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by the NWR Staff - August 12, 2005, 9:30 pm EDT

Today's bag editorializes upon an EA-produced console and development costs, and there's loads of great info from our readers about subscribing to Japanese magazines, playing GC games on a laptop screen, and more!


I'm pretty sure you can do mail order subscriptions for various Japanese

magazines from Kinokuniya. They have major stores in San Franciscio, LA,

and New York, that I know of. Probably pretty expensive, but it can't hurt

to call them up and ask.

There's an option for anyone who really, really wants Japanese mags.


Perhaps one could speculate that multi-platform games like sports titles would have the same price across the board, but would it not be justified to assume that there might be exclusive features to compensate for the ease of programming? I cite the use of the GBA in the Gamecube version of a Splinter Cell game (the one seen in the demo disk) as a potential indication of such willingness. Whether or not it proved a valid selling point during its run, I don't know nor do I care, it simply establishes precedent.

However, I cannot forsee DS connections being an adaquate in all or even most cases (casino, party games, and a few other specific genres where privacy matters, maybe). That isn't to say there wouldn't be other options. Perhaps they may add new characters the way Link in Soul Calibur had been meant to be. Perhaps this mysterious controller allows for new abilities that could never be done on the other versions. My point is simply that there could still be enough unique material in the Revolution version to tip the scales for those who own multiple consoles or were merely on the fence about buying the game at all.

After all, we are all making assumptions on systems that are not available and how they'll play games that aren't even tangible as of today. Let's at least wait for the new generation to begin before we start mourning or celebrating.

--"Loki"

Yes, I'm sure that the Revolution version of multiplatform games will often have special features such as DS connectivity and possibly other stuff dependent upon the Revolution's capabilities. But that's not going to make Revolution games cheaper than their companion versions on other systems. A better value, perhaps.


Hey,

On your last mailbag you said that Nintendo could publish Perfect Dark anytime, because they published the original game. But when I checked the package of that game it said published by Rareware. So do you think Micro$oft has all the rights to the game after all and we aren't going to see PD to be downloadable on Revolution? That would be sad. But as long as I can get fourth version of OoT I'm happy anyway.

-Antti

You're right, and I thought about that after posting my answer yesterday. Rare did self-publish some of their titles, but I seem to remember that Nintendo still underwrote those games in some way (aside from the fact that they were partially funding Rare in general as a partial owner of the studio). It's a complex situation that may have to be explained by someone at Nintendo or Rare before we can be sure.


Do you ever see EA moving into the console market? As in making them? They would have a ready made huge library of games just with all there licenses Sports, NFS, Burnout just to name a few. Could this be a possibility sometime in the future?

A lot of people have hypothesized that EA might create its own console. I'm inclined to think not, and here's why. EA's target audience, for the most part, is mainstream gamers who tend to be influenced by extremely realistic graphics, sound, and physics. You have to think that an EA console would be maxed out for those attributes, something like the Xbox in the current generation. And therein lies the problem: the Xbox can't be sold for a profit. It's not even breaking even after four years. So the maker of an Xbox-style console has to rely on licensing fees to balance out the hardware losses, but if EA's hypothetical console is designed mainly to play EA's own games, there are no license fees to be collected. EA would have the same problems courting third-party games as Nintendo now does. So I don't think EA would ever create their own console unless they determined that the profit margin on their own games (which, remember, would now only appear on EA's own system and thus would probably sell fewer units) could outweigh what the company makes by releasing most of its games on every platform known to man. Or, to put it more succinctly: EA's current business model seems to be working quite well enough, so why take the massive risk of upsetting the industry with a brand new console burdened by Xbox-like hardware losses and Nintendo-like software starvation? It just doesn't make much sense for now or the foreseeable future.


Did I dream this or did Reggie say something about Revolution launching with its own, Rev. only, edition of a GTA style game to appeal to those ppl that dig that stuff? I remember seing it either on a, doh!, IGN Nintendo Minute, or an earlier interview.

Also, instead of reinventing the wheel couldn't the big N just liscence the Unreal engine for the next Metroid, yikes!, Zelda, oh boy, and yes even a tricked out version of Super Mario Revolution utilizing the engine but aplied in a side scrolling manner ala Super Mario DS? That way they could focus on the gameplay and story, et al. since that is their strength. It would really be a asset to the teams and probably more cost effective. What do you think?

