Matt asks, Do you think Nintendo will offer

gamers a variety of different colored Gamecube controllers at launch, like they did with

the N64? If I can't have a black or sliver Gamecube right away, I'd at least like to have

a black or silver controller.

Michael Cole Says: This is very possible. It

was very popular for the N64, so I don't see any reason for Nintendo NOT doing this. As

for which colors though, Don't get your hopes up about that Silver one. It didn't come

true for the GBA....

Jonathan Says: Yeah, definitely.

Mike H. Says: I don't see why they wouldn't.

It worked out great the last time. Mo colors = Mo money. The only question is whether or

not they'll stick with the current colors go with some new ones.

Zosha Says: No, every single controller

shipped will be in Hot Pink. Oh yeah.

Ed Says: Yes, I'm expecting multiple colors

for extra controllers. I think I made predictions in an older mailbag about which...don't

remember which though. Hey, how about some multi-colored controllers, too? :> Most of

my controllers are mixed colors (love the blue and black)...but I guess if someone really

wants that they can do it on their own (like me).

Billy Says: Exactly. Nintendo loves to be

colorful. But that's also the reason why I think they are saying that Purple will be the

main color. White, Purple, and Milky for GBA colors match that. Maybe they'll stick with a

small amount of colors with the first batch of GC controllers. Color coordination isn't a

bad thing. Just give me my Silver and I'll be happy!

Granted they had 5 colors available for the N64 launch, but the system itself was black.

But I suppose that there will be a plethora of GC controller colors, as well as a bunch of

limited edition ones too! Gotta get em all!

Mike S. Says: It is certain. The

multi-colored N64 controllers were available at launch and multi-colored GCN ones will be

too. Why? Well there are a few reasons. 1) People like to have different colors, it ads

variety. 2) different colors make it easy to identify who has which controller.

Rize Says: I currently own a mustard yellow

N64 controller. This wasn't my first choice for sure, but there was a time period after

launch when securing any first party N64 controller was not easy, much less your

favorite color. So, Nintendo has nothing to lose and everything to gain by offering

different color controllers (and maybe Gamecubes) at launch. I'm not so sure about pink

though. I think I'd do without before I picked up a pink Cube or controller.

Max Says: Yeah,

I'm just about 100% we'll have different colored systems and colors for NGC at launch. I'd

say Black and Silver are good bets too. We'll know for sure soon hopefully when Nintendo

unveils the system at E3. That is, unless Nintendo does what it did at SpaceWorld &

GBA: preview one set of colors, then release a different set upon the system's release.

Matt again asks, I have never really liked

Nintendo's flimsy paper boxes for their games. It's difficult to keep them in good shape.

Now that the big N is going with the disc format, what type of packaging do you think we

can expect? Will we see plastic or sturdy cardboard cases similar to most DVD cases? What?

Michael Cole Says: Nintendo will probably go

the route of "CD Cases" like all other Optical Gaming Systems. But since the

disk is smaller, you can expect the case to be smaller too. After all, Nintendo wants the

games to be pocketable like carts. Because of the smaller cases, Nintendo may be forced to

go the cardboard box route just because the manual would have to be in very small print if

it were located on the front cover of the disk case....

On a side note, I hope that Nintendo comes up with a better "lock" mechanism

than the one used for CDs and DVD's nowadays. Not only can it make the case hard to open,

but it can easily get broken.

Jonathan Says: I think TYP is right on with

the plastic case inside the regular box. Expect the actual disc case to be pretty sturdy,

since Nintendo is encouraging people to carry them all over the place. Besides, the Big N

has a history of very tough products.

Mike H. Says: Bare discs are vulnerable

enough as-is. I still prefer they'd used a caddy system for the Cube. At the very least, I

think it's safe to bet the storage will be Fort Knox security at a price you can afford.

Zosha Says: Remember folks, bigger boxes =

more shelf space. As cool as a tiny GC game might be, they won't get as much attention in

a 8 X 8 cm casing. Ever wonder why PC games have such large and/or strange shaped boxes?

Shelf space and consumer interest.

More likely is that Nintendo will use SFC-esque or even GBC style boxes, while inside

there will be a small space age plastic thing that will hold your precious Game Disc.

After all, we want nice full-color instruction manuals, don't we?

Billy Says: I agree with Zosha, but one thing

I may not agree with is the size. I think the size of the packaging will still be the same

size as a CD jewel case (the technical name for a CD case). I think it will be a little

different design wise but the same concept is there.

Back in the day they used to sell mini-CD's. They were basically CD singles. They had

paper sleeves, we're very tiny, and easy to lose. GBA carts are small enough. For manuals

to slide in and out, I'm hoping for at least a jewel case size. Plus then the kiddies

won't lose their GC Games.

Rize Says: I'll be happy as long as the game

comes with some sort of small protective casing. The old Game Boy cases were excellent.

Something similar would rock. I'd be just as happy to get big full color instructions as I

would be to get little ones that fit in the case with the game. It's a win-win situation

as far as I'm concerned.

