Nintendo GameCubeNintendo
first mentioned a successor to the Nintendo 64 on March 3, 1999, a
day after Sony's announcement of the PlayStation 2. Two months
later, on May 12, 1999, Nintendo of America's chairman Howard
Lincoln officially announced the console, which would be codenamed
"Dolphin."
In classic form, Nintendo remained quiet for over a year about
"Dolphin," preferring to focus on the Nintendo 64 and Game Boy Color
at E3 2000. It wasn't until August 24, 2000, a day before Spaceworld
2000, that the company officially unveiled the GameCube, the end
result of the "Dolphin" project.
The heart of the GameCube is a 405MHz, 0.18-micron, IBM-produced CPU
called the "Gekko." The Gekko is based on the PowerPC architecture
but optimized for game playing. The system's 202.5 Mhz video
processor, called "Flipper," was designed by ArtX and is being
produced by NEC. ArtX is headed by Dr. Wei Yen, who played a major
role in the development of the Nintendo 64's graphics chip.
For its storage medium, the GameCube uses 8-cm discs based on DVD
technology that can hold up to 1.5GB. Since they are smaller than
traditional DVDs, the GameCube will not be able to play DVD movies.
However, Matsushita is developing a DVD player that will also be
able to play GameCube software.
The GameCube's controller combines elements from just about every
controller before it, as well as introducing a few innovations of
its own. In addition to the standard analog stick, D-pad and
shoulder buttons, Nintendo has added an analog camera stick, moved
the Z-button to the right shoulder and rearranged the button
configuration so that there is a large A button surrounded by the X,
Y and B buttons. Like the N64, the GameCube features four controller
ports.
The regular GameCube memory card holds 4 Megabits of data, but the
Digicard Adapter will allow for flash memory cards that can hold
64MB to 128MB, effectively giving the console the functionality of
the failed 64DD add-on for the N64. A choice between a 56K modem and
broadband adapter will be available for online connectivity, but
neither of these add-ons is included with the console.
Unlike the N64 and Game Boy Color, which connect using an adapter,
the GameCube will interface directly with the Game Boy Advance to
transmit information back and forth. The portable system can also be
used as an advanced GameCube controller.
— Skyler Miller
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