The purpose of this section is to post all the top news breaks in the world concerning the one and only Nintendo GameCube. The ONLY news that will be posted here is about the GameCube or Nintendo. Not even GameBoy Advance(unless it has something to do with GameCube)! Red text signifies EXTREMELY IMPORTANT information. Go on, read up!

• The winners of AIAS awards at the D.I.C.E. summit in Jas Vegas were announced today. While unfortunately the Console Game of the Year was Splinter Cell for Xbox and not Metroid Prime and original expected, Nintendo did in fact walk away with about half of the awards. "Metroid Fusion" won Handheld Game of the Year, "Metroid Prime" won First-Person Action Game of the Year, "Animal Crossing" won Role-Playing Game of the Year, Innovation in Console Gaming, and Game Design; "Mario Party 4" won Family Title of the Year; and "Eternal Darkness" won Character and Story. Congratulations to all of the winners.
  
• Electronic Arts and Microsoft are again in debate about buying Sega in full or in part. Sega has had to deal with many financial difficulties and internal opposition in this year as a third party publisher. Some investors have been upset especially lately as the company announced it plans to merge with Sammy Corp. in October. Sammy has held a much more stable and healthy financial base then Sega, which means Sega would mostly be serving Sammy in a merger, rather than the other way around. Microsoft and EA are separately exploring the possibility of buying Sega according to the Wall Street Journal. No formal talks have been made, and so far any deal doesn't appear to be imminent. But the pressure is being put on Sega as they are expected to announce today huge cutbacks in a reorganization of its U.S. operations.
  
  

• When Shigeru Miyamoto mentioned something about a remake of the original Metal Gear Solid being made for GameCube, rumors began to emerge on the Web. Today, Konami CONFIRMED the rumors that a MGS game is indeed being made for GameCube, and exclusive at that. Konami reports that they cannot comment anymore on the game and that gamers will have to wait until E3 to hear anymore details on the game. Konami also went on to say that if this proposed MGS game sells well, GameCube may in fact be receiving a Contra and Castlevania game soon as well.
  
• Ubi Soft announced today that they will be publishing the upcoming Harvest Moon games, Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life and Harvest: Friends of Mineral Town for GameCube and GBA respectively. This announcement was for PAL territories, but it is very likely Ubi Soft will publish the games in the US as well, nixing speculation that Nintendo would be publishing them. However, there has been no final word on publishing rights in the US so it's still possible someone else will publish the game. It was also revealed that the games will feature a GCN-GBA connection with each other. More on the games as details for them are released.
  
  

• Infogrames announced today that Constantin Films(specifically it's subsidiary, Impact Pictures) has acquired the publishing rights to create a movie based on the game "Driver". Driver is Infogrames' best-selling game to date and follows the action-packed exploits of Tanner, an undercover policeman hired by the mob as a getaway driver. The feature film is currently scheduled to begin production in 2003, and is being developed for Paul W.S. Anderson (Resident Evil) to direct from a screenplay by James DeMonaco, Todd Harthan and James Roday (The Negotiator). Impact Pictures previous credits include "Mortal Kombat" and "Event Horizon". "Resident Evil", which was directed by Anderson and has taken in $105 million worldwide to date, is Impact's first film as a subsidiary of Constantin Film.
  
• The Vice President of Engineering at ATI, Dave Rolston, announced today that he is pursuing deals with Nintendo to help them with their next console. ATI is currently battling their greatest rival, nVidia, to create the fastest graphics chip. ATI is of course the same company who made the Gekko graphics chip for the GameCube. While ATI is also interested in working with Microsoft on their next console, it doesn't seem likely since nVidia created the graphics chip for the Xbox and will most likely be working together with MS on the Xbox 2.
  
  

• According to the latest research from Strategy Analytics' Broadband Entertainment Strategies service, the number of users of advanced games consoles soared by 128 percent in 2002, reaching 56.3 million worldwide. 75 percent of users own Sony's PlayStation 2, compared to 13 percent with Nintendo's GameCube, and 12 percent with Microsoft's XBox. Forecasts suggest GameCube will lose ground during 2003. According to the analysts, Nintendo could build a leading position in the $12 billion software market, but it must first abandon its present console strategy. Total sales of all platforms in 2003 are predicted to reach 36.2 million units, but GameCube's sales are expected to fall by 4 percent in 2003, while XBox sales will rise by 12 percent. Key drivers of this trend are XBox's growing software library, its clearly defined online gaming strategy, and Microsoft's substantial investments in the platform. By contrast, the GameCube's online strategy is unclear, and its support from publishers appears to waning. Strategy Analytics recommends that Nintendo abandon its traditional console-exclusive software publishing strategy and publishes its games across multiple platforms. The company stands to lose relatively little, while gaining access to an additional 77 million console owners during 2003.
  
