Key publishers quietly scaling back GameCube support

Third party support for Nintendo's GameCube continues to wane, with the console set to be bereft of a game based on the Euro 2004 football tournament while Lucasarts has confirmed that it has no more titles in the pipeline for the system.

Both Electronic Arts and Codemasters are working on multi-platform football games for Euro 2004 (EA has the official license, while Codies have the England team license), but neither company will be bringing its game to the Cube.

Although Electronic Arts says that its commitment to the Cube "remains strong" despite the decision not to do a Euro 2004 title, and that it will be releasing a number of games for the platform this year, Codemasters has joined the ranks of publishers with nothing in production for Nintendo's home system.

Also joining the swelling ranks of publishers without any Cube titles in their portfolios (which already includes the likes of Acclaim and Eidos) is Lucasarts, which currently has no titles for the platform on its internal schedules. This is more of a blow to Nintendo than the other publishers, since Lucasarts was responsible for the successful Star Wars: Rogue Leader games on the Cube.

Another publisher, Ubisoft, currently has no GameCube titles on its schedule but says that it will be announcing a number at E3 - and of course, a Cube version of Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow will appear at some point in future, as will a PS2 version.

While support from Japanese publishers remains strong, with Capcom and Namco both committed to the system while Square Enix and Konami are also producing a limited range of exclusive titles for it, western third-party support for the Cube is facing a serious decline this year.

This leaves the system relying largely on Nintendo's own portfolio, buoyed by titles from key Japanese publishers, and the company is expected to unveil a new range of software at E3 including sequels to Metroid Prime and Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker.