Thanks to a little poll done last week (and a couple emails), we decided to clean up the Q&A this week. So if you want your question answered, just email them to us here. Until then, here's this week's Q&A.
Well, well, well. Ya'know, N-Sider used to be an awesome place: the galleries were up and running, the Q&A was always updated by someone who DIDN'T have to try and act like a stand up comic, and you guys seemed to care about Nintendo and it's games and sales. I really don't care that the galleries don't work, but it really bothers me how out of control the Q&A seems now. You dumbasses just $#@% around and won't give straight answers... Sigh. Here's my question: Where did you go wrong? ACTUALLY I THINK I KNOW WHAT THE ANSWER IS GOING TO BE... YOU'LL NEVER GIVE A STRAIGHT ANSWER. YOU'LL JUST TRY AND BE "FUNNY". I SEE THE FUTURE: Dean: *Blah, blah, blah. Lame joke, lame joke. Try to insult the kid. Blah, blah. Lame joke.* Glen: Can I suck you Dean??? *Yack, yack, yack.* Ha ha ha! Cory: *Whine, whine.* Irate Static Stick: *Lame joke* Miss Cleo: This kid see future better than me, jah??? Brendon: Duhhhh... *Drooling blabber* Well, I know I won't get a straight answer. Whatever you do will be in the name of (lame of course) "COMEDY". Dumbasses...
-Drew
Brenden: Alright, alright, we get the idea. Last week's Q&A sucked, according to more than 50% of you. Most of the time, we try to balance the whole lame comedy thing with the actual answers, but it didn't work out too well. Now, I do apologize for that, but I would like to say something in our defense. Last week you were asking about Pokmon for GBA, and I replied with the following:
Brenden: You're all nuts. Anyway, yes, Pokmon is coming out for GBA. You can read the details on it here.
Yes, it was the last response, but you did get a straight answer. Unfortunately, we didn't get to it without beating around the bush a little. But that shall change for this week's Q&A. We're going to try and make things completely direct and to the point. See how that works.Glen: Ouch. You try to have a little fun and everyone hates you. Sorry. :(
Jason: Glen, he has a point. For that reason I'm going to make sure to answer as many questions as I can without fooling around (too much).
Josh: Damn. I guess we're not the next Def Comedy Jam after all.
Cory: As I had said before all of my comments in this Q&A were suspiciously deleted (*shifty eyes*), I wholeheartedly agree. Perhaps without such rampant and unpleasant flair, but close enough. You can look forward to a less idiotic Q&A from now on.
There was a lot of bragging from Nintendo about the GameCube's 6-1 texture compression capabilities. What happened? Why aren't we seeing more detailed textures? Are the developers just not taking advantage of this feature? So far the Xbox seems to have better textures. Just wondering...
-Anonymous
BenSkyWalker: I'm going to give a bit of history here before getting into the technical aspects so people can get an idea of what's going on. Several years back a PC graphics card company called 'S3' created a new form of texture compression which had surprisingly little loss in quality while landing 6:1 and 4:1 compression ratios called S3TC. It was an impressive technology but unfortunately since S3 created the standard they held the patents and they were far from a leader in the gaming market so there technology went widely unused. Seeing the potential in this compression technology a company decided to license the technology for anyone to use under their proprietary API DirectX changing the name, although it was identical in form and function, to DXTC under DX, that company was Microsoft. Because the technology was only open for people to use under DX and not under OpenGL the technology landed very little support as companies did not want to spend the money licensing the technology that had no support from game makers. Another item that became a factor was a law suit between S3 and another graphics company which came to an out of court settlement allowing each company to use each others patents, opening the door for nVidia to enable S3TC support under OpenGL.
