Late Night Consoling

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Here's an interesting article on Wired News, reprinted from this month's issue of Wired Magazine, where Shigeru Miyamoto talks about his thoughts on game design, and offers some insight into why you won't see a Grand Theft Auto game with his name on it. I say it's interesting, not because I agree with it wholeheartedly, but because I think it's thought provoking. I disagree with Miyamoto on this, but then, I also disagree with former Microsoft employee Seamus Blackley, who thinks that Miyamoto makes games for his fans. Personally, I think the answer, like most issues, lies in-between. Games for a general audience have their place, and games for more mature gamers have their place. But to write off one or the other entirely is a mistake. Instead, I think each should look at the other, and I think some of the best designers in the industry do just that. The gaming industry is a wide playing field, and there's room for innovation (and I mean true innovation) in every corner.

GameCube "Megaton" at Last?
It looks like we all might be able to finally stop guessing what that big GameCube announcement is next week, as the latest issue of the Japanese magazine Famitsu promises "the scoop on a surprising new game announcement" in next week's issue. Also in that issue will be new information on Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles.
PS2 Square Breaks Even on FFXI!
Hear that? That's me eating my hat...while they haven't reached that all-important figure yet, Square has said that they expect to reach the 200,000 subscriber mark for Final Fantasy XI by the end of the week. You may recall that 200,000 is the number that's required to break even on the $16 million initial investment in the game. Of course, the game's not out anywhere but Japan yet, so there's still a lot of work to be done, and there's no telling how long subscribers will actually stay with the game, but this is still a significant achievement for online console gaming.
GameCube

No Resident Evil 4 Until 2004
Hoping for Resident Evil 4 next year? It looks like you'll be sorely disappointed...Capcom has confirmed that the game won't ship until some time in 2004. Hopefully they'll take that time to add some new gameplay elements to the genre.

GameCube

Perfect Zelda
Well I'll be damned...the Japanese magazine Famitsu has awarded The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker a perfect 40 out of 40. Only three other games have managed that achievement: Zelda: The Ocarina of Time, Soul Calibur, and Vagrant Story. On a related note, here's a new Japanese commercial for the game.

GameCube PS2
Xbox GameBoy Advance
Blizzard Updates
Blizzard has updated their site with a new screenshot from StarCraft: Ghost, as well as a new website for their upcoming Blizzard Arcade Classics games for the Game Boy Advance (complete with new media from each game).
Xbox Panzer Dragoon Orta Preview
A new preview of Panzer Dragoon Orta is up at GameSpot tonight, offering a detailed look at this long-awaited new installment in the venerable series.
GameCube F-Zero Trailer
Also at GameSpot tonight is a new trailer from the new F-Zero game in development at Sega, which will appear first in arcades, and later for the GameCube.
GameCube Zelda and Mario in Animal Crossing
Thanks to a clever use of the GameCube Action Replay (which may ruin Phantasy Star Online in the very near future), it has been revealed that The Legend of Zelda and Super Mario Bros. are actually hidden in the game. There's no way to find the games without that unit (which won't be released until later this month), but it's expected that the games will be part of a holiday present from Nintendo for Animal Crossing players.
PS2 Xbox Metal Gear Solid 3 at E3?
Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima has hinted that the next Metal Gear Solid may appear in some form at E3 in May. He also says he's still researching various ways of making an online Metal Gear title.

Console Game of the Evening: The Legend of Zelda for the NES. I still remember how amazing this game was, even for a Sega kid like myself. That gold cartridge just added to its glory.
From The Chatty
  • reply
    December 11, 2002 8:30 PM

    would someone please tell me what a console is?
    no not really

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