March 28, 2002 - Tokyo, Japan - SEGA Corporation and Nintendo Co., Ltd. today announced that the two companies have teamed up to develop "F-Zero (working title)" video game titles for the next-generation 3D-CG Triforce arcade board and the Nintendo GameCube. As part of the agreement, SEGA and Nintendo will collaborate on the projects using a new game system that will enable the arcade and console games to interact via "Memory Card 59." The announcement builds off the previously announced alliance between SEGA and Nintendo on February 18, 2002 to develop the Triforce arcade board and reinforces the companies' strategies to integrate arcade and home console entertainment.

Under the agreement, SEGA and Nintendo will co-develop two new video game titles - "F-ZERO AC (working title)" for the arcade and "F-ZERO GC (working title)" for Nintendo GameCube. AMUSEMENT VISION, LTD, a SEGA Studio, will develop the "F-ZERO" games under the supervision of Nintendo. "F-ZERO AC (working title)" will be published by SEGA and "F-ZERO GC (working title)" will be published by Nintendo. "F-ZERO" titles will be unveiled at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) and released in late 2002. The Triforce board and Nintendo GameCube are based on the same architecture, and they will be interfaced through the special peripheral, "Memory Card 59."

This joint project originated from AMUSEMENT VISION, which had a vision to create an arcade game that could interact with the Nintendo GameCube. SEGA and Nintendo have now come together to make this joint project a reality.

The following information was taken from the Nintendo press conference, held at Nintendo's Tokyo office on Thursday, March 28, 2002. Questions were asked by the MC and members of the press. Speakers and participants include the following:

Miyamoto, Shigeru (Nintendo)
Nagoshi, Toshihiro (Amusement Vision)
Imamura, Takaya (Nintendo), and
Sugino, Yukio (SEGA)

Q. How do you feel facing your new challenge?
(Nagoshi) I've never imagined I would do a project like this. I loved 'F-Zero' and it was a really impressive title for me. I was influenced by it in a sense as I created DAYTONA USA, and other racing games. I am happy to take part in this project.

Q. What do you think is the meaning of this project?
(Sugino) I am responsible for organizing the arcade games. I also liked 'F-Zero'. This is our first try to collaborate such a big title with such a huge fan base into an arcade game. We respect the power of Nintendo in the console market but we know we are the best at arcade games. I am excited to produce 'F-Zero AC', and it will surely be a smash hit.

Q. What do you think about collaborating with Nintendo?
(Nagoshi) Amusement Vision has already created two GameCube titles so we are familiar with how Nintendo works. SEGA and Nintendo have a different way of thinking even though we are both established game makers. We will surely be able to release a great game together with Miyamoto-san at Nintendo.

Q. What do you think about collaborating on 'F-Zero' with Nagoshi-san?
(Miyamoto) He used to be our rival but once he started creating GameCube titles, we have had some opportunities to talk to each other. His passion reminds me of when I worked on arcade games. His teams' work style is far different from ours, and that is kind of exciting for us. Amusement Vision is truly trustworthy.

Q. What did you do when original 'F-Zero' was released?
(Miyamoto) I was working on Zelda. Super Family Computer enabled 'F-Zero' to have lots of new features which Family Computer did not. Now GameCube can do something which Nintendo64 could not.

(Nagoshi) I bought all the launch titles together with the hardware and I loved 'F-Zero' the best. It actually taught me what a game should be. It is a fun game not only for gamers but also for creators like me.

(Sugino) I was a student at that time and I never knew I would work for a game company. I read articles in game magazines and competed against those records. Actually I broke my controller as I played it too hard.

(Imamura) It was my first title. When I joined Miyamoto-san's team I was surprised to be allowed to design characters and courses as freely as I wanted. It is really impressive title for me.

Q. What is 'F-Zero' for you?
(Imamura) It is a weird game in which creators can push their preference to the users. And the users are still happy to accept its silly world. I guess that's the charm of this game.

(Nagoshi) It is not a driving game but a racing game. I assume that this title should evolve by increasing speed and how to control the cars without wheels.

(Miyamoto) Yes, it is more of a racing game than a driving game as Nagoshi-san pointed out. The cars can get faster and faster since they don't have friction with the course, and you feel pleasant when you can handle it as you like.

Q. How are Arcade and GameCube linked?
(Nagoshi) Data communication will be available. We now call this style 'HOME&AWAY'; GameCube as Home and Arcade as Away. Both the arcade and console games are important and we believe we can enhance each version by emphasizing the other.

Q. What do you expect to be new in 'F-Zero'?
(Miyamoto) I think 'F-Zero' is suited for arcade. These days there are some problems with arcade games in Japan but I expect this 'F-Zero' to be the solution. (Imamura) I just can't wait to play it.

Q. Please let us know your ambition.
(Nagoshi) I feel I have been waiting for this opportunity since I created DAYTONA USA. I have been away from racing games for a few years and the genre looks new to me now. I am confident that Nintendo will be pleased to have chosen me as a partner. The actual machine will be available in E3.

Q. Will this title be produced as 'Tri Force' or 'a racing game'?
(Sugino) We have been discussing how we can maximize the content of the game. Hardware, software and management, each department has various opinion and we are trying to get them into shape.

Q. When did you decide 'F-Zero' would be your next project?
(Nagoshi) As we have been working on the 'Tri-Force' project we have been looking for content that is not exactly the same as the GameCube architecture. After several discussions, we reached a decision to create 'F-Zero'.

Q. How is the arcade machine going to look?
(Nagoshi) Its cabinet will be attractive and as cool as possible. Game control should be similar to GameCube version.

Q. How much do both the GameCube and Arcade versions cost to develop?
(Sugino) The budget has not been decided yet.