Dear Future Gamer,

I've just come back from my local gaming emporium where I was asking about the new releases due out this week. There are loads for the PlayStation and for the PC, but none at all for the N64.

Now I know that Nintendo said that they would have fewer games for the machine but that they would be of a higher quality. At this point I'm sure I speak for many other N64 owners when I say we would like to see some quantity of new releases, perhaps even at the expense of quality. After all the choice should be made by the consumer not by the blokes at Nintendo.

Even over the next few months there are surprisingly few games due out. The release list for the N64 is beginning to look a lot like that of the Saturn during its last few months. Plenty of games are in the offing but few other than first or second-hand parties are definite for a UK release. The point of all this rambling is that I, as an N64 owner, would like to see some games released for the system, and preferably before I put it underneath my PlayStation again.

Rory O'Keeffe

FG: You are certainly not alone Rory. The lamentable lack of choice on the N64 is one of the reasons the machine's losing market share to the PlayStation. And you're right, the consumer decides when it comes to making a purchase. Sadly, most consumers are ill-informed and some are even influenced by box artwork. Nintendo are of the opinion that crap games will tarnish their good name (though they've managed to let a fair few duffers slip through) hence their Seal Of Quality (laughable in some cases) on software. Unfortunately this becomes a development catch 22. People don't buy the machine because there aren't enough games, developers don't develop games because the user base isn't big enough and before you know it, the machine's gone the way of the Saturn et al. We're still rooting for the machine though and hoping (though that's fading fast) that the situation will improve.