News/June 2002 Updated: 6/27/2002 In the newest issue of EGM, they named four Nintendo titles(No.1 Legend of Zelda, No.2 Super Mario Sunshine, No.3 Metroid Prime) in the first four slots in their "top games of E3" which lists what they think is the best 10 titles that were shown at the Electronics Entertainment Expo. Konami announced today "Yu-Gi-Oh: Falsebound Kingdom" for GameCube. The game is set to be released in Japan this winter. The point of the game is very simple: your mission is to take over surrounding areas and defeat enemies that are camped in those areas. Updated: 6/26/2002 Riverdeep and BAM! Entertainment today announced they have entered into an exclusive agreement to extend the award-winning Carmen Sandiego brand to the video game market. The first Carmen Sandiego video games are scheduled to be in stores for the 2003 holiday season. 3D0 announced today "Army Men: Sarge's War", the sequel to the 2 Sarge's Heroes games on the N64. This time around, Sarge's pals have all been destroyed by the Tan Army, so he's out for revenge all by himself. The game will focus more on combat tactics and fast-paced action than before. Look for it in spring 2003. Interactive Imagination has announced the Magi-Nation animated series, debuting this fall with a minimum of 23 episodes. The cartoon has been planned as part of the Magi-Nation property for years, and now it's finally happening. You may recognize Magi-Nation as a Game Boy Color RPG, or the popular collectible card game. Interactive Imagination is currently working on the GBA sequel, and knowing them, there will be some interesting tie-ins with the show. It was revealed earlier today via Capcom that Capcom vs SNK 2 EO will released on July 4th in Japan for an estimated 4,800 yen - the same price as the GBA version. The GC version of the game also comes with its own Memory Card 59. Capcom announced today that Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis will arrive for GameCube at $19.99 a piece sometime later this year. Keep in mind both of these games are direct ports, hence the extremely low price. Updated: 6/25/2002 Gamers.com revealed earlier from Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer after an interview he had with the Japanese newspaper, Nikkei, that the next iteration of Xbox, Xbox 2(tentative title), will debut sometime before the next World Cup soccer tournament, which is in 2006. No other details regarding the platform were released. This means Nintendo's next console will be out sometime around 2006...however, thats not necessarily true. It was revealed earlier today that the new Kirby anime, "Kirby: Right Back at Ya!", will premier in the US on FoxKids Sep.14 and will feature 52 original episodes. Nintendo has just finalized plans for Pokemon Festa 2002, a tour across Japan to promote Pokemon on the GameBoy Advance. Nintendo plans to hold separate events in various cities featuring playable kiosks of their latest handheld Pokemon adventure. Pokemon Festa 2002 will start on July 20 and festivities are expected to run from approximately 9AM-4PM at each location. This will be one of the many things Nintendo will be doing instead of SpaceWorld. The Friday before last saw the release of Pikmin across Europe. To celebrate this, human Pikmin "helpers" were on hand to help customers carry their shopping and choose games in the London, Leeds and Manchester Electronics Boutqiue and other game stores. The Pikmin were there at noon when the special "Pikmin Plants" were given away. Updated: 6/21/2002 Nintendo Dream reported earlier today that commercials for Super Mario Sunshine will go on the air starting June 29. The commercial will feature in game footage and will sport their new catch phrase - "The best adventure of Super Mario will be realized on the GameCube." As an update to the previous post, Nintendo Dream revealed earlier today that Nintendo of Japan is reporting that though SpaceWorld is cancelled this year, they are looking into holding smaller events throughout Japan so fans everywhere can have a chance to play the Nintendo titles. Updated: 6/20/2002 Some new details regarding the storyline of Super Mario Sunshine have been revealed. We already know that Mario is on vacation on an island, and is accused of vandalizing the island's buildings. So you set foot to discover who has framed Mario. The newest issue of Famitsu gives new clues as to who might be responsible. The suspect looks like Mario, except he is composed mostly of water, and carries a paintbrush and leaves a signature letter "M" with two dots over it wherever he strikes. This obviously leaves Bowser and Wario innocent. However, they still could make an appearance in the game. New Technix revealed today that they received word