Welcome to the final edition of The Spot...ever! That's right, today is the last day I'll be answering your questions in this format. From now on you should go to the Ask GameSpot! forum to ask questions, or if you're not a GameSpot Complete member, you can continue sending your questions to the e-mail address below, and I'll see that they get to the proper parties.

GameSpot basic members, send questions or comments by clicking here.

Unbreaking Wrestling Games
[POSTED: 01-Jul-02]

 
Hey Shane, what's going on? Congratulations on making it to the final edition of The Spot. I know Ask GameSpot! will be around, but your column will still be missed. I'm writing about a subject that I know you're not too fond of, but I think I have a solution to the problem, so hear me out.

After hearing your comments on wrestling games not too long ago and buying WWE WrestleMania X8 for my GameCube, I've recently been doing a lot of thinking about the state of wrestling games. I'm a huge fan of wrestling (my first memory is actually of watching WrestleMania II when I was two years old) and I buy every wrestling game for my system that I think has potential. I bought all of the N64 Aki/Asmik games and I even bought the abysmal Royal Rumble on Dreamcast. Like I said, I'm a fan. I salivated at the thought of having nine grapplers in the ring at once.

But anyway, my point is that your comments on the stagnant gameplay mechanics of wrestling games are correct. It seems to me that THQ hits the spot (no pun intended) on some games (the N64 series and the Smackdown series sort of), and bombs on others (Royal Rumble, Nitro, Thunder). I was contemplating how much of a shame it is that the WWE only licenses its name to one company. But then I thought, who needs licenses? Some of my favorite old-school wrestling games like Tecmo World Wrestling for the NES and Saturday Night Slam Masters for the SNES had no licenses to speak of and were excellent games. I'm not sure about the Fire Pro series, but even if it is licensed, the Japanese wrestling games seem to be better anyway.

If companies who didn't have the WWE license were to make games with fictitious wrestlers, a lot of the problems we experience with modern licensed games would be eliminated or at least alleviated. There would be no expectation for the developer to try to replicate real-life entrances and arenas because there would be none to speak of. Too much of the developer resources are being spent on the flash and the show already. This would put more of the focus on gameplay and innovation. Also, we'd get the perspective of more than the one or two companies that make the games now. And I'm pretty sure there are companies out there that could do the games more justice than THQ and Acclaim. If it is an issue of whether or not these games would sell, I think they would. Considering the popularity of wrestling, interesting characters and innovative gameplay mechanics would make for a game that would sell itself. For example, the characters of Soccer Slam (I love that game) wrestling on the N64 Aki/Asmik engine would be a must-buy for me. But I've already said enough. Who knows, if any of these changes are ever implemented in the industry, maybe you'll even start to like wrestling games, Shane. Ya never know. Chao.

-Gabriel


You know things are in a sorry state when people are begging for the gameplay from a game that was released for the Nintendo 64 (No Mercy). But I'm not so sure that a game featuring no known characters would sell that well. It's the pomp and circumstance of wrestling that people like so much. I don't see how using unknown characters in a wrestling game will make it appeal to the people who ensure that wrestling games dominate our top-10 list day in and day out. Even if the gameplay is stellar, I think it will still be a tough sell. But there are alternatives to THQ. Acclaim has the license for a lot of older wrestlers as seen in Legends of Wrestling, but its lack of execution hurts it considerably. Perhaps next year's game will be a bit better. And I'm surprised that you're not familiar with Fire Pro. It's the best-playing wrestling game available, despite the fact that elaborate entrances and backstage brawling aren't a part of the equation. Give it a go and I think you'll agree.

More Payment Methods
[POSTED: 01-Jul-02]

 
I was wondering when, if ever, there would be more options for becoming a GameSpot Complete member. I really want to join but my parents aren't too keen on the idea of giving out their credit card number. I know it's safe, but they just don't trust the system. Thanks.

-LSUpat2



The last time I asked, the ETA on new payment methods was the end of August or early September. Hopefully you can hold on until then.

