Nintendo announcing next-gen console at 2005 E3

TOKYO--Dispelling any lingering doubts that it is bowing out of the console race, Nintendo announced today that it will show off its unnamed, next-generation console at E3 2005. Talking to reporters at an Osaka press conference, Nintendo's Senior Managing Director Yoshihiro Mori stated, "[We] plan to unveil the next-generation console [that will be] succeeding the GameCube at next year's E3 during the spring."

Nintendo also revealed its sales outlook for its forthcoming Nintendo DS at the press conference. The company hopes to ship 3.5 million units of its portable, dual-screen game machine by March 31, 2005. Nintendo expects to ship 15 million units of game software for the DS by the same date. By comparison, the GBA sold 17.6 million units during the company's last fiscal year, of which 15 million were GBA SPs.

Nintendo may face another obstacle in its DS goals, because the electronics market, overall, is suffering from a shortage of LCD screens. These screens are needed to complete the DS.