Before Nintendo's last-generation console was called GameCube, it was
known as
Project Dolphin, and before that, during 1998 and upto E3 1999, it was
known as N2000.

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http://web.archive.org/web/19990508152502/http://ign64.ign.com/news/7296.html

It's Alive!

IGN64 brings you the scoop on Nintendo's ArtX-designed 128-bit
console.

March 15, 1999

It was fall of 1997 when Silicon Graphics Inc. (SGI) filed a lawsuit
against startup ArtX. In the suit, SGI claimed that ArtX, staffed by
20 former SGI engineers and led by that company's former head of
Nintendo operations Wei Yen (the division responsible for the
architecture of Nintendo 64), could not help but utilize SGI company
secrets in the development of future ArtX technologies.

Despite SGI's claims, in May of 1998 Nintendo officially contracted
ArtX to develop its next-generation hardware. Incidentally, with no
settlement reached, SGI quietly dropped its claims against ArtX and
development of Nintendo's secret console continued unabated.

The Dawn of a New Millenium

"We are developing a more advanced videogame system, but we are not
providing any specifics at this time," said Nintendo March 3 of this
year in response to Sony's PlayStation 2 announcements.

Meanwhile, Nintendo's Peter Main recently confirmed that the company
has plans to implement a new, more advanced hardware into the market
by the end of 2000 or, more likely, 2001.

A reliable source close to Nintendo who wishes to remain anonymous
recently narrowed the gap even further. "N2000 [tentative] is planned
to ship October 2000 in Japan, but I don't think it's going to happen.
In fact, from what I hear Nintendo isn't even convinced of this
internally."

Evidently Nintendo is betting on its 64-bit hardware to hold its own
against the conspiring forces of Dreamcast and later PlayStation 2.
"It all depends on how well Nintendo 64's '99 software line-up sells,"
an anonymous Nintendo 64 developer commented. "If titles like Perfect
Dark and Donkey Kong 64 do well, we're not going to see Nintendo's new
hardware until 2001. If, on the other hand, Nintendo 64 sales begin to
falter or Nintendo feels overly threatened by the competition, then
I'm confident that N2000 will release October of next year as
planned."

ArtX Inside

The original design specs for the N2000 -- a 128-bit system -- called
for a 400Mhz port and dual chip design, much like the Nintendo 64.
Unlike its predecessor, the new console will of course not feature a
MIPS processor in favor of "proprietary technology" developed by ArtX.
While the new technology will no doubt be impressive, this also pretty
much rules out built-in backwards compatibility as seen in Sony's
upcoming PlayStation 2.

No information is available on the unit's clock speed or graphics
engine, but design papers written up in early 1998 still estimated the
raw polygon output numbers of 20 million polygons per second.
According to industry sources, these numbers may even quadruple before
the system's release, bringing the Nintendo platform into the realm of
Sony's next generation.

So how powerful will this thing be? "PlayStation 2 and N2000 will
definitely be within 30%, power-wise," comments an anonymous Nintendo
64 developer who is hoping to lay his hands on a dev kit before the
end of the year. While Sony has the edge in terms of manufacturing
chips more cheaply, Nintendo has the advantage of time. The N2000
isn't slated to come out until more than a year after the PS2, so it's
possible that it will emerge as the more powerful console in a number
of respects.

Need More Memory

Nintendo's next console will again use the same speedy Rambus RAM as
the N64. Sources told IGN64 that a memory expansion slot was not part
of the original design document. The total amount of memory for the
N2000 has not yet been finalized, but considering the late date of the
console's release, Nintendo will no doubt match and beat the
competition's total system memory.

Much Ado About NURBS

NURBS is an acronym for Non-Uniform Rational B-Splines and is
basically an accurate way to define a free-form curve. Designers
construct their models using beziers and NURBS and the curves are then
broken down to polygons for display. While Sony's PS2 supports bezier
surfacing in hardware, sources close to Nintendo told us that ArtX
experimented with hardware NURBS conversion for the new console. At
this point, we do not know whether the final console will support
NURBS in hardware or whether the feature has fallen by the wayside.

Do you hear what I hear?

Like the N64, the next console will not include a sound chip. This
means that most of the audio in N2000 games will be handled by the
console's co-processor.

As you may know, this design led to a few problems with the N64,
especially with developers who had gotten used to the use of Redbook
audio in games. Since the N64's storage space is rather confined,
streaming audio directly off the cartridge (which is the most
"processor-friendly" solution) often wasn't an option for developers.
Most of the time, audio was implemented last minute and used as few
voices as possible or even played back in mono. Coupled with Software
Creation's outdated sound drivers, the inability to easily stream
audio like with the competition's CD systems caused loss of valuable
processor time that could have been used for graphics, AI, and so on.

Thankfully, this doesn't appear to be an issue with the new console.
Because of the storage media's copious amounts of space and Redbook
audio playback abilities, audiophiles can expect surround quality
audio. Let's hope for a coaxial or optical output.

No More Cartridges

Nintendo recently confirmed that the next console would not utilize
cartridges. While carts are certainly sturdy in design and enable
quick data access, their drawbacks are manifold. Let's face it, the
N64 was developed around Super Mario 64. The EAD team wanted a machine
able to create a seamless cartoon world without load times and didn't
care much about space and cost issues. But what about third-party
developers? Many were naturally outraged at the cost and confines of
cartridges and ignored the N64, especially in Japan.

