GameCube made Miyamoto "very sad"

By Oli Welsh Published 12 March, 2009

He felt Nintendo's games didn't "stand out".

Speaking to Japanese magazine Famitsu - as reported by 1up - Shigeru Miyamoto has revealed his sadness at the lack of popularity and creative-dead end Nintendo experienced during the GameCube era.

"This is a job where you have a plan and you polish it endlessly while getting help from others. If Nintendo's games fail to stand out as games that aren't made that way proliferate, then it shows that the creation process is for nothing, which made me very sad," the designer told Famitsu.

"That was especially obvious during the GameCube era; Nintendo titles were hardly even discussed by the general public back then," he continued.

Miyamoto blames the lull in the company's fortunes on his "fascination" with creating techincally demanding 3D worlds, and Nintendo's focus on direct competition with Sony and Microsoft during "the N64 and the era after it".

"There was an era when Nintendo was going in the direction of doing the same things other companies did," he said. "The more we competed with new companies entering the market, the more we started acting similar to them. But is being number one in that competition the same as being number one with the general public? That's the question we had.

"Entertainment is something that you have to look at the world with a very wide eye as you create it. I always thought that, but there were a few years where I was unable to get off other people's trends. It was a dilemma in my mind."

Miyamoto feels Nintendo's reconnection with the general public began with it going back to its roots, with the Classic NES series of Game Boy Advance reissues of games from the company's golden era. But it was former Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi who truly kick-started the company with the concept for the Nintendo DS.

"In the end we didn't want a new game system, but a product that would make the entire world go crazy," Miyamoto said. "And so Yamauchi said 'two screens'. That turned the development lab upside down!"

His own desire for touch controls completed the picture. "So we went through some trial-and-error work which ultimately connected to the touch pen, something I had wanted to have for a while. I didn't think two screens was enough to make the DS a success, but the touch pen is what puts it all together, both in terms of cost and design."

Picture of Oli.

About Oli Welsh

Oli is Eurogamer's acting deputy editor and reviews editor and likes to take things one word at a time. He is among the best dressed people in South London.

Read more articles from Oli by visiting the Oli Welsh archive page.

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Comments (71) Latest comment 3 years ago

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  • Xerx3s #1 3 years ago

    Didn't he make Wii music? ¬_¬

  • berelain #2 3 years ago

    Is this why Nintendo still aren't showing any signs of catering to their old skool gaming audience, and are still focussing on mass market gimmick appeal?

  • muscleblade #3 3 years ago

    The best Gamecube game was in fact Capcoms RE4.

  • TheTingler #4 3 years ago

    And yet I still prefer The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Eternal Darkness, Metroid Prime, Mario Kart and Smash Bros on GameCube, and that's just from Nintendo. I'll admit Mario Galaxy is better than Sunshine, though.

  • Kami #5 3 years ago

    It worked though, we got some stonking games in those eras. Zelda, Mario, Metroid Prime was as far from playing with the rest as I am from Angelina Jolie's underwear drawer, and Eternal Darkness is still in my rack of games and I still get it out from time to time, it's bloody awesome because it was different. The DS started off nicely too, and was really nice if a little shaky to start with. Pokemon was still awesome and there were RPG's and various other little tidbits for Nintendo consoles that you knew would just be quality, Resident Evil 4 anyone? So come on, pull the other one. The 'Cube and N64 eras were massive leaps and bounds ahead of the rivals, they copied YOU! We're not blind!

    Look at you now. Twilight Princess, awesome as it was, was more of a repeat of previous games. Almost to a fault. Games on Wii in general are... umm... average. And Metroid Prime, once a beacon of hope as the way forward for FPS adventures, sold its soul and decided it wanted to jump into bed with Halo. The DS gets Brain Training #50 (that's what it feels like now but yes it's an overexaggeration) and the whole system is treated with contempt by developers bastardising their own series and churning out horse manure for the general masses. You've become more commercialised than Sony and Microsoft combined, and that - for the companies we're speaking of - is not only a feat, it's pure bloody evil!

