The Nintendo GameCube, also known as the lunchbox console or Project: Dolphin in its pre-launch phase, left a unique imprint on many gamers who grew up with the Nintendo franchise, while also being a good family console. Like previous Nintendo consoles, the GameCube offers original accessories designed to support or enhance your gameplay. One example is the DK Bongos, a specialty peripheral that you wouldn’t know about unless you used it for the “Donkey Konga” or “Donkey Kong Jungle Beat” rhythm series.
In contrast, other products, like the Panasonic Q, failed due to higher prices coupled with factors like Japanese exclusivity and the GameCube’s lesser success than its competitors during that era of gaming. Let’s take a closer look at four of the rarest GameCube products that you probably didn’t know existed, along with the problems they were trying to solve and why they’re considered obscure today.
ASCII keyboard controller
The ASCII keyboard controller is one you’ve probably never heard of because it was only available in Japan. It’s exactly what it sounds like: a Nintendo GameCube controller combined with a standard keyboard, without the dedicated number pad. This luxurious jumpsuit also cost around 6,800 yen at the time of its release (around $54 today).
While the controller looks interesting, it was designed to only work if you own and play “Phantasy Star Online” Episodes 1 and 2. But it was such a peculiar accessory, because the GameCube didn’t have native networking capabilities out of the box – one of the console’s few significant pain points.
This isn’t to say that Nintendo ignored online gaming entirely, as an adapter became available post-launch to connect to the GameCube’s lower broadband port. It was targeted more as an offline console, so very few games used the keyboard controller – and every game that did required the developer/publisher to host their own servers. One of them was from the “Phantasy Star Online” franchise, which launched in the early 2000s when Sega hosted its own servers. Ultimately, the ASCII keyboard controller remained niche due to exclusivity in the Japanese market, limited use geared toward Phantasy Star Online, and the GameCube’s reliance on an adapter for online connectivity, unlike Sega’s Dreamcast keyboard.
Action Replay Max
Action Replay Max appears as a small GameCube disc like all other games, but this software was very different from any other game released. Inside the package you also receive a memory card which allows you to save your own mods. You can think of it like what you used to mod a game’s software for before there was a real dedicated modding community. Essentially, this item comes preloaded with cheat codes and special commands, and you can also use it to load Homebrew software. It was also used to allow consoles to play games from different regions since Nintendo had their consoles region locked, meaning a PAL game disc would not work with a US-based GameCube.
Action Replay isn’t unique to the GameCube; it was also available on physical cartridge and older disc-based systems, such as the Nintendo DS, Game Boy Advance, PlayStation 2, Sega Saturn, and Xbox. However, using Action Replay carried a mental label of “do it at your own risk”, as it essentially modifies the game’s memory, which can cause strange behavior, such as corrupted saves or glitches in the game. Browsing the online auctions of the GameCube Action Replay shows just how rare and valuable this accessory is today.
Portable screen and Intec battery
The Intec Portable Screen & Battery Pack was a suitably bulky third-party accessory that essentially allowed you to take your lunchbox console on the go. So instead of playing on your Game Boy Advance at that time, you can pack up your console, attach a small LCD screen to it, and turn it on for plug-and-play play (if you buy the battery that goes with it). However, unlike leading modern gaming handhelds, this won’t last all day. Typically, the included battery will only give you about 1.5 hours of gameplay. Additionally, like any battery source combined with a device (like a gaming laptop), the battery may drain more quickly depending on the level of activity and gaming requirement.
If you only want to use the portable screen accessory at home, you don’t necessarily need to use a purchased battery to operate the connected Intec monitor. You plug it into the GameCube, which uses the GameCube power brick, so if you’d rather just play on the monitor rather than a TV, you can do that too, as long as you plug into an outlet. It’s convenient, but don’t expect optimal image quality, given the age of this accessory and its deterioration over time.
Panasonic
Designing a console with versatile features is usually a good marketing strategy to convince parents that the new entertainment hardware will be used for purposes other than gaming. At least that’s what Sony did with the PlayStation 2 by throwing a DVD player into their systems. The GameCube had something similar in partnership with Panasonic, but only for a rare model: the Panasonic Q, which was their version combining a DVD player with the Nintendo console. But it was rare and limited, with only less than 100,000 units sold, and it was only available in Japan.
The Panasonic Q was very different from the typical GameCube, initially released in indigo (a dark purple), jet black, and platinum silver. The Panasonic Qs took the shape of a lunch box, but looked more like a mini stereo. It had a stainless steel chassis, a small LCD screen at the top with a built-in tray for DVDs, CDs, and GameCube games, and it weighed more than twice as much as a standard GameCube due to its hardware and metal chassis. Now, if you were to try to buy one, the hybrid console-DVD/CD player could cost you close to one to two thousand dollars on eBay.
