After doing battle for home console supremacy with Sony and Sega during the 1990s, Nintendo began the 2000s with the promise of new hardware with the GameCube and a monumental graphical leap from the Nintendo 64. But with Sega about to leave the hardware business and Microsoft taking their place, the new big three of the industry became clear. It was the start of a very special decade for video games, but an even more fascinating one for Nintendo.