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News/March 2002
Updated: 3/31/2002
- Lan-Kwei, a Japanese import store, GameCube games are already being pirated in Hong Kong. Not by way of mini CD or a modified GameCube, but the Panasonic Q, the GCN that plays DVDs. Rumor has it this is a day-early April Fool's Joke.
Updated: 3/30/2002
- Nintendo's website revealed some new information regarding the plot of Super Mario Sunshine today. Apparently, Matio and Peach go on vacation to a secluded island. When they get there, Mario notices "scribbles" all over the place. What's worse, the person responsible has disguised himself exactly like Mario. And thus, Mario must solve the mystery of the true identity of the villain.
- Nintendo released 6 new breathtaking screens of Super Mario Sunshine today.
- Nintendo announced today that Animal Forest + will undergo a name change for the US market. The game will now be called "Animal Crossing". The reason for the name change is still unknown, as well as a US release date.
- Yu Suzuki of developer AM2, revealed at GameJam 2 in Japan today that they are working on 2 new GameCube games. The first is tentatively titled "Virtua Fighter Quest", an Action/RPG based on the Fighting series due out sometime 2003, which Suzuki stressed will not be skewed towards a younger audience. AM2 also announced a volleyball game, Beach Spikers, which is due out this summer.
Updated: 3/29/2002
- GameSpot recently interviewed Nintendo VP of Sales and Marketing, Peter MacDougall. In the interview, he talks about the current state of Nintendo, the GameCube, and the GameBoy Advance.
- Yuji Naka, president of Sonic Team, released some new info regarding Phantasy Star Online today. First of all, the game has been renamed Phantasy Star Online Episode 1 & 2. The reason for this is because there are significant changes beyond what "version 2" included. Naka also said that there are 3 new character classes in the game, and 2 new worlds, with a possibility of even more characters, worlds, and features. Finally, Yuji Naka said that PSO will be available on a "trial" basis in 4 different bundles from May 31 to June 30.
- Electronics Boutique's website, EBGames.com, recently release some interesting release dates by saying that Starfox Adventures in due out September 30, Metroid Prime on November 1, and Legend of Zeld December 15. It should be noted that EB is notorious for pulling pranks like this in order to get people to pre-order games.
Updated: 3/28/2002
- Nintendo announced late tonight that the next installment of the Mario Party franchise will be released on GameCube sometime towards the end of this year in Japan. Nintendo also announced that 1080o Snowboarding 2 should also be debuting sometime this year in Japan.
- Nintendo announced today that the Japan release date of Super Mario Sunshine is July 19, for an estimated 6800 yen($55). Nintendo also confirmed today that Starfox Adventures IS INDEED delayed until this fall. As for Legend of Zelda GC, that game is also still planned for a release this year.
- Nintendo and Sega announced today that they will be developing(via Amusement Vision) F-Zero for GameCube and Arcade, using the Triforce Arcade Board. Expect the new F-Zero game out in Japan by the end of the year.
Updated: 3/26/2002
- BAM! Entertainment announcd today that they are finished with the game Driven for GameCube. It should be available this week.
Updated: 3/25/2002
- IGNCube recently interviewed Perrin Kaplan, NOA'S VP of Corporate Affairs. In the interview, he confirmed the rumor that Phantasy Star Online and the GameCube modem are both finished, and that the reason they aren't on store shelves is because they don't want to launch the modem with only one online game, putting all the pressure of the success of the the peripheral on Sega's shoulders.
- Steven Kent recent wrote an editorial for the Chicago Tribune. In the editorial, he talked about Shigeru Miyamoto and online gaming with the GameCube.
- Infogrames released the official press release about Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee for GameCube today.
- Japanese gaming mag Famitsu recently interviewed Shigeru Miyamoto. In the interview, they talked about Mario Sunshine, Metroid Prime, Starfox Adventures, Eternal Darkness, Zelda and game development.
- Video game show Extended Play recently interviewed Shigeru Miyamoto, which aired last Friday on TechTV. In the interview, they talked about some of the most important elements of a video game, the pitfalls of success, and an increase in fan input.
- Neither Rare nor Nintendo has yet to confirm the rumor of Starfox Adventures being delayed until September.
