"nintendo wtf?"

[Sai]

this may not be the most palatable post but...oh hell

it is my belief that the nintendo gamecube is probably the best next-gen console, it's just that when all the other consoles have good exclusive games, but nothing really REVOLUTIONARY

when you look and play games like viewtifull joe and metroied prime you really are awed at everything those games have to offer. the concepts are seriously original compared to some other relatively advertised and popular ps2/x-box games. i also believe that the games in the ps2 and x-box rely on more tried and trued formulas than really risky and innovative stuff.

everytime i play halo i'll be at one place and say to myself, "hey, that's like that one thing or place from some really old fps like half-life" and seriously that game can get damned repetative sometimes.

the gta games for ps2 seem to contrate on non linearism and half the people i talk seem to seem be more interested in killing every single citizen of liberty/vice city other than taking on seriously tough jobs for the local mafia, and speaking of which i know this may seem a *bit* far-fetched but the whole taking on different jobs for rival gangs seems to me to be a much more extended and action based version of some parts of the original fallout.

i really think everything from the gamcubes design and games scream originality, thus being the best console out there today (outside pc of course)

 

[Direwolf]

I do think it may partly stem from the fact that originality sells better on the Gamecube too. Most Nintendo fans are much more likely to go out on a limb than many PS2 owners, and especially the stereotypical X-Box owner. You see this on games like Rez of Panger Dragoon Orta: they're exceptional games, but get buried in amongst everything else thats popular and don't sell well.

 

[OCybrManO]

That is why Nintendo is still around. When you buy a Nintendo game you know you are getting a game that lives up to their standards (especially if Shigeru Miyamoto was involved). Nintendo survived a rather large economic recession (with plenty of profit) for that exact reason. People were not willing to risk their hard earned money on a game that could have been all hype. Nintendo's gold seal of approval made people less weary about shelling out $50 (or whatever it was at the time) because they knew it met the high standards of Nintendo. It's not quite as important anymore with the huge number of video game reviewing sites... but it helps.

The reason GTA was, until recently, exclusive to the PS2 was that Rockstar was under a contract that expired not too long ago. They probably made a port to the XBox because they already had a PC port and the XBox is very similar to a PC. It's not because the Game Cube is a "kiddy console". The PS2 version of BMX XXX (a horrible game... and not because it's raunchy) was censored while the GC was uncensored. Then there is Resident Evil, Spawn, Medal of Honor, LotR, True Crime, Eternal Darkness (a great game), etc.

Nintendo's only big problem this time around was that they failed to do two major things with their hardware:
* Get in early (a year behind the PS2).
* Come out swinging (not as powerful as the XBox).
It was nice to see great games running on such a tiny console and at a low price but it just wasn't quite enough to make up for their mistakes. They say they have learned from the Game Cube and will get their next-gen console out before the PS3 and XBox Next... hopefully without a big difference in performance. I can't wait to see what the Big 3 have up their sleeves for the next console war.