What was wrong with the Gamecube?

[rkotm]

We have the awesome (or not so for some) N64 arrogance topic, now not to compete but i wanted to know everyones thoughts on why Nintendo didnt really go all out with the Gamecube, the successor to the Nintendo 64.


To me, it was another system that didnt offer too much, software wise. I mean, Luigis Mansion for a launch game (among others)? It wasnt very fun to begin with, i got 2 hours into it and really lost steam. No real online mode where the Xbox dominated, even though the PS2 didnt really have it either, yet that console came out first AND still sells very well to this day. The controller was nice, besides the Dpad, but it was a great fit. 3rd party support wasnt good once again (following N64's lack of 3rd parties) and it never caught on. I always wondered what was going on in Nintendo at the time, why it just didnt have many great titles (its like they weren't into it or they were busy with the DS design), why there wasnt much support for it, and had IMHO the worst mainline Mario game ever. In general i think the early 2000's sucked all around gaming wise with drab music, lackluster ideas and GTA 3 this GTA that. When i think last gen i think PS2 and DS and maybe some Xbox. Had Nintendo kept going like that and just releasing systems without Wii they woulda been last place and probably mainly handheld supporters. Im glad they went to the next evolution with the Wii, hope we never see such a half hearted system like GC again.

[Collector_Gaming]

Game cubes issue was it tried to create a arcade experience at home with games like
American 18 Wheeler Pro
Godzilla Destroys All Monsters Melee
ect ect ect

But in the end it did have some super knock outs

Such as Super Smash Brothers Melee (probably its top selling game)
even though i am not a fan of it.. it did sell extremely well (Zelda Wind Waker)
and its follow up.. my personal fav of the 2 Zelda Twilight Princess
the metroid prime series did well
even though this doesn't help much since these are first party games
3rd party they did score a series of resident evil games that did pretty damn good

i mean i can go on and on. Game Cube i thought did alright as a console.
The thing that it did horrible at was doing these mediocre arcade ports.
and it didn't support the new DVD craze catching on that Xbox and PS2 provided (although panasonic later imo little too late to have any effect really released a version that could play dvds).
The controller felt kinda weird i thought.. It had 2 joy sticks but 1 was used mostly for actions just like the c pad from the n64 controller. so it just seemed kinda odd. while the other 2 featured 2 joy sticks that allowed you full range of movement and camera movement

[cityside75]

Easy answer to your question - it didn't really offer anything innovative - aside from being a platform for Nintendo-produced games. Graphics-wise it was somewhere between a PS2 and Xbox, but to my eyes they all looked pretty similar most of the time. There was very limited online, but nothing to compare with Xbox Live. Storage-wise both of the competitors were experimenting with hard drive solutions, but not the Gamecube.

But in reality, I think that the Gamecube was an important success for Nintendo in that it established their current business model and "attitude" if you will. That generation was probably the first since the NES days where most gamers didn't expect Nintendo to be the top player, in fact many people throughout the GC era predicted Nintendo's demise or were certain they'd become a "software-only" company like Sega.

Instead, Nintendo built a competent machine to play their next-gen games, turning a profit on the hardware nearly from the get-go (unlike Sony and Microsoft), while being content to allow a big chunk of the 3rd party development go to other systems, as they were confident in the bankability of their home grown franchises. (The N64 ended up similarly, but I believe in that era they were still sure that the 3rd parties would be beating down their door once the N64 ruled the world). They displayed confidence in their properties, and a knack for making lots and lots of cash, and I'm confident that they viewed it as a success overall.

[Richter Belmount]

Alot.

[sheath]

A) It was missing an 'e' between the 'm' and the 'c', so it failed.

B) It was marketed at a time where people only wanted urban themed murder simulators and DVD players.

C) Even though it was one of the most powerful pieces of hardware that generation, system/software sales discouraged third parties from porting most of their games to it.

D) Three generations of monopolistic licensing tactics left third parties with a "bad taste in their mouth" and the "flocked" to the first successful competitor.

[shopkins]

My biggest problem was with the controller. It was just clumsy and clumsily laid out. Seriously, C-Stick? Would another full analog stick there have been -that- much trouble? It cripples the system in terms of FPS.

[Greg2600]

No DVD playback was a decent drawback, but the main reason was the games Nintendo produced were in their classic style, while most of the gaming public had moved on to other stuff like Halo, GTA, or the like. Game Cube was cheaper than the other consoles, but that didn't help a lot. Also no internet-multiplayer.

[Tupin]

A skeptical view of third parties, an outdated view of the industry, a lack of either innovation or just conforming, and a system that was harder to develop for than the PS2 or Xbox did it in. Doesn't mean that it didn't have great games, but so few were made by companies other than Nintendo, and they could only make so many games.

[Natty Bumppo]

One thing I liked about it (and why I still use it to this day) was the gameboy player peripheral. But I bought very few games for the gamecube itself - being mostly in rpgs and strategy games meant there were only a few I wanted out of the lineup.

[sheath]

One thing I liked about it (and why I still use it to this day) was the gameboy player peripheral. But I bought very few games for the gamecube itself - being mostly in rpgs and strategy games meant there were only a few I wanted out of the lineup.

Yes! The Gameboy Advance adapter on the Game Cube is why I never traded "up" to a Wii. This will remain the best way to play Gameboy games on a Television. I never got used to playing on portables.

[SpaceHarrier]

It was purple.
It had a handle.
Didn't play DVDs.
Lack of 3rd party support.
Controller was weird, yet pedestrian at the same time. "Hi, my A button is HUGE!" Just look at it. You just wanna pop that thing.
Not even pretending to be interested in online gaming (at least Sony played like they had a plan).
Too many near launch games that were copy/pasted from DC or PS2.
No Mario game at launch.
Actually, what was the big launch title? I bought it for Rogue Squadron II.

CARTOON LINK.

I love my GC though..

