Rainbow Road is the name of several levels featured in the Mario Kart racing game series, developed and published by Nintendo . Usually presented as a rainbow-coloured racing course suspended in space, Rainbow Road is widely recognized as one of the most iconic staple elements of the Mario Kart video game series.
123-517: Rainbow Road customarily appears as the final brand new track of each Mario Kart game and the final race of the Special Cup. It typically is among the most difficult to complete, since most Rainbow Road tracks often have little to no guardrails to prevent the player from falling off the edges of the track, and oftentimes feature tight curves, steep slopes, and wavy grounds. Most Rainbow Road courses have been revised to be featured more than once throughout
246-785: A Player's Choice re-release ), Donkey Konga by Namco , and Wario World from Treasure . Capcom had announced 5 games for the system dubbed the Capcom Five in November 2002, Viewtiful Joe and Resident Evil 4 were later ported to other systems. Third-party GameCube support was some of the most extensive of any Nintendo console predating the Wii. Some third-party developers, such as Midway , Namco , Activision , Konami , Ubisoft , THQ , Disney Interactive Studios , Humongous Entertainment , Electronic Arts , and EA Sports , continued to release GameCube games into 2007. One of
369-547: A cooperative RPG, Homeland and a baseball game with downloadable content, Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū 10 . Lastly, three racing games have LAN multiplayer modes: 1080° Avalanche , Kirby Air Ride , and Mario Kart: Double Dash . Those can be forced over the Internet with third-party PC software capable of tunneling the GameCube's network traffic. Online play requires an official broadband or modem adapter because
492-403: A few games via a GameCube broadband or modem adapter and can connect to a Game Boy Advance with a link cable for exclusive in-game features using the handheld as a second screen and controller. The GameCube supports e-Reader cards to unlock special features in a few games. The Game Boy Player add-on runs Game Boy , Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance cartridge games. Reception of
615-458: A graphics processing unit . The console was formally announced under the codename "Dolphin" the following year, and was released in 2001 as the GameCube. It is Nintendo's first console to use its own optical discs instead of ROM cartridges , supplemented by writable memory cards for saved games . Unlike its competitors, it is solely focused on gaming and does not play mass media like DVD or CD . The console supports limited online gaming for
738-646: A 32% share of the hardware market in Europe. Due to price drops, which saved it in the American markets, and high-quality games from various developers, such as Pokémon Colosseum and Resident Evil 4 , the GameCube improved to put Xbox down to third place. The top three European countries for GameCube success included the United Kingdom , France , and Germany , and modestly in Spain and Italy . Though falling behind
861-452: A GameCube logo and end with a voice whispering, "GameCube". On May 21, 2001, the console's launch price of US$ 199 was announced, $ 100 lower than that of the PlayStation 2 and Xbox . Nintendo spent $ 76 million marketing the GameCube. In September 2020, leaked documents included Nintendo's plans for a GameCube model that would be both portable with a built-in display and dockable to
984-514: A TV, similar to its later console the Nintendo Switch . 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. The GameCube was launched in Japan on September 14, 2001. Approximately 500,000 units were shipped in time to retailers. The console
1107-562: A carrying handle like the GameCube. Announced by Panasonic on October 19, 2001, it was released exclusively in Japan on December 14 at a suggested retail price of ¥39,800; however, low sales resulted in Panasonic announcing the discontinuation of the Q on December 18, 2003. The Q supports CDs, DVDs, and GameCube discs but there is virtually no integration between the GameCube and DVD player modes. In its lifespan from 2001 to 2007, Nintendo licensed over 600 GameCube games. Nintendo bolstered
1230-406: A co-op mode similar to Mario Kart Double Dash where two characters ride on a single vehicle, and the two players share control. The game also added a new set of courses themed around Namco Bandai's Taiko no Tatsujin series, and added its mascot, " Don-Chan ", as a playable character. The fourth title, Mario Kart Arcade GP VR , represented a major change in direction and gameplay. The game
1353-432: A cowbell tune playing in the background while this mode is turned on. In commemoration of Mario Day celebrations for March 10, 2021, Hot Wheels released a Mario Kart track set based on the course on June 24, 2021. To coincide with the 35th Anniversary of Super Mario Bros. , an ice cream cake inspired by the track was released by Cold Stone Creamery from September 30 to December 15, 2020. Rainbow Road has received
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#17330845501641476-458: A feature that generally makes the game harder for players who are doing well, and easier for players who are struggling, to help balance competition among players. The game consists of three different game modes - "Grand Prix", "Time Trial", and "Multi-player". Grand Prix works similarly to other entries in the series, where the player races against computer-controlled opponents in a series of four races, earning points based on what place they finish
1599-526: A final cup inspired by Rainbow Road called the Rainbow Cup. The Rainbow Cup features two courses called Rainbow Coaster and Rainbow Downhill. Similar to the 64 version, both tracks are completely covered in guardrails making it impossible for racers to fall off. The first half of the course appears to take place at a space station and features floating sculptures of items similar to the Double Dash!! version. For
1722-445: A generally positive attention for its memorable music and unique visuals, as well as notoriety for its length and challenging difficulty. Edge Magazine described Rainbow Road as "the deadly ribbon that has entranced generations of racers". Gus Turner from Complex described Rainbow Road as "simultaneously the most thrilling and most devastating level in any Mario Kart title". Rainbow Road has appeared in multiple "top" ranking lists of
1845-551: A notoriously difficult track. Andrew Webster from The Verge praised the updated version of Rainbow Road for Mario Kart 8 as the best example of its "impressive new track design" and called it a vast improvement when compared to previous instalments. On April 28, 2017, Rainbow Road was voted as the best course in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe by UK players. Not all reception towards Rainbow Road has been positive. Ben Lee of Digital Spy as well as several US Gamer staff members considered
