What was wrong with the Gamecube?

[Sunnyvale]

The Gamecube was certainly the less advanced of the 6th gene consoles, but we can say the same about the Wii and 7th gen, can't we? Fact is,Nintendo can afford to be lazy on their console development. They don't need a fancy DVD player, or internet capability, or half the RAM. They've got Mario, Zelda, Pokemon and Metroid.

[Deadman]

For me the Gamecube just simply didn't "look" like a kick-ass game machine, so I didn't get one until around 2005 or 2006. The Xbox was the new bad-ass kid on the block with great graphics, DVD player, and the Microsoft name on it. The PS2 was the successor to one of the highest selling systems of all time - the one that killed the superior Dreamcast (yes, that's my opinion). As was stated earlier, the Gamecube looked like a kids toy (purple, handle, tiny discs instead of cd's) and the game selection was as usual, geared toward younger pleyers with the Mario/pokemon/Zelda franchises.

I own 3 Gamecubes and my two sons each have one of their own in their rooms. I think it's a fun machine to collect for and it's first party, GC exclusive games are fairly fun, but any game that's also on the Xbox or PS2 will never go in my Gamecube as the controller and graphics are just plain inferior.

But as has been said, Nintendo marches to its' own drum and they took it, rebranded it as the Wii and made a fortune in motion control. The same thing will happen to the 3DS - when Mario and Pokemon Gray come out in 3D, it's all over. That thing will be in every kids pocket and superior gaming machines will be left sitting untouched. It's crazy, but Nintendo actually seems to know what it's doing!

[Aussie2B]

Gamecube weaker than PS2? What is this rewriting of history? Maybe in certain aspects (I don't know the exact specs of each) and the GameCube definitely has a smaller storage medium, but it was widely accepted during that generation that GameCube games generally had more impressive graphics than PS2. The order went: Xbox > GameCube > PS2

[Gameguy]

Damn. Here in the U.S., DVD players were as low as $35 in 2002.

I distinctly remember that I couldn't find a DVD player anywhere near that cheap, even the crappy ones were around $80-$100(I think) but those were known to have problems just months after buying them so they weren't worth getting. I know around 2002/2003 I was willing to trade a used laptop for any DVD player but couldn't find anyone willing to trade. I know the laptop was bought used around 2000 for $500, it was still worth something back then(though now it's pretty much worthless). At that time if I could have found any DVD player for under $40 I would have bought one.

We ended up picking out a Sony one in I think 2003/2004 for over $150(I think $180 but can't remember for sure), this was for my uncle. I didn't get one until around 2005 when I asked for a DVD/VHS combo one for my birthday, after Batman: The Animated Series came out I really wanted a player and the series. I'm still using that player though VHS tapes are now hard to insert for some reason.

[Rob2600]

Gamecube weaker than PS2? What is this rewriting of history? ... The order went: Xbox > GameCube > PS2

Exactly. In the hands of the absolute best developers, the Xbox could produce roughly 36 million polygons/second in-game, the GameCube could produce roughly 25 million polygons/second in-game, and the PS2 could produce roughly 18 million polygons/second in-game.

Plus, the GameCube has superior texturing than the PS2, faster RAM, and a more efficient architecture overall.

[Mr Smith]

Exactly. In the hands of the absolute best developers, the Xbox could produce roughly 36 million polygons/second in-game, the GameCube could produce roughly 25 million polygons/second in-game, and the PS2 could produce roughly 18 million polygons/second in-game.

Yes, because anybody bothering to play a game stops to count the polygons. The PS2 had much better games than the GameCube (irrespective of seven million polygons) the controllers for the GameCube also were really, really tosh.

[RP2A03]

If by "tosh" you mean that they were some the most comfortable controllers ever made and had a good general purpose design, then I agree with you. As for your opinion of the PS2 having better games, I won't hold your bad taste against you.

[LaughingMAN.S9]

^^^waaaaahhhhhhhh???


is that even debatable at this point?



ps2 had/has the greatest gaming library of all time



i liked my gamecube, but honestly their were maybe 8 system exclusives worth owning in my eyes, and like 3 of them are resident evil

[Aussie2B]

Well, if you want to use "weaker" as a general term to describe your feelings on the quality of the games and so on, fine, but there's no arguing that PS2 is literally the weaker system. In fact, anybody that whines about the Wii's lack of power probably has the PS2 more to blame than anything else since it showed that it was possible to be dead last in hardware capabilities and still come out on top. The fact that the N64 was a more capable 3D machine than the PlayStation and the GameCube with the PS2 didn't help them any, so they probably questioned why they were even spending the money.

[Mayhem]

ps2 had/has the greatest gaming library of all time

SNES/SFC has the greatest gaming library of all time imo

And the only thing wrong with the Cube pad was the placement of the buttons made it awkward for some games. Most ergonomic, comfortable pad I've ever used (the 360 pad is just behind) with one of the best analog sticks. By comparison the dual shock is painfully lacking in shape and form, and the analog sticks on it are, to use Mr Smith's terminology, tosh.