[PapaStu]

What's wrong with the Gamecube is that people think that it's a classic system.

[heybtbm]

Yes! The Gameboy Advance adapter on the Game Cube is why I never traded "up" to a Wii. This will remain the best way to play Gameboy games on a Television. I never got used to playing on portables.

Hope you have a Gamecube component cable. All GBA games on the Gameboy Player are 480p when using it.

On topic...

Very little was wrong with the Gamecube other than the tiny disc capacity (multiple-disc games suck), and the awful 3rd party support in it's latter years. The entirety of the Nintendo and Capcom catalogs made up for it though.

[hbkprm]

the best 3rd party game that was multidisc was the twin snakes

[kedawa]

The only problem with the GC was that it wasn't a PS2.
The Gamecube was an improvement over the N64 in every possible way, and yet people trash it. It was cheap, well designed, efficient hardware that had a respectable amount of third party support.
I guess relative to its competition, it didn't really offer much to differentiate itself, but taken on its own merits, it's one of the best consoles.

[sheath]

Hope you have a Gamecube component cable. All GBA games on the Gameboy Player are 480p when using it.

No, I stupidly sold two cables while the price was hiking. I am currently hoping I can find one for less than an arm and a leg.



On topic...

Very little was wrong with the Gamecube other than the tiny disc capacity (multiple-disc games suck), and the awful 3rd party support in it's latter years. The entirety of the Nintendo and Capcom catalogs made up for it though.

The only thing wrong with the Gamecube library is that consumers were moving toward casual games (called Core games today). This is especially true if you consider the Gameboy library as part of the Gamecube library as I do.

Also, Resident Evil 4 was just plain awesome and proves that the consumer just wasn't paying attention.

[Collector_Gaming]

It was purple.
It had a handle.
Didn't play DVDs.
Lack of 3rd party support.
Controller was weird, yet pedestrian at the same time. "Hi, my A button is HUGE!" Just look at it. You just wanna pop that thing.
Not even pretending to be interested in online gaming (at least Sony played like they had a plan).
Too many near launch games that were copy/pasted from DC or PS2.
No Mario game at launch.
Actually, what was the big launch title? I bought it for Rogue Squadron II.

CARTOON LINK.

I love my GC though..

ahh the handle
when Nintendo thought people who competed in gaming tournaments were actually bringing their systems with them and could benefit from having a easy to carry setup

remember when they demo'd this console where a person would wear a suit that had the console, a small flat screen, and a car battery to power it all like a jumpsuit

[YoshiM]

What was wrong? It was "just another game system" next to Xbox and PS2. Like other said, it really didn't offer up anything the other systems didn't have other than Nintendo titles. On top of that, it was a time where Nintendo was getting the "kiddy" image (that was the biggest complaint back then), with the big jewel-like A button, the color and a lot of cartoony games that weren't grabbing the crowd that was spending the money.

[retroman]

I liked the cube, and still do. It did have a lot of killer games for those who said it didn't. Just go check the games list

[The 1 2 P]

The Gamecube was my least favorite system of last gen. It had some good games but they were only a small fraction of what the PS2 and Xbox offered. Plus they didn't show no love for online gaming when it started to take off(thanks to XBL) on consoles. I still collect for the Gamecube but despite having two working systems I literally never play it. Theres not much going on there to entice me to hook it up and give it a whirl. And it may very well have been Nintendo's worse mainstream system(not counting Virtual Boy) of all time.

[Snapple]

Power-wise, I thought any difference between Gamecube and the other two consoles was negligible. There's no reason to turn away from the Gamecube by saying it had inferior graphics to the PS2 or anything like that.

Just to boil down what others have same, it's the 3rd party support and the lack of a DVD player.

Now, Gamecube did have some great games. Smash Bros Melee, Eternal Darkness, Mario Sunshine (imo), and a few others. It just didn't have AS MANY great games as the PS2, which churned out hits like a mofo.

I mean, PS2 was like... a golden machine. One of the greatest libraries of all time. But I have a lot of respect for the Gamecube. It was a better console for that generation than the Wii is for this generation.

[kupomogli]

Power-wise, I thought any difference between Gamecube and the other two consoles was negligible. There's no reason to turn away from the Gamecube by saying it had inferior graphics to the PS2 or anything like that.

Wasn't the Gamecube more powerful than the PS2?

Anyways. kedawa said it best. The only thing wrong with the Gamecube is that it wasn't the PS2. The PSX was the best 32/64 bit system and then the PS2 came out almost a year before the Gamecube.

The PS2 had a great launch list. I'm a fan of From Software but only picked up Armored Core 2 at launch, along with Dead or Alive 2 as I've played it on my friends Dreamcast previously. Dynasty Warriors 2, the first Musou title, was actually a really fun game back then, and if Koei hadn't milked the series all to hell, I'm sure everyone would still think it's a great game. It wasn't too much longer before a ton of great games started pouring in.

While I won't make a long list of games, Final Fantasy 10 was released right after the Gamecube. The thing is is that you saw advertisements everywhere. At the time I was still a wrestling fan and you'd see it advertised atleast two or three times during WWF. It wasn't the best of the FF games, but this is before Final Fantasy went down hill. What are you going to do. Get a PS2 for Final Fantasy or get a Gamecube for whatever it's offering?

Most people I know had a PS2 even if they had a Gamecube, mainly because it could read DVDs. I didn't purchase a Gamecube until I got it bundled with the Gameboy Player and a Nintendo game of choice(I chose Wave Race.) Nintendo kind of screwed themselves when trying to save money(and reduce piracy) with the smaller discs because they pushed away the non gamers that may have wanted a DVD player as well as something to play games here and there. The Dentist go to actually uses a fat PS2 for a DVD player in the lobby.

