Information AboutGamecube |
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The is Nintendo's fourth home Video Game Console , belonging to the Sixth Generation Era . The system itself is the most compact and least expensive, next to the Dreamcast , of the sixth generation era consoles. It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 and the predecessor of the Wii . The home console was released on September 14 , 2001 in Japan ; November 18 , 2001 in North America ; May 3 , 2002 in Europe ; and May 17 , 2002 in Australia . In North America, the GameCube's final game will be '' Mortal Combat XXX ''. OVERVIEW The Nintendo GameCube, codenamed Dolphin, was first announced at E3 in 1999 {Link without Title} but kept hidden until August 22 , 2000 , only one day before Nintendo's SpaceWorld trade show.3 Shaped roughly like a Cube , the console is available in a variety of colors, such as indigo, platinum, and black (also a limited edition '' Resident Evil 4 '' platinum and black game console). In Japan, the system is also available in Spice (orange), or in limited edition colors like Crystal White, Mint Green, Copper, and White with black pinstripes. The Nintendo GameCube uses a proprietary storage medium, the Nintendo GameCube Game Disc , based on Matsushita 's optical-disc technology; the discs are approximately 8 centimeters (3 1/8 inches) in diameter (considerably smaller than the 12 cm CDs or DVD s used in other consoles), and have a capacity of approximately 1.5 Gigabyte s. Contrary to popular belief, GameCube discs are not physically read any differently from a standard DVD disc, but are encrypted with a key derived from the Burst Cutting Area, a 'bar code' unreadable by most DVD drives. This move was intended to prevent unauthorized copying of GCN titles, but was eventually Cracked . By exploiting a flaw in '' Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II '', users were able to connect their GameCubes to their PCs and run Homebrew Programming on the console.4 The Nintendo GameCube does not have DVD or audio CD support, but ] Despite the protection of a non-standard disc format (essentially a miniature DVD-ROM with non-standard sectors and filesystem formatting), a number of Modchip s such as the Qoob and ViperGC have been released that, when used in conjunction with a modified BIOS , allow the use of a standard or 8 cm DVD-R to load Backed-up , Homebrew , bootleg or Copied Software . The Panasonic Q , released by Panasonic in Japan under license from Nintendo, is manufactured as a modified GameCube unit with added DVD Video and DVD Audio playback functionality. It was never released outside of Japan; production ceased in December 2003. Differences in design make the Panasonic Q incompatible with the Game Boy Player ; however, the Panasonic Q Game Boy Player was released to address the problem of the extended pegs on the bottom, allowing play of Game Boy games. The GameCube can connect to a Game Boy Advance or Game Boy Advance SP to transfer game data. The GameCube can also connect to a Game Boy Micro , but the cable required to connect the two must be custom-made since it has not been otherwise made available. Examples of this functionality include the use of the Game Boy Advance as a controller for the game played. Information related to game play may be displayed on the Game Boy Advance's color screen for added convenience or to avoid the cluttering of the display on the television screen. This functionality has been used to unlock bonuses such as new levels or characters when certain Game Boy Advance and GameCube games are connected together. Up to four Game Boy Advance systems can be connected to the GameCube through the GameCube's four controller ports for multiplayer play. A Nintendo GameCube Game Boy Advance Cable is required for each Game Boy Advance system that is connected to the GameCube; however, this requires a user to buy a GameCube, a Game Boy Advance, and the GameCube version of the title, along with the Game Boy Advance version. Some GameCube titles only use the Game Boy Advance as a screen and do not require a separate Game Boy Advance game. The GameCube can also connect directly to another GameCube for LAN play. Another television is needed for the second console. The GameCube can connect over LAN with up to eight other GameCubes. The GameCube was designed for portability, with its small size complemented by a carrying handle; however, this feature over other consoles is minimal since its inexpensive production and selling price are its main advantages. Despite being more compact than the original PlayStation 2 model, the GameCube has overall superior graphics processing power and better Pro Logic Sound , but no optical output. The GameCube has a Front End menu system which can be accessed by holding the 'A' button while the system boots or by booting with no game inserted. This menu controls settings for memory card data, sound, and the internal clock. The controller has the traditional directional pad, two analog sticks, and eight buttons: A, B, X, Y, Z, L, R, and pause/start. Like the Nintendo 64 Controller , it features no select button. The C buttons have been replaced by an analog C stick. The analog sticks do not have added "clickable" button functionality—unlike other such consoles of the era—but both L and R shoulder buttons are analog, able to detect force applied to them before "clicking," essentially doubling their functionality. Nintendo released a network adapter for the GameCube during the Christmas season of 2002, but did not promote or support online gaming as heavily as Sony or Microsoft. Two adaptors were released: the Nintendo GameCube Modem Adapter for dial-up and the Nintendo GameCube Broadband Adapter for