Interesting read, notably Steven Kent, the IGN boys and the PGC boys and the guy from N-sider were the most interesting, managing to stay rather level-headed.
Sadly, the others weren't so impressive. Notably Tim (?) from Cube-Europe's responses aren't worth publishing let alone reading. Quite the fanboy, playing to every typical trait.

Seems any Joe Bloggs can whip up a website in Frontpage and get their opinion out there. The down side of the internet, huh?

Steven Kent's collective answers were shorter than just one of Frangoat's or some of the other dude's...I guess he had a pressing appointment with...whatever important people he talks to...

Hmm. just starting to read over this. Have to disagree with Fran on this one, regarding 3rd party development. He states that more titles are being made for PS2/Xbox only..but if you actually studied the trend since 2001, the amount of 3rd party support for GC has increased. Where was the Final Fantasy and Metal Gear series back in 2001, for a raw example? No hope of coming to the GameCube then.

I am truly amazed that these young cats that are "gaming journalists" (nearly chokes on laughter) think that they understand the market. I am the CEO of a new development house (shameless plug - http://www.brokenattitude.com ) and have been studying the market ever since the current generation of consoles released. Its a good thing that these guys dont run a gaming business, because they have no skills at analyzing the industry and fail to be able to predict production trends.

Steve: Partner up with Microsoft. Microsoft wants to crack the Japanese market and can't. Nintendo wants to crack the older demographic and cannot. MS makes the most powerful box, Nintendo makes the best controllers. Leave the PC business in MS's powerful hand and the handheld business with Nintendo


Nintendo wouldnt "partner" up with Microsoft, they would become a seccond party to M$, and how would that benefit Nintendo? X-box just doesnt sell in japan. Woulndt it make more sense for them to go with Sony instead?

actually it would make more sense for nintnedo to take their head out of their asses and just make a console that isnt "kiddy" and has a good variety of games/3rd party support.

Nintendo lost "The Cool".

Atari lost it to Nintendo.
Nintendo lost it to Sega.
Sega lost it to Sony.
Sony cheated and kept it for the PlayStation 2.
Microsoft paid losts of money and didn't realize they lost "The Cool" in the PC market around Windows 3.11.
Nokia debuted the N-Gage, and lost all hope for cool.

Do not be an idiot! First of all, Nintendo is not a "kiddy" console; they are simply sticking to their strengths and their strengths lay in their first party characters. Second, Nintendo has been working hard with third party's to bring more games to the GameCube. The deal is most third party's like the GameCube, however the fact of the matter is that most of the time those games do not sell well on the GameCube, due to a lack of advertising. Third party support is much better when it is when the console first lanched so things are starting to turn around. Third and lastly, Nintendo is starting to do more advertising and a little advertising can go a long way. Nintendo has the resources to do battle with Sony and Microsoft for many years to come. If you are just going to complain about the console then go to another forum and do it and if you do not like Nintendo or its software library then go buy a PS2 or an Xbox and stop your crying!

The Doc

It is kind of interesting how all of these people, who spend quite a bit of time covering videogames, all feel that the GameCube is dead to the mainstream for this generation. They commonly reflected that Nintendo should just get ready for 2005.

Funny, how I find the GameCube to be a phenomenal system, and a fix for all the problems of the N64. Heck, in my naivete, I figured the sticking point for the N64 was the lack of third-party support. Of course, and I should have realized this earlier, it was just the image slapped onto Nintendo of being not cool.

And now it's gotten worse. Games don't sell consoles, image does.

Well, let's not forget that this is supposed to be a conglomerate of opinions. This is how each of them feel.

Personally, I think Nintendo is just fine. They've got their own market. That doesn't satisfy everybody and it isn't supposed to. Nintendo is doing a lot to keep their fans happy.

On a side note, did anyone else feel a strong message hidden in the art gallery in Wind Waker?

I'm very happy with my Nintendo. I bought it for Nintendo games. That's not fanboyism, that's being happy with my purchase. I do think Nintendo is trying hard to please us.

And it's true that if Nintendo hopes to recapture the console market, it will do so with the next Nintendo console. Until then, Nintendo needs to focus on quality and support. They do this by building stronger relationships with third parties (read: Capcom, Namco, SEGA, Square-Enix). I hate to say it, but what they do from here on out should be thought of as table-setting because there's just no way to make a huge change to the market for this generation. It's kind of hard to catch Sony halfway through a generation in other words. Nintendo could, against the laws of market phsyics, sell 50 million Gamecube consoles worldwide overnight, but Sony would still have its userbase. Those 50 million users would make a bigger difference in the next generation. Expanding userbase now is more key for the next generation, and I can definitely understand why most of the journalists interviewed would feel the way they do. There's logic to their reasoning.

