Early Gamecube Breakdown: Companies

Written by Kyle Williams on January 19, 2001

Early Gamecube Breakdown: Companies: Where's the party?...third party that is.

The other day I promised you a look at what third parties are going to offer to Nintendo's Gamecube. What I am about to tell you is something that you probably already know: УNobody's talking!Ф That's right, lips in the industry are tighter thanЕ (I'd better not go there), but I have been able to sort through all of the hoopla and rumors and provide you with this, a tentative list of what you can expect from each publisher/developer. Just remember, this is only tentative. Several of these games have yet to be confirmed (I'll point out which), and don't be surprised if at least one of them never sees the light of day.

3DO - 3DO has been turning out the games based on the Army Men franchise ever since it saw the light of day, why should they stop short of the Gamecube. Any game that 3DO makes based upon those little green men for the Gamecube is bound to look pretty (most every thing on the system should) but the recent games have been a little lacking in the gameplay department. Time will tell as to whether this game will ever come out, and if it does, whether it's worth playing or not.

Acclaim - Along with a few sports titles (maybe), we can look forward to a fourth installment of the Turok series. Expect Acclaim to push this first-person-shooter to the visual extreme and to throw in plenty of multiplayer options, especially considering we won't be seeing it until 2002.

Camelot - Camelot, the company responsible for both the N64 and GameBoy versions of Mario Tennis, is currently working on a Game Boy Advance RPG titled Golden Sun. They have announced that once they finish that, the will redirect their effort into a currently untitled Gamecube RPG. Might we see it interact with Golden Sun in a similar way that the two Mario Tennis' (Tenni?) do? We'll just have to wait and see. At least the RPG market isn't being ignored this time around.

Capcom - Capcom has already announced TWO titles in the popular Resident Evil series for the Gamecube. The first title, Resident Evil 0, was originally slated to be a Nintendo 64 title, but when that version got scrapped, it got moved to the Gamecube. This title is a prequel to the original Resident Evil for the Playstation, in which you will get the chance to play as Rebecca Chambers, a S.T.A.R.S. team member that had a minor role in the aforementioned original. We might get to see this one by the end of the year. As far as the second title goes, expect RE4 to show its face on the Gamecube sometime in 2002.

Since Capcom is bringing Resident Evil to the Gamecube, might we see Mega Man or their famous 2D fighting games? Nothing is announced yet, but we will probably see the latest Mega Man Legends or (hopefully) Mega Man X somewhere down the line. As far as the 2D fighting games go, just how many Street Fighters do we need?

Climax - Climax is putting together a little ditty called Title Defense Boxing. I think that it is safe to say that it is going to be more of a boxing sim than the Ready to Rumble series. Hopefully we will see online bouts and internet rankings to compliment this title.

EA - Electronic Arts has this quirky ability to generate million unit sales of a title based on any sport. Could it be that they are the best at what they do? I'd say so, and with the talk of Madden 2002 coming to Gamecube, I am really excited. For a taste of what we might see, check out the PS2 version of Madden 2001, and if we do see Madden on the console, expect to see the rest of their infamous EA Sports line-up.

Eidos - Lara Croft never did present her perky little self on the N64, but I never considered it a bad thing. The first Tomb Raider was a great adventure game in and of itself, but the sequels seemed to lack the Уoomph,Ф the originality, of that first one. Perhaps they can revitalize the series with the rumored Gamecube installment. If the game is actually under development, we will probably see Tomb Raider: The Next Generation, late this year, or early next year.

Infogrames - Infogrames now holds the rights to Superman. After the hideous treatment that Titus gave him in their N64 and Playstation releases, the Man of Steel needs to redeem himself. Expect to see him make an appearance on just about every next generation console known to man (or Son of Krypton), when is the only question.

On another front, Infogrames has recently acquired Hasbro Interactive. In that deal, they get the rights to Civilization, Roller Coaster Tycoon, Atari, Monopoly, Risk, and Boggle among others. Will we see any of the on Gamecube? Who knows, but what I didn't mention is that the rights to Dungeons and Dragons is in there too, and talks of a massively multiplayer D&D game have been floating around for a while. If Nintendo gets Nintendo Online rolling fast enough, perhaps we will see it there.

