Q&A Mailbag: 07-16-2005

N-Sider UpdatesNo Way!

So since everyone is giving you bullshit questions like omg Nintendo not having HD is going to ruin them. I decided to ask the most important one. Which is where did you guys find the time to do all this updating on your website? I mean do you guys secretly train little elf's to do your work or is it because your now taking speed and can not go to speed for long periods of time? Huh HUH?? These questions I have are destroying my social life.

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo wait....... ok...... never mind I don't have a social life. So anyways hope you guys keep up with the great work it is much appreciated. I love you long time! ;)

- Jeremy Tafoya

Zelda N-Depth

Just wanted to say: Awesome content that just went up guys. Good work all around. I had to skip through some details during the Zelda N-Depth but even that was a great read.

Good show!

- Jason

A Letter for Glen

Glen:

Your help would be very much appreciated. My team is doing a group marketing report for a school paper on Nintendos Gamecube..

Problem is finding verifiable / credible information regarding exactly the info in your June 9th report.

https://www.nsidr.com/newsview.php?type=story&storyid=867

For a school paper -- I am sure that you understand that quoting stats from an academic / company / academic journal web site will be a bit more credible as opposed to just finding a web site that has the needed info.

If possible - am also trying to narrow down what top 5 or so countries have the greatest unit sales of Gamecube. Any and all other info that you would like to provide would be very much appreciated.

Thanks

- John M.

Sticky Solutions Part 1

Tell Carlito C. to just pick up some new empty cases from Nintendo's online store.

They sell for $1 apiece, 5 for $4, or 10 for $7. And if my memory serves me, orders under $6 will ship US Mail for $2. Beats breathing those Goo Gone fumes... or maybe it doesn't... ;)

- Mattie Behrens

Sticky Solutions Part 2

one thing i do to remove the stickers so they dont leave the gunk..... heat. have a hair dryer, or a fireplace with a blower, or whatever, and as it warms up, the glue kind of softens or something and it allows it to be much easier removed, usually without any gunk whatsoever once you get used to doing it. its usually wise to do this without the paper in the case, because that could slightly darken by burning.

- Pikmin

HD Being Blown Out of Proportion?

It really seems to me that people are making a much bigger deal of this whole HD topic than it should be. The only people who really care about the HD subject are a few hardcore gamers that for some reason think having a little bit better of a picture is going to make that much of a difference in the console wars. I get a strong feeling that most gamers, hardcore and casual alike could care less whether a system supports HD or not. Maybe its just the gamers I know who don't care one way or the other and that it's a bigger issue in the actual gaming community, but I doubt it.

Currently HD tv only has a 10% penetration into US households, which isn't that much when you think about it. Sure that number is going to go up in the next console cycle, but by that time won't most gamers who might take an interest in that kind of thing already own consoles. I know I don't have an HD ready tv and don't plan on having one in the next couple years or so, even though I'd like too, I just can't afford it. And even if I did own an HD tv I don't think I would influence my decision on which console to buy.

And lets not forget that making HD ready games is bound to cost more. I am already nervous about the prospects of having to pay 60 or 70 bucks for a game rather than the current 40 - 50 dollars. We all know that Nintendo is trying to bring new gamers into the fold and don't you think it would be more difficult to do this if the price of games went up 10 dollars or so? It seems to me that by not mandating a frivolous feature Nintendo is sticking with the strategy of trying to bring in new consumers as well as keep the more intense video game players in the fold as well. By being cheaper than the competition Nintendo may bring in new consumers and at the same time I highly doubt any gamer who wasn't already compltley closed off to Nintendo is going to be pushed away by this decision. It remains to be seen whether or not this strategy works for Nintendo but it doesn't seem like a bad idea to me.

Anyway this whole HD thing has been blown way out of proportion. It really isn't that big of a deal. Plus Nintendo has only said they aren't requiring HD support, it is still a possibility that there will be some sort of HD support on the system. I wish people would quit jumping to conclusions, we still barely know anything about Nintendo's Revolution.

So lets everyone just take a chill pill.

- Colin Harrison

Voicing Zelda

I noticed a letter on your site today concerning voices in Zelda games. I, for one, am largely against the idea of adding voice overs to the series. For one, I'm not entirely confident in Nintendo's voice over choices (Star Fox); plus there's the whole "poor voice acting is still in the majority in video games" thing. I'd probably be a bit less apprehensive if Link remained silent and other characters talked, however.

