We imagine the GameCube isn't all that fond of the Wii, as the Wii managed to do everything the GameCube wished to do, only better. And, with the Wii having a year under its belt now, we figured it would be interesting to go back and look at the GameCube's first year and see how the two stacked up.
Now, it doesn't take a team of rocket scientists to know that the Wii did a much better job from a sales standpoint in its first year. Selling 13.87 million units worldwide, the Wii is the hottest item this side of bread in slices. The GameCube, which launched in September 2001 in Japan, only sold around 4.7 million units. A lot of different things played into the sales of each console, including buzz in both the mainstream press and gaming community (the Wii was a hit at E306, undoubtedly fueling demand come time for launch), target audience and, of course, launch line-up.
The console is its gamesBetween the Wii and GameCube, both consoles came to launch with several friends in the form of first and third-party releases. For the GameCube, titles releasing in the launch window ranged from third-party ports like Batman Vengeance to first-party titles such as Wave Race: Blue Storm and Luigi's Mansion. By the end of 2001, Pikmin and Super Smash Bros. Melee would help ease the drought of games on the system, but would not be enough. Criticized for its lack of games, the GameCube did not have a very good launch window in the eyes of most.
The Wii, however, did things differently. Nintendo made sure that the console had more third-party support, as it launched with over double the amount of games available during the GameCube's launch window. Also, Nintendo made sure they came out swinging by launching the system with one of its most-anticipated games in one of its biggest franchises, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. Other third-party gems such as Elebits and Rayman Raving Rabbids would ensure that gamers had plenty to play on their Wii.
Throughout each console's first year, they each had their fair share of big first-party (and second-party) titles, which are essential to the life of a Nintendo system. The GameCube saw the release of Metroid Prime (a little over its first year, but close enough for us), Super Mario Sunshine, Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem and Japan received The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker. Combined with the exclusivity deal to have all of the Resident Evil action you could want, on paper it seemed like the GameCube might be set up to do right by us and by itself. While big titles in their own right, they wouldn't be enough to keep gamers playing as the periods between releases were just too long.
For the Wii, big releases in its first year have been more plentiful. We got Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, WarioWare: Smooth Moves, Super Paper Mario, Mario Party 8, Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn, Battalion Wars 2 and the bundled Wii Sports game, which has been the driving force behind a lot of the console's success. Let's not forget everyone's drug of choice right now, Super Mario Galaxy.Did Nintendo learn their lesson? You bet they did!
The emergence of online gaming
During the GameCube's generation, online gaming on consoles was starting to be a big deal, thanks to Sony and Microsoft's support through their own systems. The GameCube, which could allow the player to take the game online in a select number of titles through an adapter (sold separately), hardly supported the feature. Some say this is just another reason why the console had the least amount of market share during its generation.
The Wii, which is doing a bit better in allowing gamers to get online and does so through built-in wireless (or an adapter for a hard line connection), is still not where the company needs to be in order to actively compete in the online arena, however. The convoluted Friend Code system that Nintendo employs is disliked widespread throughout the community, but still does what the GameCube did not: allow gamers to actively enjoy games online.
Outside of the realm of games, the Wii and GameCube are very different. More technologically advanced, the Wii can do more than the GameCube's measly ability to play your games and ... uh, well the GameCube can only do that. So, aside from playing games, the GameCube makes for a good paperweight.
The Wii utterly crushes the GameCube in this area, allowing gamers to download older titles through the Virtual Console service (which helps ease the pain during the weeks between anticipated retail releases), access the internet through a built-in Opera web browser and check the news and weather. The Wii can also utilize SD cards to check out photos (which can be shared through a built-in messaging feature).
GameCube and Wii: Endgame
As you can see, the GameCube and Wii are two very different systems, focusing on different things and succeeding in different areas. The Wii took a lot of the same ideas and improved them, delivering an experience that everyone and their mother is into. From a first-year analysis, the Wii has destroyed all expectations and succeeded to heights not imaginable by us and, we're pretty sure, even Nintendo. One thing is for certain: the Wii isn't going to die the slow, horrible death the GameCube did and it certainly looks like 2007 (and, hopefully, 2008) was the year of the Wii.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-19-2007 @ 2:31PM
dill_effin_rocks said...
the gamecube died almost immediately after the first year. no one noticed because they were busy playing ssbm, which honestly, who can blame them.
