Was GameCube launch that bad?

a lot of my friends who bought GCNs upon release in November 2001 say it was a terrible launch, some people also say that its purple color and marketing early on at launch combined with less than stellar launch titles made the GCN seem like a bad buy, and that even with its eventual $99.99 price tag and great selection of games it never got away ffrom that impression in some peoples mindsi'm not sure i agree with all of that, but thats what i hear on the internet, and i didn't get a Cube at launch, later on. but was it really that bad?As far as i Know the Cube launched with Pikmin, Luigis Mansion, Animal Crossing, Super Smash Bros Melee, Rogue Squadron 2, and that seems pretty good to me.Do you think its launch could've been better?I wonder why, with the GameCube launch looming in 2001, why did nintendo release Majora's Mask for N64 in October 2000? I know they spent years working on it for N64, it took OOT's engine and improved upon it, but i wonder if the Cube would've had a little more must have value for gamers and non-gamers if a prettier Majora's Mask had been delayed or canned on n64 for a Cube version.I think this may be a reason why Nintendo delayed TP so long and made a Wii version, it could easily be done considering the MiniDisc and DVD media formats weren't that big of difference. Additionally had Nintendo taken online gaming a lot more seriously in 2001 (which to be fair why should they have? XBL and PSN hadn't gotten big by then) but if it had online Melee, or online Double Dash maybe people would've liked that. I dunno. COuld've helped i suppose.So all in all, how could GCN launch of been improved in retrospect? Would you have delayed and made certain games like MM on GCN only? or change nothing really?Was GameCube launch that bad?
[QUOTE=''darth-pyschosis'']a lot of my friends who bought GCNs upon release in November 2001 say it was a terrible launch, some people also say that its purple color and marketing early on at launch combined with less than stellar launch titles made the GCN seem like a bad buy, and that even with its eventual $99.99 price tag and great selection of games it never got away ffrom that impression in some peoples mindsi'm not sure i agree with all of that, but thats what i hear on the internet, and i didn't get a Cube at launch, later on. but was it really that bad?As far as i Know the Cube launched with Pikmin, Luigis Mansion, Animal Crossing, Super Smash Bros Melee, Rogue Squadron 2, and that seems pretty good to me.Do you think its launch could've been better?I wonder why, with the GameCube launch looming in 2001, why did nintendo release Majora's Mask for N64 in October 2000? I know they spent years working on it for N64, it took OOT's engine and improved upon it, but i wonder if the Cube would've had a little more must have value for gamers and non-gamers if a prettier Majora's Mask had been delayed or canned on n64 for a Cube version.I think this may be a reason why Nintendo delayed TP so long and made a Wii version, it could easily be done considering the MiniDisc and DVD media formats weren't that big of difference. Additionally had Nintendo taken online gaming a lot more seriously in 2001 (which to be fair why should they have? XBL and PSN hadn't gotten big by then) but if it had online Melee, or online Double Dash maybe people would've liked that. I dunno. COuld've helped i suppose.So all in all, how could GCN launch of been improved in retrospect? Would you have delayed and made certain games like MM on GCN only? or change nothing really?[/QUOTE]Half the games you mentioned were not launch titles, Pikmin, Animal Crossing and Smash Bros didn't come out until way after launch.



