Gamecube price drop

[shmokes]

As of today Gamecubes are $99.  There may not be many games for this system, but a lot of must-haves.  That price is worth it for Ikaruga, Soul Caliber, Metroid, Eternal Darkness and Zelda alone.  I hope this helps put Nintendo back on the charts.  I love their systems and their 1st party software.  It just sucks that many of the 3rd party developers are ignoring Nintendo these days.

[DaveMMR]

Nintendo got their comeuppance!  

But I love the Gamecube and while there's a dearth of good quality titles, there's still quite a few gems out there.  By the way out of the three systems I picked GC Soul Calibur II to play with Link - and the controllers not all that bad (though hard core fighters may want an arcade stick).

[said7]

Hmmmm i might have to pick one up for that price

Dont forget Mario Kart is comming out.

[jakejake28]

i wish i woulda waited 2 years ago...
<smacks self>
no i dont

i love my 'cube. only have a few games for it (metroid prime, zelda, ikaruga, supr monkey ball, and supr smash bros.) but viewtiful joe is coming out, and that looks freakin awesome. plus twin snakes.

[SirPoonga]

I want to pick up super smash bros for the cube sometime.  I played it alot ont he n64.

I will probably pick up XIII when it comes out.

Too bad it looks like Nintendo is going the way of Sega.  Sucks, two of the biggest manufacturers of consoles can't keep up.  I still find it sickening to see Sonic on the cube.

* SirPoonga stops and thinks, hmmm, one one hand gamecube on other GBA.  Same price.  Something isn't right....

[jcoleman]

SirPoonga stops and thinks, hmmm, one one hand gamecube on other GBA.  Same price.  Something isn't right....

Particularly when the GBA Player comes with the GameCube now.  I *almost* wish I'd waited...

John

[SirPoonga]

It does?  I don;t see anywhere where the Player comes with the cube.

[jakejake28]

It does?  I don;t see anywhere where the Player comes with the cube.

it does at wal-mart yea, its one of those bundles that nintendo offers, yknow the ones with games and stuff

[Magnet_Eye]

the PLAYER comes with the cube? Hey, I don't want some guy hanging around my house playing my cube all day long. I think I'll take the barebones, and I'LL be the player thank you very much.

 

[shmokes]

Does the gameboy player still come with it since the price drop?  I know it came with it at the $150 pricepoint, but assumed that would be cut out of the deal with the pricedrop.  God, if the $99 Gamecube comes with the Gameboy player you should pick one up now (if you haven't already).

[BombProofPlane]

no the player doesn't come with it anymore

twin snakes isn't coming out till early next year

i was realling hoping on playing through that on thanksgiving as planned but no

[hulkster]

I want to pick up super smash bros for the cube sometime.  I played it alot ont he n64.

I will probably pick up XIII when it comes out.

Too bad it looks like Nintendo is going the way of Sega.  Sucks, two of the biggest manufacturers of consoles can't keep up.  I still find it sickening to see Sonic on the cube.

* SirPoonga stops and thinks, hmmm, one one hand gamecube on other GBA.  Same price.  Something isn't right....

i love nintendo and always have.  as of right now nintendo is still going strong somewhat...but i think that nintendo has its final chance in the console market with this new console coming out in 2005 or 2006...whatever.  but if that console doesnt do well...then i would say that nintendo will just start to lose money considerably and then go to 1st party titles.  hopefully nintendo comes out with its new console with either Zelda or Metroid to establish a good market for adult gamers.  

[pointdablame]

Just a note, the WalMart near me DOES have the cube with the gameboy player for $99.44

So it does come with the player, at least in some stores.

[BombProofPlane]

wow that makes the cube 50 bucks lol

[HeadRusch]

The only GameCube game I even want at this time is that star wars game...and not "really", just in a "well if I had to buy teh system and had to pick a game to plaY'.

Every other game on that system is eitehr a port, thats done better on another console, or its a nintendo specific game..and I pretty much loathe nintendo-specific games.

