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I was just upstairs playing Mario Golf. Ruddy good game that, even if the AI tends to...well, CHEAT sometimes. Caressing the 3D stick with my left thumb, fingers roaming over the well-placed buttons it got me thinking about the N64 and how it was absolutely crushed by the Playstation. Marketed as a 'cool' console, it brought new gamers to the table and churned out title after title, ending up with an enormous catalogue of games, of all shapes, sizes and standards. People heard that 'the Playstation is better' and saw all their mates with little grey boxes underneath their tellies, and bought one.
Not me.
My four closest friends all had N64s. Come to think of it, I never really played on any of my other mate's Playstations all that much because I wasn't interested...but the first thing we did round Ben/Steve/James/Mehmet's house was fire up Goldeneye. The pad design was brilliantly innovative - analogue stick, d-pad, c-buttons, z-trigger, 3 prongs...it fitted my hand beautifully as I opened the metal doors in Facility, making my way to the Body Armour at the back. It wasn't long before I too, bought an N64 along with a second pad and GE. I played through the levels and marvelled at the 64-bit graphics, the scenery, the 'click click' of the reload.
As time went on I got games like Super Mario 64, ISS 2000, Perfect Dark, Mario Tennis and Mario Golf. All classics. There are titles I'm still yet to get, like the two Zeldas and Banjo Kazooies, Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong Racing, Conker's Bad Fur Day and No Mercy...again, some of the best games of that (and even this) generation. The games may have been pricey, but the ones I've already mentioned were (and are) easily worth the asking prices of £40+. Some of the best multiplayer moments around are on the N64, not to mention some of the groundbreaking moments such as 3D Mario, and James Bond's sniper rifle. Even now, people are trying to capture the magic of Mario Kart and Majora's Mask...but many people have either since sold their N64s, or never had them to begin with. And that, in my eyes, is a terrible shame.
However, the N64 was not a FAILURE for Nintendo, shifting millions of units...the Playstation beat it, but did not KILL it...enter the Dreamcast. A member of these forums recently picked up a pre-owned Dreamcast, Sega's last console, one with power comparable to the PS2's, for less than £20. Some of the finest arcade games known to man, such as Crazy Taxi, House of the Dead 2, Ferrarri 355, Virtua Fighter 3, Virtua Soccer, 18 Wheeler, Confidential Mission and Virtua Tennis are all available on the DC, as well as such great (former) exclusives like Jet Set Radio and Shenmue (with the sequels coming to, or already out on, the XBOX). It is the only console that is properly up and running internet-wise, with the great Phantasy Star Online waiting to fatten up the phone bill of all comers. So why did we let this console not only fail when measured up to the competition, but fail so spectacularly that it caused Sega to pull out of the console making business for the foreseeable future?
Looking on eBay, for less than the price of your average new PS2/XBOX/GC game on the high street, you can get a Dreamcast with 2 pads, a VMU and three games. Likewise with the N64. I, myself, am seriously tempted to purchase a Dreamcast with its amazing back catalogue...but why am I complaining? Stuff like Super Monkey Ball 2 is on the Gamecube, Virtua Tennis is on its way to the PS2 and as I mentioned before, the XBOX has Jet Set Future already, and the rest of Shenmue to look forward to. I'll tell you why...imagine if the N64 had beaten the Playstation? If the Dreamcast had taken its next-gen headstart and gotten enough sales to keep Sega confortable, imagine the impact it would have on the rest of the gaming world.
Companies might concentrate more on great exclusive games from first and second parties. The way gaming is going now is away from the developers such as Nintendo and Sega, and towards the guys with more money to throw around, like Sony and Microsoft. The XBOX will never catch the Playstation 2, but with it's internet strategy coming along nicely, it's upcoming exclusives and the bonus of having superior multi-format games (like Turok, and Spider-Man) it could end up far ahead of Nintendo, which relies on it's ever-waning fan base.
