Ty Shughart:

Name: I doubt Nintendo'll use 'Star Cube' for the system name... what, did somebody say, "hey, we've got to use a fruity system name like Sega did" ?

It sounds like a network or network device to me. Anyway, I like "Our-wang-is-bigger-than-Sony's-wang Entertainment System" better.

DVD / mini-discs: The small-size discs might be good for anti-piracy... after all, even the 'unpiratable' DC discs have been figured out by some crafty pirate folk. Y'ar. I can't speak for everyone, but I'd sure like to watch movies on it.

Hardware power: About everything we've seen indicates that it'll be able to push more polys than a TV can display at once, and will be heftier than Sony's little console. 'Nuff said.

Controller: I don't trust any mockups with less buttons than a N64 controller. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if the controller isn't done yet. If I was in charge (god forbid), I'd have six face buttons, single L & R, a pair a DC-style triggers, dual shock style double joysticks, the good ol' control pad (a nice, comfy, rollable one, like on a Nyko Dream Master, if you've ever used one of those)... oh yeah, bring the select button back. ;)

What if... you could just point the controller at the screen and use it like a light gun? With DC-style triggers? Hmm?

Ed Shih:

So, now that IGN64's revealed some good Project Dolphin info, we should all be pretty excited, right? Of course, excitement comes from negative reactions as well as from positive ones. The news, while refreshing, seems to be a mixed bag. So, what is one to make of the news?

The new info can definitely be taken from a negative point of view. I'm sure there're plenty of people who are questioning their loyalty to the Big N after hearing how the new console is only pushing 9 million polygons per second so far. That's no where near what Xbox can do and only a bit better than PS2. And then there's the possibility that their proprietary DVD format will only hold 1 to 2 gigs. Oh, there's also the fact that a proprietary medium can turn off developers. Then, only some of the second-party developers have received final kits...and that was just recently. How are they supposed to have their games ready by launch?

Finally, to add insult to injury, the prototype controller has no d-pad, only 4 face buttons, and seems to lack real innovation! This is the best Nintendo can come up with? What's a Nintendo loyalist to do?

On the other hand, there's a part of me that knows that 9 million pps is a good start, and according to the comparison to early PS2 games, the figure holds up rather favorably towards its Sony counterparts. As for the development kit situation, sure final kits are still going out to second-party developers, but they've had specs that match the final product and should not have much trouble with all the work they've done so far. And the smaller proprietary DVD's...well, 2 gigs is plenty of space for games, at least for the next couple of years. So far, PS2 games are using CD's and it probably won't see games that use the full space of a DVD for a while yet. Nintendo's proprietary DVD should meet developers' needs just fine while having the added bonus of higher security. Publishers and developers should have no problem dealing with a proprietary medium if it's going to dramatically reduce piracy. And then there's the matter of the controller.

Sure it's not a huge step forward, but the camera stick is very cool...and the d-pad had limited use on the N64. Furthermore, the overall controller is simpler, with only 4 face buttons, making it more accessible to the average gamer (most of my casual gaming friends were initially intimidated by the N64's 6 buttons and 3 prongs). So the world is just fine, and Nintendo will kick ass like the glory days.

Now, what do I really think? I think that a person's reaction to the information is a good litmus test of how you feel about Nintendo, particularly Project Dolphin. The information is not overwhelmingly positive nor is it a sign that the console will be DOA (that's dead on arrival, not Dead or Alive). Furthermore, IGN64 admits that the information is not concrete fact. The polygon numbers seems to be in the ballpark, but has been disputed by a supposed insider. The development kit info seems to be pretty solid, but there is still a question as to how much trouble switching from a working kit to a final kit will cause. And, there is no mention of how the all-important first-party teams are faring. The DVD info, while not quite concrete, indicates that Nintendo will be using a proprietary format that should have less space than a normal DVD. Of course, there's the recent info that suggests that regular sized DVD's may be an option, too, which puts the whole size thing into question again. Last, but certainly not least, there's the mock-up prototype controller.

While I'm definitely alarmed at the lack of innovation, these are still prototypes. Furthermore, it is IGN64's own mock-ups created from information gleaned from people who've seen prototypes. The information may be completely accurate, accurate in parts, or is no longer accurate at all!

The information IGN64 is nice to hear, but they themselves say that it should be considered "intelligent rumor". It's a nice bone to throw to Project Dolphin starved Nintendo fans, but it's still sketchy information. Okay, 75% of it may be true, but then 75% of it may be false. I'm sure there's some truth to the information, and IGN64 put together the best story they could with the available data. However, even with the information they've pieced together, there remain a great deal of unanswered questions whose answers will greatly affect the success of the console. I don't mean to be too harsh on the article, it's given us an idea what the ballpark looks like and I'm grateful for that, but we still can't see what the field looks like or who's winning. I want to make sure that information hungry Nintendo fans don't make any rash judgments, one way or another, off "intelligent rumor". A great Jedi master (not Jim Merrick) once said, "Difficult to see...always in motion is the future," and I'm pretty sure that idea applies here. It's great that IGN64's shed some light on the situation, but it's still not enough to get a good feel for the whole situation.

So, what's the bottom line? Yes, I'm happy to finally read some info on Project Dolphin, but after an initial excitement, I'm pretty calm about the whole story now because there is a questionable amount of concrete information in there. I can take the information as fact and make a highly tentative judgment, but that would only be a slight change from what I felt before reading the story. It's still too early to make a real good judgment or prediction as to how the console will fare. So, take the information with delight or despair as you will, but also read the notes from the editors stating that it's not official information. Having said all this, it is something to talk about, and I'm definitely grateful for that...let's just hope that this is the proper beginning for the launch of Project Dolphin. Oh, and remember the words of that Jedi master...and try not to storm out in a hurry towards Cloud City like some impatient moisture farming Jedi-in-training; chances are Han will still be taken to Tatooine and Leia and Chewie will have to rescue you.

Oh, for the record, if I was to take the info as 100% fact; the development kit situation worries me a bit, but not too much. I was expecting a mid-2001 U.S. launch at best. The DVD size doesn't bother me. 2 gigs should be plenty for the foreseeable future. The polygon power seems solid. I wasn't thinking it'd be a PS2 or Xbox killer. The controller concerns me, as it shows little innovation. I really hope IGN64 is way off on that.

Jeff Shirley:

I remember that I was in chat the night this little news bit surfaced. And someone in chat observed something about the controller. If you look closely, you'll see that the controller frame looks like our favorite trident design with the middle prong cut out..... I know these are mock-ups, but still, you think IGN64 could do a better job than that. Also, the specs are believable as any benchmark tests can be. And the "proprietary" DVD.... Looks a little like FMD to me. For those unfamiliar with FMD I provide this link: http://www.byte.com/feature/BYT20000218S0003. Seems a bit too late in development for that though....

Anyhoo, the problem with this article is the same as the problem with general media. When you scream "Bloody Murder," people tend to run around believing it whether its true or not. Many people will be persuaded by what is not fact, but merely speculation. Well, those are my two Sacajawea Dollars. Spend them wisely.