06/01/00

Brad's News Roundup: June

Crazy Uncle Brad scours the gaming sites for newsworthy bits so you don’t have to!

 Story: Nintendo has revealed its newest iteration of the N64 hardware: The Pikachu Edition. This monstrosity features a huge Pikachu on the face of the system, and its cheeks light up when the power is turned on. The power button is shaped like a Poke-ball, and the controller has Pokemon stuff all over it, as well. It is due to release on July 7th in Japan, with a Fall 2000 date likely for the U.S.

Source: gameinformer.com: gameinformer.com

Brad Sez: Ugh. It looks like the only way Nintendo can move any hardware these days is by making countless variations of the casing. First there was that Donkey Kong bundle, then the "Funtastic" colored ones, and now this. The funny thing is that, by the time it comes out over here, Pokemon could be yesterday’s news. Sales of Pokemon stuff are slowing down pretty much everywhere (finally), so by this fall, it’s possible that no one will give a rat’s arse. I can only hope…

Story: Sony has officially announced that there will be no form of battery pack released for the PSOne.: Sony has officially announced that there will be no form of battery pack released for the PSOne.

Source: dailyradar.com: dailyradar.com

Brad Sez: So, the portable system that wasn’t really portable is now definitely not portable. This whole PSOne thing continues to boggle me. We now know that the case will be smaller, it will (for some reason) have Internet access via cellular phone, the little screen costs extra, there is now no battery pack, and the thing costs $50 more than the original. This thing just makes no sense. If the PSOne comes out in the States for anything over $99, expect it to bomb, big time.

Story: Tecmo has announced that the much-anticipated Ninja Gaiden title for PS2 will not release until Q4 2001…in Japan. Originally slated to be a U.S. launch title, it is now expected to come here no earlier than 2002.

Source: GameWeek: GameWeek

Brad Sez: We were wondering why Tecmo wasn’t showing squat about this game at E3. The word is that Team Ninja has been split up to work on two projects: Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive 3. Apparently, the emphasis has been put on DOA3, so Gaiden has been put on the back burner. Man, aside from Armored Core 2, it seems like every PS2 game that I’m looking forward to is at least 2 years away. Bummer.

Story: Speaking of Armored Core 2, From Software has announced that AC2 will hit Japan on July 27th, a couple of months ahead of schedule.: Speaking of Armored Core 2, From Software has announced that AC2 will hit Japan on July 27th, a couple of months ahead of schedule.

Source: gameinformer.com: gameinformer.com

Brad Sez: Thank the gods. There has been exactly Jack and sh*t released for the PS2 since its Japanese launch, and Jack left town. With a July date in Japan, there is a (slim) chance that AC2 could be quickly translated for the U.S. launch. This is the only game for PS2 worth looking at right now, so I’ll be watching the domestic release closely.

Story: Eidos has announced future Legacy of Kain titles that will focus on both Kain and Raziel. Soul Reaver 2 will center on Raziel, while LoK: Blood Omen will follow Kain and will supposedly take place before the first Soul Reaver. Both titles will be made for Dreamcast and PS2.: Eidos has announced future Legacy of Kain titles that will focus on both Kain and Raziel. Soul Reaver 2 will center on Raziel, while LoK: Blood Omen will follow Kain and will supposedly take place before the first Soul Reaver. Both titles will be made for Dreamcast and PS2.

Source: segadojo.com: segadojo.com

Brad Sez: Well, it looks like Eidos has found another franchise to milk. Now, I like the Legacy of Kain titles and all, but if there are an assload more block pushing puzzles again, they can shove it.: Well, it looks like Eidos has found another franchise to milk. Now, I like the Legacy of Kain titles and all, but if there are an assload more block pushing puzzles again, they can shove it.

Story: Nintendo has supposedly already put together the successor to Pokemon. Apparently, even Nintendo expects Pokemon to run out of steam this year, so they have another fad ready to roll. Set to debut on Gameboy Advance, "Magical Vacation" is another RPG-based game, and is supposed to focus on "communication rather than collecting", whatever that means.: Nintendo has supposedly already put together the successor to Pokemon. Apparently, even Nintendo expects Pokemon to run out of steam this year, so they have another fad ready to roll. Set to debut on Gameboy Advance, "Magical Vacation" is another RPG-based game, and is supposed to focus on "communication rather than collecting", whatever that means.

Source: gameinformer.com: gameinformer.com

Brad Sez: That’s just what we need. As long as Nintendo can keep creating fad titles, they don’t have to worry about producing quality games. I’m guessing that they don’t care how crappy or derivative their games are, as long as they sell millions of copies to idiot kids everywhere.

Story: As Pat reported, SNK has indeed shut down all operations outside of Japan. A rather strange effect of that is a rumor that SNK’s Dreamcast titles will be published in the U.S. by, of all people, Capcom. After the bitter rivals collaborated on the upcoming SNK Vs. Capcom, it seems as if they may be getting along, after all.

Source: segadojo.com: segadojo.com

Brad Sez: Well, this should make Fat happy, at any rate. To be honest, unless there’s a Metal Slug title on its way to Dreamcast, I couldn’t really care less.

Story: In a sneaky cash run that should surprise no one, Konami has announced that it will release the video demos of Metal Gear Solid 2 and Zone of Enders shown at E3 on a limited edition DVD. It is due to hit in Japan sometime this summer for a price of around $13.: In a sneaky cash run that should surprise no one, Konami has announced that it will release the video demos of Metal Gear Solid 2 and Zone of Enders shown at E3 on a limited edition DVD. It is due to hit in Japan sometime this summer for a price of around $13.

Source: thegia.com: thegia.com

Brad Sez: And, of course, we’ll all be forced to buy it. As I have stated before, the MGS2 video is a life-altering experience, and everyone should see it, several times if possible. Of course, it will likely be region-coded, so only a Japanese PS2 or DVD player will be able to run it. Well, what do you know? We just happen to have an import PS2 right here at Gamehits. Isn’t that a lucky coincidence?

Story: Eidos has released info regarding its future PS2 lineup. The aforementioned Soul Reaver 2 and Blood Omen are on the list, as are Fear Effect 3, Timesplitters, Project Eden, Commandos 2, and…wait for it…Tomb Raider 5.

Source: ign.com: ign.com

Brad Sez: The word is that all of these are supposed to be pretty good, with the possible exception of Commandos. I’m pretty interested to see what they can do with Tomb Raider on a next-gen system (TR: Last Revelation was just a port of the PS version), and a next-gen Fear Effect should be impressive, as well.

Story: In an interview in the June issue of Playboy, South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone completely disowned the God-awful South Park licensed games from my good buddy Acclaim. In words that Shawn would not want me to repeat here, they basically explained that Comedy Central owns the rights to the characters, and can license said characters for any crap they want. The modern-day Shakespeare’s apparently despise the games, as well as much of the other South Park licensed stuff out there.

Source: gamefan.com: gamefan.com

Brad Sez: I knew in my heart that those guys wouldn’t sanction crap on the level of Chef’s Luv Shack. Unfortunately, it seems that Acclaim will have free reign to produce horrible South Park games as long as they see fit, without the support of the series’ creators. There’s just no justice, I tell ya.

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