Friday, 8/29/03
Viewtiful Joe Bobbleheads
If you preorder Viewtiful Joe at GameStop/Funco, it appears you will receive a
Viewtiful Joe bobblehead. There is no sign as to when these will first be given away,
nor if this deal is only good at that chain, so keep your eyes open.
Iwata to be Keynote Speaker at Tokyo Game Show
As the Famicom's 20th anniversary is this year, it seems NCL president Satoru Iwata will be
delivering the keynote address. The address will focus on the Famicom's impact on the gaming
industry as well as what lies ahead for the industry as a whole. While this news was revealed earlier this
year, the dates of the show were recently released (Sept. 26th-28th), so it bears repeating.
Earlier reports stated that Nintendo would not be taking part in the Tokyo show other
than for this address, but now it appears that Nintendo might have an exhibition booth there
after all.
Rogue Squadron 3 Bonus Disk Update
It appears that some retailers already have the Rogue Squadron 3 bonus disk in stock.
Early reports even indicate that a few are attempting to sell it, much like they did with the
Nintendo Demo Disk not too long ago. Most stores should be receiving their bonus disks soon,
as the "official" starting date for the promotion is September 1st; you might, however, want
to check with your local game stores to see if they already have the disks in stock.
Just in case you have no idea what this article is talking about, Lucasarts is running a special
preorder incentive for their upcoming Rogue Squadron 3 game. If you preorder, you will
receive a bonus disk containing videos, playable demos of upcoming Lucasarts titles, and the
original arcade Star Wars game (by Atari).
Mario Kart: Double Dash Preorder Disk Disappointment
It seems that the upcoming Mario Kart title will have a "free bonus disk with
preorder" incentive, but that the disk will be comprised of new demos only. Rumors had been
spread earlier this month that the disk might contain one of the earlier Mario Kart titles,
Paper Mario, or even Super Mario 64; all rather unlikely titles to be made part of
such a promotion. More clarification will certainly come, so keep your eyes open.
Harvest Moon Delayed
... and there was much weeping and grinding of teeth.
Look for this title sometime late this
year or early next year.
Fansites Run Kid Icarus Rumors
In some recent interview, Dennis Dyack (of Silicon Knights) was asked what games he'd like a
chance to make or remake. Dennis mentioned Resident Evil and Kid Icarus. Using this
tiny bit of information, rumors are now spreading that Silicon Knights has taken over the Dead
Phoenix game from Capcom and is reworking it into a Kid Icarus title. There is, as of yet,
no truth to this, and it is quite unlikely that an outside company would take over a half developed
game as it is. Another thing that makes this even more unlikely is that the producer of Viewtiful
Joe was asked about Dead Phoenix by a few gaming sites recently, and he said that
Dead Phoneix wasn't canceled and was still in development. Some, of course, will say
that this is somehow undeniable proof that the game is being reworked into an Icarus
title, but some folks also believe Nintendo and Microsoft have a secret agreement in the works
to merge.
Soul Calibur 2 - GameCube Version Selling Well
While there are no real stats to prove this, a variety of stores report that the are selling
many more copies of the GC Soul Calibur 2 than they are of the PS2 and Xbox versions.
While this is all hearsay so far, it is interesting. We'll have to wait and see how the sales
look at the end of the month.
Japanese Famicom Game Museum Exhibit
The Tokyo Visual Culture Center is planning a special exhibit of all the Famicom games released
in Japan (over 1,200, it seems). The exhibit should be on display from Dec. 4th until Feb. 8th,
assuming everything works out. You see, the museum is attempting to receive permission from the
copyright owners to have all the cartridges and disks on display, but they have been unable to
locate the current owners of 23 titles.
Game Music and the Grammies?
The Game Audio Network Guild (a professional association for game composers and musicians)
is pushing to get a Game Music category in the Grammy Awards. The Guild, and others, have
managed to get game music entered into awards categories before, but this is unique in that
it would be an award only for game music. The G.A.N.G. gave the Academy of Recording
Arts & Sciences (the folks who run the Grammies) a list of game soundtracks that could be
considered for such an award.
The Nintendo GameCube soundtracks submitted include
Viewtiful Joe, Phantasy Star Online, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, Metroid Prime &
Fusion, The Legends of Zelda: Wind Waker, and Final Fantasy Tactics. It's not clear
from this list, but it seems that the submissions are not necessarily the actual in game soundtracks,
but often the OST and orchestrated soundtrack CD's instead.
