News Comes From Cube.ign.com

The SD Card Adapter enables GameCube owners to connect SD cards to the console and save data from specific games to them. The data can then be transferred to a computer and traded with friends over Internet e-mail. SD Card holders may also download data from Nintendo that can be saved to the devices and then used in some GameCube titles.

The first title to use the SD Card Adapter will be Animal Crossing e+, a Japanese conversion of the US Animal Crossing +. Players will be able to trade data without going to their friends' houses in the game by using the cards. The title is scheduled to ship in Japan on June 27.

The bad news is that the SD Cards cannot substitute for standard Memory Cards because games have to be specifically programmed to make use of them. Therefore, older software will not work with the storage devices, as much as gamers might prefer to transfer all of their data to the larger-sized media.

According to Yahoo News, Project Manhunt is due in October 2003, while both The Warriors and Max Payne 2 are due in 2005, the same year the next generation of systems are believed to be launched. The systems on which these games would appear was not revealed. Which leads us to believe -- speculatively, of course -- that both of those games will appear on the next generation of systems (i.e. PS3, GameCube 2, Xbox 2 and the Phantom 2, etc.).

Although we spoke with Rockstar Games officials today, the company's policy is to not comment on rumors. A source close to Rockstar Games said that the information in the article is definitely not concrete, but is possible.

"We don't really announce the Rockstar games until very close to release, because we don't want anybody copying us," Lapin said in the story.

Of equal interest is that the Rockstar's potential move to put GTA III and GTA: Vice City on Nintendo's GameCube and Microsoft's Xbox. One month after Rockstar publishes the next GTA game (due in 2004) and completes its exclusivity agreement with SCEA, it will publish GTA III and GTA: Vice City on GameCube and Xbox.

Crystal Chronicles, an original GameCube RPG developed by Q-Fund backed Game Designer's Studio, takes players to a stylized world brought to life by a compelling storyline saturated with magic and battles. The title employs unique GBA-link functionality that enables players to connect four separate handhelds to the GCN and use them as controllers; they can even play on-screen simultaneously in cooperative mode. Private information will also be displayed individually to each GBA connection encouraging players to communicate with party members to solve puzzles, cast magic and negotiate deals.

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, the first FF title to hit the handheld, has already sold nearly 500,000 copies in Japan and it's barely been available two months. The title boasts entirely new characters, stories and game systems, according to Nintendo, and it also supports GBA game link functionality.

Sword of Mana for GBA is a 2D action role-playing game complemented by huge game environments, an alternating story depending on the chosen character, and more.

All three titles will be shown in playable form at the Electronics Entertainment Expo 2003, which begins this May in Los Angeles.

"Together with the millions of Final Fantasy and Mana fans around the world, we are excited about the release of these three titles in North America and Europe," said Yoichi Wada, president of Square Enix Co., Ltd. "Not only do these titles offer a unique gaming experience, but they will cultivate a new and broader audience for both Square Enix and Nintendo around the world."

"The Final Fantasy franchise is one of the most renowned and revered series in interactive entertainment," stated Peter MacDougall, executive vice president, sales and marketing, Nintendo of America. "The wide range of innovations found in each of these games will attract both Nintendo fans and critics, continuing to cement our commitment to provide only the most forward-thinking products to consumers."

"We are developing a new home video game console with a plan to release the new system around the same time as rival makers do," said Iwata. "The PlayStation 2 debuted one-and-a-half years ahead of the GameCube. If we had launched the GameCube at the same time as PlayStation 2, the result would have been different. ... We will get ready for a (new) battle in 2005 although foreign game developers are now saying that rival next-generation systems won't come until 2006."

Iwata emphasized Nintendo's plans to stick in the console industry by saying, "When we withdraw from the home game console, that's when we withdraw from the video game business."

Iwata also commented on Nintendo's current strategy: "Our focus for 2003 is to offer new types of games which allow consumers to play both on the GameCube and Game Boy Advance."

Nintendo's newfound focus on the future can perhaps be attributed to its most recent sales reports, which put it in close competition with Microsoft's Xbox for the number two spot in the industry behind Sony's mammoth PS2 market share. Nintendo missed projected sales of 10 million GameCube systems by 10%, as well as falling short of its projected 55 million units of software sales.