• In a 600 page report released by DFC Intelligence entitled "Market Leaders in the Video Game and Interactive Entertainment Industry" today, they calculate the gross profit each of the video game powerhouses has made, and how much went into the bottom line. While Nintendo has made close to half of what Sony has in revenue, Nintendo has pocketed more money by keeping careful tabs on the bottom line. The report goes on to say that this attitude might have cost Nintendo, as the market has evolved and Nintendo has remained as focused as ever. It's mentioned that the same fourteen-year-olds that Nintendo considers its core market are more interested in games like Grand Theft Auto...games parents wouldn't want those kids playing. The question is left open ... what does Nintendo need to do in the next generation to compete? Will Nintendo shift its focus and attempt to be the "it" console with the successor to GameCube, or will they remain focused on the family market? The report acknowledges that Nintendo's focus has shifted slightly with games like "Eternal Darkness" and "Metroid Prime" and by making deals with companies like Namco, Capcom and Square/Enix.
  
• Nintendo revealed today the first 3 screenshots EVER of their upcoming title, Pikmin 2. One of the screens show off the multiplayer ability. Another shows what looks to be a sidekick for Capt. Olimar. While another shows a few Pikmin trying to carry what looks to be a large bucket of water. You can see the screens, here.
  
• To celebrate the company's 30th anniversary, Konami Corporation will renew it's group brand logo design on the company's birthday, March 19th, 2003. The new brand logo was chosen as Konami's internal and external brand identity to symbolize the expansion of Konami Group's business field and its scheduled shift to becoming a holding company. The new logo will take effect worldwide from April 1st, 2003. You can see the new logo, here.
  
• According to Magicbox.com, the developers of the "GT Advance" racing series on Game Boy Advance, MTO, are going to be developing the first game in the series on the GameCube, "GT Cube". The game will apparently be released in Japan in April of 2003. While no word on a U.S. release has been announced, it is very likely that THQ would publish the title considering the series' success on GBA.
  
  

• The February 20th issue of Rolling Stone magazine features a detailed look into DigiPen, the famous game development school located just down the street from Nintendo of America headquarters. The school is heavily funded by Nintendo, and many graduates go on to be hired by NOA's internal development firm, Nintendo Software Technologies. The article covers many aspects of life at DigiPen, including looks at class intensity, social activities, and gender disparity.
  
• To celebrate the return of gaming icon Samus Aran, Nintendo will a launch a limited edition Metroid Pak priced 199 Euros, available from launch day on March 21st. The pak contains the Metroid Prime game, along with a black Nintendo GameCube (and controller) in addition to an exclusive Metroid Prime name-plate (the disk that fits in the top of the lid of the cube).
  
  

• There is a new rumor going around on the Net that Nintendo is getting ready to drop the Zelda preorder campaign. The availability of the bonus disc through this campaign was to begin on the 16th. But many stores broke this date and started giving out the bonus disc containing the two Zelda GCN ports days ahead. With much revenue to be made from such a popular game (250,000 copies already reserved before Feb. 16th), even stores like Wal-Mart and Target started breaking the scheduled release date. In addition to that, some were said to be selling the bonus disc apart from the Wind Waker preorder. One employee of Gamestop said that Nintendo has indeed pulled the plug on the campaign. It is also being said that there will be no further shipments of the bonus disc, even though the quantity is extremely limited Nintendo has yet to comment on the rumor. More on the situation as it develops.
  
• This past weekend, Lucasarts' game "RTX Redrock" has disappeared from any official listing, only to remain for PS2. The companies other new title on the system, "Gladius", is still listed for GameCube however. However, there were rumors that Lucasarts may pull the GCN version of that game too. It should also be noted that the game is no longer listed for GameCube in the video game magazine, EGM. The game WAS originally scheduled for release in May 2003. Lucasarts has yet to comment on the change. More on the situation as it develops.
  
  

• Sonic Team has posted a new web site concerning an upcoming Animated series entitled "Sonic X". With three animated television series and an OAV to call his own, Sonic is hardly a stranger to the television scene, and come April 6 Japanese Sonic fans can watch their favorite hedgehog every Sunday morning from 8:30 to 9:00 on Tokyo TV 6. It is currently unknown if the show will come to North America, though considering the franchise's strong game and comic book sales, a DVD release with sub-titles is at the very least quite possible.
  
