SATORU IWATA: Yes we do have great Game Boy Advance software coming this year. But as we promised last year you cannot understand the full power of Game Boy Advance until you connect it to the Nintendo GameCube. This combination is at the heart of what we call connectivity and is central, we feel, to expanding the nature of video games. Of course, we are aware that for several years most people in our industry have wanted to talk about only one new form of connection... online.

We believe that online games afford promise. Online is nothing new to us at Nintendo. In Japan, the original NES was equipped with a modem and connected by phone line to become a network terminal back in 1988 - almost fifteen years ago. We remain dedicated to walking through two last issues of online games that have existed since then. First, can everyone enjoy online gaming right now? And second, can they ever be profitable? 

As a manufacturer, we are moving to support our third-party licensees in a couple of ways. Especially by refusing to take any portion of their online gaming fee. And we are pleased to see that the first online game for Nintendo GameCube, Sega's Phantasy Star Online will be playable at the show this week and released in America later this fall. I can report that many other developers are supporting our online game ports. For now, online is within reach of only a few gamers but connectivity is within reach of everyone.

Connectivity. Last year we introduced the concept. This year, we introduce the product. Let me show you the game, which after great success in Japan, will be released at retail in America this September. It begins demonstrating the true magic of Nintendo connectivity. Take a look...

[Animal Crossing Video Commercial] Kid, friends, sister, and parent play Animal Crossing with GameCube, Game Boy Advance, and the Nintendo e-Reader. [applause]

ANIMAL CROSSING COMMERCIAL: 

Kid, friends, sister, and parent play Animal Crossing and demonstrate the game's numerous connectivity features by using the GameCube, Game Boy Advance, and the Nintendo e-Reader. [applause]

SATORU IWATA: Satoru Iwata: In Japan, the Animal Crossing audience is expanding in unexpected ways. At first, children would ask their parents to play along with them. But now, when the children go to bed, many of their parents just keep playing. How we define connectivity with Animal Crossing in just one approach. Here we have seen very different ones from Sega, from Square, from Electronic Arts with their high quality. This approach has not only has impacted on gameplay but also on sales. To repeat one example, when we can provide games for Game Boy Advance users, just by downloading them from console software, that will do nothing but boost sales for both Nintendo GameCube and Game Boy Advance. Products using our wide applications of connectivity are on the way.

The motion sensor technology we debuted last year in Kirby Tilt 'N' Tumble returns, making you throw your game back and forth between Game Boy Advance and Nintendo GameCube. In this application, the GameCube not only plays its own version of the software simultaneously but using the GBA as a controller with a motion sensor. In a new version of Donkey Kong for Game Boy Advance, you can edit your own gameplay maps and courses on your GameCube and then transport them for play on your GBA. With a new game, Stage Debut, you can use our exclusive Game Eye device to put your own face right into the game. All this, we think, is most innovative and remarkable. It will quickly change the way we think about games. And of course, when the WaveBird wireless controllers arrive next month, we will also change the way you connect to your console. No more cables on the living room floor. We believe connectivity creates an exciting new future for video games. But there is also great excitement this year on the GameCube itself...

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May 23, 2002

Rick - Editor in Chief, GameCubicle