GameCube Kiosks (1 Viewer)

[Joel Mack]

That's nothing! I had a computer with no external storage, so everytime you wanted to play a game, you had to type it in! Now THAT's some serious loading time...
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"The internet is a place where people from all over come together to
bitch about movies and share pornography."

 

[Kelley_B]

Ahhhh Joel those were the days weren't they. Also if you messed up while typing it in and couldn't find the problem you normally started all over again.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

First of all, I never said anything about WaveRace having quick load times. From what I hear, it has relatively quick ones, but not like Luigi's Mansion (nearly non-existant).
I think that load times are a non-issue, but they affect gameplay, which is the most important aspect of a game. If you are playing a PS2 game with long loads, you will like it a little less because of that. It will be a dreaded experience every time I play TimeSplitters because of the load times, even though I like the game.
If people read reviews that say "one of the coolest aspects of this game is the lack of load times" then people will be more interested in that game (or console) than another one and may even be persuaded to buy that console/game. They could also spread word about it to their friends and then they would be swayed to that console a little bit. There are people who care about whether the X-Box DVD ability has progressive scan or not, yet fewer care about load times. Thats a little weird to me, considering you have to purchase the DVD abilities separate from the actual console and they are bonus features you don't even need (most of the people in the world could care less).

 

[James D S]

We went from:

Luigi's Mansion (nearly non-existant)[load times].

Nearly non-existant just doesn't quite have the same ring.
Anyway, Looking at the picture of the controller's side-by-side, I heard a lot of huffing about the 'gargantuan' XBox controller. That does not look significantly bigger. I was hoping for significantly bigger...

 

[BrianB]

Nearly non-existant just doesn't quite have the same ring.

There are loadtimes in the game - they're just well hidden via the animation of luigi opening the door. They are small though.
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Nothing In Particular

 

[Morgan Jolley]

True, the loading times are hidden, but they are hidden so that it appears that they don't exist (they are milliseconds long, if not a second or two at the most).
The X-Box controller isn't gargantuan, but it does have depth to it and from what I have heard it fills your whole hand, which sort of feels uncomfortable at first. Also, it takes up more space than the GCN controller overall, and the GCN controller puts your hands more onto the controller than the X-Box one. I guess you have to use it to know what its like (I know a person or two who have used it and told me a lot about it).

 

[Chad Ferguson]

By the looks of things, Microsoft never went with the small look period. Perhaps that will be in their favor or Nintendo's, who knows.

 

[Camp]

Quick update: Visit your local TRU if you get the chance. Xbox and GCN are now playable at many locations. I'm sure this is the case at other retailers as well.

 

[Michael St. Clair]

I remember people complaining about the Jaguar controllers being too big. Well, children, asians, and some women.

I've got no beef with the XBox controllers. Make mine man-sized, baby!

 

[Morgan Jolley]

Its not man-sized, its over-sized. Man sized would be if it was double the size of the GameCube and more than twice as powerful, but its more like triple size of the GameCube and around 1 and a half times as powerful.
As long as the controller works for everyone and is designed well, then it shouldn't matter. I'm kinda mad at MS trying to make something new and innovative to make them stand out at the price of functionality and ease of use for everyone.

 

[Michael St. Clair]

No, a Gamecube controller is undersized by 33%. That throws off all of your calculations. You are going by displacement, right?
You'll grow into it.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

The GameCube controller is sized right and fits pretty much everyone's hands AFAIK. The X-Box controller is obviously aimed at adult Americans because of the size (Japanese gamers usually like smaller things, which is why they get the good controller design).
I see no benefits that the X-Box controller offers over the GameCube controller. The GCN controller seems to have been made for functionality and the X-Box controller is just a rip-off of the DC controller. When MS had their study groups, they must have been talking to Sega fans since a lot of aspects of the XB resemble the DC so much.

 

[Graeme Clark]

I'll wait until I actually try them before forming any sort of opinion. Size isn't an issue to me. I like the old NES pads and Dreamcast pads fine. They aren't perfect, but no controller is.
As long as neither of them are as bad as Panasonic's 3DO pad, I'll probably happy enough.
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[Edited last by Graeme Clark on September 25, 2001 at 04:21 PM]

 

[Dave F]

I'll wait until I actually try them before forming any sort of opinion.

A voice of reason!

-Dave
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DVD List

 

[James D S]

quote: ...[The XBox is] around 1 and a half times as powerful [as the GameCube].[/quote]
Wow. Did Morgan just say that?

Alright now, who logged on under Morgan's name and is typing this stuff?
A couple of months ago, the line was, "not as powerful as the GameCube."
Then, it was, "slightly more powerful than the GameCube."
Now it's 1 1/2 times more powerful! EGM must be changing their coverage. In a couple of weeks, the XBox is gonna be the GodBox if this keeps up!
[Edited last by James D S on September 25, 2001 at 06:35 PM]

 

[James D S]

The GCN controller seems to have been made for functionality and the X-Box controller is just a rip-off of the DC controller.

Which would make it very functional. Why reinvent the wheel?

 

[Aaron Copeland]

The X-Box controller is obviously aimed at adult Americans because of the size

Well being exactly that...I'm glad. I personally hate small controllers. I've always favored larger ones.
Aaron

 

[Morgan Jolley]

I've said before that the XB is more powerful than the GCN. I know that. My main beef with the XB is that it was made as a "pure gaming machine" and came out as a "horizontal PC without an OS interface." The GCN is also easy to program for and the hardware was designed to be simple. The XB lacks in both departments compared to the GCN.
It won't be the GodBox unless MS pulls something REALLY good. The impossible kind of good.
The Dreamcast controller was functional, but adding in a "Back" button and two semi-pointless buttons makes it less functional. If they wanted a rip-off, they should have just changed the color. Adding buttons that are located close together and are small makes it less functional, especially since I never liked the DC controller anyway. I loved the N64 and PSX/PS2 controllers.
I don't like a lot of the X-Box's aspects. I know they might be nitpicking, but I still think that they all add up to something together. There are things about the GCN that I love that the XB pales in comparison to. For example: Zelda, Marop, and all the other first and second party games, the controller design is closer to the desings I liked from the past, its tiny, it is powerful, and it is very original from its design to its disc format. I know the XB has some good first and second party games, but none of them appeal to me that much. The console is big and ugly (to me) and I could probably put something better in its place. The GameCube is best for me, but the XB might be better for someone else.

 

[AnthonyD]

I have a import gamecube.
I just wanted to comment on the statements about Luigi's mansion having load times. If they are there, they are so small you can't even find it. One person in an earlier post mentioned that it loads when luigi opens a door with his key. This is untrue. You can actually press a button and it skips right over the cut scene. If there are load times in this game, I can't find em.
Maynerd
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[Aaron Copeland]

quote: horizontal PC without an OS interface[/quote]
I will never understand why people compare the XBOX to a PC. Because it has parts in common with a PC? Because it's made by MS?
Also, if you say it's because it has parts in common with PCs...why is this a bad thing?
The DC had a keyboard, mouse, internet browsing capabilities, a version of Windows CE written as an OS for some games, a version of Linux written for it, and you can run emulators (like Nester DC) on it...yet it never suffered from the comparisons to PCs that the XBOX has.
IMO, the only reason the XBOX suffers from the comparisons is plain bias against MS.
Aaron
[Edited last by Aaron Copeland on September 25, 2001 at 11:23 PM]