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 PETER
MACDOUGALL:
Good morning everyone and thank you for joining us
today. A year ago at this time when we last gathered as a group, we
essentially presented you a plan which focused on two new hardware
platforms - Game Boy Advance and Nintendo GameCube. Well today, both
those platforms have been successfully launched into the three major
world video game markets - Japan, North America, and Europe.
And with the success of our Game Boy Advance business, our Game Boy
business in North America has never been stronger. GameCube in this
market currently is showing healthy momentum. And that's a function
of retail inventories improving through the spring in combination
with the rollout of some key games.
I think you've all now probably heard of our extraordinary launch of
GameCube in Europe. We shipped 500,000 units at launch and 80% sold
through in the first week. [applause] You've already heard some
numbers about Europe from other sources... these are real numbers.
[laughter]
So today now as we look ahead to the next twelve months, our focus
really shifts from hardware to software. Over the next fifty minutes
or so, we'll be sharing with you the games that we believe will
propel Nintendo to the number one software share position in North
America. We believe, and we hope you agree, that we have the finest
lineup of games that we have ever brought to E3. In fact, we think
that anyone has ever brought to E3. We will launch more major
franchise titles in the next nine months than in any nine month
period in Nintendo's history. These games will include Mario, Zelda,
Metroid, and Star Fox. Game Giants whose sales results will be
measured in the millions of units.
Last year we also introduced a new concept in gaming called
connectivity, which featured the gameplay interface between Game Boy
Advance and Nintendo GameCube. Today we're going to show you some
very tangible examples of that concept. Software that will bring new
and unique gameplay experiences to our players this year. However,
not withstanding the strengths of Nintendo published software over
the balance of this year and early into '03, we do continue to
recognize the critical importance that our third party partners play
in our overall business mix. So here to talk a little bit about that
component of our business is Mr. Satoru Iwata.
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