    Not only that, Nintendo are proposing to put the prices up as well.

    ...

    To quote a Mr Jon Stewart...

    F*** YOU!

    edit; I'd like to apologise but I think this little annoyance needed to be put down.
    Edited by 2 at 12/03/09 @ 09:19

  • bad09 #6 3 years ago

    "Didn't he make Wii music? ¬_¬ "

    LOL!

    Cube was great, had many gems (currently hunting down RE: Remake) it's just many weren't 1st party (Double Dash was OK I guess).

    Funny thing about the Cube, Mrs bad09 sold off the Wii a while ago because she hated it. That's fine if you don't use it but the strange thing is she never used its B/C but recently spent money Re-buying a Gamecube! She prefers playing Cube on a Cube for some reason....

    Oh and Rogue Squadron games rocked!
    Edited by 1 at 12/03/09 @ 09:20

  • bmxbandit #7 3 years ago

    I hope he never talks to any real gamers about the Wii ... dude would walk away crying. Fuck that shit.

  • Ranger_Ryu #8 3 years ago

    Nintendo games didn't stand out? I just looked at my gamecube games and most of them are Nintendo made.....pretty much Nintendo games were the only gamecube games that were any good (barring SEGA's Skies of Arcadia legends,and Capcom's RE releases of course)

  • kangarootoo #9 3 years ago

    If you look at Nintendo's advertising campaigns these days (household names in prime time slots on terrestrial TV channels), and then you look at how Nintendo appeared to view any market that wasn't Japan back in the days of the GC... I don't think it takes a genius to see where things went wrong.

    The GC was a decent system, and it did have some great games on it (Eternal Darkness is on my top ten list of games of all time... ALL TIME), but the visibility of the console and its games was pretty poor compared to its rivals (the PS2 was EVERYWHERE and had been for years, and the XBox obviously got a real push by MS as their first venture into the console market).

    I KNOW that we the thin edge of the hardcore wedge were quite aware of it, but despite what we might like to think, we aren't rich enough to float a whole platform.

  • jmg123 #10 3 years ago

    The Wii is ending up like the GC, it suffers from a small volume of quality releases compared to the other consoles, there is maybe half the number of good games released per quarter compared to the PS3 and 360.
    Shame really that for every Super Mario Galaxy or Mario Kart or MadWorld there are 25 Doctor Who Top Trumps, My Little Starz Pet Hairdressing Donkey , Wii washing up the dishes simulator and Compendium of poorly executed minigames with graphics and control issues volume 36.
    Ah well I guess I'll just savour the good games all the more.

  • andywilkie35 #11 3 years ago

    Hmmm, my impression is that Mario Sunshine aside, the Gamecube "versions" were superior to the Wii ones

    Paper Mario > Super Paper Mario
    Mario Kart DD >>>> Terrible Mario Kart Wii
    Wind Waker > Twilight Princess (just)
    Smash Bros is essentially the same game considering its only playable with the GC controller (coz the Wii remote is turd)
    Metroid Primes 1 & 2 > Metroid Prime 3

    If anything they've taken at least a step backwards, if not several

    Plus it had Eternal Darkness and the perfect Tales of Symphonia

  • kangarootoo #12 3 years ago

    The Wii may be heading the same way in terms of the games, but the visibility of the platform means it won't take the same path in a business sense. I expect that Nintendo can keep selling the consoles to brand new customers for some while yet, which in turn will provide revenue (because of course, they make money on each console sold) that allows them to continue their high profile ad campaigns.

    On the subject of the games, just because there are a lot of games we don't like doesn't mean they are bad games. There are a lot of people out there genuinely enjoying many of the more "mainstream" Wii games. Its not because they are stupid, or sheep, or "not real gamers" (God, I have that term - beyond ridiculous) or any of the playground insults that some people insist on throwing their way. Its just that they have different tastes to some of us.

