Dyne
12-02-2002, 03:49 AM
Yep, it's almost time for the Megaton! I can't believe it's almost here. We've come by many rumours, and we've come by little details, announcements (Gameboy Player), and the like. I'm still baffled as to what Nintendo has to offer, and I'm sure everyone else is too. The only thing's we've looked at are what Nintendo is missing, which is obviously a solid online plan or the purchase of something rather large (sega? namco? capcom? square/enix? panasonic anyone? SONY AND MS?). All we know is that it's going to sell cubes at a distinguished rate above others.
Now what the hell would/could/should it be? Everything we've ever dreamed of? Pokemon/Earthbound/SSB online? What we really should be doing is looking at what we have right now, and not look for missing pieces, but look for the small part that puts a connection between two large bodies of jiggies on the puzzlesheet. First we need to identify what the body is comprised of, and what part they could add on to make it all work together.
Theory One: A good solid Partnership
Now we all know Nintendo likes partnerships. Triforce (Sega/Namco), Panasonic (Qube, super memory card, dvd technology), IBM/ATI (hardware), Square (FF:CC GCN/GBA comp.), Capcom (the Capcom Five, RE), Hudson Soft (Mario Party's b*tch), Camelot (Golden Sun, Mario Golf/Tennis upcoming), and more, are great examples of Nintendo's fetish with it. In their sense, it's wise to keep a lot of partnerships... now, buying anything might break a strand or two... who knows? Nintendo IS wise to keep this, and maybe strengthen what they have with companies. What's a White House (Nintendo and dev houses) without an army (partnerships)? They'd be in trouble and surely let another country (Microsoft, Sony!) invade and kill at will. They'll have to make a stronger web somehow, but the current one is an already excellent one. It seems only that GCN is missing out on sales, so there is something missing, and it can't just be about online plans. What I'm thinking here is if they were to shake hands with Matsu****a(Panasonic, the largest company of it's kind) and insure a strong tie, both their thirst for revenge on Sony would create a driving force so strong that it will be a force to beckon with. I know Panasonic fell flat on it's face last time (3D0... what the hell??) but maybe the fact that GCN can't play DVDs is what didn't sell it. Or funky extras like that. Would anyone agree to that? Most people were complaining at launch about how we didn't have anything extra like say, the Xbox with the hard drive or DVD playback on-hand like PS2. It doesn't look like it on the Physical Cube, but maybe Nintendo has been whoring Panasonic in bed at nights and we don't know it for a killer update that will sell cubes-- a lot. What could it be? Well, it's too late to add anything like DVD playback, but when thinking about this subject I can't help but think a huge Panasonic partnership is in store, but not "ownage".
We also know that Nintendo loves to devour Small Companies. Retro Studios, Silicon Knights, and earlier examples come to mind (*COUGHHACKHACK rare HACK...*). No small companies come to mind when I think of what Nintendo could also devour (maybe Factor 5, but they're hardly small nowadays), but, they're small--So, yeah, it's hard to tell if any small company exists. ;) What I'm thinking in this case would be that the beast is full right now... Buying some small company is hardly going to rile up non-believers to getting a cube. And, buying a big company is not Nintendo's style... I don't even think they could afford it, after the losses in Europe (ouch...) and the mediocre amount for Rareware (Ok, it was good, but the Europe loss killed all expectations of what to do with it). On a side note, I think they only sold Rare because they were a lazy dog when it came to dev-ing, and that they foresaw the Europian Fine. When Nintendo thinks money, I don't think the first thing that comes to mind is getting their jaw around large companies. This rumour of big companies only really came after they sold Rare, right? Selling Rare heated up a lot of conversationalists and fanboys alike, and I hardly believe Nintendo will buy anything big or small. Also, think about what one expensive company could do for a system... only one. Not much, huh? It would be hard to gain back what they payed. The only real example of this really working was when Sony ordered a partnership with Square and sold all those FFVII's, and that wasn't even a buyout. Buying one company wouldn't even satisfy the system's fans' genre needs--not everyone would be thrilled. If they bought Capcom, what would the sports fans think of it? It would not sell a bunch of cubes buying one company, I assure you. Then the interesting theory comes up if they are going to buy multiple companies--Huh? Nintendo would never be able to afford that. What needs to be said here is only meant to be pushing Theory One in any way possible.
Theory Two: Teh UNPOSSIBLE
Nintendo goes teh THIRD PARTY!
....
.......
Now how the f*** would that sell more cubes? Lower prices on old dead GCN's? Come on people. Might I note this is impossible on Nintendo's part what with they have going on for them with the handheld market in their hand and an increasingly popular console. Anybody who thinks this is the Megaton obviously despises the Gamecube in all ways possible and praises the hell out of their own Xbox or PS2. Don't listen to anybody who doesn't f***ing have any experience with the gcn, let alone own the thing at all, or else your gums should be ripped out. And I'm positive on that, folks.
