Life after death: Gamecube

[TheChefO]

What do you guys think of the likelihood of taking gamecube guts and making the box portable? The discs are already small enough to fit a small form factor. The tech seems a shrink away from fitting the form factor as well.

This would allow devs to keep their cube dev kits humming and at the same time still produce GC games sold to both the home and portable markets. Nintendo could keep the production lines running profitable GC home units as well and these same games would transfer to Wii as well.

A dev could target 1 game without modification for 3 systems.

What do you guys think of this as a successor to DS?
Perhaps with added portable functionality?

Seems a perfect fit to me...
to quote In living color's Damon Wayans - MO' MONEY MO' MONEY MO' MONEY

 

[Capeta]

I don't think it's possible because it would get too hot. Even at 65nm the GC chipset would still draw maybe 5W total. I also don't see a portable handheld using GC discs. I could see a GC palmtop device though. Maybe even integrate a WiFi adaptor into the unit and wireless controller receiver.

 

[TheChefO]

I don't think it's possible because it would get too hot. Even at 65nm the GC chipset would still draw maybe 5W total. I also don't see a portable handheld using GC discs. I could see a GC palmtop device though.

I suppose the next question would be then: How long does DS have on the shelf? and ... How long until portable gc would be low enough wattage/cool enough (45nm, 32nm)?

 

[Blazkowicz]

there's a gamecube shrink, Nintendo decided to sell it $250 with a new controller and call it the Wii.

 

[Readykilowatt]

I suppose the next question would be then: How long does DS have on the shelf?

That's a good question. At the rate at which it's selling, it may have a shelf life as long as the Gameboy.

 

[TheChefO]

there's a gamecube shrink, Nintendo decided to sell it $250 with a new controller and call it the Wii.

... and they can't make enough either ...those guys are geniuses

What are your thoughts on this idea?

 

[Blazkowicz]

I guess nintendo's plan was originally a gamecube shrink. but I don't care much.
as for the portable gamecube, while it could be nice for some things (prince of persia games, resident evil, whatever), if you suppose the analog triggers and sticks won't be a problem : it'd sucks for the party games (mario kart, monkey ball)

 

[Fox5]

What do you guys think of the likelihood of taking gamecube guts and making the box portable? The discs are already small enough to fit a small form factor. The tech seems a shrink away from fitting the form factor as well.

This would allow devs to keep their cube dev kits humming and at the same time still produce GC games sold to both the home and portable markets. Nintendo could keep the production lines running profitable GC home units as well and these same games would transfer to Wii as well.

A dev could target 1 game without modification for 3 systems.

What do you guys think of this as a successor to DS?
Perhaps with added portable functionality?

Seems a perfect fit to me...
to quote In living color's Damon Wayans - MO' MONEY MO' MONEY MO' MONEY

Better idea:

Wii mobile. Chips are even smaller, and since it's a handheld it doesn't need a lot of the functionality the full sized wii has. You could have a unified platform where the Wii console is a superset of the Wii handheld. Obviously the wii handheld would be completely different in games (no actual wii type gameplay) but the hardware could be the same, but the handheld would only take gamecube sized discs.

That one guy who makes every system portable could probably gut the wii to make it a more portable gamecube.

 

[NERO]

Better idea:

Wii mobile. Chips are even smaller, and since it's a handheld it doesn't need a lot of the functionality the full sized wii has. You could have a unified platform where the Wii console is a superset of the Wii handheld. Obviously the wii handheld would be completely different in games (no actual wii type gameplay) but the hardware could be the same, but the handheld would only take gamecube sized discs.

That one guy who makes every system portable could probably gut the wii to make it a more portable gamecube.

I thought the wii already was a portable gc. For heaven sake it is the size of a dvd drive and if it weren't for the extra bits (logic for motion sense, gc control ports, flash...) it could already be smaller. The only consideration is heat.

 

[Rainbow Man]

At the rate at which it's selling, it may have a shelf life as long as the Gameboy.

Or at the very least similar to the GBA which launched in...what? 2001ish?

But then like you said looking at sales it could well have an even longer shelf life than GBA. Which itself didn't really take off until the SP launched I believe.

Or Nintnedo might do an update again boosting specs rather than just fixing up its looks while retaining full backwards compatibility. Any new portable from them has to have DS compatibility considering the cash cow it's turned into.

Peace.

 

[TheChefO]

Better idea:

Wii mobile. Chips are even smaller, and since it's a handheld it doesn't need a lot of the functionality the full sized wii has. You could have a unified platform where the Wii console is a superset of the Wii handheld. Obviously the wii handheld would be completely different in games (no actual wii type gameplay) but the hardware could be the same, but the handheld would only take gamecube sized discs.

That one guy who makes every system portable could probably gut the wii to make it a more portable gamecube.

smaller? I was under the impression wii chips were larger/hotter etc.

Not to mention GC games could be played right away. This would immediately extend the life of the platform and the play mechanics transfer well.

 

[DeadlyNinja]

You guys aren't thinking far into the future. Sure it may be impossible now, but you think Nintendo's really going to waste their time on a new handheld while the DS is dominating like there's no tomorrow? Perhaps in another 8 to 10 years, a portable Cube with touch screen might be a reality.

 

[Fox5]

smaller? I was under the impression wii chips were larger/hotter etc.

Not to mention GC games could be played right away. This would immediately extend the life of the platform and the play mechanics transfer well.

