DS could link up with Cube, Revolution

Although Nintendo was keen to keep Nintendo DS at the top of the agenda last week, magnetic executive vice president of sales and marketing Reggie Fils-Aime still found himself making a few comments about "Revolution", the next under-the-TV console from the platform holder, due to be unveiled at E3 2005.

Although Fils-Aime wasn't willing to comment on the possibility of hardware and playable games making it to E3 ("Wait until May," he suggested), he did reiterate Nintendo's goal of launching at roughly the same time as PS3 and Xbox 2, and indicated that the possibility of the Nintendo DS connecting with GameCube and/or Revolution was certainly there. He also suggested that third-party support would be more wide-ranging for Nintendo's next platform. "We believe third-party developers are embracing our view of the future," he said.

"Our focus is this: we will bring Revolution to the marketplace roughly at the same time as the competition," he told IGN. "We are driving our timetables based on what we believe Sony will do," he added. "Not that I want to ignore the Xbox, but certainly we believe that a rush to a new system is a mistake."

On the subject of connectivity, DS interaction with the SP "cannot happen," according to Fils-Aime, but the Cube and Revolution will be different matters. "Could there be interactivity with GameCube? Potentially. Depends on the software and accessories needed from a GameCube perspective. But it's certainly possible. Could there be interaction with the Revolution? Certainly possible. Certainly capable," he said.

"What we're looking to do is create great games that will take advantage of that connectivity. If you look at the connectivity between the SP and GamCube, we think that was shown off best once games like Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles and Four Swords came into play. They really showed the consumer what connectivity was all about," he added.