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As Timesplitters 2 abandons its plans for online play, due to sony’s inability to provide firm technical details about what will be happening for their network, you could be forgiven for thinking our chances of online gaming moving beyond the dreamcast and pc any time soon are up in smoke.
The attitude publicly expressed by Nintendo, ‘work out how it can be done profitably before rushing in’ – which seems to translate to ‘wait and see how everyone else does it’ – doesn’t exactly offer hope that they have things moving either.
However, for those who pick up on the right details, there are signs to suggest that things might be moving a little faster than the blank face of Nintendo would have us believe.
The evidence?
Of course, Nintendo first released pictures of their 56k and broadband gamecube modems before the console’s release. News also seeped through of a Phantasy Star Online conversion.
Take a look about a third of the way down the following page:
http://www.lan-kwei.com/gamecubeE/
What you’re looking for is the (3rd party) gamecube keyboard, bundled in with a modem and PSO trial edition.
A little further down the page you’ll see the official modems mentioned earlier. And you’ll also notice their expected date of availability – a rather vague 2002. That’s to a domestic Japanese market, of course.
Things are moving forward, and internet-specific peripherals being readied at this stage must be a sign of progress.
Exhibit B:
This September America get Animal Crossing. We get it sometime later it would seem. Details are on:
http://www.nintendo-europe.com/NOE/en/GB/games/description.
jsp?ElementId=79b8d8f7-a0ec-488c-9a7c-c3723cc3e587
(spaces)
While the GBA link and some memory card swapping offer the most noticeable linked features, notice the line: “Write letters to both your human- and GameCube-controlled buddies…”
Would those letters be written using a keyboard, perhaps? And although the game does feature multiplayer mode, would there really be any point in writing someone a letter if they were sat next to you. As opposed to being on the end of a networked connection?
Okay, it’s speculative, but it’s also available in Japan and soon to land in America. If online play were put into the game, it’d be there to be used in the very near future, not a number of years down the line.
The third piece of evidence – or rather an absence of evidence.
Mario golf, tennis and kart. What do these games have in common? After being confirmed by Nintendo as underway, nothing has been heard. PD0 and Donkey Kong Racing from rare. The former? Nothing heard. The latter? Taken back out of sight.
What do all 5 games have in common? A great multiplayer mode. Perhaps even ideally suited for online play?
The Rare titles seem to envolve rather more speculation, not least because of the company’s questionably changing relationship with Nintendo, but next to Kameo, of which news and screenshots have been gradually trickling out for a long time, and which won’t be released perhaps for over a year, it seems there must be a reason for Rare’s tight-lipped approach.
Nintendo’s games? Well, they could be saving news for a dry spell, when little else is happening, but the relative torrent of Zelda info alone suggests reasoning lies behind ninty’s silence. And the company isn’t the best for preventing leaks of info under normal circumstances.
My theory? The games are going online, and they’ll be doing it, in some parts of the world at least, next year. We’ve heard little about 2003s release schedule, but the aforementioned games could be the cornerstones. Ninty aren’t about to reveal their hand in such a vast, untested field as online play until the last possible moment, so they keep quiet.
But the clues are there.
The attitude publicly expressed by Nintendo, ‘work out how it can be done profitably before rushing in’ – which seems to translate to ‘wait and see how everyone else does it’ – doesn’t exactly offer hope that they have things moving either.
However, for those who pick up on the right details, there are signs to suggest that things might be moving a little faster than the blank face of Nintendo would have us believe.
The evidence?
Of course, Nintendo first released pictures of their 56k and broadband gamecube modems before the console’s release. News also seeped through of a Phantasy Star Online conversion.
Take a look about a third of the way down the following page:
http://www.lan-kwei.com/gamecubeE/
What you’re looking for is the (3rd party) gamecube keyboard, bundled in with a modem and PSO trial edition.
A little further down the page you’ll see the official modems mentioned earlier. And you’ll also notice their expected date of availability – a rather vague 2002. That’s to a domestic Japanese market, of course.
Things are moving forward, and internet-specific peripherals being readied at this stage must be a sign of progress.
Exhibit B:
This September America get Animal Crossing. We get it sometime later it would seem. Details are on:
http://www.nintendo-europe.com/NOE/en/GB/games/description.
jsp?ElementId=79b8d8f7-a0ec-488c-9a7c-c3723cc3e587
(spaces)
While the GBA link and some memory card swapping offer the most noticeable linked features, notice the line: “Write letters to both your human- and GameCube-controlled buddies…”
Would those letters be written using a keyboard, perhaps? And although the game does feature multiplayer mode, would there really be any point in writing someone a letter if they were sat next to you. As opposed to being on the end of a networked connection?
