Well wishes from our director.

I would like to wish everyone the best on this Christmas Day. This message is a bit late if you've been celebrating Hannukah or Kwanzaa, but I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday no matter what occasion you are enjoying this time of year.

Although Planet GameCube does not take a break from updating over holidays, many of our staff are at home with their loved ones while continuing to finish up this year's reviews and keeping up with what little news is breaking. We have been working hard behind the scenes to repair what damage was done to the site recently, and the work is progressing steadily. We hope to have most pages working by the dawn of the new year. At that time, we'll switch back to posting new content on the site instead of in our Talkback forums. Please bear with us as this process continues, as our staff are having to contribute their free time over the holidays in addition to their other duties on the site.

Preorder Pokémon Colosseum and get a special bonus disc!

Nintendo fans who preorder Pokémon Colosseum between February 9th and the game’s release on March 22nd will receive a bonus disc full of Pokémon goodies.

Besides giving players a preview of the GameCube game, the bonus disc will contain footage of the upcoming Pokémon movie, Pokémon: Jirachi Wish Maker. Most importantly, players will be able to download their very own Jirachi from the bonus disc to their copy of Pokémon Ruby or Sapphire on the GBA! Whether or not the preview of Pokémon Colosseum is playable or not is undetermined.

Nintendo's odd little gaming device is selling well in some of China's major cities.

The iQue Player, Nintendo's crack at an anti-piratable gaming device in China, is selling well in the country that is known for producing pirated games. Major Eastern Chinese cities such as Shanghai and Guangzhou were the first to offer the product to consumers, and Nintendo wants to distribute the product further into China, eventually hoping to have the product available in "thousands of stores."

The iQue uses proprietary media cards that slide into the controller-shaped player, and is Nintendo's best effort in trying to prevent illegal copies of their games being distributed in China. Sony was planning on releasing the PlayStation 2 in China this past Saturday, but decided against it at the last moment, citing an "unfavorable environment," one that Nintendo and the iQue seem to be doing well in.

People like Silver. People like Black. Why not buy both?

DID YOU KNOW?

Nintendo Announces New, Limited-Edition, Two-Tone Game Boy Advance SP

December 18, 2003 - To celebrate the best year in the 14-year history of the Game Boy® video game system, Nintendo announces a new, limited-edition, two-tone version of the popular Game Boy® Advance SP. These special models, available starting Feb. 9 at an MSRP of $99.99, will have Platinum bases with Onyx lids, for a silver-and-black look that's sleek and unique.

Konami takes another stab at licensed anime franchises.

Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. Signs Agreement to Develop "Shaman King" Video Games

New Los Angeles-based Operation Continues to Build Repertoire of Licensed Content

LOS ANGELES, CA - December 18, 2003 - Leading Los Angeles-based videogame publisher, Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. (KDE) (CEO: Kazumi Kitaue), announced today that it has secured the licensing rights to develop videogames based on the internationally acclaimed anime series, "Shaman King"(tm) (by Hiroyuki Takei) for the North American and the European regions. The company will publish games based on "Shaman King" starting with one for Sony PlayStation®2 and one for Nintendo GameBoy® Advance. The games are slated for release in North America in summer 2004 and 4Kids Entertainment (President and CEO: Alfred R. Kahn) will be responsible for the licensing program for this title. The games will also ship in Europe, coinciding with the launch of the animated TV series.

Nintendo and Panasonic say good night to the Japan-only DVD-GC hybrid.

Those interested in importing a DVD/GAME Player Q should do so immediately. Panasonic recently announced that it will no longer produce its Q DVD/VCD player, also capable of playing Nintendo GameCube games. This move is likely due to the product’s slow sales, especially after the standard GameCube price drop.

The Qs currently in stores, which retail for 34,800 yen ($324), are the last ones available.

Nintendo of Europe's release schedule for 2004.

Nintendo of Europe have published their expected release schedule for GameCube and Game Boy Advance next year. Notable titles include:

GameCube

20th February 2004 - James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing - Electronic Arts

26th February 2004 - Kirby Air Ride – Nintendo

11th March 2004 - Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles – Nintendo

March 2004 - Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes – Konami

Q1 2004 - Sonic Heroes – SEGA

Huge numbers for Mario Kart and GameCube sales.

DID YOU KNOW?

November TRSTS Update

December 16, 2003 - In the race to be the best-selling video game this holiday, only one competitor can get the checkered flag. In November, that game was Mario Kart®: Double Dash!!™, exclusively for Nintendo GameCube™. According to NPDFunworld's November Toy Retail Sales Tracking Service (TRSTS), approximately 528,000 copies of Mario Kart: Double Dash!! were sold, easily besting any other video game on any system.

See what the next VF game is going to look like with this hefty download.

The screenshots that have been floating around for this game haven't really shown what the game is all about. However, Sega-AM2 has recently added a movie to the game's webpage, and after watching it, you'll have a better understanding of what to expect from VFCG.

The trailer serves as the story setup for the game, but since you probably don't understand Japanese, you'll just need to settle for watching it. As previously reported, the game is an RPG, but instead of casting magic or using weapons like other games in the genre, it appears you'll learn fighting moves from the original Virtua Fighter crew and use your fighting skills to beat the crap out of your enemies.

Ebay sellers begin sobbing due to loss of massive profit.

While searching through Capcom's American online store for information on the Mega Man Anniversary Collection for the GameCube, I stumbled across another Mega Man game -- one that has not yet been officially announced by Capcom, yet is on their store. The game, Mega Man Mania, is a Game Boy Advance compilation cartridge in honour of Mega Man's 15th anniversary. While not much is known about the cartridge, the following information is on the game's page:

Mega Man I to V for the Game Boy will be available on the cart. Mega Man IV and V in particular are very difficult to come by on Ebay because of their scarcity, and are highly sought after.