# Nintendo GameCube

11 Hacker News commenters recommended Nintendo GameCube and 4 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 6 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** People recommend it for its fun, nostalgic games that still play well today. Critics point to its slow optical drive, which can fail, and its limited uses beyond gaming.

## Why people recommend it

- Still fun and engaging today (2 comments): "it’s just as fun and engaging as I remember it being as a kid." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46326375)) "It was a pretty great console, in its own way." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47043854))
- Nostalgic retro collection favorite (2 comments): "I have a wonderful collection of retro consoles and games" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46479755)) "for me it'd be the 64 or GameCube" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50315115))

## What people warn about

- Slow or failing optical drive (4 comments): "stationary gaming consoles have been held back by slow (optical) storage" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46136534)) "the optical drive is dead, so now my games are just expensive coasters" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49143463)) "GameCube optical lasers will fail." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49168110))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Valve Steam Machine](https://hackerapproved.com/p/steam-machine.md): 326 recommend
- [PlayStation 5](https://hackerapproved.com/p/playstation-5.md): 121 recommend
- [Xbox console](https://hackerapproved.com/p/xbox.md): 62 recommend
- [Xbox 360](https://hackerapproved.com/p/xbox-360.md): 41 recommend
- [PlayStation 2](https://hackerapproved.com/p/playstation-2.md): 40 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Nintendo+GameCube+console&tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Official site](https://www.nintendo.com/us/)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Nintendo GameCube", https://hackerapproved.com/p/nintendo-gamecube/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).