Konami - I think that we can expect to see more Castlevania games from Konami. The question is, У2D or 3D?Ф Most likely any game starring a Belmont on the Gamecube will expand on the N64 outings, but seeing as how nothing is official yet, it's hard to say. The big question though, is what other Konami franchises will make it to the system? It is safe to say that adding Metal Gear Solid 2 to the Gamecube roster would boost system sales, but will it go cross platform? If anyone from Konami is reading this, please bring us an online, cooperative, 2D Contra for the Gamecube. Konami has been a big supporter of Nintendo for a long time. Nintendo could use their help in securing their foothold in the coming console war.

Lego Media - The only confirmation of Lego Technics Bionicle comes from an ad in a European game developers magazine. The full page ad featured the title, which is scheduled for both Gamecube and Game Boy Advance release following an initial PC release. Little is known about the game itself, but screenshots of the PC version are available.

LucasArts - LucasArts is already confirmed to be involved with the Gamecube by way of Factor 5's Rogue Squadron 2, but rumor has it that they will be bringing a Star Wars RPG to the cube. Will it be the online product Galaxies or the more traditional RPG that BioWare is developing? We'll keep an ear to the grapevine and let you know what we find out.

Namco - Namco has shown some support for the N64 via great family titles such as Namco Museum an the Pac-Man franchise, but the big (and we're talking HUGE) rumor is that Tekken 4 will be headed to Nintendo's new system. However, with the recent revelation that Tekken Advance for the GBA probably won't happen due to legal issues, I wouldn't count on it. I could be wrong though. Lawyers have pulled off some pretty amazing things, I mean they got O. J. off the hook.

THQ - THQ has a confirmed Rugrats game in development for the cube, and I wouldn't be surprised to see Scooby Doo make an appearance on the console as well. They also have an ace up their sleeve with Red Faction, the much-anticipated fps scheduled for a late spring/ early summer release on both PS2 and PC. It is possible that they will do something on the Cube using the revolutionary engine from that game. We will probably see the Rugrats game late this year, anything else will have to wait until 2002.

Rare - On top of Perfect Dark 2 (see yesterday's feature), Rare is reportedly working on two more Gamecube titles. The first is Mickey Mouse Adventure, which is possibly a Banjo-Kazooie style platform adventure game. The second title, which I stress is only a rumor, is Killer Instinct 3. These titles will likely become much more high profile as they get closer to release, if they do in fact exist.

Retro Studios - Retro Studios is another developer that was mentioned in yesterday's feature. Along with the Gamecube update of Metroid, they are working on a reported five additional titles. One of these titles is NFL Playaction Football 2002. You may remember the title from the old school NES days as the first Nintendo football game to utilize the 4-player adapter. Keep your eyes on this one, they have a high bar to reach with Madden 2002 in the works.

Saffire - Saffire (Young Olympians) is one of the first games for the Gamecube that we caught a glimpse of. Unfortunately, we haven't seen much else. Those first few shots however were stunning, and hinted at what the console can achieve visually. The screens that were circulating gave the impression that this game is going to be a third person action adventure game in the vein of Tomb Raider. Keep checking Gaming Target for more details.

Ubisoft - Ubisoft has several licenses in their pocket, and three of them are reportedly coming to the Gamecube. Batman, Tarzan, and V.I.P. (you know, the syndicated series starring Pam Anderson) are all on their way to the system in one form or another. My best guess is that we will be seeing a 3D action game, a platformer aimed at younger audiences, and another 3D action game (with a little more cleavage), respectively. We will probably start seeing these games sometime next year.

Factor 5 - I know that this is a little out of place alphabetically, but I thought it worth mentioning. In addition to Rogue Squadron 2, Factor five is working on a title called Thornado, a 3D shooter in the style of Metroid and Contra. Expect to see fast paced action mixed with a little bit of exploration thrown in when it comes out. Check back here for a more thorough preview in the coming weeks.

Well, that wraps up this early look at the Nintendo Gamecube. We talked about the hardware, we talked about Nintendo's software, and we talked about what the video gaming world is working on in support of the system. At this early stage of the game, there is a lot to be excited about, as the system is showing great promise. The real test though, will be when the system launches later this year and Microsoft, Sony, Sega, and Nintendo all square off in the console war to end all console wars.

Until next time, keep your feet warm at night.