QA: 03-31-2003

I have a Gamecube, an HDTV and a component video cable. Many of the games i have are in the 480p resolution and it is a substantial improvement over regular NTSC output. My question is, will it get any better? Is the Gamecube capable of resolutions of 720p 1080i or 1440i?
-Casey

Josh: Sorry, but you'll only see GameCube games running in 480p at the highest -- the system cannot output in higher resolutions. It's kind of a shame if you've got the high-end equipment and you're a real videophile, but honestly, 480p is not too shabby and will more than suffice for most people.

Not lazy enough to COME KILL YOU

Wow! The Q and A updated? Somebody get the camera! OK, what I've got for you guys is more of a statement than a question: you guys are lazy as hell. What we have in N-Sider is potential for an amazing Nintendo fansite... shattered by the sheer sloth of the staff. The Universe, comic, and Q and A are all left to pretty much gather dust in cyberspace. You just don't update on a regular basis; which isn't really a problem, if not for the fact that you guys claim to update weekly for these things. Defense?
-Drew Inman

Josh: First off, we'll be the first to admit that in the past, some of our sections didn't receive quite as much love as they should have. The N-Universe launched too early without enough content, and the Q&A often missed an update or two, which created a deadly Catch-22: without updates, people weren't willing to send in questions, and without questions, we didn't want to update.

In the present, however, I think we're doing a good job of addressing these lapses. The Q&A is now going to be updated every Monday that is humanly possible, evidenced by this week's and last week's timely updates. The N-Universe is temporarily closed, but behind the scenes, artists are being hired and work is being done to ensure that when it does come back up, it does it right.

That being said, I think you ought to take a look at the rest of the site before you accuse N-Sider of being lazy. Consistent, timely updates of the N-Ticker; gargantuan features like Industry Problem Week -- this is in-depth content, much of which you'll only find on N-Sider. Combine this with the fact that most of our staffers have to lead actual, real lives in which they have real jobs, school, and other obligations, and I'd say we're not doing too badly here.

Mark: Yep, what Josh said. Plus it must be said that none of us work on the site 24/7 and we all have various other things on our plate, which doesn't help. While it's of no comfort to the legions of readers who visit our site, I'm sure you'd all agree that you'd rather have something to read rather than nothing at all. And that's what we hold onto. It takes an insane amount of time to come up with our features, editorials, and other regular sections but we think it's all worth it. Even if our workmates/girlfriends/school professors/boyfriends(well we do have female staff members)/etc...etc... don't quite agree!

As a disclaimer though, it may be worth remembering that we are always working on something, so rest assured that there'll be something coming up from someone very, very soon! Oops, did I let something slip!?!

Metroid Prime 2

When will Metroid Prime 2 be released? Is it a sequal to MP or a whole new story?
-Anonymous

Josh: Barring some kind of serious surprise at E3, I would not expect Metroid Prime 2 until mid-2004 at the earliest. As for the storyline, I couldn't tell you -- the game hasn't even been "officially" announced to be in development (even though we know it is), so naturally details on the game are scarce.

F-Zero Online?

Any chance F-ZERO's delay could be due to SEGA or NINTENDO including online-support for multiplayer races with more than 4 human racers. Also on F-ZERO, what are the curently known details on battle tactics used on opponets while racing?
-Jason

Josh: The delay of F-Zero was likely a strategic one, stemming from Nintendo desiring to space out the releases of their blockbuster games. As for online: it's a toss-up. Nintendo, as we all know, is continuing to drag its feet on the issue of online gaming, but Sega seems to be interested, evidenced by Phantasy Star Online. The game would need some serious scaling back to accomodate online play, however; the detailed graphics and fast framerate would be difficult to sustain in an online environment, and there is always the issue of lag with modem users. Given these factors, I would lean towards F-Zero remaining offline, though LAN play could be an option. As far as battle tactics, you'll have the same moves available to you that you did in F-Zero X.

Progressive scan revisited

Hey sup, Love ur site dudez. My question is, can I play progressive scan on an S-Video cable and even if not, what buttons do you have to hold in order to play my Gamecube in progressive scan? PLz help me out. Thanx
-Erwin Martinez

Josh: S-Video will improve the visual quality of your games over standard composite cables, but it's still not progressive scan. You'll only be able to achieve that with component video cables. If you have them, simply hold down the B button on your controller when you turn on your system, which should bring up a menu in the game you're playing asking if you want to play in Progressive Scan or Interlace (standard). Be aware that not all games support Progressive Scan.

Mark: Just a little addition, and it might sound stupid (but stranger things have happened!!), but obviously the TV would need to support progressive scan mode. Don't shoot!!!

Approaching E3...

Dear N-sider,
Long time visitor, first time writer. I was wondering about E3. I know Nintendo is claiming to have an allstar lineup of games, but is that really true. Have you heard anything from any 3 rd parties? Just hoping for a great game packed year of the cube. Thanx in advance,
-Ira

Josh: Well, as far as first-party/Nintendo franchise and second-party offerings, we'll naturally be seeing a lot more of games we know of, such as Star Fox Armada, F-Zero GC, Pikmin 2, Super Mario 128, Rogue Squadron III, Too Human, Kirby's Air Ride, Mario Kart, Pokemon GC, Mario Golf, Mario Tennis, Wario World, Giftpia, etc., as well as maybe a few that we may not know much about, like the elusive Stage Debut and Roll-O-Rama. Games we could hear more about are those tricky titles that may or may not even exist depending on who you talk to, such as Cube Wars, Pilotwings GC, Donkey Kong GC, other projects from Factor 5 and Silicon Knights, and more. There will also be at least one big first-party surprise. As far as third parties go, the big highlights of the show will probably be Metal Gear Solid, Capcom's various offerings (which may or may not include additional games besides the already announced "Big 5"), Soul Calibur 2, and Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles. Of course, these are just the exceedingly high-profile third-party games that everyone knows about; there are certainly many others that could potentially make a big splash provided they're shown, such as Virtua Fighter Quest, Ridge Racer, Tales of Symphonia, Baten Kaitos, a new original Sonic game, Enter The Matrix, and more.

Have we heard anything? As in, anything that most readers might not have heard? I really don't know...I can't speak for the whole staff, but I know that I personally have heard rumblings that Konami may have more love than we all think in store for us. I'd also keep an eye on Sega, as well.

Also, please don't write in telling me about all the games I forgot. I'm quite sure that there are at least a few titles that are eluding me at the moment, and that just goes to show that this E3 will happen for Nintendo in a big way. For anyone like Ira hoping for a "great game packed year of the cube", you are certainly well on your way to getting it.

Zelda sales

We all know that Zelda made a lot of preorders. Around 600,000 to be exact, but how has the game done since its release?
-Anonymous

Josh: You're absolutely correct about the number of preorders, but thus far, we've not heard anything from Nintendo or retailers about sales numbers after the game's release. We'll put them up on the N-Ticker as soon as we get them, but I think I speak for everyone when I say I'm confident that they'll be, at the very least, quite strong.

Mark: Did we forget to mention that all news are always constantly updated in our N-Ticker?? ;)

Q&A By: Josh Righter and small appearance by Mark Medina.

Send your questions for next week's Q&A!