12th January 2003, 4:00 AM
I believe that Nintendo, until recently (year 2000) used an outside destributor named THE Games to sell its games in Europe. I believe this company as well as Nintendo were accused of price fixing and other illegal practices. Regardless of any illegal activity, the relationship caused severe late releases, such as Rogue Squadron and 1080 Snowboarding. Some hoped that the severing of ties between Nintendo and THE would make the situation better, but I guess it really hasn't improved. Do PAL ports still suffer from framerate problems and ugly borders?
Speaking of exceptions to the rule, Metroid Prime was released in the United States before Japan. Not only was Metroid Prime developed in the United States, but Metroid has always been a more popular series in North America. For sales monkeys out there (me), the period from February 28 through E3 will be a very interesting time. Metroid Prime is released on Feb 28 in Japan, and Zelda is released in the US on March 24. The similarities are that these titles are being released with negative forces attached to them. Metroid Prime has the mundane sales of the series against it as well as the first-person viewpoint. If Japan sees this game as an FPS, it's looking at just over 100,000 copies. Zelda, while traditionally a huge franchise in North America, faces the negative force of its art design. Movies targeted at kids have been hit or miss (Hey Arnold, Wild Thornberries, The Powerpuff Girls anyone?), so this game may not get the support it needs in the youth crowd. Don't even ask the adolescent crowd, because they're not even listening. The 20's crowd will be interesting: more mature, this group might be able to get over the cartoon art design if the word of mouth support is there. Oddly enough, the only reliable mass-market support is the older group which grew up with Nintendo and now feels nostalgic. The question is how big this group is. Regardless of the mass-market, the Nintendo harcore fanbase (us) is going to get this game off the floor with at least 150,000 copies. Eternal Darkness is a good indicator of a game with the support of only the hardcore Nintendo fanbase, and it sold 100,000 initially followed by a huge drop off (because of no mass-market support). I'm saying Zelda will get more support because, well, it's Zelda.
Speaking of exceptions to the rule, Metroid Prime was released in the United States before Japan. Not only was Metroid Prime developed in the United States, but Metroid has always been a more popular series in North America. For sales monkeys out there (me), the period from February 28 through E3 will be a very interesting time. Metroid Prime is released on Feb 28 in Japan, and Zelda is released in the US on March 24. The similarities are that these titles are being released with negative forces attached to them. Metroid Prime has the mundane sales of the series against it as well as the first-person viewpoint. If Japan sees this game as an FPS, it's looking at just over 100,000 copies. Zelda, while traditionally a huge franchise in North America, faces the negative force of its art design. Movies targeted at kids have been hit or miss (Hey Arnold, Wild Thornberries, The Powerpuff Girls anyone?), so this game may not get the support it needs in the youth crowd. Don't even ask the adolescent crowd, because they're not even listening. The 20's crowd will be interesting: more mature, this group might be able to get over the cartoon art design if the word of mouth support is there. Oddly enough, the only reliable mass-market support is the older group which grew up with Nintendo and now feels nostalgic. The question is how big this group is. Regardless of the mass-market, the Nintendo harcore fanbase (us) is going to get this game off the floor with at least 150,000 copies. Eternal Darkness is a good indicator of a game with the support of only the hardcore Nintendo fanbase, and it sold 100,000 initially followed by a huge drop off (because of no mass-market support). I'm saying Zelda will get more support because, well, it's Zelda.