Is Gamecube in peril?

[BenSkywalker]

Marco

Still, you can’t beat the game’s presentation—the glorious visuals, real cast voice-overs, and Howard Shore score are so faithful to the film it’s frightening, and the Xbox graphics are even cleaner than the PS2 version's.

That's from the GamePro review. Gamespy says that all the versions are nigh clones of each other.

With the PlayStation 2 being all "inferior" to the Xbox's presumed power, and the two months of extra development time, surely E.A. must have added an extra aiming reticule for the archery, increased the framerate from 30, sculpted a few more polygons on the main heroes and adversaries, and added reflections to the underwater orcs and other badly realized reflections. Well, don't bet on it, Bilbo. There are absolutely no differences between this, the GameCube, and the PlayStation 2 versions, aside from some miniscule tidying of the jagged polygons from the PS2 original.

http://www.gamespy.com/reviews/january03/twotowersxbox/index2.shtml

As far as the game itself is concerned, a very basic hack and slash that appears to be extremely short. Based on the map they give you, I'm about half way through the game replaying all three characters in under a few hours. I selected the 'Normal' difficulty(Easy, Normal, Expert) and so far it seems way the hell too easy. They tie the game in with clips of the movie pretty heavily, but the gameplay is on the thin side from what I have seen so far.

For overall visuals, the game maintains a steady framerate, and the models are decent, but the texturing is extremely poor by XBox standards. Looks like a top tier PS2 game which is an extreme let down on the Box.

 

[marconelly!]

Ben, yeah there seems to be some sort of inconsistency among reviewers of this game. It is all too common that some people assume that the multiplatform game will look the best on Xbox without doing the actual comparision. From my experience IGN has always been the most nitpicky as far as graphics goes, but I wouldn't blindly trust them either before I see something for myself. They basically said Xbox version looked worse, even in textures. As far as game technicalities go, wait until the last three levels. That is where it really shines. The amount of stuff it throws at you is just eye popping.

from the IGN review:

"When I first saw The Two Towers on PS2, I was impressed and eager to see how much better it would look on Xbox. Unfortunately, something's been lost in the port, because the Xbox version is inferior to the sharp and stunning quality of what was found on PS2. In fact, the Xbox version, visually, is hardly the one that will rule them all. There's a ton of texture problems, poor contrast, and less detail than what's found on the PS2. That's not acceptable for a game coming out two months later and on a system that is easier to program for and can churn out incredible graphics with little effort. The Xbox version boasts a solid framerate, but beyond that, it's not terribly attractive. "

 

[CaptainHowdy]

from what I heard about TTT, all versions are identicle, which is unusual, but I think it was very pretty on PS2, its just one of those rare games that doesnt really need much improvement.

 

[wazoo]

I'll pick the ps2 version in the future, because it is the most likely to have its price reduced in the next 6 months.

 

[Clashman]

Hey Kolgar, what part of WI are you from? I'm originally from DePere, (just outside of Green Bay), but am currently living in Minneapolis for school.

 

[Kolgar]

Clashman: I'm in south central WI, near Madison.

Kolgar

 

[Johnny Awesome]

Gamecube price drop?

http://www.gamerfeed.com/index2.php?story=893

 

[Tagrineth]

Gamecube price drop?

http://www.gamerfeed.com/index2.php?story=893

Hehehe....

Nintendo also indicated that they are looking to launch the GameCube system in China. However, they first must find a solution to stop software piracy in that region.

Uh... aren't the discs themselves good enough for that? NOBODY on the whole planet has yet ripped a GCN disc.

 

[Teasy]

I saw the the key parts of that interview and there was no mention of a price drop.

 

[Ty]

I saw the the key parts of that interview and there was no mention of a price drop.

Did you read the article from the paper?

In the newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun, Nintendo president Saturo Iwata expressed that they are considering a price drop for GameCube, because the sales of the system is still 2 million units behind their target.

http://www.the-magicbox.com/gaming.htm Site that quotes newspaper article

Note that I am not validating the quote as I don't have access to the Newspaper article myself.

 

[Ooh-videogames]

Actually I think Quarterback Club '98, '99 from Acclaim were the highest selling football games on the N64. The gameplay wasn't better than the Madden games but the graphics in the QBC games were far better and its part of the reason I purchased them. One thing I would like to point out is that Madden 2001 on the PS2 was the best looking game it had at launch, so it got mindshare from PS2 owners. Add the fact that the userbase for the PS2 is far more larger than the GC and Xbox combined.

