Nintendo reveal more details on next gen console

The preliminary specifications of Nintendo's next generation console have been announced in Japan. Here's what we know so far:

The CPU will be produced by IBM and will be an extension of their Power PC architecture. A clock speed of 400MHz is expected.

A 200 MHz custom chip, jointly designed in the US with ArtX Inc, will provide the graphics.

System memory will utilise high-speed DRAM technology, with a bandwidth of 3.2Gb/second.

For the first time, Nintendo will do away with cartridges, opting instead for DVD technology provided by Matsushita. It is believed that this new medium will employ enhanced counterfeit protection.

According to the announcement, Nintendo and Matsushita are to work together very closely on the project. Such alliances are particularly fashionable at the moment - think Sony/Toshiba and Sega/Hitachi.

Reports suggest that Nintendo are planning to form a worldwide digital network using the new console, and that they expect to have a user-base of around 60 million by the year 2000. Quite how they're going to achieve these figures in such a short space of time is beyond us.