Next Generation has posed some comments about the actual viewing of Dolphin as well as some other (worried?) console maker's comments. Very interesting stuff. I think Sony seems a little stressed after the announcement, as well as the disappointing reviews of their PSX 2 at E3.

In interviews with several semiconductor industry trades, IBM has revealed that it is still designing the CPU at the Dolphin's core.

Sources close to Nintendo also indicate that Dolphin's graphics chip from ArtX is not yet finished in its design.

According to Nintendo, there were absolutely no demonstrations of the Dolphin at E3, despite several sources indicating to NGO that the demos took place.

"It's a complete and utter hoax," a Nintendo spokesperson indicates.

But whether there were demos are not, many are wondering how Nintendo plans to build a machine not yet completely designed on the fast time table it has announced.

Howard Lincoln, Nintendo's Chairman maintains it has a competitive advantage in producing its system in time for a 2000 launch because IBM is already fabricating .18 micron chips. But semiconductor experts have indicated to NGO that IBM is not manufacturing .18 chips in any significant quantity at this time.

It is clear that if Dolphin demos were shown behind closed doors, they would have to have been performed on a system emulating the finished goods.

This fact is heartening to our sources at both Sega and Sony. Both companies are convinced that Nintendo has gotten into the announcement of next gen consoles only because it has to, not because it is in any way ready with its technology.

This argument is compelling in that Nintendo, as a corporation, makes it a habit never to announce anything until it is ready to, or it is forced to.

It certainly seems that the company did not announce Dolphin because it was ready, with the technology not yet complete and the early demos either hidden away behind closed doors or non-existent.

"They just want to make sure that they're still in the conversation," a Sony employee told us.

Until Wednesday of last week, talk of the next generation was limited to Dreamcast and PS2, with the occasional mention of a looming Nintendo. "Now," our Sony source says, "they have a place at the table.