What does all that mean? The XBox doesn't have a texture compression format a lot like the GameCube, it has the exact same one bit for bit. There are a few other facotrs involved on why we are seeing some more detailed texture on the XBox then the GameCube right now also. One is that the XBox simply has more RAM, and all of the XBox's RAM is fairly high speed while Nintedo has some incredibly fast, with a pool of not so fast backing it up for textures. Then there is the flicker filter employed by Nintendo. The flicker filter works as a three line blur filter which significantly reduces flickering while at the same time reducing aliasing and also texture clarity unfortunately. This can be disabled in certain games such as SSBM and you can zoom in close to Mario's overalls and notice the difference when switching back and forth(at least, you can if you have a sharp eye). It is up to the developer to enable or disable this feature, unless you are viewing the game in Progressive Scan mode where the flicker filter will be disabled anyway.
All is certainly not lost for the Cube however, the platform does have a certain set of advantages over the XBox when it comes to using detailed texures. Using a lower number of highly detailed textures the Cube could have an edge over the XBox due to its incredibly fast embedded RAM on the Flipper. You may want to keep your eyes out for a certain survival horror title looming which appears to be demonstrating this quite nicely, looking to have far more impressive texturing then anything on the XBox(even if they are using tricks to do it). Another advantage the Cube could have is with a game like Pikmin you could apply a rather highly detailed texture to every single Pikmin as there would only be a need for three different textures for up to a hunderd on screen characters. This wasn't the choice they made with that game, likely due to artistic reasons, but the Cube hardware is actually better suited under those type of conditions then the XBox.
With all of that said, unfortunately multiplatform games are going to suffer due to the much weaker abilities in terms of handling textures on the PS2.
I'm a long time reader, with a first time question. No offense, but your latest QA was really bare, so I have a Q for you guys. What's the deal with EA and their lack of support on the sports front. EA's own homepage had NHL2003 as an upcoming game for our beloved GCN, but it's gone. So what's going on? I thought for sure this year, EA would fully support us, well at least in the sports department. Will we have to wait for another 3 years, like on the N64 before we get a high quality hockey game? I need to know, even EA wont reply back with an answer.
-Frederick
Glen: Sega is on board, Midway is on board, Acclaim is on board...and EA, to a lesser extent, is on board. Why that is, I honestly have no clue. Although, just like the generations of last, EA has predominantly supported a single console. This generation that console is PlayStation 2. Electronic Arts is missing out on a large market on the GameCube. Their loss, I suppose. Although, as far as I know, a title in the NHL series is still on its way to GameCube. I'll get back to you on this topic if I find out more.
Josh: Well, as Glen said, EA Sports is on board to a certain degree. The company has already given us games like NBA Street and Madden 2002, and you can expect next year's versions of those franchises to hit the GameCube as well. That being said, there has to be a viable market for EA to bring a game to the Cube, and past instances from the N64 generation have demonstrated that Nintendo systems and hockey games don't mix very well from a financial standpoint. In this business, it's all about money.
Why is it that people send in Questions to a Q&A in the first place? If they paid attention to the site and did their fanboy homework, they would know the answers in the first place. If anything its only good to ask you guys your opinion on a subject such as: do you think keeping games like Kuru Kuru Kururin in Japan is a stupid idea? I know I want to play it. See, that's something to ask. The stupid jerkpeople that send in "wehnar uougues going to make NIntendo gayems for Easrthtbound 4?" should just get locked up or something. So to all the people out there who don't know, find out for yourself, and if you cant find it anywhere the answer to just about all your "is this game coming" is likely going to be no. If you want the game that bad go buy a PS2 because it's likely going to be on that system...whatever it is.
-Goober
Jason: They should get locked up? Well, I wouldn't go that far. Most people don't have enough time to keep up on all current news. This is especially the case if they aren't aware of great sites like this one to provide them with the important news...*cough*. Right. About the japanese support: Is it stupid not to bring over the games? No. I hear many people in my area complain that the local blockbuster doesn't have enough japanese animation videos. There's a good reason for this. If there was a larger market for this sort of thing, there would be more videos. It's that simple. You know the old saying "the customer knows best"? Well, it's true in this case if you think about customers on a mass scale. If enough people in North America traditionally purchased oddball titles like Animal Leader then there would be no debate. It's just business. If you want these titles, it's not good enough. You, and many other people must want them.
