hey bag,

i have two questions about why mario games have changed. first, off mario 64

and sunshine weren't that different instead of jumping in a protrait you

jump in a paint spot and instead of stars they're shine sprites very

orignally. but, my question is what happened to all the castles? the shy

guys are gone and i haven't seen any koopa troppers in sunshine.

o but, my sencond question is you said sunshine had a failure sale wize. how

much did it sell?

There's a fine balance between changing too little and too much with a new Mario game. You could argue that Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World were just as much alike as Super Mario 64 and Sunshine are. I think the problem people have with Sunshine (and by the way, I absolutely love the game) is that it changed a few things but didn't really push the series forward much, and in fact it felt like a step backward in some ways (camera). It's also really damn difficult, and I think that turned off many players right away. As for sales, Sunshine recently broke two million units sold in the U.S. That makes it one of the top selling GameCube titles, but compared to other Mario games, Sunshine's sales have been a complete disappointment. For instance, Super Mario 64 sold about three times as much in the U.S., and even some of the SNES ports on GBA have outsold Sunshine.

I read up a little on DS homebrew websites a few months ago. Some of

these sites were very interesting -- one was a blog by, apparently,

one of the developers who worked on Sprung. From my reading, this is

what I remember about the DS' video hardware.

It contains two of the graphics chip used in the Gameboy Advance, one

for each screen. The GBA, if you remember, has rather flexible 2D

video hardware, and even some rudimentary ability to create 3D-like

effects with clever use of hardware scaling. It's also capable, in

framebuffer mode, of playing host to a software 3D engine, although

this is usually too slow to matter much. The DS has two processors,

an ARM7 (same as in a GBA) and an ARM9, but even so, I'm guessing a

software-based 3D engine is probably not a viable option unless it's

something relatively simple (Wolf 3D or DOOM-like). Of course, I

could be proven wrong quite easily.

The DS also contains one 3D chip, of similar (but as observed, not

identical) capability to that in the N64. The chip's output can be

switched between the screens, but it cannot display 3D on both at the

same time *in the same frame*.

The DS' video hardware updates the screens roughly 60 times a second.

Displaying a traditional 3D display on both screens, sixty times a

second, is beyond the DS. But apparently, what it CAN do is update

each screen every other frame. If you're willing to put up with 30

frames a second, it should be able to handle both screens in an

alternating fashion; the screens update so quickly that the player

need never know such slight of hand is going on.

For a game that does 3D on both screens at once, check the "giant

robot" level near the end of of Feel the Magic, which looks like it's

rendering polygons on both screens at once. For further reading on

the capabilities of the DS, check out the homebrew development wiki,

at:

http://www.bottledlight.com/ds/index.php/Main/HomePage

The developer's blog is at:

http://trikuare.cx/mt/archives/000757.php

- John H.

Thanks for the info!

Deer bag,

With Tales of Symphonia's supposedly better-then-expected sales, and with

the better-then-expected critical acclaim that it received: why has Namco

avoided giving the Gamecube more Tales goodness? It's sort of baffling when

you think about it, but something must be going on behind the scenes that's

making them avoid the cube.

My only guess is that (other then the larger user base, obviously) Sony is

charging them less royalty fees for their games, but I know that there's

more to it then that.

What's your take on this?

Thanks,

-SB

Tales of Symphonia did get and deserve plenty of critical acclaim, but its sales weren't anything amazing. It sold about 300,000 units in Japan and probably less than that in the U.S. Being such a large game, it was expensive to develop in the first place, and then the English localization was a huge project in itself. In Japan, the PS2 version actually outsold the GC version even though it came out a year later. That's more or less proof that the hardcore Tales fanbase is still firmly in Sony's camp, thus Namco's stance on choosing PS2 for subsequent Tales games. I think we'll see a similar result with RE4 on PS2 this fall.

Yo. How possible would it be for Nintendo to offer downloadable games

on the Rev that were nearly completed but never released? I'm talking

about games such as StarFox II, Crash 'n the Boys Ice Challenge,

Earthbound (NES), and SimCity (NES). I'd certainly get them!

-Mop

It's completely possible, but it would require someone at Nintendo going back to actually finish those games, which I don't really see happening. Star Fox II could probably be done fairly quickly. Earthbound "Zero" is not a programming issue, since the game was originally on Famicom anyway; the problem is getting it translated, and it is an RPG after all. Legend has it that there was actually a complete English translation of the game that was never mass produced. Knowing Nintendo, I wouldn't doubt the story, but I don't know if it's true or not.

