The Gamecube is the first Nintendo console I have bought since NES. I have to say it is probably my favorite console to date. The level of quality and originality that Nintendo seems to put into their games is just unmatched.
Metroid Prime has to be one of the best games I have played in a long time. It's very rare when I get so anxious to come home and start playing a game again, but Metroid Prime had me always looking forward to seeing what was coming next.
The wavebird controller is my preference for any videogame console as well. I didn't think I would care much for a wireless controller as I figured it wouldn't be very responsive and would lack the rumble feature. But, after playing with the wavebird for some time, it's difficult to go back to wired controllers. The level of freedom with wireless is just simply amazing and is something to be experienced.
I personally am not all that concerned about Nintendo's lack of online play. I'm not really interested in playing games online. I would gladly take an incredible single player game than an online game from Nintendo any day of the week. I'm sure Nintendo will get into the business soon enough, but it's sad to see so many people(not here but in other forums I read) turning up their nose to Nintendo for this reason.
Personally, I always thought Rare was a little overrated. They made very good games, don't get me wrong, but their games usually came in second to Nintendo's. I think Nintendo made a good decision selling them off as they got some MAJOR cash for them and now they can use that money to invest in other game developers such as Retro. Retro's first game, Metroid Prime, turns out to be way better than anything Rare ever put out, and it probably cost Nintendo half as much to pay these guys as it would've to pay Rare to make a similar game.
In any event, I hope nintendo can manage to stay alive in these competetive console wars. I think Nintendo makes the best products on the market. However, with Sony and now M$ as competitors it will be very tough as both Sony and M$ have MUCH deeper pockets than Nintendo and can afford to take a loss for a while.
As long as Nintendo keeps making great hardware and software, they'll continue to get my business.
