GameCube Kiosks (1 Viewer)

[BrianB]

The GCN is able to load fast because of its design. The parts on the motherboard were placed in spots and made to integrate with eachother in order to get the best possible outcome. By being designed well, it is both smaller and better. If they had just made it quickly and thrown it together and not cared about anything, it would have load times and be bigger, like the X-Box.
I believe that MS could have designed the XB better. They probably could have changed around its parts in order to make it run better and they probably could have made it smaller. Had they done so, I would be happier.

Morgan, please stop posting total poppycock. You're making it abundantly clear you have zero clue about computer engineering. "changed around its parts"???
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Nothing In Particular

 

[Graeme Clark]

quote:
The GCN is able to load fast because of its design. The parts on the motherboard were placed in spots and made to integrate with eachother in order to get the best possible outcome. By being designed well, it is both smaller and better. If they had just made it quickly and thrown it together and not cared about anything, it would have load times and be bigger, like the X-Box.
[/quote]
Sez you!!
Oh wait, this is your "opinion" again, isn't it?

If I have to carry a huge console down a flight of stairs and across two rooms just to play it in my theater, then I will probably see it as not worth it.

That handle on the GC should come in handy then.
[Edited last by Graeme Clark on September 30, 2001 at 12:26 AM]

 

[Morgan Jolley]

I remember someone posting the speeds of the XB, PS2, and GCN and the GCN was 25 Mbits or something. It was the slowest of the three, yet it has the fastest load times. Over and over I have read from interviews with Nintendo employees saying that the GCN is so fast because of its design and was made for optimum performance. That is why it has such fast load times.
Yes, the handle will come in handy.
Size, overall, is a non-issue. I like to take it into consideration, but it affects less than 10% of my decision on which console I want, so it really is a non-issue. Up until now, every console was relatively small and light (at least the ones I have owned) so this wasn't a big deal. Now, consoles are getting smaller and lighter, so its even less of an issue, but the XB is just so big that for me it becomes an issue. The GCN's handle just goes to show how portable it is. The XB seems to have been designed to have it placed in one spot and then never moved, which will suck for me because it probably won't be in the main theater (in my house, we have "the" theater and the living room theater) and I will want to see some of the better looking games in my main theater. Its not just moving a console, its lugging a huge piece of equipment around, and that really bugs me.
Design wise, the GCN beats the XB hands down. Power wise, the XB wins, but not by enough to warrant a purchase of an XB over a GCN (unless you are just getting a console for power).

 

[Kelley_B]

I think all these threads should be archived and then make Morgan read them in about 3 to 5 years, or once he gets a taste of the real world outside EGM, Videogames.com etc.

 

[Aaron Copeland]

I remember someone posting the speeds of the XB, PS2, and GCN and the GCN was 25 Mbits or something. It was the slowest of the three, yet it has the fastest load times. Over and over I have read from interviews with Nintendo employees saying that the GCN is so fast because of its design and was made for optimum performance. That is why it has such fast load times.

Look, Morgan, load times have far more to do with drive speed, how data is arranged on the game disc, and how each individual game is programmed than they do with anything you're saying. Why do you think you have different loads times between different games on the same system if they are all loading the same amount of memory?
Some games stream data while you play while others load all at once when you enter a new area/round. That's game programming and has very little to do with hardware. There will be load times on many GC games...and there will be games on the other systems that appear to have no load times. It will just depend on the game and developer.
Aaron

 

[Morgan Jolley]

Luigi's Mansion and Super Monkey Ball have no load times, WaveRace has some very quick ones, and Eternal Darkness is supposed to have load times that were so fast that they had to implement a delay into the program while it was loading. How many CD or DVD based consoles have ever been able to have more than one game that didn't have ANY load times at all, and how many of those games were released at a console's launch? I have not heard of any games for the GCN having load times more than a few seconds (if that) and I'm not even talking about the released games. Nintendo has said over and over that the GCN will be able to have load times like the ones we've seen in Luigi's Mansion and Super Monkey Ball without the games being programmed for it because of the hardware and not just the programming. Yes, games can have no load times (like in Legacy of Kain) but those games have one long time when you start or the game slows down between new areas. Nothing like what is in Luigi's Mansion (no load times at all) is around in any games for any console that is CD or DVD or GD based AFAIK.

