So Circuit City slashed the price of a bunch of wonderful handheld games, and I picked up (among others) Metroid Prime Pinball. It's a terrific game, but I'm finding myself somewhat underwhelmed by the Rumble Pak, which doesn't so much quake as it does bumble about. The noise is bigger than the vibration. I thought to myself, is this because I've got a DSlite? Is my lack of proper rockin' caused by the Pak sticking nakedly into thin air, instead of being nestled snug in the original DS's frame?

Nope, the DS Rumble Pak is just as loud in the regular DS as it is in the DS Lite. I don't know why the thing makes so much noise, but it's still a marvel that Nintendo can get something less than the size of a GBA cartridge to noticeably vibrate. All they need to do is work on the loudness of it and they'll have something that I may want to pick up.

Hi PGC,

I just wondered what your take is on this problem... basically the Wii contains the actual Gamecube hardware too, right? So in theory it should support Gamecube periphreals BUT the size and shape of the Wii seem to prohibit it from playing the most important accessory of all, the gameboy player. Do you think they will A.Make a new gameboy player for the Wii, B.Have the Wii support the existing gameboy player, or C. Make all Gameboy advance titles downloadable content of the virtual machine? or D.Let the player get lost in the dust because they are focusing on the DS now? I hope its not C, because they will surely overlook some great games, not to mention imports. And I really hope its not D...I really don't want to have to hold onto my gamecube just to play GBA Titles on the big screen, but the Gameboy Player is wonderful to me. I own more GBA games that I play on my TV than actual Gamecube titles.

Worried in Alabama

The Wii probably won't play GBA games, either by the Game Boy Player or through Virtual Console. The GB Player wasn't so much of a GameCube accessory, but more of a hardware extension, designed to work with the console in its original form. It wouldn't make all that much sense for Nintendo to change the design of the Wii just to accommodate a GameCube hardware add-on, especially one that the majority didn't use. GBA games on Virtual Console wouldn't do either, seeing as the GBA is still a viable platform and many of the games for it are still out there in one form or another. No point in selling them over VC if people already own them.

It's kind of how Game Boy Advance backwards compatibility works in the Nintendo DS. Although you can do so on the original GBA, you can't play old GB or GB Color games on the DS, nor is there a way to play GBA games in multiplayer. That's fine, because people didn't get the DS to play GBA games. They wanted a DS to play DS games. It's going to be the same deal with the Wii; although it's nice that it is backwards compatible with GameCube games (and games from all the other systems), you're getting it because you want to play Wii games on it with the Wii controller. Hold on your GC and GB Player if you really care about playing GBA games on your TV that much.

DVD drives are all compatible with the CD format, so technologically, Wii should be able to play music CDs. It's a question of whether Nintendo includes software to support this feature. I think they might because it would be so simple. Also, it may even be required as part of the DVD Consortium license. Right now I can't think of any DVD device that doesn't also play music CDs, but maybe you can.

J00ny

I was of the understanding that DVD players can only read music CDs when the laser inside the player switches to a different wavelength to read the less dense compact disc format. I think early DVD players didn't support CDs because the tech at the time didn't allow for a single laser that could read both formats. Maybe I'm wrong, but that's how I understood it. If Nintendo just uses a DVD-only laser in the Wii, then it won't read CDs no matter what. If they must have it read CDs to make it play DVD movies, then I suppose it'll have to go in. I would guess they would prefer not to have the console read burned media, though.

How you doin?

When Planetgamecube opens it's new domain name, it would be awesome if the site could have a version that is optimized for Opera's Nintendo DS browser. We could get all are favorite PGC features (like the mailbag) bag straight from from our DS, without having to pan around the screen.

Mysteryman

Come to think of it, that would be a swell idea. Hopefully the DS Opera browser would render the site just like you see it on your computer monitor, but if optimizations are required to make it work better, it's something we may consider in the future.

Speaking of Planet GameCube on the go, don't forget about our PGC Pocket wireless version of the site. You can check the latest news at PGC, right from your cell phone! Ain't technology grand?

So last year, before Twilight Princess got unfortunately delayed, I remember a Nintendo representative discussing how they'd offer a collector's edition as well as normal version of Twilight Princess. Do you think he was just referring to the at the time unannounced Wii version, or will there perhaps be a third version available, with extras such as artwork and a golden disc? I personally want a collector's version since I'm a huge fan of the Zelda series, but I kind of hope they don't as to not further fracture the market with multiple versions.

