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Acclaim dropping support for Gamecube (1 Viewer)

David Lee

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by the time online gaming hits 'the big time', Sony and MS will likely have a lock on that market segment.

I doubt online gaming will hit the big time in this generation of consoles. Next Generation, maybe. I also doubt brand loyalty and recognition will carry over. It didn't help Nintendo against the Genesis and it didn't help Sega and Nintendo against Sony. Gamers will go where the great games are. If Nintendo rolls out a killer lineup when online becomes profitable, the gamers will go. That's my take.
 

Mark Hedges

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their "mushroom" snapped off after the least use, and the entire N64 controller was an ergonomic nightmare
That is complete nonsense. I abused the heck out of my N64 controllers and I never had a stick break. And I found the ergonomics to be superb. My only complaint with the N64 controller was the size - it was just a little too small.
 

Morgan Jolley

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If Nintendo rolls out a killer lineup when online becomes profitable, the gamers will go. That's my take
I think this is probably their plan. Rumor has it that they're going to announce new hardware at the next E3 for a Winter 2004 release. If they get new hardware out by Winter of 2005 with a great online-enabled lineup, then they could be the dominant company in the next generation.
 

Michael St. Clair

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Yes they did, but wasn't that technology to be used for the LISA, which then evolved into the MAC?
Nope, it was developed for their own system, which beat Lisa onto the market by two years. Jobs saw their work in 1979, said 'holy shit', and ran back to tell his engineers that they had to add GUI/Mouse to the Lisa, which was going to be text-based at that point. It took Apple over three years to imitate what Xerox had done and get it into the market.
 

EdR

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Xerox took it pretty damned far (GUI, mouse, ethernet PCs, page description language, WYSIWYG, etc). They were really ahead of their time.
And so was Apple for seeing the brilliance in Xerox's GUI work and capitalizing on it, revamping it and proving that it was a mass-market technology. They did not simply copy what Xerox had. This isn't an either/or thing.

Similarly, Nintendo didn't invent gaming, but they are gaming pioneers nonetheless.
 

Michael St. Clair

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I'm console neutral, and I think the Gamecube is failing. Penny Arcade is console neutral, and they agree. Industry analysts also agree. You guys have a lot of convincing to do outside of the HTF. :)

In what ways are Nintendo pioneers that Atari, Sega, Sony, and Microsoft are not?

Seriously?

Not that pioneers can't screw up and fall flat on their face...I still don't see what the whole pioneer thing has to do with the subject.
 

Allen_Appel

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We can debate who invented/perfected/ruined the D-pad, whether Nintendo is dooming itself by not developing an online presence, even if the N64 had a crappy controller. But, can we please drop the Apple vs. Xerox argument? Good Christ, unless you're actually posting using a Xerox computer, lay that fucking corpse to rest.
 

Mike__D

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I did a bit of research.

Nope, it was developed for their own system, which beat Lisa onto the market by two years. Jobs saw their work in 1979, said 'holy shit', and ran back to tell his engineers that they had to add GUI/Mouse to the Lisa, which was going to be text-based at that point. It took Apple over three years to imitate what Xerox had done and get it into the market.
I think I didn't phrase my question right. My point was that as advanced as the Xerox was, it was Apple (creating both the Lisa and Mac concurrently) that successfully used the technology. They expanded on it, and integrated with much of the work that started before Jobs even saw the Xerox.

And the Lisa 2/10 was eventually named the Macintosh XL, and had an emulator to run MacOS. So, the Lisa did eventually get phased into a Mac.

I'm the guilty one for bringing up Apple into this mix, but it was part of my point that like Nintendo, they are pioneers. And what this has to do with this thread is defending Nintendo. Companies like Nintendo and Apple seem to get a lot of flak if they don't sell huge numbers. But they manage to survive, despite numerous ramblings of their demise.

Finally, I could not give a rats ass is Acclaim drops Nintendo. I could not give a rats ass if all 3rd parties drop Nintendo. As long as they churn out a few AAA titles a year, I'll buy their hardware to play it, and I'm betting I'm in a pretty big boat with similar people.

Mike D.
 

Romier S

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it didn't help Sega and Nintendo against Sony
Certainly that couldn't have been because of Sony's and to be more specific the Playstations brand loyalty and recognition ;).

I won't even bother commenting on whether Nintendo will or will not exit out of the hardware industry because that is just one beat up damned horse. I will say that I agree that Nintendo is missing the boat by not taking *SOME* steps into the online console realm. I certainly don't expect Nintendo to become the loss leader such as Microsoft has been doing with its console but I do very much believe that Sony and MS will reap the benefits of what could end up being a solid 3-4 million online userbase come next generation.

