Thanks for this video Matt. This was my first console to call my own & it carries a very special place to my heart. While it did get outsold by its competition I will never forget getting this console that exciting Christmas Morning 2001 and playing Luigi's Mansion & NHL Hitz 2002 that winter.
The positive side is, thanks to the Wii having the Gamecube packaged in, folks who bought the more popular console were still able to enjoy that generation of games. And thank goodness for that, because the Gamecube had some real hits.
Bit of a double-edged sword, though-because there are do many backwards-compatible Wii systems, the effective install base of the GameCube is very large relative to the number of games sold, which is part of why the games are so expensive. Granted, only a fraction of Wii systems might be used for GameCube games, but it still increases the demand.
Yeah, they stopped doing GameCube-infused Wii's towards the end of its life cycle. Some people own a Wii and have no idea there was a version with a GC built into it!
@@pokepress I'm really not convinced. Retro gaming is a collector's world, and has been for some time, so the Wii's intall base doesn't matter. When it mattered, you could find GC games for dirt cheap, because it wasn't retro yet.
Also if you softmod a Wii or Wii U, you can play Gamecube games with Nintendont. The GC has also had a renewed following based on how good the Dolphin emulator is. Luigi's Mansion, Zelda: Twighlight Princess and Zelda: Windwaker are all awesome GC games that everyone should try. All 3 still hold up!
I remember buying my GameCube at Toys r Us in 2004, for $119 it came with two memory cards, a wavebird, and Super Monkey Ball 1 & 2. I don't think I've ever had a deal like that ever since.
Wavebird absolutely goated. I still think the wireless version is the comfiest controller my hands have ever touched, and the plastic had just the right texture to feel soft and comforting. I wish I could plug it into my laptop for modern games lol
@@madeliner1682 i feel like you should be able to do that no problem. Theres a usb gamecube adapter people use to play melee on pc. I dont see any reason why it wouldnt pick up the wavebird but maybe not. You can google im too lazy.
Just keep in mind. What Happened is not necessarily about games, movies or consoles that are bad. Just ones that suffered from a troubled production. The Gamecube qualifies and even though it was my first console as a kid, even I could see that it took a lot of trial and error to finally come to fruition.
My dad was an area manager at Target when the GC game out. He still shudders when he hears the words "Gamecube" or "purple lunchbox" because of how poorly they sold compared to what they were told to expect These days everyone knows about the newest console release, but in 01 if you weren't in to video games it would have just been "hey, it's a Nintendo, I'm sure it'll sell"
The Original Xbox also failed to meet Microsoft’s sales projections, and while they may have outsold the GameCube via hardware sales (albeit just barely), they failed to turn any profit which meant they ended up eating over $4 billion in losses, with Nintendo making a steady profit off of the GameCube.
@@crazedlunatic2056The irony is that for the most part, Microsoft hasn’t ever really made a profit from the Xbox Division. The OG Xbox division in particular only made a profit in Holiday 04 mostly cause of Halo 2.
That's interesting. I remember getting a GameCube for Christmas in 2001 and my dad told me he had to stand in a long line to get one. I remember when GameCube launched all my local video game stores were already sold out, but _all of them always followed up with "but we still have Xboxs for sale!"_ As a matter of fact one local game shop couldn't sell their launch-day Xboxs so they bundled a console with two launch titles for like $30 off because they just wanted to get rid of them.
Only 8 N64 games in 1996 and 34 games in 1997 in North America. Back in those days I was able to keep up with the released and owned about 75% of the library by the end of '97.
@@user-dv2hc8zt3o this was true. Final fantasy deal in Japan for Sony playstation destroyed chances of Nintendo 64 and sega saturn success. However Sega saturn had 2D gaming which was more popular in Japan at the time. Nintendo 64 came in 3rd in Japan.
Genuinely wild that GameCube's MSRP was all the way down to $99 less than two years after its launch - WITH a pack-in title like Zelda: Collector's Edition or Melee. That would never happen with today's console market; the Wii U never even budged below $299.
Probably because the WiiU cost more to produce so they couldn't lower it that much, I recall them saying they still sold it at a loss at one point something Nintendo had never doen before, just showing how dire things were for it. Considering that it's not just a console with DVD features but also packs in a huge controller with a screen, the controller alone costed like 100$ at one point.
The GameCube is the console that you wouldn't think to be talked about in this show at first, but it makes total sense when you think about it. The GameCube was my first Nintendo console and I had fond memories of it but it always was stuck in third place and this video puts context into why. Excellent analysis, keep up the good work. I look forward to seeing new episodes each week! On another note, it's scary to think that Yamauchi's relations with Nintendo of America mirrors Sega of Japan Vs Sega of America. Thank goodness Iwata turn things around.
Sometimes I wonder if Japanese gaming companies back then (and maybe even today) were- dare I say- racist or xenophobic. (That or they were just very, *very* arrogant.)
@@hugejackedman3447 While this is true, they were still playing second banana pretty hard to the PS2. Once the PS2 got some Dragon Quest on it the writing was on the wall for the Gamecube's Japanese market.
I mean, unless you only cared about Nintendo first party IPs, the Gamecube was an overall failure in every other department. Dreamcast: Arcade games at home, built in online support and enhanced PS1/N64 multiplatform ports. PS2: Ridiculously huge library, great exclusives and backwards compatibility. Xbox: Best image quality/graphics, best online support and very decent multiplatform support - only missing out on JRPGs. Gamecube: Good exclusives and... ?
This was my first console. As a kid, I never understood why none of my friends or cousins had a NGC, they all owned a PS2. However, everytime I showed them games like Mario Strikers, Melee, Double Dash and party, they all loved them.
@@SudrianTales I mean tbh it's hard to believe all 155 million sales were cause of it being a DVD player. Even if half of it, so like 77 million about, were from gamers alone, that's still more than the Dreamcast, Xbox, and Gamecube. At the end of the day, all four are great consoles, you don't need to care about which one is "better".
The GC will always have a special place in my heart, I remember I was chillin at home with my brothers and my parents came home from shopping and they bought me a GameCube, that caught me off guard lol. Tarzan Untamed was my first game and then my late grandma bought me Melee. This console made my childhood awesome.
I never knew as a kid growing up in the 2000s that the Gamecube had the poorest sales out of the sixth generation consoles. Gamecube was my childhood, although it kickstarted my linearity of sticking with Nintendo until at least the early 2010s, so I missed out on a lot of cool PS2/PS3/Xbox (360) games.
@@Chaz4543 I think it was because Microsoft handled their marketing better and convinced more companies to go onboard while Nintendo displeased everyone with the mini discs. Gamecube ended up with 660 games while Xbox had 1000. They had SEGA and Tecmo doing exclusives for them such as Ninja Gaiden Black, Dead Or Alive 3, Jet Set Radio Future, Otogi, Project Gotham Racing, etc. It wasn't just Halo. Also, PC was a dead platform in the early 2000s, barely any ports from consoles and those that happened were straight up hot garbage.
Same here. I had the PS2 alongside the Game Cube and the quality of games were nearly on par with each other. Plus I had to replace my PS2 twice while my OG Game Cube still works like new.
You know the lunchbox left an impact on your childhood when you recognize every game soundtrack used in the video and think "Those were some amazing experiences"
The best honestly. Smash, Mario, Metroid, fzero, Zelda, and especially Pokémon had some of their greatest titles all on that system. Pokémon colosseum and XD are still considered by many the best console Pokémon games. Even better than anything from switch era
It’s too bad that many of them are very expensive on the secondhand market. Seriously, whenever I try to find a copy of Smash Bros. Melee, Kirby Air Ride, Path of Radiance or Mario Sunshine, it’s usually over $50 or so.
It is very interesting that, despite the GameCube being beaten by not just the PS2 but the og Xbox as well, it was a very well selling console here in Mexico. Growing up the GameCube was my Sixth Gen console I had all that time, and a lot of my friends from elementary/middle school had GameCubes too, with only a few people having a PS2 or an og Xbox. I heard more people talk about their GameCube consoles than their PlayStation or Xbox consoles till the Seventh Gen consoles came out and they transitioned to those. I wonder why the GameCube was very beloved here in Mexico versus other parts of the world. Maybe Melee had something to do with that, lol.
It also was cheaper than the OG xbox or the PS2. And not many people had acces to the online multiplayer Xbox and ps2 offered back then, so here it was way mooore popular due to the local multiplayer... If you had friends with a gamecube, you just needed to invest in 1 or 2 controllers and maybe just 1 or 2 games. And the whole group could play games like Smash melee, Mario Party, Mario Kart and even games luke F Zero GX or Metroid Prime 2 and Time Splitters... And well, the GBA connectivity was also very appreciated here.
I also share the same experienced. I was in elementary during the gamecube era, and in Mexico i remember reading through the “Club Nintendo “ magazine which was huge! All my friends would always talk about the next games coming out and do sleepovers playing games like wario ware, mario kart, melee, etc. i had a few friends which would bring their ps2s and we would play gta, 1 life each lol. Good times but in my perception i always saw the gamecube as popular.
Probably because Nintendo has always been the king of couch multiplayer, a very social activity. Xbox was for online gamers, and PS2 was for people sitting alone in a dark room playing some long ass JRPG. Different strokes for different cultures.
You all delusional Nintendo Fan boys. You lived in a bubble. I am from Mexico. I can say the same for all the consoles, I actually had all 3 of them (i was 21 at the time) and all of my friends had ps2 or xbox. Seems like you were kids, thats the console that was made "for you". Me and my young adult friends all had pc, ps2 and xbox. You just had what your parents gave you or could afford. In other words, you only remember what you were surrended by as kids. PS2 and xbox sold very well, because of games (halo, Forza, metal gear, silent hill, etc etc) and because piracy (you could not run backup games back when the GC was in its prime, but you could on ps2 and xbox).
My absolute favorite thing about the GameCube other than the insanely unique games was the futuristic aesthetic used in so many of it's games. F-Zero, PSO, Custom Robo, Metroid Prime, Star Fox Assault, etc. all look STUNNING.
I still think the GameCube was perfect for what it was; I got it at launch in 8th grade. Nintendo was always different, and this was no exception. I knew I wanted Nintendo's newest console over the PS2 and Xbox not just because I'm a Nintendo fanboi, but because everyone else was going to have those other consoles anyway (neighbors, cousins, etc.), and I'd still have access lol. Fire Emblem and Paper Mario Thousand Year Door are still two of my favorite games EVER! Great video.
The Nintendo lunchbox really came at an awkward time in general yet the best time for me to get into gaming. I was around 8 when it was released in the states so I was the perfect consumer for it. I remember playing lots of games that I owned and a handful that my dad rented for me in the weekends. The handful that I had were Paper Mario TTYD, Kirby Air ride, at a short moment Viewtiful Joe among others. If there was a system that I cherish for my Nintendo childhood it was between the N64 and this.
I remember standing at a walmart for hours waiting for the midnight release when I was in highschool it was the first console I bought on my own sadly I didn't have enough money to get a game but I did enjoy playing with the menus for a few days till my parents just bought Luigi's mansion for me
I was also around 8 years old when the GCN came out, so it never bothered me the fact that it was indigo or that Wind Waker looked more cartoony than people were expecting a new Zelda game should look like
@@cyanmage1 Same i remember in the early 2000s if someone wanted to buy a new console on the first day or Black Friday how early one would have to be lol. Once the internet shopping era began, that trend changed
I remember it being marketed to kids and having a family friendly image. Which ironically made kids want the PS2 even more because they wanted to be "cool" with the "grownup" option instead of being associated with something more "fisher price"esque.
They tried that again with the wii u. Thankfully it seems nintendo's finally gotten it in their heads that marketing a platform to kids is only going to drive them to the competition
@@redherronrecords The Gamecube had an official online adapter made especifically for PSO, it would plug beneath the console, and I guess you would plug your internet cable into it or something, never saw exactly how it worked.
The GameCube era was a happy feeling time in my life. Sadly the lasers in both mine and my brother's GameCubes are dying. Takes a lot of resets to get a game to boot up.
Collecting for GameCube has been a financial taunt but also an unreasonably fulfilling experience bringing my 35 year old self back to this juncture in my early life where I didn’t have the means or capacity to play GameCube - and now ladies and gentlemen we feast.