Theory Three: Online anyone?
This is what people seem to be latching onto tightly and rumouring the heck out of. Online Pokemon anyone? Gameboy Player? What I want to point out here is the fact that this is only missing, nothing more--nobody ever thought of the PS2's Network Adapter as a selling point. Nintendo will have to obviously make an immense effort to get something going that will heat up enough people and satisfy both adults and kids to buy cubes. Do you think Pokemon will be it? Maybe, but if people still have this "kiddy" thing on Nintendo, it won't work as well as planned. Well, there's a slight chance, but it's not dominant--and I'd bet on it. What I thought of was an online Earthbound... what with the severe lack of anything from Ape, Inc. for the past several years (cancelled N64 Mother game, and that's it..) really gets you thinking. What also seems to be a factor is that Nintendo has "patented" an MMORPG, and it was officially reported, too. Uh... hey? What about Nintendo's hush-hush styles? They could definitely pull it off. Now, if we take that rumour to the test.... would it sell the Cube? Nope, not just one game would do it. All people need to be satisfyed, don't they? Well, Japanese like the RPG... oh yes they do. But, North Americans don't as much. What sells the PS2? A wide variety of good games. Not great, just good--but it's great because it all adds up and sells it in the end. What comes upon us is the ideas of many games comprised to make an online plan. Is online the future? Is an online Pokemon, Earthbound, Mario Kart/Tennis/Golf, Zelda, (uh... the possiblities go on) really going to sell it? Who knows? Is it really strong to have only online plans and good partnerships?
Now, to conclude, what I was thinking of the whole time I was writing this was that it is only ONE announcement, not many announcements. An online plan would be announcing many games... right? One announcement, in my opinion, would be one thing. It might be many things, but they have so much planned that it's just going to be too overwhelming to announce so many things in one spot. But, it's Megaton, right? Ow... my brain hurts. Doesn't yours? Well, that's all the possibilities that I can think of. Now what else could there be that they'd announce? I've basically poured out all my knowledge and opinions, and it seems to be Nintendo's only ways. What else would they announce that would be Megatonish? Well, it was reported that it was GOING to be partnerships, online games, and the like. Well paint me red....... maybe it's true, maybe not. Who knows? Nintendo does, and they're being smart. :D
Now, please, don't be afraid to reply.... go ahead and drop any two cents on my thoughts or come up with anything completely different. I would love to hear your opinions on this dense subject as we await the time to draw nearer and nearer. :)
Now what the hell would/could/should it be? Everything we've ever dreamed of? Pokemon/Earthbound/SSB online? What we really should be doing is looking at what we have right now, and not look for missing pieces, but look for the small part that puts a connection between two large bodies of jiggies on the puzzlesheet. First we need to identify what the body is comprised of, and what part they could add on to make it all work together.
Theory One: A good solid Partnership
Now we all know Nintendo likes partnerships. Triforce (Sega/Namco), Panasonic (Qube, super memory card, dvd technology), IBM/ATI (hardware), Square (FF:CC GCN/GBA comp.), Capcom (the Capcom Five, RE), Hudson Soft (Mario Party's b*tch), Camelot (Golden Sun, Mario Golf/Tennis upcoming), and more, are great examples of Nintendo's fetish with it. In their sense, it's wise to keep a lot of partnerships... now, buying anything might break a strand or two... who knows? Nintendo IS wise to keep this, and maybe strengthen what they have with companies. What's a White House (Nintendo and dev houses) without an army (partnerships)? They'd be in trouble and surely let another country (Microsoft, Sony!) invade and kill at will. They'll have to make a stronger web somehow, but the current one is an already excellent one. It seems only that GCN is missing out on sales, so there is something missing, and it can't just be about online plans. What I'm thinking here is if they were to shake hands with Matsu****a(Panasonic, the largest company of it's kind) and insure a strong tie, both their thirst for revenge on Sony would create a driving force so strong that it will be a force to beckon with. I know Panasonic fell flat on it's face last time (3D0... what the hell??) but maybe the fact that GCN can't play DVDs is what didn't sell it. Or funky extras like that. Would anyone agree to that? Most people were complaining at launch about how we didn't have anything extra like say, the Xbox with the hard drive or DVD playback on-hand like PS2. It doesn't look like it on the Physical Cube, but maybe Nintendo has been whoring Panasonic in bed at nights and we don't know it for a killer update that will sell cubes-- a lot. What could it be? Well, it's too late to add anything like DVD playback, but when thinking about this subject I can't help but think a huge Panasonic partnership is in store, but not "ownage".
