N-Run
What we lack in decent page design, we make up for with lackluster articles
and late reports.
Friday, March 19, 2004
Wacky Game Deals Update
It appears that the Toy R Us / Amazon online store is now selling Freedom Fighters for $19.99. They also have Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup for $19.99 and the GBA game Iridion II for a mere $9.99. In addition, Circuit City's online store has Kemco's Rogue Ops for $14.99.
Mysterious Delay for Kirby
The newest GBA Kirby game (Hoshi no Kirby: Kagami no Daimeikyuu) was scheduled for a release in Japan in just a few weeks, but it has been delayed. It currently has no estimated release date, and there are few details on exactly why the game got delayed.
New GameCube Model Coming
Nintendo plans to begin selling a slightly altered GameCube system in Japan. The primary differences seem to be that the digital A/V port will be missing and that the little black "GameCube" cover disc will no longer be removable. This does not necessarily mean that the new GC units will fail to provide high quality video, and NCL seems to be planning some sort of "adaptor cable" which will allow owners of the new model GC to utilize its high definition video capabilities.
PlanetGameCube recently contacted Nintendo of America, and they were told that all GameCubes produced in the future will be of this new design. In addition, NOA says that there are no plans for an adaptor cable in the USA, but that they are considering a "trade-in" program so that buyers who desire the digital video option can exchange their new model GC for the older one.
Price Adjustments for Japan
NCL announced that it would be reducing the price of several new games, as well as the GC and GBA SP systems, by about 5%. The reason is that a new Japanese business law requires all items to be labeled with their price after the standard 5% tax has been added; the new law will make all games look a little more expensive to the consumer, and possibly affect game purchases. To counter that, Nintendo's price reduction plan will result in games retaining the same shelf price that they always have, even though the actual price (before taxes) will be a little less.
Europe Gets Nintendo Coupon Book
European gamers who purchase either a GBA SP or a GameCube during the month of April will be eligible to receive a coupon booklet from Nintendo, featuring discount coupons for games, theme park admissions, and more.
Thursday, March 18, 2004
Weird Gaming Deals
Toys R Us has the GameCube version of Freedom Fighters on sale for $19.99, but it appears to be an in-store only promotion (it still sells for $50 on the TRU/Amazon site). Harry Potter Quidditch is also selling for $19.99, should you be interested.
Resident Evil 4 Information Hits the Web
Most major gaming sites are now running detailed articles concerning the newest build of Resident Evil 4. Sadly, N-Run wasn't invited to along with the "big boys", so any comments we would make would be pure and rampant speculation.
Pikmin 2 eReader Support Possible
Scans of the Japanese cover art for the upcoming Pikmin 2 show a GC-GBA link logo in the bottom right corner, with an eReader set in the GBA u nit. This is Nintendo's method of indicating eReader support in a GameCube title. So far eReader compatibility hasn't been officially announced, and it is quite possible that the current boxart is simply a mockup. If eReader support is in the Japanese version, there is still no guarantee that it would be in the international versions of the game.
GBA SP "Girls Edition" Site Now Active
Nintendo of Spain has activated their website for the upcoming GBA SP "Girls Edition" system. We ran a brief article on it a few weeks back. Visit www.nintendogirls.com to take a look at the shiny pink system.
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles #1 Game of February
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles was the best selling game of February. Doesn't that just bring a twinge of joy to your heart?
Final Fantasy Returns to the GC?
Nintendo of Europe's official United Kingdom publication recently ran a "rumor" that Square/Enix might be working on a new Final Fantasy game for the GameCube. It's rather confusing as to how an official publication can run a rumor, as you'd assume that Nintendo would know whether such a game was being developed or not. Don't get your hopes up yet... especially as the rumor goes on to state that the game will draw elements from FF VII/VIII/IX.
Tuesday, March 16, 2004
New Player's Choice Titles
On April 19th, the Player's Choice version of Metroid Prime will be reduced in price to a mere $20. Beginning April 29th, Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour and Wario World will be $30 Player's Choice games, and F-Zero will become a $20 Player's Choice game.
Should you care, Finding Nemo has just become a $20 Player's Choice title as well.
DS Info: Stylus and Messaging?
CNNmoney ran an article today, commenting on a report put forth last week by American Technology Research. The report says that the Nintendo DS will offer local instant messaging via RF radio transmission, making use of a stylus and on screen keyboard to input text. It's unclear as to whether this is just speculation, or whether American Technology Research is basing this upon private viewings of the DS technology. If such features are built into the DS, it is possible that the wireless network capabilities might only extend a few hundred feet, or they could cover a large city area. Nothing is really known at this time.
New Fire Emblem
It seems that the official NCL Fire Emblem site has been recently updated, and now says that news on a new Fire Emblem game will be coming in April.
Monday, March 15, 2004
More Games We May Never See
Jaleco plans to release a special Jajamaru Jr. Denshouki - Jaleco Memorial GBA cartridge in Japan, later this year. The cartridge will feature updated and enhanced versions of a variety of Jaleco's Famicom games, including City Connection, Excelion, Formation-Z, Ninja Jajamaru Kun, and Jajamaru no Daibouken.
GBA Comics in Japan
AM3, the company responsible for the GBA media player in Japan, recently announced plans to begin distributing comics for the GBA as well. AM3's licensed media player uses a GBA cartridge with a specialized flash memory card reader, allowing gamers to download films from kiosks and then play them on their GBA.
It might be a safe to assume that this is just a media announcement. That is, these comics might be downloaded to flash memory cards, but used on the AM3 media player cartridge. It would seem silly for AM3 to release both a "media player" and a "comics viewer" cartridge, when a single cartridge with the ability to read either kind of media would do just as well.
Even More Viewtiful Joe Rumors
New rumors are coming out about a Viewtiful Joe sequel for the GameCube, featuring a two player mode (Joe and Sylvia). The problem is that this rumors comes from only once source, a Hong Kong gaming magazine called "Game Watch". For now, take this with a little grain of salt... there's no need to get disappointed already.
Then again, we were wrong about that Zelda Collection disc.
Nintendo Patents Aspects of GBA Emulation
It seems that in 2000, Nintendo filed for a patent concerning certain aspects of GBA emulation. The patent was granted this year, and Nintendo has begun brandishing it in their efforts to shut down the many programmers of GBA emulators. The patent itself covers:
We've been told that the patent filing itself could be read in a much more restrive manner. Whether the patent could be used to stop all GBA emulation is a matter that seems uncertain.
In Stores This Week...
Another week, another selection of (mostly) quality games.
GameCube: Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life, Bomberman Jetters, and MVP Baseball 2004 (yeah, it was out last week).
Game Boy Advance: Wade Hixton's Counter Punch.
It appears that R-Type III was released at some point over the past two weeks. Sadly, few stores seem to actually be carrying it.
