GameCube
In May 1998, ArtX entered into a partnership with Nintendo to undertake the complete design of the system logic and graphics processor. This collaboration established the foundation for what would become the GameCube. The console went through several codenames before its final reveal, including N2000, Star Cube, and Nintendo Advance. On the 12th of May 1999, Nintendo publicly announced the console during a press conference, giving it the codename Dolphin. This announcement also revealed strategic partnerships with IBM for the creation of Dolphin's PowerPC-based CPU, known as Gekko. The partnership with Panasonic focused on developing the DVD drive and other devices based on the Dolphin platform. In April 2000, ArtX was acquired by ATI Technologies. Greg Buchner, an ArtX cofounder, recalled that their portion of the hardware design timeline had arced from inception in 1998 to completion in 2000. An ATI spokesperson stated at the time that the Dolphin platform was reputed to be king of the hill in terms of graphics and video performance with 128-bit architecture.
Throughout the mid-2000s, GameCube hardware sales remained far behind its direct competitor, the PlayStation 2, and slightly behind the Xbox. By the 31st of March 2003, 9.55 million GameCube units had been sold worldwide, which fell short of Nintendo's initial goal of 10 million consoles. Nintendo predicted 50 million GameCube units by 2005 but only sold 22 million units during its lifespan. The console achieved a 13% market share, tying with the Xbox in sales but falling well below the 60% held by the PlayStation 2. During its launch weekend, $100 million worth of GameCube products were sold in North America. In Japan, between 280,000 and 300,000 GameCube consoles were sold during the first three days of its sale out of an initial shipment of 450,000 units. Despite these strong early numbers, many third-party games popular with teenagers or adults skipped the GameCube entirely. Acclaim Entertainment CEO Rod Cousens stated in June 2003 that the company would no longer support the GameCube, calling it a system that did not deliver profits.
IBM designed a 32-bit PowerPC-based processor known as Gekko, which runs at 486 MHz. This CPU features a floating point unit capable of a total throughput of 1.9 GFLOPS and a peak of 10.5 GFLOPS. Codenamed Flipper, the GPU runs at 162 MHz and manages graphics along with audio and input/output tasks through its own processors. The GameCube introduced a proprietary miniDVD optical disc format for up to 1.5 GB of data. It was designed by Matsushita Electric Industrial, now Panasonic Corporation, with a proprietary copy-protection scheme unlike the Content Scramble System found in standard DVDs. Howard Cheng, technical director of Nintendo technology development, said the company's goal was to select a simple RISC architecture to help speed game development. ArtX Vice President Greg Buchner stated their guiding thought on hardware design was to target developers rather than players. The console launched in Indigo, the primary color shown in advertising, and in Jet Black. One year later, Nintendo released a Platinum GameCube using a silver color scheme for both the console and controller.
Nintendo chose a two-handled handlebar design for the GameCube after learning from experiences with the Nintendo 64's three-handled controller. The shape was popularized by Sony's PlayStation controller released in 1994. The GameCube controller features eight buttons, two analog sticks, a d-pad, and a rumble motor. The primary analog stick is on the left with the d-pad located below and closer to center. On the right are four buttons: a large green A button, a smaller red B button, an X button, and a Y button. Below and to the inside sits a yellow C analog stick that often serves various in-game functions like controlling camera angles. In 2002, Nintendo introduced the WaveBird Wireless Controller, the first wireless gamepad developed by a first-party console manufacturer. This RF-based controller communicates with the GameCube via a wireless receiver dongle powered by two AA batteries but lacks vibration feedback. The Game Boy Player accessory runs Game Pak cartridges for the Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance.
In its lifespan from 2001 to 2007, Nintendo licensed over 600 GameCube games. Successful exclusives included Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader from Factor 5 and Resident Evil 4 from Capcom. Sega discontinued its Dreamcast console to become a third-party developer, porting games such as Crazy Taxi and Sonic Adventure 2 while developing new franchises like Super Monkey Ball. Longtime partner Rare released Star Fox Adventures for GameCube before being acquired by Microsoft in 2002. Capcom announced five games for the system dubbed the Capcom Five in November 2002. Some third-party developers continued releasing GameCube games into 2007 including Midway, Namco, Activision, Konami, Ubisoft, THQ, Disney Interactive Studios, Humongous Entertainment, Electronic Arts, and EA Sports. One of the biggest third-party developers was Sega which had quit the console hardware market after the failure of the Dreamcast. However, many cross-platform sports franchises released by Electronic Arts sold far below their PlayStation 2 and Xbox counterparts.
Nintendo's GameCube did not put heavy focus on online games earlier in the console's life. Only eight GameCube games support network connectivity with five having Internet support and three supporting local area network modes. The only Internet capable games released in western territories are three role-playing games in Sega's Phantasy Star series: Episode I & II, Episode I & II Plus, and Episode III: C.A.R.D. Revolution. Japan received two additional games with Internet capabilities including a cooperative RPG called Homeland and a baseball game with downloadable content titled Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū 10. Three racing games have LAN multiplayer modes: 1080° Avalanche, Kirby Air Ride, and Mario Kart: Double Dash. Online play requires an official broadband or modem adapter because the GameCube lacks out-of-the-box network capabilities. Nintendo never commissioned any Internet services for GameCube but allowed other publishers to manage custom online experiences. The official servers were decommissioned in 2007 though players can still connect to fan-maintained private servers.
In February 2007, Nintendo announced that it had ceased first-party support for the GameCube and that the console had been discontinued. The final game officially released on the GameCube was Madden NFL 08 on the 14th of August 2007. Nintendo launched the Wii successor on the 19th of November 2006, in North America and in December 2006 in other regions. GameCube controllers and memory cards continued to be supported via the Wii's backward compatibility though these features were removed in later iterations of the Wii console. Many games that debuted on the GameCube including Pikmin series, Chibi-Robo!, Metroid Prime, and Luigi's Mansion became popular franchises. A 2009 study by Iowa State University found that certain exclusive games helped players learn positive skills about helping others and cooperation. GamesRadar+ ranked it 11th on their list of best video game consoles in 2021 while Den of Geek placed it at number 12 on their list of best consoles ever in 2023.
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Common questions
When was the GameCube console first announced to the public?
Nintendo publicly announced the GameCube on the 12th of May 1999 during a press conference. The announcement revealed the codename Dolphin and strategic partnerships with IBM for the PowerPC-based CPU known as Gekko.
What were the sales figures for the GameCube compared to its competitors?
The GameCube sold 22 million units worldwide, achieving a 13% market share that tied with the Xbox but fell well below the 60% held by the PlayStation 2. By the 31st of March 2003, only 9.55 million units had been sold, which was short of Nintendo's initial goal of 10 million consoles.
Who designed the hardware components like the Gekko processor and Flipper GPU?
IBM designed the 32-bit PowerPC-based processor known as Gekko while ArtX created the system logic and graphics processor before being acquired by ATI Technologies. Matsushita Electric Industrial, now Panasonic Corporation, developed the proprietary miniDVD optical disc format used in the console.
Which games are considered successful exclusives for the GameCube platform?
Successful exclusives included Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader from Factor 5 and Resident Evil 4 from Capcom. Other notable titles include the Pikmin series, Chibi-Robo!, Metroid Prime, and Luigi's Mansion which became popular franchises after debuting on the system.
When did Nintendo officially discontinue support for the GameCube?
Nintendo announced it had ceased first-party support for the GameCube in February 2007 with the final game released on the 14th of August 2007. The company launched the Wii successor on the 19th of November 2006 in North America to replace the aging console.