Update : April 28th, 2004

Sega is bringing back Shining Force

Sega has officially revealed three new Shining titles in the Japanese Yanmaga magazine. First is Shining Force : Resurrection of the Dark Dragon for GBA (remake of Shining Force 1 from Mega Drive/Genesis), second is Shining Tears, action/RPG for the PS2, and third is a brand new Shining Force title for PS2 (possibly Shining Force IV). Sega will soon announce more details for the three games on its new website http://shining-world.jp/.

More Miyazaki anime DVDs

Not officially confirmed, but 3 of Miyazaki's anime films are planned to be released on DVD this year. According to several online websites, Porco Rosso, Nausicca, and My Neighbor Totoro will go on sale on August 31st. Even if these films were all made before Spirited Away, they are every bit as good.

Witch Hunter Robin "for real"

It appears that the Sci Fi Channel has come to an agreement to produce a live action TV-series based on the new anime series Witch Hunter Robin. It's expected to start in late 2004 or maybe in 2005.

New character revealed for Final Fantasy XII

Square Enix has released new images of a new character from their upcoming blockbuster PS2 RPG, Final Fantasy XII. Her name is Penelo and she is a cheerful 16 year old girl, who has great interests in dancing and singing. She also seems to be a close friend to the male lead character Vaan.

Capcom working on Viewtiful Joe 2

Capcom has officially announced Viewtiful Joe 2 for GameCube and PlayStation 2. The game is expected to come out before X-mas 2004, for Japan at least. The creator, Atsushi Inaba, mentioned that the game will also be available for the PS2 because he would like to see the Viewtiful Joe franchise to reach a broader audience. Both GameCube and PS2 version should be identical. The game is currently 50% completed. A port of the 1st Viewtiful Joe will be available this fall for the PlayStation 2 and it will have a new exclusive playable character : Dante from Devil May Cry.

Farewell Neo Geo

SNK Playmore announced that they will release the final Neo Geo game, Samurai Spirits Zero Special, in Japan on July 15th. The game will be produced in limited supply and the price will be 39800 yen (~$365 US). Just before that, the home version of The King of Fighters 2003 for the Neo Geo will be released on May 14th , for 39800 yen (~$365 US). Considering everything, the Neo Geo had a great run, 14 years of great arcade fun!



Update : February 17th, 2004

Ghost in the Shell 2 Innocence trailers

Production I.G. has updated the official website of the Ghost in The Shell 2 movie. Now, you can view all 4 movie trailers.

Click here to go to the download page.

Card Captor Sakura to be
rebroadcasted on TV

Beginning on April 10th, NHK will rerun the popular TV anime "Card Captor Sakura", a move coinciding with the re-release of the popular CLAMP manga which the series is based upon. Like many other great anime series, Card Captor Sakura is still a favorite among fans even if the series has concluded many years ago. Sakura, the main character, is still one of the most popular characters according to anime magazines like NewType and Animage.

Resident Evil 4 info

The story takes place in 2004, six years after the incident of Resident Evil 2.

Leon (the main character) will have a sniper and a hand gun as weapons.

The game can be played in first person view and there are two other perspective views.

The game supports 16 : 9 widescreen and 480 progressive scan. When the game is
played on a regular screen, there are black borders on top and bottom.

The entire world is in full 3D, there are no "open door" animations and
no pre-rendered cut-scenes, every scenes are rendered in real time.

New Silent Hill 4 trailer

Konami has released a new preview trailer for their PS2/Xbox horror adventure game
Silent Hill 4 : The Room.

Right click here to download the trailer (~2.5 megs).

Virtua Fighter 5 in development

Sega-AM2 president, Makoto Osaki, confirmed that Virtua Fighter 5 is in development. No one knows when it will come out but the game will run on a brand new arcade board, instead of using existing technology (TriForce, Chihiro, Naomi 2).



Update : January 15th, 2004

Miyazaki's Howl's Moving Castle Delayed

According to Yahoo Japan, reports are suggesting that Miyazaki's next movie, Howl's Moving Castle, has been delayed from its planned July release until November 2004. It appears that they are behind schedule in the production, so the movie will not be ready for this summer.

Click here to view a teaser trailer (~2.5 megs).

