The Underrated Consoles: A Look at Nintendo's GameCube, Sega Saturn, PlayStation Vita, Wii U, and Sega Dreamcast

Hey guys, this is Austin, and today I'm going to talk about some of the most underrated consoles in gaming history. Kicking things off, we have the Nintendo GameCube from 2001.

As the fourth home console from Nintendo, the GameCube had a tough act to follow. However, it had fairly powerful hardware that would later become a key component of the Wii's success. The GameCube also had a solid lineup of games, including some great first-party titles like Luigi's Mansion and some third-party games. This was important because one of the major issues with the Wii and Wii U was the lack of major games like Call of Duty.

The GameCube controller is still remembered today for its quirky design, which has aged surprisingly well. In fact, Nintendo re-released the 13-year-old GameCube controllers when they launched Super Smash Bros. 4 on the Wii U. One notable aspect of the GameCube was that it used mini DVDs, which were a lot smaller than traditional discs but only had a capacity of 1.5 gigabytes compared to up to 8.5 gigs on the Xbox and PS2.

Despite its limitations, the GameCube ultimately holds up as one of the most underrated consoles ever. Coming in at number four is the Sega Saturn from 1994.

Sega was all over the place in the 90s, with the Genesis putting up a serious fight against the Super Nintendo. However, the company released a series of weird add-ons before moving on to the Saturn. Even though the Saturn was the worst-selling Sega console, it actually had some great features, such as dual CPUs that were ahead of its time.

The Saturn's design was ahead of its time, with dual CPUs ten years before they became the norm in consoles. This gave the Saturn a lot of theoretical power compared to the PlayStation 1. Unfortunately, things didn't work out for Sega this time around. The company surprised launched the Saturn four months early without letting some stores know, prompting them to drop the console or even Sega altogether.

The Saturn was a great console, but things just didn't work out for Sega this time. Next at number three is the Sony PlayStation Vita from 2011.

Nintendo recently launched the 3DS, which handled the transition to portable gaming reasonably well. However, Sony came off the PSP, which had challenged Nintendo in the handheld market. The Vita was rocking a big, high-resolution five-inch touchscreen with some of the best physical controls ever put on a portable console. It also had cool features like a rear touchpad.

However, there's one major problem: smartphones. With most people already having a decent gaming device in their pockets, portable consoles have hit serious issues. The 3DS handled the transition relatively well due to its excellent library of first-party titles like Mario, Pokémon, and Zelda.

The Vita, on the other hand, hasn't been so fortunate. It had some big games, but they were not enough to save it from its struggles. The Vita is still remembered today for its innovative design and features.

Coming in at number two is the Wii U, which was released in 2012. Nintendo has always been known for their innovative consoles, and the Wii U was no exception.

The Wii U had a lot of great features, including a built-in tablet-like controller called the GamePad. This allowed for a whole new level of gaming experience on the console. The Wii U also had an excellent library of first-party titles like Super Mario 3D World and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.

However, despite its innovative design and great games, the Wii U struggled to compete with other consoles in its generation. Nintendo has already started talking about their next console, the NX, which we should learn more about next year.

Finally, coming in at number one is the infamous Sega Dreamcast from 1998.

The Dreamcast was a revolutionary console that had a lot of potential. Sega learned from the mistakes of the Saturn and designed a clean, easy-to-work-with console that had a big head start on other consoles of its generation.

The Dreamcast brought several firsts to gaming, including an early online play experience with a built-in modem. It also introduced the VMU, which doubled as the memory card for the system and was used in some games years before the Wii U's use of the GamePad.

The Dreamcast had big success on its launch, but surprises did come when Sony released the PlayStation 2. The already weak Sega crumbled, and less than two years after launching the Dreamcast in the US, Sega entirely pulled out of the console business, leaving a void that would be hard to fill.

Overall, these consoles may not have been as successful as some of their contemporaries, but they each brought something unique and innovative to the gaming world.

WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enHey guys this is Austin. There have been alot of great consoles over the years but hereare my top 5 most underrated. Kicking thingsoff we have the Nintendo GameCube from 2001.As the fourth home console from Nintendo theGameCube had some big shoes to fill. It hadfairly powerful hardware, so much so thatwhen it came time to make the Wii Nintendolargely just reused the specs of the GameCube.It had a solid lineup of games as well includingthe always great first party Nintendo titleslike Luigi’s Mansion along with a fair fewthird party games. This was important as oneof the major problems with the Wii and WiiU was the lack of major games like Call ofDuty, leading a lot of people to go buy anXbox or PlayStation. It also shipped witha fairly controversial controller that’saged fairly well, so much so that when Nintendolaunched Smash 4 on the Wii U they startedselling the 13 year old GameCube controllersagain. As the first Nintendo console to dropcartridges the GameCube uses mini DVDs whichare a lot smaller than a traditional discbut only had 1.5 gigabytes of capacity comparedto up to 8.5 gigs on the Xbox and PS2. Andit was ultimately the PS2 that hurt it themost, selling a massive 155 million consolescompared to just 22 million for the GameCube.Still though, it holds up as one of the mostunderrated consoles ever. Coming in at numberfour we have the Sega Saturn from 1994. Segawas all over the place in the 90s. The Genesisput up a serious fight against the Super Nintendobut then they released a series of weird addons before moving on with the Sega Saturn.Even though the Saturn was the worst sellingSega console it actually had a lot going forit. It featured a design that was ahead ofit’s time with dual CPUs ten years beforethis became the norm in consoles which wasa big deal, it gave the Saturn the power toplay games straight from the arcade like DaytonaUSA and Virtua Fighter. The dual CPUs gaveit a lot of theoretical power compared tothe PlayStation 1 but it was incredibly difficultfor developers to take advantage of. Unfortunatelythings went wrong almost immediately. Segadid a surprise launch four months early...withoutletting some stores know, prompting them todrop the Saturn or indeed Sega altogether.Oops. Couple this with the lack of big nametitles like Sonic and Sony’s new consoleoutsold the Saturn by a massive ten to oneratio. The Saturn was a great console butthings just didn’t work out for Sega thistime. Next at number three we have the SonyPlayStation Vita from 2011. Nintendo justlaunched the 3DS, the followup to the massivelysuccessful DS and Sony was coming off thePSP, the first handheld to really challengeNintendo ever. It’s rocking a big, highresolution five inch touchscreen with someof the best physical controls ever put ona portable and even cool features like a reartouchpad. There’s just one problem: a littlething called smartphones came along. Withmost people already having a decent gamingdevice in their pockets portable consoleshave hit some serious issues. The 3DS hashandled the transition reasonably well thanksto it’s library of excellent first partytitles like Mario, Pokemon and Zelda but theVita hasn’t been so fortunate. It has somedecent games, especially Japanese titles butin North America the big games like Minecraftare nearly all available on other platforms.It still has some life in it but Sony hasbeen focused on things like PS4 Remote Playand PlayStation Now instead of pushing majortitles to the Vita. It’s a shame becausethe Vita really was awesome but it was thewrong console at the wrong time. At numbertwo we have the Nintendo Wii U from 2012.The Wii U...yeah. Like the Saturn Nintendohad just come off the enormously successfulWii and immediately into big problems. Thebig draw of the Wii U is the tablet like GamePadwhich is legitimately cool but most peoplethought it was an accessory for the originalWii rather than an all new console. To addinsult to injury where the Wii was pricedsignificantly lower than the Xbox and PlayStationthe Wii U is only slightly cheaper than thetechnically superior Xbox One and PS4, mostlydue to the expensive GamePad that’s includedwith every Wii U. Like the Wii it’s beenhamstrung by a lack of third party support,making the Wii U almost entirely reliant onfirst party Nintendo games. Thankfully therehave been quite a few terrific titles suchas Smash 4 and Splatoon but with an installbase of less than 10 million consoles it’sbehind both the Xbox One and PS4 even withan extra year head start. Nintendo has alreadystarted talking about their next console,the NX which we should find out more aboutnext year. The Wii U is shaping up to haveone of the shortest and most disastrous consoleruns ever which is a shame because it reallyis a good console. Unfortunately that’sjust not enough. Coming in at the number onespot is the infamous Sega Dreamcast from 1998.The Dreamcast had so much potential. Segalearned from the overly complicated Saturnand designed a clean, easy to work with consolethat had a big head start on the other consolesof its generation. It brought a lot of firstsas well including a built-in modem for onlineplay years before it became popular. Withthe VMU it brought an early second screenexperience way before the Wii U that doubledas the memory card for the system and somegames were powered by Windows three yearsbefore Microsoft launched the Xbox. It evenhad several big games like Crazy Taxi andSonic Adventure which were a big step up graphicallythan anything available at the time. The Dreamcasthad a big, successful launch but surprisesurprise, Sony pulled the rug out from underSega with the hugely popular PlayStation 2.The already weak Sega crumbled and less thantwo years after they launched the Dreamcastin the US Sega entirely pulled out of theconsole business and the rest is history.If you enjoyed this video and you want tosee more like this definitely be sure to subscribeto the channel and I will catch you in the next one.There’s a fly in the room right now. Lookhe’s right there.Ohh so close! This video will never be done.