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Here's a little ditty I wrote back in 2001.

E

Ecrofirt

Member
Just found this on my hard drive. It's an article I wrote for the Nformant back in January 2001.

2001 Predictions
by James O'Meara
1/5/01

The year 2001 is going to be one of the biggest years in recent video game history. The debut of both GameCube and Xbox is set to happen this year, along with the release of the Game Boy Advance. Play Station 2’s second generation software, and Dreamcast’s third generation software are going to be hitting shelves this year. Without a doubt, this will be an interesting year in video game history, making and breaking some companies. The following are my predictions of how this year will turn out. Read them, won’t you?

In May, E³ rolls around, and brings with it many new and exciting things regarding video games. I believe that this E³ will belong to Nintendo and Microsoft, both companies trying to outdo one another. Nintendo has absolutely no reason to hold anything back with GameCube, and will give everything that it’s got. There will probably be lots of demos shown, and lots of playable games. Nintendo will also be showcasing its pride and joy, the Game Boy Advance, and I expect them to give it everything they’ve got there. I’m talking games, demos, you name it. Microsoft simply cannot stay in the dark any longer with Xbox, so I’m sure they’ll come out with guns-a-blazing. Microsoft has to, or they’ll become what Nintendo was when GameCube was known as Dolphin. Microsoft will probably have game demos, playable games, and videos of games. It’s hard to say who will steal the show at E³, as Microsoft and Nintendo will both be giving it their all. I believe that Playstation 2 and Dreamcast will take the back seat this year, and watch as Nintendo and Microsoft get all the ooh’s and ahh’s.

Nothing too spectacular will happen until around July when Nintendo releases the Game Boy Advance to the US market. This by far will be Nintendo’s hit of the year, probably much more than console systems. The Game Boy Advance will supposedly have roughly 55 titles at launch; this is more than the PS2’s American launch. I’m almost positive that the Game Boy Advance will sell through the roof for Nintendo, since Nintendo literally owns the handheld market. Nintendo will go unchallenged again with its new handheld game system, and everyone will love it. I know I will.

Come September, Nintendo should have its annual Space World, where they’ll show off GameCube and Game Boy Advance software. I think Space World will make headlines, but will be nothing like the magnitude E³ was. Sure, there’ll be new games and stuff, but all the magic will be gone. I don’t think that too many people will be interested in Space World, if Nintendo even decides to have one this year. Too many Nintendo fans will be looking forward the end of October, when GameCube finally arrives.

Also starting around September, the PlayStation 2 and Dreamcast will start new generations of software. Dreamcast will have its third year software come out, and Play Station 2 will have its second do the same. I don’t think that the Dreamcast will be able to hold on much longer, not because it’s not capable of doing so, because it’s not going to be getting enough quality third party support. You’ll never see most of the RPGs on Dreamcast that you’ll see on the PlayStation 2, and this will end up affecting the console in a major way. PlayStation 2, on the other hand, has all the major developers and publishers behind it. With games coming out from companies like Square, Konami, and Capcom, I don’t see how the Play Station 2 could screw up in the upcoming year. I’m expecting some great titles to come out of the Play Station 2 this upcoming year, because if there aren’t any good titles on it, then Xbox and GameCube will completely wipe it out.

I think that once the end of October hits, many Nintendo fans will be very happy with GameCube. I think the price of GameCube is going to be $200, for the console and one controller. I’m hoping there’s somewhere between 35 and 50 launch titles, but I’m expecting there to actually be somewhere around 25 launch titles available for launch. I think the GameCube will slaughter the Xbox, leaving it ground to dust. The competition between GameCube and Play Station 2 will be neck and neck, but in my opinion, I think the Play Station 2 will initially win out. Yes, I may be a Nintendo fan, and yes, I do think that GameCube will eventually come out on top, but I think the Play Station 2 will initially sell better than the GameCube.

Before the end of the year, when the Xbox releases, I think it won’t live up anywhere near its hype. I think that the Xbox will fail horribly, and become a laughing stock. Not that I hate Microsoft, I just do not think that too many people are interested in its upcoming game system. I do not think that Microsoft has really reached out and grabbed the interest of enough game players to have a successful system.

