Nintendo announced on Wednesday that it plans to delay the Japanese launch of its GameCube console to September 14. The launch was originally scheduled for July. Specific reasons behind the delay were not announced, but Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi briefly remarked that the company did not want to deal with embarrassing shortages at launch, perhaps hinting at a possible parts shortage. When contacted, Nintendo of America provided GameSpot with an official statement, which confirmed that the North American launch is now set for November. It was originally planned for October of this year.

　　"Nintendo's priority has always been to develop the highest quality hardware and software at an affordable price," the statement said. "We will only bring out the very best, nothing less. The announcements out of Japan regarding the Nintendo GameCube simply confirm that we are on track for the US launch this fall, as we had previously anticipated. The system is scheduled for launch in November, before the all important holiday season. The Japanese launch date has been rescheduled to September to ensure that the GameCube will launch with sufficient quantities of both hardware and great software. We have already delivered 600 development kits to outside developers and many of these games will be ready for E3. We have high hopes for the show and are confident that the GameCube will astound attendees."

　　Nintendo further confirmed that the pricing of the GameCube will be revealed on May 24.