Still collecting? That is in this day and time a herculean effort. I am happy with my collection and wont me getting rid of it anytime soon. Ridicilous prices. I have sold many games for more money than i originally bought them.
Over the past few years, i ended learning that the GameCube never did that well in game market, but it seemed like it so popular, so many afs for it on tv and magazines, I knew so many people talking about it, and with their games being so fondly remembered. Now seeing the numbers, i knew the PS2 dominated, but it the PlayStation straight up hitting the N64 too. No wonder they struck back with the Wii.
Well, that was definitely a bubble. I got a PS2 at the time and everyone I knew who even talked about games only mentioned the PS2... and sometimes the Gameboy because Pokemon. I didn't even know the Xbox/Gamecube existed lol. So it's weird to see so many people talk about how they thought that the Gamecube was a popular console but I guess that was a US thing where the vast majority of units sold happened.
@@Manic_Panic I always knew the PS2 and GBA were insanely popular (I had both growing up) since I knew many who had those consoles, but I assumed the GameCube was at least a modest success. I was shocked to know it sold less than even the OG Xbox since I knew more people with a GameCube and knew only two people who had an OG Xbox, and one of them was a friend of mine who had every console.
It's wild to me how my perceptions, circumstances (and biases) at the time never gave me the impression that the Gamecube was ever doing badly. It was also timed in my life to where I actually took notice that it seemed to pretty much always be in stock, though that never really registered to me until a number of years later, when I was desperately trying to get a Wii at launch.
Only the most absolute neck beard of the neck beards knew anything about the sales figures back then, and I say this as someone who was already an adult when this thing launched. I remember for about a month swapping consoles right after Christmas 2003 with my brother so he could play the Xbox exclusives and I could play the GC ones, it never occurred to me either that this was a poorly performing machine. Just as someone who had just finished high school and was working a minimum wage job I had to pick one and I went with the one that had online fighting games and DDR as that was what I was into at the time. PS2 eventually ended up getting online fighters and I did eventually get a PS2 (and my own GC) but it just wasn’t feasible at the time, so I owned one and borrowed the other.
When I walked in Toysrus, launch day, and saw the shelves full of GameCube’s, I knew Nintendo was in trouble. I remember feeling lucky to have gotten a N64, for Christmas, the year it came out. They were hard to find. And the release of Grand Theft Auto 3, didn’t help. Nintendo was starting to be looked at as corny. Mario’s appearance in DDR. Pac-Man vs…, as their big reveal, for an E3, one year. Not to mention, that Zelda demo, that never came to be. Some of this is probably covered in this video. I just went off on a tangent. 😂
The Gamecube didnt do that well, but most of the people who bought it liked it very much. The Wii being backwards compatible helped keep the GC accessible at least
i had a gamecube as a kid and was completely tuned out of any discussion about it so hearing that people kinda hated this thing has been one of those wild adulthood realizations i've made over the years, it's nice to have a good video break it all down!
You’re insane. Smash bros melee is the preferred tournament version of smash to this day. Pikmin 1 and 2 became instant cult classics. Metroid finally rebirthed itself. Star Fox Assault is still the greatest Star Fox game to date. Mario Kart double dash was literally top 10 games of all time during its era. Mario Golf for the GC is still the greatest Golf title to this day. Animal Crossing found its way to America. F Zeros best release is still it’s GameCube title as well. This is such an absurd reach to claim the console wasn’t well received. It had drama in the background, and all the GTA and Halo obsessed kids didn’t want one, but overall the majority of gamers loved the game cube...and would even sacrifice DVD playability to get one over a PS2 or Xbox at times, which was big back then
@@authorrobjohnson3178 There’s a reason a mass of GameCube games are priced above retail value and PS2 games sit around an average of $10... PS2 had the superior system in terms of specs no doubt. The MAJORITY of games were forgettable and did not stand the test of time tho... What carried those systems were first person shooters, GTA specifically, and sports franchises, which the GC did not have. I’ve been collecting retro games for about 10 years. My Gc collections sits around 30-40 games and I play it monthly. Still looking to collect more as well. My PS2 however collects dust and has about 10 games. Parappa, god of war, and champions of norath are all I play on it now. XBOX has about 10 games as well, but has more replay value than the ps2. I could lose my PS2 and Xbox and wouldn’t really mind. If I lost my GameCube I would immediately have to replace it. It all depends how you view success. Long term the game cube wins out no doubt...most retro stores can’t even keep a good supply of its games because people still buy them to this day...
@@WallychansPerhaps because there were many more copies of ps2 made. The final factor in a business is how well you do financially and, while not a complete faliure, the Gamecube did not do well. It was a shit console.
I had both PS2 and Gamecube in my teenage years. Gamecube was more colorful and stronger than PS2 but was lacking was the DVD and more game library. PS2 had way insane library with games series that still runs to this day from that era or became popular in that era. I loved both consoles. P.S. both consoles had amazing WWE games, WWE Day of Reckoning 1 on the gamecube side and WWE Shut your Mouth and Here Comes the Pain on the PS2 side. so damn fun games that I still revisit once in awhile.
I've owned several consoles over the course of my life but I still think the Gamecube was my favorite. As a kid, I had no clue that the Gamecube was underperforming compared with it's competition, I just remember staying up overnight playing Melee and Air Ride, Sonic Adventure 2, Double Dash, Mario party with my family members and friends. I still think that Gamecube was the best local couch multiplayer experience in gaming history and that most of Nintendos best versions of beloved franchises existed on the system. Regardless of it's lackluster commercial performance, the Gamecube will always have a soft spot in my heart as the formative console in my youth that brought me more entertainment and childhood memories than any console before or since and I think that alone is something special.
Back during the early 2000's the PS1 and PS2 were dominating the gaming market so hard in my country that the GameCube was a rare sight and the original Xbox didn't even launch here, so I'm honestly surprised to hear that the thing was profitable at all. I can still remember that GC controllers were sold as Wii accessories because people simply didn't know what a GameCube was.
That was the exact case here in South Africa. I saw exactly 1 Gamecube Console in my life which was on display in a Toys R US, and maybe one or two games on shelves but that was it.
I always wanted to see Matt talk about the PS vita. That console had tons of broken promises, a lot of censorship and a very short lifespan. I hope he will read this comment and consider it.
I would like to see a video about the PlayStation Portable. I mean, the PSP was a huge success, selling over 80 million units but the DS managed to sold 70 million units more despite people claiming Sony would surpass Nintendo at the mobile market just like they did with the PSOne and PS2. It would be interesting to hear about Sony's decision to create the UMD format, how easy it was to hack the PSP and the release of the PSP Go
Since Liam helps him edit these videos, I like to imagine Matt's written multiple scripts for "PS Vita: Wha Happun?" that _mysteriously disappear_ whenever it comes time to film.
He could also talk about the Playstation 3 and the Xbox One. The Playstation 3 would ultimately overtake the Xbox 360 in sales but it had a very rough start before it got itself together in 2010. Even with it overtaking the 360, the PS3 is considered to be the black sheep of the Playstation consoles. Meanwhile for the Xbox One, there was the whole dumpster fire that was the reveal that seriously hurt it launch. Combined with being $100 more expensive and less powerful than the PS4, the Xbox One floundered for years. Not helping was its lackluster catalogue of exclusives.
First off I never had the Nintendo GameCube and never will because I know the GameCube sucked and flopped that is a fact. And second I do not care that Nintendo made a dick move with the denuvo that they thought steam is pirating but that is a god damn lie. Unless if it wants the 3 inch mini disc on the computer. But I don’t need the lunchbox wanna be actual Nintendo hardware otherwise they will get the bricked ending anyway. Which it won’t work. However Panasonic on the other hand unlike Sony or philips has only one unit instead of that shitty standard hardware unit. But that Panasonic mini cd unit or dvd thing can play audio cd and mp3 cdand thank god and good riddance but the good think I’m glad for sega dreamcast and Yamaha gigabyte disc rom or terrabyte disc rom that can play audio cd and also mp3 cd too. Unlike the previous audio cd or optical disc drive which does not have mp3 CD player support yet until this day. And also for Sony i am so tired trying to get the usual units again but I know I donated one to PCs which will be transferred to different facilities but it has no Bluetooth either. Grrrr this is what happens when you almost for get that Bluetooth exist in the 90s but the answer is no not yet unless the early 2000s as of today. And google you are too damn soon with your discovery of Bluetooth. (Note except Bluetooth 5.0 which exist now for better quality of revisions.) because the real truth is Bluetooth didn’t exist yet in the 80s to be clear. And also for the Dreamcast and Saturn I’m looking for different brand componate that sega used. So I’m stuck with usual cd and gd and dvd standard size disc. Otherwise the minidi will be jammed in the slot loader tray units. And also this copy of melee never do any justice for me. So that is why the GameCube alone sucked ass.
@josephfrye7342 wow, man not gonna take the time to read your one long paragraph but the GameCube was not a bad system and you wouldn't know because you've stuck to your Sony/Microsoft high ground. I understand. I've always looked up to those at Sony and Microsoft as true leaders in the ethical realm.
@@josephfrye7342just because something is a commercial failure that doesn’t make it bad. I never owned a gc but I’ve played GameCube games either on my wii or via emulation and there is a lot of good games on there.
I haven't started the video yet, but there's one thing very few videos seem to discuss in relation to the GC's failures - the "kiddie" & less "mature" label Nintendo was slapped with during this era. People today may think it couldn't have been that important, but being "cool" wasn't just important at that time, being "uncool" was significantly worse. Nintendo already was seen as "kiddie" in the N64 vs PS1 era, but many people expected Nintendo to right the ship with the GC. Instead, they doubled down, revealing a purple lunch box with a handle as their successor. Then in interviews, Shigeru Miyamoto kept stating Nintendo was a "toy" company & their systems are "toys," therefore they would not have multimedia support - including DVD playback. That was SIGNIFICANT at the time, as was just being labeled "kiddie," and made it look even worse to teens/young adults who had already shifted over to the PS brand. With the PS2 already revealed to be a black, sleek, hi-fi looking DVD player & the newcomer Xbox supporting beefy specs, the GC was looking decidedly "only for kids" to many impressionable gamers. And then, as if to really convince the fence-sitters their biggest fears were right, Nintendo revealed a cartoon Zelda. It cannot be understated that no matter how good the game may turn out, fans were PISSED. Couple that with MS buying Rare, Nintendo pushing GBA-connectivity over online, having no DVD/CD playback, etc. & early 2000's gamers saw Nintendo did not care about their concerns one bit. People in 2023 may think it sounds silly for fans to care so much about how "cool" they look, but gaming was much more socially niche than it is today. PS2 crossed barriers & was cool. MS was an established company & seen as powerful in the tech industry. Nintendo was touting their purple lunch box and ignoring the direction the market was headed, feeling they could dictate to fans what fans wanted, rather than just listen to what fans actually wanted. /Sorry for today's Ted Talk. As I began typing, the 13 year old in me remembered all those years as a GC-only owner & obsessive Nintendo fan. Sorry Matt, I'm sure your video negates the point of this comment anyway 😅
This is an excellent point and on top of that image issue the entire zeitgeist of console gaming was shifting with stuff like Halo and GTA III; titles that ended up defining what many of the major AAA direction for the next decade would be. Nintendo being so outside that paradigm and many of their game philosophies differing so much from it further labeled the Gamecube as a toy for younger fans or as vestige of an era the industry had moved past in the popular culture.
@Vaporwarecompiler I might have to do some searching, but I can tell you where I know it from. I used to have a subscription to EGM magazine when I was a kid, as I was obsessed with Nintendo & my N64. Around 2000 when GC was revealed, they did an article that had interviews regarding the GC. That's when Nintendo said they weren't going to include a DVD player like people expected, as games were toys & they're a game company making toys. This wasn't the first time though, as they did a similar thing with the NES. Back in the 80's, the gaming crash made ppl associate video games with low quality junk. Nintendo positioned the NES as a toy instead, as to avoid the label. But in 2000, they were still trying to justify their decision to avoid CDs & DVDs, as well as internet gaming. So positioning their product in the "toy" realm made them different than the competition.
