Nintendo GameCube

Nintendo reported that as of January 2006 they have sold a total of 20.61 million Nintendo Gamecube units worldwide. Weekend editions are tailored to the priorities and interests of weekend viewers—offering special series such as "Saturday Today on the Plaza," featuring live performances by the biggest names in music and Broadway outside the studio throughout the summer. One example is the advertisement campaign for Square Enix's GameCube-exclusive Final Fantasy game, Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles. Interaction with the crowd outside the studio is a major part of the program. Most of the "Who Are You?" commercials advertised games developed or published by Nintendo, but some developers pay Nintendo to promote their games, using Nintendo's marketing and advertising resources. In addition, the show offers visitors to New York City a chance to observe firsthand the workings of a live television broadcast with its windowed studio on Rockefeller Plaza. The "Who Are You" logo is similar to graffiti lettering. The weekend broadcasts continue the Today tradition of covering breaking news, interviewing newsmakers, reporting on a variety of popular-culture and human-interest stories, covering health and finance issues and presenting the latest weather reports.

The idea behind the "Who Are You?" campaign is that "you are what you play"; the kind of game a gamer enjoys playing suggests a dominant trait in that gamer's personality. However, when major events in Washington happen during the morning hours, the program is broadcast from NBC studios in Wasington. Subsequent ad campaigns had Nintendo advertising with a "Who Are You" tangent, essentially marketing the wide range of games Nintendo offers. The program is broadcast from Studio 1A in Rockefeller Plaza in New York. The lettering would begin as a wave, only to settle on the top of the pictured console. Five years later, on August 1, 1992, the Saturday edition made its debut, expanding the broadcast schedule of the Today franchise to seven days a week. It basically rotated around what appeared to be the top of a GameCube console, with the lettering being slightly 3D. The Sunday edition of NBC News' Today premiered on September 20, 1987.

Later on, Nintendo incorporated a video clip before the normal clip for the GameCube game would begin, similar to the brief PlayStation 2 logo before a commercial featuring the game. However, there are many female hosts waiting to take over including Ann Curry and Campbell Brown. This was usually after the normal commercial for a GameCube game. Couric said she hasn't yet made up her mind if she will be leaving or staying with the Today Show. A voice whispered "GameCube". Reports say that CBS is offering her 15 million dollars a year plus hosting 60 Minutes. The earliest commercials displayed a rotating cube video, which would quickly morph into the GameCube logo. Couric can't negotiate a contract until her contract expires in May of 2006.

Nintendo has used several advertising strategies and techniques for the GameCube. This supposed feud was one of the factors (but certainly not the main factor) that led to speculations of Couric hosting the CBS Evening News as a replacement for Dan Rather.
. Couric has denied these reports, and says she has been rather hurt by them. Unplugging and reconnecting the controller, and in the case of the wireless Wavebird controller, turning the controller off and back on, will also force a recalibration. In addition, a few one-show victories by rival ABC Program Good Morning America has fueled rumors of a feud, and some even went so far to suggest that Couric might be replaced in the near future. Holding down X, Y and start/pause for three seconds will recalibrate the controller at any time. Some report also suggest that Couric has become a bit too proud (some say obnoxious) because of this, and began to offend Lauer and the rest of the hosts.

Like most analogue controllers, the GameCube pad self-calibrates when the console is switched on, setting the current analog stick and L and R buttons' positions as "neutral", which may cause problems if these controls are not actually in their neutral position at the time of calibration. Reports say that this was due to Katie Couric's prominence in the show and the general perception that she is the only person who can guarantee high ratings for the news program. Various games use this structure to varying levels of success. Beginning in 2004, there were rumors that the hosts of Today were in the midst of a feud. This serves as two additional buttons on the controller without the need to actually add physical buttons. On December 11, 2005, the show marked its 10th year of placing first in the ratings. The L and R analog shoulder buttons, the main innovation, have when fully depressed an additional 'click' if the buttons are depressed further. In 1999, a later version of Today called Later Today was launched with hosts Jodi Applegate, Florence Henderson, and Asha Blake; sagging ratings in that final hour caused its cancellation in 2000.