The Next Mario Kart
[POSTED: 01-Jul-02]

 
Hey Shane,

This is the first set of questions I've ever sent to The Spot but I'm a loyal GameSpot fan. I'll stop the kiss-up and get straight to the point:

1. Is there any chance that Kingdom Hearts will ever see a GameCube release?

2. What are the chances of Rare developing for other systems in your opinion?

3. I heard somewhere that Zelda: Ocarina of Time may be rereleased on the GameCube. Any word on this? Any chance of Ocarina of Time being tied together with Majora's Mask as one game? That'd make it all worthwhile.

4. Besides having that C stick thing in the GameCube Capcom vs. SNK 2, what other special features will the EO edition have?

5. Last question. Any news on Mario Kart for GameCube? I think Nintendo should add at least Daisy, Waluigi, have Koopa Troopa make a return, and put Sonic in. Bigger tracks would be great as well and individual endings. (Yes, I realize you guys do not make the games.)

Thanks for your time!

-CJ



1. I'd say that the chances are very slim of this happening. It's one of the bigger PlayStation 2 games for this year, so I don't see Sony giving up its exclusivity all that easily.

2. The chances are very, very good.

3. Personally, I've never heard anything about that rumor from reliable sources, so I can't really comment on it.

4. The game comes packed in with a memory card in Japan and sells for pretty cheap. But other than that, there aren't many changes being made for the GameCube version.

5. I would venture to guess that the next Mario Kart will have online functionality. And I pray to the video game gods that the battle mode from Mario Kart 64 will be included along with the block fort map. That would be just about all I need.

Load Times Mean Little
[POSTED: 01-Jul-02]

 
Hi Shane,

I am sorry to see The Spot ending. I've looked at the Ask GameSpot! forum, and frankly, I don't care much for it. It seems to be full of questions where the question asker was ridiculed by other readers either for their choice of systems or their lack of knowledge dealing with their query. The vast amount of questions made it a little hard for me to find queries that I could use. The Spot was one of my favorite sections on GameSpot and I am sad to see it go.

Anyway, on to my questions. I own a PS2 and the other day I bought a GameCube and boy was I blown away. Even though the graphics where better than my PS2, what I really liked was how fast the games load on the GameCube. It was so fast I felt like I was playing a cartridge game with the benefits of stuff like FMV. Talk about cool. I have been wondering about a few games that will be released in the first half of 2003. One is called Animal Crossing and I was wondering if you knew if this was an offline game or online game? I could not tell from what I have read about it. Also, have you heard anything about Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life! for the GameCube? I've heard it's in development, but haven't seen anything on it. And lastly, do you think there is any chance now that Square and Nintendo made up that there will be a new Mario RPG for the GameCube?

Thanks for your time,

-Kevin



Sorry you're not down with the Ask GameSpot! forum, but you'll find that a lot more questions get answered than I could ever hope to tackle. Hopefully, in the long run, it will work out better for all our readers. Yeah, most people don't talk about it much, but the GameCube's load times are by far the quickest of the three consoles. I guess it just goes to show how wrong Nintendo's decision to use cartridges really was. Obviously, load times aren't a primary concern for most people. Animal Crossing is strictly offline, though you can play the game with up to three other players at the same time. Harvest Moon is still under wraps, though we should be hearing or seeing something about it fairly soon. If you ask me, a new Mario RPG should have been the first project that Nintendo and Square worked on. But you know, everyone has to get their Final Fantasy first. But I wouldn't be surprised if something comes up in the not-too-distant future regarding a new Mario RPG. Keep your fingers crossed.

Old-School Compilations
[POSTED: 01-Jul-02]

 
Shane,

Sorry to hear that you won't be doing The Spot any longer. I think that the new forum will work out nicely, though. Here is my question. Why doesn't someone publish a "Greatest Hits" for classic consoles? I would love to play some of the great games that I missed for Sega Saturn, Super Nintendo, Neo Geo etc. Couldn't someone just port these games easily to one of the new consoles? I would think that a lot of people would love to play the five or 10 best games from each console. The company making the game could just pay royalty fees to the respective studios who owned the rights to the games. The companies aren't making anything off the old games so I would think they would agree to it. Consumers could even vote on which games they want via the Internet. Am I crazy or do you think this is a good idea?