Tales of Phantasia anime

Namco's popular RPG, Tales of Phantasia is back but this time as an anime OVA series. The series is expected to have 4 or 6 episodes. For those who don't know, the character designs were made by Kosuke Fujishima (Ah My Goddess).

Click here to view the trailer (~4.5 megs).

Dead or Alive Online news

Tecmo confirmed the release date of Dead or Alive Online for the Xbox, the game will be released in Japan on March 25th, for 8800 yen (~$85 US). The U.S. version has been renamed Dead or Alive Ultimate Collection Vol.1 and will be released 1 day before the Japanese version. Also to be released in Japan simultaneously with Dead or Alive Online is the Kasumi-chan Blue Limited Edition Xbox package. The Xbox console will have a blue clear case, a silver jewel and a DOA Online logo. Plus, a copy of Dead or Alive Online is also included. All this for only 22 800 yen (~$215 US).

Attention collectors, only 5000 units will be made, so get it if you can.
Here are some pictures to wet your appetite :

Gameboy Advance SP
Famicom Limited Edition

Nintendo announced they will release a new Famicom styled GameBoy Advance SP in Japan on February 14th, for 12 500 yen. The system will be released simultaneously with the Famicom Mini series games.

December 2003 consoles sales in America

The Gamecube did some remarkable progress, sales has increased by 32% in the US and 70% worldwide comparing to the previous year. Also, Sony announced that 70 million PS2 consoles has shipped worlwide, something similar they did with the PSOne. Here are some numbers concerning the systems sales (North America only) :

Gameboy Advance : 2.5 million units sold in December 2003
Playstation 2 : 1.8 million units sold in December 2003
Gamecube : 1.1 million units sold in December 2003
Xbox : 991 000 units sold in December 2003

Crimson Sea 2

They were rumors that Koei would bring the Xbox adventure game Crimson Sea to the PS2 but instead, they did the sequel and it will be an exclusive PS2 title (for now). Koei mentioned that Crimson Sea 2 is nearing completion and will be released for the PlayStation 2 in the US on March 30th. The Japanese version should be available a few weeks before.



Update : December 1st, 2003

A new ending for Wolf's Rain

After the series ended, fans were disappointed to see that four summary episodes were made within the Wolf's Rain 26 episodes. Well, Bones and Keiko Nobumoto has decided to rectify the situation. To respond and please the fans of the series, two additional DVD containing respectively two episodes each (27-28 and 29-30) are coming soon. The first DVD will go on sale on January 23rd and the second on February 25th.

Boost of PS2 consoles sales in Japan

SCE vice president Masatsuka Saeki mentioned that over 130,000 units of PlayStation 2 were sold in Japan during the last two weeks. The sales has increased by 193% due to the price cut of the PS2 from 24800 yen to 19800 yen.

Sega's Kunoichi

Sega will release this week in Japan his PS2 ninja action game Kunoichi (Nightshade in the US). The game will be available on December 4th. Here's a movie from the game, looks promising!

Click here to view the trailer (~20 megs).

Devilman The Movie

A new website has been opened announcing a new Devilman live-action movie. Here's the link to the official website : www.devilmanthemovie.jp



Update : November 16th, 2003

Sneak peek at Final Fantasy XII

Not much for now but the two main characters of Final Fantasy XII are called Van and Ashie. The story is about an adventure on an airship. Full details will be revealed at a special Final Fantasy XII Conference on November 19th. Here's the 1st official picture :

Sneak peek at Sakura Wars 5

Sakura Taisen V : Episode 0 ~Kouya no Samurai Musume~ is now scheduled to arrive on the PlayStation 2 in Japan in the spring of 2004. Not much is known except that the action will take place in 1927 in the USA and the bad guy (Patrick Hamilton) in this game is supposed to be the same one as in the Sakura Wars Movie. Here are some pics :

A commercial too scary for Japan

Sony has decided to suspend its Japanese TV ad for the PS2 horror adventure game SIREN. The TV commercial was said to be too scary; numerous complaints were received citing children got too scared after watching the ad.