The controller is a standard wing grip design, and was designed to fit well in human hands. There's an early morning version of the show, called Early Today that now airs on NBC's cable counterpart MSNBC and on many NBC affiliates. Some unofficial controllers also have "turbo" or "macro" buttons, but these only modify the actions performed by other buttons. Other hosts also served between Deborah Norville and Katie Couric. Originally, Nintendo was not going to include it, but game developers asked for it to be put in. Joe Garagiola also hosted the show twice, first from 1967-1973 and then again in the early 1990s. In a late design change, the "Z" button was oddly positioned above the "R" trigger. The hosts of the show include the following: Dave Garroway (1952–1961), John Chancellor (1961–1962), Hugh Downs (1962–1971), Frank McGee and Barbara Walters (1971–1974), Jim Hartz and Barbara Walters (1974–1976), Tom Brokaw and Jane Pauley (1976–1982), Bryant Gumbel and Jane Pauley (1982–1989), Bryant Gumbel and Deborah Norville (1989–1991), Bryant Gumbel and Katie Couric (1991–1997), and Matt Lauer and Katie Couric (1997–present).

Slightly above the "R" button is the "Z" button. This segment also airs on WNBC-TV's NewsChannel 4 at 6PM and 11 PM on a monthly basis. On the top of the controller there are two analog shoulder buttons marked "L" and "R" which are moulded to fit index fingers. "Spanning" is a reel of odd and interesting sports highlights from the past month, with a recorded introduction and closing by Don Pardo. The start/pause button is in the middle of the controller. One popular monthly feature is "Spanning the World" with WNBC-TV sports anchor Len Berman. Below those, there is a yellow "C" stick, which has a similar function to the right stick on a PlayStation. Stark also acts as host of MSNBC Live.

On the right are four buttons; a large green "A" button in the centre, a smaller red "B" button to the left, an "X" button to the right and a "Y" button to the top. Melissa Stark is National Correspondent for Today. The primary analog stick is on the left, with the D-pad below it. Weekend Today host Campbell Brown often subs for Couric. The standard GameCube Controller totals eight buttons, two analog sticks and a D-pad. Also NBC News correspondent David Gregory has recently been added as substitute host for Matt Lauer. Games with large amounts of voice acting or pre-rendered video often need to be put on two discs. Morales is also a correspondent for the show.

The capacity of the disc is 1.5 GB. She often subs for Ann Curry and sometimes for Katie Couric. The disc is a proprietary version of the eight cm DVD (MiniDVD) format. Natalie Morales can also be considered a member of the Today Show team. The GameCube Optical Disc is the media format used by the Nintendo GameCube. Both Roker and Curry have recently started interviewing guests and taking part in other segments in addition to their weather and news duties. (Even though DDR-SDRAM is significantly faster, since the PowerPC 750CXe can not address DDR-SDRAM, it is not used.). Alexis Glick is a correspondent for Today and appears during the 3rd hour of the program.Gene Shalit is the entertainment critic and Peter Greenberg is the travel editor.

Some benchmarks provided by third-party testing facilities do indicate, however, that some of these specifications, especially those relating to performance, may be conservative. Al Roker does weather updates and Ann Curry reads news headlines. The following are hardware specifications provided by Nintendo of America. The show is currently hosted by Katie Couric and Matt Lauer.
. He was president of the company from 1953 to 1955 (during which time Today's late-night companion, The Tonight Show , premiered), and then served as chairman of the board for another year. Also before the price wars, it was estimated that Nintendo lost the least amount of money or even made a small profit on each sale of a GameCube, compared to its rivals who sold their consoles at a loss[8]. Today was the brainchild of Pat Weaver, who was then vice-president of NBC.

Unlike Sega, Nintendo has strong cash reserves so it could afford to match price wars whenever Sony or Microsoft lowered the price of their console. (In summer 2005, CNN reversed the trend, moving its morning show indoors and uptown to the Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle.). Nintendo also reassured nervous investors by stating that they would "only exit the software business at the same time they would exit the hardware business"; in other words, that they would not discontinue their console business to focus on developing games like Sega had done after the failure of the Dreamcast. Since the premiere of the 1990s set, the morning shows of each of the major broadcast and cable-news networks has moved streetside -- including two of Today's Rockefeller Center neighbors, Fox News's Fox & Friends and CNN's American Morning. The GameCube had a strong hold on the children's market and its low price compared to the PS2 and Xbox kept it competitive. However, when major events happen in Washington during the morning, like presidential inaugurations, the show broadcasts from NBC studios in Washington. However, this has been offset by the growing size of the video game console market which has allowed Nintendo to carve out a loyal following even though its market share decreased. Today moved to the current streetside studio in the mid-1990s, providing a link to the show's 1950s street-level set at the old RCA Exhibition Hall, also Rockefeller Plaza.

