This announcement also revealed strategic partnerships with IBM for the creation of Dolphin's PowerPC-based CPU, codenamed "Gekko," and with Panasonic (Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.) for the development of its DVD drive and other Dolphin-based devices.

[15][17] In total, ArtX cofounder Greg Buchner recalled that their portion of the console's hardware design timeline had arced from inception in 1998 to completion in 2000.

[30][20] Greg Thomas, Sega of America's VP of Development said, "What does worry me is Dolphin's sensory controllers [which are rumored to include microphones and headphone jacks] because there's an example of someone thinking about something different."

Certain games, such as The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures and Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, can use the handheld as a secondary screen and controller when connected to the console via a link cable.

[37][38] Other leaks suggest plans for a GameCube successor, codenamed Tako, with HD graphics and slots for SD and memory cards, apparently resulting from a partnership with ATI and scheduled for release in 2005.

[41] The console was scheduled to launch two months later in North America on November 5, 2001, but the date was pushed back in an effort to increase the number of available units.

[45][46][47] The console's family-friendly appeal and lack of support from certain third-party developers skewed the GameCube toward a younger market, which was a minority of the gaming population during the sixth-generation.

[48] Many third-party games popular with teenagers or adults, such as the blockbuster Grand Theft Auto series and several key first-person shooters, skipped the GameCube entirely in favor of the PlayStation 2 and Xbox.

[79] By Christmas of 2003, Nintendo of America's president, George Harrison, reported that the company's price cuts down to just under $100 quadrupled sales in the American market.

[88][89] Due to price drops, which saved it in the American markets,[90] and high-quality games from various developers, such as Pokémon Colosseum and Resident Evil 4,[91][92] the GameCube improved to put Xbox down to third place.

Initiating the GameCube's design in 1998, Nintendo partnered with ArtX (then acquired by ATI Technologies during development) for the system logic and the GPU,[17] and with IBM for the CPU.

[112] It was designed by Matsushita Electric Industrial (now Panasonic Corporation) with a proprietary copy-protection scheme unlike the Content Scramble System (CSS) in standard DVDs.

The shape was popularized by Sony's PlayStation controller released in 1994 and its follow-up DualShock series in 1997 with vibration feedback and two analog sticks to improve the 3D experience.

[133] Its stainless steel case is completely revised with a DVD-sized front-loading tray, a backlit LCD screen with playback controls, and a carrying handle like the GameCube.

[142][143][144][145] While the video game industry was focusing on more mature audiences and online connections, Nintendo regained older players who had gravitated to the PlayStation 2 and Xbox during the early 2000s.

[167] One of the most well-known GameCube games for mature audiences is Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem, which underperformed financially, but garnered critical acclaim and is now regarded as a cult classic.

[168][169][170][171] The GameCube is Nintendo's first home console with a system menu, activated by powering on without a valid game disc or by holding down the A button while one is loaded.

The Nintendo 64 Game Pak cartridge format increased the cost to manufacture software, as opposed to the cheaper, higher-capacity optical discs on PlayStation.

Several third-party developers were contracted to work on new games for Nintendo franchises, including Star Fox: Assault (which became a Player's Choice re-release[174]), Donkey Konga by Namco, and Wario World from Treasure.

[176][177][178][179] Some third-party developers, such as Midway,[180] Namco,[181] Activision,[182] Konami,[183][184] Ubisoft,[185] THQ,[186] Disney Interactive Studios,[187] Humongous Entertainment, Electronic Arts,[188][189][190][191][192] and EA Sports,[193][194] continued to release GameCube games into 2007.

[213][214] Lastly, three racing games have LAN multiplayer modes: 1080° Avalanche, Kirby Air Ride, and Mario Kart: Double Dash.

[219] CNET gave an average review rating, noting that though the console lacks a few features offered by its competition, it is relatively inexpensive, has a great controller design, and launched a decent lineup of games.

[245] In September 2009, IGN ranked the GameCube 16th in its list of best gaming consoles of all time, placing it behind all three of its sixth-generation competitors: the PlayStation 2 (3rd), the Dreamcast (8th), and the Xbox (11th).

[p] Sales of many cross-platform games—such as sports franchises released by Electronic Arts—were far below their PlayStation 2 and Xbox counterparts, eventually prompting some developers to scale back or completely cease support for the GameCube.

Exceptions include Sega's family friendly Sonic Adventure 2 and Super Monkey Ball,[259] which reportedly yielded more sales on GameCube than most of the company's games on the PlayStation 2 and Xbox.

[20][260][261][262] In June 2003, Acclaim Entertainment CEO Rod Cousens said that the company would no longer support the GameCube, and criticized it as a system "that don't deliver profits".

However, after the company's purchase by the SCi Entertainment Group in 2005, Eidos resumed development for the system and released Lego Star Wars: The Video Game[265] and Tomb Raider: Legend.

[266] That same month, another British retailer Argos, cut the price of the GameCube in their stores to £78.99, which was more than £50 cheaper than Nintendo's SRP for the console at the time.

[268][269] With sales sagging and millions of unsold consoles in stock, Nintendo halted GameCube production for the first nine months of 2003 to reduce surplus units.

[276][277] Many games that debuted on the GameCube, including the Pikmin series, Chibi-Robo!, Metroid Prime, and Luigi's Mansion became popular and profitable Nintendo franchises or subseries.