 

[Aaron Copeland]

Ok...let's make this simple. The GC drive has and average seek time of 128ms and a data transfer speed of 16Mbps - 25Mbps. Nothing can change that. Period.
Therefore, all differences in load times have to do with game programming. How the data is arranged on the disc and how the data is called off the disc. Any next gen system can do programming tricks to make it appear that there are no load times. Either by efficient data arrangment or streaming data ahead of time.
Aaron

 

[Mike Voigt]

A question asked in Moderation:

Playable GameCube Kiosks are now shipping. They should begin appearing in stores throughout the US within the next few days to weeks (depending upon where you live and shop).
Thought you might like to know...

Why does every darn thread in this area have to devolve to "NO, XBOX!!!" - "NO, GCN!!!" - "NO, XBOX" type crap?
I am getting very tired of seeing each thread here being torn apart by this, by several people.
If you want to discuss the merits of one system vs another, start a thread for that; don't hijack someone else's.
Mike

 

[Aaron Copeland]

Not much to really say about kiosks. So it's really not surprising at all that it went off topic and then eventually into a console debate. Had this been a topic that actually had a potential for longevity, then it would be bad that it went this direction...but a kiosk thread? Heh... This just always happens. Each gaming platform always has die-hard fans that will say something that will piss people off. It gets old sometimes, but I enjoy good console debates. Comes with the territory these days.
Aaron
[Edited last by Aaron Copeland on September 30, 2001 at 09:29 PM]

 

[James D S]

It gets old sometimes, but I enjoy good console debates.

Aaron, no offense, really, but this is not a debate. This is a pissing contest. And you are right, it does get old. Very quickly.
I like to come into this area of the HTF for some info to help me decide on where I should spend my money - I spend most of my time skipping posts because they're just piss.
This area used to be informative. Now it's being overrun by fanboys who would fit better elsewhere.
The HTF is better than this.
Can you imagine the shitstorm if this stuff (argumentative tirades) leaked out into the grownup areas? Well, some of them like to visit this area too.
This area is quickly becoming the "red-headed stepchild" of the HTF.
It's a shame. They're used to be good, informed arguments here. At least, that's what I remembered.
Sorry for the rant, but I like videogames too. I don't like fanboys.

 

[Aaron Copeland]

[Double Post]
[Edited last by Aaron Copeland on October 01, 2001 at 03:12 PM]

 

[Aaron Copeland]

This area is quickly becoming the "red-headed stepchild" of the HTF.

If some people actually think that, they need to spend some time looking back through the threads I listed above.
Aaron

 

[Morgan Jolley]

Aaron-
I agree that I am probably the main reason why a lot of these debates have started. I have very strong personal views on the console war right now and do have a bias against MS (even though I have admitted time and again that their console is the most powerful and that most of my complaints with it are nitpicking and not of much importance to my decision on whether or not to purchase it or reccommend it to others). There are reasons for my bias against MS, and I won't go into that here.
One thing that I am happy to say is that I have been pretty good at keeping the debates from getting personal, as have many other people. I personally don't mind someone making a little joke here and there because I understand that we are all here for the sole purpose of talking about games, whether thats debating, discussing, reviewing, or anything else. If the threads go off topic, then I don't have anything wrong with someone asking that we get the threads back on topic. If I state incorrect information and it is corrected, then I will accept that I was wrong and will take the correct information into consideration. If I have heard something (like how good a game is) then I will say that it is what I heard or read, not what I actually experienced and can talk about as such.
I'm sorry if I have caused any disturbances on the gaming sections of the forum.

 

[Aaron Copeland]

Morgan,
I think you have been respectful in the debates just like most the other people in here. I just have issues with your constant nit picking of the XBOX over seemingly unimportant issues (size, load times). You also make some pretty wild statements. Like saying that "large" is a PC quality and that the XBOX's size is due to bad design.
You also constantly claim the XBOX is PC-like while implying that this is bad for some reason. Yet, you have never explained why having parts similar to a PC is a bad thing even though I've asked on a couple different occasions.
It's just that sort of stuff that drives me crazy. But don't worry about me. I don't take any of this personally and hope you don't take anything I say personally. As I said before, I've always enjoyed console debates. I just think you need to tone down the nit picking. Debating games is fine with me because that is where the war will be won. But debating the issues I listed above really isn't going anywhere.
Aaron

 

