Portable Gamecube rumor returns briefly
by Ludwig Kietzmann 
{ Aug 7th 2006 at 8:55PM }
For several minutes, in fact. Earlier today, IGN's Matt Casamassina posted an article that served to round up several wily Wii rumors, including the usual price ($229) and launch date (2 Nov. or 12 Nov.) suspects. More interesting, however, was the indication given by mysterious sources that IBM was in the process of shrinking and slowing down the Wii's Broadway chip for a "future Nintendo handheld -- presumably one that plays Gamecube discs."Before the rumor managed to fully set in and plunge the masses into unyielding seizures of delight, the article was promptly pulled from the site and replaced by a decidedly unhelpful update. "At the request of our sources, who do not wish to go to jail this week, we have temporarily removed the Wii rumors piece that was posted earlier." Apparently, the oppressive and joyless Nintendo police were none too pleased with people blabbering about portable Gamecubes to IGN. When the article reappeared, all mention of it had been removed, spirited away to some great rumor recycle bin (send our love to the holographic projector).
Perhaps that's all there is to this story -- there is no portable Gamecube and the article's editing serves no purpose other than to make it more accurate. Of course, when an article is admittedly based entirely on whispered secrets and industry murmurings, why yank it just to edit out one rumor in particular? Or could it be another high-larious prank devised by Matt's IGN pals? Time will tell, though we'd rather it be an impatient and stocky time attending the Leipzig Games Convention.
[Thanks Master X 24 & Ryoma!]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Ben18 @ Aug 7th 2006 9:02PM
If this rumor where to ever come true I would probably wet myself on spot, or at least crack a smile. I think Sony proved the handheld is capable of high end graphics, but I think it will be Nintendo to truly put it all together, and make quite the promising handheld. FYI I do own a DS Lite, but I'm a little bored waiting for FFIII. I think the gamecube disc would be great, but controlling it would sure be weird if it were to play gamecube games ( A/B buttons, analong stick, c stick, d-pad), they'd have to find some intuitive way to work that out. Who knows if this is in the works, but don't doubt Nintendo.
spoo @ Aug 7th 2006 9:07PM
Meh, I don't play my GCN now. Why would I play a portable GCN then?
Li'l Mac @ Aug 7th 2006 9:23PM
It doesn't make sense that Nintendo would be doing so little, at this stage, to encourage third-party development for the Cube if it were working on a portable version. The "presumably" in that anonymous quote is what stands out to me; why would anyone "presume" that Nintendo was going to make a mini-Gamecube? It also seems to me, from much of what Nintendo has been saying lately -- and from the way it soft-peddled Super Paper Mario and Twilight Princess GCN at E3 -- that the company's in a hurry to put the Gamecube "brand name" (and the Cube itself, w/its adorable handle, purple plastic frame, and hated "kiddie" rep) in the rearview mirror as soon as possible.
n3rrd @ Aug 7th 2006 9:44PM
I also don't see this as a smart move for Nintendo. Nothing they've done up to this point would support this claim, either. They've been on the record saying that the GameCube is basically dead, and it has but a few breaths left (Paper Mario, Zelda, etc.)
For the record, I don't understand why everyone points out the purple thing about the GameCube. Sure, the GameCube was purple. The power and reset switches, as well as the A, B, X and Y buttons on the SNES were purple. The Gameboy Color was launched in purple, and atomic purple. The Gameboy Advance was purple...
jopojelly @ Aug 7th 2006 9:47PM
How about this, the mini-gamecube plays DS games when held one way, (like wonderswan) with both screens on one wide screen. The whole screen is one big touchscreen. It also has a slot for gamecube discs, and plays them on them on the widescreen in 480P resolution. (or, instead of a gamecube slot, an SD slot, with gamecube games playable if uploaded from the minigamecube discs from an adaptor on the Wii. Also virtual consol games).
It also plays Wiiboy games (on miniDVDs or SD cards, or virtual store), which are played on one large widescreen. Wiiboy games have better than GC graphics and touchsreen functions.
Wiiboy!!
