An all too familiar gaming scene...
 

Last night was one of my friend's birthday party. We were all gathering at another of my friend's house and having some drinks and playing some videogames...

First up was the xbox. We played a few games... DOA volleyball, some basketball game and Enter the Matrix among them. All the while people were just mashing the buttons and watching the eye-candy on screen.

after a bit of that... the gamecube was turned on. we played smash bros. melee, mariokart and monkey ball 2.

immediately after turning the GC games on... people started complaining about how crappy they were. it literally started when the power-on menus came up. "this is stupid"... "a kids game!"... "this sucks" were among the more eloquent statements.

now i realize that everyone has their own preferences in games, so don't think i'm saying they should like exactly what i like. but still, the play mechanics in the listed XBOX games are certainly more shallow than the GC games listed. despite the deeper gameplay and refined mechanics of these particular gamecube games... no one was willing to give them a chance.

i'm no snob, people can like whatever they want to like. still, it is frustrating to me that games that aren't packaged in a way that looks good on MTV aren't given an honest chance.

anyone else notice this? anyone completely disagree with me?

People may think the games look cartoony, but the games are infinitely more fun to play. Anyone who passes up SSB:M in favor of DOA Volleyball with the reasoning that DOA Volleyball looks better is, in my opinion, a moron.
The only thing I will say about Gamecube is its lack of any good online play hurts it, but it is the console for the dorms.

I know exactly what your talking about. I work Mids and we have a lot of down time. Usually we will watch movies or play cards. I offered to bring in my Gamecube and i got the most horrific look from everyone. Like I was retarded for having one. They only play PS2 or Xbox.

The big problem is, I think that Nintendo has spent so long working on the "kiddy market" that that is all people think they do any more. I my self will not get a GC, because to date I've only seen 2 or 3 games on it I like. Personly, I am sick of Mario, and it seems like everything they put out is based around him. Mario cart, Smash Bros, ect. If they could get away from the Mario overdose and go for a little less Saterday morning cartoon look on there games, I might pick one up. But right now, Nintendo just doesn't do it for me.

seer666,

fair nuff, you're entitled to spend your entertainment dollars how you like. but why is the cartoon image so off-putting? i'd wager if those same games had more graphic violence and realistic settings, you'd love those games. i think that some people play games for reasons that i don't share or understand... it's interesting to hear what people think about this though.

The cartoon look thing has always really annoyed me on games. that cute little bubble shaped art work has always made me want to hit someone. Not sure I can give you a logical reason why. It's just along the same vain as Ewoks and the like for me. Also, most he CG games seem to be lacking in depth of story for me. I go for games like Fatal Frame. Looks great, plays better, and story line is mind blowing. I also like the horror survival type, of which the GC has 2 that I know of. Most the time I want one of 2 things from a game. Really indepth story line that makes it easy to get caught up in the game, or LOTS of mindless violence. Not many games I've found on the GC that live up to that.

Back in the early 3D days, Nintendo's approach (as in cartoony graphics) were, to me, a way to make games look good with limited hardware potential. Since it was easier to make a smooth, rounded surface rather than a complex human-like polygon, games looked a lot better as cartoons than as 'realistic'. And really, nothing much has changed for me in that respect. The consoles today can render a heck of a lot more polygons than before, but I can still see them in a game where massive amounts of work hasn't gone into the graphics. I'm quite the opposite of Seer666. The hideous polygon monsters in many realistic games make me want to hit someone. Maybe in a few more console generations, the hardware will be able to render in-game polygons like they already can in FMV sequences ala Final Fantasy, and I'll be okay with realistic games. But until then, smooth and cartoony graphics look much better to me.

You guys should play Eternal Darkness or any of the Resident Evil games on Gamecube and you'd lose the kiddy image of it immediately. After beating Eternal Darkness, I looked at the GC as a reminder of a game that scared me shitless. :) PS2 and XBox has as many kiddy games as Gamecube has...they simply don't have as many old-school mascots that appeal to younger people. I personally have no qualms with kiddy-games as long as they kick ass. With Shigeru Miyamoto heading up most of the "kiddy" games, they turn out to be masterpieces despite their marketed audience.

-Lasereth

I think a good rule of thumb is that if someone doesn't want to play Smash Brothers, you shouldn't be friends with them.

I'll second that, the only thing more fun than 4 player SSB is four player Halo....just cuz nothing is more fun than four player Halo.

Add the Twin Snakes to that count as well. It's got a hell of a lot of blood and shit in it. It's awesome.

