The game cube will use little 3.5 inch discs... kinda like minidiscs


I just wish the import version of the game cube would play US games like the import GBA does

How many bits are we up to now?

The Playstation and Saturn (and GBA!) are 32 bits...
The N64 is (duh) 64 bits...
The Dreamcast is 128 bits...

What's the Playstation 2? Is the Gamecube going to be like 256 bits or something?

-Matt

Ok, I feel the need to inervene here, with a few points some people are missing.

Point 1 Nintendo will NOT be taking a loss of the GameCube systems, apparently they cost something like $180 to make..so they won't be making much, but they won't be in the red either.

Point 2 Dinosaur Planet has been cancelled, and turned into StarFox Adventures.

Point 3 Metroid Prime is now a First Person Shooter.

Other than those 3 points, I agree with everything in the above posts.

The GameCube is gonna be my Xmas gift for myself this year.

Technically metroid is a First Person Adventure, according to Nintendo anyway. It will feature the same type of game play (more explorationg than shooting), just in a 3-d form with a first person perspective. It isn't going to be overhauled into a shooter/deathmatch type of game or anything.

[Edited by joshhinkle on 05-24-01 at 10:23 AM]

For $199 it's hard to complain much, but the graphics on these games don't look so hot IMHO. The best graphics shown were pre-rendered and the others look nice but a bit "simple". The textures aren't as detailed as you'd expect, nor is the geometry. I can't shake the feeling there are some graphics deficiencies being hid - brilliantly - by fancy effects and clever art direction.

Disappointing to hear the X-Box games didn't run too smoothly, but their games looked much more ambitious. Enormous, free-roaming environments with highly detailed textures/polygons. If they can just get those framerates up, I'll be impressed.

On the other hand, GC Eternal Darkness looks quite awesome and it'll be hard to resist a new Perfect Dark game!

I heard Sony was gonna cut $100 off the PS2 this fall...Still...With Super Smash Bros....Im getting a Gamecube!

Bits truely do not matter anymore so I wouldn't even worry about it. If you go by the traditional number used to indicate a system's bits the Gamecube is technically a 64 bit system. The X-box is a 32 bit system and I have no idea what the PS2 is.

I don't see them cutting prices by anymore than $50. Last I heard they were loosing around a $150 for every system sold and while I'm sure that number has come down I imagine they are still loosing some money. Besides if they did that Nintendo could always lower the price of the GCN to $150 and easily make up for any losses with 1st party titles which are practically assured of becoming million sellers.

Sony makes far more off of all the third party licensing fees to make up any losses. also the lower costs that they now can pass along(hardware goes down in cost not up- ram is cheaper. dvdrom drives are cheaper)more games being sold due to higher amount of units in the market will assure them of profits. Microsoft is trying to do smaller third party fees and higher price on the unit.

I think Sony will go down $100 not $50 this summer. Kicking microsoft right where it hurts. they already are losing $500 million in advertising. If they need to lose more on the units it will not be made up in third party fees since theirs are lower. also they are buying third party support by giving companies money to make exclusive games.

I think they will lose a billion on the xbox in the first year alone .

Of course we are all guessing until Sony does it

Unless people are buying them as cheap DVD players and not buying games. Sony has more to lose by lowering the price than Nintendo.

I am sorry i do not understand are you saying that if people buy tham as cheap dvd players then sony has more to lose by dropping the price. not really first of all it is cheaper than 199 to buy an inexpensive dvd player. if all you want is the dvd player then buy a standalone player.

most people i bet look at the PS2 as a bonus. they wanted a gaming system and they need a dvd player or a second player. the drop in price just makes the combo even more attractive. I mean pay 100 more and get the xbox. pay the same and get the gamecube and no dvd player. or pay the $199 and get the dvd player and the game system and you can even play the older ps1 games also.

They charge more for third party licensing than Xbox(the same or less than nintendo I believe). so they are more likely not less to make up any losses in third party fees. also Sony sells Dvd movies in another division that gets money if more people buy their movies. Not sure that they lose money at all.

I just hope they do drop the price to $199 and do not go half way to $249. this will make the decision lean in sony's favor , but not as dramatically as it will with a cut to $199. Of course I am cheap and the less money the better

[Edited by gcribbs on 05-25-01 at 07:10 PM]

On a related note, there will be a DVD player with a Gamecube built in. It is being manufactured by Panasonic and is due out in Japan by the end of the year, and in the U.S. sometime in fiscal 2002 (Mar. 2002-Mar. 2003) This will be an option for those who want a GC and a second DVD player, though it will likely cost more than a PS2. But of course it will have better games. Here's the article form cube.ign.com.

Panasonic DVD/GameCube Combo for U.S.?

Matsushita gives more details on the GameCube DVD-player and talks manufacturing quantities.

May 24, 2001

When Matsushita (Panasonic) unveiled its GameCube DVD player at this year's E3 it also provided a few details as to how it will be marketed. As well, it commented on its manufacturing capacity for GameCube's DVD drives and optical discs.

The Panasonic DVD player/GameCube is set to go on sale before the end of the year, and the company is aiming to compete directly with Sony's PlayStation 2. Specifically, a Matsushita executive said the DVD-GameCube combo would be launched in Japan in time for the year-end holiday sales period. However, no price has been set yet. Even better news is that according to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun a U.S. launch of the player is planned for a fiscal 2002 release. Meaning, sometime in between March 2002 and March 2003 the player would hit the market.

Further, Matsushita claims it is capable of producing 600,000 DVD drives and 1.5 million of the optical discs each month. Presumably Matsushita has gotten a head start on manufacturing the discs, as the design has been complete for some time. Bear in mind that a DVD drive without hardware such as graphics chips is worthless for GameCube production, so the number of chips will affect Nintendo's ability to produce "X" amount of GameCubes per month.

More as it breaks.

I agree with you completely. But this does give Sony a floor they can't drop below. If they lower the price below what you would pay for a DVD player consumers will buy one and keep in the back of their minds that "it plays games too". That means the sell through on games will be lower on all but the most popular games. Nintendo could give Gamecube away knowing you would have to buy something to play on it. I'm just saying the PS2 has the least flexiblity on pricing.


[Edited by joltaddict on 05-26-01 at 02:38 PM]

PS2 price drop of $100??? That'll be perfect because MGS2 will be out this fall and that is the only reason to get a PS2. heheh. I'll be there.

John

i am hoping they do it. I fear they might decide to go with the second choice 249. if they think they can outcompete the xbox at that price. the gamecube is really geared to a slightly younger audience for most games than the ps2 so they might not feel the need to compete with nintendo.