Networking A Gamecube... How? Why?

[Mattiekrome]

I was just going though some old buying/selling posts here and saw that someone had a Gamecube broadband adapter for sale. I've had my GC for 2 years now, and didn't even know that a network adapter was available for the GC. I did a quick search, but really didnt find much on the subject. Anyone used it before, or maybe still using it now? I noticed that the library of online games for the GC is quite small, so I'm thinking maybe it never really took off like Nintendo was hoping it would. If I knew there were actually people out there that still played GC online, I might look into hooking up.

[youruglyclone]

Mario Kart allows for lan play.

[Jorpho]

Isn't the broadband adapter still necessary to play pirated games?

[l_lamb]

There are three LAN-enabled games:

Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (http://www.nintendo.com/consumer/systems/nintendogamecube/lan_mk_setup.jsp) (2-16 players)
1080: Avalanche (http://www.nintendo.com/consumer/systems/nintendogamecube/lan_1080_setup.jsp) (2-4 players)
Kirby's Aire Ride (http://www.nintendo.com/consumer/systems/nintendogamecube/lan_kar_setup.jsp) (2-4 players)
Plus Phantasy Star Episodes I & II, if the servers are still up.

[Mr. Smashy]

Don't forget Phantasy Star Online Episode III: C.A.R.D. Revolution.

With a catchy title like that, how could anybody forget it?

[jonjandran]

Isn't the broadband adapter still necessary to play pirated games?

No, and it hasn't been for over 4 years.

[lordnikon]

The GameCube can be networked in a variety of ways. Like the Dreamcast it features a dialup modem, as well as a broadband adaptor. It should be stressed that the limited network implimentation on the GameCube had nothing to do with it not taking off, or being successfull. It all came down to Nintendo's marketing strategy of the GameCube. They wanted to push connectivity. In-fact the BBA was used as part of Nintendo's Connectivity campaign, but when people started tunneling the LAN games, they ceased adding LAN. StarFox Assault was originally designed to be a multiplayer only game, featuring full LAN support. This functionality was pulled from the game and its design was completly changed. It is interesting that tunneling software like warppipe actually limited the number of titles released for the GameCube.

In the end I feel fortunate for what the GameCube does have, and people should appreciate the games.

The GameCube has had a LOT more networking activity than people think. For a complete list, check out the online game list here:
http://gamecube.onlineconsoles.com/phpBB2/content_gameslist.php

[whoisKeel]

The GameCube has had a LOT more networking activity than people think. For a complete list, check out the online game list here:
http://gamecube.onlineconsoles.com/phpBB2/content_gameslist.php

Heh, good one!

[c0ldb33r]

Isn't the broadband adapter still necessary to play pirated games?
Not to repeat, but no it's not. After modding it, you can either burn onto small DVDs, or get a replacement case that allows you to use full size DVDs in your gamecube.

[Slate]

The GameCube has had a LOT more networking activity than people think. For a complete list, check out the online game list here:
http://gamecube.onlineconsoles.com/phpBB2/content_gameslist.php

Whoa, Zelda 4 Swords Adventures is listed. You mean I can play this game online with 3 other players?

[agbulls]

Whoa, Zelda 4 Swords Adventures is listed. You mean I can play this game online with 3 other players?

No, you can't. It's listed as a GBA to GC title. It has to have LAN capabilities to work through the net.

[Cryomancer]

http://www.schtserv.com/ also has gamecube PSO support now.

[lordnikon]

Whoa, Zelda 4 Swords Adventures is listed. You mean I can play this game online with 3 other players?
No, you can't. It's listed as a GBA to GC title. It has to have LAN capabilities to work through the net.

Notice the naming convention used for those games. They are under a catagory called "GC2GBP". This stands for GameCube 2 GameBoy Player.

You can actually network GameCube's to one another via the GameBoy Player. So, basically if you own 5 GameCube's (1 being the parent, and the other 4 acting as the children for control) you can play games like Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles and Zelda Four Swords with GameCube controllers. Mind you, this takes a ton of hardware to pull off.

The easiest way to do this would be with 1 GameCube as the parent, and two cubes setup with fliptop 5.6" LCD displays.

Some people might call this crazy. I think it is very cool.

[Mayhem]

We did that a little simpler at Eurocon this year, by having Pacman Vs on 2 TVs - one for the ghosts, and the other for Pacman by connecting a Cube with a GBA player to the main machine and having a Hori pad for the Pacman player.

[Jorpho]

I suppose live streaming video hasn't gotten good enough to accurately capture gameplay footage, has it?

I can imagine someone someday constructing a network transciever for a console's gamepad, something that would send the pad's input to a console running in another part of the world whose audio and visual output could then be transmitted back to the person holding the gamepad. But I guess that's still a few years off.

[Ed Oscuro]

I can imagine someone someday constructing a network transciever for a console's gamepad, something that would send the pad's input to a console running in another part of the world whose audio and visual output could then be transmitted back to the person holding the gamepad. But I guess that's still a few years off.
Yes, they'll call it "XBAND."

In all seriousness, transmitting streaming audio/visual output for a game instead of running your own workstation is always the poorer result, although Sony was saying that PS3s would be able to work on computational tasks for other PS3s via their internet connections. The downside of streaming would be the high bandwidth necessary, and the prospect of downtime; but the upside for content providers would be complete control over piracy as you'd essentially be running a dumb terminal, and no doubt they'd like that.

[Jorpho]

the upside for content providers would be complete control over piracy as you'd essentially be running a dumb terminal, and no doubt they'd like that.

Yeah, I guess that would be the ultimate result.