Update : November 7th, 2003

Sony's new portable system

Sony has released new concept images of the PlayStation Portable system, in a recent meeting in New York City. The design of the PSP is different from the GameBoy Advance. The PSP has a rounded rectangular shape, with a 4.5" 16:9 letterbox TFT LCD screen; the UMD drive is located on the back of the system, there is a snap-on cover and keychain hole with a hand lanyard attached. The main processor will be 333 Mhz with a 128-bit bus. Here's a picture of the unit :

A comeback for the GameCube

Now that the GameCube regained some popularity with its new affordable price, Nintendo announced that they have resumed the production of the GameCube console in Japan in October, due to the high demand in North America. Previously, the production of GameCubes was suspended from January to October 2003, due to over stocking of 4 million units.

Also, according to BusinessWire, the market share of Nintendo's GameCube has increased from 19% to 37% in the US, after the price drop to $99.99 US. It also suggests that Nintendo's GameCube is now back in 2nd place for the console market share behind (of course!) Sony's PS2.

Sonic Heroes delayed but still for 2003

Sega has pushed back the release date of Sonic Heroes for PS2, Xbox and GameCube in Japan from December 18th to December 30th. The game will have a suggested retail price of 6980 yen. Sega of America mentioned that this change won't affect the US release still slated for January 2004.



Update : October 28th, 2003

Another Gamecube special, the Zelda pack

After the recent price drop of the Gamecube, Nintendo of America thought they could do more and that's why they just announced the release of a new Legend of Zelda Collector's Gamecube Bundle coming on November 17th, for the same actual price ($99.99 US). The bundle will include the GameCube console plus The Legend of Zelda Collection, which contains Legend of Zelda, Legend of Zelda II : The Adventure of Link, Legend of Zelda : Ocarina of Time, Legend of Zelda : Majora's Mask and a playable demo of Legend of Zelda : The Wind Waker. A nice move just before the Thanksgiving!

Info about important release dates

According to a reliable source, two of the biggest anime films of 2004 now have received their theatrical release dates. For Ghost in the Shell 2 : Innocence, it will be on March 6th and for Howl's Moving Castle (upcoming new Miyazaki movie), it will be released on July 17th. These release dates are for Japan, so keep that in mind.

New Resident Evil game to be announced

Resident Evil 4 (GC) and Resident Evil Outbreak (PS2) are not even out yet, and already, Capcom mentioned that they will reveal a brand new Biohazard (Resident Evil) title in the next issue of Famitsu in Japan. More details to come in the following weeks.



Update : October 14th, 2003

Yu-Gi-Oh! is coming to the movies

According to Yahoo Movies, Warner Brothers has acquired the rights to the first Yu-Gi-Oh! feature film and plans to release it on August 13th, 2004. The film, is currently in the final stages of production in Japan. Unlike many current animated features, the new Yu-Gi-Oh! film will be done in the traditional 2-D Japanese anime fashion, and not computer-generated. This is good news for Yu-Gi-Oh! fans.

FF VII : Advent Children Preview

Want to see a small preview of Final Fantasy VII : Advent Children CG movie, well you're only a click away.

Click here to view the trailer (~12 megs).

Rumor of PS2 price drop

According to a reliable source, Sony is planning to lower the retail price of the PlayStation 2 in the US to $99.99 in mid-November, just before the Thanksgiving holiday. This move is likely to be a counter-attack to match the new price of Nintendo's GameCube.

Good and bad news for Nintendo

Let's start with the good news. After the price drop on the Gamecube (now at $99 US), sales has been 4 times better than the usual. In other words, the Gamecube simply outselled both the PS2 and Xbox. Now for the bad news. Nintendo recently announced that it will post its first loss since going public in 1962 for the period of March to September 2003. Having previously predicted profits of some 15 billion yen ($135 million US) for the fiscal first half, Nintendo now expects to post a loss of around 3 billion yen ($27 million US). Poor worldwide sales of the Gamecube is the main reason blamed for but they hope that with the new price cut, the situation will get better soon.

Soul Calibur 2, a success!

Soul Calibur (the 1st one) has been a great success in 1999 on the Dreamcast, especially in North America. Well, Namco reported that they now have sold 1.7 million copies of Soul Calibur 2 for all systems (GC, Xbox and PS2) in North America. Congratulations Namco!



