Joey asks, The last I ever heard of concerning

Perfect Dark Zero was the report that had it under Nintendo. (Note: I did get a reply

before but it was just a bunch of mumbo jumbo). What's up with it?

Rick Says: Nothing really. The

game has never been confirmed by Nintendo except for an accidental listing on a slide at a

show Nintendo was at. Aside from that, IGN reported that Perfect Dark Zero is not

scheduled to see release until 2003 at the earliest. Rare has a lot on it's plate right

now.

I know the wait is intolerable. But look at what the extra time has done for Eternal

Darkness, and then tell me you can't wait. Delays, by and large, make for a better

product.

Rize Says: Time Splitters 2 will have been in

development for nearly two years by the time it comes out later this year. The developer

that makes the series, Free Radical Design, was formed from ex-Goldeneye team members

(remember Dr. Doak in the 2nd level?). Although the first game was rushed for the PS2

launch, the second looks to be quite a bit better. It may provide just the fix that

Perfect Dark fans need to hold them over until next year. Keep an eye on

href="http://www.planetgamecube.com/previews.cfm?action=profile&id=169">Time Splitters

2.

Billy Says: To be quite honest, I don't think

anyone really knows. On another note, I think I'm going to wear a T-shirt everyday that

says...

WAIT UNTIL E3.

Max Says: Billy’s right; no one really knows

what’s up with it and we won’t hear anything official until at least E3.  

Buuuuuut, I’ve been able to pick up a few solid scraps of information from the PGC

spies.  PD0 has been in development for awhile and supposedly looks phenomenal.

  There is also talk that Rare might be testing the game for online play…

Let’s hope this pans out.  There are also rumors that the game will be in, or

include, a third-person perspective.  According to my sources, this simply isn’t

the case.

Whatever is going on, Perfect Dark Zero will probably take awhile to get here, though it

should certainly be worth the wait.  I have a crew of friends who are still massively

addicted to PD.  Like Rize points out, there will be other FPS games like Time

Splitters 2, or Turok Evolution that should satisfy cravings in the meantime.n James Bond Agent Under Fire has some pretty fun multiplayer too and that's out now.

Javier asks, I'm planning on going to this years Spaceworld 2002. I've never left this

country, though. What should I do to get prepared? I ask you guys since you've been there

a few times already. You should consider doing a "Planet GameCube Travel Guide:

Spaceworld 2002."

TYP Says: Though I haven't been to Spaceworld or

Japan (yet), I can give you some pointers for international travel in general. Always

secure your reservations months in advance and do a thorough job. Since this will be your

first trip outside of the country, make sure you have a (recent) passport and be aware

that going through customs can take time! Plan your trip out day by day to the best of

your knowledge, especially for a place as busy as Japan. You'll have to navigate the

trains and survive in a foreign country, so do everything you can in advance to avoid too

much stress. Oh yeah, and bring lots of money! Japan is expensive, and you don't know when

a disaster or emergency could occur! Leaving abruptly or extending your visit will require

more money. Travelers' checks are always safe.

There's lot's more I could say, but Billy does a better job.

Billy Says: Well here's a quick breakdown of what

I think is important.

1.Obviously plane tickets are first and foremost. The further you buy them in advance the

cheaper they are. I've seen prices as cheap as $500 round trip from the US to the Narita

Airport.

2. Hotel reservations. In Makuhari there's only a few hotels, and they fill up quickly.

Hotels in Japan are also very expensive. If you cram a couple people in a room it's

cheaper. Not that I advise that or anything. :)

3. Passport. Simple.

4. Travelers Checks.

5. Research EVERYTHING. Sounds simple, but learn as much about Japan before you go. I

recommend picking up a guide to Japan. I recommend the Frommers guide on Japan, actually.

It's saved my butt many times while I was there.

6. During August Japan is very VERY hot. I recommend light summer clothes.

7. Raincoat. It's the rain season in Japan. Be prepared.

8. Have very comfortable shoes. You'll be on your feet all day. I recommend running shoes.

9. Money. Akihabara is only 25 minutes away on the train.

10. Pack light. Remember, you'll have to lug all your crap around. You also need room to

bring all 87948659489653486 games and trinkets you pick up.

11. Travel with other people.

Sure film and crap like that are obvious. I can't stress enough to research. Also,

Spaceworld is only open to the public 2 days, so make sure you know what you want to do

outside of Spaceworld.

I recommend staying as long as you can. Even though I was there for a month, there's still

things I didn't get to see and do. That's why I can't wait to go back. Spaceworld is fun,

but experiencing the wonders of Japan can be as rewarding if not more.

Get lost in Japan. It's not hard to do, and it can be a complete and total adventure.