- The wireless Nintendo GameCube Wave Bird controller also comes out for sale on June 24 for a reasonable price $39.95.
- The Nintendo Memory Card 251 will be out for sale starting June 24 for a price $19.95.
- Eternal Darkness is still set for a June 24 release, with a "M" Rating.
- Nintendo announced today that Super Mario Sunshine will be released on August 26. On a related note, Mario turns 21 this year.
Updated: 3/24/2002
- Infogrames announced today that it will be publishing a GCN game being developed by Pipeworks Software, tentatively titled Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee, a fighting game featuring 14 characters from the classic movies battling it out in various cities around the world. The game is set to be released Winter 2002.
- It was announced today at GDC that Free Radical will be bringing TimeSplitters 2 to Nintendo GameCube this Fall. It should be noted that most of the people who worked on Rare's GoldenEye for N64 now work for Free Radical.
Updated: 3/23/2002
- Nintendo of America was awarded the 2002 Gold Reggie for Event Marketing for "The Nintendo Cube Clubs". The Gold Reggie is bestowed upon companies that not only demonstrate innovative ideas and concepts, but also show that their respective promotions were successful in driving sales.
- Because spring is upon us, by heading to Pikmin.com, you can print out a mail form that you can fill out and send in to receive a FREE Celebrate Spring with Pikmin package, which includes a stick of seeds of the newly developed Pikmin flower by Nintendo...just more proof of the Nintendo difference.
- In the newest issue of EGM, the crew interviewed Metroid creator Shigeru Miyamoto. In the interview, Shiggy revealed that there is definitely a good chance that Metroid Prime(being developed by Retro Studios) will be able to hook-up to the new GBA Metroid IV game(being developed by Intelligent Systems, the team who developed the original Metroid games).
- In the newest issue of EGM, the crew interviewed Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto. In the interview, Shiggy revealed that the town that appears in all the screenshots is NOT the only environment in the game, and also that the water tank Mario has been seen carrying around is not the only device Mario puts around.
Updated: 3/22/2002
- Nintendo of Australia's website recently released a list of 13 titles that would be available at their launch. Some of the titles listed haven't even been confirmed by Nintendo or any of the third-parties. Some of the games listed include Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4, and many more.
Updated: 3/21/2002
- Lucas Arts announced Star Wars: Bounty Hunter, a third-person action game, for GameCube and PS2 today. The game is based on Jango Fett, the mercenary from the Episode II movie.
- Acclaim announced ZooCube, a 3D puzzle game, for GameCube and GameBoy Advance today. The point of the game is to help shape-altered animals return to their original state. The release has yet to ne announced.
- Capcom's thriller adventure game, Biohazard(Resident Evil), launched in Japan today. Only 2 more months for the U.S.
Updated: 3/20/2002
- The LA Times recently interviewed Shigeru Miyamoto and Satoru Iwata, in which they talked about the future of video games, online play, taking risks in the industry, and Nintendo's "kiddie image".
- Majesco announced Black and Bruised, a boxing game, for GameCube and PS2 today.
- GameCube Inside recently interviewed From Software, developers of Rune and Gold Star Mountain. Apparently, they are done with the development stage on Rune and are already moving into the production stage. As for GSM, the game is slated for a late 2002 release. No word on a state side release yet.
Updated: 3/19/2002
- According to Gaming-Age, Capcom will be bringing a Ghosts and Goblins game to GBA. Tne reasons for this is because Capcom received a lot of success with Maximo, thus they have decided they are going to put out more games of the franchise; therefore a Maximo port to GameCube is VERY likely.
Updated: 3/18/2002
- Rumor has it that Rare is delaying Starfox Adventures yet again until September. Neither Rare nor Nintendo have confirmed this, however, it is ecpected that they will announce something in the coming weeks. It is also rumored that Eternal Darkness will be pushed back into July, possibly August. Finally, there is a rumor going around that Nintendo is seriously considering porting over Kyojin no Doshin(Doshin the Giant) to make up for the delay of the two major titles.
- Gaming guru and Sonic Team executive Yuji Naka was in London last week, where he was interviewed by CVG. In the interview, he pretty much threatened to Nintendo that, if they don't release the GameCube modem soon, they're going to pull the plug on everything online in Phantasy Star Online and make it a straight 4-player split screen game.
