Nintendo Retro Revival

The Nintendo Gamecube has sometimes been called the "kiddie cube" for its large number of games geared towards children (e.g. Pokemon). Nintendo is eager to change that image with a slew of games geared towards the older age groups being released this holiday season.

Nintendo has increased its marketing budget by 25 percent and will be releasing 80 new games in the fourth quarter. Games such as Resident Evil Ø, Metroid Prime, Phantasy Star Online, Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance, and Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance are among the selections targeting older gamers.

New releases like Resident Evil Ø and Metroid Prime are based on well-known and successful series that many older gamers are familiar with.

Additional marketing dollars are going towards the Nintendo Cube Clubs, which will be set up in 15 cities and feature a selection of games for visitors to try out.

Nintendo is also promoting its new games with events such as the Metroid Prime Talent and Adventure contest. Nintendo is challenging college students to display the words "Metroid Prime" in some unique and daring way (for example, by forming a human pyramid of the words at a football game).

The prize is $1,000 and a Gamecube system for each of the five team members, and a Metroid Prime party on the college campus to which 200 people could be invited. Eric Nies of MTV's Real World would host the party and Jennifer Lopez's personal DJ would serve the dance music. The contest deadline is this Thursday.

Nintendo's strong marketing push and array of new mature games may help them attain a foothold in the gaming market across all age ranges. "[Nintendo] could do exceedingly well this Christmas," said Mike Laidlaw, console editor at Adrenaline Vault, a gaming review website.

Although the console gaming market makes billions of dollars annually, analysts still question whether the three major console companies will each be able to get a slice of the pie large enough to prosper and remain competitive. Microsoft's Xbox has rapidly picked up momentum, sporting some of the most advanced hardware, and Sony's Playstation 2 has the widest range of games available.

"There's always been an old adage that the market can't support three systems," said Laidlaw. In the past, when three game companies have competed for the console market, one of the companies has ended up failing or falling into the background. Sega, for example, was driven out of the industry as a hardware manufacturer.

Laidlaw thinks this time may be different. "We've never had huge titanic companies battling it out before," he said. "I think this might be a time when the three can coexist - not necessarily in harmony, but there's enough to support three systems."

With over 180 games available for the Gamecube by 2003 and many of the new games geared toward older gamers, Nintendo hopes to position itself for a strong seat in the gaming market.