    So what, is my response. Good for them, good for Nintendo. If the Wii doesn't float your boat, buy something else and sleep easy in your bed says I.

  • Darren #13 3 years ago

    Personally, I think the GameCube had a stronger selection of games than the Wii so far. I mean it's telling that two of the Wii's best games, namely Resident Evil 4 and Zelda: Twilight Princess were GameCube titles. In the case of the latter game it was arguably better on that platform anyway as it had better camera control and no tacked-on "waggle" attacks.

    Apart from the superlative Super Mario Galaxy, Metroid Prime 3 and to a lesser extent Super Smash Bros. Brawl, the remainder of the Wii's catalogue is fairly undistinguished and lacking in my opinion bar the odd third-party title like Zack & Wiki. The machine has far too many weak last gen ports IMO, which is kind of ironic given that the Nintendo were criticised for not trying anything new with the GameCube as far as the franchises went. Now we have third-parties doing the same thing, only they take old games and pass them off as new. Even Nintendo seem content to release rehashes of GameCube games on the Wii for their new found user base. Are Animal Crossing, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Mario Kart Wii and Mario Power Tennis really that different from the GameCube titles?

    I think Nintendo reached their creative peak with the SNES and N64 myself and apart from the odd classic since like Super Mario Galaxy and Zelda: Twilight Princess, most of their other stuff has been fairly mundane and unoriginal. Their low point must be the dreadful Wii Music?

    They've sold their souls to the casual gamer and ignored the fan base that helped them get where they are today. I can't say I blame them, they're in the business to make money and what they're doing with the Wii is achieving exactly that. However, it is fairly depressing for me to see Nintendo slowly moving away from making the kind of games that made consoles like the N64 so special in the first place. It's sad really because I've been tempted several times to sell my unused Wii and really the only thing stopping me is that Nintendo might release another classic like Super Mario Galaxy.

  • mfnick #14 3 years ago

    He's right, the Gamecube wasnt that good at all. Especialy for 1st party titles, with the exception of Metroid Prime.

    What he fails to recognise is that the Wii is even worse so far. But its selling so I doubt he cares.

  • Darren #15 3 years ago

    @andywilkie35 - +1

    I think I enjoyed The Wind Waker more than Twilight Princess too. The gorgeous timeless visual style of the former game and the sailing, etc., gave the game a unique and different feel to other Zelda games even if the gameplay follows the same familiar format. With Twilight Princess the visuals actually look more dated than The Wind Waker and the game does feel a lot like Ocarina of Time, both in style and setting. It's still a really great game though; even a formulistic Zelda game is ten times better than most other games.

  • sega #16 3 years ago

    I loved my GameCube! It was my first non-Sega console I got after my Dreamcast (and I got it with Sonic Adventure 1 & 2, Crazy Taxi, Phantasy Online and Sonic Mega Collection for the record).

    I think Nintendo's games on that machine were great. I loved Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, Metroid Prime, F-Zero and even Mario Sunshine - I thought all of them were great games of a high quality. I know for a fact I wouldn't have a Wii right now if I didn't get a GameCube originally. If I bought a PS2 back then I'd now have a PS3 and if I had bought and Xbox I'd now have a 360.

  • Malek86 #17 3 years ago

    I know why he was sad. I mean, it didn't print money.

    To be honest, I too prefer some of the GC iterations to the Wii ones. Wind Waker for example. I really don't like Metroid Prime though, felt too stiff after playing Super Metroid. Also, the GC has Eternal Darkness, which does wear a bit thin once you see all the messages, but is still cool.

  • bad09 #18 3 years ago

    "I know for a fact I wouldn't have a Wii right now if I didn't get a GameCube originally. If I bought a PS2 back then I'd now have a PS3 and if I had bought and Xbox I'd now have a 360."

    Why? Does buying one machine tie you to the brand for life or something? Brand loyalties suck, play 'em all it's more fun!

  • Xerx3s #19 3 years ago

    The way I see it, the wii will have less good tittles than the gc had. The teapot knows how little that was.

