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TheMisterManGuy on 07 December 2023
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The Nintendo GameCube is one of my favorite consoles of all time. It's a gem of a platform with some of the best games of its generation, a very comfy controller, and some unique oddities like the DK Bongos and Game Boy Player. But it was also a console that continuously faced an uphill battle throughout its life. The GameCube suffered from mediocre third party support, lack of DVD, Virtually no online services, and a mini-DVD format that limited the scope of its games. All things that its competitors, the PlayStation 2 and Xbox didn't have to worry about.

One big criticism by gamers back then, was that the GameCube was simply too "Kiddy". The console was perceived to be filled with E-rated platformers and family-oriented games, while the PS2 and Xbox sold themselves on gritty action games and shooters. That was the perception of the GameCube, but what people won't tell you was that the GameCube was the period where Nintendo was trying too hard to be "Edgy", "Hip", and "Cool" to keep up with the industry. It was IMO, one of the contributing factors to the console's failure. There's nothing wrong with "Edgy" on its own, but Nintendo's many attempts in this era came off as kind of desperate and sad.

Let's look at the signs.

* Commercials such as This

and this

That tried to make a purple lunchbox look like the most badass and "hardcore" thing on the planet

* A fully voiced Mario adventure in Super Mario Sunshine, IMO, a blatant attempt to try and copy the cinematic platformer experience the PlayStation popularized.

* Edgy M-Rated experiments such as Eternal Darkness and Giest, with Nintendo hoping to shake its reputation as a "children's" publisher.

* Games such as 1080 Avalanche and Donkey Konga 2 relying on cheesy punk and emo rock to appeal to angsty teenagers.

* Discontinuing Indigo (purple) half-way through the console's life in favor of using Silver and Onyx to try and make it look more "Grown-up"

* The next Zelda game for the system going for a more realistic and gritty art style to avoid Wind Waker's "kiddy" perception.

* Nintendo's ill-fated five game deal with Capcom, the "Capcom Five" which included Resident Evil 4 as a GameCube exclusive (only to later be ported to PS2).

You get the idea. I love the GameCube, but it felt like Nintendo during this era gave off a heavy air of "How do you do fellow kids?" trying one desperate "2edgy4u" scheme after another to avoid the dreaded "Kiddy" label. The GameCube was like a 6th grader who desperately tries to put on a façade of Maturity and coolness, but can never shake the image of being seen as childish.

Say what you will about Nintendo's later consoles like the Wii and Switch, those systems knew how to appeal to older audiences in a more natural way by going after a completely different audience from that of Sony and Microsoft. The Switch doesn't have to try and be cool for adults, it just is cool.