Einstein402 asks, I was wondering if the GameCube

game discs will be as durable as the PSX CDs are? I mean, those CD's can get scratched a

lot but still live a long happy life.

Mike H. Says: From what I know the N-ROMs are

basically as durable as any other CD or DVD. DVD and DVD-esque media tends to fare better

because of stronger error correction technology as well.

Rize Says: Yes. The error correction schemes on

DVDs and CDs are quite powerful. Basically, instead of storing all the info in a straight

line, the data is mixed up a bit on each "ring" of the track's spiral. You

follow? Correction bits (kinda like extra copies of data) are stored in different parts of

each ring so that a couple of scratches have a very low chance of wiping out all the

copies of information. It's really more complicated than that, but basically, if you treat

your discs humanely (grab them by the edges and store them in their rightful cases) they

should last for a lifetime.

Max Says: I've heard that DVDs scratch a bit

easier than CDs, but still can endure some wear and tear. As Rize points out, as long as

you handle your discs carefully, you should have no problem. The small size of the

GameCube game discs, along with the Cube's ability to "eject" the disc should

make them easy to handle with care.

Ethan asks, After playing Rogue Leader, I was

duly impressed. However, one thing which really piqued my interest was how the game made

use of the GameCube's internal clock to determine the time of day on the Tatooine training

level.

As far as you are aware, do any other titles which will be released in the near future

make use of the clock in a similar fashion?

Rize Says: Not that I know of, but even Rogue

Leader doesn't do it for every level. I believe it only works on two levels. Still, it's

an impressive use of the clock.

Jonathan Says: Expect a lot of RPGs, including the

next Pokemon game, to exploit the feature heavily. I'm sure Nintendo EAD will eventually

come up with an even more bizarre use...and there's always the obligatory Monster Rancher

exploitation.

Max Says: Actually I think the real time clock

will end up in a lot of games. If you think about it, many Nintendo games of late have

utilized time cycles: Majora's Mask and Pikmin are recent examples, but then there's even

Mario Golf, which had the day grow later as you play through 18 holes. Although these

cycles aren't in "real time," it shows developers thinking about the time of day

and how it works in the game world. I don't know many upcoming games that will use it, I'm

sure it's a feature that will get utilized a lot. Not only in RPGs either, though the

genre is a great category for it.

One title I can name specifically is Animal Forest. Events in the town will change

according to the date/time. For example, in winter months, there is snow on the ground and

Christmas lights decorating the town and such.

Misha asks, What is the future of the light gun for GameCube? Do you know (rumors?) of any

games that are in production that use the light gun?

Mike S. Says: Well, Namco is making games for the

GameCube. You can buy Time Crisis 2 for the PlayStation 2 with the Guncon gun from Namco.

So, with Namco on board, I think there might be a chance for some good gun games.

TYP Says: As you probably already know, Nintendo

is very touchy about the Light Gun issue. Nintendo didn't make any such peripheral on the

N64 due to various events I will not mention right now... Nintendo is worried about its

image. If both M$ and Sony make such peripherals (I've seen ads for PS2 ones!) and are not

shunned for doing so, Nintendo's system will probably have one as well, provided that

there are games for it!

Jonathan Says: I agree that Namco, or possibly

Sega, will be the entry point for light gun titles on GameCube. Namco's GunCon is easily

the best console light gun ever made, and it's no coincidence that Namco also makes some

of the best light gun games. I don't see Nintendo ever making another first-party gun

peripheral, but maybe they'll license a really good one if the software is there.

Max Says: No word on actual games but I have heard

rumors & other knick-knack that make me believe a light gun is probable. Can't provide

much more insight than that though. Like the others have pointed out, with Namco

developing full-force for Cube, there's a chance that we'll see a GunCon. Sega has also

made some great light gun games (the Virtual Cops, the Houses of the Deads and so on) and

I'm praying we'll see some of them on Cube. Cross your fingers. And maybe take some hope

from the fact the Super-Scope (the "light gun" for SNES) is an item in Super

Smash Bros. Melee and one of the trophies is ducks from Duck Hunt.

EagleEyeEd asks, I really want something other than the standard GCN DVD cases. I think

it's a bit much for such a small format. Do you think smaller cases will be available from

a third party?

Mike H. Says: You can get all kinds of cases for 8

cm media at dealers or on the internet.

Colored cases. Clear cases. black cases. 2-disc cases. Slim-line cases. Whatever you want,

it's out there.

Rize Says: Of course, those won't hold the

instructions for the game, but that's a small trade off for the increased portability.

TYP Says: There are quite a few choices. If you

want a sleeve booklet, explore our hardware page as well as various online stores. As the

guys before me suggested, search standard electronic/music stores if you want a hard mini

disc case.

Jonathan Says: I'm sure third-party accessory

companies will have all sorts of GameCube disc albums, cases, etc. before long. Hell, I

wouldn't be too surprised to see some sort of multi-disc changer for parties...switch from

Super Monkey Ball to Mario Party 4 at the touch of a button.

Jerry asks, How is the GameCube is doing in Japan now, after the initial launch? Has

Pikmin helped spur hardware sales? It was discouraging to see the rather lackluster

launch.

Mike H. Says: The GameCube in

Japan is selling, but not at a dynamo pace. Sell-throughs have increased by some

15,000 a week since Pikmin's launch, which is good news. The PS2 continues to sell

approximately 1.5x the pace of GameCube, which is to be expected so far.

Smash Bros. Melee, which comes out on the 21st, is expected to be a considerable

system-seller.

Jonathan Says: Ya know, it's kind of hard to tell.

NOA has said very little about the system's performance in Japan, although they did note

that the launch fulfilled their expectations. One problem with gauging success is that we

don't have very accurate sales figures from Japan. Famitsu is considered the most reliable

source, but they only account for the major chains, so the numbers they report are often

much smaller than the real sales numbers. (On a side note, North American sales figures

are also becoming increasingly difficult to find, so most of our information to that

effect comes directly from NOA and other publishers in the form of press releases.)

However, even without accurate numbers from Japan, I don't think GameCube is going over so

poorly there as some people think. Smash Bros. is obviously going to be the major GC title

for Christmas on both sides of the Pacific, and soon after Japanese gamers will be getting

Virtua Striker 3, Phantasy Star Online, and most importantly, Resident Evil. Soul Calibur

2 hype will also start building in the spring, and we already know that it's probably

coming to GameCube first after a healthy run in the arcades. That, along with Mario

Sunshine in the summer and many third-party offerings, should help to keep Japanese

interest in the GameCube quite high. Keep an eye on the Most Wanted Charts, which are

updated regularly at The Magic Box. (www.the-magicbox.com)