Update : October 2nd, 2003

New name for Pioneer

On October 1st, Pioneer LDC and Pioneer Entertainment, two subsidiaries recently acquired by Dentsu, will officially change their names. October 1st is the date when all shares of the companies will be officially transferred to Dentsu. Pioneer Entertainment (USA) Inc., will henceforth be known as Geneon Entertainment (USA) Inc. , while Pioneer LDC will have its name changed to Geneon Entertainment Inc. The new name, Geneon, is derived from the words generate and eon (Eternity or a Billion years). The name change is meant to signify innovation and longevity.

New Suikoden game in development

Konami announced they will release Suikoden IV for the PlayStation 2 in America in Autumn 2004. The Japanese version is expected to come out in the spring of 2004.

New Sonic game info

Sega will release Sonic Heroes for all platforms (PS2, Xbox and GC) in Japan on December 18 for 6800 yen. All three versions will be identical in terms of graphics and contents.

More visitors at Tokyo Game Show

CESA announced that the number of visitors at this year's Tokyo Game Show was 150 089. This is some kind of recovery after a slump back in 2001, where only 118 080 visitors attended the show.



Update : September 28th, 2003

Biohazard 4 preview

Capcom revealed at the Tokyo Game Show a new trailer of Biohazard 4 (Resident Evil 4) for the Gamecube. It looks very promising.

Click here to view the latest trailer (11 megs).

Final Fantasy VII : Advent Children

Square Enix has released new info on the DVD video of Final Fantasy VII : Advent Children. This Final Fantasy is a CG movie (no, it's not a game) and will have a length of approximately one hour. It will be released in Japan in summer 2004.

First look at Kingdom Hearts 2

Square Enix has officially announced that Kingdom Hearts II, the sequel to the popular action RPG featuring Disney and Square Enix mascots, is in development for the PlayStation 2. Sora will return as the main character of the game. Donald Duck, Goofy and now Mickey Mouse will be at your side during the quest.

Everybody's Golf 4 in time for X-mas

Sony announced they will release a new installment of their popular golf game Everybody's Golf 4 (Hot Shot Golf 4) for the PlayStation 2 in Japan on December 11th. No word yet if it will be playable online.



Update : September 10th, 2003

PlayStation 2, king of the consoles

Worldwide sales of the PlayStation 2 have surpassed 60 million units. Sony Computer Entertainment's console was first introduced in Japan on March 4th, 2000. Shipment of 60 million units took 3 years and 6 months since the launch in 2000; sales of PS2 consoles are 1.6 times higher in volume compared to the same period after launch of the original PlayStation. This means that the PlayStation 2 has the potential of becoming an even greater success than the PS One. Impressive!

Soul Calibur 2, the numbers are in!

Namco announced today that over 1.6 million units of Soul Calibur II (Xbox, GC and PS2) were shipped on its first day of sale in the U.S. market. This sets a new record for Namco for day one video game release in North America.

KOF 2000/2001 announced for PS2

SNK NEOGEO USA has announced that it will bring THE KING OF FIGHTERS 2000 and THE KING OF FIGHTERS 2001 in one special package for the PlayStation 2. The special pack will be available at the end of November for $39.99 US.



Update : September 5th, 2003

PlayStation 3 info

Ken Kutaragi mentioned that the PlayStation 3 will be downward compatible to both PlayStation 2 and PS One, they intend to keep backward compatibility in all future machines, just like music CDs can be played on DVD players. The PS One compatibility will be achieved through software emulation. Also, Sony clarified that the PlayStation 3 will not use a graphic chip card provided by Nvidia, because Sony has their own skilled chip design teams and manufacturing plants. This contradicts the report of Money.CNN.com from last week.

More GameCubes than PS2

Last week statistics showed that Nintendo's GameCube has outsold Sony's PlayStation 2 in Japan during the period of August 25 - 31. Thanks to the release of the RPG Tales of Symphonia from Namco, GameCube has sold 35,600 units and PS2 has sold 35,300 units on the same period. Not a big difference but still...