Anyway, in a semi-recent interview (I believe with Aonuma), the developers were asked if the game would have voice acting. The response was somewhat general, saying that they were looking into various methods.

I was thinking that the best route for the Zelda series to take would simply be to invent its own spoken language. It already has its own written one, more or less. Games like ICO have pulled this off well, while Star Trek and Star Wars have done the same for their aliens and Lord of the Rings for its different races.

To me this just seems like the best angle. It would keep the Zelda universe feeling unique and interesting, it would fit its own world properly (why would they speak English anyway?) and it would help calm down the people who want voice acting without completely ruining it for people who don't want it.

My hope is that Nintendo pursues this in the future...whether it's for Twilight Princess or beyond. Even I am getting tired of the same old Link grunts.

- Tony Jacobs

Belive

I belive HD will not matter too much since not many people own a HD TV. Also I belive Nintendo will have some other device to enhance the graphics quality. What do you guys think?

- TJ Game0ver Wasiuk

Error Accusations!

You made a mistake when talking about the Revolution's HD abilities. Okay, the whole point the Nintendo community is up in arms about this is because Nintendo of America person Perrin Kaplan confirmed to IGNcube that they have no plans to support HD in the Rev. You're response to the rant about the issue makes no sense because you argue it as pure speculation, when in fact Nintendo confirmed this choice.

- Joe

Whats the Deal with RAM?

Hello again.

First off, thanks for answering my question. Most sites don't.

Second off, as I was reading your reply, I noticed you don't want Nintendo to skimp out on RAM for the Revolution, correct? Well, is it just me, or is this impossible to -- if Nintendo truly wants to do what they said they want? Didn't Iwata himself say that he wants either faster load times or faster start-up times? Either way, both of those deal with RAM (correct?). So, if they want speady load/start up times, they need RAM. More RAM then Sony/MS.

And thats it. Hope you reply once again!

- Allen

Sign My HD PetitionPlease!

Dear Jeff Van Camp,

Im a representative from a new and exciting movement of videogame enthusiasts concerned about the direction that next-generation gaming is taking. As an admirer of your site, N-Sider.com, I felt that it would be polite to let you know of what I do and the movement I am witnessing. As you know, Nintendo has stated that they have no current plans to implement high-definition display support as a feature for the upcoming Nintendo Revolution. Many gamers like myself, are confused, upset, and a little let-down with this direction taken by Nintendo. http://1080up.org is a site where gamers can come together to voice their opinions regarding Nintendos direction; and to receive information and updates on the Revolutions HD support status.

As a fellow member of the gaming media, I would ask for a little bit of help getting the word out about 1080up.org and about what we do. We seek to be a professional and strong voice in the gaming community. If you would like any further information, or if you would like to conduct an interview, please contact us. Linking to our site would be appreciated and encouraged.

Thank you for your time. I look forward to your continued coverage of Nintendo and their products.

Sincerely,

- Tim Forbrook
http://1080up.org

Pipe Dreams

Hello N-Sider! I'm a great fan of Capcom and I'm sad because some games that are on the PS2 aren't available on the GameCube. So have send a mail to Capcom (megamail@capcom.com) asking this three things:

1.-A Devil May Cry port to the GameCube, I would like the trilogy to be ported to Nintendo's console because I don't have the money to buy a PlayStation 2 and I think those games are really good. I have seen in the internet some petition asking this same thing, for example here is one: http://www.petitiononline.com/port2gcn/petition.html

I think that maybe the game wouldn't sell a lot but it could still sell enough to generate profits, after all you only have to make a port, not an entirely new game

2.-Also, I think you should make a port of Capcom Classics Collection, just watch the sales of MegaMan Anniversay Collection for the GameCube, they are really good. And a lot of those games were release in the NES or SNES, so the GameCube has a fan base to this title.

3.-To finish, you could make a port of MegaMan X7 and MegaMan X8, you can see the sales of MegaMan X Command Mission for the GameCube (compared to the PlayStation 2, these are better), maybe those games could be put in a same game (of two discs) and in that way it could attract a lot of people.

Remember that Viewtiful Joe (for the GameCube) sold 100.000 copies more than the PlayStation 2 version and with Viewtiful Joe 2 happened a similar thing. (end of the letter)

What do you think of this? Do you have some others ideas? It would be very good that some other people send mails to Capcom asking tha same or something similar and maybe in this way we could enjoy those awesome titles on our loved GameCube.

