I\'m pretty sure the Gamecube will make its October 2001 release for the US. In fact, the X-Box is going to have a really tough time bringing out the system for the end of this year. Success for both Nintendo and Microsoft hangs in the balance of which company releases their system for the Christmas shopping season. One question, is this the first time two major consoles will be released around the same time?
Another problem Microsoft will face is that the X-Box will probably not be released until many months later in Japan, and the Gamecube will have been out since July 2001. This is a very big problem since Japan should be one of Microsoft\'s target areas. If the X-Box is delayed to a Spring 2002 launch in the US, things may go down-hill, because not only will the system launch in late 2002 for Japan (and be outdated by then), but the US target date will have also been missed. This is why Nintendo launches the system in the summer for Japan so that the North American version can be ready by Christmas.