And don't think for a minute that they or Nintendo would even slightly shift their focus toward a new console and neglect the Gamecube. Nintendo knows what they have to do.

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And don't think for a minute that they or Nintendo would even slightly shift their focus toward a new console and neglect the Gamecube. Nintendo knows what they have to do.

I must say that it was nice to hear from all sides, pros and fans alike. Each brought their opinions and put in their input in a tasteful manner, though it seemed Game Cube Advanced implied more on the image.

Gotta give it up to Mr.Rick Powers for giving a very feasible 'what-if' on what Nintendo should put on the next console. I would like to know how the boys at IGN know that F-Zero GC (Or GX) won't be LAN-able?

Its pretty much a consensus that hardcore fans aren't the driving force they use to. The casual gamers are content with their ignorance and like the impressionable teenager, will buy what they publisher pushes.

As far as competition goes, if we flash back to GDC and DICE, it was PS2 and GCN going neck and neck. The 2 XboX games that got some recognition were Splinter Cell and the unsung Jet Set Radio future was nominated for best music, going up against the likes of GTA: Vice City. If there were any more, let me know, those were the two that stuck out. So Nintendo CAN hang and throw down with the best of them, the question is, (Pause for cliche) can they go all the way?

Stay tuned....(And buy those titles, IF you don't have Eternal Darkness and Resident Evil, shame on you! At least give them a test drive. Now if I could just beat RE 0 and rent Ikaruga...)

An interesting read indeed, but I do have my qualms with certain issues and certain people’s responses.

1) Raze, games are being cancelled for the Gamecube, more so now than ever in fact. However, most of these are games that you and I and maybe even the average Joe wouldn’t care about. Just because Nintendo is landing a few big deals with a few companies (and notice that not every deal is set for exclusivity) doesn’t mean that it isn’t losing ground to ‘PS2/XBOX Only’ titles, check out any multi-console magazine or website for proof.

2) In regards to Steve Kent’s comment: Utterly foolish, only beneficial on Microsoft’s part and most likely said because Steve-boy works for said software giant.

3) The Doc, You know the Gamecube isn’t a kiddy console, I know the Gamecube isn’t a kiddy console, mostly everyone posting on the PlanetGAMECUBE board knows it isn’t a kiddy console. The problem is: do mainstream gamers -a group that’s quickly gaining in numbers and influence- know that it isn’t a kiddy console? I’m afraid not.

Nintendo may be able to rest on its laurels and bring in the cash this round, but it won’t be that way for long (I’m willing to bet that if Nintendo goes into the next generation with the same strategy, that generation will be its last.). Though the Gamecube is by far outshining its predecessor, hardcore Nintendo fans are losing ground to mainstream, big time, and Nintendo’s name is QUICKLY losing its influence. This is the generation that all -ALL- of Nintendo’s champions fell (they all sold alright, but not a single one sold as well as Nintendo “had hoped”). And not only did they fall, they fell to newbies!

You can come up with as many reasons for why Nintendo isn’t doing well as you want, Doc, but that won’t change the fact that Nintendo ISN’T doing as well as they thought they would be. It’s time for a change, like it or not.

4) VideoGamerX—You’re not the only one happy with Nintendo, but the fact of the matter is, we could all stand to be ‘happier’ with them. As I said, Nintendo’s name is losing its influence. Sure, it can hold on to its fine-tuned market of kids who wish it wouldn’t hold on to them (as our friend Rick said), but one day someone’s going to see the possible profit and invade on Nintendo’s territory, and what will Nintendo do then? Nintendo needs to do a better job at branching out, and showing ever genre of gamer how awesome of a developing team and system it possesses. They need to create some strong relationships with 3rd parties, and not just the big names, little ones as well. Let’s face it; numbers do effect how well a console does.

Let’s use Nintendo’s own ‘younger core-market’ against it for a sec: If a parent and their child walk into, erm, a Toys-R-Us, and see shelves upon shelves of video games for console A, and only a quarter of a shelf for console B, which console would the parent lean towards? The answer is, obviously, A. More games means more options, and a longer-lasting purchase. They may mostly be crap games, but a parent doesn’t know that. ^_^. Now here’s the sad part, Console A is obviously PS2, and who is console B? That’s right, Nintendo Gamecube.

Nintendo could change that though. Do a better job at catering to the small developers--the little guys. If anything it’ll raise their numbers, and who knows, a few ambitious developers might churn out a cult-hit or two.

Oh, and there’s no way Nintendo will hit 50 million in Gamecube’s lifespan, just no way.