Thank you very much.

- Alejandro Haefele Mouras

GTA 4

What would it take for a game like GTA4 to appear on a Nintendo home console? I'm kind of curious about how these exclusivity deals function, and as there seems to be an Evil Third Party Conspiracy to keep titles like these from Nintendo's consoles, I'm wondering if that trend can ever be reversed, and how?

[Insert picture of Rockstar employees having a real good laugh at the mere suggestion of ever releasing GTA on the Revolution here.]

(Disclaimer: Not that I'm dying to play GTA - I might consider buying a GTA game if I didn't have to buy a console I don't want to play it, but mostly I'm just curious about how the system works. Is it as simple as console manufacturers paying small mountains of cash to keep key games exclusive? But... but surely, there must be some conspiracy to push everybody over on the filthy mainstream consoles... right?)

Yours cheerfully,

- The Duke of Prunes

Bless You!

Is there any word on when Demaked's game Ahhh-chooo will be ready? After reading the interview and watching the introduction on the game's website, I am interested in how the game will end up. So, if you could help with that or know anything about what they have been up to since E3 that would be cool, Thanks.

- Tom B.

My Meteos is broked

When I powered on Meteos today, a message appeared on the screen that said something like "deleting save data" or "cannot hold save data" (I can't remember exactly what it said, it changed quickly). It then said something like reformatting or resomething, so I turned it off before anything could happen. When I turned it back on, all my saved data was gone! I was wondering if you knew anything about this or heard something similar. Thanks.

- Eric

Letter of the Week

I think the "Nintendo needs to..." in the latest Q&A was the grain of rice that tipped the scale. Is anyone else sick of this phrase?

Anyway, maybe I'm living in a bubble; maybe because I read primarily video game news, I think arrogant and demanding journalism is unique to Nintendo. I thank you, N-Sider, for not being so much a part of this as your readers (and for certainly not being half as bad as most all other news sites... and comic strips... and discussion forums... and...).

Ahem. So, I picked a few random companies. Instead of being a video game fan, for a few minutes this morning I was a breakfast cereal fan (General Mills) and an automotive fan (Toyota). Both companies, for the most part, involve themselves with only one product--as does Nintendo. I thought of doing Sony and Microsoft for comparision, but the results of pure video game journalism would be skewed by CD players, television sets, operating systems, and whatnot. Here's what Google told me:

"Nintendo needs to" 6900
"Nintendo has to" 3500
"Nintendo must" 5090
Total: 15,490

"General Mills needs to" 39
"General Mills has to" 12
"General Mills must" 56
Total: 107

"Toyota needs to" 678
"Toyota has to" 1220
"Toyota must" 562
Total: 2,460

... Shit. I guess it is just us. What do you think? Gamers seem to enjoy partaking in distant, uninformed speculation. Perhaps, though, it's the niche factor of video games: Everyone eats cereal. Everyone drives a car (though not all of them are car buffs). Know what I mean? Maybe as niche consumers, gamers feel their opinions hold more importance. I decided to try a few companies in niche industries--totals only...

Adobe: 3,032
MTV: 4,111
Marvel ("must," excluding "must haves"): 5,510

The numbers are a little higher, but even added together they can't reach Nintendo's total. Maybe it's the fanatacism, though; it did sound a little silly using the term "cereal fan" earlier. Perhaps this is the distinguishing characteristic that causes customers to make demands on the business side...

The Pistons: 1,777
The Red Sox: 6,710
The Yankees: 3,305

Close, but still no cigar. Perhaps, it's more of a cult following...

"The Catholic Church" -- 6,986
"The Baptist Church" 64
"The Mormons" -- 936

... not quite. For now, I've come to the non-conclusion that Nintendo is a combination of all these things. To the hardest of the hardcore, they are a cult. To the fanboys, they are a team, competing for first place. To most others, they are simply a niche company. Nintendo itself, however, seems determined to become a household item (like cereal or cars) and--ultimately--they choose their own path. Perhaps this chasm between reality and the perceptions of Nintendo's consumers is causing tension, and everyone wants to throw their own reality into the picture.

I hope that one day Nintendo's total is less than the Baptist Church's.

- GJM