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How the hell did Nintendo screw up so much with GameCube? (its dead already)

A

Ark-AMN

Banned
Microsoft at least has some excuse with the "death" of the Xbox because the 360 is being prepared for launch this year. But Nintendo as far as we know keeps silently pushing back the Revolution (remember when they said it wouldn't be last? hehe) and they provide absolutely zero support for their current console in the meantime.

Ok, there's Zelda, but come on, how can anyone be satisfied with just one damn game thats not gonna be here for months, no matter how good it is.

I guess one can also say that Nintendo also has two handhelds to support on top of their console and one of them (the DS) needs their support badly to make a foothold in the market.

Still, you'd think Nintendo would have learned by now (especially after the N64) not to leave such a huge gap in their releases as they have done now (ever since RE4). Nintendo has got to have better planning in the future otherwise consumers wont put up with this. Man, I'm so glad I didn't do the one-console-only thingy this gen, otherwise I'd be so jaded by now.
 
The passion is gone. Super Mario 64 was a revolutionary game, but that's arguably the last time they've done anything truly innovative. For having set the foundations of gaming as we know it today, they have done precious little to keep up with it.
 
Just not enough games. Simple as that. I think things like Wind Waker not being like the original demo hurt it. Mario Sunshine being too different. Had the GC launched with a "mario 64" like game, initial sales would have been better. Not having a DVD based format didn't help either.
 
I thought Pikmin was pretty innovative.

Besides, the rest of the lineup is pretty solid (and in some cases stellar) for GC. Sure, third party support is lacking... but it doesnt bother me any; third party is ALL OVER the GBA, hence the GameBoy Player plugged into my GC.

And why do people keep making these threads HERE anyways! Who the hell reading GAF has only a Gamecube for their console? We all have 2 or 3 consoles, and many with a good PC as well. Like I care if Gamecube has a smaller software library, I have too many games to play as it is.

Go post this somewhere like System Wars at Gamespot.
 
The Main Event said:
There's this one:
Prince of Persia 3 GC
Pre-Order: Ships on 11/15/2005

And this one:
PRINCE OF PERSIA BLADES GC
Pre-Order: Ships on 12/5/2005

What the hell is POP Blades???
Click to expand...


Prince of Persia: Kindred Blades is the name for POP3. So technically they're the same game. They messed up?
 
I think Ark-AMN has a good point, what do you think Dr Salvador?

12.jpg

Dr Salvador brings up an excellent point.
 
Yeah it's definitely not true that the GameCube lacks triple A games...We could make a huge list of great games on the GameCube. But the way the console was marketed, and the way the game's were marketed and appeared to the casual gamer certainly didn't help it.
 
-Not a strong enough 1st party line-up to entice new gamers.

-Weak 3rd party support.

-The hardware wasn't anything special. Didn't introduce anything exciting for developers.

-Didn't target the older demographic...who do spend a lot of money on games.

What really helped Nintendo achieve the amount of limited success they had with the GC is the fact that it was a Nintendo product, and Nintendo (after the N64) was a strong name.

Compare that to SEGA, which had a really bad image, and their uphill climb with the Dreamcast. The DC is arguably a better console than the GC all around, but I think it only sold 15 million worldwide whereas the GC has sold 30 million? Where's jarrod? :)
 
Gamecube had a good enough run to satisfy a casual I would say. Problem is Nintendo is no longer appealing to the casuals. Only hardcore N-fans have any real interest in what they are doing anymore. Hell, a friend asked the clerk at EB which new console he would buy and the response was "both of them." Nintendo will always be on of my favorite developers, but apparently they just don't know how to market to the western audience anymore, at least not on the same level as Sony or Microsoft.
 
Meh. I don't really get the Cube hate. Sure the lineup isn't as robust as PS2, but it isn't THAT bad. Really anyone who only owns a Cube probably isn't a 24 hr gamer like most people here.

That being said they probably also have a soft spot for nintendo-therefore have a DS and a GBA. Those three combined should keep even the most active gamer busy.

*shrugs* I dunno, at this point in time for me, the Revolution stands a good chance of being my only console next gen. I have little time anymore and I can't live without the characters I grew up with.;p
 
citrus lump said:
Meh. I don't really get the Cube hate. Sure the lineup isn't as robust as PS2, but it isn't THAT bad. Really anyone who only owns a Cube probably isn't a 24 hr gamer like most people here.

That being said they probably also have a soft spot for nintendo-therefore have a DS and a GBA. Those three combined should keep even the most active gamer busy.

