I recently purchased a TV that has progressive scan.I want to hook the Cube up to it,but I cannot find the cables anywhere.Could you point me in the right direction?

The only place it has ever been available is Nintendo's online store. The page that lists the cables can be found here, but they are no longer available to purchase. Nintendo suggests you try looking elsewhere.

Speaking of that...

Ok, so heres the deal, I never understood why Nintendo put a component out on the Gamecube if they weren't even trying to pursue customers to step up to higher definition gaming to begin with, and why did they make it impossible to buy the cable in a store? I know if you wanted it you had to purchase it from them directly, but how logical is that, I can't see the average customer calling a company requesting parts ! Most people walk into a store and purchase what they want. Now a few years pass and the decide to cut cost by eliminating the port all together, which makes less sense because now is the time that more consumers have high def tvs ! so can u answer these questions.

1. Why was the port originally included but not truly supported.

2. Why wasn't its use promoted to consumers

3. Why wasn't the cable sold in stores

4. How come not a single 3rd party ever made 1

5. Why cut cost and remove it in a time when its function had the potential to grow

6. Why didn't most companys make it mandatory that their games support progressive scan like most Nintendo games did

P.S. Since the Wii has 1 output what are we dealing with, audio/video cables, component or the cables that support computer monitors, since when Wii was originally announced they said it would work with computer monitors as well as T.V.s ?

Anthony

I'm sure if you asked this of Nintendo, they would claim that component cable demand and sales weren't high enough for them to continue supporting them on the later model GameCubes. Well, of course no one got the cables; they weren't available in brick and mortar establishments. People had to get them through Nintendo's online store (as mentioned above) if they wanted them. The limited scope of their availability meant that relatively few GameCube owners got a chance to get them...which eventually gave them justification to axe the component cable port from new systems. Sucks, don't it?

I don't know why Nintendo made the optional cables such a hassle to get a hold of. A lot of GameCube games supported the 480p resolution, so it's not as if the lack of compatible games is to blame. In fact, I don't know why Nintendo decided on two completely separate output ports on the rear of the system. A single port is all that's needed to handle composite, S-Video and component cable outputs. The PS2 and Xbox output ports could do it, so why not a single one on the GameCube?

It obviously wasn't a high priority for Nintendo, but to be honest, it didn't matter that component cables and progressive scan weren't prominently featured on the Cube. The system wouldn't have done any better had progressive scan been given more support by Nintendo. It's just a convenience for people that have the necessary equipment, but it doesn't excuse the troubles they had to go through to get the best visuals possible.

Thankfully, Wii won't have the same problems. 480p will be standard on all games, cables should be available in stores (sold separately) along with the console, and the one port on the back of the console can handle any type of output connection you throw at it, from the blurry composite cable to the sharpness of the composite cable. It'll handle a VGA connector too, if the Wii can indeed can be hooked up to a computer monitor.

Dear Bag, (By the way, I love the bag!)

So along time ago, I emailed you guys for the mailbag, and I was supprised that it was answerd within a week. It was about how nintendo's innovation might shun third party support, especially for sports games. since i'm a die hard nintendo fan, I play sports games on nintendo. Anyways here is my question of your opinion on a matter everyone's been talking about with the Wii: graphics.

I know graphics aren't everything and gameplay matters more to a game. think about it, its true. But recently I can't help but feel that the graphics for the Wii won't look much better than the cube's and sure as well won't compare to the PS3's and Xbox 360's. Is there any way you can give me some advice about the Wii's graphics, something to cheer me up a bit? I know I've heard the whole: "look how awesome RE 4 looked on the cube(and it did); with better technology than cube, games will even look better on the Wii." So is there anything you got to cheer me up? Cause I really need something.

Thanks,

Steve

Don't worry about the Wii's hardware capability. I mean, look at how awesome Resident Evil 4 looked on the GameCube. The Wii has better technology than the GC, so Wii games will look even better than that. Hope that cheers you up!

Naruto taisen 4 is analog only, however the new wii classic controllers i've read will be digital only. How will analog games work with such controllers, if they do not work with current hori digital controllers arcade?

Also is there any news for naruto taisen 5?

-jer

You've read wrong. The Wii classic controller has not one, but two analog sticks! Naruto Taisen 4 is a GameCube game anyway, which means you'd be needing a GameCube controller to play it on the Wii. It's got four GC ports built right in, you know.

There is no word on a fifth game in the awesome Naruto fighting game series, and I can deduce it will be a while longer before we hear anything. For the better part of a year, the Naurto anime series in Japan has been held back with filler episodes which have not advanced the story along the path set out by the original manga. As such, there'd be no new characters or settings in place for a new Taisen game to be created. After the manga-driven Naruto episodes return (which may be very soon, from what I've heard) and the next story arc draws to a close, I would expect Naruto Taisen 5 or some other Naurto fighter to show itself. I suppose it would be for the PS3 or Wii by then.

My concern is that Nintendo will stick with double A batteries instead of rechargeable ones ( like the DS & 360 controller). They are marketing the wii as energy saving, wouldn’t it be a contradiction if the money I saved in the electric bill, I would end up paying out in batteries? What are your thoughts?

