It’s a rough time to be a Lakers fan. Despite the NBA team’s undeniable talent, Los Angeles finished well under .500, and constant rumors surrounding Russell Westbrook’s future with the team threaten to throw the organization into further turmoil. Though they won it all as recently as 2020, it’s hard to know how Los Angeles might begin to orchestrate a rebound. Worse still, NBA star LeBron James added fuel to the fire by stating in a recent Twitter Q&A that he preferred the Nintendo 64 over the GameCube.Replying to an inquiry from YouTuber Spawn Wave, James candidly stated that he preferred Nintendo’s fifth-generation system over its sixth, opting to forego an in-depth explanation. Replies to the tweet have been mixed. While some agreed with the Lakers' small forward and cited classic titles like Goldeneye 007 and Mario Kart 64, others staunchly disagreed, with Nintendo YouTuber PlayerEssence offering a concise “Lov ya Bron but no.” Still others argued over the controversial design of the console’s controller, joining Xbox head Phil Spencer in enduring bewilderment over the Nintendo 64’s design oddities.It’s worth mentioning that, a graduate of the class of 2003, LeBron would have been around twelve or thirteen years old when the Nintendo 64 was released in 1996. It’s no secret that gamers tend to be most nostalgic for the consoles and games they played at that age, and there’s no reason to think that LeBron would be any different. Plus, with Nintendo 64 titles recently debuting on the Nintendo Switch via the Nintendo Switch Online service, nostalgia for Nintendo’s first 3D-capable console is arguably at an all-time high.
While there’s certainly no objective answer to this debate, both consoles are popularly considered to be underrated. The Nintendo 64, while fondly remembered by many, sold just over thirty million units, while Sony’s PlayStation, its direct competitor, sold in excess of one hundred million units. The same fate befell the GameCube, as it sold just over twenty million units, utterly dwarfed by the more than one hundred and fifty million PlayStation 2 units sold. Yet, now with King James siding with Nintendo 64 fans, purple lunchbox enthusiasts will arguable all the more adamantly that the GameCube was always the most underrated Nintendo system.
While the opinions of the NBA’s most prominent star may seem trivial, he’s had a non-negligible impact on video gaming recently. An icon of the NBA 2K series, a playable skin in Fortnite, and, if rumors are to be believed, a character in Warner Bros.’ forthcoming Multiversus fighting game, as odd as it is to say, LeBron James' word may be worth more than it seems when it comes to gaming.