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home video game console A home video game console is a video game console that is designed to be connected to a display device, such as a television, and an external power source as to play video games. Home consoles are generally less powerful and customizable than ...
developed and released by
Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles. Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produce ...
in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, and in
PAL Phase Alternating Line (PAL) is a colour encoding system for analogue television. It was one of three major analogue colour television standards, the others being NTSC and SECAM. In most countries it was broadcast at 625 lines, 50 fields (25 ...
territories in 2002. It is the successor to the
Nintendo 64 The (N64) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo. The successor to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, it was released on June 23, 1996, in Japan, on September 29, 1996, in North America, and on March 1, 1997, in Europe and Au ...
(1996), and predecessor of the
Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other Regional lockout, regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major ho ...
(2006). In the
sixth generation of video game consoles In the history of video games The history of video games began in the 1950s and 1960s as computer scientists began designing simple games and simulations on minicomputers and mainframes. '' Spacewar!'' was developed by MIT student hobbyis ...
, the GameCube competed with
Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
's
PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...
and
Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...
's
Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the na ...
. Flagship games include '' Super Smash Bros. Melee'', ''
Luigi's Mansion is a 2001 action-adventure game developed and published by Nintendo. The game was a launch title for the GameCube and was the first game in the ''Mario'' franchise to be released for the console; it was released in Japan on September 14, 20 ...
'', ''
Super Mario Sunshine is a 2002 platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the GameCube. It is the second 3D game in the ''Super Mario'' series, following ''Super Mario 64'' (1996). The game was directed by Yoshiaki Koizumi and Kenta Usui, produced by ...
'', ''
Metroid Prime ''Metroid Prime'' is an action-adventure video game developed by Retro Studios and published by Nintendo for the GameCube. ''Metroid Prime'' is the fifth main installment in the '' Metroid'' franchise and the first game in the series to use 3D c ...
'', '' Mario Kart: Double Dash'', ''
Pikmin is a real-time strategy and puzzle video game series created by Shigeru Miyamoto, and published by Nintendo. The games focus on directing a horde of plant-like creatures called Pikmin in order to collect items by destroying obstacles, avoiding ...
'', ''
Pikmin 2 is a 2004 real-time strategy puzzle video game developed and published by Nintendo for the GameCube home video game console. It is the direct sequel to the 2001 game ''Pikmin'' and is the second game in the ''Pikmin'' series. Like its predecesso ...
'', '' The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker'', ''
Chibi-Robo! is a series of adventure video games developed by Skip Ltd. and published by Nintendo. The franchise follows a series of tiny Robotic units known as Chibi-Robo, whose purpose is to spread Happiness. Recurring game elements of the franchise inc ...
'', and ''
Animal Crossing is a social simulation video game series developed and published by Nintendo. The series was conceptualized and created by Katsuya Eguchi and Hisashi Nogami. In ''Animal Crossing'', the player character is a human who lives in a village inhabi ...
''. Development was enabled by the 1997 formation of computer graphics company
ArtX ArtX was a company formed in 1997 by a group of twenty former Silicon Graphics, Inc. engineers, who had worked on the Nintendo 64's graphics chip. The company was focused on delivering a PC graphics chip that was both high performance and cost eff ...
, of former
SGI SGI may refer to: Companies *Saskatchewan Government Insurance *Scientific Games International, a gambling company *Silicon Graphics, Inc., a former manufacturer of high-performance computing products *Silicon Graphics International, formerly Rac ...
employees who had created the
Nintendo 64 The (N64) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo. The successor to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, it was released on June 23, 1996, in Japan, on September 29, 1996, in North America, and on March 1, 1997, in Europe and Au ...
, and which was later acquired by
ATI Ati or ATI may refer to: * Ati people, a Negrito ethnic group in the Philippines **Ati language (Philippines), the language spoken by this people group ** Ati-Atihan festival, an annual celebration held in the Philippines *Ati language (China), a ...
to produce the GameCube's
GPU A graphics processing unit (GPU) is a specialized electronic circuit designed to manipulate and alter memory to accelerate the creation of images in a frame buffer intended for output to a display device. GPUs are used in embedded systems, mobi ...
. In May 1999, Nintendo announced
codename A code name, call sign or cryptonym is a Code word (figure of speech), code word or name used, sometimes clandestinely, to refer to another name, word, project, or person. Code names are often used for military purposes, or in espionage. They may ...
Dolphin, released in 2001 as the GameCube. It is Nintendo's first console to use
optical disc In computing and optical disc recording technologies, an optical disc (OD) is a flat, usually circular disc that encodes binary data (bits) in the form of pits and lands on a special material, often aluminum, on one of its flat surfaces. ...
s instead of
ROM cartridge A ROM cartridge, usually referred to in context simply as a cartridge, cart, or card, is a replaceable part designed to be connected to a consumer electronics device such as a home computer, video game console or, to a lesser extent, electroni ...
s, supplemented by writable
memory cards A memory card is an electronic data storage device used for storing digital information, typically using flash memory. These are commonly used in digital portable electronic devices. They allow adding memory to such devices using a card in a so ...
for
saved game A saved game (also called a game save, savegame, savefile, save point, or simply save) is a piece of digitally stored information about the progress of a player in a video game. From the earliest games in the 1970s onward, game platform hardw ...
s. Unlike its competitors, it is solely focused on gaming and does not play mass media like
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
or CD. The console supports limited online gaming for a few games via a GameCube broadband or modem adapter and can connect to a
Game Boy Advance The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console developed, manufactured and marketed by Nintendo as the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, in North America on June 11, 2001, in the PAL region on June 22, 2 ...
with a link cable for exclusive in-game features using the handheld as a second screen and controller. The GameCube supports
e-Reader An e-reader, also called an e-book reader or e-book device, is a mobile electronic device that is designed primarily for the purpose of reading digital e-books and periodicals. Any device that can display text on a screen may act as an e-read ...
cards to unlock special features in a few games. The
Game Boy Player The (DOL-017) is a GameCube peripheral developed by Nintendo which enables it to play Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance cartridges, allowing those games to be played on a television. It connects via the high speed parallel port at ...
add-on runs
Game Boy The is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on April 21, 1989, in North America later the same year, and in Europe in late 1990. It was designed by the same ...
,
Game Boy Color The (commonly abbreviated as GBC) is a handheld game console, manufactured by Nintendo, which was released in Japan on October 21, 1998 and to international markets that November. It is the successor to the Game Boy and is part of the Game ...
, and
Game Boy Advance The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console developed, manufactured and marketed by Nintendo as the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, in North America on June 11, 2001, in the PAL region on June 22, 2 ...
cartridge games. Reception of the GameCube was mixed. It was praised for its controller and extensive library of high-quality games, but was criticized for its exterior design and lack of
multimedia Multimedia is a form of communication that uses a combination of different content forms such as text, audio, images, animations, or video into a single interactive presentation, in contrast to tradition ...
features. Nintendo sold GameCube units worldwide, much fewer than anticipated, and discontinued it in 2007. It was succeeded by the
Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other Regional lockout, regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major ho ...
; the first model launched in November 2006 with full
backward compatibility Backward compatibility (sometimes known as backwards compatibility) is a property of an operating system, product, or technology that allows for interoperability with an older legacy system, or with input designed for such a system, especially i ...
with GameCube games and accessories.


History


Background

In 1997, a graphics hardware design company called
ArtX ArtX was a company formed in 1997 by a group of twenty former Silicon Graphics, Inc. engineers, who had worked on the Nintendo 64's graphics chip. The company was focused on delivering a PC graphics chip that was both high performance and cost eff ...
was launched with twenty engineers who had previously worked at SGI. ArtX was led by
Wei Yen Wei Yen () is a Taiwanese-American technologist and serial entrepreneur. He has been involved with several companies, including most recently as Chairman and Founder of AiLive. Yen received his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering in Operating Syste ...
, who had been SGI's head of Nintendo Operations and of Project Reality, which from 1993 to 1996 had scaled SGI's supercomputer design down to become the
Nintendo 64 The (N64) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo. The successor to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, it was released on June 23, 1996, in Japan, on September 29, 1996, in North America, and on March 1, 1997, in Europe and Au ...
.


