Nintendo Shows DVD-Based Console

Nintendo of America is showcasing its vision of digital convergence in the form of new DVD-based game console, code-named ""Dolphin."" The unveiling took place at last weekís Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angles, California. Matsushita will manufacturer Dolphinís DVD drive and will use the technology in selected DVD players marketed under its Panasonic brand, allowing consumers to play Dolphin software on Panasonic machines as well as the Nintendo console. Nintendo plans a worldwide launch of the platform at the end of 2000.Nintendo of America Chairman Howard Lincoln said of Dolphin: ""We are absolutely convinced that Dolphinís gaming will equal anything that our friends at Sony can develop for PlayStation 2."" Sonyís PlayStation 2, available in the second half of 2000, is also DVD-based, using a Toshiba graphics chip.Nintendo is the last major game marketer to abandon cartridge software, which is used for its Nintendo 64 platform, in favor of cost effective discs.