Critics Club V: Gamecube

[Neon Ignition]

The original companion cube. From the squared shape, the black detachable disc on its top or the handle hanging off its back; the Gamecube is unmistakable in its design. As with the prior generation Nintendo attempted to capture peoples attentions by launching an array of colours.

What I've done with this entry is try to largely avoid limited editions where only the faceplate on the top was different as this was always a very lazy way of trying to sell the console.

Which Gamecube was the best looking model?




Gamecube: Black Edition



Gamecube: Purple Edition




Gamecube: Spice Orange Edition




Gamecube: Platinum Silver Edition



Gamecube: Pearl White Edition



Gamecube: Mint Green Edition



Gamecube: Hanshin Tigers Edition




Gamecube: Panasonic Q Edition




Gamecube: Starlight Gold Edition




Gamecube: Gundam Red Edition




Gamecube: MTV Edition




Gamecube: Central Airport Japan Edition




Gamecube: Incredibles Edition




Gamecube: MTV Stripes Edition




Gamecube: MTV Camo Edition




Gamecube: MTV Wood Edition




Gamecube: MTV Snow White Edition




Gamecube: Echoes Edition

[wakka]

I'm going to politely ignore everything from the MTV downwards, as to me they're customs, as they're all paint jobs and stickers.

The others though - well, every one of those colours is a delight, isn't it? The original purple/indigo is a classic, the spice orange is the importer's colour of choice and still rocks, and mint green and Gundam red just look great too. Every one of those colours is well chosen. The only ones I don't really like are silver and black, because why the hell would you want silver or black when you could have one of those awesome colours?

Then you get the special ones - Hanshin Tigers is to be honest just a legendary LE. The console looks friggin awesome in pinstripe. Really like that. And then the Q. The Q is bonkers. Truly one of those things, like the original PSP, which just felt like a slice of the future straight out of Japan. It has a screen and the controller ports glow blue for goodness sake. Ridiculously maximalist and awesome.

I think I'm actually going with the Hanshin Tigers as my fave, though

[teddymeow]

The pearlescent white one is just lovely but the orange one is just pure fun.

[chopemon]

I intensely dislike silver coloured electronics. It always looks cheap. The silver GBA SP, silver Gamecube, original DS and silver PS2 all need to be german suplexed into a bin.

When I bought my first Cube I bought a black one because I bought it for Resident Evil and purple is for children and not Gamers. Then when Donkey Konga came out I realised that purple was a really cool colour for a console so I traded my black one in for the DK and console box set.

After that I always wanted a spice orange console and treated myself to a modded region free one last year as a treat to myself for my company shipping a game and staying in business. I love it. Wonderful colour for a console. I really like that Gundam red one as well but the orange is beautiful.

I'll tell you what though, if I walked into a Japanese airport and there was a limited edition Gamecube for sale, that would come home no questions asked.

[samanosuke]

Easy peasy Pana Q. As if a sexier looking console ever existed, never mind a sexier GC.

[wakka]

I googled that airport one and it was just a one-off unit they had for kids to play on in the airport. I'm willing to bet that's just a sticker stuck on a stock indigo model.

[charlesr]

The panaQ is amazing, but the purple cube is so cute.

[Neon Ignition]

Yep, I'm a bit split on this one. I used to own two Cubes. I had a JP/US modded Black Cube and a PAL Purple Cube and the purple model has always looked the better of the two.

The mint green Cube always looked really nice but was too much faff to get hold of. The pearlescent white Cube is lovely too.

Aside from those though the PanasonicQ is mesmerising to look at too. The mix of chrome and blue lighting...


In the end I think the white one takes it, as common as white is, in this instance it's a striking look for the Cube. But it's close, damned close.

[Atticus]

Gotta go with the purpski. I always go with the launch models and for me the purple is the Cube's id. Always liked the look of the spice but never pulled the trigger.

[chopemon]

I was shopping for new Cube controllers recently and didn't realise they did a teal controller. Would have been a nice colour for a console.

[Atticus]

They have a boxed one of those teal controllers in my local indie, I'd never seen one before either.

[wakka]

I have never seen that before. Very interesting. It's a nice colour.

I just love the Wavebird too much to ever use one of the wired pads, though. The first actually good wireless pad.

[Neon Ignition]

Yep, the teal controller is one I remember seeing back in the lik-sang days. Always liked the look of that colour.

The only one that exists is it as a debug/prototype unit:





The only other one skipped is the Gamecube: Hot Pink Edition which was shown when the Gamecube was first revealed but for some reason Nintendo never commercially released and there's no definitive proof this was a working unit either. It looks a bit lush though

[wakka]

That pink is really cool. Oh yes I remember that debug machine now. There is also the red used for the NPDP Reader, another devkit device:





Looks roughly similar to the colour used for the Gundam machine although I don't think it's quite the same.

[QualityChimp]

Daniel Radcliffe as Gamecubes: A Thread

Gamecube: Black Edition

Gamecube: Purple Edition

Gamecube: Spice Orange Edition

Gamecube: Platinum Silver Edition

Gamecube: Pearl White Edition

Gamecube: Mint Green Edition

Gamecube: Hanshin Tigers Edition

Gamecube: Panasonic Q Edition

Gamecube: Gundam Red Edition

Gamecube: MTV Edition

Gamecube: MTV Camo Edition