Almost all the third party software went to Sony unless it was multiconsole. Because of that, Nintendo didn't have too many good exclusives that didn't already come out on other systems. While Viewtiful Joe and Resident Evil 4 were released on the Gamecube, they were later released on the PS2. Other than Tales of Symphonia and a Gundam game(import,) I own first party Nintendo games, Resident Evil games, and a few Sega games that were ports/sequels of Dreamcast games. I would own more first party Nintendo games than I do right now, but with Nintendo never dropping prices on Gamecube games, I never put the money down on them and was never interested in looking them up after Nintendo abandoned the console. I like the console, but unfortunately the support just wasn't there.

[Press_Start]

No, the Gamecube's problem was that Nintendo tried too hard to appease the "cool mature hardcore" demographic that b!tchsl@pped the hell out of them for a generation despite the fruit they bear: Eternal Darkness, Resident Evil Zero, 4, and 1 Remake, Twin Snakes, etc.

Only when the big N began broadening outside the "hardcore" bubble with the Wii (i.e. kids, mom, dad, grandpa, grandma etc.), did they regain first place. Surprising how they were so successful despite the "Revolution" still had the same "faults" as the GC:
-No DVD player
-"Different" control scheme.
-Similar level of third party goodness.
-"Not-so-friendly" multiplayer setup a la friend code.

...that's my two cents.

[Edmond Dantes]

It wasn't the best of the FF games, but this is before Final Fantasy went down hill.

*cough*FinalFantasy8*cough*


What are you going to do. Get a PS2 for King's Field or get a Gamecube for whatever it's offering?

Fixed! :)

Personally, to me the Cube was "the Smash Bros console." That was practically the only thing I ever played on it. And it gets boring after awhile.

I just never saw anything compelling about the Cube. Its main strengths were Nintendo's own franchises, but--and I know I'm in the minority here--Mario and [/i]Zelda[/i] jumped the shark on the N64, and Metroid Prime became that franchises JTS point. The supposedly good third-party games, like Eternal Darkness... just weren't that special. With crown jewels like that, its no wonder that the Cube trailed behind.

[Swamperon]

The GC was brilliant, but the third party support outside of Capcom & Sega simply wasn't there. Also there's little point owning one if you're not a fan of Nintendo's games.

Interestingly I've read that multiple games that are multi-platform games perform noticeably better on the GameCube, especially when compared to the PS2.

[Icarus Moonsight]

It didn't help them much that they had superior ports when the comp had lessor ports plus games the GC didn't have. As a system, I preferred Cube over PS2 and Xbox. Games is where they took a beating though. You got a PS2 for the game library and your second system was an Xbox if you played online, or a Gamecube if you didn't care for that. Not too many people fall into the latter, and fewer still had all three. The software libraries all around was very me-too and same-ish, too much so to warrant that.

There wasn't anything particularly flawed with it. It was just the weakest shower in that environment. It had more potential than the rest, but actualized the least. It could be considered the Dreamcast's second-cousin, almost.

[fishsandwich]

Game cubes issue was it tried to create a arcade experience at home with games like
American 18 Wheeler Pro
Godzilla Destroys All Monsters Melee
ect ect ect

Wait... what?


?

[VACRMH]

For me at least, the Gamecube was the second or third system that generation. PS2 was king, so any title that was available on GC and PS2 I'd go for the PS2 version. So the only games left were exclusives, which often times was a first party title.

GC was to me, wholesome. Looking at the games I own for it, most of them are bright, colorful, happy. But last generation the games that were big were gritty, violent, fps and sandbox type games. Which is what most people flocked to.

I like what I own for the GC, and the controller wasn't too bad for me. As long as it wasn't like the N64 controller <_<

[fishsandwich]

... and a system that was harder to develop for than the PS2 or Xbox did it in.


Now, now... the GC has its problems but it is widely viewed as very easy to program, especially when compared to the PS2.


A sample...


"Developers’ reactions to GameCube development kits thus far have been overwhelmingly positive. As promised by Nintendo, the system is very, very easy to develop for (much easier, reportedly than Sony’s PS2)."


"With the exception of some extraneous sound applications, the GameCube's streamlined architecture is designed to perform all operations in hardware. In comparison, many of the onboard features of the GameCube hardware must be performed in software on the PlayStation 2, taking valuable processing power away from the CPU and GPU."


"The GameCube hardware has been a dream to develop for. Although some may argue that in architectural terms, GameCube isn't quite as powerful as PS2, GameCube is just so simple to get the power out of. Because of this, GameCube graphical quality at this moment is where the PS2 will probably be in 2 years time due to the massive learning curve involved in PS2 development. Some of our programmers have been developing PS2 games for over three years, and they are still a long way from the top of the learning curve of what it's good at, and what it's not. GameCube, on the other hand, is a case of what-you-see-is-what-you-get; it's great at some things, and less good at others, and it's as simple as that!"


http://www.armchairempire.com/Interviews/pre_cube_teleconference.htm

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/25976/interviews/interview-gamecube-driven-to-distraction/


!

[j_factor]

PS2 may have a slight edge in sheer power, but Gamecube more than makes up for it with much superior texturing.

I liked Gamecube a lot more than N64. For a while, it was my favorite of the three then-current consoles. But it really took a nosedive late in its lifespan. It pissed me off when they canceled Unity and Kirby.

Gamecube didn't do as well because it lacked the heavy-hitters with mass-market appeal that the other two had, like GTA and etc. For me personally, it had just as many lesser-known games that were just as compelling. I would much rather play Beach Spikers than DOA Xtreme Beach Volleyball or Outlaw Volleyball (probably because I care more about actual gameplay than bouncing CGI breasts and stupid gimmicks).

[Haoie]

Could anything stand against the might of the PS2? Nope.

Also did anyone notice that the Xbox had the shortest lifespan or what? Just saying. First in, first out with the 360 coming on.

[kupomogli]

-"Different" control scheme.

The only reason the Wii sold well to the non gaming market. Microsoft's Kinect is selling more XBOX consoles for the same reason. It's a gimmick that people are curious about.