Exo @ Aug 7th 2006 9:47PM
Even though this so far is a rumor, how come everyone is instantly assuming that it will be a portable gamecube?
When it has come to nintendo handhelds, they usually hold back a little in terms of technology so the system has a better handheld experience. DS uses carts to save on battery power, It also has dowplayed graphics and power making multiplayer single cart possible.
If nintendos next handheld has cube like power, I doubt that it would play cube games. and most likely still wont cd's.
Id say they would make a succesor to DS, with maybe support for 3d on both screens,a nd the touch screen also being pressure sensitive.
even then its stilla good 3 years till we would see a new nitnendo handheld, not including newer ds remakes.
Rabble @ Aug 7th 2006 9:59PM
Even if this rumor was true or not, it looks really uncomfortable, I couldn't imagine play any games like Super Smash Brothers Melee on something like that.
Maxiv @ Aug 7th 2006 10:00PM
I find it kinda humorous that some individuals probably will overhype a *Portable Gamecube/GameBoy Evolution*, but downplay something very similar (such as the PSP). Anyway its pretty obvious whatever upcoming Handheld Nintendo is working on, it will probably take the power route (with a bit less on innovation).
Leo @ Aug 7th 2006 10:01PM
This definitely just sounds like a rumor. The PSP proves that discs (and their spinning parts and loading times) are just NOT good for handhelds -- trust me, I own a DS and PSP and load time should NOT be present in a handheld. Also, I doubt that Nintendo would want to saturate the market that much with ANOTHER handheld because it would canibalize sales from the DS Lite.
I think Nintendo is perfectly happy with the success of the DS and I doubt will see a DS Lite successor for a good while still. That is one nifty handheld...
Pretty Obvious @ Aug 7th 2006 10:11PM
Ive been saying this for the past 2 years and quite frankly if Nintendos next iteration of the Gameboy doesnt play Cube games then Nintendo is the biggest dumbass company in the market, here is why.
1. This portable Gamecube would launch with a full roster of games, all of which look better then the PSP.
2. Imagine Resident Evil 4 in your pocket.
3. Developers are already familiar with making games on the Cube so expect good games right out the gate, assuming third party gets better for the Cube. This would be a rebirth of the Gamecube so to speak.
This is really a no-brainer, If Nintendo can do this right. Get the controls for the portable perfect and battery life up there around the DS then this will be the best portable Nintendo has ever developed.
rubaiyat @ Aug 7th 2006 10:16PM
Gotta agree with six
Though Nintendo COULD honor the 3rd tier gambit they mentioned with the DS by making a new Gameboy be a hybrid handheld console while leaving the DS for cheap, wacky games.
Could release it in 2008 or so to give the DS a good 4 years to grow on its own and still be developed after that like the GBA (with new games slowly petering out, but still supported 2-3 years after).
rubaiyat @ Aug 7th 2006 10:23PM
To 10
Of course those are the problems right?
I'd love for N to do this, but don't let wishful thinking cloud logic.
Getting the controls right, battery life up (with a higher res screen, using discs not optimized for a portable, and having beefier hardware)...it's not a trivial thing to accomplish. And the load times...
So I'd hardly consider Nintendo a dumbass company if they couldn't or decide not to invest in the R&D to make it happen, cause you're asking for a lot.
Would I eat it up and love it? Given N's track record, I'd figure that the problems would be mostly dealt with (at least by the second version) and I'd buy both...but I don't think it a slam dunk either technically or philosphically.
Willo @ Aug 7th 2006 10:28PM
Not going to happen. Not now, not never. Battery life and load times will, for Nintendo, always trump storage capacity.
Gerwurztraminer @ Aug 7th 2006 10:31PM
oooh oooh, i know, a portable Gamecube with Gameboy Player so that one could play Super Mario Advance. Which would make it an NES game remade on SNES emulated on GBA played on a portable GCN!
OR some Wii-DS connectivity would be nice. a la Animal Crossing NES games from GCN to GBA.
