Nintendo Smells The Coffee

Government denying the use of highly toxic and lethal chemicals. Nintendo denying GameCube qualms. Same difference.

Nintendo has finally come to terms with their problem. Yes, it's a problem. No, a disease! A disease which cannot be cured without hope and unity. Admission is the key, and Nintendo is admitting that the GameCube is in need of help when it comes to some serious problems.

George Harrison, the senior vice president of marketing for Nintendo of America, canned the usual, "All is well" response for some real reflecting.

"The real question is, as we start '03, what are we going to do differently? For us it's about trying to get the GameCube business moving and restore the confidence of the licensees."

This comes as no surprise, since the announcement follows nearly all the industry's key third party-publishers slowly pulling away from the company. This list includes such big names as THQ, Sega, Electronic Arts, and Codemasters. Yet the problem can get worse or better from here, depending upon whether the confidence that Nintendo needs manifests. Their troubles in the United Kingdom have seemingly gotten worse, especially due to rumors that large retail chains are considering reducing GameCube exposure, or even pulling the machine altogether.

However, there is light on the horizon. The highly-anticpated GC game, Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, is expected to receive high sales, and could be the revitalization that Nintendo is looking for, to not only revive the GameCube's sales, but to put itself back in people's faces as a machine that's certainly here to stay. "[Zelda]'s clearly what we need - to get the GameCube moving," Harrison stated.

Colin "AsH" Wilson
Is a member of serveral 12-step programs, but not a licensed therapist.