From GameSpot:

Jeremy

So they are going to release it in 2004, or just reveal it? I hope it's the later.

For real.. the Cube still has 2 good years left in it.

Cool. This will be the only next gen console I will get on release day.

yeah, makes sense to me. it is poor business to keep investing in a product that loses money. at least risk it and develop a new product... hmm.. typical technology industry model.

a 3 year console cycle may be too long.

Yes, I concur.

I have not bought a console near it's release since the Super Nintendo, but after everything Nintendo has done this generation, they have my money barring some act of pure retardation.

The last one I bought beside the Cube and all the GBA's was the Dreamcast. I will be passing on the Xbox for a little while, unless some really great games come out, and PS3 will be passed on for atleast 2 years unless they really step up there hardware quality control ( IMO, otherwise ill have some fanboys on my ass).

Surely this news can only mean one thing: Nintendo is going the way of Sega.

If I read this right, that means sometime before April of 2005.

Well, they don't have DevKits out yet, so it is going to be rough to get any 3rd party games on the system before launch if this story is correct. I have a feeling this is all bullshit and is just Nintendo hype.

I can live with that.. we've already got a new Zelda and Metroid coming in 2004 which is enough for me alone, but I'm sure Nintendo will pull a few more surprises as well.

I wonder if Animal Crossing 2 fell off the face of development?

True, but it is over a year and a half away. Time to get those kits out.

Likely? No. Possible? yes.

Hey at least they arn't like:
"The new system will be the most powerful thing EVER!!! It could likely be used by terrorists to guide their nuclear warheads! We can render individual hair folics! We OwnE youZ!"
like some copanies...

It just means that the cube will retail for $49.99 next year!

Is that the same company that claimed thier system could render Toy Story in realtime?

I think it'll be a successor to the GameBoy and not to the GC as you all are predicting. It doesn't make sense for them to release a new console when this one hasn't been out that long. Granted the GC has under-performed in almost every market, but I think the price cuts will remedy that.

This is going to be some sort of PSP competitor if you ask me. They don't want Sont to push them out of the only market that they dominate and that supplies them with a regular stream of income.

I would agree with that except for that Nintendo are slow adapters of new technology. They don't like changing how they do things until they are forced to do so. In my opinion, because GBA is such a sucessful product, I don't see them changing it (or releasing a new handheld) until Sony's portable starts taking away from their business. The speculation of sucess is much different than sucess itself.

If we do see a sucessor to the GBA-SP, it won't be until Nintendo sees how consumers react to Sony's new handheld.

This is what I was thinking but I didn't know exactly how to interpret Nintendo's comments. It's tricky because they don't want to take away from their Gamecube sales by announcing a successor so soon into the system's life cycle. Adversely, they need to address the PSP as a competitor and do something to keep their dominance in the portable market, something other than announcing plug-ins for the GBA but not do anything to make it compete technically.

They would be smart to keep the Gamecube alive as a portable system - the mini-discs are portable enough, and they could combine the connectivity between the two systems into one. Regardless, they also have to keep backwards compatability with their previous handhelds.

Jeremy

I think this may also be somewhat of a misunderstanding too and that the console will be revealed next year but not released next next year. Some news sites have conflicting reports as to what will be released and whether this refers to their new China console or not. I think all the major players will have some info about their next-gen plans by next year. I doubt they'll be able to release before next Christmas though. Maybe they'll release in Japan next year and in the US the year after that? Just thinking out loud here......

I think the language of the release is quite clear:

- this is a new "console"
- the "next" E3 takes place in 2004
- the "next" Japanese fiscal year concludes in March 2005

I'm hoping for a mini-Gamecube!

Wait... a couple weeks ago there was mention of the possibility of Microsoft's next generation console being released within a year or two and everyone attacked the move. Now we hear something similar from Nintendo and everyone cheers?

I stand corrected:

http://www.gamespot.com/all/news/news_6083492.html

and wonder why the hell they are releasing ANOTHER piece of hardware...

I politely decided not to comment.

3-D display? New type of controller? Pez dispenser?

The first console based Pez dispenser.... I like that.

I knew it was bullshit when Bloomberg was most people's sources.