Wrestlemania X8 is still a few months away, but THQ is keeping us busy with four new games for Nintendo's systems.

Yesterday, THQ announced that it had shipped Sonic Advance, Columns Crown, and Puyo Puyo Pop to retail stores across America. All three games are being published under THQ's GBA co-publishing deal with Sega. Sonic Advance, coincidentally, is the first game released in America to feature GBA/GC connectivity. (The link cable will be released next week alongside Sonic Adventure 2 Battle.)

Electronics Boutique is selling a number of GBA titles for dirt cheap! Get yours now!

In case you haven't had your eyes open, EB is selling some of their GBA software at really good prices through their online store.

Notable among their offerings are Castlevania: Circle of the Moon (Konami) and Frogger's Adventures (Konami) for $19.99, even less than what they're asking for pre-owned copies!

Capcom has announced 2 seperate Biohazard packages for Japan when it releases next month. Zombie killin' importers be alert!

There will be 2 versions of Biohazard released in Japan. You can get Biohazard with or without a memory card. Whether it's a special edition memory card or not is still to be determined. Also the number of blocks Biohazard requires is still unknown.

Pricing of Biohazard is 6800 yen alone, 7800 yen with a memory card.

It may or may not be indicative of anything, but NOA has an interesting poll on its web site...

NOA's GameCube Zelda profile has a poll asking gamers what they think of the "toon-shaded" Zelda. So far the overwhelming majority prefers a realistic look while a decent number claim not to care. It seems Americans don't like the new look as a whole. Shigeru Miyamoto has claimed people are getting... Read more...

Nintendo of Japan updates its web site with more information on the game that Charles Darwin would love to play.

Nintendo of Japan has recently updated their website with information about Doubutsu

Banchou. Most of the information is covered in our preview, but Nintendo

has also released additional screen shots and information. Doubutsu Banchou will utilize 13 blocks of memory. To see more about the game, simply follow the links

Planet GameCube hiring? If you’re reading this from Australia, and have excellent writing skills…read on.

Planet GameCube is looking for an Australian Correspondent. We’re looking for someone currently resides in Australia, and knows and understands everything that’s going on with Nintendo in Australia. You constantly comb the web and other sources for anything and everything Nintendo.

You... Read more...

The industrious folks at Core Magazine have posted an interview with Namco's President, Youichi Haraguchi (translated from Famitsu).

There's not much new info here, but GameCube is mentioned a few times such as in this quote:

Haraguchi-san: As previously announced, we plan to release Soul Calibur 2 simultaneously on all three consoles. Outside of that, we're working on several GameCube titles which are targeted for early 2003.... Read more...

Finally! A boxing game Mike Tyson doesn't need a license to use in the state of Nevada!

Acclaim Entertainment, Inc. Brings Portable Pugilism to Game Boy Advance With 'Punch King'

Game to Feature Most Boxers Ever in a Hand-Held Game

GLEN COVE, N.Y.--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--Feb. 1, 2002--Delivering a mighty, 1-2 combination of arcade action and boxing fun, Acclaim Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ.SC: AKLM), today announced that it will release Punch King, a new boxing game for the Game Boy® Advance in the spring.

Could a vibrating controller be harmful to your health?

There is a disease called "Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome" which is caused by prolonged exposure to vibration, commonly caused by industrial tools like jackhammers. There are some scientists in London that now believe that videogame controllers that vibrate can cause similar maladies in children.

Our close friend Steven Kent takes a hard look at the gaming war going on. So who's winning, and who's losing? Finally, main stream press that doesn't suck.

MSNBC have posted an article looking at the no-holds barred competition of consoles. Is Nintendo the clear cut winner? The article doesn't actually name who the champ is, but it does explain what Nintendo is doing wrong right now, and what they can do to get back out on top. Okay, it's a bunch... Read more...

DBZ is coming to Nintendo in GBA games and a GameCube title. Get info on all the games here.

Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball saga is popular all over the world, with the craze exploding in North America in recent years. Although Japan saw many Dragon Ball Z games released alongside the manga and anime, Long time readers of PGC will remember just after E3 when we confirmed DBZ would come to... Read more...

Pre-order Doubutsu Banchou and Lead the Animals with this cool controller accessory!

Doubutsu Banchou will be available for pre-ordering now that February has come, and those who put their yen down before release will get a cool GameCube controller cord accessory as a bonus! Just look for shops proudly displaying the Doubutsu Banchou pre-order poster to get yours!

The newest Bomberman games go under the Famitsu knife for dissection.

Weekly Famitsu took a close look at the twin Bomberman games scheduled for a February 7th release. They gave decent scores, and mentioned a number of things of interest.

Bomberman Max 2: Bomberman Version and Bomberman Max 2: Max Version (otherwise known as Red and Blue to the US market) were... Read more...

How did the numbers fall for Nintendo in its homeland this week? Come and see!

Game Title

System

Maker

Last Week's Rank

Week Before Last's Rank

This Week's Sales

Total Unit Sales

1

Gran Turismo Concept 2001 Tokyo

PS2

SCE

1

2

32,510

280,895

2

Mobile Suit Gundam Federation Vs.

Mega Man fans in Japan will be able to purchase yet another specialty GBA for their collection.

Just follow this link to Capcom's Japanese website to catch a look at a special edition GBA that they are offering with the new Rockman.exe 2. You can pick up the MegaMan colored GBA with Rockman.exe 2 packed in for only 110 dollars (it would be the same price to buy the game and a normal GBA separately).

An interview with Enix reveals the company's situation with GameCube.

In a recent Core Magazine interview, Enix's Mr. Honda has disclosed that the popular developer plans to support GameCube, "keeping a close eye on its performance." He then said Enix "plan[s] to support the GameCube, [but] specifically what titles and when they'll be released is being determined now." Mr. Honda also explained that though Enix is considering Xbox development it must first evaluate its performance in Japan.

For the price of 3 Photoshops, you can now get your hands on a GameCube graphics development tool.

Web Technology is releasing “OPTPix iMage Studio 4.2 for Nintendo GameCube” this February in Japan. OPTPix iMage Studio, a graphics development tool for GameCube, runs on Windows 98/Me/XP/NT 4.0/2000, and retails at 343,000 yen (around $2600) per license. The software is capable of S3TC compression... Read more...

Rumors that Kyojin no Doshin would coincide with the launch of the SD Memory Card have been proven false by Nintendo recently.

Rumors have been flying recently regarding the March release of Kyojin no Doshin (sometimes referred to as Doshin the Giant) for the Nintendo GameCube and its possible connection with Matsushita’s long awaited SD Memory Card. However, although many had hoped that Kyojin no Doshin would be released alongside the SD Memory Card, a recent Nintendo conference explained that it would work with the standard Memory Card 59.

Applied Microsystems signs on a Japanese distributor to help out developers in Japan.

In the past, GameCube developers had to burn a new copy of a game if they made even the slightest change to the code. This obviously becomes more annoying toward the development process, when a developer needs to tweak the code to finish. All the discs that need to be burned takes up time and money.

Planning ahead? Gonna be in Europe this Auguest? Read on!

GDCE DATES CONFIRMED

CMP Europe Ltd. confirms dates for second Game Developers Conference Europe

CMP Europe has confirmed that GDC Europe will be held on August 30th and 31st 2002 at ExCeL, London. The event will take place immediately prior to CMP’s flagship European games show ECTS, which will also be held at the same venue.