Gamecube definetly has the best lineup for Fall and Christmas 2003. Xbox has Ninja Gaiden and PS2 has FF and SOCOM. GCN has Mariokart DD (LAN baby!) and Rebel Strike. Also MGS Twin Snakes will be getting some hype closer to release. I also think Viewtiful Joe will be a sleeper hit if NOA gives it any promotion at all. Also Pikmin 2 for the hardcore Ninty fans. But I really see Mariokart being the biggie for later this year..followed closely by RS.
Fall software lineup seems weak
- Thread starter Johnny Awesome
- Start date
Johnny Awesome
Veteran
at Gamecube having the best fall lineup. That's literally hilarious. What's with all the 20 year olds that are all jazzed about kart racing. Most kids are playing Vice City right now, and you Nintendorks are still hoping that Mario Kart is going to move big hardware numbers.
Most people have already done Metal Gear and Rogue Squadron. It's yesterdays news. Who knows? Maybe the new Pac-man will save Nintendo this fall. It seemed to be the lynch-pin of their strategy at E3 this year.
I still think the lineups are weak. MGS3 and GT4 are delayed until 2004. Fable, Halo 2 and Splinter Cell: PT are delayed until 2004. Price drops are absolutely necessary to move more hardware into the market.
marconelly!
Veteran
Just to clarify, MGS3 was never even meant to come out in 2003. Not even rumored, actually. GT4 was kinda rumored, but no release date was ever announced.
Almasy, Castlevania will bomb on the PS2 imo. Look at the DMC sequel numbers as well as several other 'classics' that have been brought out on the PS2. It'll do better than RTX Red Rock though
BTW Johnny..i'm about to turn 33. Trust me there are alot of Mariokart fans ( *read*.. college dorms) out there just waiting do some serious LAN play. It most likely WONT sell a bunch of new systems except for those who would pick an extra up just for LAN play.
Most ppl have already done Vice City too..and yeah I agree it's mostly kids now playing. If anything is "yesterday's news" it's VC. I mean the mainstream media can help you..but after too much exposure (just like Ben & Jen Lopez) it can hurt you. Believe me the GTA series will run it's course soon. And I'll bet it does'nt have the longevity of Mario.
I concure than all three fall lineups are weak this year, but at least the GCN has 3 really big name franchises coming exclusivly to it. Mariokart is Nintendo's 2nd biggest game. It sold 2nd only to Mairo last generation. RS will do well. I see it at least doing 800,000 units (and fairly quickly)..especially now that Lucas Arts is doing the free demo disk with preorders. MGS;TS is an enigma right now. Appearently according to a newer interview with Denis Dyack it has come a looong was since E3. With bump mapping and dynamic lighting now implemented and said to be impressive. I still don't know who will publish the game. I actually hope it's Konami and not NOA. I'll bet with any advertising it'll move some units.
If I were NOA I'd do some Mariokart bundles and maybe limited edition MGSTS offers as well. It'd be good time to take advantage of XB and PS2 not having many AAA games coming out anytime soon.
BTW Johnny..i'm about to turn 33. Trust me there are alot of Mariokart fans ( *read*.. college dorms) out there just waiting do some serious LAN play. It most likely WONT sell a bunch of new systems except for those who would pick an extra up just for LAN play.
Most ppl have already done Vice City too..and yeah I agree it's mostly kids now playing. If anything is "yesterday's news" it's VC. I mean the mainstream media can help you..but after too much exposure (just like Ben & Jen Lopez) it can hurt you. Believe me the GTA series will run it's course soon. And I'll bet it does'nt have the longevity of Mario.
I concure than all three fall lineups are weak this year, but at least the GCN has 3 really big name franchises coming exclusivly to it. Mariokart is Nintendo's 2nd biggest game. It sold 2nd only to Mairo last generation. RS will do well. I see it at least doing 800,000 units (and fairly quickly)..especially now that Lucas Arts is doing the free demo disk with preorders. MGS;TS is an enigma right now. Appearently according to a newer interview with Denis Dyack it has come a looong was since E3. With bump mapping and dynamic lighting now implemented and said to be impressive. I still don't know who will publish the game. I actually hope it's Konami and not NOA. I'll bet with any advertising it'll move some units.
If I were NOA I'd do some Mariokart bundles and maybe limited edition MGSTS offers as well. It'd be good time to take advantage of XB and PS2 not having many AAA games coming out anytime soon.
marconelly!
Veteran
Contra had zero advertising, zero hype, low budget, 200K units sold. What other classics you've been thinking of?
I'm not sure about that. Futuristic racers are kinda 'have been' thing nowadays.
marconelly! said:
F-Zero is the original futuristic racers
I, for one, actually know a handful of people who hate WipeOut because of the weapons and the reduced speed compared to F-Zero X. That and the track designs are tame by comparison.If F-Zero GX keeps up the off the wall track design and extreme speed, and gets advertised as it should (fastest racer ever), it could do extremely well.
