01/19/02

Carlman's News For January 6-12

Word to yo muthas! So Carlman is back again with more gaming news. And uh... Yeah. Sorry, my creativity is running at an all time low right now, so I can't think of anything clever or witty. Just keep reading, will ya?

-First off, the details for the Japanese X-Box launch have been revealed. The system will come out on February 22 with a 34,800 yen price tag. But if you feel like shelling out 39,800 yen, you could get an extra special transparent green X-Box system, signed by Bill Gates. Oh yeah, and you get an AV pack and a key chain if you pick up that special edition thing. Sound interesting? You might want to act quickly since the special system is limited to 50,000 units. (Gaming Intelligence Agency)

-You know those prequels based on one of Playstation's best RPGs ever, Xenogears? Yeah, you know what I'm talking about! Xenosaga! Well, Namco says that they plan to release each installment of the series (there are 6 of them altogether) annually. The first chapter comes out in Japan next month and the US version will come around sometime, I guess. Nothing's been announced about that yet. :-P (RPGamer)

-I NEED SCISSORS!!! Apparently, so did 4 million other gamers around the world. Sales for Metal Gear Solid 2 are breaking the 4 million mark in the US, Japan, and soon-to-be Europe (4 million combined, of course). Konami plans to break the record set by the first Metal Gear Solid (which sold about 5 million copies worldwide) soon enough with the sequel. (Gaming Intelligence Agency)

-Nintendo of America's president, Minoru Arakawa, has decided that 22 years is long enough and has retired from his position. Stepping up to take the spot of NOA President is former CEO of the Pokemon Company and Pokemon USA, Inc., Tatsumi Kimishima. (Gaming Intelligence Agency)

-According to Microsoft, the X-Box has enjoyed quite a successful launch here in America. Between the launch of the system on November 15 and December 31 of 2001, somewhere around 1.5 million systems were sold. Not only that, but the average X-Box-er bought 3 games for their system when they purchased it, which means X-Box also owns the highest game attach rate ever in console launch history record. Also, the Japanese, European, and Australian X-Box launches are still on track for February 22 (Japan) and March 14 (Europe and Australia). (Gaming Age)

-So, how much you enjoying FF10? Diggin' it? I hope so, because a new Final Fantasy 10 may in fact be in the works! The Weekly Fumitsu dropped some clues without actually stating an FF10 sidestory is in the works. See, take a look. These were all things mentioned in an interview with an "unnamed developer":

Company starts with an "S"

PS2

Gaiden

If expressed in numbers, you'd know immediately what it was Two letters of the alphabet

Hell, even the International Final Fantasy 10 website states, "Is this an epilogue... or a prologue?". So, hopefully we'll see if anything actually comes out of this or not... (Gaming Intelligence Agency)

-Hmmmm.... And there's a new Dragon's Lair game coming out too. It's coming to Playstation 2 and GameCube later this year and according to the developers, it's set to include a ton of new things like characters, weapons, and gameplay elements. They even go as far to claim that the new Dragon's Lair game will "set the standard to which all other action games will be compared". Heh, I don't know about that, I guess we'll have to wait and see when the game comes out in the Fall sometime. (Gaming Age)

-And just in case you missed it on Dreamcast or the sequel on DC, PS2, and in arcades, Capcom vs. SNK Pro will also be coming the PSOne in Japan. I have no idea when it's coming out and frankly, I don't really care. I'm already getting my Dan Hibiki fill in Capcom vs. SNK 2. (Videogames.com)

-Both Star Fox Adventures: Dinosaur Planet and Eternal Darkness for the GameCube have been delayed. How can you tell? Well, both games dropped completely off of Nintendo's release lists for the first part of the year. So if they end up coming out in the 2nd Quarter, the earliest they'll hit stores is April. (Gaming Intelligence Agency)

-Infogrames has announced a new game based on the Tazmanian Devil, called Taz: Wanted. Apparently, Taz was captured by Yosemite Sam and ACME and is looking to break out. Naturally, the game features an ass-load of appearances from a bunch of Warner Bros. characters and will be coming out for the X-Box and Playstation 2 in the Fall sometime. Oh, yippee. I'm ecstatic, as you can see. (Gaming Age)

-But something I am happy to see is Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance for the PS2 will be coming to other platforms. Even though they will be coming to other systems, WHICH systems they will haven't been announced yet. I'm going to go out on a limb and say X-Box and GameCube, but I'm sure they'll find someway to screw me over somehow... (Videogames.com)

-Just in case you missed it the first time around, Lunar: Silver Story Story Complete is going to be re-released for the Playstation One. All of that neat stuff the came with it before, like the making of disc and the cloth map, won't be included. All that you get is some new disc art by fan artist, Armen Madirossian. But look at it this way, since you don't have to worry about all of that extra crap with it, you won't have to pay as much. Look for it in stores in February for somewhere around $35. (Gaming Intelligence Agency)

-While on the subject of Working Designs, starting on January 14, if you preorder the Arc the Lad Collection at http://www.workingdesigns.com, you get a special ATL mousepad and watch. Of course, you could always try going to your local software store and preorder, but then you'd only get the watch. Even though no concrete release date has been set for the release, the game is gonna be $74.99 when it comes out. For that much, the game should be packaged in a gold brick... (Gaming Intelligence Agency)

-Rumors are going around that Sony has fallen behind on their PS2 memory card production. So in the coming months, don't be surprised if you won't be able to find memory cards anywhere! It doesn't make matters any better since Sony won't allow third party companies to make them either. Just thought you'd like to know... (Gaming Age)

-And hey, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 is finally coming to the Game Boy Advance! Most of the same characters and levels are included in the portable installment (levels included are the Foundry, Rio, Suburbia, Airport, Tokyo, and Los Angeles). Along with Create a Skater and the Revert trick, the game also features 4 player modes! So round up 3 of your friends and get together for a few games of Trick Attack, HORSE, Tag, King of the Hill, or just waste time in Free Skate. And wouldja look at 'dat? It comes out in March! (Videogames.com)

                                         
-Carlman