Some titles can price over $150.
Stroll right into a retro recreation retailer, and many years of Nintendo historical past will greet you on the cabinets. GameCube video games, although, are sometimes lacking. And once they do flip up, their costs may offer you pause. What is going on on right here? Properly, as you may count on, it comes down to produce and demand.
The GameCube has one in all Nintendo’s deepest and most beloved first-party libraries, with classics like Metroid Prime, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker and Tremendous Smash Bros. Melee. Even Tremendous Mario Sunshine, arguably the weakest mainline Mario title, nonetheless has a powerful following.
Elsewhere, Luigi’s Mansion lastly gave Mario’s brother his personal ghost-hunting spinoff. The console additionally had the traditional RPG Paper Mario: The Thousand-12 months Door, the primary two Pikmin video games and horror traditional Everlasting Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem. There have been loads of cross-platform highlights, together with Resident Evil 4 and Past Good & Evil. It was a golden period for native multiplayer, too, with video games like Tremendous Smash Bros. Melee, Mario Kart: Double Sprint!! and 4(!) Mario Occasion entries.
On prime of that, the youngsters of the GameCube period are actually of their mid-20s to early 40s, a interval ripe for nostalgia. Add the “Nintendo tax,” the tendency for the corporate’s video games to carry their worth, and you’ve got a recipe for top demand.
However you can make comparable demand arguments for any of Nintendo’s traditional consoles. In any case, the NES, SNES, N64 and Wii every had a rogue’s gallery of legendary content material. What actually separates the GameCube is the provision facet.
The shortage issue
The GameCube’s 21.74 million units sold might sound like so much, particularly contemplating how a lot smaller the gaming market was then. However it dramatically underperformed in comparison with its quick predecessor and successor. The Nintendo 64 sold 32.93 million models. That is a 34 % dip for the GameCube — regardless of the house console market being about 75 percent bigger at its launch (after adjusting for inflation). In the meantime, its successor, the Wii, sold a staggering 101.63 million models, almost 5 occasions as many because the GameCube.
Why the decrease gross sales? First, not like the PS2 and Xbox, the GameCube did not play DVDs. (It is onerous to consider immediately, however that was a console-selling characteristic within the pre-streaming world.) Second, Sony and Microsoft consoles catered extra to teenagers and adults, pushing Nintendo additional into the “family-friendly” area of interest whereas weakening its third-party help.
Gross sales figures for the GameCube’s tentpole titles replicate that. Tremendous Smash Bros. Melee bought 7.41 million copies, Mario Kart: Double Sprint!! moved 6.88 million copies and Tremendous Mario Sunshine bought 5.91 million. These are considerably decrease than the top-selling N64 video games, they usually completely pale compared to the most popular Wii titles. (Wii Sports activities bought almost 83 million copies!)
The Wii additionally helped to increase the lifespan of GameCube video games. Early variations of the Wii have been backward-compatible with GameCube discs, giving its library a brand new life within the secondhand market (with out bringing new copies into circulation). And the platform’s discs are extra susceptible to break than cartridges.
A relative scarcity of recent GameCube re-releases hasn’t helped, both. For a few years, the one (authorized) method to play its catalog was with the unique discs. In 2025, Nintendo lastly started adding some GameCube titles to Change On-line for the Change 2. However to date, that availability hasn’t translated into a major drop in resale costs.
Some GameCube video games are value greater than others
To be honest, not all GameCube video games are loopy costly. A used copy of Metroid Prime could be had for below $30. Paper Mario: The Thousand-12 months Door is simply a little bit pricier, usually between $30 and $50. (Its Switch remake possible contributed to its comparatively low worth.) Tremendous Mario Sunshine averages roughly $40.
However different flagship titles will price you extra. Tremendous Smash Bros. Melee, Luigi’s Mansion and Everlasting Darkness can set you again between $50 and $70 every. Mario Kart: Double Sprint!! prices round $60 to $70. Some even balloon into three figures, with Pokémon Colosseum or Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness usually going for $150 or extra apiece. And if the oddball journey recreation Chibi-Robo! is extra your velocity, count on to fork over $160 to $200.
So, the following time you cease by your native retro recreation retailer, know that the employees possible is not hoarding their GameCube video games within the backroom. Nor are they essentially jacking up costs far past market worth. It is extra about Econ 101: Restricted provide and enduring demand have made GameCube amassing a pricier passion.
