News/September 2002 Updated: 9/28/2002 Capcom had earlier announced a profit of 3.8 billion yen($31 million) for the end of the fiscal year, March 2003. Those projected numbers have now turned sour and Capcom has announced recently that they now expect to lose a ridiculous 12.7 billion yen ($103 million). Unfortunately, this makes it possible for the company to allow themselves to be bought out. Rumor has it that Microsoft representatives have already flown to Japan to talk to Capcom with intentions of buying the company. Neither Microsoft nor Capcom have commented on the situation. Capcom has been arguably giving Microsoft the short end of the stick, with few Xbox games, and just two being planned. Thus there is reason for Microsoft to be even more interested in buying Capcom. The huge debt Capcom has accumulated will weaken any arguments they have against being bought. However, some good news, there is another rumor going around that Nintendo is seriously considering buying out Capcom to fill Rareware's old shoes. More on the situation as it develops. Updated: 9/27/2002 Nintendo.com has updated their release list with a startling announcement. Apparently, the ultra-popular Return to Castle Wolfenstein will be coming to GameCube. Actually, the game is set for a November release. Not much else is known about the situation, but Activision(the publisher of the game) will no doubt add some GameCube-exclusive features like they did with Wreckless: The Yakuza Missions. XenGamers is reporting that Matsushita is planning on adding a new feature to its Japanese GameCube/DVD player, the "Q". Apparently, the new "Q" will have TiVo-like digital video recording capabilities. Now you can finally watch TV and play videogames at the same time! For those that are thinking of importing, no price has been set yet. In addition, Matsushita will still produce the original "Q" model. The new "Q" is scheduled for a Spring 2003 release in Japan. Updated: 9/26/2002 Empire Interactive announced today that they have acquired the publishing rights to create a game based on the upcoming Chow-Yun Fat movie, Bulletproof Monk. The game will be closely based on the movie, and will supposedly be released on all platforms sometime shortly after the release of the movie. Updated: 9/25/2002 Throughout the day, various sources have alleged that Mr. Shigeru Miyamato was found dead in his Tokyo apartment today (which doesn't make sense, considering he has a house in Kyoto) due to heart complications. Thankfully, they have been proven false, so you need not worry your little minds. Miyamato has never had heart problems, and the Associated Press did not send it down wire as originally thought. True Life, MTV's documentary series, has a future episode entitled True Life: I'm a Gamer. The cable network is looking for a few gamers to interview about why people get so heavily involved in video games that they ignore sleep, personal hygiene, etc. If you wish to contact MTV about being on the show, email them here. Simply give them your name, age, gender, email/contact information, and place of residence and a quick note about your obsession with video games. Updated: 9/24/2002 Microsoft OFFICIALLY announced today that they have bought out UK game developer Rareware in Seville, Spain at the Microsoft X02 event. At the event, Rare confirmed that they are already working on Kameo: Elements of Power and Perfect Dark Zero for Xbox. They also said they plan on developing 5 games for Xbox in the next 2 years(pfhh...yeah right!!!) Updated: 9/23/2002 THQ announced today that they will be porting Summoner 2 from the PS2 to GameCube. The port is being handled by Cranky Pants Games, who is also working on another unannounced game for GameCube. Look for Summoner 2 on GC sometime next Spring. Sega announced today that they will be teaming up with best-selling writer Michael Crichton to create a new game based on an original concept. The mystery game is set to be released sometime in 2004. Updated: 9/22/2002 According to anonymous sources within Nintendo of America, Nintendo will INDEED be allowing GameCube demo discs in the U.S. Apparently, the first demo disc to be released is Resident Evil 0: Zero. However, it is currently unknown how these discs will be distributed. Whether it be in stores, part of a pre-order deal, or in magazines; this information is not available. What IS known for sure is that the demo discs will be FREE. Sonic Team announced earlier today their next GameCube title, PSO Card Battle. PSO Card Battle will be an online game sharing the same lobby as PSO. Players will be able to chat and find