Development

Partnering with Nintendo in May 1998, ArtX began the complete design of the system logic and graphics processor (
codename A code name, call sign or cryptonym is a Code word (figure of speech), code word or name used, sometimes clandestinely, to refer to another name, word, project, or person. Code names are often used for military purposes, or in espionage. They may ...
d Flipper) of Nintendo's sixth-generation
video game console A video game console is an electronic device that Input/output, outputs a video signal or image to display a video game that can be played with a game controller. These may be home video game console, home consoles, which are generally placed i ...
. The console's succession of codenames was N2000, Star Cube, and Nintendo Advance. On May 12, 1999, the console was first publicly announced at Nintendo's press conference with the codename Dolphin, as the successor to the Nintendo 64. This included strategic alliances with IBM to create Dolphin's
PowerPC PowerPC (with the backronym Performance Optimization With Enhanced RISC – Performance Computing, sometimes abbreviated as PPC) is a reduced instruction set computer (RISC) instruction set architecture (ISA) created by the 1991 Apple Inc., App ...
-based CPU, codenamed Gekko, and with Panasonic (Matsushita) to create its DVD drive and its own Dolphin-based devices. Nintendo then began providing development kits to game developers such as Rare and
Retro Studios Retro Studios, Inc. is an American video game developer and subsidiary of Nintendo based in Austin, Texas. The studio is best known for its work on the ''Metroid Prime'' and ''Donkey Kong Country'' series, and has contributed to several other N ...
. In April 2000, ArtX was acquired by
ATI Ati or ATI may refer to: * Ati people, a Negrito ethnic group in the Philippines **Ati language (Philippines), the language spoken by this people group ** Ati-Atihan festival, an annual celebration held in the Philippines *Ati language (China), a ...
, whereupon the Flipper graphics processor design had already been mostly completed by ArtX and was not overtly influenced by ATI. In total, ArtX cofounder Greg Buchner recalled that their portion of the console's hardware design timeline had arced from inception in 1998 to completion in 2000. Of the ArtX acquisition, an ATI spokesperson said, "ATI now becomes a major supplier to the game console market via Nintendo. The Dolphin platform is reputed to be king of the hill in terms of graphics and video performance with 128-bit architecture." The console was announced as the GameCube at a press conference in Japan on August 25, 2000, abbreviated as both "NGC" and "GC" in Japan and "GCN" in Europe and North America. Nintendo unveiled its software lineup for the sixth-generation console at
E3 2001 E3 (short for Electronic Entertainment Expo or Electronic Entertainment Experience in 2021) is a trade event for the video game industry. The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) organizes and presents E3, which many developers, publishe ...
, focusing on fifteen launch games, including ''
Luigi's Mansion is a 2001 action-adventure game developed and published by Nintendo. The game was a launch title for the GameCube and was the first game in the ''Mario'' franchise to be released for the console; it was released in Japan on September 14, 20 ...
'' and '' Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader''. Several games originally scheduled to launch with the console were delayed. It is also the first Nintendo home console since the
Famicom The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in American ...
not to have a ''
Mario is a character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the ''Mario'' franchise and the mascot of Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creat ...
'' launch game. Long before the console's launch, Nintendo had developed and patented an early prototype of motion controls for the GameCube, with which developer
Factor 5 Factor 5 GmbH is an Independent business, independent software and video game developer. The company was co-founded by five former Rainbow Arts employees in 1987 in Cologne, Germany, which served as the inspiration behind the studio's name. In ...
had experimented for its launch games. Greg Thomas, Sega of America's VP of Development said, "What does worry me is Dolphin's sensory controllers hich are rumored to include microphones and headphone jacksbecause there's an example of someone thinking about something different." These motion control concepts would not be deployed to consumers for several years, until the
Wii Remote The Wii Remote, also known colloquially as the Wiimote, is the primary game controller for Nintendo's Wii home video game console. An essential capability of the Wii Remote is its motion sensing capability, which allows the user to interact with ...
. Prior to the GameCube's release, Nintendo focused resources on the launch of the Game Boy Advance, a
handheld game console A handheld game console, or simply handheld console, is a small, portable self-contained video game console with a built-in screen, game controls and speakers. Handheld game consoles are smaller than home video game consoles and contain the cons ...
and successor to the original
Game Boy The is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on April 21, 1989, in North America later the same year, and in Europe in late 1990. It was designed by the same ...
and
Game Boy Color The (commonly abbreviated as GBC) is a handheld game console, manufactured by Nintendo, which was released in Japan on October 21, 1998 and to international markets that November. It is the successor to the Game Boy and is part of the Game ...
. As a result, several games originally destined for the Nintendo 64 console were postponed to become early releases on the GameCube. The last first-party game in 2001 for the Nintendo 64 was released in May, one month before the Game Boy Advance's launch and six months before the GameCube's, due to the company's shift in resources. Concurrently, Nintendo was developing GameCube software provisioning future connectivity with the Game Boy Advance. Certain games, such as '' The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures'' and ''
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles ''Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles'' is a series of video games within the ''Final Fantasy'' franchise developed by Square Enix. Beginning in 2003 with the game for the GameCube, the series has predominantly been released on Nintendo gaming ha ...
'', can use the handheld as a secondary screen and controller when connected to the console via a link cable. Nintendo began its marketing campaign with the catchphrase "The Nintendo Difference" at its E3 2001 reveal. The goal was to distinguish itself from the competition as an entertainment company. Later advertisements have the slogan, "Born to Play", and game ads feature a rotating cube animation that morphs into a GameCube logo and end with a voice whispering, "GameCube". On May 21, 2001, the console's launch price of was announced, lower than that of the
PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...
and
Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the na ...
. Nintendo spent $76 million marketing the GameCube. In September 2020, leaked documents included Nintendo's plans for a GameCube model that would be both portable with a built-in display and dockable to a TV, similar to its later console the
Nintendo Switch The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a Tablet computer#Gaming tablet, tablet that can either be docking station, docked for use as a home video ...
. Other leaks suggest plans for a GameCube successor,
codename A code name, call sign or cryptonym is a Code word (figure of speech), code word or name used, sometimes clandestinely, to refer to another name, word, project, or person. Code names are often used for military purposes, or in espionage. They may ...
d Tako, with HD graphics and slots for SD and
memory card A memory card is an electronic data storage device used for storing digital information, typically using flash memory. These are commonly used in digital portable electronic devices. They allow adding memory to such devices using a card in a so ...
s, apparently resulting from a partnership with ATI (now
AMD Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) is an American multinational semiconductor company based in Santa Clara, California, that develops computer processors and related technologies for business and consumer markets. While it initially manufactur ...
) and scheduled for release in 2005.


