DOLPHIN LAUNCH INFO
January 18, 2000

After a visit with Nintendo of America, the investment firm of Morgan Stanley Dean Witter has published a report giving a Dolphin update. This report reported a little more than Nintendo's Peter Main did last week. In discussions with the Company, MSDW learned that Nintendo of America suggested that 1 to 2 million units of the Dolphin could be shipped in the fiscal year ending March 2001, and that if it did sell 2 million units, it would expect to sell 3.5-4.0 million software units to go along with it.

However, NOA was not too concerned if they were to miss this date. They believe that a delay would only give them more cost leverage and more software to have on hand at launch.

On the development front, only first and second party developers have development tools, and as of yet, not a single third party has signed a contract to develop for the Dolphin. Yet another sign of a post-2000 launch. (Granted, a launch with just first party games is something Nintendo has pulled off in the past.)

Mass production of the tools will not be possible until spring, and after they become available, contracts with third party developers will be signed. Also available when the tools are released to third parties will be the specifications of the Dolphin itself. Given this timetable of development tools release and time necessary for developing games, MSDW estimates that the Dolphin will be released in the Spring of 2001.

Where it is released first still does not seem to be set in stone. NOA stated that the weakness of the N64 in Japan may lead the Company to launch in Japan first, but Nintendo is not sure at this point. In fact, MSDW speculates that the Dolphin actually may be launched in the US first as the gaming environment has changed.

Source: NintendoDolphin.net