I agree with Metallicube, Gamecube and Xbox were tied for last place. a few million copies means virtually nothing when first place is One Hundred million copies ahead (and now way more). You don't squibble over that small difference. And xbox having to go completely in the red like no system ever before it shows how fierce the competition is even when Nintendo gets last that generation.
Gamecube failed because they were competing with ideals that they never held before. Nintendo's strongest software was never designed for the hardcore likes of the Halos and Grand Theft Autos. And yet they chose to compete simply cause that was the direction of the status quo in gaming at the time. So they competed and ended up with false ideals. Gamecube was by far Nintendo's best effort in the "cool factor," and they weren't cool with games like Sunshine, Windwaker, Pikmin, Starfox Adventures, or Luigi's Mansion. They advertised it as being cool, and it even had a really sleek black and purple design. But the problem was it threw gamers off when they didn't have the best graphics, best online support, or best third party support.
Smash bros. Melee was lucky enough to break through as a hardcore game given it's look. But of course that series has always been very unique given that it has a casual element to it along with a really hardcore spirit that can be accessed with the right people playing together. But most games were not in line with what the generation had expected at the time.
