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Forums - Nintendo Discussion - Nintendo's Evolution from Gamecube to Switch (...was pre-mediated imho)

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VGPolyglot on 14 December 2017

One thing that you didn't mention that I think is important is that the GameCube itself was originally supposed to have motion controls:

"Nintendo actually patented and developed a motion controller for the GameCube—Rogue Squadron series developer Factor 5 even experimented with implementing it in their games. Obviously, the controller was scrapped."

https://kotaku.com/the-gamecubes-secrets-revealed-1642812416



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ThisGuyFooks on 14 December 2017

We need more people like you on this site my man.

Great, Great Post.

I will be posting my opinion later today.



GuyDuke on 14 December 2017
VGPolyglot said:
One thing that you didn't mention that I think is important is that the GameCube itself was originally supposed to have motion controls:

"Nintendo actually patented and developed a motion controller for the GameCube—Rogue Squadron series developer Factor 5 even experimented with implementing it in their games. Obviously, the controller was scrapped."

https://kotaku.com/the-gamecubes-secrets-revealed-1642812416

''At this time, Nintendo was also beginning to dabble with motion technology.  The original idea was to release motion sensing controllers for the Gamecube.  However, due to the Gamecube's sagging sales, Nintendo executives feared that if released as a peripheral, the motion controllers would likewise fly under gamer's radar similar to the Link Cable. ''

Third paragraph, before moving on to Wii.



VGPolyglot on 14 December 2017
GuyDuke said:
VGPolyglot said:
One thing that you didn't mention that I think is important is that the GameCube itself was originally supposed to have motion controls:

"Nintendo actually patented and developed a motion controller for the GameCube—Rogue Squadron series developer Factor 5 even experimented with implementing it in their games. Obviously, the controller was scrapped."

https://kotaku.com/the-gamecubes-secrets-revealed-1642812416

''At this time, Nintendo was also beginning to dabble with motion technology.  The original idea was to release motion sensing controllers for the Gamecube.  However, due to the Gamecube's sagging sales, Nintendo executives feared that if released as a peripheral, the motion controllers would likewise fly under gamer's radar similar to the Link Cable. ''

Third paragraph, before moving on to Wii.

Hmm, somehow I missed that



TomaTito on 14 December 2017

DS and 3DS had wireless connectivity with their console counterparts too.



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Ivant on 14 December 2017

Excellent read,

I also think the second screen of the wii u was horrifically underrated,

During the switch build up, they said there may in future be backwards compatability with old Nintendo controllers, and I really hope they mean the game pad.

That would open up the wii u back catalogue for those who didn't adopt the console, add functionality for future games (Map / inventory screens, think fallout 4 virtual boy) as well as the entire catalogue of DS, 3ds and new 3ds games.

With the joycons there should be no need to go back and add compatibility to wii motes, all that tech is there already, and with more buttons!

It would be great however to give those wii u owners and unexpected boon, as well as birth another extra peripheral for switch owners to buy, even if it were a smaller screen / controller.



Hedra42 on 14 December 2017

Gamecube was supposed to have been 3D capable as well, so I seem to remember reading, some years ago. You would have attached a special screen to it to achieve 3D, but it was scrapped as it would have been too expensive.

Excellent OP, and it shows how they're always experimenting with features that end up going in 1 or 2 consoles ahead in some form or other.



zorg1000 on 14 December 2017

Great post and i do agree with you to an extent but rather than saying it was "premeditated", i would say its more like Nintendo likes to go back and revisit various ideas that didnt take off for one reason or another.

An example outside of the ones you detail would be the dual screen idea for DS which was originally used with Game & Watch.



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KLAMarine on 14 December 2017

I just looked at the pictures and nodded my head thinking: "yeah, seems like a natural progression"



Jumpin on 14 December 2017
RolStoppable said:
No, it wasn't. This is more like a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde story where two different philosophies clashed repeatedly.

The GameCube was a response to the underwhelming sales of the Nintendo 64 where Nintendo focused on getting more third party support. They succeeded at that, but ended up selling even fewer consoles than before. The GBA connectivity was more or less a desperate attempt to differentiate themselves from PS2 and Xbox by leveraging their dominance of the handheld market, but the idea didn't gain any traction.

With the Wii Nintendo went back to the drawing board and looked at the NES for inspiration. What they came up with was so ass-backwards from what they were supposed to do according to conventional wisdom that it was declared that Wii would be Nintendo's last console. Wii isn't a continuation of the GameCube, but that's exactly what made it so successful.

The Wii U was Miyamoto taking the reins and reviving his beloved GameCube. In Iwata Asks, Miyamoto repeatedly says things along the lines of "the marketing was at fault". Miyamoto seriously believed that the GameCube was correct and only happened to be a victim of unfortunate circumstances. You are absolutely correct that Wii U picks up core ideas of the GameCube, but Wii U was never meant to be a stop gap console. Nintendo expected it to be as successful as Wii at least. Wii U solely existed because of Miyamoto's desire and his belief that the GC was great, and being able to convince the board of directors of this mindset. The same holds true for the Nintendo 3DS; Iwata Asks has Iwata laughing after saying that Nintendo has always failed when they tried 3D stuff, but this time it had to be the right time for 3D.

The first thing Nintendo did with Switch was to remove Miyamoto from the design process. Just like Wii was a rejection of the GC direction, so is Switch a rejection of Wii U. Switch isn't a two-screen console. When Nintendo talked about NX, they made it clear that a drastic change would be coming, and Switch is really nothing like Wii U.

It is correct to say that Switch is deliberate and was carefully planned, but the console is not the result of a roadmap that Nintendo conceived in the early 2000s. It's the consequence of a different design philosophy completely and utterly failing. If this had been planned all along, then Miyamoto would have maintained his position in the company, but he's been put in a better form of retirement.

Whew! I’m glad someone else said it. And you said it a lot better than I would have.

Not to diminish entirely from the work the original poster put into the article; but yeah, I agree with the Rol post I am quoting. I would call the Switch more like the Wii (and NES, by extension), particularly because it is doing something fresh and new with its philosophy; aiming at an uncontested Blue Ocean marketplace with its hybridized approach to playing software. Also a very sleek rectangular design (I’d love to see a white and blue version). It is a more Iwata-style console, in other words.



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