I think they're starting to realize that they can't just slap mario and Kirby on every game they have and expect it to sell millions.

Considering their big ideas for their consoles are still remakes of games that initially debuted on SNES (!!!), I wouldn't lose any sleep if their consoles disappeared.

[shmokes]

I don't know...Nintendo still seems to innovate pretty well if you ask me.  I don't mean to get into the dreaded console wars but some significant entries in this generation are: Eternal Darkness, Animal Crossing, Metroid (sequel by name, but come'on it's about as far from a 2d platformer as you can get), Smash Bro., 1080 Snowboarding and Mario Party (all from N64, but not decades old franchises like Mario & Zelda), Pikmin, Luigi's Mansion (not spectacular, but nice and innovative).  

Their other titles, while familiar in theme are still more often than not abolutely spectacular and don't generally just stick to a hack-job formula.  Good examples of these are virtually every Zelda game ever made, Mario Tennis, Mario Golf, Super Mario Brothers.

Anyway, I've already said too much.  To make a long story short, Nintendo is still among the most talented game developers in the world.  Their downfall was greed (the tight control they have always wanted to have on the manufacturing process of games, leading them to stick to the cartridge format while Sony made the obvious switch to CD).  

To be honest, the thing I will miss most about Nintendo (considering that they will continue making games even if they exit the hardware market) is their controllers.  They invented the gamepad and Sega copied it.  Then they invented an ergonomic gamepad with shoulder buttons.  Sega and sony copied it (though Sony arguably improved on it).  Then they invented Rumbling gamepads with analog sticks.  Sony copied.   N64 was the first console with four controller ports. The Gamecube controller is the most comfortable, well designed gamepad on the face of the planet (I have small hands, YMMV).  Nintendo has always been supremely interested in the gamer's interface between him/herself and the game.  It would be sad to see them go.

edit:  I just read over all that.  Jeez, I'm a dork.  Don't get me wrong, I admit to being a Nintendo fanboy, but I'm also a PS/PS2, Dreamcast and PC fanboy.  I mean, if good games can be had on a system I want it.  I'm even starting to want an Xbox even though I really hate Microsoft.  They are more evil than Walmart.  Doublefine Productions is XBox exclusive, though, and claim to have no plans to port to PC so before long I will have to buy an XBox.
 

[SirPoonga]

I think they're starting to realize that they can't just slap mario and Kirby on every game they have and expect it to sell millions.

Actually, that is what sells their system.  It isn't the most powerful, doesn't have the best graphics, it's the nintendo software.  I bought my cube for super smash bros, mario sunshine, metroid prime, and zelda.  nintendo fans are always waiting for the sequel.  Metroid is a great reason to get a cube.  Been a LONG time since a Metroid came out.

Just like Sega, Sonic sold the Dreamcast (and all the arcade ports).  It looks like nintendo is heading towards the Sega path.  But the GBA will keep Nintendo alive.

[HeadRusch]

No, my point is that Nintendo is paying the price for resting on its licenses for too long....and not delivering new and innovative softare, but rather seemingly making the same games as before, just graphically updated.  Resting on its laurels, perhaps....

For someone like me, who hates the nintendo licenses, its a tough sell.  I have no special affinity for mario (marketing symbol), or Starfox (marketing symbol) or Link (marketing symbol).....because to me these characters dont represent anything great.   I'd rather have a cart racing game where you threw grenades at other racers, not happy mushrooms or little kirbys....

I'm not saying they're fading away, I'm just saying their reliance upon cutesy characters is starting to alienate them in a world of gamers accustomed to the Grand Theft Auto's and so forth.......
Would you put Metroid up against HALO? I think not.......while its innovative (Metroid), was there alot of game there, or was it more or less just exploring pretty graphics and shooting at bugs...??  
I guess I want more than that out of a FPS.....

