What Is a Nintendo Game Cube?

At the end of the 1990s, the video game world was excited about a new generation of consoles that were about to hit the market. All the major gaming companies were coming out with new hardware, which ignited an new "console war." This generation of consoles, known as the sixth generation, was known for Sony's new iteration of its machine, the Playstation 2; the new machine from Microsoft, the Xbox; and the newest offering from the juggernaut of the gaming world, Nintendo's GameCube

Nintendo Console History

Nintendo has always been at the forefront of the gaming world. In 1985, it released its first console, the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). This system took the gaming world by storm and quickly outsold all of its competition. In 1991, Nintendo moved to the next level with the introduction of its 16-bit graphics system, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). The SNES dominated the video game market once again. Finally in 1996, amidst pressure from the changing market, Nintendo released its 64-bit system, the Nintendo 64.

Release

In late 1999, Nintendo released its initial literature for what was originally going to be called the "Dolphin." More powerful than the Nintendo 64, it also was going to be the first Nintendo system to have a disc-based game system (as opposed to a cartridge-based game system). In 2000, a working demo was released at Space World 2000. The name changed several times, from Dolphin to "StarCube," finally settling on "GameCube." It was released in the United States on November 18, 2001.

Specifications

As mentioned previously, the GameCube was the first system by Nintendo to feature a disc-based game system. This means that the games were loaded on 8.5-inch discs (similar to a mini CD) instead of the cartridges that had been a hallmark of Nintendo. The disc allowed for more data to be stored in a smaller area. The maximum for graphics was 32 bit (with a 64-bit processor). There were four controller outputs, and game data could be saved on memory cards, which could be fitted into slots on the front of the machine

Games

At its launch, the GameCube offered a choice of 12 games. Noticeably absent from these initial offerings was a game starring its mascot, Mario. (Which would be fixed with the release of Super Mario Sunshine in August of 2002.) Nintendo decided to have a more open dialogue with its third-party developers for new games on the GameCube. Nintendo also continued to develop its first-party franchises, which led to some of the most popular games ever designed.

Obsolescence

Nintendo realized it had to do something different from Sony or Microsoft if it wanted to regain the top market share. Almost immediately after the release of the GameCube, development began on the new Nintendo Wii. The beginning of the end for the GameCube came in 2005, when Microsoft released its Xbox 360, the first of the seventh-generation consoles. With the release of the Wii, in 2006, Nintendo has almost stopped production on all GameCube-related products. The company is now focusing solely on developing the Wii and any future innovations stemming from that hardware.