Release

The GameCube was launched in Japan on September 14, 2001. Approximately 500,000 units were shipped in time to retailers. The console was scheduled to launch two months later in
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
on November 5, 2001, but the date was pushed back in an effort to increase the number of available units. The console eventually launched in North America on November 18, 2001, with over 700,000 units shipped to the region. Other regions followed suit the following year beginning with Europe in the second quarter of 2002. On April 22, 2002, veteran
third-party Third party may refer to: Business * Third-party source, a supplier company not owned by the buyer or seller * Third-party beneficiary, a person who could sue on a contract, despite not being an active party * Third-party insurance, such as a Veh ...
Nintendo console developer
Factor 5 Factor 5 GmbH is an Independent business, independent software and video game developer. The company was co-founded by five former Rainbow Arts employees in 1987 in Cologne, Germany, which served as the inspiration behind the studio's name. In ...
announced its 3D audio
software development kit A software development kit (SDK) is a collection of software development tools in one installable package. They facilitate the creation of applications by having a compiler, debugger and sometimes a software framework. They are normally specific to ...
titled MusyX. In collaboration with
Dolby Laboratories Dolby Laboratories, Inc. (often shortened to Dolby Labs and known simply as Dolby) is an American company specializing in Noise reduction#In audio, audio noise reduction, Audio data compression, audio encoding/compression, spatial audio, and ...
, MusyX provides motion-based surround sound encoded as
Dolby Pro Logic II Dolby Pro Logic is a surround sound processing technology developed by Dolby Laboratories, designed to decode soundtracks encoded with Dolby Surround. Dolby Stereo (also known as ''Dolby MP'' or ''Dolby SVA'') was developed by Dolby in 1976 f ...
. The Triforce arcade board is a joint development between Nintendo,
Namco was a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company, headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo. It held several international branches, including Namco America in Santa Clara, California, Namco Europe in London, Na ...
, and
Sega is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, r ...
, based on the GameCube's design. Its games include ''
Mario Kart Arcade GP is an arcade sub-series of Nintendo's '' Mario Kart'' series, developed and published by Namco and later Bandai Namco Games under license from Nintendo. In all installments, for an additional fee, a player's data can be saved on a magnetic ca ...
'' and ''
F-Zero AX ''F-Zero GX'' is a 2003 racing video game developed by Amusement Vision and published by Nintendo for the GameCube console. It runs on an enhanced version of the engine used in ''Super Monkey Ball''. ''F-Zero AX'', the arcade counterpart of ''G ...
''.


Discontinuation

Nintendo launched the
Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other Regional lockout, regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major ho ...
, the home console successor to the GameCube, on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 in other regions. In February 2007, Nintendo announced that it had ceased first-party support for the GameCube and that the console had been discontinued, as it was shifting its manufacturing and development efforts towards the Wii and
Nintendo DS The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens working in tan ...
. GameCube controllers, game discs, and certain accessories continued to be supported via the Wii's backward compatibility, although this feature was removed in later iterations of the Wii console. Several games originally developed for the GameCube were either reworked for a Wii release, such as ''
Super Paper Mario is a 2007 action role-playing game (RPG) developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Wii. It is the third installment in the ''Paper Mario'' series and the first Mario (franchise), Mario game to be released on the Wii. T ...
'', or released on both consoles, such as the Wii launch game '' The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess''. GameCube controllers continued to be supported via backward compatibility on Nintendo's next consoles, the
Wii U The Wii U ( ) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo as the successor to the Wii. Released in late 2012, it is the first eighth-generation video game console and competed with Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's PlayStation 4. The W ...
, and
Nintendo Switch The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a Tablet computer#Gaming tablet, tablet that can either be docking station, docked for use as a home video ...
, with the GameCube controller adapter in 2014's ''
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and (colloquially and collectively referred to as ''Super Smash Bros. 4'' or ''Smash 4'') is a group of two 2014 crossover fighting video games developed by Bandai Namco Studios and Sora Ltd. and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS ...
'' and 2018's ''
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'' is a 2018 crossover fighting video game developed by Bandai Namco Studios and Sora Ltd. and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It is the fifth installment in the '' Super Smash Bros.'' series, succeed ...
''.


Hardware

Howard Cheng, technical director of Nintendo technology development, said the company's goal was to select a "simple
RISC In computer engineering, a reduced instruction set computer (RISC) is a computer designed to simplify the individual instructions given to the computer to accomplish tasks. Compared to the instructions given to a complex instruction set comput ...
architecture" to help speed the development of games by making it easier on software developers. IGN reported that the system was "designed from the get-go to attract third-party developers by offering more power at a cheaper price. Nintendo's design document for the console specifies that cost is of utmost importance, followed by space." Hardware partner ArtX's Vice President Greg Buchner stated that their guiding thought on the console's hardware design was to target the developers rather than the players, and to "look into a crystal ball" and discern "what's going to allow the Miyamoto-sans of the world to develop the best games". Initiating the GameCube's design in 1998, Nintendo partnered with
ArtX ArtX was a company formed in 1997 by a group of twenty former Silicon Graphics, Inc. engineers, who had worked on the Nintendo 64's graphics chip. The company was focused on delivering a PC graphics chip that was both high performance and cost eff ...
(then acquired by ATI Technologies during development) for the system logic and the GPU, and with IBM for the CPU. IBM designed a
PowerPC PowerPC (with the backronym Performance Optimization With Enhanced RISC – Performance Computing, sometimes abbreviated as PPC) is a reduced instruction set computer (RISC) instruction set architecture (ISA) created by the 1991 Apple Inc., App ...
-based processor with custom architectural extensions for the next-generation console, known as
Gekko ''Gekko'' is a genus of Southeast Asian geckos, commonly known as true geckos or calling geckos, in the family Gekkonidae. Although species such as ''Gekko gecko'' (tokay gecko) are very widespread and common, some species in the same genus hav ...
, which runs at 486 
MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that one he ...
and features a
floating point unit Floating may refer to: * a type of dental work performed on horse teeth * use of an isolation tank * the guitar-playing technique where chords are sustained rather than scratched * ''Floating'' (play), by Hugh Hughes * Floating (psychological phe ...
(FPU) capable of a total throughput of 1.9 
GFLOPS In computing, floating point operations per second (FLOPS, flops or flop/s) is a measure of computer performance, useful in fields of scientific computations that require floating-point calculations. For such cases, it is a more accurate meas ...
and a peak of 10.5 GFLOPS. Described as "an extension of the IBM PowerPC architecture", the Gekko CPU is based on the PowerPC 750CXe with IBM's 0.18μm CMOS technology, which features
copper interconnects In semiconductor technology, copper interconnects are interconnects made of copper. They are used in silicon integrated circuits (ICs) to reduce propagation delays and power consumption. Since copper is a better conductor than aluminium, ICs usi ...
. Codenamed Flipper, the GPU runs at 162 MHz, and in addition to graphics manages other tasks through its audio and
input/output In computing, input/output (I/O, or informally io or IO) is the communication between an information processing system, such as a computer, and the outside world, possibly a human or another information processing system. Inputs are the signals ...
(I/O) processors. The GameCube is Nintendo's first console to not use primarily cartridge media, following the
Famicom Data Recorder Famicom Data Recorder (HVC-008) is a compact cassette tape data interface introduced in 1984, for the Famicom which had been introduced in 1983. It is compatible with four Famicom games, for saving user-generated content to tapes. As Nintendo's f ...
,
Famicom Disk System The commonly shortened to the Famicom Disk System or just Disk System, is a peripheral for Nintendo's Nintendo Entertainment System, Family Computer home video game console, released only in Japan on February 21, 1986. It uses proprietary flopp ...
,
SNES-CD The Super NES CD-ROM System (commonly shortened as the SNES-CD), known as Super Famicom CD-ROM Adapter in Japan, is an unreleased video game peripheral for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). The add-on built upon the functionality ...
, and
64DD The is a magnetic floppy disk drive peripheral for the Nintendo 64 game console developed by Nintendo. It was announced in 1995, prior to the Nintendo 64's 1996 launch, and after numerous delays was released in Japan on December 13, 1999. The "6 ...
which represent past explorations of complementary storage technologies. The GameCube introduced a proprietary
miniDVD MiniDVD (also Mini DVD or miniDVD) is a DVD disc which is in diameter. Most MiniDVDs hold 1.4 GB of data, but there are variants that hold up to 5.2 GB. The MiniDVD is also known as a "3 inch DVD", referring to its approximate diameter in inc ...
optical disc format for up to 1.5  GB of data. It was designed by
Matsushita Electric Industrial formerly between 1935 and 2008 and the first incarnation of between 2008 and 2022, is a major Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation, headquartered in Kadoma, Osaka. It was founded by Kōnosuke Matsushita in 1918 as a lightbulb s ...
(now Panasonic Corporation) with a proprietary copy-protection scheme unlike the
Content Scramble System The Content Scramble System (CSS) is a digital rights management (DRM) and encryption system employed on many commercially produced DVD-Video discs. CSS utilizes a proprietary 40-bit stream cipher algorithm. The system was introduced around 1996 ...
(CSS) in standard
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
s. The size is sufficient for most games, although a few multi-platform games require an extra disc, higher video compression, or removal of content. By comparison, the PlayStation 2 and Xbox use CDs and DVDs up to 8.5 GB. Like its predecessor, the Nintendo 64, GameCube models were produced in several different color motifs. The system launched in "Indigo", the primary color shown in advertising and on the logo, and in "Jet Black". One year later, Nintendo released a "Platinum" limited-edition GameCube, which uses a silver color scheme for both the console and controller. A "Spice" orange-colored console was eventually released only in Japan, though that scheme is only on controllers released in other countries. Nintendo developed
stereoscopic 3D Stereoscopy (also called stereoscopics, or stereo imaging) is a technique for creating or enhancing the illusion of depth in an image by means of stereopsis for binocular vision. The word ''stereoscopy'' derives . Any stereoscopic image is ...
technology for the GameCube, supported by one launch game, ''
Luigi's Mansion is a 2001 action-adventure game developed and published by Nintendo. The game was a launch title for the GameCube and was the first game in the ''Mario'' franchise to be released for the console; it was released in Japan on September 14, 20 ...
''. However, the feature never reached production.
3D television 3D television (3DTV) is television that conveys depth perception to the viewer by employing techniques such as stereoscopic display, multi-view display, 2D-plus-depth, or any other form of 3D display. Most modern 3D television sets use an ...
s were not widespread, and it was deemed that compatible displays and crystals for the add-on accessories would be too cost-prohibitive for the consumer. Two audio
Easter eggs Easter eggs, also called Paschal eggs, are eggs that are decorated for the Christian feast of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. As such, Easter eggs are common during the season of Eastertide (Easter season). The oldest tra ...
can be invoked when the power is activated with the "Z" button on the Player 1 controller held down, or with four controllers connected and holding down the "Z" buttons.


