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The (GCN) is Nintendo's fourth home video game console, belonging to the sixth generation era—the same generation as Sega's Dreamcast, Sony's PlayStation 2, and Microsoft's Xbox. The GameCube itself is the most compact and least expensive of the sixth generation era consoles, excluding the discontinued Dreamcast. The GameCube was released on September 14, 2001 in Japan; November 18, 2001 in North America; May 3, 2002 in Europe; and May 17, 2002 in Australia.
Overview The GameCube was unveiled on 24 August 2000, one day before Nintendo's SpaceWorld trade show.• Shaped roughly like a cube, the console is available in a variety of colors, such as indigo, platinum, and black (also a limited edition Resident Evil 4 platinum and black game console). In Japan, the system is also available in Spice (orange), or in limited edition colors like Crystal White, Mint Green, Copper, and White with black pinstripes. The Nintendo GameCube uses a proprietary storage medium, the Nintendo GameCube Game Disc, based on Matsushita's optical-disc technology; the discs are approximately 8 centimeters (3 1/8 in) in diameter (considerably smaller than the 12 cm CDs or DVDs used in competitors' consoles), and have a capacity of approximately 1.5 gigabytes. Contrary to popular belief, GameCube discs are not physically read any differently from a standard DVD disc, but are encrypted with a key derived from the Burst Cutting Area, a 'bar code' unreadable by most DVD drives. This move was intended to prevent unauthorised copying of GCN titles, but was eventually cracked. By exploiting a flaw in Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II, users were able to connect their GameCubes to their PCs and run homebrew programming on the console.• The Nintendo GameCube does not have DVD or audio CD support, but Matsushita's Panasonic Q (described below), only available in Japan, does. Common reasons cited by Nintendo for using this format are to reduce copyright infringement, provide faster loading times, make the system cheaper by avoiding DVD-licensing fees, and allow smaller discs. The lack of DVD movie support was a double-edged sword; it did not appeal to the mass audience that turned to the PlayStation 2 and Xbox due to their built-in DVD support. A number of games with large amounts of audio or video were scaled down when ported to the GameCube. Despite the protection of a non-standard disc format (essentially a miniature DVD-ROM with non-standard sectors and filesystem formatting), a number of modchips such as the Qoob and ViperGC have been released that, when used in conjunction with a modified BIOS, allow the use of a standard or 8 cm DVD-R to load backed-up, homebrew, bootleg or copied software. The Panasonic Q, released by Panasonic in Japan under license from Nintendo, is manufactured as a modified GameCube unit with added DVD and audio CD playback functionality. It was never released outside of Japan; production ceased in December 2003. Differences in design make the Panasonic Q incompatible with the Game Boy Player. However, the Panasonic Q Game Boy Player was released to address the problem of the extended pegs on the bottom, allowing play of Game Boy games. The GameCube can connect to a Game Boy Advance, Game Boy Advance SP, but not a Game Boy Micro, to transfer game data. Examples of this functionality include the use of the Game Boy Advance as a controller for the game played. Information related to game play may be displayed on the Game Boy Advance's color screen for added convenience or to avoid the cluttering of the display on the television screen. This functionality has been used to unlock bonuses such as new levels or characters when certain Game Boy Advance and GameCube games are connected together. Up to four Game Boy Advance systems can be connected to the GameCube through the GameCube's four controller ports for multiplayer play. A Nintendo GameCube-Game Boy Advance cable is required for each system that is connected to the GameCube. The GameCube was designed for portability, with its small size complemented by a carrying handle. However, this feature over other consoles was minimal since its inexpensive production and selling price were its main advantages. Despite being more compact than the original PlayStation 2 model (it was released over a year later and kept the power supply separate from the console), the GameCube has overall superior graphics processing power and better Pro Logic sound, but no optical output. The GameCube has a front end menu system which can be accessed by holding the 'A' button while the system boots or by booting with no game inserted. This menu controls settings for memory card data, sound, and the internal clock. The controller has the traditional directional pad, two analog sticks, and eight buttons: A, B, X, Y, Z, L, R, and pause/start. Like the Nintendo 64 controller, it features no select button. The C buttons have been replaced by an analog C stick. The thumbsticks do not have added "clickable" button functionality—unlike other such consoles of the era—but both L and R shoulder buttons are analog, able to detect pressure applied to them before "clicking," essentially doubling their functionality. Nintendo released a network adapter for the GameCube during the Christmas season of 2002, but did not promote or support online gaming as heavily as Sony or Microsoft. The only high-profile title that requires the adapter is Sega's Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II. Instead, Nintendo focused more on Game Boy