WELCOME TO the gamecube was cool!
The #1 GameCube Podcast on the Internet
Hosts Mike Laine & Neil Gilbert memorialize and remember the Nintendo GameCube and the early 2000s while attempting to read the back of 555 cases. Tune in every Thursday to hear us talk with some of our favourite people and learn new things.
OUR LATEST EPISODES
Episode 121: Legacy Games
December 1, 2022
To celebrate 50 years of Pong being released Mike & Neil are going WAY back into the annals of video game history to talk about some legacy collections on the GameCube. Starting with Pinball Hall of Fame which is yup, a collection of pinball tables played virtually. We bring on friend of the show Luigi to discuss Pinball and the Midway Arcade Treasures series and discover how interconnected Pinball, Bally, Williams, Atari, and Midway all were in the 1980s. Next up is the Namco Museum series featuring friend of the show Christian to dive back into his memories of these games. Finally Jedi Geek Girl joins us once again, this time to talk about Gauntlet Dark Legacy, a very unique game on the GameCube that is of course set within the arcade classic Gauntlet series. All this and more on episode 121 of The GameCube Was Cool!
Episode 120: Mega Man Games
November 23, 2022
Happy 35th birthday to the Blue Bomber! As Mega-Man aka Rockman turns 35 and is looking to put a downpayment on his new home Neil and Mike look back at four Mega-Man games on the GameCube. Two legacy collections, Mega Man X: Collection and Mega Man: Anniversary Collection as well an exclusive game, Network Transmission and a spinoff of the Mega Man X series, Command Mission. The boys are joined by The GameCube Galaxy host Marcello to talk about these games and what it was like growing up with Mega Man and how these older SNES games have stood the test of time in terms of art style and game play.
Episode 119: Mary Kate & Ashley and Bratz Games
November 15, 2022
Transport yourself back to 2001 where the Olsen twins were absolutely everywhere. Anything a preteen girl could buy, Mary Kate and Ashley had their own line of products for it. They truly were everywhere including a GameCube game! Joining them are the Bratz franchise who sustained massive popularity for about a decade and still put out games today. And of course Hello Kitty, the second largest media franchise in the world who's merchandising is second to none. The cute little cat joined these other titles on the cube with her "Roller Rescue" game. Check out this special Tuesday edition of the GameCube Was Cool!
FROM THE DESK OF MIKE & NEIL
FROM THE DESK
OF MIKE & NEIL
Latest News & Updates
The GameCube Boom of 2020
Collecting video games in 2020 has become a difficult hobby for gamers who enjoy sifting through retro video games stores, looking for weird titles to bring home and play maybe once for a laugh. Not only has the option to wander aimlessly through stores been put on hold, but this year, GameCube game prices saw a massive spike right when the first lockdown took place back in March.
According to sales results on pricecharting.com, the price of Gamecube games rose in the last 12 months from an average $12.25 per eBay transaction to $17.88 per transaction. To keep the math simple, gamecube game prices went up a lot this year (roughly 46% to be exact). Neil and Mike take full responsibility for the rise in demand for games on the Cube, and would like to formally apologize for the stress this has put on collector’s wallets.
To compare the GameCube sales spike to other 6th generation consoles, Playstation 2 game prices rose 25% and Xbox rose 10%. Combining the increased popularity of Playstation 2 and Xbox this year is still 10% less than that of the mighty GameCube. Nintendo kids of the early 2000s are now in the midst of their 20’s, and have a little more disposable income to invest in reliving childhood memories once more. Nostalgia for Nintendo always grows stronger with time. The NES, SNES, and N64 all have experienced a renaissance 15-20 years after they are obsolete, and we are seeing it now with Gamecube. In 7 years we will see it with Wii, and yes, in 10 years we will see it with the WiiU.
In this short-lived time of GameCube inflation, I recommend limiting the number of ‘GameCube shopping sprees’ you go out on until the Wii kids start working 9-5. GameCube prices will level out and even go down again, and when that happens I will be first in line to pick up Billy Hatcher.
There seems to be some hope that within the next 12 months of writing this article, we could be looking at going back to the way things were pre-pandemic, and retail stores (those still in business) can re-open again with less restrictions. But the question that keeps me up at night is whether or not GameCube Game prices will continue to rise in 2021, or have we seen peak prices?