[Zthun]

The controller for the GC wasn't the best. It had an akward layout. Both the N64 and GC didn't have great controllers.

The game library wasn't fantastic; it had its treasures, but it had the same problem that the N64 had. You just forget about it and move on to the other systems.

[Famidrive-16]

People hate the handle? wtf

[Icarus Moonsight]

I guess handles on consoles are a love/hate issue. I thought it was pretty cool being able to tote a GC around like a coffee mug dangling from your pinky finger.

[thegamezmaster]

I love the Gamecube. Had no problem with the controller. As far as third party support, the budget for developing just one game for one game was crazy. Not to mention "exclusive titles" for certain machines. And I don't lknow about anyone else but to me it doesn't make sense to use a game console to play DVD's. All it does is wear out the machine faster, plus when dvd players could be had for around $50 or so. I used to work in the a/v repair business years ago when laserdisc were big. And it was always the same story when someone would bring in a machine with a worn out laser. We would ask them "what do you play most on it?" The reply was always the same, "cd's" Just didn't make sense to play cd's on a machine that was at least $1000 and up, and with a repair bill for between $200 and $300. We'd tell them to just buy a cheapo cd player and just play laserdiscs on their machine. It's cheaper in the long run. to each their own I guess. Plus I love the gameboy player. Just my 2 cents.And I think part was the game makers still had a grudge for the N64,PSX, and other disc based systems, with Nintendo sticking with carts instead of lasers which eventually die.

[eskobar]

As I see it, the first problem with the GameCube was its original color ....

The machine already looked like a kid's toy and the purple color just made it more apparent. It was very hard to market something like that to another consumers, because PS2 had a very avant-garde desing and the Xbox .... well, it just looked good for people who liked microsoft and tech specs.

PS2 was marketed for anyone, from parents that want to have fun with games/dvd's and still be able to get games for their kids.

Xbox was marketed for anyone that liked good graphics and wanted online gaming, pretty much a slimmed down but useful "PC".

And the Cube was marketed for kids .... and it delivered a great experience for them and obviously teenagers and adults wanted the console because many of them had grown with the NES or SNES.

The color problem was issued immediately and the "kid" image too, but it was just a bit too late. I liked the Cube, it had many great games but i just didn't love it like past consoles.

It was a powerful console and was easier to develop compared with the Ps2 ...

The controller felt good but multiplatform titles suffered with the button layout ...

The media was much better than N64 with 1.5Gb on the MiniDVD but still less than the 4.5 Gb of a DVD ...

3rd party support was limited ...


I just remember the cube for Resident Evil Remake, Resident Evil Zero, The Legend of Zelda games, Metroid Prime, Rogue Squadron II, Tales of Symphonia and Resident Evil 4.

[SamuraiSmurfette]

My biggest Gripe: The controller.
It looks like a robot threw up on a boomerang.

[Greg2600]

Gamecube had decent third party support, it got many of the games that the other systems did, most all the EA stuff. Graphics were definitely better than PS2, but not XBox.

[j_factor]

I never had a problem with the GC controller. The d-pad is crap, but I have a Hori digital controller for 2D games. The B button really should've been shaped like the X and Y buttons, but it's not too horrible. Otherwise it's pretty comfortable, and I liked the triggers.

And who really cares about the color? I'm pretty sure black was available from the launch of the system.

[Edmond Dantes]

What's wrong with consoles with handles? I used to love my PC-Engine....

[Famidrive-16]

And who really cares about the color? I'm pretty sure black was available from the launch of the system.

Yeah it was, my launch system I bought was black.

But, oh well, it's not worth mentioning if the faults of the Gamecube include "purple color" and "handle"

[Icarus Moonsight]

Their just pissed it didn't come in colors like fuchsia, mauve or puce. :p Making purple the flagship color was bold, given all the black we usually get. Gamecube was anything but neutral. It was a safety play though, and that's were it got it's ass tore up.

[eskobar]

I never had a problem with the GC controller. The d-pad is crap, but I have a Hori digital controller for 2D games. The B button really should've been shaped like the X and Y buttons, but it's not too horrible. Otherwise it's pretty comfortable, and I liked the triggers.

And who really cares about the color? I'm pretty sure black was available from the launch of the system.

Well, I just mentioned it because it seemed an important detail for me, but I am an Industrial Designer and tend to be a bitch with those details :P

And you are right, Jet Black was available since launch, but the campaign used the purple color

But even if some people don't care; it is a very important factor, but if you read my post, i gave more comments about its negative details. :popcorn:

[Streetball 21]

Gamecube was a good system, it was just overlooked because of the PS2 and XBOX. Also cause of the library, but as a Nintendo fan there were tons of good games lol...

[kedawa]

It's the console so nice Nintendo released it twice.

[Enigmus]

Ouick note on the Xbox's short market time- the 360 was rushed and the Xbox was discontinued because Nvidia stopped producing the GPU used in the Xbox in mid-2005, which meant no more units could be made beyond the remaining stock of GPUs. As for the Wii, the way Nintendo managed to upgrade the Gamecube in multiple ways really shows how versatile the GC's hardware is, especially considering that the technology is at least a decade old now. The controller was well designed, offering a comfortable grip without either slightly strenuous stick reaches like I've found the PS2 controller to have. Still, I believe Xbox may have been the best out of the group- powerful, online friendly, and even pushed things the others didn't such as 1080i video and true 5.1 channel audio. The PS2 just feels aging in comparison. That, and both GC and Xbox are practically built like tanks (I've seen broken PS2s, but I've never seen an Xbox or GC break down easily.)

[Spartacus]

I've always been impressed with what the Gamecube could do, even though it was designed from the onset to be a low cost machine. Not having a DVD player was one way to reduce costs and Nintendo's miniDVD format was a clever way to reduce piracy - something I fully support and always respected about Nintendo. I don't care about Nintendo's profitability per say, but I do care about working people getting paid for their work. But I must admit that I purchased a PS2 just to have a DVD player. Today I would never put the unnecessary wear and tear on the machine to just watch movies, but my daughter is still using her PS2 almost exclusively to watch movies with. She's not much of a gamer I guess.