other players to engage in a four player card battle. Sonic Team also stated that there would be two types of decks, a Hunter Deck and an Enemy Deck. Updated: 9/21/2002 Hudson Soft announced at the Tokyo Game Show earlier today that their biggest franchise, Bomberman, will be getting its own cartoon series entitled "Bomberman Jetters" sometime in October. Hudson plans on creating a game based on the cartoon set to be released this December on PS2 and GameCube. Updated: 9/20/2002 Rareware released a press release shortly after Nintendo saying they retain exclusive rights on Banjo-Kazooie(R), Conker(R), and Perfect Dark(R). Knowing Micro$oft, they'll probably turn B-K into a Halo-ish FPS shooter game. Tsk, tsk. Nintendo announced earlier today in a press release that they will retain the property rights for Donkey Kong(R), Diddy Kong(R) and Star Fox(R). According to Peter MacDougall, executive vice president of marketing and sales, "The disposition of this investment leaves us in a position to become even more aggressive in expanding our development capacity, both internally and externally. Aside from several partnerships already announced over the past year, we are currently in similar talks with several other prospective partners around the world." Updated: 9/19/2002 Blizzard Entertainment announced today at the Tokyo Game Show that it will be returning to consoles with StarCraft: Ghost, a tactical-shooter game similar to Konami's Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. Not much is currently known about the game, except that Blizzard expects to ship the game by Winter 2003. There is a mysterious picture floating around the Web supposedly advertising for an online Pokemon game. The picture shows a Pokeball with a phone jack, along with words that say, "The greatest opponent you will ever face...Is the entire world." Then it says at the bottom, "Capture them all over again in 2003, only on Nintendo GameCube". It is currently unknown if the picture is false or not, but I will keep you updated on the situation. Infogrames announced today that they will be bringing Men in Black II: Alien Escape to Nintendo GameCube sometime this Winter. Black Isle Studios(the RPG division of Interplay) announced today that Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance is indeed coming to Nintendo GameCube. Look for it sometime this December. Updated: 9/18/2002 NCSX confirmed today that importers have no need to worry anymore, as the Japanese 56K Modem is indeed compatible with the U.S. GameCube. This is a huge relief to those who imported Phantasy Star Online Episodes I & II. Updated: 9/17/2002 After all the rumors, Activision OFFICIALLY confirmed today that Wreckless: The Yakuza Missions is indeed coming to GameCube this coming Fall. Though the game is a port, it will feature 20 brand-new missions, two-player action, 16 more vehicles to drive with mounted rockets, new sub-missions, interaction with pedestrians, 60 fps gameplay and a "Free Roam" mode. Note that Wreckless was originally made by Rockstar for Xbox. Rockstar is also responsible for the huge PS2 hit, Grand Theft Auto 3. According to Nikkei.NET, after recording the highest profits for the third year in a row, without getting into any debt, Nintendo is the number one company on the Nikkei. No other company in the history of the Nikkei has acheived this status for three years in a row. According to anonymous sources within Nintendo, Zelda will NOT be delayed in the U.S. until June, and is still on schedule for it's February release. According to sources, Zelda is actually a lot further along than most think. Updated: 9/16/2002 According to Nintendo.com, Legend of Zelda GC could be facing another delay. Apparently, the game is now looking at a June 2003 U.S. release. However, another part of the site still says February 2003. Nintendo has yet to confirm this, so stay tuned. Updated: 9/14/2002 According to the newest issue of Famitsu, Capcom is working on a Mega Man game for GameCube. The game will apparently be an extension of the Mega Man Battle Network GBA games, and will obviously be able to link up to them somehow. Capcom plans to officially announce the game at the Tokyo Game Show later this month with more details. Updated: 9/13/2002 According to Gamesarefun, an interview with Shigeru Miyamoto revealed some startling information. First of all, he starts out by saying that Nintendo is actually very serious about online gaming. He then basically flat out hints that Mario Kart will be able to go online. He then says he guarantees that another Mario and Zelda game are in the works besides the