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Editorials   GameCube Opinions: The System
- By Rob Schlicht

Well, it’s been a few weeks since Dolphin was finally put in his big, cubic aquarium. Along with the GameCube’s debut came his diminutive little brother, Game Boy Advance. From 2 AM to 5 AM Thursday morning, every Nintendo site on the Internet was singing the praises of Nintendo. Then, a few days later, sites began posting their staff member’s various thoughts now that the systems were unveiled. Surprisingly, many sites contradicted what they had previously said, and began unleashing waves of criticism on the machines. I’m not here to try and gain attention by rattling off concerns I have over the NCube and GBA. I’m here to tell you what I honestly think about them, which is overwhelmingly positive with only a few minor doubts.

GameCube-The System
Sorry, Sony. Everything we know about the NCube points to the fact that developers are going to love it more than the PS2. Besides being the far easier system to develop for, the NCube has tons of RAM, and it’s allocated in different parts to make it easier to use than PS2, which has only a modest amount of RAM, which is then split between video memory, sound memory, and main memory. The Dreamcast uses the same system for memory as the GameCube, and I’ve never heard a developer complain about RAM limitations, whereas that is a chief concern on the PS2. The guts of the system aren’t easy to explain, so here’s the dumbed-down version: Fast, powerful, and full of IBM copper goodness.

The exterior of the system is one of the hotter debate topics. Is it a game console, a lunchbox, or an oven? Well, I’m here to say, the first thing I thought when I saw the pics Gamespot posted was “Damn, that’s ugly.” Then, I saw the high-res shots taken by Nintendo, which weren’t done with a cheap digital camera, then uploaded onto a website as quickly as possible, sacrificing quality. Sure, it’s a cube, but it’s not going to be nearly as big as you think. After systems like Playstation, and N64, when people saw the Dreamcast on the Internet, they thought it would be as big. But it was very small, barely wider than the GD-ROM’s it uses as a software medium. The GameCube is a little bigger. Six inches wide, six inches long, and four inches high. This is not a big box under your TV, this is pretty compact. Infact, we’ve even done a story on the size of the machine, complete with full-size model.

Then, we come to the handle. People criticize this for the fact that it “just looks dumb”, and “why would I want to bring my system to a friend’s house?”. First of all, with the handle being on the back, it will be barely visible by your friends, unless you like turning your console around while you play. And with the compact size, this means a very portable console. Parents want the big-screen TV for a movie? Grab the handle and take the Cube into your room, and play it there. Besides, at the parties I go to, my friends and I are always asking, “Who’s bringing the 64?”. Most of us have one, and when we go to a house without one, we always fight over who has to bring it, primarily because it’s a bulky system, and when you factor in four controllers and several cartridges, it makes for a bulky backpack. With this, you could slip a knapsack over your shoulder with a few controllers and CD cases, then just grab the handle and walk out to your car.

What about the colors? Well, when they unveiled the N64 controllers, there were even more colors than now, including a purple version. Nintendo realized that this color wasn’t popular, and we never saw it on store shelves. It’s the same now. I can guarantee the black one will be around, and probably the silver and gold ones, too. The blue and the pink ones are very Japan-ish colors. Look at the Hello Kitty Dreamcasts. Same colors, sold like hotcakes in Japan, never got released in the US. Besides, if you don’t like the pink and blue, why would you buy them, when you have a choice? We’ll probably see blue and red consoles here, but a darker shade, like the controllers for the N64. Hopefully, we’ll see the gold and silver consoles, which were the two best looking, in my opinion. However, knowing the patterns Nintendo has used in it’s various “colored” models, the gold one will be scrapped for a green console, and the silver might be come a clear silver, where you could see the console’s insides as they worked their magic. And always remember: If Nintendo showed up on your doorstep today with the pink NCube, and asked if you wanted it, what would you say? If it was my door, I’d start reserving pink controllers to go with it!

But not everything about the system is peaches and cream. At the very least, it’s very unconventional looking. And I love that look. But the fundamental problem with being new and original is that although you pull in a lot of people for that originality, you also push away a lot because of it. Although people who read about videogames on the Internet, or in magazines will probably still buy it (and in great numbers), what about the casual buyer? What about the mom walking through Toys ‘R Us a week before Christmas? Her son told her he wants a new videogame system. So, she gets to the aisle with videogames, and she sees the black/blue PS2, which looks like a VCR or DVD player. She turns to her left, and sees a bright blue box, looking like the EZ-Bake Oven she just bought for his younger sister. Which is she going to buy? And that’s what I worry about. Nintendo has always appealed to the casual gamer, thanks to their brand name. However, Sony has cut far into that shield over the past few years, and now I believe its close enough that system choices may come down to looks, unless Nintendo offers a very nice price point, since by then PS2 will have cut it’s price at least once. Price point is going to be very important, and Miyamoto himself has stated that the best part of the system would be it’s price. To me, that says under $200. And not just $199. I’m thinking $149, maybe that rumor last year about a $99 price would be true. Although to do that, they’d make what could be the killing blow to the system, which I’ll address in a later section.

Overall, I think that the system itself is very good. It’s going to be the most powerful one out there until X-Box arrives, and it’ll definitely be the most recognizable. Let’s just hope NOA gets together and does some big-time focus group testing on the color scheme.