Unlike its competitors, it is solely focused on gaming and does not play mass media like DVD or CD. It is Nintendo's first console to use optical discs instead of ROM cartridges, supplemented by writable memory cards for saved games. The console was formally announced under the codename 'Dolphin' the following year, and was released in 2001 as the GameCube. Nintendo began developing the GameCube in 1998 after entering a partnership with ArtX to design a graphics processing unit. As a sixth-generation console, the GameCube primarily competed with the PlayStation 2 and Xbox. It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 (N64). It was released in Japan on 14 September 2001, in North America on 18 November 2001, in Europe on, and in Australia on. The GameCube is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. Select Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance games via Game Boy Player