Nintendo is fully aware that the decision to go with cartridges cost
the N64 the full support of companies like Square, Capcom, and
eventually Enix, Namco, Taito, and more. Likewise, PC developers
spoiled with CD games didn't exactly flock to the console, either.
Although Nintendo has certainly shown that a system can survive on
first- and third-party support, NCL is not content watching millions
of Japanese ignoring its leading game console while less powerful
machines draw larger crowds simply based on major game franchises and
quantity of titles.

The N2000 is designed from the get-go to attract third-party
developers by offering more power at a cheaper price. Nintendo's
design doc for the console specifies that cost is of utmost
importance, followed by space.

According to Japanese sources, Nintendo has narrowed down its choice
of media to two options:

   * Proprietary 1.5 GB (Gigabyte) disk system that may or may not
offer writability. This is roughly three times the size of a CD and
50% more space than the proprietary Dreamcast format offers.
   * Digital Versatile Disk (DVD). Nintendo is impressed by the size
of the media (5.7 GB) and many Japanese developers have approached NCL
with the suggestion to choose this format.

According to sources close to NCL, the decision of which format to
back has not yet been made. While writability would work hand-in-hand
with planned network abilities and Internet surfing as well as please
the EAD development teams, DVD is the cheaper and larger format. It is
very likely that Nintendo will choose to implement the latter and opt
for a harddrive-style writable component (or add-on) for the final
design.

The Game Boy Connection

Game Boy connectivity was planned from the very beginning. Two months
ago, NCL hinted that its next console would offer data exchange with
Game Boy Color units via the handheld's built-in infrared port. If the
feature doesn't get axed for cost reasons, gamers will be able to hold
their Game Boy up to the N2000 and swap data, such as Pokemon monster
information.

Networking

A Nintendo of America source commented that "Networkability is at the
top of the list for the new console." Nintendo has entered into an
agreement with Israel-based Nexus to develop networking and modem
capabilities for both its current console and future technology. Along
with mumblings about Nintendo's involvement with Netscape, Alps, and a
number of modem makers, N2000's ability to allow for network gaming
and possibly Internet surfing and e-mail is guaranteed.

Control

Despite a few info sheets circulating the web with supposed
information on the N2000's controller, it simply hasn't been designed
yet. NCL's hardware wizards are reportedly experimenting with a number
of designs (including a two-pronged one more similar to the PSX
controller), but so far, only two things are known from the design
sheet: Internal rumble function and at least two analog buttons.
Expect the N2000 kits to ship not with actual N2000 controllers, but
rather with modified N64 ones -- just like the Nuon dev kit.

Developers and Games

Though the release of Nintendo's next-generation console is still a
long way off, a number of talented developers have already pledged
allegiance to the hardware. IGN64 has complied a brief list of who and
what to keep an eye out for.

Nintendo and EAD

# Fact: November, 1998. Shigeru Miyamoto, in an interview with the
Japanese magazine 64Dream, commented, "1080 2 was cancelled in its
early planning stages and the team responsible for 1080 has started
researching new hardware."

Programmer Giles Goddard (responsible for the 3D Mario face in Super
Mario 64) and team are likely already underway with software for
Nintendo's next console. In fact, if any developer has a quasi-working
N2000 development kit, it's EAD.

# Fact: December, 1998. Shigeru Miyamoto commented on the sequel to
Super Mario 64. "We made the outline for Mario 2 more than one year
ago, but I haven't touched it since then. The original idea was to
make it available on the 64DD, but since I haven't worked on it for
the last year I can't tell what it will be like."

Miyamoto went on to hint of the game's possible incarnation for a new
hardware. "Maybe we will get some other people to work on it, or we
will make it for a completely different system."

The chances that a Mario-based game will introduce the new Nintendo
hardware is almost certain.

# Fact: Startup second-party game-maker Retro Studios comes out as
first official N2000 developer.

Formed by ex-Iguana Entertainment founder and president Jeff
Spangenberg, Retro Studios is currently making sports games for the
next Nintendo console. Expect the company's first title to fall under
the football genre.

"They haven't got N2000 development kits yet," reports an anonymous
source close to the company. "But they're expecting them very soon."

Other often mentioned, but as of yet unconfirmed N2000 developers/
publishers include:

   * Rare
   * Ubi Soft
   * Acclaim (Iguana)
   * Midway/Atari Games
   * Capcom
   * Konami
   * Factor 5/LucasArts
   * Looking Glass Studios

It's Coming

"It's really hard to keep anything secret if you are within 12 months
of launch because too many people know," reminds a source close to
Nintendo. "As soon as development kits start leaking out we're going
to have concrete information and I'd say it'll happen well before the
end of this year."

With word that Retro Studios is expecting development kits within a
few months time, the N2000 is quickly becoming more than just a rumor.
The next-generation console will be announced officially before the
end of the year and it will absolutely compete with the competition in
terms of both power and price.

In the meantime, be patient, enjoy the very best the Nintendo 64 has
to offer and remember, all good things come to those who wait.