Okay, it’s speculative, but it’s also available in Japan and soon to land in America. If online play were put into the game, it’d be there to be used in the very near future, not a number of years down the line.
The third piece of evidence – or rather an absence of evidence.
Mario golf, tennis and kart. What do these games have in common? After being confirmed by Nintendo as underway, nothing has been heard. PD0 and Donkey Kong Racing from rare. The former? Nothing heard. The latter? Taken back out of sight.
What do all 5 games have in common? A great multiplayer mode. Perhaps even ideally suited for online play?
The Rare titles seem to envolve rather more speculation, not least because of the company’s questionably changing relationship with Nintendo, but next to Kameo, of which news and screenshots have been gradually trickling out for a long time, and which won’t be released perhaps for over a year, it seems there must be a reason for Rare’s tight-lipped approach.
Nintendo’s games? Well, they could be saving news for a dry spell, when little else is happening, but the relative torrent of Zelda info alone suggests reasoning lies behind ninty’s silence. And the company isn’t the best for preventing leaks of info under normal circumstances.
My theory? The games are going online, and they’ll be doing it, in some parts of the world at least, next year. We’ve heard little about 2003s release schedule, but the aforementioned games could be the cornerstones. Ninty aren’t about to reveal their hand in such a vast, untested field as online play until the last possible moment, so they keep quiet.
But the clues are there.
Page:
I'm all up for no charges! Bring on the independant servers! :D
Strafex wrote:
> And that's what Sega are doing, and it's what I'd like to see
> companies like Acclaim (with Turok) also attempt.
True, unfortunatey, while sega have the experience of such affairs, it's a much bigger task (and gamble) for other developers.
> Also, if Nintendo aren't running a huge server for us, there's less
> chance of them charging us for it.
Good point, though i'd sooner pay a subscription with a free line than pay standard call charges. Though broadband would be better still...
> And that's what Sega are doing, and it's what I'd like to see
> companies like Acclaim (with Turok) also attempt.
True, unfortunatey, while sega have the experience of such affairs, it's a much bigger task (and gamble) for other developers.
> Also, if Nintendo aren't running a huge server for us, there's less
> chance of them charging us for it.
Good point, though i'd sooner pay a subscription with a free line than pay standard call charges. Though broadband would be better still...
It makes sense that Nintendo are saving their online announcement for when all their online games come into plan.
In the meantime, they've said that devellopers can make a game online if they want, but they'll have to run their own server, rather than rely on Nintendo to run it for them (it's how most PC games run at the minute).
And that's what Sega are doing, and it's what I'd like to see companies like Acclaim (with Turok) also attempt.
Also, if Nintendo aren't running a huge server for us, there's less chance of them charging us for it.
In the meantime, they've said that devellopers can make a game online if they want, but they'll have to run their own server, rather than rely on Nintendo to run it for them (it's how most PC games run at the minute).
And that's what Sega are doing, and it's what I'd like to see companies like Acclaim (with Turok) also attempt.
Also, if Nintendo aren't running a huge server for us, there's less chance of them charging us for it.
You mean "rules"?
That keyboard owns :)
And keyboard/controller, which looked unfeasible at first, but now looks okay (if not a little big).
Gamecube goes online when Phantasy Star is released. SEGA said they aren't going to wait for Nintendo, and they have made their own Gamecube modem which will go on sale with PSO.
Of course, Britain is way behind online gaming then America and Japan, but it'll catch up eventually. I think the Xbox or PS2 will arrive first, as they've already set up (or are about to) their online plans in USA and Japan.
As Timesplitters 2 abandons its plans for online play, due to sony’s inability to provide firm technical details about what will be happening for their network, you could be forgiven for thinking our chances of online gaming moving beyond the dreamcast and pc any time soon are up in smoke.
The attitude publicly expressed by Nintendo, ‘work out how it can be done profitably before rushing in’ – which seems to translate to ‘wait and see how everyone else does it’ – doesn’t exactly offer hope that they have things moving either.
However, for those who pick up on the right details, there are signs to suggest that things might be moving a little faster than the blank face of Nintendo would have us believe.
The evidence?
Of course, Nintendo first released pictures of their 56k and broadband gamecube modems before the console’s release. News also seeped through of a Phantasy Star Online conversion.
Take a look about a third of the way down the following page:
http://www.lan-kwei.com/gamecubeE/
What you’re looking for is the (3rd party) gamecube keyboard, bundled in with a modem and PSO trial edition.
A little further down the page you’ll see the official modems mentioned earlier. And you’ll also notice their expected date of availability – a rather vague 2002. That’s to a domestic Japanese market, of course.
Things are moving forward, and internet-specific peripherals being readied at this stage must be a sign of progress.