Hey guys, great job on the site. Good to see you

answering the questions other sites won't touch (for

whatever reason).

Question 1: As N reps have said repeatedly, every cool

idea Nintendo comes out with eventually gets copied.

So once Sony and Microsoft copy the magical new

controller and the game download service, that leaves

the Revolution with the obligatory Zelda game, the

obligatory Pokemon Colosseum knock-off, and system

specs that put it at a distant third behind the

competition. So what can Nintendo do to counter that?

Please don't answer "nothing" or "issue insane

contradictory press releases" because that hasn't

worked for them yet.

Question 2: A sequel to Earthbound was promised on an

in-game billboard in the original title. I believe

this game has been anticipated even longer than Duke

Nukem Forever. What happened? Last year I remember a

press release saying it's over 60% finished, but there

hasn't been a single screenshot of the game released.

Can you kneecap some Nintendo people or bake them

cookies or hold their Nintendogs for ransom until we

get some answers, any answers at all? And what was

with the brief rumor that it would be ported to the

DS? A few thousand Earthbound junkies need another fix

here.

Regards,

Squid.

Answer 1: You're assuming that Sony and/or Microsoft will actually want to copy Nintendo's ideas. No one wanted to copy the GameCube's clicky analog triggers or wacky button layout, and Sony waited to copy the connectivity idea until wireless technology made it somewhat more reasonable. As I've said over and over, the best way for Nintendo to start moving in the right direction is to make Revolution appealing to EVERYONE: casual gamers, hardcore gamers, and brand new gamers. If you can get all those people interested in the system, most of the other problems (third-party support) will sort themselves out. That's a tall order, but Sony has more or less pulled it off for two generations in a row, and they're going for a third.

Answer 2: I covered this not too long ago in another mailbag, but basically the game is cursed. It was in development for years and years on the 64DD, then it got "revived" for GBA, and that was three years ago with no evidence of progress yet. Earthbound is the new Metroid. Give it another decade, and a new one will come out of nowhere as one of the greatest games ever.

I was wondering how long is the new legend of zelda game will be? I have read the interviews which the nintendo people say that it will be 70 hour game, however i do not belive it. i don't think it's possible for them ti make the game that long, unless they drag some part to be so long and boring(Wind Waker where you would for the triforce pieces just to make the game longer). Anyway let me know what you think about this and great site.

Company estimates for playing time are usually inflated, but I expect Twilight Princess to be long...longer than Wind Waker and probably longer than Ocarina of Time. Of course, most of the Zelda games are only medium length if you go straight through the quest; the experience gets stretched out considerably with side quests. The trick for Nintendo is to make sure those side quests are fun and that the rewards for finishing them are sufficient motivation.

Dear PGC- first off excellent job with the site-I've been a daily reader since the Gamecube first came out. I have two questions:

1st- does anybody know if the Play-Yan MP3/MP4 player is coming to the US, and when? I've been holding off with 21st century technology and haven't bought an MP3 player since I first heard of the Play-Yan...carting a huge discman around at the gym is getting old.

2nd- do you know the age demographics of your readers?... or even Nintendo players in general?- at being 25 years old I feel like I'm at the older end of the gaming spectrum-your thoughts? I appreciate your answers and updating the mailbag daily.

Sincerely, BZURKE

1st- Nintendo was eagerly showing off the Play-Yan at E3, which is a good sign, but it's no sure bet. They seemed to be showing it with the GB Micro, so maybe those two items will come out simultaneously. A package with both would be appealing, don't you think?

2nd- According to the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), over half of all gamers are over the age of 30 or something like that. But the ESA considers you a gamer if you play Snake on your cell phone or Solitaire at work once a week. Gamers are getting older though, that's for sure. Nintendo players in general are an odd mix of pre-teens and nostalgic old fogies, with some people in between those extremes. PGC's readers span the whole spectrum; I don't have detailed demographics because we don't require you to register to read our site, but I would guess that our readers tend to be slightly older than the mean age of Nintendo players, though we definitely have plenty of younger readers too.

Pull an answer

From my quiver

Mailbag, mailbag

Please deliver!

Meow.