Nintendo GameCube
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| Manufacturer | Nintendo | ||||||||||||
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| Type | Home console | ||||||||||||
| Release date(s) | Japan September 14, 2001 United States of America November 18, 2001 Europe May 3, 2002 Australia May 17, 2002 | ||||||||||||
| Media | GameCube Game Disc, Game Pak (Game Boy Player required) | ||||||||||||
| Input | GameCube Controller WaveBird Controller Game Boy Advance | ||||||||||||
| Predecessor | Nintendo 64 | ||||||||||||
| Successor | Wii | ||||||||||||
The Nintendo GameCube<ref group="nb">Japanese: ニンテンドーゲームキューブ Hepburn: Nintendou Geimukyuubu</ref> (officially abbreviated as GCN) is a home video game console created by Nintendo and released in 2001. It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 and the predecessor to the Wii. Three of the first-generation Animal Crossing games—Doubutsu no Mori, Animal Crossing, and Doubutsu no Mori e+—were released on the GameCube in 2001, 2002, and 2003, respectively. Additionally, Super Smash Bros. Melee, which features three trophies of characters from Doubutsu no Mori, was released for the console shortly before Doubutsu no Mori in 2001. The GameCube has the ability to connect to the Game Boy Advance to unlock features in various games, including all three Animal Crossing games.
The GameCube sold 21.74 million units worldwide and was discontinued in mid-2007. The GameCube's games and controllers are also backward-compatible with its successor, the Wii, although this feature was removed in later Wii models.
Animal Crossing-related games
The following titles can also be played on the first model of the Wii through backward compatibility.
| Game | Image | Release date(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Super Smash Bros. Melee | File:SSBM Box.jpg | Japan November 21, 2001 United States of America December 3, 2001 Europe May 24, 2002 Australia May 31, 2002 |
| Doubutsu no Mori | File:DnM+ Box.png | Japan December 14, 2001 |
| Animal Crossing | File:PG Box NA.png | United States of America September 16, 2002 Australia October 17, 2003 Europe September 24, 2004 |
| Doubutsu no Mori e+ | File:DnMe+ Outer Box.png | Japan June 27, 2003 |
Memory Card
- "Memory Card" redirects here. For the similar accessory for the Nintendo 64, see Nintendo 64 § Controller Pak.
Save data for GameCube games is stored on Memory Cards. There are three official Memory Card capacities, each named for their capacity in blocks: The Memory Card 59 (grey, 4 Megabit), the Memory Card 251 (black, 16 Megabit), and the Memory Card 1019 (white, 64 Megabit).
The town save data for Doubutsu no Mori, Animal Crossing and Doubutsu no Mori e+ takes up 57 blocks, almost the entire capacity of a Memory Card 59. NES data is saved in a separate 1 block file, while travel data gets saved as a separate 3 block file and must be stored onto a separate memory card from the one containing the town data.
A Memory Card 59 featuring a unique label and special letter data was included with all copies of Doubutsu no Mori and Animal Crossing.<ref group="nb">In Doubutsu no Mori e+, which was never bundled with a Memory Card, this letter is instead contained in the game itself and sent to each player upon moving into town.</ref> The letter on the card contains a welcome message from Nintendo and a grab bag containing "K.K. Love Song" and two random NES games. The special data, titled "Bonus Letters:1" ("Gift:1" in the European version), places the welcome letter in the mailbox of the first player to load their save, which in practice is always the first player to move to town, since the data natively cannot be copied or moved to a Memory Card with existing town data. After the letter is sent, the counter decrements to zero and the special data can no longer be used.
The letter reads: Template:Letter
In the European version, the welcome letter also features translations to French, German, Italian, and Spanish.
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The Memory Card included with Doubutsu no Mori
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The Memory Card included with the North American version of Animal Crossing
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The Memory Card included with later North American Player's Choice copies of Animal Crossing.<ref>PushDustIn (June 6, 2016). "All About GameCube Memory Card Variants". Source Gaming. Retrieved January 1, 2024. </ref> This card has a black front and translucent red back.
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The Memory Card included with the European version of Animal Crossing
Game Boy Advance compatibility
A Game Boy Advance can be connected to the GameCube via Nintendo GameCube–Game Boy Advance link cable. The GBA is used in Doubutsu no Mori, Animal Crossing, and Doubutsu no Mori e+ to unlock extra features, most notably access to Animal Island in Doubutsu no Mori and Animal Crossing, and access to the Doubutsu-tachi to Asobou! minigames in Doubutsu no Mori e+.
Appearances in the Animal Crossing series
The GameCube has been featured and referenced several times in the Animal Crossing series:
- The G logo, which is modeled after the Nintendo GameCube logo, appears as a furniture item in Doubutsu no Mori, Animal Crossing and Doubutsu no Mori e+.
- The GameCube drawer (known as the GameCube dresser in City Folk) appears as a furniture item in Animal Crossing: City Folk and Animal Crossing: New Leaf - Welcome amiibo. It it modeled after the Nintendo GameCube and serves as a storage unit.
- The Nintendo GameCube furniture item appears in Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp.
- The GameCube makes a cameo in Animal Crossing: Wild World, Animal Crossing: City Folk, and Animal Crossing: New Leaf. It appears in the game shelf (known as the pink box prior to New Leaf) furniture item alongside a controller and game. In Animal Crossing: New Leaf, customizing the game shelf produces the four different types of GameCube color variations released during its lifetime.
- In Animal Crossing, villagers (especially peppy villagers) may sometimes mention the Nintendo GameCube–Game Boy Advance link cable and its function, and will tell the player that they wish they had one.
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The G logo in Animal Crossing
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The GameCube dresser in City Folk
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The GameCube drawer in Welcome amiibo
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The Nintendo GameCube in Pocket Camp
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The pink box in Wild World
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The pink box in City Folk
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The Pink variation of the game shelf in New Leaf, showing the Indigo GameCube
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The Blue variation of the game shelf in New Leaf, showing the Jet Black GameCube
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The Beige variation of the game shelf in New Leaf, showing the Spice GameCube
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The Black variation of the game shelf in New Leaf, showing the Platinum GameCube
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