  • figaro7 #20 3 years ago

    That was the problem with the cube, nintendo dragged the system through its life with some fantastic games and the hardcore was very thankful for the capcom 5, which turned to 4? But the wii plays every gamecube game so a comparison is a mute point.

  • andromeda #21 3 years ago

    Metroid Prime was worth the existence of the console alone.
    One of my tope five games of all time.

  • sega #22 3 years ago

    "Why? Does buying one machine tie you to the brand for life or something? Brand loyalties suck, play 'em all it's more fun! " - a quote by bad09.

    Backwards compatibility, Daddy-o. I'd hate to give up all those games I bought, and still love to play, from the previous system. I'm a bit of a minimilist so I only like having one machine under the TV - basically I weigh up the options carefully before I get a new console.

  • lambtron #23 3 years ago

    The GC was an awesome bit of kit, criminally underused. The fact it had virtually no loading times apart from anything else made it great.

    The Wii, not so much.

  • Widge #24 3 years ago

    There were several good GC games that I always had on my radar, the shame was that there were always PS2 games that bumped themselves higher up the list.

  • bad09 #25 3 years ago

    "Backwards compatibility, Daddy-o. I'd hate to give up all those games I bought, and still love to play, from the previous system. I'm a bit of a minimilist so I only like having one machine under the TV - basically I weigh up the options carefully before I get a new console."

    Fair play, myself I have 4 boxes and a PC! Although I could loose one if Sony did the right thing and put back B/C in PS3. Luckily the Cube is round my girlfriends :)

  • kinky_mong #26 3 years ago

    Pretty much in full agreement with andywilkie's comparison of GC>Wii, except that I think Metroid Prime 3 is equally on a par with the first two purely because it showed that the Wii remote can be a great control system when a developer puts their mind to it.

  • kangarootoo #27 3 years ago

    "Backwards compatibility, Daddy-o"

    That isn't why people get so tribal about their chosen platforms though. There is no proper logical reason, its just human nature.

    Backwards compatability is what guides future purchasing habits. Its not what turns apparently normal people into furious maniacs on the internet.

  • mingster #28 3 years ago

    gamecube made me very sad too

  • muscleblade #29 3 years ago

    "and if I had bought and Xbox I'd now have a 360. "

    Too bad you didnt buy an Xbox then.

  • sega #30 3 years ago

    "That isn't why people get so tribal about their chosen platforms though. There is no proper logical reason, its just human nature.

    Backwards compatability is what guides future purchasing habits. Its not what turns apparently normal people into furious maniacs on the internet." - as quotethed by kangarootoo.

    I know - he was asking me why I decided to go for a Wii after a GameCube, not anyone else. It was my choice to get it so I could play all my old GameCube games - lord knows what reasons other people have.

  • muscleblade #31 3 years ago

    "Metroid Prime was worth the existence of the console alone.
    One of my tope five games of all time"

    Yes it was. A fantastic game no doubth. RE4 was the best game last gen imo and it was a gamecube exclusive to begin with. The PS2 version didnt match the fantastic visuals of the gamecube version either.

  • Canyarion #32 3 years ago

    The GameCube had some awesome games. I'm not sure, but in terms of just top notch software, Nintendo might have had more than XBox and maybe PS2. Of course you can't live on just a couple of good games per year...

    I loved the Cube era, I've had more fun with it than with the Wii so far.

  • barat #33 3 years ago

    It's funny how easily people forget. The latter half of the Gamecube era was awful. There were basically no triple-A Nintendo games the last two years prior to Wii.

    Nintendo games released in the US between November 19, 2004 - November 19, 2006 (Wii launch):

    Battalion Wars
    Chibi-Robo!
    Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix
    Donkey Kong Jungle Beat
    Donkey Konga 2
    Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
    Geist
    Mario Party 6
    Mario Party 7
    Mario Superstar Baseball
    Odama
    Pokemon XD
    Star Fox: Assault
    Super Mario Strikers


    So then, to put this into perspective, the Wii came out and Nintendo gave us Zelda: Twilight Princess, Metroid Prime 3, Super Mario Galaxy, Smash Bros. Brawl, Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn, Excite Truck, Super Paper Mario and Mario Kart Wii within a year and a half... Nintendo abandoning the hardcore with Wii, eh?

