I loved the GameCube, but I still love it too.
It might actually be my fav console of all time.
Damn yeah it makes sense why they were so weird for physical media. It’s what’s started everoand no cma deny that Japanese culture loves tradition.
The N64 did okay. Sticking with cartridges meant a game had to fit in a tiny fraction of the space available on the Saturn and Playstation’s CDs, meaning that cross-platform games were difficult if not impossible to port, or they left out full motion cut scenes or something. The N64 had first and second party titles from Nintendo and Rare, and inferior ports. That and being THE most Japanese company out there chasing off business partners left and right, TO INCLUDE SONY THEMSELVES AND THUS LEADING OT THE CREATION OF THE PLAYSTATION IN THE FIRST PLACE, meant the N64 finished the fifth generation console race in the middle of the pack.
They continued to shoot themselves in the foot with the tiny discs for the Gamecube which meant a GC was STILL difficult to port games to because it STILL held less data than the competition, and couldn’t be used as a DVD player making it harder to sell to Dad than the Playstation 2. Due to the PS2’s low price tag ($100 less than a Dreamcast; the launch announcement at the very first E3 is a story unto itself), DVD video playback capability and backwards compatibility with PS1 software meant it outsold blowjobs for a couple years in a row.
Yeah Nintendo has a weird relationship with physical Media, but I will admit, when they announced Switch was using cartridges again, I was way too excited lol
That weird relationship with physical media started off as a key element of their business model, back in the NES era. They just…never let go.
I should find something online and look this up. Sounds like an interesting history lesson
Here’s the popular story as I’ve heard it:
The North American video game industry crash of 1983 was Nintendo’s chance to enter the North American market in earnest. A tidal wave of low quality, sometimes non-functional third party shovelware for consoles like the Atari 2600 had basically killed public faith in the industry, and folks were ready to write off video games as a passing fad. Inserting yourself into a dying industry like that takes some care, so Nintendo did some market research and found that Americans:
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wanted to hear nothing about video games, but were excited for AV equipment and high tech toys. CD players and VCRs were increasingly popular, and electronic toys like the Speak 'N Spell and Teddy Ruxpin were rapidly gaining popularity.
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Didn’t really play games as a family, games were kind of considered toys for the youth, with very few Americans over the age of 45 claiming to enjoy playing video games.
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liked large things. American homes are fairly large by global standards, and especially in the still mostly analog world of the 1980s bigger usually meant better. A VHS cassette held more tape, and thus played longer, than the smaller Betamax cassette.
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Expressed frustration in finding good quality games through all the nonsense. Some games wouldn’t even run, and in the 1980s, how could you tell?
Responding to this input, they changed the name of the console. Gone was “Family Computer” or “Famicom”, in with Nintendo Entertainment System. The form factor was drastically changed, removing the conventional top loading edge connector slot in favor of that front loading then push down mechanism designed to emulate a VHS deck. The cartridge shell was made at least 4 times larger than a Famicom cartridge, though the circuit board inside was often identical in size and shape to a Famicom cart; most NES cartridges were mostly empty in size, but that size was required by the loading mechanism. Mostly as a marketing stunt, they offered a bundle early on with a robot toy called ROB that could interact with a few specially designed games. It was a gimmick, but a successful one.
And finally, DRM. To address the shovelware problem, Hiroshi Yamauchi, President of Nintendo, would personally approve every game published for the system. The console had a hardware lockout chip that would look for a corresponding key chip in the console; if none was found, it would reset the console, meaning unapproved software couldn’t run. That, along with enforcing IP laws on the cartridge’s physical design, was designed to make Nintendo the only publisher for the system; any third party developers would have to contract with Nintendo to manufacture the cartridges. Nintendo communicated this to customers via the Nintendo Seal Of Quality, a (trademarked) badge on the packaging to reassure customers that the game had gone through a vetting process. They stopped short of guaranteeing the game was fun to play, but that it functioned correctly, wouldn’t crash or damage the console, and contained relatively wholesome content. Custer’s Revenge would never wear a Nintendo Seal Of Quality.
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Just seeing the photo makes certain sounds play in my mind.
“Super Smash Brothers Melee”
and
“Hey hey hey! It’s time to make some crazy money! Are you ready? Here… we… go!” Offspring music
I can’t really type the other one but…
“Doonkadoonkadoonkadoonkadoonkadoonkadoonkadoonk…ka.”