Pretty Obvious @ Aug 7th 2006 11:04PM
#12 How are the GC discs not optimized for a portable? They are perfect for a portable. Though I have lost confidence in Nintendo because of the Cube. I have faith that they can somehow pull this off. IBM can shrink the cube hardware and make it easy on the battery and Cube loading times for most of its Games are not shabby.
We will see though, the next 2 years will def be interesting on the portable side of things....
Rare Hare @ Aug 7th 2006 11:09PM
The thing is, though, that the thing would be freaking huge (at least as handhelds go). I definately wouldn't want to carry the thing around with me, so where would I play it? That's right, sitting on my bed at home, where I could just as easily play a real GameCube on a bigger screen.
Paul P. @ Aug 7th 2006 11:28PM
Matt Cassmassina is a moron. This is the same guy who in an update hypothesized that the Wii remote could be a one megapixel digital camera based on the grid size. He has repeatedly shown himself to, well, know nothing. He may get information sometimes, but I don't think the poor guy knows what any of it means.
If nintendo were trying to shrink the GCN chipset, it probably would be for a handheld, but dollars to donuts that handheld would not be running gamecube discs. A disc system just doesn't work. And I'd wager if Nintendo were doing such a thing, they would just now be entering R&D, aiming for release not until several years from now.
cringer8 @ Aug 7th 2006 11:29PM
Rare Hare is one step ahead of me again. Too big.
This is the most ridiculous rumor I've heard since stereoscopic visors for the Wii.
Put it to bed, people. A portable GC will never happen.
Now, could Nintendo have a handheld in the works that will utilize Broadway and Hollywood and display Gamecube *quality* graphics? Of course they could.
That is probably what this rumor stemmed from.
JCA @ Aug 7th 2006 11:32PM
I've been salivating over this rumor for quite some time now but I've realized that at the earliest, this wouldn't come out till sometime in late 08, early 09.
Cannabalize sales of the DS? Nah....the DS's target market will be very mature by 2008-2009. By then it'd be a 4 year old product (not including at least 1 more refreshed DSLite).
Technologically feasable? With the Gamecube's video and baseband processors already being 6 years old, their is no reason why a smaller, faster and low-power consumption chipset can't be developed.
Battery life? Well its not like Moore's law or anything but battery cell manufacturers are constantly improving the capacity of the cells all the time. At least in the cellphone industry they seem to be. By 2008 - 2009, 3 solid hours of battery life would not be out of the question.
Bottom line is that if this thing comes out, it wouldn't just play Cube games as the cube itself would be kind of forgotten and unsupported by then. I'm thinking it will somehow support both the DS and Cube games. That is a tall order so yea....i dunno. :)
Matt @ Aug 7th 2006 11:36PM
If anybody can do anything even remotely close to this and make it good (ie: PSP only good) then Nintendo would be the one. With fifteen years of handheld experience, I have absolutley no doubts the next portable system they release would be spectacular.
Colin @ Aug 7th 2006 11:41PM
Did you see how small the Wii was? It's the size of three dvd cases stacked. If they shrink down the components of it, they could easily get it to be at least the size of the original GB's size. At that point, anything is possible.
My question is, if they are doing the portable GCN, what are they going to do with split-screen play?
JCA @ Aug 7th 2006 11:45PM
Oh one more thing....if it were to display "cube-like" graphics but wasn't going to play cube discs, what would it play? Carts? Hmmm...all I can say is uh, maybe. The type of reliable flash memory needed for something like this is way pricier than the cheap, error-prone NAND flash you get in your thumbdrive. 1.5Gigs of the more reliable NOR flash may cause game prices for this thing to be nutty.
Of course, they could just be increasing the resolution of the screen, bumping the processor horsepower and still create current DS quality games. Uhm, I doubt it.
Or, like others have said....they aren't thinking about doing this at all.
Li'l Mac @ Aug 8th 2006 12:06AM
#4:
I notice that the Wii isn't purple. And neither is the DS. (Hmm...)
For the record: I always liked Nintendo's purple hardware; it signaled that they weren't pretending that their latest game system was "really a computer" or a "digital entertainment station" or whatever.
