After the release of the Xbox and PlayStation 2, a noticeable trend was to push video game consoles into media centers and offer more features than just playing games. Nintendo was slow to react and released the Gamecube in 2001 without many of the exotic features seen in other consoles.[8] Instead, Nintendo was focusing on improving the gameplay experience, as well as preparing its new innovative controller to be released in 2006.[9] Backward compatibility also became a staple feature to gaming in this decade. The PlayStation 2 was the first major system to allow for backward compatibility to a preceding console.[10][11]