Nintendo has strongly denied a "Nihon Keizai Shimbun" article which claimed the company was about to postpone production of its next-gen console. According to Nintendo its new console will launch in 2005 or 2006 just like the products from rivals Sony and Microsoft are expected to.
A spokesman for the company said Other companies aren't expected to come out with next-generation consoles until late 2005 or 2006, our machine will be ready at the same time as the other new consoles.
Strangely enough the source which the Japanese business paper quoted yesterday was the company president, Satoru Iwata. The otherwise reliable publication has not yet commented on the Nintendo claims and it will be interesting to see if any war of words between the paper and the video game maker will ensue. It is more likely that both sides will settle for a simple misunderstanding explanation and will retreat to their corners.
The effect that story had yesterday, was so widespread that Nintendo shares fell by almost 3 per cent in Japan. An air of doom and gloom surrounded the Japanese giant immediately following the release of the story and a variety of Nintendo doing a SEGA stories cropped up.
It was almost a necessary step for the company to stop any further speculation by producing a clear and concise statement which would calm, the already very shaky, investors, down.
What exactly caused yesterday's story is not clear, whether an honest mistake, a rival trying to cause Nintendo some damage or even the company itself testing the ground in order to gauge reactions, the news did shock everyone involved in the industry.
Strange since Nintendo has already set itself apart from other competitors since the company says it wants to focus on its classic recipe of gameplay outweighing graphics and raw hardware power.
To that end the company will be unveiling the DS later this year and will be introducing a new, Top Secret, adaptor for GameCube. Both moves which fit in nicely with the original "Nihon Keizai Shimbun" story.
