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Matt McMuscles: The Nintendo GameCube - What Happened?
- Thread starter IbizaPocholo
- Start date
- Opinion Trailer Hardware
DeathGuise
Member
Had some of the greatest games of all time, that's what happened
Doom85
Member
But then PS2 had even more of the greatest games of all time, also backwards compatibility and DVD player, so that’s what happened.
Seriously, I enjoyed my GC, had some great titles and Nintendo needs to stop dragging their feet and put GC titles on Switch online already, but PS2 is probably my favorite console of all time. The insane amount of win in the massive PS2 library was insane. With the PS2 also offering the above mentioned features, plus GC missing out on quite a few solid third party titles that gen, it should shock no one who sold FAR more that gen.
It was... weird on courting support from developers and customers.
The N64 didn't do well worldwide, but it was competitive in North America against the PS1, the Gamecube on the other hand not only had issues with having developers on board day zero (mini-DVD being one of the problems) , they didn't have enough software for the fall of 2001. The newcomer Xbox not only had high quality exclusives for almost every genre on the launch day, it had a much bigger third party suppor that included multiplatform games like Silent Hill 2, Max Payne, and Nascar for that season and it would get worse for Nintendo because the Gamecube was really being kicked out from the more mature oriented software that were selling millions (to this day), it was selling roughly on par with the Dreamcast time aligned and developers like Eidos and Acclaim were starting to drop out by early 2003.
A drastic decision to stop the production for almost the whole 2003 to get rid of the inventory and then a price cut to $99 was made and it started to sell moderately, sure thing the kiddy image would get ingrained since kids could buy a new system with their allowances/summer work money, but it was better than nothing despite early efforts to attract late teenagers and adults.
The N64 didn't do well worldwide, but it was competitive in North America against the PS1, the Gamecube on the other hand not only had issues with having developers on board day zero (mini-DVD being one of the problems) , they didn't have enough software for the fall of 2001. The newcomer Xbox not only had high quality exclusives for almost every genre on the launch day, it had a much bigger third party suppor that included multiplatform games like Silent Hill 2, Max Payne, and Nascar for that season and it would get worse for Nintendo because the Gamecube was really being kicked out from the more mature oriented software that were selling millions (to this day), it was selling roughly on par with the Dreamcast time aligned and developers like Eidos and Acclaim were starting to drop out by early 2003.
A drastic decision to stop the production for almost the whole 2003 to get rid of the inventory and then a price cut to $99 was made and it started to sell moderately, sure thing the kiddy image would get ingrained since kids could buy a new system with their allowances/summer work money, but it was better than nothing despite early efforts to attract late teenagers and adults.
Guerilla Munch
Member
they lost that gen (sales-wise) literally because it didn't support dvds
gamecube graphics were head and shoulders above ps2 graphics, and most of its games hold up beautifully today
gamecube graphics were head and shoulders above ps2 graphics, and most of its games hold up beautifully today
existensmaximum
Member
I've always preferred the Gamecube before the PS2 and Xbox. Easily.
Touch fuzZy. get BizZay
Member
It was awesome and had great games. The end.
Nitty_Grimes
Made a crappy phPBB forum once ... once.
Carry handle was completely unnecessary.
I Love Rock 'n' Roll
Member
It sucked hard and was even worse than the legendary WiiU in every possible ways, the 1st ones were it lacks of games, how f*cking idiot the console looks and how pathetic were the OG controlers.
I had one for launch in Europe since its tech was overhype at that time. It was a Nintendo console after all and i loved the N64. So the best was to come, right? 1080 and waverace were not fun at all. Nintendo killed the magic of those N64 titles. Luigi was… not Mario 64, it was obvious to anyone and not a killer app. And Pickmin…oooohhh boys, why would someone play that over any DreamCast game?
Then came the long, long, long moment were players had to wait for… GAAAAAAMES! I remember waiting a lot, like a f*cking lot! The reality was it had like 0 game in the 6 first months. Nothing was coming, no games to play, f*cking nothing on the horizon! I started to be mad (DC was dead too) and to hate it despite Nintendo promesses and that was the 1st time ever i hated Nintendo. The reality was that the N64 was still a better choice at the time… by far! The over reality was how great was the GBA SP. The Game Cube was just dead on arrival.
So I sold it, since no games were coming in Europe, and got a Xbox instead. I loved og xbox! I still have it (i am both a nostalgic and a new tech enthusiasm guy) and i think that says quitte a lot on how Nintendo sh*ts over early support gamers and did not give a f*cking sh*t about us. F*ck Game Cube and f*ck Nintendo for that, the console with no games in the 6 first months. Can you believe it?
