Sony and nVidia teaming up for the PS3 was a surprise of an announcement, but was it entirely unexpected? Shacker and CNN editorialist Chris Morris hinted at the collaboration over a year ago. Providing the graphics chip for Microsoft's Xbox was big business for nVidia and ever since they had a falling out over chip prices (Microsoft wasn't happy paying the same price per chip despite falling production costs), nVidia obviously wanted to find a new friend (15 to 20% of nVidia's revenue came from the Xbox). Who better to look to than the current console king? Microsoft has learned from that blunder and will now fabricate the ATi-based chip themselves and pay a fee to ATi. Sony will do the same with nVidia.

	Winning Eleven 8 on Xbox 100% Confirmed, No Online Mode While Konami's official line was multiple consoles and the PC, it was no secret that Winning Eleven 8 would find itself on the Xbox along with the PS2 version; especially since it has already been released in Europe on the Xbox under the name Pro Evolution Soccer 4. Oddly enough, the North American release will not be Xbox Live compatible like its European sister. Star defender Eddie Pope will grace the cover as the game ships sometime in the spring.
	Rayman DS Pushed into 2005 With its release set for just a week from today, Ubisoft has announced the platformer is being pushed back into March of 2005. It will now be released alongside the European version sometime before the close of the fiscal year (March 31, 2005). The move was made to make sure it was of the highest quality.
	Poor Loading Times for the PSP? International game retailer Lik-Sang were one of the lucky few to get their hands on a PSP through a Sony-sanctioned auction and they have posted their impressions here. The most striking bit were the numbers behind the load times. For example, with Ridge Racers, it takes 16 seconds from the system being powered off to the Namco title screen. When you select a car, it's 14 seconds to the start of the race. Hot Shots Golf fares no better; 19 seconds from character selection to start. Are these hard numbers or is it errors with the pre-release copies? We'll know more next week.
	New Releases This Week Need a new game? Plenty to choose from! PlayStation 2: Growlanser Generations, Battle Assault 3 featuring Gundam Seed, Kuon, Mega Man X8, and Viewtiful Joe 2. GameCube: Mario Party 6. Xbox: Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords. Nintendo DS: Ping Pals, Ridge Racer DS, and Sprung. Game Boy Advance: Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories.
	Misc. Media/Previews
	GameSpot hosts the latest official movie for Shadow of Rome and two new screens for Cold Winter. The Magic Box shares new shots of Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening. GameSpy shares images of Gran Turismo 4. IGN gives their take on the port of Full Spectrum Warrior.
	Gameplay footage of Oddworld Stranger's Wrath is at GameSpot. IGN has "movie mania" going on at their site for MechAssault 2: Lone Wolf.
	1up is the latest site to host impressions of Resident Evil 4. IGN updates with even more movies of the same game.
	The Magic Box has a handful of images of Ridge Racers (PSP). IGN hosts screens of Zoo Keeper (NDS) and previews Pokemon Dash (NDS).
	At FileShack, we have a new trailer for Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition (PS2, Xbox). Game Informer got their hands on some digital pigskin in this look of NFL Street 2 (PS2, Xbox, GCN). GameSpot has some of the first details for Fight Night Round 2 (PS2, Xbox, GCN). IGN tells us the latest on Virtua Quest: The Nexus (PS2, GCN).