Does anyone else besides me feel betrayed by Nintendo? Let me tell you a little story.
Once upon a time there was a game. A game called Sonic Mega collection. This was a wonderful game and it was exclusive to Nintendo Gamecube, something that made the Gamecubes owners proud! Especially since they lacked exclusives worth buying.
But then came the dark times as money became more importand that loyalty. The once so trusty Sega betrayed Nintendo by releasing the game for Xbox and PS2 as well but with MORE features than the original! And since Nintendo failed to keep Sega loyal, they failed their fans as well.
But this was not all, see, Sega have betrayed Nintedo twice! The game called Super Monkey Ball, a great game indeed, exclusive to Gamecube was released for the Xbox and PS2 after some GC exclusive time! And this time it was called Super Monkey Ball DELUXE to make clear that this was truly a better version than the GCs!
And the latest betrayal and also the greatest, was not made by Sega but Capcom. I believe you have all heard this tale. A tale of a legendary game RESIDENT EVIL 4. At first it was exclusive to the GC, and we Gamecube owners were so happy to finally have a game you could use as an example when you wanted to prove Nintendo has great 3rd party support. I know every GC owner felt something speciall in their hearts when they knew only they could play it.
But one day the greatest evil in the empire, the Capcom stock-holders, demanded that the loyal Shinji Mikami (who said he would cut his head off if the game was ported) and his team to make a PS2 version. This they did, and not only did they port it, but they made great improvements as well making the GC version seem obsolete! And thus the last pride off the GC owners vanished, as well as their loyalty to Nintendo.
My point is, man do I feel stupid buying RE4 and the other games for the full price when they are released half a year later as improved versions!
I don' t have anything against PS2 or Xbox but Nintendo common! What the he-l are you doing!

Sega are a money making company as all other big companies around the world are,they really doesnt care about how nintendo is doing,and also they rather see more profit then to help their former enemy.
Btw i dont see games as GTA serie as multiformat,even though they came to xbox,because they came so long before to ps2,same with those GC games you said,i mean you doesnt want to wait extra months for great games now do you?
When basically is the same graphic and control.

Super Monkey Ball Deluxe is inferior to both the Gamecube Super Monkey Balls.

Console elitism is all well and good for those who don' t own all the consoles. When you do it becomes pretty pointless. Basically I think it' s a good thing Sega have brought out other games for other platforms. It means the maximum amount of people get to see them. As for Rezi 4, I think the Gamecube version is supposed to be technically superior to the PS2 version and everyone who wants it for the cube has got it. Why keep it on a console like that when porting it to PS2 means more people can enjoy the thing?

Sega is a THIRD-PARTY developer, there' s no such thing as betrayal when it comes to that.

If I had my way there would be absolutely NO such thing as 3rd party Exclusive games. I' ve ALWAYS despised the notion 3rd party exclusive games. Third party games would hit all viable platforms at the same damn time.

But...square-enix and their sony support :O without them ps3 will lose the game and its soul.

In my opinion, Square-Enix lost it' s way after Sakaguchi left. Things stopped becoming special and became pretty generic.

Hmm, ok.
Sega is a company, yes, but so are Nintendo. My point is NOT that Sega has betrayed Nintendo. My point is that Nintendo has betrayed their fans buy not making good bussiness. If they would have made a deal with Sega, the games would have been exclusive, that' s what business is all about!
And exclusive titles are extremely important as buyers often decide their console of choice based on the games released/to-be-released for the console. And if Xbox and PS2 has great exclusive 3rd party titles, then the GC would appear a bad investment for a gamer. When I bought GC I was expecting Nintendo to keep good relations with 3rd party companies bringing me great games that would make the GC worth investing in but this has not been done, thus they have betrayed the GC buyers by making the GC a bad buy.
Also I think there is a difference between the GTA series and the RE4 regarding the multiformat issue. GTA wasn' t improved much most noticably a little graphics boost for the Xbox. This made the PS2 version seem almost as good. But RE4 for PS2 contains 20 extra hours of gameplay as well as new weapons, areas and costumes!!! This really makes the GC version look pretty underwhelming, especially since the PS2 version almost has the same level of graphics. This makes you think " damn I should have bought a PS2" . Even though you can afford both, or even have both consoles, this makes the GC less valuable.
As a gamer I like everyone to be able to play most of the great games regardless of which console they own, of course, but still, exclusive titles are NECESSARY in order to keep THREE consoles alive. If all games would be released for all consoles then everyone would simply buy the most powerfull console and the other two would fade away!
Xbox has Ninja Gaiden, DOA, Fable, Shenmue etc.
PS2 has Final Fantasy, Virtua Fighter, Gran Turismo etc.
GC has... not many 3rd party exclusives worth buying... I know there are some, just can' t think of them right now... SEE!

Ideally, 3rd party games shouldn' t be exclusive, leaving the exclusive stuff to 1st and 2nd party developers to make.. When it comes to 3rd party games I' d like think that gamers who own whatever platform will have the opportunity to check out a certain kickass game. They shouldn' t be punished just because they could only afford that one console.

