Dead Gamecubes

[njiska]

Some people have experienced dead xbox's or xbox DRE's.
A whole shit load of people have had dead PS2's and PS2 DRE's.

Has anyone had a Gamecube do this to them? I've been thinking and i can't recall anyone having a GC just up and die on them or give them DRE's.

Have you?

[JJNova]

F-Zero would cause first run GameCubes to freeze up and become useless (at least for that game).

Nintendo will gladly replace your GameCube for free, and even pay for the shipping. Not refund the shipping, but they'll handle it completely. There's also one other software release that will cause the original GameCube's to freeze up. I believe it's Kirby Air Ride, but I can not be exactly positive without looking it up.

So far as direct hardware failures go, I'm sure they exist, as it's just a factory produced peice of equipment. Although Nintendo does tend to have a more reasonable customer service policy, so the need to pressure the company with public humiliation is lessened.

[Cmosfm]

I spilled coke on mine once and it died, sucked, had to buy a new one. :(

[Joker T]

Gamecube is a TANK

the thing never frickin dies

[mills]

This is true. I remember when the Sony Playstation came out. There were all sorts of problems with the first shipment such as bad laser lenses. Also they would overheat and read discs very sluggishly. At the peak of the PS1 Era I had already bought and burned out 2 units. When Playstation 2 came out we had one for just under a year before it got totally burned out. I also recall most of the units I had played the disc tray would always make a grinding noise, does anyone know why this is? Also one of my PS2's would never play certain games, like Chrono Cross. Over the course of a few years I bought and burned out 3 PS2 units. The last time I bought a new console was a GCN. It worked wonderfully but I was moving and never had time to enjoy it, so I sold it. I also read and hear alot of accounts of XboX's going bad.

I remember for the Playstation to stay cool we had to put it upside down to allow the vents to cool off properly. This also makes me think of when I had one of my Nintendo's when I was a kid, I would have to put one game in on top of the one I was playing to make it play.

[sabre2922]

A whole shit load of people have had dead PS2's and PS2 DRE's< Surprise more PS2 sucks bullshit x_x

[njiska]

I spilled coke on mine once and it died, sucked, had to buy a new one. :(

I had friend who had a water leak ruin his. Actually i think it's still working, but with problems. Anyways i'm asking more about GC's commiting suicide rather then user error.

Right now i'm inclined to agree with Joker T about it being a tank. I've seen the Gamecube go through hell. One day i hope to tow one behind a boat and see if it still works. I already know it can survive being towed behind a car.

[Cmosfm]

I spilled coke on mine once and it died, sucked, had to buy a new one. :(

I had friend who had a water leak ruin his. Actually i think it's still working, but with problems. Anyways i'm asking more about GC's commiting suicide rather then user error.

Right now i'm inclined to agree with Joker T about it being a tank. I've seen the Gamecube go through hell. One day i hope to tow one behind a boat and see if it still works. I already know it can survive being towed behind a car.

If a small amount of coke killed mine, I'm sure it will die behind a boat. :P

[njiska]

I spilled coke on mine once and it died, sucked, had to buy a new one. :(

I had friend who had a water leak ruin his. Actually i think it's still working, but with problems. Anyways i'm asking more about GC's commiting suicide rather then user error.

Right now i'm inclined to agree with Joker T about it being a tank. I've seen the Gamecube go through hell. One day i hope to tow one behind a boat and see if it still works. I already know it can survive being towed behind a car.

If a small amount of coke killed mine, I'm sure it will die behind a boat. :P

Yeah but coke is nasty and acidic and just not fun. Water is a little different. Anyways i don't expect it to live, but then again i didn't expect it to work after a 20 foot fall and it did so you never know.

[Sailorneorune]

I third the tank opinion. My GC has been dropped (ok, only about 3 feet, but still...) and inadvertently stepped on once. It swapped paint with my chest of drawers as well (white streaks on the BBA port cover). I've had my GC since February 2004, and it works great. None of my Nintendo items have ever failed me, nor have any of my other systems, even with the general apathy with which my brother treats the communal PS2.

The only system related issues I have are that the AC port plastic tends to break off on the model 1 SNES, and that the RF cables for my Genesis and the AV cable for my Dreamcast have seen better days.

The Gamecube is a pretty reliable system, and I hope that it and my big fat PS2 live on for quite some time.