connectivity. Two adaptors were released: the Nintendo GameCube Modem Adapter for dial-up and the Nintendo GameCube Broadband Adapter for broadband. Launch titles The GameCube launched in North America with the following twelve games: The GameCube currently has over 600 games available in its library. In addition, 15-20 titles have yet to be released as the final titles in the GameCube's catalog. At least a dozen of those games will be released by Mid-December leaving 3-8 titles left after that. (One possible remaining title could be Super Paper Mario). Key first-party titles The Nintendo GameCube software library contains such traditional Nintendo series as Super Mario, The Legend of Zelda, and Metroid. Some of the more popular first-party titles include: One of the defining aspects of the Nintendo GameCube is the rejuvenated relationship between Nintendo and its licensees. Unlike previous generations in which Nintendo was seen by some as bullying its third-party game developers, Nintendo openly sought game-development aid on the Nintendo GameCube. Sometimes, Nintendo would merely request that a third-party developer produce a game based on the third-party's own game franchises; other times, Nintendo would request that the third-party developer produce a game based on Nintendo's own game franchises. In both cases, Nintendo often took an active role in cooperating with the developer. This policy on Nintendo's part resulted in many exclusive third-party games for the Nintendo GameCube, and the arrival of multiformat titles on the platform. Because of these efforts, GameCube owners tend to support first-party games more heavily than third party games, whereas the reverse is true for PlayStation 2 and Xbox owners, as fewer high-quality first party titles exist on those platforms. Major second and third-party titles Market share Despite Nintendo's efforts, the GameCube was unsuccessful in recapturing the market share held by earlier consoles. One possible reason for this is that Nintendo's family-friendly franchises such as Pokémon skewed the GameCube toward a younger market *, which now represents a minority of the gaming population (teenagers and adults represent more than half the gaming population). Many third-party games popular with teenagers or adults such as first-person shooters and the controversial ''Grand Theft Auto'' series skipped a GameCube port in favor of the PlayStation 2 and Xbox. Also, due to Nintendo's lack of support for the online capabilities of the GameCube, as opposed to Microsoft and later Sony who actively promoted online gaming by releasing first-party online titles and soliciting developers, many multiplatform games with online functionality were released offline-only on the GameCube. Although online support was added in late 2002 and both Sony and Nintendo followed a similar decentralized online model (in contrast to the centralized Xbox Live), lower sales of the GameCube versions of games during its launch year precluded developers from including online support. The 1.5 gigabyte proprietary disc format may have also been a limiting factor since Nintendo's rivals used the 4.7 gigabyte DVD. However, the Nintendo disc still had sufficient room for most games, although they tended to have less extra content or music tracks than other versions, and video and audio compression was more apparent. The strong preference of GameCube owners for first-party titles has also put the system at odds with independent third party developers. Cross-platform games—such as sports franchises released by Electronic Arts—sold far below their PlayStation 2 and Xbox counterparts, prompting developers to scale back or completely cease support for the GameCube. After several years of losing money from developing for Nintendo's system, Eidos Interactive announced that it would end support for the GameCube, cancelling several titles that had been in development *. Since then, however, Eidos has resumed development * of GameCube titles. Around that time, due to sagging sales, Nintendo had to cut GameCube production in order to sell off surpluses and issue a profit warning *. Since then, sales have rebounded slightly due to a price drop to $99 USD and the release of the bundle, which spurred sales. Since this period, GameCube sales have continued to be steady, particularly in Japan, but is still in third place in worldwide sales*. One of the problems faced with the GameCube today, was that while the PS2 and the Xbox were releasing many exclusive titles that were all popular, the GameCube lacked that and only sometimes had multiplatform games which were hits. Despite the fact that the GameCube did not match the sales and market share of earlier Nintendo consoles, this has been offset by the growing size of the video game console market which has allowed Nintendo to carve out a loyal following even as its market share decreased. Its low price compared to the PS2 and Xbox kept it competitive. Nintendo has stated that it would "only exit the software business at the same time it would exit the hardware business"; Nintendo signalled that it would not discontinue its console business to focus on developing games like Sega had done after the discontinuation of the Dreamcast. As of September 30, 2006, Nintendo has sold a total of 21 million Nintendo GameCube units worldwide, selling 4.02 million units in Japan, 12.44 million units in the Americas, and 4.75 million units elsewhere. This compares to 111.25 million PlayStation 2 units shipped, and over 24 million Xbox units shipped.