N-Query

Revolutionary hardware. Same philosophy?

Third-Parties and Revolution

I've noticed a trend among the video game release lists: for September, Xbox has 31 games projected for release, PS2 39, and GameCube a paltry 19. What the heck is going on? It seems like most third-party games are only released for PS2 and Xbox first. Is Nintendo actually making progress in this area? Are they trying to get third party games like that NFL ESPN game? Do you think this will improve in the next generation of systems? Or should I throw in the Nintendo towel and go for Halo 2 and Metal Gear Solid 3?

Matt responds: I wouldn't throw in the towel just yet unless you also want to throw away the chance to play games like Metroid Prime 2 Echoes, Resident Evil and the upcoming Legend of Zelda. GameCube still has a number of top-notch exclusives set to release this year and next. But nearly all of them are from Nintendo or its second-party studios. Take away Capcom, Namco and Sega and there are virtually no exclusive third-party GameCube titles set for release through the end of the year. Meanwhile, there are quite a few exclusive third-party games on both PlayStation 2 and Xbox. Which is why both of the latter systems have more games in general.

This has been the "Nintendo Difference," if you will, since the later days of the Nintendo 64. Great first- and second-party games, but very few exclusive third-party ones.

My hope is that Revolution will be different and interesting enough to draw more third-party support. But at the same time, Nintendo seems stuck in the days of the Super-NES when it was more or less the unchallenged videogame leader. In many ways it continues to operate as if it were the only option available to gamers. Call it ignorance or arrogance. It seems to believe that third-parties should feel privileged to develop for its consoles as opposed to Sony and Microsoft, who offer third-parties incentive and support. And that, to me, is the scariest part of it.

Take, for instance, a conversation a development head at a huge third-party studio relayed to me. His company was allegedly approached by a Nintendo rep and asked to begin developing something for Revolution. Here's how the conversation went, according to him:

Developer: "Why in the hell would I want to develop for Revolution when I can make my game for Microsoft's or Sony's console?"

Nintendo rep: "Because we're Nintendo."

End of conversation. I seriously hope this was an isolated incident and not a reflection of Nintendo's third-party outreach for Revolution.

Arsenal in Echoes

Hey guys, I was just wonderin' Are there gonna' be more weapon's when the full version (yes, it's dumb question of me, butI'm really curious,) comes out? Or, will it only be Power, Dark, and light?

Thanks,
Victor

Matt responds: Yep. There'll definitely be more weapons, just as there will be at least one previously unseen visor. There's a whole new suit in the game that nobody knows about, even. It allows Samus to exist in the Dark World without running between Luminoth air pockets. (Man, that was a geeky sentence to write.) So expect more. But if you're asking what kind of weapons to expect, well, that I don't know. I've got a lot of confidence in Retro Studios, though. These guys know what's up.

One-Percent.

I just read the latest mailbag with the information that Nintendo removed the component output off the new GameCubes. I decided to check the "customer service" site you linked to and found this funny.

"Why have you removed the component video feature from the Nintendo GameCube?

On newer models of the Nintendo GameCube, we opted to remove the digital A/V out port from the system because we found that less than one percent of all Nintendo GameCube players used this feature."

So this is their official reasoning for removing this connection. Now correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe the component cables were ever available at game stores. The only way I remember being able to get them was online via Nintendo's website. I know Monster Cable never made a component cable for the Cube either.

Now the reason I find their response so funny is the fact it seems to me that more than 1% of their customers would use the component output if the damned cables were easy to purchase. It just seems to me this is another example of Nintendo dropping the ball and claiming it's what their customers want.

Oh well, I guess that's the Big Ns policy these days, technology isn't important. I've owned every Nintendo console and am finally thinking I may not own the next one if they don't remove their heads from their asses. Embrace the technology and make great games, with great marketing and people will buy. Also support online gaming, the research they did was obviously as pointed out looking at people playing games on MSN Gamezone, not real videogames. I wish them the best of luck, but they certainly aren't trying very hard to appeal to an older market.

Ok my rant is now over, I'm going to go flog Fran Goat for a couple of hours.

Matt responds: Good points.

Connect

I heard the revolution will be able to connect to a computer. Would/could Nintendo ever use the "System Link" feature officially, to go online through a PC, like kirby and 1080? Would it be beneficial at all?

Matt responds: Revolution will be able to connect to a computer monitor. But we do not know if the console will be able to interface with the actual computer in the way that you're suggesting. All of our knowledge of this feature stems from a single comment by Nintendo engineer Genyo Takeda, who in June of this year said: ""You'll be able to play [Revolution] not just by linking up to a television but to a computer monitor as well." Sounds like you'll simply be able to use monitors as a display device, which would be nice because it suggests that Revolution will be able to output some respectable resolutions.

Read our Revolution FAQ for just about everything we've heard about the console.