Go to Kyoto if you can. Not just because Nintendo's headquarters are there, but it's quite

possibly the most incredible place I have ever been on earth.

Hell, I could go on and on. I would research like crazy. The more you know, the less

you'll miss, and the better stuff you'll do.

Mike O. Says: BRING DEODORANT! You'd think that

everyone would wear deodorant and large, hot, sweaty.....sexy.... uh, gaming expos which

house thousands of people. You'd think that. BE CONSIDERATE TO THE JAPANESE!

AustinWHAT asks, I've hear rumors that the RE remake "flopped" in Japan, is that

true? I'd hate to see the Nintendo/Capcom relationship severed so quickly.

Rick Says: It's certainly not faring as well as

was hoped. I'd even call the sales disappointing. We'll have to see how it does in the US

before worrying about Capcom's relationship with Nintendo being strained.

Part of the problem is that Resident Evil just isn't new enough for the Japanese market.

Combine that with the gigantic mistake of the control scheme, and it's not surprising it's

not selling overly well.

However, the game could likely pick up steam as word of mouth gets out about the luscious

graphics. Give it another couple weeks.

I have much higher hopes for Eternal Darkness, being a NEW game with a solid storyline and

engaging gameplay.

Mike Says: According to the most recent tallies, RE has fallen in Japan to #12

(from #3 and #9), with 149,000 units sold thus far.

It's not a failure, but it's not the run away success to pull console sales out of their

slump, as some fans expected (or as some brainiacs in the forums insisted would happen.).

It still looks as though Mario will be the man for the job. It can't come soon enough.

Adam Says: I wonder if expectations were just too

high. No matter what you do to it, it's still a remake. Those in Japan seemed to be turned

off by that. I really wonder how American audiences will react to it in a few weeks.

Billy Says: A game that sells over 100k in Japan

isn't a failure. It's mediocre, but not a failure.

I would bet RE will sell at least 300k - 500k in the US.

Dragona Says: BH has sold in excess of 200 000

units (according to the latest Dengenki,) and has remained in the Top 20 Charts since its

release. (Usually within the Top 10 at that.)

If you recall, Capcom stated they didn't expect BH to be their first title to crack a

million units sold: they had the much more modest figure of 400 000 units for the

entire year. It looks like they'll get their expected sales, as the game is selling

steadily.

While this might not be the sales that fanboys the world over were hoping for, it is

certainly not a failure. When a person buys a GC, there's a good chance they'll pick up BH

as well.

I expect BH0 to do much better.

A small aside: this bit about it being "the same game" that we played on the PSX

is entirely untrue. In fact to get the first two keys you must go through entirely

new areas.

A "prettified port" BH is not.

Inked asks, Will Nintendo send out demo discs like the PS1 did?

Rick Says: There is nothing

precluding Nintendo from releasing Demo Discs. In fact, there have been several revisions

of the Demo Disc that you might find in retail GameCube kiosks.

I'd like to think that Nintendo might start sending out Demo Discs with Nintendo Power as

soon as they feel that the number of subscribers with GameCube's would warrant the extra

expense.

Then again, Nintendo has never done things quite like any other company, so it's hard to

say. I certainly wouldn't hold my breath...

Rize Says: In the past, Nintendo has gone through

the trouble of mailing out special materials for individual games. For Goldeneye they

mailed this little envelope that was made to look like a "classified document"

folder or something. It had a bunch of promo materials and such. More often than that,

they would mail out a VHS tape with gameplay footage on it. With GameCube being a disc

based system, the next logical step is for them to mail out GameCube compatible disks with

the gameplay footage at the least, or full blown playable demo disks at the most. As Rick

said, don't hold your breath. However, the potential is definitely out there.

Adam Says: I'll believe it when I see it. It just

doesn't seem likely.

Mike O. Says: Nintendo will send out demo discs as

soon as they send major publications beta copies of their first party games, in my

estimation. Take that as you will.

Billy Says: Well, I would go that far Captain

Canada. But what I would say is this....there is no official word on demo discs. Period.

Mike H. Says: You spammed our mailbox asking this

question enough times. I hope you're satisfied with your no answer. :)

WildFire asks, It's has been a while since the Japanese and North American

GameCube launches, so how do you guys feel about the state of the GameCube? Sales, game

quality, future games, recent announcements good and bad. Do you feel that GameCube will

continue to be successful, or that the GC is headed for disaster like Matt over at IGN was

panicking about after Christmas?

Rick Says: While the lack of software post-launch has been disappointing,

EVERY console has a slow period after launch. Xbox is going through one now, PS2 had one,

N64 had one, PlayStation had one ...