In Japan, PS2 Outselling the GBA SP Again
Oh well. On a good note, the GameCube is outselling the Xbox by a factor of greater than
30 to 1.
Namco to Bring Another RPG to the USA
The Namco RPG Baiten Kaitos is supposed to be coming to the USA sometime in 2004.
European Gaming Awards
Both the Leipzig Game Show and the European Computer Trade Show have awarded their best of show awards.
For the ECTS, Advance Wars 2 got "Best Handheld Game" and Ubi Soft's upcoming XIII
got "Best Console Game". At the the Game Show in Leipzig, the Best GameCube Game award
went to Mario Kart: Double Dash and best GBA game to Golden Sun: The Lost Age.
These shows don't have very many award categories, it seems.
Fluff News Time
It appears that NOA Vice President of Marketing and Corporate Affairs, Perrin Kaplan, gave
birth to a daughter this week while playing Donkey Kong Country on her GBA. Yes, this
is a weird news post, but it gives us all a reason to speculate about Nintendo's advertising
and marketing problems during the past nine months.
EA to Support the N-Gage
Hee hee hee. N-Gage. Hee hee hee.
EA has yet to announce a single title for the N-Gage.
N-Gage. Hee hee hee.
Thursday, 8/28/03
F-Zero GX Available in Some Stores
If you aren't busy with Soul Calibur 2, pick up F-Zero GX this week.
Free eReader with Classic GBA
Nintendo plans to start packing a free eReader device in with the original model of the
Game Boy Advance. As the Game & Watch and Super Mario Bros. 3 cards are coming,
this is actually a fairly intelligent move. Of course, the question is raised of why anyone
would buy a standard GBA when they could get the SP for just $20-$30 more.
Very Little to Report Today
The disadvantage of running a site focused on only bringing you relevant news is that sometimes
there is no news. Check back later today, just in case.
N-Gage Battery Must be Removed to Change Games
Hee hee hee. N-Gage. Hee hee hee.
River City Ransom is coming to the GBA.
N-Gage. Hee hee hee.
Tuesday, 8/26/03
Game Release Chaos
If you are one of the insane few, you might have been up at midnight this morning to
pick up your copy of Soul Calibur 2 from any retailer dedicated enough to sell games
at midnight. If so, congratulations, although most of us will be satisfied when we pick it up
later today. On a related note, F-Zero GX might have a shipping date of today listed,
but it probably won't show up in stores until Wednesday at the earliest. Should you walk into
your local Crazy Game Boutique R Us, kindly refrain from shouting at the clerk when they
refuse to sell you a game they don't have in stock yet.
Another Mortal Kombat Game Released for the GBA
Mortal Kombat: Tournament Edition has been released for the GBA. Yay. One interesting
thing about the game is that it can be linked to the previous GBA MK game for two player
gaming with a select few characters, common to both versions of the game.
"Free" Mario Boxer Shorts
If you buy a pair of "Change Daily!" boxer shorts, you can mail your in your proof of
purchase and receive a "Limited Edition Nintendo boxer shorts" featuring glow in the dark
Mario imagery. Excited, aren't you? They aren't quite free because you do need to buy a
standard pair and you also need to pay $5 for shipping, but if you feel like taking part in
"Mario's Underwear Adventure" (real name, sadly), visit
http://www.changedaily.com/nintendo_splash.html
Mario Golf Tournaments & Free Stuff
In case you haven't been paying attention, a few retailers have been holding online tournaments
for Nintendo's Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour, and these tournaments actually come with
prizes. All entrants receive something, but the tournaments are almost over. The
Target Bullseye Tour (CEUFPXJ1) ends August 31 and comes with free wristbands.
The Hollywood Video Tour (BJGQBULZ) also
ends on the 31st, but all entrants receive a necklace. To enter a password, go to the title/
"Press START" screen, hold Z and press START. A new option marked Contest will appear. Enter
the passwords there, play the tournament, then enter the new password you receive on the websites
mentioned earlier.
N-Gage Port of Sonic Advance is Letterboxed
Hee hee hee. N-Gage. Hee hee hee.
Super Mario Bros. 3 comes to the GBA this fall.
N-Gage. Hee hee hee.
Monday, 8/25/03
New GameCube Titles?