I bought my first Gamecube after Nintendo removed the component out capability to further reduce costs on a Black Friday sale for $99. It came with Mario Kart and I could also choose any other Nintendo game of my choice for free. I took Zelda Four Swords and thought I'd gotten a great deal. I then asked to buy a used Gamecube because I wanted to buy an older version with the component out. Mind you, I live in a very rural area with a small population of people and I was simply STUNNED when they took me into the back of the store to pick out a used Gamecube. There was an entire wall filled with traded in Gamecubes stacked from floor to ceiling. I've often thought of all those people who were obviously disappointed with their Gamecubes. Some probably wanted to play Grand Theft Auto like their friends were, maybe some wanted to play Halo, and maybe some just grew tired of waiting for Twilight Princess.

I thought the Gamcube provided the most entertainment of any console of that era. I mean, only a company like Nintendo could show up at E3 and announce that what people really wanted to play was Pac-Man! Whoo Hoo!

Then we had Shigeru Miyamoto claim that he could have made Halo - if he had wanted to. So I suppose he could also claim that he could have been the first man to walk on the moon - if he had wanted to, using nothing more than his own flatulence as rocket fuel. Possible, possible, as the man is definitely full of something!

This nonsense could only be matched by Shinji Mikami's tantrum that Resident Evil 4 would ONLY be a Gamecube exclusive and never appear on Sony's PS2, a company he purposefully smeared as intentionally making console's that were easy to break. A comment seized upon and parroted ad nauseum by Nintendo's loyal fan base. The investor's - the people who actually paid for the development of Resident Evil 4 - ignored Mikami's rants, but I must say the game does look better on the Cube.

My Gamecube has been a reliable machine. I don't play it nearly as often as my Xbox or PS2, but it's never given me a single issue loading or reading disc's. I do respect Nintendo for making well-built hardware. The controller was never a problem for me. It's only slightly odd, but a huge improvement from N64's tri-winged discombobulation. It must have come as a shock for those who defend the N64 controller's as being "just fine" to see the Gamecube controller become two legged and slightly more like the Dual Shock design.

For most, the main purpose of having a Cube was to play Nintendo's first party software and those were undeniably the best sellers on the console. But I was never really big on Nintendo's classic cast of characters. But I was interested in the some of the oddball stuff the Gamecube offered like Cubivore, Animal Crossing, Pikmin and Odama. Plus I liked some of the stuff I was seeing coming from Nintendo of America's developers like Giest and Eternal Darkness. To top it off, the Gamecube had a nicely done updated version of Metal Gear Solid and an almost definitive collection of the Zelda and Resident Evil games. There were Metroid and Rogue Squadron games, Hell, the Gamecubes library was nothing you could turn your back on.

Another thing I liked about the Gamecube, and I don't know if this was just a mistake on Nintendo's part or what, but you could play imports using a simple boot disc, making it by far and away the easiest of the three to play Japanese exclusives. So I gladly picked up Kururin Squash, Mr. Driller Drill Land, Charinko Hero and a few others.

I know the Gamecube received a slew of badly ported games, but there were a few that benefited from the extra time the developer's had to make some improvements, such as...

4x4 EVO 2 received 5 extra trucks & 4 extra tracks

Conflict Desert Storm had changes made from player feedback that altered the gun-sight, improved enemy AI, revamped the inventory system, and added a Restart Level option

Dark Summit didn't have quite as much slowdown as the other versions

Midway Arcade Treasures 3 didn't have game save corruption problems as the others did

Prince Persia Warior Within had less framerate & sound issues than other versions

Star Wars Bounty Hunter had better framerate, less loading times and improved graphics

I don't think the Gamecube had any real problem other than Nintendo itself, which march's to the tune of a different drummer. Good for them!

[duffmanth]

The biggest reasons why the Gamecube failed was because of its lack of quality games. Aside from the first party Nintendo titles, it had virtually nothing from 3rd party studios that could compete with what the PS2, and to a lesser extent what the Xbox had to offer. The Cube was coming off the heels of the N64, which had very little to offer other than kid's games, and the Cube did nothing to fix that. The fact that it looked like a Fisher Price lunch box didn't help either. It just had the same batch of games as the N64, shit loads of game for kids, and very little for more mature audiences.

The PS2 and the PS1 had AAA games that appealed to everyone by the boat load. I also think Nintendo's decision to stay with cartridges with the N64 while everyone else was moving to CD's at the time, hurt them with the Cube as well. Even though the Cube was a disc based console, Nintendo lost a lot of 3rd party with the N64, and they never really gained it back with the Cube. Although I guess they've regained some 3rd party support with the Wii, but those games are still shitty for the most part.

[swlovinist]

I personally love the Gamecube. I bought it on relsease day, with a copy of Rogue Leader. I can think of about 25-40 Top quality games that make the Gamecube an excellent and inexpensive system to collect for. The Gamecube is a wonderful system that struggled I think to showcase what Nintendo is usually good at....innovation. The Gamecube to me is when Nintendo tried to follow trends instead of making them. The controller is probably what really got people frustrated with...even though it really is a pretty good controller. The disc size that Nintendo went with shot themselves in the foot to several third parties that wanted to make games for the system. In the end I consider the Gamecube as the system that I play occasionally for the A+ quality games that were exclusive to the system. I still play Rougue Leader Co-op with a friend on Rebel Strike on an occasional basis.

[kedawa]

The Gamecube didn't 'fail' by any definition of the word. It's a reliable piece of hardware that had only a few minor hardware revisions over the years, and made more money for Nintendo than XBOX did for MS, and almost as much as the PS2 made for Sony during the years that the GC was actively supported.