On the other hand, while I liked the purple gear, I also thought, even from the SNES days, that it was a dumb move from a marketing perspective. To win and hold a majority market share, a game company has to get teenage boys on its side. And since teenage boys (as proven by literally ANY message board on ANY topic on ANY gaming site in the world) tend to be insecure, homophobic, misogynistic, humorless, etc., etc., a purple system seems like a strange idea. (Yes, I know, the pink DS is selling well in Japan, but come on: you can't seriously disagree with what I'm saying. Look at the way Microsoft designed the first Xbox. It looks like a tennis shoe!)
And even if the Wii is a huge success (as I predict/hope it will be), that won't prove that calling it the Wii was a good idea (as Nintendo will claim).
Paul P. @ Aug 8th 2006 12:09AM
By the time this hypothetical handheld came out, flash memory, or whatever they want to use for memory will have of course probably both gotten smaller and cheaper.
r-deezy @ Aug 8th 2006 12:24AM
"Even if this rumor was true or not, it looks really uncomfortable, I couldn't imagine play any games like Super Smash Brothers Melee on something like that."
hehe... that's good stuff. I LOVE 'rumors' that come complete with accurate pictures (c:
TheCyberweasel @ Aug 8th 2006 12:41AM
A close friend of mine at an EB Games had a Nintendo Rep mentioned that the next "Game Boy" will be able to play GC games and they're looking at including multimedia features comparable with the PSP. THAT was from about 4 months ago. He said that we should hear something late this year. So hearing THIS rumor makes me curious...
nambit @ Aug 8th 2006 1:47AM
I really can't stand how people jump the gun. They are talking about shrinking the Wii's Broadway chip, not the flipper. It's also just a graphics architecture, not the whole machine.
So we're not dealing with a portable cube, but something entirely different. So don't expect the media to be based on cube discs or anything. And for the uninformed, that pic is a (neat) personal project that someone did to make a portable gamecube.
I think it's a given that the next handheld will be based on the Wii's graphics chip. The question is, what physical architecture is it going to use?
x4str0m3ch @ Aug 8th 2006 2:09AM
"My question is, if they are doing the portable GCN, what are they going to do with split-screen play?"
you don't get split-screen on on handhelds. If there was any multiplayer it would have to be wired/wireless communication.
imo, IGN is throwing out alot of lame rumors, lately.
jordan @ Aug 8th 2006 3:19AM
ok, this makes perfect sense for the doubters, A, you have gamecube graphics, and you have any old gamecube disc, B, you know it will play at least GBA games too, and C, it might even have a touch screen, or two to play DS games, think of that, 3 separate systems in one, plus the "new handheld" would get developers flocking! could you imagine a DS with GC graphics or better? That would be freakin' sweet!!!
rubaiyat @ Aug 8th 2006 4:19AM
@15
They are not optimized for a handheld because the data has not been formatted to require shorter and fewer reads. This requires the disc to spin and the laser to read, both high power consuming activities.
The games already released gave no thought to power consumption. Sure, many games don't necessarily require much reading from the disc, but many do. And thus the GC format is not optimized.
The small form factor is but a small part to it. That simply makes a portable possible, not optimized.
pixelator @ Aug 8th 2006 4:47AM
I say this would be a brilliant move for Nintendo.
Think about it - GBA is on its way out, the bottom-rung system compared to the (don't buy the third pillar nonsense) DS. When it's gone, there will be no ubercheap handheld. That is, until the DS Lite goes to $99.
When that happens, if a disc-based GC portable were to premiere with a cart port that runs GBA and maybe even DS games, it would take the revered Gameboy name and make it the high end handheld again.
There's no exact mandate for it being disc based, either (although the whiners about loading times are to be ignored, since even PSP disc accesses have dropped oevrall in the last year). After all, you could put games on a flash card - or make them downloadable. If Nintendo made this 'Gameboycube' portable truly GC compatible, there could be an online service ala Sony's upcoming PS1 downloads for the PSP. Or, it could simply play the mini GC discs. Either way would work for me.
