FAQs

Will there be another Nintendo videogame console after Nintendo 64?
Definitely. Nintendo's N64 successor has already been announced by the company itself.

When was the announcement made?
May 12, 1999 at a Nintendo-held press conference in Los Angeles - just one day before the beginning of E3 '99. 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 games machine.

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.

Which companies have Nintendo partnered with to make Dolphin?
At the pre-E3 press conference, Lincoln announced three major business partners would play key parts in the development and manufacturing of Dolphin: ArtX, IBM and Matsushita. Since that time IGN has learned of an additional Dolphin business partner, NEC.

What involvement do 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 possess the technology to manufacture chips using copper circuitry. "Nobody else in the world can do what IBM do," 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".