Any gaming fan knows that support from development houses is fundamental for any console. Nintendo 64 had a lack of third-party support and that is what caused its partial failure on the market. Nintendo tried to make up for this problem with the GameCube, but it seems that businesses, like Codemasters for example, still do not have enough faith in the Japanese company. Is this a unique occurrence or should we expect a chain reaction of developers dropping the GameCube?

This is what EraZer, well_chuffed, maxman, Towers, qbas, Fierce_Link, Lokk, Link, Spikeydude, SAMORRI, Cleggy, MeatAgent, thomaschung, MikeF, antster1983 , and the always loyal mattcube had to say: my gratitude goes to these people and Sip, for editing the Roundtable and at the same time taking part in it.

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EraZer: I don't think that will be the case, since Nintendo is more aggressively seeking out and making contact with third party developers than in the N64 period. For example, the Capcom support is outstanding, with one of their best known franchises being now exclusive to the GameCube and soon loads of games are to be released which might be GameCube exclusives. And also the Square reunion is great, since it will not only make Square games once again grace a Nintendo console but it will probably make other third parties more confident to follow. Even though its not a 'real' game in their biggest franchises, but its still their major franchises. And I can't wait for Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles since it seems to have the same magic as Secret of Mana, multiplayer real time RPG with the Square feeling. I believe that the third party support for the GameCube will be great, and more and more games will follow.

well_chuffed: During the days of the N64, Nintendo's previous successes had gotten very high and mighty with themselves which made them very stubborn. We all know what happened because of that! However, Nintendo did learn a harsh lesson and with the GameCube they have been a lot more friendly with development houses, especially in Japan. They are re-creating old links and the impact that it has had can easily be explained by the shear number of buyout rumours coming from the mill! I think Nintendo will keep going down the tracks they are on right now, spreading their third party friendships out of Japan and to the rest of the world. The foundation is being laid with the GameCube to get back on track. The next console should be a force to reckon with!

maxman: To be honest the big game companies apart from Capcom seem to be running away from GameCube. But Nintendo as stated above have good relationships with other Japanese developers like Square and Namco. Also, Nintendo giving out franchises to third party developers like Namco and Sega can only be a good thing, can't it? With games like F-Zero and Star Fox Armada made by these companies this will only improve relations with these companies and Nintendo seems to be smartly using these third party companies as a second party without them knowing.

Dirty Nintendo. Dirty.

Sip: It seems like a lot of publishers are running away from Nintendo lately. Electronic Arts and Sega dropped their sports games, Konami... well, they've been avoiding the GameCube altogether, and now Codemasters. Combined with Nintendo's unwillingness to pay for exclusives, this could very well turn into a second N64-situation indeed. It's a vicious cycle: publishers withdraw from the GameCube, people buy less GameCubes, and even more publishers withdraw from the 'Cube. Of course Nintendo's "good" relationship with some publishers is more or less opposing this withdrawal, but I don't think it will be enough. It's a good thing that Star Fox Armada is made together with Namco, and that F-Zero is made with Sega, but I think that it was quite a surprise when Capcom announced that the "Capcom 5" weren't going to be exclusives. Those games could really be system sellers, but they won't be when they go multi-platform. Third party support is essential for a console, just look at the Dreamcast. If that support falls away, Nintendo will face some rough times.

Towers: I still believe that the support is there, it's not like there is only Nintendo creating games for the GameCube. Konami are bringing over Metal Gear Solid which is no bad thing, Sega are bringing the Sonic series to the GameCube and Capcom are giving us some great exclusives. Just because the GameCube doesn't have every games company supporting it doesn't mean it will take the same route as the N64. The support that the GameCube does have at the moment is probably more than the N64 ever had in it's life time. I think that people are just making a big deal over nothing.

qbas: No I don't think that will be happening, GameCube is doing much better than N64 did because GameCube is a platform that is easy to make games to. But GameCube owners usually rather buy first or second party games than third party games. Third party games sell much better on Xbox and PlayStation 2, but still developers are making games much more than they did in N64 era.

Fierce_Link: The reason that third party games don't sell as well on the GameCube as they do on the Xbox or PS2 is that most people choose to buy games like Metroid Prime and Super Smash Bros. Melee instead of games like Turok: Evolution, Agent Under Fire, etcetera.

Lokk: Yes the exclusives are very strong on GameCube. It just means third parties have to make stuff that sells.

Link: With Nintendo making good relationships with foreign developers/publishers we will not see another N64 phase with not enough third party games. And since the GameCube is a great machine to code for, and is starting to sell more, we may see more excusive games from third party developers.

Spikeydude: I don't think so, because of the recent deal with Electronic Arts and the Squaresoft and Capcom relationships. However, while Sega sports and Codemasters jumping ship is a tad worrying, I'm sure other companies won't follow suit unless they come across real financial difficulties. They are being forced to choose the most likely two - at the moment this appears to be the Xbox and PS2.

SAMORII: I'm actually baffled by Codemasters decision... I see how the quality of Nintendo's own titles can affect sales of third party games, but the only worthwhile game Codemasters was bringing to the GameCube was Colin McRae 3, which has no competition whatsoever, and I feel would have sold well.