  • Cloudane #34 3 years ago

    He shouldn't be sad as the GameCube is miles better than the Wii.

  • kinky_mong #35 3 years ago

    barat makes a VERY good point. For me personally it was great because at was at uni at the time so actually got on with my work rather than wasting time playing the Gamecube.

    Geist was indeed fucking terrible. Nearly spoilt the Christmas of '05 for me.

  • Darren #36 3 years ago

    @barat - Yet exactly the same thing has happened with the Wii in the last year: the great Nintendo exclusives seem to be drying up in favour of drivel like Wii Music and little else of note. When did the Wii last have a truly great game released for it... was it sometime last June?

  • Wastelander #37 3 years ago

    TBF, Twilight Princess was alaways a Gamecube game.
    That's two major Zeldas in its lifetime. I played a good bit of it at a trade show about a year before anyone even knew what a Wii was.

  • IneptPercy #38 3 years ago

    Remember getting my cube imported (got the orange one) there wasn't many amazing games but there was enough. As it is it will be going on ebay soon along with many games, shame but I need some money.

  • Wastelander #39 3 years ago

    Also,

    Battalion Wars
    Mario Superstar Baseball
    Donkey Kong Jungle Beat
    Star Fox: Assault
    and
    Super Mario Strikers

    were all anticipated exclusives for Gamecube owners.
    How many Wii owners would kill for a new Mario Baseball or Starfox at the moment?
    What do they get? A repackage of Jungle Beat.

  • barat #40 3 years ago

    @Darren
    Yeah, I guess you could say that Smash Bros. Brawl a year ago was the last great Nintendo game on Wii. Point is we had these droughts before in earlier generations.

    It seems like bad scheduling releasing both a new Mario, Zelda and Metroid in year 1 and then basically nothing to please the hardcore for some time. But I'm really excited about what Retro and Nintendo's Mario and Zelda team are doing now. I guess we'll find out at E3.

    @Wastelander
    Actually, Nintendo released a sequel to Mario Superstar Baseball, Mario Super Sluggers, in the US in August. No Euro date yet though. And Star Fox: Assault was awful.
    Edited by 1 at 12/03/09 @ 12:25

  • FooAtari #41 3 years ago

    @bmxbandit
    I hope he never talks to any real gamers about the Wii ... dude would walk away crying. Fuck that shit.

    Oh the comedy. Tell me Mr Bandit, what qualifies as a real gamer?

  • Collymilad #42 3 years ago

    Sorry Miyamoto but nothings changed.

    The only people who give a shit about Nintendo now are casual gamers who wont talk about your games at all, they will just play them, and a few hardcore who haven't had the sense to realise than Nintendo don't care about them anymore.

    I'm just gonna ignore comments like "what's a real gamer" because couldn't really care what casuals have to say.
    Edited by 1 at 12/03/09 @ 12:46

  • JahB #43 3 years ago

    I hope he never talks to any real gamers about the Wii ... dude would walk away crying. Fuck that shit.

    a real gamer knows who miyamoto is and what he gave us. hate the wii as much as you want (i do too), but we're still talking about the dude who made mario and zelda. and probably wouldn't walk up to miyamoto and have the nerve (or the audacity) to criticise.

  • sneetch #44 3 years ago

    @barat
    It seems like bad scheduling releasing both a new Mario, Zelda and Metroid in year 1 and then basically nothing to please the hardcore for some time. But I'm really excited about what Retro and Nintendo's Mario and Zelda team are doing now. I guess we'll find out at E3.

    Releasing all those titles at the start of the consoles lifespan was being touted as a very good thing by Nintendo at last years E3. They went on about how they released the big name franchises at the start as a service to the "core" gamers and, yeah, it was good to get Metroid, Mario and Zelda at the start but it left them in a situation where they had nothing left in the tank for a follow-up.

