N-Sider Q&A
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December 22nd, 2000
Ok first of all I am a Sophomore in high school and I am thinking of getting into the gaming industry. I was just curious what it would take to be a programmer in the industry and what classes what someone should take. Also I remember hearing that Nintendo has their own college or something of the sort and I was curious as to what it's called and possibly if you have any idea what it would cost.
Secondly I was wondering your thoughts on the GAMECUBE and if it will be around for 6 years being that almost all consoles last around 4-6 years. If so then how hard would it be to learn the new console would be to program for.
My last questions are your opinion on some games for GAMECUBE.
Do you think that Mario/Luigi Cubed will be co-op or just single player and possibly have a deathmatch mode a la Banjo-Tooie and Donkey Kong 64? Or do you believe that they will go with the "choose your own adventure" idea that some people are putting around the internet such as Tendo Box.
Also do you think that this game will go "old school" that some people always ask and talk about? By "old school" I am wondering if you will be able to throw shells stomp on the goombas and any of the old school jump from one side to the other with fast gameplay that everyone liked that are different then the new 3-D platformers that we saw on the N64?
Super Smash Bros. is it a reality to see a sequel? If it is do you think that it will take the shape of a 3-D fighting game instead of a 2-D fighter? The best example I can think of would be Power Stone on the Sega Dreamcast to use as an example.
Sorry that this is so long but I have a lot of questions and I just was wondering if someone could answer them.
Peace
-the gamer that wants his questions answered
Pete: DigiPen is the name of the Seattle-based Nintendo funded "video game college". You can check out their website by clicking here. That should answer most of your questions. Personally I think Gamecube will last about five years. After that, generally a console begins to fade. There's still a lot we don't know about the Gamecube hardware and design environment, so it would be really hard to predict what Nintendo's next next-generation hardware would be like.
I don't forsee a "deathmatch" type mode for the next Mario. It might even be more along the lines of Sonic Adventure, where you can control different characters at different times. The "old-school" feel should be back because of the increased power in the Gamecube chipset. More enemies on-screen for instance would be something to look forward to.
Some kind of Smash Brothers sequel is almost gaurunteed. The first one sold millions and was huge hit in both Japan and the US. A Powerstone-like 3D environment would work well with Smash Brothers, but I'd be probably just as happy with the "2.5D" gameplay.
I know nintendo have strived through its existance to bring the people the world of gaming. But this is what i cannot understand, surely someone over at nintendo cn see that the upcoming console is not going to succeed in the market as one would hope. The world is no longer just looking for gaming, its looking for technology - and that is why Sony has the advantage over nintendo. Sony have the technology to add cetain abilities to its consoles, ie. the dvd feature. For the love of me i cant understand why nintendo of all people will not introduce the ability of dvd movies to be played on there console!
Its a bonus that even nintendo fans will appreciate, cant u see that most of the public will buy a playstation 2 for its dvd capabilities, and less we forget that it plays the old and new playstation games, and further more it plays music cd's. All of that gives me a good reason to want to buy a playstation 2. But im to big of a Nintendo fan to just throw a life time of memories down the drain. You should be a very thankful company to have a great man like shigeru miyamoto - for he is the only one who has a hold on the nintendo fans, for he literaly is the god of nintendo for making such addictive games as zelda and mario. If it werent for him i can seriously assure you that i would have a playstation. So i strongly erge you, as a company to pull back on what you believe is right, because it is truly wrong....... i dont want to see nintendo falter as sega did. Sega made the wrong turn, and i fear that you will to. In my eyes, only Microsoft and Sony have the strong grasp of the future gaming consoles.
Please re-think!
Yours Sincerely,
Simon Vriesema
Pete: Well to be fair, Nintendo is not a DVD company. They don't have a movie wing or a music wing either. They make video games and they've made a fortune off fun and easy to use products with some incredible software. With PS2 and XBox, I really don't see room for another "all-in-one" set top box anyway, so Nintendo was probably wise to go their own route. Also DVD playback does cost about a $20 fee per console.
That's $20 that could've gone to more RAM or something like that. That also comes in handy, because the vast majority of consoles are sold at under the $200 price point. How long do you think it will take for either PS2 or XBox to get at around $150? DVD playback is fine and dandy, but when Sony launched their new PS2 model in Japan (which comes with a DVD remote), there were the expected lineups. However most people didn't even bother to buy one game with the machine. What good is a game console if your audience is busy watching movies on it instead? I'm not saying DVD playback doesn't have it's advantages, but there's a downside as well.
I am a BIG fan of nintendo for 12 years and i would like to know (as much as i already know about gamecube) by nintendo's quality do you think we will go back on top? (even though in my eyes we are on top quality wise).
Pete: I will say this: with 24 million GBAs shipping in 2001 alone, Nintendo has one huge insurance policy in case the Gamecube totally flops (which it won't). In my opinion, I think the Gamecube can sell about Super NES sales numbers (45-50 million consoles). Now the GBA will probably sell 100 million machines or more. So between the two, it's not exactly impossible to see Nintendo actually being the number 1 overall video game hardware and software manufacturer.