All three consoles have at least two exclusive killer apps (GTA: Vice City and MGS2, Halo and Blinx, Super Monkey Ball and Super Mario Sunshine for instance) either out or coming up, and as you can see there is no shortage of great titles out there...but the N64 and Dreamcast had this years ago.
And now the owners are selling them for the money to buy the next Fifa game.
I'm gonna go play some more Mario Golf now. Bye.
Not me.
My four closest friends all had N64s. Come to think of it, I never really played on any of my other mate's Playstations all that much because I wasn't interested...but the first thing we did round Ben/Steve/James/Mehmet's house was fire up Goldeneye. The pad design was brilliantly innovative - analogue stick, d-pad, c-buttons, z-trigger, 3 prongs...it fitted my hand beautifully as I opened the metal doors in Facility, making my way to the Body Armour at the back. It wasn't long before I too, bought an N64 along with a second pad and GE. I played through the levels and marvelled at the 64-bit graphics, the scenery, the 'click click' of the reload.
As time went on I got games like Super Mario 64, ISS 2000, Perfect Dark, Mario Tennis and Mario Golf. All classics. There are titles I'm still yet to get, like the two Zeldas and Banjo Kazooies, Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong Racing, Conker's Bad Fur Day and No Mercy...again, some of the best games of that (and even this) generation. The games may have been pricey, but the ones I've already mentioned were (and are) easily worth the asking prices of £40+. Some of the best multiplayer moments around are on the N64, not to mention some of the groundbreaking moments such as 3D Mario, and James Bond's sniper rifle. Even now, people are trying to capture the magic of Mario Kart and Majora's Mask...but many people have either since sold their N64s, or never had them to begin with. And that, in my eyes, is a terrible shame.
However, the N64 was not a FAILURE for Nintendo, shifting millions of units...the Playstation beat it, but did not KILL it...enter the Dreamcast. A member of these forums recently picked up a pre-owned Dreamcast, Sega's last console, one with power comparable to the PS2's, for less than £20. Some of the finest arcade games known to man, such as Crazy Taxi, House of the Dead 2, Ferrarri 355, Virtua Fighter 3, Virtua Soccer, 18 Wheeler, Confidential Mission and Virtua Tennis are all available on the DC, as well as such great (former) exclusives like Jet Set Radio and Shenmue (with the sequels coming to, or already out on, the XBOX). It is the only console that is properly up and running internet-wise, with the great Phantasy Star Online waiting to fatten up the phone bill of all comers. So why did we let this console not only fail when measured up to the competition, but fail so spectacularly that it caused Sega to pull out of the console making business for the foreseeable future?
Looking on eBay, for less than the price of your average new PS2/XBOX/GC game on the high street, you can get a Dreamcast with 2 pads, a VMU and three games. Likewise with the N64. I, myself, am seriously tempted to purchase a Dreamcast with its amazing back catalogue...but why am I complaining? Stuff like Super Monkey Ball 2 is on the Gamecube, Virtua Tennis is on its way to the PS2 and as I mentioned before, the XBOX has Jet Set Future already, and the rest of Shenmue to look forward to. I'll tell you why...imagine if the N64 had beaten the Playstation? If the Dreamcast had taken its next-gen headstart and gotten enough sales to keep Sega confortable, imagine the impact it would have on the rest of the gaming world.
Companies might concentrate more on great exclusive games from first and second parties. The way gaming is going now is away from the developers such as Nintendo and Sega, and towards the guys with more money to throw around, like Sony and Microsoft. The XBOX will never catch the Playstation 2, but with it's internet strategy coming along nicely, it's upcoming exclusives and the bonus of having superior multi-format games (like Turok, and Spider-Man) it could end up far ahead of Nintendo, which relies on it's ever-waning fan base.
All three consoles have at least two exclusive killer apps (GTA: Vice City and MGS2, Halo and Blinx, Super Monkey Ball and Super Mario Sunshine for instance) either out or coming up, and as you can see there is no shortage of great titles out there...but the N64 and Dreamcast had this years ago.
And now the owners are selling them for the money to buy the next Fifa game.
I'm gonna go play some more Mario Golf now. Bye.