from Nintendo France Managing Director Stephan Bole, that there will be no SpaceWorld in Japan this year, the reason being because events such as E3 are more international, etc. It is currently unknown if Nintendo will consider SpaceWorld events in 2003 and beyond. Similarly, Nintendo of France does not know if there will be a Nintendo Show 2002 which takes place in London. I will report on this topic again when Nintendo of America and Nintendo of Japan also confirm this news. Nintendo is expected to come out full force at the ECTS show in Europe if there is no Nintendo Show. Judging by the success and awards Nintendo consoles and games received at E3, they stand a good chance of holding their own and showing their best against the competitors in events like the ECTS and the Tokyo Game Show(TGS). ATI Technologies, Inc., the creator of the "Dolphin" chip for the GameCube, today reported revenues increased marginally during the third quarter to (US) $266.2 million from (US) $266.0 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2002. Gross margin also improved 1.2 percentage points to 35.0 per cent. Have you ever looked at the newsstands and noticed all the Xbox and Playstation 2 magazines? Have you ever noticed that the only Nintendo magazine is the official one, Nintendo Power? Magazine publishers such as Ziff Davis ignore the Gamecube because they don't think its own magazine would sell anything. Its own multi-platform magazines seem to ignore Nintendo even while the others have their own magazines as well. It's time we had a Nintendo magazine that Americans can call their own. If you would buy a Nintendo-only magazine, click the following link and sign this petition. Click here. The newest issue of USA Today wrote a couple articles about Nintendo, Eternal Darkness, and their outlook on mature gaming. You can find the first article here, and the second article, here. It's a very interesting read, and I highly encourage you to read it as well. Japanese gaming magazine, Famitsu, released the console hardware sales for the week of May 27th through June 2nd in Japan. There were a total of 4,118 GameCubes sold that week, with a total of 441,087 this year. Xbox jumped ahead of GameCube in sales that week, but GameCube will surely explode ahead of Xbox the following week with it's new price and the upcoming release of Super Mario Sunshine on July 19(the #2 most wanted title in Japan). Updated: 6/19/2002 The Top 10 Games of the month of May were released today by Yahoo! Reuters. Resident Evil for GC made No.6 and Spider-Man: The Movie for GC made No.9 on the list. 2 GBA games were also on the list, DBZ: Legacy of Goku(No.2), and Super Mario Advance 2(No.10). GameSpot revealed earlier today that Quest has handed over their software development division to SquareSoft. Quest was reaponsible for such games as Ogre Battle 64 and the recently released Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis, as well as all the other games in the Ogre Battle and Tactics Ogre series. Yasumi Matsuno, creator of the Ogre Battle series, recently commented that the rights to any future Ogre Battle games belong to Square. Rumor has it that Square's acquisition of Quest could be all part of their plan to revitalize their relationship with Nintendo. Updated: 6/18/2002 Dengeki Online revealed earlier that a Super Smash Bros. Melee concert is being held on August 27 at the Tokyo Festival Hall. Admission is 3000 yen and advance ticket sales begin June 17. The concert is being performed by the New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra. The concert will consist of 14 songs. In addition, the show will be interspersed with special appearances by the games director, Masahiro Sakurai, and the voice of Kirby and Ness, actress Makiko Ohmoto. Nintendo also hinted at the appearance of a special guest, whose identity is currently a mystery(probably Shigeru Miyamoto). To see the complete list of songs being played, visit Gameform.com, who has translated the news into English. The official winners of the E3 Game Critics Awards were released today. Nintendo pretty much stole the show, as they won most of the awards. Zelda got the award for Best Console Game and got runner-up for Besty of Show. Metroid Prime got runner-up for Best Action Game, Mario got runner-up for Best Action/Adventure Game, and the WaveBird conrollter picked up Best Console Hardware. To see the complete list of winners, check out E3's Awards website. Game Developer magazine has published the results of its annual game developer salary survey in the July 2002 issue. The survey indicates that the game development industry has remained healthy despite the downturn in the overall U.S. economy. "Games are becoming an ever greater