1968-669: A peak of 10.5 GFLOPS. Described as "an extension of the IBM PowerPC architecture", the Gekko CPU is based on the PowerPC 750CXe with IBM's 0.18 μm CMOS technology, which features copper interconnects . Codenamed Flipper , the GPU runs at 162 MHz, and in addition to graphics manages other tasks through its audio and input/output (I/O) processors. The GameCube is Nintendo's first console to not use primarily cartridge media, following
2091-489: A race. In Mario Kart 8 as well as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe , the track uses three whole laps again instead of lap sections, and there is again a planet in the background with a higher resolution than the one from Mario Kart Wii . This track is the first one to exploit the idea of gliding upon solar panels on a space station, giving a plausible explanation to the track's premise of a rainbow-colored track suspended in outer space. The ground uses quadratic tiles in resemblance to
2214-565: A race. In the game's follow-up, Mario Kart Arcade GP 2 , the track underwent a couple of changes. The tracks now had three laps instead of two, and the second variant of the two courses replaced the aquatic theme with a sky temple setting. The track's incarnation in Mario Kart DS is largely similar to the version in Mario Kart: Double Dash!! with its sharp turns, helix, and dash panels. What distinguishes it from previous versions
2337-422: A race. However, real-world money must be paid to participate in each individual race, or the cup is ended in forfeiture. If the player completes all four races, they may play a special "Bonus Mission" similar to the "Mission Mode" from Mario Kart DS . For example, one mission requires the player to push an oversized melon through a course across a finish line. Time Trial mode removes all other characters from
2460-442: A sequel to the original Mario Kart Arcade GP released a year prior. The game was co-developed by Namco Bandai and Nintendo. With its announcement occurring so close to the launch of Nintendo 's then-upcoming Wii home console , some publications expected the game to release on updated an updated arcade board , but it was later revealed to run on the same Triforce arcade hardware of its predecessor. The Triforce arcade board
2583-508: A smaller red "B" button to the left, an "X" button to the right, and a "Y" button at the top. Below and to the inside is a yellow "C" analog stick, which often serves a variety of in-game functions, such as controlling the camera angle. The Start/Pause button is located in the middle, and the rumble motor is encased within the center of the controller. On the top are two "pressure-sensitive" trigger buttons marked "L" and "R". Each essentially provides two functions: one analog and one digital. As
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#17330845501642706-475: A speed boost. Many new items were implemented as well, such as a Dr. Mario virus that blurs the players screen, and tornado , oil can , and "square tire" items that that can be fired an other players to disrupt and slow them down. Players may also purchase a rewritable " memory card " that can be inserted into the arcade machine to save information, stats, save items, and submit information in contests. The sequel, Mario Kart Arcade GP 2 retains and adds upon
2829-461: A steering wheel that going back to a controller may be hard once you've experienced it." The game is generally considered rare and difficult to find in Western regions, with publications lamenting that Nintendo has not released the game on any home video game consoles . Mario Kart Arcade GP 2 was praised by GamesRadar for being a fun improvement over the original Arcade GP , though conceded that
2952-647: A third-party developer, porting Dreamcast games such as Crazy Taxi and Sonic Adventure 2 , and developing new franchises, such as Super Monkey Ball . Longtime Nintendo partner Rare , which had developed GoldenEye 007 , Perfect Dark , Banjo-Kazooie , Conker's Bad Fur Day , and the Donkey Kong Country series, released Star Fox Adventures for GameCube, its final Nintendo game before acquisition by Microsoft in 2002. Several third-party developers were contracted to work on new games for Nintendo franchises, including Star Fox: Assault (which became
3075-535: 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." These motion control concepts would not be deployed to consumers for several years, until the Wii Remote . Prior to the GameCube's release, Nintendo focused resources on the launch of the Game Boy Advance , a handheld game console and successor to
3198-549: Is filled with sharp-90 degree turns with a few jumping blocks on the track's surface, whose multicolored pattern makes them hard to visualize. Since floor behaviour is dictated by tile type in the original Mario Kart, the slightest "black tile" would send the racer off the track, forcing its player to wisely search the apex in every curve. Highly favoring the high-speed heavy characters (Bowser and Donkey Kong Jr.), this track saw most lap records performed with these two characters. Rainbow Road also features Star Thwomps which - unlike
3321-456: Is played in a hybrid arcade cabinet / virtual reality set up with an HTC Vive . Racing is done from a first person perspective , and through a Vive Tracker , has motion control aspects, such as actually moving one's hand to pick up items and throw them at other players. Racing is however far more restricted and structured into shorter segments, more comparable to a roller coaster . After losing third party software development support with
3444-507: Is sufficient for most games, although a few multi-platform games require an extra disc, higher video compression, or removal of content. By comparison, the PlayStation 2 and Xbox use CDs and DVDs up to 8.5 GB . Like its predecessor, the Nintendo 64, GameCube models were produced in several different color motifs. The system launched in "Indigo", the primary color shown in advertising and on
3567-411: Is that it features a vertical loop and corkscrew, which were the first and only inversions on a track in Mario Kart history before Mario Kart 8 introduced anti-gravity. Rainbow Road DS is also the only Rainbow Road in the series whose layout could theoretically work as a roller coaster layout, with a curved initial climb, a downfall larger than the loop and other hilltops, each slightly less tall than
3690-473: Is wildly twisted, forcing racers to make use of the new anti-gravity feature. At a location, two separated parts of the track cross nearby in different angles, and distant parts of the track can be seen ahead from far away. According to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe producer Kosuke Yabuki, the development team's goal was to create a version of Rainbow Road with a "near-future" aesthetic when anti-gravity controls were added. Mario Kart Tour features two courses based on