The GameCube has not performed to expectations due to being unable to match the sales and market share of its Nintendo 64 predecessor. The studio is located right next to the street and many times the hosts do the weather or other events from outside. GameCube sales have continued to be steady, particularly in Japan, but the Gamecube is still in third place in worldwide sales [7]. The show broadcasts from Studio 1A in Rockefeller Center, New York, just across the street from NBC headquarters at the GE Building. Since then, sales have rebounded due to a price drop to $99 USD and the release of the The Legend of Zelda: Collector's Edition bundle, which spurred sales. In other countries the format was copied - most notably in the United Kingdom with the BBC's Breakfast and ITV's Good Morning Britain; and in Canada with Canada AM. During the second half of 2003, due to sagging sales, Nintendo had to cut GameCube production in order to sell off surpluses and issue a profit warning [6]. It has spawned several other shows of a similar type, including ABC's Good Morning America, CBS's The Early Show.

Also 2K Sports, who have not supported the Gamecube, will release Major League Baseball 2K6 in spring 2006 [5]. Fred Muggs as the show's mascot during the early years), and local news updates. Since then, however, Eidos has resumed development [4] of GameCube titles. The show successfully blends national news headlines, in-depth interviews with newsmakers, lifestyle features, other light news and gimmicks (including the presence of the chimpanzee J. After several years of losing money from developing for Nintendo's system, Eidos Interactive announced that it would end support for the GameCube, cancelling several titles that had been in development including Hitman 2 [3]. Today was the first of its genre when it first signed on with host Dave Garroway. Cross-platform games—such as sports franchises released by Electronic Arts—sold far below their PlayStation 2 and Xbox counterparts, prompting developers to scale back or completely cease support for the GameCube. Central Time/Mountain Time) on October 2, 2000.

The strong preference of GameCube owners for first-party titles has also put the system at odds with major third party developers. Eastern Time/Pacific Time; 6:00–9:00 A.M. However, the Nintendo disc still had sufficient room for most games, although it had less extras than other versions (for example, the Spider-Man Xbox release featured extra levels not in the Gamecube port). ET, until NBC expanded it to three hours (7:00–10:00 A.M. The 1.5 gigabyte proprietary disc format may have also been a limiting factor since Nintendo's rivals used the 4.7 gigabyte DVD. For many years it was a two-hour program from 7:00–9:00 A.M. Although online support was added in late 2002 and both Sony and Nintendo followed a similar decentralized online model (in contrast to the centralized Xbox Live), lower sales of the GameCube versions of games during its launch year precluded developers from including online support. Since 1958, Today is tape-delayed for the different time zones.

Also, due to Nintendo's lack of support for the online capabilities of the GameCube, as opposed to Microsoft and later Sony who actively promoted online gaming by releasing first-party online titles and soliciting developers, many multiplatform games with online functionality were released offline-only on the GameCube. Later, Today aired live for five hours a morning, but it was seen for only two hours in each time zone. Many third-party games popular with teenagers or adults such as first-person shooters and the controversial Grand Theft Auto series skipped a GameCube port in favour of the PlayStation 2 and Xbox. When Today started in 1952, it was seen only in the Eastern and Central time zones, broadcasting three hours a morning but seen for only two hours in each time zone. Nintendo's family-friendly franchises such as Pokémon gave the GameCube the reputation of being a "kiddie" console that failed to appeal to the teenage and adult market[2]. . Despite Nintendo's efforts, the GameCube was unsuccessful in recapturing the preceding Nintendo 64's market share, and the sixth generation was taken over by the PlayStation 2. Ironically, the Nine Network's main rival, the Seven Network, tape-delays and broadcasts NBC's Today Show.

Because of these efforts, GameCube owners tend to support first-party games more heavily than third party games, whereas the reverse is true for PlayStation 2 and Xbox owners. The Australian version has aired on that country's Nine Network since 1982. This policy from Nintendo resulted in many exclusive third-party games for the Nintendo GameCube, and the arrival of multiformat titles on the platform. It first aired on January 14, 1952, an entirely new experiment not only in morning television, but also in the combination of hard news and light features. Nintendo often took an active role in cooperating with a developer. Today (commonly referred to as The Today Show) is a morning news and talk show airing on the NBC television network in the United States. Sometimes, Nintendo would merely request that a third-party developer produce a game based on the third-party's own game franchises; other times, Nintendo would request that the third-party developer produce a game based on Nintendo's own game franchises.

