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One of the disadvantages of the N64 was that the games came on cartridges. This meant that developers couldn’t put flashy FMV’s into games and also couldn’t make a game’s soundtrack as good as it would be on the PlayStation.
So when Nintendo revealed their Next Gen console, the GameCube way back at Spaceworld 2000 it came as no surprise that the games would be coming on disks, but the games aren’t on normal CD’s they are on new types of CD’s called ‘Optical Disks’ that are exclusive to Nintendo. The difference between these disks and normal disks is that the optical disks are smaller, they are just 8cm in width.
As these disks are smaller it means the CD tray is smaller so it doesn’t accept normal CD’s, this also means that the GameCube can’t play DVD’s as the tray is too small. But if you want a GameCube that does play DVD’s then you’re in luck as Nintendo’s friends at Panasonic, the Japanese electrical company are making one called ‘Q’. It looks different to the normal GameCube, it’s a silvery colour and has a few buttons on the front. With Q you get a DVD remote and a silver controller with Panasonic written where it would normally say Nintendo. Don’t get your hopes up too much though as it is highly unlikely that it’ll be released over here in the UK.
As the disks are smaller you might think that they can’t hold as much data as a normal CD that the PS2 uses, but it’s quite the opposite as each GameCube Optical Disk holds 1.5 Gigabytes. When you compare this to an N64 game, for example Super Mario 64 who’s cartridge size was 8 megabytes you can see the GameCube disks can hold a lot of data, about 190 times more than the size of Super Mario 64, surely that’s a good thing.
One of the major problems on the PlayStation was piracy, many people were getting their PlayStations chipped so they then could play copied games, this meant developers were loosing a lot of money to bootleggers. Nintendo are using Optical Disks to try and combat videogame piracy. Piracy seems very unlikely on the GameCube, Nintendo themselves say that it’s impossible.
Hopefully with disks for the GameCube (and being easier to develop for than the N64) more developers will be making games for the GameCube.
So when Nintendo revealed their Next Gen console, the GameCube way back at Spaceworld 2000 it came as no surprise that the games would be coming on disks, but the games aren’t on normal CD’s they are on new types of CD’s called ‘Optical Disks’ that are exclusive to Nintendo. The difference between these disks and normal disks is that the optical disks are smaller, they are just 8cm in width.
As these disks are smaller it means the CD tray is smaller so it doesn’t accept normal CD’s, this also means that the GameCube can’t play DVD’s as the tray is too small. But if you want a GameCube that does play DVD’s then you’re in luck as Nintendo’s friends at Panasonic, the Japanese electrical company are making one called ‘Q’. It looks different to the normal GameCube, it’s a silvery colour and has a few buttons on the front. With Q you get a DVD remote and a silver controller with Panasonic written where it would normally say Nintendo. Don’t get your hopes up too much though as it is highly unlikely that it’ll be released over here in the UK.
As the disks are smaller you might think that they can’t hold as much data as a normal CD that the PS2 uses, but it’s quite the opposite as each GameCube Optical Disk holds 1.5 Gigabytes. When you compare this to an N64 game, for example Super Mario 64 who’s cartridge size was 8 megabytes you can see the GameCube disks can hold a lot of data, about 190 times more than the size of Super Mario 64, surely that’s a good thing.
One of the major problems on the PlayStation was piracy, many people were getting their PlayStations chipped so they then could play copied games, this meant developers were loosing a lot of money to bootleggers. Nintendo are using Optical Disks to try and combat videogame piracy. Piracy seems very unlikely on the GameCube, Nintendo themselves say that it’s impossible.
Hopefully with disks for the GameCube (and being easier to develop for than the N64) more developers will be making games for the GameCube.
Uncle Albert wrote:
> ===SONICRAV---> wrote:
Sega did the same thing with the Dreamcast- the games
> were on
> "GDs"- modified CDs that held one gigabyte each.
They
> were basically CDs that used a special compression technique to store up to a
> gig, if necessary. So, the games that were no more than 750megs could be copied
> onto normal writeable CDs (i.e. pirated).
lol... I know where you're getting this idea from, but I'm afrad you're wrong. DC games wree actually printed on GD's- CDs, but with the tracks closer together. There was no extra compression and the discs were not just CDs.
I think the confusion is caused by the fact that games can be copied onto CDs and run from them. However, the reason for this is as follows:
When you play a copied game on a CD the CD contains code that tells the DC that it is actually a GD and that it should be playd as a game and not a audio CD. In fact, most copied CD games need a "boot disc"- a CD that tells the machine that it is a GD- to run.
There is quite a lot of concern that the Panasonic Q-Cube will have the same problem. Eventually someone will make a chip that will allow the Qcube to play CDs as through they are games. Like Dreamcast games, some of the game data- like the music- will have to be cut off to ensure that the game fits on a CD.
Sonic
> ===SONICRAV---> wrote:
Sega did the same thing with the Dreamcast- the games
> were on
> "GDs"- modified CDs that held one gigabyte each.
They
> were basically CDs that used a special compression technique to store up to a
> gig, if necessary. So, the games that were no more than 750megs could be copied
> onto normal writeable CDs (i.e. pirated).
lol... I know where you're getting this idea from, but I'm afrad you're wrong. DC games wree actually printed on GD's- CDs, but with the tracks closer together. There was no extra compression and the discs were not just CDs.
I think the confusion is caused by the fact that games can be copied onto CDs and run from them. However, the reason for this is as follows:
When you play a copied game on a CD the CD contains code that tells the DC that it is actually a GD and that it should be playd as a game and not a audio CD. In fact, most copied CD games need a "boot disc"- a CD that tells the machine that it is a GD- to run.