I'd be anxious to see how they pull it all off, if it goes that route. The GC controller won't be easy to replicate in a portable.
Jay @ Aug 8th 2006 6:33AM
Dare I say it, it makes sense. Or at least follows Nintendo's own path.
NES- Gameboy Colour
SNES- Gameboy Advance
N64- Nintendo DS
Gamecube- ???
Wii- *probably not even possible*
The time will come. It will re-ignite the Gamecube scene just as if Sega made a true portable Dreamcast. if Sony made a portable PS1, dedicated to so, it would be a huge seller. Using the old PS1 resolution so theres no upscaling or anything. I know the PSP is allegedly going to play PS1 games, but I'm talking a cheaper, dedicated machine.
Kenofthedead @ Aug 8th 2006 6:46AM
Perhaps the idea is not for a portable, but for a smaller Gamecube?
Remember what Sega did for the Mega Drive?
They made three diffrent versions of the Mega Drive, each smaller then the last. The last one was a combo Mega Drive and Sega CD that worked as a portable CD player.
Same for Sony and their PS to PSOne and then PS2 to PS2 slim.
Now I don't want a portable Gamecube anyway unless they knew how to fix the screen ratio and resolution.
I still have issues with Sega's Nomad. Trying to play a Mega Drive game on that was horrible.
Then comes the problems with battery life, load times, and all the other small things that bug me on the PSP.
Waccoon @ Aug 8th 2006 6:58AM
Shrunken Broadway CPU? Probably. There's no reason a custom PPE can't power a hand-held system with minimal power consumption.
I think a lot of people missed the word "presumably", though. There's no way optical storage would ever find its way into a Nintendo hand-held system. :)
sockatume @ Aug 8th 2006 7:14AM
So basically all the Nintendo fans here want a technologically advanced handheld running off disks. Which would be a PSP. Hmm. Let's have a look at Nintendo's approach this generation:
1) Cheap to develop games
2) Innovative interfaces
3) Internet play
Let's look at what a portable GC would bring:
1) Games which cost as much to develop as GC games.
2) Competition from the existing GameCube software library.
3) No internet play
And let's not forget the idea of playing existing GC games on it. What about GC multiplayer titles, or the titles with text which would be vanishingly small on a portable?
As for a smaller, sleeker GameCube, I think the Wii has that base covered already.
sizcoz @ Aug 8th 2006 7:18AM
Maybe it's a little Wii portable, 'Game cube' branding has to die, ASAP.
http://www.nintendoinfo.com
Lou D @ Aug 8th 2006 7:36AM
2GB SD cards sell for ~$40 these days.
I'd pay that for a portable card-base 'Cube game. Battery life would still be high and they can sell an external 'Cube drive that plugs into a car lighter socket or wall and employs a rechargable battery pack.
It's IPL could have the GBA player software built-in and could use what would be the high-speed port on the GC and a GBA slot. The ethernet port could be made into a wireless connection and allow for some wirless LAN Mario Kart:Double Dash!
No touch screen. That would raise the price to high. Have memory card flash ram built into it or put that on the external drive unit as well for transferring saves.
Use a 6"x4.5" 480p screen. Allow the external drive to play mp3 3" DVD's as well. Maybe add the Opera browser to the IPL as well. Convert the unused Serial Port 1 into a USB port.
This would extend the life of all 'Cube software and could be sold for $180 and still be a better value than the PSP.
DG @ Aug 8th 2006 8:51AM
No way this would happen. We might be playing Super Mario Sunshine on a portable in a few years, but it won't be on a GCN disk. NES carts have been switched to GBA, N64 carts to DS, and presumably GCN discs to something else in the future.
Nintendo makes tons selling the same game to us over and over again. I doubt they would be willing to forego the GCN "retro" market that is sure to exist in a couple of years.
Jake @ Aug 8th 2006 9:49AM
They will not make a Cube boy. It is kind of a cool idea in that they would have a vast library of games already and the portable games could also be played in a Wii. It is possible, though, for all of the naysayers. Heck, the Wii is prettymuch portable and plays Cube games.