    Their "core" Christmas 2008 releases were non-existent and they've been as quiet as they usually are about just about everything else since E3. Apart, of course, from telling us that they haven't forgotten the "core" audience. Personally, I don't think we will find out all that much this year, last year's E3 was a complete wash-out for Nintendo, IMO.

    Hell, I'd love to be wrong though.
    Edited by 1 at 12/03/09 @ 12:56

  • chrisjm #45 3 years ago

    loved my cube, cant say i do the wii as ive not bought a game for a year.

  • HermitArcader #46 3 years ago

    Post deleted at 09:17:39 22-12-2011

  • canIdoyabombsforya #47 3 years ago

    berelain
    ""this why Nintendo still aren't showing any signs of catering to their old skool gaming audience, and are still focussing on mass market gimmick appeal? "

    Quite an interesting post.
    If something is cheap then it goes hand in hand with mass market appeal. Back in the old skool days, hardware was around $500 in todays money.
    Perhaps Microsoft's and Sony's strategy of giving consoles away has cheapened the gamer? Perhaps if the credit crunch continues, there will only be Nintendo left. With them investing back into R&D instead of subsidising the latest and greatest GPUs maybe gaming can go back to the glory days.

  • barat #48 3 years ago

    @Vertical Stand
    Wii had a great start in terms of first party support. I wont defend their late 2008/early 2009 line-up. It's lazy to put it mildly.

  • Paulie_P #49 3 years ago

    @barat

    I noticed the same thing with the Wii but I would even go as far back as the N64 where the same thing happend.
    I love the Wii but the last game I bought for it was Okami.

  • Bremenacht #50 3 years ago

    "The GameCube had some awesome games. I'm not sure, but in terms of just top notch software, Nintendo might have had more than XBox and maybe PS2. Of course you can't live on just a couple of good games per year...

    I loved the Cube era, I've had more fun with it than with the Wii so far. "

    I agree with that. In terms of content, it was far better than the Wii has been so far. (Even the N64 had better content, I reckon). If Miyamoto now believes sales are the only indicator of a console's quality, then he's really lost his mojo. It seems that someone at Nintendo has got a good idea of the quality of the GC library though - why update GC titles with Wii controls otherwise (apart from making more pots of cash, of course).

  • Bremenacht #51 3 years ago

    Shame they can't re-hash old PS2 titles for the Wii. SotC etc would really improve the Wii library.

  • Vanmunt #52 3 years ago

    If I remember the press pretty much killed off the GC, endless stories of warehouses full of consoles.. If I remember the gaming press were on a roll with seeing off the Dreamcast. I guess nintendo had the last laugh, sell the GC with a wanky new controller and aim for the casual tosspots, forget the 'hardcore' twats to argue about pointless rubbish.

  • kingnothing12 #53 3 years ago

    The worrying comment in this article is how myamoto talks about how he used to obsess with lush 3d environments and thats where he thinks he went wrong...DING DING DING...WRONG ANSWER BUDDY thats where he got everything right, thats where his gems where coming from, mario 64 lush enviroment, sunshine, windwaker, orcarina, prime, twilight etc, If he now says that was the wrong thing, then the slight good we all thought nintendo had left has just walked right out. What with the price increase and complete lack of must have games lined up for 09. Wheres starfox? Kid icarus? Pilotwings? These games would still sell shitloads but maybe have alot more creativity to back it up aswel. Fuck nintendo, Fuck them up there stupid assess!


    My wii has about 3 layers of different dust dating back to when i last turned it on around 7 months ago, what the hell. For those of you who say sell, i can't. I live in hope that something will come along and make me realise why i still have kept the bloody thing.