There is quite a lot of concern that the Panasonic Q-Cube will have the same problem. Eventually someone will make a chip that will allow the Qcube to play CDs as through they are games. Like Dreamcast games, some of the game data- like the music- will have to be cut off to ensure that the game fits on a CD.
Sonic
What do you want Albert to go to FoG chat?
Uncle Albert go to FOGchat!
===SONICRAV---> wrote:
Sega did the same thing with the Dreamcast- the games were on
> "GDs"- modified CDs that held one gigabyte each.
They were basically CDs that used a special compression technique to store up to a gig, if necessary. So, the games that were no more than 750megs could be copied onto normal writeable CDs (i.e. pirated).
Sega did the same thing with the Dreamcast- the games were on
> "GDs"- modified CDs that held one gigabyte each.
They were basically CDs that used a special compression technique to store up to a gig, if necessary. So, the games that were no more than 750megs could be copied onto normal writeable CDs (i.e. pirated).
Well, Sony's DVD's are still bigger...
Not that it matters- many games ome on multiple discs!
But what I want to know is why the opticals are such a big deal? After all, it's just Nintendo FINALLY catching up with the competition after 6 years!
As for the discs being proprietry (eg Specially made just for GC games), Sega did the same thing with the Dreamcast- the games were on "GDs"- modified CDs that held one gigabyte each.
Sonic
Not that it matters- many games ome on multiple discs!
But what I want to know is why the opticals are such a big deal? After all, it's just Nintendo FINALLY catching up with the competition after 6 years!
As for the discs being proprietry (eg Specially made just for GC games), Sega did the same thing with the Dreamcast- the games were on "GDs"- modified CDs that held one gigabyte each.
Sonic
I hear Nintendo's optical discs load quicker because the distance the laser has to travel is less, Sony could copy this and offer games on 8cm DVDs, haha haha HAhahahahahahaha
One of the disadvantages of the N64 was that the games came on cartridges. This meant that developers couldn’t put flashy FMV’s into games and also couldn’t make a game’s soundtrack as good as it would be on the PlayStation.
So when Nintendo revealed their Next Gen console, the GameCube way back at Spaceworld 2000 it came as no surprise that the games would be coming on disks, but the games aren’t on normal CD’s they are on new types of CD’s called ‘Optical Disks’ that are exclusive to Nintendo. The difference between these disks and normal disks is that the optical disks are smaller, they are just 8cm in width.
As these disks are smaller it means the CD tray is smaller so it doesn’t accept normal CD’s, this also means that the GameCube can’t play DVD’s as the tray is too small. But if you want a GameCube that does play DVD’s then you’re in luck as Nintendo’s friends at Panasonic, the Japanese electrical company are making one called ‘Q’. It looks different to the normal GameCube, it’s a silvery colour and has a few buttons on the front. With Q you get a DVD remote and a silver controller with Panasonic written where it would normally say Nintendo. Don’t get your hopes up too much though as it is highly unlikely that it’ll be released over here in the UK.
As the disks are smaller you might think that they can’t hold as much data as a normal CD that the PS2 uses, but it’s quite the opposite as each GameCube Optical Disk holds 1.5 Gigabytes. When you compare this to an N64 game, for example Super Mario 64 who’s cartridge size was 8 megabytes you can see the GameCube disks can hold a lot of data, about 190 times more than the size of Super Mario 64, surely that’s a good thing.
One of the major problems on the PlayStation was piracy, many people were getting their PlayStations chipped so they then could play copied games, this meant developers were loosing a lot of money to bootleggers. Nintendo are using Optical Disks to try and combat videogame piracy. Piracy seems very unlikely on the GameCube, Nintendo themselves say that it’s impossible.
Hopefully with disks for the GameCube (and being easier to develop for than the N64) more developers will be making games for the GameCube.
So when Nintendo revealed their Next Gen console, the GameCube way back at Spaceworld 2000 it came as no surprise that the games would be coming on disks, but the games aren’t on normal CD’s they are on new types of CD’s called ‘Optical Disks’ that are exclusive to Nintendo. The difference between these disks and normal disks is that the optical disks are smaller, they are just 8cm in width.
As these disks are smaller it means the CD tray is smaller so it doesn’t accept normal CD’s, this also means that the GameCube can’t play DVD’s as the tray is too small. But if you want a GameCube that does play DVD’s then you’re in luck as Nintendo’s friends at Panasonic, the Japanese electrical company are making one called ‘Q’. It looks different to the normal GameCube, it’s a silvery colour and has a few buttons on the front. With Q you get a DVD remote and a silver controller with Panasonic written where it would normally say Nintendo. Don’t get your hopes up too much though as it is highly unlikely that it’ll be released over here in the UK.
As the disks are smaller you might think that they can’t hold as much data as a normal CD that the PS2 uses, but it’s quite the opposite as each GameCube Optical Disk holds 1.5 Gigabytes. When you compare this to an N64 game, for example Super Mario 64 who’s cartridge size was 8 megabytes you can see the GameCube disks can hold a lot of data, about 190 times more than the size of Super Mario 64, surely that’s a good thing.
One of the major problems on the PlayStation was piracy, many people were getting their PlayStations chipped so they then could play copied games, this meant developers were loosing a lot of money to bootleggers. Nintendo are using Optical Disks to try and combat videogame piracy. Piracy seems very unlikely on the GameCube, Nintendo themselves say that it’s impossible.
Hopefully with disks for the GameCube (and being easier to develop for than the N64) more developers will be making games for the GameCube.