3813-502: The Mario Kart series, except for the differing input methods: instead of joystick and buttons to steer, accelerate, and brake, the arcade cabinets control with a steering wheel , gas pedal , and brake pedal . The goal of the game remains the same; players must drive their go-kart through a given course in hopes of completing it faster than competing racers. Like prior Mario Kart games, Arcade GP features "rubber band" physics ,
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3936-536: The F.L.U.D.D. water device from Super Mario Sunshine and Tamagotchi toys themselves. The original "NamCam" system was improved in both image quality and expanded to have further alterations and effects added. Entirely new features include an announcer that provides play-by-play commentary on the race, and the ability for advanced players to unlock alternate hidden karts. The third title, Mario Kart Arcade GP DX , drew inspiration from Mario Kart 7 in including hang gliders and underwater driving segments, and
4059-572: The Famicom Data Recorder , Famicom Disk System , SNES-CD , and 64DD which represent past explorations of complementary storage technologies. The GameCube introduced a proprietary miniDVD optical disc format for up to 1.5 GB of data. 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 size
4182-521: The Game Boy Advance lines the course with jumping humps, giving players a chance to get back on the course or take shortcuts with a Mushroom. On top of the boost panels and ramps littered throughout the course, there are also falling stars that can harm players and Thunder Clouds that can shrink them if they come into contact. The background features Bowser's flying castle from Paper Mario . The Rainbow Road in Mario Kart: Double Dash!! for
4305-680: The Game Boy Player accessory runs Game Pak cartridges for the Game Boy , Game Boy Color , and Game Boy Advance . The original version of the GameCube's successor, the Wii , supports backward compatibility with GameCube controllers, memory cards, and games but not the Game Boy Player or other hardware attachments. However, later revisions of the Wii—including the "Family Edition" released in 2011 and
4428-650: The GameCube goes largely downhill before the players enter a helix filled with dash panels and a large pipe that launches players to the top. This track takes place at night above Mushroom City and features floating sculptures of items that can rain Star power-ups that racers can pick up. The track's music (which features a remix of Mario Kart 64's Rainbow Road near the end) would be featured in every Super Smash Bros. title going forward beginning with Super Smash Bros. Brawl . Namco's arcade game Mario Kart Arcade GP features
4551-551: The Mario Kart formula to an arcade game format. IGN named it their most enjoyable game of the Japan Amusement Machine and Marketing Association (JAMMA) expo, asserting that "Namco certainly got the Mario Kart feel right, and it didn't have too much trouble with the look, either. The tracks in Mario Kart Arcade GP are bright and colorful, fitting in perfectly with the visual look Nintendo tends to go for with
4674-471: The Mario Kart: Double Dash!! version. It also features many ramps that racers can perform tricks or take shortcuts on, as it was the first game in the series to introduce tricks. The track was later remade for Mario Kart Tour with mostly visual improvements and for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe , as part of the Booster Course Pass expansion pack, featuring its anti-gravity mechanic throughout the track. For
4797-556: The Nintendo 64 , Nintendo executed a number of efforts to increase developer support with their follow-up, the GameCube . One of these efforts was a collaboration with Sega and Namco to create the Triforce arcade system . Its creation was to benefit all parties; for Nintendo, it would help in the creation of home console versions of arcade games, as the Triforce hardware was very similar to
4920-486: The Wii Mini released in 2012—do not support any GameCube hardware or software. The Panasonic Q is a hybrid version of the GameCube with a standard DVD player, developed by Panasonic in a strategic alliance with Nintendo to develop the optical drive for the original GameCube hardware. Its stainless steel case is completely revised with a DVD-sized front-loading tray, a backlit LCD screen with playback controls, and
5043-453: The Wii U , Nintendo's home video game console active at the time, though no such release would materialize. Mario Kart Arcade GP VR was strongly praised by IGN for its fun gameplay and having an impressive sense of speed without any sense of motion sickness often experienced in fast moving virtual reality video games . GameCube The Nintendo GameCube is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo . It
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5166-469: The "34 Video Game Levels That You Must Play Before You Die". Reminiscing the Super Mario Kart version of Rainbow Road, A. V. Club staff said the overall experience was awe-inspiring in spite of its flawed design and frustrating level of difficulty. Its music has been praised by GamesRadar 's Brett Elston as well as Dan Neilan from The A.V. Club , who called it as the "one redeeming quality" of
5289-490: The GameCube an "unmitigated disaster". Retrospectively, Joystiq compared the GameCube's launch window to its successor, the Wii, noting that the GameCube's "lack of games" resulted in a subpar launch, and the console's limited selection of online games damaged its market share in the long run. Time International concluded that the system had low sales figures, because it lacked "technical innovations". In Japan, between 280,000 and 300,000 GameCube consoles were sold during
5412-425: The GameCube and easily facilitated ports. Sega and Namco, on the other hand, were allowed to create games using Nintendo's IP . While Sega would develop and release F-Zero AX for arcades and its subsequent GameCube version F-Zero GX , Namco would develop Mario Kart Arcade GP . All of this led to speculation that Mario Kart Arcade GP would receive a GameCube or Wii version as well, though no such version
5535-559: The GameCube had 39% market share in America. 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. GameCube's profitability never reached that of the PlayStation 2 or Game Boy Advance. However, it was more profitable than the Xbox. GameCube's first two years had slow sales and struggles, and by 2004 and 2005 vastly improved to
5658-400: The GameCube lacks out of the box network capabilities. Nintendo never commissioned any Internet services for GameCube, but allowed other publishers to manage custom online experiences. The GameCube received mixed reviews following its launch. PC Magazine praised the overall hardware design and quality of games available at launch. CNET gave an average review rating, noting that though