But again, thats just me.  Super Smash Brothers was a game I'd buy a gamecube for.....if only they'd replace the characters with something besides plumbers, foxes, and those turtleshell dinosaurs

[tmasman]

I think that is their market though...
They seem to want to market the GC to kids...
Or at least to the people who see enough blood on the nightly news. It's a refreshing break from the blood & gore realism that todays teens seem to crave.  Why do ALL games have to have blood in them to make them a good game? Why can't it just be innocent fun?

This is just my personal ranting... I like playing GTAIII. But I also like getting away & playing simpler games with out the violence. (Hence my newly discovered passion for MAME & the great oldies)

Eh... All that said, I'd still buy a PS2 over a GC. It just has more functionality & a huge library of games available (PS1 & PS2 games).

[vitaflo]

Too bad it looks like Nintendo is going the way of Sega.  Sucks, two of the biggest manufacturers of consoles can't keep up.

How so?  The Gamecube is outselling the Xbox in worldwide sales.  Does Xbox go the way of Sega as well then?

[Frostillicus]

Too bad it looks like Nintendo is going the way of Sega.  Sucks, two of the biggest manufacturers of consoles can't keep up.

How so?  The Gamecube is outselling the Xbox in worldwide sales.  Does Xbox go the way of Sega as well then?

You can't compare GC sales to xbox sales now that the price cut is in effect.  Need to take into account the guys on the sidelines who would never buy a GC but would now - $99 vs $179.  

Also - I've never understood why Nintendo targets kiddies these days.  I'm almost 30, and the NES was a major part of growing up (everyone had it) - the games that I would be into, like Metroid prime and Zelda, look way too...kiddie-like.  You'd think they'd want to adapt them to the late twenties/early thirties generation, a virtually built-in demographic, and they'd sell way more I bet.  Make them more edgy and brutal.  I would buy one, but personally I don't really like how they look (both the case/controller and graphics).  
 

[shmokes]

Would you put Metroid up against HALO? I think not.......while its innovative (Metroid), was there alot of game there, or was it more or less just exploring pretty graphics and shooting at bugs...??  
I guess I want more than that out of a FPS.....

Absolutely.  Metroid Prime is easily one of the best first person shooters ever made.  Not only would I put Metroid up against HALO, but Gamespot gave it a 9.7 rating (coincidentally the same score HALO received) AND named it Game Of The Year, pooling from every game released for every platform (including PC).  They don't do them often, but when they do, Nintendo has a tendency to do FPS right (remember that at the time Goldeneye was in a league of it's own, far surpassing anything even ID had made at the time.
 

the games that I would be into, like Metroid prime and Zelda, look way too...kiddie-like.

Really...these comments are obviously coming from people who have never played Metroid.  The Gamecube is worth $99 to gain access to this game alone.  I recommend picking one up.  
And Frosty, given what you have said about the importance of artwork I suspect that after an hour of playing Zelda you would no longer be turned off by the kiddie style.  I know I was.  In fact, I don't know if any of you saw the original Demo Nintendo released of Link and Ganon in a sword fight, but it was really dark and the graphics were phenomenal.  A year later Nintendo announced that they had thrown all that out and started from scratch with the cartoon look and I was appalled.  I hated the look right up until I played for a bit and as much as a part of me still wishes they had given us the grown-up version, I cannot deny that this game probably has the most brilliant art direction of an game in history.  And it's a fantastic game (though gameplay-wise nothing groundbreaking like Ocarina of Time was).

But hey, Nintendo is a little late to the grown-up party, but at least they're trying now      Eternal Darkness is brilliant and it's a 17+ game.  And BMX XXX for the Gamecube went uncensored, while Sony wouldn't let Acclaim put the nudity in the PS2 version (not that anyone would want to play that pile of tripe with or without naked boobies).  Maybe there's still hope for them to get their act together.

The biggest problem for Nintendo is the association their name has with kids.  It makes it so the 3rd parties won't publish adult games for the platform which creates one of those vicious cycle things.  Think about it...how many adult games does Sony themselves publish.  Not too many.  They all rely on third parties.  I think Nintendo has realized for the past five years that they made a misstep, but it's difficult to control mindshare.   Blah blah blah.