-aparr

I think you dreamed that first part. As for licensing engines, it might be a smart move for Nintendo to use existing middleware for some of their games, but I don't see it happening. For one thing, Nintendo already has a lot of talented programmers who are constantly creating such technologies and can more readily adapt to the designers' requests than if they were using an existing licensed engine. I'll admit that EAD's GameCube engines have not been as untouchable as they were in the N64 days (alongside Rare, at the time), but there is a clear distinction between EAD's in-house games and the third-party stuff that relies on RenderWare, etc. Custom engines are more expensive and time consuming to create, but Nintendo seems to think they are worth the effort. In the case of Metroid Prime 3, that game's engine is being adapted from the Prime 2 engine, which was an upgrade of the first Prime engine. All have been developed in-house at Retro Studios. However, I do expect that many third-parties will continue to use RenderWare, Unreal 3, and other middleware on Revolution.


Hey there, long time reader, first time writer. I love your site.

First question: You've said in previous mailbags that the DS is still outselling the PSP in the US and moreso in Japan. It's not that I don't trust you guys or anything, but.... Ummm... Do you have any figures to back up that statement?

And second of all, is Pokemon XD going to be a "real" Pokemon RPG, or is it just going to be Stadium with miniscule walking around parts, a la Colloseum (*shudders*)?

Thanks,

Stu L Tissimus

P.S. How many hours of my life do you think Advance Wars DS will take away?

Actually, it looks like the PSP has been outselling the DS more or less since the PSP's N. American launch, though neither system is in danger of selling out at this point. As I've explained in earlier mailbags, I have ways of looking up some sales figures, but I cannot publish them here at PGC without paying crazy fees to the NPD Group. Pokemon XD is no more a "real" RPG than Colosseum was, from what I've seen. I know, it's very disappointing.

P.S. A lot. Especially if you have DS-owning friends.


This is for Josh; I faced the same problem when I headed off to school

with my Playstation in '99. Except I used a desktop, and I fitted it

with the ATI All in Wonder 128 videocard.

Now unfortunately you can't just simply slap an expansion videocard

into your laptop, but what you CAN do is look into USB versions of

other ATI or Hauppage.

If you want to go the ATI route, Look online for the "TV WONDER USB

2.0". I've read some reviews for it and first-hand user experiences

from online retailers and unfortunately I'm hearing mixed things from,

"IT TEH WROKS GRAT!!! I LOVES IT" to something troubling like, there's

a split-second of lag between controller input and the results you see

on the screen. But it's still an option.

As much as I love ATI, I think Hauppage's dedicated capture cards are

supposed to be of higher quality. And they do make things for laptops

as I just today found out. I haven't seen reviews or user feedback on

this regarding videogame console usage, though :( Just look online for

the "HAUPPAGE WINTV USB" product - I see three variations of it on

Newegg.

(By the way, at least on Newegg the Hauppage products go for $70, $85,

and $130; the ATI product goes for around $85.)

Another option you have is to hunt down some of those Mobile Monitors

that they sold during the infancy period of the Gamecube. The only

ones I remember were made by Pelican and Intec, and I don't even know

if they're made en masse anymore. See if any online retailers have

them - Planetgamecube has a review on such a device, if I'm not

mistaken.

(Last I checked, mobile monitors cost as much as $150.)

Finally, it's VERY VERY VERY VERY rare to see a laptop with video-in

built in. I have never seen one in person, but they may exist. If in

fact they DO exist, it is indeed possible to get non-progressive scan

games to work on a VGA box... though technically then it wouldn't be a

VGA box. A quick look at Lik-sang.com will reveal tons of products

that claim to be VGA boxes but really aren't truly - they only display

in an interlaced format, so you'd be getting 480i which is still

better than a TV signal... but no telling how garbled it will look on

a laptop screen that wants to display everything in a native

resolution. The one I own is called, on Lik-Sang, very plainly "Multi

Purpose VGA Box (with Component-In)". Unfortunately in my humble

opinion it's a piece of crap in terms of how shoddily it's built, but

it gets the job done. It also offers S-Video and regular RCA (red,

yellow, white) input in addition to YUV input and you can switch

between the three. There's also an audio-out jack so you can output

your sound without needing speakers or something, but I've used

headphones with it and it's a total *bleep* to get it to work with

both left and right. I think again it's due to the fact that my unit

is a total piece of crap.

Hope that helps.

-MrCHUPON

I don't usually post letters this long, but it's full of such great info! I did review InterAct's Mobile Monitor 5.4, which is no longer produced; I've heard that the Intec screens are better quality anyway, and those are still available.


Firstly, Jonny, systems have to be on the same channel to be able to talk to each other, so your whole "16 channels for 16 people" argument doesn't make much sense, especially since you can have 16 people PER PICTOCHAT ROOM.

Secondly, although I don't know the details, and they could be cheating, Band Bros. has an 'extended' multiplayer mode w/ no maximum # of players, though each must have a copy of the game. I suspect the DS cannot actively communicate among more than 15 other systems, but it can broadcast one-way to any number of systems.