So far, sales seem to be within expectations, so I don't see any reason for panic. And of

course, the second half has a lot of very exciting software planned. And E3 is sure to

have surprises in store. No one had heard of Pikmin until E3 last year, and Nintendo

usually has an ace or two up it's sleeve.

I'd say things are looking bright. They won't catch up to the PS2's huge sales lead

overnight, but this year they should be able to close the gap soon with the release of

Mario and perhaps Zelda in Japan.

Mike S. Says: The lack of killer software titles

is disappointing but it will end starting in June when Eternal Darkness comes out. After

that title, there are plenty more coming like Mario, Star Fox, and Zelda.

Part of the reason the GameCube hasn't been doing as well as it could is because of small

hardware shipments. Many stores are complaining that they aren't getting enough GameCubes

in. So there is a positive side to this all. GameCubes can't stay on the shelf and stores

are begging for more to sell.

Rize Says: What about May 1st when Resident Evil comes out? Just two more weeks! As

much as I'd love to see Nintendo destroy the competition, I'll be happy as long as they do

enough business to stay alive (and they're doing more than enough in that quarter).

Adam Says: To be behind Xbox at this point is an

embarrassment to me. Sure they have titles coming up, but it seems the gaming public has

spoken, and Nintendo is at the bottom. Sure, many people are waiting for the bigger

titles, but in the meantime they're buying other systems. Time will tell.

Billy Says: I will agree the first half of 2002

was a bit shoddy, but the second half should be more than adequate for Nintendo gamers. I

don't think X-box gamers or even PS2 gamers really have too much to brag about now either.

Across the board, I would say there really hasn't been any hardcore AAA titles available

for any system right now. There's been some good games...possible AA titles. But nothing

mind blowing.

E3 will put all fears to rest.

Dragona Says: "A bit shoddy"? Aisha

if your an American gamer who doesn't import, then it is dead. Nothing at all.

The JPN lineup has been holding to Nintendo's word: one first party title per month. It's

a shame NOA couldn't have quickly translated Doshin or Doubutsu Bancho.

Max Says: Sales have been great. As Obi points

out, Nintendo hasn’t been able to keep up with the demand. This is a good thing and a

bad thing too, because it results in frustrated retailers and consumers possibly buying a

console that is available. Still, those Cubes are moving off shelves…

I’m really impressed with game quality for the most

part. Granted, there have been a couple of shoddy ports (cough, Midway) but the current

Cube software library offers great selection all around & some really fantastic titles. I have about 15 Cube

games now & I think they are all pretty fun. I don’t think there were even that

many games for N64 in as many months following its launch, and certainly not all of them

were good. I still play many of my games (especially Melee) but there really hasn’t

been too much thrilling this year yet, compelling me to import. On the flip side, in Japan

GameCube has had much a slimmer software lineup than North America, so it could be worse.

Future games? Mario, Zelda, Star Fox Adventures, Eternal

Darkness… And that’s just first and second parties! Square’s return and

Final Fantasy is probably the biggest news of all but I’m also really excited about

the Triforce arcade hardware. So far, so good and I think they’re just going to get

better.

Mike H. Says: I believe Nintendo has recently

indicated that they are under their projections for the end of March, and they attribute

this largely to game delays. I'll buy that. Taking a snapshot of the business right now,

gamers are clearly favoring the PS2 over everything else. Xbox and GameCube are duking it

out in tossup fashion for a distant #2 in sales, with the Xbox currently in the lead by a

few hundred thousand units. On a worldwide scale, GameCube is #2 because their console has

been out since last summer in Japan. Xbox is new internationally, and bombing.

I do expect the gap to widen between GameCube and Xbox

over the summer/fall/winter with Nintendo on top, but not necessarily by run-away, bang-up

margins that would make Xbox the decisive #3 due to just this year's success. I think Xbox

will more or less be on Nintendo's tail for the life of this generation.

But ultimately regardless of unit quantities sold, the

only reason there would be to "panic" would be if games LIKE Mario, Zelda, Star

Fox, ED, RE, Pikmin, Pokemon, and future franchises we don't know about weren't

in the console's future. We're gonna enjoy the GameCube regardless of the business side of

things because we know that 1st and 2nd party titles will be the ones to carry the system,

and they won't be drying up, ever.

Bronzetiger asks, Will the PAL GameCube support 100Hz Progressive Scan?

Karlie Says: They will not. The 60hz mode replaces

this and is accessed in the same way by holding down B when starting the GameCube.

Matt asks, Does the scart cable that comes

packaged with the PAL GameCube allow a true RGB picture, or is simply a composite signal?

Karlie Says: The packed-in scart cable will

give a composite signal. For RGB a separate cable is required.