The GameCube is a home video game console developed and released by Nintendo in Japan on September 14, 2001. In North America on November 18, 2001, and in PAL territories in 2002. It is the successor to the Nintendo 64, which released in 1996. And predecessor of the Wii, which released in 2006.
As Nintendo’s entry in the sixth generation of video game consoles. The GameCube competed with Sony’s PlayStation 2 and Microsoft’s Xbox. Notable flagship titles for the console include Super Smash Bros. Melee, Luigi’s Mansion, Super Mario Sunshine, Metroid Prime, Mario Kart: Double Dash, Pikmin, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Chibi-Robo!, and Animal Crossing.
Its earliest development began with the 1997 formation of ArtX. A computer graphics company later acquired by ATI, which would go on to produce the console’s GPUs. Nintendo publicly announced the console under the code name Project Dolphin in a May 1999 press conference. Upon its release in 2001, the GameCube became Nintendo’s first console to use optical discs. Specifically a miniDVD-based format, as its primary storage medium instead of ROM cartridges. Unlike its competitors, the system is solely focused on gaming and does not support DVD, CDs, or other optical media.
Moreover, the console supports limited online gaming for a small number of games via a GameCube broadband. Or modem adapter and can connect to a Game Boy Advance with a link cable for exclusive in-game features using the handheld as a second screen and controller. However, the GameCube supports e-Reader cards to unlock special features in a few games. Also saved game data can be store exclusively on memory cards due to the read-only optical disc format. The Game Boy Player add-on runs Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance cartridge games.
