Nintendo beats Xbox to the punch
By John Gaudiosi -- Video Business, 5/16/2001
MAY 16 | Nintendo will bow its next-generation videogame console GameCube on Nov. 5 in the U.S., the company announced Wednesday during a pre-E3 news conference. Microsoft's new Xbox console arrives three days later.
Other details about the launch of the successor to Nintendo 64 will be revealed during the Japanese videogame giant's next corporate earnings report scheduled for May 24, executives said. The console is expected to sell for $199 or less.
GameCube will launch Sept. 14 in Japan. The European bow won't come until next year.
The company also announced that it has taken 200,000 preorders for its new Game Boy Advance handheld system that arrives June 11.
"Nintendo is convinced that Game Boy Advance and GameCube will be huge at retail no matter what other manufacturers do," said Peter Main, executive VP of Nintendo of America. He added that while Nintendo remains focused on the mass market, it will incorporate more of the core gaming audience in the future.
During a presentation at the Biltmore hotel in downtown Los Angeles, the company showed games on the system for the first time anywhere. Among the demos were Luigi's Mansion, next in the Mario line of games; Super Smash Bros. Melee, a sequel to the N64 fighting game; and Pikmin, an adventure/strategy game.
Expected GameCube launch titles include the highly anticipated Star Wars Rogue Leader: Rogue Squadron II; Starfox Adventure: Dinosaur Planet; Raven Blade; Wave Race Blue Storm; NBA Courtside 2002; 3D platform game Disney's Mickey; Donkey Kong Racing; Metroid Prime; Mario Kart; Animal Forest; Eternal Darkness; and Kameo Zelda.
It was also announced that Nintendo technology partner Panasonic will introduce a player in Japan capable of playing music CDs, DVD movies and GameCube games, which are on discs smaller than DVDs. There was no word about whether that player would come to the U.S.
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