- Mike

At GDC 2005, Reggie said there would be a separate collector's edition of Twilight Princess, and it's probably still going to happen. Although, I'm not entirely sure which console version will get the special treatment. If they put it on only the GameCube, you're screwing over the people that want the Wii version. If there's only a Wii Zelda special version, what about all the GameCube owners that want it? The best way to do it, I think, is to ensure the Wii version works with the GameCube and/or Wii classic controller, then release the Wii special edition of Twilight Princess for a few bucks more. Everyone wins in that situation.

hi i am writing about a nintendo game cube game i have it is called super mario sunshine .we seem to be having problems with it every time we load it,it loads alright but when we enter the secret levels it feezes and says could not read disc can you help me with this problem as i really like the game.

Sorry, we can't help you on that one. Nintendo can, though. You might want to check out NOA's Customer Service page (or go to the Nintendo site in your country) and see if that helps, or call them up (in America) at 1-800-255-3700. Hopefully they can work out what's wrong for you. I hope they do, because Super Mario Sunshine is just plain awesome!

I own a nintendo DS, I love it. I realize that the gameboy was strong enough to port old snes games. From the looks of supermario 64 DS(and the upcoming starfox ds) it seems as though the DS can beautifully "remix" old 64 games, any chance you think there will be a remix to super smash bros.(64),Mario party, or f-zero X?? thanks PGC

I don't know if “remix" is the right term to use. The DS can handle games in the style of all of those N64 greats, but to say that Nintendo is just taking what they made on the old console and reworking it for the DS is incorrect. While Super Mario 64 was essentially an enhanced port, Star Fox DS is a new game entirely.

I understand the question you're asking, though. More N64-style games on the Nintendo DS would be really good to have around, especially the likes of Super Smash. Bros. (If I recall, SSB was one of the potential games that people couldn't stop talking about once everyone understood the capabilities of the DS. Smash Bros. would be a perfect fit for the DS, as already demonstrated by Jump Super Stars; can you imagine how friggin' awesome the game would be if it were Wi-fi capable? Or even if it interacted with SSB Brawl? Hmmm...) Other N64 classics like F-Zero X, 1080 Snowboarding or Wave Race 64 would be nice games to have available on the DS, and could have features and capabilities far beyond what was possible on the N64. Then again, if the games looked more like GameCube titles, as does Metroid Prime Hunters, I would be okay with that, too.

Hey PGC,

Definietly happy to see that the mailbag is still going strong.

I had a question concerning Ultimate Brain Games and Ultimate Card Games for the DS. What exaclty happened to these two titles from Telegames? After being pushed back a couple of months several times last year, being announced that they would be online, and being listed as Q1 2006 releases, they never surfaced. Now with Clubhouse Games coming out this Fall and also Nintendo WiFi Connection-enabled, did Telegames can the two projects? Any insights or answers would greatly be appreciated.

Sincerely,

John

The games still exist, I'm sure. Telegames still has the pair listed for a “2006" release on their 1990s era website. Online retailers still have them available to pre-order, though the first-of-the-month release dates seem to indicate that they don't quite know exactly when they'll be released. I think it's just that Telegames is a small company, and they really only get the word out about their games when they are announced or released. In fact, the original announcement of the games was just a basic press release with scant information. I would say the next time we hear about these Ultimate games is when they're released, whenever that is.

Will the DS WiFi USB Adapter work for the Wii as well?

Yep. The adapter turns a USB port into a wireless access point, so any wireless-capable device can use it, not just Nintendo stuff.

Hi there, PGC Mailbag!

First of all, I want to say that I really enjoy reading the mailbag, as it’s been giving me a lot more insight to video game news than I think most people can get by just reading the articles. You rock!

On to the question: I am a huge Earthbound fan, and I was ridiculously excited when I found out that they were finally making Mother 3 for the GBA. What do you think the chances are of them bringing that game over to the US ? What can I, as a gamer, do to help it along? On a similar note, do you think that we will ever see the likes of Mother 1 + 2 over here? If I was to import it, is there, perhaps, a language option to put it into English, or do I need to learn Japanese to play it? Thanks very much!

