GameCube arrives in North America

The Nintendo GameCube, which was released in Japan in September, launched this past weekend in North America. As promised, Nintendo shipped a little more than 700,000 units of the console to retailers nationwide, and by most accounts, a majority of retailers sold out of their relatively substantial stock on launch day. While units at specialty retailers such as Electronics Boutique and Gamestop were primarily allocated to preorders, larger chain retailers like Toys "R" Us and Best Buy had stocks of GameCubes ranging from 40 to more than 100 units per store location.

"Nintendo is the only manufacturer in the world solely dedicated to creating the world's best interactive entertainment,'' said Peter Main, executive vice president of sales and marketing at Nintendo of America. "And because the Nintendo GameCube isn't concerned with duplicating the DVD, CD player, or computer you already own, we haven't had to compromise the quality of our software or the affordability of our hardware.''

At launch, the GameCube console, which retails for $199, is available in indigo and jet black colors. Extra controllers (MSRP $34.95) in indigo, jet black, orange, and indigo/clear and memory cards (MSRP $14.95) are also available. The GameCube software lineup, which at launch includes such games as Luigi's Mansion, Wave Race: Blue Storm, Star Wars Rogue Leader: Rogue Squadron II, and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3, comes on proprietary 1.5GB optical discs.

"Of course, what you will see before your eyes with the Nintendo GameCube are wondrous sights,'' said Shigeru Miyamoto, creator of Mario and director of Nintendo Company Limited. "But this is only half of your connection with the game because our form of entertainment is active, not passive. It is your hands that direct the movements onscreen, and we believe the Nintendo GameCube controller allows you to become far more a part of your adventure than ever before.''

The GameCube was originally slated to launch in North America on November 5, but Nintendo pushed the console's release back to November 18 to ensure solid shipment numbers. The company expects to release more than 20 games for the console by the end of the holidays and 1.1 million GameCube units by the end of the year.