[njiska]

The Gamecube is a pretty reliable system, and I hope that it and my big fat PS2 live on for quite some time.

Good luck. I'm pretty sure PS2's are born with cancer. As for the GC i think the only problem i've ever had with a nintendo system was the death of the old 72-pin connecter and that's hardly their fault.

[Vectorman0]

I've seen a few gamescubes with DRE problems on ebay, but nowhere near the amount of PS2's and XBox's that get them. Surely the biggest reason is the superior hardware construction, but there are also probably far fewer of them in comparison.

[alec006]

Ive seen a Gamecube hit solid concrete from about 36 Inches up (100 CM) and still survive with minor scratches. Now playstation 1, lol http://www.game-hits.com/articles/pat/102600greatestgamehits.html

[Garry Silljo]

When we got the gamecube we bought it used first. I went back to the store 3 times because every used Gamecube we bought from that EB didnt work. WE just said screw it and bought a new one. It has never failed and gets lots of play.

[Sailorneorune]

The 72 pin connectors on the old NES are 20 years old, and also probably not that great when they were new either... My NES has that blinky crap going too; I should just get a new connector and put it in.

Was the GC refurbished or a trade in? I've heard horror stories regarding used GC systems before... the previous owners must mistreat theirs or EB does something wrong, I guess. A new GC is worth every penny anyhow, especially with Super Smash Bros. Melee and RE4.

[Cmtz]

My Gamecube has yet to fail me. I've pretty done everything there is to do with it and it has yet to let me down.

[Crush Crawfish]

My launch day Gamecube actually died on me. Twice. It started getting DRE's around the time animal crossing came out, and I sent it away to get repaired. It worked fine until earlier this year, when It started up with the DRE's again. I ended up just buying a new one.

[The_Kodiak65]

hmm...i puked on mine, and it still works.....

[Darren870]

I got mine day one and with in a year it gave me DRE. I called they said, send it in. At that time I was addicted to some game and didnt want to so I asked them any other advice. They said keep it off the ground. That worked like a charm and never had a problem up until last x-mas. I suppose the motor that spins the disc died because the discs were no longer spining. I then shiped it to (http://www.oldschoolgamer.ca/) and he fixed it and works like brand spaking new.

I was going to buy a new one but its region modded and didnt want to loose out on those games (didn't have a panasonic - q at the time) so oldskool did it for pretty cheap.

[Slimedog]

A few months after I got mine, it started with some sort of motherboard or a/v problem. The power light turned on and there was a flash to the screen, but no boot up. I sent it in and they "fixed" it, but the problem popped up again about a week later. The second time I sent it in, they paid for shipping and sent me back a new unit. So they really showed a good effort and made things right by me. Unlike Microsoft and the POS Xbox, that died twice. I bought my PS2 at launch and have never had any problems with it, in spite of tons of gameplay. But I've heard thats not the norm with the PS2.

[njiska]

A few months after I got mine, it started with some sort of motherboard or a/v problem. The power light turned on and there was a flash to the screen, but no boot up. I sent it in and they "fixed" it, but the problem popped up again about a week later. The second time I sent it in, they paid for shipping and sent me back a new unit. So they really showed a good effort and made things right by me. Unlike Microsoft and the POS Xbox, that died twice. I bought my PS2 at launch and have never had any problems with it, in spite of tons of gameplay. But I've heard thats not the norm with the PS2.

I've said it before and damn it i'll say it again. Nintendo has the best support in the business. Even the guys on the phone are fun to talk to.

MS has normal support, stupid and annoying.

Sony has support that seems to try their hardest to keep you from getting help. Never once have i had a good time talking to them.

[ASSEMblerEX]

From my experience in console repair, the only part to fail on gamecube is the optical mechanisim.

If you open it, it is easily removed and replaced.

Given the gamecube has no warranty stickers over the hole, if you have the correct bit, you can swap the laser off a dead one and return the dead one to the store.

Of course, the moral dilemma I leave for you to decide.

[Nesmaster]

had mine since near after launch, no problems :)

[Amy Rose]

My friend's GameCube broke down after he played Animal Crossing on it for about 5 days straight. After a trip to Nintendo Australia and a few days wait, they gave it back to him good as new, despite him not having a box, receipt or anything else. They rock!

