| | Nintendo likes to do things differently these days, and they showed that with the funny-shaped GameCube console. The form is cute, with a tiny footprint, but it doesn't really fit in neatly with other electronics, and can't be stacked due to the flip-top.
The GC can pump out nice pretty graphics, particularly the older models that had a digital video out port--Nintendo removed this from later versions, saying that their surveys showed that nobody used it. Well, I use it, thank you very much, and fortunately most publishers continue to support progressive scan output in their GC games.
The GC memory cards, at least the later ones, hold way more space than you'll ever really need. If you get your system modded, though (and the GC is the most easily-modded system of its generation, thank you Nintendo), you'll need separate memory cards for different regions.
Nintendo decided to go with cute little MiniDisc-sized discs for the system, and overall this was probably a good idea, although I might not be saying that if I didn't already have a different system capable of playing DVDs. Anyway, the system can load data pretty darn quick from the little discs, and by using these nonstandard media, Nintendo also foiled casual piracy. They also come in such cute little packages, at least in Japan.
The default GC controller sucks. It isn't too bad to hold, but I disklike the clicky shoulder buttons, the angular analog-stick hole, the vestigial "C" stick, and dinky D-pad, and the ridiculous, unintuitive "let's just stick things wherever we think it would be fun to put them" button layout. They made it a little more appealing by re-releasing it in wireless "WaveBird" form, but still, the thing is a mess. At least it feels fairly solid.
Nintendo hasn't managed to get much third-party game development support for the GC, and I'm not really feeling the vibe of most of the games they make themselves these days. That's okay though, 'cause the real reason I got the thing was for the Game Boy Player add-on (see entry 86). No matter how few cool GC games there are, it'll always have the massive GB/GBC/GBA libraries to draw on, thank goodness. |
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