Bump.
I was just upstairs playing Mario Golf. Ruddy good game that, even if the AI tends to...well, CHEAT sometimes. Caressing the 3D stick with my left thumb, fingers roaming over the well-placed buttons it got me thinking about the N64 and how it was absolutely crushed by the Playstation. Marketed as a 'cool' console, it brought new gamers to the table and churned out title after title, ending up with an enormous catalogue of games, of all shapes, sizes and standards. People heard that 'the Playstation is better' and saw all their mates with little grey boxes underneath their tellies, and bought one.
Not me.
My four closest friends all had N64s. Come to think of it, I never really played on any of my other mate's Playstations all that much because I wasn't interested...but the first thing we did round Ben/Steve/James/Mehmet's house was fire up Goldeneye. The pad design was brilliantly innovative - analogue stick, d-pad, c-buttons, z-trigger, 3 prongs...it fitted my hand beautifully as I opened the metal doors in Facility, making my way to the Body Armour at the back. It wasn't long before I too, bought an N64 along with a second pad and GE. I played through the levels and marvelled at the 64-bit graphics, the scenery, the 'click click' of the reload.
As time went on I got games like Super Mario 64, ISS 2000, Perfect Dark, Mario Tennis and Mario Golf. All classics. There are titles I'm still yet to get, like the two Zeldas and Banjo Kazooies, Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong Racing, Conker's Bad Fur Day and No Mercy...again, some of the best games of that (and even this) generation. The games may have been pricey, but the ones I've already mentioned were (and are) easily worth the asking prices of £40+. Some of the best multiplayer moments around are on the N64, not to mention some of the groundbreaking moments such as 3D Mario, and James Bond's sniper rifle. Even now, people are trying to capture the magic of Mario Kart and Majora's Mask...but many people have either since sold their N64s, or never had them to begin with. And that, in my eyes, is a terrible shame.
However, the N64 was not a FAILURE for Nintendo, shifting millions of units...the Playstation beat it, but did not KILL it...enter the Dreamcast. A member of these forums recently picked up a pre-owned Dreamcast, Sega's last console, one with power comparable to the PS2's, for less than £20. Some of the finest arcade games known to man, such as Crazy Taxi, House of the Dead 2, Ferrarri 355, Virtua Fighter 3, Virtua Soccer, 18 Wheeler, Confidential Mission and Virtua Tennis are all available on the DC, as well as such great (former) exclusives like Jet Set Radio and Shenmue (with the sequels coming to, or already out on, the XBOX). It is the only console that is properly up and running internet-wise, with the great Phantasy Star Online waiting to fatten up the phone bill of all comers. So why did we let this console not only fail when measured up to the competition, but fail so spectacularly that it caused Sega to pull out of the console making business for the foreseeable future?
Looking on eBay, for less than the price of your average new PS2/XBOX/GC game on the high street, you can get a Dreamcast with 2 pads, a VMU and three games. Likewise with the N64. I, myself, am seriously tempted to purchase a Dreamcast with its amazing back catalogue...but why am I complaining? Stuff like Super Monkey Ball 2 is on the Gamecube, Virtua Tennis is on its way to the PS2 and as I mentioned before, the XBOX has Jet Set Future already, and the rest of Shenmue to look forward to. I'll tell you why...imagine if the N64 had beaten the Playstation? If the Dreamcast had taken its next-gen headstart and gotten enough sales to keep Sega confortable, imagine the impact it would have on the rest of the gaming world.
Companies might concentrate more on great exclusive games from first and second parties. The way gaming is going now is away from the developers such as Nintendo and Sega, and towards the guys with more money to throw around, like Sony and Microsoft. The XBOX will never catch the Playstation 2, but with it's internet strategy coming along nicely, it's upcoming exclusives and the bonus of having superior multi-format games (like Turok, and Spider-Man) it could end up far ahead of Nintendo, which relies on it's ever-waning fan base.