Update : September 1st, 2003

Kingdom Hearts Anime

According to Disney Consumer Products president Andy Mooney, Kingdom Hearts 2, will debut at the next Tokyo Game Show. Square Enix have not commented on the reports so far. It was also announced that Disney is planning to create an animated version of Kingdom Hearts. No localization has been revealed but due to the popularity of the game, it will probably be aired worldwide. Finally, Square Enix is planning a press conference at the Tokyo Game Show which will feature some major announcements. Stay tuned for more info at the end of September.

Pokémon turns 5 year old!

Nintendo of America celebrates the fifth anniversary of the Pokémon franchise with a new pinball sequel for the Gameboy Advance. The game features more than 200 Pokémon, many of which appeared in Pokémon Ruby and Pokémon Sapphire. According to Nintendo, 38 million Pokémon games have been sold in North America and 110 million have been sold worldwide. I think we call that a phenomenon.



Update : August 21st, 2003

Gamecube price drop

Nintendo of America announced that the retail price of the GameCube will be reduced to $99 US (~11,800 yen) by the end of September. A good move before the holidays!

Japanese Government to help anime projects

The Japanese Ministry of Culture announced they will start next year, a new financial aid program to help upcoming anime creators (from the public) realize their projects. Anime production cost a lot of money and it's a good sign to see this kind of move to help the industry. The main goal is to continue to promote Japanese animation within and outside of Japan.

Sega Ages games

Sega has released new preview video of the Sega AGES series, the video contains previews of Phantasy Star Generation 1, Monaco GP, Fantasy Zone, Space Harrier and Golden Axe. At the moment, these games will only be released in Japan and only on the PS2. No word yet if Sega of America will bring them here, let's hope so!

Preview video (56K users) Preview video (broadband users)

By the way, Sega has just released a new list for the upcoming new Sega Ages games, there are :

Sega AGES Vol. 6 : Virtua Racing
(remake of the Model 1 arcade 3D racing game)
Sega AGES Vol. 7 : Last Bronx
(remake of the Model 2 arcade fighting game)
Sega AGES Vol. 8 : Phantasy Star 2
(remake of Mega Drive/Genesis RPG)
Sega AGES Vol. 9 : Phantasy Star 4
(remake of Mega Drive/Genesis RPG)



Update : August 12th, 2003

Ninja Gaiden Xbox

Ninja Gaiden will finally receive another sequel after many delays. Tecmo said the game should be ready before the holidays and it will be released in North America & Japan at about the same time. Here are some new pictures :

Megaman Network news

Capcom has announced that a new installment of Megaman Network (Rockman EXE) will appear on the GameBoy Advance in Japan this December. Similar to the previous games, you battle the various viruses in the network and obtain new powers with battlechips. You can also build your own battlechips during the quest. Another interesting info we just learned, Megaman NT Warrior, the anime series, will begin in september on Teletoon. At first look, the animation looks great!



Update : July 25th, 2003

Satoshi Kon's latest movie

Here's the official poster of Satoshi Kon's latest animated movie, Tokyo Godfathers. Satoshi Kon, who previously did Perfect Blue and Millenium Actress, said that Tokyo Godfathers will premiere at this year's Big Apple Anime Festival in New York City. Should be another great anime film!

New info on Phantasy Star Online
Episode III

Sega/Sonic Team announced that the GameCube online card battle RPG Phantasy Star Online Episode III : C.A.R.D. Revolution will have a single player mode and a multiplayer mode where up to 4 players can battle offline.

Final Fantasy Chronicles coming soon in Japan

Square Enix will soon release Final Fantasy Chronicles, one of the most anticipated Gamecube title of the year. It's expected to come out on August 9th in Japan. Concerning the US version, Nintendo of America has postponed the release date of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles to February 9, 2004.

Here's a Japanese TV commercial of the game, Final Fantasy Chronicles commercial (~5 megs)



Update : July 15th, 2003

Out Run 2, no longer a rumor

Yes, it's true, Sega AM-2 announced that Out Run 2 is a reality and development is well underway. The game use the Chihiro technology (Xbox compatible). It should be out in the arcades this year and maybe also on the Xbox. Here are the first official screens :

Nintendo is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Famicom

Today is a important day for Nintendo, it marks the 20th anniversary of the Famicom (July 15th 1983 - July 15th 2003). A turning point in the video games industry because Nintendo's Famicom 8-bit system helped bring back the popularity and after that it just kept growing. In order to commemorate the event, Nintendo is launching a contest where participants has the chance to win a special edition Gameboy Advance SP with the colors of original Famicom.

