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 As you all know, the "Dolphin" has left us with many unanswered questions. Throughout this FAQ, your questions may be answered. If they aren't, only Nintendo can answer them. Thanks to IGN64 for the questions and answers! Also, IGN64 made the picture above. They rule! Last September marked the 3rd year since the Nintendo 64 was launched in the United States. It doesn't seem that long though does it? The 64-bit processor proved to be a success as did its successor, the Super Nintendo. Nintendo of America has always been remarkable and the games have always been successful, except for some which I will not name. In Japan, there is a different story. You all know that Super Mario 64 was a huge success in both America and Japan, but how popular were all the games after that? Not very popular actually! Sony's 32-bit console, the Sony Playstation, leads sales in Japan and Dreamcast is second in line over there. Why is Nintendo 64 the last one? I have no idea, Sony seems to make more games, better RPG's and better sports games but Nintendo is no slouch! They're great in my eyes! Pokemon was a giant hit in Japan, I have never played it, and now there is a few Pokemon games which are scheduled to arrive on the Nintendo 64. Maybe that will bring N64 sales up in Japan...we can wait and see. However, Nintendo has released a few great hits every year that bring sales up. Remember Goldeneye 007? Of course you do, it rules!! Or if we want to get more recent here, how about the Legend of Zelda:Ocarina of Time? Zelda 64 has beat the sales for every game ever produced for N64. Although Nintendo has a habit of slacking off at times, they do come back with something great for us. What does the "Dolphin" hold for us future gamers? Keep reading and you'll find out. "A Humbled Nintendo Reacts to the Competition. A chain of events may have forced Nintendo to prematurely take part in the next-generation console race: On March 3, 1999, one day after PlayStation 2's unveiling, Nintendo commented, "We are developing a more advanced videogame system, but we are not providing any specifics at this time." It was clear, however, that the specifics of the system -- or at least some of them -- would be made available soon. Nintendo would have to make an announcement. Only a few months later, it did." -IGN64 Will there be another Nintendo videogame console after Nintendo 64? Hmmm...this site is about the Next-Generation console. Does that answer your question? When was the announcement made? Nintendo announced tha new system during a Press Conference on May 12th, 1999. That was just one day before E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo). The company announced the next-generation console's codename, business partners, development partners and released a brief summary of official system specs. Nintendo of America chairman Howard Lincoln delivered a confident speech regarding the future game machine, which can be read by clicking right here. What is the system called? The final name of Nintendo's next-generation console is still unknown. It has been dubbed everything from "Gekko," to "N2000," by the press, but none of the above will likely appear on the system's box when it ships. The official Nintendo codename for the console is Dolphin. Why is the console codenamed Dolphin by Nintendo? During a pre-E3 press conference, Nintendo of America chairman Howard Lincoln admitted that he wasn't sure. Evidently those involved with the development of the console codenamed it. Lincoln mused that maybe they liked dolphins. What companies has Nintendo partnered with to make Dolphin? At the Pre-E3 onference, Nintendo of America chairman, howard Lincoln, named 3 major business partners that would play a role in the development of the Dolphin. These companies are: ArtX, IBM and Matsushita. Since the conference, there has been one other announcement. NEC is going to be partnered with Nintendo. Who is ArtX and what involvement does the company have with Dolphin? ArtX is a graphics engineering startup based in Palo Alto, California. The company, led by Silicon Graphics Inc.'s former head of Nintendo operations Wei Yen, is developing the graphics chip for Dolphin. Incidentally, Yen and team were primarily responsible for Nintendo 64's graphic architecture. According to Nintendo of America chairman Howard Lincoln, "Dr. Yen has assembled at ArtX one of the best teams of 3D graphics engineers on the planet." Lincoln seems sure that ArtX's graphic chip will compete on all levels, commenting, "We are absolutely confident that Dolphin's graphics will equal or exceed anything our friends at Sony can come up with for Playstation 2." What involvement does IBM have with Dolphin? In a $1 billion deal reached between the two companies, IBM will design and manufacture a unique 400 MHz central processor featuring industry-leading 0.18 micron copper technology for Nintendo's next-generation console. The chip, dubbed the "Gekko" processor, is an extension of the IBM PowerPC architecture. While the relationship initially involves the development and production of the copper-based processor, the companies will explore the potential use of IBM technology in other Nintendo products as well. The current arrangement calls for IBM to design, manufacture and ship copper processors to Nintendo. The 'Gekko' is being designed to include extra on-chip memory and more efficient data management between the processor and the game system's primary graphics chip. "In my mind, I'd always envisioned what a game like Zelda could look like, and with the N64, I was able to create it," comments Shigeru Miyamoto. "Now, with the Gekko processor, I can see an opportunity to take game designs to a new level." Dolphin processor chips will be manufactured at IBM's high-volume manufacturing facility in Burlington, VT. Speaking at the Nintendo pre-E3 '99 press conference, Howard Lincoln boasted that only IBM possesses the technology to manufacture chips using copper circuitry. "Nobody else in the world can do what IBM does," said Lincoln. "And quite frankly, anything less is simply not state of the art technology." To clear up any doubts regarding Gekko, Lincoln added, "...it will be the fastest and most powerful CPU in any home videogame system...period." What involvement does Matsushita have with Dolphin? Matsushita, the largest consumer electronics company in the world, will develop, manufacture and supply to Nintendo a DVD disk drive for incorporation into the Dolphin. Also, stated Howard Lincoln, "Dolphin's technology will be integrated into various Matsushita or Panasonic branded DVD consumer electronic products, enabling consumers to play movies and music as well as Dolphin games published by Nintendo and Nintendo's third party publishers." Nintendo and Matsushita hope to accomplish something that has never been executed successfully before -- a convergence of videogame-machine and movie-player. If successful, anybody who owns a compatible Matsushita/Panasonic DVD-player will also be able to play Dolphin games on their machine, just as Dolphin owners will be able to watch DVD-movies. What involvement does NEC have with Dolphin? NEC, the maker of the PowerVR chipset used in Sega's Dreamcast, has signed with Nintendo to manufacture the Art-X-designed graphics accelerator for Dolphin. According to NEC's associate vice president, systems integration, Junshi Yamaguchi, the Nintendo graphics chipset will use as low as 8MBs and as high as 16MBs of on-board embedded DRAM. Comparatively, Sony's PS2 features 4MBs on its graphics chip, but also draws upon additional system RAM continuously. It is not yet known just how much system RAM Nintendo's machine will include. The deal with Nintendo marks NEC's first real commercial business for eDRAM, said Yamaguchi. "And if it goes well we will expand eDRAM to use in networking and other applications, so we are making the Nintendo project a strategic priority." The company is currently in the testing stages for its eDRAM technology and is reportedly working feverishly to finalize the manufacturing process in time for Nintendo's deadlines. What are the official specs for Dolphin?
