The N5

More news has appeared on the latest Nintendo console. And it goes as follows

The console is being referred to as GameCube 2 internally
ATI has been in development with a graphics chip for "GCN 2" for more than a year; it's supposedly coming along very nicely

Several games are already being designed with the system in mind, though no hardware is yet available

The hardware is expected to ultimately ship at a $299, £199 (tho possibly £299 if recent practices continue, they always seem to be slightly more expensive, a direct $-£ conversion) price point -- directly against Xbox 2 and PS3

The CPU partner has not been set, though the obvious choice is IBM
2005 release is likely as Nintendo wants to beat the competition to the gates.

Few actual surprises there then, obvious codenames for consoles are often taken to save confusion within the company, at least thats what i figure. Personally i prefer the N5, which was floated about on either ntsc-uk.com or rllmuk.com , i cant remember which. Basically meaning Nintendo 5, this being the 5th generation coming up with Nes, Snes, N64 and now Gamecube having passed.

The games factor also isnt shocking, as games now can take well over 2 years, and thats the expected remaining life span of the current generation, so many people who are starting projects now will often take their time for news on the next generation, and then decide whether to release it as a last gasp current generation or debut as a launch or first wave of next gen software. I'm sure you can remember at the end of the N64 lifespan, many games getting cancelled to be released on the Gamecube instead.

The hardware price does surprise me a little, with Nintendos 'Games only' stance of recent years, but maybe they realise, rightly or wrongly, that Sony and Microsoft have it right by being a media system rather than full on games console. I hope this is true, as if its not, then for £200-£300 it better be a pretty dang impressive games console!!

Also the 2005 is both worrying and welcomed. As the generations seem to be getting shorter, Nes's lasted near a decade, now we're down to 3 years for the gamecube, okay more 5-6 for the PS2..which is more standard, but still, thats a little annoying. But the fact they hope to get a jump on the competition is great, because personally i dont believe we'd have such Sony domination if Sega hadnt been in debt when Dreamcast was released and could have supported it through slips in support , as they apparently had a 3million unit head start on the Ps2, and i imagine the PS2 had a similar if not greater jump on the competition before Microsoft and Nintendo released theres.

Thanks to Ign for the tidbits of news , and as always we'll keep you updated on the situation.