5781-481: The GameCube sold 26 million consoles worldwide. Its sales exceeded that of the Xbox 360 in Japan. The GameCube's predecessor, the Nintendo 64, also outperformed it at nearly 33 million units. It also exceeded the Dreamcast , which yielded 9.13 million units. 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:
5904-578: The GameCube was mixed. It was praised for its controller and high quality games library , but was criticized for its lack of multimedia features and lack of third party support compared to its competitors. Premier games include Super Mario Sunshine , Super Smash Bros. Melee , Star Fox Adventures , Metroid Prime , Mario Kart: Double Dash , Pikmin , The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker , Animal Crossing and Luigi's Mansion . Nintendo sold 21.74 million GameCube units worldwide, much fewer than anticipated, and discontinued it in 2007. It
6027-489: The GameCube's design in 1998, Nintendo partnered with ArtX (then acquired by ATI Technologies during development) for the system logic and the GPU, and with IBM for the CPU. IBM designed a 32-bit PowerPC -based processor with custom architectural extensions for the next-generation console, known as Gekko , which runs at 486 MHz and features a floating point unit (FPU) capable of a total throughput of 1.9 GFLOPS and
6150-675: The GameCube, as the publisher was losing money from developing for Nintendo's console. This led to several games in development being canceled for the system. Eidos's CEO Mike McGravey would say that the GameCube was a "declining business". 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 and Tomb Raider: Legend . In March 2003, British retailer Dixons removed all GameCube consoles, accessories and games from its stores. That same month, another British retailer Argos , cut
6273-482: The Kong Army battle Bowser's army as they unsuccessfully attempt to storm his castle. Mario and Donkey Kong are thrown off the course by a Koopa General with a blue shell in a kamikaze attack. When developing the film, directors Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic sought to recreate Rainbow Road's sense of danger and challenge as they described it as "The most unforgiving course in the series". The Rainbow Road scene in
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#17330845501646396-647: The Nintendo 64 version of Rainbow Road to be one of their least favorite tracks in the history of the Mario Kart franchise. Mario Kart Arcade GP Mario Kart Arcade GP is a sub-series of arcade games in Nintendo 's Mario Kart series developed specifically for arcades in collaboration with Namco (later Bandai Namco Games and Bandai Namco Amusement). To date, four entries have been released— Mario Kart Arcade GP (2005), Mario Kart Arcade GP 2 (2007), Mario Kart Arcade GP DX (2013), and Mario Kart Arcade GP VR (2017). The first three entries are considered to be relatively rare outside of Japan, with
6519-445: The Nintendo 64's three-handled controller design and chose a two-handled, "handlebar" design for the GameCube. 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. Nintendo and Microsoft designed similar features in the controllers for their sixth-generation consoles, but instead of having
6642-524: The PlayStation 2 (3rd), the Dreamcast (8th), and the Xbox (11th). As of March 31, 2003, 9.55 million GameCube units had been sold worldwide, behind Nintendo's initial goal of 10 million consoles. Many of Nintendo's own first-party games, such as Super Smash Bros. Melee , Pokémon Colosseum , and Mario Kart: Double Dash , had strong sales, though this did not typically benefit third-party developers or directly drive sales of their games. However, at
6765-708: The PlayStation 2 and Xbox during the early 2000s. Some games aimed at older audiences were critically and financially successful—more than on Dreamcast, and less than on PlayStation 2 and Xbox. Such examples include The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess , Super Smash Bros. Melee , Resident Evil 4 , Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes , Killer7 , Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader , Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles , Resident Evil (2002), Metroid Prime , Metroid Prime II: Echoes , Soul Calibur II , Resident Evil Zero , F-Zero GX , Star Fox Adventures , and Star Fox Assault . One of
6888-545: The PlayStation 2 in Europe, the GameCube was successful and profitable there. Nintendo launched the Wii , the home console successor to the GameCube, on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 in other regions. In February 2007, Nintendo announced that it had ceased first-party support for the GameCube and that the console had been discontinued, as it was shifting its manufacturing and development efforts towards
7011-573: The US. Nintendo predicted 50 million GameCube units by 2005, but only sold 22 million GameCube units worldwide during its lifespan, placing it slightly behind the Xbox 's 24 million, though it did manage to outsell the Xbox in Japan, and well behind the PlayStation 2's 155 million. Ars Technica articles from 2006 showed and a 2020 book show that Nintendo had officially sold 24 million GameCube consoles worldwide, and one article from Seeking Alpha shows that
7134-479: The Wii and Nintendo DS . GameCube controllers, game discs, and certain accessories continued to be supported via the Wii's backward compatibility, although this feature was removed in later iterations of the Wii console. The final game officially released on the GameCube was Madden NFL 08 , on August 14, 2007. Several games originally developed for the GameCube were either reworked for a Wii release, such as Super Paper Mario , or released on both consoles, such as
7257-402: The Wii launch game The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess . GameCube controllers continued to be supported via backward compatibility on Nintendo's next consoles, the Wii U , and Nintendo Switch , with the GameCube controller adapter in 2014's Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 2018's Super Smash Bros. Ultimate . Howard Cheng, technical director of Nintendo technology development, said
7380-407: The analog sticks in parallel, they are staggered by swapping the positions of the directional pad (d-pad) and left analog stick. The GameCube controller features a total of eight buttons, two analog sticks, a d-pad, and a rumble motor. The primary analog stick is on the left with the d-pad located below and closer to the center. On the right are four buttons: a large, green "A" button in the center,
7503-403: The best tracks in the history of the Mario Kart franchise compiled by video game critics , including Paste Magazine , Digital Spy , Screen Rant , and GameRevolution , and TheGamer . The Rainbow Road levels in certain Mario Kart games have received particular attention. BuzzFeed News Reporter Joseph Bernstein ranked the Super Mario Kart version of Rainbow Road #15 on his list of