Exhibit B:
This September America get Animal Crossing. We get it sometime later it would seem. Details are on:
http://www.nintendo-europe.com/NOE/en/GB/games/description.
jsp?ElementId=79b8d8f7-a0ec-488c-9a7c-c3723cc3e587
(spaces)
While the GBA link and some memory card swapping offer the most noticeable linked features, notice the line: “Write letters to both your human- and GameCube-controlled buddies…”
Would those letters be written using a keyboard, perhaps? And although the game does feature multiplayer mode, would there really be any point in writing someone a letter if they were sat next to you. As opposed to being on the end of a networked connection?
Okay, it’s speculative, but it’s also available in Japan and soon to land in America. If online play were put into the game, it’d be there to be used in the very near future, not a number of years down the line.
The third piece of evidence – or rather an absence of evidence.
Mario golf, tennis and kart. What do these games have in common? After being confirmed by Nintendo as underway, nothing has been heard. PD0 and Donkey Kong Racing from rare. The former? Nothing heard. The latter? Taken back out of sight.
What do all 5 games have in common? A great multiplayer mode. Perhaps even ideally suited for online play?
The Rare titles seem to envolve rather more speculation, not least because of the company’s questionably changing relationship with Nintendo, but next to Kameo, of which news and screenshots have been gradually trickling out for a long time, and which won’t be released perhaps for over a year, it seems there must be a reason for Rare’s tight-lipped approach.
Nintendo’s games? Well, they could be saving news for a dry spell, when little else is happening, but the relative torrent of Zelda info alone suggests reasoning lies behind ninty’s silence. And the company isn’t the best for preventing leaks of info under normal circumstances.
My theory? The games are going online, and they’ll be doing it, in some parts of the world at least, next year. We’ve heard little about 2003s release schedule, but the aforementioned games could be the cornerstones. Ninty aren’t about to reveal their hand in such a vast, untested field as online play until the last possible moment, so they keep quiet.
But the clues are there.
The attitude publicly expressed by Nintendo, ‘work out how it can be done profitably before rushing in’ – which seems to translate to ‘wait and see how everyone else does it’ – doesn’t exactly offer hope that they have things moving either.
However, for those who pick up on the right details, there are signs to suggest that things might be moving a little faster than the blank face of Nintendo would have us believe.
The evidence?
Of course, Nintendo first released pictures of their 56k and broadband gamecube modems before the console’s release. News also seeped through of a Phantasy Star Online conversion.
Take a look about a third of the way down the following page:
http://www.lan-kwei.com/gamecubeE/
What you’re looking for is the (3rd party) gamecube keyboard, bundled in with a modem and PSO trial edition.
A little further down the page you’ll see the official modems mentioned earlier. And you’ll also notice their expected date of availability – a rather vague 2002. That’s to a domestic Japanese market, of course.
Things are moving forward, and internet-specific peripherals being readied at this stage must be a sign of progress.
Exhibit B:
This September America get Animal Crossing. We get it sometime later it would seem. Details are on:
http://www.nintendo-europe.com/NOE/en/GB/games/description.
jsp?ElementId=79b8d8f7-a0ec-488c-9a7c-c3723cc3e587
(spaces)
While the GBA link and some memory card swapping offer the most noticeable linked features, notice the line: “Write letters to both your human- and GameCube-controlled buddies…”
Would those letters be written using a keyboard, perhaps? And although the game does feature multiplayer mode, would there really be any point in writing someone a letter if they were sat next to you. As opposed to being on the end of a networked connection?
Okay, it’s speculative, but it’s also available in Japan and soon to land in America. If online play were put into the game, it’d be there to be used in the very near future, not a number of years down the line.
The third piece of evidence – or rather an absence of evidence.
Mario golf, tennis and kart. What do these games have in common? After being confirmed by Nintendo as underway, nothing has been heard. PD0 and Donkey Kong Racing from rare. The former? Nothing heard. The latter? Taken back out of sight.
What do all 5 games have in common? A great multiplayer mode. Perhaps even ideally suited for online play?
The Rare titles seem to envolve rather more speculation, not least because of the company’s questionably changing relationship with Nintendo, but next to Kameo, of which news and screenshots have been gradually trickling out for a long time, and which won’t be released perhaps for over a year, it seems there must be a reason for Rare’s tight-lipped approach.
Nintendo’s games? Well, they could be saving news for a dry spell, when little else is happening, but the relative torrent of Zelda info alone suggests reasoning lies behind ninty’s silence. And the company isn’t the best for preventing leaks of info under normal circumstances.
My theory? The games are going online, and they’ll be doing it, in some parts of the world at least, next year. We’ve heard little about 2003s release schedule, but the aforementioned games could be the cornerstones. Ninty aren’t about to reveal their hand in such a vast, untested field as online play until the last possible moment, so they keep quiet.
But the clues are there.
Page: