Nintendo Denies N5 2007 Report

According to Reuters, just two hours ago, after a late press release from Nintendo of America’s Beth Llewellyn refuting claims from a Nikkei Keizai Shinbun article, previously reported at TSSZ, Nintendo of Japan has just announced that Nintendo’s next-generation console will released when originally planned. The new console, commonly referred to as “N5” will release when competitors Sony and Microsoft release their next-generation machines. Probably in 2005, which would make the GameCube Nintendo’s second shortest-lived console, next to the Virtual Boy.

Llewellyn explained that “[Iwata] may have been taken out of context from another article. In Japan, where such criticisms of Nikkei may not be financially sound, Nintendo has made no attempt to explain the article.

However, stocks in Nintendo dropped by 2.77 percent following the Nikkei article. It is quite possible that the announcement is financially motivated, based on the industry’s reaction to the announcement. This seems more likely as Nintendo has not denied any other claims from the article, meaning that GameCube additions are still on the planned, and N5 will probably not be as technological advanced as the other systems. Considering the GameCube’s focus on games, rather than extras, such as DVD players, this would not come as a surprise.

Details on this story are still emerging. TSSZ will continue to bring you the latest coverage of the N5 as the story unfolds.