For starters, Nintendo has quite clearly made this a game-only machine. It doesn't try to play your CD collection, run your movies, read your e-mail, or store your MP3 files. The company has concentrated its efforts on games. All the prelaunch titles we've seen play smoothly, with bright, fast graphics and great sound. Nintendo says its engineers have removed traditional bottlenecks that have, in the past, slowed down processing. New components designed by IBM and MoSys, as well as a large-capacity secondary memory cache, keep instructions moving through the system's microprocessor (MPU) at peak levels. In English: the GameCube is optimized to push speed up while pushing costs down; hence its position at the lower end of the price spectrum.

The GameCube is the first Nintendo video game system to use a disc-based medium rather than cartridges for its games. Moving the software to disc media generally means lower development costs for the publishers, which, in turn, trickles down to the consumer not only in price, but also in availability and quality, as it's then easier to try out untested game ideas (Pikmin, anyone?). While most other systems likewise have their games stored on discs, the GameCube's 3-inch format is smaller than everyone else's, and is so designed to fit in a shirt pocket as much as to deter would-be software pirates.

Of course, the main advantage of the GameCube is that it's the home field of one of the world's premier game designers: Nintendo. While powerhouses Electronic Arts and Sega make games for all systems (including this one), you can play Nintendo games only on a Nintendo system. And Nintendo, you might recall, has been hitting them out of the park since it started with Donkey Kong. In fact, here's a roll call of characters and series you won't find on the other consoles: Mario, Legend of Zelda, Perfect Dark, Metroid, Kirby, and, of course, Pokémon. A few names that the GameCube will share with the other guys: Madden, Tony Hawk, Sonic, Batman, and Star Wars.

The system also comes with four built-in controller ports, so you can easily plug in extra controllers and let friends join in for the multiplayer games--it's even got a built-in handle so you can easily move it to a friend's house. It comes with two memory card slots for saving your progress through games, and there's the capacity for future expansion into the world of online gaming.

In short, the GameCube isn't an all-in-one entertainment system, and neither is it the most powerful of the modern video game consoles. But for video game enthusiasts who want to stick with their favorite characters, its value cannot be beat. --Porter B. Hall

Unit Specifications

• MPU (Microprocessor Unit): 485 MHz custom IBM PowerPC Gekko
• Graphics Processor: 162 MHz custom ATI/Nintendo Flipper
• Texture-Read Bandwidth: 10.4 GB per second (peak)
• Main Memory Bandwidth: 2.6 GB per second (peak)
• Pixel Depth: 24-bit color, 24-bit Z buffer
• Sound Processor: 81 MHz custom Macronix 16-bit DSP
• Sound Performance: 64 simultaneous channels, ADPCM encoding
• Polygon Performance: 6 to 12 million polygons per second (peak)
• System Memory: 40 MB
• Main Memory: 24 MB MoSys 1T-SRAM
• Disc Drive: 128 ms CAV (Constant Angular Velocity) system
• Data Transfer Speed: 16 Mbps to 25 Mbps
• Media: 3-inch, 1.5 GB capacity disc
• Controller Ports: Four
• Memory Card Slots: Two
• Audio-Video Output: Analog and digital
• Dimensions: 4.3 by 5.9 by 6.3 inches (height by width by depth)

