenix and the promising metal gear style game Product number 3. To top it off in 2004 the best Resident Evil yet will be released….

Now tell me c those are not some of the biggest things we’ve heard from out Gamecube since this time last year? You can’t can you… and together they will all increase the sales of the Gamecube… could this be the Megaton? Who knows but if there is no more announcements think back to what I just told you… after all we have a very promising future with the goings on of the last two months.

MEGATON

Dringo.

The latter comment wasn't supposed to be taken seriously...

and yes i am easily wound up... grrrr...

your not on msn.

Oh dear, oh dear Dringo. Still as easy as ever to wind up.

Merry Christmas! Oh, and chat to me on msn more often.

Sonic








Dringo wrote:
> Now sod off you pathetic notable piece of crap.

(Is my memory faltering, or was Dringo not voted a notable too? Of course, he doesn't have a gold name because of some technicality, but hey!)

I appolagize for that comment at the end... not all notables are pieces of crap :) ok I will defend my post now... here we go.


===SONICRAV---> wrote:
> Dringo, what an absolute load of sprawling rubbish. Once again you
> have exceeded yourself by taking rumours and manipulating them so
> incohesively that they just don't stand to reason.

Wow what a complete load of rubbish. Once again Sonic you presume I often write posts about rumours and what they could mean when in fact I don't... You have once again exceeded yourself in proving the point that you are yet another friend who turned into a notable and in turn a bit of a prat as well... so far the only person who remained as close to me as before was er-no.

> Let's start with the original idea of the Megaton announcement. An
> announcement so big that it would see "Gamecube sales
> skyrocket". Now, having searched long and hard on the net, no one
> really explains what this means. If we're talking about a short term
> jump in sales above the level of the PS2 that occurs every time an AAA
> game is released, then this theory is useless. If, however, we are
> talking about something that would rocket GC sales to no end, then
> think again. This would be internet rumour gone insane - the fact of
> the matter is that nothing will make a console's sales suddenly rocket
> and stay high. Even the ideas you quote don't stand up to
> scrutiny...

It isn't just an internet rumour though... despite industry insidres mentioning it so did a popular japanese mag as explained in my post.

> 1: Gameboy Player
>
> A GC add on that lets you play EVERY game Boy Game? Wow. Did you
> really expect Nintendo to release a Game Boy player (something that
> was inevitable and has happened on the SNES and N64) that only let you
> play SOME Game Boy games? Even more amazingly, you think that this
> will increase GC sales "especially for those who cannot afford a
> standalone Gameboy and Gamecube". Let's just think about this.
> Are people who have the money to buy a GBA or GC (but not both) going
> to say to themselves "hey, I can't get them both, so I won't buy
> either!" Then, when a GB player is announced for the Cube they'll
> go "Wow, now I'll buy a GC because I can play GB games too!"
> Errrrr...

No I'd buy a Gamecube because that way I can play the GBA games i want like Pokemon as well. Also I can now go online with GBA games... and oh look it is far easier to see and the link up capabilities are endless...

They didn't do this on the N64.

> 2: Pokémon craze re-launched!
>
> Now, everything you make under this point is true, but it's hardly a
> new announcement is it! The Pokemon Ruby and Saphire games have
> already been announced and done very very well. Could this Megaton
> announcement be that Nintendo are going to spend millions pushing the
> series again and making new games? Why is this such a great
> announcement anyway? Isn't the point of the Megaton announcement that
> it is something massive that will catch the industry's eye - like
> Ninty buying Sega for example...

Ahh yes but it is one of those news articles that has merley passed us by... im merley referring to the accumulated news articles being something rather big.

> 3: Gamecube level pegging with the PS2 in Japan
>
> Yep, because GC and GBA games sales were so high for a few weeks after
> the release of Pokemon and Zelda (etc) then sales of the GC would
> shoot up... errrrrrrr... Well, seeing as PS2 sales figures are so
> high, shouldn't we be seeing an exponential sales growth...

Did Mario cause Gamecube sales to rise that close? no. And the Gamecube shot up at the middle of november not the middle of december when Zelda was released.



> 6: Three games for the price of one
>
> Now, this IS a great announcement. But because it's only on Zelda
> preorders it will hardly last. In fact, the preorder period was only a
> few weeks long...

Wrong... it is bundled with the game as well... if you pre-ordered you got the two games earlier... if you waited you get all 3 in one.

> 7: Raylight Studio’s
>
> Yes, people are going to buy a GC because Ninty have these people as a
> second party developer... errrr... Those great R Type games... (Not to
> mention that non-hardcore gamers don't even know about this deal)

It's a big announcement that adds to it all.