I had one for launch in Europe since its tech was overhype at that time. It was a Nintendo console after all and i loved the N64. So the best was to come, right? 1080 and waverace were not fun at all. Nintendo killed the magic of those N64 titles. Luigi was… not Mario 64, it was obvious to anyone and not a killer app. And Pickmin…oooohhh boys, why would someone play that over any DreamCast game?
Then came the long, long, long moment were players had to wait for… GAAAAAAMES! I remember waiting a lot, like a f*cking lot! The reality was it had like 0 game in the 6 first months. Nothing was coming, no games to play, f*cking nothing on the horizon! I started to be mad (DC was dead too) and to hate it despite Nintendo promesses and that was the 1st time ever i hated Nintendo. The reality was that the N64 was still a better choice at the time… by far! The over reality was how great was the GBA SP. The Game Cube was just dead on arrival.
So I sold it, since no games were coming in Europe, and got a Xbox instead. I loved og xbox! I still have it (i am both a nostalgic and a new tech enthusiasm guy) and i think that says quitte a lot on how Nintendo sh*ts over early support gamers and did not give a f*cking sh*t about us. F*ck Game Cube and f*ck Nintendo for that, the console with no games in the 6 first months. Can you believe it?
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cireza
Member
Gamecube didn't start too well indeed. I got mine later. I preferred buying an Xbox because there were excellent SEGA games very early in the life of the console, starting by Jet Set Radio at launch.
However, as soon as Dragon Ball Budokai came to Gamecube, I bought it. And I loved the console. I played a ton of excellent games on it, such as Metroid Prime 1 and 2, Lost Kingdoms 2, PSO ep2 and 3, Resident Evil 4, Naruto games, Bleach GC, Battle Stadium, Baten Kaitos etc... There were some really fun third party games on it, which was a great step up when compared to N64. The GBA Player was also a great idea and worked very well.
However, as soon as Dragon Ball Budokai came to Gamecube, I bought it. And I loved the console. I played a ton of excellent games on it, such as Metroid Prime 1 and 2, Lost Kingdoms 2, PSO ep2 and 3, Resident Evil 4, Naruto games, Bleach GC, Battle Stadium, Baten Kaitos etc... There were some really fun third party games on it, which was a great step up when compared to N64. The GBA Player was also a great idea and worked very well.
Honey Bunny
Member
Sounds like you needed a PS2
tomato shrub
Member
Proof that sales =/= quality. Easily one of the best libraries Nintendo ever did, especially if you look at it from the point of time it was released. There's a reason this year's top rated games so far are Metroid Prime and RE4 lol. Add in F-Zero GX, Paper Mario and RE1make for another batch of highly diverse 10/10 games. Some of the best graphics of the generation - Star Wars was mindblowing. Yeah, Wind Waker and Mario Sunshine were very flawed, BUT I appreciate failed experiments much more than safe cash-ins like New Super Mario Bros. So many new IPs like Luigis Mansion, Pikmin, Eternal Darkness, Monkey Ball... just a ballsy console all around.
NikuNashi
Member
Metroid Prime (GOAT contender)
Wind Waker (Better than BOTW)
Metroid Prime 2 : Echoes
Luigis Mansion
SuperMonkey Ball
Mario Sunshine (yes its a great game)
Fzero GX (I bought it day one, why didnt you you shrimp dicked 'fans')
RE4 (needs no comment)
Happened...
Fuck the haters
Wind Waker (Better than BOTW)
Metroid Prime 2 : Echoes
Luigis Mansion
SuperMonkey Ball
Mario Sunshine (yes its a great game)
Fzero GX (I bought it day one, why didnt you you shrimp dicked 'fans')
RE4 (needs no comment)
Happened...
Fuck the haters
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Dream-Knife
Banned
Gamecube wasn't where it was at that gen. People now have a false nostalgia for it, but it was pretty much dead back then.
I got a gamecube within the first year. You had to own either a ps2 or xbox in addition.
I got a gamecube within the first year. You had to own either a ps2 or xbox in addition.
skit_data
Member
Gamecube was my only console from that gen, but I gradually shifted more on to PC in the latter half of it. Compared to most games from that era and the gen before it some of the Gamecube games still look good today. Metroid Prime 1&2, Rogue Squadron 2 and to a lesser extent Smash bros Melee looks fine IMO, bar the sub HD resolution.
