These titles were positioned as alternatives to the simulations from publisher EA Sports with a focus on fun over realism.
Sega’s popular 2K series used official licenses from MLB, NBA, NHL, and NFL in fast-paced, arcade-style sports games. The community remains thousands strong and GameCubes around the world are still connected to the internet, all thanks to Phantasy Star Online. But what makes this even more special is you can still play all three episodes today through fan-made servers. There were three episodes released across two games and Sega ran the servers until 2007. It’s notable for being the first MMO title for consoles and was only one of three games that took advantage of GameCube’s online capabilities.
The team also developed Phantasy Star Online, an online RPG that originated on Dreamcast. The puzzle game Puyo Pop Fever further diversified Sonic Team’s offerings as it blazed a trail for Sega on GameCube.
And although it only sold 250,000 copies, its excellent graphics and tight gameplay garnered a nomination for a British Academy Gaming Award. Games such as Billy Hatcher suited Nintendo's cute-character, family-friendly image. While we must acknowledge the impact of Sonic, other Sega properties developed by Sonic Team are just as important to the story of the company's successful transition onto other platforms. Sonic Heroes was criticised for poor camera control while Shadow’s game was a huge departure from the classic Sonic formula of fast-paced platforming, with the titular hedgehog famously toting guns in the game. Two new games, Sonic Heroes and Shadow the Hedgehog, had some success on GameCube but were not received as well as Sega might have hoped. Sonic Mega Collection included all the Mega Drive games while Sonic Gems Collection featured three more obscure titles as well as the complete Game Gear series. Sonic Team continued the trend of using older Sonic games and released two compilations featuring classic '90s titles. It was followed up in 2003 by a reworking of the original Sonic Adventure that again added many new features. It was an instant success and sold 1.7 million copies worldwide. The first of these was 2001’s Sonic Adventure 2: Battle which added multiplayer modes, upgraded textures and several new gameplay features. After the Dreamcast was discontinued, the flagship studio quickly regrouped and started to develop ports of major Sonic games. When considering the success Sega had on GameCube, Sonic Team was certainly the main catalyst. Sonic Team flies the flagship Subscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube While Sega would still develop arcade games during GameCube’s life, these releases show how quickly it was evolving to develop deeper, story-driven titles that gamers were starting to look for at the time. Others, such as the excellent Samurai Jack: The Shadow of Acu, fitted neatly into the console’s range of cartoon-inspired family games. One example, Spartan: Total Warrior, took classic melee combat and added a dose of strategy to deepen the gameplay.
The company would also look to traditional action-adventure titles to bring its software style to GameCube. Had Super Monkey Ball failed, it may have meant the end of Sega but heading into 2002 there was a lot more to come. The series would stay a Nintendo exclusive until 2005 and is now up there with Sega’s most fondly-remembered franchises. Super Monkey Ball was received well by gamers and critics and put Sega and Nintendo’s partnership in the spotlight.
Super Monkey Ball fits neatly into the family-friendly, loveable characters, and accessible gameplay that Nintendo is known for. With its interesting mix of physics-based gameplay and manic multiplayer action, Sega had found a new audience almost overnight.