I agree with someone above that it is more likely that they are working on something that is based on the same architecture as the cube.
Would it be beneficial for their next handheld (assuming it is something like a cubeboy) to have games playable in a Wii?
Derbeste @ Aug 8th 2006 10:18AM
Think people. Nintendo is already introducing the virtual console for downloading games.........Including GCN games.
Wii will support SD ram........
It's not a huge leap to suspect that Nintendo could make a portable console that supports SD RAM and could link up wirelessly to their virtual console server.
It would basically be like saying, "well...everyone already emulates our past games....why not make a little money off it and make it portable for them too?"
For all we know, you might be able to connect this rumored portable to the Wii and tansfer download virtual console games that way too.
But I agree with everyone above. There is NO way Nintendo will EVER use a spinning disk in a handheld. Not with digital distribution, SD RAM, and up and coming solution being so viable.
One thing they will NOT do either is go back to a power portable. They've made way too much money and put too much PR into their "disruption" campaign. If they are making another portable, it may be able to play GCN quality virtual console games, but it WILL have a twist. Probably still touch screen and maybe something else hereto unknown.
But I will say this....the fact that they are shrinking an old processor rather than designing completely new architexture suggests they may want the portable to easily emulate older software....hmmmmmmm.
Keits @ Aug 8th 2006 10:23AM
Are some of you dense? This is genius.
A portable that LAUNCHES with HUNDREDS of available games... many of which are 20 dollars and are tripple A titles.
Plus, developers get to work on dev kits that they already own and are comfortable with....
PLUS, these GC disc can be purchased and played on the portable OR shoved right into the Wii, increasing its library as well.
Now, when a dev makes a Gamecube game, he is selling potentially to anyone that owns a GC, a Portable GC, or a Wii. Thats a giant audience, potentially, with which you could see an amazing return on your investment.
sockatume @ Aug 8th 2006 11:44AM
#40: The problem is that nobody actually makes GC games any more, with a few exceptions. It's reached the stage where the UK's largest games retailer doesn't stock GameCube hardware or software. The UK's largest electronics retailer unceremoniously dropped the Cube two years ago. The GC is on the way out.
Four years ago, with the momentum of the GC to pull it along, a handheld like this would've been a great idea. Today, the GC wouldn't bring momentum. It would be a concrete overcoat.
On top of that, it's asking developers to push home-console-sized teams onto a handheld project. Unless you expect them to use smaller teams and develop handheld-friendly games, in which case there's little point making the games playable on a home console.
And finally, technology. A portable GC would be like the PSP, or the Game Gear: a portable built around being as powerful as a home console. Nintendo have rejected that approach with very good reason in the past.
Read the facts in the article, and ignore the speculation. IBM are working on a smaller, slower Broadway. So no doubt Nintendo are working on a handheld which is approachable for GC and Wii developers. That's all we know.
x4str0m3ch @ Aug 8th 2006 12:17PM
@32.
Sega themselves didn't actually make the third generation Genesis/Megadrive, Majesco, it was released in 1998 as a budget console.
x4str0m3ch @ Aug 8th 2006 12:19PM
*majesco developed it
sorry. :p
Mr Butterscotch @ Aug 9th 2006 6:18PM
I must say, I haven't played the Cube in a long time. Mr Xbox is now in the plugpoint that was designated Cube point. Ah well, what can you do...
anonymous @ Aug 15th 2006 10:56AM
Its... Possible. The whole Gamedisc idea wouldn't work, they should just have some kind of download thing. download the game on to your portable gamecube (only works on one POrtable GAmecube). The other side could be used for your memory card. I say go for it, as Nintendo has got to have a portable gamecube. Thats what I've been saying my whole life.
willie @ Aug 29th 2006 6:59PM
Someone had mentioned how they don't play their GCN now, so why would they play a portable one. Well.. The 'portable' games won't take up as much space on a disc because their graphics will be formatted for the portable screen. Therefore, new games will be larger, longer, better, blah blah blah. If this happens it will be the greatest day of my life.