* The upcoming successor to the GCN is the Wii with a new controller interphase that Nintendo states will make it different from the competition and therefore, not compete. Hardware specifications The following are hardware specifications provided by Nintendo of America. Some benchmarks provided by third-party testing facilities do indicate, however, that some of these specifications, especially those relating to performance, may be conservative. One of Nintendo's primary objectives in designing the GameCube hardware was to overcome the perceived limitations and difficulties of programming for the N64 architecture, creating an affordable, well-balanced, developer-friendly console that still performs competitively against its rivals. Central processing unit Graphics processing unit Audio specifications 16 Bit Other system specifications (The GameCube's 324 mHz main 1T-SRAM, at 2.6 GB/sec, has lower peak bandwidth than Xbox's 200 mHz DDR-SDRAM, at 6.4 GB/sec. However it does have greater bandwidth efficiency, up to 90% versus about 75% for Xbox, and the lower access latency of 10ns helps compensate for the lower bandwidth since it increases effective bandwidth achieved (data begins moving quicker with less delay after it's called for). The high bandwidth on the Flipper chip's 3 MB of embedded memory further reduces the bandwidth strain on main system memory, whereas Xbox relies solely on its UMA configuration.) •
Media
Drive The GameCube drive is also designed and manufactured by Matsushita Electric for use with the GameCube. Some earlier and later revisions of the GameCube consoles developed disc read problems with the optical pickup becoming thermal sensitive over time, causing read errors when the console reached normal operating temperature. Failures of this sort require replacement of the optical pickup. Affected consoles had sometimes been serviced free of charge by Nintendo even after the expiration of the warranty period. A common misconception about the GameCube optical drive is that it spins the discs in reverse (counter-clockwise) from normal disc drives (which spin clockwise). The peculiarity of this rumor is that one need only open the disc tray on an operating GameCube to see that the disc clearly spins clockwise as it slows to a halt. Controller The standard GameCube controller totals eight buttons, two analog sticks and a D-pad. The primary analog stick is on the left, with the D-pad below it. On the right are four buttons; a large green "A" button in the centre, a smaller red "B" button to the left, an "X" button to the right and a "Y" button to the top. Below those, there is a yellow "C" stick, which often serves different functions, from controlling the camera, to one similar to that of the right button on a DualShock 2 controller. The start/pause button is in the middle of the controller. On the top of the controller there are three analog shoulder buttons marked "L", "R" and "Z". The controller is a standard wing grip design, and was designed to fit well in human hands. The L and R analog shoulder buttons, the main innovation, have an additional 'click' when fully depressed. This serves as two additional buttons on the controller without the need to actually add physical buttons. This works by means of a dual-sensor system inside the controller- a slider piece which is moved by pressing down on the shoulder button and a separate button press pad at the base. Like most analog controllers, the GameCube controller self-calibrates when the console is switched on, setting the current analog stick and L and R buttons' positions as "neutral," which may cause problems if the controls are not actually in their neutral position during calibration. Holding down X, Y and start/pause for three seconds at any time will recalibrate the controller. Unplugging and reconnecting the controller, and in the case of the wireless Wavebird controller, turning the controller off and back on, will also force a recalibration. First-Party and Officially Licensed Accessories/peripherals
Third party accessories/peripherals North American marketing Nintendo has used several advertising strategies and techniques for the GameCube. The earliest commercials displayed a rotating cube video, which would quickly morph into the GameCube logo. A voice whispered "GameCube". This was usually after the normal commercial for a GameCube game. Later on, Nintendo incorporated a video clip before the normal clip for the GameCube game would begin, similar to the brief PlayStation 2 logo before a commercial featuring the game. It basically rotated around what appeared to be the top of a GameCube console, with the lettering being slightly 3D. The lettering would begin as a wave, only to settle on the top of the pictured console. Subsequent ad campaigns had Nintendo advertising with a "Who Are You" tangent, essentially marketing the wide range of games Nintendo offers. The idea behind the "Who Are You?" campaign is that "you are what you play"; the kind of game a gamer enjoys playing suggests a dominant trait in that gamer's personality. The "Who Are You" logo is similar to graffiti lettering. Most of the "Who Are You?" commercials advertised games developed or published by Nintendo, but some developers paid Nintendo to promote their games, using Nintendo's marketing and advertising resources. One example is the advertisement campaign for Square Enix's GameCube-exclusive Final Fantasy game, Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles. Price history North America Japan United Kingdom Eurozone Australia Trivia See also | |||||||||||||
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