This week's question: An article in the Chicago Tribune recently suggested that 2005 is going to be a slow year for GameCube owners. Do you agree with this assessment? Why or why not?
George Harrison, senior vice president, marketing and corporate communications, Nintendo of America:
Definitely not. I know gamers are excited to hear about our future plans with systems such as Revolution and Nintendo DS, but believe me, Nintendo always pays special attention to its home consoles, and the Nintendo GameCube is no exception in 2005.
First, as you know, the GameCube started 2005 with the amazing and exclusive release of Resident Evil 4. Response to this game has been overwhelming, and we're very proud of Capcom and what they've achieved on the system. But that's just the start of 2005, and the rest of the year will see the return of many Nintendo-favorite franchises to the console. Next month, GameCube owners will get their hands on Star Fox: Assault in Fox McCloud's long-awaited return to his classic space-action roots. The game looks amazing.
In March, another killer franchise and star title that we're very proud to release: Donkey Kong Jungle Beat. The world fell in love with DK's addictive bongo mechanics mixed with old-school platforming action at E3 last year, and we can't wait to turn him loose. After that in April, a brand-new surprise title for sports fans: Nintendo Pennant Chase Baseball. You'll learn more about the game soon, but from what we've already told you, I think you can see the unique, new features that we're looking to bring to the diamond that will bring out the sandlot lover in all of us.
And the year just keeps on going: Donkey Konga 2, featuring even more killer tunes and jammin' bongo action. Geist, the long-awaited first-person "ghost" title that really pushes the creative boundaries of what a first-person game can be. We'll also see the GameCube debuts of two huge fan favorites: Fire Emblem and Advance Wars -- both reinvented and brought to the big screen in a big way. And you can look for another Pokemon appearance on the GCN.
And let's not forget the killer line-up of third-party titles, including Ubisoft's massive Splinter Cell franchise and Midway's Mortal Kombat. As you know, we've even gone so far as to push the third-party boundary by finding fun-new ways to include a special Nintendo touch, such as featuring Mario, Luigi, and Princess Peach in EA's upcoming NBA Street V3 and the just-announced fully playable SNES classic, Super Punch-Out!!, in EA Sports Fight Night Round 2.
And later this year, Nintendo's crowning achievement of GameCube software: The Legend of Zelda. Every videogame system has its flagship title for which it becomes known. Every self-respecting gamer will soon realize that this is THE game to own in 2005. We're excited to share more soon.
So to answer your question, once Nintendo is ready to bring the world our next system, currently code-named Revolution -- perhaps then our focus will shift from the Nintendo GameCube to the future. But as you can see, this year is a busy one for both Nintendo and our home console. We're not giving GameCube fans a rest for a long time to come.