Josh: It goes back to my answer from the last question -- it's all about money. If the market isn't there, then neither is the product. And as Jason said, some people don't have all day to refresh Nintendo pages looking for news. Don't be so hard on them.
Brenden: Simply said, it can be hard to dig up old information. The most frustrating feeling in the world is knowing you read something but can't find the article, so what better thing to do than ask someone who knows? That's why we're here in the first place. As for Japanese games? Josh and Jason summed that one up quite nicely. If there's a market, they will come.
Hey, what's up? Okay, yeah, so do you guys know what has happened to Too Human, because that looked real interesting. Oh and by the way, you guys are hella funny keep up the good work.
-Mauricio
Glen: It will be released sometime in the future. Honestly, that's all there is to say. The developer behind the title, Silicon Knights, is currently using all of its resources to finish up Eternal Darkness. For reference, Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem is set to release on June 24th. Don't expect the company to begin talking about Too Human until after ED's release. We apologize for not being able to provide additional info.
Jason: Glen summed it up really nicely. Too Human will probably not be released for about 2 or 3 years (or perhaps more). The only way that they could possibly get away with releasing it earlier would be to:
A) Use the current Eternal Darkness engine and modify/tweak.
B) Use all of the old FMV's that were present in the PSX version and just re-render them at a higher quality.
C) All of the above.
Even taking all of this into account you can rest assured that Silicon Knights and Nintendo will do their damndest to make sure it's up to snuff. Be patient, and don't sell SK short by passing up Eternal Darkness.
Josh: Yeah, Too Human is still very much alive and kicking. When you see it, I have a feeling you'll forget about the wait.
I was wondering, when did Mario become Italian? :)
-Bu_Jasoom
Glen: The story goes something like this. While translating the game's (Jumpman) introductory text late one night, Minoru Arakawa was startled by his Italian landlord, Mario Segali, who burst through the door demanding rent. Once the man had left, Arakawa decided to call the Jumpman character Mario. The name has since stuck. By the way, keep an eye on N-Sider. In the coming weeks we'll be posting a profile of Nintendo of America's former president, Minoru Arakawa.
Josh: Glen nailed it. Interesting side note: Mario's full name is Mario Mario.
Do you guys think that Shiggy has some secret titles that will be revealed at E3?
-Christopher
Glen: Of course. Nintendo has always been a company to surprise its fans. Just like Pikmin from last year's E3, the company is very secretive. If it's going to happen, it will probably be unveiled at the Nintendo pre-show, which I believe occurs on May 21st this year. N-Sider will be at the event, so we'll break the news as it's revealed.
Jason: What you should be even more excited about is the games coming from the budding director's at NOJ. Shigeru probably has at least one or two secret titles (one of which might make a showing at E3). However, directors such as Eiji Aonuma (director of Majora's Mask among other accomplishments) have been working on projects behind the scenes as well. Though Miyamoto can really do no harm, these new director's have been training for years and now it's their time to shine. Believe it folks. Miyamoto is not a one man team. Nintendo has many incredibly talented people working for them, and this E3 they will make a believer out of you.
Josh: Expect at least one previously unannounced Nintendo title to be unveiled at the pre-show. If it doesn't happen, I will publicly eat those words.
I thought that way back when the very first Donkey Kong was made by Rare, that Nintendo bought 50% of Rare's shares, making Nintendo dominant shareholders in Rare. So doesn't that automatically stop Rare from developing for other consoles
-cd2
Josh: Well, Rare doesn't have to develop for only Nintendo consoles just because Nintendo owns some shares of the company. But going multi-platform would be very hectic. The Stamper brothers (founders and owners of Rare Ltd.) would have to go through some serious loophole processes in order to develop for, say, the PS2 -- selling and then re-buying shares of the company, things like that. Not only that, but Rare is quite content at Nintendo, no matter what you hear to the contrary. They're not going anywhere any time soon.
