The ECTS 2003 Awards were presented yesterday with Nintendo picking up awards in two categories.

This year's ECTS awards were presented yesterday afternoon on the show floor.

The first category is "Best of Year", which includes "Game of the Year" awards for the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Scandinavia that are voted for by readers or the editorial teams of a media outlet from that country. The award for "Game of the Year UK" went to Pro Evolution Soccer 2 by Konami.

There are additional awards voted for by editorial teams of UK magazines, as well as 3 awards voted for on the ECTS website. These were:

NOA VP of Marketing and Corporate Affairs gives birth to an eight pound baby girl ... while playing Donkey Kong Country?!

The entire staff of Planet GameCube wishes all the best to Perrin Kaplan, Nintendo of America's Vice President of Marketing and Corporate Affairs, who gave birth Sunday to a 7lb. 15oz. baby girl at Swedish Hospital in Seattle, Washington.

In true Nintendo form, Perrin used her Game Boy Advance as her focal point, playing Donkey Kong Country while going through labor.

We hear that Beth Llewellyn is next up to deliver ... there must be something in the water in Redmond!

The Tokyo Games Show press machine has officially kicked off. Find out how NCL President Satoru Iwata will be involved.

Today the date and plans for the 2003 Tokyo Games Show were announced. It will take place in its perennial location, the Makuhari Messe in Japan, on September 26 (Friday) through September 28 (Sunday). As in past years, the first day is open only to business and press, but the other two days are open to the public.

Of special note this year is the announcement that Satoru Iwata, the top man at Nintendo Co. Ltd., will be delivering the show's keynote address. The scheduled topic of his speech is "20 Years After the Nintendo Famicom: The Past, Present, and Future of the Videogame Industry".

Find out what Nintendo have to display at ECTS this week.

Today the doors opened for this year’s European Computer Trade Show, part of London Games Week.

Nintendo’s stand is in front of the Earls Court 1 building, at the Brompton Road entrance. The area is accessible to all ECTS badge holders and is decorated with palm trees and white and red painted tyres arranged to resemble a go-kart track. As well as the promised truck with 48 stations GameCubes running, there are kart shaped seats and a big screen for 4-player Mario Kart in LAN mode.

The GameCube's Speed Force is just one of many from the emerging leader in gaming wheels.

Logitech Achieves Force Feedback Racing Wheels Milestone: More Than One Million Sold Worldwide

FREMONT, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 25, 2003--Logitech, a leading provider of gaming controllers for PCs and consoles, and a market leader in force feedback-enabled wheels, today announced that it has sold more than one million force feedback wheels worldwide since the original Logitech® Formula(TM) Force GP rolled off the production line in September 1998. Logitech has now brought to market eight force feedback-enabled wheels across the PC, PlayStation®2 Computer Entertainment System and Nintendo GameCube(TM) gaming platforms, and was the first company to introduce a force feedback wheel for any console.

Game Boy Advance SP sponsored the Frostfrench show at London Fashion Week on Monday.

GAME BOY ADVANCE SP SHINES AT FROSTFRENCH SHOW

Game Boy Advance SP, the most stylish games console in the world, last night made its fashion debut at London Fashion Week.

Game Boy Advance SP joined in the fun at the star-studded Frostfrench catwalk show at The Royal Horticultural Centre, London.

Joining the ranks of press and guests from all over the fashion world were supermodels Claudia Schiffer and Kate Moss, Dazed and Confused founder Jefferson Hack, Dan McMillan, Davinia Taylor, and Dita Von Teese, girlfriend of Marilyn Manson.

"I agree strongly with that point of view", says Carmack, when discussing Nintendo's plan to make games simpler.

In an interview with CNN Money, John Carmack of id Software and the man behind the upcoming PC hit Doom 3 agrees that games, specifically PC Role-Playing games, have gotten to be so complex, "they had to have a book ship with the game."

He goes on to detail the internal debates over simplifying the controls for Doom 3, and how you sometimes need to ignore your more supportive fans in order to give them what they really want, something Nintendo is frequently accused of doing.

Check out what sort of things you'll be able to do with your e-Reader and Super Mario Bros. 3.

On September 19, Series 1 of the Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 e-Cards will go on sale in Japan for ¥191 ($1.60) a pack. Since the game was first officially revealed, Nintendo has said that e-Reader support for the game would be included, and now we have an idea of what the cards will do for the game.

Series 1 will have 50 cards in total, with 25 "helper" cards, 14 "example" cards, and 11 "course" cards. The helper cards will make the game easier by giving you items, among other things. Example cards will show the players how to get past certain stages, and course cards will unlock new stages not found in the NES original.

Soul Calibur II is finally out! Celebrate PGC-style with the full Japanese OST this weekend! Connection details inside.

American gamers have waited months for the release of Namco’s fighting masterpiece, Soul Calibur II. While most are familiar with the game’s stunning graphics, fewer know of its exceptional music. To celebrate Soul Calibur’s recent release in America, PGC is playing the full Japanese Soul Calibur II soundtrack after Radio Trivia on Friday through Monday night!

To connect:

Make sure you have a Live365 account. If you do not have a Live365

account you must

Someone paid three-quarters of a million dollars to make Army Men games. Find out who the fool lucky bidder is inside. Updated!

As many of you know by now, 3DO went bankrupt earlier this May. To help raise money to pay off its outstanding debts, the company decided to sell off its assets, most of which were its key game franchises and licenses. Many companies were interested in some of 3DOs more infamous brand names, and a list of who got what and for how much can be seen below.

Namco - Street Racing Syndicate ($1.5 million)

Ubi Soft - Heroes of Might and Magic ($1.3 million)

Crave - Army Men ($750k)