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Door staff@engadget.com (Sherri L. Smith) - 31 Aug 2026
Whew. Even though Nintendo and Sega were known for gaming, that didn't mean they played well with others, especially when it came to third-party developers and publishers. Although the GameCube had approximately 600 third-party titles over the course of its lifespan, many major developers skipped the console due to its Optical Disc format, including Rockstar Games, EA Sports and Square Enix, initially.
And in what proved to be a devastating blow, Rare Ltd. left Nintendo in a breakup almost as shocking as the Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears split. That meant that games like Perfect Dark, Conker, Banjo-Kazooie sequels and the Killer Instinct series all jumped to Xbox. Dreamcast also got the kiss-off from Rockstar, EA and Square Enix. Eidos Interactive also said adios, taking the Tomb Raider and Deus Ex series with it.
Jonathan Sippel/Shutterstock
The result left both consoles leaning too heavily on their first-party titles. And while Nintendo has strong performers such as Mario, Zelda and maybe a Kirby or Metroid game thrown into the mix every now and then, those games launched too infrequently to keep a console afloat. But wait, Nintendo had none of those games ready at launch. Instead, the company offered up such titles as Super Monkey Ball, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3, Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader and Luigi's Mansion. That last one is a cult classic now, but at the time, Luigi with no Mario was an absolute no-go. And I'm not touching the brouhaha The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker created.
The Dreamcast had it even worse, as Shenmue, Crazy Taxi, Jet Set Radio and Sonic Adventures do not a console make.
And in what proved to be a devastating blow, Rare Ltd. left Nintendo in a breakup almost as shocking as the Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears split. That meant that games like Perfect Dark, Conker, Banjo-Kazooie sequels and the Killer Instinct series all jumped to Xbox. Dreamcast also got the kiss-off from Rockstar, EA and Square Enix. Eidos Interactive also said adios, taking the Tomb Raider and Deus Ex series with it.
Jonathan Sippel/Shutterstock
The result left both consoles leaning too heavily on their first-party titles. And while Nintendo has strong performers such as Mario, Zelda and maybe a Kirby or Metroid game thrown into the mix every now and then, those games launched too infrequently to keep a console afloat. But wait, Nintendo had none of those games ready at launch. Instead, the company offered up such titles as Super Monkey Ball, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3, Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader and Luigi's Mansion. That last one is a cult classic now, but at the time, Luigi with no Mario was an absolute no-go. And I'm not touching the brouhaha The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker created.
The Dreamcast had it even worse, as Shenmue, Crazy Taxi, Jet Set Radio and Sonic Adventures do not a console make.