Nintendo GameCube
From RWP Wiki
| Nintendo GameCube | |
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| Codename | Project Dolphin |
| Released | North America: November 18, 2001 Europe: May 3, 2002 Japan: September 14, 2001 Australia: May 17, 2002 |
| Online Service | |
| Discontinued | |
| Predecessor | Nintendo 64 |
| Successor | Wii |
The Nintendo GameCube (GCN or NGC) is the sixth generation home video game console developed by Nintendo. Unveiled at Spaceworld 2000, the Gamecube was released in North America on November 18, 2001. It was priced at $199 USD and came with a single controller.
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Description
Media
The GameCube Optical Disc is the Gamecube's standard form of software. The disc is essentially a 1.4GB miniDVD used in devices such as cameras. Nintendo opted for this type of disc format to combat piracy (Though, it was not long until hackers were able to circumvate the Gamecube's disc protection through patching to boot pirated games on miniDVDs). Because of the Gamecube's storage medium, the GameCube could not play standard DVDs. It was not until later that Panasonic made a DVD playing Gamecube called the "Panasonic Q."
The first standard memory card held 59 blocks of data. From there, the memory card went into higher capacities to 251 blocks to 1019 blocks. The Gamecube memory card is a small, thin square object that can have labels applied to it for customization (and to keep track what's on it).
Gameboy Connectivity
The GameCube has the capability to connect to Nintendo's Game Boy Advance line of consoles (with the Gameboy Micro requiring modifcation to work correctly). Very few games utilized the link in any major way (the only notable games being Zelda: Four Swords and Pac-Man Vs.). Most games that used the GBA linking were to download minigames or to unlock content on either platform (a la the transfer pack of the N64).
Released in 2003, the Gameboy Player allowed for Gameboy games across all variations of the handheld to be played on the big screen. It is similar to that of the Super Gameboy for the Super Nintendo (ironicly, Super Gameboy data on old Gameboy carts are not enabled on the Gameboy Player). The Player can be used as a standard Gameboy in connectivity with other Gameboys. Also, the Gameboy Player can be used to link together for games of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures or Pac-Man Vs. for the Gamecube, provided that there are enough Gamecubes with all the required software and hardware.
Online
The GameCube had a broadband and modem adapters released, but Nintendo did not promote or support online gaming in the slightest. Only two series of games even used any functions of the network adapter: Phantasy Star Online and Homeland (Japan Only). The broadband adpater was also used in LAN games that supported it. Only three games ever used the LAN functions: Mario Kart: Double Dash, Kirby Air Ride, and 1080° Avalanche. Nintendo believe, at the time, that online was not the future of gaming, which explains the lack of internet support for its games.
Notably, the broadband adapter was one of the first steps in getting homebrew code running on the Gamecube. Methods used to trick Phantasy Star Online Episodes I & II into connecting to a false surver to download code onto the system is how the primary exploit at the time worked. From there, applications such as GCOS (Gamecube Operating System) can stream DOL files and entire game images. Since then, better methods of getting unsigned code on the Gamecube have appeared, such as the SD Gecko and USB Gecko.
