This is one thing that is starting to frustrate me… I see that a lot of upcoming games have stated that they are releasing their game(s) on the PC, PS/2 and XBox all in conjunction, but hello, how about the GameCube?
Is there a reason they are developing for 3 different platforms, yet choose to keep the 4th one out? As far as I’ve heard, development on the Cube is said to be the easiest of the 3 consoles, and I think there are just as many GC’s as Xbox’s out there.
I just don’t get it.
Which games would those be?
I’m with the crowd that thinks Nintendo just seems to care about itself and doesn’t put much of any effort into 3rd parties(not like MS or Sony does), except for some bigger name stuff like the RE series. The quality of the games on each system can be debated forever, but as for numbers its just not going to be as much.
You can’t just develop for a console, you have to apply for a license. And the Gamecube is controlled by Nintendo whose business model is based on a relatively small selection of high-quality titles with strong brands that are exclusive to their console.
They are also said to be quite arrogant; they seem to think that they (or their permanent affiliates such as Rare in England) make the best games that anyone could possibly make, so why bother inviting others? Nintendo is not that arrogant for no reason either – their exclusives usually are sufficient reason to get the latest Nintendo console.
I bet that many of the would-be Cube developers asked Nintendo for a license and either were turned down or didn’t get acceptable terms.
Christoph, you bring up a very good point, I didn’t think of that. Yes, you can probably call me a Nintendo fanboy, as I dearly love their games – truly high quality. And while I personally am all for quality in the “quality vs quantity” argument, I cannot help but think that regular, casual gamers will say “oh, the PS2/Xbox has X more games than the GameCube does, that must mean its the better console” and therefore purchase the competitive systems.
I think Nintendo is doing a better job with bringing in 3rd party developers, but I think more is needed. But again, the caveat of that is that the quality of titles is surely to go lower as the # of titles on the Cube get more numerous. So, yeah, I guess it points back to the Quality vs Quantity issue.
Saam, I agree with you that the appearance of not having enough titles may be a problem if the customer isn’t already familiar with the generally high quality of Nintendo games; this might be a reason why Nintendo consoles are lagging in sales behind Sony’s Playstations.
The various Gameboys have a very broad selection of titles, and interestingly they are also selling like crazy. The GB comparison isn’t entirely valid because Nintendo has practically no competition in the hand-held department but it does make one wonder if Nintendo would be better off abandoning the high-quality/low-volume approach for its “big” consoles.
Anyway, I’m a card-carrying Nintendo fanboy too, so of course I already have my Gamecube! Too bad Resident Evil and Eternal Darkness won’t get a Euro version until October/November…
I remember in the SNES days and Nintendo pretty much had a corner on the market, as Sega was never a real threat. Nintendo would release a single game in limited numbers to stores to keep demand high, I assume. I bought many a game as soon as it came out because you never knew when EB would have it in stock again. The point is, some of those games were damn hard to get.
For example, there was a “Populous I”-type game that was released called “Utopia” (I think). I decided to wait until the price dropped. The game dissapeared from shelves and no matter where or how much I searched, I never found it again. That was before the internet became what is is today. Now that I bring it up, I believe I will attempt to track it down. It will probably be $100.00 and waiting for that price drop will have been a really bad idea. (UPDATE: 1 seller; only $8.00. the wonders of the internet. I cannot tell you how much time I wasted years ago looking for that game.)
They used to be able to get away with this and I do not think it happens any more. I know it is not quite the same as what you guys are talking about, but it still shows their arrogance has very old roots.
Nintendo had a huge problem with 3rd parties on the N64, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised on the Cube. They’ve got EA behind them this time on the sports games, Sega of course, etc. Nintendo has claimed that there will be 150 titles by the end of the year. The Xbox is claiming 200. It’s subjective, but I think Nintendo and it’s affiliates still do AAA quality work. Mario, Star Fox, Metroid, and Zelda got a lot of props at E3.
Personally, I’ve got my eye on that Smuggler Run Warzones game that’s supposedly an improvement on the PS2 Smuggler’s Run 2. Off road racing plus weaponry plus 4 player action always draws my interest.
The big difference this time around is Sega’s support. Without their own console, Sega has thrown a lot of support toward the Gamecube. The combination of Sega and Nintendo has already produced more quality games in the first year or so of the Gamecube’s life than the N64 had in its whole run, IMO. I think it is a trend that will continue as well. I still miss the SNES days though, because there were TONS of games out for that system, perhaps because it was one of only 2 systems at the time so people HAD to develop for it, so to speak. In any case, the Gamecube still has some quality games, and while it lacks the bulk of the PS2 (and even Xbox, which also isn’t huge on number of games compared to the PS2, partly because the PS2 was released earlier) I believe you will find more quality games per capita than any of the other systems. The XBox in particular has really fallen down on its own claims that it would offer quality over quantity. The so-called screening process has failed miserably, and I would argue there aren’t more than a handful of decent games for the system, and really only 2 or 3 high quality games, depending on what genres you like, that are exclusives. I don’t see anything coming up to change that either.
Sega’s doing Panzer Dragoon Orta for the Xbox. I know it’s a rail shooter at heart, but what a fine looking rail shooter. And Blinx and Psychonauts look interesting. But yeah, the Xbox has had it’s share of stiffs. I can’t believe they let that Bruce Lee game out…
Bruce Lee to Bill Gates: “You have disgwaced the Shar Mein temple! Aiiie yahhhh!!”
For instance, Rogue Spear was announced for Xbox and PS2, but not the GameCube. There are many others although I’m in that “I state something but it oddly takes me damn forever to find support for my claim” stage. I’ll find more games. But seriously, there are quite a few. :)