Twenty-five years ago today, Nintendo released one of the strangest-looking games consoles ever to sit underneath a television.

It was purple. It was roughly cube-shaped. It had a carrying handle on the back.

And rather than attempting to make it look like an expensive piece of home electronics, Nintendo appeared perfectly happy for its new machine to look unmistakably like a games console.

On 14 September 2001, the Nintendo GameCube launched in Japan. A quarter of a century later, the little purple box has somehow become cooler than it ever was when it was new.

A console that did things its own way

The GameCube arrived during an extraordinary period for console gaming. Sony had the PlayStation 2. Microsoft was entering the market with Xbox. Sega’s Dreamcast era was coming to an end.

Nintendo’s answer was different.

Rather than standard DVDs, the GameCube used those wonderful little proprietary optical discs. Instead of a black box designed to blend into the equipment under the television, the most recognisable version arrived dressed in indigo purple.

And then there was the controller.

The giant green A button, strangely arranged face buttons, deep analogue triggers and extraordinarily comfortable shape resulted in a design that players became fiercely attached to. Particularly Super Smash Bros. players.

Then there were the games

A console lives or dies on its games, and the GameCube catalogue has aged remarkably well.

And that is before collectors start arguing about which obscure GameCube release deserves considerably more respect than it received in 2003.

We’ll leave you to conduct that argument amongst yourselves.

The GameCube has officially become retro

There is a slightly painful realisation hidden inside today’s anniversary.

The GameCube is now 25 years old.

For context, somebody playing a GameCube today is roughly as far removed from its launch as a GameCube owner in 2001 was from gaming in 1976.

We’ll give everyone over 35 a moment to recover from that.

But this is precisely why GameCube collecting has become interesting. The generation of players who grew up with those machines now has disposable income, while complete consoles, unusual accessories, boxed games and less common titles increasingly belong to the retro-collecting world.

This is exactly the crossover ASACC likes: gaming nostalgia becoming collecting culture.

Nintendo isn’t finished with GameCube either

Unlike many retro consoles, the GameCube currently has an official modern life.

Nintendo launched Nintendo GameCube – Nintendo Classics for Switch 2 in June 2025 for Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack members, bringing GameCube classics to current hardware with modern conveniences.

ASACC’s verdict

Was GameCube Nintendo’s biggest-selling console? No.

Was it the most technologically dominant machine of its generation? No.

Did Nintendo put a handle on the back of it so you could carry it around like a tiny purple lunchbox?

Absolutely.

And somehow that perfectly sums it up.

The GameCube had personality. It produced some extraordinary games, gave us a controller people are still using a quarter-century later and created a catalogue that collectors continue hunting today.

Twenty-five years on, perhaps the little purple cube finally gets the status it deserves.

Happy 25th birthday, GameCube.

Now check the loft.

There may be one in there.

Saw it at Comic-Con? Find it on ASACC.
www.asseenatcomiccon.co.uk