GameCube was better hardware than the PS2, RE4 shows that.
Nintendo's insistence on going for a super low price of $199.99 did them no good though.
They should've bumped the main RAM to maybe 48MB 1T-SRAM (to make it definitively better than the PS2), dumped the mini-DVD concept (supported optional DVD playback) and launched a year earlier.
This would've resulted in a more expensive machine, but still $299.99 I think would've be more than doable.
I'd have canned Perfect Dark, Zelda: Majora's Mask, Sin & Punishment, and Conker's Bad Fur Day for the N64 and retool these games for the GCN launch window (Perfect Dark barely ran on the N64 anyway). I'd also nix Star Wars: Battle for Naboo from the N64 entirely and get Factor 5 started on GCN development earlier.
Paper Mario, Banjo-Tooie, Mickey's Speedway USA, Ridge Racer 64, Kirby 64, Pokemon Stadium 1/2, Mario Party 2, etc. can stay on the N64. I'd probably hire some extra staff to make a few N64 games to make sure it wasn't abandoned entirely (Kid Icaurs 64, why not).