@Vaporwarecompiler I just found 2 articles, one from Eurogamer in 2001 & another from IGN in 2002. The Eurogamer one quotes Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi saying "Nintendo is ultimately a toy company" when discussing GC & Xbox, citing they aren't going to pursue online gaming (a choice that hurt them for years). The IGN article from the time titled "Nintendo Fanboy Vol 1" gives an amazing look into how out of touch Nintendo was at the time, especially among Nintendo fanboys. It doesn't have an exact quote from Nintendo execs, but it discusses the "toy" image that Nintendo earned, qoute: "Simply releasing a black console along the purple one at launch is not enough to change the image of the GC as a toy - and as a toy only. Ask a mainstream gamer who hasn't grown up on NES or SNES. He'll tell you that GC is a toy that plays Nintendo games like Mario. Most uninformed gamers will swear up & down that the PS2 is more advanced than the GC."
@@MerelyAFanExactly. Just look at best selling PS2 games of all time - 1. GTA San Andreas (3rd party) 2. Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec 3. Gran Turismo 4 4. GTA Vice City (3rd party) 5. Final Fantasy X (3rd party) 6. GTA 3 (3rd party) 7. Metal Gear Solid 3 (3rd party) 8. Final Fantasy XII (3rd party) 9. Tekken 5 (3rd party) 10. Kingdom Hearts (3rd party) All but 2 of those games are 3rd party, and 100% of them weren't on GC. They were all also geared towards teens-adults, which gamers thought Nintendo didn't care about. Xbox best selling games: 1. Halo 2 2. Halo CE 3. Fable 4. GTA 3/Vice City (3rd party) 5. Splinter Cell (3rd party) 6. Dead or Alive 3 (3rd party) 7. Star Wars: KOTOR (3rd party) 8. Counter Strike (3rd party) 9.Ninja Gaiden (3rd party) 10. GTA San Adreas (3rd party) Again, all teen - mature rated games. Combine that with no online play for the 3rd party games they did have, no DVD playback (or even CD playback, which was still important at the time), and GC was firmly "only for kids" in gamers minds. RE4, arguably the best GC game, was tied for 16th best selling GC game. It sold so poorly, Capcom had to end exclusivity & release a PS2 version. All those best selling Xbox & PS2 defined the generation. Luigi's Mansion, MK: Double Dash, Windwaker & Metroid Prime sadly did not. Melee was arguably the one game that crossed over to mainstream appeal.
I remember having a GameCube and wanting a ps2 because it had better games. That and the ability to play dvd movies back when dvd players were well saught after is what made the ps2 the best selling console ever to date. The massive success of their handheld consoles kept Nintendo afloat during the dark days of the 64 and GameCube.
The Gamecube reminds me of simpler times, and for that I will always have a soft spot for it Also I vividly remember playing Melee when it came out as its the game my mom got when she got our Gamecube. Hearing rumors of a "Smash Bros. 2" for a couple years then finally getting the chance to play it? Yeah that was the first time I ever pulled an all-nighter just playing Melee lol
I remember back when Zelda: The Windwaker was announced how many people were upset about how it looked. I remember hearing a Zelda fan boy at my local EB Games (Gamestop) where I used to live, complaining about how Zelda looked childish and how it will "ruin" the franchise. I just looked at the guy and said to him "be at least happy your getting any kind of Zelda game at all".
I got my first Gamecube on Christmas 2003, right around when it becomes $99. It was the first console I personally ever owned and it is still one of my favorites to this day. My favorite games were Melee, Double Dash, Wario World, Pikmin 2, Mario Party 7, Kirby Air Ride, Luigi’s Mansion and Chibi Robo. I’m still finding games to play on it and I have a very nice collection that includes games like Custom Robo, Eternal Darkness, and the big one known as Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance.
Oh man, this is a juicy take since the Gamecube was my pride and joy growing up. Can't wait for the Xbox One coverage if this is where we're going next. Don Mattrick personally did sooooo much damage to Xbox's rep right when they were fresh off from the success the 360 had. PS3 had a bad time too - with its near-unworkable hardware and the Japanese game industry imploding around it for a while. Seems like a new console generation always meant it's someone else's turn to get cursed.
An UltimaShadow edited video? Man that's PEAK. Despite the failures of the GameCube, I can't deny the level of fun and nostalgia that console gave me. It gave me my first Zelda experience, my first Metroid, Mario, Luigi's Mansion, and Mega Man via the X Collection. This console, while it lagged behind in technolgoy, truly tried to keep the foundation of a unique play experience for its consumers, which a W in my book if you ask me.
Never thought you’d do a video on the Nintendo GameCube, but this was a pleasant surprise. Back in the early 2000’s, I only owned a GameCube and didn’t have a PS2 or an Xbox, so I have a lot of fond memories for Nintendo’s underrated lunchbox-shaped console. Despite their issues, Super Mario Sunshine, Star Fox Adventures, and The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker were some of the best games on the system I’ve played. I also regret not getting certain games like Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader. I hope Nintendo does the sensible thing and offer the ability to play GameCube games on Nintendo Switch.
I liked the indigo color that the Gamecube came in. I was heart broken when my old GC burned out; and when I went to buy a replacement system, the only colors available were black, silver and orange (I settled for a silver one in the end).
Having a traveling console could have been a real positive selling feature if they went all in on it. Adding a built in, retracable power cable and VGA cable alone would have been able to help make this the "grab and go" console to take to your friends, especially with the smaller disks.
I was about to bring this up myself. The reality of the console's hardware just made it a thing you threw into a bag or a backpack if you were bringing it somewhere, carrying it by the handle just invited it to be hit or scratched against a wall or doorframe or dropped on the ground. It *was* more portable than previous Nintendo consoles, at least in terms of size!
Growing up I never knew the GCN was doing poorly. I think I got lucky knowing friends and cousins who also owned a gamecube so I assumed it was popular enough. It’s funny to look back on it. Also cooler since the 2005-2011 era was sort of like a renaissance of Nintendo with the Wii and DS.
The years of my youth spent mostly playing Kirby Air Ride, Melee and Mario Party 5 with my brothers were the last time I was blissfully unaware of console wars and the gaming industry, and I would not have guessed the GC was any sort of failure
The PS2 wiped the floor with the GameCube. Those small discs the GameCube used ended up hurting Nintendo in the long run as many Third party developers couldn't fit their games onto a GameCube disc and opted to make games for the PS2 instead. Once again Nintendo beat their own drum (small discs instead of DVD-ROM) and paid dearly for it in sales and third party support.
yeah and the sad part is Nintendo learned the wrong lessons here, in this case it was "oh console power does not matter so we're going to half-ass the Wii, Wii-U and Switch in that department" and unfortunately in two out of three cases they got rewarded with big sales but we're still getting shitty ports(Cassette Beasts being the latest with awful slowdown issues) what Nintendo should've learned was "Don't try to get use crappy storage formats that make it difficult for the full power of your console to be utilized" if Nintendo had just stuck with DVDs the Gamecube would've been a bigger hit I guarantee you.
Ironically, at first it didn't have a huge effect. Going from the PS1, games had plenty of room on the Gamecube, But as time went on, the Gamecube got less and less games the PS2 and Xbox got due to it. It's still got a wonderful library of early-mid gen games, but the disc really did drag it down in perhaps the one generation where all the consoles were comparable in terms of technical specs and ability. Although I'm still convinced the PS2's ability as a DVD player did a hell of a number regardless.
@@CrystalDavis-e8i I think they learned that games, not hardware power sell units. They didn't half ass the power for the Wii and Switch...it's designed to be more affordable and cater to a very wide audience, which it does very well with excellent 1st party games. The GC didn't have the killer aps the Wii and Switch do until well until it's run, and even then, they weren't too many vs the Wii and Switch. PS and XB battle over hardware power. Nintendo doing the same would just dilute the market. Instead they make games for a different audience. I am very curious to see if Xbox returns for the next gen considering they've had 4 generations to beat sony and haven't done it once.
Honestly, it wiped the floor with its entire competition. Even the Xbox didn't stand a chance despite doing everything right. The only negative I have to give it is that it lacked badly in the JRPG department because it was a western console but even so, it had great SEGA/Tecmo exclusives.
When I made the switch from gamecube to xbox for halo it hurt my heart but I felt like I was “growing up” into more mature games. I was just starting high school and wanted to fit in. Looking back I wish I didn’t take that platform for granted because I genuinely had a lot of fun with games like Melee.
I have many fond memories of my Gamecube. The durability of the system was intense too. Can take a fall from 4ft to the solid hardwood floor without breaking anything, and the game CD can still play just fine. In all seriousness, playing Sonic Adventure 2 Battle, SSBM, Tales of Symphonia, Zelda: Wind Waker, Mario Kart: Double Dash... They were all really great games, and good times.
The GameCube holds a special place in my heart due to having some fun games, that era of consoles having great sports titles especially the NASCAR titles that managed to land on the purple box, and of course some of the best WWE games Yukes ever developed[YMMV on Wrestlemania X-8 though]
I was a Nintendo kid, so N64 and GameCube were my only consoles until I was given a (barely-functioning) PS2 by my brother. I didn't get to use the Internet much during my childhood, so the fact that the GameCube is considered a "bomb" was a surprise to me. I knew many of the games had mixed reviews--which I did not learn until much later. I actually liked games like "Super Mario Sunshine" and "The Wind Waker," though they were controversial on their initial release. Time seems to be kinder to the games than the initial release group.
Love Maddie's art for Twin Snakes. Speaking of, that seems like it could make for a good episode. There were some strange and interesting things going on with the development of that game.
My first gaming console. Oh the memories I had, especially since I was also a big Sonic fan. And the GameCube definitely kept me satisfied in that department.
The amount of 3rd party loss going from snes to the n64 is staggering. Not to say that the n64 was a failure but even as a Nintendo fan you cannot deny that many, many 3rd parties jumped ship after the snes era.
Basically the NES and SNES very much were those eras of gaming, with Sega being a solid contender, but Sony generally just has the more attractive console experiences and more companies know where the market is going. Props to Nintendo for always doing their own thing, but the older I get the more often they seem out of touch than in touch with their home consoles.
It all came down the massive blow of CD-ROMs that got all multiplatform developers excited to jump ship. Nintendo tried to play Phillips and Sony and ended up playing themselves. The N64 only had 297 games worldwide as a result while the PS1 had well over 4000.
@@Manic_PanicThe Saturn would have taken off if it were really all on CD's. But just like the N64 it got crushed by the PS1. I believe it was Yamauchi's policies combined with the ease of development for the PS1 that caused Japanese devs to jump ship.
@@Manic_Panic I remember reading that square did try to make FF7 initially for the N64 but just couldn't due to hardware limitations of the cartridge. The same square that was a SNES powerhouse for multiple RPGs. Heck I remember in ye olde Nintendo Power magazine use to have an RPG section (Epic Center if I remember) in every issue just dedicated to covering 3rd party rpgs, strategies etc... Then comes the N64 era and Nintendo, once a bastion for RPGs was no more. It was stunning watching the 3rd party jump in real time.
I often think to myself, what if Rare stood with Nintendo and got to make lots of great games on the GameCube, (the same way Rare carried the N64) one of them being the cancelled Donkey Kong Racing, a sequel to Diddy Kong Racing. I mean at least they left us with Starfox Adventures and Krystal, basically if the GameCube or even the Wii had Rare support, that would’ve been Legendary.
Well more so that the PS2 was also a cheap DVD player at the time also helped in the sales. But yes the mini disc's were a bit of a hinderence for some developers.
The Cube went through some of the worst software droughts I've ever experienced. But after it's all said and done, it ended up with a good number of incredible games, so it's still hooked up to my TV. I swear I'll finish Skies of Arcadia one day.
One of my favorite consoles. They seem to be capturing the same level of game creativity with the Switch. Glad im not the only one who thought the system did well. Only to learn years later it didnt.
Admittedly, I got into the Gamecube because of Sonic Advance's connection to Sonic Adventure 2 Battle. I had Sonic Advance for GBA and I wanted to transfer my Chao into the Chao garden because it constantly talked about wanting to learn how to sing and play music. I did want to play SA2B, but it was my Chao that made me really excited for it. It seems the real failing was that it chased Sony's shadow more than anything. The handle was a nice touch, but took their consoles from one place to another one way or another, the fact that they made something that boast alot of power at a budget production cost should have lead them to try to capitalize on other strengths instead of chasing another company's shadow. That part at the end was quite the irony, in trying to make the Gamecube overtake the PS2, they made a controller that became the bases of the next console, the Wii. Which lead to both Sony and Microsoft going through a motion control trend. I still have mine, I don't believe in the trading in consoles myself. I was thinkin of trying to find PN-03, I saw it in the promo on Viewtiful Joe's cd (Still hurt we never got the 3rd and final threat), looking back at it now, it looks like it wanted to be the game Bayonetta is.
