The Nintendo
GameCube (Japanese; originally code-named "Dolphin"
during development; abbreviated as GCN) is Nintendo's
fourth home video game console, belonging to the
128-bit era; the same generation as Sega's Dreamcast,
Sony's PlayStation 2, and Microsoft's Xbox. The
Gamecube was released on:
* September 14, 2001 (Japan)
* November 18, 2001 (North America)
* May 3, 2002 (Europe)
The GameCube was first introduced in volume #145 of Nintendo
Power magazine. Luigi's Mansion was the first
cover game (volume #150).
he GameCube was widely anticipated by many who were shocked
by Nintendo's decision to design the Nintendo
64 as a cartridge-based system. Physically shaped
similar to a geometric cube, the outside casing
of the Nintendo GameCube comes 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 orange, or in limited edition colors
like Crystal White, Mint Green, Copper, and White
with black pinstripes. The Nintendo GameCube uses
a unique storage medium, a proprietary format
based on Matsushita's optical-disc technology;
the discs are approximately 8 centimeters (3 1/8
inches) in diameter (considerably smaller than
a standard CD or DVD), and the discs have a capacity
of approximately 1.5 gigabytes. The Nintendo GameCube
does not have any DVD-movie support, but a Nintendo
GameCube hybrid product containing movie functionality
has been released by Panasonic in Japan, named
"DVD/GAME Player Q."
The GameCube system also has the unique capability to connect
to Nintendo's portable system Game Boy Advance
or its SP variant. Such a connection between the
two systems allows the transfer of game data.
Examples of this functionality include the use
of the Game Boy Advance as a controller for the
game played. Subsequent 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 also been used
to unlock "secrets" such as new levels
or characters when two games, a Game Boy Advance
game and its GameCube equivalent, 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
special Nintendo GameCube to Game Boy Advance
connection cable is required for each Game Boy
Advance system that is to be connected to the
GameCube. A fair variety of GameCube games implement
this innovative functionality, while Nintendo
encourages its continued use.
Despite the protection of a non-standard disc format (essentially a miniature DVD-ROM with non-standard sector and filesystem formatting), a modchip has been released that allows the use of a standard DVD-ROM with a GameCube, to load backed-up, homebrew or pirate software. However, it does not work very well, and no commercial gamecube games have been able to be run on a pirate disc.