> 8: Capcom 5
>
> Give me a break... Do Ninty's sales shoot up when they announce a new
> Zelda game. No. They shoot up when they release a Zelda game. A game
> (or games) announcement can hardly be called "Megaton".

A games company as large and as talented as Rare working exclusivly on Gamecube is big to me.


You missed the point, I don't think this is megaton as the introductary pargarphs explained im putting money on some high profile games... no instead there were a collection of announcements and goings on that are so big combined that it could just be as large as megaton.

Alright?

I didn't say the announcement will raise the sale of the gamecubes just that what is announced will enivtable do it.

This is Nintendo's SECOND Gameboy add on that could use internet and such like...

i am merley stating the underwhelming response the audience here have given to these announcements such as the Pikmin 2, Mario 128 one.

Now sod off you pathetic notable piece of crap.

Dringo, what an absolute load of sprawling rubbish. Once again you have exceeded yourself by taking rumours and manipulating them so incohesively that they just don't stand to reason.

Let's start with the original idea of the Megaton announcement. An announcement so big that it would see "Gamecube sales skyrocket". Now, having searched long and hard on the net, no one really explains what this means. If we're talking about a short term jump in sales above the level of the PS2 that occurs every time an AAA game is released, then this theory is useless. If, however, we are talking about something that would rocket GC sales to no end, then think again. This would be internet rumour gone insane - the fact of the matter is that nothing will make a console's sales suddenly rocket and stay high. Even the ideas you quote don't stand up to scrutiny...

1: Gameboy Player

A GC add on that lets you play EVERY game Boy Game? Wow. Did you really expect Nintendo to release a Game Boy player (something that was inevitable and has happened on the SNES and N64) that only let you play SOME Game Boy games? Even more amazingly, you think that this will increase GC sales "especially for those who cannot afford a standalone Gameboy and Gamecube". Let's just think about this. Are people who have the money to buy a GBA or GC (but not both) going to say to themselves "hey, I can't get them both, so I won't buy either!" Then, when a GB player is announced for the Cube they'll go "Wow, now I'll buy a GC because I can play GB games too!" Errrrr...

2: Pokémon craze re-launched!

Now, everything you make under this point is true, but it's hardly a new announcement is it! The Pokemon Ruby and Saphire games have already been announced and done very very well. Could this Megaton announcement be that Nintendo are going to spend millions pushing the series again and making new games? Why is this such a great announcement anyway? Isn't the point of the Megaton announcement that it is something massive that will catch the industry's eye - like Ninty buying Sega for example...

3: Gamecube level pegging with the PS2 in Japan

Yep, because GC and GBA games sales were so high for a few weeks after the release of Pokemon and Zelda (etc) then sales of the GC would shoot up... errrrrrrr... Well, seeing as PS2 sales figures are so high, shouldn't we be seeing an exponential sales growth...

4: Metroid Prime hailed as one of the world’s greatest games ever.

Now, this will certainly boost GC sales... but no more so than any other AAA game like Zelda. Indeed, Zelda OOT raised N64 sales, but hardly made a dent in Sony's domination...

5: Zelda hailed as one of the world’s greatest games ever.

Reminds me of the last comment... and the N64...

6: Three games for the price of one

Now, this IS a great announcement. But because it's only on Zelda preorders it will hardly last. In fact, the preorder period was only a few weeks long...

7: Raylight Studio’s

Yes, people are going to buy a GC because Ninty have these people as a second party developer... errrr... Those great R Type games... (Not to mention that non-hardcore gamers don't even know about this deal)

8: Capcom 5

Give me a break... Do Ninty's sales shoot up when they announce a new Zelda game. No. They shoot up when they release a Zelda game. A game (or games) announcement can hardly be called "Megaton".



"could [sic] this be the Megaton?"

I hope not.

Sonic

Hmm.. Alcofrolic seems to have gone off the rails recently, eh?

If there is a Megaton, it'll be a joint project between companies.

Capcom would obviously be involved.
Some parts of Sega (Sonic Team and Amusement Vision) would also be part of it, and I expect that others would too.


Sure, Megaton is an unconfirmed rumour, but so was Zelda:OOT remake for the Gamecube, remember?

megaton will suck and alwasy has sucked!!

itd nothing but some lame áss bullshít roumour made up by some sad pathetic lonely freak!

Excellent post, well written and interesting.

:-D Go Dringo!

I am Nintendo.