I remember thinking Star Fox Adventures was the best looking game I had ever played because of the water reflections, the grass and Fox's fur. It hasn't really aged as well as some of the others though.
I remember thinking Star Fox Adventures was the best looking game I had ever played because of the water reflections, the grass and Fox's fur. It hasn't really aged as well as some of the others though.
PSFan
Member
My launch GC is black.
E-Cat
Member
And mine is silver (not launch). But purple was the color used in the logo and early marketing materials.
Moses85
Member
Nintendos decission against a DVD Player and the fucking mini DVDs wasBut then PS2 had even more of the greatest games of all time, also backwards compatibility and DVD player, so that’s what happened.
Seriously, I enjoyed my GC, had some great titles and Nintendo needs to stop dragging their feet and put GC titles on Switch online already, but PS2 is probably my favorite console of all time. The insane amount of win in the massive PS2 library was insane. With the PS2 also offering the above mentioned features, plus GC missing out on quite a few solid third party titles that gen, it should shock no one who sold FAR more that gen.
I think people really underestimated just how hard Nintendo got hit with that reputation around this time. Nintendo was already getting labeled with that during the N64 era, but when they showed off the purple-handed lunch box, it really looked like they were committing to the Family market. Around 2000 the biggest gamer markets was the late teens and early twenties market, and this just didn't make an impression as something they wanted to play.
Mokus
Member
What happened? "Nintendo consoles were for kids" impression. Let's not forget the heavy handed censorship in the 90s for North American market so they can protect the kids. Nintendo tried to fix this with the GameCube but look what a stupid childish looking console they put out. Even the gamepad looks like a toy.
PlayStation 2 was for cool teenagers and grown-up gamers.
PlayStation 2 was for cool teenagers and grown-up gamers.
EverydayBeast
thinks Halo Infinite is a new graphical benchmark
Wind waker came out in 2002 and still feels very new, the cell shading, the main dungeons, I wish there were more games like it.
E-Cat
Member
To the credit of the mini-DVDs, loading times on the Gamecube were amazing compared to the PS2.Nintendos decission against a DVD Player and the fucking mini DVDs was
Efren is G.O.A.T.
Member
I loved the gamecube but lack of dvd player, lack of third party games and no online were the main reasons for why it "failed" I think.
Great games though.
Great games though.
Sub_Level
wants to fuck an Asian grill.
gta san andreas - october 26, 2004
halo 2 - november 9, 2004
half life 2 - november 16, 2004
metal gear solid 3 - november 17, 2004
world of warcraft - november 23, 2004
What a kickass season for videogames. It would be a shame to have a platform that didn’t have access to even a single one of those titles.
halo 2 - november 9, 2004
half life 2 - november 16, 2004
metal gear solid 3 - november 17, 2004
world of warcraft - november 23, 2004
What a kickass season for videogames. It would be a shame to have a platform that didn’t have access to even a single one of those titles.
Bridges
Member
I could gush about the GameCube lineup for ages
Wind Waker, a game that will never be less beautiful than the day it released
Luigi's Mansion, the most inspired take on "survival horror" around (and the first is still the best in the series)
Mario Sunshine, the sequel to Mario 64 with a bold new direction
Metroid Prime 1 & 2, a serious FPS series from Nintendo still revered to this day
Eternal Darkness, forget what I said about LM, because THIS is survival horror in a way no one has replicated
Pikmin, Miyamoto's last new IP
Smash Bros. Melee, a game with such amazing and compelling mechanics that it still thrives within the FGC
Twilight Princess, the answer to the haters who wanted a "Mature" Zelda instead of Wind Waker
Mario Party 4-7, not everyone's cup of tea but if you were into party games then these were hours and hours of fun, 4 & 6 in particular
Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, one of the greatest turn-based RPGs and hands-down the best story in a Mario game
Mario Kart: Double Dash, one of the best MKs with wholly unique mechanics that let two players on the same kart
Kirby Air Ride, the first fully 3D Kirby game with addictive gameplay and an unlockable system that would later be iterated on in Smash and Kid Icarus
GBA Player, giving you access to all of Nintendo's handheld releases on the big screen
That's not even everything, and fully excluding great third party releases like the Sonic Adventure ports, the Resident Evil games, Killer7, Viewtiful Joe, etc.
Fuck the haters, PS2 had more games and better third party support but you're smoking crack if you don't think the GameCube had an all star lineup by the end of its run. Modern consoles wish they could have the catalogue the GameCube had.
