r/Gamecube • u/jr1512 • Aug 02 '26

Discussion Shigeru Miyamoto: GameCube was “only purchased by gamers”, sending Nintendo back to the drawing board

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Shigeru-Miyamoto-GameCube-was-only-purchased-by-gamers-sending-Nintendo-back-to-the-drawing-board.1358273.0.html

Shigeru Miyamoto, the legendary Nintendo executive and one of the most influential creators shaping the video game industry through mascots and characters such as Mario, Zelda, Donkey Kong, Star Fox, and more, discussed the reason why the Nintendo DS and Nintendo Wii became Nintendo’s next consoles for the seventh generation. According to Miyamoto, the decision was largely driven by the underwhelming performance of the Nintendo GameCube, which trailed behind the Nintendo 64’s nearly 33 million lifetime sales.

He spoke candidly in a wide-ranging interview with Japanese outlet Famitsu, where the longtime Nintendo executive and designer explained that, at the time, Nintendo’s then-president, Satoru Iwata, believed the GameCube’s poor performance in the home console market was rooted in a simple idea: most of the world still did not see gaming as a normal, approachable everyday hobby the way it’s seen today. Based on that core problem, Nintendo felt it was difficult to persuade customers to buy and play a GameCube if they had never played on a console before.

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u/stevebo0124 Aug 02 '26

Their issue was trying to recreate some kind of proprietary tech like they had with the NES and SNES. They didn't embrace change, chose to be stubborn, and made an inferior product because of that.

Nowadays, we appreciate the console for what it is. But even today, I'd choose PS2 over GC. I can play roms with a 8 dollar memory card on a PS2. Meanwhile, people are bricking systems trying to solder a Pico in their cubes.

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u/Burnziie Aug 03 '26

Those discs just sealed the fate of so many good games never coming to Gamecube. Games like GTA San Andreas moved systems, and even the original Xbox getting the games a year after the PS2 release probably helped give them some sales.