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#17330845501647626-620: The biggest third-party GameCube developers was Sega , which had quit the console hardware market to become a third-party game developer after the failure of the Dreamcast . It partnered with long-time rival Nintendo, and with Microsoft and Sony, to recuperate profits lost from the Dreamcast. Sega was a successful third-party developer since the early 2000s, mostly those for the family market, such as Super Monkey Ball , Phantasy Star Online , Sonic Adventure , Sonic Adventure 2: Battle , and Sonic Heroes . Nintendo's GameCube did not put heavy focus on online games earlier in
7749-408: The blockbuster Grand Theft Auto series and several key first-person shooters , skipped the GameCube entirely in favor of the PlayStation 2 and Xbox. However, many gaming journalists and analysts noted that Nintendo's primary focus on younger audiences, and its family-friendly image, was the biggest advantage and disadvantage at a time when video games were aimed at more mature audiences. Nintendo
7872-446: The challenges, needs, and problems they face. First among these is the rising cost of development. The GameCube can see high performance without too much trouble; it isn't a quirky design, but a very clean one. It was important we didn't require jumping through hoops for high performance to be achieved. On top of that, it is rich in features, and we worked to include a dream group of technical features that developers requested. Initiating
7995-531: The cheaper, higher-capacity optical discs on PlayStation. With the GameCube, Nintendo intended to reverse the trend as evidenced by the number of third-party games available at launch. The new optical disc format increased game storage capacity significantly and reduced production costs. Successful exclusives include Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader from Factor 5 , Resident Evil 4 from Capcom , and Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes from Konami . Sega discontinued its Dreamcast console to become
8118-492: The climax of the Universal Studios ride, Mario Kart: Bowser's Challenge . Rainbow Road is referenced as a part of an Easter egg included in the programming of Tesla electric vehicles . According to Tesla CEO Elon Musk , once a Tesla car's autopilot mode is activated four times in quick succession, the gray road shown on the vehicle's instrument cluster would transform into a colorful path resembling Rainbow Road, with
8241-558: The company had achieved considerable success with third-party developer support on the Nintendo Entertainment System and Super NES . Competition from the Sega Genesis and Sony PlayStation in the 1990s changed the market's landscape and reduced Nintendo's ability to obtain exclusive, third-party support on the Nintendo 64. The Nintendo 64 Game Pak cartridge format increased the cost to manufacture software, as opposed to
8364-532: The company's games on the PlayStation 2 and Xbox. 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". Acclaim would later rescind his claims, by saying the company would elevate support for the system. This decision was made unclear after the company filed for bankruptcy in August 2004. In September 2003, Eidos Interactive announced to end support for
8487-480: The company's goal was to select a "simple RISC architecture" to help speed the development of games by making it easier on software developers. IGN reported that the system was "designed from the get-go to attract third-party developers by offering more power at a cheaper price. Nintendo's design document for the console specifies that cost is of utmost importance, followed by space." Hardware partner ArtX's Vice President Greg Buchner stated that their guiding thought on
8610-483: The complete design of the system logic and graphics processor, codenamed " Flipper )," for Nintendo's sixth-generation video game console . The console went through a series of codenames, including N2000, Star Cube, and Nintendo Advance. On May 12, 1999, Nintendo publicly announced the console during a press conference, giving it the codename "Dolphin" and positioning it as the successor to the Nintendo 64. This announcement also revealed strategic partnerships with IBM for
8733-404: 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. In later reviews, criticism mounted against the console often centering on its overall look and feel, describing it as "toy-ish". With poor sales figures and the associated financial harm to Nintendo, a Time International article called
8856-452: The console were delayed. It is also the first Nintendo home console since the Famicom not to have a Mario launch game. Long before the console's launch, Nintendo had developed and patented an early prototype of motion controls for the GameCube, with which developer Factor 5 had experimented for its launch games. Greg Thomas, Sega of America's VP of Development said, "What does worry me
8979-464: The console's hardware design was to target the developers rather than the players, and to "look into a crystal ball" and discern "what's going to allow the Miyamoto-sans of the world to develop the best games". We thought about the developers as our main customers. In particular, for GameCube, we spent three years working with Nintendo of America and with all sorts of developers, trying to understand
9102-682: The console's life. Only eight GameCube games support network connectivity, five with Internet support and three with local area network (LAN) support. The only Internet capable games released in western territories are three role-playing games (RPGs) in Sega 's Phantasy Star series: Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II , Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II Plus , and Phantasy Star Online Episode III: C.A.R.D. Revolution . The official servers were decommissioned in 2007, but players can still connect to fan maintained private servers . Japan received two additional games with Internet capabilities,
9225-715: The console's popularity by creating new franchises, such as Pikmin and Animal Crossing , and renewing some that had skipped the Nintendo 64, such as with Metroid Prime . Longer standing franchises include the critically acclaimed The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker and Super Mario Sunshine , and the GameCube's best-selling game, Super Smash Bros. Melee , at 7 million copies worldwide. Other Nintendo games are successors to Nintendo 64 games, such as F-Zero GX ; Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour ; Mario Kart: Double Dash ; Mario Party 4 , 5 , 6 , and 7 ; Mario Power Tennis ; and Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door . Though committed to its software library, Nintendo
9348-406: The content of the original Arcade GP . The game retains all of the playable characters from the first Arcade GP game, and adds two new ones— Waluigi from Nintendo's Mario franchise and Mametchi from Bandai Namco 's Tamagotchi franchise. In addition to the original's race tracks and Cups, another two Cups of tracks are added to Arcade GP 2 . New items were added to the game, such as