Wind Waker, a game that will never be less beautiful than the day it released
Luigi's Mansion, the most inspired take on "survival horror" around (and the first is still the best in the series)
Mario Sunshine, the sequel to Mario 64 with a bold new direction
Metroid Prime 1 & 2, a serious FPS series from Nintendo still revered to this day
Eternal Darkness, forget what I said about LM, because THIS is survival horror in a way no one has replicated
Pikmin, Miyamoto's last new IP
Smash Bros. Melee, a game with such amazing and compelling mechanics that it still thrives within the FGC
Twilight Princess, the answer to the haters who wanted a "Mature" Zelda instead of Wind Waker
Mario Party 4-7, not everyone's cup of tea but if you were into party games then these were hours and hours of fun, 4 & 6 in particular
Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, one of the greatest turn-based RPGs and hands-down the best story in a Mario game
Mario Kart: Double Dash, one of the best MKs with wholly unique mechanics that let two players on the same kart
Kirby Air Ride, the first fully 3D Kirby game with addictive gameplay and an unlockable system that would later be iterated on in Smash and Kid Icarus
GBA Player, giving you access to all of Nintendo's handheld releases on the big screen
That's not even everything, and fully excluding great third party releases like the Sonic Adventure ports, the Resident Evil games, Killer7, Viewtiful Joe, etc.
Fuck the haters, PS2 had more games and better third party support but you're smoking crack if you don't think the GameCube had an all star lineup by the end of its run. Modern consoles wish they could have the catalogue the GameCube had.
Syphon Filter
Member
Aside from ssbm, what others? it had good games but goat type? not much.
Trunx81
Member
Loved my GC, got it for the 99€ deal with a bunch of games. Eternal Darkness was the better R:E of its time.
Also had the PS2, but most fun came out of the GC. Mario Kart, Timesplitters in 4 player split screen, Smash, Mario Party, PacMan VS. So many amazing memories playing with my friends. Fire Emblem. Star Wars (still holds up to this day). Wind Waker… not so much because of the non-invertable camera at its time, like in Mario Sunshine (or did I just overlook the option to change it?).
Also had the PS2, but most fun came out of the GC. Mario Kart, Timesplitters in 4 player split screen, Smash, Mario Party, PacMan VS. So many amazing memories playing with my friends. Fire Emblem. Star Wars (still holds up to this day). Wind Waker… not so much because of the non-invertable camera at its time, like in Mario Sunshine (or did I just overlook the option to change it?).
Syphon Filter
Member
huh? gamecube is great! it's better than wii and wiiu, switch is debatable. the design is nice and doesn't take up much space, the controller is great especially the wireless wavebird. it had great games as wel.
Syphon Filter
Member
switch is a home console.
RAIDEN1
Member
Well it didn't help that to look at it looked like a kid's packed lunch box...Panasonic's version however remains one of the best looking consoles out there...also add to the fact that the clampdown on all things Dolphin Emulation means you would need to go back to the original Gamecube in order to replay any of its hidden gems....especially if you don't have a beast of a PC
Naked Lunch
Member
Gamecube is where Nintendo died for me.
Luigi's Mansion was so damn weak.
Wind Waker a major step back - that triforce hunt is unforgivably bad game design.
Pikmin, Twin Snakes, Eternal Darkness - all mediocre crap.
I never liked The Prime games either - 2d or bust for Metroid for me.
Mario Golf and Tennis are significantly worse than their N64 counterparts.
Not to mention the godawful controller.
Its only redeeming qualities were FZero GX and Killer 7.
But those 2 games alone are more than enough to keep the system close by even in 2023.
I also like the Gameboy Player attachment.
Luigi's Mansion was so damn weak.
Wind Waker a major step back - that triforce hunt is unforgivably bad game design.
Pikmin, Twin Snakes, Eternal Darkness - all mediocre crap.
I never liked The Prime games either - 2d or bust for Metroid for me.
Mario Golf and Tennis are significantly worse than their N64 counterparts.
Not to mention the godawful controller.
Its only redeeming qualities were FZero GX and Killer 7.
But those 2 games alone are more than enough to keep the system close by even in 2023.
I also like the Gameboy Player attachment.
TheBROgamer
Banned
GameCube is the last true high quality exclusive Nintendo console.
The Switch is alright but lacks the experimental high quality games the GC had, which were exclusive.
