Nintendo takes Chinese iQue console online

Nintendo is preparing to take its Chinese iQue console online in November, allowing gamers to buy and download new software using their home PCs instead of using kiosks in supermarkets and other public areas, and opening the door to online gaming.

The iQue, which integrates the N64's major functions into a slightly bulkier control pad design and plays games downloaded onto Flash cards, launched exclusively in China last year, and its software line-up includes the likes of Super Mario 64, Mario Kart 64 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

The new online upgrade - in the shape of a special USB cable - will allow Chinese gamers to connect iQue to their PCs and access the iQue@Home service over the Internet, which will allow them to download games and store old software on a remote server in order to free up space on the console's Flash card.

The USB Cable Upgrade will retail for $20 according to specialist Lik-Sang, and will eventually be used for multiplayer gaming as well as access to content - although Nintendo has yet to reveal details of how that might work. iQue users will also be able to communicate with one another using the iQue@Home service.

Nintendo has previously stated that the iQue console, a joint venture between Nintendo and former Silicon Graphics president Wai Yen, will not be released outside China.