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curl-6 on 02 January 2025
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Kyuu said:
curl-6 said:

The problem with the Gamecube was that it was just completely out of touch with the market.

Gamers didn't want kid's cartoon Zelda or Mario cleaning up graffiti at a resort with a water pack or DK played with bongos or a system that looked like a cheap toy. Bringing that to the table when the competition had GTA and Halo was like showing up to a gunfight with a pool noodle, it's no wonder the system fell flat.

Why are you hyping up Halo and shitting on Wind Waker which sold comparable numbers to Combat Evolved on a smaller install base? Granted Wind Waker is no Ocarina of Time, but selling like OoT on a smaller install base was a tall order. It did manage to beat Majora's Mask.

Nintendo had a number of GC games selling close to Halo level in that era. And critically, they had Metroid Prime which is an all-time great, and released a good sequel to it as well. Nintendo's software was still comfortably superior to Microsoft's including Halo.

Xbox didn't beat the GameCube due to Halo. It did it because it was the better marketed and cooler device with superior third party support, monster specs, and a special appeal to PC gamers. Of course Halo contributed but it wasn't a bigger factor than Nintendo's software, and was nowhere near GTA's level.

Halo wasn't the only reason, but it was a significant one. Unlike Wind Waker or Metroid Prime, Halo was a killer app that moved hardware, and helped give Xbox the edge they needed as a newcomer to the market to outsell the veteran Nintendo.

Their superior third party support was a factor as well, but it arose in part due to superior sales as the generation progressed. It was Combat Evolved that got their foot in the door.