Why is the GameCube selling better than the Wii U???

[gigantor21]

Well, let's see:

- Cheaper price. The Gamecube started at $199, then went all the way down to $99 in two years. The WiiU is still selling for around $300 at retail.
- More 3rd party support. The Gamecube not only had games from EA and Ubisoft and the like, but actually got timed exclusives like Viewtiful Joe and RE4. The WiiU's 3rd-party line up is a complete joke in comparison, making it FAR more dependent on Nintendo's output than the Gamecube was.
- Spec parity with the competition. AFAIK, the Gamecube actually had better specs than the PS2 but wasn't as powerful as the Xbox. The main limiter ended up being the minidisc format which limited how much data could be stored on a game. The WiiU, meanwhile, is simply incapable of running games at the level several devs are gunning for now.
- Lower cost of development during Gen 6. The PS2 era was the last non-HD gen, and games were much cheaper to make at the time. Thus there was actually a thriving mid-range market at retail, allowing both first and third party developers to make more games and try different things with each game. HD development caused several delays for key WiiU games, and third parties couldn't even justify the cost of ports on it once sales fell off a cliff.
- No brand confusion. Everyone knew the Gamecube was a standalone console, whether they actually wanted one or not. No one thought that the Wavebird controller was just an expensive add-on for the N64 or something.