HARDWARE:
The first somewhat obvious advantage of the Gamecube is it's sheer processing power. The hardware architectural scheme is simply unparalleled when compared to the likes of the PS2 and Xbox. With the help of hardware development giants like IBM, NEC and ATI, Nintendo was able to assemble a very powerful machine that is cost effective and easy to code for. The beauty of the Gamecube's hardware design is in it's high emphasis on multi-processor resource sharing. With a CPU developed by IBM, a main graphics processor developed by ATI and a slew of other hardware components dedicated to such environmental effects as dynamic light sourcing, bump mapping, tri-linear vector shading, DLPII surround sound support to name a few. Given that all of these components work in tandem and are (for the most part) independent of each other, it is easy to see how resource burden is effectively reduced. Couple this with super-high-speed DRAM (best showcased in the loading-time-free Metroid Prime), and you've got the potential for more performance than you could ask for. Keeping all of this in mind, let us first take a look at PS2 when making comparison. The PS2's general processing scheme is dependant on 3 separate processors: the CPU and two "Emotion-Engine" co-processors. At first glance one may look at this layout and think, "that's not so bad, sounds like Nintendo's design." The truth is, although the intention of the 3 processors was to share processing burden, only but a handful of software titles for the PS2 have effectively been able to pull this off. In my research, I've found that the common, major complaint stemming from production houses was the inefficiency to which it takes in order to couple the processors. Rather than being an automatic component of the hardware (e.g. one processor starts to lag so it automatically routes data crunching to the next processor), whether or not the co-processors go to work is dependant on whether or not that instruction is explicitly stated in the software engine architecture (source code). In most cases, software development houses (especially those who specialize in making cross-platform software) will simply limit processor utilization to the CPU. Take a second to consider how much needs to be processed by the CPU: polygon draw, dynamic light sourcing, shadows, environmental mapping, reflections... this list goes on. Point being, the PS2 is really only barely hanging on in the hardware development. Now, to something a little harder to see is the Xbox architecture. Being the fair an honest critic that I am, I have been quite impressed by the visual and audio processing of the Xbox. Coupled with the fact that it has a built-in hard drive and ethernet card, I must say it is a good design in general. What turns me off about the Xbox is its incredibly striking resemblance to a PC (e.g. CPU, graphics card, sound card, hard drive setup). For God's sake, the thing supports Direct X. What turns me off to this set up is the sheer redundancy of it all. Why not just buy a computer? It does more, and is easily upgraded to last into the future. Granted I have enjoyed Halo, but I've enjoyed UT 2003 on my Pentium 4 1.4Ghz / Nvidia GeForce 4 Ti a heck of a lot more... especially with my mouse and keyboard.

SOFTWARE:
This is where the debate can truly get ugly. I'll be forthright, Nintendo's Gamecube has hands-down the best and most diverse software catalogue among all three next-gen platforms. First and foremost, when considering this statement you've got to look at console-specific games. Sure, the PS2 may have a ridiculous slew of games over both Xbox and Gamecube, but consider the fact that you can attribute this to PS2's earlier launch. Generally speaking, the majority of PS2's console specific games were developed from launch through to the first year of release. Given this fact coupled with the knowledge of PS2 being a less powerful system altogether, who wants these games anyway? If there is credit to be had on the PS2 side of things, it's that of the Grand Theft Auto franchise, the Gran Turismo Franchise, and a couple of good RPGs like Suikoden and Zenosaga... that's it. Both Metal Gear Solid and Final Fantasy are coming to the Gamecube, so both of those Franchises can no longer be used as bargaining chips. Also, consider that Grand Theft Auto exclusivity expires in 2004. Many experts are weary to assume that exclusivity will continue. You wanna talk Xbox now? Only one word: Halo. That's it. Other than Halo, all you have are other multi-platform games that you'll find on both PS2 and Gamecube anyway. Oh, and don't be so naïve as to effetely fall victim to the whole "Only on Xbox" campaign. Given the financial backing of a corporate giant such as Microsoft, how much more obvious is the fact that they pay out big bucks for limited (insome cases 1 to 2 weeks of) exclusivity. Don't be a fool, open your eyes... honestly what else is there for Xbox? Nothing. Now, lets look at Ninetendo's more notable exclusive franchises: Metroid, Zelda, Mario, F-Zero, Starfox, Resident Evil, to name only a few. Couple that with every other multi-platform game that is being published for Gamecube anyway, and you have the strongest software line-up. That's, it. Simple.

VALUE:
$... plus a free game? Are you kidding? Need I say more? Buy it now, you will not be dissapointed.

Last year, I would've rated the GC only 4 stars at best due to the lack of great games and no built-in cd/dvd player to tide me over till the great games came along. But this year, with all the games available and coming up, to use a game machine for anything other than playing great games is ludicrous. Seriously, if you bought a next-generation game machine to mainly play your music cd's or watch a movie, you basically bought the wrong machine to play games with didn't you? But I'm not here to put down the PS2 or X-Box, just to point out why you'll be too busy playing games to worry about anything else.