But does it get as deep as Conkers' Bad Fur Day? :p

The reason I want to buy a GC is for Mario Party, SSB:M, and now the new zelda game... I don't care about cartoony images, i just want solid fun gameplay

Yeah Nintendos games do have quite a lot of depth to them, and the cartoon appeal, I think is pretty cool. Heck a good game on PS2, Jack & Dax.. thats cartoony yet a favorite. Metroid got a lot of depth with Prime and all the abilities it brought with it.

Its funny how people bash the cube. I agree that many of their games that... you just have to ignore where they were targeted as they remain works of art far past after their graphics and capabilities are outperformed.

I also agree that if someone doesn't like SSB:M then something is wrong with them. They best not like video games at all, as that game rocks your socks until they need to get washed.. and then you're playing barefoot!

This far into a Pro-NGC thread and no mention of METROID PRIME? For shame TFPers, for shame.

EDIT: Thank you GakFace.

Heh, speaking of MP, an aquiantance of mine is all against it beacuse it's *gasp* 3D! SHOCK HORROR! Then when I point out that it's still 2D in the GBA, he doesn't care. He won't until it goes back the 16-bit style on a 128-bit console. Some people are just idiotic in their ignorance.

I was a little hesitant at first myself and absolutely adore the newer 2D iterations of Metroid (Fusion and Zero Mission) but PRIME is a thing of beauty. I hate FPS on consoles with a passion, the control scheme is pathetic without a mouse but with PRIME, my god it's good.

Yeah, Metroid Prime is still in my top-five favorite games of all time. I didn't mention it because it's not an "adult" title. It's still easily the best game out for Gamecube. It's up there with Metal Gear Solid, Halo, etc. I really hope Retro doesn't fuck up the sequel. They have a lot to live up to.

-Lasereth

I guess I'll be the sole voice to go against the flow in this thread :D

My opinion on the GC...

GC is like N64 in that there are only a few good games worth mentioning.

IMO, SSB:M is very childish. It's a VERY dumbed down fighter.. simple to beat and gets old after 20 minutes or so. If I had to pick between DOA Volleyball and SSB:M, I'd rather play nothing.

The GC titles I own:

Metroid Prime (perfect)
Zelda WW (childish, too easy)
Zelda OOT & OOT Master Quest (remakes, nothing special here)
Zelda 4 Pack (Zelda, Zelda II, OOT, and majora's Mask) (remakes, nothing special here)
Sonic Mega Collection (for my girlfriend)
Super Monkeyball 2 (childish)
Resident Evil remake (kick ass)

Other than that... there isn't much worth mentioning other than Eternal Darkness, Viewtiful Joe, and the MGS remake.

To me, GC has VERY FEW "must own" titles as opposed to PS2 where I could ramble off a laundry list of must own titles. The main reason for that... the majority of GC titles are, to me, very childish. Take away the titles that can also be found on PS2, the titles in my list, and the sports titles... and you aren't left with much.

[edit]
That's not to say it isn't a good system, because it is, and it definitely has potential... it's just that the current selection of games aren't very flattering.

i thank god this discussion isn't taking place on the gamefaqs boards... else i'd pwn all you nooBs. :) (gosh, even mocking them makes feel more stupid by the moment)

oh well...

i used to think SSBM was childish, mainly cause my brother royally kicked my ass at it on a regular basis. i got so frustrated at being smacked around at (what i thought to be) a juvenile game that i spent a few hours deliberately trying to figure it out. now i consider it one of the deepest fighting (that's the closest genre anyway) games i've played. you may not experience the same conversion, but that was my experience anyway.

stompy, if you like the RE games you might want to look into Eternal Darkness... it's a GC exclusive that deserved to sell far better than it did. i think IGN was selling it for 15 bucks last i checked.

That's what most people think after 20 minutes of play. Hell, I did. Until you break through the absolute 'know nothing' phase of gameplay, and get into the stlyes such as rolling, wavedashing and start learning the characters, it is far from shallow. In fact, I don't think I've ever played a deeper fighter.

I played more than 20 minutes of it. My brother has it and I play it with him all the time. I know all the intricacies of the game, it just doesn't appeal to me.

It's just very repetitive, IMO, which is fine if that's your style, but me personally... I need something a bit more in depth. Definitely not something I'd choose to play for hours on end.

If you had 4 people playing it and somehow managed to turn it into a drinking game w/ the tournament style of play, then yeah, it could be amusing... but I can't exactly do that w/ my 8 year old bro ;)

This, I think, is the key. SSB:M truly shines in 4 player. As a one-on-one fighter it doesn't match up to Soul Calibur 2 or Tekken Tag, but it and Power Stone 1/2 are the only four player fighters that I can think of(not counting wrestling games).

Some people enjoy a fine wine and a filet, yet other's like McDonald's cheeseburgers and Coke. To each his own...