Nintendo has announced that its launch marketing campaign for the GameCube has entered the final phase. The $75 million launch campaign will encompass a variety of marketing venues, including national TV advertising, nontraditional consumer sampling, online viral campaigns, partner promotions, retail marketing, and presence at a major entertainment industry event. The TV campaign in particular will feature several different commercials that will air on prime-time television, on cable networks like MTV, and during Saturday morning cartoons.

　　The TV ad campaign involves such talent as the director of photography for motion pictures Seven and The Beach and will be filmed in locations such as the United Kingdom, Italy, France, and the US. The ads will focus on exclusive GameCube games and will be large in scope. One ad, for example, will feature more than 500 cast members. GameCube ads will also appear on the big screen in November and December, airing along with upcoming films such as Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings.

　　"Nintendo GameCube is built from the ground up for one purpose only--to play games," said Peter Main, executive vice president of sales and marketing at Nintendo of America. "Our extensive campaign has one central strategy--to make it as easy as possible for players to quickly get their hands on our exclusive, groundbreaking Nintendo games."

　　Aside from the TV ad campaign, GameCube advertising will appear in a variety of print publications and through GameCube banners in malls across the US. On the Internet, Nintendo will launch the official GameCube Web site at www.nintendogamecube.com and individual sites for games such as Luigi's Mansion, Pikmin, and Super Smash Bros. Melee. At retail stores, over 10,000 GameCube interactive kiosks will be set up in the weeks prior to launch.

　　The Nintendo GameCube will be released on November 18 in North America.