Once the holiday season rolls around, I think that the GameCube and GameCube software will be the hottest thing in the way of console gaming. Because it is a new system, and because it’s from Nintendo, I think that the demand for GameCube will be immense. I think that the Play Station 2 will come in a very, very, close second to Nintendo’s GameCube, with its second generation software. And finally, I think that Sega will barely be able to keep up with Dreamcast, and will probably see its last Christmas as a hardware maker.

During the holiday season for handheld gaming systems, without a doubt, Nintendo will rule with an iron fist. The Game Boy Advance will be in extremely short supply, and the good games for it will be hard to find. I think that Nintendo will have proven once again that it rules the handheld world.

These are my predictions for the year 2001, and they should be taken with a grain of salt. Some of my predictions may come true, they may all come true, or none of them may come true. It’s up to you, the average gamer, to decide. Make your decisions carefully; they could affect the future of gaming for years to come.
Click to expand...

I LOL'd.

Oh, to be 15 and stupid yet again.

I was also a pretty terrible writer. I wouldn't have finished reading that if it wasn't for the hilarity inside.
 
i like how your reasons for Gamecube being the 'hottest thing' in 2001 was because it's a new system, and because it's Nintendo. Rock solid predictions, backed up by powerful facts.

good stuff
 
Ecrofirt, let me take some heat off you. I was recently reading some of the stuff I wrote for an N64 fansite I did with a few friends many years back. Some of it I still found I mostly agreed with, some of it was a bit silly, but this one... well, if someone else had posted this, I wouldn't have remembered writing it myself, and would have thought this person went on to become a crazy fanfic writer.

JoshuaJSlone said:
Ideas & Thoughts: Donkey Kong 64
8-Oct-97
Do you remember the Donkey Kong game for GameBoy? It was the original Donkey Kong game, except with improvements and a LOT more levels(around 100). It's a really great game, and is one of those cool action games where there's a puzzle aspect in it. Now I'm thinking, what if they did that for all 3 Donkey Kong games (original, Jr., 3), with 50-100 levels of each?

Actually, now that I think about it, with the way that Jr. and 3 are, could you really make a lot of stages out of them? I don't think so... but I do remember that in the GameBoy DK there was a stage set up like Jr., with all the vines and critters crawling down them and such. So they could integrate a few levels like that into the main game...

But that would nearly ruin my other big idea. Adding a bit of a storyline to it. Not an RPG-rate story or anything, but something to help explain how DK was bad, then Mario went psycho in Jr., and now they seem buddy-buddy. I'm thinking possibly someone's messing with their mind. I mean, doesn't it seem like you could easily integrate that someone is controlling DK, and later Mario? And once you got to the end, you could see who it was. Now, they could take the easy route, and say it's Bowser. What a surprise, eh? But if they made it someone unexpected... that'd make it interesting... say, Andross? He's from the future (while this game is supposed to be taking place 10-15 years ago, see?), and is jealous at which ape is more famous, so he's out to change all that. Of course, it's one of those pre-destination paradoxes, where he ends up causing them to become famous, but...

But whatever they do with the improved version of the game, they should include arcade-perfect originals. Hey, even with just that, it's already beat that DK/DK Jr. compilation that was on NES! :)
Click to expand...


EDIT: Actually here is something much more like Ecrofirt's, though I didn't reach quite the same conclusions. In short it was written in late 2000, and comparing the advantages each of the 3 (Sega, Sony, Nintendo) manufacturers had from the '95-ish generation to the '00-ish generation, figured Nintendo had gained the most advantages while Sony had gained the least, so things would be more even the next time. Bzzzt!
 
Bless spirit ditties of no tone.
Inspirations. Unsensations.
Modulate more silence.

You and I may forsee.
We can be history.
Painted on wall that's near.
Ought to.

Montage fragments.
Ditties of no tone.
 
Nintendo literally owns the handheld market. Nintendo will go unchallenged again with its new handheld game system, and everyone will love it.
Click to expand...

At least your predictions weren't a total failure.
 
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