If we fall behind, just change the color.

The motto of the Nintendo Corporation as evidenced by their Gameboy and N64 offerings. The Gameboy is essentially the same as the Gameboy of ten years ago, except that it has a slimmer case and, as I understand, may have a color display. (Which I suppose is an improvement.). The N64, however, is exactly the same as it was five years ago, except that it is now available in multiple colors. So in the face of increasing competition from Sega and Sony, Nintendo has re-released their old technology in different colors.

It's not just Nintendo that's guilty of this. Ever since Apple came out with the nifty "cute" computers, everyone has been falling over themselves to put out the "cool" semi-transparent coloured cases. VTech put out a 900Mhz phone, and now is selling the same item in a different case for $10 more.

Nintendo did have some items that extended the life of the console, such as the additional graphics module. Unfortunately, when they started putting out the same console in "tasty" colours, they didn't add anything electronic to the package. If they packaged the case with a game, like the new Pokemon yellow case with a game and controller, that's a different story.

I sure hope they're almost done with the new system. I bet you'll be right on the money, Jeff; when it comes out it'll be grey or black for the first year. After that' it'll be the vogue colour of choice.