Talk:GameCube

Removed Phrase

I removed the phrase "AKA Lamecube, Dolphin, Gaycube." If anyone disagrees that this is a pretty biased paragraph, they can put it back in.

System Specs

Also, is it necessary to have the huge table on its specs? That information is easily avaialble on a Ninetendo website. I don't think most non-nerds care about the technical nitty-gritty. Couldn't we just include a link to the page with the specs? -Frecklefoot

Perhaps it could be cut down into a smaller summary of the most salient specs, but I think just linking to an external source is dubious - after all, most of the content of Wikipedia could be found elsewhere, so why not just make it into one big link-farm, with each article saying "For a definition, see [1]; for history, see [2]..." And of course, if the external page then gets deleted, or even moved, the WP page becomes completely pointless! - IMSoP 05:45, 18 Dec 2003 (UTC)

Solution: create a "Nintendo Gamecube specifications" page on the Wiki. Sockatume 17:56, 2 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Caps

(Nintendo prefer that NINTENDO GAMECUBE be written in all capitals, as described in http://www.nintendo.com.au/gamecube/faqs/index.php (F.A.Q. 10). This convention is followed by next to nobody.)

...including Nintendo themselves, on their American and European websites. Is this an Australian peculiarity? --rbrwr

It doesn't matter, because it is on the Australian NINTENDO WEBSITE. It was made by Nintendo. I think it is a stupid idea to have it in capitals, but as the Nintendo Website says, it is NINTENDO GAMECUBE. I won't bother changing it, because you will probably change it back.

Definately never heard of that usage in the US or Europe, so it's hardly a "convention". Nintendo are rather particular about including trademark notices and descriptions in press coverage though; really it should be the Nintendo(R) Gamecube(TM) video game console. This eventually spawned a couple of forum in-jokes it happens, with people referring to, say, Metroid (R) Prime (TM) 2: Echoes (TM) First Hunt (TM) for the Nintendo (R) DS (TM) dual-screen touchscreen-and-voice activated handheld videogames system, every time they wanted to talk about the Metroid Hunters demo. Sockatume 17:56, 2 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Kiddy Image

It seems that an anonymous editor has added a paragraph, only to have it removed by another anonymous editor as "puppy cock" (what it has to do with small dogs and male chickens, I'm not sure). The paragraph in question is:

The Nintendo GameCube also has a black carrying handle on the back, which has led many to refer to it as a "lunchbox" (thus perpetuating Nintendo's seemingly eternal "kiddy" image).

I have no idea whether this is true or not - does anyone have an opinion of whether it should be in or out? - IMSoP 15:43, 25 Feb 2004 (UTC)

I was the one who originally added that paragraph, before I made an account. I thought it was an interesting thing to note, and it is true - I have both heard and read many people refer to it as a lunchbox, including for reviews of the system. I even looked it up on Google to make sure it wasn't just me blowing it out of proportion. I think the person who removed it figured I was trolling, which I wasn't (though I suppose I could have worded that better). I own a GameCube and think it's great (despite its lunchboxy appearance, ha ha). If this were go back up, it should probably be worded like this:

The Nintendo GameCube also has a black carrying handle on the back, which, coupled with its small size, has led many to refer to it - usually disparagingly - as a "lunchbox" (thus indirectly perpetuating Nintendo's seemingly eternal "kiddy" image).

Or something like that. --DoubleCross 01:29, Apr 15, 2004 (UTC)

---

It's an accurate statement. In addition, the Indigo launch color contributed to the console's unfortunate kiddy image. However, I don't know that it really belongs in or is a necessary addition to the article. It would be like mentioning that the Xbox hardware is absolutely massive, completely bombed in Japan, and is sometimes called a "brick". It's just editorializing that's probably not needed.

--RickSlate March 8, 2005

I agree. I know the debate is over, but imagine if "lunchbox" was replaced with "purse". Might as well put "also referred disparagingly to as the Gaycube, or Homosexualbox". Just doesn't belong. --ZombieBite June 28, 2005 21:27 (UTC)

I think you're off the mark there. Theres a difference between noting frequently commented similarity to G rated items which are not necessarily to be offensive, and making stuff up from the point of someone topic hostile and inserting it for kicks. The latter obviously doesn't belong, the former could easily have a place. -- Oct 18, 2005

Graphics Power

"Despite it's smaller size, it is more powerful than the PlayStation 2." I disagree. Compare, for example, Metal Gear Solid 2 and Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes. MGS2's (for PS2/Xbox) graphics are superior to MGS:TTS's (for Cube). I think this passage should be removed altogether, it's pretty subjective. Yes, games designed specifically for the Cube will look better than most PS2 games - but games designed specifically for the PS2, and with the low-level programming skill seen in MGS2, will probably look better than most Cube games. --Golbez 22:52, 2 Apr 2004 (UTC)

I agree, it's endlessly debatable, and adds little - and after all, it's a long time since outward size could be considered an indicator of compuational power. - IMSoP 23:04, 2 Apr 2004 (UTC)

The GameCube is not lame! I have a GameCube in my house and other people say it's cool! I have a friend who owns one. WikiPediaAid

Gamecube has really good games, but PS2's are probably "more powerful". 203.208.88.138 29 June 2005 07:06 (UTC)

The GameCube is more powerful than the PS2. Compare the technical specifications listed on each system's appropriate page. The GameCube, for example, has a 485 MHz processor, whereas the PS2 has a 294 MHz processor.

There is no doubt that the GameCube is more powerful than the PS2. However, it depends upon whether a developer is willing to take advantage of the GameCube's capabilities, or just do a simpler PS2-to-GameCube port.