The Switch is alright but lacks the experimental high quality games the GC had, which were exclusive.
TheBROgamer
Banned
GameCube has...
Metroid Prime
Wind Waker/Twilight Princess
Resident Evil 4
ReMake
Etc.
All in their prime!
I also used my GC to play online with...
GOAT'd
Metroid Prime
Wind Waker/Twilight Princess
Resident Evil 4
ReMake
Etc.
All in their prime!
I also used my GC to play online with...
GOAT'd
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nowhat
Member
So, just to repeat this for the nth time as this seemingly needs to be repeated every time a "What Happened?" video gets posted:
The series is about games/consoles/movies that have had a troubled development history. It's not about how good the end product is - more often than not it's a turd, but not always. So for those of you who didn't watch the video but just decided to throw a fit over it, it doesn't criticize your precious purple lunchbox, but tells about how it was developed. And no matter how you feel about the result, there certainly were issues.
Holammer
Member
GC had great hardware, together with the Xbox they shit on the PS2 from great heights.
But it was handicapped by yet another evolutionary dead end of a controller and lack of third party support killed it. GC like the N64 sold poorly and both have an absolutely pathetic library of games. It's so small, it's within the realm of possibility to put together a perfect collection of games.
But it was handicapped by yet another evolutionary dead end of a controller and lack of third party support killed it. GC like the N64 sold poorly and both have an absolutely pathetic library of games. It's so small, it's within the realm of possibility to put together a perfect collection of games.
Nintendo is what happened with the Gamecube. The way they treated developers during the NES and SNES eras made devs want to jump ship as soon as they could. Add to that cartridge storage formats of N64 and you lost a lot of dev support before the Gamecube launched. Once the PS2 took off, Gamecube wasn’t going to get enough sales to lure the devs back over.
EruditeHobo
Member
3rd place in the generation, for me. I really liked a few games on it... but it had nothing like the best of what was available on PS2 & Xbox:
FF games, Halo, MGS, KOTOR, Ninja Gaiden, GTA, Prince of Persia, God of War, Tekken... it just goes on and on.
How many of those were on Gamecube? I honestly don't remember... I used it for like 4-5 games and that was it. RE4 was even multiplat after a handful of months, wasn't it? I mean don't get me wrong, these lists are pretty good and I do agree there are a handful of really fun games that I played through on GC. But yeah... it's a clear 3rd place.
That's, what I imagine, "happened".
FF games, Halo, MGS, KOTOR, Ninja Gaiden, GTA, Prince of Persia, God of War, Tekken... it just goes on and on.
How many of those were on Gamecube? I honestly don't remember... I used it for like 4-5 games and that was it. RE4 was even multiplat after a handful of months, wasn't it? I mean don't get me wrong, these lists are pretty good and I do agree there are a handful of really fun games that I played through on GC. But yeah... it's a clear 3rd place.
That's, what I imagine, "happened".
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Bridges
Member
I am aware. "Fuck the haters" was not directed at Matt or anyone in particular. Just being a bit cheeky. It's not my "precious purple lunchbox" but sometimes when talking about something as frivolous as videogames I like to be hyperbolic, as do many others.
Some of the discourse in this thread is over how the PS2 was better, I was just throwing my two cents in on that. What you said does not "need repeating" just because of the content of my post.
ByWatterson
Member
It had:
Wind Waker
Rogue Leader
Smash Melee
Twilight Princess
RE4
REmake
Metroid Prime
Prince of Persia: Sands of Time
Beyond Good & Evil
and so was one of the best consoles ever.
Wind Waker
Rogue Leader
Smash Melee
Twilight Princess
RE4
REmake
Metroid Prime
Prince of Persia: Sands of Time
Beyond Good & Evil
and so was one of the best consoles ever.
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Pallas
Gold Member
GameCube was a fine system but its reputation was already damaged by the N64. PlayStation and the second one had a lot of third party support that the GameCube didn’t enjoy(it had a few gems though that made you consider getting one though)
It missed out on some really great games that the system could have easily handled.
It missed out on some really great games that the system could have easily handled.
Rocco Schiavone
Member
Last good Nintendo console.
Nintendo has at least tried to remain technically at eye level.
Nintendo has at least tried to remain technically at eye level.
kunonabi
Member
Got a GC at launch but it's been my least favorite Nintendo console until the Switch. I liked the controller for multiplats but otherwise I didn't use it for much outside of Capcom's stuff and local multi-player games. Too much of the first party library felt rushed and unfinished.
