Nintendo's iron-fisted President says Dolphin will be cheaper than PS2 and in time for the holidays

It's no big secret that Nintendo aim to market their next-generation console, codenamed Dolphin, as a mass-market gaming machine. The giant games and hardware manufacturers have repeatedly said the console will sell with a respectable, buy-me-up price tag, and so will its software. We've also heard time and again that the machine will launch as scheduled in time for the holidays in 2000, and now we've got official word straight from the horse's mouth.

Nintendo President Hiroshi Yamauchi, in a recent interview with Japanese trade paper Yomiuri Shimbun, reiterated the company's plans to sell Dolphin at a cheap price.

"A games machine that sells for close to 40,000 yen [£235] can be bought by young people old enough to work part-time jobs, but at any rate, is too expensive to be aimed at children," said Yamauchi in a comparison to Sony's next-generation hardware. "The Dolphin will not be that expensive."

Meanwhile, the Japanese businessman reaffirmed the company's plans to launch Dolphin shortly after PS2 in late 2000. "We would like to release Dolphin closer to PS2, but since we're aiming for the Christmas 2000 shopping season, I don't think the time difference is that big a handicap."

Yamauchi indicated that strong software on Nintendo's part would make up for Sony's head start. "What's important is the side that clearly distinguishes itself by the quality of their software."


Courtesy of IGN.com