Well, if it was an official nintendo made thing, they could just make it load whatever software (gamecube or wii portable) that you put in.

Question is, what does nintendo gain from extending the life of the gamecube? I could see some benefit to having a handheld and a console playing the same games, with the wii as a superset of the functionality. No gameboy player needed.

 

[TheChefO]

Well, if it was an official nintendo made thing, they could just make it load whatever software (gamecube or wii portable) that you put in.

Question is, what does nintendo gain from extending the life of the gamecube? I could see some benefit to having a handheld and a console playing the same games, with the wii as a superset of the functionality. No gameboy player needed.

Software library

Not only existing, but future. The dev kits are familiar and ports from wii, ps2, etc should be simple. Emulation of DS should pose no problem as well. The media is already portable size.

Profit

The GC console hardware is profitable and cheap. This will enable them to still keep selling Wii as a premium product in the $200 range and the GC to take the budget $100 range.

R&D

The console spec is done, all they would need to do is process shrink and perhaps for the portable unit tweak a few things to make the chips more portable friendly such as powering down sections when not in use and using the more energy efficient ones off the assembly line in the portable.

BC

Nintendo loves the idea of BC and has built their entire portable market on the concept. Emulation of DS should not pose a problem nor should GBA etc.

Pricepoint

The chips are cheap, efficient, and a worthy successor/upgrade to DS. This would fit their profit over risk business strategy to a T.

 

[Capeta]

Question is, what does nintendo gain from extending the life of the gamecube? I could see some benefit to having a handheld and a console playing the same games, with the wii as a superset of the functionality. No gameboy player needed.

I can see the feasibility of a single chip portable GCmicro that can be connected to a TV or computer monitor and also has its own LCD. This thing will have built-in WiFi, Bluetooth, SD card slot and TV tuner with an optional GPS attachment. It would be able to playback videos/music from miniDVD-Rs or the microSD card slot or stream using WiFi. It would basically be a PMP with GC compatibility. I'd buy one if it was priced around $150. Ah is nice to dream.

PS if you figure out the BOM for the above GCmicro concept, you'd see that at $150 Nintendo would be making at least $50 profit on each unit.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

It would basically be a PMP with GC compatibility.

You mean a PSP with GC innards With 65nm, they could manage this comfortably. However, discs in portables just seems a bad idea. They'd be better providing the option to rip games on SD cards, which won't be possible without custom hardware, right? Can PC read GC discs? Also the idea of Nintendo creating a full multimedia device is quite a jump. They're obviously moving towards that after years of hesistant claims that all they were interested in was creating games, but I can't see their next handheld being anything but a gaming platform with some extra MM features.

 

[Capeta]

You mean a PSP with GC innards With 65nm, they could manage this comfortably. However, discs in portables just seems a bad idea. They'd be better providing the option to rip games on SD cards, which won't be possible without custom hardware, right? Can PC read GC discs? Also the idea of Nintendo creating a full multimedia device is quite a jump. They're obviously moving towards that after years of hesistant claims that all they were interested in was creating games, but I can't see their next handheld being anything but a gaming platform with some extra MM features.

My GCmicro concept is not a handheld game machine since it doesn't have a built-in controller so the optical drive is of little relevence to it's portable gaming operation. It's more like a PC Engine LT than a PSP. The optical drive would be strictly for portable media use when on-the-go since it would be able to play miniDVD-R/RWs unlike proprietary UMDs.

Of course if you were to make it a portable game machine that wouldn't be difficult either. All you'd need to do is let the drive buffer the game onto a SecureDigial card at loadup to lesson disc access.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

My GCmicro concept is not a handheld game machine since it doesn't have a built-in controller so the optical drive is of little relevence to it's portable gaming operation. It's more like a PC Engine LT than a PSP. The optical drive would be strictly for portable media use when on-the-go since it would be able to play miniDVD-R/RWs unlike proprietary UMDs.

Why bother? Flash mem is so cheap these days, and getting cheaper all the time. There's no point to a portable optical drive. The ony reason to have one would be to play GC games. And if you're not playing GC games, I have to wonder why you're putting the GC innards into a portable! The topic Life-After-Death for the GC. If you're creating a Frankenstein's Monster that doesn't play GC games, is that really the GameCube living on?

Of course if you were to make it a portable game machine that wouldn't be difficult either. All you'd need to do is let the drive buffer the game onto a SecureDigial card at loadup to lesson disc access.

That's a smart idea. You could have an internalised 2GB flash for that purpose. That'd be a very smart addition for PSP's remodelling, so games can still come on UMDs but they don't kill the batteries.

 

[Fox5]

Why would Nintendo want a system to play old Gamecube games? It's different than backwards compatibility with GBA games, since Gamecube games would be a step beyond anything seen on a handheld so far, which would discourage buying new games, which ultimately is the purpose of a new system sold near cost.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Why would Nintendo want a system to play old Gamecube games? It's different than backwards compatibility with GBA games, since Gamecube games would be a step beyond anything seen on a handheld so far, which would discourage buying new games, which ultimately is the purpose of a new system sold near cost.

The GC market is 25 million. If Nintendo could sell the equivalent of 50 million GCs in the form of a portable, even if they're selling old titles, they're making money off every game. A game doesn't have to be new to be profitable, especially for the platform holder. And heck, look at sales of ancient games on the latest, greatest devices out there! Old arcade games, NES games, MSX, PS1. There's a market for (re)selling old content. A successful portable GC would be a great way to make money on existing content.