Nintendo announces "new" prices for GameCube in Japan, as well as some minor changes to the hardware. UPDATE: New information from Nintendo of America.
According to an official release by Nintendo Co. Ltd. in Japan, as well as a report by Famitsu's website, there are some changes being made to the GameCube in Japan.
The system's price has been modified to now include tax. The actual price points are unchanged, but tax will no longer be added on top, so this is effectively a price cut of a few thousand yen. The change will be effective on March 22nd.
Also, there are two slight modifications to the hardware. Most notably, the D-terminal ("digital" video out) port is being removed. It appears that NCL may be releasing a new component video cable which conforms to the proprietary multi-out jack, as the current D-terminal cables will not be compatible with the new system model.
The other hardware change is that the label on the top of the system will no longer be interchangeable. This feature has been rarely used in the U.S., but NCL's Club Nintendo service offers many alternative labels for gamers who register their products.
UPDATE: Today, Planet GameCube spoke with with Nintendo of America representatives about this story. Company spokesperson Beth Llewelyn has confirmed that these hardware changes will apply to all versions of GameCube, around the world. Production of the new model is expected to begin in May, but it is unclear when the rollout will begin in specific regions. There are no plans to match the price drop outside of Japan.
Nintendo has determined that less than 1% of GameCube users have employed the output jack being removed in the new model. Because the hardware is selling at such a low pricepoint, the company decided to cut its manufacturing cost by removing this feature. Although we are not sure about the existence of a new component cable apparently planned for release in Japan, Nintendo of America has no plans for such a cable. Instead, the company will create a service whereby consumers who buy the new model may trade it in for the old model, if they desire the component video feature. The actual component cables must still be purchased separately (directly from Nintendo, as always). It is possible that this is the plan for Japan as well, and that the specifics were lost in our crude translation.
We will continue following this story to provide further details and clarification.