9471-790: The course, and the player simply races solo, aiming to achieve the fastest possible completion time. Multiplayer Mode involves up to players competing against one another on up to four connected machines. Mario Kart Arcade GP features race tracks organized into six sets ("Cups") with 4 race courses in each. Races grouped together in cups generally share a common theme of sorts, such as sharing elements from various franchise such as Super Mario or Donkey Kong . Selectable playable racers include eight characters from Nintendo's Mario franchise— Mario , Luigi , Princess Peach , Wario , Bowser , Toad , Yoshi and Donkey Kong —alongside three character's from Namco's Pac-Man series— Pac-Man , Ms. Pac-Man , and Blinky . Despite many similarities to
9594-517: 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. Following this announcement, Nintendo began providing development kits to game developers, including Rare and Retro Studios . In April 2000, ArtX was acquired by ATI , whereupon the Flipper graphics processor design had already been mostly completed by ArtX and
9717-944: The feature never reached production. 3D televisions were not widespread, and it was deemed that compatible displays and crystals for the add-on accessories would be too cost-prohibitive for the consumer. Two audio Easter eggs can be invoked when the power is activated with the "Z" button on the Player 1 controller held down, or with four controllers connected and holding down the "Z" buttons. The GameCube features two memory card ports for saving game data . Nintendo released three memory card options: Memory Card 59 in gray (512 KB), Memory Card 251 in black (2 MB), and Memory Card 1019 in white (8 MB). These are often advertised in megabits instead: 4 Mb, 16 Mb, and 64 Mb, respectively. Memory cards with larger capacities were released by third-party manufacturers. Nintendo learned from its experiences—both positive and negative—with
9840-400: The film was the most ambitious animation sequence that Illumination had undertaken compared to their previous films. Rainbow Road and variations of the course has made several appearances in other Mario and Nintendo-related titles, including F-Zero X, Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, Mario Hoops 3-on-3 , Super Mario Galaxy 2 , and Paper Mario: Color Splash . It also appears during
9963-508: The first nine months of 2003 to reduce surplus units. Sales rebounded slightly after a price drop to US$ 99.99 on September 24, 2003 and the release of The Legend of Zelda: Collector's Edition bundle. A demo disc, the GameCube Preview Disc , was also released in a bundle in 2003. Beginning with this period, GameCube sales continued to be steady, particularly in Japan, but the GameCube remained in third place in worldwide sales during
10086-605: The first three days of its sale, out of an initial shipment of 450,000 units. During its launch weekend, $ 100 million worth of GameCube products were sold in North America. The console was sold out in several stores, faster than initial sales of both of its competitors, the Xbox and the PlayStation 2. Nintendo reported that the most popular launch game is Luigi's Mansion , with more sales at its launch than Super Mario 64 had. Other popular games include Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader and Wave Race: Blue Storm . By early December 2001, 600,000 units had been sold in
10209-509: The first time in the series, Mario Kart 7 broke the Rainbow Road track into three sections rather than three whole laps. It takes place in outer space, where racers will avoid asteroids, drive on the rings of Saturn, and avoid low-gravity Chain Chomps on the moon. The climax features a turning tunnel with dash panels that give players the option to go back on the road or take a glide ramp. The track
10332-511: The fourth and final track of the Special Cup. It is not only the longest track in the game, but also the longest track of the entire Mario Kart series (the game's manual puts the course's length at two full kilometers), with each lap taking around one and a half to two minutes to complete without the use of shortcuts. Unlike other incarnations of the course, this version is completely covered in star-shaped guardrails. While racing, players can see neon light pictures of all eight playable characters of
10455-440: The fourth title not seeing a release outside of Japan at all. The games have been generally been well-received by critics, who have praised the game's transition of traditional Mario Kart gameplay into an arcade game format, while lamenting that none of the entries have been released outside of the arcade format onto any of Nintendo's home video game consoles . Mario Kart Arcade GP plays and controls similarly to most entries in
10578-485: The game and avoid Chain Chomps scattered throughout the course. This version's main melody is also incorporated into the music for the Mario Kart: Double Dash!! and Mario Kart 7 versions of Rainbow Road, becoming the officious "Rainbow Road theme". The level also appeared in F-Zero X 's Joker Cup. If the player had the 64DD expansion features, they could also listen to a rock remix of the original melody. This Rainbow Road
10701-534: The game was closer minor upgrades seen in series like Capcom 's updated versions of Street Fighter 2 than a full-fledged numbered sequel as its title suggested. IGN singled it out as a stand-out title to play in Japanese arcades, and praised the announcer giving play-by-play commentary of the race as a feature they hoped would be moved into future home console iterations of the game. Similarly, publications expressed hope Mario Kart Arcade GP DX would be released on
10824-517: The guardrails have been removed. The Chain Chomps now bounce on the track and create ripples, and there is a flying train operated and ridden by Toads that toss coins toward the racers. The neon lights of the characters are replaced with fireworks drawing their faces as they explode. For a return to the original flat format (despite allowing doubled map size) introduced in Super Mario Kart , the Rainbow Road in Mario Kart: Super Circuit for
10947-416: The handheld as a secondary screen and controller when connected to the console via a link cable . Nintendo began its marketing campaign with the catchphrase "The Nintendo Difference" at its E3 2001 reveal. The goal was to distinguish itself from the competition as an entertainment company. Later advertisements have the slogan, "Born to Play", and game ads feature a rotating cube animation that morphs into
11070-446: The logo, and in "Jet Black". One year later, Nintendo released a "Platinum" limited-edition GameCube, which uses a silver color scheme for both the console and controller. A "Spice" orange-colored console was eventually released only in Japan, though that scheme is only on controllers released in other countries. Nintendo developed stereoscopic 3D technology for the GameCube, supported by one launch game, Luigi's Mansion . However,