force in mainstream entertainment and culture, and with this trend comes increased interest in career opportunities in game development," said Jennifer Olsen, Editor-in-Chief, Game Developer magazine. "And because game development combines both entertainment and high-tech, the industry is well positioned to thrive in a variety of economic conditions." Interesting. The International Game Developers Association (IGDA) will host the full article online starting July 18, 2002 at www.igda.org/salary.htm along with other resources for careers in game development. Midway Games announced today that, effective immediately, David Cox will serve as Senior Vice President of Sales for North America and C. Steve Booth will serve as Vice President of Licensing. Ubi Soft announced today that they have begun development on a port of the PC game, The Settlers. The game will be the 5th in the series of the popular PC game, and will be coming to consoles for the first time. Look for the strategy/simulation game sometime next year. Sega announced today that Sonic Team will be unveiling the newest game in their famous Sonic the Hedgehog series at the World Hobby Fair in Japan. At this time, it is currently unknown as to which platform(s) the game will be on. Super Monkey Ball 2 will also be on display at the show, via Amusement Vision. Rumor has it that the next Sonic game will be appearing on GameCube, considering the awesome sales of Sonic Adventure 2: Battle. Updated: 6/17/2002 Encore Software, developers of Dragon's Lair 3D, launched the official website of the game today. Dragon's Lair 3D is an upcoming game for the Nintendo Gamecube that follows the adventures of Dirk, a goofy but courageous knight. The website can be found here. 4Gamers announced today that they are developing a 5 inch high-resolution, backlit LCD screen for Nintendo GameCube. It features 2 headphone sockets as well for maximum gaming experience, as well as built in speakers. It also features an adapter that you can plug into the cigarette lighter in your car, powered by the car engine, for gaming on those long car trips. Look for it on 4Gamers website. Updated: 6/14/2002 THQ Inc. Chief Executive Brian Farrell said on Friday that cuts in the price of the PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube consoles have spurred sales of its video games, and should keep demand vibrant throughout the year. "This is the slowest seasonal time, but what (the cuts) will really do is set the stage for the fall selling season," he said. "To be up 20 percent in May and June is great, but if we are up 20 percent in September through November, that is the exciting part." Nintendo.com announced today that the Gamecube Modem Adapter is to be released on September 16, 2002, and the Broadband Adapter a few days later on September 30, 2002. Both will have a MSRP of $34.95. Updated: 6/13/2002 Nintendo Co. Ltd. announced today that GameCube sales have more than tripled in the week after the price was cut 1/5th in Japan. GameCube sales rose to more than 18,700 units in the week beginning June 3, when the Kyoto-based company cut the price to 19,800 yen ($157.50), from about 5,400 sold the previous week, according to Media Create Co., an industry research company. Cutting prices has also helped Nintendo's rivals Sony Corp. and Microsoft Corp. increase sales of their consoles, PlayStation 2 and Xbox. While reducing prices may boost sales temporarily, releasing popular game software is needed to sustain the increase. Updated: 6/12/2002 Want to get a WaveBird for $7 less? Wanna get MORE than one? Use the code ACCESS20 at EBWorld.com for 20% off Accessories. Expires June 13th at 2PM EST, so hurry! 4Gamers announced today the stunning SPC602 2.1 Speaker System, for use with the Nintendo Gamecube. The SPC602 2.1 Speaker System offers unrivalled sound through 2 dedicated satellite speakers and gut-thumping bass through a central subwoofer which compliments the Nintendo GameCube console in both size and looks. Plug a portable CD, MiniDisk or MP3 player into the SPC602 2.1 Speaker System and enjoy music playback beyond what your ghetto blaster can produce. The price for the sound system and the date of it's release are currently unknown. Updated: 6/11/2002 Electronic Arts announced today that they have acquired Black Box Games, the company responsible for developing such games as the Need for Speed series. Black Box will continue developing games as a wholly-owned EA subsidiary. DreamCatcher Interactive Inc. announced today that they have signed an agreement to co-publish six highly anticipated games from Wanadoo Edition for all consoles and PC in North America. Universal Interactive announced today that they will be developing 'The Hulk', a game based