[crazyjackcsa]

One thing people fail to mention is the N64. Much like Sega (but to a far lesser extent) the previous generation impacted the next gen. The N64 was popular, but not as popular as the SNES. Not as much 3rd party support, wonky controller and expensive games. So the Cube was already in a hole out of the gate, a lot of people that had an N64, didn't get a cube.

[BetaWolf47]

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that I loved GameCube. I'd probably rank it about the same as SNES in terms of Nintendo consoles.

I loved the controller, once I got used to the diamond-like button configuration. The analog stick placement is perfect, and it conforms to your hand better than any controller ever made. The only issue was the ridiculously tiny dpad and awkward Z button. It was amazing for 3D adventures, which were the system's strongest suit.

The system itself looks like a Saturn or Dreamcast. Well, taller and with a handle. But look at the button placement and controller ports of the Dreamcast console and tell me it isn't really similar to the GameCube. The GameCube's handle must really stand out, because people remember Dreamcast as one of the best systems ever. People do conveniently forget that Gamecube came in more colors than purple.

It still had great games like Metroid Prime, Super Smash Bros. Melee, Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker, Star Wars: Rogue Squadron 2, and Tales of Symphonia. It sure lacked in quantity, but made up for in quality.

Just my two cents though. By the way, check this (http://www.gamechoiceclub.com/image/ps2_sakura.gif) out if you think purple is bad. That is an official color.

[Icarus Moonsight]

I have almost all my consoles sitting on a shelf ATM, and you want to know something? It's a giant neutral mass of black, gray and beige. Except the Gamecube, which looks like a Zoot Suit playboy among a bunch of squares. LOL

[eskobar]

Just my two cents though. By the way, check this (http://www.gamechoiceclub.com/image/ps2_sakura.gif) out if you think purple is bad. That is an official color.

Guys, you are easily offended; almost every one said I was stupid for stating that the color was a bad choice :confused:, I like the cube, it was only a detail I thought was important.

Purple is not referred as "bad", every color has a symbolism and a psychology in it.

Kids react much more to the purple than adults. The cube was a great console but when they marketed the purple as the "official" color, it gave a clear message to consumers.

And Nintendo just learned from this error and used White for the Wii ... and Black later. Every console has alternate colors and is great; there are many creative freedom on special editions or limited productions of different colors.

Do you remember the original iMac ?, color was a huge part of its success because it was marketed to a very specific consumer, consoles ARE NOT, they are marketed to a wide range of consumers.

I am a HUGE fan of the N64 and LOVED every alternate color that Nintendo released as limited edition, the Gold and Jungle among my favorites.



The 3rd party sales suffered from poor sales because many casual/average gamers adopted the PS2 and Xbox, the cube was bought by kids and the millions of adult Nintendo fans ... and the fans of very specific franchises like RESIDENT EVIL.


Nintendo could have marketed a "boring" white/light gray cube and had better presence of casual gamers and just release 5, 10 or 20 colors as alternate editions like most consoles.


As someone said, the cube was anything but neutral .... and the purple pretty much gave that message, you loved it, I liked it .... but not everyone else in the planet. :roll:



In the end I like the SILVER and LIGHT EMERALD cubes .... the second was a limited edition cube of Tales of Symphonia

[kedawa]

Do you think the purple buttons and ugly toyish design hurt the SNES as well? It certainly looked stupid next to the Genesis.

Do you remember the original iMac ?, color was a huge part of its success because it was marketed to a very specific consumer, consoles ARE NOT, they are marketed to a wide range of consumers.
I'm pretty sure personal computers are marketed to a wider range of consumers than game consoles.

[eskobar]

Do you think the purple buttons and ugly toyish design hurt the SNES as well? It certainly looked stupid next to the Genesis.

I'm pretty sure personal computers are marketed to a wider range of consumers than game consoles.


The SNES is ugly compared to the Super Famicom, for example. But when the SNES came out I had 12 years .... and I remember quite well that many Genesis owners were older and picking on any SNES owner. But the SNES had MUCH STRONGER games than any other system arround in the US :puppydogeyes:


The example with the iMac was very simple, the colors reached a segment of the market that usually didn't care about computers or at least had a hard time picking one for home.

It wasn't a direct comparison with the cube, I was talking about colors, not sales of iMacs.


The Strawberry, Tangerine, Grape, Lime iMac wasn't marketed for professionals and obviously not for hardcore gamers and it hardly competed with a Business Desktop Dell .... it was purchased by people who wanted to browse the internet and do basic work because the machines didn't have power for more.


The color matters, ladies and gentlemen :popcorn:

[Enigmus]

I have almost all my consoles sitting on a shelf ATM, and you want to know something? It's a giant neutral mass of black, gray and beige. Except the Gamecube, which looks like a Zoot Suit playboy among a bunch of squares. LOL

The reverse happens for portables- bright-toned, multicolor Game Boys and DSes all over, and then there's a Game Gear and white PSP refusing to leave the far left corner.

[trench-a-licious]

My biggest problem was with the controller. It was just clumsy and clumsily laid out. Seriously, C-Stick? Would another full analog stick there have been -that- much trouble? It cripples the system in terms of FPS.

The controller, no online multiplayer, and no dvd playback were the big 3 that doomed the cube. Seriously what were they thinking with that controller.

[Enigmus]

The controller, no online multiplayer, and no dvd playback were the big 3 that doomed the cube. Seriously what were they thinking with that controller.

I find the controller thing hilarious- the triggers are nicer to press down on than the springy ones on an Xbox controller and much better than the mush-ish buttons a PS2 controller uses, the C stick is just an analog stick with a different name and altered shape (just stick a pad on top and look, it's an analog stick), and I can agree that the d-pad is awkward to use. While online mode may have been lacking, not all people who had Xboxes had online either. And for DVD playback, I'd rather play games on my game system, not have another multimedia center I don't need.