Storage

The GameCube features two memory card ports for saving game data. Nintendo released three memory card options: Memory Card 59 in gray (512 KB), Memory Card 251 in black (2 MB), and Memory Card 1019 in white (8 MB). These are often advertised in
megabit The megabit is a multiple of the unit bit for digital information. The prefix mega (symbol M) is defined in the International System of Units (SI) as a multiplier of 106 (1 million), and therefore :1 megabit = = = 1000 kilobits. The megabit h ...
s instead: 4 Mb, 16 Mb, and 64 Mb, respectively. Memory cards with larger capacities were released by third-party manufacturers.


Controller

Nintendo learned from its experiences—both positive and negative—with the Nintendo 64's three-handled
controller Controller may refer to: Occupations * Controller or financial controller, or in government accounting comptroller, a senior accounting position * Controller, someone who performs agent handling in espionage * Air traffic controller, a person ...
design and chose a two-handled, "handlebar" design for the GameCube. The shape was popularized by Sony's
PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...
controller released in 1994 and its follow-up
DualShock The DualShock (originally Dual Shock; trademarked as DUALSHOCK or DUAL SHOCK; with the PlayStation 5 version named DualSense) is a line of gamepads with vibration-feedback and analog controls developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the Pla ...
series in 1997 with vibration feedback and two
analog stick An analog stick (or analogue stick in British English), sometimes called a control stick or thumbstick, is an input device for a controller (often a game controller) that is used for two-dimensional input. An analog stick is a variation of a joy ...
s to improve the 3D experience. Nintendo and
Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...
designed similar features in the controllers for their sixth-generation consoles, but instead of having the analog sticks in parallel, they are staggered by swapping the positions of the
directional pad A D-pad (short for directional pad or digital pad; officially referred to by Nintendo as a +Control Pad) is a flat, usually thumb-operated, often digital, four-way directional control with one button on each point, found on nearly all modern vi ...
(d-pad) and left analog stick. The GameCube controller features a total of eight buttons, two analog sticks, a d-pad, and a rumble motor. The primary analog stick is on the left with the d-pad located below and closer to the center. On the right are four buttons: a large, green "A" button in the center, a smaller red "B" button to the left, an "X" button to the right, and a "Y" button at the top. Below and to the inside is a yellow "C" analog stick, which often serves a variety of in-game functions, such as controlling the camera angle. The Start/Pause button is located in the middle, and the rumble motor is encased within the center of the controller. On the top are two "pressure-sensitive" trigger buttons marked "L" and "R". Each essentially provides two functions: one analog and one digital. As the trigger is depressed, it emits an increasing analog signal. Once fully depressed, the trigger "clicks" with a digital signal that a game can use for a separate function. There is also a purple, digital button on the right side marked "Z". The A button has a uniquely prominent size and placement, having been the primary action button in past Nintendo controller designs. The rubberized analog stick, within the overall button orientation, addresses "
Nintendo thumb Nintendo thumb, also known as gamer's thumb and similar names, is a form of repetitive strain injury (RSI) caused by excessive playing video games with the traditional Nintendo controller. This injury mainly occurs due to repeated thumb movements ...
" pain. In 2002, Nintendo introduced the WaveBird Wireless Controller, the first
wireless Wireless communication (or just wireless, when the context allows) is the transfer of information between two or more points without the use of an electrical conductor, optical fiber or other continuous guided medium for the transfer. The most ...
gamepad developed by a first-party console manufacturer. The RF-based wireless controller is similar in design to the standard controller. It communicates with the GameCube with a wireless receiver dongle. Powered by two AA batteries, it lacks vibration.


Compatibility

The GameCube uses
GameCube Game Disc Nintendo optical discs are physical media used to distribute video games on three of Nintendo's consoles that followed the Nintendo 64. These are the GameCube Game Disc, Wii Optical Disc, and Wii U Optical Disc. The physical size of a GameCube Ga ...
s, and the
Game Boy Player The (DOL-017) is a GameCube peripheral developed by Nintendo which enables it to play Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance cartridges, allowing those games to be played on a television. It connects via the high speed parallel port at ...
accessory runs Game Pak cartridges for the
Game Boy The is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on April 21, 1989, in North America later the same year, and in Europe in late 1990. It was designed by the same ...
,
Game Boy Color The (commonly abbreviated as GBC) is a handheld game console, manufactured by Nintendo, which was released in Japan on October 21, 1998 and to international markets that November. It is the successor to the Game Boy and is part of the Game ...
, and
Game Boy Advance The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console developed, manufactured and marketed by Nintendo as the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, in North America on June 11, 2001, in the PAL region on June 22, 2 ...
. The GameCube's successor, the
Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other Regional lockout, regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major ho ...
, supports
backward compatibility Backward compatibility (sometimes known as backwards compatibility) is a property of an operating system, product, or technology that allows for interoperability with an older legacy system, or with input designed for such a system, especially i ...
with GameCube controllers, memory cards, and games but not the Game Boy Player or other hardware attachments. However, later revisions of the Wii—including the "Family Edition" released in 2011 and the
Wii Mini The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major home game console, f ...
released in 2012—do not support any GameCube hardware or software.


Panasonic Q

The is a hybrid version of the GameCube with a standard DVD player, developed by
Panasonic formerly between 1935 and 2008 and the first incarnation of between 2008 and 2022, is a major Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation, headquartered in Kadoma, Osaka, Kadoma, Osaka P ...
in a strategic alliance with Nintendo to develop the optical drive for the original GameCube hardware. Its
stainless steel Stainless steel is an alloy of iron that is resistant to rusting and corrosion. It contains at least 11% chromium and may contain elements such as carbon, other nonmetals and metals to obtain other desired properties. Stainless steel's corros ...
case is completely revised with a DVD-sized front-loading tray, a
backlit A backlight is a form of illumination used in liquid crystal displays (LCDs). As LCDs do not produce light by themselves—unlike, for example, cathode ray tube (CRT), plasma (PDP) or OLED displays—they need illumination ( ambient light or a ...
LCD screen A liquid-crystal display (LCD) is a flat-panel display or other electronically modulated optical device that uses the light-modulating properties of liquid crystals combined with polarizers. Liquid crystals do not emit light directly but in ...
with playback controls, and a carrying handle like the GameCube. Announced by Panasonic on October 19, 2001, it was released exclusively in Japan on December 14 at a suggested retail price of ¥39,800; however, low sales resulted in Panasonic announcing the discontinuation of the Q on December 18, 2003. The Q supports CDs, DVDs, and GameCube discs but there is virtually no integration between the GameCube and DVD player modes.


