Hi everyone:

       I was just wondering why the Gamecube sold so poorly. I understand that selling over 21 million consoles does not mean its terrible, but when you compare it to Nintendo's previous systems it's obvious to see that something went wrong. I'm not saying a console has to sell a certain number of consoles to be successful, but you would think that a Nintendo system would sell better than a system just starting out in the business (xbox). I remember there was even all these rumors about Nintendo getting out of the hardware business and sell their software to other companies (like Sega does). Which was rediculous, but people still talked abou it all the time.

I have a Gamecube, and still play my games because I think it is a good system. It had many good games such as: Eternal Darkness, Zelda, Mario, Mario Kart, Smash bros, Pikmin 1-2, Resident Evil 0-4, Metroid 1-2, a few good Star Wars games, Animal Crossing, and many others. So why do you think the Gamecube sold as it did??? I don't think it was because the lack of good games. I think one of the major issues was how it was marketed. I think, at first at least, Nintendo was trying to market the Gamecube to a younger crowd, and forgot that the people who had been playing their previous systems grew up. Of course I don't think that was the only reason, but I don't feel like typing anymore. So what do you think?

No Third Party Support.

I regret to say that it is because I only bought one... I should have bought millions.

Anyway, Nintendo had been losing third party support from previous gens anyway.

GTA3 was the game to have last gen for the mass market in much the same way that Wii Sports and Wii Fit are today

@Scottie

But granturismo outsold GTA 3..

The gamecube just didnt look COOL at the time..

The xbox had Halo and ONLINE..

Ps2 had FF,GTA,GT,and Jrpgs

In my opinion, the problems that resulted in poor sales for the Gamecube were:

1. Nintendo released their console 18 months (in Japan, 12 months elsewhere) later than the PS2
2. Nintendo wasn't particularly agressive with their first party line-up
3. Nintendo didn't attract much (exclusive) third party support initially, and was unable to prevent the loss of third party support later in the generation
4. The Gamecube wasn't particularly distinct in the market, and there was little reason to own a Gamecube in addition to (or instead of) a PS2 or XBox
5. Nintendo didn't define the Gamecube to consumers, and Microsoft and Sony were able to define the system as being "Underpowered" and "Kiddie" in consumers' minds.

What I want to know is, why did the Xbox sell as well as it did? I understand that overall PS2 was more attractive than Gamecube due to many more games and DVD and more sales so more people had them, but why did Xbox do so well? Its library was not diverse at all, and imo it has about 8 good games. GC had about 25 good games, and PS2 had hundreds. Why didn't GC outsell Xbox?

Halo online?

Wow, very good points. GC was more powerful than ps2 yet I thought it was weaker due to the pricing and PR

Because it was a purple lunchbox