With recent Dolphin news, Nintendo fans have been hit hard and fast. First came Yamauchi and his talk of shifting focus onto the GBA. Then came word of no-playable Dolphin at Sapceworld, which seemd to further back these claims. Well leave it to Miyamoto to actually still give hope to the many fans out there, as Core Magazine asked the questions that needed answering.

The Nintendo 64 has been publicly characterized as a tough system to develop for, partially because of format restraints.

'It was hard to develop for the Nintendo 64, especially because the software libraries were delayed. However, the Nintendo 64 truly brought developers into the era of 3D, and there were bound to be problems with that. I suppose developers who have been working with pseudo-3D on the PlayStation, are now finding themselves playing catch-up working in real 3D on the PlayStation2. In that sense, I think the PlayStation2 is even harder to develop for than the Nintendo 64. You see, the Nintendo 64 weeded out weaker developers at an early stage. In the long term, I think that was necessary. Almost a rite of passage.'

However, can the experience gained in developing software for the Nintendo 64 be applied to the Dolphin?

'Yes, very much so. I can't go into specifics with you now, wait until Spaceworld. [laughs..] I can tell you that we analyzed both the strengths and weaknesses of the Nintendo 64 platform in order to make the Dolphin a vastly superior product.'

Continuing, with what's likely the most important topic for Nintendo loyalists and industry pundits alike - Spaceworld. In particular, how is the preparation process going?

'We're moving ahead quickly. There have been wild rumors that the Dolphin hardware has been canceled or doesn't even exist. We'll be showing actual footage of the hardware at work which will dispell all gossip.'

Lastly, and perhaps the most pressing issue amongst our readers, how will the Dolphin handle 2D software?

'The Dolphin hardware will be able to handle any kind of software developers are interested in creating. The cost of fully utilizing today's resources in development will skyrocket in the coming years, and most companies have yet to realize this. This has created a gap between the consumers and their expectations of next-generation software. Only titles that shock the public through their innovation will bridge this gap. In that respect, I think we'll be fine so long as a handful of companies can achieve this. On that note, I ask that you wait until Spaceworld for more details.'