Comments on: Why the Gamecube Failed

By: Metal Babble

Metal Babble — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 20:13:39 +0000

I think we have to be clear about the definition of failure.

Was the GameCube a failure becuase it failed to satisfy the “so-called” hardcore gamers? Or was it a failure becuase it didn’t give Nintendo the “numero uno” spot?, or maybe because it was a financial disaster? BTW – none of those are true.

The GameCube was a pefect machine to quickly pick-up a game without jeopardizing your school/job/relationship, whatever, etc. You’ll see that a testament to that will be the longevity of it’s games through the Wii.

True gamers don’t care what their console looks like or that the competition says that their console is for kids. Don’t let mainstream perception dictate your taste; if I like a game, I’d buy the platform just to play the game.

In the business aspect, the console didn’t sell to Nintendo’s projected numbers, but it was profitable; I do agree that some decisions (such as Luigi’s Mansion) as a launch title were not the best.

And by the way, Nintendo will always be perceived as the “kiddie platform” because they’ve found a formula that works and its competitors will always play that card to the mainstream.

Focus in the games, no matter your favorite platform (Xbox, PSX or whatever) – Let the memorable moments in gaming define your satisfaction.

Happy Gaming.

By: m.a.

m.a. — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 11:04:16 +0000

When all is said and done the “Kiddy” thing is just a problem for the agegroup 12 to 20. Beyond that you should be grown up enough not to bother if a game (or a system) makes you look “kiddy” in front of your friends. A good game is a good game is a good game.

Gamecubes real problem was third party support which basically stemmed from THE main problem every console has had since the age of the dinosaurs: headstart.

Look at last generation: PS2 came out first and was the biggest success.

Look at this generation: Xbox360 came out first and is the biggest success.

For the others there is just scraps. Nintendo made the right choice by no longer trying to compete with the other consoles and instead focusing on new market segments that are just not touched by XBox360 or PS3. What really counts for the company is MONEY. They are not in this market because they like us so much – they want to earn a fair buck.

If Nintendo ever get back in the techrace (I sure hope they don’t and instead focus on making games that are actually fun) their best bet is to get out of the gate first. It’s always worked before.

By: maunders

maunders — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 23:49:10 +0000

Cori, I’m glad that your family has had such a good experience with the GameCube. I’m sure you’ll have just as much fun playing together on the Wii, if not more.

By: cori

cori — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 22:11:58 +0000

Hmm.

I’ll have to disagree with the whole failure bit. Now obviously I can’t speak to what Nintendo wanted to get out of the GC, so maybe it was a failure to them. I’m also not a big gamer – I play a few games a couple of times a week, that’s all.

That said, the GameCube was a huge success for me, personally, for 2 reasons:
1) price – it was priced right for what I wanted
2) kids – the gamecube is absolutely perfect for me, a dad with 2 pre-teen kids. It offers a *great* mix of games that my kids love and get hours and hours of play from. If the Wii is able to reproduce that, they’ll have us as customers again in a year or so.

By: jeff

jeff — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 21:56:10 +0000

ted, in case no one has told you,the wii is kicking everyones ass.

By: Mitch

Mitch — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 19:04:10 +0000

It looks like all you were really talking about was mindshare. In your view, Gamecube was a failure in mindshare. You even admit that it was a financially successful product, something Microsoft cannot boast even to this day; the XBOX division STILL bleeds money. I think HOW Americans view a system is irrelevant. The American market is becoming more important, but it’s more fickle. Americans apparently do not care about what a system can do or what games are on it, they only care about how the system is represented as a lifestyle accessory. Your blog would be better written in that angle because outside of the US, XBOX is a joke and Nintendo still sells more games than any other publisher.

By: jason

jason — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 18:43:29 +0000

I have to disagree with your last statement.. Nintendo do know what they’re doing, it’s a game system and it did play games. I believe the main reason for their “failure” was there inability to compete with Sony. The PS2 graphics just ran over it, and as you mention, date release of games wasn’t organized well.

By: absorbation

absorbation — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 18:40:04 +0000

Nice article. It’s great to see how Nintendo looked positivity at its criticisms and found a way to improve them. The result, the Nintendo Wii, a great success.

By: Zach456

Zach456 — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 18:39:53 +0000

Well, Well done my friend

I agree totally

and im still a huge Nintendo fan, i had a cube, and now i only have a DS lite due to the Wii shortage.

But i cant wait to see what fun and great games the Wii will have to offer

Word.

By: Ted

Ted — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 18:39:07 +0000

Wii is going to fail in exactly the same manner, exactly. Incase no one has told you, Wii is just a slightly upgraded Gamecube. The amount of games are the same, the type of games are the same… With one extra gimmick, the controller. Do you think a Wii controller could have saved the Gamecube? I don’t.

And when the next nintendo consol is ready, the Nintendo fans will all be going “I hate to admit it… But the Wii was a failure… But the Wii2 will take this world by storm! Nintendo is back!”