 

[Goldni]

I told you Ninty was releasing the GCN every region in the world where MS was with XB. This is unprecedented with NCL. I think they should have done this with systems passed. They are not gonna let MS have 2nd place without a fight.

As far as the price drop. Did'nt we hear about 4 months ago that Nintendo would prolly drop the GCN price after Christmas sales? The GCN is being manufactered in China now. That has significantly reduced Nintendo's costs. And even before that we had heard that some manufactering change had already lowered the GCN production cost. I figure it's about time for a modest drop. Nintendo can afford it. They are about 2 to 3 million units away from thier goal so this would prolly help that alot.

 

[Teasy]

Did you read the article from the paper?

There was a small article in IGN were they gave what they considered to be the key parts of the interview. I would have thought they'd consider a price drop to be a key part.

BTW, Not that I think a price drop won't happen. It just wasn't mentioned in the article I saw and I would have thought they'd mention it.

 

[Johnny Awesome]

I decided to bring back this thread from a while back, since the timing seemed to be right.

I guess the latest Nintendo report has confirmed most of my fears about the Gamecube. Sure, Nintendo posted great profits from the GBA, but the Gamecube end of the business is faltering.

By their own admission (7 million units sold in US/EU) they are currently about where Dreamcast was in the US/EU after their second holiday season. That's not very good. I should also note that although Xbox isn't doing much better (sitting just above 8 million in the US/EU), we all know that MS is prepared to take ridiculous short term loses (think $2-3 billion) in order to make Xbox work later on (think 2006 or so).

Metroid Prime and Zelda have failed to move Gamecube into mainstream acceptance. Moreover, the price of the Gamecube at $149 is just $30 cheaper than the competition, unless you want the GBA Player. This is not going to help them much.

This brings me to my last point: It seems as though they've taken the route I thought they would and heavily emphasized products in their traditional demographic at E3 - GBA connectivity, Mario Kart, Mario Tennis, Pokemon, etc... This should keep them selling to parents of young children, probably at the $129 or lower price point this fall. Nintendo has essentially retreated from the teen+ marketplace, as I predicted they would.

Going this route will probably guarantee that they sell 30+ million units by 2006, but it's not exactly the rip-roaring success many had expected.

 

[Tagrineth]

I guess the latest Nintendo report has confirmed most of my fears about the Gamecube. Sure, Nintendo posted great profits from the GBA, but the Gamecube end of the business is faltering.

When did anyone say that GCN is faltering?

By their own admission (7 million units sold in US/EU) they are currently about where Dreamcast was in the US/EU after their second holiday season. That's not very good. I should also note that although Xbox isn't doing much better (sitting just above 8 million in the US/EU), we all know that MS is prepared to take ridiculous short term loses (think $2-3 billion) in order to make Xbox work later on (think 2006 or so).

Yes, and we also know that unlike Sega, Nintendo is not bleeding massive amounts of money, and also unlike Sega, Nintendo hasn't been bleeding money for years. ALSO unlike Sega, Nintendo didn't burn buyers of its last two systems (32X and Saturn) with the Giant Axe of Product Cancellationâ„¢.

Metroid Prime and Zelda have failed to move Gamecube into mainstream acceptance. Moreover, the price of the Gamecube at $149 is just $20 cheaper than the competition, unless you want the GBA Player. This is not going to help them much.

$180 - $150 = $30. Learn first-grade math please.

This brings me to my last point: It seems as though they've taken the route I thought they would and heavily emphasized products in their traditional demographic at E3 - GBA connectivity, Mario Kart, Mario Tennis, Pokemon, etc... This should keep them selling to parents of young children, probably at the $129 or lower price point this fall. Nintendo has essentially retreated from the teen+ marketplace, as I predicted they would.

Gone their usual route?

So what do you call Geist?

Going this route will probably guarantee that they sell 30+ million units by 2006, but it's not exactly the rip-roaring success many had expected.

Who expected a rip-roaring success? Sony had the market too locked up for Nintendo and Microsoft to go that far. It's a shame, yes, but both Nintendo and MS have the cash reserves to stick it out... but there's still one big difference: Unlike MS, Nitnendo is STILL profiting from its game console, both in hardware and software.

