Interesting generation gap

MSNBC\'s Steve Kent had this to say about the difference between Nintendo vs Sony in the last generation and this one.  If nothing else, it\'s something to think about.

Whereas with restrictive cartridges in the last generation, the N64 lost a lot of potential titles to PSX, this time things could go a different way.  This is just speculation on his part, and mine...

Sony looks to have the hottest hand. But Nintendo has a key advantage: The majority of games on PlayStation 2 could easily migrate to GameCube, while the majority of GameCube titles are made by Nintendo and will never appear on PlayStation 2.

Again, something to think about.

-Eik

I\'m gettin\' a Gamecube also. This this is better I guess.

I dont get it...Gamecube discs are about 1.7Gb correct? PS2 uses standard DVD. The only reason I see that many Nintendo game wont go the other way, is because MOST of them will be made by Nintendo.

Eric Jacob

Since the PS2 disks hold more wouldnt they have to cut down on things to get them onto a gamecube disk.

I could be wrong. I have no idea what I\'m talking about. The gamecube disks might have some sort of compression thing in them.

Really, no one uses all the space on a DVD.  (Few exceptions.)  In fact, I believe that nearly all of the games are on CDs, not DVDs at all.  Besides, if they can put Resident Evil 2 on the N64, the space between the discs is minimal.

Also, the idea is not direct ports.  If need be, a company could change the format to use two GCN discs (I assume)...

The systems, all three, are really on a level playing field.  It\'s going to be interesting to see what dictates market share.

-Eik

"Really, no one uses all the space on a DVD." - Eiksirf

Maybe not right now, but give the game industry a few years. I remember these same things being said about CD roms when they first really started to become mass market. Alot of people thought that games would continually be made on diskette, but three years later and you were hard pressed to find a game that still used diskettes... everything was on CD. I think you\'ll be surprised by the amount of games that use multiple DVD\'s in the near future.

I doubt that the difference in space between DVD\'s and Mini-DVD\'s will really make an impact on ports or multisystem titles. These people aren\'t idiots, and I\'m sure the problem is a minor one compaired to the other challenges they\'ve had to face. (Like programming the PS2.  )

And you gotta remember that there\'s a lot of Sony games that just will not appear on the GameCube no matter what. GT3, Jak & Daxter, Siphon Filter 4, Twisted Metal: Black, and many more. Granted they aren\'t as reveared as Nintnedo\'s games, but they still have a very loyal fanbase of casual gamers who will buy the PS2 just for these games.

[Living-In-Clip]

I doubt this plays a huge factor but one thing. The GC texture compression ratio is alot better then the PS2 one, so that can save some space there, if projects needed to be moved and developers needed extra space.

well as long as the great games come to the PS2 then i am happy

all consoles will have their own great exclusive games and thats why all gamers should try to buy every system  - its not really that hard if you try

Mr. Kent here seems to forget that Sony has more 1st party and 2nd party projects in works for the PS2 then Nintendo has for GC.

SO his argument is weak.

and games designed specifically to run on the PS2 would prove tedious to port over to a platform like GC even if its considered easy. The differences between the machine are large enough to force some serious re-coding.



but none the less. Nintendo is aiming to sell 4 million GC\'s by next March. Sony sold 9 million in a similiar time period, and will more then likely be at the 20 million mark by next March. What 3rd party developer is going to decide to move there projects over with a significant difference in user base ????



The PS2 maybe a monster to develop for, but its also getting easier with dev familiarity, most dev\'s will be feeling more comfortable with the PS2 as well.


Can\'t say that I find Mr. Kents insight very accurate

but none the less. Nintendo is aiming to sell 4 million GC\'s by next March. Sony sold 9 million in a similiar time period, and will more then likely be at the 20 million mark by next March. What 3rd party developer is going to decide to move there projects over with a significant difference in user base?

That\'s an interesting number right there.  Nintendo likes to be conservative (see: previous estimates or console polygon specs, etc), but to guess over 50% below what it would take to match Sony?  That\'s interesting.

Of course, now there\'s two consoles to compete with so that will be a big hindrance.  It will be interesting to see how quickly Nintendo can play catch up, or conversly, how slowly it really takes PS2 to sell 20 million.

The first six months or so will be pretty interesting to watch, sell-through wise.  (Hopefully the numbers we\'re dealing with across the board are all sell-throughs, not just shipments, too...)

-Eik