[gman100]

F-Zero would cause first run GameCubes to freeze up and become useless (at least for that game).



i have a "first run" gc and f-zero runs at full speed and no freezes

[Pantechnicon]

I bought my first and only Cube used for $15 with no hookups and a big "as is" sticker on it. Having successfully fixed a few PS2's I figured I could handle whatever problems a Cube might throw my way. After eventually getting the requisite cables I was $60 invested in the thing and pleasantly surprised to find that it booted up with no problems. But for one and only one DRE which was clearly due to a dirty disc the thing has worked great for nearly a year now :D .

[YoshiM]

I bought a used machine from EB Games. After about a year and a half or so all of a sudden the rumble no longer worked. I bought another controller, thinking that was the problem but still no dice. After asking around it seems a use was blown inside the Cube and it's not user-replacable. Other than that, the sucker works just fine.

I have to agree: Nintendo has excellent phone support. I told a gal what all happened and she checked into everything to see if there was an easy solution (as the machine was out of warranty). She then offered to sell me a Nintendo refurbished unit for $50 plus shipping, which at the time I declined as I didn't have the cash (just bought a house then).

[gamegirl79]

One of my Gamecubes just had a laser go bad....it powers up fine but won't read any discs.

This is the first Nintendo console I've had a problem with.

[cr0n0]

My son dropped his gamecube twice from about 3 1/2 feet up and nothing happened. Once he dropped it while we were playing Smash Bros. together and the freaking thing kept on playing. I am still awed at the thought of it when it happened.

By the way, what does DRE mean?

[RCM]

F-Zero would cause first run GameCubes to freeze up and become useless (at least for that game).

I've never heard of that. My first Gamecube which I picked up at launch ran F-Zero without a hitch.

THE ONE, THE ONLY- RCM

[googlefest1]

well ive had no problems with my "used" GC -- but its only had around 2 hours of total play time -- but i treat it like crap -- its gets knocked around and always works when checking new games

[TEXASGAMEPLAYER]

someone asked "what DRE means"

I take it to mean DISC READ ERROR but I could be wrong

[BrokenFlight]

someone asked "what DRE means"

I take it to mean DISC READ ERROR but I could be wrong

Dammit. I finally had some knowledge to contribute and someone beat me to it!

[dreamcaster]

My GCN's been a little problematic from day one. Whilst it isn't frequent, I do get DRE's occasionally (mostly with F-Zero GX and Burnout). My GCN is an Australian May 2002 launch model.

My PS2 and Xbox have been far less problematic. My PS2 hasn't had a single DRE, and I stick some VERY scratched discs in that thing. Bought my PS2 in December 2002.

Xbox is weird. The day I got it (August 2003), it froze on me, but then worked perfectly ever since. About 6 months ago, it suddenly stopped reading discs entirely. Weird! So I unlplugged it and left it for a while, then reconnected everything and it's worked perfectly ever since!

[mario2butts]

My friend's gamecube had the fourth controller port go bad, but other than that I've never seen the cube do wrong. The controllers are another matter entirely, at least in my experience. The same friend had one controller's z button go bad, and another friend's controller's analog stick went wonky. And these were first party! So far all my Cube hardware has worked flawlessly, knock on wood...

[SuperNES]

mine sometimes has DRE's, sometimes it works fine though. of course, i bought it that way off ebay for like 20 bucks.

also, gamecube won the durability test (or whatever cheesy name they gave it) on X-play they had a while ago. they took a GC, and xbox, and a ps2 and dropped them, hit them with hammers, etc, and gamecube won, with xbox second and os2 last.

it's usually true about first-run systems having crap disc drives, my xbox is a firt-edition and it had a bad drive which crapped out on me a few months ago, luckily i got a better drive for my birthday.

oh, BTW, could someone tell me more about returning gamecubes to nintendo? what kind of stuff do you need to give them? receipt? warranty? i have neither (obviously)

[PrototypeFC3S]

I think there is an episode of X-Play where they beat the hell out of all the consoles, and the GCN ended up surviving everything they dished out.

[njiska]

I think there is an episode of X-Play where they beat the hell out of all the consoles, and the GCN ended up surviving everything they dished out.

Yep.

First test was a 50lbs. weight dropped from about a foot high. Xbox lives, GC lives, PS2 deader then the Jaguar.

I think the scond was a sledge hammer blow. Both survived

Third was the 20 foot drop.

The GC survived and the xbox was disqualified because the front hunk with the powerswitch (trust me it's the only part that isn't secured properly in the unit) popped off.

Such fun.