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| | ==List of Sega Games for the GameCube== | | ==List of Sega Games for the GameCube== |
| | (list here) | | (list here) |
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| − | [[File:PanasonicQ.jpg|thumb|right|280px|The Panasonic Q]]The '''Nintendo GameCube''' (Japanese: ゲームキューブ; Romaji: Gemu Kyubu) is a video game console by [[Nintendo]] belonging to the [[128-bit era]]; the same generation as the [[Sega Dreamcast]], [[PlayStation 2]], and [[Xbox]].
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| − | ==Overview==
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| − | The Nintendo GameCube (originally code-named "Dolphin" during development) was released on September 14, 2001 in Japan; November 18, 2001 in North America; and Spring 2002 across Europe. The Nintendo GameCube, or '''GCN''', was widely anticipated by many who were shocked by Nintendo's decision to design the Nintendo 64 as a [[cartridge]]-based system. Physically shaped similar to a geometric cube, the Nintendo GameCube uses a unique storage medium, a proprietary format based on Matsushita's optical-disc technology; the discs are approximately three inches in diameter (considerably smaller than a standard CD or DVD), and the discs have a capacity of approximately 1.5 gigabytes. The outside casing of the Nintendo GameCube is most often Indigo, but the system is also available in other colors, such as Platinum (a silvery color) and Jet (a very dark gray color or black). In Japan, the system is also available in Spice (an orange color) or in limited edition colors like Crystal White (for Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles), Mint Green (for Tales of Symphonia), Copper (for Char Aznable from Gundam) and White with black pinstripes (for the Hanshin Tigers). The GameCube system used for testing software during development is a chocolate color. There was another model of the GameCube, known as the [[wikipedia:Panasonic Q|Panasonic Q]] which was able to play both GameCube games and DVDs. A special model of the Q was able to play DVDs from all regions.
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| − | Nintendo released the GameCube's successor, [[Wii]], in December 2006.
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| − | ==Hardware specifications==
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| − | The following are hardware specifications provided by Nintendo of America. Some benchmarks provided by third-party testing facilities do indicate, however, that some of these specifications—especially those relating to performance—may be conservative.
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| − | [[File:Gamecube IMBgekko.jpg|thumb|right|150px|IBM PowerPC "Gekko" processor]]
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| − | ===Central processing unit===
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| − | {{multicol|
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| − | *Name: "Gekko"
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| − | *Producer: IBM
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| − | *Core Base: PowerPC 750CXe
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| − | *Manufacturing Process: 0.18 micrometre IBM copper-wire technology
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| − | *Clock Frequency: 485 MHz
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| − | *CPU Capacity: 1125 Dmips (Dhrystone 2.1)
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| − | *Internal Data Precision:
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| − | **32-bit Integer
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| − | **64-bit Floating-point
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| − | **128-bit SIMD
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| − | *External Bus:
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| − | **1.3 gigabyte/second peak bandwidth
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| − | **32-bit address space
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| − | **64-bit data bus; 162 MHz clock
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| − | *Internal Cache:
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| − | **L1: instruction 32KB, data 32KB (8 way)
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| − | **L2: 256kB (2 way)
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| − | ===System LSI===
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| − | *Name: "Flipper"
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| − | *Producer: ArtX/Nintendo (ArtX were acquired by ATI Technologies in 2000 and is now a part of ATI)
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| − | *Manufacturing Process: 0.18 micrometre NEC embedded DRAM process
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| − | *Clock Frequency: 162 MHz
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| − | *Embedded Frame Buffer:
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| − | **Approximately 2 megabytes in capacity
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| − | **Sustainable latency of 6.2 nanoseconds
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| − | **RAM type is 1T-SRAM
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| − | *Embedded Texture Cache:
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| − | **Approximately 1 megabyte in capacity
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| − | **Sustainable latency of 6.2 nanoseconds
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| − | **RAM type is 1T-SRAM
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| − | *Texture Read Bandwidth: 10.4 gigabytes/second (at peak)
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| − | *Main Memory Bandwidth: 2.6 gigabytes/second (at peak)
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| − | *Fill Rate: 648 megapixels/second
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| − | *Pixel Depth:
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| − | **24-bit RGB / RGBA
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| − | **24-bit Z-buffer
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| − | *Image Processing Functions:
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| − | **Fog
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| − | **Subpixel [[anti-aliasing]]
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| − | **8 hardware lights
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| − | **Alpha blending
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| − | **Virtual texture design
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| − | **Multi-texturing, bump mapping
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| − | **Environment mapping
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| − | **MIP mapping
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| − | **Bilinear filtering
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| − | **Trilinear filtering
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| − | **Anisotropic filtering
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| − | **Real-time hardware texture decompression (S3TC)
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| − | **Real-time decompression of display list
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| − | **Hardware 3-line deflickering filter
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| − | ===Aural functionality===
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| − | *Producer: Macronix
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| − | *Clock Frequency: 81 MHz
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| − | *Instruction Memory:
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| − | **8 kilobytes of RAM
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| − | **8 kilobytes of ROM
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| − | *Data Memory:
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| − | **8 kilobytes of RAM
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| − | **4 kilobytes of ROM
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| − | *Simultaneous Channels: 64 channels
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| − | *Encoding: ADPCM
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| − | *Sampling Frequency: 48 kHz
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| − | ===Other system specifications===
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| − | *System Floating-point Arithmetic Capability: 10.5 GFLOPS (at peak) (MPU, Geometry Engine, HW Lighting Total)