I was 10 years old when the Wii came out but I wasn't really aware of it until around 2008 since my internet usage was quite small at the time. As such, imagine my surprise when I saw GameCubes on clearance at Zellers for around $100 CAD and capitalizing on that console for almost 15 years now. Love that little bastard.
Gamecube will always be my favorite console. I got it on the christmas morning in 2003 and still play it with friends and family to this day. While it is sad that the system didnt do good, ill always treasure the games and the memories I had with it.
They used mini dvd's instead of full sized. I really think that was the only problem, though it would have been nice to have 2 shoulder buttons. Ps2 just took off for all the family's that wanted a DVD player
The Xbox would've taken off much better if DVD's were the problem. The GameCube was an example of bad timing, when Nintendo's "kiddy" reputation was hit the hardest.
@@dogg-pawsI remember in order to watch DVDs on the original Xbox people had to buy an official adapter and controller from Microsoft, I think it was due to licenses issues. Nintendo actually let Panasonic to release a GameCube variation that was able to play DVDs but only in Japan
Wasn't the GameCube actually more powerful than the PS2 despite the cost cutting measures? I have fond memories of it, despite the dwindling third party support at the end, and it did pave the way for the Wii. I wonder how many Wii owners never actually realised the GameCube was completely functional within the console. 😂
The impression I have of the big trio of consoles from this generation is that if you were willing to put in the time and effort to learn the ins and outs of the hardware and what tricks you could pull, they were all about equally capable. Though, the GameCube was _much_ easier to work with than the infamously difficult PlayStation 2 (though still not as developer-friendly as the Xbox was).
As bad as the GameCube sales numbers are, I always appreciated the library (and the console itself) as a "growing period" for Nintendo where they tried a lot of out of the box things and experimental projects. Like combining handheld and home console softwares into unique experiences, Wind Waker's (now beloved) art style and story, taking Metroid into FPS, taking a gamble on new IPs like Luigi's Mansion, Animal Crossing, Pikmin and Chibi Robo, the aforementioned Eternal Darkness and Wavebird, embracing FMV tech, E-reader cards, etc., giving Mario a baseball game and Starfox a 3rd Person Adventure title, too - it was really trying (and succeeding a lot of the time in my opinion) to make the best out of a bad financial situation. If you're already in last, the only thing you can do is try, and the only way to go is up.
The GameCube gave us the most hype announcement and that was the reveal of Twilight Princess at E3 2004. And for that alone it won the console wars💁♂️
The GameCube was the very first console I bought with my own hard-earned money at the age of 15: first game I bought for it? Soul Cslibur 2 - what a memory.
I've been working a 10 hour work day (and still working) trying to resolve a major issue at my company. Watching this helped make today somewhat bearable.
I remember actualy getting a bit mad about the gamecube going to disks. I thought cartridges were surperior on the only comparison that cds were more easily damaged. I eventually loved the gamecube exploring its library long into the Nintendo wiis lifespan post gamecube era.
Something thats not mentioned in the video is how long the battery lasts on this tiny box. I still have my gamecube all the way from launch and its still has juice in it. It may not be much but it's fascinating how it has a battery that even after 22+ years is STILL kicking, still counting,still keeping track of time. While even its gba sibling's games with such battery doesnt last that long. Kinda makes it feel like even if rhe GameCube never sold well versus its competition it still kept a light on for all these years where as ps2 and xbox original havent and had to find new homes on the 360 and ps3 while the GameCube fpr what it has for its library is like a small shelter where even if games for the system get left behind like Nintendo has shown they more than likely are doing given how they said it was "hard" to get gamecube games to run natively on the switch and only made a very very VERY small few ports, the gamecube will alway provide them shelter through the ravages of time until the very end where the console is borderline extinct to the point either only one exists in the world in a museum somewhere or the heat death of the sun that will obliterate everything.
I never owned a GameCube but I have a ton of nostalgia attached to it, I was around 8 years old when it launched and unlike Sony or Microsoft, Nintendo actually had plenty of commercials in Latin America. I did played it on a demo kiosk everytime my parents took me to a toystore at a mall and I played a lot of Luigi's Mansion and Super Mario Sunshine. It would be nice if Nintendo could remaster some of their GCN titles for the Switch or their next console
We could see a Wha Happun on the Steam Machines/Steam Controller, how Valve’s initial attempt at consoleifying PC gaming failed but laid the groundwork for the Steam Deck
The world was not ready for this purple beast, loved it more than the PS2 and as equally as the Dreamcast and Xbox. So many great exclusives you simply couldn't find anywhere else.
it sold almost 22 million units, despite not doing anything better than its competitors and coming out a whole year later than the ps2 - if that's underrated then what would you call the dreamcast?
@@ragnarteeveer5640He’s not necessarily wrong. PS2 was the best selling console ever at the time, and came with DVD compatibility. Xbox with Halo 2 and Xbox live was revolutionary, and it changed gaming forever. It lived in the shadows. Even if it was only a few million shy of Xbox. It’s the only Nintendo console I never owned. Until a year ago when a friend unloaded his entire collection on me. I had outgrown the cartoony Nintendo world. Only to get older and learned to appreciate it more and more.
@@The_GenXennial I wouldn't say Xbox live was revolutionary compared to Sega-net which was the first online gaming service from Sega with Dreamcast back in 1999, Xbox live started in 2002 3 years later when people just happened to pay attention at that point to the idea of console online multiplayer.
I'm one of the crazy people that had no interest in the PlayStation 2, a tiny bit of interest in the Xbox, but was all in on the GameCube during the 6th console generation. The reason ironically boiled down to the reason I got a PlayStation first in the previous console generation (before later getting a second-hand Nintendo 64), Spyro the Dragon. Spyro was exclusive to the PS1 for his original trilogy; but went multiplatform after Spyro: Year of the Dragon (me being torn between wanting a PS1 initially and an N64 over whether to get Star Fox 64 or Spyro 1 first). Combine that with Pikmin and Star Fox Adventures and I desperately wanted a GameCube. DVDs and JRPGs didn't appeal to me at the time (my family had a massive collection of VHSs) and Final Fantasy VII's art style and marketing campaign ironically had turned me off JRPGs in general (with the exception of the craze that was Pokémon) and the fact that the original fat model PS2 is ironically a rather ugly and weirdly cheap-looking design, and the GameCube was my primary console for that generation.
It’s a shame there can be no in-depth analysis of the GBA on your channel (because the GBA was truly _A Big Boss!)_ I loved my GameCube, but nothing has dethroned the GBA in my heart. I had _so many of those_ and I do not regret a single purchase. I lost all of them though to circumstances beyond my control. I would take my Game Boy Micro with me to the movies. I had the Play-Yan! So many good times! I had the NES Classic Game Boy Advance SP, these things were my oxygen! Great Stuff, as always!
Watching the GameCube's story is like watching an old friend screw up over and over and over and over and over and when they're at their lowest they continued screwing up
I had all 4 consoles that generation, and honestly I played my GameCube the most. Rogue Leader, Resident Evil 0 and REmake, and the GameCube version of Twilight Princess got a ton of playtime from me. My PS2 I mostly used for Silent Hill 2, GTA, and some WWE games, my Xbox was pretty much just for Halo, and my Dreamcast was just for Sonic and Resident Evil: Code Veronica (though I eventually picked up their GameCube ports too when Sega pulled the plug on Dreamcast).
Check out the DYKG video (which I narrated) on Star Fox Grand Prix HERE ➤ th-cam.com/video/ZmRN7pF9k5I/w-d-xo.html
here's a suggestion for a what happened...
Cid the dummy
Thanks for this video Matt. This was my first console to call my own & it carries a very special place to my heart. While it did get outsold by its competition I will never forget getting this console that exciting Christmas Morning 2001 and playing Luigi's Mansion & NHL Hitz 2002 that winter.
The GameCube wasn’t a financial failure. If the GameCube was a failure, then so is the Xbox.
Out of curiosity, have you covered the Viewtiful Joe or Ape Escape series?
The gamecube has found new life emulated on my phone lol
The positive side is, thanks to the Wii having the Gamecube packaged in, folks who bought the more popular console were still able to enjoy that generation of games. And thank goodness for that, because the Gamecube had some real hits.
Bit of a double-edged sword, though-because there are do many backwards-compatible Wii systems, the effective install base of the GameCube is very large relative to the number of games sold, which is part of why the games are so expensive. Granted, only a fraction of Wii systems might be used for GameCube games, but it still increases the demand.
Yeah, they stopped doing GameCube-infused Wii's towards the end of its life cycle. Some people own a Wii and have no idea there was a version with a GC built into it!
@@pokepress I'm really not convinced. Retro gaming is a collector's world, and has been for some time, so the Wii's intall base doesn't matter. When it mattered, you could find GC games for dirt cheap, because it wasn't retro yet.
@@pokepressPretty sweet though cause besides the compatibility, it's so easy to mod the wii so you can play the full gamecube library at no cost
Also if you softmod a Wii or Wii U, you can play Gamecube games with Nintendont.
The GC has also had a renewed following based on how good the Dolphin emulator is.
Luigi's Mansion, Zelda: Twighlight Princess and Zelda: Windwaker are all awesome GC games that everyone should try. All 3 still hold up!
I remember buying my GameCube at Toys r Us in 2004, for $119 it came with two memory cards, a wavebird, and Super Monkey Ball 1 & 2. I don't think I've ever had a deal like that ever since.
Damn what the hell & I wanted a ps2 & got it for like 180 or something like that brand new nothing else included besides the controller of course
I got a gc at launch for 199.99 no game included but later had to replace it and got one for 99$
Wavebird absolutely goated. I still think the wireless version is the comfiest controller my hands have ever touched, and the plastic had just the right texture to feel soft and comforting. I wish I could plug it into my laptop for modern games lol
That's a great deal
@@madeliner1682 i feel like you should be able to do that no problem. Theres a usb gamecube adapter people use to play melee on pc. I dont see any reason why it wouldnt pick up the wavebird but maybe not. You can google im too lazy.
Just keep in mind. What Happened is not necessarily about games, movies or consoles that are bad. Just ones that suffered from a troubled production. The Gamecube qualifies and even though it was my first console as a kid, even I could see that it took a lot of trial and error to finally come to fruition.
I quickly realized that when he covered golden eye, metroid prime, and doom 2016
😊
😊
Semantics. Shit production = shit media
Thanks for the info MATT!!!
My dad was an area manager at Target when the GC game out. He still shudders when he hears the words "Gamecube" or "purple lunchbox" because of how poorly they sold compared to what they were told to expect
These days everyone knows about the newest console release, but in 01 if you weren't in to video games it would have just been "hey, it's a Nintendo, I'm sure it'll sell"
The Original Xbox also failed to meet Microsoft’s sales projections, and while they may have outsold the GameCube via hardware sales (albeit just barely), they failed to turn any profit which meant they ended up eating over $4 billion in losses, with Nintendo making a steady profit off of the GameCube.
@@crazedlunatic2056The irony is that for the most part, Microsoft hasn’t ever really made a profit from the Xbox Division. The OG Xbox division in particular only made a profit in Holiday 04 mostly cause of Halo 2.
That's interesting. I remember getting a GameCube for Christmas in 2001 and my dad told me he had to stand in a long line to get one. I remember when GameCube launched all my local video game stores were already sold out, but _all of them always followed up with "but we still have Xboxs for sale!"_ As a matter of fact one local game shop couldn't sell their launch-day Xboxs so they bundled a console with two launch titles for like $30 off because they just wanted to get rid of them.
Well to burst his bubble if it needs Panasonic technics brand
If you lived under a rock maybe.
That stat on the Saturn library being larger than the N64 library despite selling less was really eye owning
It's a shame so much of the Saturn's library remained in Japan, there were oodles of cool releases.
Only 8 N64 games in 1996 and 34 games in 1997 in North America. Back in those days I was able to keep up with the released and owned about 75% of the library by the end of '97.
