GameCube Really And Truly For Sale

Several readers have submitted the news that the GameCube is now officially for sale. With the GameCube and Xbox newly on offer, and the still-amazing PlayStation2 still hanging on, and dirt-cheap, high-power PCs on every corner, it looks like the predicted deaths of both console and PC are still some ways off. On the whole, I'd rather have the Mandrake Gaming edition (mentioned previously) than a new console.

Re:A Nice Thought & Commentary On The GameCube

[dimator]

Monkey Ball is the shiznit. I played it until the wee hours, as soon as I brought it home. Multiplayer goodness to the extreme.

Re:come on

[scottnews]

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[hyyx]

[from the article]:

"By contrast, both Sony and Microsoft are positioning their boxes as the foundation for home entertainment systems. The Xbox has a built-in hard drive and high-speed Internet port, and the PlayStation 2 will soon have both through external adapters... Nintendo wanted to keep the GameCube price low and keep the audience focused on the games, analysts said."

The Gamecube _does_ have add-on components for dial-up and broadband connectivity. I think it's smart to have these features as an add-on for everyone who may/not want a wired box. This has been announced for some time now:

modem adapter: http://www.nintendo.com/systems/gcn/gcn_acc_modem. jsp [nintendo.com]
broadband adapter: http://www.nintendo.com/systems/gcn/gcn_acc_broadb and.jsp [nintendo.com]

Re:PS2 still rules.

[zephc]

although someone needs to beat the engineer that though not using a standard dvd was a good idea over the head with several SNES machines. what moron in engineering or management thought it was a good idea to not have a feature that everyone else has?

It was a management decision. Any engineer(ing team) that could design the GC would want a full DVD player in it. Just wait for the Panasonic GC with full DVD capability, if you dont already have multiple DVD players in your house. They used the miniature size so that the DVD couldnt be duplicated to a standard DVD and still FIT in the GC (that's my guess anyway)

Couple Observations

[creep]

I hopped in line at my local Wal-Mart at about 9:00 PM. They had 92 systems; I was number 52. Aside from the employee who messed up and started handing out tickets from the end of the roll when he got to me, I am a supremely happy camper and extremely pleased with the GameCube.

A few observations:

• The console setup menus look a lot cooler than the PS2 (I've not seen the X-box's yet)
• If you've not yet held the controller, just let me warn you that it will be hard to put it down. It is the single-most ergonomically-pleasing controller I've ever held (maybe that is because I have average size hands, but it is way nice).
• Rogue Leader just flat out rocks, no two ways about it.

I am totally pleased I bought a 'Cube, now I can't wait for Super Smash Bros. Melee to come out for it.

Re:PS2 still rules.

[benad]

Sorry, the Panasonic is not planned to be released for North America:
"The bad news is that the system is only going to be available in Japan for the time being according to one of the representatives at the show. He commented that it would be too expensive to bring it stateside."

http://cube.ign.com/news/37782.html [ign.com]

- Benad

Re:PS2 still rules.

[jx100]

The GOD (Gamecube Optical Disc) was actually partilally chosen by Shigeru Miyamoto (Nintendo's head game designer) and was based on other factors besides the ability to copy. Miyamoto hates load time. That's part of the reason for stcking with cartrige for the n64. The GOD has much less load time than a DVD or a CD because of the reduced mass. The drive doesn't have to move as far compared to a full-size DVD or CD. And space limitations are not a real concern, as the disc hold 1.5 GB. Yes, this is comsiderably less than a DVD (4.7 GB sl/ss) however games will not really need all of that space (unless ithe disc has a lot of media, like FMV or voice) If 1.5 GB isn't enough, the developer can always add another disc.