Did you realize Nintendo has been at the video game console wars for almost four decades now? Yes, it all started with the Family Computer or the Famicom as it’s more popularly known way back in 1983. After their deal with Atari to market the console to Western audiences fell through, Nintendo decided to just strike it out on their own in 1985. Ever since then, Nintendo has chugged along, making new consoles here and there. While it looked like they could no wrong with big hits like the Nintendo Entertainment System and the Super Nintendo, things slowly but surely slowed down later on with other consoles makers trying to usurp Nintendo’s dominance.

For me, the lowest point of Nintendo when it came to the console wars was during the sixth-generation of the console wars. I’m talking about the Nintendo Gamecube, a video game console I actually owned but, honestly, pretty much forgot I had.

While that statement of me saying I forgot I had a Nintendo Gamecube might anger a lot of fans of the system, I’m sorry. I’m just telling you the truth. It pretty much slipped my mind that I had this system and I was only reminded that I owned one while I was cleaning out my cabinet. I opened one of the big bags I had tucked in the corner of my closet and pulled out a Gamecube. When I did, however, a stream of memories did come… trickling in. So, let me talk about why my experience with the system didn’t leave a huge impact on me.

First off, you have to look at the sixth generation console wars and who was in it. There was the Sony PlayStation 2. Honestly, the Sony PlayStation 2 was the clear winner of this generation of the console wars. It was so dominant that it became the best selling video game console of all time! Probably a not-so-close second would be Microsoft‘s first Xbox console. While not hitting nowhere near the PlayStation 2’s sales numbers, it established Microsoft as a huge player in the video game industry and established the Xbox as a brand. There was also the SEGA Dreamcast. While definitely the biggest loser in the sixth generation console wars, at least I still remember playing games on it and having a lot of fun with it. The Dreamcast left a mark on me and probably a lot of gamers who feel nostalgic for a time when SEGA was still a major player in the video game console wars.

One of the biggest reasons why I don’t have many memories of the Gamecube is, well, the lack of games I could get for it. I didn’t have a lot of games for the Gamecube and a part of it was Nintendo’s fault and a part of it was with me living in the Philippines. When it came to Nintendo, they pretty much the same blunder they did with the Nintendo 64 and that’s with the choice of how to get the games into your Gamecube. One of the biggest reasons why the N64 failed was Nintendo’s decision was to stubbornly keep using cartridges instead of CDs. This is because Nintendo knew it was more difficult to pirate games on a cartridge than a CD. However, cartridges were more expensive and could only store less data when when compared to CDs. This led to a lot of third party developers leaving Nintendo for more greener and bigger storage pastures.

With the Gamecube, Nintendo learned their lesson… kinda. They knew developers wanted more space so, for the Gamecube, they did switch to DVDs… kinda again. You see, the Gamecube used mini-DVDs instead of regular sized DVDs. This also irked a lot of developers because, as they were smaller than regular DVDs, they still couldn’t hold as much data as a regular DVD. So, once again, developers flocked to Nintendo’s competition.

Nintendo also messed up the Gamecube controller. While I will applaud Nintendo for continuing to innovate the way we play video games, I utterly despite the Gamecube controller’s layout. The Gamecube eschewed the standard cross layout for the buttons. Instead, there was one big button right smack in the middle, a smaller button to the lower left of the big button and two other misshapen buttons above the big button. There are also only three shoulder buttons on the top of the Gamecube controller instead of the usual four. As someone who plays a lot of fighting games, this is a dumb button layout.

Not having a more symmetrical configuration and giving more prominence to some of the buttons may make sense with some games but not with a lot of others. I’m also guessing some developers didn’t like how they would have to rethink how to plan their games based on this wonky controller layout, which had them concentrate on making games on the consoles with more standard button layouts.

I also have to say it was much harder to buy Nintendo Gamecube games here in the Philippines, which did play a role as to why I didn’t buy many games for the system. The PlayStation 2 simply dominated the region so most of the stores that did carry original video games sold PlayStation 2 games. There were very few Nintendo Gamecube and even Microsoft Xbox games on shelves back then. I actually remember wanting to get The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker and Metroid Prime to add to my paltry Gamecube games library. They were always sold out! So, I would just go back to my PlayStation 2 and play Resident Evil 4 there. Yep! I had a Gamecube and I could never buy a copy of Resident Evil 4 for it as well!

Eventually, I just stopped caring for my Nintendo Gamecube. I did play some games on it, such as the original Paper Mario and Ultimate Muscle: Legends vs New Generation on it. I also player Super Mario Sunshine but I could never beat it because there was this one level where Mario was tasked to clean an area but the guy would say it still need to be cleaned even though I’ve removed every speck of much from the stage so I just gave up. I know a lot of people have very fond memories of the Nintendo Gamecube and I’m glad. Honestly, I wish I did but, sorry to say, the Gamecube wasn’t all that memorable for me.

What’s your take on the Nintendo Gamecube? Let me know in the comments section below!