Now that the Nintendo Press Conference is over, let’s take a look at the so called “full unveiling” of the GameCube. A lot of new information has been unleashed but several key questions remain unanswered. So without further ado, here’s the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of today’s press conference. Yes, I know it’s an old and tired writing concept (which also happens to be an apt description of the author), but it works fairly well (not an apt description of the author...who tends to muddle though things in a haphazard manner...which probably explains why I get fired so much).

The Good

This is fairly easy. I expect most readers are still ogling the new movies and screens of actual gameplay. One look at the software shown tells you that the GameCube can be extremely competitive with the PS2 and Xbox on a graphical level while promising the usual Nintendo standard of excellent gameplay. Also, Shigeru Miyamoto’s special project, Pikmin, promises to be a unique and innovative gameplay experience (that will no doubt be poorly emulated by others). What’s more, as was the case with SpaceWorld, the mere sight of Nintendo’s beloved characters in their next-generation form should turn the head of anyone even remotely interested in Nintendo games.

Other positives include the official announcement of firm launch dates in both Japan and North America (alas, European gamers are screwed again and will likely have to wait until The Nintendo Show in September for concrete details), the debut of several new titles (Kameo, Star Fox Adventures, Donkey Kong Racing, Pikmin, and Raven Blade), the full demonstration of the complete controller, and not to be overlooked, the fact that Luigi’s Mansion and Pikmin had little to no loading times.

The Bad

So then with all that GameCube goodness, what could possibly been bad about the press conference? Well, as impressive as all the games were, Nintendo’s overall strategy for taking back the console market remains a mystery. The issue of 3rd party support was glossed over with the broad statement that major developers are on board. This fails to address whether the GameCube will be the primary development platform, what sorts of exclusives the console will see, and how many titles key Japanese developers have in the works. In fact, it should be noted that in Nintendo’s official GameCube release list, Sega is the only Japanese developer listed. We know Konami, Capcom, Namco and other Japanese developers are certainly working on projects, so what’s with the secrecy? I suppose the mantra will now be “wait until SpaceWorld.”

Along with no real info on 3rd parties, Nintendo failed to reveal how exactly the Gameboy Advance will work as a controller for the GameCube. This has been mentioned as a big part of marketing the GameCube as Nintendo hopes to leverage its monopoly of the handheld market into a larger share of the home console market. However, Nintendo revealed nothing and simply said “wait until SpaceWorld.”

Nintendo failed to announce any concrete online plans, too. Sony and Microsoft have already stated that online gaming will play a big part in their consoles’ futures, but Nintendo continues to answer this question with their typical silence. Thankfully, the revelation that Phantasy Star Online Version 2 is on the GameCube’s radar let’s us know that Nintendo is preparing something. I guess Jim Merrick has been doing something after all.

Also missing from the press conference was the price and quantity of consoles at launch, though this isn’t as egregious an issue as the others since this will be announced in about a week. And finally, the omission of new footage from the Zelda project, the lack of info on a proper Mario title, and no information on Pokemon for GameCube was quite a disappointment. Three of Nintendo’s premier games remain MIA. Sure, they’ll be represented in Super Smash Bros. Melee, but it’s not the same. Of course, the silver lining to this dark cloud is that these titles are surely in the works and will only help bolster Nintendo’s future software line-up. I’m sure we’ll hear about these titles in the future at some point...perhaps we should “wait until SpaceWorld.”

The Ugly

And now for the ugly parts of the press conference, which is really just a feeble attempt to inject some “wacky” humor into this piece. Consider this a memorial to the late, great Daily Radar. The wait for the doors to open inside the Biltmore was definitely not a pretty picture. A restless mob of anxious Nintendo fans waiting to see the GameCube in action is not a place for the faint of heart. The only thing worse than being in that restless mob waiting to get into the press conference would probably be...being in the restless mob charging the doors after they opened. It was truly chaos incarnate.

Now after all that wonderful hyperbole, you’d think that nothing else could have been worse. Well, you’re wrong. What could possibly have been uglier? Ty butt-raping me in Goldeneye, again? Nope. Waiting another 3 months for SpaceWorld to arrive. Nah. That miserable SOB Louie getting it on with Denis Dyack’s lovely cat Samantha? Nah, that’s tragic, but not ugly. Billy going through all of E3 without any Dew or smokes? That’s close, but still not as ugly as this. Okay, so enough space filling wacky humor (I miss you Daily Radar), what was so ugly? An American trying to ask the great Shigeru Miyamoto how he likes working at Nintendo...in Japanese no less...that could not be understood by any of the Japanese people on stage...as the first question of the Q&A session. Ugh...I suppose you needed to be there to understand the full horror...though I suppose it’s better that you were not there. Trust me.

There you have it; the long awaited Nintendo Press Conference. Was it fun? Hell yeah! Did it tell me everything I could’ve wanted to know about the GameCube? Hell no. Does this mean I was disappointed with the overall showing? Well, I really got pumped up at seeing actual in-game GameCube footage. And, seeing Miyamoto explain the controller and his wonderful new Pikmin project will be something I remember for many years to come. But then, there definitely were key questions that were glossed over or ignored completely which really took away from this supposed “full unveiling.” Still...it’s hard to say how I feel overall. I guess if you put a gun to my head and asked me to answer if the press conference met my expectations, a simple “yes” or “no” question, I think I would have to answer with a resounding “wait until SpaceWorld.”