11193-425: The mainline Mario Kart titles, some key differences were implemented into Arcade GP . Rather than simply bumping into characters when colliding, characters now punch at one another. The game also uses Namco's "NamCam" system; once a player sits down in the arcade booth, it takes a photo of one's face. The photo is altered depending on what character the player chooses—for example, choosing Mario adds Mario's hat on
11316-480: The mid 2000s, GameCube hardware sales remained far behind its direct competitor the PlayStation 2, and slightly behind the Xbox, though there were brief periods when the console would outsell both. 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. Many third-party games popular with teenagers or adults, such as
11439-521: The most appearances in the series. The remakes in Mario Kart 7 and onward replaced the yellow bumps with ramps following Mario Kart Wii's addition of the Jump Boost feature in the series, had the Star Thwomps create ripples on the track for racers to make stunts off of, and added a ramp in the last fork of the road for an additional shortcut option. The next Rainbow Road featured in Mario Kart 64 as
11562-411: 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. 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. Early in Nintendo's history,
11685-473: The original Game Boy and Game Boy Color . As a result, several games originally destined for the Nintendo 64 console were postponed to become early releases on the GameCube. Concurrently, Nintendo was developing GameCube software provisioning future connectivity with the Game Boy Advance. Certain games, such as The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures and Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles , can use
11808-445: The original Rainbow Road ( Super Mario Kart) . At the start/finish line, the track crosses through a space craft filled with Toads who sit on tribunes as on a normal racetrack. Several more space ships carry parts of the track, most notably the one with two circular conveyor belt rotating rings in opposing directions which can speed up or slow down the vehicle that drives upon. As with other Mario Kart 8 tracks, Rainbow Road's surface
11931-504: The original Rainbow Road from Super Mario Kart . Labeled as "remix courses" (abbreviated to "RMX courses") these courses use a different layout compared to the original, and feature new mechanics, such as gliding and bouncy mushroom platforms. These courses are named RMX Rainbow Road 1 and 2, and share their music with the course they are based on. The course makes an appearance in 2023's The Super Mario Bros. Movie as "The Secret Path", on-which Mario, Princess Peach, Toad, Donkey Kong, and
12054-531: The overall button orientation, addresses " Nintendo thumb " pain. In 2002, Nintendo introduced the WaveBird Wireless Controller , the first wireless gamepad developed by a first-party console manufacturer. The RF -based wireless controller is similar in design to the standard controller. It communicates with the GameCube with a wireless receiver dongle. Powered by two AA batteries, it lacks vibration. The GameCube uses GameCube Game Discs , and
12177-596: The photo—and the photo hangs over the player character, making it easier for other players to recognize real people from computer-controlled ones. While the game still involves the collection and use of item to either attack other players or help boost one's own place in the race, the game contains far more items than most entries, upwards towards a 100 different items, though not all are available in all races. It contains many staple items from Mario Kart games, such as Koopa Shells as projectile weapons to be shot at other racers to slow them down, and Mario mushrooms to give
12300-412: The previous one so that a train could pass each and return to the start on its own. In Mario Kart Wii , the track is located above Earth's atmosphere, sending racers burning down toward the planet if they fall off. The course is heavily inspired by Super Mario Galaxy , as there are Star Bits floating throughout the track and the climax features a Launch Star that launches players upwards similar to
12423-479: 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. However, in October of that year, they did eventually restock their supply of consoles after a price drop was ordered which caused the console sales to outpace the PlayStation 2 for a week. With sales sagging and millions of unsold consoles in stock, Nintendo halted GameCube production for
12546-621: The regular Thwomps met in Bowser's Castle levels - can deal more damage and spin racers out on the ground. This track was later remade in Mario Kart: Super Circuit as an Extra track, in Mario Kart 7 as a retro track, in Mario Kart 8 as part of the Legend of Zelda x Mario Kart 8 DLC pack, and in Mario Kart Tour , making it tied with Super Mario Kart's Mario Circuit 3 for having
12669-506: The same time, these first-party games, and second-party and third-party games, elevated the GameCube. 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 , which reportedly yielded more sales on GameCube than most of
12792-417: The second half, racers are warped to another world. In the first two variants, it takes place in the sky that features Toads on floating islands, flowers, and beanstalks in the background. The second two variants take the racers to a more aquatic environment with coral and Warp Pipes surrounding the racetrack. For the cup's challenge game, the player has to defeat a robotic version of Mario called "Robo Mario" in
12915-438: The series, the original one appearing in four distinct games and the second one three times. Rainbow Road appears as the final level of every major Mario Kart game except Mario Kart Arcade GP DX . Rainbow Road originally appeared as the fifth and final level of the Special Cup in Super Mario Kart and is the only course in the game not to have numbered variants, since it appears only once. It lacks guardrails completely and
13038-431: The series." Nintendo World Report similarly praised the game for being fun and having a lot of content for an arcade game, while GameSpot concluded that "a sharp arcade racer with an abundance of charm. The selection of characters should please fans, as will the solid gameplay." Both IGN and GameSpot found the graphics technically better than Mario Kart Double Dash on the GameCube, the most advanced title graphically at
13161-405: The sixth-generation era because of weaker sales performance elsewhere, though its fortunes would change for the better in America and Europe. Iwata forecasted to investors that the company would sell 50 million GameCube units worldwide by March 2005, but by the end of 2006, it had only sold 21.74 million—fewer than half. However, it had the highest attach rate of any Nintendo console at 9.59 and
