We first saw Marionette for GameCube listed on an NOA pre-E3 press release. Along with several other equally enigmatic titles like Perfect Dark Zero and Mario Sunshine, it was present only on that list and with no additional info given. Nintendo of America has refused to comment on any of those games at all, until now. In a recent interview with IGNcube, NOA Vice-President of Corporate Affairs Perrin Kaplan made the very first official comment on Marionette.

IGNcube: What is Marionette?

Perrin: Think that one through.

Many of our readers and staff members have done just exactly that. The first theory came from reader ReyVGM (although several wrote in), who sent us this email:

Can you say Mario Online?

Mario-NET

Very astute observation! “Marionette” could definitely be a codename for Mario-Net, and that brings forth all kinds of possibilities and questions. Would such a game be the same thing as Miyamoto’s GameCube Mario game, which he’s scheduled to show at Spaceworld 2001 just a few weeks from now? From everything we know about Nintendo’s online readiness, that doesn’t seem likely. Perhaps Mario-Net could be the next, NEXT Mario game, featuring online play somehow. Or, it could even be the name of Nintendo’s upcoming online network.

Some of the PGC staff disagreed with the “Mario-Net” interpretation though, and chose to take the name more literally. Justin Nation had this to say:

Justin says: I still hold out my own theory that it is the name of their new 'Talent Maker' game... Marionette as in puppets...

Our beloved webmaster has a very good point here. Nintendo seems to be very interested in bringing N64 titles to the GameCube, including those released in Japan that never did make it to the Western world. Animal Forest has already been confirmed, and Sin & Punishment has been rumored...why not dip into the 64DD library? The ill-fated expansion unit did have a few shining stars, and Talent Maker was one game that grabbed a lot of attention. The ability to make your own movies takes the old Mario Paint idea to the next level, and GameCube could certainly offer more creative freedom than the 64DD version did.

Editor-in-Chief Max Lake had this to contribute:

Max says: One idea I heard from one of my sources...is that Marionette may be a GameCube "game" that allows you to play your GBA on the GameCube... Kinda like a puppet and strings motif.

Many people have speculated about how the GameCube/GBA connection could be used to play handheld games on a big TV screen. Although there are technical and logistical arguments both for and against the possibility, most people agree that such a feature would require a special GameCube disc to activate. The idea of a marionette doll and its handler certainly fits in with this emulation prospect.

Finally, Cynical Bastard Jon Lindemann half-jokingly offered this comment:

Jon L says: It could also be the name of Mario's sister.

Sounds silly at first, but if you had to choose a female name for Mario...”Marionette” fits pretty nicely. With Luigi parading off into his own adventure this year, perhaps the older plumber needs a new sidekick to get the job done! Okay, this one is pretty far-fetched, but Nintendo is crazy enough to do it.

As you can see, Perrin Kaplan’s rather simple and vague comment has already fueled the imaginative fires in many people. Who knows, maybe one of these theories will turn out to be exactly right! In the meantime, we’d love to see your ideas on what Marionette really is. You can post them at our forum thread for this article, and we might choose some of the best ones to be added in a future update!