Let me clarify something. I work for an internet company, one that specifically deals with high speed ranging from DSL to Satellite. There are plans within my company and many other that will within the next year introduce new technologies which will push DSL and other broadband solutions into the mainstream. Hopefully breaking down the roadblocks consumers and third party vendors have been facing. In essence allowing for a much larger userbase to have access to these services. Such technologies that will provide say DSL service for up to a 35 mile radius (as opposed to the current stopgate of 18,000 feet) from a central office and much much more.

This is a market that is in its infancy and one that has a great potential for growth and to truly close the gap between computer and console (in the online realm).

Sure I understand Nintendo's position but I think investing it in it right at the epicenter, the beginning is the right thing to do. Some will disagree with that but that is my opinion and one that I've held since before XBL, or Sony had thier online services on store shelves. Take that for what you will...
 

Steven_V

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BrianB wrote:
What, you mean the Sega analogue pad for the Saturn that Nintendo used in some of the development for Mario64 because their own pad wasn't ready yet?
Nintendo's analog stick was released first.

The N64/Mario64 was released 6/23/1996 in Japan.

The Saturn analog pad/Nights was released 7/5/1996 in Japan.
 

Ian_Fisher

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I would like all of the consoles to be very successful, because it's more choice for me (who owns all three). However, I have to say that I'm a lot less excited about future GC games then I am PS2 and XBox games.

I think Nintendo should go the Sega route and just concentrate on what they do best...making games! The first-party games are really the only ones I care about on the GC.

As far as the controllers go, my N64 controllers were pretty cheap, but I went through more PS1 controllers then anything. I don't much care for the N64 or GC controllers, as they don't feel right for sports or fighting games. Then again, I like the XBox controller best (Controller S), so what do I know!:D
 

Jeff Kleist

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Spoken like someone who doesn't own a GameCube. The D-pad (like the Z Button) are not supposed to be used in games, they're supposed to be there for extra things, like menu navigation or quick commands (like how the D-pad is used in Rogue Leader). The joystick was the main focus of MANY N64 games, which is why it's the main focus of the GameCube controller.
They're not supposed to be used in games...

So my point still stands that the innovators of the DPad have declared it useless as a control medium
 

Morgan Jolley

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I certainly don't expect Nintendo to become the loss leader such as Microsoft has been doing with its console but I do very much believe that Sony and MS will reap the benefits of what could end up being a solid 3-4 million online userbase come next generation
I hope you mean by the end of the next generation. There's not even a full 1 million unique players online, letalone 3 to 4 million within the next few years. Not only do people need to buy the hardware/software/fees, they need to also have broadband internet (for most games, and especially XBL). It's tough enough getting people to get either one. Requiring both is going to be even tougher.
 

Romier S

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It's tough enough getting people to get either one.
I have to restrain myself from really getting impatient with you Morgan. Its a difficult proposition. Broadband is experiencing large growth at the moment. My company has seen its broadband userbase triple within the last year alone and current projection see that number doubling by the end of this year.

New technologies such as advanced DSLAM's installed at current CO's and the curbing of current restrictions with that technology alone will open this market even wider within the next year or two alone. Cable is growing even faster with various cable companiees such as Time Warner Cable, Comcast, Cox experiencing steady rises in signups and increased userbase.

Comcast alone had near 4 million subscribers at the end of 2002 and at that time was adding almost 30k a week.
 

David Lee

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When Nintendo unveils their next console all that technology and expanded user base will be available to them. Why lose money now, if things are going to be so much better in a year or two, which happens to be when the new consoles are likely to hit the market. You seem to validate Nintendo's reasoning for waiting.

Off topic, does this mean I won't have to pay 40 dollars a month for broadband in a year or two. Great news all around.
 

Morgan Jolley

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Romier-

I'm sorry if I offended you, but considering the fact that right now around half a million users for X-Box Live is considered a huge amount, I think it to be unlikely that that number will grow to 2 million in 2 years. The number will increase, but considering the fact that people have to pay some fee (whether it's an annual fee like for XBL or for a network adapter for PS2 or GCN) to get online, in addition to the cost for an internet connection, that's a hefty sum for the majority of America.

Most of the people here on the HTF wouldn't mind paying for such things, but many other people have things they would rather spend money on. MS has the best strategy in terms of an annual fee, but it's still a fee, and one that requires a credit card (making it inaccessible to many people).
 

Romier S

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does this mean I won't have to pay 40 dollars a month for broadband in a year or two
You'll want to shop around soon;). A great majority of companies are offering varying speeds at very competitive prices. Its not a rarity anymore to find service for a 512/128 line for 29.95 these days.
 

Morgan Jolley

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Unlike yourself, I don't find it hard to concieve that in 2-3 years the combined userbase for console online titles could in fact be within 2-3 million if not more as I noted
THAT I can agree with, but is that 2-3 million subscriptions or 2-3 million unique subscribers?
 

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