I've said it before and damn it i'll say it again. Nintendo has the best support in the business. Even the guys on the phone are fun to talk to.Originally Posted by Slimedog
MS has normal support, stupid and annoying.
Sony has support that seems to try their hardest to keep you from getting help. Never once have i had a good time talking to them.
From my experience in console repair, the only part to fail on gamecube is the optical mechanisim.
If you open it, it is easily removed and replaced.
Given the gamecube has no warranty stickers over the hole, if you have the correct bit, you can swap the laser off a dead one and return the dead one to the store.
Of course, the moral dilemma I leave for you to decide.
had mine since near after launch, no problems
My friend's GameCube broke down after he played Animal Crossing on it for about 5 days straight. After a trip to Nintendo Australia and a few days wait, they gave it back to him good as new, despite him not having a box, receipt or anything else. They rock!
i have a "first run" gc and f-zero runs at full speed and no freezes
I bought my first and only Cube used for $15 with no hookups and a big "as is" sticker on it. Having successfully fixed a few PS2's I figured I could handle whatever problems a Cube might throw my way. After eventually getting the requisite cables I was $60 invested in the thing and pleasantly surprised to find that it booted up with no problems. But for one and only one DRE which was clearly due to a dirty disc the thing has worked great for nearly a year now.
I bought a used machine from EB Games. After about a year and a half or so all of a sudden the rumble no longer worked. I bought another controller, thinking that was the problem but still no dice. After asking around it seems a use was blown inside the Cube and it's not user-replacable. Other than that, the sucker works just fine.
I have to agree: Nintendo has excellent phone support. I told a gal what all happened and she checked into everything to see if there was an easy solution (as the machine was out of warranty). She then offered to sell me a Nintendo refurbished unit for $50 plus shipping, which at the time I declined as I didn't have the cash (just bought a house then).
One of my Gamecubes just had a laser go bad....it powers up fine but won't read any discs.
This is the first Nintendo console I've had a problem with.
My son dropped his gamecube twice from about 3 1/2 feet up and nothing happened. Once he dropped it while we were playing Smash Bros. together and the freaking thing kept on playing. I am still awed at the thought of it when it happened.
By the way, what does DRE mean?
I've never heard of that. My first Gamecube which I picked up at launch ran F-Zero without a hitch.F-Zero would cause first run GameCubes to freeze up and become useless (at least for that game).
THE ONE, THE ONLY- RCM
I don't want you to hate me, I want you to want to hate me - GamersUniteMagazine.com
well ive had no problems with my "used" GC -- but its only had around 2 hours of total play time -- but i treat it like crap -- its gets knocked around and always works when checking new games
The human operates out of complex superiority demands, self -affirming through ritual, insiting upon a rational need to learn, striving for self-imposed goals, manipulating his environment while he denies his own adaptive abilities, never fully satisfied.
--Frank Herbert
someone asked "what DRE means"
I take it to mean DISC READ ERROR but I could be wrong
Dammit. I finally had some knowledge to contribute and someone beat me to it!
My GCN's been a little problematic from day one. Whilst it isn't frequent, I do get DRE's occasionally (mostly with F-Zero GX and Burnout). My GCN is an Australian May 2002 launch model.
My PS2 and Xbox have been far less problematic. My PS2 hasn't had a single DRE, and I stick some VERY scratched discs in that thing. Bought my PS2 in December 2002.
Xbox is weird. The day I got it (August 2003), it froze on me, but then worked perfectly ever since. About 6 months ago, it suddenly stopped reading discs entirely. Weird! So I unlplugged it and left it for a while, then reconnected everything and it's worked perfectly ever since!
My friend's gamecube had the fourth controller port go bad, but other than that I've never seen the cube do wrong. The controllers are another matter entirely, at least in my experience. The same friend had one controller's z button go bad, and another friend's controller's analog stick went wonky. And these were first party! So far all my Cube hardware has worked flawlessly, knock on wood...
mine sometimes has DRE's, sometimes it works fine though. of course, i bought it that way off ebay for like 20 bucks.
also, gamecube won the durability test (or whatever cheesy name they gave it) on X-play they had a while ago. they took a GC, and xbox, and a ps2 and dropped them, hit them with hammers, etc, and gamecube won, with xbox second and os2 last.
it's usually true about first-run systems having crap disc drives, my xbox is a firt-edition and it had a bad drive which crapped out on me a few months ago, luckily i got a better drive for my birthday.
oh, BTW, could someone tell me more about returning gamecubes to nintendo? what kind of stuff do you need to give them? receipt? warranty? i have neither (obviously)
I think there is an episode of X-Play where they beat the hell out of all the consoles, and the GCN ended up surviving everything they dished out.
My Collection:
users.ign.com/collection/fc3sRX7gxl
Yep.
First test was a 50lbs. weight dropped from about a foot high. Xbox lives, GC lives, PS2 deader then the Jaguar.
I think the scond was a sledge hammer blow. Both survived
Third was the 20 foot drop.
The GC survived and the xbox was disqualified because the front hunk with the powerswitch (trust me it's the only part that isn't secured properly in the unit) popped off.
Such fun.
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