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Chapter Two - Space World (1 of 4)
Our latest update in this saga skips forwards a few months to one of the most memorable moments in gaming history, Nintendo Space World 2001. The public had been eager for updates on Nintendo’s situation since the January acquisition of Sega, which led to a delay in the release of the promising GameBoy Advance. Meanwhile, as the PlayStation 2 continued its widespread success, rumors swirled that Nintendo and Rare may be parting ways. Nintendo had spent a lot of money in the past year, and owed answers to its shareholders.
Therefore, Nintendo felt transparency might be the best path forward for this year. Shigeru Miyamoto pitch Hiroshi Yamauchi an expanded Space World. He envisioned a massive conference in America where Nintendo would show off the projects currently in development, announce the changes to the GameBoy, unveil the GameCube, and show off third party software. What Yamauchi liked the most, however, was the idea for a Q&A with important figures in the company. He figured this was the chance to regain shareholder and consumer confidence, and so plans began.
In mid-March, Nintendo announced they would not attend May’s E3 Conference, but instead would be hosting Nintendo Space World 2001 just two weeks after the conference, on May 26th and 27th. The first day would be open only to gaming press, and the second day open to the public. Hosted at Bayside Convention Center in Boston, Massachusetts, this conference signaled Nintendo’s shift towards the American market, which had solely held up the Nintendo 64 in its later years.
Conference Itinerary
May 26th Welcoming Remarks (8a-9a)
Connectivity: The Future of Nintendo (9a-10a)
Nintendo Squared (10a-12p)
GameBoy Advance (1p-2p)
Nintendo Software, Nintendo Handheld Spotlight (2p-3p)
Sega Software, Sega America (3p-4p)
Press Q&A (4p-5p)
Pokemon Spotlight (5p-6p)
Rare: Into the Future (6p-7p)
Future of the Arcade (7p-8p)
May 27th Public Walkthrough (8a-11a)
Public Q&A (11a-12p)
Sonic Team & Subsidiaries (1p-3p)
HAL Laboratory & Partners (3p-5p)
Key Third Party titles (5p-7p)
In our next update, we will take a trip into the conference center and watch Space World unfold.