Wii as "GC2"/"GC slimline" etc vs the GB Color...

[kisrael]

I have to say, the jokes about Wii being "Gamecube 2" and "GB slimline" are both a bit fair, and a bit unfair.

 

The fairness is the obvious hardware connection, the way it's backwards compatible to the GC, and Nintendo's willingness to give the fans what they want with lots of retreads of old games.

 

It's unfair in how the Wii is cracking open whole new controller and online paradigms... if anything, PS3 and X360 seem more "more of the same" than the Wii, and I hear people jonesing for a Wii who I don't think have ever thought about any other system prior to this.

 

It made me realize that Nintendo's pulled a very similar trick before: the Gameboy Color. If memory serves, its processing power was also about twice that of its predecessor, it was backwards compatible, and it also brought a new feature to the table. Now, again if memory serves, the GBC is seen as kind of a "tweener" system, sort of a bridge between the original spinach green GB and the monumental success of the GBA (a success I didn't anticipate) Now, I don't think the Wii is gonna be that kind of "tweener" system, but it's cool recognizing a page from the Nintendo playbook.

[Atarifever]

Interesting thought. However, I don't know if it'll seem like such a tweener system later on. I think the DS was a potential "tweener" system at one point too. It wasn't that much more powerful than the previous version, had a similar (God it hurts to type this) "gimmick" to the Wii, and even avoided the Gameboy name (arguably to give Nintendo an out just in case). However, with its current success, I think the system will be seen as standing very much on its own, and will likely be around for a respectable 5 years or so before being replaced. If the Wii really does catch on, it won't feel like a tweener system.

Edited November 30, 2006 by Atarifever

[sega saturn x]

It made me realize that Nintendo's pulled a very similar trick before: the Gameboy Color

The game boy color is also hands down the worst game boy yet released.

 

Regarding the wii, will games look better later on? Yes, will they match the other systems? No, but if you buy one because you want a tech monster well you're an idiot in the first place.

[kisrael]

Well, like I said, I don't think the Wii is that much of a tweener. Especially in the amount of work they've put into their online infrastructure.

 

All this innovation of controls (touch screen for the DS, Wiimote and Nunchucks) means future backwards compatability and emulation is going to get more and more awkward..)

 

It made me realize that Nintendo's pulled a very similar trick before: the Gameboy Color

The game boy color is also hands down the worst game boy yet released.

What was so wrong with it?

Screenwise, it wasn't that much worse than the GBA, right? Just fewer colors and the old square formfactor. And while there was the GB Pocket before, the form factor kept getting better, and the need for batteries improved.

 

Gamewise... well, it was a dark time of licensed kiddy games, but I think Pokemon and Zeldas held thier own...

[sega saturn x]

I wasn't really talking about the hardware just the games, after the greatness of the classic game boy the whole ordeal was just depressing. Worst of all I traded in my much loved pocket and games to get the awful thing. Although really I doubt I would much want to play the game boy version of donkey kong country now anyway.

[figgler]

I wasn't really talking about the hardware just the games, after the greatness of the classic game boy the whole ordeal was just depressing.

 

Sadly. I must say in my GB collection I must have 30 classic GameBoy games and all of 3 for the Colour

[Atarifever]

I wasn't really talking about the hardware just the games, after the greatness of the classic game boy the whole ordeal was just depressing.

 

Sadly. I must say in my GB collection I must have 30 classic GameBoy games and all of 3 for the Colour

The color is crap as anything other than a replacement system for if your Gameboy pocket breaks.

Edited December 1, 2006 by Atarifever

[kisrael]

I wasn't really talking about the hardware just the games, after the greatness of the classic game boy the whole ordeal was just depressing.

 

Sadly. I must say in my GB collection I must have 30 classic GameBoy games and all of 3 for the Colour

The color is crap as anything other than a replacement system for if your Gameboy pocket breaks.

Is that because of the hardware screen issues? Or because it came from an era of crap-tastic handheld game design, except for Zelda and Pokemon?

 

It certainly seems like a better system than the original GB, and how is it worse than the GB Pocket? Battery life?

[Atarifever]

It certainly seems like a better system than the original GB, and how is it worse than the GB Pocket? Battery life?

I suppose I overstated it, because it's a fine Gameboy, it's just a poor system on it's own. The original Gameboy library has it all over the color.

Edited December 1, 2006 by Atarifever

[sega saturn x]

Wario blast>game boy color, at least in my opinion.

[figgler]

Wario blast>game boy color, at least in my opinion.

 

The game is better than the system? I don't get it.

It's a great game though for sure. Best played on the Super GB if you ask me

[kisrael]

Ok, sure, it's game library for it, specficially is nothing special; but given it's 100% physical media compatibility , with a system that wasn't that far behind it (i.e. playing GB games on an SNES was cool, but you weren't at risk of mistaking one for the other), but as an enhancement/evolution, it was pretty solid.

 

I guess that goes against my original point, because I think

GC to Wii > GB to GBC

I hope so anyway, and that the real eye candy for the system hasn't yet been released, with Zelda being held back by its dual platform history.

 

And yeah, Wario Blast was great, though the Wario branding was a little silly. So for my next post:

Tetris Attack as "Panel de Pon" etc vs Wario Blast and Bomberman

[figgler]

GC to Wii > GB to GBC

 

Yeah. GCN to Wii is more like GBC to GBA

Edited December 1, 2006 by figgler

[awsomo3000]

NO guys Gamecube to Wii is more like SNES to N64

nuff said

[Atariboy]

Hardly, the only significant change has been in the controller.

