It's nonsense that these cables are so expensive. Nintendo put a digital-analog converter chip inside the cable and basically decided to never release the design so no third parties were ever able to manufacture compatible cables.

My recommendation is that you might want to try Google first to see if somebody has successfully reversed engineered these component cables before spending $300 for originals. With today's technology, I honestly don't believe that it would be that difficult to backwards engineer the cables even if Nintendo doesn't release the chip schematic. Plus with the insane price that these cables are being sold for, I'm sure that the demand is definitely there for somebody to invest some time to actually create a usable alternative.

I can't confirm this, but apparently the GCN component cables actually produce a better image then the Wii ones do. I'm sure that any difference is fairly small, but I think this is likely one reason why the GCN component cables are so popular.

Well, component cables don't up-res or up-scale; you need HDMI for that.  What the GCN component cables allow you to do is run your 480 resolution image in progressive scan (the entire picture in a single pass - 480p) instead of interlaced (in two passes - 480i), which results in a better picture.

I've heard that the GCN component cables deliver a sharper image though:

Personally, I don't see much of a difference on screen, but maybe it's there.  To answer your question though, yes, the Wii component cables allow compatible GCN games to run in progressive scan.

The GCN component cables are quite a bit sharper than other options, mainly due to the fact that Nintendo skimped big-time on the Wii's analog converter.

Still, component over Wii looks much better than composite cables, and S-video. Also, there is an open source HDMI mod floating around for the GCN now, called GCVideo, which produces an image similar to the component cables, and even allows some post-processing effects.

Hmm no wonder I could never find this cable. I always thought it was weird that not even third party cables were available. I finally know why.

You could buy a Gamecube with an HDMI mod for cheaper then those component cables and it would look quite abit better. Those cables have been more of an collector's item for years now.

Go to a decent gaming store... which sells piracy?

That sure sounds decent of them to me! What lovely guys.

I still have mine so I don't worry about it, but you may as well get a Wii to play GameCube games if they are too expensive

They're extremely old games. We wouldn't even need to do this if Nintendo raised their damn prices for once.

Smash Bros Wii is still 50 in many game stores. The hell Nintendo? Even quality games shouldn't stay expensive forever