on the comic book character, the Incredible Hulk. The game will coincide with the movie release based on the comic book character, being directed by Ang Lee(of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon fame). The movie and the game are set for a Summer 2003 release. The Climax Group today took a major technological step forward in the development of cross-platform games with the unveiling of Blimey, a powerful new game engine that drastically reduces development times. Created by some of the most experienced programmers in the interactive entertainment industry, the Blimey technology has been specifically designed to meet the needs of the Climax Group and allows for the rapid development of games on PS2, Xbox, Gamecube and PC. Updated: 6/10/2002 IGN.com is now INSISTING(not confirming) that Rare, 2nd party Nintendo developer, has gone 3rd party. They have no details, but they are a heck of a lot more sure than they were when they brought it up a month or so ago. IGN claims that the develops will make an announcement of it's own sometime soon. More on the situation as it develops. Gamers.com revealed today that Adult Link will be appearing in the GameCube version of Namco's Soul Calibur 2 as a hidden, unlockable character. Apparently, he won't require any sort of special hardware link-ups or anything to unlock, although the method of unlocking him may very well differ between the arcade and home versions. It's pretty safe to assume that Link will NOT be in the PS2 and Xbox versions of the game. We should have seen something like this coming when Miyamoto hinted that Sonic might be appearing in Mario Kart. The Adult Link in SC2 will most likely look like the Link from the SpaceWorld 2000 video. Midway Games Inc. announced today that its Board of Directors has authorized a twelve month, $25 million common stock repurchase program. The purchases will be made from time to time in open market or privately negotiated transactions. The timing and actual number of shares to be purchased will depend on market conditions. All shares purchased will be held in the Company's treasury for possible future use. Midway has approximately 48.2 million common shares outstanding. Updated: 6/9/2002 Eternal Darkness, the long-awaited creepy time-travelling action/adventure game from Silicon Knights, is released on June 24. Just an interesting fact: there is also a lunar eclipse that day. Of course, the "coincidence" was fully planned and besides being just generally cool and creepy, it may be a clue that eclipses factor into the game's story, which has been previously indicated by promo art. Updated: 6/6/2002 Earlier today, Nintendo announced something that many believed would come one day: Nintendo believes that todays consoles are as powerful as they need to be, and that Nintendo wants to focus mainly on software now, and not worrying about having the most powerful hardware platform. Does this mean Nintendo is dropping out of the hardware race like Sega did? HELL NO! Nintendo's new stance is coming up with new and original software and expanding upon their existing franchises. This was emphasised at E3 this year with their "Game Giants" mantra. So what will happen if Nintendo (and Sony, Microsoft) can't deliver on original game experiences, and rely on better hardware? "The effort to produce machines with better technology has reached its limit," Satoru Iwata, President of NOJ said. "If things continue, they may lead to the decline of the entire game industry." Well said, Iwata-san. CEO and long-time corporate leader Vince Caluori has announced his retirement from Wizards of the Coast, known for making trading card games of Pokemon and Magic: The Gathering. David Gosen of Nintendo recently spoke out on Microsoft's sales claim. At this year's Electronics Entertainment Exposition (E3), Microsoft reported that 500,000 units were "sold" in Europe. David Gosen says this isn't true, and that Microsoft only sold about half of that number. Microsoft Xbox ad showing life from birth to death quickly has been banned in the UK. The ITC said they received 136 complaints on the television ad. It showed a childbirth, followed by the fast-forwarding of life, ending in a grave. A Microsoft Spokeswoman stated, "The Xbox philosophy is that we need to find more opportunities in daily life to play. The advert was supposed to symbolize that life is short and life is precious." Microsoft also said it was intended as a "positive life statement". BAM! Entertainment announced that it has hired Yves Legris as Executive Vice President and General Manager. President of Nintendo Co. of Japan, Hiroshi Yamauchi, commented today in a meeting that Square's new "Final Fantasy" game for GameCube could be release as early