On a down note, when asked about these lacking sales, Mr. Iwata blamed the videogame market, saying, "Consumers today apparently don't want to sit in front of the television to play games for hours and hours." This comment leaves us completely baffled, as we're not entirely sure how the president of NCL hasn't noticed the millions of PS2 units shipped each month, in addition to the 1.5 million copies of Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto: Vice City that shipped from retailers during the month of December alone.

The unit, called the Game Boy Advance SP, will be a foldable version of the GBA that, most importantly, features a front-lit LCD screen that can be turned on and off during play. The GBA SP will be released in Japan on February 14th for 12,500 yen. The system will go on sale in the US this March 23rd, the two-year anniversary of the GBA system's Japanese release. The device will retail for $99 in the US, but it will not replace the current Game Boy Advance system

The Game Boy Advance SP system will feature a rechargeable, replaceable battery pack that gives the GBA SP system approximately 10 hours playtime with the light on, 18 hours with the light off. The unit will be sold in two colors: Platinum and Cobalt. The unit can fully charge its battery in three hours through the AC adaptor.

December 18, 2002 - According to Bloomberg Japan and tracking service Media Create, Nintendo's Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker has debuted in Japan to sell over 400,000 copies within its first week of release.

This bolstered sales of the console to over 65,000. Compare that to the roughly 25,000 it sold in Media Create's last report, and it can be assumed that this spike is a result of the release of Zelda, one of the most recognized franchises in the industry. In contrast, Sony's PlayStation 2 sold over 115,000 units and Microsoft's Xbox over 13,000.

Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, the latest in Nintendo's Zelda series, takes child hero Link into the future approximately 100 years after the events that unfolded in Ocarina of Time. The game, directed by Eiji Aonuma (Majora's Mask), employs cel-shaded graphics for a fluid, stylized toon look.

"We were surprised consumers tracked the program in Japan and were begging us to do it here. We decided it was a great idea and one we know consumers really want," explained Peter MacDougall, executive vice president, sales and marketing, Nintendo of America. "The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker game raises the bar on digital entertainment with a unique and technologically advanced graphic style and compelling story. Making this pre-sell program available to the fans, it solidifies Nintendo's commitment to the hardcore gamer, while introducing the series to a whole new generation of gamers."

September 20, 2002 - CNN Money is reporting that Seattle-based Microsoft has bought former Nintendo second-party Rare. The news comes on the heels of Nintendo's announcement yesterday that it had sold its 49-percent stake in the development studio. "We sold our position back to Rare and then they sold the entire company to Microsoft," said George Harrison, senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications for Nintendo of America.

According to CNN, Nintendo will still retain the rights to any of its original characters including Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong and Star Fox. Rare and Microsoft, however, will own the rights to licenses Perfect Dark, Conker, and Banjo-Kazooie. Perfect Dark for N64 sold more than one million copies and earned some $55 million in sales. A GCN version of the title was previously underway and is likely to have been scrapped in favor of an Xbox release.

Nintendo reiterated to CNN that it turned down the chance to buy Rare outright. "We passed on this opportunity for very good business reasons," said the company's US president Peter MacDougall.

In Rare's absence, though, Nintendo will continue some of the licenses it worked on, including both Star Fox and Donkey Kong. Harrison said: "We actually have a new Star Fox game under way. We have Namco developing that in Japan. ... It is a GameCube game. My understanding is it will come out in the second half of 2003. And we're going to be getting started on our own Donkey Kong product internally."

Your favorite turtles are back where they belong.

September 10, 2002 - In an announcement made today by 4Kids Entertainment (the worldwide agent and co-producer of the upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series), it was confirmed that Konami has once again obtained the exclusive development and publishing rights to the property that they once helped put on the map with videogames over a decade ago.

4Kids' and Mirage's exciting plans for the all-new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are designed to take this universally popular franchise to new levels of success," said Kazumi Kitaue, Konami Corporation Executive Officer, CS Division. "The new Turtles television series offers extraordinary creative opportunities for video game designers."

Gary Richardson, CEO of Mirage said, "We're thrilled to partner with Konami to produce video games based on the all-new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series. With Konami back as videogame publisher and Playmates Toys continuing as master toy licensee, we're excited to be working with the team that helped Mirage create the original success of the franchise. We can't wait to see samples of the new Konami TMNT video game on the big screen at E3 in May of 2003."