GameCube killer-app swansong PAL dated

With its new and improved installed base, perhaps there is a chance for a Nintendo home console renaissance at the dusk of this generation of machines.

Perhaps Not - its too far behind.

Well, I won't be too definite on that. Remember a similar instance of N64 apathy several months before Zelda: Ocarina of Time was released? Seeings as the new Zelda is also slated for release in 2005, this could see Nintendo's last purple-box related stand. And it could do mighty fine.

Considering Europe's "original" (as in non-existent) marketing tactics as of late though...

Nintendo is royaly screwed because this game is slated for the PS2. Ther emight be an initial sales boost but after the month is over its going to just go flat like most GC games. The Zelda game is not going to boost Nintendo very far, Most people who plan to buy Zelda already own a GC. If the Zelda game would to come out Now they might have a chance but because its comming out next year with extremely tight competition next year its not going to cause much of an impact. Remember the PSP and XBOX 2 are going to launch and the plans for the PS3 are sure to come out that same time. Nintendo's current console has no chance in hell of recovering. It wasn't a far fight to begin with, the designer of the GC really made a drastic mistake making a system purple and with a handle. I'm sure with enough smarts Nintendo can recover there market lead with their next system.

sure psp and xbox2 is coming out next year, but as far as i know the ps3 isnt coming until 2006, which is when revolution is coming out aswell. in between the xbox2 and ps3, or at the same time as ps3.

i hope that nintendo will go for marketing more this time. thats pretty much where they do wrong. they need more marketing!

I don't see that the Gamecube's too far behind at all. It's got a solid line-up over the next six months and I would expect Nintendo to make large profits from the machine and software during this time.

How many people are really going to wait for the PS2 version? Note that the Xbox version still hasn't been officially confirmed.

Decepticon dude, I'm with Adam on this one. True GC is behind and all kind of lost but I still think RE4 may help shift some GCs, as so many people won't wait for the PS2 version (most people might be looking at selling their PS2s by the time RE4 reaches shelves)

Those that do purchase a GC can then also sample new Zelda amongst other GC gems, and don't forget the Revolution is also suppose to run GC games so you can keep your GC games library.

Don't think I can wait til march for a copy of RE4 so I'll have to import.

People who are worried about Nintendo in Europe need to stop right this very second.

Nintendo doesn't care.

Nintendo's idea of helping out their European market is releasing a Pokemon game. If we arn't talking about America or Japan, we might as well be talking about Animal Crossing.

This is true. The PlayStation, being the most popular console, has always been a casual gamer's resort. Naturally. It's just the way things go; a bi-product of being the most popular. And history has shown that 'casualites' have next to no attention span. If it's not right there, right now, it has to be loaded with guns or some other insanely chav (shudder) version of "cool" to be worth waiting for.

Just about all of the PS2 gamers/casualites I've spoken to in my area looked at me funny when I mentioned Resident Evil 4, saying that they thought Resident Evil: Outbreak was the fourth Resi game. Pitiful, isn't it? It's highly unlikely that 60-75% of PS2 owners will wait for, or even notice, the Resi 4 port.

Case in point: Viewtiful Joe. Critically acclaimed on Gamecube, moaned by PS2 owners because they didn't get it. About a year or so (give or take a few months) later, it's released on the system, but nobody's buying it.

And the ones who will be interested in Resi 4 enough to wait for a PS2 version will most likely be sidetracked with other PS2 exclusives or quality games to even notice the port's passing. Which is probably what we can attribute to VJ's PS2 game sales aswell - why buy a year old game when San Andreas is out and calling your name instead, after all? :P


LOL. I wouldn't blame all of the Gamecube's lack of interest in the design ;) Purple it might have been, but a sexy black it was released in, too. And the handle is hardly pretentious or "kiddy" is it? The purple colour choice I can understand, but the handle's not threatening or oppressing your right to be 'mature' is it? Be honest now. :P

The Gamecube's major problem, save for lack of marketing (which doesn't count, because it never existed), was the fact that Nintendo relied on gimmicks too much. The (hopefully deceased) 'Nintendo Difference', which consisted of all projects being made in a development window of about a year and a half was insane enough... look how many games the Gamecube has from Nintendo themselves; so many could be instant classics for this generation. But none of them will ever be a 'Goldeneye 007' or 'Ocarina of Time', because they just seemed to have rushed into it. Short development times are not how Nintendo work best, and the gamesplaying public saw this too. Heck, despite being a totally immersive experience, LoZ: The Wind Waker is extremely rushed, and is definitely the weakest Zelda game ever made (by Nintendo :P). Same with Super Mario Sunshine (although less about immersiveness-ness). Super Mario 128 has been in production for feck knows how long - when it's finished, you KNOW it will be a true return to form for Nintendo. Mario Sunshine, TWW et al were not given sufficient development time to bloom properly, and so shows Nintendo at only 'half power', so to speak.