Here's why it's essential you pick up a Gamecube this year if you didn't last year:
* There are more games available this holiday season than last, from ports(Tony Hawk, Madden, X-Men, college sports games, etc) to exclusives, the GC will have most of your needs.
* Nintendo carries on the tradition of fun multiplayer games: Godzilla's Destroy All Monsters Melee, Super Smash Brothers Melee, Mario Party 4, Bomberman, etc, not to mention upcoming ones like Mario Kart for GC(you know you want it)
* Powerhouse exclusives like the Zelda, Metroid, Resident Evil franchises not to mention certain specific Star Wars and Sonic games.
* Bigger emphasis on more 'mature' oriented games like Eternal Darkness, Biohazard, Killer 7, etc.
* recent announcement by Capcom that they have 5 exclusive games that seem to be more mature-oriented for the GC(check their web-site out for proof)
* Online rpg's like Sega's PSO(although on-line games are still rare and new to the GC, it is possible), excellent fighters like Soul Calibur 2, racers like 1080 and F-Zero X(Sega's doing this one!), and while Rare says goodbye Namco will take over and make the next Star Fox game, a new Final Fantasy-esque game from Square for GC, plus popular ports of games once thought exclusive to other systems like Capcom vs SNK 2, Medal of Honor, Baldur's Gate, Wreckless, Splinter Cell, Dead to Rights, Blood Omen 2, Red Faction 2, etc.
* The GC has the first major wireless controller(the wavebird) available for any system and works perfectly.
* Certain GC games can be connected to or interact with certain games on your GB Advance(i don't own a GBA so i haven't even enjoyed this aspect yet)
* Also, I've noticed the fan-noise is a little quieter on the GC and the load times are a little shorter on the games(on average, generally speaking). Plus, the durability of a Nintendo built product(one year with my GC, no problems yet; and I'm sure a few of you still have working NES's and Super NES's to back up my claim of Nintendo-made durability).
* recent announcement of a Gameboy adaptor that allows you to play thousands of Gameboy/color/advance games on your GC!!

In closing, if you thought the GC was just a toy, or just for kids, think again. Some great games are here, and some even better ones are around the corner. To be honest, I'm very pleased to see Nintendo trying harder to build up their game library(already more varied than the N64's imo) and working hard with some major companies to get some quality games(Capcom's 5-game deal, Sega's ports of their major franchises, joint effort with Namco on Star Fox, ports of rpg's and fighting games--both genres of which suffered on the N64, and the return of Squaresoft incl. an exclusive rpg). But I bought the GC mainly for their world-class exclusives that only GC owners can play. If you can go one-generation in the gaming world without revisiting Link and Hyrule, holding those hours-long multiplayer sessions of Mario Kart or SSB Melee, or finally getting your hands on the new adventure in Metroid Prime...then you have much more restraint than me. But if you want pure gaming addiction, memories, and fun, do yourself a favor and pick up a great system, at a great price, for great gaming value.

X-box: by no means can you bash the graphics or the innovation behind this system. The games, while usually featuring unfamiliar characters, are superb. My own personal favorite was the X-box version of Prince of Persia: Sand of time, which I have played for every system available. The disadvantage: for a 20 year old out on their own, the price can be a bit steep for a system rivaled by two others with their own pros and cons. Rating: 3 stars.

Playstation 2: best value for someone looking for options outside of the gamers world. Like other reviewers noted, has the only rights to the GTA series, and in my opinion has a superior controller setup to the other two. Graphics are excellent, but not as good as Gamecube or X-box. Pricing is midrange, and also is compatable with most DVD's, making it space and money efficient. Rating: 4 stars.

Gamecube: easily portable, excellent graphics and game selection (Zelda, Mario, Starfox... the list goes on and on), and lowest priced game system available. While the game selection is not as large as with the other consoles, the selections available are sure to keep you occupied for a while. Overall, pricing and other factors considered, I rate this 5 stars.

While I would have purchased this console solely for The Legend of Zelda: the Windwaker (which was slightly disappointing compared to Ocarina of Time), I find it the best value for what is available.