10th Anniversary of the GameCube

[gman72]

Ten years ago today the little box was released in Europe.

It's now officially retro.

Believe me, it's not

Believe me, it is.

[Antiriad2097]

He's behind you!

Its not retro. It doesn't even meet the 10 year rule since its not 10 years since it ceased production

[Flint]

I’ll never understand people that loved the Gamecube to the point they say it’s their favourite console but hate the Wii.
(Well sort of do if they hate motion controls)

[Babbage]

i think it's strange small discs will be it's most interesting retro feature one day - especially as they still came in full size DVD boxes. I used to think that was really weird when I had mine

[DreamcastRIP]

... And I think Nintendo know it was a disappointing machine too.

Most likely true from a commercial standpoint. Given that every single Ninty home console sold fewer units than the one before it things were looking pretty dire for them with GameCube. This trend was only reversed with Wii so it remains to be seen whether the success of Wii was a blip in an otherwise downward spiral or the start of a genuine revival. I suppose we shall soon see what with Wii U being out later this year.

[RetroMartin]

Well happy birthday to the little purple cube. 10 years on and its still as cute as a button.

Black and purple launched alongside each other so it was both! I got mine on launch day here in the UK and have about 40 odd games for it. There's still a few I want but they're not pressing (and they *ARE* expensive lol!)

Loved the console, one of my favourites, and the first console I bought with my own money from a job (I was still at school with the generation before)

[Megamixer]

I'm just going to re-quote what doc.eggfan said in another of these 'what is retro?' debates...

Retro is a state of mind, and cares not for your puny concepts like dates and calendars.

Believe it!

As for the Gamecube, I had many great experience with it. I initially got the Pokemon Coloseum Mega Pak because my Pokemon obsession meant I had to have a Gamecube to play the latest game. These days, the two 'main' Pokemon games on the system aren't even close to being my favourite Gamecube games. They have nostalgiac memories sure so I'll probably play them again someday but the best thing they did were to get me into the console itself.

I'll always remember Christmas 2004 and the killer combo of Paper Mario and Tales of Symphonia which are still both amazing games. Other highlights include Resident Evil 4 which I completed 9 times in a row, the mags of the time (NGC, NOM, Cube), Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance and multi-player fun with Mario Kart, Mario Smash Football, SSBM etc.

I've only mentioned a few games there but I have many more that I thoroughly enjoyed. The last memory would probably be being with the console to the end when nothing much was coming out, getting hold of the GC version of Twilight Princess and snapping up those rarities before they got to expensive.

I really liked star fox as well. The namco one was gash though

I liked it. The only problem was the on-foot sections because the flying bits were ace and still had that high-score chasing element to them.

[Morkin]

I can remember taking the day off work to pick up my pre-ordered Gamcube from GAME & my boss thinking that it was a sad thing to do. Anyway, had a great day picking it up & enjoying the various games & of course the magazines of the time. Some time later I bought a US Cube from Goblin Games & after a bit of jiggery pokery with a damaged cable, I was well away. Import madness ensued thanks to Tronix & Videogamesplus & loved pretty much every game that I bought. Fond memories of Pikmin, Animal Crossing, Mario Sunshine & Starfox to name but a few.

[Black Ridge]

We got ours with the Gameboy player and i sure that i played on that more than any GC Game for a while.

Literally put LIFE into Phantasy Star Online I&II and PSO III
Loaded my saves on Fire Emblem Path of Radiance countless times as didnt want my characters to DIE
Felt true RAGE with both Super Monkey Ball & Viewtiful Joe
Many sessions on Smash Bros Brawl with the BROS

I've picked up a few bits recently that i missed out on years ago including PN03 & Twilight Princess (NTSC) as i now have the wonderful Freeloader

[dste]

Kirby's Air Ride puzzles me a bit. The reviews are pretty average, yet it's very sought after, perhaps people just want to collect it for it's rarity, rather than being that desperate to play it.

Average reviews, compared to Mario Kart and F-Zero and low sales means it sells for a bit now. Once saw it sell on E-bay for over £60 which was just plain crazy, though when I was trying to get hold of it there was only about four copies a year listed.

I've only briefly played it but it doesn't seem that bad.

[nokgod]

Happy 10th anniversary GC

I bought my first 'cube when the black one was released, as i thought the GBplayer would look odd against purple. I was right My biggest regret was selling my original cube and game collection to fund something we needed for the house, a few years back.

Once the money tightrope was successfully negotiated i always indended to replace my collection. I've done that now (to the max ) and it (they) shall never leave my possession again.

It's my favourite console and the one i always return to. As for it being retro or not....i don't really care for the arguments, does it really matter? 'retro' is subjective and we'll never all agree, so its an excercise in futility.

As for the games, a bit of crap and filler, but a hell of a lot of good stuff considering there's only 450 PAL games to choose from. Its becoming increasingly difficult to find GC stuff on the shelves, so if you're thinking of building up a collection, i'd do it sooner rather than later.

[Rayne]

i think it's strange small discs will be it's most interesting retro feature one day - especially as they still came in full size DVD boxes. I used to think that was really weird when I had mine

I much prefer the Japanese GameCube boxes:



Really dinky little snap cases with the cardboard sleeves

[DreamcastRIP]

I much prefer the Japanese GameCube boxes

Ditto. I only have Kururin Squash and Radirgy GeneriC (both CIB) in the way of NTSC-J GameCube games but those cases are a thing of beauty. Sensibly sized for the proprietary storage media, cool card sleeves for the cases instead of yawn-tastic DVD-style cases and nice manuals.

Oh, wait, the hard of thinking here say I'm a 'Nintendo hater' so please ignore the above comment!

[Morkin]

I also love the Japanese boxes. I've got Chibi Robo, Mr Driller & Kururuururururururururin Squash.

[pratty]

Always liked the look of that Kururin Squash, but I doubt I'll ever be bothered enough to track it down. I reckon I would probably suck at it in all honesty.