• Nintendo of Japan has jut revealed today the arcade version of their upcoming F-Zero title, as well as the game's OFFICIAL website. On the site, there are full details on both GameCube and arcade versions of the game, videos, pictures of the arcade cabinet, and details on how the games connect. There are also several wallpapers that you can download and a contest to win an F-Zero T-shirt and pins. To top it off, the site features a full interview with Nagoshi from Amusement Vision. F-Zero GC/AC is set to release in Japan this May with a US release following soon after.
  
  

• It has now been revealed by Planet GameCube that the upcoming GameCube accessory, the Game Boy Player, will in fact NOT have a boot disc as originally speculated. The GBP will most likely in fact end up beeing region-free like the Game Boy Advance. Whether the GBP will display the gamer's region is unknown, but it is expected that the hardware will recognize which region the GameCube is booting in and display the appropriate menus. This is of course very good news for those who are interested in importing the hardware. More on the situation as it develops.
  
• Midway announced today that they are planning several new titles for 2003 on undetermined platforms. There is a new first person shooter, survival adventure, basketball, and an automobile combat game in the works. The company did name two new titles, one is a remake of the game Narc and another is a new Mortal Kombat. Midway will release eleven GameCube titles and eight GBA titles in 2003.
  
• The International Game Developers Association (IGDA) will recognize legendary game developer Gunpei Yokoi for the innovative work he produced during his career. Yokoi will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Game Developers Choice Awards ceremony on March 6 during CMP Media's Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Jose, California. Last year's recipient, Yuji Naka, will be presenting the award, which Yokoi's family will be accepting on his behalf. In a career spanning nearly three decades, Yokoi is best known as the creator of the Nintendo Game Boy. Overwhelmingly popular since its launch, the Game Boy and its successors have sold more than 142 million units worldwide. During his early years at Nintendo, Yokoi led the company's entry into the video game space, creating the Game & Watch -- a credit card-sized video game that introduced the cross-shaped directional pad. He went on to collaborate with Shigeru Miyamoto to design arcade classics such as "Donkey Kong," "Mario Brothers" and "Metroid." In 1996, Yokoi founded Koto Laboratory, while continuing to consult for Nintendo. Tragically, Yokoi was killed in a traffic accident the following year.
  
  

• THQ, Inc. revealed today a new adventure game scheduled for release on the PlayStation 2 and GameCube consoles: "Sphinx". The game is being developed by veteran game designers Eurocom Entertainment Software. Little is known about the game at this point, but THQ says Sphinx will be one of the defining games for this generation of consoles and beyond. The game is set for a Fall 2003 release.
  
  

• Sega of America announced today it has entered into an affiliation with McDonald's Corporation, the world's largest quick service restaurant to create a new line of McDonald's Happy Meal toys. Based on two top-selling Sega franchises - Sonic The Hedgehog and Super Monkey Ball, the toys will be available this coming summer at participating McDonald's restaurants throughout North America.
  
• The Vice President of Programming for the G4 television network, Vinnie Longobardo, announced a partnership with the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences (AIAS) to co-produce and air a one-hour special on the Academy’s Sixth Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, the video game industry’s preeminent awards event, which recognizes creative achievement in video game development. The awards event will be hosted by comedian and actor Dave Foley, best known as the star of the long-running NBC comedy series, "News Radio". Among the awards presenters include world-reknown skaterboarder Tony Hawk, the Blue Man Group, actor Xander Berkeley from the Fox show "24", actress Julie Benz from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", actress Kelly Hu, star of the upcoming "X2" movie, and Mike Metzger, the undisputed pioneer of freestyle motocross. The show also will feature a special musical performance by the recording act, Unwritten Law. The Interactive Achievement Awards will take place February 27 at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, with the one-hour G4 special airing in March.
  
• Nintendo of Europe announced today that a limited edition bonus disc will be included with The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker at the European launch on May 3rd. The limited edition bonus disc will be available for 60 Euros while supplies last.
  
  

• Retailer websites and Nintendo's official website are listing "Spyro: Season of Wind" and "Crash Nitro Cart", both titles from Universal Interactive, for GameCube to be released sometime Q4 2003. More on the games as details for them are released.
  
• Kids' WB is planning the new Mega Man cartoon for American viewers. MegaMan: NT Warrior is set a small ways into the future where computers control much of everything. "It's part 'Matrix,' part 'Pokemon,"' said Kids WB programming executive John Hardman. MegaMan will premier this summer on the WB.
  