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11-19-2007 @ 2:33PM
Undead Priest said...
I'm one of the few people who thoroughly enjoyed Luigi's Mansion, and would love to see a Wii sequel that's longer, deeper and more involved.
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11-19-2007 @ 2:40PM
4sakenaiden said...
As one sided as this comparison is, it's entirely true and I own both consoles so I've been well aware
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11-19-2007 @ 2:53PM
Airen said...
How come Super Mario Galaxy isn't mentioned in the first-year Wii games?
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11-19-2007 @ 2:53PM
Soiden said...
Luigi's Mansion is fun, I want a sequel. My only complaint is it was too short.
I like my GameCube, and there's still some games I must play in it.
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11-19-2007 @ 3:02PM
SushiPillow said...
It took me four years to notice the Gamecube was failing because I was too busy playing Super Smash Bros. Melee.
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11-19-2007 @ 3:10PM
David Hinkle said...
I made a point to mention Super Mario Galaxy, weird how I omitted it. I'm adding it in now, thanks Airen.
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11-19-2007 @ 3:11PM
scaught69 said...
I got a Wii right away and I love Nintendo. But I have to say, I am still seeing the same problems. The third party games are crap. The only thing half way decent is made by Nintendo themself. I just got Super Mario Galaxy which is pretty amazing. But before that, I have to be honest, my Wii was getting a little dusty.
My 360 on the other hand has been going nonstop since I got one at launch.
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11-19-2007 @ 3:11PM
vidGuy said...
I loved the Gamecube, and I played the games I bought for it more on average, but I played the XBOX and PS2 more overall. There were some high-quality titles for it, but I already own more on the Wii than I ever did on the GC. I've been buying up GC gems on the cheap and playing them through the Wii.
Currently, I'd rate Nintendo's consoles like this:
SNES > Wii > N64 > Gamecube > NES
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11-19-2007 @ 3:29PM
ssuk said...
Oops, looks like that markup is missing a closing itallics tag.
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11-19-2007 @ 3:40PM
David Hinkle said...
Already fixed ssuk, thanks! :)
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11-19-2007 @ 3:43PM
Jonathan Tran said...
The lack of third party support is still a problem. Most of it is shovelware. The only good 3rd party games so far are:
-Zack and Wiki
-RE4:WE
-MoH:H2
-DDR:HP
-Rayman RR
-Trauma Center (some hate it though)
maybe I'm missing something but that's not a great lineup. Plus except for RRR and Z&W, they're all rehashes of previous games. Where are all the good fighting and racing games?
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11-19-2007 @ 3:56PM
tiamat1990 said...
Gamecube is still one of my most favorite consoles ever. The Wii is slowly moving up but we'll see in a year...
I just really really loved that Cube controller! It just literally fit in your hand. My favorite controller to date.
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12-01-2007 @ 7:14PM
Jimmyjimjim said...
I agree 100%. Gamecube had the "cleanest-lloking" GFX, and the overall friendliest user experience. Remember that godawful 1st X-Box controller? You could kill a small child with that thing.
11-19-2007 @ 4:20PM
Author X said...
There is one thing the gamecube did that the Wii can't (any more). And that's play imports with Freeloader. I was pretty pissed off when that happened, since I actually bought a second GCN freeloader so that it would work with my Wii (and sold my gamecube). Now, if you take everything necessary to play Naruto: Gekitou Ninja Taisen 4 on a US gamecube, and replace the gamecube with a Wii, suddenly it doesn't work. Very disappointing (and no, I'm not going to put up with, let alone pay yet more money for, the re-written, re-worked, American re-voiced Naruto Wii - I'd rather have Shippuden, thank you very much).
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11-19-2007 @ 4:34PM
Mr Khan said...
Wii has sold over 50% of the GC's lifetime sales in 1 year, which is amazing
And the third party support at this point is certainly spoiling to leave the GC in the dust. 3 3rd-party million sellers already, and more on the way
Good, exclusive, 3rd party support is spurred on the Wii because of its uniqueness (inversely, its uniqueness hinders 3rd party support overall, but makes the offerings that do end up here better in the end). It took much longer than this for GC to get Killer 7, and Wii've already got Killer 7's spiritual successor, No More Heroes. Wii gets NiGHTS 2, NiGHTS friggin' 2, GC never got that
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11-19-2007 @ 4:52PM
Macroy said...