Software

The GameCube is Nintendo's first home console with a system menu, activated by powering on without a valid game disc or by holding down the A button while one is loaded.


Games

In its lifespan from 2001 to 2007, Nintendo licensed over 600 GameCube games. Nintendo bolstered the console's popularity by creating new franchises, such as ''
Pikmin is a real-time strategy and puzzle video game series created by Shigeru Miyamoto, and published by Nintendo. The games focus on directing a horde of plant-like creatures called Pikmin in order to collect items by destroying obstacles, avoiding ...
'' and ''
Animal Crossing is a social simulation video game series developed and published by Nintendo. The series was conceptualized and created by Katsuya Eguchi and Hisashi Nogami. In ''Animal Crossing'', the player character is a human who lives in a village inhabi ...
'', and renewing some that had skipped the Nintendo 64, such as with ''
Metroid Prime ''Metroid Prime'' is an action-adventure video game developed by Retro Studios and published by Nintendo for the GameCube. ''Metroid Prime'' is the fifth main installment in the '' Metroid'' franchise and the first game in the series to use 3D c ...
''. Longer standing franchises include the critically acclaimed '' The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker'' and ''
Super Mario Sunshine is a 2002 platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the GameCube. It is the second 3D game in the ''Super Mario'' series, following ''Super Mario 64'' (1996). The game was directed by Yoshiaki Koizumi and Kenta Usui, produced by ...
'', and the GameCube's best-selling game, '' Super Smash Bros. Melee'', at 7 million copies worldwide. Other Nintendo games are successors to Nintendo 64 games, such as ''
F-Zero GX ''F-Zero GX'' is a 2003 racing video game developed by Amusement Vision and published by Nintendo for the GameCube console. It runs on an enhanced version of the engine used in ''Super Monkey Ball (video game), Super Monkey Ball''. ''F-Zero AX'', ...
''; '' Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour''; '' Mario Kart: Double Dash''; ''
Mario Party 4 ''Mario Party 4'' is a 2002 party video game developed by Hudson Soft and published by Nintendo for the GameCube. The game is the fourth installment in the ''Mario Party'' series and is the first game in the series to be released for the GameCube. ...
'', '' 5'', '' 6'', and '' 7''; '' Mario Power Tennis''; and '' Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door''. Though committed to its software library, Nintendo was still criticized for not releasing enough launch window games and by the release of ''
Luigi's Mansion is a 2001 action-adventure game developed and published by Nintendo. The game was a launch title for the GameCube and was the first game in the ''Mario'' franchise to be released for the console; it was released in Japan on September 14, 20 ...
'' instead of a 3D ''Mario'' game. Nintendo had struggled with its family-friendly image during the late 1990s and most of the 2000s. However, during this period, it released more video games for a mature audience with mostly successful results. While the video game industry was focusing on more mature audiences and online connections, Nintendo regained older players who had gravitated to the PlayStation 2 and Xbox during the early 2000s. Some games aimed at older audiences were critically and financially successfulmore than on Dreamcast, and less than on PlayStation 2 and Xbox. Such examples include '' The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess'', ''Super Smash Bros. Melee'', ''Resident Evil 4'', '' Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes'', ''
Killer7 is a 2005 action-adventure video game developed by Grasshopper Manufacture and Capcom Production Studio 4 and published by Capcom for the GameCube and PlayStation 2. The game was written and directed by Goichi Suda and produced by Hiroyuki ...
'', ''Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader'', ''
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles ''Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles'' is a series of video games within the ''Final Fantasy'' franchise developed by Square Enix. Beginning in 2003 with the game for the GameCube, the series has predominantly been released on Nintendo gaming ha ...
'', ''
Resident Evil ''Resident Evil'', known in Japan as is a Japanese horror game series and media franchise created by Capcom. It consists of survival horror, third-person shooter and first-person shooter games, with players typically surviving in environments ...
'' (2002), ''
Metroid Prime ''Metroid Prime'' is an action-adventure video game developed by Retro Studios and published by Nintendo for the GameCube. ''Metroid Prime'' is the fifth main installment in the '' Metroid'' franchise and the first game in the series to use 3D c ...
'', '' Metroid Prime II: Echoes'', ''Soul Calibur II'', ''
Resident Evil Zero ''Resident Evil Zero'' (or ''Resident Evil 0'') is a survival horror game developed and published by Capcom for the GameCube in 2002. It is a prequel to ''Resident Evil'' (1996), covering the ordeals experienced in the Arklay Mountains by spec ...
'', ''
F-Zero GX ''F-Zero GX'' is a 2003 racing video game developed by Amusement Vision and published by Nintendo for the GameCube console. It runs on an enhanced version of the engine used in ''Super Monkey Ball (video game), Super Monkey Ball''. ''F-Zero AX'', ...
'', ''
Star Fox Adventures ''Star Fox Adventures'' is a 2002 action-adventure game developed by Rare and published by Nintendo. The game had a long development cycle starting in 1997. Originally developed as ''Dinosaur Planet'' with Rare-created characters as the prota ...
'', and '' Star Fox Assault''. One of the most well-known GameCube games for mature audiences is '' Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem'', which underperformed financially, but garnered critical acclaim and is now regarded as a cult classic.