Unlike previous generations in which Nintendo was seen by some as bullying its third-party game developers, Nintendo openly sought game-development aid on the Nintendo GameCube. One of the defining aspects of the Nintendo GameCube is the rejuvenated relationship between Nintendo and its licensees. Some of the more popular first-party titles include:. The Nintendo GameCube software library contains such traditional Nintendo series as Super Mario, The Legend of Zelda, and Metroid.

Source: ESRB. The GameCube features games with the following ratings:. In addition, over 25 titles are currently in development. The GameCube currently has over 550 games available in its library.

Also, holding the "Z" Button while the system boots will replace the normal xylophone musical sequence with squeaks, followed at the end by a child laughing. Tap the "A" Button repeatedly to spin the Gamecube logo. A unique feature of the Gamecube are a few Easter Eggs included in its startup sequence. Two separate adaptors were made, one for dial-up phone lines and one for broadband connections.

Instead, Nintendo focused more on Game Boy connectivity. The only high profile title that required the adapter was Sega's Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II. The GameCube also had a network adapter released during the holiday season of 2002, but Nintendo did not promote or support online gaming anywhere as heavily as Sony or Microsoft. The thumbsticks do not have added "clickable" button functionality—unlike other such consoles of the era—but both L and R shoulder buttons are analog, being able to detect pressure applied to them before "clicking," essentially doubling their functionality.

Keeping up with the Nintendo 64, it features no select button, but the C buttons have been replaced by an analog C stick, instead. The controller has the traditional directional pad, two thumbsticks, and eight buttons: A, B, X, Y, Z, L, R, and start/pause. Despite being more compact than the PlayStation 2 (being that it was released over a year after and kept the power supply separate from the console), the GameCube has superior graphics processing power and better ProLogic sound, but no optical output. Interestingly, with the addition of the Game Boy Player accessory, the GameCube becomes a nearly perfect geometric cube.

However, this feature over other consoles was minimal since its inexpensive production and selling price were its main advantages. The GameCube was designed for ease of portability, with its small size complemented by a carrying handle. A fair variety of GameCube games implement this innovative functionality, while Nintendo encourages its continued use. A special Nintendo GameCube to Game Boy Advance connection cable is required for each Game Boy Advance system that is to be connected to the GameCube.

Up to four Game Boy Advance systems can be connected to the GameCube through the GameCube's four controller ports for multiplayer play. This functionality has also been used to unlock "secrets" such as new levels or characters when two games, a Game Boy Advance game and its GameCube equivalent, are connected together. Subsequent information related to game play may be displayed on the Game Boy Advance's color screen for added convenience or to avoid the cluttering of the display on the television screen. Examples of this functionality include the use of the Game Boy Advance as a controller for the game played.

Such a connection between the two systems allows the transfer of game data. The system does not link to the Micro due to the fact that its slot is too small. The GameCube system also has the unique capability to connect to Nintendo's portable system Game Boy Advance and SP. The Q's different footprint also left it incompatible with the Game Boy Player.

However, it was never released outside Japan and production ceased in December 2003. Called the Q, it was a modified GameCube that could also hold standard-sized DVD discs and play back both formats. There was also a DVD-capable variant released by Panasonic in Japan, under license from Nintendo. Despite the protection of a non-standard disc format (essentially a miniature DVD-ROM with non-standard sectors and filesystem formatting), a number of modchips such as the Qoob and ViperGC have been released that, when used in conjunction with a modified bios, allow the use of a standard or 8 cm DVD-ROM to load backed-up, homebrew, boot-leg or pirate software.

The lack of DVD movie support was also a double-edged sword; it did not appeal to the mass audience that turned to the PlayStation 2 and Xbox due to their built-in DVD support. Common reasons cited by Nintendo for using this format are to lower piracy, provide faster loading times, and to make the system cheaper (to avoid DVD-licensing fees) and more compact. The Nintendo GameCube does not have any DVD-movie support. Later, a special debug mode in the GameCube drive was discovered which allowed the console to read and play from standard mini dvdrs.

[1]. By exploiting a flaw in Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II, users were able to connect their GameCubes to their PC's and run homebrew programming on the console. This move was mainly intended to prevent piracy of GCN titles, but like most anti-piracy technology, it was eventually cracked. Contrary to popular belief, GameCube discs are not physically read any differently from a standard DVD disc, but are encrypted and contain a 'barcode' unreadable by most DVD-ROM drives.

