| Jumpin said: GameCube was pretty much 100% Soccer moms buying the system for their children. The console was a giant failure and an embarrassment to the point where many people felt ashamed of being a Nintendo fan. Also the GameCube didn't make any money, the GBA is what made Nintendo all of its money. |
They mismanaged their franchises a bit with the GameCube though, Mario Sunshine wasn't Mario 64-2, Zelda: Wind Waker was a shocking change in art style, which some really loved, but others could never get over. Mario Kart: Double Dash even, wasn't quite the Mario Kart game I think people wanted. Metroid Prime didn't fill the void of a high quality multiplayer FPS left when Rare was sold.
Donkey Kong Jungle Beat was a niche game, Donkey Kong Country obviously was never that.
If the GameCube had Super Mario Galaxy, Zelda: Twilight Princess (in place of Wind Waker), Donkey Kong Country Returns, a Mario Kart game more like DS or Wii, and Rare managed to give them Perfect Dark 0 before exiting instead of Star Fox Adventures ... sales probably would've been a lot stronger.
So if Nintendo is smarter with their franchises this gen out, I think they can still sell more akin to the N64 or even SNES. Nothing wrong with that.
The GameCube never had a year headstart either, even if the Wii U doesn't sell like gangbusters, a headstart of say 8 million sure as hell beats starting 20 million below the PS2.
