this post was submitted on 02 Jul 2023
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It's funny how the public opinion on the Gamecube has done a total 180 since its time in the market. It was the laughing stock of the console space for not allowing DVD playback, having virtually no online capabilities, and "kiddie" looking games. Nintendo committed to quality games first and foremost and it resulted in their lowest selling console yet (excluding Virtual Boy).
Nowadays, the DVD playback that rocketed the PS2 to #1 is largely irrelevant, and the online services that were huge on PS2 and Xbox are shut down. The "kiddie" looking games like Wind Waker have aged astonishingly well, while the realistic aesthetic that dominated the PS2/Xbox library definitely looks 20+ years old at this point.
The focus on games was what made the Gamecube great, and it's what stands the test of time above anything else. I'm glad others have come to realize this, even if it took over a decade for it to happen.
Excellent points. I was in middle school in the USA when the Gamecube released, and I remember there being a strong focus among my friends and myself about how powerful each console was and how they pushed graphics forward, especially with 3d models.
It seems that Nintendo wasn't focused on this aspect with the Gamecube, and their sales likely suffered because of it. But as you said, we can look back now and see that they had long-term vision instead of chasing the current craze.
It's interesting that Nintendo is in a similar boat with the Switch, but I feel that public perception of the importance of graphics has decreased so the Switch is able to thrive.
Contrary to what most people assume, the Gamecube was actually more powerful than the PS2 (the RE4 differences help illustrate this). The OG Xbox was overall the most powerful of that gen but even then the Gamecube had it beat in terms of memory speed iirc.
I was a huge fan of the GameCube back in the day, but it was during my adolescence so friends were getting PS2 and Xbox for more “adult” games and considered my GameCube childish. But I adored it while still enjoying playing Halo with them.
I think that was the general feeling in the market, and as we’ve all grown up, only the people who care about games talk about them anymore and so they tend to recognize all the great games the GameCube had while people who don’t care us much just don’t talk about anything at all? Idk.