The Nintendo GameCube uses a unique storage medium, the GameCube Optical Disc, a proprietary format based on Matsushita's optical-disc technology; the discs are approximately 8 centimeters (3 1/8 inches) in diameter (considerably smaller than the 12cm CDs or DVDs used in competitors' consoles), and the discs have a capacity of approximately 1.5 gigabytes. In Japan, the system is also available in orange, or in limited edition colors like Crystal White, Mint Green, Copper, and White with black pinstripes. Physically shaped similar to a geometric cube, the outside casing of the Nintendo GameCube comes in a variety of colors, such as indigo, platinum, and black (also a limited edition Resident Evil 4 platinum and black game console). Unveiled during Spaceworld 2000, the Nintendo GameCube was widely anticipated by many who were shocked by Nintendo's decision to design the Nintendo 64 as a cartridge-based system.

The GameCube launched in North America with the following twelve games:. . Luigi's Mansion was the first cover game (volume #150). The GameCube was first introduced in volume #145 of Nintendo Power magazine.

The GameCube was released on:. The GameCube itself is the most compact and inexpensive of the sixth generation era consoles. The Nintendo GameCube (Japanese: ゲームキューブ; originally code-named "Dolphin" during development; abbreviated as GCN) is Nintendo's fourth home video game console, belonging to the Sixth generation era; the same generation as Sega's Dreamcast, Sony's PlayStation 2, and Microsoft's Xbox. It is considered particularly useful for Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II and is difficult, though not impossible, to acquire outside of Japan.

The keyboard requires the use of two controller ports, and contains both Roman and Japanese hiragana characters. An ASCII keyboard controller, resembling a standard GameCube controller pad stretched to accommodate an alphanumeric keyboard in the center. A dance pad, included with Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix. This official Nintendo accessory is currently sold in Japan only.

SD Card Adapter, for games exhibiting the SD Card logo like Animal Forest e+. Commands are issued when you hold the X button on the controller. Odama also includes a microphone clip to clip on to the controller. Microphone, which plugs into memory card slot, for use with Mario Party 6, Mario Party 7, and Karaoke Revolution Party.

DK Bongos for use with the music games Donkey Konga, Donkey Konga 2 and Donkey Konga 3, and the Donkey Kong platform title Donkey Kong Jungle Beat. In PAL regions, an RF cable for connection to older televisions, and an RGB SCART cable for high-quality connections. Several are available from Lik-Sang, however, a game supporting 480p combined with the Component Video cable above, and the VD-Z3 (which has a monitor pass-through) or this can give Progressive Scan display quality on a computer monitor. Allows GameCube play on a standard computer monitor.

VGA Adapter. See System Specifications above and Official Information.). Less than one percent of GameCube owners used 480p, therefore the digital output was eventually removed from the design to reduce the system's manufacturing costs. Component video cable (for progressive scan (480p) support) which requires a GameCube with Digital Video Output.

Game Boy Player (to play Game Boy games on the television, using either a GameCube controller or a connected Game Boy Advance). Modem or Broadband adapter (for internet or LAN play). Nintendo GameCube Game Boy Advance cable (for games that support connectivity between the GameCube and the Game Boy Advance). A maximum of 127 files can be stored on a memory card).

Memory Card (59, 251 or 1019 blocks. Wavebird (RF wireless controller). There are also specially shaped controllers, such as a blood-spattered chainsaw released to coincide with Resident Evil 4.). There are also many limited edition controllers available such as a split Platinum and Red, with the Mario "M" logo replacing the regular GameCube logo seen on standard controllers.

Controller (Standard colours include Indigo, Black, Spice (Orange), Platinum and Indigo-clear. [4.3"(H) x 5.9"(W) x 6.3"(D)]. Physical Measurements of Entire System: 110 mm (H) x 150 mm (W) x 161 mm (D). Power Supply: AC Adapter DC12 volts x 3.25 amperes.

High-speed Parallel Ports: 1. High-speed Serial Ports: 2. Digital Video Outputs: 1 *. Analog Audio/Video Outputs: 1.

Memory Card Slots: 2. Controller Ports: 4. Approximately 1.5 gigabytes in capacity. Producer is Matsushita (Also known as Panasonic).

Diameter is 3 inches in length. Based on DVD technology. Disc Media: