Nintendo GameCube

The Nintendo GameCube, commonly abbrevaiated as NGC, GC, or GameCube, was a CD-based console. It was released in late 2001 in Japan/North America and 2002 in Europe. The GameCube is Nintendo's fourth home system released internationally and the first to use compact disks for storing games until the hybrid Nintendo Switch, which returns back to using cartridges like early systems.

Part of of the Sixth Generation (rarely called 128-bit era) alongside the Game Boy Advance, the GameCube competed against the Sega Dreamcast, Sony PlayStation 2, and Microsoft Xbox. Unlike its rivals (or the Wii and Wii U), however, although it is technically CD-based, the GameCube does not use standard DVD/CD media for its games but rather the smaller MiniDVD format, due to Nintendo's strong stance against piracy. However, similar to its predecessor the Nintendo 64, this decision by Nintendo proved to be a major flaw during its market life, as the GameCube disc's storage limitations can only hold up to 1.5 GB of data while the PS2/Xbox can use up to 8.5 GB, resulting game ports suffering memory compression, less content, or some titles never released for the console. Consequently, the GameCube was not quite as successful as the older Nintendo consoles before it; In its generation, the PlayStation 2 completely dominated even further than the original PlayStation in the previous 32/64-bit era while the GameCube sold slightly less than the Xbox (though it still surpassed the failed Dreamcast). It was even the least successful home console by the company until the Wii U. Ironically, its successor, the Wii, would eventually reverse Nintendo's position in the market and once more with the Switch.

Despite the clear issues with its third-party sales, lack of multimedia features and mixed reception, the Nintendo GameCube was not a financial failure. Its library of games is known to have praised titles directly made by Nintendo or 2nd-parties such as Super Mario Sunshine, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, Metroid Prime, F-Zero GX, Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, Star Fox Adventures, Super Smash Bros. Melee, Pokemon Colosseum and more. It also introduced the Luigi's Mansion, Pikmin, and Animal Crossing franchises (although the latter was originally on the N64 in Japan).

With an add-on called the Game Boy Player, the GameCube is able to play most GBA games alongside its predecessors the Game Boy Color and Game Boy. The original model of the Wii is backwards compatible with the GameCube's controllers, Memory Cards, and software titles, making that console the first by Nintendo to do so. Later model Wiis such as the Wii Family Edition and Wii Mini, however, have removed compatibility with GameCube peripherals and software. The Wii U is also incompatible with GameCube software, but its controllers can work through a USB adapter. Despite this, only Super Smash Bros. for Wii U supports the use of the accessory.

It sold 21.74 million units worldwide and was discontinued in 2007.

The Nintendo GameCube's predecessor is the Nintendo 64 while it was succeeded by the Wii.

Games[]

The Legend of Zelda series[]

Crossover[]

Super Smash Bros. Melee (not an official Zelda game, but features series' characters, stages, and items)
SoulCalibur II (not an official Zelda game, but features Link)

With Collector's Edition and the Game Boy Player, every game in The Legend of Zelda series up to Twilight Princess can be played on the GameCube. The Legend of Zelda and The Adventure of Link can be played on the GameCube through Collector's Edition and through the Game Boy Player add-on with the Classic NES versions of the games. A Link to the Past can be played through the Game Boy Player with the Game Boy Advance port of the game. Link's Awakening/Link's Awakening DX can be played through the Game Boy Player as well (as the Game Boy Advance is compatible with Game Boy and Game Boy Color titles). Ocarina of Time can be played through Master Quest and Collector's Edition. Majora's Mask can be played through the Collector's Edition as well, although sound irregularities and freezing can occur in this version. Four Swords can be played through the Game Boy Player, as can Oracle of Ages, Oracle of Seasons, and The Minish Cap. The Game & Watch title Zelda (Game & Watch) can also be played as part of Game & Watch Gallery 4.

Trivia[]

The slogan of the GameCube is "Born to Play".
The original retail price of the GameCube in 2001 is $199, which is the equivalent of $353.72 in 2024.
The GameCube's original launch titles are Luigi's Mansion, Wave Race: Blue Storm, and Super Monkey Ball. Because of this, it is the first Nintendo home console since the NES not to have a Super Mario game as part of its launch lineup (despite Luigi's Mansion being related).
The relaxing music of the GameCube's main menu is actually the Famicom Disk System's (an add-on for the Japanese version of the NES) theme, albeit played very slowly.
The Nintendo GameCube's library consists of 646 games. Interestingly, Twilight Princess is the final title ever to be released in the console.
The Wind Waker and Twilight Princess, are the 4th and 20th best-selling games on the GameCube, with 4.43 and 1.32 million sold (although the Wii version of the latter had 5.82 million). The remaining mainline title on the system, Four Swords Adventures, however, sold less than 1 million. For comparison, its highest seller, Super Smash Bros. Melee, sold 7.41 million.
The GameCube, alongside the Game Boy Advance, marks the first time where Nintendo and Sega settled their notorious rivalry and Sonic the Hedgehog series games were to be released on the former's consoles since, as the latter retired from making consoles after the failure of the Dreamcast.
Although the GameCube is known to be quite durable, its internal drive has an infamous flaw where its stock capacitors would quickly wear out from use, which would cause the console to have difficulty reading discs even with clean laser lens, and fans saying it needs to "warm up" for over 10 minutes for it to be able to run games at all, until it gets replaced by opening the GameCube entirely for repairs.
If the player has a file of both The Wind Waker and the GCN version of Metal Gear Solid, in the latter game the boss character Psycho Mantis makes a cameo mention of the former game during the battle.
The GameCube has an 18-bit color mode, which is used when hardware limitations force the use of a lower color depth. All "Zelda" games for the GameCube and Wii have made use of the hardware's 18-bit color mode.

Nomenclature[]

Names in Other Regions
Language		Name
	Japanese	ニンテンドーゲームキューブ (Nintendō Gēmukyūbu)
	German	Nintendo GameCube

Gallery[]

The Wind Waker, the first Zelda game released on the GameCube
Four Swords Adventures, the second Zelda game released on the GameCube
Twilight Princess, the third Zelda game released on the GameCube, and overall final title
A GameCube bundle featuring Collector's Edition
PAL limited edition bundle featuring The Wind Waker alongside Master Quest
The controller of the GameCube
A Pokemon XD Gale of Darkness themed GameCube with the Game Boy Player add-on attached

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