Nintendogamecube

Command GameCube Indigo.

Nintendo GameCube (ニンテンドーゲームキューブ, Nintendō GēmuKyūbu^?) also called simply the GameCube and abbreviated as GCN in America and NGC in Japan, is the fifth discontinued home console made by Nintendo. It was the successor to the Nintendo 64 and the predecessor to the Wii.

Its main feature was its central processor based on an IBM PowerPC (previous technology used in personal computers and laptops), and its graphics processor developed by ATI Technologies. Nintendo, for the first time, dispensed with the cartridge (ROM) as a storage format, and adopted its own optical format, the Nintendo Optical Disc. The name "GameCube" was due to the fact that the system was shaped like a cube. It was also the first Nintendo console that did not have a Mario game, the company's official mascot, on its launch date.

The console was released on September 14, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 10, 2002 in Australia. It was discontinued on November 4, 2007 in Japan, May 24, 2008 in Europe, and June 22, 2008 in North America, and the last game was Madden NFL 08. According to official figures, the GameCube managed to sell 21,740 games. 000 units worldwide.

History

In 1999, it began to be assumed that Nintendo would launch its new console in 2001. Everything pointed to the fact that the company would continue to use the cartridge for its games and that it would be backwards compatible with the Nintendo 64.^{[ citation needed]} Nintendo presented its console to the press under the code name Project Dolphin, although the project changed its name several times (Star Cube, N2000, Nintendo Advance). The intention of the project was to recover the leadership lost to Sony with the PlayStation.

Nintendo sought the support of IBM, which was commissioned to manufacture the console's central processor, which is based on the Power architecture. It also contracted ArtX for the development of the graphics device, which was later acquired by ATI (for this reason an ATI logo appears on the system), which was commissioned to develop the GPU.

For the GameCube, Nintendo stopped using cartridges as a means of distributing its games. Instead of these, Nintendo chose to use optical drives, creating the Nintendo Optical Disc format for this purpose. Using DVD technology in a Matsushita drive, the game is presented as an optical disc with a storage capacity of 1.5 GB of data. Also, the drive of the console is capable of accessing the disc at a speed higher than a conventional DVD.

GameCube Handle Prototype Similar to Nintendo 64

Originally, the console was going to be released worldwide in the year 2000, but Nintendo had in mind to enable its console to connect to the Internet and made a change of plans. The technical data was already on the table, but the real possibilities of Nintendo's next-generation console remained unknown. On August 24, 2000 at 3:30PM (Japan domestic time), on the day before Nintendo Space World 2000, the "Big N" presented the design and peripherals of the Nintendo GameCube, the name that was presented to the public at the activity; and some demonstrations in which an increase in graphic capabilities could be seen compared to what its predecessor, the Nintendo 64, could offer. Therefore, this new machine promised to far exceed the previous generation of consoles. However, and despite the fact that it was, it could not surpass its 2 rivals and it did not have the expected success, which is why it was third in sales among the consoles of its generation, with barely 21,740,000 units sold worldwide..

Games

Nintendo Optical Disc format for GameCube.

In its lifespan from 2001 to 2007, more than 600 games were released for the GameCube. Nintendo released games from several of its first-party series on the Gamecube, such as the Super Mario series and The Legend of Zelda. Nintendo also created new franchises that debuted on the console, like Pikmin and Animal Crossing, and brought back series that skipped the Nintendo 64 platform, like Metroid with the release of Metroid Prime. The console had several successful games such as The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker and Super Mario Sunshine and its best-selling game, Super Smash Bros. Melee, which sold 7 million copies worldwide. However Nintendo was criticized for not releasing enough games during the console's release window, a sentiment compounded by the release of Luigi's Mansion instead of a 3D Mario game.

Early in Nintendo's history as a console creator, the company had achieved considerable success with the support of third-party developers on the Nintendo Entertainment System and Super Nintendo. However, competition from Sony's Sega Mega Drive and PlayStation in the 1990s changed the market landscape and reduced Nintendo's ability to gain exclusive third-party support on the Nintendo 64. Cartridges used for games were also increasing in popularity. cost of manufacturing the software, as opposed to the cheaper, higher capacity optical discs used by the PlayStation.