6) And lastly, what is with everyone wanting wireless controllers to become standard!? HELL no! The Wavebird a great and all, but there are too many things a wireless controller would not be able to do and keep a decent battery life. Rumble function for example, and I for one would LOVE to a see a return to memory card slots in the controllers since, as we all know, they can be used for more than memory cards (headsets anyone?). Imagine if you could play GBA games on the Gamecube without having to attach some gadget to the bottom of your cube.



And that is the end of my bitchy and incoherent rant.

Interesting read I have to say. But I lost some respect for Steven Kent. Nintendo should partner up with MS? Is he outta his mind? Plus, he said that Nintendo should write this generation off and end it credibly. What? Somebody help me here. Nintendo is doing well, not as well as they hoped, but they are making more money than Sony and MS.

Third-party support is not that bad. It's better than the N64 days, and they are building good relationships with Namco, Capcom, Sega etc...It's a start and should improve, especially for the next-gen.

Rick Power's comments kicked ass...Like usual.

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Originally posted by: Licken34
An interesting read indeed, but I do have my qualms with certain issues and certain people’s responses.

1) Raze, games are being cancelled for the Gamecube, more so now than ever in fact. However, most of these are games that you and I and maybe even the average Joe wouldn’t care about. Just because Nintendo is landing a few big deals with a few companies (and notice that not every deal is set for exclusivity) doesn’t mean that it isn’t losing ground to ‘PS2/XBOX Only’ titles, check out any multi-console magazine or website for proof.

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you make a good point about we lose 1 we gain 2-3, we lost sega sports, nintendo gets a big 20+ game deal with ea, cant just look at the bad side of things

My two favorites parts of this article were:

1) The Rick Powers "deer in the headlights" picture
2) The Jonny Metts "professional photo shoot" picture, fresh from his new portfolio

Very professional, boys

silks

The Problems, The Plans and The Future.

Nintendo cant afford to spend billion dollar yearly budgets on aggressive product awareness & product placement (concerning the GCN platform or future next-gen platforms) aimed at mainstream markets because Nintendo doesnt have predominate PC franchises keeping it afloat (like newskool platforms that are so-called competing in the console industry). (Morrowind with bugs or too boring version, Morrowind Updated without bugs version, or coming-soon Morrowind GOTY edition version? WTF when did Morrowind win GOTY?).

When M$ retail-give-away their console platform for free providing the consumer signs-up on a dictatorship online plan through M$, one can only cringe at all the analists (who are merely puppet-publicists for the corporation that pays them enough) defaming Nintendo for not keeping up with the competitor's desperations.

In 90 years time when these set-top-boxes have mandatory accompanied wireless chipsets that must be installed under the gamer's skin or VR teleportation technology placing the gamer into a VR dimension filled with commercial product placement and other corporate brainwashing trash, Industry analists will be whining why Nintendo still only focuses on the basic fundamentals.

Nintendo has its own hardcore fanbase to please and has been doing so for decades (much to the bemusement of know-all analists) with pure console genre type of games that focus on realtime, polished fun rather than Movie Industry entertainment etc.

Its unlikely PC developers (being used by M$ to leech-dry the console platform industry "money well") will support the GCN platform on the scale that they will support the DirectX-in-a-Box platforms, therefore Nintendo's demographics will most likely always remain predominately targeted as its core fanbase while Nintendo keeps supporting its fundamental principles of proprietory (non-mainstream, hence easily cracked) software data formats. Nintendo is willing to sacrifice mainstream markets that are the result of mainstream software data mediums which multiple entertainment industries use, in order for Nintendo to maintain property protection of its huge software lineup that it "actually" developes and publishes itself literally.
Sony is in the market for userbase figures (no matter how shallow its software or how primitive its hardware can be) ...while
Nintendo is in the market for software development entertainment "with" property-protection ...while
M$ (LOL) is in the market to "crash it" so then M$ can restructure the market in its own corporate mould & infrastructure not unlike the possessive nature it displays regarding PC operating systems.

The day Nintendo changes its traditional & specialist (refer below) gaming-only company principles is the day Nintendo sells-out its principles in order to mainstream itself for the masses. It aint going to happen, Nintendo will always be a proprietory format gaming-only focused company and it wont shift its philosophies for the sake of mainstream entertainment markets. Sony publishes cheesy music & publishes shallow movies, so that part of the entertainment industry is pretty much covered, its not in Nintendo's interests to invade Sony's industry by introducing GBA players that features MP3 format which would literally kill-off corporate music industry publishes like Sony. Its not in Nintendo's interest to introduce a GCN with DVD burning capabilities to kill-off the coporate movie industry publishes like Sony who depend on shallow movie-to-game liscense deals like *cough* Spiderman *cough* and other 3rd Party shallow games that attract the half-witted mainstreamy market, to make money off the PSX platform(s).