Time Crisis 3 coming to the PS2

Namco announced that they will release Time Crisis 3 for the PlayStation 2 in Japan on November 20th, for 6800 yen (~$60 US). A GunCon 2 + Time Crisis 3 Bundle Pack will also be released on the same day, for 9800 yen (~$85 US).



Update : June 25th, 2003

Steam Boy Update : not coming this year

The anime director, Katsuhiro Otomo (AKIRA) has announced that the release of his latest film, entitled "Steam Boy", will be postponed. Originally planned for a release in October, it is now expected sometime next year. The reason given was that the of the end of the movie is much more detailed and tougher to do than what it was predicted beforehand. Thus, the production staff hopes to put more time in finishing it to its highest possible quality, rather than having to rush the project. The movie project began 8 years ago, I think we can wait again a few more months.

Sailor Moon to return in Japan

Well, this time, it's not anime. It will be as a TV drama adaptation with real actors. The program will start broadcasting this fall in October on TBS Japan. Toei, will be producing the show. It's the same company who produced the original Sailor Moon anime.

Evangelion Movie Update

According to a reliable source, ADV Films recently talked at a convention about the budget of the upcoming Evangelion Live Action movie and it is supposed to be around $100 million US!!!



Update : June 11th, 2003

Evangelion Live action Movie

NewType Japan has just released new concept design images for the Neon Genesis Evangelion Live action movie. Take a look!

New Clip for Dino Crisis 3

Capcom Japan released today a new clip for their upcoming Xbox game, Dino Crisis 3. The CG cut-scenes looks really well done. The game will be available on June 26th in Japan and on August 5th in North America.

Click here to view the clip (~4.5 megs).

New Trailer for Wonderful Days

Although the movie is not from Japan (it's from Korea), Wonderful Days is a highly anticipated animation sci-fi thriller. The movie is expected for July 2003.

Click here to view the latest trailer (~20 megs).



Update : May 29th, 2003

New Card Captor Sakura spinoff

CLAMP's new manga, "Tsubasa - RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE", has recently begun in issue 25 of the manga magazine Weekly Shonen. Not much is known right now but the rumor has it that there will be many past CLAMP characters in the story. The first chapters includes Sakura and Li Syaoran from Card Captor Sakura (both are now a little older). We'll try to get more info about this hot new manga.

The Big O : Second Season

It's confirmed, the Second Season of The Big O will premier on the Cartoon Network on Sunday, August 3rd at 11:00 p.m.

Ai Yori Aoshi 2

The official Japanese Ai Yori Aoshi homepage has revealed that there will be a 2nd TV series and the title will be "Ai Yori Aoshi ~ Enishi".





Update : May 23rd, 2003

Live action Evangelion movie

ADV Films, who released the Neon Genesis Evangelion anime series in the US has announced that they are working with the series producer Gainax and the great digital effects company Weta Workshop, Ltd. to produce a live action feature film based on the classic anime series. Right now, the movie is said to be in the earliest stages of its development.

Final Fantasy XII, coming in 2003

Today, Square Enix mentioned that Final Fantasy XII will be released in the second half of the year 2003. No specific date was given but it's pretty sure that it will be before christmas. This concerns only the Japanese version.

Xenosaga 2

Namco announced they will reveal details of Xenosaga Episode 2 for the PlayStation 2 in a press conference on July 21st. Shion Uzuki will return as the main character of the game. The story will center on the mysteries behind Jr. Albedo, Gaignun Kukai and Zohars, and the relationship between Jr. Albedo and Momo. Also, the game systems should be greatly improved. More info to come in July!



Update : May 9th, 2003

Steamboy will finally be released in theaters

Akira's creator, Otomo Katsuhiro, never thought it would see an end but now, his latest project called Steamboy, is nearing completion. You might not be aware of this but this project begun in 1994 and faced many problems until 2003. For completing this project, many thanks goes to Bandai Visual, especially for the money aspect. The movie always had financial problems all along and in the end, it is now officially the most expensive Japanese animated movie ever made. Final cost = $23 000 000 US. Taking that into account, the movie will be released around the world soon after the Japanese release which should be in October 2003. For North America, it should be in November 2003. Here are 2 promotional pieces, the Movie poster and the 1st teaser trailer :



Steamboy Teaser Trailer (~11 megs)

Fire Emblem will be translated

Nintendo announced they will bring the GameBoy Advance simulation RPG Fire Emblem : Rekka no Ken to North America. The US version will be renamed Fire Emblem : Sword of Fire.

