i disagree that the gamecube failed. it sold 8 million units domestically, more units than its predecessor the n64, and nintendo profited financially. it recovered a bit of the marketshare the n64 lost. true, it did not reestablish nintendo's dominance, but it was by no means a failure. that it sold less than its competitors has more to do with, imo, stupid so-called "hardcore" gamers who wouldn't know a hardcore game if it swam up and bit them in the ass. these people chose the ps2 or xbox because, at the time, the industry was trying to appeal to the same ignorant, heterocentric 18-36 y.o. demographic that all entetainment industries (movies, television, music, etc.) bend over backwards to appease. unless there was gratuitous violence and/or jiggling digitized tits, (rumble roses, doa volleyball, etc.), it was "kiddie stuff" or "not hardcore". now, don't get me wrong... i love violent games, but if violence, blood, sex, and adult subject matter is not critical to the story, what's the point? long way of saying that at the time games like GTA were all the rage, and nintendo's refusal to carry the industry's best-selling title gave it a "soft" image. that, and there was one large flaw on nintendo's part: lack of online play. online was really hitting its stride and nintendo was wrong not to pick up on it.
today, the wii has become the dominant console, and nintendo has done little different. the difference is that now it is the casual gamer, women, kids, and older fans who are being appealed to industry-wide, and wii supports online play. the shame is that the gc really was the superior system of last generation. it was lightweight, compact, cool-looking, inexpensive, had great graphics and sound, and a truly intuitive, comfortable, versatile controller. but most of all... KILLER GAMES, both first and third party. i challenge anyone to surpass a lineup which includes legend of zelda: twilight princess, loz: the windwaker, eternal darkness: sanity's requiem, resident evil and resident evil 4 (an exclusive at the time), super smash brothers melee, super mario sunshine, metroid prime 1 &2, pikmin 1&2, metal gear solid, wwe day of reckoning 1&2, soul calibur 2, mortal kombat deadly alliance, mk deception, mariokart double dash, star wars rogue leader, the prince of persia series, viewtiful joe (also exclusive at the time), the need for speed series, and paper mario. if these are not the definition of "hardcore", if they are not the best of the best of multiple genres, then i guess i just don't know what a real gamer, or a real game system, is anymore.