- At the recent CeBit show in Germany, a gadget and technology trade show, Microsoft executive Richard Roy complained to officials of Sony having hands-on playable gadgets on display, which is against the rules, although Sony has done it for the past 3 years. Therefore, officials had Sony's rigs shutdown. It is rather ironic that Microsoft would complain, as Microsoft themselves were diplaying the Xbox.
Updated: 3/15/2002
- Japanese gaming mag, Famitsu, recently interviewed Nintendo. Some of the topics of discussion were Square's reasons for developing for Nintendo again, the GCN/GBA-linked FF game, and other FF GBA games.
Updated: 3/14/2002
- Activision officially announced today that it will be bringing over Lost Kingdoms(Rune), which they expect to be out Spring 2002.
- Ubi Soft announced today they are bringing a cel-shaded FPS game to all next generation consoles entitled "XIII", based off of the comic book. The game is supposedly built on the Unreal Engine and should debut sometime next year.
- Despite rumors, Planet GameCube confirmed today that Kyojin no Doshin(Doshin the Giant), a Japanese GCN game, DOES NOT have an English text option. It is still unknown if the game will be ported over to the States.
Updated: 3/13/2002
- Famitsu, Japanese gaming mag, awarded Biohazard for GameCube 39 out of 40, one point shy of perfect. This score however, qualified Biohazard for the Famitsu Dendo Platinum Award, the most prestigious award a game can receive in Japan.
- 3DO Europe Launches World’s First Online Graffiti Competition in Conjunction with Jonny Moseley Mad TrixTM and HEAD® today.
- Yesterday, Sega's Yuji Naka received the IGDA's Lifetime Achievement Award.
Updated: 3/12/2002
- Gaming Age confirmed today that the Disney Sports franchise is taking shape in the form of Disnet Football(Soccer in the States). Konami is said to be involved, but to what extent is unknown. The game is slated for a August 7, 2002 release.
- Crave Entertainment announced UFC: Throwdown for GameCube today, due put 3rd Quarter 2002.
- Japanese investors must be interested in the new Nintendo-Square deal, as both Nintendo and Square's stock rose on Monday. Nintendo's stocks were bumped up 5.6% to ¥21080(about $162), and Square's stock went up 15.4% to ¥2550(about $20).
- According to Magic Box, Game Designers' Studio is planning on release three to four title for Nintendo's platforms in 2002. One of the confirmed titles is Final Fantasy Tactics for GBA. Another rumored title is Final Fantasy Unlimited, for GCN and GBA, so that's three titles. One other rumored title is Final Fantasy XI, although it's a little early, therefore this other title just might be something exclusive to Nintendo.
Updated: 3/11/2002
- Newly created developer Skip Ltd., announced today that they are working on a new RPG for GameCube called "Gift". First details suggest Nintendo will be publishing the game, and will most likely be shown at this year's E3. Coincidentally, the game is being headed up by an ex-Square employee, Kenichi Nishi.
- Penny Arcade, an online comic, recently posted an article and a funny comic about the Square-Nintendo situation.
- Gaming-Edge magazine recently interviewed freelance writer, Steven Kent. In the interview, he talked about the history of his writing, what it takes to write, his book, and what his favorite games are.
- Weekly Toyo Keizai, a Japanese business magazine, ran an article on Square's jump back to Nintendo. Apparently, Akitoshi Kawazu, lead of Square's second production unit will head the new company; apparently Sony has known about the jump back since last October when they bought 19% of Square, allowing them to port to other consoles so long as it did not interfere with their PS2 deal; Square has apparently invested 49% in the new company, and Kawaza has invested the other 51%, thus he will have control over the company's decisions; the new company will be a 'paper company', meaning it is fake and that all the actual development from the second production unit of Square; apparently, the Final Fantasy movie put Square in a management crisis, and that reconciliation with Nintendo was the only way to stabilize revenues.
- Japanese gaming mag Famitsu and Gamespot Japan have posted an article that says that a FF game utilizing the GCN/GBA connection will be released around Christmas 2002, and at least two other game are being developed for Gameboy Advance, one of which is rumored to be Final Fantasy Tactics.