Saturn was very popular in Japan. Saturn did well in Japan but bombed everywhere else. N64 did well in the USA but bombed in Japan.
@@Bronxguyanese The Saturn was more popular than the Playstation in Japan until FFVII came out...
@@user-dv2hc8zt3o this was true. Final fantasy deal in Japan for Sony playstation destroyed chances of Nintendo 64 and sega saturn success. However Sega saturn had 2D gaming which was more popular in Japan at the time. Nintendo 64 came in 3rd in Japan.
Genuinely wild that GameCube's MSRP was all the way down to $99 less than two years after its launch - WITH a pack-in title like Zelda: Collector's Edition or Melee. That would never happen with today's console market; the Wii U never even budged below $299.
Probably because the WiiU cost more to produce so they couldn't lower it that much, I recall them saying they still sold it at a loss at one point something Nintendo had never doen before, just showing how dire things were for it. Considering that it's not just a console with DVD features but also packs in a huge controller with a screen, the controller alone costed like 100$ at one point.
The GameCube is the console that you wouldn't think to be talked about in this show at first, but it makes total sense when you think about it. The GameCube was my first Nintendo console and I had fond memories of it but it always was stuck in third place and this video puts context into why. Excellent analysis, keep up the good work. I look forward to seeing new episodes each week!
On another note, it's scary to think that Yamauchi's relations with Nintendo of America mirrors Sega of Japan Vs Sega of America. Thank goodness Iwata turn things around.
Nintendo was also kinda arrogant thinking the Cube would sell over 100 million units
Sometimes I wonder if Japanese gaming companies back then (and maybe even today) were- dare I say- racist or xenophobic. (That or they were just very, *very* arrogant.)
I too noticed that similarity with Yamauchi and Sega of Japan, Iwata was the hero we absolutely needed at time.
@@hugejackedman3447 While this is true, they were still playing second banana pretty hard to the PS2. Once the PS2 got some Dragon Quest on it the writing was on the wall for the Gamecube's Japanese market.
I mean, unless you only cared about Nintendo first party IPs, the Gamecube was an overall failure in every other department.
Dreamcast: Arcade games at home, built in online support and enhanced PS1/N64 multiplatform ports.
PS2: Ridiculously huge library, great exclusives and backwards compatibility.
Xbox: Best image quality/graphics, best online support and very decent multiplatform support - only missing out on JRPGs.
Gamecube: Good exclusives and... ?
16:04 I think Twin Snakes deserves its own episode. I rather liked it, but there were some bizarre behind the scenes things that occurred.
This was my first console. As a kid, I never understood why none of my friends or cousins
had a NGC, they all owned a PS2. However, everytime I showed them games like Mario Strikers, Melee, Double Dash and party, they all loved them.
I mean, the PS2 is an awesome choice as well, people had fun with games like Ratchet, MGS, DMC, GoW, etc. Both were for different audiences.
The main reason is thr Ps2 was a dvd player.
@@dasaiyantv8483 PS2 also had Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2
@@SudrianTales I mean tbh it's hard to believe all 155 million sales were cause of it being a DVD player. Even if half of it, so like 77 million about, were from gamers alone, that's still more than the Dreamcast, Xbox, and Gamecube. At the end of the day, all four are great consoles, you don't need to care about which one is "better".
@@dasaiyantv8483
You don't realize how expensive DVD players were back then.
The GC will always have a special place in my heart, I remember I was chillin at home with my brothers and my parents came home from shopping and they bought me a GameCube, that caught me off guard lol. Tarzan Untamed was my first game and then my late grandma bought me Melee. This console made my childhood awesome.
I never knew as a kid growing up in the 2000s that the Gamecube had the poorest sales out of the sixth generation consoles. Gamecube was my childhood, although it kickstarted my linearity of sticking with Nintendo until at least the early 2010s, so I missed out on a lot of cool PS2/PS3/Xbox (360) games.
There was alot more PS2 owners at the time. If not, gameboy advances
Gamecube was like striking gold with friends
@@Chaz4543 halo...... HALO........HALOOOOOOOOOOOOO
@@Chaz4543 I think it was because Microsoft handled their marketing better and convinced more companies to go onboard while Nintendo displeased everyone with the mini discs. Gamecube ended up with 660 games while Xbox had 1000.
They had SEGA and Tecmo doing exclusives for them such as Ninja Gaiden Black, Dead Or Alive 3, Jet Set Radio Future, Otogi, Project Gotham Racing, etc. It wasn't just Halo.
Also, PC was a dead platform in the early 2000s, barely any ports from consoles and those that happened were straight up hot garbage.
@@Chaz4543I got it for Halo and Gears of War and I have no regrets.
Same here. I had the PS2 alongside the Game Cube and the quality of games were nearly on par with each other. Plus I had to replace my PS2 twice while my OG Game Cube still works like new.
You know the lunchbox left an impact on your childhood when you recognize every game soundtrack used in the video and think "Those were some amazing experiences"
Gamecube has some of the most unique games Nintendo has ever produced.
I Will never forget about Pokémon colosseum and XD Gale of darkness. The Orre duology holds a special place in my heart.
The GameCube/Wii era was truly something special
For the good and bad. Lots of unique experiences but we most games that were on other console too.
The best honestly. Smash, Mario, Metroid, fzero, Zelda, and especially Pokémon had some of their greatest titles all on that system.
Pokémon colosseum and XD are still considered by many the best console Pokémon games. Even better than anything from switch era
It’s too bad that many of them are very expensive on the secondhand market. Seriously, whenever I try to find a copy of Smash Bros. Melee, Kirby Air Ride, Path of Radiance or Mario Sunshine, it’s usually over $50 or so.
It is very interesting that, despite the GameCube being beaten by not just the PS2 but the og Xbox as well, it was a very well selling console here in Mexico.
Growing up the GameCube was my Sixth Gen console I had all that time, and a lot of my friends from elementary/middle school had GameCubes too, with only a few people having a PS2 or an og Xbox. I heard more people talk about their GameCube consoles than their PlayStation or Xbox consoles till the Seventh Gen consoles came out and they transitioned to those.
I wonder why the GameCube was very beloved here in Mexico versus other parts of the world. Maybe Melee had something to do with that, lol.
It also was cheaper than the OG xbox or the PS2.
And not many people had acces to the online multiplayer Xbox and ps2 offered back then, so here it was way mooore popular due to the local multiplayer...
If you had friends with a gamecube, you just needed to invest in 1 or 2 controllers and maybe just 1 or 2 games. And the whole group could play games like Smash melee, Mario Party, Mario Kart and even games luke F Zero GX or Metroid Prime 2 and Time Splitters...
And well, the GBA connectivity was also very appreciated here.
@@MFIBCN It didn't hurt that the GameCube has some pretty damn good RPG games and those always sell well in México.
I also share the same experienced. I was in elementary during the gamecube era, and in Mexico i remember reading through the “Club Nintendo “ magazine which was huge! All my friends would always talk about the next games coming out and do sleepovers playing games like wario ware, mario kart, melee, etc. i had a few friends which would bring their ps2s and we would play gta, 1 life each lol.
Good times but in my perception i always saw the gamecube as popular.
Probably because Nintendo has always been the king of couch multiplayer, a very social activity. Xbox was for online gamers, and PS2 was for people sitting alone in a dark room playing some long ass JRPG. Different strokes for different cultures.
You all delusional Nintendo Fan boys. You lived in a bubble.
I am from Mexico.
I can say the same for all the consoles, I actually had all 3 of them (i was 21 at the time) and all of my friends had ps2 or xbox. Seems like you were kids, thats the console that was made "for you".
Me and my young adult friends all had pc, ps2 and xbox. You just had what your parents gave you or could afford.
In other words, you only remember what you were surrended by as kids. PS2 and xbox sold very well, because of games (halo, Forza, metal gear, silent hill, etc etc) and because piracy (you could not run backup games back when the GC was in its prime, but you could on ps2 and xbox).
My absolute favorite thing about the GameCube other than the insanely unique games was the futuristic aesthetic used in so many of it's games. F-Zero, PSO, Custom Robo, Metroid Prime, Star Fox Assault, etc. all look STUNNING.
F-Zero and Custom Robo are still two of my favorite games of all time. They were so unique and fun
Rareware despite getting purchased by Microsoft, still managed to make Starfox Adventures have really good visuals!
Custom Robo is one of my favorite games ever made. Right up there with the first Baten Kaitos.
@@brandonwilliams6119Starfox Adventures had absolutely stunning visuals. I'd argue it even competed with early X360 titles
Extreme G-3 is also so damn fun.
I never get tired of hearing Custom Robo music in great videos. You really did my favorite console justice with this one, thank you!
Lord of the Rings: Gollum: What Happened
The Biggest mistake of gollum was just the concept of it.
Plumbers Don't Wear Ties: What Happened?
The game, the game was what happened
More like why happened?
Just shit devs.
I still think the GameCube was perfect for what it was; I got it at launch in 8th grade. Nintendo was always different, and this was no exception. I knew I wanted Nintendo's newest console over the PS2 and Xbox not just because I'm a Nintendo fanboi, but because everyone else was going to have those other consoles anyway (neighbors, cousins, etc.), and I'd still have access lol. Fire Emblem and Paper Mario Thousand Year Door are still two of my favorite games EVER! Great video.
I bought my Genesis in 8th grade and was also amazed by the platform. It was revolutionary and well worth the $250.
The Nintendo lunchbox really came at an awkward time in general yet the best time for me to get into gaming. I was around 8 when it was released in the states so I was the perfect consumer for it. I remember playing lots of games that I owned and a handful that my dad rented for me in the weekends. The handful that I had were Paper Mario TTYD, Kirby Air ride, at a short moment Viewtiful Joe among others. If there was a system that I cherish for my Nintendo childhood it was between the N64 and this.
I remember standing at a walmart for hours waiting for the midnight release when I was in highschool it was the first console I bought on my own sadly I didn't have enough money to get a game but I did enjoy playing with the menus for a few days till my parents just bought Luigi's mansion for me
I was also around 8 years old when the GCN came out, so it never bothered me the fact that it was indigo or that Wind Waker looked more cartoony than people were expecting a new Zelda game should look like
@@cyanmage1 Same i remember in the early 2000s if someone wanted to buy a new console on the first day or Black Friday how early one would have to be lol. Once the internet shopping era began, that trend changed
I remember it being marketed to kids and having a family friendly image. Which ironically made kids want the PS2 even more because they wanted to be "cool" with the "grownup" option instead of being associated with something more "fisher price"esque.
They tried that again with the wii u.
Thankfully it seems nintendo's finally gotten it in their heads that marketing a platform to kids is only going to drive them to the competition
good ol' 00s edginess hard at work.
Max's cameo of "Dude! Duuude!" made me laugh out loud, great video as always, Matt!
*Maximillian Jumpscare!*
I loved that!
The moment Matt said the Cube had no online, I immediately thought of PSO thanks to Max, so the jumpscare was even funnier.
Yeah, I was just about to comment PSO
@@briansilva3765how was it online through NGC? Like, a third-party modem type deal?
@@redherronrecords The Gamecube had an official online adapter made especifically for PSO, it would plug beneath the console, and I guess you would plug your internet cable into it or something, never saw exactly how it worked.
The GameCube era was a happy feeling time in my life. Sadly the lasers in both mine and my brother's GameCubes are dying. Takes a lot of resets to get a game to boot up.
Collecting for GameCube has been a financial taunt but also an unreasonably fulfilling experience bringing my 35 year old self back to this juncture in my early life where I didn’t have the means or capacity to play GameCube - and now ladies and gentlemen we feast.
Dolphin emu for free
Gc loader
Im proud of u my bro, now its time to enjoy ur collection 😃
Still collecting? That is in this day and time a herculean effort. I am happy with my collection and wont me getting rid of it anytime soon. Ridicilous prices. I have sold many games for more money than i originally bought them.
@heikkint I have an old Cube that just needs a new VGA cable. Are they really valuable now?? or just the physical games. I have a few of those too..
TIronically, the handle actually hindered the gamecube's portability because it made it harder to fit well in a bag.
Over the past few years, i ended learning that the GameCube never did that well in game market, but it seemed like it so popular, so many afs for it on tv and magazines, I knew so many people talking about it, and with their games being so fondly remembered. Now seeing the numbers, i knew the PS2 dominated, but it the PlayStation straight up hitting the N64 too. No wonder they struck back with the Wii.