*shrugs* I dunno, at this point in time for me, the Revolution stands a good chance of being my only console next gen. I have little time anymore and I can't live without the characters I grew up with.;p
Click to expand...

Revolution is already a must for me. Mainly for the old game downloads, but also to support most probably the last Nintendo home console before they are swallowed by the two giants.
 
Gamecube is clearly better than N64 as a console. However, Nintendo didn't enter this generation with SNES's momentum. Sony did with PSone's momentum.

Let's not forget MS taking some of the pie too.
 
The Main Event said:
I'm browsing EBgames.com and I see 72 titles coming out between now and December. A lot more than I expected.

Huh?

http://www.ebgames.com/ebx/categories/products/deptpage.asp?wherefrom=comingsoon&web_dept=GameCube&intpageno=6&nooftens=1

There's this one:
Prince of Persia 3 GC
Pre-Order: Ships on 11/15/2005

And this one:
PRINCE OF PERSIA BLADES GC
Pre-Order: Ships on 12/5/2005

What the hell is POP Blades???
Click to expand...

Pop3 is well Prince of Persia 3 and Blades is the new prince of persia hockey game.
 
citrus lump said:
Meh. I don't really get the Cube hate. Sure the lineup isn't as robust as PS2, but it isn't THAT bad. Really anyone who only owns a Cube probably isn't a 24 hr gamer like most people here.

That being said they probably also have a soft spot for nintendo-therefore have a DS and a GBA. Those three combined should keep even the most active gamer busy.

*shrugs* I dunno, at this point in time for me, the Revolution stands a good chance of being my only console next gen. I have little time anymore and I can't live without the characters I grew up with.;p
Click to expand...

As a Nintendo fan from the NES days, I'm really dissappointed with the cube. Although 4 of my favorite games of all time are on it (MP, MP2:E, RE4 and Zelda:OOT port), there's just not enough to keep my interest. Those games don't have much replay value once they're complete at 100% and the only game that I find myself playing on and off lately is smash bros. The Cube is dead and the only thing I look forward to is Zelda and that's it! None of the Mario spinoffs have my attention. The only Mario Spinoff I like is Mario Kart; I'm hoping they'll port the arcade version to the cube, if not, I'll be satisfied with the DS version. DD sucked hard.

What Nintendo did wrong with the Cube is exactly the same thing they're doing wrong with the Revolution. Mark my words, the Revolution will succeed greatly in Japan but will not have strong sales in North America. I'm expecting lower sales in NA than the Cube. I'm going to get it anyway just because I can't see myself not playing a console Zelda or Metroid title and Kid Icarus might turn out to be good depending on if which audience they catter to.
 
The Main Event said:
I'm browsing EBgames.com and I see 72 titles coming out between now and December. A lot more than I expected.
Click to expand...

Xbox has 154, more than twice as many. I have my eye on Burnout Revenge, Shadow the Hedgehog, Bully, and Chronicles of Narnia...
 
its nintendos own fault. dont blame 3rd part support. blame nintendos odd use of IP. mario sunshine, wind waker and metroid...even mario kart could have ALL been better.
 
LittleTokyo said:
Revolution is already a must for me. Mainly for the old game downloads, but also to support most probably the last Nintendo home console before they are swallowed by the two giants.
Click to expand...



I doubt either giant would want to swallow the 15 billion(give or take) dollar deal. Especially if they are as "doomed" as people here some here would have you believe.

If nintendo had to, they could focus on ONE platform. Until that happens I'd say they're fine :D
 
The GC might have better support than the n64, but N still seemed relevant with a failing n64. Something they really don't in the wider home console market now. Ah well. RE4 is the really only stand out title for me (not that there aren't other good ones) but what a title it was!
 
Can somebody count how many "Nintendo iz doomed" threads hav been made?

Just be lucky the moderators haven't banned you (poor Moegames).
 
CO_Andy said:
Can somebody count how many "Nintendo iz doomed" threads hav been made?

Just be lucky the moderators haven't banned you (poor Moegames).
Click to expand...

Their probably more likely to ban you for your iz nonsense.
 
Musashi Wins! said:
The GC might have better support than the n64, but N still seemed relevant with a failing n64. Something they really don't in the wider home console market now. Ah well. RE4 is the really only stand out title for me (not that there aren't other good ones) but what a title it was!
Click to expand...


I agree. I owned my N64 games than GC games. GC had more software, but I'd argue N64 had more *good* software. Especially with western 3rd parties. They rocked the house with the N64. They all went to Xbox it seems.
 