-Lucas



Well, the problem is that most people who want to play retro games are game collectors and would rather have the actual old copies. I'm sure that a few people would like to catch up on what they missed years ago, but not most. Plus, there have already been a variety of compilations released. Most publishers have already dusted off their old properties for the Game Boy Advance and Game Boy Color. Even compilations of Intellivision games have been released. Obviously, there are some that have slipped through the cracks, but at this point we've got to assume that the research has already been done to determine just which games are worth bringing back for another go.

Steel Battalion for the Disabled?
[POSTED: 01-Jul-02]

 
Hey Shane,

I'm writing to tell you about a dilemma I'm facing. I'm a disabled gamer. Most of my best gaming friends are disabled as well. Our favorite type of game is a racing game, yet I can't experience Project Gotham, Rallisport Challenge, or Gran Turismo with a steering wheel/pedal configuration, because it is physically impossible for me to do so. It's no major loss though. The games are still fun with the default controllers.

It just so happens that my band of friends and I are also Mech Warrior and Armored Core devotees who love mech games. Naturally, we're excited about Steel Battalion. However, as far as I know, the game will only be playable with the special controller--one that includes three foot pedals.

Do you think Capcom will realize that there are a lot people like me out there who are really excited about this game but will be unable to play because it requires the use of a foot pedal? There will be people who simply cannot play this game. As such, Capcom should find some alternative method to accommodate those that may not have the ability to push a foot pedal, or possess the reach to hit 47 buttons spread three feet apart in a timely manner. What're your thoughts on the issue?

We'll miss ya,

-Franchise4505



I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the chances of Capcom making another controller for the game or making it so that it's possible to play it with a controller are practically nil. The game requires all the knobs and sliders to play, and to remove the foot pedals would mean that you'd have to do even more with your hands, which is practically impossible. Capcom is looking at taking a big loss on this game, so making it accessible to as many people as possible makes sense. But the game is designed with the elaborate controller in mind, and it would require the team to scrap the gameplay and start over. And in all honesty, it's probably the fiscally responsible thing to do.

GameSpotters Forever?
[POSTED: 01-Jul-02]

 
Hey Shane,

It's sad seeing the last edition of The Spot, but it had to come. In honor of it, I thought I'd send a more peculiar question I had. I know that video games only recently became very popular, and that's why GameSpot is still fairly new. Since GameSpot is still pretty young, all you editors are fairly young. However, the video game industry and GameSpot covering it should be here to stay (hopefully). So my question is, do you think you and your fellow editors will still work at GameSpot when you guys are 50 or 60 years old? GameSpot would definitely be different if run by 60-year-olds instead of 30-year-olds. Anyway, just a question I thought I'd ask since it was the last edition of The Spot.

-Vineel

Well, chances are, most of us will have moved on to do other things by then. There are plenty of video game journalists who came before us and are no longer writing about games. Most of them moved on to develop games or to other various factions of the industry, such as public relations or marketing. So don't be surprised if you come back here 10 years from now and realize that most of the staff that's here now has struck out to try something new. To be honest, I don't really see how a person at the ages you mentioned could do this job. You rarely get all the sleep your body needs, you sit on your butt almost 18 hours a day gaining weight, there's a great deal of traveling involved, and playing video games or typing for hours on end probably isn't the best thing for someone with a wicked case of arthritis.

Sony Turning the Tables?
[POSTED: 01-Jul-02]

 
Hey Shane,

Forgive my pandering, but I'd like to say first that I really enjoy your column. I've got a few questions.

1. As a PS2 owner, it's been disheartening to see Sony lying down while Nintendo and Microsoft port almost every third-party PS2 game to their systems. Why hasn't Sony been making more effort to keep more games exclusive? Or, if certain games must be multiplatform, why doesn't Sony take a cue from Microsoft and get exclusive levels and such (as in Spider-Man)?

2. Likewise, why doesn't Sony give the GC and Xbox a taste of their own 'tussin? Couldn't Sony woo its third-party developers to port new, updated incarnations to the PS2? My biggest gripe is with the Sega games not appearing on Sony's system, but I'd also like to see the Buffy and Bruce Lee games make the transition. I can't believe Sony has done so little to maintain its iron grip when the GameCube and Xbox rely so much on a "what can we take from Sony now?" strategy.

