At long last, Nintendo has moved away from the cartridge and to optical discs for game media. Using a technology similar to the DVD, Nintendo has developed an 8cm disc capable of holding 1.5GB of data. This move benefits Nintendo in a couple of ways. First, developers who were reluctant to write for the Nintendo 64 may now be enticed by an easily packaged optical media. Additionally, the piracy that other manufacturers have endured will be reduced due to the non-standard disc specifications. The drive will see data transfer rates between 16 and 25Mbps with a 128ms access time.
This design, of course, also carries a negative consequence. Mainly, the GameCube will be unable to play back DVD's, like the Playstation 2. In our minds this detracts from the encompassing "entertainment center" ideology behind the latest wave of consoles, but Nintendo has repeatedly voiced their determination to make the GameCube a machine for gaming and not an audiovisual center. Undoubtedly, they plan on compensating for this limitation by other means. For instance, the GameCube will include a modem and broadband expansion option for online connectivity.
One major advantage that the GameCube has over the Playstation 2 is the number of controllers that will be supported out of the box - four versus two. Granted, there are devices available to expand the multi-player capabilities of the Playstation 2, but we've already thrown down nearly $1,000 for a truly enjoyable PS2 experience - when is enough, enough? Interestingly, the Cube will support wireless controllers. Unfortunately, since these controllers will only be capable of one-way data transfer, features like force-feedback will be unavailable. The tethered controllers will support this feature.
Those of you who plan to invest in the Game Boy Advance will be happy to know that it will be compatible with the Gamecube, and will serve as a controller. One exceptional use for a Game Boy controller would be for a football game where plays need to be chosen privately. In this case, the play list could be displayed on the Game Boy without the opposing player seeing the chosen play (like Sega's Dreamcast). Of course, this is just an example of our minds running away from us once again.
Two "Flash Card" slots will be positioned on the front of the Cube for saving game data, but the idea has come up that downloadable game demo's may be another possibility. We would enjoy the freedom offered by such a capability, however the price of a large flash memory card would be atrocious.