Well, that was definitely a bubble. I got a PS2 at the time and everyone I knew who even talked about games only mentioned the PS2... and sometimes the Gameboy because Pokemon. I didn't even know the Xbox/Gamecube existed lol.
So it's weird to see so many people talk about how they thought that the Gamecube was a popular console but I guess that was a US thing where the vast majority of units sold happened.
@@Manic_Panic I always knew the PS2 and GBA were insanely popular (I had both growing up) since I knew many who had those consoles, but I assumed the GameCube was at least a modest success.
I was shocked to know it sold less than even the OG Xbox since I knew more people with a GameCube and knew only two people who had an OG Xbox, and one of them was a friend of mine who had every console.
Man people were really so insecure about purple? I don't think I ever thought of it as something girly, the console looked great to me as a kid
It's wild to me how my perceptions, circumstances (and biases) at the time never gave me the impression that the Gamecube was ever doing badly. It was also timed in my life to where I actually took notice that it seemed to pretty much always be in stock, though that never really registered to me until a number of years later, when I was desperately trying to get a Wii at launch.
Only the most absolute neck beard of the neck beards knew anything about the sales figures back then, and I say this as someone who was already an adult when this thing launched. I remember for about a month swapping consoles right after Christmas 2003 with my brother so he could play the Xbox exclusives and I could play the GC ones, it never occurred to me either that this was a poorly performing machine. Just as someone who had just finished high school and was working a minimum wage job I had to pick one and I went with the one that had online fighting games and DDR as that was what I was into at the time. PS2 eventually ended up getting online fighters and I did eventually get a PS2 (and my own GC) but it just wasn’t feasible at the time, so I owned one and borrowed the other.
When I walked in Toysrus, launch day, and saw the shelves full of GameCube’s, I knew Nintendo was in trouble. I remember feeling lucky to have gotten a N64, for Christmas, the year it came out. They were hard to find.
And the release of Grand Theft Auto 3, didn’t help. Nintendo was starting to be looked at as corny. Mario’s appearance in DDR. Pac-Man vs…, as their big reveal, for an E3, one year. Not to mention, that Zelda demo, that never came to be. Some of this is probably covered in this video. I just went off on a tangent. 😂
The Gamecube didnt do that well, but most of the people who bought it liked it very much. The Wii being backwards compatible helped keep the GC accessible at least
i had a gamecube as a kid and was completely tuned out of any discussion about it so hearing that people kinda hated this thing has been one of those wild adulthood realizations i've made over the years, it's nice to have a good video break it all down!
I grew up with a GameCube and assumed it was a popular console, then reality set in many years later.
You’re insane.
Smash bros melee is the preferred tournament version of smash to this day.
Pikmin 1 and 2 became instant cult classics.
Metroid finally rebirthed itself.
Star Fox Assault is still the greatest Star Fox game to date.
Mario Kart double dash was literally top 10 games of all time during its era.
Mario Golf for the GC is still the greatest Golf title to this day.
Animal Crossing found its way to America.
F Zeros best release is still it’s GameCube title as well.
This is such an absurd reach to claim the console wasn’t well received. It had drama in the background, and all the GTA and Halo obsessed kids didn’t want one, but overall the majority of gamers loved the game cube...and would even sacrifice DVD playability to get one over a PS2 or Xbox at times, which was big back then
@@Wallychans It's the fact that the gamecube got crushed by its competitors. Xbox and PS2 were far superior systems.
@@authorrobjohnson3178 There’s a reason a mass of GameCube games are priced above retail value and PS2 games sit around an average of $10...
PS2 had the superior system in terms of specs no doubt. The MAJORITY of games were forgettable and did not stand the test of time tho...
What carried those systems were first person shooters, GTA specifically, and sports franchises, which the GC did not have.
I’ve been collecting retro games for about 10 years. My Gc collections sits around 30-40 games and I play it monthly. Still looking to collect more as well.
My PS2 however collects dust and has about 10 games. Parappa, god of war, and champions of norath are all I play on it now.
XBOX has about 10 games as well, but has more replay value than the ps2.
I could lose my PS2 and Xbox and wouldn’t really mind. If I lost my GameCube I would immediately have to replace it.
It all depends how you view success. Long term the game cube wins out no doubt...most retro stores can’t even keep a good supply of its games because people still buy them to this day...
@@WallychansPerhaps because there were many more copies of ps2 made. The final factor in a business is how well you do financially and, while not a complete faliure, the Gamecube did not do well. It was a shit console.
@@Wallychans they can't keep up with stock because there's less of it to go around. You liking GC most doesn't change hard facts.
Lets go! Another great video, a Maximillian cameo, Spiderverse references, and you voiced a DYKG video? Awesome!
I had both PS2 and Gamecube in my teenage years. Gamecube was more colorful and stronger than PS2 but was lacking was the DVD and more game library. PS2 had way insane library with games series that still runs to this day from that era or became popular in that era.
I loved both consoles.
P.S. both consoles had amazing WWE games, WWE Day of Reckoning 1 on the gamecube side and WWE Shut your Mouth and Here Comes the Pain on the PS2 side. so damn fun games that I still revisit once in awhile.
This is easily one of my favorite episodes. Fantastic work.
I've owned several consoles over the course of my life but I still think the Gamecube was my favorite. As a kid, I had no clue that the Gamecube was underperforming compared with it's competition, I just remember staying up overnight playing Melee and Air Ride, Sonic Adventure 2, Double Dash, Mario party with my family members and friends. I still think that Gamecube was the best local couch multiplayer experience in gaming history and that most of Nintendos best versions of beloved franchises existed on the system. Regardless of it's lackluster commercial performance, the Gamecube will always have a soft spot in my heart as the formative console in my youth that brought me more entertainment and childhood memories than any console before or since and I think that alone is something special.
Back during the early 2000's the PS1 and PS2 were dominating the gaming market so hard in my country that the GameCube was a rare sight and the original Xbox didn't even launch here, so I'm honestly surprised to hear that the thing was profitable at all. I can still remember that GC controllers were sold as Wii accessories because people simply didn't know what a GameCube was.
Same here in Poland
That was the exact case here in South Africa. I saw exactly 1 Gamecube Console in my life which was on display in a Toys R US, and maybe one or two games on shelves but that was it.
I always wanted to see Matt talk about the PS vita.
That console had tons of broken promises, a lot of censorship and a very short lifespan.
I hope he will read this comment and consider it.
I would like to see a video about the PlayStation Portable. I mean, the PSP was a huge success, selling over 80 million units but the DS managed to sold 70 million units more despite people claiming Sony would surpass Nintendo at the mobile market just like they did with the PSOne and PS2. It would be interesting to hear about Sony's decision to create the UMD format, how easy it was to hack the PSP and the release of the PSP Go
Since Liam helps him edit these videos, I like to imagine Matt's written multiple scripts for "PS Vita: Wha Happun?" that _mysteriously disappear_ whenever it comes time to film.
PS Vita will definitely be done one day. The handheld's story has What Happened? written all over it
I suspect that video will probably come out closer to the release of Sony's Project Q
He could also talk about the Playstation 3 and the Xbox One. The Playstation 3 would ultimately overtake the Xbox 360 in sales but it had a very rough start before it got itself together in 2010. Even with it overtaking the 360, the PS3 is considered to be the black sheep of the Playstation consoles. Meanwhile for the Xbox One, there was the whole dumpster fire that was the reveal that seriously hurt it launch. Combined with being $100 more expensive and less powerful than the PS4, the Xbox One floundered for years. Not helping was its lackluster catalogue of exclusives.
Having grown up with a GameCube as my first system, I don't think I could've ask for a better taste-defining experience.
First off I never had the Nintendo GameCube and never will because I know the GameCube sucked and flopped that is a fact. And second I do not care that Nintendo made a dick move with the denuvo that they thought steam is pirating but that is a god damn lie. Unless if it wants the 3 inch mini disc on the computer. But I don’t need the lunchbox wanna be actual Nintendo hardware otherwise they will get the bricked ending anyway. Which it won’t work. However Panasonic on the other hand unlike Sony or philips has only one unit instead of that shitty standard hardware unit. But that Panasonic mini cd unit or dvd thing can play audio cd and mp3 cdand thank god and good riddance but the good think I’m glad for sega dreamcast and Yamaha gigabyte disc rom or terrabyte disc rom that can play audio cd and also mp3 cd too. Unlike the previous audio cd or optical disc drive which does not have mp3 CD player support yet until this day. And also for Sony i am so tired trying to get the usual units again but I know I donated one to PCs which will be transferred to different facilities but it has no Bluetooth either. Grrrr this is what happens when you almost for get that Bluetooth exist in the 90s but the answer is no not yet unless the early 2000s as of today. And google you are too damn soon with your discovery of Bluetooth. (Note except Bluetooth 5.0 which exist now for better quality of revisions.) because the real truth is Bluetooth didn’t exist yet in the 80s to be clear. And also for the Dreamcast and Saturn I’m looking for different brand componate that sega used. So I’m stuck with usual cd and gd and dvd standard size disc. Otherwise the minidi will be jammed in the slot loader tray units. And also this copy of melee never do any justice for me. So that is why the GameCube alone sucked ass.
@josephfrye7342 wow, man not gonna take the time to read your one long paragraph but the GameCube was not a bad system and you wouldn't know because you've stuck to your Sony/Microsoft high ground. I understand. I've always looked up to those at Sony and Microsoft as true leaders in the ethical realm.
@@josephfrye7342i dont think anybody cares bub go back to your mamas tit cry baby😊
@@josephfrye7342i ain’t reading allat!! you don’t need to get so butthurt over what people like, let people enjoy things!!
@@josephfrye7342just because something is a commercial failure that doesn’t make it bad. I never owned a gc but I’ve played GameCube games either on my wii or via emulation and there is a lot of good games on there.
I haven't started the video yet, but there's one thing very few videos seem to discuss in relation to the GC's failures - the "kiddie" & less "mature" label Nintendo was slapped with during this era.
People today may think it couldn't have been that important, but being "cool" wasn't just important at that time, being "uncool" was significantly worse. Nintendo already was seen as "kiddie" in the N64 vs PS1 era, but many people expected Nintendo to right the ship with the GC.
Instead, they doubled down, revealing a purple lunch box with a handle as their successor. Then in interviews, Shigeru Miyamoto kept stating Nintendo was a "toy" company & their systems are "toys," therefore they would not have multimedia support - including DVD playback.
That was SIGNIFICANT at the time, as was just being labeled "kiddie," and made it look even worse to teens/young adults who had already shifted over to the PS brand. With the PS2 already revealed to be a black, sleek, hi-fi looking DVD player & the newcomer Xbox supporting beefy specs, the GC was looking decidedly "only for kids" to many impressionable gamers.
And then, as if to really convince the fence-sitters their biggest fears were right, Nintendo revealed a cartoon Zelda. It cannot be understated that no matter how good the game may turn out, fans were PISSED. Couple that with MS buying Rare, Nintendo pushing GBA-connectivity over online, having no DVD/CD playback, etc. & early 2000's gamers saw Nintendo did not care about their concerns one bit.
People in 2023 may think it sounds silly for fans to care so much about how "cool" they look, but gaming was much more socially niche than it is today. PS2 crossed barriers & was cool. MS was an established company & seen as powerful in the tech industry. Nintendo was touting their purple lunch box and ignoring the direction the market was headed, feeling they could dictate to fans what fans wanted, rather than just listen to what fans actually wanted.
/Sorry for today's Ted Talk. As I began typing, the 13 year old in me remembered all those years as a GC-only owner & obsessive Nintendo fan. Sorry Matt, I'm sure your video negates the point of this comment anyway 😅
This is an excellent point and on top of that image issue the entire zeitgeist of console gaming was shifting with stuff like Halo and GTA III; titles that ended up defining what many of the major AAA direction for the next decade would be. Nintendo being so outside that paradigm and many of their game philosophies differing so much from it further labeled the Gamecube as a toy for younger fans or as vestige of an era the industry had moved past in the popular culture.
Okey-dokey then. May you kindly show me the specific links To Where Shigeru Explicitly calls The GCN a "TOY" Just for Clarification?
@Vaporwarecompiler I might have to do some searching, but I can tell you where I know it from. I used to have a subscription to EGM magazine when I was a kid, as I was obsessed with Nintendo & my N64.