Updated: 3/8/2002
- Yahoo! revealed today that Square and Nintendo are getting back in bed together to bring the fans the Final Fantasy experience on the GameCube and GameBoy Advance. The big news is not only is Square coming back, but Nintendo of Japan President Hiroshi Yamauchi is funding the return himself for Square's return, via Fund Q, the fund set aside to help spark game development on GameCube. The new company to be started by Square and Akitoshi Kawazu (one of Final Fantasy's developers), should be founded by the end of March. A quote from the announcement also revealed other big news, a deal to produce software allowing users of the GCN and the GBA to play together by the end of the year. It is expected that the first game to come out of this deal is most likely Final Fantasy XI, as Square has been pretty adamany about wanting the game on every console. A port of Final Fantasy X for GameCube and ports of the SNES FF games for GBA are also rumored to be in the works.
- Impact Pictures announced today that they are already working on a Resident Evil movie sequel, entitled "Resident Evil: Nemesis". The first movie is slated for a March 15 release.
- RPGFan announced today that Activision will be publishing From Software's card based RPG "Rune" in North America. The game is slated for a surprisingly quick May 15 release date, and will be renamed "Lost Kingdoms".
- Dengeki Online announced today that Capcom's Biohazard (Resident Evil) will be release 1 day early in Japan on March 21 in order to accomodate the holiday that is on that day.
- Capcom announced today that they are developing a game entitled "Glass Rose" for GameCube and PS2 in North America ONLY. What kind of game it is has yet to be seen, though it is expected to revealed at E3 later this year. It is slated for a late 2002 release for 'Cube.
Updated: 3/7/2002
Updated: 3/6/2002
- Shigeru Miyamoto and Satoru Iwata were interviewed at the D.I.C.E. expo, in which they discussed the popularity of the Zelda series, Pokemon, and the Japanese dislike of FPS games.
- CNN Money interviewed Shigeru Miyamoto, in which he discussed his interest (or lack thereof)in online gaming.
- CVG recently interviewed Yuji Naka, creator of Sonic the Hedgehog. In the interviews, Naka discussed Sonic's life on other platforms.
- Nintendo Power recently interviewed Shigeru Miyamoto and Satoru Iwata, in which they discussed 1080o 2, some other projects on the horizon, and Nintendo's philosophy in general.
- Ubi Soft announced today that they will be developing Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc for all next-generation consoles and PC.
Updated: 3/5/2002
- Several families filed a suit against Nintendo and other gaming companies after Columbine. A U.S. District Judge three out the case today claiming, "the gunmen themselves were responsible for the killings, not the media."
- THQ announced today that they will be developing Monsters, Inc. for Nintendo GameCube, scheduled for a fall 2002 release.
Updated: 3/4/2002
- Planet GameCube recently interviewed Denis Dyack, president of Silicon Knights, in which he commented that Eternal Darkness is on track for the slated June release, and that it shouldn't have any more delays.
Updated: 3/3/2002
- The AIAS Interactive Achievement Awards were held in Las Vegas, NV yesterday. Nintendo walked away with 3 awards; Children's Game of the Year: Mario Party 3(N64), Hand-Held Game of the Year: Advance Wars(GBA), and Innovation in Console Gaming: Pikmin(GCN).
Updated: 3/2/2002
- Cube Europe recently interviewed Bit Corps, developer of Die Hard: Vendetta, in which they commented on possible using Turok's control scheme for the game.
Updated: 3/1/2002
- Shigeru Miyamoto announced today that the European version of Luigi's Mansion will include some "extra goodies", that the American version didn't. It is still unknown what these "goodies" are, though it is suspected that it has something to do with the "Hidden Mansion" feature.
- It was announced today that Nintendo figurehead Ken Lobb resigned today to take a position with...MICROSOFT. IGN was the first to post this information. It is still unknown if this is a month-early April Fool's joke.
- Nintendo updated their Japanese release dates today, saying Japanese gamers will get Starfox Adventures on May 31, 10 days before the States. No word on Eternal Darkness or the Wave Bird contoller.
- In the April issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly, the editors ran a code saying that Sonic and Tails were playable characters in SSB:Melee if you got more than 20 KOs in Cruel Melee. It was quickly disgarded as an April Fool's joke.
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