as this year and that it will be "groubd breaking software". Nintendo's new prez, Satoru Iwata, also commented that the market for online games is still too premature at this point and that Nintendo has no plans to release online game software until there are estimates that they can make equal sales to standalone software. Translation: NO FINAL FANTASY XI. DFC Intelligence recently researched online gaming and it's future, and predicted that "114 million people worldwide are expected to be playing online games by the year 2006". Does this mean Nintendo has been wrong about online gaming all along? Yahoo! Reuters revealed today in a press release that Nintendo Co. Ltd. aims to sell 50 million of its GameCube game consoles globally by March 2005. It still has a long way to go, however, to catch up to Sony's PlayStation 2, the dominant home video game platform worldwide with more than 30 million units shipped since its debut in March 2000. Nintendo launched the GameCube last September and has set a shipment target of 12 million units for the business year that started in April, compared with Sony's target of 20 million PlayStation 2s. Updated: 6/5/2002 Nintendo confirmed the release date for several titles today. Apparently, Treasure will be helping developing Wario World, which is expected to be released in Japan in December alongside Zelda. Mario Party 4 is set for a November Japanese release. Updated: 6/4/2002 Nintendo of Japan's website announced today that the Memory Card 251 will be released alongside Super Mario Sunshine on July 19(in Japan). The Memory Card 251 will retail at 2000 yen (around $16 US). On a side note, the Wave Bird controller has not yet to receive a release date. Also, last week Nintendo released their financials. Net sales have increased by 20% while operating profit has decreased by around 3%. Net profit has increased by around 10% due to an inexpensive yen, strong sales of Game Boy Color, the smooth transition to GBA, and the strong sales of Super Smash Bros. Melee. Prima Games has announced today a deal with Infogrames to write, publish and distribute guides based on Infogrames titles in North America. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Among the Infogrames titles that fall under the agreement are: Stuntman for the PlayStation 2, Unreal Championship for the Xbox, Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee for the Nintendo GameCube and Unreal Tournament 2003. It was revealed today that the Gameshark for GameCube has been delayed until August 2002. Pre-loaded with hundreds of codes for the hottest GameCube video game titles, the GameShark for GameCube features a powerful game enhancement software engine surrounded by an easy to use software interface. Included along with the software is a specially designed 1x memory card that will store thousands of new GameShark codes as they are released on GameShark.com, which is updated daily with new codes and game saves for existing and new GameCube titles. Access impossible to reach levels, give yourself infinite lives, ammunition, time and more. Updated: 6/3/2002 According to NPD Funworld's April 2002 Video Games Software Summary, Activision was ranked the #1 publisher for the month of April. Activision increased its market share in the U.S. console business to 15.3%, for the month, as compared to 6.1% for the same period last year. The company's dollar sales increased 179% over last year's comparable period. During the month, Activision was the only publisher to have a top-five title on each of the next-generation console platforms. Nintendo released a statement today saying that their Lawson Loppi rewrite system, which allows consumers to write Super Famicom or Gameboy Color games onto flash cartridges, will end on August 31. From September 1st and onwards, Nintendo will be accepting returns of the cartridges for refund. They will stop selling Super Famicom Memory Cassettes and Gameboy Memory Cassettes on June 30th. Starting today on Cartoon Network, Nintendo's newly acquired "Hamtaro the Hamster" liscense will be airing the TV show twice every weekday. Check you local listings for details. Updated: 6/1/2002 Nintendo of America's Gamecube site has received a facelift recently. It now has a very sleek design for the coming age of Nintendo gaming. Check it out at Nintendogamecube.com. Japanese gaming mag, Famitsu, released today a list of the Top 30 best selling games in Japan. Only 3 GameCube games made the list. Animal Crossing grabbed the No.16 spot, Kyojin no Doshin, jumped into the No.22 slot, and Biohazard landed the No.29 spot. The rest of the games on the list besides 4 GBA titles and 1 GB title, were PS and PS2 games. Please note there was not a SINGLE Xbox game on the list.