Is there any excuse for buying the Nintendo Game Cube? Or does PS2 or X-Box play versions of all the same games, better, and also have internet connectivity and the ability to watch DVDs? (Although, I already have a DVD player.) My daughter has begun a campaign to receive the Game Cube for her birthday in July (super monkey ball?). I need to know whether to begin steering her towards a different console.
How old is your daughter? Nintendo Game Cube has better games for kids IMHO. X-Box has the best grown up games but few that are great for kids.
Agreed, Gamecube is best for kids (under 12 or so)
PS2 is best for sports nuts
Xbox is best for older gamers
Although Metroid Prime is a pretty dang good game and it is only on Gamecube.
Yeah depending on age the 'Cube is the way to go.
Unless you want her playing Grand Theft Auto3 
Right now you can get the GC with Metroid Prime (Or other game) for $149.00 so says nintendo.com, circuitcity.com Etc…
GC has a smaller controller, but its really nice for small hands.
Thanks guys, great info, not at all what I expected. She’s 8 (turning 9) so it sounds like the Game Cube might be the ticket. (I guess I’ll have to wait for Vice City!)
Gamecube is the only one of the 3 systems in which BMX XXX allows you to make topless female bmx bicyclists
I’ve heard great things about the new Metroid btw.
Also, the titles exclusive to the Gamecube tend, in my experience, to be awfully good. Animal Crossing, for example, is awfully addictive. I also like Pikmin for a cute puzzle game. Eternal Darkness is really cool, but definatley not for a little kid. You have a sanity meter, see, and when zombies and things catch sight of you it goes down. And when it goes down you start, like, sinking through the floor, or the screen goes blank, or you hear a lot of creepy giggling. Great game. Pick it up for yourself, get Animal Crossing for the kid.
Also, definately second the controller size - much more comfortable for a child or a woman. I have both the Gamecube and the Xbox, and even though I have the smaller controller for the Xbox it’s still not comfortable for me.
Many adult gamers have dissed the Game Cube as not being a serious platform, and the thing is they’re partly right. Nintendo has been mostly targeted at younger kids from the original NES on up, although it is somewhat difficult to “target” a game with 8-bit graphics. I have realized that as I have grown my interests have shifted away from all my old favorite games and on to more “mature” games (whether they be “mature” as in sophisticated or “mature” as in “for mature audiences”).
However a part of me still likes the Nintendo and all the kiddy games (most of which I can beat in one sitting by now), especially the Legend of Zelda series, the newest ititeration of which looks extremely promising with a cartoon-ish graphics engine replacing the more lifelike though insipid texture-based world. Even though it is probably far below my age level I still really want to check that one out sometime.
Texas,
Resident Evils 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 and Code Veronica are for the Nintendo Gamecube.
Eternal Darkness is for the GameCube.
Timesplitters 2 is for the GameCube.
BMX XXX is for the GameCube.
Blood Omen 2, James Bond, Medal of Honor, yadda, yadda, yadda.
In the “Suitable for kids, but won’t turn off most adults” category you have the majority of sports video game franchises, the aforementioned Metroid Prime, Legend of Zelda, X-Wing: Rogue Leader, Phantasy Star Online, Robotech Battlecry, etc.
Overall I’d still say that the GameCube is still the best buy for kids, but it still has a ton to offer for adults. I don’t get how it’s a “kiddy system” at all. Don’t get me wrong, many of the games listed above are offered on other systems, and there are more than a few that won’t be coming out for Nintendo. But you compare those games with Nintendo exclusives, which are fun for any age, and The Big N comes in at least as a respectable second for adults, IMO.
Overall however, for adults I’d pick the PS2, and for rapidly decreasing lifespan I’d pick the X-Box (MS can talk about propping up the X-box forever, but it’s still hemorrhaging money).
And, Texas, perhaps I am not the videogame guru that you are, but I spent many an hour figuring out how to beat Zelda, Mario and Metroid. How in the world did you beat any of them in one sitting? Minimum time to beat any of them first time through without a cheat book would be at least 8-10 hours. Possible in one sitting, but then again most games are beatable in the same time frame, even mature ones. I assume that most other games take you more than one sitting for the same amount of time. Why?
Also how do you figure the above three games, as well as numerous other N games, are for kids? Well, okay, I’ll give you Mario, but if you want to beat Zelda or Metroid you need to have patience and an open mind to solve many of their puzzles. Unless you mean in content, in which case I’ll give up mature as in “mature audiences”, but deny you “mature” as in sophisticated. How many games have there been for any console (not PC) that you could honestly term sophisticated, at least in a sense that those games don’t meet?
Think about it like this: Nintendo knows that most of its fans from the 8-bit days have grown up, and they therefore target sequels from its glory days at them. Why else would those games have the same characters, enemies and ongoing storylines and upgraded and remixed soundtracks? But the catch is that Nintendo knows that its fans are older and will not settle for the same experiences they had as children, so they up the difficulty and push for more tension in the gaming experience. They are still trying to snag the kids with these games, but if they weren’t actively trying to snag the adult market then why would they even make sequels (okay, you weren’t implying the opposite of this paragraph, but I was on a roll)?
And after reviewing my rant I appear to be rabidly pro-Nintendo. Well, I will admit to being a big fan, but I’m also a big critic. I think that the greatest harm done to Nintendo has been done by itself. Using formats that no one else uses, refusing to offer, or giving limited versions of extras that their competitors are offering, pissing off developers (Square), etc. Honestly the one thing I think that Nintendo does right is its games. They’ve learned some after what happened with the N64 and are pushing third party developers to put their games on their system, if not outright bribing them, but they’re still blowing it in other aspects.
Overall what I’m trying to say is that I think that the GC is kiddy friendly, not a kiddy platform.
And also in my defense, I’d still recommend the PS2 to most people.
Oh, and for single player I’d pit Metroid Prime against any other FPS out there. Best game I’ve bought in years.
I see she named Super Monkey Ball, which really shines in multi-player. If you’re not too dignified to play a happy colorful game, actually playing this with her can be enjoyable for both. Most of the mini-games are simple to learn and great when playing with other people. You’d get the most out of the purchase.
Super Monkey Ball is a great party game. And with four players, Super Smash Bros. is one of the most amusing things I’ve ever played.
If I had the money I would buy one for my 2nd console to play Mario and Zelda alone. Damn Square, why’d they have to go and leave Nintendo and split apart my favorite triad.
Rogue, Mario, Zelda, and Metroid are reason enough to buy a Cube.
Also, it’s very cute and precious. Mine’s purple. I have this cute darling little Gamecube next to my big menacing squatting Xbox. I’m hoping they have menacing squatting purple babies.
What?
[me at 3 in the morning]
must…defeat…hypnotizing mushroom head guy
[/me at 3 in the morning]
Try ebay.com for used GC games, they are pretty cheap there. I also buy mine from BB rental stores when they have a sale, which is usually buy 2 get one free.