As we speak marks 25 years for the reason that launch of Nintendo GameCube, a console that supplied one of many firm’s most joyous eras of console gaming — even when it felt underappreciated on the time.
Simply at a look, the GameCube regarded enjoyable. Possibly it was the deal with (did Nintendo actually assume we would take it out to the outlets?) or the purple-colored case. Both approach, it was instantly apparent that the GameCube was designed round Nintendo’s largest energy: video games that carry a smile to your face, of a form you will not discover wherever else.
As Sony and Microsoft sought to supply DVD and CD playback, Nintendo’s field centered solely on video games — to the extent that it solely match mini-DVDs in its dinky disc bay. The console’s entrance prominently marketed its functionality of supporting 4 controllers with no additional add-ons, excellent for multiplayer video games of Mario Kart: Double Sprint!!, whereas its vibrant pad stays beloved (and nonetheless used) by Nintendo followers at the moment.
After all, the GameCube is greatest remembered for its sport lineup, and because the birthplace of franchises which have since grow to be Nintendo staples. Even at launch, the GameCube provided maybe probably the greatest 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 sensible Tremendous Monkey Ball. By the point GameCube rolled out within the U.S. and Europe, that lineup was prolonged to incorporate Tony Hawk’s Professional Skater 3 and Star Wars Rogue Squadron 2: Rogue Chief, whose visuals made me really feel like I used to be truly inside a Star Wars movie.
By the GameCube’s first yr, the hits saved coming. Whereas not the primary entry within the collection, Tremendous Smash Bros. Melee set the usual for Nintendo’s massively in style combating sport collection. And whereas a model of Animal Crossing could have had a restricted launch on N64, its GameCube arrival constructed the foundations of one other core franchise (even when its debut exterior Japan was a lot delayed).
Whereas Nintendo has by no means misplaced its eye for the sudden, GameCube felt like a breeding floor for the corporate’s creativity. From the terrain-shaping god sport Doshin the Big to the microphone-controlled feudal pinball sport Odama, to not point out Donkey Konga’s sensible bongo drums, Nintendo revealed some really weird — however at all times enjoyable — experimental titles. (Although, sadly, some have been deemed too odd for worldwide launch, akin to Cubivore and Giftpia.)
Alas, as time went on and the GameCube’s gross sales numbers could not match PS2 or Xbox, third-party assist for the console started to wane. Nonetheless, Nintendo rewarded its trustworthy with video games that also usually characteristic amongst lists of the all-time greats: Metroid Prime and its underappreciated sequel, Tremendous Mario Sunshine, and The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker. And a few notable third-party assist did proceed, with a post-Dreamcast period Sega offering the outstanding Skies of Arcadia Legends, whereas the notorious Capcom 5 settlement noticed the launch of the masterpiece that’s Resident Evil 4.
By way of pure numbers, GameCube was one thing of a failure. It shifted 21.74 million items worldwide, a determine that trailed far behind the PS2, and which Change 2 has now eclipsed simply in its first yr. (The one Nintendo console to ever promote much less was Wii U.) However its contribution to the historical past of Nintendo and its gaming library stays outstanding nonetheless. Final evening I dipped again into Tremendous Mario Sunshine by way of Nintendo Change On-line, and took Mario for a nostalgic sprint across the rooftops of Delphino Plaza, my view out into the space artfully blurred by a shimmering warmth have. Even 1 / 4 of a century on, there’s one thing outstanding about Nintendo’s creation — and the dinky purple field it first launched on.
Tom Phillips
Information Editor
Tom Phillips is IGN’s Information Editor. You may attain Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or discover him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social