As for box size, that cuts both ways. A quick run up to your local Babbages or equivalent

shows you that they usually have one wall for N64 games. When they run out of room, they

put older stuff at the bottom and turn them side ways. Smaller cases means more games can

be displayed at once.

Max Says: After seeing the miniscule size of

GBA Carts, I'm more inclined to be that the actual game discs will be stored in small

CD-like Jewel Cases. Hopefully, they'll be designed to accommodate the DVD format (which

is a bit more prone to scratching) while being a bit sturdier than regular DVD cases. I'd

expect instructions to be the "disc cover" that can slide into the game case

similar to pretty much every other system (something that definitely makes instructions

less easy to loose).

Zosha's point about packaging is key, especially one wonders how small the NGC games would

look if displayed solely in disc cases (pretty small). Maybe this would allow more of the

product to be crammed into the shelf-space & would cut down on waste materials (empty

box & inserts = more trash) which isn't a bad thing at all. However, some sort of

"outer packaging" for NGC games is possible, simply because it might make them

more noticeable to consumers.

Ty Says: If history is any sort of

indication, we'll get fairly big cases, but just for a while. If I'm not mistaken, Sega

CD, Saturn, and PSX all started with oversized CD cases, and then later shrunk them down

to standard CD size. Probably to save packaging costs. PS2 even has oversized cases - I

suspect they'll be gone within a year.

Grkangel10 asks, IGN recently ran an article

stating that the Gamecube would support component video. That is great. However, for those

of us whose TVs aren't compatible with it, we could care less. So my question is, will it

support S-Video as well? Or, if you don't know, have you heard anything with S-Video and

Gamecube in the same sentence?

Michael Cole Says: Yes, yes it will. In fact,

that will probably be the cable that comes with the GCN.

Jonathan Says: You can get S-video for the

Super NES, for goodness sake. It's a given for the Gamecube. However, I don't think it'll

be included with the system...at least not in place of the standard A/V cables. A lot of

people (me included, unfortunately) still don't have TVs with S-Video jacks.

Mike H. Says: If it doesn't support S-Video

out of the box, you can bet your Gamecube there will be optional support either from

Nintendo or through a high-grade supplier like Monster Cable, whose PS2 S-Video cable,

incidentally, is MUCH better than Sony's included one.

Zosha Says: I would like to take the time to

point out, that you are all lucky sods to have such high-end equipment.

Some people have a television set dating from the early '70s and only craptacular

mono sound from one barely working speaker. In addition to this they get to worry whether

the GC will have a farkin' RF out.

So there. >:P

Billy Says: S-Video all the way. It's amazing

the difference you can see when you have even your N64 hooked up this way. Plus the nice

thing about the N64 S-Video cable is it's interchangeable with the SNES version.

I don't think it will be in the box. People still use RF adapters. The standard AV cables

will probably be included.

Mike S. Says: S-Video rocks. Expect the

Gamecube Box to include both the RCA cables and the S-Vid cable. Much like the SNES

shipped with both the RF and RCA cables, to help phase in RCA and phase out RF.

Rize Says: Unless I get some kind of S-Video

adapter card for my PC, I'll be stuck with good old RCA to CO-AX inputs via my VCR. My

motto... if you don't know how good S-Video looks, you don't know how bad co-ax cable

looks.

Max Says: I am lucky enough to have a TV with

S-Video support and for a LONNNNNNNNG time had a S-Video cord for my DC (sadly, it broke).

After I discovered the difference it can make for N64, I've tried to get S-Video cords for

all my consoles -something that can get pricey! Because Nintendo has released S-Video

cords of its own since the SNES, it's very likely it will produce one for NGC. I doubt it

will be the default cord as there are lots of people who don't have S-Video TVs.

Father Brain asks, Can the "mini

DVD" media Nintendo chose for Gamecube help to decrease loading time?

Michael Cole Says: According to Nintendo, the

disc design was built partially for that exact purpose. Unfortunately, there is no way to

see how much it helps until E3. Possibly more helpful will be the large amount of memory

in the Cube, allowing pre-loading.

Jonathan Says: The smaller size is supposed

to help loading times, I guess because the laser has less ground to cover. I'll leave the

rest to the techies...

Billy Says: Smaller = Faster. Case in

point...Toad! That lil' bastard is fast as hell!

I am no techie. But well have to see for ourselves at E3!

Rize Says: Gamecube's disc media uses a

feature called "constant angular velocity." This means that the disc always

spins at the same speed, and prevents the disc from having to be slowed down or sped up,

thus saving time. It also means that loading time can be minimized by putting speed

dependent game data on the fastest part of the disc, and FMV on the slow part.

Mike H. Says: In addition to what Rize

covers, though it doesn't really answer your question, with the Cube being a DVD-esque

format, more data is crunched into the same physical space due to the shorter laser

wavelength. That too helps ease access issues.

Max Says: Nintendo's aversion of load times

in the past is a well documented tidbit, so it is no surprise that it would design its

next-generation system and software format to do just that. There will be some load times,

though they should not hopefully be too significant. There are some PS2 games that

literally give you time to make a sandwich while the game loads.