Third-party support

Early in Nintendo's history, the company had achieved considerable success with third-party developer support on the
Nintendo Entertainment System The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in America ...
and
Super NES The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in E ...
. Competition from the
Sega Genesis The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master Syst ...
and Sony
PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...
in the 1990s changed the market's landscape and reduced Nintendo's ability to obtain exclusive, third-party support on the Nintendo 64. The
Nintendo 64 Game Pak Nintendo 64 Game Pak (part number NUS-006) is the brand name of the consumer ROM cartridge product that stores game data for the Nintendo 64, released in 1996. As with Nintendo's previous consoles, the Game Pak's design tradeoffs were intended to ...
cartridge format increased the cost to manufacture software, as opposed to the cheaper, higher-capacity optical discs on PlayStation. With the GameCube, Nintendo intended to reverse the trend as evidenced by the number of third-party games available at launch. The new optical disc format increased game storage capacity significantly and reduced production costs. Successful exclusives include '' Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader'' from
Factor 5 Factor 5 GmbH is an Independent business, independent software and video game developer. The company was co-founded by five former Rainbow Arts employees in 1987 in Cologne, Germany, which served as the inspiration behind the studio's name. In ...
, ''
Resident Evil 4 ''Resident Evil 4'' is a 2005 survival horror third-person shooter game developed by Capcom Production Studio 4 and published by Capcom. It was originally released for the GameCube on January 11, 2005. Players control U.S. government special ...
'' from
Capcom is a Japanese video game developer and video game publisher, publisher. It has created a number of List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being ''Resident Evil' ...
, and '' Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes'' from
Konami , is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company, video game and entertainment company headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo, it also produces and distributes trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, pachinko machin ...
.
Sega is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, r ...
discontinued its
Dreamcast The is a home video game console released by Sega on November 27, 1998, in Japan; September 9, 1999, in North America; and October 14, 1999, in Europe. It was the first sixth-generation video game console, preceding Sony's PlayStation 2, N ...
console to become a third-party developer, porting Dreamcast games such as ''
Crazy Taxi ''Crazy Taxi'' is a series of racing video games that was developed by Hitmaker and published by Sega. The first game appeared in arcades in 1999 and was very successful, prompting Sega to port the arcade version to their Dreamcast console ...
'' and ''
Sonic Adventure 2 is a platform video game developed by Sonic Team USA and published by Sega. It was the final ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' game for the Dreamcast after Sega left the home console market. It features two Conflict between good and evil, good-vs-evil stor ...
'', and developing new franchises, such as ''
Super Monkey Ball ''Super Monkey Ball'' is a series of arcade platform video games initially developed by Amusement Vision and published by Sega. The series debuted in 2001 with the arcade game ''Monkey Ball'', which was ported to GameCube as ''Super Monkey Ball' ...
''. Longtime Nintendo partner Rare, which had developed '' GoldenEye 007'', ''
Perfect Dark ''Perfect Dark'' is a first-person shooter developed and published by Rare for the Nintendo 64 video game console in 2000. The first game of the ''Perfect Dark'' series, it follows Joanna Dark, an agent of the Carrington Institute research c ...
'', ''
Banjo-Kazooie ''Banjo-Kazooie'' is a series of video games developed by Rare (company), Rare. The games feature a male bear named Banjo & Kazooie, Banjo and his friend, a large female red bird named Banjo & Kazooie, Kazooie, who are both controlled by the p ...
'', ''
Conker's Bad Fur Day ''Conker's Bad Fur Day'' is a 2001 platform game developed and published by Rare for the Nintendo 64. The game follows Conker, a greedy, hard-drinking red squirrel who must return home to his girlfriend. Most of the game requires the player ...
'', and the ''
Donkey Kong Country ''Donkey Kong Country'' is a 1994 platform game developed by Rare and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). It is a reboot of Nintendo's ''Donkey Kong'' franchise and follows the gorilla Donkey Kong and h ...
'' series, released ''
Star Fox Adventures ''Star Fox Adventures'' is a 2002 action-adventure game developed by Rare and published by Nintendo. The game had a long development cycle starting in 1997. Originally developed as ''Dinosaur Planet'' with Rare-created characters as the prota ...
'' for GameCube, its final Nintendo game before acquisition by Microsoft in 2002. Several third-party developers were contracted to work on new games for Nintendo franchises, including '' Star Fox: Assault'' (which became a
Player's Choice ''Nintendo Selects'' (formerly ''Player's Choice'') was a marketing label used by Nintendo to promote video games on current Nintendo game consoles that have sold well. ''Nintendo Selects'' titles were sold at a lower price point (usually $19.99 ...
re-release), ''
Donkey Konga is a GameCube rhythm video game series starring the ape Donkey Kong, developed by Namco and published by Nintendo. The series' games are intended to be played with a special controller called the DK Bongos that resemble two small bongo drums, b ...
'' by
Namco was a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company, headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo. It held several international branches, including Namco America in Santa Clara, California, Namco Europe in London, Na ...
, and ''
Wario World ''Wario World'' is a 3D platform game developed by Treasure and published by Nintendo for the GameCube. The game's plot centers on Wario and his quest to regain his treasure and his castle from the evil gem, Black Jewel. The game was fairly w ...
'' from
Treasure Treasure (from la, thesaurus from Greek language ''thēsauros'', "treasure store") is a concentration of wealth — often originating from ancient history — that is considered lost and/or forgotten until rediscovered. Some jurisdictions leg ...
. Third-party GameCube support was some of the most extensive of any Nintendo console predating the Wii. Some third-party developers, such as Midway,
Namco was a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company, headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo. It held several international branches, including Namco America in Santa Clara, California, Namco Europe in London, Na ...
,
Activision Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Santa Monica, California. It serves as the publishing business for its parent company, Activision Blizzard, and consists of several subsidiary studios. Activision is one o ...
,
Konami , is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company, video game and entertainment company headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo, it also produces and distributes trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, pachinko machin ...
,
Ubisoft Ubisoft Entertainment SA (; ; formerly Ubi Soft Entertainment SA) is a French video game publisher headquartered in Saint-Mandé with development studios across the world. Its video game franchises include '' Assassin's Creed'', ''Far Cry'', '' ...
,
THQ THQ Inc. was an American video game company based in Agoura Hills, California. It was founded in April 1990 by Jack Friedman, originally in Calabasas, and became a public company the following year through a reverse merger takeover. Initi ...
,
Disney Interactive Studios Disney Interactive Studios, Inc. was an American video game developer and publisher owned by The Walt Disney Company through Disney Interactive. Prior to its closure in 2016, it developed and distributed multi-platform video games and interactiv ...
,
Humongous Entertainment Humongous Entertainment, Inc. was an American video game developer based in Bothell, Washington. Founded in 1992, the company is best known for developing multiple edutainment franchises, most prominently ''Putt-Putt (series), Putt-Putt'', ''Fred ...
, EA and
EA Sports EA Sports is a division of Electronic Arts that develops and publishes sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they tried to imitate real-life sports networks by calling themselves the "EA Sports Network" ...
, continued to release GameCube games into 2007. One of the biggest third-party GameCube developers was
Sega is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, r ...
, which had quit the console hardware market to become a third-party game developer after the failure of the
Dreamcast The is a home video game console released by Sega on November 27, 1998, in Japan; September 9, 1999, in North America; and October 14, 1999, in Europe. It was the first sixth-generation video game console, preceding Sony's PlayStation 2, N ...
. It partnered with long-time rival Nintendo, and with Microsoft and Sony, to recuperate profits lost from the Dreamcast. Sega was a successful third-party developer since the early 2000s, mostly those for the family market, such as ''
Super Monkey Ball ''Super Monkey Ball'' is a series of arcade platform video games initially developed by Amusement Vision and published by Sega. The series debuted in 2001 with the arcade game ''Monkey Ball'', which was ported to GameCube as ''Super Monkey Ball' ...
'', ''
Phantasy Star Online ''Phantasy Star Online'' is an online role-playing game (RPG) developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega in 2000 for the Dreamcast. It was the first online RPG for game consoles; players adventure with up to three others over the internet to ...
'', ''
Sonic Adventure is a 1998 platform game for Sega's Dreamcast and the first main '' Sonic the Hedgehog'' game to feature 3D gameplay. It follows Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles "Tails" Prower, Knuckles the Echidna, Amy Rose, Big the Cat, and E-102 Gamma in their ...
'', ''Sonic Adventure 2: Battle'', and ''
Sonic Heroes is a 2003 3D platform game developed by Sonic Team USA and published by Sega as part of the ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' series. The player races a team of series characters through levels to amass rings, defeat robots, and collect the seven Chaos ...
''.


Online gaming

Nintendo's GameCube did not put heavy focus on online games earlier in the console's life. Only eight GameCube games support network connectivity, five with
Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
support and three with local area network (LAN) support. The only Internet capable games released in western territories are three
role-playing games A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal ac ...
(RPGs) in
Sega is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, r ...
's ''
Phantasy Star is a series of console role-playing video games and other supplementary media created by Sega. The series debuted in 1987 on the Master System with ''Phantasy Star'', and continues into the present with ''Phantasy Star Online 2'' and other ext ...
'' series: ''
Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II ''Phantasy Star Online'' is an online role-playing video game, role-playing game (RPG) developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega in 2000 for the Dreamcast. It was the first Online game, online RPG for Video game console, game consoles; playe ...
'', ''Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II Plus'', and '' Phantasy Star Online Episode III: C.A.R.D. Revolution''. The official servers were decommissioned in 2007, but players can still connect to fan maintained
private servers Strictly, a private server is any machine or virtual machine used as a server that is privately administrated. Colloquially the term is nearly-exclusively used to refer to independently operated, unofficial servers for video games. Private Server ...
. Japan received two additional games with Internet capabilities, a
cooperative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...
RPG, ''
Homeland A homeland is a place where a cultural, national, or racial identity has formed. The definition can also mean simply one's country of birth. When used as a proper noun, the Homeland, as well as its equivalents in other languages, often has ethni ...
'' and a baseball game with downloadable content, ''Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū 10''. Lastly, three
racing games Racing games are a video game genre in which the player participates in a racing competition. They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to fantastical settings. They are distributed along a spectrum between more realistic rac ...
have LAN multiplayer modes: ''
1080° Avalanche ''1080° Avalanche'' is a snowboarding video game for the GameCube, developed by Nintendo's in-house development studio, Nintendo Software Technology, and published by Nintendo. It was released in 2003 in Europe and North America, and in Japan o ...
'', ''
Kirby Air Ride ''Kirby Air Ride'', known in Japan as , is a 2003 racing video game starring Kirby, developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the GameCube. ''Kirby Air Ride'' has the players and computer-controlled racers ride on Air Ride Machin ...
'', and '' Mario Kart: Double Dash''. Those can be forced over the Internet with third-party PC software capable of tunneling the GameCube's network traffic. Online play requires an official
broadband In telecommunications, broadband is wide bandwidth data transmission which transports multiple signals at a wide range of frequencies and Internet traffic types, that enables messages to be sent simultaneously, used in fast internet connections. ...
or
modem A modulator-demodulator or modem is a computer hardware device that converts data from a digital format into a format suitable for an analog transmission medium such as telephone or radio. A modem transmits data by Modulation#Digital modulati ...
adapter because the GameCube lacks out of the box network capabilities. Nintendo never commissioned any Internet services for GameCube, but allowed other publishers to manage custom online experiences.


