Console Release Dates from E3

Nintendo revealed at E3 that the Game Cube will debut in Japan on September 14th and in North America on November 5th at a domestic retail price of $199.95. The Xbox will debut in the US three days later and retail for $299, the extra $100 accounting for the built in modem, 10 gig hard drive and DVD player. Sony plans to remain competitive by focusing on releasing quality software in quantity. No plans for a price reduction for the PS2 were announced, but a PS2 package that includes Gran Turismo A-Spec for the reduced price of $329.95 will be released on July 10th.

The general consensus among E3 attendees, based on the presentations by both Nintendo and Microsoft, was that the Game Cube will be a solid hit while the Xbox may be facing a tougher road than Microsoft anticipates. With under 6 months to go before release, Nintendo’s display featured playable, polished demo versions of Luigi’s Mansion, Pikmin, Super Smash Brothers 2, Star Wars: Rogue Squadron 2, Star Fox Adventures: Dinosaur Planet and Wave Race. Microsoft displayed or had playable versions of an equally impressive number of titles, but the general opinion was that Microsoft’s offerings seemed rough hewn and still far from finished perfection.