[kedawa]

Fun fact; you can swap out the c-stick for another grey analog stick and it works great for FPS games.
I had all three consoles of that generation, and neither my PS2 nor my XBOX could play dual layer movies reliably. My $60 DVD player had no problems, however.

[Leo_A]

The problem with the triggers is that they basically have three settings; off, halfway, and fully depressed.

It's not a full smooth range of motion due to how they designed them, which hurts using them in racing games significantly compared to the triggers on a Xbox or Xbox 360 controller. There's no such problem with an Xbox controller.

And racing game use is a significant reason why they exist along with use in first person shooters, so it wasn't a problem to just dismiss.

[Rickstilwell1]

For me, the GameCube was my second system of choice that generation.

The Playstation 2 had more games coming out for it and had the DVD player and PS1 compatibility. Most of the third party titles made it to the PS2. It was the best one for me.

The GameCube had many good exlusives that interested me so it was in 2nd place for me. Those games are what I used it for, then later the Game Boy Player. The fact that more of the Sonic games became available for it exclusively while PS2 and Xbox only got some of them also made it seem like a better system to continue Sega's game series on until Shenmue II came out and was an Xbox exclusive. Gamecube did get the first edition of Sonic Mega Collection though.

It was Xbox that I got last (used instead of new) because it had very few exclusives that interested me and at first the only reason I bought it was because of Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee. Oddworld had been a Playstation favorite of mine and when the series jumped ship to Microsoft's system I was annoyed with it not continuing on the same brand system. Backward compatibility on PS2 made it easier to continue a whole series using one system instead of hooking two up. In this case it didn't work that way. The other thing was that the Xbox wasn't any better for DVDs than GameCube in my opinion because you had to buy the remote and sensor to even play DVDs. I'm glad the Xbox 360 isn't like that with regular DVDs (but they still were for a while with HDDVDs needing an add-on)

[j_factor]

It's interesting how many people are mentioning the lack of online multiplayer. It always seemed to me that online multiplayer was never that popular on consoles until Xbox 360. The fact that you had to buy a $50 accessory (even on Xbox, despite having an ethernet port on the console already) didn't help. The only console with online capabilities standard was Dreamcast, which to me strongly implies that the poor internet support for the Gamecube was not much of a factor in its relative lack of success.

[WanganRunner]

I still think that RE4 on Gamecube was the best-looking game of that generation.

I <3 <3 <3 GCN. The birthplace of the Pikmin franchise, I think Mario Sunshine is vastly underrated, I think Wind Waker is the best 3D Zelda game every made, I <3 GB Player, etc.

It scratched all my itches. Skies of Arcadia, Grandia, etc.

[pseudonym]

Pikmin yeah, but Mario Sunshine and Windwaker tend to be fairly contentious games among some hardcore fans that I've seen. It seems like the GameCube never had that one new/trendy game like Halo despite having a very good library of games, or maybe not marketing it properly as a family/casual friendly console. The Wii doesn't seem to have this problem.

[Swamperon]

Pikmin yeah, but Mario Sunshine and Windwaker tend to be fairly contentious games among some hardcore fans that I've seen. It seems like the GameCube never had that one new/trendy game like Halo despite having a very good library of games, or maybe not marketing it properly as a family/casual friendly console. The Wii doesn't seem to have this problem.

I think Super Smash Bros Melee could qualify for the role (7+ Million sold apparently) but which means about a third of GC owners bought it. Possibly more when you factor in pre-owned sales. But it never quite took off the with general gaming public.

[Opti]

GC is still one of my favorite consoles. I loved the controller. It fit me perfect and I always liked the way the shoulder buttons worked. I played everything including racing games and FPS and they seem to work fine for me. I dont see why you would swap the C stick out for a normal jostick, when I play timesplitters I can switch the use of the joystick and C stick and I still can control the character smoothly and quickly. It pretty much is just a yelow joystick.

I used to have big parties every friday and I had an XBOX, GC and PS2 hooked up to the same tv, and everytime we would play gc. Occasionally a round or two of Halo then GC. Everyone liked it, the girls and the guys, and we would play everything I had for GC. Wario ware, mario golf, sunshine, SSBM, Worms, Wink Waker, Metroid, Timesplitters 2, four sword, RE, soul calibur etc etc etc.

Everyone loved the GC, the gamers and the non gamers. Most of my friends had xboxs and only had sports games and halo and said they had more fun playing with ervyone on the GC.

Im not big on online gaming, once a week I buy a 30 pack and invite everyone over to play games, rarely do we play anything new, alot of SNES, N64, NEs, Genesis and GC. Everyones favorite is playing on the cube, I think it by far the best multiplayer console.

I still play sunshine and I love it but some of those platform levels are hard as shit (could be my bum thumb though) I like it though because me and one friend blew through both galaxies in just a few sittings. I think wind waker was the best 3d zelda game . The combat is fun and the game is beautiful. I would have rather them do cell shading beautifully, than a realistic 3d game that wouldn't age well (like OoT). The only part of WW that bothered me was the sailing would get old when you wanted to explore and find everything, but I felt it was on the same level as all the running around/fetching of OoT.

I only bought a PS2 for a few RPGs and I still play it but rarely, although it doe have some good games (loved FFX), and I only bought a XBox for fable. (missed Kotor and Jade Empire I still need to get those)

I wish GC would have had more good third party stuff but thats about it, kinda weak on RPGs, If only square enix would have gone multi console on their main franchises earlier.

PS If anyone has a wind waker for sell PM me.

[GameNinja]

I don't think there was anything "wrong" with the gamecube, I just think there were a combination of factors, not to mention the PS2's relative strength. I read somewhere that part of the reason why PS2 sold well from the beginning was indeed due to its DVD player (and whoever says that you should just buy a DVD player instead of a PS2-at PS2's release DVD players were just as expensive as the PS2). Interestingly, the release of the PS2 was very close to the DVD release of The Matrix which was one of the first "must have" DVDs and it helped sell the system initially just as much as any game did.