That picture made me laugh out loud during class.
Bad WiiFanboy! Bad!
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11-19-2007 @ 4:52PM
Adam said...
The Game cube suffered much like the N64 did in the game department. in the End, All the N64 had was Mario 64 (launch title) and Goldeneye. I think that teh Gamecube did a little better with games like Windwaker, paper mario 2, Double Dash, mario Power tennis and Twighlight Pricess. The Wii has not had game until these last couple of months with GH3 and Mario Galexy that have not been stupid party games. We are really still waiting on platformers with the wii that we have not seen like Mario Kart Wii, Smash Brothers, and the question mark about Wii Fit application.
The game cube had the adapter to be able to play Nintendo Advance games that allowed us to have Roms of Super Mario 3 and super Mario world. This would be a baby VC if you will.
I am interested to see how it will go and if Nintendo will lose it's edge. What it can not do it do straight ports of games that compete with the 360 and PS3 because you will always buy on the best looking system if it is the same game. I know I did with the xbox.
What "new" can we get from the Wii in 2008,2009,2010, and 2011? Nintendo thinks that his system can out last the traditional 5 year life span......I don't know about that. What does the Wii have outside 1st quarter 08? It has not announced anything. That makes me ask questions.
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11-19-2007 @ 5:21PM
Alexisonfire said...
@17 Adam, saying that the N64 only had Goldeneye and SM64 is a lie and you know it. The banjo series, Majora's Mask, Ocarina of Time, Ogre Battle 64, F-Zero X, Mario Kart 64, Perfect Dark, Paper Mario, and the original smash bros. Your saying all those aren't worth buying?
As for th gamecube, I have 35 games, with at least 20 of them being games that I would absolutely recommend to anyone.
Now I'm not a huge nintendo fanboy (PS2 was vastly superior to the cube), but that's just denying the quality of obviously great games.
As for the future, I am worried about what is going to happen to Wii. Sure, we have Brawl, Disaster:DoC and Mario Kart, but then what? I just don't see nintendo giving us the titles that warrant a purchase. The "hardcore" games, if you will. Nintendo will abandon us, that there is no doubt. The only thing is when.
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11-19-2007 @ 5:29PM
Smarter than you said...
"All the N64 had was Mario 64 (launch title) and Goldeneye."
Please don't speak if you don't know what you're talking about. Some gamer's are too young to know what a great library the 64 and Gamecube really had. Lets not misinform them. The 64 had the colossus known as Ocarina of Time, not to metion Majora's Mask. What the Gamecube lacked in quantity it made up for in Quality. 20 years from now, what will you most likley dust off and be able to enjoy? -The 300+ nameless titles that sony had? No, we will enjoy the timeless classics Published on Nintendo. Just wait. Its been ten years and I can still remember every dungeon from Ocarina of time...
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11-19-2007 @ 5:48PM
Adam said...
Alexisonfire,
I will concede on the 64 with the additions of Starfox 64, Mario Kart 64, Perfect Dark, Ocarina of Time, Smash Brothers, paper mario, and Maybe quest 64.
I am excited to see what will come out of Namco's new Wii RPG project "Fragile". I hope that it is not anouther Blue Dragon Bust.
I do not understand why Nintendo does not pull back some sweet old titles that I know that I would buy like....Battletoads, double dragon, castlevania, Contra, Mega Man Wii? That would be crazy. At this point I'd be happy with a Kirby game (that I think could play alot like galexies and be awsome). The reason that I did not buy a wii until GH3 and SMG was that teh games were not there. There is a huge gap between Smash Brothers and E3'08 and nintendo needs to come packing heat.
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11-19-2007 @ 5:59PM
Alexisonfire said...
@20
I agree with you on the fact that Nintendo needs more titles, but that does not fall squarely on the shoulders of Nintendo. Third Parties need to step up, quit making crappy casual/minigame collections and make real titles. But while they're making money off of that, we will be the ones that suffer due to lack of titles.
