16 years later, has the Xbox v. GameCube debate changed for you?

[Tanooki]

There never was a debate for me. I never would own an xbox and still have no interest ever to. The unique game selection to me was almost all garbage I had no interest in, and the fact they peddled a monthly paid service for online which I never was a fan of anyway that much made it the ultimate turn off. It was to me about the games, Sony not part of this, Nintendo had the goods and they even for over half its life got a lot of the third party goods too so there was variety outside of Nintendo+partners. Much of my xbox experience came from my job at the time having to use one and break time goof off sessions with others who brought stuff in too. It just did nothing for me, ever. I was happier on GC, PS2 and PC (DC too.)

[xenomorpher]

I probably played my modded XBOXES the most due to the solid emulators and homebrews. Plus it had pretty good exclusives, like Oddworld Stranger's Wrath at the time, and games like Star Wars Battlefront 1&2 supported system link. The Gamecube though had exclusives that captivated me more at that time, like the Resident Evil games and Eternal Darkness, but I just didn't play it as much. I love both systems, but I played the XBOX more and I had more games for it.

[Skippy B. Coyote]

Nope, I still think the Xbox is a big clunky overly-macho machine without much in the way of games that interest me and the GameCube is still one of the sleekest sexiest consoles ever made; and home to pretty substantial number of my all time favorite games. These days the original Wii has usurped the GameCube as my favorite home console, but the GameCube is still a close second for me.

[Bill Loguidice]

As with most Nintendo things, the GameCube was different enough to sort of stand out from everything else, but that didn't always translate into the most optimal experience. The controller was both sublime and limiting; the tiny game discs were cool and sturdy, but had limited space; the output was capped at 480p; the console design cool and compact, but polarizing (particularly the color); etc.

 

The Xbox was a pleasant return of US-centric console gaming in a greatly oversized box with oversized controllers. Microsoft got a lot of things right, but also obviously suffered in some ways from this being their first real console attempt (with previous attempts just being loose partnerships). For whatever faults you want to give it, though, it's a good thing that it introduced a much-needed (and viable) third competitor to Nintendo and Sony. Who knows what we'd have now if Microsoft didn't enter the space?

[+GoldenWheels]

Systems with built in carrying handles>systems without built in carryinghandles. (ironically, considering the two systems size and weight, the wrong system got the handle)

[JaguarVision]

I feel like people most have forgotten the time period.

 

The reaction to the Xbox rumors then introduction.

 

It's launch.

 

It's scores

 

It beating PS2 a few npd months not far from launch.

 

The reactions by GameCube fans. Especially as they drifted further behind.

 

Magazines almost intentionally leaving out the gamecube half the tome.

 

The spec denial wars.

 

The list wars.

 

The GC software drought and early price drop defense forces.

 

I mean Xbox Vs. GameCube was a thing. It wasn't as bad as 360/PS3 in 2007 though. That was a mess.

[Dashopepper]

Xbox vs Gamecube was never a thing. It was Xbox vs PS2 and Gamecube vs PS2 and they both lost.

[Duke75]

I'm sure all the Xbox games have gone to PC or other consoles so what's the point really? Whereas the GC has several exclusive titles that there is still to this day only way to play. Add the Gameboy player into the mix and it's a cut and dry win for me.

 

Nope, there are numerous Xbox exclusives that have never been ported. A bunch of Sega titles (e.g., Gunvalkyrie, JSRF, Panzer Dragoon Orta, etc.), Crimson Skies, Kingdom Under Fire, the Otogi games, Deathrow, Breakdown, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, etc. Maybe not to all tastes, but the Xbox was a neat system for oddball titles. Microsoft didn't really know what it was doing, so it just threw a bunch of stuff at the wall to see if anything stuck. I got a lot of enjoyment out of my Xbox and it kind of pisses me off that I can't emulate my games.

[Austin]

There never was a debate for me. I never would own an xbox and still have no interest ever to. The unique game selection to me was almost all garbage I had no interest in, and the fact they peddled a monthly paid service for online which I never was a fan of anyway that much made it the ultimate turn off. It was to me about the games, Sony not part of this, Nintendo had the goods and they even for over half its life got a lot of the third party goods too so there was variety outside of Nintendo+partners. Much of my xbox experience came from my job at the time having to use one and break time goof off sessions with others who brought stuff in too. It just did nothing for me, ever. I was happier on GC, PS2 and PC (DC too.)

 

It sounds like you nestled yourself under a rock that generation and never bothered to come back out.

 

Your loss.

