Thoughts regarding Gamecube development, and lack thereof...

[Magnum PI]

But what the heck - it seems to work out. Nintendo produces a games console that lets it sell its games, and that lets Nintendo fans play those games. For all other purposes, there's PS2 or Xbox.

Kolgar

the gamecube has nintendo game and some other exclusives.. and a lot of multiplateform games (mainly PS2 ports), the same applies to xbox: some microsoft games, some pc ports, some exclusive a la DOA, and lot of PS2 ports...

so xbox doesn't not seem so different to me, only the niche isn't the same..

so i would rather say that nintendo and xbox are both niche markets.

PS2 IS the market.

 

[Tagrineth]

every GC sega game...that'd be Sonic remakes and SMB. Oh and sega sports titles that sold a couple hundred copies...perhaps more than PSI&II

Sonic Adventure 2: Battle and Super Monkey Ball sold very well, IIRC.

And I haven't seen numbers, but judging from the ludicrous scarcity of games and internet adapters for the last few months, I'd guess that PSOe1&2 has been selling pretty well

 

[Reznor007]

every GC sega game...that'd be Sonic remakes and SMB. Oh and sega sports titles that sold a couple hundred copies...perhaps more than PSI&II

Sonic Adventure 2: Battle and Super Monkey Ball sold very well, IIRC.

And I haven't seen numbers, but judging from the ludicrous scarcity of games and internet adapters for the last few months, I'd guess that PSOe1&2 has been selling pretty well

I'd have to agree there. I haven't seen a copy of PSO in months...

 

[Sonic]

Because SEGA hasn't produced copies in months.

 

[Kolgar]

Magnum PI:

"PS2 IS the market."

Right on. 8)

 

[Kolgar]

Well said, Sonic. Woe to Nintendo when Sony or Microsoft finally unveils plans to enter the handheld market.

What will happen? I'm betting it'll look a lot like the 8- and 16-bit days.

During the 8-bit days, Nintendo's NES crushed all competition, including Sega's venerable Master System.

But Sega mounted a credible challenge with Genesis, which pushed gaming technology ahead with its 16-bit CPU.

BAM - Sega stole 50% of Nintendo's nearly 100% marketshare.

I think Sony will eventually do the same to Nintendo in the handheld market - but without the Master System stumble.

Kolgar

 

[Natoma]

I'd argue that the situations are quite different Kolgar.

1) The Gameboy line has 10 years worth of games in its library. Do not underestimate the power of backwards compatibility. Why do you think every iteration of the Gameboy has sold like hotcakes?

It's because people know they can play anything from the current lineup to the original Tetris, no matter which gameboy they've got.

2) If the SNES was backward compatible with the NES, you can bet the Genesis wouldn't have done nearly as well. I think the same can be said if the N64 was backward compatible as well. The Playstation wouldn't have had a prayer.

3) Why did the PS2 do so well out of the gate even though there were a ton of crappy games at launch? Because it was backward compatible. If they had started fresh, the PS2 would most certainly not have done nearly as well as it has.

With 10 years worth of games in the Gameboy lineup, no one will challenge Nintendo in that market. The vast amount of support for the Gameboy, and the amount of handhelds sold, just can't be overcome imo.

That's why I believe the PS3, no matter what Microsoft or Nintendo do in the next round, will again be the market leader, because it will no doubt be backward compatible with the PS2 and PS1.

Nintendo realized it quite handily with their Gameboy system. Had they realized it with the SNES and N64, they'd more than likely be the market leader today, by far.

 

[Kolgar]

Thanks for the well-thought-out reply. However, I wonder if backward compatibility is the magic elixir you think it is. And if it is, well, maybe Sony's future handheld will be backward compatible with PSX?

3) Why did the PS2 do so well out of the gate even though there were a ton of crappy games at launch? Because it was backward compatible. If they had started fresh, the PS2 would most certainly not have done nearly as well as it has.

I don't agree that PS2 owes its early success to backward compatibility. It sure didn't hurt, but I think brand recognition, market position, timing, and developer support had a lot more to do with it.

But getting back to handhelds. I think a Sony-made portable backed by Square, Konami, Capcom, and all the others that Sony's consoles currently enjoy could put a serious dent in Gameboy's marketshare, given the right timing and technology.

In any case, I don't think it'll be all that long before we know for sure.

Kolgar

 

[PC-Engine]

Why did the PS2 do so well out of the gate even though there were a ton of crappy games at launch? Because it was backward compatible. If they had started fresh, the PS2 would most certainly not have done nearly as well as it has.

Yep and cheap DVD playback and hype.

That's why I believe the PS3, no matter what Microsoft or Nintendo do in the next round, will again be the market leader, because it will no doubt be backward compatible with the PS2 and PS1.

Xbox 2 and GCN 2 might also be backwards compatible.