Sony kicks ass too.  Can't wait for the PS2 with built in TIVO next year.

[SirPoonga]

Too bad it looks like Nintendo is going the way of Sega.  Sucks, two of the biggest manufacturers of consoles can't keep up.

How so?  The Gamecube is outselling the Xbox in worldwide sales.  Does Xbox go the way of Sega as well then?

Meaning they've been dropping their price like Sega did.  

I think the Xbox will gain the number 2 spot.  They have awesome games and designed the system the way one should have been designed.  4 controller ports and online play.  Gamecube sucks for online play, there just isn't much for it.  That's where the gaming industry is going.

Too bad you won't see the Conker sequel on the Cube.  I want an Xbox just for that game when it comes out.  I still play Conker on my N64.  One of hte best games ever made.  I own all the Rare games for the N64, they all rule!.

[vitaflo]

You can't compare GC sales to xbox sales now that the price cut is in effect.  Need to take into account the guys on the sidelines who would never buy a GC but would now - $99 vs $179.  

I didn't actually.  The GC was outselling the Xbox worldwide before the pricecut.  And I think the Xbox is a great console, I own one myself, I just find the Gamecube "doom and gloom" to be pretty funny when the Xbox is actually in a worse position right now.

[DaveMMR]

Would you put Metroid up against HALO? I think not

Comparing Metroid and Halo isn't really fair considering their two significantly different types of games.  Halo is more about shooting and Metroid is more about exploration.  It's like people who argue about Family Guy being funnier than the Simpsons and vice versa.  It's two different types of comedy and what you find funnier is based on what kind of comedy appeals to you.  In the same fashion, if you prefer shooting things, you'll always think Halo is better.  

And I never understood why people get so turned off by by Nintendo's 'kidee apeal'.  Sure, it's a little slow with the adult games but Mario Sunshine and Wind Waker are great games, no matter how they look.  If you're turned off by Nintendo's hardware looks or childish appeal, then that's your decision... buy you're missing out on some really good games.

On the other side of the coin though, the Gamecube's 'must have' games are miniscule compares to PS2 (though IMO it still beats out X-Box's)

BTW when it came down to Soul Calibur II, I picked the GC version over the other two specifically because of Link.  He fits in quite well (and shooting an arrow after a devastating combo is always most gratifying).

[SirPoonga]

You said before the pricecut.  Xbox is more poised to take over the market than Nintendo.  All Nintendo has is traditional Nintendo games like Zelda and Metroid.  They are awesome but the cube itself is lacking.  It is definately geared towards kids.  There's nothing wrong with that, but you can't compete against Sony or M$ then.  If you want to compete against them you need a system that supports DVDs, Audio CDs, and at least 5.1 surround.  None of which the gamecube can do.  I think the biggest problem with with the cube is not supporting Audio CDs by going to that small form factor.  Next is the fact of no built-in internet connection.

I think Xbox will sell more now that good games are coming to it and more developers are using Live.  Xbox needs Rare to come out with something good for their system.  I figured we'd seen something from them already.  What's the purpose of buying Rare without taking advantage of it sooner.  Their games are always hits.

[shmokes]

I think the "doom and gloom" is more of an intuition.  Nintendo is in a tough position.  As much as I love them (obviously) they're losing market share.  They just posted their first loss since they went public in 1966 or 67.  They're losing market share and losing it fast.  Obviously Sony is the primary cause, but Microsoft doesn't "feel" in trouble.  It feels to me like the public allowed Microsoft to give it a go, to see if they were going to do their homework and get stuff right.  They came through alright with a well designed (if god-awful ugly) system and they seemed to take it seriously.  I think the general public now thinks, "Okay...X-box is a player."  Or at least they built enough mindshare where people know what an X-box is.
Mindshare isn't a problem with Nintendo.  There isn't a person above five years old in America that doesn't know what a Nintendo is.  Nintendo has a whole different battle to fight which is that people know all about Nintendo and are still choosing not to buy their system.  Given their name and experience they should be slaughtering Microsoft (and Sony for that matter) and they're not.  
That's writing on the wall, my friend.  But I love them so much, that I hope their missteps aren't fatal.  They're the best software development house in history (and currently retain that title).  Their hardware development is consistantly groundbreaking.  They don't deserve so much trouble over a few years of greed and miscalulation of the demographics.  Even when they got greedy about manufacturing the quality of their games has never dipped.  

