If you don't already know, Nintendo is making an all new, next generation system codenamed the Dolphin. Nintendo has formed Alliances with IBM, Matsushita (Panasonic), and ArtX.
IBM will make the processing chip, 400 MHz, copper technology that ONLY IBM can make, and .18 micron technology. With this "Gekko processing chip," the Dolphin will be the fastest gaming system around!
Matsushita, or Panasonic as it is known in other places than Japan, will be making DVD drives and DVD discs for the Dolphin. Also, with Nintendo's alliance with Matsushita, both companies can learn from each other and make products from the other's technology! Mabe the GameBoy Advance will use a Mini DVD drive??? Who knows?
ArtX will be making the graphics chip for the Dolphin. The head guy at ArtX has gathered the BEST 3D engeneers at ArtX to put together the best graphics chip ever!
With all that already in mind, lets take a peek at the name, shall we? Remember how I said, "codenamed the Dolphin?" Ah yes what is this? "Codenamed?" What is that supposed to mean? It means that that is probably not it's final name. It may be, but not for sure. I took a peek at some other webpages and found something about the name "Star Cube" being registered by Nintendo at the Trademark office... Sooo, I looked it up! What did I find? Three things registered by Nintendo of AMERICA!!! America? Where did THAT come from?? Maybe those tricky people over at the big N are creating the Dolphin over here in AMERICA!! Or the big N is just patenting it in Japan and America... I think the first choice is right. Because the IBM company N is working with is over in Berlington, Vermont and ArtX is in Palo Alto, Calfornia. Matsushita is over in Japan however. It is all very confusing (just like the backround on this page).
However, back to the name. I found one of the three things looked like the SEGA Channel, if you even know what that is. If you don't I shall explain. The SEGA Channel was a service that costed money every month. In return, it would give you about 10-30 games a month for you to play on your SEGA Genisis. That's right, all you would do, it put in a cartridge with wires going into the wall, down your cable wire on your street, and then off to wherever. On your TV, up would pop a list of catogorys and you could then choose a game and play it right then and there!
WAIT, hang on, I don't want you thinking Nintendo would COPY a different gaming company, look back at the second sentence in that last paragraph. It says LIKE. In the patent office, it says that this gives INFO. It says it gives hints. But it also says that it gives out game SAMPLES. Demos. Previews, whatever. NOT THE WHOLE THING. The SEGA Channel gave you a WHOLE version of the game, only for a month. This could lead to confusion.
My guess it that Nintendo is making the Dolphin console be able to hook up to the wall, not a, uh, a, uh well, it COULDN'T be a cartdrige because it is DVD platform. Hmmm....
Why do I keep going off the subject??? Alright, back to Star Cube (Hey, if you were to change the name to Star Box, it would almost sound like Starbuks, a coffee place. Hee Hee Hee. Oops, there I go again, off the subject.). The second thing I read about says it carries feedback to the player, and carries stuff to the console. Obviously it is the wire from the controller to the console. Not that interesting, but it gets us a few clues closer to solving the Dolphin/Star Cube mystery. The "Star Cube," as I will now call it, has the feature to probably rumble the players controller, or, like the Dreamcast, can show a picture on an LCD display on the controller. Nobody know but the big N...
The last and final thing (I love saying that!) is like it sounds that it can hook up to a computer. It lists things like computer software, computer games, computer programs, etc. What all this means, I don't know. But Nintendo will release ALL the info sooner or later.
The Star Cube is planned for release in late 2000, early-mid 2001. Every time I have more info, it's up here!
More info! The sound (I compleatly forgot about sound)is being made by three (yes THREE) different companies. Factor 5, Metro Werks(?), and Applied Microsystems Corp. I can't find any more info right now.
If you want to check out the Star Cube, go to the second link below, on the left of uspto.gov, click trademarks, then, in the upper, left, click Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS), then click Structured Form Search, then type "Star Cube" (with the quotes) in the first Search Term Box, then click Submit Query. The first three choices are what I am talking about, the last one is some other thing.
To the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office