NINTENDO GAME CUBE
AWARD WON: SYSTEM OF THE YEAR – 2003
Alexander Lucard
My god, how much things have changed in over a year. I haven’t even played a game that came out in 2006 on my Cube.
In 2003, there were 12 members of the Kliq. Of those twelve, seven voted for the Cube, 1 abstained, 2 voted for the PS2, 1 voted for the Xbox, and 1 voted for the GBA. As I voted for the GBA, I figure I can’t really do justice as to WHY the Cube won, but instead, let’s reprint the comments from those who voted for it to refresh our memories of when the CUbe really was the best system around.
Chuck Platt
From third to arguably first place in a year is nothing to sneeze at. Mario Kart, Ikaruga, Viewtiful Joe, F-Zero, Zelda, and Dream Mix TV World are all reasons to give the Cube a spin. AND it is the only home console with easy importing, just use an Action Replay!
Alex Williams
This one is easy. The X-Box may have had some cool Live titles, and the PS2 may have had some big names, but the GameCube has had a banner year in terms of software and hardware combined. Zelda, Mario Kart, Pokemon Channel, F-Zero, Viewtiful Joe, Mario Party…the list goes on and on. Add to that the Game Boy Player, and you have the greatest all-purpose entertainment experience Nintendo has been building this thing up as. Hail to the king, baby!
Bebito Jackson
Let’s make it easy. F-Zero, The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker, Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, Pokemon Channel… Big enough juggernauts on their own, but the exclusive third-party support was what surprisingly what took the cake. Viewtiful Joe? Fantastic. Ikaruga? Amazing. Sure the volume is less than other consoles. But when the GameCube DOES do its thing, it rocks harder than any other system out. Always been true with Nintendo’s consoles. Quality over quantity, kids. And besides, when they’re selling them at 99 bucks a pop with a FREE Zelda bonus disc… how could we not give it its props.
Cory Laflin
Not so much because it had the best games, but because of deft use of marquee titles and a price drop to make sales skyrocket.
And with Double Dash, Viewtiful Joe, and the Zelda and Sonic franchises aboard, who could resist that price point. Drop the price all you want, but without the titles everybody knows and loves, no one would’ve bought it. The combination of great games and good marketing make this the obvious choice for 2003. I’m interested in seeing what they’ll do to keep that momentum in 2004, especially with Xbox Live picking up steam.
Misha
The more I think about it, the more I realize that, this year, the only console that has leapt out at me saying “Buy me! Buy me!” is the Cube. Maybe it’s a latent Nintendo bias, but in all honesty, I can say that the GC currently has more games I’d prioritize the purchase of than the other two combined.
Bryan Berg
How do you go from a DOA system to a solid #2 with potential? Ask Nintendo, because its GameCube has done just that in 2003. Sure, it had a terrible first half of the year in terms of moving systems, but look at the games that came out this year. The Wind Waker. Mario Kart: Double Dash. Viewtiful Joe. Add that to the Game Boy Player and GBA connectivity and you’ve got a system that’s ready to compete in 2004 as well. Good job, Nintendo!
Widro
When you look at the lineup of exclusive titles for all three systems, it was a banner year for Nintendo. Mario Kart Double Dash!!, F-Zero GX, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Viewtiful Joeâ┚¬â”žÂ¢ those four alone trump almost anything else released in 2003.
This my friends, has been the 16 games that managed to win awards from us in 2003. We’re going to be continuing with 2004 and then 2005, so we hope you’ll stay with us on this trip down memory lane at the best games each year had to offer.