I dont think the GC is dead AT ALL, just for 2005 we have:

Dance Dance Revolution Mario Mix
Harvest Moon: Poem of Happiness
Kirby Adventure
Mario Party 7
Odama
SSX On Tour
Super Mario Strikers
Tony Hawk's American Wasteland
Prince of Persia 3
Shadow the Hedgehog
StarCraft: Ghost
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter
King Kong
Need for Speed Most Wanted
Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Spartan: Total Warrior
Tak: The Great Juju Challenge
The Sims 2
Battalion Wars
Mario Superstar Baseball
Geist
Sonic Gems Collection
Killer 7

wich should fill a nice amount of every genre for keep you entertained until 2006.

BTW i'm a GC-only current gen owner, and I dont feel that that lack of games, except some exclusive titles.
 
I don't see how anyone can say that the Gamecube was better than the N64.

The N64 was the king of FPS on consoles
The Gamecube is not.

The N64 had all the best wrestling games.
The Gamecube never had one.

The N64 had an extraordinary Mario game in Mario 64.
The Gamecube has Mario Sunshine.

In fact, I dare say that the only serious area Gamecube completely outshines N64 is in its implementation of the Zelda franchise. I love Wind Waker, and I'll love TP.

WW + TP >>>>> Orcarina + MM
 
GameCube s allright I guess but I've alweays been a fan of 3rd party support. N64 had some really killer exclusives on the 3rd arty front,not that the Cube doesn't reel those in but for me the games aren't to my liking or theyre too far inbetween.

I really miss some of ther killer moments that the N64 had. The Turok series,All Star BaseBall,World Driver,The Rogue squadron and Battle for Naboo games,Pod Racer,The Rare support was pretty awesome,Nintendo was firing like a stud with their first entry into 3D with Zelda and Mario. Who didn'talso like the enhanced PC games that made for some great exclusives that were put into Quake 1 and 2,Doom64,thats whats been missing on the GameCube for me.

Plus if you own all 3 consoles then the situation only becomes worse on the GameCube. After Resident Evil 4 I'm really not feeling much now. I guess with another player entering the battlefield(Xbox) it took alot of direct support 3rd party attention away away from the GameCube.

You could blame the 3rd parties I suppose. But from my point of view-as a 1st party console manufacturer your suppose to keep all customers happy,and for me they haven't done that. I need much better 3rd party support,the kind that sees same day releases and alot more game exclusivity from Western developers.

And its not like Nintendo can't afford to land exclusives. I think its just a loosing battle for them since they don't seem to care anymore. In a way thats been their business plan though,with the 3rd party quality lagging next to the other cosoles out there-it gives Nintendo a potential for higher software sales with their 1st party releases since the userbase is looking for a high quality product to purchase. I think its a raw deal really,but some are content with that so enjoy I guess.
 
As someone who's played about 95% of all worthwhile Gamecube exclusives, I think I can safely say that the system hasn't been a total disappointment.

I have Zelda preordered, and I'll pick up the scraps later. Plus, whenever I want to revisit this generation, I can be absolutely certain that my little Cube will work brilliantly. (unlike the other two consoles with their inevitable DDE doom)

In terms of marketing, sales, third party support, and the general welfare of Nintendo, the Gamecube has been a failure. But if you ask me it's a cool system with some must-have titles.
 
Speevy said:
As someone who's played about 95% of all worthwhile Gamecube exclusives, I think I can safely say that the system hasn't been a total disappointment.

I have Zelda preordered, and I'll pick up the scraps later. Plus, whenever I want to revisit this generation, I can be absolutely certain that my little Cube will work brilliantly. (unlike the other two consoles with their inevitable DDE doom)

In terms of marketing, sales, third party support, and the general welfare of Nintendo, the Gamecube has been a failure. But if you ask me it's a cool system with some must-have titles.
Click to expand...

http://archive.gamespy.com/articles/november01/gamecubelaunch/

Compare the perception of Nintendo then, and now. You're right about the multitude of ways in which it has been a failure.
 
For the record, I do not think that Nintendo as a company is "doomed" and they arent even remotely close to being considered in any sort of trouble.

That said, I can't be happy about the lack of support the system is getting now, considering that Nintendo's next home console isn't due out for some time (probably even later than most expectations).
 
GC is an excellent system with a solid library of games, but for some reason most third party offerings underperformed while the first party software triumphed. Third parties recognize this and I think it's part of the reason they've strayed from developing on the GameCube.

The negatives:

- The color purple appeals to the Prince audience, but not much else

- The GameCube logo is brilliant, but the marketing of "GameCube" completely undermines the "Nintendo" brand. For three generations it was "Nintendo, Super Nintendo, Nintendo 64" then "GameCube". They tried too hard to change their image. I think the "Who Are You?" commercial for the GBA:SP is still one of their best this generation, because it acknowledges the heritage and power behind the Nintendo brand.

