Friday, 9/12/03
Capcom To Release More Mega Man Games
Capcom has announced a special Mega Man Anniversary Collection game
for the GameCube (and that PS2 thing) in February 2004, consisting of
Mega Man 1-8 and the two Japanese Mega Man arcade games, as
well as commercials, bonus features, and the like. The soundtracks have been
updated as well, which seems to imply that many of these games might be drawn
from the Mega Man series updates on the Playstation. What makes this
information puzzling is that Capcom states there are 10 games on the disc,
but goes on to say the games come from the NES, SNES, PS, Arcade, and Game Boy. If the Game Boy games are included,
the number of titles should be higher than 10.
The GBA will be receiving Mega Man Zero 2 later this year, possibly in
October, featuring the same basic gameplay found in Mega Man Zero.
GBA Gadgets: Video Phone and Fan?
A company named DigitalAct is releasing a Campho Advance
video phone cartridge for the GBA
this December in Japan. It cartridge contains a miniature video camera, and
displays the images on the GBA screen. However, the cartridge must be hooked
up to a phone (either cell or standard, it seems) in order to send the images.
EAGB
has a lovely picture of the unit in action. It also has a photo of a bizarre
GBA SP speaker/fan peripheral, designed to keep you cool.
Rumors, Rumors Everywhere...
More rumors are brewing in Japan, and still without much solid information.
However, some Japanese kids magazine ran a rumor that Nintendo's secret GBA
game would be a remake of Pokemon Green/Red (blue and red to us); as a
result, most websites are now running articles saying Nintendo announced this.
In other news, there are rumors of a new GBA F-Zero game, and a really odd
rumors that Nintendo will release a Zelda compilation disc containing
just the two NES games. While some of these might end up coming true (the
F-Zero one seeming most likely, as a cartoon is being launched in Japan),
there isn't any proof of any of them, yet.
Thursday, 9/11/03
Worldwide F-Zero GX Competition
On September 25th, there will be a world wide
F-Zero GX Championship, run by Nintendo. Much like the Mario Golf tournaments,
you will enter a secret code to unlock the contest mode, and receive a password recording your
best times, for entry on the website. It appears the contest will run globally; that is, it
will begin and end at the same time for everyone, and you will be competing against players
from every nation. No information on what prizes, if any, will be offered.
16 Player Mario Kart: Double Dash?
During a recent interview, a NoE executive told Computer & Video Games that the
upcoming Mario Kart will allow two players to control a single kart. One player controls
the driver, the other controls the "weapon man" in the back seat. This could explain the rumors
of a 16 player game, although as of yet the maximum confirmed number of players is still 8.
Sonic in Billy Hatcher
It appears Sonic the Hedgehog is a hidden "animal helper" in the upcoming Billy Hatcher
game.
No, this isn't a slow news day; why do you ask?
European "Club Nintendo" Too Popular
NoE opened up their revamped "Club Nintendo" on Monday, with games and other nice trinkets
available for purchase with Nintendo Star points (obtained when you buy new Nintendo games and
hardware in Europe). The demand was so great it temporarily shut down the "Club Nintendo" server
and wiped out the entire inventory of nifty trinkets. NoE promises to restock and reopen the
system soon. In theory, we gamers in the USA will be introduced to a similar system in the
future, allowing us to cash in on our game purchases.
AOL and Nintendo Partner
Nintendo has chosen AOL as its "official ISP" partner for the GameCube, yet has yet to announce
a single online game. AOL will promote Nintendo games and systems through their service, and
Nintendo may help with AOL broadband promotions. Nintendo did specify that this is not an
announcement of an upcoming online game. There are so many funny things about this, not the
least being the "Will not work with AOL" notice on the Nintendo Modem Adaptor box.
Perhaps Nintendo, Sega, and AOL will fix this so that Phantasy Star Online players
can use AOL in the future.
More Rumors - Zelda Disk
Game Informer, and several other sites, are currently running a rumor that Nintendo will
either release a Zelda compilation disc OR a Zelda Disc/GameCube system bundle this winter.
The rumor is that the disc will contain the original Legend of Zelda, Adventure of Link,
and Majora's Mask, and that the bundle will also come with the Ocarina of Time disc
and Wind Waker.
This seems like a fairly fuzzy rumor. Legend of Zelda
is an unlockable game in Animal Crossing (via an upcoming eReader card), so it seems
a bit unlikely for Nintendo to make it available twice, based on their past behaviour. Aside
from that, Walmart and Nintendo have been selling a Zelda bundle for a while now (the GC with
Wind Waker, the Ocarina of Time/Master Quest bonus disc, and a GBA-GC link cable).
While Nintendo might be planning to promote a Zelda bundle this winter, it seems unlikely to
include the two NES Zelda titles and Majora's Mask (which, in our opinion, is more likely
to be a preorder bonus for the eventual sequel to Wind Waker).
Tuesday, 9/09/03
Eidos USA Claims GameCube Still Slightly Viable
The president of the USA branch of Eidos announced that Eidos was still
open to publishing titles on the GC whenever it thought they might sell.
This might imply that these would be USA only releases, though, especially
given the GC's low sales in Europe.
Player Choice Line Update
Late this month, Nintendo officially add Metroid Prime, Animal Crossing,
and Super Mario Sunshine to the $30 "Player's Choice" series.
At the same time, it will drop the M.S.R.P. on Pikmin, Starfox Adventures,
and Luigi's Mansion to $20. Interesting how Super Smash Bros. Melee
seems to be staying at $30, isn't it?
Bonus Disc #2 Is Coming
If you preorder Mario Kart: Double Dash, you'll get a free bonus disc
of demos and movies. The problem is that we can't seem to determine if this
disc comes when you preorder or when you pick up Mario Kart in
November. More news when we determine this, most probably by nabbing it
ourselves.
Ikaruga for $20
Best Buy's online site is selling
Ikaruga for $20. This is an unusual update, but it seems worth it
in this case.
Monday, 9/08/03
Eidos Drops GameCube "Support"
Eidos announced they no longer have plans to support the GameCube, making sure to include some
smarmy phrases like "the GameCube is a declining business" and "if other companies follow us
they will have a hard battle to fight." In case you had forgotten, Eidos published
The Italian Job, Hitman 2, Blood Omen 2, Swingerz Golf, and Time Splitters 2, although
several of those titles were developed by outside companies, so there is still a chance for
future Eidos published games to appear on the GC through a third party. In addition, Free Radical
(developers of the Timesplitters games) are reported to be looking for a new publisher
for their next title.
GTA GC Update
When asked about the possibility of a GC release of Grand Theft Auto, Take-Two gave
the standard response of "evaluating the system" and indicated that future releases could
appear on the GC. Of course, given that the GTA/VC bundle is coming out on the Xbox and not
the GC at the moment, a future GC release seems quite unlikely.
More $30 Player's Choice Title
Animal Crossing, Metroid Prime, Starfox Adventures, and Super Mario Sunshine
are supposedly to be added to the $30 line of Nintendo's Player's Choice series.
N-Gage in Japan
Hee hee hee. N-Gage. Hee hee hee.
A limited sale of the N-Gage is planned for Japan. Let's see if it can outsell the Xbox.
N-Gage. Hee hee hee.
