May 13th, 2003 (12:00am) - With the world’s hottest-selling hardware system, Game Boy Advance SP, and three current best-selling Nintendo GameCube and Game Boy Advance games, Nintendo today unveils its strategy to continue to grow its industry leadership with a multi-tiered offensive of Nintendo exclusives. Nintendo also reveals vastly expanded partnerships with independent publishers, and introduces bold new forms of connected-play, linking Nintendo GameCube and Game Boy Advance—innovations that only Nintendo can offer.
On the eve of the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles, Nintendo outlines its plan by:
-Increasing its third-party product lineup with multiple new and exclusive games from world-class independent publishers, such as Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes from Konami and Star Wars Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike from LucasArts. Dozens more games continue to multiply with the widest offerings from companies like Electronic Arts, Capcom, Namco, Sega and Square-Enix, Co. Ltd., broadly expanding the Nintendo GameCube portfolio to more than 320 titles by year’s end.
-Offering unique and distinguished connected-play between console and hand-held systems, unlocking special features and extending normal game play for franchise legends including Pac-Man, Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles, Nintendo Puzzle Collection, and two new Zelda titles—The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords and The Legend of Zelda: Tetra’s Trackers.
-Allowing players to race the futuristic F-Zero circuit, co-developed by Sega, in parallel at-home or commercial arcades. Players will be able to race a home-built, custom machine in the arcade or using a memory card, transfer additional pilots, and all kinds of custom parts from the arcade to the Nintendo GameCube.
-Continuing to evolve its celebrated franchise characters in all-new adventures for Nintendo GameCube with games such as Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, Kirby Air Ride, Pokémon Colosseum, Mario Party 5 and Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour. Also introducing new adventures including the exclusive, first-person shooter Geist, from n-Space, Inc.
-Pulling the action from the small screen and placing it on the big TV screen with the Nintendo GameCube Game Boy Player, which will have players revisiting more than 1,000 classic Game Boy games like never before.
-Unveiling 120 new Game Boy Advance titles this year, including Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3, Donkey Kong Country, Pokémon Pinball, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, Mario and Luigi, Fire Emblem, and Sword of Mana.
"Thanks to our tremendous contributions from our third-party partners and increasing library of connectivity titles, we’re delivering more entertainment and diversity to Nintendo fans than any time since we launched our first home console 20 years ago," explains Satoru Iwata, president, Nintendo Co., Ltd.
"Since the beginning of the year, Nintendo has taken an additional 11 market share points from its competitors," explains Peter MacDougall, executive vice president, sales and marketing, Nintendo of America Inc. "The collection of games built specifically for our systems continue a tradition of quality and value, and the momentum is in our corner."
