November 18th, 2002 (12:00am) - The Gamecube’s birthday is here, and there have been some interesting twists, turns, ups & downs for the little console that could. From a launch without Mario, the Rareware cut, and the big electronics giants trying to kill them. The Cube still has held its own with the odds against. Getting great AAA first and third party exclusives. And pounding Microsoft’s console in worldwide sales. Here’s a breif history of the first year of the GameCube. But keep in mind the best is yet to come.
A day to remember.
On November 18th of last year the Gamecube finally launched in North America. This after a long wait for Nintendo’s next console, announced as “Project Dolphin”on March 12, 1999 by Nintendo a year before. Nintendo’s launch wasn’t bad by any standards. In fact, it was pretty successful. With a semi-sequel to the great N64 title Waverace 64, the very enjoyable Luigi’s mansion, and the gorgeous Rogue Leader from Factor 5, there were many great games to choose from. Unfortunately, it was missing that “killer-app.” title along the lines of Mario 64 for the N64. The Xbox had Halo, but the GCN was lacking in that title that made you desperately want a Gamecube. Soon after, Super Smash Bros. Melee and Pikmin came out. They were not there to touch Halo but to comfort all the Nintendo loyalists that bought the Gamecube already for the most part. Nintendo fans were appreciative and responded well by buying well over a million copies of SSBM worldwide, but Nintendo still didn’t have a launch that could compare to the one game powerhouse Halo.
N64 part-2...
Unfortunately things became a little worse for Nintendo when great titles such as Star Fox Adventures and Eternal Darkness were significantly delayed to later in the year. For Nintendo fans, this was normal, but in an attempt to lure new customers, this was devastating for Nintendo; and not so silently Microsoft’s Xbox kept its lead over Nintendo and actually increased on it as well. Though the Xbox wasn’t doing much better for games, Halo was still selling for it as Mario 64 did for the N64 so many years ago. The Xbox with Halo and it’s ”mature” appeal and the PS2 with its iron-clad grasp on the pole position left Nintendo in third place here in North America, though not in Japan or Europe as Microsoft was not readily trusted as a video-game system manufacturer. In Japan, the Gamecube still continues to sell several times more units than the Xbox. Though, the Gamecube wasn’t selling as well here as hoped, the typical Nintendo delays were leading up to an amazing second half.
Better days on the way?
The last few months for the Gamecube have been amazing. Nintendo’s first “mature” title, Eternal darkness saw a release in June. Soon after, Mario finally came in the form of a water-pump toting plumber finding himself on a tropical island vacation gone wrong. Nintendo’s amazingly addictive and innovative Animal Crossing also saw a release this past September as well as Star Fox Adventures. And now we have an original Resident Evil and Metroid Prime to look forward to. The latter possibly being that killer app. that Nintendo needs for this Christmas Holiday. And on top of these Nintendo…err…Sega has taken the Gamecube online with Phantasy Star Online and launched the notion of using the GCN-GBA link cable which Nintendo is finally supporting in tandem with the potentially ingenious E-reader. Though there have been a couple of negative announcements concerning Nintendo’s star player, Rare leaving with its lucrative licenses such as Perfect dark, the onslaught of great games coming from Nintendo and notably, third parties is more than making up for the loss. Most notably are the announcements by Namco, Sega, and Capcom and their exclusive games in development for the Cube. Games such as Star Fox Armada, F-Zero, RE4, Project Number 03, Dead Phoenix, Killer 7, and Viewtiful Joe. And this is not even mentioning Nintendo’s “Megaton” announcement that will assuredly boost GCN sales, most notably, in Japan, as suggested by the Japanese magazine V-jump, expected at the end of the year.
A look to the future.
Nintendo has a lot going for it right now. They have seemed to have learned from their mistakes with the N64 and are preparing for a very large promotion of the Gamecube this Christmas holiday with the likes of Metroid before, and Zelda soon afterwards as well as many others. They have made some great exclusive deals with big-name publishers such as Capcom, Namco, and Sega to provide great games for the Gamecube later such as Resident Evil 4, Star Fox Armada, and F-Zero. And more announcements from them are hinted to come and make an even bigger splash. Only one question remains, will Nintendo and its powerhouse games and fresh business tactics be enough to compete with, if not, beat the Xbox as the console to own this Christmas? Only time will tell. Until then, enjoy the great games so far and make sure you don’t miss one of the biggest reasons to own a Gamecube rather than the other systems this Christmas...Metroid Prime.
Keep this in Mind.
"Nintendo is in the software business - to stay. Nintendo is in the handheld business - to stay. And Nintendo is most certainly in the home console business - to stay." - Peter MacDougall
~diito~