• Nintendo looks to be taking large measures to finally put away some of the widespread and blatant piracy problems with the video game industry. In the previous weeks, the company had took part in a huge counterfeit raid in China, and have taken subsequent steps to prevent further illegal pirating of hundreds of thousands of Nintendo licensed software. Now Nintendo is taking its case to Washington D.C. to try to increase pressure on property rights in places like Mexico and China. While this is long overdue, there is now an example of how bad pirating software can be as The Washington Post and CNN report that pirating crimes have lead to the financing of the international terrorist organization Hezbollah. Nintendo, its publishers and developers are being injured by the continued manufacture and sale of counterfeit Nintendo products resulting in nearly $650 million in lost sales in 2002.
  
  

• Professional BMX rider Dave Mirra is seeking a minimal amount of $21 million in "damages and injunctions" in an effort to prevent Acclaim from further advertising both Mirra’s name and likeness. The suit, filed last week, is based on Acclaim’s use of Mirra’s name in both print ads and promotions, despite supposed previous agreements to disassociate the biker from the title. Despite shipping over 3 million titles under the Dave Mirra brand, one of the most recent being acclaimed Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 2, BMX XXX sold less than expected. As a result, Acclaim recently laid off staff, due to the comparatively lower revenue. Alan Lewis, a spokesman for Acclaim, called the suit "baseless", and assured that the company would defend themselves "vigorously" against it.
  
• Masahiro Sakurai, the director of Super Smash Bros. Melee, talked with Nintendo.com about each of the music tracks found in the game, and the melodies performed by the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra during the actual concert. In addition to Sakurai-san's full commentary, the final page of the interview has comments from some of Nintendo's figureheads, including Koji Kondo and Game Freak's Hip Tanaka. On top of this revealing interview, Nintendo is giving away a handful of the Orchestral CDs found in the Nintendo Power subscriber-only issue. This is a treat for those that didn't get a chance to obtain it, for sure. To read the interview and enter the contest, click here.
  
• Nintendo of America announced today that already, more than 250,000 gamers have reserved their copy of "The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker" before the official pre-sell program has even started. With a deposit at any participating retailer, consumers receive a limited-edition disk featuring two playable, full-length games originally for the Nintendo 64: the award-winning "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time" and "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Master Quest" - an updated version of the game never released outside of Japan. Consumers get all three games for a manufacturer's suggested retail price of $49.95, while supplies last.
  
• According to Bloomberg.com, Sega Corp. and Sammy Corp. have announced plans for a merger to take effect on October 1st. Hajime Satomi, president of Sammy, is set to lead the joined company. The two companies will hold a briefing soon. More on the situation as it develops.
  
  

• The International Game Developers Association (IGDA) announced the nominees for the Third Annual Game Developers Choice Awards, which will be handed out during at a ceremony at the Game Developers Conference on March 6. Retro Studio's "Metroid Prime" has been nominated for Game of the Year. Retro Studios themselves have actually been nominated for Rookie Studio of the Year. The Metroid Team has been nominated for the Excellence in Audio award, as well as the Excellence in Game Design, Excellence in Level Design, and Excellence in Programming awards. Satoru Iwata, Yoshiaki Koizumi, Shigeru Miyamoto, Takashi Tezuka and Kenta Usui have also been nominated for Excellence in Game Design in Super Mario Sunshine. Finally, Denis Dyack and Ken McCulloch have been nominated for the Excellence in Writing in Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem.
  
  

• Codemasters announced today that they have begun the developing process for "Colin McRae Rally 4". This is odd news, considering Colin McRae Rally 3 has yet to be released. A few months back, it was revealed that Colin 3 would be released on GameCube first before the other consoles. The fact that Colin 4 is being announced this early suggests an exclusivity contract between Nintendo and Codemasters developing.
  
• Nintendo has reported that 300,000 counterfeit games have been seized. This was part of three January raids in South China. Nintendo estimates counterfeiting cost the company and its licencees about $649 million dollars (USD) in lost sales in 2002. Chinese authorities conducted more than 20,000 raids against optical media pirates in 2001.
  
  

• Sonic Team has announced on their Japanese website that new quests for Phantasy Star Online are available for download. A special online quest for Valentine's Day will be available until February 17; it can be played from 1 to 4 players. Challenges 7, 8, 9 have also been added, which are for 2 to 4 players. It's safe to assume these quests will be available worldwide, but that has yet to be confirmed.
  
• Sega of Japan is currently holding a special campaign for owners of Eternal Arcadia Legends (Skies of Arcadia Legends outside of Japan) to download special data to their memory cards at selected stores. By combining this special data with the game save, players will have access to special items and characters. In addition to the special data, players can receive a limited Eternal Arcadia Legends memory card label sticker. This promotion is highly unlikely to become available outside of Japan.
  
