A black Nintendo GameCube console with a black official GameCube controller
GameCube (ゲームキューブ Gēmukyūbu, officially called Nintendo GameCube, abbreviated NGC in Japan and GCN in North America) is a video game console, released by Nintendo on September 14, 2001, in Japan and November 18, 2001, in North America.[1] It was later released in Europe and other regions in 2002. The sixth-generation console competed with Sony's PlayStation 2, Microsoft's Xbox, and Sega's Dreamcast. Its best selling game was Super Smash Bros. Melee, which sold about 7 million copies. The GameCube sold about 21 million units in its production span. The Nintendo GameCube succeeded the Nintendo 64 and was succeeded by the Nintendo Wii. The Nintendo GameCube is not backwards compatible with the Nintendo 64 or its controllers and games, but it is backwards compatible with the original Game Boy games. An adapter, however, is needed to insert the Game Boy cartridges into the system.
The GameCube discs are region-locked, meaning that a game released in the PAL region can only be played with GameCube consoles released in the PAL region, although there is a switch to switch the region of the GameCube. All the GameCube controllers are region-free, meaning they can be played on any console, regardless of where it was released for.
While the GameCube was considered a failure in the video game console market by how many units were sold, the console has developed a cult following in the past decade, for its video games, such as Super Smash Bros. Melee, Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, and Super Mario Sunshine. The GameCube controller is very popular with consumers that Nintendo has added support for it on the first Wii model (some Wii titles and backwards compatibility with all GameCube games), the Wii U (for Super Smash Bros. 4 only, though emulators can make the Wii U play GameCube games and support the controller it in multiple Wii U and Wii games), and the Nintendo Switch (some Switch titles), the latter two via an adapter that was first released in 2014.
None of the Nintendo GameCube games are available on the Virtual Console for the Wii U.
Types of GameCube Controllers
The original GameCube controller, released in 2001, was first only available in purple. Each controller released by Nintendo had the "Nintendo GameCube" logo pasted onto the controller. Later, silver, platinum, black, orange, turquoise, gold, clear, green, and white controllers were released, though the latter five were released exclusively for Japan, but can be imported around the world and work with GameCube consoles released for other regions. Only the GameCube discs are region locked (NTSC, PAL). A wireless GameCube controller, known as the Wavebird, was released in 2002. The Wavebird came with two colors, silver or platinum. The Wavebird requires two AA batteries to use. Also, Nintendo partnered with Panasonic to create the Panasonic Q, a GameCube console with DVD compatibility. The Panasonic Q GameCube controller works with all original GameCube consoles. All said official controllers can play the Looney Tunes games released for the Nintendo GameCube.
There are also some unlicensed GameCube controllers, including the MadCatz GameCube controller and the GameStop GameCube controller, that work on all GameCube consoles.
Differences between the new and the original GameCube controllers
Newer GameCube controllers were released in 2014 and 2018 due to popular demand. There are a few differences between the new ones and the originals. One difference is that the newer models have longer wires, which are 10 feet long, than the original models, which were 7 feet long. The original models contained metal rods which were used to prevent the back L and R buttons from getting stuck. A white Smash Bros. GameCube controller (with the Wii U branding) was released exclusively for Japan in 2014. A black Smash Bros. GameCube controller (with the Wii U branding) was released in 2014 and a black Smash Bros. GameCube controller (with the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate branding) was released in 2018. All of these mentioned lack the metal rods the original controllers produced between 2001 and 2006 have. This may impact some difference in gameplay, especially in the Super Smash Bros. series of video games. The newer Smash Bros. controllers can be used to play all GameCube titles, including the Looney Tunes video game titles released for the Nintendo GameCube.
Looney Games
- Taz: Wanted
- Looney Tunes: Back in Action: The Video Game
- Tiny Toon Adventures: Defenders of the Universe (unreleased)
- Animaniacs: The Great Edgar Hunt