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| − | *Real-world Polygon Performance: 6 million to 12 million polygons/second (at peak) (assuming actual game conditions with complex models, fully textured, fully lit, etc.) *
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| − | *Main RAM:
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| − | **Approximately 24 megabytes in capacity
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| − | **Sustainable latency of 10 nanoseconds
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| − | **RAM type is 1T-SRAM
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| − | *Auxiliary RAM:
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| − | **Approximately 16 megabytes in capacity
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| − | **81 MHz in speed
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| − | **RAM type is DRAM
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| − | *Disc Drive:
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| − | **Drive type is Constant Angular Velocity (CAV)
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| − | **Average access time is 128 milliseconds
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| − | **Data transfer speed is between 2 megabytes per second and 3.125 megabytes per second
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| − | *Disc Media:
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| − | **Based on DVD technology
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| − | **Diameter is 3 inches in length
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| − | **Producer is Matsushita
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| − | **Approximately 1.5 gigabytes in capacity
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| − | *Controller Ports: 4
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| − | *Memory Card Slots: 2
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| − | *Analog Audio/Video Outputs: 1
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| − | *Digital Audio/Video Outputs: 1 *
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| − | *High-speed Serial Ports: 2
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| − | *High-speed Parallel Ports: 1
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| − | *Power Supply: AC Adapter DC12 volts x 3.25 amperes
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| − | *Physical Measurements of Entire System: 110 mm (H) x 150 mm (W) x 161 mm (D). [4.3"(H) x 5.9"(W) x 6.3"(D)]
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| − | }}
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| − | <nowiki>*</nowiki> The Digital output was removed in a hardware revision in May 2004. Models without the port are DOL-101. [http://www.nintendo.com/consumer/systems/nintendogamecube/component_faq.jsp More info from Nintendo.com]
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| − | ==Accessories/peripherals==
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| − | *Controller (in Purple, Black, Orange, Silver or Purple and clear)
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| − | *Wavebird (RF wireless controller)
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| − | *Memory Card (59, 251 or 1019 blocks. A maximum of 127 files can be stored on a memory card)
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| − | *GameCube Game Boy Advance Cable (for games that support connectivity)
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| − | *Modem or Broadband adapter (for internet play)
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| − | *Game Boy Player (to play Game Boy games on your TV)
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| − | *In the US, Component video cable (for progressive scan (480p) support)
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| − | *In Europe, an RF cable for connection to older televisions, and an RGB [[SCART]] cable for high-quality connections
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| − | ===Controllers===
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| − | <gallery>
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| − | File:Gamecube controller.jpg|Controller
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| − | File:Gamecube wavebird.png|WaveBird
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| − | </gallery>
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| − | -->
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| | [[Category:Post-Sega consoles]] | | [[Category:Post-Sega consoles]] |
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| Nintendo GameCube
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| Manufacturer: Nintendo
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| Variants: Panasonic Q
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The Nintendo GameCube (ゲームキューブ), originally codenamed Dolphin and officially abbreviated NGC in Japan and GCN in North America, is a video game console released by Nintendo in 2001 as a successor to the Nintendo 64. It is a sixth-generation system, designed to compete primarily with the PlayStation 2 and Xbox and to a limited degree, the Sega Dreamcast. The GameCube was Nintendo's home platform of choice until the release of the Wii in 2006.
Overview
The GameCube is considered to be one of Nintendo's least successful video game consoles, as despite high praise in regards to build quality and a strong line of first-party titles, a series of poor management decisions led it to be abandoned by many third party publishers within three years. Though more GameCubes were sold worldwide than Dreamcasts, sales lagged throughout the generation behind the Xbox in PlayStation 2 (though in Japan, the GameCube outsold the Xbox).
The GameCube took a family-friendly approach to the video game industry, ultimately losing out on more "mature" titles and failing to attract the majority of the gaming public. Its use of proprietary mini-discs with less storage space also hindered development, and meant that unlike the PlayStation 2, the system could not play DVDs (though this was fixed in a special model, the Panasonic Q). On a technical level, the GameCube is widely considered to be more powerful than the PlayStation 2, but less powerful than the Xbox.
As with the Xbox, the GameCube is said to have been inspired by the Dreamcast (and to some degree, the Sega Saturn), not only by the positioning of the features of its controller, but by the use of analogue triggers and the connectivity of the Game Boy Advance (in which parallels can be drawn with Sega's VMUs). The GameCube would evolve over time - the addition of the Game Boy Player giving it the ability to play Game Boy Advance games (and earlier Game Boy handhelds), and support for GameCube discs and controllers being added to the console's successor, the Wii. The GameCube could connect to the internet much like the Dreamcast, but very few titles made use of this technology and the modem needed to be purchased separately.
Sega Support
Following the demise of the Sega Dreamcast, Sega spread its wings across all three of its console rivals throughout the remainder of the sixth generation. The Nintendo GameCube became the console of choice for Sega's family friendly games, the Sonic the Hedgehog series being more prominent on the GameCube than on other platforms. The retooled release of Monkey Ball, Super Monkey Ball took up residence on the GameCube before branching out to other platforms in 2005, as did successors to Phantasy Star Online - Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II (which saw a port to the Xbox in the following year) and Phantasy Star Online Episode III.
The Sonic Team original, Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg was released exclusively for the GameCube (and later PC), as was the only home port of Beach Spikers: Virtua Beach Volleyball and new ventures such as Amazing Island. Sega also joined with Nintendo (and Namco) at this time to create the Triforce arcade hardware, and its Amusement Vision division created F-Zero GX, a GameCube exclusive which became one of the most popular racing games on the platform.
Like many publishers, Sega began to withdraw support by 2003, starting with its line of sports games, although it did not abandon the platform until the latter half of 2006. Sega are thought to have benefited from the GameCube in its early years of service, although by the middle of the decade, found itself supporting all three consoles in relatively equal measure (save for the PlayStation 2, which saw much greater support from the company in Japan, and the aforementioned sports titles).
List of Sega Games for the GameCube
(list here)
