Jubenhimer
Member
The Nintendo GameCube is one of Nintendo's least successful consoles ever made, struggling against it's competitors, the PlayStation 2 and Xbox at just 22 million units sold. But one thing it had going for it, as most Nintendo systems did was it's first party lineup. Many GameCube fans argue that the system has one of the best Nintendo-published outputs in their history. However just as many gamers argue that GCN has one of Nintendo's weakest first party offerings in history.
To put it in perspective, let's compare it to the 6th generation king, the PlayStation 2. The PS2 is the best selling console of all time at 160 million sold worldwide. And part of that success IMO, is because of its first party offerings. The PS2 had a gargantuan library of third party classics, but it also had just as many greats from Sony themselves. The PS2 really was when Sony Computer Entertainment established itself as a powerful developer/publisher, one that could actually challenge Nintendo.
On PS2, SCE was pumping out generation defining games that all influenced not just future first party PlayStation games, but games as a whole.
Not all of Sony's games were winners of course, but the PS2 proved that SCE/SIE was capable of putting out genre-defining and generation-defining games of its own. Meanwhile, Nintendo's major releases for GameCube were all myred in controversy and ridicule in some way or another.
That's not to say any of these games are bad. I love the GameCube's first party lineup for how weird, and interesting, and unhinged it was compared to previous Nintendo systems. But when you stack it up against what Sony offered on PS2 at the time. To a lot of people, it just looked lame and inferior. The truth is, Metroid Prime 1 and Smash Bros. Melee were the only universally loved and acclaimed first party releases for the Cube.
And of course, this was also peak "Nintendo is kiddie" era, so PlayStation's first party also had a coolness and edge factor to it at the time. We all like to think Nintendo is the king of first party game development, and at their best, that can definitely be true. But GameCube as much as adore it, was NOT Nintendo's A game. And on paper, I feel like Sony had the better out put this gen.
To put it in perspective, let's compare it to the 6th generation king, the PlayStation 2. The PS2 is the best selling console of all time at 160 million sold worldwide. And part of that success IMO, is because of its first party offerings. The PS2 had a gargantuan library of third party classics, but it also had just as many greats from Sony themselves. The PS2 really was when Sony Computer Entertainment established itself as a powerful developer/publisher, one that could actually challenge Nintendo.
On PS2, SCE was pumping out generation defining games that all influenced not just future first party PlayStation games, but games as a whole.
- Jak & Daxter's seamless open world platforming with no loading screens and impressive character animations was mind blowing in 2001.
- Ratchet & Clank and Sly Cooper spiced up the stale 3D platforming genre by adding shooting and stealth respectively to the mix.
- The Team Ico games (ICO, Shadow of the Collosus) are some of the most influential games of all time, the former in particular for its massive boss battles.
- God of War birthed one of Sony's longest running franchises and one of its most iconic characters, on top of being fun hack n' slashes
- Gran Turismo 3 & 4 are still considered two of the best entries in the franchise and two of the greatest racing games ever
- Dark Cloud 1&2 both still have massive cult followings to this day, and are considered among the PS2's best RPGs.
Not all of Sony's games were winners of course, but the PS2 proved that SCE/SIE was capable of putting out genre-defining and generation-defining games of its own. Meanwhile, Nintendo's major releases for GameCube were all myred in controversy and ridicule in some way or another.
- Mario Sunshine is very divisive for its radical change in setting and gameplay from Mario 64, brutal difficulty spikes, rushed nature, and increased focus on story, with fully voiced cutscenes.
- Wind Waker was routinely mocked for its cartoon art style and brighter tone compared to previous Zelda games, especially coming off of that 2000 Spaceworld tech demo.
- Luigi's Mansion was not the Mario launch title people expected, nor asked for.
- Waverace and 1080's GameCube entries were considered a step down from their N64 predecessors.
- F-Zero GX was amazing, but was also criticized for being way too fast and way too brutal at times.
- Star Fox was completely butchered this generation with a Zelda clone and a wannabe SF64 with on-foot missions.
- The new franchises, Pikmin, Animal Crossing, Eternal Darkness, Chibi-Robo, all fine games but also very niche (Animal Crossing wouldn't become a big deal until Wild World).
That's not to say any of these games are bad. I love the GameCube's first party lineup for how weird, and interesting, and unhinged it was compared to previous Nintendo systems. But when you stack it up against what Sony offered on PS2 at the time. To a lot of people, it just looked lame and inferior. The truth is, Metroid Prime 1 and Smash Bros. Melee were the only universally loved and acclaimed first party releases for the Cube.
And of course, this was also peak "Nintendo is kiddie" era, so PlayStation's first party also had a coolness and edge factor to it at the time. We all like to think Nintendo is the king of first party game development, and at their best, that can definitely be true. But GameCube as much as adore it, was NOT Nintendo's A game. And on paper, I feel like Sony had the better out put this gen.
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