According to an article in the latest print issue of popular Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu, Nintendo executive Satoru Iwata has dropped word that the forthcoming successor to the Nintendo GameCube, aptly named GameCube 2 at this point, could very well be backwards compatible, allowing gamers to play their current GameCube titles on the new console.
This wouldn't be the first time that a game system has been backwards compatible with software from the past, as the PlayStation 2 allows gamers to play original PlayStation games. However, such a move would be good news for Nintendo fans, allowing gamers to play such classics as Super Smash Bros. Melee and Metroid Prime 2 on the system with ease.
Of course, this can only be rumor at this point, as there hasn't even been word or technical specs revealed on the new console yet. Hopefully, E3 will loosen Nintendo's lips on "GameCube 2."