Yours in gaming,

Snoogans

If you've tuned into our podcast lately, you would have heard someone make the ridiculous claim that Mother 3 has no chance whatsoever of coming to the United States. If you want to hear what Mike and Evan had to say about it (and which one of them should be stoned), tune in. I'm going to throw in my two cents to go along with their commentary, though.

I would give the game a fair chance of being localized for an American release. People know what Earthbound is, thanks to the appearance of Ness in the first two Smash Bros. games. Also, Nintendo doesn't appear to have anything in the works for the GBA after Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Red. I'm sure they're still going to release the occasional GBA game after that, and Mother 3 is already out in Japan. They just need to translate and release it to keep GBA owners (and third parties) interested in the Game Boy Advance. As for Mother 1+2, there's little reason why Nintendo hasn't released that combo over here as of yet. Both were already translated: Mother 2 as the original SNES Earthbound, and the original Mother as the unreleased (but still translated) Earthbound Zero. Nintendo has a series of games that NOA could—with relative ease—release in America and (re)create a new (to America) franchise. They just need to get off their lazy butt and do something about it, if you ask me.

There's little one person can do to get Earthbound U.S. bound, but if you're serious about it, the folks at Starmen.net are also serious about it. Or maybe just crazy about it, I don't know.

Hi, guys. I had recently picked up the Mega Man X Collection for my GameCube and was surprised that the customizable control feature Capcom promised us GameCube owners was nowhere to be found. What happened? I'm super pissed. Capcom stated that they were going to specifically implement this feature into the GCN version as a response to gamers complaints of the Mega Man Anniversary Collection controls.

Why is it that only a few 3rd party devs make good on their promises and statements particulerly with GameCube? Another major problem was how very few 3rd party devs would take full advantage of GameCube's graphical and processing power. We would usually end up with really sloppy ports. Some games would actually perform better on the PS2 than GCN because it was so under-utilized. Any thoughts?

Jon

[Ed. note: The response below mistakenly refers to the original Mega Man Anniversary Collection, which does not have a custom control option. The X Anniversary collection does, as many readers have pointed out to us. 'Tis an honest mistake.]

I don't know why Capcom didn't add control options in MMAC. That's a bone-head move on their part. Switching jump and shoot from how it was on the NES makes the game less enjoyable due to the brain switch you need to do to control the game smoothly. Seriously, how hard is it for games to have customizable controls? It should be something that any game worth playing should have.

Among other things, control is one of the many problems developers have (or should I say, had) with porting multiplatform games to the GameCube. The Cubetroller has four fewer buttons than the competition's pads, after all. The main problem with GC ports, though, is that many developers didn't bother learning the intricacies of the Dolphin hardware, just taking it at face value. The majority of multiplatform games were developed for the Xbox first, which has the most memory and best processing power. Porting down to the PS2 and GameCube requires sacrifices, as the systems have less raw horsepower and less total memory available to work with. At least, less to work with on the surface.

It's obvious that better publishers like Ubisoft and EA have development teams talented enough to put together a decent GameCube port. Obviously, if you have a talented third-party development team dedicated to a GameCube game, the results can be spectacular. Smaller developers, however, only really have the time to truly understand how one or two of the major systems really work, while they struggle to get things working on the third. In fact, I've heard of a licensed multiplatform game with a decent-sized development team that had only one person dedicated to GameCube programming. It's no wonder GC ports look bad if there aren't many people at a developer that really know the hardware.

Hopefully, this will be a thing of the past in the future. Nintendo is making it easier for developers by giving them a five-year head start on Wii programming (it is just a souped-up GameCube, after all). Wii games will be too different than their 360 and PS3 counterparts for a straight port to work, so very few of those will show up. More publishers will have dedicated teams dedicated to only learning about and developing on Wii hardware only, like Ubisoft Paris and EA Canada. Let's hope the only victims of the sloppy port in the next-gen are the guys selling the really expensive game consoles.

2006 is half over, but this week's mailbag is completely over! The weeks and months seem to fly by when you're always having fun. Thanks to everyone who sent in stuff over the last week, and thank you in advance to everyone who sends stuff in over the next week! Keep those questions coming, and I'll be sure to answer them to the best of my question-answering abilities. Adios until next Sunday.