All three consoles have at least two exclusive killer apps (GTA: Vice City and MGS2, Halo and Blinx, Super Monkey Ball and Super Mario Sunshine for instance) either out or coming up, and as you can see there is no shortage of great titles out there...but the N64 and Dreamcast had this years ago.
And now the owners are selling them for the money to buy the next Fifa game.
I'm gonna go play some more Mario Golf now. Bye.
Not me.
My four closest friends all had N64s. Come to think of it, I never really played on any of my other mate's Playstations all that much because I wasn't interested...but the first thing we did round Ben/Steve/James/Mehmet's house was fire up Goldeneye. The pad design was brilliantly innovative - analogue stick, d-pad, c-buttons, z-trigger, 3 prongs...it fitted my hand beautifully as I opened the metal doors in Facility, making my way to the Body Armour at the back. It wasn't long before I too, bought an N64 along with a second pad and GE. I played through the levels and marvelled at the 64-bit graphics, the scenery, the 'click click' of the reload.
As time went on I got games like Super Mario 64, ISS 2000, Perfect Dark, Mario Tennis and Mario Golf. All classics. There are titles I'm still yet to get, like the two Zeldas and Banjo Kazooies, Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong Racing, Conker's Bad Fur Day and No Mercy...again, some of the best games of that (and even this) generation. The games may have been pricey, but the ones I've already mentioned were (and are) easily worth the asking prices of £40+. Some of the best multiplayer moments around are on the N64, not to mention some of the groundbreaking moments such as 3D Mario, and James Bond's sniper rifle. Even now, people are trying to capture the magic of Mario Kart and Majora's Mask...but many people have either since sold their N64s, or never had them to begin with. And that, in my eyes, is a terrible shame.
However, the N64 was not a FAILURE for Nintendo, shifting millions of units...the Playstation beat it, but did not KILL it...enter the Dreamcast. A member of these forums recently picked up a pre-owned Dreamcast, Sega's last console, one with power comparable to the PS2's, for less than £20. Some of the finest arcade games known to man, such as Crazy Taxi, House of the Dead 2, Ferrarri 355, Virtua Fighter 3, Virtua Soccer, 18 Wheeler, Confidential Mission and Virtua Tennis are all available on the DC, as well as such great (former) exclusives like Jet Set Radio and Shenmue (with the sequels coming to, or already out on, the XBOX). It is the only console that is properly up and running internet-wise, with the great Phantasy Star Online waiting to fatten up the phone bill of all comers. So why did we let this console not only fail when measured up to the competition, but fail so spectacularly that it caused Sega to pull out of the console making business for the foreseeable future?
Looking on eBay, for less than the price of your average new PS2/XBOX/GC game on the high street, you can get a Dreamcast with 2 pads, a VMU and three games. Likewise with the N64. I, myself, am seriously tempted to purchase a Dreamcast with its amazing back catalogue...but why am I complaining? Stuff like Super Monkey Ball 2 is on the Gamecube, Virtua Tennis is on its way to the PS2 and as I mentioned before, the XBOX has Jet Set Future already, and the rest of Shenmue to look forward to. I'll tell you why...imagine if the N64 had beaten the Playstation? If the Dreamcast had taken its next-gen headstart and gotten enough sales to keep Sega confortable, imagine the impact it would have on the rest of the gaming world.
Companies might concentrate more on great exclusive games from first and second parties. The way gaming is going now is away from the developers such as Nintendo and Sega, and towards the guys with more money to throw around, like Sony and Microsoft. The XBOX will never catch the Playstation 2, but with it's internet strategy coming along nicely, it's upcoming exclusives and the bonus of having superior multi-format games (like Turok, and Spider-Man) it could end up far ahead of Nintendo, which relies on it's ever-waning fan base.
All three consoles have at least two exclusive killer apps (GTA: Vice City and MGS2, Halo and Blinx, Super Monkey Ball and Super Mario Sunshine for instance) either out or coming up, and as you can see there is no shortage of great titles out there...but the N64 and Dreamcast had this years ago.
And now the owners are selling them for the money to buy the next Fifa game.
I'm gonna go play some more Mario Golf now. Bye.