  • barat #54 3 years ago

    You had the underwhelming launch with no killer Mario game as expected, just Luigi's Mansion og Wave Race: Blue Storm from Nintendo. When the Mario game finally arrived it was considered a big disappointment among hardcore fans. Rare being sold off to Microsoft caused hysteria. Then you had all the European delays. The console itself being released six months after America, Metroid Prime being delayed from November to March making Star Fox Adventures the big holiday 2002 title in Europe and the two year Animal Crossing delay. All the GC/GBA connectivity gimmicks. The annualy fairly awful Mario Party games and so on...

  • SG #55 3 years ago

    The only reason I still have my Wii is cos it still plays my library of GC games. That and homebrew.

  • SG #56 3 years ago

    The only reason I still have my Wii is cos it still plays my library of GC games. That and homebrew.

  • metalmike25 #57 3 years ago

    Nobody can dispute the fact that miyamoto is a genius. Its hard to think of any person in the current games market that is comparable to him. We need people like him to go against the trend towards homoerotic american action games. Hopefully with the Wii making billions nintendo will take more risks and produce some more timeless classics

  • BartonFink #58 3 years ago

    GameCube >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> Wii

    Don't know what Miyamoto is wittering on about.

  • sneetch #59 3 years ago

    @barat
    You had the underwhelming launch with no killer Mario game as expected, just Luigi's Mansion og Wave Race: Blue Storm from Nintendo. When the Mario game finally arrived it was considered a big disappointment among hardcore fans. Rare being sold off to Microsoft caused hysteria. Then you had all the European delays. The console itself being released six months after America, Metroid Prime being delayed from November to March making Star Fox Adventures the big holiday 2002 title in Europe and the two year Animal Crossing delay. All the GC/GBA connectivity gimmicks. The annualy fairly awful Mario Party games and so on...

    Ah, I had a US GC bought on Ebay about a week after the launch. Best gaming related idea I ever had. Playing games about a week after the US release beat the crap out of waiting 6 months to a year for games. :)

    Then, like a colossal dumbass, I bought a European Wii because I was stupid enough to believe that Nintendo Europe must have reduced those delays in the intervening 6 or so years. I mean surely they must have, right?

    "Paper Mario Wii" proved that assumption wrong. :/

  • Slipstream #60 3 years ago

    My Wii IS my Gamecube as far as I am concerned Miyamoto, how does that make you feel?

  • cyber_nicco #61 3 years ago

    @Kami

    "It worked though, we got some stonking games in those eras. Zelda, Mario, Metroid Prime was as far from playing with the rest as I am from Angelina Jolie's underwear drawer, and Eternal Darkness is still in my rack of games and I still get it out from time to time, it's bloody awesome because it was different."

    Can you please elaborate on the bit about you and Angelina Jolie's underwear drawer?

    :)

  • scouserfuller9 #62 3 years ago

    Miyamoto is a legend!!! We wouldn't have Nintendo anymore if it wasn't for him and as for it's games - Zelda WW. I remember when first seeing screenshots I couldn't stand it but after seeing a video it had me so excited about the games cel-shaded graphics I watched it everyday! Pikmin is quality! Metroid transforms into a first person shooter and is class! OK we have Brawl which is better now but SSBM was so much better than the original. Paper Mario on the GC was far better than the N64's too. Despite it's poor sales compared to the PS2 and XBOX at the same time the GC had some of the best titles of that generation to play in my opinion.

  • mega7ech #63 3 years ago

    It will be interesting to see which direction Nintendo heads in when the next generation of consoles comes around. Miyamoto has often said the route Microsoft and Sony usualy take of more powerful hardware with better graphics and sound etc, is something he doesnt think necessary. In creating the Wii he wanted to get "non-gamers" interested in and playing games. Argueably the Wii has done this with great success. However, when the Wii's successor finally emerges, will the mass casual market it appeals to, be willing to upgrade to a newer machine, like the so called "hardcore" gamers are more willing to do, when they still have their old Wii to play on occasionally?
    Edited by 1 at 12/03/09 @ 19:31

  • Burkey123 #64 3 years ago

    I prerfer my Wii to my Gamecube but the Gamecube has one of the greatest games ever made. Metroid Prime.