and as per the thread question no, the Gamecube launch was not bad, I'm pretty sure it was the fastest selling console launch of all time originally, and it had a good few launch games unlike many other popular consoles out there #cough#PS2andPS3#cough# The hype did however die pretty fast and within a year the GC was noticibly struggling against it's competitors.Was GameCube launch that bad?
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It had a pretty good launch if you ask me.
[QUOTE=''Domino_slayer''][QUOTE=''darth-pyschosis'']a lot of my friends who bought GCNs upon release in November 2001 say it was a terrible launch, some people also say that its purple color and marketing early on at launch combined with less than stellar launch titles made the GCN seem like a bad buy, and that even with its eventual $99.99 price tag and great selection of games it never got away ffrom that impression in some peoples mindsi'm not sure i agree with all of that, but thats what i hear on the internet, and i didn't get a Cube at launch, later on. but was it really that bad?As far as i Know the Cube launched with Pikmin, Luigis Mansion, Animal Crossing, Super Smash Bros Melee, Rogue Squadron 2, and that seems pretty good to me.Do you think its launch could've been better?I wonder why, with the GameCube launch looming in 2001, why did nintendo release Majora's Mask for N64 in October 2000? I know they spent years working on it for N64, it took OOT's engine and improved upon it, but i wonder if the Cube would've had a little more must have value for gamers and non-gamers if a prettier Majora's Mask had been delayed or canned on n64 for a Cube version.I think this may be a reason why Nintendo delayed TP so long and made a Wii version, it could easily be done considering the MiniDisc and DVD media formats weren't that big of difference. Additionally had Nintendo taken online gaming a lot more seriously in 2001 (which to be fair why should they have? XBL and PSN hadn't gotten big by then) but if it had online Melee, or online Double Dash maybe people would've liked that. I dunno. COuld've helped i suppose.So all in all, how could GCN launch of been improved in retrospect? Would you have delayed and made certain games like MM on GCN only? or change nothing really?[/QUOTE]Half the games you mentioned were not launch titles, Pikmin, Animal Crossing and Smash Bros didn't come out until way after launch. and as per the thread question no, the Gamecube launch was not bad, I'm pretty sure it was the fastest selling console launch of all time originally, and it had a good few launch games unlike many other popular consoles out there #cough#PS2andPS3#cough# The hype did however die pretty fast and within a year the GC was noticibly struggling against it's competitors.[/QUOTE]i meant that they came out in the first launch window, like the first 6 months. yea not in the first 30 days or so, but shortly after that.
I recently bought 4 GameCube Games
[QUOTE=''EpiphoneMan2008'']I recently bought 4 GameCube Games[/QUOTE]And...?But anyways the OP has a great point that I never really thought about with the whole Majora's Mask things (that was a kind of dumb move on Nintendo's part). And yes from what I remember the GC launch sucked real bad. There was 2 good games (Rogue Sqaudron II and Tony Hawk 3) and 1 ok one (Crazy Taxi) the rest sucked IMO.
By most standards, the Cube was a really good system, but it it was still vastly inferior to every Nintendo system that came before it.
bad very bad, ,gc had the kind of launch the ps3 had,
I have always thought that the GCN had one of the best launches of all time. Pikmin and Smash Bros. Melee within the first few weeks of releasing (two of the best games the console ever saw). Luigi's mansion, Wave Race, and Rogue Squadon are all great games as well! Who's saying it was bad?Top three GCN games1) Pikmin 22) Pikmin (Launch)3) Smash Bros. Melee (Launch)VERY GOOD
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i got a gamecube at launch with luigis mansion and rogue squadron II. and do you know what ? i was one of only a handful of people who bought one that day.
[QUOTE=''darth-pyschosis'']a lot of my friends who bought GCNs upon release in November 2001 say it was a terrible launch, some people also say that its purple color and marketing early on at launch combined with less than stellar launch titles made the GCN seem like a bad buy, and that even with its eventual $99.99 price tag and great selection of games it never got away ffrom that impression in some peoples mindsi'm not sure i agree with all of that, but thats what i hear on the internet, and i didn't get a Cube at launch, later on. but was it really that bad?As far as i Know the Cube launched with Pikmin, Luigis Mansion, Animal Crossing, Super Smash Bros Melee, Rogue Squadron 2, and that seems pretty good to me.Do you think its launch could've been better?I wonder why, with the GameCube launch looming in 2001, why did nintendo release Majora's Mask for N64 in October 2000? I know they spent years working on it for N64, it took OOT's engine and improved upon it, but i wonder if the Cube would've had a little more must have value for gamers and non-gamers if a prettier Majora's Mask had been delayed or canned on n64 for a Cube version.I think this may be a reason why Nintendo delayed TP so long and made a Wii version, it could easily be done considering the MiniDisc and DVD media formats weren't that big of difference. Additionally had Nintendo taken online gaming a lot more seriously in 2001 (which to be fair why should they have? XBL and PSN hadn't gotten big by then) but if it had online Melee, or online Double Dash maybe people would've liked that. I dunno. COuld've helped i suppose.So all in all, how could GCN launch of been improved in retrospect? Would you have delayed and made certain games like MM on GCN only? or change nothing really?[/QUOTE]im still saying that the xbox had better launch titles especially just because Halo and dead or alive 3 were some games to prove me wrong about microsoft and thier xbox
[b]Pikmin and Smash Bros were not Gamecube launch titles[/b] they were not even close to the launch, they both came out over 6 months after launch!



Seeing as people seem to have little to no idea of what the Gamecube launch was like and I actually personally bought a Gamecube at launch I'll try to recall what it was like.



