【NINTENDO GAMECUBE】Released on September 14, 2001! Combining charm different from rivals like PlayStation 2 and Xbox, what kind of hardware was NINTENDO GAMECUBE?

If someone says, “Old game consoles were all similar in shape, right?”, please wait a moment. Placing the Nintendo GameCube in front of you, that impression should definitely change. A home console released by Nintendo on September 14, 2001, it appeared as the successor to the Nintendo 64. Powerful rivals such as PlayStation 2 and Xbox existed in the same generation, but GameCube had a unique presence different from other hardware. The development code name was “Dolphin”. Based on the difficulty of development that had been an issue with the Nintendo 64, a feature is that it was designed under the idea of “a creator-friendly machine”. At launch, three works, “Luigi's Mansion”, “Wave Race: Blue Storm”, and “Super Monkey Ball”, were assembled, and the era of new Nintendo hardware opened its curtain.

Hearing GameCube, what comes to mind first might after all be the figure of the main unit. As the name suggests, the rounded form reminiscent of a cube is extremely unique, having a boldness making one think, “Making a game console into a shape like this?”. Yet the size is relatively compact. Furthermore, a handle convenient for carrying is equipped on the back. Although a home console, the idea that grabbing the handle allows for casually lifting it is interesting. Rather than a design aimed simply at novelty, feeling GameCube-ness in the place where even ease of handling is considered. This characteristic sculpting was evaluated, winning the Good Design Award in fiscal 2002. Even at present, with years having passed since release, it is a game console with a personality strong enough that the model name can be known at a single glance.

And what makes you want to talk even more than the main unit is the controller. Seeing it for the first time, you might feel, “It's quite a bold layout”. On the right side, there is a large green A button, surrounded by a red B button and gray X and Y buttons. Each differs in size and outline, and furthermore, with a yellow analog stick added, the atmosphere is quite different from a symmetrical and orderly controller. However, actually gripping it changes the impression. This uneven shape itself helps operations. In a condition where the A button is large, the B button is small, and X and Y are oval, it is easy to judge where you are pressing with just fingertips. So much that you want to imagine, “Didn't they prioritize clarity while playing over visual unity?”, it is a design connected to practicality.

Not only operational feel, one of the evolutions that made people happy back then was the standard inclusion of vibration functions. On Nintendo 64, people enjoyed by attaching a Rumble Pak, but on GameCube, the controller itself supported vibration. There was no longer a need to attach a separate device or prepare batteries for it. Thinking “I want to start a game”, you can just grip the controller and play. While this convenience seems plain, it was a big difference when enjoying games on a daily basis. Though GameCube tends to have attention focused only on its characteristic appearance, ingenuity was properly applied to such player-side user-friendliness as well.

It is not uncommon for game console peripherals to disappear along with generational changes of the main unit. However, circumstances are a little different for the GameCube controller. Even after long years passed since release, it is supported, becoming an existence familiar especially to players of the “Super Smash Bros.” series. For “Super Smash Bros. Ultimate” on Nintendo Switch, “GameCube Controller Super Smash Bros. Black” even appeared. And on Nintendo Switch 2, a dedicated Nintendo GameCube Controller is prepared as well, allowing enjoyment of “Nintendo GameCube - Nintendo Classics” titles. In other words, that unique operational style did not end as a past memory alone.

Looking back at the charm of the GameCube, one notices that seemingly contradictory elements, “unique yet easy to use”, coexisted exquisitely. The main unit reminiscent of a cube, the handle for carrying, buttons differing in size and shape, and the controller loved for a long time. Whichever you take, it is hard to call safe. Yet precisely because it connected to actual ease of play, it probably did not end as a merely unusual game console. Some people should be thinking, “Come to think of it, I remember the feeling of gripping that controller”. GameCube is a single unit possessing charm that cannot be fully described by numbers on a specification chart alone. Inside the square body, Nintendo-like ideas, playfulness, and ingenuity for players were tightly packed.