Nintendo ends GameCube support

[JKKDARK]

via MCV

Spong reports that whilst Nintendo still sees a place in the market for its struggling last-gen machine, manufacturing efforts have now shifted over to the likes of Wii, DS and Game Boy Advance.

“Are we producing any more GameCubes? No,” Nintendo of America’s vice president of marketing and corporate affairs Perrin Kaplin explained in an interview with GameDaily. “But do we have the inventory there for people to still purchase? Yes.

“Just like the PS2 sold really well this past holiday, GameCube is a great starter system – price, ease, games. Every one of the consoles has had its cycle and every single one of them has become a great starter system at the last leg of its cycle, and that's where GameCube's at.”

Kaplan also went on to confirm that Nintendo will not release any new games for the system – a decision reinforced by the company’s recent change of heart in relation to Super Paper Mario. That platformer was announced for GameCube at last year’s E3, but has since gone on to become a Wii-only title.

“If you're a core gamer you wouldn't buy a GameCube,” she continued. “It's not aimed at you anymore. But for new people as a starter system, how many games are there for them to pick from? Plenty.

“I mean, I wasn't the first to buy an iPod. By the time I bought it, it came to a price where I wanted it to be and looked the way I wanted it to look. So we're not selling GameCube to the people who are hardcore players and want all the gadgetry – we're going after the people who never really bought a system before now it’s finally at a price that they can afford for their family.”

hahaha less than 6 years and it's already dead

[StewieG]

Why are you happy? Most SEGA games came out for GameCube, after DC ended, right? So, in turn, less SEGA games. Anyways, this doesn't really matter to me... even as a hardcore Ninty-fan, I still thought the 'Cube was a rectangular waste of space.

[skoreanime]

Yeah, it was a pretty big flop, but it still has fun games on it. Who doesn't like Smash Bro's Melee?

[StewieG]

Who didn't love Sonic Adventure 2: Battle? Well, anyone who owned the better-looking, more online-features (some online features) Sonic Adventure 2, but, who didn't like any of the Nintendo-made ones?

[JKKDARK]

Originally Posted by StewieG

Why are you happy? Most SEGA games came out for GameCube, after DC ended, right? So, in turn, less SEGA games. Anyways, this doesn't really matter to me... even as a hardcore Ninty-fan, I still thought the 'Cube was a rectangular waste of space.

Sorry?

November 27th 1998 - March 8th 2007

[D.D.]

if anything the xbox died sooner

[StewieG]

Originally Posted by D.D.

if anything the xbox died sooner

Because 360 came out. If only PS2 was ended sooner... better emulation

[D.D.]

u have it the other way around : 360 had to come out because xbox needed to die.

and i have no clue what ps2 ending has to do with better emulation. that and the ps2 isnt dead yet still.

[JKKDARK]

But Xbox games are still released like the PS2. Even most of the Xbox 360 games are released on Xbox.

[D.D.]

the hardware has already ceased to be produced and most games are not going to the xbox anymore.

for a gameswise comparison :

Xbox release schedule IGN Xbox: Cheats, Previews, Reviews, Trailers and Screenshots

vs

Ps2 release schedule IGN PS2: Cheats, Previews, Reviews, Trailers and Screenshots for PlayStation 2 Games

but then again, for dreamcast fans its hard to tell the difference

[JKKDARK]

WTF 3 months ago the Xbox list was bigger And for PS2, I hope no more releases after July 2008. In this way, Dreamcast would get more years than PS2

[D.D.]

well even given 3 months (or more) ago, the Xbox has been getting pretty much non-stop shovelware relative to the PS2 so it wouldn't make much difference either way.

i think the PS2 will last much longer because wii is not much more powerful in terms of specs. companys making games for wii are likely to port to the PS2 if they find it to be a profitable thing to do.

[jonc2006]

whoa snaps do i smell a fanboy war in the works.

[D.D.]

Originally Posted by jonc2006

whoa snaps do i smell a fanboy war in the works.

nah. theres not many xbox fanboys here. plus its not like anything i said is material to start any war, theyre just observations that anyone could have made.

[JKKDARK]

Originally Posted by D.D.

nah. theres not many xbox fanboys here. plus its not like anything i said is material to start any war, theyre just observations that anyone could have made.

Well it's because you have never seen FrostyTheSnowman in action

[skoreanime]

PS2 is going to go strong for the rest of the year due to its huge selection of games. You can even buy them dirt cheap if you buy them used, EB games is your friend . I'm not moving onto PS3 games until I finish playing all the PS2 games I want to, which won't happen until PS4 hits I'm guessing .

Even with the PS3 out, games out still coming out for the PS2. Ar tonelico for example, it looks funky and fun to play. And they're remaking the GBA KH for the PS2 this year, which is going to sell damn well.

[Paratech]

I find it strange for people to want systems discontinued, the more competition, the better for gamers, more choices and cheaper hardware and software, or do you folks want to pay top dollar for mediocre games? Like in the NES days?

It's unfortunate the GameCube is "dead" but I'm somewhat happy with my Gamecube library and I'll be able to buy used games for some time, that's good enough for me.

I'm not bothered people like systems I don't care for, the more systems the merrier...

[Carmofin]

well, who cares? they hide it by very clever marketing, but in reality the wii is just an updated gamecube anyway. it plays all the games and you even get to keep your controllers and memory cards.
in fact i know quite a lot of people hwo got loads of gamecube games with their wiis. so in the end, theres not really a reason to produce gamecube-units.

[Exodus]

Originally Posted by Carmofin

so in the end, theres not really a reason to produce gamecube-units.

Indeed. The Wii isn't expensive enough to offer the cheaper alternative.

[jonc2006]

Originally Posted by Carmofin

well, who cares? they hide it by very clever marketing, but in reality the wii is just an updated gamecube anyway. it plays all the games and you even get to keep your controllers and memory cards.
in fact i know quite a lot of people hwo got loads of gamecube games with their wiis. so in the end, theres not really a reason to produce gamecube-units.

well the same deal can be said about the ps1 to ps2 transition. sure there was a noticable difference in graphics, same with the ps3 even although i dont have one so i really cant speak on that but you get my idea. xbox and the xbox 360 fall in the same as well. all are backward compatible with the games from the predicessor and some (again i dont know if all) of them are compatible with the previous systems hardware like controllers and memory cards and whatnot. so all these next gen systems and even the next gen systems of the future can easily and technically be branded as just "updates".