Plus it'll be the first truly GOOD racer on GCN... something I'm sure numerous fans have wanted.
Tagrineth said:
I think the WipEout series has quite a strong fan base outthere, but that doesn't change the fact that futuristic racers aren't that widely spread among casual gamers. WipEout Fusion might just be the best example, as it caters to quite a core audiance by being very hard and challenging and thus not that easily acceptable. Other than that, I suggest you play a bit Wipeout Fusion as I'd be very suprised if F-Zero runs faster than that [ZoneMode]. I recall you saying that you haven't played much Wipeout, so I believe you aren't aware that the speed increases with the level you're in (expert levels run extremely fast). Also, tracks are quite narrow, compared to what I've seen from F-Zero thus far.
I disagree about GTA, I think rockstar may be able to innovate enough that the series doesn't become old. Of course, if they just release the same thing every year...well, it works for sports games. But the idea behind GTA will eventually give way to something new, perhaps even more 'adult' than gta was.(unless mainstream culture has a sudden turn around)
BTW, I'm pretty sure last gen nintendo's best sellers were goldeneye, mario, and zelda ocarina of time, but I suppose mario kart could be 2nd.(if you ignore goldeneye...)
Also, if fzero gx is anything like fzero x, I expect you will see the cars reach 'over 3000 km'(doesn't mean that'll be fast compared to wipeout, I've only played extreme g3 on the current gen of systems, and while it may be fast, it is nowhere near as fluid as fzero) and it will have extremely narrow courses at points, about a vehicle and a half length.
Anyhow, I've always preferred fzero to wipeout because wipeout has always seemed sluggish to me, the weapons lame, the vehicles lame(not that fzero x's vehicles were so good), the courses simple, the music bad, and the game just generally unfun, the computer players were no fun to race and the multiplayer was very much akin to extreme g3 where you never see anyone else. Though, the only real thing I felt fzero x had over wipeout was solid gameplay(speed didn't seem too fast most of the time, speed really doesn't come into notice until you realize you're not going to make that turn or you have walls closing in on you), but that's what made it fun.
Phil said:
I now have Wipeout and Wipeout 2097 for Saturn.
The first one is EXTREMELY BORING and the second is still decidedly un-fun but a terrific improvement over the first.
F-Zero X is one of the two fastest racing games I've ever played, right alongside Star Wars: Episode 1: Racer (which I also have for N64). The speed values are about comparable, cruising speed is 500-600km/h in both, but in FZX you can boost way past that much more easily.
The difference with FZX is it's by far the smoothest game I've ever played. It seems to play smoother than any "60fps" GameCube, PS2, or Xbox game I've played thus far... and I've pretty much narrowed it down to motion blur (the game uses a very faint motion blur, you can't actually SEE it working most of the time, only in a select few instances can it be reliably pointed out)... anyway, I digress.
The other difference with FZX, as fox5 pointed out, is 'barren track' syndrome. FZX had 30 vehicles per race... only if you're out front or way behind will you not be pestered by at least 2-3 opponents... and races VERY rarely last more than 2 minutes, with the average race being a minute and a half. It's all really insanely quick. fox5 also pointed out the speed only really comes into play when you're about to mess up a turn - that's when speed is SUPPOSED to come into play. Turns are a landmark to compare yourself to, on a straightaway you don't really have that. But put it this way - the track textures... well, on the edges, there are often lines of dots, and when you're moving at a good clip, they either A. look like they aren't moving at all, or B. look like they're slowly moving FORWARDS. =)
zurich said:PC-Engine said:FF:CC
Cept its not a 2003 title in NA/EU.
you could try the following (sums up my feelings on this regard)
http://www.penny-arcade.com/view.php3?date=2003-07-25&res=l
Speaking as a Finnish Xbox owner, I'm eagerly awaiting Soul Calibur 2 and SW: KotoR, haven't seen much else worth waiting for atm. Soul Calibur 2 seems to carry on the legacy nicely Maybe I should plug in my DC and start practising with Soul Calibur
And of course Xbox Live! is coming this fall too in Finland. But I don't think I'll be getting it yet because I won't be able to use all of the free time that comes with it. I have some unwanted obligations putting me away for a bit over six months, no computer, no internet, no cell phone etc... Bummer really.
Maybe I should plug in my DC and start practising with Soul Calibur And of course Xbox Live! is coming this fall too in Finland. But I don't think I'll be getting it yet because I won't be able to use all of the free time that comes with it. I have some unwanted obligations putting me away for a bit over six months, no computer, no internet, no cell phone etc... Bummer really.
