UK-based developer Rage Software will make games for the GameCube.

Rage Software, owner of the David Beckham soccer franchise, has announced their newly aquired license to develop for Nintendo GameCube. The company hopes to release its first GCN project late next year and plans on creating a wide range of products based on its licensed franchises.

Paul Finnegan, Managing Director of Rage, commented: "We are delighted to have secured this agreement with Nintendo as it gives Rage the opportunity to work with all three leading players in the console market. We look forward to bringing a range of high quality and compelling games to the Nintendo GameCube platform."

Later GameCube titles will sport the number of blocks needed right on the case.

When a gaming system relies on memory cards alone, running out of space is a constant fear. When the North American game packaging was finally revealed, some people (including yours truly) became worried, for the memory block usage was nowhere to be found. This was quite peculiar, as the Japanese disk cases did include the memory card information.

Fortunately, Nintendo has become aware of the potential memory bind gamers could get themselves into and has taken action. According to a Nintendo representative, upcoming games will include "a gauge or meter near the Memory Card icon on Nintendo GameCube software packaging which will indicate the number of blocks of information the game uses to save progress." Apparently the change in layout was made after the initial manufacturing process for game cases commenced. The added information will be present on all new Nintendo games starting December 3rd, and common sense suggests that 3rd party games will have the memory block information by then as well (if not earlier).

A Boo to you from Planet GameCube!

Halloween is a time of witches, ghouls and ghosts… It’s a holiday of tricks and treats, monsters and mayhem; bloody corpses and free candy. Simply put, it’s one of the coolest holidays ever.

It’s also the last day of October and the dawning of November is but hours away. Halloween is the last major holiday prior to GameCube launch and the day of reckoning draws ever closer. There’s nothing scary about that of course, unless you’re worried about something like this happening…

We’ve just got first word that GameCube kiosks are hitting stores. Updated! We’ve got a full list of the kiosk contents!

Some time ago, PGC had heard playable kiosks would appear in late September. Some video displays of GameCube have shown up, but outside of the Cube Clubs, nothing has been playable yet. According to TendoNext, Toys R Us have reported that they expected kiosks around November 1st. This date seems to be solid, as we have just received word of a playable GameCube display. More will undoubtedly follow in the days to come. Instead of having just any singular game playable, the kiosk runs a demo disc with Luigi’s Mansion, Rogue Leader and Wave Race: Blue Storm all playable and a movie you can watch too.

Nintendo has released another clip in its amusing Internet advertising campaign.

Nintendo’s website has just updated with an all new video clip in its amusing “Save Your Hands” online ad campaign. The new clip features the testament of a GameCube fan’s patience. Nintendo also posted an explanation for the series:

Based on the insane entries that we received in the "What would you do for a Nintendo GameCube?" Contest, we know that gamers everywhere are going crazy with anticipation as the November 18th launch draws near. To capture the extremes some players might go through keep their hands in top condition for gaming on Nintendo GameCube, we created the "Save your hands." series of humorous short film clips. You'll only see these on the Internet!

One of the coolest game makers in the world is looking into possible NGC development.

According to GC-Inside, Japanese development house Treasure have announced it is currently evaluating the GameCube as a console opportunity and are very much interested in creating games for the platform if the investigation goes well.

Treasure was formed when its president Masato Maegawa became independent of KONAMI in 1992, taking with him developers who worked on some of the first Contra and Castlevania games. Since then, Treasure has gained a fantastic reputation for creating noteworthy games that are creative and action-packed. Past Treasure releases include Gunstar Heroes, Alien Soldier, Dynamite Headdy, Mischief Makers, Bangai-O and Sin and Punishment.

Finally, a reason to watch MTV!

According to AdAge.com Nintendo has quite the deal with the MTV network. On November 17th, one day before the GameCube's launch, MTV will have a live GameCube countdown clock running. It's not confirmed exactly how this will work, but most likely there will be a GameCube ad accompanied by a clock running in the corner of the screen the entire day. It's not known if there are any other live MTV promotions in the works, or if it will just be the countdown. Of course, we here at PGC are pretty sure you'll have much more fun watching out brand new Flash GameCube countdown!

Cartoon Network's newest hero will be making his way to multiple platforms.

If you watch Cartoon Network, you've probably heard about Samurai Jack. It's the channel's newest original series. They have been promoting it left and right, and for good reason. The show has already met with great press and reviews.

The plot of Samurai Jack goes something like this: The village Jack grew up in was terrorized by the evil villain known as Aku. Jack's mother took him away from the village and gave him his father's sword. From then on, Jack trained to become more powerful and destroy Aku. When he was finally strong enough he went to fight the vile shape shifting beast. Jack had almost won, but at the last second, Aku ripped a hole in time and threw Jack into. Now Jack has to fight in the future, a future dominated by and even more powerful Aku.

SNK was a 2D champion, hardware pioneer and an arcade mainstay. Sadly, the company has now closed up shop and has a final message for the fans.

The developer SNK should be a familiar name to any self-respecting were the creators of popular game series such as Ikari Warriors, Samurai Showdow (Samurai Spirits), Metal Slug and most notorious of all, King of Fighters. It also produced a variety of Neo-Geo hardware systems for both home and arcade. Although there was no denying SNK’s ability to produce quality software, the first Neo-Geo home console and its games were priced far out of reach for the average consumer. In recent years, SNK released a promising new handheld system, the Neo Geo Pocket but it failed to take off.

There are pre-orders available, but only if you have a little money to spare.

KB Toys has opened its GameCube store for business. The systems are available in $399.99 bundles, not unlike Amazon's deal. But featuring only three games (varying with the package chosen) along with a memory card, there is a significant amount unaccounted for (around $35). You can also buy the jumbo package, which includes seven games, a second controller and a memory card for a whopping $649.99, which is $50 above the expected price.