[James D S]

Aaron, I'm glad you agree with me, in general.
quote: First off, I find it somewhat offensive that you refer to other areas as "grownup"...which clearly implies that this area is not. [/quote]
Look at all the bickering and baseless nitpicking that goes on here (sometimes) and then go to childcare center. I think you'll see many similarities in the way the "debates" are structured and enforced. Some of this stuff is just so damn silly. And instead of ingoring those who like to threadcrap, we (I'm guilty of this on occasion, too) perpetuate the retardation. quote: If some people actually think that, they need to spend some time looking back through the threads I listed above.[/quote]
I participate in those ares far more and I stand by my statement. Sure there is passion in the other threads, but they are rarely based on it.
I would like to see the moderators take a more staunch approach in enforcing civility here, but I can see how it would be more trouble than it's worth. I'm sure the "let the kids play like kids in their own area" mentality may have something to do with it, and I don't blame then. But, as someone who enjoys videogames. yet who is not prepubescent, it gets tiring sifting through all the nonsense.
I know the moderators have tried, God bless them, but if we are going to clean up this area, and elevate it to the level of the HTF standard, we are most likely going to have to police ourselves. Not others, ourselves.
And what we cannot clean up, we should petition to the moderators and have people banned.
We need to clean this place up. At least, clean ourselves up, and the rest will follow.
There are just to damn many good people here, who's opinions and insights could help a great many people. It's the trash we have to wade through to get to them that's the problem.
I fear, we may lose several valuable contributors if this keeps up. That would be a shame. And a sad trade.
[Edited last by James D S on October 01, 2001 at 06:15 PM]

 

[AndyVX]

Well said James!! I 100% agree with you.
One thing that deters me from reading and posting in the gaming sections of the HTF is that I know I will need to sift through a whole load of mindless "mine is better then yours" banter to find what I'm looking for, or to just find the informative posts.
It seems that almost every topic thread started here somehow ends up turning into a childish debate on which system is better.
Ugh, I've simply had enough of this crap, and I'm sure many other have also.(Yes, I have probably added fuel to the fire a couple of times...but things get quite crazy in here sometimes)
I know the moderators have tried previously to monitor this section, but I think it was just too big of a job. I think we should start policing ourselves like James said, to take most of the load off the moderators.
What I've found that has happened to me a few times is that I post a serious question mid-way through a thread (like on page 2) and it will never even get answered because right after I post it, 15 more posts come in ranting about how some other system sucks, and theirs is better, any my question gets completely looked over. This just totally bothers me.
Anyways, I hope that we all can work together and clean up this section of the HTF.
Peace out.
Andrew
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ICQ# - 119869807

 

[Morgan Jolley]

Aaron-
In order to stop some confusion, I will put answers to some of your questions.
I say that big is a PC-like quality because generally PCs are big things that take up space, compared to consoles, most of which are quite small. The GCN compared to the XB is like comparing a CD player to a DVD player. The XB is just big, and most PCs are, too. They aren't ultra huge, but they are big (execpt for laptops and internet PCs).
I dislike the XB having many PC-like parts for its innards because Microsoft set out to separate the XB from a PC in every way possible, then used architecture that was very similar to a PC to make it. I think that given more time, they could have designed the XB better to make it smaller, more efficient, and overall less PC-like on the inside. Had they done so, I would not complain as much.
Load times, size, controller design, etc. are all nitpicking. I nitpick. Its a habit. Load times are truly no big deal (not after sitting through Red Faction and TimeSplitters) and controller design I could get used to (or buy a third party controller), but size is still somewhat of an issue to me. I can live with a huge console, and I eventually will, but I would prefer to not live with one, even if that makes it just a little less powerful. I doubt the XB is so large and heavy from the HDD and ethernet modem, which would leave the actual console design as the reason for its weight (and even if I'm wrong, its still pretty big and heavy). The size issue is an issue to me and probably only me, and I see that it is nitpicking. It won't affect my decisions very much, but I do take it into consideration anyway.
I hope that explains it a little. I don't take anything personally and I hope that nobody on here does because that would ruin the fun of actually having a forum to discuss these things on.

 

[Graeme Clark]

This thread is WAY off track now

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[Dean DeMass]

So, about those Gamecube kiosks.........
-Dean-

 

[Graeme Clark]

Do you think they'll be Indigo?
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