Reception

The GameCube received mixed reviews following its launch. ''
PC Magazine ''PC Magazine'' (shortened as ''PCMag'') is an American computer magazine published by Ziff Davis. A print edition was published from 1982 to January 2009. Publication of online editions started in late 1994 and have continued to the present d ...
'' praised the overall hardware design and quality of games available at launch.
CNET ''CNET'' (short for "Computer Network") is an American media website that publishes reviews, news, articles, blogs, podcasts, and videos on technology and consumer electronics globally. ''CNET'' originally produced content for radio and televi ...
gave an average review rating, noting that though the console lacks a few features offered by its competition, it is relatively inexpensive, has a great controller design, and launched a decent lineup of games. In later reviews, criticism mounted against the console often centering on its overall look and feel, describing it as "toy-ish". With poor sales figures and the associated financial harm to Nintendo, a ''
Time International ''Time'' (stylized in all caps) is an American news magazine based in New York City. For nearly a century, it was published weekly, but starting in March 2020 it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York City on Mar ...
'' article called the GameCube an "unmitigated disaster". Retrospectively,
Joystiq ''Joystiq'' was a video gaming blog founded in June 2004 as part of the Weblogs, Inc. family of weblogs, now owned by AOL. It was AOL's primary video game blog, with sister blogs dealing with MMORPG gaming in general and the popular MMORPG ''W ...
compared the GameCube's launch window to its successor, the Wii, noting that the GameCube's "lack of games" resulted in a subpar launch, and the console's limited selection of online games damaged its market share in the long run. ''Time International'' concluded that the system had low sales figures, because it lacked "technical innovations".McCracken, Harry. "Play Hard. (Cover Story)." Time International (Atlantic Edition) 180.23 (2012): 48-49. Business Source Complete.


Sales

In Japan, between 280,000 and 300,000 GameCube consoles were sold during the first three days of its sale, out of an initial shipment of 450,000 units. During its launch weekend, $100 million worth of GameCube products were sold in North America. The console was sold out in several stores, faster than initial sales of both of its competitors, the Xbox and the PlayStation 2. Nintendo reported that the most popular
launch game This list includes terms used in video games and the video game industry, as well as slang used by players. 0–9 A ...
is ''
Luigi's Mansion is a 2001 action-adventure game developed and published by Nintendo. The game was a launch title for the GameCube and was the first game in the ''Mario'' franchise to be released for the console; it was released in Japan on September 14, 20 ...
'', with more sales at its launch than ''
Super Mario 64 is a platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64. It was released in Japan and North America in 1996 and PAL regions in 1997. It is the first ''Super Mario'' game to feature 3D gameplay, combining traditional ''Su ...
'' had. Other popular games include '' Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader'' and '' Wave Race: Blue Storm''. By early December 2001, 600,000 units had been sold in the US. Nintendo predicted 50 million GameCube units by 2005, but only sold 22 million GameCube units worldwide during its lifespan, placing it slightly behind the
Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the na ...
's 24 million, though it did manage to outsell the Xbox in Japan, and well behind the PlayStation 2's 155 million. Its sales exceeded that of the Xbox 360 in Japan. The GameCube's predecessor, the Nintendo 64, also outperformed it at nearly 33 million units. It also exceeded the short-lived
Dreamcast The is a home video game console released by Sega on November 27, 1998, in Japan; September 9, 1999, in North America; and October 14, 1999, in Europe. It was the first sixth-generation video game console, preceding Sony's PlayStation 2, N ...
, which yielded 9.13 million units. In September 2009, IGN ranked the GameCube 16th in its list of best gaming consoles of all time, placing it behind all three of its sixth-generation competitors: the PlayStation 2 (3rd), the Dreamcast (8th), and the Xbox (11th). As of March 31, 2003, 9.55 million GameCube units had been sold worldwide, behind Nintendo's initial goal of 10 million consoles. Two
Ars Technica ''Ars Technica'' is a website covering news and opinions in technology, science, politics, and society, created by Ken Fisher and Jon Stokes in 1998. It publishes news, reviews, and guides on issues such as computer hardware and software, sci ...
articles from 2006 showed that Nintendo had officially sold 24 million GameCube consoles worldwide. Many of Nintendo's own first-party games, such as '' Super Smash Bros. Melee'', ''
Pokémon Colosseum ''Pokémon Colosseum'' is a role-playing video game in the ''Pokémon'' series developed by Genius Sonority, published by The Pokémon Company, and distributed by Nintendo. It was released for the GameCube on November 21, 2003, in Japan; March 22 ...
'', and '' Mario Kart: Double Dash'', had strong sales, though this did not typically benefit third-party developers or directly drive sales of their games. However, at the same time, these first-party games, and second-party and third-party games, elevated the GameCube. Sales of many cross-platform games—such as sports franchises released by
Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the d ...
—were far below their PlayStation 2 and Xbox counterparts, eventually prompting some developers to scale back or completely cease support for the GameCube. Exceptions include
Sega is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, r ...
's family friendly ''
Sonic Adventure 2 is a platform video game developed by Sonic Team USA and published by Sega. It was the final ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' game for the Dreamcast after Sega left the home console market. It features two Conflict between good and evil, good-vs-evil stor ...
'' and ''
Super Monkey Ball ''Super Monkey Ball'' is a series of arcade platform video games initially developed by Amusement Vision and published by Sega. The series debuted in 2001 with the arcade game ''Monkey Ball'', which was ported to GameCube as ''Super Monkey Ball' ...
'', which reportedly yielded more sales on GameCube than most of the company's games on the PlayStation 2 and Xbox. In June 2003,
Acclaim Entertainment Acclaim Entertainment, Inc. was an American video game publisher based in Glen Cove, New York. Originally formed by Greg Fischbach, Robert Holmes and Jim Scoroposki out of an Oyster Bay storefront in 1987, the company established a worldwide d ...
CEO Rod Cousens said that the company would no longer support the GameCube, and criticized it as a system "that don't deliver profits". Acclaim would later rescind his claims, by saying the company would elevate support for the system. This decision was made unclear after the company filed for bankruptcy in August 2004. In September 2003,
Eidos Interactive Square Enix Limited (formerly Domark Limited and Eidos Interactive Limited) is a British subsidiary of the Japanese video game company Square Enix, acting as their European publishing arm. The company formerly owned ''Tomb Raider'', which was in ...
announced to end support for the GameCube, as the publisher was losing money from developing for Nintendo's console. This led to several games in development being canceled for the system. Eidos's CEO Mike McGravey would say that the GameCube was a "declining business". However, after the company's purchase by the SCi Entertainment Group in 2005, Eidos resumed development for the system and released '' Lego Star Wars: The Video Game'' and '' Tomb Raider: Legend''. Several third-party games originally intended to be GameCube exclusives—most notably
Capcom is a Japanese video game developer and video game publisher, publisher. It has created a number of List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being ''Resident Evil' ...
's ''
Viewtiful Joe is a side scrolling beat 'em up video game franchise created by Japanese game designer Hideki Kamiya. It is primarily developed and published by Capcom and its subsidiary Clover Studio. Games ''Viewtiful Joe'' (2003) The first game in the ...
'' and ''
Resident Evil 4 ''Resident Evil 4'' is a 2005 survival horror third-person shooter game developed by Capcom Production Studio 4 and published by Capcom. It was originally released for the GameCube on January 11, 2005. Players control U.S. government special ...
''—were eventually ported to other systems in an attempt to maximize profits following lackluster sales of the original GameCube versions. In March 2003, now-defunct UK retailer Dixons removed all GameCube consoles, accessories and games from its stores. That same month, another UK retailer
Argos Argos most often refers to: * Argos, Peloponnese, a city in Argolis, Greece ** Ancient Argos, the ancient city * Argos (retailer), a catalogue retailer operating in the United Kingdom and Ireland Argos or ARGOS may also refer to: Businesses ...
, cut the price of the GameCube in their stores to £78.99, which was more than £50 cheaper than Nintendo's SRP for the console at the time. However, in October of that year, they did eventually re-stock their supply of consoles after a price drop was ordered which caused the console sales to outpace the PlayStation 2 for a week. With sales sagging and millions of unsold consoles in stock, Nintendo halted GameCube production for the first nine months of 2003 to reduce surplus units.Frederick, Jim, and Toko Sekiguchi. "The Console Wars: Game On." Time International (South Pacific Edition) 49 (2003): 56-59. Business Source Complete. Web. July 24, 2013. Sales rebounded slightly after a price drop to US$99.99 on September 24, 2003 and the release of '' The Legend of Zelda: Collector's Edition'' bundle. A demo disc, the ''GameCube Preview Disc'', was also released in a bundle in 2003. Beginning with this period, GameCube sales continued to be steady, particularly in Japan, but the GameCube remained in third place in worldwide sales during the sixth-generation era because of weaker sales performance elsewhere, though its fortunes would change for the better in America and Europe. Iwata forecasted to investors that the company would sell 50 million GameCube units worldwide by March 2005, but by the end of 2006, it had only sold 21.74 millionfewer than half. However, it had the highest
attach rate The attach rate is a concept used broadly in business, especially in marketing, to represent the number of units of a secondary product/service sold as a direct or implied consequence of the sale of a primary product/service. It is often expresse ...
of any Nintendo console at 9.59 and was profitable, even more than Xbox with higher sales rates.