Cleggy.: One of the main problems with the N64 was the simple lack of third party titles, I don't think the GameCube will have this problem as there are so many games being released. However, the vast majority of these games are ports of PS2 games or multi format titles, which are fine but they are not going to sell GameCubes. In my opinion it is the lack of third party exclusives (except Resident Evil of course) that is one of the biggest problems facing Nintendo.

MeatAgent: Yes, but Nintendo make up for it with the vast amount of quality first and second party titles. They don't have to rely on a company like Rockstar to shift consoles, although Rockstar did shift MANY PS2s! The problem with lack of third party support is that whilst you, me and all the other intelligent people on this board would not touch a shabby film or TV license with a ten foot barge pole, little Timmy's mum, who knows he likes Power Rangers, will most likely buy the game which is the cheapest price(PS2, due to Nintendo's reportedly large licensing fees) and the most readily available (Dixons anyone?) along with a console to play it on. This is why Nintendo must work harder to snag these third party titles, dare I say it, regardless of their quality. The loyal Nintendo fans and those who read reviews before they buy anything are a very small percentage of the market.

thomaschung: I think more third parties are working on the GameCube but many of them have yet to produce anything. Divisions of Capcom and Sega are firmly on board with some of their big franchises. EA, as the biggest publisher is full on support. And why wouldn't they since there’s actually less developers of sports games for the GameCube. The Sega announcement of no more sports for GameCube must of been an encouragement to EA. Konami are certainly warming, although I don't expect to see more than one Metal Gear Solid game, and the usual International Superstar Soccer games from them. They seem to have this perception that the GameCube audience are young kids. How wrong can they be. How they don't make an update to Castlevania, I don't know. Square, as we all know are making a game, but I don't expect to see more that one GameCube game from them. Namco is also fully on board, but as usual its taking them a long while to get anything out. Soul Calibur 2 and a Ridge Racer game will fill two gaping holes in the GameCubes library. Surely they see this and will get these to us sooner rather than later. We also know about Star Fox Armada. We can be grateful that a lot of games on Xbox and PS2 are making their way to GameCube, albeit later, like Dead to Rights, Metal Gear Solid, Splinter Cell, Medal of Honour, Burnout 2, Hitman 2, The Two Towers etcetera. Companies that bug me are Codemasters, Temco, and Enix.

MikeF: I don't see Codemasters not publishing games on the GameCube as a problem. Yes it would have been nice to see Colin McRae Rally on the GameCube (and you never know it may happen). Nintendo has always been about new and innovating titles (Pikmin for example) and whilst the third party support may not be as good (YET) as it is for the PS2 and XBOX, the fact that the first and second party titles are always high quality more than makes up for this in my opinion.

antster1983: Codemasters have actually said they wouldn't rule out any games for the GameCube in the future, however they didn't say how near or distant. LucasArts' RTX Red Rock is "on ice", Activision cancelled Wakeboarding Unleashed, Midway pulled Gravity Games and Haven: Call of the King and THQ took Toxic Grind away. But hey, there's still a lot more to come for the 'Cube, with other top titles including Metroid Prime, Zelda: The Wind Waker, Skies of Arcadia, an enhanced Big Mutha Truckers and Conflict: Desert Storm on the way, I wouldn't get too downhearted.

Mattcube: In the past couple of weeks I've had exams, hospital and my final German speaking today so I'm not going to write much and don't expect it to be great but I'm soldiering on - I mean , I would never miss a board roundtable would I? Miss the chance to blow my own trumpet, share my great opinion and general feel more important than the other plebs that use this board? Yeah right...oh I've written quite a bit already...anyway... The GameCube is in a particularly precarious situation at the moment. The Nintendo64 could NOT compete with the PlayStation and certainly had a poor influx of games - especially in the lucrative third party market. It did however still hung in there and managed to keep going for some time. It had the most advanced games and a steady flow of AAA killer apps right from the beginning. This kept the N64 afloat for so long. It also didn't have to compete with the likes of Microsoft. GameCube is not so lucky. It was extremely hyped (not a bad thing) and got off to a good start, but it lacked a killer app and was released just before the summer drought of games and ran out of steam. The Xbox has caught up and is now looking in a stronger position. Although March may change things, things are still looking bad.

The GameCube is in a very different situation for the N64 although not necessarily in a weaker one. The GameCube had good initial third party support and proved to be lucrative (Star War: Rogue Leader) so there are game definitely in the pipeline. If things go well now then a lot more will follow. However, if things go sour now publishers will dump GameCube like a smelly sofa and GameCube will be a lot worse off. Basically GameCube in terms of games, back catalogue and support it is in a stronger position than the N64 but a more fragile one. If the GameCube can slowly build up more support with its continuing success (if its successful mind) - like before and during the first months of the European launch and the August to October high period - then it should prosper. I can't tell which way it will go - but hey that's the business!

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Thanks again to the 16 members who participated. I'll be looking forward to your contribution on the next Board Roundtable. I also hope some new members will be involved, all you have to do is go to our forums, GameCube Discussion, then Board Roundtable #15. It's as easy as that. Have fun writing!