Ph33r of Pokemon spreads.... but for a different reason!

Pokemon was banned in Saudi Arabia by its government. Saudi Arabia's Higher Committee for Scientific Research and Islamic Law banned Pokemon over the weekend. It said that the videogames and cards featuring the popular Pokémon characters contain religious symbols that include the Star of David, crosses, triangles significant for Freemasons and symbols of Japan's Shintoism. On Egyptian parent living in Saudi Arabia stated:

The Blue Bomber will reach the US on the GBA!!!

Great day in the morning (er, afternoon actually)! I just got the April issue of Nintendo Power and it states that "Mega Man Battle Network" is set for a July release in North America!!! It also gives up some plot tid bits. Check the Preview!

Bad news for the US, is good news for Europe.

FGNOnline is reporting that the US allocation of GBA units for launch has been reduced to 500,000 ... half of what was originally expected. The reasoning given is saving units for the European launch.

Last week we posted the first GBA accessories pictures. Now here's juice about the new peripherals.

We posted a truckload of large pics of import GBA accessories last week. Yet, out side of the Hori items, there was a new company called Nichigan that released some new products that we didn't have any details on. Now we do....

Nichigan, a Japanese company specializing in peripherals for video games, has recently released five new convenient GBA add-ons for their "GBA Accessory Series."

Robert X. Cringely talks about how Nintendo can steal developers from Sony, and win this next battle.

Always fun to read an article from a guy with an 'X' as a middle initial, Cringely is always throught-provoking and a great read. Check it out.

Thanks to middleware developer SN Systems, I got my hands on a prototype of the GameCube Controller.

Special thanks to Andrew Weatherton (NShooters and NGenres) for spotting a GameCube controller at middleware developer SN Systems' booth in the GDC Expo. Well, technically it was a prototype controller (looking a lot like the one Thomas Engel used in the GameCube audio lecture the day before) but... Read more...

Australia to get GBA in July and with their own set of colours? Click here to get the scoop...

First things first, that's not a spelling error in the headline and this being a news article relating to Aussie gamers I thought I'd use correct spelling (the Australian way of course).

No official date has been set for the launch of GBA in Australia but sources clsoe to PlanetGameCube have let us in on some information. The news below is not to be taken as fact but as a reliable rumour.

NOA confirms that Metroid is not a port and some interesting GBA news involving Rare.

Camp Game Boy Advance. Can the GBA get anymore exciting!? You read correctly the first two times! There is an upcoming Metroid game for the GBA, and it is a new game, not a port! There is no word on who is developing it yet.

This was revealed by Ken Lobb who said some other interesting things.... Read more...

The system hasn't even been out for a week and there's already emulation?!

French Game Boy site GB corner has posted the first pics of an early Game Boy Advance Emulator.

The emulator is called iGBA, and so far they got F-Zero Advance already up and...almost running.

Granted there aren't currently any roms or emulators to download, but it looks like the people are trying to make this is reality. I'm sure the folks at Nintendo won't be too thrilled about this.

We're on the road to giving our readership better opportunities to share their opinions and feedback... here's your first stop!

We'd like to cordially invite everyone, even if you've never been to our Forums before, to come on over to our new and improved Reader Forum. While it may take some getting used to at first, we're hoping that the overall benefits it offers will outweigh the small number of negatives.

First, for... Read more...

With consoles becoming as powerful as PCs for games, is it possible that the console is the wave of the future? Rick Powers explores the possibility ...

It's long been the debate that with consoles costing roughly one-fifth the money of a PC, that once they became powerful enough, consoles would start to erode the PC gaming market.

As the article at C|Net explores, it's not quite that cut and dry. The long and short of it is, consoles are better suited to short bites of gaming, while long, drawn-out epics are better on PCs. Racing on consoles, sims on PCs.

Must be nice to have access to almost the entire GBA launch line-up and GameSpot has been quick to capitalize with the goods...

While Billy has delivered with all his normal person's budget could afford to pick up there's no competing with the big boys in an area like this.

Be sure to stop by for even more drool-inducing content complete with impressions, screens, and often some slick movies. It is a good time to be a Nintendo fan, at least if you can afford to import.

OK, so yeah we just got the old Forums running in the new digs very recently but this is a big change... as Planet Gamecube approaches version 2

Basically this post is a test to be sure one of the final requirements for launching the new Forum software has been met... that all new news posts are added to the News thread on the Forum. Tada! You have the return of Talkback.

Thing is, that is just one goodie of many coming with the package... Read more...

Take a look at the MP3s and the two IGN boys' impressions.

Well finally we got to see some more about the audio capabilities of the GC. Take a look at IGN's article and be sure to download the MP3s they recorded.

Reverb and Drums

Surround Jungle Sounds and Volume Control

Panning German Techno

Orchestra

Enjoy!

It's almost as geeky as box art! But it's not even box art! It's cart art and more...

You requested it...so here you go! Big pics of the cartridges and the covers of the manuals.

Rick's finally off the fence, ordering his Import GBA. Why? Well, only $124 shipped, and no game requirement is a good reason ...

Upstate Games in Rochester, NY is offering Import Gameboy Advance units, for a mind-boggling $119! No game required, and only another $5 for shipping.

You get your choice of color, although they do ask you for an alternate in case of allocation problems. The page says that new orders will ship in April, still not bad considering the incredibly reasonable price.

Good quality Simpsons on the GBA? Perhaps....

EAGB has reported that an unnamed 3rd party is working on a TV adapter for the GBA. For those of you who think this is absurd, may I point out that the GameGear, a much less advanced system, had a similar adapter.

The GBA's screen is good enough for FMVs, so a TV adapter should be easy to make. Let's hope this nifty peripheral makes it over here!

Low blow.

I can't believe it. GameCube.com forwards to the Offical Xbox homepage! Thanks to AnthonyJC from N-Sider, the other site I work at, for the tip.

Talk about a low blow. Here's an excerpt from our conversation:

AnthonyJC> holy shi..

AnthonyJC> low blow

Dragona> ?

AnthonyJC> www.gamecube.com goes to Xbox.com

Call the cops! Louie beat the crap out of the UPS guy! It's here! First impressions and pics inside...

I woke up extra early today (8:30am which is waaaaay early in my book) in hopes of an early UPS arrival.

The door buzzer rang at around 9:30am. My package had finally arrived...

The gift from the heavens!

Get away damn you!

Package opened!

Dude! I'm playing first!

... Read more...

While Nintendophiles in Japan are just getting their GBAs, there is some indication that Australia will get GBAs after everywhere else does. We've got the details!

Although Game Boy Advance was just released in Japan, it seeming that Australia won't get Nintendo's new handheld for some time after the U.S. June launch. Here's what EAGB reports:

"In my continuing harassment campaign of Nintendo Australia, a new date was given for the GBA launch - July/August. With Europe recently being told of a June release, it's looking like Australia may be one of the last countries on the planet to get a GBA.