13284-432: The time. Feelings on the controls were more mixed. Nintendo World Report found the pedals for gas and brakes "get the job done but aren’t overly interesting" and complained that the steering "feel[s] much looser than their console counterparts" and that due to "a much more sensitive analog wheel" the result was "over-steering constantly." Conversely, IGN was so positive that they concluded that it "controls so well through
13407-414: The trigger is depressed, it emits an increasing analog signal. Once fully depressed, the trigger "clicks" with a digital signal that a game can use for a separate function. There is also a purple, digital button on the right side marked "Z". The A button has a uniquely prominent size and placement, having been the primary action button in past Nintendo controller designs. The rubberized analog stick, within
13530-401: Was announced as the GameCube at a press conference in Japan on August 25, 2000, abbreviated as both "NGC" and "GC" in Japan and "GCN" in Europe and North America. Nintendo unveiled its software lineup for the console at E3 2001 , focusing on fifteen launch games, including Luigi's Mansion and Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader . Several games originally scheduled to launch with
13653-416: Was created in collaboration with Namco and Sega to bolster third party game support for Nintendo's own GameCube hardware; Nintendo allowed for the use of their intellectual property in arcade games in exchange of more third party game support of their home video game consoles . However, like its predecessor, Arcade GP 2 did not ever receive a GameCube, Wii, or any release outside of arcades. The game
13776-537: Was ever announced. Mario Kart Arcade GP first announced in February 2005, with a Japanese release date of Q3 2005. It was later delayed to December 2005. While its initial announcement did not mention any plans for a Western release, in September 2005, it was announced for a North American release. The game was released in North America in October 2005. Mario Kart Arcade GP 2 was first announced in October 2006, as
13899-723: Was given a very restrictive release; primarily only being available in Bandai Namco’s VR Zone arcade in Tokyo. The game also costs rough the equivalent of $ 40 USD to be played. It was temporarily made available outside of Japan in 2018 at an event at the Hollywood Bowl in the O2 in London. Mario Kart Arcade GP was generally well-received from publications. IGN , GameSpot , and Nintendo World Report all generally praised Namco's translation of
14022-406: Was later remade as a retro track in Mario Kart 8 as the fourth and final track of the retro Lightning Cup with drastic visual and gameplay overhauls. No longer set in black background, but sky-high above the original course Toad Harbor at night, the track is now broken into three sections of a lap instead of three whole laps, incorporates the game's hang-glider and anti-gravity mechanics, and most of
14145-547: Was later remade for Mario Kart Tour and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (also as part of the Booster Course Pass expansion, like its Wii counterpart), with the latter featuring the game's anti-gravity mechanic on the moon. The course was also featured as a stage in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS . Fighters battle on a flat platform that travels throughout the course similar to the F-Zero stages and avoid racing Shy Guys competing in
14268-515: Was not overtly influenced by ATI. 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. Of the ArtX acquisition, an ATI spokesperson said, "ATI now becomes a major supplier to the game console market via Nintendo. The Dolphin platform is reputed to be king of the hill in terms of graphics and video performance with 128-bit architecture." The console
14391-476: Was profitable, even more than Xbox with higher sales rates. 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. GameCube controllers have limited support on Wii U and Switch , to play Super Smash Bros. for Wii U , and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate respectively, via
14514-481: Was released in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, in Europe on May 3, 2002, and in Australia on May 17, 2002. It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 . As a sixth-generation console , the GameCube primarily competed with Sony 's PlayStation 2 , Sega 's Dreamcast and Microsoft 's Xbox . Nintendo began developing the GameCube in 1998 after entering a partnership with ArtX to design
14637-515: Was released to arcades in March 2007. Mario Kart Arcade GP DX , the third entry in the Mario Kart Arcade GP sub-series, was released in late 2013. This entry is generally the most-commonly found of the sub-series, particularly in North America. Bandai Namco partnered with the Dave and Busters franchise to host the arcade machines. The fourth entry, Mario Kart Arcade GP VR , was released in 2017. It
14760-720: 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. The console eventually launched in North America on November 18, 2001, with over 700,000 units shipped to the region. Other regions followed suit the following year beginning with Europe in the second quarter of 2002. On April 22, 2002, veteran third-party Nintendo console developer Factor 5 announced its 3D audio software development kit titled MusyX. In collaboration with Dolby Laboratories , MusyX provides motion-based surround sound encoded as Dolby Pro Logic II . Throughout
14883-500: Was still criticized for not releasing enough launch window games and by the release of Luigi's Mansion instead of a 3D Mario game. Nintendo had struggled with its family-friendly image during the late 1990s and most of the 2000s. However, during this period, it released more video games for a mature audience with mostly successful results. While the video game industry was focusing on more mature audiences and online connections, Nintendo regained older players who had gravitated to
15006-430: Was succeeded by the Wii in late 2006. In 1997, graphics hardware design company ArtX was launched with twenty engineers who had previously worked at SGI. ArtX was led by Wei Yen , who had been SGI's head of Nintendo Operations and of Project Reality, which from 1993 to 1996 had scaled down SGI's supercomputer design to become the Nintendo 64 . In May 1998, ArtX entered into a partnership with Nintendo to undertake
15129-472: Was successful with games aimed at a more mature audience. As of June 2003 , the GameCube had a 13% market share, tying with the Xbox in sales but far below the 60% of the PlayStation 2. However, despite slow sales and tough competition, Nintendo's position improved by 2003 and 2004. The American market share for the GameCube had gone up from 19% to 37% in one year alone due to price cuts and high-quality games. One article stated that by early 2004,
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