During the game show in Germany last week, Nintendo held a press conference.
As none of our staff have any fluency in German, we'll keep our observations
to the film reel that was shown at that conference. In the reel there are
a few clips of upcoming GameCube games that have become a source of
rampant Net speculation. These include:
The Sims 2 - In all probability, this game is the same as the
Sims: Living Large title shown at e3. The change in title might be for
the European audience.
Battlefield: 1942 and Need for Speed: Underground - these
were also shown, and are titles that were generally assumed to not be
coming to the GameCube. Are they coming, or is this a mistake on the part
of EA and Nintendo? At this point, no one is quite sure.
50-in-1 Game Boy Advance Game For Sale
This fall, a lovely title named Activision Anthology is coming to
GBA systems everywhere. It's essentially an Atari 2600 emulator with more
than 50 games packed inside, including some "home brew" games made by
2600 hackers during the past few years. What is especially interesting
that rumors say Activision isn't publishing this themselves; instead,
developer Aspyr Media will publish it themselves.
When you pick this game up, make sure to buy the Midway Arcade
Treasures disc for the GameCube -- $20 for the original arcade
Gauntlet, and over 20 other classic Midway/Atari/Williams. Unlike some of
the other arcade compilation discs, this selection features games from
from the mid 80's onward. It even supports dual joystick play for
Smash TV and Robotron: 2084. Life is good.
Activision Anthology: 50+ games, including
Baseball, Barnstorming, Beamrider, Boxing, Bridge, Checkers, Chopper Command,
Climber 5, Cosmic Commuter,
Crackpots, Decathlon, Dolphin,
Dragster, Enduro, Fishing Derby, Freeway, Frostbite, Grand Prix, H.E.R.O.,
Ice Hockey, Kabobber, Kaboom!, Keystone Kapers, Laser Blast, Megamania, Oink!, Okie Dokie,
Oyston,
Pitfall!, Pitfall 2, Plaque Attack, Pressure Cooker, Private Eye, River Raid, River Raid 2,
Robot Tank, Seaquest, Skateboardin', Skeleton+, Skiing, Sky Jinks,
Space Shuttle, SpaceThreat Deluxe, Spider Fighter, Stampede, Starmaster, Tennis, Title Match, Tomcat F14,
Thwocker, Vault Assault, Venetian Blinds, and Video Euchre.
Midway Arcade Treasures: 20+ games, including Blaster, Bubbles,
Defender, Defender II, Gauntlet, Joust, Joust II, Klax,
Marble Madness, Moon Patrol, Paperboy,
Rampage, Rampart, RoadBlasters, Robotron 2084,
Satan's Hollow, 720, Sinistar, Smash TV, Spy Hunter,
Splat!, Super Sprint, Root Beer Tapper, Toobin', and Vindicators.
Fansites Can't Count
An amazing number of websites are referring to the upcoming Namco Starfox
game as "Starfox 2". Aside from the fact that the name Starfox Armada
has been circulating since the first news of this project, the fact remains
that this game would be the third "real" Starfox game in the series.
This isn't really a helpful news post, of course, but at least it isn't
a press release.
Billy Hatcher and the GBA
If you recall, Phantasy Star Online 1&2 for the GameCube featured
a special GBA link up allowing you to play demos and minigames on your
GBA after unlocking them. It seems many of these games will be available
in Billy Hatcher, minus the $8.95 a month fee. Mini versions of
Nights into Dreams, Puyo Pop, and Chu Chu Rocket are
available for download, with other games rumored to be present as well.
It is assumed that the Nights game will be identical to the one
found in PSO.
Fire Emblem in November
Online game stores are listing Fire Emblem as an early November
release now. IGN has box art. We, however, have nothing, except a little
warm feeling in our souls, happy in the knowledge that Fire Emblem
might finally reach our shores this year. Of course, we used to say the
same thing about Magical Vacation...
Arranged Soundtrack of Little-Loved GBA Shooter
Perhaps the least loved of all GBA Shooters, Iridion 3D (and its
better programmed sequel) now has its own arranged soundtrack -- at least
in Europe. Visit the
Iridion Soundtrack page to order your copy. Or not.
Nokia Bribes Folks to Talk About the N-Gage
Hee hee hee. N-Gage Special Forces. Hee hee hee.
The GBA outsold the PS2 at several points during this past year.
N-Gage Special Forces. Hee hee hee.