Brandon

Batteries in the remote wouldn't be too big of a deal, if the purported 30~60 hour lifespan is true. A pair of AAs could last as long as a month, if someone was only playing for an hour or two every day. I would like to see a rechargeable option, though. It would save on batteries, but perhaps also make the remote controller weigh less than it already does.

Dear PGC,

With all of the new talk about the Wii version of Zelda, I have not heard anyone about how horseback riding will be controlled. I think there is a lot of cool potetial for it, and I was just wondering how you think it might control. Thanks!

- Jason

I would think general riding would be controlled with just the analog stick, with perhaps a controller motion for a speed boost. Shooting a bow from atop a horse would probably work as it did in Ocarina of Time, just with the Wii remote's pointer taking over the aiming duties instead of a stick. Horseback swordplay is what's going to be the most interesting thing about it, though. If I remember correctly, videos have shown that Link can swing at things on either side of the horse. I wonder if the controller will play a part in that somehow. Flicking the nunchaku would swing the sword on the left side, and swinging the remote would cause Link to go across his body to the right side. Or maybe the remote would be used exclusively for that.

Or, you could just get the GameCube version and press a button to do it. How boring.

Do you need to be seated directly in front of the Wii for motion-censored games to work? I ask because creating a system that forces you to (possibly) rearrange your entire gaming area seems odd. I personally don't sit directly in front of my television when playing *any* game, because the shape and position of my house (and the location of where I can conviently hook up game systems) is not taylored for it. I already have to do it for lightgun games, such as Point Blank for the Playstation, and as a result rarely play one of my favorite games ever. So, what's the scoop with the Wii?

You don't need to sit exactly in front of the sensor bar for the Wii remote controller to work. As long as the remote can see the two ends of the sensor bar without obstruction, it'll work fine. Being off to one side or the other a little isn't going to screw things up. You could just pivot the sensor bar toward whatever side of the room you'd be spending the majority of your time, if necessary.

So... how do you guys think this new E3 will pan out? I know from a gamer perspective, it doesn't look good. To be frank, I don't trust the gaming media anymore. They overhype things that shouldn't be hyped. They underhype things that should. They see previews of half-finished games and write entire reviews up. Money exchanges hands in ways that money should not exchange hands.

All I'm saying is that, having lots of private, invite only parties is only going to serve to discredit the whole shebang from my perspective. Part of the great thing about E3 was that companies couldn't hide. Either you were showing playable games or you weren't. Either your gameplay is good or it isn't. Keeping secrets or fooling customers was near impossible, and it was impossible because the whole thing was big. Now... well now all we'll get is a big heap of PR fed to the media, and to me that's completely useless.

- Dug

We go into E3 with a job to do, to cover the games Nintendo and other publishers have to show off, and to wring out any information about upcoming projects and/or new hardware on the horizon. There are other people who go to E3 that can afford to spend half of a day waiting in line and walk around the show floor with bags full of free stuff, doing little more than taking up space and getting in the way of people that are at the show to get a job done.

In his explanation of the change, ESA president Doug Lowenstein said that E3 has become an event primarily to show off new games to the media. It has been getting harder and harder in recent years for the media to do their job because of the ballooning crowds that have been packing into the LA Convention Center. Most of what goes on at E3 takes place behind closed doors to get away from the noise of the show floor, so it only makes sense to apply the “closed doors" theme to the entire show. E3 is supposed to be off-limits to the public anyway, but considering how easy it is to get in it's about as close to a public show as it could have got.

If I can address you last point about getting “a big heap of PR fed to the media," realize that E3 is about exactly that. It always has been about that. If you've been listening to our podcast lately, you'd know that gaming media outlets can only work with what's given to us by game companies. E3 is the best opportunity for them to give us information on their games en masse. It's our job to take that information, filter out the PR mumbo jumbo, then pass the important stuff on to you, our readers. How a game is perceived at E3 shouldn't be an absolute indication as to how good the final product will be, but most of the people attending the show don't understand that. Games can get easily get over-hyped for that reason.

To the outsider looking in on the new E3, it probably won't be that different. Publishers will likely still have games set up on display, media will get a chance to talk with the pubs about their upcoming lineup, and the big three will still have their tell-all press conferences. The big difference will be on the inside, where it will be smaller and more efficient. Everyone in attendance will be there to do job: Publishers, media, major retailers and whomever else the ESA deems important enough to grant attendance. Things will get done in three days, instead of the Monday to Friday marathon that the show has turned into. Most importantly, the changes will make things easier for us to tell you about all the games that are there. I'm looking forward to that more than anything else.

New E3, same old mailbag. We're here every Sunday with a fresh offering of reader questions. If you're a reader with a fresh question to offer, please do so via the email link due south. If you want, please include your name/nickname and/or city/state so we know who you are/where you're from. Oh, and feel free to drop some comments in the forum thread-shaped comments box and read some PAQs (Previously Asked Questions) in the mailbag back issues.

Bye for now!