[Bomber]

It really saddens me to see Nintendo have to do this, and I hope they can get back to where they belong at the top of the video game industry. But its great news for anyone who doesn't own one yet. Go and buy one - you won't be disappointed.

Here in NZ, the game stores probably have about 7 or 8 PS2 games and 4 or 5 Xbox games for every GC game. Most people I speak to over here laugh it off as a "kiddie console" even though they have never played it. The press coverage that PS2 and Xbox get compared to GC is overwhelming.

The cube may not have as many games as the other consoles, but the GC-only games (Metroid Prime, Zelda, Super Monkey Ball etc) more than make up for it. I will take quality over quantity any day.

I also think they made a big mistake going for the smaller form factor. The cube looks great, but CD/DVD support would have added a lot of value to the console for a lot of people.

[hooded_paladin]

I have a Gamecube.  When you like the nintendo games of the last console, you have to get the next.  That's Nintendo's strength, the games.

Just recently, Beatmania IIDX has compelled me to want a PS2.  There are a whole lot of must-have games for PS2, but not that many exclusives.  A lot, though.  I say it really is the leading system.

X-Box I couldn't care less about.  If you want to play Halo, just buy some other FPS for the PC.  And what ELSE do you want?  Not very many exclusive must-have games either.

I don't think it'd be bad if Nintendo went the way of Sega.  Their consoles don't sell that well, but their games are good.  Although they do make a killing off the Gameboy.

(I have two titles for the gamecube   and I'm far away from having the money to get a PS2 and beatmania setup   .  Darn junior year ... no time to get any more money than $5 a week allowance.  You try buying games / arcade controls for that. )

[SirPoonga]

X-Box I couldn't care less about.  If you want to play Halo, just buy some other FPS for the PC.  And what ELSE do you want?  Not very many exclusive must-have games either.

Conker!  Not sure of the release date off hand

[shmokes]

Psychonaughts.  I don't know when the hell it's going to be released, but it's made by Tim Schafer who left Lucasarts to form his own company, Doublefine Productions which is an X-Box exclusive company.  While at Lucasarts he made Grim Fandango, Full Throttle and Day of the Tentacle.
My purchase of an X-box will largely coincide with the release of Doublefine products for it.

[Frostillicus]

shmokes:  Yes I have seen and played those games and I'm just not impressed, artwork or otherwise.  I especially didn't care for that star wars rogue game everyone was so gungho about.  I thought it was quite boring.  And let's face it the controller just sucks.  Felt like I was shaking my own hand.  I don't understand why Gamespot gave Metroid prime a 9.7 - maybe compared to _other_ nintedo games it's warranted.  Maybe they were trying to make up for the years of nintendo absence from any top-lists.  I am a die-hard xbox fan, obviously - playing HALO in 5.1 is heads and shoulders better than some bugsquashing FPS where the only link to its past is it's name (metroid).  And why would I want to be some little elfish char when I can be SPAWN???  

Look at the games that are on xbox - HALO, Knights of the Old Republic (probably Dantooine is the best graphics I've ever seen on a console), counter-strike, splinter cell 2, others.  True Crime? not sure on that one.

The fact is that when a good game comes out and doesn't have exclusivity on any one console, the xbox version is always the best.   best graphics, best sound, best downloadable content. Look at Max Payne, Splinter cell, Soul caliber 2, Madden 2004, Tiger woods 2004, etc etc etc.  

IMO, nintendo should just focus on their handheld market- clearly the leaders there.  I'm just not into portable gaming (though I did have that football game in the 80s  ), otherwise I'd get an SP.  And there's that adapter for playing GBA games on GC.  Something inherently wrong there - if you are using your SNES quality games to try to hike up sales of your modern console, something is definitely wrong.  Alas, I liked Nintendo, but I pray they have a dignified passing when they go.  