Nintendo sought to win back third-party developers, as evidenced by the number of third-party games available at launch. The switch to an optical disc format introduced with the GameCube significantly increased memory capacity and lowered production costs. The strategy was mostly successful. Exclusive and high-profile titles like Factor 5's Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader, Capcom's Resident Evil 4, and Konami's Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes were successful. Sega, which became a third-party developer after discontinuing its Dreamcast console, released Dreamcast versions of games to the Gamecube, such as Crazy Taxi and Sonic Adventure 2, and developed new franchises, such as Super Monkey Ball. Other developers worked on new games for Nintendo franchises, including Star Fox Assault and Donkey Konga with Namco and Wario World with Treasure. Some third-party developers, such as Ubisoft, THQ, Disney Interactive Studios, Humongous Entertainment, and EA Sports, continued to release GameCube games in 2007.

Online Games

Eight GameCube games have the ability to connect to a network, five with Internet support and three with local area network (LAN) support. The only Internet-enabled games released in the West are three games in Sega's Phantasy Star series: Phantasy Star Online Episodes I and II, Phantasy Star Online Episodes I and II Plus, and Phantasy Star Online Episode III: C.A.R.D. revolution. The official servers were decommissioned in 2007, but players can still connect to private servers maintained by fans. Japan received two additional games with the ability to connect to the Internet, Homeland and Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū 10. Lastly, three racing games have LAN multiplayer modes: 1080° Avalanche, Kirby Air Ride, and Mario Kart: Double Dash.

To play online, players must install an official broadband or modem adapter in their system, as the GameCube does not have to connect to the network on its own. Nintendo never commissioned any servers or internet services to interact with the console, but allowed other developers to do so and made them responsible for managing player experiences online.

Games available at launch

Official Accessories

GameCube with a Memory card, a Game Boy Player and an Wireless WaveBird command.

• Cable Game Boy Advance: Allows you to connect a GameCube and a Game Boy Advance to exchange information between them.

• Internet modem: The console did not include a connector for a network cable from an internet router, so Nintendo decided to launch this internet modem to compete with the PS2 PlayStation Network, and Xbox Live, and thus play online.

• Memory Card: Allows to save data from different games, there were three different official versions: grey (59 blocks), black (251 blocks) and white (1019 blocks). Then there appeared unofficial versions that could support up to 3000 blocks. They are placed on the front of the GameCube just below the command connection.

• Game Boy Player Command: It was made by the company Horiespecially for the Game Boy Player. Its design is very identical to Super Nintendo control. This control works especially with Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance games, also serves for some GameCube games that do not depend on all the console's normal command buttons.

• WaveBird.: Allows the player to be at a distance of up to 10 m from the console without losing precision and with total freedom of movement. The control commands of this type incorporate a special connector and the control properly said, in which the same frequency should be selected as in the connector, by means of a wheel-shaped selector in both. In this way, depending on the position of the same, the frequency will be from 1 to 16; each player must select a different frequency in his or her command and connector.

• Microphone: It is similar to the Nintendo 64 microphone, only with integrated improvements, and functional for slightly more games than on the Nintendo 64. It only serves the games, Mario Party 6, 7, Odama, Chibi-Robo and Karaoke Revolution Party. It is included with these games.

• SD Card Reader: It only came out in Japan, and is used in few games to save screenshots or upload images to the game. A special version of Animal Crossing was created for this peripheral.

• Game Boy Player: It is included with a boot disk, and allows to play Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance games at GameCube. It is connected to the HSP (High Speed Port) at the bottom of the console.

• DK Bongos: are included in a pack with the games Donkey Konga and Donkey Kong Jungle Beat and are used, fundamentally, as an original new way of playing, hitting and patting.
• Dancing Stage Dance carpet: is included in the Dance Dance Revolution game: Mario Mix and is a carpet that detects the footsteps, in which you have to dance to the rhythm of the music.