I totally agree that there should be at least one (but preferably 2) Z button, but there is a problem with its placement. Look at the PS/PS2 controller: the buttons are placed so that it is only comfortable to push one at a time. If you try to put a finger on each button, holding the controller is uncomfortable (for me at least), because you only have two fingers underneath. When you hold the N64 controller, your middle finger lies back and under the controller. THAT IS WHERE THE SECOND BUTTONS SHOULD BE! I think someone needs to suggest to the big N that they recess the L & R buttons, like the Z button is on the 64 controller, and put an extra button to boot. I could go on, but if Nintendo could even consider this, then I think the brilliant minds there could fine-tune it into the best controller ever made. Period.
Eh? Eh?
Mojo2128
Pete: Well, the L and R-buttons on the GameCube are pretty much triggers now. They're not exactly on the shoulder of the controller any more. The Z-trigger is just a digital shoulder button. I agree, however, perhaps having another trigger button on the left prong backside would be nice.
Hey, I love your site and was reading your profiles on Mr. Miyamoto (hope I spelled it right) and I was wondering, did nintendo and Mr. Miyamoto just try to shove out another N64 Zelda title before it was too late? I own the game (sadly) and I beat it within the first two weeks of buying it. I was hoping for a Zelda epic like no other, but instead I got a small worlded poorly made Zelda game. I was hoping for lots of towns and places and lots of people to help. If you could ask them about it that would be great, if not I guess I'll have to live with being the owner of a game that wasn't worth the 2weeks I spent beating it. Thanks.
-Jason
Pete: Well to each his own, I suppose. Two weeks spent completing any game would imply quite a large game -- I can't think of too many standard adventure or RPG titles that I couldn't beat in two weeks. Personally, I think Zelda: Majora's Mask is quite a bit tougher than Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and I know a lot of people would agree there.
Nsider & Co.,
While we're discussing next-gen Nintendo systems, I thought I'd challenge you guys, the "experts", about the next, next Nintendo system, tentatively being called by me the "GameCube2". What are the chances that the GameCube2 will have FMD-ROM capability (see here) like I suspect the PS3 and the XBox2 will have, or do you think they'll go with a proprietary disc format again? And what are the chances that Nintendo will have their new CPU (which I'll call the "Chameleon") made by IBM again, or do you think that Nintendo will finally blow the competition away by implementing clustered sphereical processors (see here)? Is ATI gonna create the next graphics chip too, which I believe is being codenamed, "Jaws", though I could be wrong. And, last but not least, do you think Sony will finally bankrupt their entire company by trying to create a true 256 or 512-bit processor at the cost of billions while the rest of the world laughs at them, and sell their next system at a $1,000 per system loss instead of the current $500+ ???
P.S. I must here mention the obligatory- Where is your "GameCube2" FAQ??? Thank you.
- Aesop
Pete: Let me play through Mario Cube and Metroid Omega and I'll get back to you on that, heh! I do think the next-next generation consoles might adopt high-definition DVD discs with backwards compatibility to regular DVD discs. Certainly, this would seem like something Sony would do. I don't know if that will be FMD-ROM, however. Sony and Matsushita I believe are working on their own HD-DVD standards (which use a blue laser), and one of those will likely become the industry standard. FMD-ROM is probably more of a stop-gap, but it does sound very good on paper and anything can happen. As for the processors, I'm not even going there, but "Chameleon" and "Jaws" sound very cool.
Hello there guys, I like to say this site is very good and thank you for responding/answering this question. What's the deal with Capcom? They made only 2 games for N64 and it has been out for 4 years, yet for Dreamcast alot of titles were made (over 2). So why isn't Capcom making alot titles for Nintendo and why not any fighting games?
-Clinton T.
Pete: The "deal" with Capcom was the N64's cartridge medium. It was simply too expensive and too small to hold most of Capcom's games and far more expensive than the CD-ROM format. Those 2D fighters for example have a ton of animation frames which require a large storage medium. With GameCube adopting an optical disc format, you can expect to see a lot more Capcom games in the future.
I've written to a bunch these sites before I've never gotten a reply, so please answer me, N - E WAYZ when the NGC releases in Japan next year, can I (and a whole bunch of other GC fans ) anticipate on you to take a trip over there and bring a couple back?
-Jai210
Pete: We'd love to be able to go to Japan and cover the GameCube launch, but a round-trip ticket to Osaka can be quite pricey. N-Sider will likely have some strong coverage of the GBA and GameCube launches in any case. No exact promises just yet. Fran will likely be in Japan with his IGN cohorts to cover the launch, so keep an eye out for that.
Dear N-sider,
I have been surfing the web for ages and found romours that the Gamecube will be released in 2002 instead of october 2001 is this true ? if it is it sucks but it will be worth the wait.
-James Hickson
Pete: Well it's Nintendo, so you always have to take a delay into account. Having said that, I'm 90% sure GameCube will launch in North America in 2001. The hardware is finished, the teams are well into software projects, the development environment is very streamlined -- I don't foresee too many problems.
