Nintendo announces Gamecube plans

Nintendo appears unlikely to release its project Dolphin 128-bit console in Europe in time for Christmas 2001.

The Japanese gaming giant yesterday announced that the Gamecube device would be launched in Japan in July 2001 and in the US next October. No pricing details or European launch date were given.

Priority is usually given to producing NTSC-standard units for the Japanese and US markets rather than PAL consoles which are the standard required for European TVs.

The likely delay to the European launch would put it at least a year behind Sony's 128-bit PlayStation2, and two years behind Sega's Dreamcast. A fourth console, Microsoft's X-Box, is also scheduled to hit the UK in the second half of 2001.

Nintendo has meanwhile announced plans to ship one million units of a new 32-bit handheld console, the Gameboy Advance, when it is launched in Japan in March 2001.

The company said it would have 10 games ready to coincide with the console's launch, and that it would be compatible with the existing catalogue of nearly 1000 titles.

It carries a suggested retail price of 9800 Yen (around £60), and boasts a 50 per cent larger LCD screen and an internet capability.