I' d REALLY REALLY love it if the gaming industry finally reached the point where the only determining factor for buying one console over another was based entirely on the strengths of the first and second party offerings.

ORIGINAL: Terry Bogard

I' d REALLY REALLY love it if the gaming industry finally reached the point where the only determining factor for buying one console over another was based entirely on the strengths of the first and second party offerings.

I agree with you, Terry, but as we know, this is getting further and further from reality. With the consoles becoming so vastly diffent, as far as architecture and developement goes, we seem to be slipping away from that idea. I mean, every generation there seems to be a growing divergence between the platforms. It was pretty pronounced this past generation as far a capabilities go, and this generation it seems to be happening more-so in the developmental process.

I think we' ll probably see more console exclusives from third parties this time around, except from the HUGE development houses (such as EA and Ubisoft), who can afford to spend time porting games from one system to another or working on two or three versions at once.

I' m just waiting for EA and Ubisoft to release their jointly developed console! Their top selling game will be Tom Clancy' s Madden. Stealth football at it' s best!

Holly shit ...man ...That' s a mad mans talking - " Nintendo betrayed me , Sega betrayed me ..."

Sega never had any kind of exclusive relation with Nintendo , and you say they could keep them " loyal" if they wanted to?

When it comes to Capcom it' s a different story but it' s hard to blame them.

You should know that most of exclusives are TIME exclusives though- nothing more.

Still I have to agree with you that N is not getting cool 3rd party exclusives and that' s just lame cuz they can easily afford it.

Terry Bogard - I totally disagree - when you make a game for all 3 systems it' s quality becomes the quality of the least powerfull system , slightly upgraded for the other 2 - we' ve seen it this generation.I think it sux.It' s great when they make games like Splinter Cell that actually are different on X and PS2 but then again GCN owners got a port of PS2 (lacking) version even though their system could' ve handled much more.

You end up having a powerfull system and playing PS2 games on it.

Terry Bogard - I totally disagree - when you make a game for all 3 systems it' s quality becomes the quality of the least powerfull system , slightly upgraded for the other 2 - we' ve seen it this generation.I think it sux.It' s great when they make games like Splinter Cell that actually are different on X and PS2 but then again GCN owners got a port of PS2 (lacking) version even though their system could' ve handled much more.

You end up having a powerfull system and playing PS2 games on it.

That' s not always the case. With some titles in the past it was easier to develop the game around the specs of the most powerful console and just trim out / downgrade the stuff for the other consoles. From what I read, It' s easier to downgrade than upgrade game graphics. If all three platforms were equally viable and profitable then I think we' d see more of that, but it' s no surprise at all to me that developers would develop some multiplatform titles around the PS2 hardware since it has the biggest install base.


And like Chee Saw said, if a company has the resources then the problem of porting or splitting development isn' t so much a problem anymore.

Maybe I am mad...
Ok, Sega didn' t really betray Nintendo since Nintendo never had an exclusive deal. BUT, Nintendo COULD have had it if they would have made good business offering Sega something. But they don' t seem care about the people who by the GC so they didn' t!
I mean, Virtua Fighter 4 is PS2 exclusive (I don' t count the arcades) and Otogi, as well as Panzer dragoon Orta, are Xbox exclusives. Those games have until today been exclusives and it doesn' t look like they will become " time-exclusives" . So a deal between Nintendo and Sega shouldn' t have been impossible.

Should only 1st and 2nd party titles decide the buyers choice of console? I don' t think that is a realistic idea since there aren' t enough games from those developers to motivate buying a technically inferior console. Unless, for example, Nintendo, use more money for developing games but that will harm the console development team as well as other parts of the company. That might force companies like Nintendo to go the Sega way, to quit the console development.
I know huge development houses have more money and can afford to develop games for all platforms. But that requires more time, manpower, planning and knowledge. This will hurt the industy as fewer games will be released as development costs and the time needed will skyrocket. And unique abilites in each console system will be taken less advantage off.
This also makes it harder for smaller development houses, who can' t afford to port games, to make a name for themselves.

Would you like to have an industry where there are only two development houses who take forever developing their games and doesn' t use each platforms unique abilities?
I love Nintendo and most of what they do. But business and caring about their customers are things they need to improve.

With the sales performance of their Xbox exclusives, Sega should have had their porting department on immediate standby, ready to port those suckers over to the PS2 and GameCube.

Hehe, yeah maybe. But the Sega games for the Xbox aren' t really mainstream games. I think it would have probably been hard to sell them regardless of which console they were released for.
The Sega games for Xbox are more suited for the japanese market imo. And since the Xbox isn' t doing well over there, the games might have been doomed right from the start. If they would have been released for PS2 or GC a broader group of the japanese gaming population would have had the chance to buy the games.

Just have to add:
Even though they didn' t sell well, the games were very important to Mircosoft as they have for a long time been trying to make the japanese more interested in their Xbox consoles.
Both Sega and Microsoft probably knew that the games wouldn' t become best-sellers, but I think Microsoft really wanted an exclusive deal so that the other two consoles lacked the appeal that the games gave Xbox.
Maybe Microsoft wanted the japanese to think " Hmm, if Xbox had those great exclusive games, then maybe I should buy Xbox360 in case Microsoft makes the same move again because those are great games!"
This is the reason for why console exclusivity is important! It helpes certain trademarks to become stronger in specific markets. In this case, Microsoft must have appealed to the japanese public.