[shmokes]

Bah...if you don't like it, fine.  That's your cup of tea.  But Gamespot wasn't alone.  I'll eat my hat if you can find one publication (unless it's an Xbox exclusive publication) that didn't give Metroid a perfect or near perfect score.  These guys didn't all get together and plot a pity award for Nintendo.  That might be a hint to you that the general distaste you have for Nintendo might skewing your ability to think objectively.  Xbox is obviously a nice system (and it should be, considering how late they came to market and the cost of the system). I want one, and will own one eventually.  Brand loyalty is retarded.  I'm loyal to Nintendo to the extent that the products I buy from them kick ass.
And the reason you would want to be a dorky little elf instead of Spawn is because every Zelda game ever made has been among the best games available while every Spawn game, in spite of the bad-ass license, has been utter crap (unless there is a new one I am unfamiliar with in which case, sure, I'd like to be spawn -- in addition to, not in place of any other good game, elf or otherwise).  But if I bought games based on the coolness of the license I'd have a library of crap from Acclaim and Titus like Superman or The Matrix or Hulk.
Don't ditch your Xbox, just broaden your horizons.  Or don't.  Whatever.

[DaveMMR]

The fact is that when a good game comes out and doesn't have exclusivity on any one console, the xbox version is always the best.  best graphics, best sound, best downloadable content.

Not quite always.  EA sports games for example, are only on-line enabled on the PS2.  Some companies are not embracing X-Box Live.  So if you want to face competitors on the internet, the X-Box version should be your last choice.

[Dave_K.]

The fact is that when a good game comes out and doesn't have exclusivity on any one console, the xbox version is always the best.   best graphics, best sound, best downloadable content. Look at Max Payne, Splinter cell, Soul caliber 2, Madden 2004, Tiger woods 2004, etc etc etc.  

Its funny, but with the exception of Splinter Cell (I believe), the above games you mentional all have the same graphic quality (all lowered to the inferior PS2 platform) so that they look/play the same.  Only xbox exclusives get a bump in the graphic department.

[vitaflo]

They're losing market share and losing it fast.  Obviously Sony is the primary cause, but Microsoft doesn't "feel" in trouble.  It feels to me like the public allowed Microsoft to give it a go, to see if they were going to do their homework and get stuff right.  They came through alright with a well designed (if god-awful ugly) system and they seemed to take it seriously.  I think the general public now thinks, "Okay...X-box is a player."  Or at least they built enough mindshare where people know what an X-box is.
Mindshare isn't a problem with Nintendo.

In the public's eyes, you're right, Nintendo is losing market share mainly because of the trend in "mature" (I use that term loosely) gaming today.  Though I would argue that Nintendo's still makes the best quality games in the biz overall, reagardless of how they look.  Obviously the general public is more interested in style over substance however.

From a business standpoint, Xbox is a total failure.  MS has lost over $1.8 Billion on Xbox so far.  Nintendo has made $1.6 Billion on GameCube thus far.  That's one thing Nintendo does well, is make profit.  Believe it or not, Nintendo64 made more money over its lifespan than the original Playstation did, even though it sold less.

It's obvious MS is going to stay a player simply through mindshare and the fact it can stand to lose billions and billions of dollars to try and control the home entertainment area (lets not kid ourselves, that's all they really want, gaming is just their way in to do it).  Any other company would have been DOA already.

I think Nintendo will be fine as long as it keeps making a profit, since that seems to be mostly what they care about.  With the bad financial news for them recently, I'm pretty sure they'll get a kick in the butt to try to gain some of that back instead of resting on their laurels like they have been.

[shmokes]

Oh yeah...and Knights of the Old Republic sucks.

edit: Actually, it looks like it's really good.  I haven't played it.  I just don't like online RPG's because of the enormous time investment they require.  