[Punisher5.0]

 

Nope, there are numerous Xbox exclusives that have never been ported. A bunch of Sega titles (e.g., Gunvalkyrie, JSRF, Panzer Dragoon Orta, etc.), Crimson Skies, Kingdom Under Fire, the Otogi games, Deathrow, Breakdown, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, etc. Maybe not to all tastes, but the Xbox was a neat system for oddball titles. Microsoft didn't really know what it was doing, so it just threw a bunch of stuff at the wall to see if anything stuck. I got a lot of enjoyment out of my Xbox and it kind of pisses me off that I can't emulate my games.

I checked out three random games in your list and all three were playable on the 360.

 

Edit: I forgot that you can play GC games on early model Wiis so this point is mute.

[Austin]

I checked out three random games in your list and all three were playable on the 360.

 

Edit: I forgot that you can play GC games on early model Wiis so this point is mute.

 

It doesn't help that the quality of backwards compatibility on the 360 is all over the place too. Some games exhibit issues when played through it so it's not the ideal way to experience them. That could change on the Xbox One where OG XBOX titles are being made available again with significant visual enhancements. Time will tell how many titles end up being available.

[Punisher5.0]

 

It doesn't help that the quality of backwards compatibility on the 360 is all over the place too. Some games exhibit issues when played through it so it's not the ideal way to experience them. That could change on the Xbox One where OG XBOX titles are being made available again with significant visual enhancements. Time will tell how many titles end up being available.

Yeah it should be super easy since both systems use X86 architecture.

[Duke75]

 

It doesn't help that the quality of backwards compatibility on the 360 is all over the place too. Some games exhibit issues when played through it so it's not the ideal way to experience them. That could change on the Xbox One where OG XBOX titles are being made available again with significant visual enhancements. Time will tell how many titles end up being available.

 

Yeah, I've tried doing the X360 backward compatibility and it's barely tolerable.

[Tanooki]

 

It sounds like you nestled yourself under a rock that generation and never bothered to come back out.

 

Your loss.

Hardly. I just found nothing of value that MS put out I'd put money on. Nintendo, Sony, Sega they did, even NEC as I had been still buying older Duo/HuCard games too, and even SNK as I had a NGPC. Xbox didn't have dick I found worth owning enough to buy the hardware and given the hardware problems it was just added reason not to bother. I ended up using the xbox at work at that time so it wasn't a blind brush off, I truly didn't like it.

 

When I think of unique MS based stuff stuck on their hardware Halo, Forza, Gears, stuff like that comes to mind and I don't care of the stuff. Sony and Nintendo their two direct competitors had plenty for me to enjoy and I did.

[JaguarVision]

Considering Gears wasn't on the original Xbox and Forza was overshadowed by Project Gotham at the time I find your statement odd.

 

Even more so the paid online. Few complained about that on the original Xbox given it gave you more than arguably an average PC did at the time. Gaming wise of course.

 

Considering your Halo/Gears/Forza statement, which itself is silly, I'm not sure you really put anytime to know what the original Xbox is.

 

With that said, it seems you at least played the game cube. Glad you enjoyed it.

[Greg2600]

I dropped Nintendo "like a bad habit" back then, and chose the Xbox. Primarily I played FPS and Racing games, and Halo/Project Gotham sold me close to day one. Most of the 3rd party titles I wanted were on both systems anyway, plus Microsoft had online play. PS2 I felt was graphical inferior to both, and Gran Turismo was boring compared to PGR. Ironically, one major reason I went with MS was 3rd party support. Namely, the N64 had NONE! I simply didn't trust that Nintendo would have any, although they wound up having quite a bit from SEGA, Electronic Arts, Activision, etc. Similarly, though I had an XBOX, I was also doing a LOT of PC gaming, which in many cases was redundant but I always loved that you could mod PC games but almost never on console. Anywho, I was always happy with the Xbox purchase, even though that thing was loud as hell.

 

I had very little exposure to the Gamecube for many years. Eventually, as it was phased out by Nintendo, I got one and a bunch of games at a garage sale. Around that time Gamestop was putting games on clearance so I snagged a ton there too. Obviously the GBA add-on is fantastic and all. The system has terrific games. The 1st/2nd party titles are just awesome, and I lamented going so long without Mario, Samus and Link! 3rd party games looked great on there, as graphically the cube stood shoulder to shoulder with the more powerful Xbox.

 

In conclusion, I voted for the Xbox mainly due to what it can do with a free softmod. That plus the nonsensical prices one must pay for 1st party GCN games and accessories like the component cables.