I also agree that contra, megaman and should come to wii. But, once again, not nintendo's fault. All the titles you listed are properties owned by Capcom, Konami, Rare, and the like. Now, Capcom did release Zack and Wiki and tried with Umbrella Chronicles, but Konami hasn't done squat for the system. And Rare, well they are owned by Microsoft, so I doubt they'll make anything. But still. There are tons of great third parties that haven't done very little for the system thus far and that is why it is kinda faltering. And, as the N64 and the Gamecube can say, Nintendo can only carry a system so far. Quality third party titles need to be happen more often and from a wide array of companies.
Oh, and there is a Wii kirby game announced. I believe it is the revival of Kirby Adventure announced for the gamecube a while back. But I am not sure on that. Nintendo only announced that Kirby, Mario Kart and Animal Crossing will be coming out in 2008.
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11-19-2007 @ 6:00PM
Alexisonfire said...
My god... I should really proofread before I submit. That was atrocious. I apologize. Hopefully my main point gets across.
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11-19-2007 @ 6:26PM
ronan said...
I love the wii, the controller are genious as it gives totally new experiences like wii sports,but at the same time function perfectly for more traditional games like twilight princess and SMG. Metroid prime 3 showed it to be totally superior to dual analog for FPS's. I sold my launch bought 360 a couple of weeks back since i have no time for it anymore (its only FPS's on that stupid system and i'm NOT going back to dual analog which i have always hated). The only drawback with the wii are the graphics processing power,if it had gfx potential comparable to the 360 it would have been set for total world domination.
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11-20-2007 @ 1:27AM
NotSure said...
I feel the Gamecube is the best console of all time. small sturdy design, great controllers that never wore out, great graphics, and enough great games to keep me entertained for years.
I started that generation of consoles off with a PS2. A month later I got a Gamecube and I have never played the PS2 again. It still sits in a closet. In every regard the Gamecube was better than the PS2. I am no teenager, so I am not clamouring for every latest hot title. I prefer to be selective and choose games that are that good that you want to play them to the end once a year for the next decade. There were enough of those games on the Gamecube. My only complaint about games is that I am one of the mario haters. Every game with mario I avoid. I wish Nintendo would get their heads out of the sand and run with some other characters. I would buy a new Banjo Kazooie game.
The Wii is far better hardware wise than the Gamecube, but it is currently failing. George Harrison has identified the problem. The ports from other platforms have rubbish control systems. The worst so far has been Prince of Persia. The whip is fun, but when you replace a button press that takes 0.25 of a second to press with a hand gesture that takes a second to complete, without adjusting the gameplay style, you know that you are not going to have fun completing the game. Even Nintendo can do a bit more to make the Wiimote easier to use. I was expecting all games to have at least Meteroid Prime 3 interactivity. Instead, I find myself asking who is going to supply Wii demo disks, because I am not buying another Wii game without playing a level first to see if the control system works.
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11-20-2007 @ 12:13PM
Stefan said...
The Gamecube also had some solid third party titles, although few ... but Prince of Persia: Sands of Time and Beyond Good & Evil could also be played on the Gamecube.
And those are seriously great games...
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11-20-2007 @ 2:25PM
Anticrawl said...
Yeah nothing can touch the Gamecube controller. Everytime you picked it up it was like having sex.
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11-21-2007 @ 7:16PM
Hadrian said...
"I do not understand why Nintendo does not pull back some sweet old titles that I know that I would buy like....Battletoads, double dragon, castlevania, Contra, Mega Man Wii? That would be crazy. At this point I'd be happy with a Kirby game (that I think could play alot like galexies and be awsome)". Unfortunatley good versions of these of the latest iterations of these games are only on the DS (Kirby not included). I don't know if the publishers and or developers pick what they develop for at the time or if Nintendo asks but I think Battletoads might have left with Rare after the Microsoft deal. Mega Man is gone or whatever officially happened and sadly I think that's a good thing because for 20 years it has almost been the same thing and I don't count these new games. Mega Man was the original Madden! I think Double Dragon is lost after the movie. Castlevania is only good on consoles before 1999 and then the portables currently (DS and PSP). And last but not least...good old Contra.......GETCONTRA4ONTHEDS!!!!!
If you're old enough to remember this game back in the day when it was okay for developers to make hard games you'll love Contra 4. and the Contra tune is in the game
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12-07-2007 @ 8:05AM
UndeadPanda said...