- The handle. I actually kind of liked the handle idea. I don't think a game system necessarily has to blend in with the home entertainment environment. As long as the form meets function I don't really care how it looks (to a degree).

- Similarly, many people thought the system looked cheap and toylike. When I first saw it I couldn't believe how small it was. It's technically impressive, and apparently the system can take quite a beating, so it seems there is something right about the design after all. It just doesn't blend in with your other home electrics as well as the PS2.

- Compact proprietary media. This was a huge miscalculation. A dual-layer DVD offers 5x as much space as a proprietary media disc from Nintendo. This usually meant that many GC versions of multiplatform games were "ripped versions" with less features. It also meant that exclusive games had limitations. The option of a disc-swap was available to developers but was it worth the extra investment? Most developers went the other route and chopped the games down to size.

- The controller. The GameCube controller is neither the best or the worst controller this gen. The analog sticks put it above the PS2's in terms of precision, but the Controller S still has the best sticks out of all controllers this gen. The thing that really held back the GC controller was the lack of buttons. Particularly shoulder buttons and analog clicks. The Z button was also a point of contention for many gamers. Overall though the controller is quite decent, it just made the porting process more difficult for developers and I think it may be a contributing factor in the GC not receiving a Grand Theft Auto port of some kind.

- Online. Nintendo can't be entirely blamed for 3rd-parties not jumping on the BBA bandwagon for the GC, but they could have done a couple of things. Number 1, they should have supported it in their first-party software offerings. Number 2, they should have offered an online bundle of some sort. Perhaps even a Phantasy Star Online bundle in partnership with Sega. Anything to boost interest in the adapter.

- Mario. Super Mario Sunshine should have been a spin-off or a completely original franchise. It could have starred Toad or Princess or a completely original character in the Nintendo universe. The water pack was a mechanic that certainly controlled well enough, it just wasn't something that interested most fans of previous Mario games. If the game didn't have Mario in the title it probably would be revered as one of the best platformers this generation, but in giving it the Mario they've set the bar a little too high.
 
Some of Reggie's comments about the GameCube in the 1UP/EGM interview showed me two things.

1UP said:
EGM: You have some good games out there, but a lot of those games are the games we saw last year. It's surprising we didn't see more surprises for GameCube and newer stuff that hadn't been announced yet.

RFA: Mmm-hmm. Bryan, here's what I would say, though. If you look at where we are in the life cycle, toward the end, the people that we're going to bring in to this current gaming generation are very different than you, me...these are late adopters, these are typically younger consumers. These are consumers driven by value. So what's going to speak to that audience is fundamentally different than what's going to potentially speak to you. So from that standpoint, again, I look at our lineup, and our lineup for where we stand in this generation's life cycle, I think, is dead on.

Versus, I'll give you the example—compare what you saw last year to what you're seeing this year for Nintendo DS. Right? Huge range, everything from core gamer opportunities like Metroid Prime: Hunters, to fantastic licensee titles, to things like Nintendogs and Electroplankton, things that are quite different and they're going to appeal to a whole different audience: that's range. That's something that's going to drive hardware sales; that's where we need to be for that system's life cycle right now. So while I hear the point, I do think that your audience needs to understand that for us, we need to manage the business side of things as well as the creative side of things, and right now for the business, the lineup for GameCube is quite appropriate.
Click to expand...

One:
Nintendo understands that the GameCube is in worse shape than they would have hoped for at this point in the system's life cycle. I don't think Reggie realized it as he said the first clip in bold up there (or maybe he did), but where Nintendo stands in this gen directly reflects the amount of new games coming out for it in the future. Third place, fewest games.

Two:
Nintendo is under the incorrect perception that a console's five-year lifespan should be broken up into 3 areas: The first year launch period, the two years in the middle for all the games to be made and the console to flourish at a mid-level price, and then the last two years as a system is phased out and people are looking for "value." Sony, on the other hand, has correctly assumed that a console's lifespan should entail the mid-level period up until the next system launches. For instance, when the Xbox 360 launches, Sony will likely cut the price of the PS2 down to $129 or even $99. PS2 sales will spike no matter what Microsoft or Nintendo do, and the system will continue to be viable well into the next gen, i.e. the PSone. Sony is still getting money from an 11-year old system, and will still be making easy money off of PS2 games for the next four years at least. Nintendo will probably stop selling new GameCube games by the end of next year.
 
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