From what I remember people were quite optimistic, the console sold tons at the beginning but interest slowly decreased after the 1st few months. Out of the launch titles -



Super Monkey Ball and Rogue Squadron were both [b]very[/b] well received by magazine critics



Wave Race, Luigi's Mansion, Tony Hawks 3 and Crazy Taxi all achieved fairly good, though nothing amazing style scores around the 80% area If I were to put all the console launches of that gen into order it would be



1. Dreamcast - Soul Calibur (one of the most acclaimed games of all time) Sonic Adventure, Power Stone, House of the Dead 2, Hydro Thunder, Trick Style



2. Gamecube - Super Monkey Ball (Awesome) Rogue Squadron (great gameplay and the graphics were amazing back then) Luigi's Mansion (great gameplay just a bit short, Wave Race (not as amazing as the original but still very good)



3. XBox - Halo, Project Gotham Racing (extremely good update of Metropolis Street Racer) Much's Oddysee, Fusion Frenzy (good for multiplayer though a bit lacking in single)



4. PS2 - Timesplitters (very good multiplayer though pretty poor in single, easily the best launch title for PS2) SSX
weren't luigi's mansion Star wars :rogue squadron 2, crazy taxi and wavestorm exclusive launch games?that doesn't sound so bad. Now the PS2 launch, that was bad
Crazy Taxi wasn't exclusive, but the others you mentioned were, and Monkey Ball was for quite some time as well, heck Monkey Ball 2 came out on Gamecube before the 1st Monkey Balls arrived on XBox and PS2.
[QUOTE=''Domino_slayer''][b]Pikmin and Smash Bros were not Gamecube launch titles[/b] they were not even close to the launch, they both came out over 6 months after launch!



Seeing as people seem to have little to no idea of what the Gamecube launch was like and I actually personally bought a Gamecube at launch I'll try to recall what it was like.

[/QUOTE]



They both came out two weeks after the Gamecube was released...but yeah, they were not official launch titles either way.



I agree with most of your other thoughts though. I bought mine a couple of days after Christmas that year with Rogue Squadron II after receiving Luigi's Mansion and Super Smash Bros. Melee as presents.



It was a decent launch. Better than the N64 launch at least. While Super Mario 64 is one of the best ever, to have just one other game available at launch was pathetic. Sign of things to come with that system really, but that's a whole other topic.
[QUOTE=''Saruman1719''][QUOTE=''Domino_slayer''][b]Pikmin and Smash Bros were not Gamecube launch titles[/b] they were not even close to the launch, they both came out over 6 months after launch!



Seeing as people seem to have little to no idea of what the Gamecube launch was like and I actually personally bought a Gamecube at launch I'll try to recall what it was like.

[/QUOTE]



They both came out two weeks after the Gamecube was released...but yeah, they were not official launch titles either way.[/QUOTE]Maybe i'm getting the US dates mixed up with Europes, though really if you guys in the US did get those games straight after launch I don't understand why they weren't European launch titles as our GC launch was months after yours :S
[QUOTE=''Domino_slayer''][b]Pikmin and Smash Bros were not Gamecube launch titles[/b] they were not even close to the launch, they both came out over 6 months after launch! Seeing as people seem to have little to no idea of what the Gamecube launch was like and I actually personally bought a Gamecube at launch I'll try to recall what it was like. From what I remember people were quite optimistic, the console sold tons at the beginning but interest slowly decreased after the 1st few months. Out of the launch titles - Super Monkey Ball and Rogue Squadron were both [b]very[/b] well received by magazine critics Wave Race, Luigi's Mansion, Tony Hawks 3 and Crazy Taxi all achieved fairly good, though nothing amazing style scores around the 80% area If I were to put all the console launches of that gen into order it would be 1. Dreamcast - Soul Calibur (one of the most acclaimed games of all time) Sonic Adventure, Power Stone, House of the Dead 2, Hydro Thunder, Trick Style 2. Gamecube - Super Monkey Ball (Awesome) Rogue Squadron (great gameplay and the graphics were amazing back then) Luigi's Mansion (great gameplay just a bit short, Wave Race (not as amazing as the original but still very good) 3. XBox - Halo, Project Gotham Racing (extremely good update of Metropolis Street Racer) Much's Oddysee, Fusion Frenzy (good for multiplayer though a bit lacking in single) 4. PS2 - Timesplitters (very good multiplayer though pretty poor in single, easily the best launch title for PS2) SSX[/QUOTE]wrong. Pikmin came out on GameCube December 2nd 2001, two weeks after launch and in november 2001 in japan but in EU it was June 14 2002melee was released november 21st 2001 in japan, december 2nd in NA, and in May 2002 in EUso if you're living in Europe i suppose you're right, but i'm right too as i was referring to its north american launch.
It was O.K. but it wasn't as good as the N64. Mainly because of it's graphics and some of it's crappy games ruined it. But the sega dreamcast (PS2 defeated it), PS2, and Xbox owned the the GC horribly.