[spoonman]

It's simple.. Nintendo made 1st party games so polished that 3rd party companies just couldn't compete with them. So most didn't even try.

Only a few knew how to take advantage of the system's capabilities, such as Capcom with Resident Evil 4, and it shows.

[Icarus Moonsight]

Metroid Prime and Rogue Leader gives multiple eyegasms...

PS2 was the most recent proof of concept for the flashy trash machine. Sure it's hardware sucks, but everyone puts a game on it and suddenly nobody cares. PS1 was a middle-road champ, like the SNES. So trash doesn't equal treasure, just when all the comp is going balls to the wall tech.

[Gamevet]

The Gamecube had a small collection of great games, but you'd have to be downright blind, or played very little PS2 titles to think it doesn't have one of the greatest library of games. The Gamecube doesn't come close, even though it had great games.

[BetaWolf47]

Yes, because anybody bothering to play a game stops to count the polygons.

I guess you don't understand the fact that a higher polygon count amounts to smoother shapes then? Not something you have to stop and count to even notice.

I'll agree that the PS2 had more good games than GameCube. There's no questioning it. But when it comes to GameCube's best of the best to PS2's best of the best, there's no comparison in my eyes.

[bangtango]

I guess you don't understand the fact that a higher polygon count amounts to smoother shapes then? Not something you have to stop and count to even notice.

Just my two cents.....

Some of the games that best display this difference are anything EA Sports or Sega Sports/2K released on both the Cube and PS2. Madden is a good example, since I've often ended up with the same edition of Madden on all three last-gen platforms because of the very low used prices.

And you are right, it is noticeable without having to count.

[Sunnyvale]

The Gamecube had a small collection of great games, but you'd have to be downright blind, or played very little PS2 titles to think it doesn't have one of the greatest library of games. The Gamecube doesn't come close, even though it had great games.

I've played quite a few games, PS2, Cube, and others. IMHO, the PS2 library is a lesser version of the XBOx's. I can't think of one PS2-only game that would make me plug my system in (PS3 is YLOD). Matter of fact, 2 weeks ago I found the game I've wanted most (Mega Man X Command Mission) on the PS2 for a while. Haven't even tested it. My least favorite console of the 6th gen.

[j_factor]

PS2 is my least favorite console of that generation too. The system is only good for exclusives (and the occasional PSP port), because multiplatform games are always better on the other system(s), with perhaps three exceptions. RPGs are one of its strengths, but the overall quality of RPGs went down compared to the previous generation IMO, although there are still some that I liked a lot. When people make lists of "great" PS2 games, they always include games that were better on Xbox or whatever. I suppose PS2 is the best, if it's the only system you have.

[NBaco]

I personally thought the Gamecube was a good console and could only shake my head at the people who went around calling it the "Gaycube" or the "kiddiecube". If you were willing to dig a little deeper than Metroid Prime and Resident Evil 4, you'd find it had a pretty decent selection of games. Some of my personal picks include...

-Harvest Moon: A wonderful life. Yes I sometimes play Harvest Moon games. Laugh it up. Also may not technically count on the grounds it got a PS2 release eventually, but eh I'm counting it anyway.

-Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, a bit hard to find but worth it if you're into Fire Emblem titles.

-Paper Mario: Thousand Year Door

-Pikmin 2

-Tales of Symphonia

There's also the common favorites like Super Mario Sunshine, Metroid Prime, and Resident Evil 4 though with the exception of RE4 I wasn't too fond of either of those games.

In regards to the controller, I thought it was a pretty good controller. I find it funny that people bash the tiny dpad (I hate it too in all fairness) yet seem perfectly fine with the 360's worthless stiff-ass dpad. The C-Stick also was a little awkward, but overall a nice controller. I feel the dpad woes though because I have the zelda anniversary disc and I can tell you right now the 2 NES Zelda games are barely functional because of it. Unless you use the analog stick. I already have the 2 NES Zelda games though so no loss for me.

I'm not getting in on the PS2 debate. I like the PS2 and the Gamecube, I don't see the need in comparing them. They're both proud parts of my collection.

[Sunnyvale]

PS2 is my least favorite console of that generation too. The system is only good for exclusives (and the occasional PSP port), because multiplatform games are always better on the other system(s), with perhaps three exceptions. RPGs are one of its strengths, but the overall quality of RPGs went down compared to the previous generation IMO, although there are still some that I liked a lot. When people make lists of "great" PS2 games, they always include games that were better on Xbox or whatever. I suppose PS2 is the best, if it's the only system you have.

I haven't been into RPG's for a long time now, so that strength was lost on me.

[Mr Smith]

I guess you don't understand the fact that a higher polygon count amounts to smoother shapes then? Not something you have to stop and count to even notice.

My comment about counting polygons was, of course, sarcastic - things have moved on from the days of pausing a game of Virtua Racing and being able to count all three of them!