[Nature Boy]

Hope you have a Gamecube component cable. All GBA games on the Gameboy Player are 480p when using it.

Do the games look that much better if they're in 480p vs whatever my composite cable produces? What is their resolution anyway?

On topic, the Gamecube did do well, in that Nintendo made money on it. It didn't outsell it's competition (if that's what 'not doing well means') because they had no way to market it much past young kids and the Nintendo fans.

The reason Wii took off is because they figured out how to increase their potential market by focusing on their strength (kids and families and Nintendo fans).

I'm not sure what to think about the DVD argument personally. My first leanings were that it wouldn't matter much, but perhaps marketing towards the family looking to get their first player and at the same time showing them they can also buy games for Sally and Steve to play on, that might've gone somewhere.

[otaku]

it was far from perfect but still not a bad system by any means, worth it for the nintendo games alone. It was affordable looked cool was quiet and loaded fast. Loved the wavebird. Had some innovative features (ecards and gba hookup) idk not all bad in my eyes it just needed more games from other developers

[Dobie]

I bought a Gamecube at launch. I stubbornly held out hope for THE game that made it worth buying... but when it never came, I gave up and bought an Xbox. The biggest problem in my eyes was the lack of any decent online games beyond PSO. I played the ever living crap out of PSO, at least until the exploits that corrupted your save came along and some loser wiped out my characters, but I digress. Xbox had online support. PS2 had... some... online support. Gamecube released the broadband adapter and PSO, and then promised more in the future. Still waiting. Even the Wii has horrible online compared to Sony and MS's last-gen offerings. Being a primarily online gamer these days, I have zero interest in Nintendo anything anymore. Nintendo missed the online boat with the Gamecube, and has since been trying to catch up by swimming while everyone else is using a motor.

[WelcomeToTheNextLevel]

It had few well-remembered "killer apps", the PS2 crushed it in game variety (the Sony juggernaut had been going on since '97/'98) and I suppose it never "found its place" in the gamer market.

[Leo_A]

I bought mine when the Wind Waker preorder started and it was my first console of that generation, if we don't include the Dreamcast. I really enjoyed playing things like the Ocarina of Time bonus disc, Wind Waker, Midway Arcade Treasures, and such in that first year. I don't have many games for it compared to the PS2 and Xbox (Only 40 games or so, since I bought all my multiplatform releases on the Xbox when available), but it ended my being my 2nd favorite of that console generation.


Ouick note on the Xbox's short market time- the 360 was rushed and the Xbox was discontinued because Nvidia stopped producing the GPU used in the Xbox in mid-2005, which meant no more units could be made beyond the remaining stock of GPUs.

You make it sound like Nvidia killed the Xbox.

They stopped manufacturing the GPU because Microsoft couldn't get the price down to make the system profitable and didn't feel the need to keep selling the system at a loss with a successor out. So they didn't renew their contract with Nvidia. That's why Nvidia ceased manufacturing.

Nvidia stopped manufacturing because Microsoft stopped buying, not the other way around.


My biggest problem was with the controller. It was just clumsy and clumsily laid out. Seriously, C-Stick? Would another full analog stick there have been -that- much trouble? It cripples the system in terms of FPS.

It was a full analog stick, though? Are you just talking about its shape? Never seemed to be a problem for me.

I personally didn't care for the tiny d-pad, the face buttons, and the analog triggers. Otherwise I think it was a pretty decent controller, especially in WaveBird form.


Do the games look that much better if they're in 480p vs whatever my composite cable produces? What is their resolution anyway?

They look better and it's a noticeable boost. I don't think the component cable is worth the investment for just the Game Boy Player, though.

The GBA resolution is 240×160.


It's interesting how many people are mentioning the lack of online multiplayer. It always seemed to me that online multiplayer was never that popular on consoles until Xbox 360. The fact that you had to buy a $50 accessory (even on Xbox, despite having an ethernet port on the console already) didn't help. .

You got to spend $50, or whatever the current rate is, to jump in on online multiplayer with the current Xbox as well. A subscription isn't really an accessory and every Xbox was "Xbox Live Ready" or whatever you'd want to coin it, out of the box.

Xbox Live sure seemed pretty popular to me on the Xbox. Many games had large, active communities and the online component was a major component of reviews for the console's lineup. And the online multiplayer often ran well due to the broadband requirement and substantial network Microsoft put in place to support it, outperforming it's peers with ease with what I ever experienced online with the Dreamcast and PS2.

From my perspective, Xbox Live on the original Xbox is what popularized online multiplayer for home consoles. It stopped being almost a niche that companies like the other three treated it that generation and was instead a major focus for Microsoft.


Midway Arcade Treasures 3 didn't have game save corruption problems as the others did

Too bad it performed worse, otherwise. Beyond the well known areas it was deficient in with regards to things like Rush 2049, compared to the Xbox build, I even encountered an extreme amount of slowdown in Super Off Road on a canyon map with a ton of tall pillars scattered around it. That never happened to me on the Xbox build.

I own both; I play the GCN one if I want to progress alone in Hydro Thunder or Rush 2049, the Xbox version for it's superior performance otherwise in that games that didn't need a save or for multiplayer (I've had the save become corrupted multiple times, not a isolated problem, sadly).

[exit]

I remember getting the Gamecube on my birthday shortly after it came out for the REmake and it received lots of loving until I eventually got a PS2. The only problem was that at a certain point, the Gamecube didn't have much to offer exclusively (although they did have a few superior multi-plat games), so I'd go upwards to a year not buying anything for it as a result. The best thing about the Gamecube was that it could take a beating, I used to carry that thing everywhere and let people borrow it from time to time, some of which had kids around all the time who I know were abusive to things.

So I wouldn't really say there was anything wrong with the Gamecube.