Collectible Consoles: The Panasonic Q - GameCube Part II

Although I am still very sick from the...black death (or whatever I caught), I feel the need to write. However, my brain isn't all here, so I want to keep this short but interesting. I owe you guys at least one blog for missing all of last week, so here is an early one! Full disclosure:  Keep in mind that I'm on all the medication. If I write sillier than normal...well, I'm not sorry.

Look at it...LOOK AT IT! It is a beautiful monster. It screams early 2000s. I love it. 

This was released exclusively for Japan in December 2001. The first question you are asking is probably "why?". That is pretty simple actually. Nintendo was feeling a bit of pressure from the PS2's ability to play CDs and DVDs. It wanted to make up for the GameCube's lack of being a media powerhouse by developing this along side Panasonic.
So what all did it have? Here is the list:
- All the original GameCube features of course
- Optical out port (allowing for 5.1 true surround sound)
- A front loading tray that loaded like a DVD player
- An LCD panel at the top of the console
- A subwoofer output
- A polished glass front and stainless steel chassis
- DVD, CD, and MP3 file support

There are a LOT of articles on the web that state the following, including a Nintendo Wikia (which should know better!!): There were two of these released. One that was the standard that cost ¥41,000 and a modified one that cost ¥46,000. The standard cost is right (at the time it was roughly $440-50 in US money). Oh, the extra bit about the "modified" one? It would play region free games. Now come on. Nintendo almost prides itself on region locking. This would simply NEVER happen. Making my Wii region free was a downright PAINFUL process. To this day, Nintendo is the only company not allowing for some sort of region freedom. For people like me who play Japanese and American games, it makes me distance myself a bit from Nintendo. Well, enough of my rant. What I am attempting to say it that this is BS pure and simple. Like any other system of theirs, you will need to do some stupid, time consuming stuff to make it region free. There are videos out there that will show you how if you are so inclined. Personally, if you are collecting, I would recommend against it. Just buy an American or Japanese console if you have the money.

The Panasonic Q never caught on in Japan and were discontinued in mid December 2003. However, in recent years, as one can imagine, they have become quite the collectors item! They now sell for anywhere in between $300-700. Lucky for you collectors out there, and for the future me that has money, these systems are pretty easy to find. They are readily available on Amazon and eBay.

That is a sad story of the Panasonic Q. I had seen this thing off and on in the early 2000s in gaming magazines, but never paid much attention. Now...I kind of want one. It is nice to see that it has made a come back and that it is getting some much needed and overdue love.

Thanks for reading! I hope that made sense. I will double check it when I am not sick and make corrections if necessary.

Sources: 
http://kotaku.com/5803323/my-favourite-nintendo-console-wasnt-even-made-by-nintendo
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/9283/panasonic-q-discontinued
http://nintendo.wikia.com/wiki/Panasonic_Q
http://www.ign.com/articles/2002/04/09/panasonic-q-review
http://www.bordersdown.net/threads/114579-Panasonic-Q-officially-regionfree-version
http://www.videogameconsolelibrary.com/pg00-q.htm#page=reviews