3. How do developers usually decide which system(s) to develop for? Seriously, it seems like they play a rousing game of rock, paper, scissors or shoot craps or something. "Game A will appear for Xbox and GC, but if the Packers beat the spread, we'll release a half-assed GBA version three months later."

4. Will we ever see a good "Mana"-series game again?

Much thanks.

-Remy

1. Well, Sony generally gets the third-party games first, so I'm not really sure just what you're complaining about. Sure, the games generally look better on the GameCube and Xbox, but there's nothing that can be done about the PlayStation 2 hardware.

2. Well, I think that Sony's advantage is that it gets the games first. How many people would buy a PlayStation 2 version of a game that looks worse than the GameCube or Xbox versions? I guess we'll find out when Wreckless is released, eh?

3. First of all, developers usually don't make that decision. It's the publisher that comes to them and asks if they're willing to develop specific games. Developers who start a project without a publisher lined up usually choose the platform that will make their game look the best with the least effort. Or sometimes they listen to public relations babble that says a certain console is for people of specific ages or inclinations. If all else fails, pin the tail on the donkey always works.

4. No, I doubt it. The last game bombed pretty hard after people figured out it kind of sucked.

How to Find Answers?
[POSTED: 01-Jul-02]

 
Hey Shane,

I understand why you're not doing The Spot anymore, and I guess I'll live. However, I'm a basic user and I want to still have my questions answered. You mentioned that if we send a message to The Spot's e-mail address it could get answered in the Ask GameSpot! forum. How? Whose name will it be under? Thanks in advance and I can't end without saying this--thank you for running the best Q&A column anywhere on the Internet. Good luck with everything in the future. You will be missed.

-Ty

Basically, all the questions that are sent to The Spot's e-mail address will be forwarded to the appropriate platform director. If you asked a question about the PlayStation 2, chances are, Jeff Gerstmann will answer it in the forum. If you asked a question about the Xbox, you should look for Ricardo Torres' name. And if you have some questions about the GameCube or Game Boy Advance, you'll find your answers under my name. Thanks for the kind words, Ty. They're truly appreciated.

The Perfect Letter
[POSTED: 01-Jul-02]

 
Shane,

I will not kiss your a** in my first paragraph. I will hold back from telling you "I've written a million times so please post just this one" in order to guilt you into answering me. Then I will refrain from accusing you and the whole world of Xbox bias. I won't ask six questions in a nice numbered list, so by the time readers get to your fifth answer they won't have already forgotten the question. I'll try to be as grammatically correct as I can.

I'll make sure my questions haven't been answered twenty times in other parts of GameSpot. I won't, however, ask something so off-the-wall you'll have to ask another editor. Nor will I ask your opinion of what console to buy, since as a GameSpot reader, I should be and am quite aware of what machines fit my tastes.

Finally, I'll ask you a question that has nothing to do with me, a question that just shows I care. What are you going to do with your extra free time now? And how the heck do I modify my PS2's DVD player so it won't prompt me to enter a parental control password each time I put in an R-rated movie?

-Patrick

Well, this letter pretty much sums up our experiences together in The Spot over the past year. It's an excellent job on your part, Patrick. It shows that you've been reading very closely. As for your questions, you can set the DVD options so that your PS2 will play R-rated movies without a problem. Although, some discs seem to bring up the menu on my console every once in a while for what seems like no reason. What will I be doing with my free time? Eating, sleeping, and finally enjoying my other hobbies like DJ'ing once again.

I guess this is the part where I get teary-eyed and say, "I love you, man." And in all honesty, I really do. I'd like to thank everyone for writing in and making the column an interesting read every day. And yes, I even thank the Xbox zealots who have ripped me on message boards and called me everything in the book. Without you, this column would have never had any spice, and I thank you for contributing. It's been great getting to know all of you, and I'll remember many of the regulars who contributed excellent questions on a daily basis. And always remember that without GameSpot's readers, The Spot never would have been. So give yourselves a nice pat on the back for making this column what it was. Take care everyone, and see you on the Ask GameSpot! forums. Shane out.