Second, the Nintendo Difference was meant to allow Nintendo greater time for more projects, but all that's happened is that the number of Gamecube projects are still the same (not much greater than their internal support for the N64), and many franchises have been farmed out to third parties. While of course this will help third party relations (which, essentially, was only ever going to be a short-term third party solution), there's no doubt that Nintendo themselves could have found the time to develop F-Zero GX, or Starfox 2, internally with no hassle.

Thirdly, and perhaps most outrageously, was Nintendo's bizarre emphasis on unecessary add-ons. If it wasn't the e-Reader cards, it was the GBA-GC connectivity (which resulted in big spending in order to play Crystal Chronicles, Zelda Four Swords and Pacman Versus propery), and now bongos and microphones (although I must admit, I'm a little smitten with my bongos :D). Nintendo never needed to do this, and by making sure most of their Triple-A games needed an extra (four) £25 special controllers (unless we're talking GBA, which will be £80 a pop plus a link cable each, thank you) just to play them, they pretty much alienated the mass market, and confused or short-changed their dedicated fans.

If Nintendo learn anything from this generation, it's to never get inspired to do anything on the scale of what they showed at E3 2002-2003 ever again.

Had the Gamecube been a system with some sure-fire titles, a proper Mario game (yeah, I know, but...), barely any rushed games (allowing them to do what they want and basically kick arse with their major titles) and just kept add-ons to the WaveBird and GBA Player, then perhaps we'd be seeing stronger support for the system from all sides - developer and gamer.

why don't you clear things up

the xbox version doesn't exist, some drunk rep told you that it does (reps like to think they are close to developers),

IT DOESN'T.

The ps2 version is going to be shocking, i'm talking 'return to castle wolfenstein' on ps2 shocking. The director left capcom in disgust after he was told that it was being ported to ps2. The chances are it will never come out and was annoucned just to boost the share prices.

Actually they did release the Minish Cap in Europe a month before the US.

Yes, with a shoddy translation. One of the development staff even 'fessed up that the US version has a better translation!

The problem with gaming at the moment is simple: developers target the PS2 crowd. From what i can gather, there are 3 PS2 owner groups: multi-platformers, casualites and Sony fanboys.

The first, being "true gamers", have a tendency to buy a game for whatever system will run it best: graphically, and control-wise. See Soul Calibur II: PS2 sold lots, but most people i know who had the choice either got the GC copy for Link or Xbox for Spawn, controller (seeing as it nearly mirrors the DC pad) and graphical quality.

The second group own a PS2 because they hear that name a lot. It's in the magazines they buy, on the channels they watch, and in the most prominent position in shops. Games are just those shiny things you put inside so you can do something before going to the pub.

The last group frighten me. To them, the PS2 is a work of art, sculpture in silicone and plastic. They won't accept the idea a game could (Heaven forbid) appear on another machine, never mind run better.

I own a GC and an Xbox. Reason is simple: not a PS2 game left to come out i'm interested in, and quite frankly the machine was a tempramental ugly blot amongst my AV setup.. The GTA games look better on my PC or Xbox, Halo 2 consumes my spare time anyway, and so far no future release has made me desperate to get one again. OK, Kingdom Hearts II made me consider it, but even that lost its pull.

I've never quite understood why multiformat owners get any games for the PS2; they always end up looking so rough compared to the games you play on the other two. Compare Halo 1 and 2 to Killzone, GTA III on Xbox and PS2, and now, Resident Evil 4 across PS2 and GC. The comparison always makes PS2 look so bad; even comparing Smackdown vs Raw to the upcoming Wrestlemania 21 shows a visable gap.

But, let's face it: shops are paid to put PS2 first, and the average consumer thinks PS2 first. Therefore, it will always get games, no matter how shoddy it makes them look.

As far as I'm concerned, it's the controller. Of the three, I find the PS2's controller the most comfortable.

The XBox Controller S is still large and cramp-inducing, has buttons in positions that mean you have to move your grip to reach them and the curve of the controller makes quick moving on the buttons quite hard.

The GameCube controller is a wierd shape and has non-regular buttons that make the games I prefer quite hard to play. Also the Z button is one of the worst positioned buttons I've ever seen.

The DualShock 2 fits my hands quite comfortably, everything is in the right place to be reached easily, although I think the shoulder buttons could be dropped a bit.

On top of all that, the increase in graphical ability on the XBox is not large enough to make me take notice. The games play much the same, except for things like pop-up in racing games.

So given a multi-platform release, I'm much more likely to get the PS2 version.

I find the GC controller the best, then the PS2.

I can't stand the Xbox.

How about the Controller-S? I find it much better. I know one person who prefers the original, but he's unusually mungo/sloth-like.