Remembering Nintendo GameCube, 25 Years On From Launch
Today marks 25 years since the launch of Nintendo GameCube, a console that provided one of the company's most joyous eras of console gaming — even if it felt underappreciated at the time.
Just at a glance, the GameCube looked fun. Maybe it was the handle (did Nintendo really think we'd take it out to the shops?) or the purple-colored case. Either way, it was immediately obvious that the GameCube was designed around Nintendo's biggest strength: games that bring a smile to your face, of a kind you won't find anywhere else.
As Sony and Microsoft sought to provide DVD and CD playback, Nintendo's box focused solely on games — to the extent that it only fit mini-DVDs in its dinky disc bay. The console's front prominently advertised its capability of supporting four controllers with no extra add-ons, perfect for multiplayer games of Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, while its colourful pad remains beloved (and still used) by Nintendo fans today.
Of course, the GameCube is best remembered for its game lineup, and as the birthplace of franchises that have since become Nintendo staples. Even at release, the GameCube offered perhaps one of the best console launch lineups of all time. On arrival in Japan, on September 14, 2021, the GameCube boasted Luigi's Mansion, Wave Race: Blue Storm and Pikmin from Nintendo itself, plus Sega's brilliant Super Monkey Ball. By the time GameCube rolled out in the U.S. and Europe, that lineup was extended to include Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 and Star Wars Rogue Squadron 2: Rogue Leader, whose visuals made me feel like I was actually inside a Star Wars film.
Through the GameCube's first year, the hits kept coming. While not the first entry in the series, Super Smash Bros. Melee set the standard for Nintendo's hugely popular fighting game series. And while a version of Animal Crossing may have had a limited release on N64, its GameCube arrival built the foundations of another core franchise (even if its debut outside Japan was much delayed).
While Nintendo has never lost its eye for the unexpected, GameCube felt like a breeding ground for the company's creativity. From the terrain-shaping god game Doshin the Giant to the microphone-controlled feudal pinball game Odama, not to mention Donkey Konga's brilliant bongo drums, Nintendo published some truly bizarre — but always fun — experimental titles. (Though, sadly, some were deemed too odd for worldwide release, such as Cubivore and Giftpia.)
Alas, as time went on and the GameCube's sales numbers couldn't match PS2 or Xbox, third-party support for the console began to wane. Still, Nintendo rewarded its faithful with games that still regularly feature among lists of the all-time greats: Metroid Prime and its underappreciated sequel, Super Mario Sunshine, and The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker. And some notable third-party support did continue, with a post-Dreamcast era Sega providing the phenomenal Skies of Arcadia Legends, while the infamous Capcom 5 agreement saw the launch of the masterpiece that is Resident Evil 4.
In terms of pure numbers, GameCube was something of a failure. It shifted 21.74 million units worldwide, a figure that trailed far behind the PS2, and which Switch 2 has now eclipsed just in its first year. (The only Nintendo console to ever sell less was Wii U.) But its contribution to the history of Nintendo and its gaming library remains remarkable nonetheless. Last night I dipped back into Super Mario Sunshine via Nintendo Switch Online, and took Mario for a nostalgic dash around the rooftops of Delphino Plaza, my view out into the distance artfully blurred by a shimmering heat have. Even a quarter of a century on, there's something remarkable about Nintendo's creation — and the dinky purple box it first launched on.