I have a few questions and comments. Lets say you are playing on your gamecube and use your wavebird controller and in the next room your brother has a gamecube too and is playing with a wavebird. Since RF can go through walls will signals get mixed up?
No, they wont. This has nothing to do with Blue Tooth, but rather the fact that the RF receiver has a channel switch on it (see here) so there can be no confusion.
For the GBA launch expect Mario Kart Advance to be the flagship game, unless of course Nintendo has a Pokemon game there as well -- which they probably will.
While I can't totally rule this out since I'm not a god or a prophit, I have to say that the possibility of a REAL Pokmon game at LAUNCH is about 1%. Now, it is possible that they will release some crappy McPokmon game featuring that cursed yellow rat just to sell units, I doubt it highly, but don't even cross your fingers for a Pokmon RPG at launch.
-Kyle, Senior Editor - TendoGamers.com
Pete: Well, quite frankly I think Nintendo would be pretty idiotic not to have some kind of Pokemon game available during the GBA's early days. Personally, I'm not too big on the series, so I could honestly care less, but it is a big selling tool. Yamauchi did say that Nintendo was working on a GameCube Pokemon title, so it would be natural to have that interface with a Game Boy Advance title, don't you think? Whether or not it will be an RPG or some kind of wacky spin-off is anyone's guess.
Hi guys!!! Keep up the great work... It's greatly appreciated! Well enough with the praises... I wanted to ask about the wavebird controller, will that be rumble compatible if so what about the battery life... Maybe the batteries for the wavebird could be in the module that receives the signals and the controller itself could hold the batteries for the rumble feature.. Who knows.
Now for my other question, Whats with that president of Naughty Dog... (I know his name) Anyway he sounds like a winging poofter! All their games with Crash were average.... He says that the gamecube's Cpu is weaker then the PS2's now who is he to comment on something which he has not had hands on experience with especially the hardware. He also complains way too much about other companies... His comments on getting the best out of the PS2's vector unit 0 and 1 are highly unlikely since what he says can be theoretically assumed but not in practice... its also over exaggerated, Don't get me wrong I know that the PS2 is a polygonal monster, its great potential lies in its ability to process raw polygonal powers...
Thanks for your time...
-Robert Du Prezz
Pete: The difference is the PS2 CPU/vector unit combo handles the transformation and lighting (I believe). The Gekko MPU does not do T&L, that is left to the Flipper. So it's a bit like comparing apples to oranges. Yes, Gekko might not be as powerful overall as the PS2 CPU, but it really doesn't have to be.
How exactly will the SD Memory cards work. I've heard that they can do something similar to the 64DD. Will Company's realease SD cards with the games on them? If so, wouldn't it be extreamly easy to connect the card to the computor and create illegial games, ect? I've also heard that they will be used as a standered memory card that can hold quite a lot of data, so these card will have two uses, right?
Pete: Companies won't release games on SD Cards, simply because it would be a lot cheaper to press a DVD disc. Not to mention the fact that a 1.58 GB GameCube disc stores more than any standard SD Card disc. The SD Cards on the GameCube act really as a huge memory card/small hard drive. The other thing is that SD (secure digital) Cards are just that -- secure.
Anything is hackable I suppose, but I don't think it will be that easy. Also even if 1.5GB SD Cards are available years from now, those cards will be expensive. A standard 64MB SD Card costs about $180 US in Japan right now, and while that will drop, the largest SD Cards will probably always be about $100. On top of all that, Nintendo hasn't specified clearly whether 64MB SD Cards will be the only size the GameCube can use.
So now it's after a couple of months after Spaceworld. What 3rd parties does the GameCube have for sure?
-TommyD.
Pete: Capcom, Konami, Namco, EA, THQ, Acclaim, Hudson-Infogrames are the ones I can list off the top of my head. Really most major developers have slowly leaked out their intent to develop for the GameCube. Enix and Square are really the only notable ones left now that have not confirmed support. It's not really an issue of who will support the machine but more of how much support it will get from those developers.
Do you think Nintendo will launch their GameCube before Microsoft's X-Box? How many games do you think will be launched with the GameCube, both 1st, 2nd and 3rd party? Also, it appears as though PS2s software sales aren't very good at all compared to what thay should be and that most games are, to be blunt, bollocks. Do you think the GameCube will then have a chance to slap Sony aside with its range of kick-arse titles???
Thanks,
-TurboLung
Pete: I think Nintendo will try to launch GameCube ahead of the XBox. Both seem to be slated for October. If Nintendo can make enough machines and they launch in Japan on schedule, you could see Nintendo move up to September. I think there will be about 8-10 games launch with GameCube. There could be more, but I don't think NOA is keen on having 20 odd game titles available on day one.
Nintendo has a chance to regain market share, but they are at a disadvantage as far as time goes. Sony has a very large head start, especially in Japan (almost 1 1/2 years). There's a lot of factors here, certainly Microsoft's presence complicates things even more. All in all, I think GameCube has a decent shot at selling about the same range as the Super NES (45-50 million machines).
Well that's it -- the last Q&A of the year. Have a merry Christmas and happy New Year everyone!