The GameCube was Nintendo's third home video game console, following the Nintendo Entertainment System, the Super Nintendo, and the Nintendo 64. it was a compact box into which you could plug up to four controllers. Each controller featured a directional pad, two control sticks, and a few other buttons. The GameCube was available in a wide variety of colors, and it used miniDVDs, making it the first Nintendo console to store its games on an optical format instead of a cartridge.

The GameCube struggled in the world market. The Sony PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Xbox shipped more units. The GameCube's small discs could not store as much data as the DVDs used by competing consoles, it had no online functionality at a time when that was becoming important to gaming enthusiasts, and its focus on family-oriented games limited it to a relatively small segment of the market. Still, some classic titles of the era were GameCube exclusives, such as The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and for a time, the decidedly un-family-friendly but critically acclaimed Resident Evil 4.

Production of the GameCube was discontinued in early 2007, shortly after the launch of its successor, the Nintendo Wii. However, unsold inventory stills lingers in some online stores. The Wii can play GameCube game discs.