Market share

With the GameCube, Nintendo failed to reclaim the market share lost by its predecessor, the Nintendo 64. Through its generation, GameCube hardware sales remained far behind its direct competitor the PlayStation 2, and slightly behind the Xbox, though there would be times when the GameCube would upstage its rival consoles. The console's family-friendly appeal and lack of support from certain third-party developers skewed the GameCube toward a younger market, which was a minority of the gaming population during the sixth generation. Many third-party games popular with teenagers or adults, such as the blockbuster ''
Grand Theft Auto ''Grand Theft Auto'' (''GTA'') is a series of action-adventure games created by David Jones (video game developer), David Jones and Mike Dailly (game designer), Mike Dailly. Later titles were developed under the oversight of brothers Dan Hous ...
'' series and several key
first-person shooter First-person shooter (FPS) is a sub-genre of shooter video games centered on gun and other weapon-based combat in a first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action through the eyes of the protagonist and controlling the pl ...
s, skipped the GameCube entirely in favor of the PlayStation 2 and Xbox. However, many gaming journalists and analysts from the 2000s noted that Nintendo's primary focus on younger audiences, and its family-friendly image, was the biggest advantage and disadvantage at a time when video games were aimed at more mature audiences. Nintendo was successful with games aimed at a more mature audience. , the GameCube had a 13% market share, tying with the Xbox in sales but far below the 60% of the PlayStation 2. However, with slow sales and tough competition, Nintendo's position improved. The American market share for the GameCube had gone up from 19% to 37% in one year alone due to price cuts and high-quality games. By Christmas of 2003, Nintendo of America's president George Harrison reported that the company's price cuts down to just under $100 quadrupled sales in the American market. GameCube's profitability never reached that of the PlayStation 2 or Game Boy Advance. However, it was more profitable than the Xbox. GameCube's first two years had slow sales and struggles, and by 2004 and 2005 vastly improved to a 32% share of the hardware market in Europe. Due to price drops, which saved it in the American markets, and high-quality games from various developers, such as ''
Pokémon Colosseum ''Pokémon Colosseum'' is a role-playing video game in the ''Pokémon'' series developed by Genius Sonority, published by The Pokémon Company, and distributed by Nintendo. It was released for the GameCube on November 21, 2003, in Japan; March 22 ...
'' and ''
Resident Evil 4 ''Resident Evil 4'' is a 2005 survival horror third-person shooter game developed by Capcom Production Studio 4 and published by Capcom. It was originally released for the GameCube on January 11, 2005. Players control U.S. government special ...
'', the GameCube improved to put Xbox down to third place. The top three European countries for GameCube success included the UK,
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, and
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, and modestly in
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
and
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. Though falling behind the PlayStation 2 in Europe, the GameCube was successful and profitable there.


Legacy

Many games that debuted on the GameCube, including the ''
Pikmin is a real-time strategy and puzzle video game series created by Shigeru Miyamoto, and published by Nintendo. The games focus on directing a horde of plant-like creatures called Pikmin in order to collect items by destroying obstacles, avoiding ...
'' series, ''
Chibi-Robo! is a series of adventure video games developed by Skip Ltd. and published by Nintendo. The franchise follows a series of tiny Robotic units known as Chibi-Robo, whose purpose is to spread Happiness. Recurring game elements of the franchise inc ...
'', ''
Metroid Prime ''Metroid Prime'' is an action-adventure video game developed by Retro Studios and published by Nintendo for the GameCube. ''Metroid Prime'' is the fifth main installment in the '' Metroid'' franchise and the first game in the series to use 3D c ...
'', and ''
Luigi's Mansion is a 2001 action-adventure game developed and published by Nintendo. The game was a launch title for the GameCube and was the first game in the ''Mario'' franchise to be released for the console; it was released in Japan on September 14, 20 ...
'' became popular and profitable Nintendo franchises or subseries. GameCube controllers have limited support on
Wii U The Wii U ( ) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo as the successor to the Wii. Released in late 2012, it is the first eighth-generation video game console and competed with Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's PlayStation 4. The W ...
and
Switch In electrical engineering, a switch is an electrical component that can disconnect or connect the conducting path in an electrical circuit, interrupting the electric current or diverting it from one conductor to another. The most common type of ...
, to play ''Super Smash Bros. for Wii U'', and ''
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'' is a 2018 crossover fighting video game developed by Bandai Namco Studios and Sora Ltd. and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It is the fifth installment in the '' Super Smash Bros.'' series, succeed ...
'' respectively, via a
USB Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard that establishes specifications for cables, connectors and protocols for connection, communication and power supply (interfacing) between computers, peripherals and other computers. A broad ...
adapter. Regarding concerns about the correlation between
violence and video games Since their inception in the 1970s, video games have often been criticized by some for violent content. Politicians, parents, and other activists have claimed that violence in video games can be tied to violent behavior, particularly in children, ...
, a 2009 study by
Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...
found that certain games like ''Super Mario Sunshine'' and ''Chibi-Robo!'', which were GameCube exclusives, would help players learn positive skills about helping others, empathy, and cooperation.


See also

*
Dolphin (emulator) Dolphin is a free and open-source video game console emulator for GameCube and Wii that runs on Windows, Linux, MacOS, Android, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Series S. It had its inaugural release in 2003 as freeware for Windows. Dolphin w ...
*
GameCube accessories GameCube accessories include first-party releases from Nintendo, and third-party devices, since the GameCube's launch in 2001. First-party and licensed Controllers GameCube controller The GameCube controller was released alongside the console a ...


Notes


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nintendo GameCube 2000s toys Discontinued video game consoles Home video game consoles Products introduced in 2001 Products and services discontinued in 2007
GameCube The is a home video game console developed and released by Nintendo in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, and in PAL territories in 2002. It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 (1996), and predecessor of the Wii ...
Sixth-generation video game consoles