Around 2000 when GC was revealed, they did an article that had interviews regarding the GC. That's when Nintendo said they weren't going to include a DVD player like people expected, as games were toys & they're a game company making toys.
This wasn't the first time though, as they did a similar thing with the NES. Back in the 80's, the gaming crash made ppl associate video games with low quality junk. Nintendo positioned the NES as a toy instead, as to avoid the label.
But in 2000, they were still trying to justify their decision to avoid CDs & DVDs, as well as internet gaming. So positioning their product in the "toy" realm made them different than the competition.
@Vaporwarecompiler I just found 2 articles, one from Eurogamer in 2001 & another from IGN in 2002.
The Eurogamer one quotes Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi saying "Nintendo is ultimately a toy company" when discussing GC & Xbox, citing they aren't going to pursue online gaming (a choice that hurt them for years).
The IGN article from the time titled "Nintendo Fanboy Vol 1" gives an amazing look into how out of touch Nintendo was at the time, especially among Nintendo fanboys.
It doesn't have an exact quote from Nintendo execs, but it discusses the "toy" image that Nintendo earned, qoute:
"Simply releasing a black console along the purple one at launch is not enough to change the image of the GC as a toy - and as a toy only. Ask a mainstream gamer who hasn't grown up on NES or SNES. He'll tell you that GC is a toy that plays Nintendo games like Mario. Most uninformed gamers will swear up & down that the PS2 is more advanced than the GC."
@@MerelyAFanExactly. Just look at best selling PS2 games of all time -
1. GTA San Andreas (3rd party)
2. Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec
3. Gran Turismo 4
4. GTA Vice City (3rd party)
5. Final Fantasy X (3rd party)
6. GTA 3 (3rd party)
7. Metal Gear Solid 3 (3rd party)
8. Final Fantasy XII (3rd party)
9. Tekken 5 (3rd party)
10. Kingdom Hearts (3rd party)
All but 2 of those games are 3rd party, and 100% of them weren't on GC. They were all also geared towards teens-adults, which gamers thought Nintendo didn't care about.
Xbox best selling games:
1. Halo 2
2. Halo CE
3. Fable
4. GTA 3/Vice City (3rd party)
5. Splinter Cell (3rd party)
6. Dead or Alive 3 (3rd party)
7. Star Wars: KOTOR (3rd party)
8. Counter Strike (3rd party)
9.Ninja Gaiden (3rd party)
10. GTA San Adreas (3rd party)
Again, all teen - mature rated games.
Combine that with no online play for the 3rd party games they did have, no DVD playback (or even CD playback, which was still important at the time), and GC was firmly "only for kids" in gamers minds.
RE4, arguably the best GC game, was tied for 16th best selling GC game. It sold so poorly, Capcom had to end exclusivity & release a PS2 version.
All those best selling Xbox & PS2 defined the generation. Luigi's Mansion, MK: Double Dash, Windwaker & Metroid Prime sadly did not. Melee was arguably the one game that crossed over to mainstream appeal.
This might be one of your best what happened? videos yet 👏
I still have fond memories of watching my brother play GameCube games. This system deserved better.
I remember having a GameCube and wanting a ps2 because it had better games. That and the ability to play dvd movies back when dvd players were well saught after is what made the ps2 the best selling console ever to date.
The massive success of their handheld consoles kept Nintendo afloat during the dark days of the 64 and GameCube.
What’s funny is Panasonic had created a Gamcecube with a built in DVD player…that should have been the GameCube from launch.
And still to this day one of the most nostalgic consoles out there.
I didn't have this until 08-09 and it was fun
I was the same. I wanted this console during the early 2000s it was not till this year I got it.
I still remember deep into the Wii era walking into my local Gamestop to find Super Smash Bros. Melee for $50.
It came out in 2001.
@@mariokarter13 it's still like that now or more.
Smash Ultimate is late 18 and still $60 now
That Wavebird joke was so specific and hit so hard. 50 seconds in this is the best What Happened to date
The Gamecube reminds me of simpler times, and for that I will always have a soft spot for it
Also I vividly remember playing Melee when it came out as its the game my mom got when she got our Gamecube. Hearing rumors of a "Smash Bros. 2" for a couple years then finally getting the chance to play it? Yeah that was the first time I ever pulled an all-nighter just playing Melee lol
I remember back when Zelda: The Windwaker was announced how many people were upset about how it looked. I remember hearing a Zelda fan boy at my local EB Games (Gamestop) where I used to live, complaining about how Zelda looked childish and how it will "ruin" the franchise. I just looked at the guy and said to him "be at least happy your getting any kind of Zelda game at all".
As a kid growing up with the gamecube. I didnt know about any bad sales. All I knew was. Gamecube games kicked ass.
I got my first Gamecube on Christmas 2003, right around when it becomes $99. It was the first console I personally ever owned and it is still one of my favorites to this day. My favorite games were Melee, Double Dash, Wario World, Pikmin 2, Mario Party 7, Kirby Air Ride, Luigi’s Mansion and Chibi Robo. I’m still finding games to play on it and I have a very nice collection that includes games like Custom Robo, Eternal Darkness, and the big one known as Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance.
Oh man, this is a juicy take since the Gamecube was my pride and joy growing up.
Can't wait for the Xbox One coverage if this is where we're going next. Don Mattrick personally did sooooo much damage to Xbox's rep right when they were fresh off from the success the 360 had. PS3 had a bad time too - with its near-unworkable hardware and the Japanese game industry imploding around it for a while. Seems like a new console generation always meant it's someone else's turn to get cursed.
Did he ever do one on Steam Machines? Cuz that would be a great video.
It’s moreso third console curse
An UltimaShadow edited video? Man that's PEAK.
Despite the failures of the GameCube, I can't deny the level of fun and nostalgia that console gave me. It gave me my first Zelda experience, my first Metroid, Mario, Luigi's Mansion, and Mega Man via the X Collection. This console, while it lagged behind in technolgoy, truly tried to keep the foundation of a unique play experience for its consumers, which a W in my book if you ask me.
Never thought you’d do a video on the Nintendo GameCube, but this was a pleasant surprise. Back in the early 2000’s, I only owned a GameCube and didn’t have a PS2 or an Xbox, so I have a lot of fond memories for Nintendo’s underrated lunchbox-shaped console. Despite their issues, Super Mario Sunshine, Star Fox Adventures, and The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker were some of the best games on the system I’ve played. I also regret not getting certain games like Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader. I hope Nintendo does the sensible thing and offer the ability to play GameCube games on Nintendo Switch.
I liked the indigo color that the Gamecube came in. I was heart broken when my old GC burned out; and when I went to buy a replacement system, the only colors available were black, silver and orange (I settled for a silver one in the end).
Having a traveling console could have been a real positive selling feature if they went all in on it. Adding a built in, retracable power cable and VGA cable alone would have been able to help make this the "grab and go" console to take to your friends, especially with the smaller disks.
I was about to bring this up myself. The reality of the console's hardware just made it a thing you threw into a bag or a backpack if you were bringing it somewhere, carrying it by the handle just invited it to be hit or scratched against a wall or doorframe or dropped on the ground. It *was* more portable than previous Nintendo consoles, at least in terms of size!
That's basically what the Switch ended up being.
Growing up I never knew the GCN was doing poorly. I think I got lucky knowing friends and cousins who also owned a gamecube so I assumed it was popular enough.
It’s funny to look back on it. Also cooler since the 2005-2011 era was sort of like a renaissance of Nintendo with the Wii and DS.
The years of my youth spent mostly playing Kirby Air Ride, Melee and Mario Party 5 with my brothers were the last time I was blissfully unaware of console wars and the gaming industry, and I would not have guessed the GC was any sort of failure
2:01 This transition was not necessary at all but I deeply appreciate it. So satisfying.
The PS2 wiped the floor with the GameCube. Those small discs the GameCube used ended up hurting Nintendo in the long run as many Third party developers couldn't fit their games onto a GameCube disc and opted to make games for the PS2 instead. Once again Nintendo beat their own drum (small discs instead of DVD-ROM) and paid dearly for it in sales and third party support.
yeah and the sad part is Nintendo learned the wrong lessons here, in this case it was "oh console power does not matter so we're going to half-ass the Wii, Wii-U and Switch in that department" and unfortunately in two out of three cases they got rewarded with big sales but we're still getting shitty ports(Cassette Beasts being the latest with awful slowdown issues) what Nintendo should've learned was "Don't try to get use crappy storage formats that make it difficult for the full power of your console to be utilized" if Nintendo had just stuck with DVDs the Gamecube would've been a bigger hit I guarantee you.
Ironically, at first it didn't have a huge effect. Going from the PS1, games had plenty of room on the Gamecube, But as time went on, the Gamecube got less and less games the PS2 and Xbox got due to it.
It's still got a wonderful library of early-mid gen games, but the disc really did drag it down in perhaps the one generation where all the consoles were comparable in terms of technical specs and ability.
Although I'm still convinced the PS2's ability as a DVD player did a hell of a number regardless.
@@CrystalDavis-e8i I think they learned that games, not hardware power sell units. They didn't half ass the power for the Wii and Switch...it's designed to be more affordable and cater to a very wide audience, which it does very well with excellent 1st party games.
The GC didn't have the killer aps the Wii and Switch do until well until it's run, and even then, they weren't too many vs the Wii and Switch.
PS and XB battle over hardware power. Nintendo doing the same would just dilute the market. Instead they make games for a different audience. I am very curious to see if Xbox returns for the next gen considering they've had 4 generations to beat sony and haven't done it once.
@@CrystalDavis-e8iDoubtful. People were too attached by the PS2 by that point. Even Panasonic Q was a bomb.
Honestly, it wiped the floor with its entire competition. Even the Xbox didn't stand a chance despite doing everything right. The only negative I have to give it is that it lacked badly in the JRPG department because it was a western console but even so, it had great SEGA/Tecmo exclusives.
When I made the switch from gamecube to xbox for halo it hurt my heart but I felt like I was “growing up” into more mature games. I was just starting high school and wanted to fit in. Looking back I wish I didn’t take that platform for granted because I genuinely had a lot of fun with games like Melee.
I have many fond memories of my Gamecube. The durability of the system was intense too. Can take a fall from 4ft to the solid hardwood floor without breaking anything, and the game CD can still play just fine.
In all seriousness, playing Sonic Adventure 2 Battle, SSBM, Tales of Symphonia, Zelda: Wind Waker, Mario Kart: Double Dash... They were all really great games, and good times.
The GameCube holds a special place in my heart due to having some fun games, that era of consoles having great sports titles especially the NASCAR titles that managed to land on the purple box, and of course some of the best WWE games Yukes ever developed[YMMV on Wrestlemania X-8 though]
I was a Nintendo kid, so N64 and GameCube were my only consoles until I was given a (barely-functioning) PS2 by my brother. I didn't get to use the Internet much during my childhood, so the fact that the GameCube is considered a "bomb" was a surprise to me. I knew many of the games had mixed reviews--which I did not learn until much later. I actually liked games like "Super Mario Sunshine" and "The Wind Waker," though they were controversial on their initial release. Time seems to be kinder to the games than the initial release group.
Man, seeing all these clips from all these different games is rrally bringing up some old memories. The GameCube had so many amazing games.
Love Maddie's art for Twin Snakes. Speaking of, that seems like it could make for a good episode. There were some strange and interesting things going on with the development of that game.
My first gaming console. Oh the memories I had, especially since I was also a big Sonic fan. And the GameCube definitely kept me satisfied in that department.
The amount of 3rd party loss going from snes to the n64 is staggering. Not to say that the n64 was a failure but even as a Nintendo fan you cannot deny that many, many 3rd parties jumped ship after the snes era.
Basically the NES and SNES very much were those eras of gaming, with Sega being a solid contender, but Sony generally just has the more attractive console experiences and more companies know where the market is going. Props to Nintendo for always doing their own thing, but the older I get the more often they seem out of touch than in touch with their home consoles.
It all came down the massive blow of CD-ROMs that got all multiplatform developers excited to jump ship. Nintendo tried to play Phillips and Sony and ended up playing themselves. The N64 only had 297 games worldwide as a result while the PS1 had well over 4000.
@@Manic_PanicThe Saturn would have taken off if it were really all on CD's. But just like the N64 it got crushed by the PS1.