broadband. The only high-profile title that requires the adapter is Sega's ''Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II''. Instead, Nintendo focused more on Game Boy Advance connectivity. Despite the answer of "no" by Nintendo of America Vice President of Marketing Perrin Kaplan in a Game Daily interview when asked about the production of the Nintendo GameCube, Nintendo UK and Nintendo of America both confirm that Kaplan is incorrect and that worldwide both Nintendo GameCube hardware and First-Party Nintendo GameCube software are still produced, shipped to stores, and selling.567 SOFTWARE LIBRARY Launch titles The GameCube launched in North America with the following twelve games: See Also: List of Nintendo GameCube games The Nintendo GameCube currently has over 700 games available in its library. Key first-party titles The Nintendo GameCube software library contains such traditional Nintendo series as '' Mario '', '' The Legend Of Zelda '', '' Metroid '', and '' Pokémon ''. Some of the more popular first-party titles include: One of the defining aspects of the Nintendo GameCube is the rejuvenated relationship between Nintendo and its licensees. Unlike previous generations in which Nintendo was seen by some as bullying its third-party game developers, Nintendo openly sought game-development aid on the Nintendo GameCube. Sometimes, Nintendo would merely request that a third-party developer produce a game based on the third-party's own game franchises; other times, Nintendo would request that the third-party developer produce a game based on Nintendo's own game franchises. In both cases, Nintendo often took an active role in cooperating with the developer. This policy on Nintendo's part resulted in many exclusive third-party games for the Nintendo GameCube, and the arrival of multiformat titles on the platform. Because of these efforts, GameCube owners tend to support first-party games more heavily than third party games, whereas the reverse is true for PlayStation 2 and Xbox owners, as fewer high-quality first-party titles exist on those platforms. Major second and third-party titles Market share Despite Nintendo's efforts, the GameCube is not recapturing the market share held by the company's earlier consoles. "Family-friendly" appeal and lack of third-party support skew the GameCube toward a younger market (see chart ), which represents a minority of the gaming population. Some third-party games popular with teenagers or adults such as First-person Shooter s and the controversial ''Grand Theft Auto'' Series were skipping a GameCube port in favor of the PlayStation 2 and Xbox . The GameCube does, however, have over forty M (for Mature) rated games, which is a considerably larger amount than Nintendo's previous consoles. Also, due to Nintendo's lack of support for the online capabilities of the GameCube, as opposed to Microsoft and later Sony, who actively promoted online gaming by releasing first-party online titles and soliciting developers, many multiplatform games with online functionality are released offline-only on the GameCube. Although online support was added in late 2002 and both Sony and Nintendo followed a similar decentralized online model (in contrast to the centralized Xbox Live ), lower sales of the GameCube versions of games during its launch year preclude developers from including online support. The 1.5 gigabyte proprietary disc format may also have been a limiting factor since the Xbox and PS2 use the 8.5 gigabyte dual layer DVD . However, the Nintendo disc still has sufficient room for most games, although a few games tend to have less extra content than other versions, and video compression for some games is slightly more apparent. The strong preference of GameCube owners for first-party titles is also putting the system at odds with independent third party developers. Cross-platform games—such as sports franchises released by '' bundle. Since this period, GameCube sales have continued to be steady, particularly in Japan, but the GameCube is still in third place in worldwide sales. As of June 30 , 2007 , Nintendo has sold a total of 21.63 million Nintendo GameCube units worldwide, selling 4.02 million units in Japan, 12.84 million units in the Americas, and 4.76 million units elsewhere. This compares to 117.89 million PlayStation 2 units shipped as of March 31 , 2007 ,12 and over 24 million Xbox units sold.13 Some third-party companies, such as ''. Online play The GameCube was at one point online compatible by using a GameCube Modem Adapter or Broadband Adapter. However, online play was ended as of April 2007 and only LAN Gameplay is still available, by playing either '' Mario Kart Double Dash!! '', '' 1080° Avalanche '' or '' Kirby Air Ride ''. HARDWARE SPECIFICATIONS The GameCube's model numbers, DOL-001 and 101, are a reference to its "Dolphin" codename. All of its official accessories and peripherals have model numbers beginning with DOL as well. Also, many other Nintendo hardware before and after the GameCube has its developers codename as a model number. Another Dolphin reference, "Flipper" is the name of the GPU for the GameCube. Some benchmarks provided by third-party testing facilities indicate that some of these specifications, especially those relating to performance, may be conservative. One of Nintendo's primary objectives in designing the GameCube hardware was to overcome the perceived limitations and difficulties of programming for the N64 architecture, creating an affordable, well-balanced, developer-friendly console that still performs competitively against its rivals. On a side note, unofficial reports claim that the Wii 's architecture is derived from that of the GameCube. Central processing unit 486 MHz IBM "Gekko" PowerPC CPU .
