PGC brings you the full translation of Masahiro Sakurai's column in Famitsu, announcing his resignation from HAL Laboratory.

It is a very sudden announcement; I am quitting Hal Laboratory, the game

development company at which I have worked up until now.

As I write this column, I have not decided what I will do next. I was not

hired away by some other company. In any case, it was my own will to leave

the company.

Check out the review of FF: Crystal Chronicles, and find out how Nintendo games are faring on the Japanese sales charts.

In this week's Top 30, F-Zero GX (GC) debuts at fourth place. Following

behind are Super Mario Advance 4 (GBA) and Kirby's Air Ride (GC) at fifth

and sixth place, respectively. Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire (GBA) hold on to

the ninth place after thirty-four weeks. Korokke! 2 (GBA), a game based on

If you're headed to Las Vegas this weekend, you might want to check out Midway's classic games on the new game systems.

Midway Goes Old School with Midway Arcade Treasures at 2003 Classic Gaming Expo

Midway Arcade Treasures Brings More Than 20 Classic Arcade Games Including All-Time Favorites Like Spy Hunter, Defender, Gauntlet and Joust for First Time Ever on Next-Generation Consoles

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug.... Read more...

Also, GameCube are games less expensive than PS2 and Xbox on the average.

If you've been seeing more game ads on television and in retail establishments, you're probably not alone. In the second quarter of the calendar year, software advertisments shot up 77% and hardware ads increased 55%, compared to the same period last year. In addition, ads for full-priced $49.99 games have been getting more exposure, taking up more of the advertising pipeline (40%) than the $19.99 budget titles.

Mr Dredd, about this parking ticket.....

Be the law on the web!

Judge Dredd : Dredd vs Death' official website launched today

All applications to the justice department can be found on www.dreddvsdeath.com

Vivendi Universal Games Intl and Rebellion, today announced that the official website for their amazing game: Judge Dredd: Dredd Vs. Death, has gone live today.

Sega announces a profit for its first quarter of its fiscal year!

It seems Sega is slowly lifting itself out of the gutter. Thursday Sega announced a profit of 1.89 billion yen, or 15.8 million dollars, and 42.4 billion yen ($353 million) in sales between April and June. Although it is hard for analysts to make projections on the rest of Sega’s year, as this... Read more...

Sega's long-running sound studio is creating two record labels for its game music, among other things.

For about 15 years now, Sega's in-house sound studio, Wave Master, has been handling the company's console music and sound needs. Lately, they have been pursing audio jobs in anime and movie titles. Now Wave Master is looking to break into the music business with the creation of two new record labels.

Nintendo drops a few tidbits, looking to defuse the negative press over GameCube sales...

Revealed in a management meeting Thursday in Japan, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata announced that the company has several games in the works, as well as a new product "which will be surprising and unique" to be revealed in the spring. This mention was made in conjunction with discussion of Sony's... Read more...

The father of the Kirby and Smash Bros. series says goodbye to Nintendo.

In an unexpected move, Masahiro Sakurai has resigned from his position as Director at Nintendo-owned developer HAL Laboratory. First announced in his weekly Famitsu column, Sakurai stated that his departure was his own decision, and that he bears no ill will towards Nintendo or any individuals under... Read more...

Nintendo has a lot of money, have sold a lot of GBAs, and has a lot of GameCube inventory. One of these is not good for the company.

In a quarterly financial statement, Nintendo is reporting that it has made a profit of ¥11.5 billion ($95 million) in the April-May-June period, almost all in part to the skyrocketing sales of the Game Boy Advance. Oddly enough, this is the first time that Nintendo has disclosed its quarterly earnings report, normally waiting until the end of the year before revealing any of its financials.

Did you want a copy of Sonic Pinball Party but never made the purchase? Then aim for your local Target!

Some of our American readers may be wondering why it’s so hard to find a copy of Sonic Pinball Party for the Game Boy Advance, which came out over two months ago. One PGC reader, Knoxximus, was determined to get to the bottom of this and came to a startling discovery: according to Sega of America’s web site, Sonic Team’s Game Boy Advance pinball game can only be found in Target stores!

Midway tries its luck at a Diddy Kong Racing airplane racer, and it's now available at retailers nationwide.

Midway Delivers One-of-a-Kind Airplane Racing Adventure with Freaky Flyers

Prepare for Vast Environments, Stunt Flying, Aerial Dogfights and Original Soundtrack

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 4, 2003--Midway Games Inc., a leading software industry publisher and developer, announced today... Read more...

Nintendo doesn't want Britons to import Advance Wars 2, instead "asking" them to wait the the rest of the year for their version to come out.

When Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire were released in the States on March 17, Nintendo of Europe wasn't all that happy about the relatively high amount of imports finding their way across the Atlantic. Nintendo issued cease and desist letters to infringing retailers that offered Nintendo's GBA games as imports, and for the most part, the situation was resolved.

Those who pre-order Factor 5’s next Rogue Leader game will get an extra little something.

When gamers journey to a retailer far, far away to pre-order Rogue Squadron 3: Rebel Strike, they'll receive a bonus disc containing a bunch of goodies, including ...

The entire Hoth level from Rebel Strike, playable.

A playable demo of LucasArts upcoming RPG Gladius

A Rogue Leader demo

A new logo, a new corporate image and a new commitment to the gameplay experience for the publisher of Tomb Raider.

EIDOS UNVEILS NEW IMAGE

Eidos, one of the world’s leading publishers and developers of entertainment software, has unveiled a new identity and a fresh corporate image. The corporate re-branding will be used across the group worldwide from 1st August 2003.

Eidos, after a period of transition,... Read more...

Apparently, EA has a Magic 8 Ball that will tell them whether or not the new systems will be out in 2005 or 2006.

Before the end of the year, the publishing giant will have a good idea of whether or not there will be a new line of consoles out in time for 2005.

In a Reuters interview, company CEO Larry Probst talked about this, as can be seen in an excerpt from the news article:

"We will know when... Read more...

If you like looking at pretty flashy things, or you're just interested in seeing a beautiful game, this Final Fantasy movie is for you!

Nintendo of Japan's Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles website has updated with a brand-new movie that basically serves as eyecandy to help promote the game's August 8th Japanese release.

That doesn't matter, though, since this game looks absolutely stunning. The movie shows off just about everything... Read more...

The Sega saga continues, with studios getting renamed, development staff moving, and no jobs being lost.

A Sega investor relations report has revealed some more information on the Sega development studio restructuring effort set to take place on October 1 of this year. Here's a list of who will be named and re-named what after the dirty work is done:

Sonic Team - Sonic Team and United Game Artists

He can't leap bulidings in a single bound, and he doesn't have a fancy cave, but that doesn't make him a second-class hero by any stretch of the imagination.

TDK Mediactive Ships Aquaman: Battle for Atlantis for the Nintendo GameCube and Xbox

Straight from the Pages of DC Comics, the King of the Seven Seas Fights to Save Atlantis

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 30, 2003--TDK Mediactive, Inc., a global publisher of entertainment... Read more...

We've got the final USA Mario Golf Intro, some Character Battle footage, plus the Japanese F-Zero intro and Mute City!

We've captured the Intros for Mario Golf and F-Zero GX for you, as well as some gameplay bits from both. They are in MPEG format, so they're a bit larger, but will play on just about any computer, plus other devices as well.

These are the FULL intros, and they're both several minutes in length. Wow!