DOLPHIN IN 2000?
February 10, 2000

In an interview today with Reuters, Hiroshi Imanishi, General Manger of Nintendo, mentioned (yet again) that Dolphin, will be released worldwide (the worldwide part is new) by the end of 2000.

Before Nintendo's fans get excited (which many probably already are), let's examine this a bit further. First, many people were skeptical that Nintendo could get the system launched in Japan this year. Now, the claim that it will come out worldwide opens the company up to more skepticism.

The implications of a worldwide 2000 launch mean that all major territories (Japan, North America, and European/PAL) would get it simultaneously (or nearly so). This is unprecedented and would be incredibly costly to pull off. Moreover, production would need to go into overdrive, and despite that, there would still be major shortages.

Second, UK developers will reportedly be receiving development kits next month (more). With a Summer/Fall 2001 release, they'd have missed out on the launch by a few months. With a 2000 release, they'd miss out on the launch by a year. Of course, added to those developers would be those (Japanese/American) who just recently began development. As Sega learned with its early Saturn launch, if developers miss the launch, they tend to get angry.

Third, very little is known about Mario Dolphin. This is the key title for Dolphin's launch, and if it doesn't do well, it will be a significantly bad omen.

Finally, and most notably, the system's specs aren't known, and the official name of the system isn't even known. A word of caution: take this announcement with a grain of salt. A 2000 launch is still in question, particularly a worldwide one.