• ASCII Keyboard Handle: This control was done by ASCII with the collaboration of Nintendo. This accessory is a combination of a GameCube command and a computer keyboard, the keyboard mode only served for the online functions of the console (although also for Wii's online functions), and could also be used as a normal GameCube command, despite that, this peripheral is a bit annoyed by its size and was also not very successful as expected, due to its size and width.

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  Memory Card 251 blocks.

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  Memory Card for SD cards.

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  GameCube microphone.

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  Game Boy Player.

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  Internet modem adapters.

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  Cable Game Boy Advance.

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  Command for Game Boy Player made by Hori.

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  ASCII Keyboard Handle with a GameCube connected to a Wi-Fi Router.

Third Party Accessories

• Action Replay: A device created by the Datel company, which allows to use codes to alter the operation of the games. It contains a boot disk with codes and a special 4 MB card that requires connecting to the Slot B of the console. Incorporates FreeLoader.
• Action Replay MAX: A version of Action Replay with greater capacity, 1019 blocks (8MB)
• FreeLoader: This product disables the regional lock function of the GameCube, allowing disks from any region (PAL, NTSC, NTSC-J, etc.), to be reproduced on the console. Some versions can also be used on the Wii console.
• MAX Drive: This device consists of a special card, USB cable and PC software, which allows the user to share data between memory cards to store or share them via the Internet.
• SD Media Launcher: Allows games and applications developed by the user to be reproduced on the console. It contains an SD card adapter, a boot disk and a USB adapter to share data from a PC.
• MAX Media Player: Allows to play videos, songs and other downloaded media on the console. It includes an application disk, an SD card adapter, a USB adapter to Micro SD, and a remote control.

Hardware

The Gamecube features a processor made by IBM (a version of the PowerPC 750cx, also known as PowerPC G3 on Apple computers) and a graphics chipset from ATI. As for sound, it has a DSP developed by Macronix capable of reproducing audio with a quality higher than that of the CD.

Name	technical name	data	technical data	image
CPU	Name	MPU (Microprocessor Unit): "Gekko", a PowerPC family processor, manufactured by IBM.	485 MHz.
	Manufacturing process	copper semiconductor technology	0.18 microns
	CPU capacity	1125 DMIPS (Dhrystone 2.1).
	BUS	32 bits (enteres) 64 bits (double-precision floating point).
	Bandwidth of the external bus:	a maximum of 1.6 GB/second. The address bus is 32-bit size, while the data bus is 64-bit.	162.5 MHz
	Internal cache	L1: 32 KB for instructions and 32 KB for data (8 tracks). L2: 256 KB (2 tracks).
GPU	Name	ATI "Flipper", developed by NEC.
	Texture cache	Approximately 1 MB.	5 ns (1 T - SRAM).
	Width of access to textures	12.8 GB/S
	Bandwidth of the main memory	3.2 GB/S
	Z-Buffer	24 bits.
	polygons	processing capacity estimated in a real game including complex modeling, textures, etc. Although they have come to play with more polygons (about 28,000 polygons).	6 000 000 to 12 000 000 polygons per second.
	Image processing functions	: Niebla, Subpixel Anti-aliasing, Lights HW x8, Alpha Blending, Virtual Texture Design, Multi-texture Mapping/Bump/Environment, Mapping, MIPMAP, Bilinear Filtering, Real-time Texture Decompression (S3TC), etc. Other functions: Real-time Decompression of Display List, HW Motion Compensation Capability.
	Manufacturing process	0.18 micras VRAM Incorporated,
	Built-in Buffer Frame	3 MB.
	VRAM	16 MB
	floating comma	Arithmetic capacity: 13 GFLOPS maximum (MPU, Geometry Engine, HW Lighting Total).
SON	DSP	Special, designed by Macronix.	16 bit
	Report of instruction	8 KB RAM + 8 KB ROM.
	Data report	8 KB RAM + 4 KB ROM.
	Actual watch frequency	101.25 MHz.
	number of channels	ADPCM.	64 channels
	Sample frequency	48 kHz.
RAM	Main report	64 MB.
	auxiliary memory	used for sound and storage buffers:16 MB	100 MHz DRAM
	Access speed	10 ns or less (1 T - SRAM).
Disk Unit	CAV system (constant angular velocity).
	Support	GameCube Optical Disc, with DVD technology, optical reader manufactured by Matsushita. Turning at such a high speed, I couldn't play movies in DVD format,	1.5 or 3 GB (double layer)
	Access time	128 ms.
	Data transmission speed	16 to 25 Mbps.
	TAMAÑO	150 mm (width) x 110 mm (high) x 161 mm (largo).
Entry/Departure:	4 ports for control commands. 2 slots Digicard for memory cards. 1 analog output SNS A/V Multiout. 1 AV digital output (only in models manufactured before 22 March 2004). 2 high-speed serial ports (only in models manufactured before 22 March 2004; current models only carry one). 1 high speed parallel port.
Energy	external power adapter		DC 12 V x 3.5 A

