At the Spaceworld 2000 show in Japan, Nintendo announced more details about their upcoming portable and 128-bit game systems. These new announcements helped confirm our analysis presented in the recently released DFC Intelligence report The U.S. Market for Video Games and Interactive Electronic Entertainment. This update provides a brief analysis of Nintendo’s announcements.

• The new 128-bit game system, formerly known as the Dolphin, is now officially called the Nintendo GAMECUBE. The GAMECUBE is scheduled for release in Japan in July 2001, with a U.S. release in October 2001.
• The upcoming portable system is still called the Game Boy Advance. This system is scheduled for release in Japan in March 2001, with a U.S. release in July 2001.
• The Nintendo version of the GAMECUBE will not be DVD based. The GAMECUBE will use a special 3 inch, 1.5 GB disc that is especially designed to prevent piracy.
• Matsushita still has the rights to develop a DVD system based on the GAMECUBE technology.
• There will be a strong emphasis on compatibility between the GAMECUBE and Game Boy Advance. Data can be shared between the two systems and the Game Boy Advance will be able to act as a controller for the GAMECUBE.
• A narrowband (56k) and broadband modem will come as add-ons. Nintendo has not yet announced details about specific online features and services.
• There will be slots for 4 MB and 64 MB memory cards.

• At Spaceworld 2000, there were no real surprises that have changed our assessment of the Dolphin/GAMECUBE. The biggest surprise was probably the custom 3" disc. However, it was anticipated that the Nintendo version of the GAMECUBE would not play DVD movies, so the 3" disc has little impact on our analysis. According to Nintendo, Matsushita still has the rights to manufacture a DVD version of the GAMECUBE that can play DVD movies. However, currently no announcements have been made about a Matsushita version of the GAMECUBE.
• As we stated in The U.S. Market for Video Games and Interactive Electronic Entertainment, we think that Nintendo is making an effort to get the price of the GAMECUBE as low as possible. The latest Nintendo announcement seems to confirm that analysis. Pricing could be a major advantage for Nintendo.
• Nintendo is going out of their way to stress the compatibility between the GAMECUBE and the Game Boy Advance. DFC emphasized in both The U.S. Market report and The State of Game Technology 2000 report, that exploiting compatibility between a game console system and a portable system could be a major growth possibility for the interactive entertainment industry. Nintendo has a strong advantage by being the only company with an established presence in the portable market.
• Nintendo made a very interesting analogy between game systems and cars. Nintendo said while their competitors are focused on making "minivans," Nintendo is focused on a game system that is comparable to a "Ferrari." As stressed in The U.S. Market report, our concern with Nintendo has been that they may be too focused on core gamers, possibly at the expense of more casual game players. The car analogy provides an interesting example. Of course, car buffs generally prefer Ferraris, but minivans sell in much greater numbers.