And no matter how hard certain analists, publicists, speculators, journalists or fanboys jump up and down whining (or vine-swing like apes from hangman's nooses with Nintendo's name on em), because Nintendo wont play "image seeking" games and not rely on "aesthetics" or "cool factors" for selling its consoles but rather focus on "practical functionality" at its most quick-time form, Nintendo will still continue developing polished console games to be played on a console platform because Nintendo's core fanbase are not "image seekers" they are hardcore gamers that have an appreciation for gaming evolution.

Even an ape can speculate that Nintendo wont rush into Online Gaming infrustructures during this era just as Nintendo didnt rush into the cost-effective CD-ROM software data medium (until the technology was available for Nintendo to be able to copy-protect its franchises they actually make), however these speculators must respect that there is no urgency to rush just because eg. M$ converted the beige PC platform into a suspicious console looking case, platform, and Nintendo is therefore apparently not satisfying all the fussy markets because its principles of polished game publishing remains fundamental and is not appealing to the "patch/upgrade online subscription infrastructure" otherwise known as "leeching".

It really is not too hard to identify that Nintendo specialise rather than "cash-cow diversify" for the sake of playing the "Console (userbase sales figures) Wars", or "Aesthetic Image Games". Nintendo plays real games, not corporate games.

If we were to look at the automobile industry, is it pressumptious of us to assume there are analists in that industry that defame European car makers? for the fact that they "just" specialise in fine automobiles rather than than compete with eg. Hyundai who manufacture automobiles but also happen to be the biggest shipping-building company on the market.
One should hope not. The European car companies may "only" specialise in one market being eg. fine automobiles of sporty a nature, but they do it with pride and they do survive against eg. Hyandai.

Industry analists, publicists, speculators, journalists, fanboys should accept the fact that Nintendo's userbase will always be lower than that of mainstream entertainment platforms.

In conclusion, the question at hand is not what Industry analists, publicists, speculators, journalists, fanboys believe Nintendo's direction must be but rather whether or not Industry analists, publicists, speculators, journalists, fanboys and apes alike can actually identify, acknowledge and respect Nintendo's fundamental principles which Nintendo adhere to and these pressure groups should get on with their gaming lives already and stop adding useless sensationalism topics of discussion to the already chugger bandwidth of the internet.

To quote a M$ puppet at a previous E3 show ..."We are in the Console Industry and We are here to stay...yadda yadda ...We are here to Win"... arrogant procclaimation and or threat>

Industry analists, publicists, speculators, journalists, fanboys and apes alike must identify that Nintendo is not in the Gaming Industry "to win", it is in the Gaming Industry to surprise and entertain its core userbase and those that cant handle it should get over it.



2003 = Nintendo's greatest E3 ever.(Pure console games. No PC franchise ports).

That’s all very true in a sense. However, when most suggest that Nintendo change the way it handles the market, they aren’t asking it to ‘sell out’, parse, but realize that the market itself is changing.

Nintendo can’t stick to the same strategy it has been for years. Its market will be slowly edged away. Nintendo’s new president seems to realize this, and for that I am glad.

Nintendo doesn’t have to go mainstream to make a profit, it may be in third place out here in the states, but the last time I checked it was in first place when it came to profits. However, I don’t see that always being the case and, as I said, Nintendo seems to be realizing this. Say what you want about how Nintendo runs itself, but when the company in question realizes that it’s not doing as good as it hoped, and almost every month we’re hearing of Nintendo posting some new type of profit loss or budget cutback, it’s obvious that it’s time for a change.

Nintendo may never again be first in the videogame market, but that doesn’t mean at can’t make a comfortable cushion for itself. I’m sick and tired of hearing Nintendo say “(inset heavy-hitter game title here) didn’t do as well as we hoped” or “GBA-GC connectivity didn’t push off as well as we had hoped” or even “sales didn’t do as well as we hoped” in every press release. Nintendo needs to get itself to a point where it doesn’t need to ‘hope’, and that won’t happen if it keeps to handling things the way it does.

Projection cut back, and the two things you stated are two diffent things. Projection cut back just means they are not selling as much as they thought the market would take. Profit/loss is the amount of revenue they do as a company, projection has some implecation on Profit/loss since they will not reach their projected revenue.

As for Budget cutback that only happens if you are losing money and have to cut things. To my knowlege Nintendo hasn't had to do that for a very long time.

Nintendo is a careful company, and as it is said their market is games and only games, so they adjust accordingly to what is needed.

Looking at the sales figures I wonder why everyone says N needs to appeal to the mainstream. IMO those numbers are by far sufficient. And if there's still profit, that obviously means N does not need the mainstream. So why don't we just take a minute to laugh about the people who reject the GC because of its looks and miss out all the games?