Nintendo Co, the No. 2 video-game console maker, will release its GameCube player in Japan on Sept. 14, almost two months later than it had planned.
The new machine, successor to the Nintendo 64 console, will be released in the US in mid-November, Nintendo said in a briefing yesterday to reporters. The price was not specified.
Nintendo is facing competition from Sony Corp, maker of the PlayStation 2, and Microsoft Corp, which is aiming to release its Xbox player later this year. Console makers are rushing to be the first with devices that offer more life-like graphics, better sound and Internet access.
GameCube will be the second of Nintendo's major product releases this year. The company behind the Pokemon stable of characters in March released Game Boy Advance, a hand-held game player featuring a brighter screen and faster processing power than its best-selling Game Boy player.
Nintendo had planned to release GameCube in July. The delay puts the company further behind Sony, whose series of PlayStation game consoles dominates the industry. Sony has already sold more than 10 million PlayStation 2 game consoles since the 128-bit game machine reached Japanese store shelves in March last year.
Nintendo also said in a release that it plans to ask shareholders in June to allow it to buy back its own shares more "flexibly," without providing details. The change would make it possible for Nintendo to buy back as many as 14 million shares.
Earlier yesterday, Nintendo said earnings in its fiscal year ended last month are likely to exceed its previous forecast by 22 percent as the yen's fall boosted the value of its foreign-currency holdings.
The Kyoto-based game maker expects to post group net income of ?95 billion (US$771.9 million) in its fiscal year ended March 31, up from its previous projection of ?78 billion, the company said in a press release. Sales will be 7.5 percent lower than projected earlier, at ?462.5 billion.
STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue
RULES BROKEN: The MAC warned Chinese not to say anything that would be harmful to the autonomous status of Taiwan or undermine its sovereignty A Chinese couple accused of disrupting a pro-democracy event in Taipei organized by Hong Kong residents has been deported, the National Immigration Agency said in a statement yesterday afternoon. A Chinese man, surnamed Yao (姚), and his wife were escorted by immigration officials to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, where they boarded a flight to China before noon yesterday, the agency said. The agency said that it had annulled the couple’s entry permits, citing alleged contraventions of the Regulations Governing the Approval of Entry of People of the Mainland Area into the Taiwan Area (大陸地區人民進入台灣地區許可辦法). The couple applied to visit a family member in
CELEBRATION: The PRC turned 75 on Oct. 1, but the Republic of China is older. The PRC could never be the homeland of the people of the ROC, Lai said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) could not be the “motherland” of the people of the Republic of China (ROC), President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday. Lai made the remarks in a speech at a Double Ten National Day gala in Taipei, which is part of National Day celebrations that are to culminate in a fireworks display in Yunlin County on Thursday night next week. Lai wished the country a happy birthday and called on attendees to enjoy the performances and activities while keeping in mind that the ROC is a sovereign and independent nation. He appealed for everyone to always love their
‘EXTREME PRESSURE’: Beijing’s goal is to ‘force Taiwan to make mistakes,’ Admiral Tang Hua said, adding that mishaps could serve as ‘excuses’ for launching a blockade China’s authoritarian expansionism threatens not only Taiwan, but the rules-based international order, the navy said yesterday, after its top commander said in an interview that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could blockade the nation at will. The object of Beijing’s expansionist activities is not limited to Taiwan and its use of pressure is not confined to specific political groups or people, the navy said in a statement. China utilizes a mixture of cognitive warfare and “gray zone” military activities to pressure Taiwan, the navy said, adding that PLA sea and air forces are compressing the nation’s defensive depth. The navy continues to
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