The GameCube was the first home console that I was able to buy on its release date (because I was 17 at the time). I was actually working at Best Buy as a seasonal employee during the holidays of 2001, but I wasn't working on the day the system was released. However, I did drop by my work to see if they had any black GameCubes, but all they had were the purple ones, and I was not buying purple under any circumstances.
I had to hit a few different stores, but ironically, I found the black GameCube in stock at the Target near my house. I purchased the system and Luigi's Mansion. I had to wait until Christmas to get another game (Wave Race: Blue Storm) because I didn't have the money to buy more games.
Later on I bought a second controller, which started malfunctioning a few years ago. I replaced that one with another new controller a few months ago. So I only have two controllers, but they're both the official ones.
I also received the Game Boy Player as a surprise gift around 2004, I think. I didn't use the thing too much initially (it was mostly used for two-player Double Dragon Advance awesomeness), but a little after the Wii was released I started using it quite a bit more. It is really handy, especially for Youtube.
I never saw any interesting third-party controllers for the system, so I didn't buy a turbo pad or joystick like I had done with my prior systems. I don't even know if there was a joystick released for the system.
I have the microphone that came with Odama. You get to yell certain commands at your troops in that game, like "press forward!" It's fun.
I picked up the official component cables in 2009 right after I bought my HDTV. I think I paid around $70-$90 for them in box. The price has now shot through the roof because apparently, there's some sort of special chip inside the connector and no third-party company has managed to duplicate it.
The component cable is odd because it doesn't include the red and white audio cables, unlike most component cables that you can buy for game systems. Instead, you have to use both the component and composite or S-video cables. You simply leave the yellow or S-video plug unplugged, and the system automatically detects the component cable when the game starts up. The composite/S-video cable just carries the audio.
The Game Boy Player uses the component cable for 480p mode on all Game Boy and Game Boy Advance games. However, in 2004 Nintendo removed the component output slot on the GameCube because less than 1% of owners were using the cable. So you need a GameCube from before that time in order to use the cable.
However, if you have a backwards-compatible Wii, you can simply use the Wii's component cables to get 480p with your GameCube games. Progressive Scan Mode is the only way to get 60 fps because an interlaced (480i) image ultimately results in only 30fps. However, not every GameCube game supports 480p (the two Spider-Man games don't support it). You will still see a quality difference using component cables, however, just like you would with S-video vs. composite, because the video is separated into three signals instead of just one or two.
Most of the accessories that were released in the U.S. came in blister packs, so that's why I don't have a lot of packaging for my GameCube stuff. The Game Boy Player came in a blister pack, so that's why there's no box for that. I think Japan and Europe got boxes though.
My collection is fairly small, but everything is complete. I even have the large boxes for Four Swords Adventures and Odama. The GameCube is really easy to collect for because the games came in DVD cases instead of cardboard boxes. So people were far less likely to throw them away.
All of my games were purchased before the Wii came out. I just can't find any other games that really interest me. I did rent several games back when the system was out, including Resident Evil 0, 1, 2 (well, technically I rented the N64 version), 3, Code Veronica, Burnout 2, Need For Speed and some Simpsons games, but I have no interest in buying any of those. I also played various other games at a friend's house including Super Smash Bros. Melee, Super Monkey Ball 1 and 2 and Alien Hominid.
Overall, the GameCube is my least favorite Nintendo system (although the Wii U is competing for that spot right now. But I suspect I'll end up liking the Wii U more due to excellent 2D games and Wii Remote support). There weren't many games I was interested in, and to me, Nintendo's overall quality declined from the Nintendo 64 era (not that I think the N64 was Nintendo's high point). I didn't expect that before the system was released. I thought the GameCube would correct the flaws from the Nintendo 64 due to better hardware (easier to program for), disc-based storage, and a more comfortable controller. But even though the GameCube ran games really smoothly (either 30 or 60 fps across the board) and finally used discs, other problems arose.
Mario, Mario Kart, Zelda, Wave Race, Wario and other games just felt worse than their prior entries on the Nintendo 64 (or in the case of Wario, on handhelds). Super Mario Sunshine turned into way too much of a collectathon like Donkey Kong 64, and Wind Waker's art style pissed me off to no end. I hate toon Link with a passion, but I thought Wind Waker was a decent or even good game overall. But it was no Ocarina of Time. There were tons of flaws in the game design. Wave Race: Blue Storm also was not as good as Wave Race 64.
A bunch of my favorite games/genres were also missing. Even though Castlevania made two appearances on the Nintendo 64, it was absent here. Nintendo sold Rare to Microsoft in 2002, so games like Perfect Dark and Conker's Bad Fur Day didn't get to see sequels on a Nintendo system. The Excitebike series disappeared and Boss Game Studios (who made Top Gear Rally and World Driver Championship) seemed to vanish.
2D gaming was also put on the back burner, similar to the Nintendo 64. I found myself constantly going back to the Nintendo 64 or earlier systems for multiplayer, even well into the GameCube era. Nothing was topping Perfect Dark, Conker's Bad Fur Day, Vigilante 8 or other multiplayer games from the last generation.
The new dual analog control scheme also made first-person shooters unplayable for me. Even though I tried XIII (I bought it used), I could barely shoot anything, and I gave up on the genre until Metroid Prime 3/The Conduit came out. The D-pad on the GameCube controller also sucked. Hard.
However, it wasn't all bad. I did enjoy Wave Race quite a bit. Mario Kart Double Dash also wasn't bad. Two-player racing on one kart was fun, and Bob-Omb Blast was awesome. Ikaruga and the Spider-Man games were lots of fun, and the Metroid Prime titles were the crowning achievements of the system. In fact, Metroid Prime is my favorite Metroid game. Four Swords Adventures is also fun. It's a shame the system didn't turn out better though.
