C3 Special | Should the Q be Released Abroad?

By Adam Riley 01.01.2004

The Q Debate: Should it be Released Outside Japan?
One man's rambling thoughts on what Nintendo should do...

Article by Adam Riley (jesusraz)

A C3 Special Investigation Should the Q Come Abroad? Long live the GC: SP!

The Q Debate
Not many of you will realise this, but over in Japan there is an attractive, metallic version of the GameCube that goes by the name of 'Q'. No, this is not a special James Bond-esque machine, although it does come with several additional features that simply cannot be found on a regular 'Cube. Developed by Matsushita, otherwise known as Panasonic in the West, this elite model not only plays the same high-quality gaming products, but can also mimic other consoles by allowing the playback of normal music CDs, DVD movies and, when modified, (S)VCDs and MP3s! Also, since Panasonic are a DVD manufacturer and were given the rights to produce a high-quality DVD player with GameCube facilities tacked-on, it means that the standard of movie playback is far superior to the PS2 and XBOX, both of which are game consoles with DVD tacked-on the end. This, therefore, places the Q slightly higher in the pecking order than both the Sony PlayStation 2 and the Microsoft XBOX - the only drawback being the lack of a hard-drive.

Ooh, boxy! A nice comparison between 'normal' and 'superior' models

So why has this much more desirable piece of hardware failed to cross the oceans to North America and Europe? After al, is it not the case that several of the critics that are so keen to highlight reasons for the so far under-achievement of the standard GameCube mention a lack of CD/DVD compatibility as a key failing of Nintendo's next-generation platform. Why does Nintendo not simply silence the naysayers by launching the Panasonic 'Qube' abroad, thereby killing two birds with one stone - preventing further criticism from being directed its way AND bringing great pleasure to its hordes of loyal fans living outside the Land of the Rising Sun?

Well, there are quite a few reasons behind the system initially being overlooked for a world-wide release, the primary one being the high cost of the combined unit at the time of launch. Whereas the GameCube was originally an acceptable

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