ones already announced. He says unlike the ones currently in the works, they will take their respective series in an entirely new direction. Finally, Miyamoto promises that though 2002 was the year for their franchise character, Mario, 2003 will see the introduction of several new characters and original games. You can read the entire inter view here. The recently revided RareNet revealed today an exclusive story in which they interviewed anonymous employees of Rare and their take on the buyout by Microsoft. For the most part, most employees dont like the situation because it forces them to drop any half-finished games and immediately start working on a new one. You can read the story in its entirety here. Updated: 9/12/2002 Nintendo released a press release today revealing their stance about Microsoft buying Rare. In the press release, they said that during the fiscal year of 2001, Rare accounted for 9.5% of software sales around the world. In 2002, that number declined to 1.5%. Therefore, Nintendo says that the loss of Rare will hurt them very little. Star Fox Adventures, Rare's first and last title for GameCube, is still set to be released September 22. It is currently unknown what the status is on the several GBA titles Rare was working on. More on the situation as it develops. Sega of America officially confirmed today that Skies of Arcadia Legend will be released stateside sometime in January 2003. They also said that the game will have new sections that tell the characters' backstories and other events leading up to the original plot. Updated: 9/11/2002 Today is indeed a dark day for Nintendophiles. IGN revealed earlier today that Rare has OFFICIALLY been bought out by Microsoft. The story was confirmed anonymously by several high-level insiders. According to sources, Nintendo sold all of it's shares and it's 49% ownership of Rare, terminating the second-party status. So why haven't there been any announcements from Rare, Nintendo, or Microsoft? Allegedly, the details have not been finalized (i.e. character liscenses, etc.). Expect and official announcement from Microsoft at the Microsoft X02 Europe event on September 24. The LA Times recently wrote an article about the Rare situation. You can red it here Please note that you must register first. Updated: 9/10/2002 A court in Greece has thrown out the case against two internet cafe owners accused of breaking a law banning computer games. The ruling is the first of its kind in Greece and sets the courts on a collision course with the state. Legislation passed in July banned people from playing video games in public places like internet cafes as part of a drive to stamp out illegal gambling. The law has been criticised for not making a distinction between interactive gambling and computer games. The court, in its ruling, said the law was unconstitutional. About 300 supporters had gathered outside the courtroom in Thessaloniki on Tuesday, chanting "No to censorship on the internet". THQ announced today that its board of directors has authorized the repurchase of up to $25,000,000 of its common stock from time to time on the open market or in private transactions. There is a new rumor going around the Web that Nintendo may be buying Sega in the near future. It's possible that the reason Nintendo might be doing this is to soften the blow when Rare announces their stance with Microsoft. Please note this rumor has no evidence or proof what so ever, and should be taken as nothing more than a rumor...for now. Konami announced earlier today that they have officially acquired the liscensing rights to 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'. Konami plans on using the liscense to create games for GBA and all console based on the upcoming remake on the animated series, set to debut on Fox Box next year. Look for the game somtime next Winter. Nintendo has just announced the Animal Crossing "Deck Out Your Room" Sweepstakes. This is what you could win! One Grand Prize winner will receive the "Deck Out Your Room" package, just what’s needed to outfit their room for gaming, playing and general entertainment. You can register by going to www.AnimalCrossing.com. Enter today! Updated: 9/9/2002 GameSpot revealed earlier today that Nintendo has pushed back Wario World for the GameCube until the first quarter of 2003. The reason indicated for the delay is for Nintendo to focus more on the all-important fall lineup for GameCube that includes games like Star Fox Adventure and Metroid Prime. Nintendo needs ensured success for this holiday season, or else Xbox could pass the GameCube up. The new date for Wario