  • Kami #65 3 years ago

    @Kami

    Can you please elaborate on the bit about you and Angelina Jolie's underwear drawer?

    No.

    Mmm... Bold... XD

  • ShiroBen #66 3 years ago

    I blame the world.

  • clockworkzombie #67 3 years ago

    I spend most of my gaming time on my 360 and still pick up titles for the wii I figure if there are 4 titles I want in a year then I will be happy. I did not have a cube so purchased freeloader and a bunch of cube games. I had to do a system update to play one of the games and couldn't use the freeloader. Happy days though as I was given a cube so I can now complete Chibi Robo and others that I picked up.

  • sneetch #68 3 years ago

    I would like to officially say that... I liked Super Mario Sunshine. I think they went a bit overboard with the water spewing gimmick (in that you spent too much time spraying water about the place, IMO) and as far as I'm concerned Galaxy got back to the juicy Mario gaming core but it was a great game. Some of the stages where your water-pack was stolen at the start were an absolute nightmare (I passionately swore vengeance on all things Nintendo on more than one occasion) but it was a really good game.

    Not enough goombas though. ;)

    As for the Wii iterations of the franchises, I see people calling them terrible or weak and I don't see them that way, I think they're fine, they're not terrible, they're just not really an improvement over the Cube versions.

    Bikes in Mario Kart are a bad idea though, that constant wheelie speed boost is just broken.
    Edited by 1 at 13/03/09 @ 11:34

  • cyber_nicco #69 3 years ago

    "Mmm... Bold... XD"

    ;)

  • Ryze #70 3 years ago

    @bad09

    I bought Rogue Squadron a while ago, although I've never owned a Cube or Wii.

    o_0

    /waits

  • qwerty1234 #71 3 years ago

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  • Ryze #72 3 years ago

    The problem withe the Gamecube wasn't it's first party games - as they were largely excellent. the hardware was also more than powerful enough.

    The issue was with Marketing and image. With Nintendo ignoring online play, and witrh the 'purple kid's toy' image of the Cube - Nintendo diverted much of their SNES / N64 audience to the PS2.

    I'd have loved to play RE4, Smash Bros, Rogue Leader etc at launch, but I didn't want a Gamecube after buying a PS2 in 2001 for GTA III... followed by ICO, GT3, MGS2...

    I didn't want a Gamecube under my TV. I didn't want to use the purple controllers. I didn't fancy sifting through cartoon games on the shelves looking for what I wanted.

    I played the 3D Sonic games hoping they'd sway me... and they didn't. I didn't like them or the controller, plus I already had a PS2 - loved the controller up until I played Burnout 3 for 40 hours wth it, and adored the DVD playback functionality.

    I already had the console I needed by 2004, and I had no reason to change things.

    I've held off buying a Wii, as I'm uttely disappointed with Nintendo's actions and arrogance towards the gamers that keep them in business. I don't really want to pay them a penny - but I still applaud them for opening gaming up to a wider audience through innovation and clever marketing.

    The following games should have kept the hardcore on their side:

    Wiimotion plus - the controller should have had this level of accuracy since launch, plus a method of moving the CAMERA. It's as broken as the PSP in this respect.

    Virtua Tennis 3 (back in 07 - this should have had a Wii version developed)
    GTA - there should have been a game which uses GTA style gameplay - even if the content was completely different
    F-Zero - where is it?
    Pilotwings ???
    a StarWars game involving flying and/or Motionplus first person lightsaber action.
    Killer Instinct
    Wiave Race
    More Capcom games (Marvel vs Capcom, Viewtiful Joe?)
    More mature games (not just blood, guns and swearing, just not cartoony waggle games)

    + others - just look through the SNES/N64 library for inspiration.

    Also Nintendo should be looking through the PS2, Xbox and 360 library, the courting developers to make Wii motionplus updates of the best games on these formats.

    Getting Team Ninja to make a Metroid game looks like a stroke of genius. More.