  

• A few weeks ago, rumors began to arise when Sega cancelled "World Series Baseball 2K3" for GameCube. Now, the rumors have come true and apparently Sega will officially be cancelling their ENTIRE Sega Sports lineup for GameCube. Sega claims that it has been "evaluating its resources and product lineup to ensure it is bringing the right games to the right platforms as the company builds towards becoming a profitable, independent content publisher." Sega will however continue to develop for GameCube with it's leading entertainment properties, "Sonic the Hedgehog" and "Super Monkey Ball" and many others. While I personally do not care for sports sims(that explains why there are no reviews/previews of sports games on my site), this revelation is going to absolutely KILL GameCube's hardware sales.
  
• Empire Interactive announce today that it has acquired the publishing rights to create a game based on the upcoming movie, "Bad Boys II", starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence. The game will be released on all consoles sometime around Christmas 2003. "Bad Boys II" the movie will be released sometime this coming Summer.
  
• According to EBGames.com and other online retailers, if you pre-ordered The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker plus the bonus disc and opted to receive the bonus OoT/MQ disc upon availability, the discs are already in the mail. According to EBGames.com, the bonus discs are being mailed UPS via 3-day shipping. NOTE: If you opted to receive the bonus disc along side with your copy of TWW, you will of course NOT be receiving TWW in 3 days.
  
  

• With the purchase of a Nintendo GameCube system, at a manufacturer's suggested retail price of $149.95, Nintendo of America Inc. is offering consumers their choice of one of the following hit games for free: Metroid Prime, Star Fox Adventures, Mario Party 4 or Capcom's Resident Evil 0. In addition, the Super Mario Sunshine Bundle Pak, which includes a copy of the Super Mario Sunshine game, Nintendo GameCube system and Memory Card 59, which was previously $189.95, will be priced at $159.95. Both promotion offers begin February 9.
  
  

• With the Action Replay accessory headed to GameCube, GBA, and other next generation consoles, Datel has signed an agreement with Intec to provide more accessibility to the product line. The Action Replay, which is intended to replace the GameShark, will now have sampler disks that let you check out cheat codes, games saves, and other content for games. Intec will help distribute the Action Replay product line to more retailers in the U.S., Mexico, and Canada.
  
• Legend of the video games world, Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto, will be making his first ever European public appearance exclusively at the Virgin Megastore Oxford Street on Friday 21st February at 1:00 pm. Miyamoto-san is making a rare visit to the UK to promote new Nintendo titles The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past for Game Boy Advance, out 28th March, and the awesome new Nintendo GameCube title The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, out on May 3rd, which is the 1-year anniversary of the Nintendo GameCube(in Europe).
  
• The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences today announced finalists for the 2003 Interactive Achievement Awards, which will be held at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, February 27, 2003. The Academy will present awards in 30 craft, console, computer, and online categories. Award highlights include an overall Game of the Year as well as Game of the Year in different genres, and the prestigious Hall of Fame Award. This year, Retro Studios' "Metroid Prime" received a record number fo 10 nominations. Nintendo of America had a total of 26 nominations in the video game publishers field. It should be noted that Nintendo's "Animal Crossing" has been nominated for "Game of the Year", as well as "Metroid Prime". Also, "Animal Crossing", "Metroid Prime", as well as "Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem" have all been nominated for "Console Game of the Year".
  
• In one of Nintendo's oddest decisions EVER, they have decided to only release the eagerly-anticipated Game Boy Player add-on for the Nintendo GameCube in the Jet Black color ONLY. There may, however, be other colors available after the initial launch. More on the situation as it develops.
  
• After weeks of rumors, Nintendo has officially confirmed the development of "Metroid Prime 2" (tentative title) for GameCube being developed by Retro Studios. Nintendo has yet to reveal a release date, though a late 2004 release would not be out of the question. More on the game as details for it are released.
  
  

• NEC officially announced today that they will begin developing for all console and the Game Boy Advance later this year in the U.S. and Europe. For those who do not know, NEC was the creator of the doomed TurboGrafx-16 console and this will be the first time in 8 years NEC has been in the video game industry. NEC's first game will be "Tube Slider," a futuristic racing game launching this month for the Nintendo GameCube console.
  
  

• Nintendo of America confirmed today the rumors about Dragon Ball Z: Budokai and the company is now announcing the game for GameCube to be published by Infogrames and ported to GameCube sometime Q3 2003. No word yet on whether or not the game will be a straight port or Infogrames will fix the flaws from the PS2 version.
  
  

• Die Cast Express is now offering a pocket-size metal action figure of Samus Aran. The figure is actually fairly ugly and looks like something that would come in a Happy Meal. Either way, it is definitely not worth $13.95. Other figurines the website offers includes Luigi. You can see the figurine, here.