Why don' t japanese ppl like xbox?? I always wondered. Anyways, this gen we will see more exclusivity cuz of the differences in console architectures and everything about them. Microsoft is trying to create a monopoly by doing what they' re doing (i dun really care since i love xbox and im sure ill love 360 even more), Sony and their Blu-Ray discs....how r developers gonna make a 15 gig game for ps3 and then port it to 360 or vice versa. Don' t even get me started on stupid Nintendo and their remote control...GC fanboys r gonna get bigger biceps and forearms and look funny, especially if they play some hack and slash game like Ninja Gaiden (no offence).

I think 360 is gonna have support from more developing studios this time around since production costs will be lower compared to ps3. This is proven by the fact that even square enix (who i personally thought would never make a xbox Final Fantasy game) is gonna make games for them (not that i really care about FF series). Wait until u start seeing MGS coming to 360 (the newer versions i mean cuz i kno MGS 2 Substance is available for xbox) or grand turismo. I' m leaving Rev out since they decided not to spend too much money on their hardware to make it a truly next-gen console. No one is gonna make games for them, except for small japanese studios im sorry to say.

Nintendo doesn' t have enough money to sign a exclusivity contract w/ Sega for ex. They' re not doing as good as the other two.

Lack of RPG' s.

Wow, next-gen speculations. I will not try to figure out the outcome , I' ll just see it in the future.
But Revolution seems to have interested a lot of 3rd party developers.
You say that it isn' t truly a next-gen console... have you seen the specs? If you haven' t than take back what you said and wait for some official word from Nintendo. I am pretty sure however that the graphic power will be far less than of Xbox360 or PS3 but I don' t care about graphics that much. I am actually more impressed by the visuals of Resident Evil 4 or Metroid Prime than of DOA4, or any other 360 game so far, thanks to the great design in RE4. And design is what counts imo.
Japanese doesn' t like Xbox because it lacks appealing games. It is known that japanese gamers prefer gameplay over graphics and since Xbox was only known for its graphical powers it just didn' t get the japanese interested. Throw in that big plastic thing the call controller, a huge ugly chassi and the fact that there are few japanese games and you have a loser.
The produciton costs for the 360 will probably be lower than for PS3 as you say, but Revolution will have even lower production costs. This is attracting smaller developers to Revolution. A small developer doesn' t have to be a bad developer, as a lot of people seem to think. And once thay get a hit and become big they might wanna stay with Nintendo.
I doubt Gran Turismo is going to be seen on 360, because the developers work to closely with SCEJ.
You are saying that Nintendo is making less money than Sony and Microsoft? You are probably wrong, if we only count what they are making from the console sales. Microsoft is actually losing money on Xbox and Sony is losing lots of money because of ripped games and expensive technology. Nintendo, however, have low production costs which is paying off for each sold console and games for their consoles are difficult to rip.
You clearly show in your post that you have your opinions ready before you have even try stuff:
You say that you are going to love 360 more even though you haven' t played it.
You say that the Rev-controller is stupid when you have never tried it (a lot of people who have says its fun). If you think the controller will give us bigger forearms then you are stupid, not the controller.
You say that porting games from 360 to PS3 will be difficult when you have no knowledge about the techniques of porting (Porting a 15 gig game from PS3 will however require several Xbox game discs making games possible on PS3 quite impossible on the 360, assuming the Blue-Ray thing will work.)
I probably sound like a Nintendo fan-boy, but you are without a doubt a Xbox fan-boy.

honestly man, nintendo needs to make more mature games, and their GC controller is not better than the S Controller so don' t talk about the controller.

The rev controller might be fun for a week, but i can' t possibly see how fps or third person shooters will be made to accomodate the controller. Plus, if u will wanna play for 4 hours straight, won' t ur arm get tired????

It is true that a lot of small game studios will probabily team up with nintendo and that will be good for the industry cuz they will get a chance to make some money and expand, make some good games and stuff like that.

About the porting thing, i dun think they gonna make 5 dvd games for xbox (exaggerating here) from ps3. Plus, porting will not be as easy cuz of the way the 360 cores r set up. anyways, u can' t really call me a xbox fanboy cuz i actually also own a ps2. And I know microsoft is losing money on every xbox they sell, but that doesn' t hurt them one bit cuz they get a sh**load more money from software and stuff, don' t forget, it' s a a multi-billion dollar company, they got money to throw around.

im guessing the japanese market didn' t really like xbox cuz it was american, and cuz it barely had any rpg games. and what r u talking about when u say they don' t have a good library of games. dude, they do have a good library of games, don' t make me start naming them...

neways, u have ur opinions and I can' t change ' em. i' m just expressing my view of things, I might be wrong, who knows what happens, all i know is im buying all three consoles and if i don' t like any, ill just trade it in at EB Games for some games.