[Chickybaby]

Just curious but what are the difference in the specs between the GC and Wii games and even the systems themselves for anyone who has one? (Besides having the motion sensing stuff and on-line capabilities.)

 

Whie we don't have a Wii ourselves we do have a GC and if they are coming out with a Wii that plays DVDs etc at the same price in 07 then it would seem that the Wii as it exists now is an upgraded GC.

[+remowilliams]

NO guys Gamecube to Wii is more like SNES to N64

 

That is an utterly ridiculous statement in terms of power and capability.

 

Just curious but what are the difference in the specs between the GC and Wii games and even the systems themselves for anyone who has one? (Besides having the motion sensing stuff and on-line capabilities.)

 

There isn't much difference at all at the moment in terms of what you're seeing in games between the Wii and the GC. Granted the games on the Wii now were likely developed on the GC itself, so that's to be expected to a degree. But the Wii is at it's heart a basically refined and higher clocked version of the GC with some extra graphic abilities (and the other obvious abilities - Wifi, motion sensing, etc) thrown in. Couple that with Nintendo's online offerings and download services (VC, etc.) and voila.

 

The 'Revolution' is really in the user controls and the extra possible gaming experiences because of them, and not the base hardware.

 

I seriously doubt there will ever be a Wii release (if at all) outside of Japan that would play DVDs. But if there were, then you would have an upgraded GC that can play DVDs.

Edited December 2, 2006 by remowilliams

[Shannon]

The wii is just a pumped up GC with a new controller.

 

Same processor but faster. 485-729mhz.

Graphic processor pumped up from 162-243.

System RAM from 40-88.

 

Wi-fi networking built in.

SD card reader.

[kisrael]

I wonder when we'll find out if it pays off....I read how EA is making a special studio for the Wii. Nintendo hasn't had a lot of 3rd party support, I wonder if the kind of release they're having will make a difference, or how this release compares to previous ones.

[Avid Fan]

The gameboy color was pretty weak though, with the exception of the Zeldas, there just wasnt much there. And a lot of what was there, just plain sucked. But I loved the GBC to play the old games since it made them easier to play with moving objects being different colored than the rest. But for me, the GBA SP is where handhelds finally got it right, fits in the pocket, good battery life, and kickass game library and backward compatible to boot

[Student Driver]

Hell, I quite enjoyed the GBC over the original brick GB. I didn't get one 'til late in its lifespan, but when I got it, I was given SMB DX, R-Type DX, and the Zeldas... maybe the GBC's library is chock-full of crap licensed kiddy games, but there are enough good releases that it should be possible for one to objectively measure the capabilities and worthiness of the system. Just in usability, it's leaps and bounds above the original brick, and the above-listed games show the system off quite well. It's hard to go back to the original Super Mario Land, etc., after playing GBC-specific releases. The b/w releases almost feel like Watara Supervision games now.

 

Anyway; I guess that if an analogy is drawn for GC/Wii : GB/GBC or GC/Wii : GBA/DS, the conclusion is to look at first-party releases developed specifically for the systems in question to determine their capabilities; even if we see a lot of churned-out crap for the Wii as time goes on, the proof is in what Nintendo and their favored developers can do. Hell, even now one sees a lot of GBA-esque generic crap ported to DS, despite the DS's aura of being a unique platform. As mentioned, some of the Wii releases were started on the GC (shades of N64-to-GC development), so I'll wait a while before judging whether the Wii's leaps ahead of GC, or mere hops.

Edited December 2, 2006 by Student Driver

[Atari Master]

The wii is just a pumped up GC with a new controller.

 

Same processor but faster. 485-729mhz.

Graphic processor pumped up from 162-243.

System RAM from 40-88.

 

Wi-fi networking built in.

SD card reader.

 

And it's more compact, and uses lots less energy.

 

Looking at it; though, it's hard to believe the graphics of Resident Evil 4 were squeezed out of that system. That game looked REALLY REALLY good. Hell, still does imo.

[kisrael]

The wii is just a pumped up GC with a new controller.

 

Same processor but faster. 485-729mhz.

Graphic processor pumped up from 162-243.

System RAM from 40-88.

 

Wi-fi networking built in.

SD card reader.

 

And it's more compact, and uses lots less energy.

 

Looking at it; though, it's hard to believe the graphics of Resident Evil 4 were squeezed out of that system. That game looked REALLY REALLY good. Hell, still does imo.

I was remembering thinking the same thing about Metroid Prime when it came out... actually even the title screen, with its "microscope inspecting a drop of blood" look and feel... until I saw roughly similar effects later in the game, I thought maybe it was footage.

 

Similarly, last night I and some friends rewatched the "Final Fantasy" movie... I remembered my jaw dropping when I saw the GC using the exact same "phantom" effect that I had seen in that movie.

 

Now, to be fair, I think the effect is *fairly* easy, just a bit of translucency and color, for both the blood and the phantom, but still.

 

Now, I have to admit I haven't seen anything but one of the WW2 games on Xbox 360 (and ping pong) and nothing on the PS3, so someone could argue that I don't know what I'm missing, and I've never been that much of a graphics wonk.