Read on guys! And make note that the prices are in US dollars.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Video game maker Nintendo Co. Ltd. will introduce an online element for its GameCube this fall, executives for its U.S. subsidiary said on Monday, marking the company's cautious entry into the fledgling market for online console games.

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 Corp.'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 will be Sega Corp.'s "Phantasy Star Online." Sega said on Monday the game is expected to come out this fall, the company said.

Online gaming has been a major market for PC games for years but has been slow to catch on for the console market.

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.

Nintendo is staking out a more cautious online strategy.

The company, which is the leading game maker for children and has a virtual lock on the market for handheld games, is considering a number of online projects but will not have any games ready for the fall launch, executives said.

Publishers will be able to use the online feature for their games and keep any additional fees charged to users as a result, but online gaming for the GameCube will remain largely an extension of the console play, the company said.

"Nintendo's position is that online is a feature to extend the console and the gameplay, but in and of itself online does not make a game," Jim Merrick, a technical director for Nintendo's online efforts said.

Perrin Kaplan, a Nintendo vice president, said the company will not collect any additional revenue from online games and will not charge an access fee.

Game publishers themselves will be responsible for operating the online networks on which their games run, Nintendo said.

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.

"We do believe online gaming will be viable at some point but we don't want to club the consumer in the head with it either," Merrick said.

Source: Reuters

Staff Opinions
Jim:
Just give me Mario Kart Online!!! F33|) m3!!11!