Holy shyte, Stu. That sounds identicle to me. I was a big Nintendo fanboy up until July of 2001. On June 30, 2001, I won a PS2 at a golf tournament (it was a random drawing, not a reflection on my golf game
). I rented NBA Street, and received GT3 for my birthday. Since then, I was hooked on PS2.
I also had it in my mind that I would buy a GCN at launch. But when the time came around, and there was no Mario for GCN, I declined to buy it.
It is funny though. I wonder if I didn't win the PS2, I would probably have a GCN, and think that it is the best system in the world! LOL.