Nintendo thoughtfully included a handle on their GameCube console in order to illustrate its small size and portability. It does nothing, however, to protect it from the elements. Nor does it provide a convenient way to transport controllers, games, and cords. There are plenty of gaming bags on the market that look to solve the “problem”, but there is one that it a bit beyond the rest with forward thinking features and clever design. It is the GamePak for GameCube by LASR Accessories.

The GamePak for GameCube is part of a line of three such console backpacks, each with custom refinements for the console in question. The best of which is an overall design that allows you to play games all while never removing the console from the security of the bag. There are also bags for the PlayStation 2, and the Xbox, both of which are significantly larger to accommodate the size of those consoles. (Hopefully the Xbox bag is reinforced to handle the 9lb. weight of the console!)

All three bags are made of a heavy-duty nylon, and feature zippers attached with bungee pull-tabs. The bottom corners are rubberized and rounded, as these are frequently the points where bags begin to wear out first. The backpack straps are adjustable, and double padded for comfort. Alternatively, there is a rubberized heavy-duty handle on the top, double riveted and stitched down. Each bag uses colored accents for the console in question: blue for the PS2, green for Xbox, and of course, indigo (purple) for the GameCube.

Your GameCube is stored in a square-shaped zippered enclosure, held in place with a Velcro strap in the front. On each side, there is a square hole cut out to ensure that the GameCube’s ventilation is not compromised. The top flap is zippered, allowing you to quickly release it, load a new game, and close it back up again. There is a hole in the back to allow the cords to be plugged in as well. What good is that? LASR thought way ahead and also has a zippered flap on the bottom of the backpack, through which you can run your cords and plugs. All of this while never removing the GameCube from the bag. Ingenious. To the left and right of the console housing are Velcro straps which will hold the power brick and AV cords. Below that, a mesh pocket just big enough to hold two controllers. This mesh pocket even has a hole which you can run the controller cords through to the GameCube.

The inside of the top flap has space to hold eight game discs (out of their DVD cases), a pouch for manuals, and two memory cards. The memory card enclosure on this bag was sewn so that one memory card is held in much too tightly, making it extremely difficult to remove. This is easily the biggest disappointment, but hopefully this is simply a problem with this one bag and not indicative of a design flaw.

With the main compartment closed, there are more pockets on the front of the bag. There is a mesh compartment in front to hold small loose items, like keys or a cell phone. The mesh compartment is attached to a slightly larger zippered pocket, just large enough to hold a spare controller, or a Game Boy Advance and some games and cables. The larger front zippered pocket that this is all attached to is big enough to hold a DVD case or two, or additional manuals. There is also a smaller zippered mesh pocket, bordering on overkill, but still handy. There are two side pockets, each large enough to hold an extra controller. If you own Wave Birds, they are a tighter fit, but still manage to squeeze in. Lastly, the entire front enclosure is held in place with buckle clips, which will ensure that the compartment holding your console will remain closed even in the unlikely event that the zippers slide open.

The smaller size of the GameCube GamePak compared to the others does result in a couple of compromises, but nothing too major. For example, the large front pocket on the PS2 and Xbox GamePaks is just about perfect for holding a game magazine or guide books. The shoulder straps are also a bit smaller and might be tight for those with wide shoulders. Conversely, the smaller size of the GameCube discs means that this backpack can hold eight in its organizer, compared to the six in the other bags. The bags are significantly different in other ways too, the PS2 and Xbox bags missing the side pockets (the Xbox bag using those areas as vent flaps) altogether.

There are a few small oversights in the design, likely due to lack of input from Nintendo than anything. The ports for the Broadband/Modem Adaptor aren’t accessible with the GameCube connected, nor is there any accommodation for the Game Boy Player attachments. There is no room to attach an LCD screen either, thought you could attach one after you get to your destination (you could store it in the front compartment). Lastly, the Velcro strap that keeps the GameCube secure slightly impedes your ability to plug controllers into ports two and three, but if you plug the controllers in first, you can work around it, since the strap is flexible.

There are also concerns about how weatherproof the backpack would be, so it might not be a good idea to carry it through a torrential downpour, or to set it down in a puddle (due to the zippered compartment on the bottom’s likelihood of leaking). These are really the only downsides to this great backpack, everything else was clearly designed and tested with a gamer’s needs in mind. The GameCube, already the most portable console ever released, just got a heck of a lot more portable thanks to the solid design of the LASR GamePak for GameCube.