---

In addition to the removal of the digital video output, the second serial port has been eliminated. The door is no longer labeled as such and no connector exists in the compartment.

Warning: incoming game.

Is it true that the system was named after a plot element of the CG animated TV series ReBoot? --Damian Yerrick 03:34, 3 May 2005 (UTC)

I highly doubt it. Probably because after they designed it someone said it looked like a Cube and they decided to work it in to the title. K1Bond007 05:32, May 3, 2005 (UTC)

Eternal Darkness as a Third Party Title

Silicon Knights was under a second-party license at the time, so it's inaccurate to call ED "third party"

Fixed. I made the title 2nd and 3rd party then made a few other changes. K1Bond007 15:52, May 20, 2005 (UTC)

Star Fox as a third-party title.

From the article:

"The Nintendo GameCube software library contains such traditional Nintendo series as Super Mario, Star Fox, The Legend of Zelda, and Metroid."

Why is Star Fox listed as a third-party title then? --A.J. 15:30, 25 May 2005 (UTC)

Star Fox is hardly as traditional a series as the others, and was made by a 2nd party company, so it probably should not be mentioned there. --Golbez 16:21, May 25, 2005 (UTC)

Well I guess it's there because it was originally developed by Miyamoto, but it's no longer a flagship first-party series. Rare was still second party when Adventures came out though, no? --Tothebarricades.tk 16:52, May 25, 2005 (UTC)

I think it's not fair to present some of these titles (the two Starfox, Donkey Konga, F-Zero GX, Wario World and even perhaps Eternal Dakrness) as third-party or even second-party. Nintendo still fully own the rights to these games and they publish them, it's their intellectual property, they are just developed by others, plus, Nintendo often have a strong creative input in the process, with team members of the original game overseeing the development. I think the distinction should be made more clearly. Perhaps by spliting the first-party titles into two groups, the ones developed by Nintendo's own teams and the ones from outside teams. -- sanjuro

Star Fox Adventures was the last game developed by Rareware before becoming part of Microsoft.

Plus, Star Fox Armada was made by Namco, a third-party. 82.35.69.110 20:36, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

Some sales balance please.

Its a very Anglo-American view that the gamecube was a failure in terms of overall sales. While it did not sell as well as the Xbox in the US and the UK, the Xbox utterly failed in Japan and was not quite as successful as the cube in other parts of the world.

I've not had the recent stats of it, but for most of the cube and xbox's shelf life, the overall world sales placed the cube as the second biggest selling console and xbox third. Of course, these are both dwarfed in sales by the PS2, but still it is against the common belief, possibly sourced by Microsoft fans, that the cube has had dismal sales. Of course, this does not apply to other software sales, I believe the Xbox owner is more likely to pick up FIFA 2006 than a cube owner, if indeed they don't own both consoles and pick one format because of network support.

So this might be worth mentioning as part of the balance of views...

On the other hand, considering that the GameCube debuted at a significantly cheaper price than both the PS2 and Xbox, coming in third in the US-EU market did not make it a success. In addition, it was well known that Nintendo had to cut production to sell off console surpluses, and that several third publishers dropped support for the GameCube due to poor sales.

Very Subjective view on UMD

"The GameCube proprietary disc is very similar to the PSP's UMD disc format, although it precedes it by several years, another idea of Nintendo's stolen by Sony." Is this really necessary, a simple comparision between the two formats possibly, but to say that the idea was stolen is stretching the imagination a little I feel.

I thought that the GameCube's disc is a mini DVD, the small size making it proprietary enough to discourage pirates.

Spelling?

I don't know about anyone else, but I've always seen it spelled "Gamecube" on websites, magazines, and forums. If anyone has a problem with this, just revert it back, but "GameCube" just looks strange to me (because I've seen it spelled differently so often)...

I did revert it back. Twice now. Also, go to www.nintendo.com, and you'll see that they refer to it as "GameCube". From the "Don't Miss Out" section in the lower central area of the front page: "Reserve Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness Get a custom Nintendo GameCube skin!" --Golbez 18:12, 25 September 2005 (UTC)

Yeah, I know now. I apologize for being stupid and editing the page without checking.

Pressure sensitive joystick?

"The left stick is pressure sensitive, and games such as Super Mario Sunshine exploit this to good effect."

Is this true? I've owned a Gamecube since launch day, I've completed Super Mario Sunshine, and this is the first I've heard of it. Foolish Mortal 20:45, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

Maybe by "pressure sensitive", it simply means "analog"? --Golbez 00:49, 14 October 2005 (UTC)

"pressure sensitive" is what makes the gamecube controller seem tighter than the PS2's. If you press the controller harder/faster in one direction the game can take note of it.--Jedi6 16 October 2005

I've never noticed this effect. --Golbez 00:16, 17 October 2005 (UTC)

I can't say I've noticed it either, although this isn't the first place I've heard it mentioned (and I'm not really the kind of person who notices things like these, anyway). To be absolutely fair, however, the Dual Shock 2 also features pressure sensitive analog sticks: every button on the pad is pressure sensitive except for "start" and "select." I'd need to do more digging, but I really would not be surprised if the Xbox controller was setup in a similar fashion. This seems to be a fairly standard feature, these days. – Seancdaug 01:42, 17 October 2005 (UTC)

As for the stick, you're confusing pressure with analog. Yes, the more you move the stick the faster you go, but what this is saying that the FASTER you move the stick matters too. Like, if I jerk the stick up, it has a distinct effect from slowly moving it up. However, I don't see how this is HARDWARE based, since software could figure that out just the same. So I would say it's not pressure sensitive since that's a software solution, not hardware. --Golbez 02:20, 17 October 2005 (UTC)