Rumors of Golden Sun for GameCube are escalating, and Louie the Cat is here to sort things out! Includes previously unreleased comments by Camelot's Takahashi brothers.

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Hello there! Last time you heard from me, I was just about to award myself with a nice leaf of catnip…apparently I ate too much, because I woke up several days later with a major headache and some other kitty’s fur all over me. Such is the life of a bachelor cat, I guess!

Well, the big Nintendo rumor right now is that a new Golden Sun game is set to be announced soon for GameCube. There’s no concrete source for these reports…just gossip from Japan. But Golden Sun fans are in a joyous frenzy over it, and who can blame them? The handheld games in this series have their detractors, but there are plenty of people who think you can’t get a better RPG on Game Boy Advance. And I think we all want to see how Camelot would translate those beautiful graphics to the GameCube!

The group is calling Nintendo a "big bully," and asking that the patent be re-examined.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation is launching what it calls the Patent Busting Project, a campaign to recall patents awarded to large companies that are detrimental to the well-being of public domain. One of the companies listed in their "Top Ten" is Nintendo. They recently patented Game Boy software emulation, amid some controversy and some legal action on the part of some companies.

Nintendo of Europe's Managing Director will leave Nintendo soon and join mobile entertainment publisher Digital Bridges.

Nintendo have announced today that Nintendo of Europe’s Managing Director David Gosen will step down at the end of August. Having been with Nintendo for the last five years, he was involved with the releases of the GBA, the GBA SP, and the GameCube. After his departure, he will join Digital Bridges, a mobile entertainment publisher, as Chief Operating Officer.

"David has made a huge contribution to Nintendo over the last five years and we would like to thank him for all his hard work and wish him all the success in the future," European President Satoru Shibata said today.

Get a pre-order bonus and learn more about the gameplay features.

Namco's official Tales of Symphonia website has been updated with a lot of new information. Specifically, there is now a listing of preorder bonuses being given out at certain retailers. Both EB and Gamestop are giving away a lithograph when you preorder and an art book when you pick up the game. EB also has a coupon deal for $20 off the price of Tales of Symphonia when you trade in Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles. Can you smell the rivalry?

Other updates on the site include explanations for many of the game's systems and features, such as multiplayer, EX skills, cooking, and skits. There is also a new gameplay movie to download.

It’s like a concert series on a movie screen. Only it features GameCube games and gamers.

In a videogame competition of Wizard proportions, Nintendo’s Australian division is putting on a series of GameCube gaming sessions in search of the best Aussie Nintendo fan.

Preliminaries will take place every two weeks starting August 1st at six participating Village Cinema movie theaters in Fountain Gate, Sunshine, Southland and Crown. Each competition will feature a different GameCube game of Nintendo's choice. Players must purchase a single (AUS$12) or season (AUS$60) ticket to participate in one or all of the preliminary rounds, respectively. The 50 contestants with the most points from each cinema will go on to the finals in Melbourne on October 24th. Points will carry over from preliminary to preliminary, so a season ticket is your best bet for victory, and you’ll get a bag of swag for the extra money. If you just want to observe the big-screen action, guest tickets are also available at $20 for a season ticket $5 for a single session.

Investors accepted the proposed merger of Sega and Sammy at a general stockholders meeting today.

The next step in the developing story of the merger between Sega and Sammy, Sega's shareholders today approved of the pending merger in October. With Sammy's shareholders doing the same just last Friday, it appears that all is set for the two to join forces and become Sega Sammy Holdings.

The merger amounts to a buyout for Sammy stockholders since they will swap their current stock for an equal number of shares in the new company, while Sega stockholders will only receive 28% of what they currently hold.

The kids sure like the crazy hair and dueling antics, so here's another GBA game from Konami.

KONAMI SHIPS YU-GI-OH!(tm) RESHEF OF DESTRUCTION(tm) FOR NINTENDO'S GAME BOY(r) ADVANCE AND YU-GI-OH!(tm) POWER OF CHAOS: JOEY THE PASSION(tm) FOR PC CD-ROM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

REDWOOD CITY, CALIF. - June 29, 2004 - Konami Digital Entertainment - America, a division of Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc., today announced that it has shipped Yu-Gi-Oh!(tm) Reshef of Destruction(tm) for Nintendo's Game Boy(r) Advance and Yu-Gi-Oh!(tm) Power of Chaos: Joey The Passion(tm) for PC CD-ROM. In Yu-Gi-Oh! Reshef of Destruction, players have access to 800 unique cards, including all three of the powerful Egyptian god cards, as they embark on an all-new role playing game adventure. For PC gamers, Yu-Gi-Oh! Power of Chaos: Joey the Passion delivers the ultimate PC trading card game battle featuring two-player LAN play for the first time in the series.

Maybe Iwata knows what he's talking about.

According to a story at Nikkei Net, conveniently translated by the fine folks at Video-fenky, the gaming market in Japan is getting smaller. Console sales have dropped off dramatically as most of the people who want current systems have already bought them, and game sales are down too. The overall market is down for the third year in a row, with sales declining 11% in just the last year.

These numbers seem to validate Nintendo President Satoru Iwata's many remarks upon the failing game business in Japan. Iwata thinks the best way to revitalize his country's interest in gaming is to introduce new ways of playing, which Nintendo plans to do with its DS handheld system and the mysterious successor to GameCube.

They think the game is American propaganda against their country.

Apparently, a government-controlled newspaper (AKA, the government) in North Korea is calling Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon 2 "proof" that the United States has something against their country. Take this clip from an article explaining what the Koreans think of the game:

“Through propaganda, entertainment and movies,” read a recent online commentary in the Tongil Newspaper, Americans “have shown everyone their hatred for us. This may be just a game to them now, but a war will not be a game for them later. In war, they will only face miserable defeat and gruesome deaths.”

It makes a lot of sense to put the best 2D shooter in the history of the arcades on the GBA, and Europeans will soon find out why.

IGNITION ENTERTAINMENT SIGNS PUBLISHING AGREEMENT WITH SNK NEO GEO CORPORATION

METAL SLUG 3™ and METAL SLUGTM ADVANCE To Enjoy Dedicated European Releases

Friday 25 June 2004 - One of the most-loved arcade and console gaming franchises is set for an official European release as Ignition Entertainment announces it is to publish SNK PLAYMORE's Metal Slug 3 and Metal Slug Advance throughout Europe.

"Metal Slug games have garnered a massive following amongst arcade lovers and importers alike. The home versions include all the enjoyment and fast paced action of the arcade original – plus some great additional features," says Peter Rollinson, Product Manager, Ignition Entertainment. "And with the simultaneous release of Metal Slug Advance – which we strongly believe will be one of the greatest games to grace the Nintendo handheld – this is great news for games players. We're all massive fans of the Metal Slug games at Ignition and are excited to have secured these titles. The Metal Slug series has remained the hardcore gamers' best-kept secret. We are looking forward to sharing it with the masses."