Did they have to be small discs?

I was there, back in ancient times. Couldn't buy one at that time because of price (remember it being significantly more expensive than base) and super limited availability in NA.

it was a collectors item even shortly after release. very hard to come by outside of Japan and the cost to import it even then was insane.

Back in the day, this was literally the best GameCube to have. Considering the aftermarket price on them now, and how far technology has advanced, it’s just not practical to go after this particular model anymore unless you’re a collector. A bog-standard Cube is much cheaper and easier to maintain.

Damn. I had one of these - with the multi-region hack, the original controller, box, manual. Urgh. My ex made me sell it for reasons. Is it wrong to re-buy stuff like that?

Been wanting one of these for a while, but they're priced like crazy on ebay. Maybe some day