Official Nintendo Editions

Nintendo released various editions of GameCube consoles, as well as "Bundle" with the best-known game sagas.

Twelve different editions of GameCube.

Console Editions

• Nintendo GameCube Indigo
• Nintendo GameCube Black
• Nintendo GameCube Silver
• Nintendo GameCube Orange.
• Nintendo GameCube Resident Evil 4 - RE4, Bundle Box
• Nintendo GameCube Metal Gear, Bundle Box
• Nintendo GameCube Pearl White, Bunble Box - FFCC
• Nintendo GameCube Toys r Us Gold.
• Nintendo GameCube Hanshin Tigers, Bundle Box
• Nintendo GameCube Mobile Suit Gundam, Bundle Box
• Nintendo GameCube Pokemon XD, Bundle Box
• Nintendo GameCube Tales of Symphonia, Bundle Box

Boxes with Special versions

• Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Pearl White
• Metroid Black or Silver version
• Zelda The Windwaker Silver version
• Game Boy Player Indigo version
• Mario Sunshine Indigo version
• Donkey Konga Black Version

Panasonic Q

The Panasonic Q hybrid version GameCube with video DVD player.

The Panasonic Q (also known as Q or GameQ) is a hybrid version of the Nintendo GameCube with a DVD player made by Panasonic in collaboration with Nintendo. The system was officially released only in Japan. Its origin is the agreement signed by Nintendo with Matsushita (owner of the Panasonic brand) to manufacture the GameCube optical disc drives and readers. A license was specified to manufacture a DVD player system that could play GameCube games. This covered the GameCube's lack of CD/DVD playback capability, something that its Xbox and PlayStation 2 competitors handled natively. It was released on December 13, 2001 and discontinued in December 2003 due to poor sales.

The case is a redesign of the Gamecube so that it can house a full DVD, in silver. On the back it has RCA connectors for Audio/Video, S-Video and digital audio output, in addition to the official Nintendo connector, while on the front it has a removable tray instead of placing the reader in the upper area. Thanks to its ability to read DVDs, it can read pirated copies (both miniDVD and DVD-R) without the need for a chip. This console supports all GameCube peripherals, but since the Panasonic Q's legs do not allow the Game Boy Player to be installed, a special version was released exclusively for the console.

Reception

The GameCube received generally positive reviews upon its release. PC Magazine praised the overall hardware design and the quality of the games available at launch. CNET gave an average review rating, noting that while the console lacks some features offered by its competition, it's relatively inexpensive, its controller has a great design and released a decent lineup of games. In later reviews, criticism of the console often focused on its overall appearance, describing it as 'playful'. Amid the low numbers in sales and the associated financial damage to Nintendo, a Time International article called the GameCube an "absolute disaster." ^{[citation required]}

In retrospect, Joystiq compared the release window of the GameCube to its successor, the Wii, noting that the "lack of games" of the GameCube resulted in an unsatisfactory launch, and the console's limited selection of online games hurt its long-term market share. Time International concluded that the system had poor sales numbers because it lacked "technical innovations".^{[citation needed]}

Sales

In Japan, between 280,000 and 300,000 consoles were sold during the first three days, out of an initial production run of 450,000 units. During its launch weekend, $100 million worth of Gamecube merchandise was sold in North America. The console sold out at several stores, selling out faster than its competitors, the Xbox and PlayStation 2, had initially sold. The most popular game at the system's launch was Luigi's Mansion, which, according to Nintendo, outsold Super Mario 64 at launch.^{[citation needed]} Other popular games at the time included Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader and Wave Race: Blue Storm.^{[citation needed]} As of early December 2001, the system had sold 600,000 units in the United States.

Nintendo sold 22 million GameCube units worldwide in its lifetime, putting it slightly behind the Xbox's 24 million, the PlayStation 2's 155 million and even the GameCube's predecessor, the Nintendo 64. with almost 33 million units. However, the console was able to outsell the Dreamcast, which sold 9.13 million units.^{[citation needed]} As of March 31, 2003, the GameCube had sold 9.55 million units worldwide, short of Nintendo's initial goal of 10 million consoles.

Many of Nintendo's games, such as Super Smash Bros. Melee and Mario Kart: Double Dash, saw strong sales. In contrast, many games that came out on multiple platforms, such as sports games released by Electronic Arts, sold in numbers well below their counterparts on the PlayStation 2 and Xbox, eventually leading some developers to scale back or discontinue entirely. creating versions for the GameCube. Exceptions include Sega's Sonic Adventure 2 and Super Monkey Ball, both of which produced more sales on the GameCube than most of the company's games on the PlayStation 2 and Xbox. After several years of losing money developing for the Nintendo's console, Eidos Interactive announced in September 2003 that it would stop producing games for the GameCube, canceling several games that were in development. Later, however, Eidos resumed development of GameCube games, releasing hit games such as Lego Star. Wars: The Video Game and Tomb Raider: Legend. Additionally, several third-party games that were originally intended to be exclusive to the GameCube, notably Resident Evil 4, ended up being ported to other systems in an attempt to maximize profits after the lackluster sales of the original GameCube versions.

With sales flagging and millions of unsold consoles in stock, Nintendo halted GameCube production for the first nine months of 2003 to reduce surplus units.^{[citation needed]< /sup> Sales recovered slightly after lowering the price to $99.99 on September 24, 2003 and the release of The Legend of Zelda: Collector's Edition. From this period on, sales of the GameCube continued to be stable, particularly in Japan, but it remained in third place in worldwide sales during the sixth generation era due to weaker sales performance elsewhere. Nintendo's president at the time, Satoru Iwata, told investors that the GameCube would sell 50 million units worldwide by March 2005, but by the end of 2006, it had only sold 21.7 million, selling less than the half of what he had anticipated.}

Market share

Nintendo was unable to recapture the market share it lost through the life of the GameCube's predecessor, the Nintendo 64. Throughout the sixth generation of consoles, GameCube hardware sales lagged far behind its direct competitor, the PlayStation 2, and slightly behind the Xbox.^{[citation needed]} The idea that the console was "for the whole family" and the lack of support from certain third-party developers skewed the GameCube towards a younger market, which was a minority demographic of the gaming population during the sixth generation. Many third-party games popular with teens or adults, such as the hit series Grand Theft Auto and several first-person shooters did not get GameCube versions, instead going to the PlayStation 2 and Xbox. In June 2003, the GameCube had a 13% market share, tied with Xbox in sales, but well below the PlayStation 2's 60% share. ^{[citation needed]}

Legacy

Command Ports and Gamecube Memory Cards in Wii.

Many games that debuted on the GameCube, including Pikmin, Chibi-Robo!, Metroid Prime, and Luigi's Mansion, became popular Nintendo franchises or sub-series.

Original Wii consoles (model RVL-001) are compatible with all official GameCube software, as well as controllers and memory cards. Compatibility with the software is achieved directly through the disc slot, which is capable of accepting and reading Nintendo Optical Disc type discs. The console gives a pole output support to the titles of the Nintendo GameCube. Peripherals can be connected via a set of four ports for GameCube controllers and two slots for removable memory cards, all hidden by a pair of covers that can be easily removed.

GameCube controllers have limited support on Wii U and Nintendo Switch, for playing Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate respectively, via a USB adapter. Modern versions of those USB wired controllers have also been made in their place.