[Punisher5.0]

So far it looks like AA is split. I'm surprised it's this close.

[Tanooki]

Jaguar I can't take much what you're throwing there seriously either considering your history so far. Yes this is the xbox (original) but I'm more into IP branding, not just the chips and bits inside the plastic shell. The original content, and the xbox had none I cared for in the least bit other than the original Halo which I had on my computer which ran it in a nicer higher resolution with mouse and keyboard control. Irregardless if Forza was overshadowed it was there and it has lived on in their successive systems. And from there in that next generation of the 360 and the One now those games, some do hit the PC and in better shape as well, especially this PC-wannabe box setup they and PS4 have and I've got a PC that can run better than those stock boxes so generation by generation I've not been without I just bought something far more useful that can run the interesting stuff better. Sony had enough stuff that never would hit the PC and basically anything Nintendo does never would outside an emulator either, so in both cases their hardware made so much more sense to buy and enjoy both for gaming taste and locked down stuff that wouldn't leave it.

 

I can respect some of the answers here given how stupidly easy it was to hack the hell out of an original xbox, and if that's what got you into making it a favorite I totally get that as it's tempting given how much it could handle within one big xbrick on your TV. I just weighed it upon stock games and unique stock games to qualify a buy.

[spacecadet]

Also, it's unlikely a theoretical Game Cube version would have been different because it would have been a port of the arcade game just like the XBOX version.

 

It was actually developed for Xbox first. The arcade version is a port of the Xbox version, and it runs on the Xbox-based Chihiro board so it has the same look.

Edited October 31, 2017 by spacecadet

[Silverfleet]

Back when they were new and relevant, I chose the GameCube over the OG Xbox. Why? Because Zelda. I actually pre-ordered Wind Waker BEFORE I owned a GameCube! I wanted to play the Nintendo franchise games on a modern system, and I liked the quirky GameCube. Also, the Game Boy Player add-on was a cool feature and I bought it the day it was released.

 

Also, I didn't think that Microsoft, a computer company, had a chance against the gaming juggernauts that were Sony and Nintendo at making a competing gaming console. I looked at the failed Apple Pippin as an example, and the games looked lame to me.

 

Then, around 2004, I won a Xbox bundle through a contest at my work. It came with Xbox Live, Crimson Skies, Rallisport Challenge 2, and Project Gotham Racing 2, and on the way home from work, I picked up the original Halo and the first Project Gotham game. I was blown away by the racing games, which played as well if not better than anything I had on my trusty PS2. And to my surprise, Halo and Crimson Skies were great! I also loved that you could load songs onto the hard drive and play them basically in any game, and that was a feature I used all the time.

 

If I didn't win that Xbox bundle, I'm not sure I would have even bothered picking one up until much later. I'm glad I did, because I really like it! I use it way more now than the GameCube.

[adamchevy]

I’ve owned a couple gamecubes, but never an Xbox . I might have to give it a try one day. I do remember most of my friends had an Xbox . It seemed like the hardcore gamers console back then to me. I was 18 or 19 years old back then. I couldn’t really see pixels or gameplay . I really only paid close attention to boobs.

Edited October 31, 2017 by adamchevy

[Osgeld]

I had a dreamcast, a ps2, then finally an xbox (mainly to mod) my niece had a game cube, to me the con's outweighed the pro's at the time and the few exclusives I wanted to play I did with the Wheee that I bought for my wife (mainly for media streaming and wii fit)

 

There are plenty of dull brown & grey shooters on the xbox, but there are also plenty of interesting games (like the sega ports and psyconauts, which I have on pc now, oddworld etc), If you are like me, and have absolutely no problem not playing the next mario metroid zelda kart smash world then the cube does not have a ton to offer

[zylon]

So far it looks like AA is split. I'm surprised it's this close.

 

I'm not. There's a lot of good reasons to pick or own either one. Some like the platform exclusives one had over the other, others like what can be done with them now. Both have some titles in almost every genre to appeal to someone.

[JaguarVision]

It's close because as I said opinions change. Look at some of the stories on here.

 

These two were basically the most opposite consoles that may have ever existed. Xbox and GameCube targeted different audiences, marketed differently, at different common aesthetics across multiple games.

[Austin]

 

It was actually developed for Xbox first. The arcade version is a port of the Xbox version, and it runs on the Xbox-based Chihiro board so it has the same look.

 

Source? I have a hard time believing that was the case considering their other Chihiro arcade-to-home conversions. Not to say it's not possible, but I am just curious.