Sega and Sammy, it's now over

According to Bloomberg, Sega has officially canceled the merger plan with Sammy (that was supposed to happen in October). So after the failure with Bandai, now Sammy, there's another merger possiblity with video game maker Namco. However, Namco just retracted their offer, it means that Sega will have to go forth to propose a new offer, otherwise, everything will remain the same.

Goodbye Infogrames! Welcome back Atari!

Effective immediately, Infogrames has changed their company name to Atari. The company has been using the Atari brand name and logo for some of its games since last year and now, they have decided to do it all the way. Even the NASDAQ symbol has changed, it's now refered to ATAR. Welcome back Atari!



Update : April 25th, 2003

Sega's future

Sega's CEO, Hideki Sato, revealed that the company would come to a conclusion about its merger decision involving Sammy and Namco by the beginning of next month. Sega is thinking of merging with only one of the two companies. Last february, a merger between Sega and Sammy was announced (to be effective on October 1st 2003) but recently, Namco approached Sega seriously and now we'll have to wait to see what will be the final decision. More to come very soon!

Nintendo to publish SquareEnix games

Nintendo of America announced they will publish and distribute three Square Enix game titles in 2003, there are : Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles for GameCube, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance and Sword of Mana (Shinyaku Seiken Densetsu) for GameBoy Advance. 3 quality games in perspective!



Update : April 22th, 2003

Latest video games sales in Japan

Here's the latest Dengeki Top 10 list for video games sales during April 7th to April 13th of 2003. This week, the saga of .hack comes to an end with volume 4 and with the help of the fans of the series, the game was the best-seller of the last week. For your information, Bandai will soon release volume 2 in North America.

1	.Hack Vol. 4	Bandai		81,486	NEW
2	Dragon Quest Monsters: Caravan Hearts	Enix		58,389	(371,439)
3	Nechu Professional Baseball 2003	Namco		48,696	(124,728)
4	Naruto	Tomy		48,533	NEW
5	Made in Wario	Nintendo		36,767	(210,879)
6	The 2nd Super Robot Taisen Alpha	Banpresto		31,071	(414,130)
7	Final Fantasy X-2	Squaresoft		26,332	(1,903,533)
8	Taikou no Tetsujin: Doki! Shinkyoku Darakeno Haru Matsuri	Namco		22,654	(170,101)
9	DoDonPachi Daioujyo	Arika		14,925	NEW
10	Legend of Zelda : Four Sabers	Nintendo		14,811	(218,466)

Update : April 14th, 2003

Berserk Season 2 in development

According to a reliable source, the 2nd season of the hit anime series Berserk could have very well begun production. It seems that the US distributor, Anime Works, is so pleased with its success, that they decide to finance in half the cost of the 2nd season. We'll update you when more details becomes available.

Squaresoft + Enix = New Logo!

As you all know by now, Japanese RPG makers Squaresoft and Enix have merged on April 1st of this year and as most mergers do, the new company needs a new logo. Well, without further ado, here are 2 examples :

2002 Top 10 Game Publishers in Japan

Here is the new 2002 Fiscal Year for the Top 10 Video Game Publishers in Japan. The sales were accounted for the 2002 fiscal year (between April 1st, 2002 to March 31st, 2003). Nintendo had a good year with a total of 5 best-selling games in the first 10 positions. No game for the WonderSwan or the Xbox made it in the top 50. Better luck next year!

Top 10 Video Game Publishers in Japan for 2002
Rank	Publisher	Number of titles (in Top 100)
1	Nintendo	14
2	Bandai	12
3	Konami	10
3	Capcom	10
5	Squaresoft	8
6	Banpresto	7
7	Sony	6
8	Namco	5
8	Sega	5
10	Koei	4
10	Enix	4