Brenden: According to a certain Swedish Rare expert that used to work for N-Sider, Nintendo's stake in Rare is still a minority interest. Back in 1995, Nintendo bought a 25% share in Rare and while the stake has inreased since then, it's still shy of 50%. For more info on Rare, you can check out our N-Depth profile on the company.
Hey, I was wondering what the deal was with Mega Man coming to GameCube? This is the only site where I've seen it mentioned (in the release list and another article about Shinji Mikami). No other sites acknowledge its existence (not even rumors) and even on this site there was no announcement or anything. So is it really coming? 'Cause a Mega Man game would be awesome, and lots of people would be pretty happy to hear it exists.
-AS
Jason: MegaMan Battle Network for GBA had a GameCube in it, which is pretty much dead give-away. Good question though, and it's one that everyone is dying to know the answer to.
Josh: I will say this: Megaman likes the GameCube. Quite a bit, as a matter of fact.
Anthony: Japanese magazines actually released the first information of MegaMan and CAS Ra a few months ago. GC-Inside reported it, and stated Capcom and Arika (the developer behind the 3D MegaMan Legend series) were in development of a new MegaMan for the GameCube. Even without the official mention of Capcom producing a MegaMan title, it is pretty much expected that they would push the GameCube as the official MegaMan platform.
Hey, wassup? You guys are doing a great job at your site, but I'm not typing this just to kiss up. I have a question. Since Nintendo made Super Mario Bros. 2 for GBA and also made Super Mario World, is Nintendo going to make a third title for GBA? I heard a rumor that there would be Super Mario Advance 3 and that it would be in the form of Super Mario Bros. 3. Is this just a rumor, or is this under development? Thanks.
-Josh I.
Josh: Although it hasn't been officially announced (to my knowledge), SMB3 is a very likely candidate for GBA-release. I'd bet on it coming out, but I couldn't venture a guess as to when.
Anthony: Nintendo did announced Super Mario Bros. 3 would be released on the Game Boy Advance. The title will go under the Super Mario Advance 3 title and will be released in Japan by the Summer.
PGC commented saying that the present textures could be temporary textures like the demo of ED, which wasn't the real game. I remember the first Super Mario Sunshine video having much more detail. Could it be true?
-Almighty Space Cobra
Josh: I really would like to agree with that, but I'm not sure. Mario Sunshine's release date is really coming up fast -- why would placeholder textures still be in place? It's not like Nintendo needs to "hide" good textures from competitors or anything like that. The fact of the matter is, the GameCube's MIP-mapping abilities seem to be hit and miss. Games like Rogue Leader have demonstrated exquisite textures and bump-mapping, but we've also seen the somewhat lackluster texturing of titles such as Luigi's Mansion -- and that's a first-party game. Planet GameCube could be completely correct, of course, but personally, I have my doubts.
Brenden: Well, I don't see why everyone believes that it has to be the latest build of the game. I wouldn't be surprised if it was an older build. Then again, I try not to concern myself with graphics that much, so I could be way off.
Do you guys know for sure if Animal Forest + / Crossing is coming out on September 20th. Where did you guys find it out at, nobody else seems to know. Thanks.
-Chris
Anthony: The date is very tentative and is not even on our release lists because of it. I've heard everything from July to November.
I just went to your superb website and I was struck with what I saw. I could see the Xbox logo with green color background. Also the N, as in N-chat, were all changed to X-chat. I believe that your website has been hacked. Please can you correct that.
-Yves
Josh: The truth is out, Yves -- we like the Xbox much better than the GameCube. Fran made us take all our pretty Xbox graphics down after April 1st, unfortunately, but that doesn't mean we were happy about it. Bigger is better, Fran. Get an Xbox.
Brenden: Actually, I'm surprised at the number of emails we got concerning our site being "hacked", or whether we were switching to an Xbox site. Ah well, at least we didn't resort to putting up fake articles.
Q&A By: Glen Bayer, Brenden Petracek, Josh Righter, Jason Nuyens Anthony JC and Cory "What the hell just happened?" Faller. With special appearances by: Ben Wilber and a mysterious Swedish Rare expert.
Send your questions for next week's Q&A!