We also know that Nintendo loves to devour Small Companies. Retro Studios, Silicon Knights, and earlier examples come to mind (*COUGHHACKHACK rare HACK...*). No small companies come to mind when I think of what Nintendo could also devour (maybe Factor 5, but they're hardly small nowadays), but, they're small--So, yeah, it's hard to tell if any small company exists. ;) What I'm thinking in this case would be that the beast is full right now... Buying some small company is hardly going to rile up non-believers to getting a cube. And, buying a big company is not Nintendo's style... I don't even think they could afford it, after the losses in Europe (ouch...) and the mediocre amount for Rareware (Ok, it was good, but the Europe loss killed all expectations of what to do with it). On a side note, I think they only sold Rare because they were a lazy dog when it came to dev-ing, and that they foresaw the Europian Fine. When Nintendo thinks money, I don't think the first thing that comes to mind is getting their jaw around large companies. This rumour of big companies only really came after they sold Rare, right? Selling Rare heated up a lot of conversationalists and fanboys alike, and I hardly believe Nintendo will buy anything big or small. Also, think about what one expensive company could do for a system... only one. Not much, huh? It would be hard to gain back what they payed. The only real example of this really working was when Sony ordered a partnership with Square and sold all those FFVII's, and that wasn't even a buyout. Buying one company wouldn't even satisfy the system's fans' genre needs--not everyone would be thrilled. If they bought Capcom, what would the sports fans think of it? It would not sell a bunch of cubes buying one company, I assure you. Then the interesting theory comes up if they are going to buy multiple companies--Huh? Nintendo would never be able to afford that. What needs to be said here is only meant to be pushing Theory One in any way possible.
Theory Two: Teh UNPOSSIBLE
Nintendo goes teh THIRD PARTY!
....
.......
Now how the f*** would that sell more cubes? Lower prices on old dead GCN's? Come on people. Might I note this is impossible on Nintendo's part what with they have going on for them with the handheld market in their hand and an increasingly popular console. Anybody who thinks this is the Megaton obviously despises the Gamecube in all ways possible and praises the hell out of their own Xbox or PS2. Don't listen to anybody who doesn't f***ing have any experience with the gcn, let alone own the thing at all, or else your gums should be ripped out. And I'm positive on that, folks.
Theory Three: Online anyone?
This is what people seem to be latching onto tightly and rumouring the heck out of. Online Pokemon anyone? Gameboy Player? What I want to point out here is the fact that this is only missing, nothing more--nobody ever thought of the PS2's Network Adapter as a selling point. Nintendo will have to obviously make an immense effort to get something going that will heat up enough people and satisfy both adults and kids to buy cubes. Do you think Pokemon will be it? Maybe, but if people still have this "kiddy" thing on Nintendo, it won't work as well as planned. Well, there's a slight chance, but it's not dominant--and I'd bet on it. What I thought of was an online Earthbound... what with the severe lack of anything from Ape, Inc. for the past several years (cancelled N64 Mother game, and that's it..) really gets you thinking. What also seems to be a factor is that Nintendo has "patented" an MMORPG, and it was officially reported, too. Uh... hey? What about Nintendo's hush-hush styles? They could definitely pull it off. Now, if we take that rumour to the test.... would it sell the Cube? Nope, not just one game would do it. All people need to be satisfyed, don't they? Well, Japanese like the RPG... oh yes they do. But, North Americans don't as much. What sells the PS2? A wide variety of good games. Not great, just good--but it's great because it all adds up and sells it in the end. What comes upon us is the ideas of many games comprised to make an online plan. Is online the future? Is an online Pokemon, Earthbound, Mario Kart/Tennis/Golf, Zelda, (uh... the possiblities go on) really going to sell it? Who knows? Is it really strong to have only online plans and good partnerships?
Now, to conclude, what I was thinking of the whole time I was writing this was that it is only ONE announcement, not many announcements. An online plan would be announcing many games... right? One announcement, in my opinion, would be one thing. It might be many things, but they have so much planned that it's just going to be too overwhelming to announce so many things in one spot. But, it's Megaton, right? Ow... my brain hurts. Doesn't yours? Well, that's all the possibilities that I can think of. Now what else could there be that they'd announce? I've basically poured out all my knowledge and opinions, and it seems to be Nintendo's only ways. What else would they announce that would be Megatonish? Well, it was reported that it was GOING to be partnerships, online games, and the like. Well paint me red....... maybe it's true, maybe not. Who knows? Nintendo does, and they're being smart. :D
Now, please, don't be afraid to reply.... go ahead and drop any two cents on my thoughts or come up with anything completely different. I would love to hear your opinions on this dense subject as we await the time to draw nearer and nearer. :)