Oh man those were the days. I remember the Cube feeling so much more advanced than the 64.
If your phone is high end enough you could plug in a USB c controller and emulate some GameCube games.
How are you this behind on current hardware? Emulating GC on a phone hasn’t been required “high end enough” hardware for over a decade. Even low and phones from several years ago can do it with higher resolution and mods like HD texture packs etc.
I could emulate Switch games on my old phone from 4 years ago with those mods.Doesnt even need to be particularly high end, im currently playing pokemon XD on my pixel 7. also you can connect your controller via bluetooth
We dont take kindly to logic round these parts 😉
Kidding. I myself need the real hardware and real controller to transport myself. I am just obsessed with authentic. Hence why the 5 CRTs…
I do emulate ps2 on my desktop for a couple of games, but not often.
You do realise you can easily run them on a normal computer? “Dolphin”, the emulator, will run fine on really old or low-spec hardware (like 10-15 year old bog-standard laptop).
Yeah, but you can take a tablet and a controller on a train, in a car, or anywhere.
I still have mine!
I’d highly recommend the picoloader if you ever want to mod it. It was surprisingly easy to install.
Literally bought a Wii this week so I could play GameCube. And mod it of course. The last good analog output console !
Get one now before prices go to the moon
Not including the steam machine/deck, the Wii was the last good console and I will die on this hill.
I think the Switch is genuinely pretty amazing
Except that Nintendo gets more hostile to it’s customers every year. The hardware, outside of the thumbsticks, is quite good. But I’m not giving that company another cent.
Valid take. But as hardware, Switch is a very solid console, even if I agree as a company Nintendo is extremely scummy.
Take away the exclusives and its pretty subpar. The steam deck blows it away, especially with emudeck installed.
I think the evaluation comes back much better when you take the radical price difference into account. Like yes, the Steam Deck is much better, but it is also multiple times more expensive than a Switch, so it should vastly outperform it
You can go down this route until you factor the price of games and the online subscription into it.
I still think you’re looking at a substantial library until you end up even breaking even here. And to your previous point, first party games are an enormous part of the value and appeal, so you can’t really fairly just dismiss them wholesale. That’s kind of like saying a car is just a big block of plastic and metal if not for the engine
You can buy seven switch games and a subscription to break even. I wouldn’t call that substantial. There’s a ton of really good free to play games and even more sub $20 games on deck. Not including the thousands you have access to with emudeck, including Wii game’s.
In the end, play what you like. I’ll die on my hill.
Everything since has just been a variation of “computer, but locked to an ecosystem”
The deck is my first actual console that I’m owning and not just playing at a friend’s place. And even the deck is technically a PC… I guess I’ve just been a PC gamer
Totally.
Fook You and Fook Me!
No, I am Fook mi!
Man I love that flick 😆
I giggled but feel guilty, cause it’s just a picture of two Asian women, right?
It was the opposite of mighty. It’s famously the least powerful console at the time it came out. It also had atrocious controllers.
The controllers are still beloved by the community, which is why nintendo released a gamecube controller for smash ultimate
There is literally a Gamecube controller for Switch 2. Out of all the controllers from that generation, the GC is the only one that still has a modern presence. That controller still rocks.
It also had atrocious controllers.
I’ll need an explanation on this one. The GameCube controller was very comfortable to hold, especially compared to the tiny PS2 controller or that giant Xbox one!
It was amazing for particular titles (mostly Nintendo exclusives) but awful for others. I had a PS2 and a converter that allowed me to use it on a GC (my friend had a GC and not enough controllers). I found SSBM so much harder to play on a PS2 controller but a cross platform game we both had, Soul Calibur 2 was so much better on the PS2 controller.
I’m wondering now if its possible to get a controller for xbox with the hexagon (octagon? Cant remember) shape around the right stick.
All too often I find myself aiming slightly up or down when I’m trying to go perfect left or right.
That is factually incorrect. At the time it released, only the PS2 and Dreamcast were out and the Gamecube is significantly more powerful than a PS2 or Dreamcast. The Xbox didn’t release until a year later. So actually at release the Gamecube was the most powerful console on the market. And I would personally take a GC controller over a dualshock or og Xbox controller any day.
fuck the downvoters. gamecube controller is tied with n64 controller for worst videogame controllers of all time
The wavebird was the best controller of the era