World pits it in the same timeline as the launch of 1080: White Storm and The Legend of Zelda for GameCube. Updated: 9/7/2002 As we all know by now, Rare's newest game for Nintendo is Star Fox Adventures, set to be released on GameCube on September 23. We all also know there has been a nasty rumor that Microsoft is trying to buy out Rare from Nintendo. However there is new reason to believe that the Microsoft purchasing Rare rumors are false. Nintendo owns roughly 49% of Rareware and if Microsoft was to buy Rare it would only be under the permission and negotiation of Nintendo. Unless Microsoft was to buy 50 % of the company, then quite possibly the company with the most ownership would then become the one in charge. It then can change even more. If Nintendo owns half and Microsoft owns half, then there’s always that possibility of a company slit up. We really know little, but the possibilities are endless. Updated: 9/6/2002 According to National Console Support, those who plan on importing the Japanese version of PSO Ep. I & II, are in for a big disappointment. Apparently, the Japanese GameCube modem is NOT compatible with the U.S. GameCube. A few hours later, NCSX confirmed this, saying that neither Nintendo nor Sega locked out the Jap. GC modem or PSO. Sega supposedly released this information to Japanese distributors to discourage international users from bombarding/using their servers in Japan before the USA network is up. More on the situation as it develops. Updated: 9/5/2002 Nintendo revealed earlier today that more than 350,000 copies of Super Mario Sunshine have sold in the first 10 days in the United States. This is an unparalleled achievement that not even Xbox's Halo or PS2's Grand Theft Auto 3 managed. Super Mario Sunshine is already one of the 15 top selling console games for all of 2002, but will face stiff competition from other eagerly anticipated Nintendo GameCube titles through the remainder of 2002(Star Fox Adventures, Metroid Prime, Resident Evil 0, etc.) Updated: 9/4/2002 LucasArts revealed today that 'Star Wars: Bounty Hunter' will feature Skywalker Sound, a sound effects library containing more than 70,000 originally recorded sound effects. Now the game will look and sound stellar. Bandai, the maker of such brands as Gundam and Digimon, plans to develop games for Nintendo's video-game console, the first titles from Japan's largest toymaker specifically designed for the GameCube. The software will go on sale in Japan starting in November 2002, Nintendo will handle distribution while both take care of the marketing for the games. There will be five titles in total through March 2003. The titles include a Superman game (based on the comics), a war waging game, a fighting game, and a 3D action shooter. Updated: 9/3/2002 All month long, Wendy's fast food chains are giving away Mario toys with their kid's meals. There are five toys in all. There's a Mario and Chomp suction cup, a poseable action figure, a mini Mario Kart race game, a Mario Kart, and a mini Mario board game. Get yours now! In an attempt to stop "illegal gambling", the government of Greece has passed a law that simply makes all video games illegal. Apparently, the law is being enforced primarily in public places. It seems that the police are not raiding people's homes or anything like that yet. The law will likely be modified before it comes to that. An accused man will be facing trial next week, and if he is convicted, the case will likely be appealed to the "European Court". The Smash Brothers DX Orchestra Concert was held last week in Ueno, Tokyo. The sold out event featured 14 tunes from Nintendo’s popular franchises including Mario and Zelda. The audience consisted mostly of children accompanied by their parents. The producer of the event was the director of the game, Mr. Sakurai from HAL. Around 1,200 sheets of music were needed for the 14 tunes. And perhaps the biggest news for Nintendo fans everywhere is that the CD of the concert will be published this Fall in Japan by Enterbrain. Importers should not have any problems finding a copy. Bigben Interactive UK announced today that they have been officially appointed as the UK distributor of officially liscensed Nintendo Collectible Bobbleheads. Variations of the Bobbleheads include Mario, Link, Yoshi, and Bowser. Officially Licenced Nintendo Collectable Bobbleheads are set to launch early October, in time for the European launch of Super Mario Sunshine, and will have a retail price of £9.99. For those who live in the U.S. and want one, you can always import one, or wait a couple months for them to show up on eBay.