Gaming's last stands

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What happens when games machines die

The last stand of: Nintendo Gamecube
Last official US release: Madden 08 (Aug 14, 2007)
Last official UK release: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Dec 15, 2006)

What an amazing turnaround. After Gamecube came third in the last-gen console war, Wii's now running away with it, ironically featuring what's basically Gamecube technology underneath all that wand-waving tomfoolery. But Gamecube itself suffered a protracted demise, with a trickle of releases over its last year eventually ending with Madden 08 in the US (although a couple more might yet appear there). In the UK, however, Cube owners got a glorious last hurrah in the shape of Zelda: Twilight Princess. It was definitely worth the wait.

Final hurrah: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Of course, the game should have been released around a year earlier. It was basically finished all that time ago, but Nintendo held onto it to make sure it was perfect - and no doubt to convert it to Wii with the new controls working properly. So Gamecube got perhaps its best game right at the end.

With the two versions mirrored, it was Gamecube that got a traditionally left-handed Link. Gamecube also got the best controls (we love the Wii ones, but the pad just feels so right). And due to the dimished audience, Gamecube got the rarity value. Ever tried hunting down a Gamecube copy of Twilight Princess? They still go for over £30 on eBay, but you probably won't ever find one in the shops (at least in the UK - we see Walmart still says 'in most stores' on its website). Expect the prices to rise over the next couple of years, though.

Above: What a beautiful game. Good job Wii brought it to the mass-market, or we'd have cried

Justin Towell
Justin Towell

Justin was a GamesRadar staffer for 10 years but is now a freelancer, musician and videographer. He's big on retro, Sega and racing games (especially retro Sega racing games) and currently also writes for Play Magazine, Traxion.gg, PC Gamer and TopTenReviews, as well as running his own YouTube channel. Having learned to love all platforms equally after Sega left the hardware industry (sniff), his favourite games include Christmas NiGHTS into Dreams, Zelda BotW, Sea of Thieves, Sega Rally Championship and Treasure Island Dizzy.