I believe it was Yamauchi's policies combined with the ease of development for the PS1 that caused Japanese devs to jump ship.
@@Manic_Panic I remember reading that square did try to make FF7 initially for the N64 but just couldn't due to hardware limitations of the cartridge. The same square that was a SNES powerhouse for multiple RPGs. Heck I remember in ye olde Nintendo Power magazine use to have an RPG section (Epic Center if I remember) in every issue just dedicated to covering 3rd party rpgs, strategies etc... Then comes the N64 era and Nintendo, once a bastion for RPGs was no more. It was stunning watching the 3rd party jump in real time.
@@dogg-pawsSaturn was notoriously difficult to develop for, especially compared to the PS1.
I often think to myself, what if Rare stood with Nintendo and got to make lots of great games on the GameCube, (the same way Rare carried the N64) one of them being the cancelled Donkey Kong Racing, a sequel to Diddy Kong Racing. I mean at least they left us with Starfox Adventures and Krystal, basically if the GameCube or even the Wii had Rare support, that would’ve been Legendary.
Well more so that the PS2 was also a cheap DVD player at the time also helped in the sales. But yes the mini disc's were a bit of a hinderence for some developers.
don't think it would've mattered since many of the folks at Rare that made those great games in the N64 era had already left to form Free Radical.
It's less Rare not standing with Nintendo and more Microsoft buying them out
That would've never stood anyway. Microsoft bought them out and by then, most of the original Rare staff was gone.
Nintendo and brits don't mix unfortunately. Don't get me started on Body Harvest's development and how Nintendo did DMA Design (Rockstar North) dirty.
The Cube went through some of the worst software droughts I've ever experienced. But after it's all said and done, it ended up with a good number of incredible games, so it's still hooked up to my TV.
I swear I'll finish Skies of Arcadia one day.
One of my favorite consoles. They seem to be capturing the same level of game creativity with the Switch. Glad im not the only one who thought the system did well. Only to learn years later it didnt.
Admittedly, I got into the Gamecube because of Sonic Advance's connection to Sonic Adventure 2 Battle. I had Sonic Advance for GBA and I wanted to transfer my Chao into the Chao garden because it constantly talked about wanting to learn how to sing and play music. I did want to play SA2B, but it was my Chao that made me really excited for it.
It seems the real failing was that it chased Sony's shadow more than anything. The handle was a nice touch, but took their consoles from one place to another one way or another, the fact that they made something that boast alot of power at a budget production cost should have lead them to try to capitalize on other strengths instead of chasing another company's shadow. That part at the end was quite the irony, in trying to make the Gamecube overtake the PS2, they made a controller that became the bases of the next console, the Wii. Which lead to both Sony and Microsoft going through a motion control trend.
I still have mine, I don't believe in the trading in consoles myself. I was thinkin of trying to find PN-03, I saw it in the promo on Viewtiful Joe's cd (Still hurt we never got the 3rd and final threat), looking back at it now, it looks like it wanted to be the game Bayonetta is.
I was 10 years old when the Wii came out but I wasn't really aware of it until around 2008 since my internet usage was quite small at the time. As such, imagine my surprise when I saw GameCubes on clearance at Zellers for around $100 CAD and capitalizing on that console for almost 15 years now. Love that little bastard.
Gamecube will always be my favorite console. I got it on the christmas morning in 2003 and still play it with friends and family to this day. While it is sad that the system didnt do good, ill always treasure the games and the memories I had with it.
They used mini dvd's instead of full sized. I really think that was the only problem, though it would have been nice to have 2 shoulder buttons. Ps2 just took off for all the family's that wanted a DVD player
The Xbox would've taken off much better if DVD's were the problem. The GameCube was an example of bad timing, when Nintendo's "kiddy" reputation was hit the hardest.
@@dogg-pawsI remember in order to watch DVDs on the original Xbox people had to buy an official adapter and controller from Microsoft, I think it was due to licenses issues. Nintendo actually let Panasonic to release a GameCube variation that was able to play DVDs but only in Japan
@@dogg-paws The lack of DVD's WAS problem. The Xbox had its own problems.
One of the most lovely consoles ever from one of the most special eras in gaming, ever.
The GameCube was so slept on when it came out lol. Also W vid Matt, I love the series
Thank you Matt for showing the good people how many great tracks are on the Fire Emblem Path Of Radiance OST
Wasn't the GameCube actually more powerful than the PS2 despite the cost cutting measures? I have fond memories of it, despite the dwindling third party support at the end, and it did pave the way for the Wii. I wonder how many Wii owners never actually realised the GameCube was completely functional within the console. 😂
Uh, yeah. I stated as such early on.
The impression I have of the big trio of consoles from this generation is that if you were willing to put in the time and effort to learn the ins and outs of the hardware and what tricks you could pull, they were all about equally capable.
Though, the GameCube was _much_ easier to work with than the infamously difficult PlayStation 2 (though still not as developer-friendly as the Xbox was).
As bad as the GameCube sales numbers are, I always appreciated the library (and the console itself) as a "growing period" for Nintendo where they tried a lot of out of the box things and experimental projects.
Like combining handheld and home console softwares into unique experiences, Wind Waker's (now beloved) art style and story, taking Metroid into FPS, taking a gamble on new IPs like Luigi's Mansion, Animal Crossing, Pikmin and Chibi Robo, the aforementioned Eternal Darkness and Wavebird, embracing FMV tech, E-reader cards, etc., giving Mario a baseball game and Starfox a 3rd Person Adventure title, too - it was really trying (and succeeding a lot of the time in my opinion) to make the best out of a bad financial situation.
If you're already in last, the only thing you can do is try, and the only way to go is up.
The GameCube gave us the most hype announcement and that was the reveal of Twilight Princess at E3 2004.
And for that alone it won the console wars💁♂️
I still prefer Wind Waker
Eh not really because it launched first on Wii...
You’re too young to remember that E3 reveal my guy
@@MITHYKA No, just never watched it
@@ForrestFox626 Exactly my point.
The GameCube was the very first console I bought with my own hard-earned money at the age of 15: first game I bought for it? Soul Cslibur 2 - what a memory.
I don’t care what anyone says, the GameCube gave me hours of fun. I still have the original I got in middle school.
I've been working a 10 hour work day (and still working) trying to resolve a major issue at my company. Watching this helped make today somewhat bearable.
Did you get it resolved?
@@MythmasterFunky Yes
@@CushionSapp nice
Gamecube was a severely underrated system and had some of the best games on the market.
Changing the wavebird's channel simultaneously gave me a massive hit of nostalgia and then made me realize I'm an old man two seconds later.
I remember actualy getting a bit mad about the gamecube going to disks. I thought cartridges were surperior on the only comparison that cds were more easily damaged. I eventually loved the gamecube exploring its library long into the Nintendo wiis lifespan post gamecube era.
You know whats funny I had a GameCube and never played GameCube games on it, because I had sonic Mega collection, my GameCube was basically a genesis
Something thats not mentioned in the video is how long the battery lasts on this tiny box. I still have my gamecube all the way from launch and its still has juice in it. It may not be much but it's fascinating how it has a battery that even after 22+ years is STILL kicking, still counting,still keeping track of time. While even its gba sibling's games with such battery doesnt last that long. Kinda makes it feel like even if rhe GameCube never sold well versus its competition it still kept a light on for all these years where as ps2 and xbox original havent and had to find new homes on the 360 and ps3 while the GameCube fpr what it has for its library is like a small shelter where even if games for the system get left behind like Nintendo has shown they more than likely are doing given how they said it was "hard" to get gamecube games to run natively on the switch and only made a very very VERY small few ports, the gamecube will alway provide them shelter through the ravages of time until the very end where the console is borderline extinct to the point either only one exists in the world in a museum somewhere or the heat death of the sun that will obliterate everything.
It's a regular battery tho, no?
i still love my gamecube which i bought as a kid so much, even got a hdmi adapter. Thanks for the video Matt my guy. love them all.
@11:15 The Japanese home office ignoring the suggestions of the American branch regarding marketing seems to be a recurring theme in this series.
I never owned a GameCube but I have a ton of nostalgia attached to it, I was around 8 years old when it launched and unlike Sony or Microsoft, Nintendo actually had plenty of commercials in Latin America. I did played it on a demo kiosk everytime my parents took me to a toystore at a mall and I played a lot of Luigi's Mansion and Super Mario Sunshine. It would be nice if Nintendo could remaster some of their GCN titles for the Switch or their next console
We could see a Wha Happun on the Steam Machines/Steam Controller, how Valve’s initial attempt at consoleifying PC gaming failed but laid the groundwork for the Steam Deck
The world was not ready for this purple beast, loved it more than the PS2 and as equally as the Dreamcast and Xbox. So many great exclusives you simply couldn't find anywhere else.
The GameCube is easily the most underrated game console of all-time.
it sold almost 22 million units, despite not doing anything better than its competitors and coming out a whole year later than the ps2 - if that's underrated then what would you call the dreamcast?
@@ragnarteeveer5640He’s not necessarily wrong. PS2 was the best selling console ever at the time, and came with DVD compatibility. Xbox with Halo 2 and Xbox live was revolutionary, and it changed gaming forever. It lived in the shadows. Even if it was only a few million shy of Xbox. It’s the only Nintendo console I never owned. Until a year ago when a friend unloaded his entire collection on me. I had outgrown the cartoony Nintendo world. Only to get older and learned to appreciate it more and more.
@@The_GenXennial I wouldn't say Xbox live was revolutionary compared to Sega-net which was the first online gaming service from Sega with Dreamcast back in 1999, Xbox live started in 2002 3 years later when people just happened to pay attention at that point to the idea of console online multiplayer.
Agree
@@ichijofestival2576 yes it does. I have 2 😆
I jumped from Dreamcast to GameCube then to Xbox 360. My roommate had a Wii. That was a great time to be alive!
I'm one of the crazy people that had no interest in the PlayStation 2, a tiny bit of interest in the Xbox, but was all in on the GameCube during the 6th console generation.
The reason ironically boiled down to the reason I got a PlayStation first in the previous console generation (before later getting a second-hand Nintendo 64), Spyro the Dragon. Spyro was exclusive to the PS1 for his original trilogy; but went multiplatform after Spyro: Year of the Dragon (me being torn between wanting a PS1 initially and an N64 over whether to get Star Fox 64 or Spyro 1 first).
Combine that with Pikmin and Star Fox Adventures and I desperately wanted a GameCube.
DVDs and JRPGs didn't appeal to me at the time (my family had a massive collection of VHSs) and Final Fantasy VII's art style and marketing campaign ironically had turned me off JRPGs in general (with the exception of the craze that was Pokémon) and the fact that the original fat model PS2 is ironically a rather ugly and weirdly cheap-looking design, and the GameCube was my primary console for that generation.
The whole color fiasco is so bizarre to me
EDIT: Also a shame so many of those amazing games didn't sell well
It’s a shame there can be no in-depth analysis of the GBA on your channel (because the GBA was truly _A Big Boss!)_ I loved my GameCube, but nothing has dethroned the GBA in my heart. I had _so many of those_ and I do not regret a single purchase. I lost all of them though to circumstances beyond my control. I would take my Game Boy Micro with me to the movies. I had the Play-Yan! So many good times! I had the NES Classic Game Boy Advance SP, these things were my oxygen! Great Stuff, as always!
Watching the GameCube's story is like watching an old friend screw up over and over and over and over and over and when they're at their lowest they continued screwing up
It's weird to imagine the Gamecube doing poorly sales-wise until I learn about it after the fact.
After watching this, everything about what the Wii was makes so much sense.
I had all 4 consoles that generation, and honestly I played my GameCube the most. Rogue Leader, Resident Evil 0 and REmake, and the GameCube version of Twilight Princess got a ton of playtime from me. My PS2 I mostly used for Silent Hill 2, GTA, and some WWE games, my Xbox was pretty much just for Halo, and my Dreamcast was just for Sonic and Resident Evil: Code Veronica (though I eventually picked up their GameCube ports too when Sega pulled the plug on Dreamcast).
All four consoles of that generation were fucking amazing
6th Generation of Consoles were probably the Golden Age of Gaming.
Ah seeing all these gameplay clips gives me so much nostalgia. My GameCube just stopped working recently and it makes me so sad