 

[Brimstone]

I guess the latest Nintendo report has confirmed most of my fears about the Gamecube. Sure, Nintendo posted great profits from the GBA, but the Gamecube end of the business is faltering.

When did anyone say that GCN is faltering?

By their own admission (7 million units sold in US/EU) they are currently about where Dreamcast was in the US/EU after their second holiday season. That's not very good. I should also note that although Xbox isn't doing much better (sitting just above 8 million in the US/EU), we all know that MS is prepared to take ridiculous short term loses (think $2-3 billion) in order to make Xbox work later on (think 2006 or so).

Yes, and we also know that unlike Sega, Nintendo is not bleeding massive amounts of money, and also unlike Sega, Nintendo hasn't been bleeding money for years. ALSO unlike Sega, Nintendo didn't burn buyers of its last two systems (32X and Saturn) with the Giant Axe of Product Cancellationâ„¢.

Since you brought up Sega, I'm still waiting for Microsoft to buy them. I don't know whats taking so long?

Microsoft buys Sega and then chooses Power VR to design a VPU. If this happened maybe they could make the next console both Dreamcast and X-Box backwards compatible.


Nintendo could always cut a deal with Microsoft. Microsoft gets 24 license free games a year on the GBA and Nintendo gets 24 license free games on xbox 2. Nintendo agress not to make games for the PS3 and Microsoft agree not to release a handheld.

 

[Tagrineth]

Since you brought up Sega, I'm still waiting for Microsoft to buy them. I don't know whats taking so long?

Easy. Sega doesn't WANT to be bought by Microsoft, and MS as a result isn't willing to put up the immeasurable sum to entice them to sell.

Microsoft buys Sega and then chooses Power VR to design a VPU. If this happened maybe they could make the next console both Dreamcast and X-Box backwards compatible.

Nope. Kyro isn't reverse-compatible with PVR2DC... hell, even Neon-250 doesn't quite support everything that PVR2DC does. Series 5 or 6 sure as hell won't run DC software without a big hardware overhaul. And I doubt MS wants to use a SuperH processor in Xbox2.

Nintendo could always cut a deal with Microsoft. Microsoft gets 24 license free games a year on the GBA and Nintendo gets 24 license free games on xbox 2. Nintendo agress not to make games for the PS3 and Microsoft agree not to release a handheld.

The catches being, 1. Nintendo has no interest in making games on Xbox, 2. MS's games are already appearing on GBA, and 3. MS doesn't seem to have any interest (yet) in the portable space.

 

[zurich]

WTF is this Geist game anyways? I read gaming sites daily and I've honestly never heard a word about it until here.. how will this single solitary game fix Nintendos image problem?

 

[Blade]

Johnny: What Tag said, plus..

I don't understand what you mean. Nintendo's stance on mature games is the same (or better) than it was at E3 2002.. except this time without their 3 guaranteed AAA flagships (SMS, MP, Zelda:TWW) hogging the spotlight.

The only "downside" is that they didn't show enough. EAD only showed a half-ass Mario Kart and unfinished Pikmin 2; no Mario 128. Silicon Knights didn't have Too Human on-hand.. Retro supplied only a pre-rendered video of Metroid Prime 2..

At the same time, Microsoft and Sony had more "complete" versions of their blockbusters. Halo II looked awesome.. I just hope its appeal isn't limited to multiplayer. By comparison, Nintendo's biggest title.. Mario Kart.. seemed like it needs more development time. (which it's getting.. much like Halo II of course)

Now back to GCN.. I like the idea of GBA/GCN connectivity.. but only at a big discount or as part of a big game. I hope that these clever SNES-level GameCube connectivity games don't come out as $50 titles.

 

[CeiserSöze]

Now back to GCN.. I like the idea of GBA/GCN connectivity.. but only at a big discount or as part of a big game. I hope that these clever SNES-level GameCube connectivity games don't come out as $50 titles.

Agreed. They should either pack these things into a connectivity-bundle (GCN + connection-cable + 4 Swords, Pacman & Tetra Trackers - maybe they should even throw a GBA SP in it), release those three connectivty-games as one <50$ title or include them as an extra in several of their upcoming bigger titles. I just can't see people buying those games as standalone versions. They're not "flashy" enough.