Every gamer has their console allegiance, some support XBox, some PS2, some both!! Whatever your direction however, you have to admit that GameCube has been the sleeper hit of the console wars. Vastly underbudgeted, compared to its rivals, greatly under-hyped it has consistently proved that a solid base of classic, well-established, proprietary, game-play based titles, can keep a console maker running. When others had bodies flying into coffins, Nintendo chose to keep a low profile. A hardcore fan base has kept them in the running but they also have managed to become the balancing force between the forces of console good and evil. For the less romantic of you out there, that means that they are the company that has kept the balance between vastly overhyped consoles and vastly overtitled ones. GC has kept the image of a no-nonsense machine which will give its users exactly what they want.
Nintendo however, have decided that they are in the game for the long run, and that means that they have to plan ahead. With plans of the PS3 already seeing the light of day, Nintendo are alrady working with NEC in order to create the semiconductor that will power GC2. The idea behind the next generation of consoles is partnership. Sony have already established that they will be developing PS3 with Toshiba and IBM, so Nintendo have to rush to secure prominent partners. NEC seem a good choice since they have already helped Nintendo create the GC's systems graphics processor. ATI created the graphics for GC but purely by bying out ArtX, which was the original Nintendo graphics partner. NEC also have some console background, since they developed Sega's Dreamcast chip.
With its rivals fighting to secure deals, such as Microsoft and nVidia, Nintendo have to move one step up from underdog to contender, especially since many doubts are arising concerning their ability to offer a viable connectivity option for the GC.