-TYP

See, I never have to worry about being wrong because I know TYP will come along the next day to make everything right!


I’m not sure if they’re planning a soundtrack for Metroid Prime 2: Dark Echoes (the Japanese title), but considering past soundtrack releases, it’s still a possibility. MP2 just came out in Japan in May, and the soundtrack for the first game didn’t come out until about six months after the game came out. Also, the F-Zero GX/AX soundtrack wasn’t released until a full year after the game was released in Japan. I’m keeping my eyes open for a MP2 soundtrack, so I’ll be sure to let you know if it hits the release schedule.

Daniel Bloodworth

Hope springs eternal! So just keep checking PGC, and we'll let you know if an Echoes soundtrack ever does come out.


I was excited to get the email Nintendo sent out the other day about

helping them gather information for compatibility with Nintendo WiFi

Connection. I downloaded their program, ran it, filled out all the information

correctly, and then waited for it to finish. It took about 10 minutes to fill

up the progress bar, then sat for like a half an hour. So I restarted it, same

result.

This has me worried because I hide my SSID, require MAC filtering, and use

a 128-bit WEP key. I am thinking my security setting freaked out the test

program, so that is casting shadows of doubt as to weather or not I will be

able to take my DS, and ultimately Revolution, online with my current security

settings.

I was worried about this when Nintendo said they wanted to make everything

easy. It is hard to make things easy and data entry free if you are trying to

secure your wireless network.

What are your thoughts on this, and is there anything people like me can do

to raise Nintendo's awareness of our situation since their Animal Crossing

clock program wasn't even able to finish gathering its data to report back to

Nintendo? Also, I know it wasn't a software firewall blocking the Animal

Crossing clock from finishing. Thanks, sorry this was so long.

I had the same result, except that I'm using non-wireless cable Internet with far less security than you have. Eventually the program did finish its analysis and let me view the results, which showed that no information was ever transmitted to Nintendo. The best thing you can do to help Nintendo is to take that survey and run the analysis, which you've already done.


do you know if there are any plans to release Premier Manager

2005/2006 on the GBA in the US? I am an limey living in the US and

need my footie fix now the new premiership season is about to start.

Cheers Mate

Stuart

In the U.S.? No way. You'll have to find some way of importing it.There are a very small number of European gaming shops that will ship to the U.S., or so I've heard.


How's it goin PCG?

In your previous mailbag somone mentioned a game which he claimed to

be the hardest NES game. First off it's my honest oppinion both

battletoads and Milon's Secret Castle were VERY hard.

Although where is the mention of Rush n' Attack the single hardest

game I have ever played in my life. The only game I own and have yet

to successfully complete even during co-op. What do you think about

this game?

-Christian

I've never played that one, but I've heard of it. Maybe I'll check it out sometime. You know, I was chatting with DrHogie after posting the last mailbag, and I recalled that one of the hardest things about Milon is that you can only access the first two or three levels before having to find a completely hidden shop (no clues to its location whatsoever) that sells the spring shoes, which are required to get to the rest of the game. In fact, I'm pretty sure that my mom was the person who found it for us when we first got the game. Literally, the only way to find it is to randomly press up at different places until you get lucky. They just don't make games like they used, to, eh?


hey bag,

my question is about the rev. i read an article on gamespot that an average

xbox game costs 1.8mil, average ps2 game 877,000 , gc 833,000 to make. an

average psp game costs about the same to make as a gamecube game vs a ds

game that costs only 333,000 to make! WOW!!!

but, anyway the point of this is that people say that the rev

is ferior to the ps3, 360 and it may but, i recall the ps1 being half the

strenth of the n64 and looked what happened. third party developers flocked

toward sony. and by what iwata said "cheaper to buy and cheaper to devlope".

so do think this in the long run will attract more third party support???

No, and you've already provided the reason for my answer. GameCube was the cheapest system to develop for this generation, and that still didn't help it to garner more third-party support than Xbox, which was a completely new and unproven system on which game development costs more than twice as much. The same argument explains why being the cheapest system, in terms of retail pricing, will probably not be a deciding factor in the Revolution's market performance. Short-term history has proven that people are willing to spend more money to get a system that plays the games they want to play. I've been thinking about this stuff for a long time, and I'll probably write an editorial on the subject sooner or later.


dear bag

if a used Nintendo game is sold at a place like Gamestop or EB games, is it

counted as part of sales figures and statistics? Also, does Nintendo get any

profit whatsoever from used game sales?

Thanks - loniquet

Nope and nope.


Thanks for reading and writing, folks! Keep the letters coming and we'll have mailbags all weekend long.

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