GameSpot recently had the chance to chat a bit with Nintendo's VP of Sales and Marketing, Peter Main MacDougall. He talks about the current state of Nintendo, the GameCube, and the Game Boy Advance. Here's a snippet of the article.

Of course, one of the most consistent complaints about the Game Boy Advance is its dark screen, which has seemingly become less of an issue as developers come to grips with the system. But those waiting for a backlit version of the Game Boy Advance are going to be waiting for a while, because Nintendo still doesn't see a backlit Game Boy Advance as being a viable product for the handheld market right now. According to MacDougall, a backlit version of the Game Boy Advance is unlikely, and "the resulting depletion in battery life could cause serious repercussions." Another complaint among some Game Boy Advance owners is the decided lack of original games coming from Nintendo--quite a few of Nintendo's Game Boy Advance offerings have simply been rehashes or direct ports of various franchises. However, MacDougall mentioned that Nintendo would have a few announcements at this year's E3 regarding original Game Boy Advance content. But regardless of any problems the Game Boy Advance may have, it's clear that Nintendo sees it as an important key to its overall strategy. "Who would have predicted the incredible success of Game Boy 13 years ago?" said MacDougall. "We're extremely excited about Game Boy Advance and have aggressive plans. At this point, we are projecting sales of 25 million hardware systems in North America alone."

It's a good read, so do hop on over and check out the whole thing.