By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. Close
curl-6 on 01 January 2025
Edit Thread
Wman1996 said:
curl-6 said:

The Gamecube I think could have performed significantly better with a drastic overhaul:

- Don't let Sony get such a huge head start

- Make the console black or silver by default, and make the controller look less like a Fisher Price toy

- Use DVDs, with playback out of the box

- Rework key software to be more appealing to the market; release Twilight Princess in place of Wind Waker, make 3D Mario more like 64/Galaxy, (and make sure it's there at launch) make a non-gimmicky Donkey Kong, etc.

The issue is that GameCube hardware was more or less finalized a full year before launch. By that timeline, Nintendo could've bucked orthodoxy and manufactured enough of them to get it out in Japan by late 2000 and other regions in the first half of 2001. 

But the extra issue there is that the games weren't there. GameCube would've been pretty barren in the software department if it launched any earlier than it did in real life. There's no evidence Luigi's Mansion, Pikmin, Wave Race, or Rogue Squadron were done before Autumn 2001. And Sakurai and his team seemed to be working down to the wire for Super Smash Bros. Melee's 13 month development cycle. 

Enhanced ports of more N64 games than we actually got would've been possible but tricky. It would've been amazing to get a steady port of Majora's Mask and some other late N64 games. Again, keep in mind that Nintendo rarely does cross-gen games now or even back then. 

Nintendo could've and should've pumped out the resources to get GameCube software and hardware out a full year before it did in real life to beat Xbox to the punch and launch not super long after PS2. But again, hindsight is 20/20. 

As part of "fixing" it I'd make it so Nintendo is better organized on the software front so that their key games are ready on time, as opposed to historically.

Hindsight is indeed 20/20, true, but that's sort of the point of the thread, we are using what we now know to suggest solutions to past problems. I feel like the issues the Gamecube faced could have been recognized and solved at the time and aren't dependent on 2024 knowledge.