Only a few questions this week. Next week: E3 is coming! What do you want to know? Send what you've got to qa@n-sider.com.


Game Boy compatibility

I am thinking of buying a gamboy advance. Can the Gameboy Advance play original gameboy and gameboy colour games? Cheers
-Scott Mc Mahon

Josh: Yes. Though a few select titles will give it trouble, the overwhelming majority of old Game Boy and Game Boy Colour games will run just fine on your new GBA.

Mark: Also, don't forget that the GBA SP is just a standard GBA with a different shape, rechargeable battery, and front-light, and therefore will also play "the overwhelming majority" of old Game Boy and Game Boy Color games (and GBA games too! duh!). Just in case you or anyone else was wondering.


Spaceworld money?

Hi. Just to start off, great site, and I love the features.

Looking back over the year, I have been trying to see where Nintendo put their saved advertising money from Spaceworld. The show was cancelled, but where did the money go? I havent seen any extra advertising over the year. Do you think they are planning on advertising stronger in the future, with perhaps more TV commercials? I know that these are expensive, but also very important. Many people see games featured in commercials as being good and cool. They were on the right path with Metroid and Animal Crossing. Thanks, keep up the great site!
-SabastianSuperman

Josh: Though it's hard to say without looking at fiscal reports from the company, I'd wager to say that much of the saved money went to advertising in various regions for the GameCube and GBA. Though you may not have noticed the results, Nintendo has generally been spending more in advertising over the past year in virtually all territories. Still, most would agree that it is one area that Nintendo are sorely lacking in.

Mark: Another area that Nintendo may have used the extra money would be in developer relations. It is, after all, perfectly feasible to suggest that Nintendo didn't even use this money as part of any "advertising budget". It's possible Nintendo invested some money into a developer, or worked out some agreement with a developer or publisher. The extra money may have gone into R&D for the next home console.

In truth, it's anyone's guess and at best we can only speculate and guess as to what they've done with their moolah. Hopefully the upcoming E3 Expo can shed some light on Nintendo's recent activities.


Freeloader = awesome

Hey N-sider staff....
Hows it goin? First of all, I'd like to say what a great site you guys run. I've been a visator almsot since the begining, and I'll be visating as long as you guys are on the web.

Anywaz, on to my question. I recently read that F1 carrer challenge is now only going to be released in europe. My question is, what will I need to do to my GC in order to play this game if I want to import it (I live in Canada)? I'd like to do it with as little hassle and cost as possible. Thanks for the help and keep up the good work!
-Jon

Josh: The easiest way to enable your GameCube to play games from all regions is to purchase the Freeloader. This is a boot disc for your GameCube: you put it in, turn your GameCube on, select the proper region, and then simply insert the game you'd like to play. No hardware mods, no sending your system away. Beware, however, that games from different regions format memory cards differently, so you may want to have a separate memory card for games from Japan, games from North America, etc.

Anthony P: Yes, I can vouch for the genius of the Freeloader. The disc so far has received unanimous praise from all quarters and acts as a cheap hassle-free alternative to modding your GameCube.

Just a word of warning though, if you do decide to purchase it, remember to check the version number that appears at the top right corner of the screen upon start-up. FreeLoader v.1.04 has a much lower success rate than FreeLoader v.1.06(b). Check with the version you're purchasing with the vendor first as it doesn't appear on the box or manual.

Mark: What Anthony means is that in v1.04 some games won't load properly, or have issues with loading, or freeze, or all manner of issues. Again, v1.06 has solved many of those issues, but it must be said that any product like this may have any undiscovered issue. Therefore, to be absolutely safe, check with your importer to see if F1 will 100% work on your Canadian NTSC with Freeloader v1.06.


Party confusion

About those people making games...
What exactly is the difference between a 1st, 2nd and 3rd party?

-Wolf

Josh: First party games are games made by the maker of the console in question. For example, Nintendo and its various in-house software divisions would be considered first party developers for the GameCube. A second party is a development company that makes games exclusively for one system, usually because the maker of that system has invested in the company. Silicon Knights and Retro Studios are GameCube second parties. All other developers are third parties, who make games for whatever systems they see fit. Note that a third party can favour a certain system and still not be considered a second party, such as Factor 5.


Q&A By: Josh Righter, and special appearance by Mark Medina and Anthony Pepera.

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