Gamers could get a look at the successor to the GameCube in just under a year"s time, Nintendo has suggested.
The Japanese games giant has said it would like to showcase its next generation console at next year"s E3 video game trade show in May. "Rather than offering a new edition of the same thing, we want to offer new ways of game playing," said Nintendo"s Yoshihiro Mori. Sony and Microsoft are also expected to launch their new consoles next year.
Sales slump
The GameCube has been struggling due to competition from Sony"s PlayStation 2 and Microsoft"s Xbox. Nintendo had hoped to sell six million consoles over the past year, but it fell short, only shipping five million. In the coming 12 months it aims to sell 4.5 million. Disappointing GameCube sales have hit Nintendo"s bottom line, with net profits falling by 50%, according to the company"s annual results. In the US, sales have slumped, with the GameCube making up just 17% of the market, according to analysts NPD.