[DaveMMR]

By the way I think it'd be fun to add some salsa to this topic's taco by mentioned that Nintendo reported their first profit loss since going public in 1962.

Here's a link: http://www.gamespot.com/all/news/news_6076336.html

Ironically, the day before it was announced that GC sales had quadrupled

Here's a link to that: http://www.gamespot.com/all/news/news_6076294.html

[Frostillicus]

Bah...if you don't like it, fine.  That's your cup of tea.  But Gamespot wasn't alone.  I'll eat my hat if you can find one publication (unless it's an Xbox exclusive publication) that didn't give Metroid a perfect or near perfect score.  These guys didn't all get together and plot a pity award for Nintendo.  That might be a hint to you that the general distaste you have for Nintendo might skewing your ability to think objectively.  Xbox is obviously a nice system (and it should be, considering how late they came to market and the cost of the system). I want one, and will own one eventually.  Brand loyalty is retarded.  I'm loyal to Nintendo to the extent that the products I buy from them kick ass.
And the reason you would want to be a dorky little elf instead of Spawn is because every Zelda game ever made has been among the best games available while every Spawn game, in spite of the bad-ass license, has been utter crap (unless there is a new one I am unfamiliar with in which case, sure, I'd like to be spawn -- in addition to, not in place of any other good game, elf or otherwise).  But if I bought games based on the coolness of the license I'd have a library of crap from Acclaim and Titus like Superman or The Matrix or Hulk.
Don't ditch your Xbox, just broaden your horizons.  Or don't.  Whatever.

I don't think I'll be ditching my xbox anytime soon My horizons were broad, and I was soley disappointed. That's the point.  3-4 so-called 'great' games does not justify buying the system.  And please don't compare Spawn to Hulk or Superman - that's like apples and oranges - Superman and Hulk had their _own_ games (and quite crappy ones at that), whereas Spawn is a char in a proven, existing game.  I wasn't comparing spawn in his older games context...let's not go there (Adventures of Link anyone?) Though Spawn is getting his own game soon for xbox, which could conceivably kick ass, for now he's on SC2.  

Nintendo released their system what, like a month before the xbox - claiming to be a direct competitor when they couldn't even hope to match the xbox in features/power.  It's not like MS didn't talk about what they were gonna do for years beforehand.  The others had time to upgrade.

I just don't see how people can honestly look at the market now, analyze the future offerings for the next year and still claim the GC is going to be a contender.  Please post specific articles for reference - I'd like to see something real other than quotes like "MS has lost over $1.8 Billion on Xbox so far.  Nintendo has made $1.6 Billion on GameCube thus far."

[DaveMMR]

Please post specific articles for reference - I'd like to see something real other than quotes like "MS has lost over $1.8 Billion on Xbox so far.  Nintendo has made $1.6 Billion on GameCube thus far."

Someone already did...
scroll two posts up.

3-4 so-called 'great' games does not justify buying the system.

I wasn't comparing spawn in his older games context...let's not go there (Adventures of Link anyone?)

Not for nothing though, I think X-Box (a system I own, so this is not a fanboy rant) has fewer 'must own' games than the Gamecube (not including multi-platform titles).  And 'Adventure of Link' was never considered a bad game -- just a departure that wasn't as good.  If you want a bad Zelda game check out the CD-I offerings.  

Nintendo released their system what, like a month before the xbox - claiming to be a direct competitor when they couldn't even hope to match the xbox in features/power.

If people bought systems based on their 'power' then X-Box would have beaten the PS2 quite handily.  But you should know by now that most consumers base their purchases on anything but system specs.  History has taught us otherwise.  

Oh and competitors usually can't hit the brakes and change their hardware on the drop of a hat.  That especially angers programmers who try to insure there's at least a couple of games out when the system is launched.   And I'm pretty sure MS was smart enough not to release their specs early enough for Nintendo to try and better it.  

I don't know... I like my Gamecube.  I also like my X-Box and I also like my PS2.   But nobody's twisting anyone's arm to buy any of those.