Firstly; we'll never see the release of a Battletoads game onto the Wii. This is because Battletoads was a Rare game (now owned by Microsoft) Which is also why Conker was missing from the DS release of Conkers; and why we never saw Conkers on the GC. Sad if you ask me.
Megaman is still about; though I think the problem would be; is they'd try to change genre some for the Wii. (They made a big mistake with X7 but fixed it with X8; and I'm sure I've seen an X9 about)
Though as mentioned by Hadrian; those games would be good to see on the Wii.
In any case; get a Wii in the next week. So I'm being kinda bias here. I love my GC and refuse to sell it. I play it more then my PS2 (GC library of 7 and PS2 library of 55)
Despite the foul ending of the Cube (where were those grand titles when it started to flail?) the machine is a dream, controller was well designed (Except for the short lead on it) and a great party games machine. In any case; Long live GC.
And that's my 2 cents. *end transmission*
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1-11-2008 @ 2:26PM
AkiraGr said...
Do you even count Metroid Prime as the best GameCube game and Prime 3 on the wii?? God i don't believe some people forget Samus.
The reason i bought gamecube was Metroid Prime and the reason i bought Wii was for Metroid Prime 3 Corruption. Wii has two interstellar games in the first year Super Mario Galaxy and Metroid Prime 3 Corruption. Please do not toss metroid to oblivion is the best mature franchise nintendo ever made.
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1-12-2008 @ 6:59PM
Flying Geck0 said...
Actually I still use my gamecube to play any games with my action replay because my wii has an error whenever it tries to read the disk. (btw the disk is so scrached up its starting to crack and lose peices, but it still runs it odd"
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2-28-2008 @ 1:41PM
River said...
Actually, aside from the online features, I think the Wii sucks in terms of gameplay when compared to the Gamecube. Since they spent so long "improving" the system, you'd figure it'd eclipse the Gamecube in a lot if not everything. I own both and have noticed something they don't tell you: Even their "great standbys" like Zelda are really dumbed down in the latest editions to fit with their "everybody can play" image. The result? Newcomers don't really care anyway, it's just another cool "ooh l move the controller-thingy and that guy moves" and loyal fans are left wondering why they were overlooked. Even Metroid Prime 3: Corruption was dumbed down. And that was supposed to be the one everybody abandoned Twilight Princess to work on.
I'm still holding out for SSB Brawl, but from the looks of Nintendo's website, in most cases they seem to have forgotten what made people play in the first place, and it wasn't trophies.
And in Brawl my six year old nephew will be able to just hold down the A button to do combos? You should be forced to have some skill in controlling the character. Oh, I forgot, that would exclude some people, like the ones who have never held a controller in their lives before. Keeping at least the same difficulty of gameplay as in Melee might hurt some peoples feelings...
But I think for a game that is played almost EXCLUSIVELY by a devoted following, it might be worth it. Alienating your loyal fans to gain new people is never a good idea. I've been a Nintendo person since I could hold a controller, but lately even the xbox is starting to look intriguing...
There are a lot of wonderful things about the Wii, but please, don't hold it up as the be-all end-all compared to the Cube. The Gamecube didn't have enough games, and the Wii doesn't have enough quality titles (what's in 08?), at least in the traditional sense of gaming. Wii sports and some of the other offshoots may have a future. But they need to make some good stuff now, or end up with a run shorter than the normal 5 yr. lifespan they're trying to overshoot. Even Nintendo Power gives their own Wii games a seven out of ten the majority of the time. And if they don't like their own games, why do they think the rest of us are going to be clamoring for them? Because it's NEW!
And the "drug" of Super Mario Galaxy? Truly it is: a sparkly bit of eye-candy that is almost entirely recycled, and ridiculous from a Mario-timeline standpoint. There is no satisfaction to beating the game. The ending is stupid, the textures are stupid, the worlds are stupid. And aside from the underlying morbid humor (did anyone else notice that?) it feels tired and unmatched with the ideas of Mario, like a Mario minigame.
Attention Nintendo: STOP MAKING DUMBED-DOWN MINIGAMES AND GET A REAL TITLE OUT THERE!
Guitar Hero III is another WIRELESS title, and it's NEW! So that makes it like the WII! Only a lot HARDER! For REAL GAMERS! Come and SPEND YOUR MONEY!
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