System memory 43 MiB total non-unified RAM
Graphics processing unit and system chipset 162 MHz "Flipper" LSI . 180 nm NEC eDRAM-compatible process. Co-developed by Nintendo and ArtX .
Storage media '' disc.]]
The Nintendo GameCube Game Disc is the Medium for the Nintendo GameCube, created by Matsushita . Chosen to prevent unauthorized copying and to avoid licensing fees to the DVD Consortium, it is Nintendo's first non- Cartridge storage method. Some games which contain large amounts of voice acting or Pre-rendered Video (for example, '' Tales Of Symphonia '') have been released on two discs; however, Only Twenty Five have been released on two discs, and no games have required a third disc. The Nintendo GameCube can also accept Mini CD-ROM discs, provided that they are formatted to the same protocols. Only third party items such as the Action Replay boot disc, FreeLoader, and Advance Game Port boot disc are mini CD-ROM's manufactured by third party companies. Connectivity
The analog AV port was identical to and compatible with the one used in Nintendo's earlier SNES , and N64 systems. Less than one percent of GameCube owners used the digital AV port, Nintendo's Gamecube Component FAQ page therefore the digital output was eventually removed from the design to reduce the system's manufacturing costs. (See Official Information ). The standard GameCube controller is a standard Wing Grip design, and is designed to fit well in one's hands. It totals eight buttons, two Analog Stick s and a D-pad . The primary analog stick is on the left, with the D-pad below it. On the right are four buttons; a large green "A" button in the center, a smaller red "B" button to the left, an "X" button to the right and a "Y" button to the top. Below those, there is a yellow "C" stick, which often serves different functions, from controlling the camera, to one similar to that of the right analog stick on a DualShock 2 controller. The start/pause button is in the middle of the controller. On the top of the controller there are two analog shoulder buttons marked "L" and "R", as well as one digital one marked "Z". The "L" and "R" shoulder buttons the main innovation, have both digital and analog capabilities. In analog mode, it has an additional 'click' when fully depressed. In digital mode, it will register it as digital only when fully depressed. This serves as two additional buttons on the controller without the need to actually add physical buttons. This works by means of a dual-sensor system inside the controller, a slider piece, which is moved by pressing down on the shoulder button and a separate button press pad at the base. Like most analog controllers, the GameCube controller self-calibrates when the console is switched on, setting the current analog stick and L and R buttons' positions as "neutral," which may cause problems if the controls are not actually in their neutral position during calibration. Holding down X, Y and start/pause for three seconds at any time will recalibrate the controller. Unplugging and reconnecting the controller, and in the case of the wireless WaveBird controller, turning the controller off and back on, will also force a recalibration. The game actually recognizes the holding down of X, Y, and start/pause as unplugging the controller and doing so results in an error message about the controller being unplugged, even if it is not. Some earlier and later revisions of the GameCube consoles developed disc read problems with the optical pickup becoming thermal sensitive over time, causing read errors when the console reached normal operating temperature. Failures of this sort require replacement of the optical pickup. Affected consoles had sometimes been serviced free of charge by Nintendo even after the expiration of the warranty period. ACCESSORIES AND PERIPHERALS First-party/officially licensed
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Third party
NORTH AMERICAN MARKETING Nintendo has used several advertising strategies and techniques for the GameCube. The earliest commercials displayed a rotating cube video, which would quickly morph into the GameCube logo. A female voice whispered "GameCube". This was usually after the normal commercial for a GameCube game. Later on, Nintendo incorporated a video clip before the normal clip for the GameCube game would begin, similar to the brief PlayStation 2 logo before a commercial featuring the game. It basically rotated around what appeared to be the top of a GameCube console, with the lettering being slightly 3D . The lettering would begin as a wave, only to settle on the top of the pictured console. Subsequent ad campaigns had Nintendo advertising with a "Who Are You" tangent, essentially marketing the wide range of games Nintendo offers. The idea behind the "Who Are You?" campaign is that "you are what you play"; the kind of game a gamer enjoys playing suggests a dominant trait in that gamer's personality. The "Who Are You" logo is similar to Graffiti lettering. Most of the "Who Are You?" commercials advertised games developed or Published By Nintendo , but some developers paid Nintendo to promote their games, using Nintendo's marketing and advertising resources. One example is the advertisement campaign for Square Enix's GameCube-exclusive '' Final Fantasy '' game, ''Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles''. Some unexpected marketing came from the 2006 musical single by Mike Jones entitled '' Still Tippin' .'' The system is mentioned in a line by guest artist Slim Thug : ''"Blowing on the endo, GameCube Nintendo/Five percent tint so you can't see up in my window."'' Price history SEE ALSO REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS
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