Additional Information
Will the Dolphin play N64 Cartridges? No, since the system will be using a DVD drive which is being made by Panasonic, it will not support cartridges. If you want more info about the DVD drives, please go check out the News section. Why will the Dolphin not support backward compatibilty? Here are the three major reasons from Imagine Games.
Will the Dolphin play DVD movies? You may have read previous articles on this site, and others, about the Dolphin having the capability to play DVD movies but, at this time, Nintendo of America has not officially confirmed the feature. Will the 64DD be used in any way with the Dolphin? As far as I know, from what I have heard and read around the net, no, the 64DD will play no part whatsoever in the Dolphin. Don't scream at me about that, tell Nintendo they should release it. Will the Dolphin have a modem? Affirmative! The Dolphin will surely have modem. Nintendo has not released too many details as to how the Dolphin will work with the Internet and what features it will have but it is confirmed. Besides, if the Dolphin did not have a modem, how in hell could it compete with the Dreamcast and Playstation 2? Will the modem come packaged with the system?
What other Dolphin hardware-related features should we know about? "I'm the kind of person who starts with various different experiments and I just cannot say which game is going to be for a specific console," game-designer Shigeru Miyamoto told IGN64 at 1999's Game Developers Conference in San Jose, California. "Right now I'm busy working on the controller for the next-generation machine." That controller, according to Nintendo sources, will expand upon the analog control stick featured on Nintendo 64 joypads with the addition of analog buttons. This will make it possible, for example, to manipulate the speed of a car in a game depending on how much pressure is applied to the analog buttons on the controller. The controller is also said to include force-feedback options, eliminating the need for a Rumble Pak. Rumors have also surfaced which suggest that Nintendo may be developing a method of linking up the Gameboy/GBC with the Dolphin via infrared signals between the machines. How much will the Dolphin cost? An exact price on the system is not known but you can expect it to be cheap. Nintendo chairman, Howard Lincoln, stated that "While our new Dolphin hardware will be extremely powerful, it will retail at a mass market price for home videogame systems." Lincoln also noted that Dolphin software would sell at a competitive price. "Let me assure you that this is a critical objective for Nintendo -- as is the need for flexible and quick manufacturing turn around of Dolphin software and strong and effective counterfeit protection. All of these objectives will be achieved under the Nintendo-Matsushita alliance." When will the Dolphin be released? Dolphin is currently scheduled for a "…worldwide launch at the end of year 2000." More specifically, according to Nintendo sources, October 2000. Will Nintendo delay the release of the Dolphin? Of course, many of you want to know this but how can we give you the answer. I don't Nintendo's number on speed dial. I know that NOA has a reputation for being slightly a pain in the butt and they seem to very often change their dates but let's hope they get the Dolphin out in 2000. What developers are officially backing Dolphin? At a pre-E3 press conference held May 1999, Nintendo officially confirmed that four development teams were already underway with Dolphin software. Those teams include Rare, Retro Studios, Left Field Productions and Nintendo of America's newly formed internal development house, NSTC (Nintendo Software Technology Corporation). Additionally, the console will be heavily backed by Nintendo Japan's development studios, EAD. Finally, Acclaim Entertainment confirmed months ago that it has every intention of fully supporting the system. What developers/companies are rumored to be making games for the console? A list of unconfirmed companies that may be already working, or will be working on software for the Dolphin.
What games are being made for the console? "There is no confirmed Dolphin software at this point. A number of probable games, on the other hand, are listed as follows: Are the pictures of the 'Dolphin' and its Software that are circulating the Internet real? No, all pictures are mock-ups and fakes that people have made. The one in my banner of the 'Dolphin' is totally fake but it would be cool to have a system that looks like that. When will Nintendo of America release more info about the 'Dolphin'? At the Pre-E3 Conference, Nintendo Chairman Howard Lincoln said that the company has "lifted the curtain a little" but not to plan on hearing much more for awhile. So, we can expect Nintendo to keep their mouths shut about the system for the next little while. This FAQ will be updated again when more details are released..... |