Someone (somewhat) asks, How is the Gamecube

being accepted in Japan, as opposed to the other platforms like XBox and the released PS2?

Are they optimistic or pessimistic about the system?

Jonathan Says: If you think

Nintendo has a lot of work to do in regards to a more mature image in America, that's

nothing compared to Japan. The N64 is very much considered a kid's toy over

there...remember, they don't have millions of GoldenEye fans, etc. Two things are working

in Nintendo's favor in this regard though: First, the GBA will be absolutely huge in Japan

no matter what, and Nintendo can really milk that factor for some extra Gamecube support.

Second, the Japanese market is becoming less and less influential. You have to realize

that the gaming market in Japan is about as saturated as it's ever going to get.

Meanwhile, gaming is becoming more mainstream and more popular in North America, South

America, Europe, and (I would think) Australia. When Japan's market share is constant and

everyone else's is expanding, the Nintendo's homeland becomes less and less important in

the grand scheme of things. Heck, Konami released some of its N64 games in America before

Japan. Think about that.

Ed Says: Yes, Nintendo needs to work to

broaden their appeal in their homeland, but at least they're still considered to be a

Japanese gaming company. I think Microsoft has an even tougher task since they're pretty

much an American OS/business software company. Getting the Japanese public to embrace the

XBox will not be an easy task at all. As it is now, Sony with their PS2 is pretty much the

console de jour in Japan...though some might say that it's more a DVD player that happens

to play games. Nintendo will have to have a lot of support from Japanese developers to

hope to get close to being the top console in the Land of the Rising Sun. Given the

information that's available now, it's hard for me to see Nintendo kicking Sony out of the

top spot in Japan, but I hope I'm proven wrong at E3.

Billy Says: I'll agree with the above

comments. Microsoft is going to really have a heck of a time competing in Japan. Sony's

doing alright, but that's because of the DVD player. PS2 software sales haven't been all

that hot.

Nintendo's ace is the GBA. Nintendo is really pushing GBA right now, and it's selling like

hotcakes. What Nintendo will really do in Japan is market the connectivity between the

two. That plus the outstanding software lineup, and third party support that Nintendo will

have at launch (fingers crossed) should really help Nintendo in their homeland.

EcKokid69 asks, I was wondering exactly what

games for the "older audience" would be coming to the Gamecube. I don't play

many because I mainly play sports, fighting, and miscellaneous games like Crazy Taxi. I

believe that if they cater to the older audience like me they will make more money and

will survive this console war.

Michael Cole: I don't get what you're asking.

What do YOU consider as a "Mature" game? If you mean things like Resident Evil,

you will see more of that on the GCN than you did on any previous Nintendo console. From

now on, the number of Mature games will depend on the Developers and Publishers--not on if

Nintendo deems it acceptable. As a matter of fact, you can expect some adult-themed games

from Nintendo 2nd parties (namely Silicon Knights, Rare, and Retro.)

Jonathan Says: We won't know for sure what

mature games (if by "mature", you mean rated "M"...) are coming until

official game announcements are made near or during E3. I guess that's a cop-out answer,

but it's true. But for what it's worth (perhaps not much, according to some Japanese

companies), Nintendo seems to be trying very hard to develop a more all-encompassing

public image. I bet they have some tricks up their sleeve for the Gamecube launch and soon

after.

Zosha Says: I swear, the next pathetic human

to ask this question again will be in extreme, everlasting pain. Got that?

Grrr....

Ed Says: Uh oh...angry dragon alert! Quick,

where's Louie so I can throw him in the path of the rampage. :> Seeing as no one has

put together a rough list...here's some expected Gamecube games that'd appeal to an older

audience; Metroid GC, Zelda GC, Too Human, Eternal Darkness, Resident Evil Zero, SSX,

Madden, 1080 2, Perfect Dark 2, Retro's RPG, Rogue Squadron 2, Thornado, NBA Courtside,

and Wave Race GC. I also expect some of the new stuff from EAD to be more geared towards

an older audience, but that's mostly speculation.

Billy Says: Louie's at home. But he would

probably help tear up this question. I guess "maturity" is how you view it.

Personally I'm sick of it all.

I think the general public really misses out on some

sweet games because they think something is "kiddie". Truly sad when games like

Bust A Move, Pokemon, Mario Party series, Mickey's Speedway USA, and even Kuru Kuru

Kururin are slated in their minds as what their little brother (or sister) should be

playing. Granted the targets are children, but there's some serious gameplay to be had (or

missed) here.

Are the games fun? That should be the main question asked here. Big breasts, chopping

heads off, or cursing do not always make a great game. Gameplay is key.

Mike S. Says: There should be plenty of

older-audience titles ready for Gamecube. Games like Resident Evil 0 and Too Human are

great examples. Oh and on a side note, Crazy Taxi does have a genre. The genre is

"Sega" because all Sega games are fantastic and diverse, so they get their own

genre.