Dial-Up users are not left out in Nintendo's online plans


Nintendo will introduce an online element for its GameCube this fall in North America. Nintendo said it will offer dial-up and high-speed Internet adapters for the GameCube in the fall at a suggested retail price of $34.95.

Rival game console makers have already announced similar plans. Microsoft's Xbox has a built-in broadband adapter and Sony Corp plans to offer an adapter with both dial-up and broadband ports for $39.99 in August.

The first game to be available for online play on the Nintendo GameCube will be Sega Corp's Phantasy Star Online. Sega said the game is expected to come out this fall in the United States, following the initial launch in Japan this summer. Sega was ahead of the rest of the industry by building a dial-up modem into its now-discontinued Dreamcast, released in 1999, but limited sales for that console left the online effort a money-losing venture and prompted the company to withdraw from the competitive market for game hardware and to become a third-party developer.

Publishers will be able to use the online feature for their games and keep any additional fees charged to users as a result. But Nintendo will not collect any additional revenue from online games and will not charge an access fee.

Nintendo will also promote its Internet adapters as add-ons for specific games when that makes sense but does not plan a major marketing blitz around the GameCube's Internet capabilities, executives said.