Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing to the page showcasing a range of handmade 'plush game consoles', including cuddly, non-functional versions of the Sega Dreamcast, Nintendo GameCube, NEC PC Engine (TurboGrafx), and even the Neo Geo. According to the site: "Zumi [the creator] made these plush game consoles from scratch. They were all made by hand, without any tools more sophisticated than a felt pen or piece of paper." The page was recently featured in UK paper-magazine Edge, and there's now one of a limited edition of plush Dreamcasts up on Ebay, for the committed Dreamcast collectors among us.

meejahor writes "The BBC reports that Sony will soon launch the PlayStation 2 in China, following Nintendo's lead with the GameCube. Most interesting about the story is the news that, because of widespread piracy in China, PS2 games 'will cost far less than they do in the US or the UK, but still be slightly more than pirated discs.' We've always been told that pirate games push prices up, but doesn't this news suggest that piracy in China has in fact pushed prices down? The story also notes that 'only two or three games will be available at launch' which seems crazy considering the likelihood that people will pirate imported games instead of waiting for them to be released officially." While the Chinese launch of PS2 has been known for a while, the pricing of Chinese games is pretty interesting, given their long history of piracy. I imagine this sort of thing would be considered in the U.S. and other countries were pirated games as widespread as they are in China.

Thanks to Planet GameCube for reprinting a press release announcing the 'Bang The Machine' game-related art exhibit, which opens in San Francisco early in 2004. It includes previously Slashdot-mentioned pieces such as the Pong-equipped Painstation and a Waco-interpreting FPS, but also newer material, including a Carpet Invaders game which is "a floor projection of a videogame that simulates the early Space Invaders.. [but] made to resemble Afghani rug designs", and a 5-foot-high sculpture called '650 Polygon John Carmack', based off a "low polygon game avatar of him... developed for... Quake III."

jkeyes writes "The Warp Pipe project for playing LAN GameCube games online has just released Beta 0.3 for Windows. This is the first release to support Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, contains significant optimization, and even has region-free play, so you can battle against gamers from Japan or Europe - the first Macintosh beta is planned for next week."

An anonymous reader writes "With the GameCube at $99 and PlayStation 2 sales still huge, people are starting to really notice the shrinkage of PC games at retail. Why? What does the future hold? An article at JoeUser.com asks that question and looks at what is likely to happen to PC games as consoles slowly take over most of the retail space for games." This piece, written by Brad Wardell, creator of Galactic Civilizations, argues: "The issue isn't whether the PC game market will die. It won't. The issue is whether PC games will be able to keep up with console games from a production values point of view."

Thanks to GameSpot for its coverage regarding EA's imminent launch of Medal Of Honor - Rising Sun for PS2 and GameCube in Japan, and the correspondent's observation that the game's "portrayal of [the] Pacific campaign, where Japan suffered losses, [is] politely overlooked, but not by all." A review in Japanese publication Softbank Games is referenced, which reads: "This game is set in the Pacific, where deadly combat between the Japanese Imperial Army and the American Army unfolds", and GameSpot's correspondent finds "no indication that the reviewer finds anything unusual about playing as a U.S. soldier trying to defeat the WWII-era Japanese army." Other Japanese gamers surveyed had other opinions, with one suggesting that "...this is a game in which you play as a foreign soldier and try to kill troops from your own country. I bet that you couldn't even sell a game like this overseas."

Thanks to 1UP for their news that, following yesterday's vaunted Final Fantasy XI subscriber numbers of over 400,000, Sega has released figures claiming over 600,000 subscribers for the Phantasy Star Online series, albeit "worldwide across all territories, episodes, and platforms", and including the newly Japanese-released Phantasy Star Online Episode III: C.A.R.D. Revolution. The article suggests: "A direct comparison between the two isn't fair for several reasons (PSO is on multiple platforms, popular in multiple territories, has a different pricing structure, and of course features a completely different style of gameplay), but nevertheless, it seems safe to say that Sega's experiment in online console gaming has proven a success in the long run."

Thanks to GamesDomain for its review of Mario Kart: Double Dash for GameCube, as the reviewer rates Nintendo's latest kart update very highly, but comments that "...more seasoned gamers may grumble a tad at the general lack of progress", a view occasionally echoed by the overwhelmingly glowing reception from other sites, reminiscent of the (cynically?) subdued positivity regarding Soul Calibur II's release. However, IGN Cube is more critical still, suggesting the game "doesn't progress far beyond the N64 version other than in the visual department... [and] introduces new imbalances to the item system", plus "has axed a few trusted control mechanics like the hop." As for the title's reception outside the U.S., EuroGamer rectifies IGN's downer angle, and C+VG reports significant sales in Japan, with a knock-on effect for GameCube hardware, and a similar effect in the UK for a Mario Kart-including hardware bundle.

Thanks to GamerFeed for their news that Midway Arcade Treasures for the PlayStation 2 has shipped, with the "next-generation console offering of more than 20 classic arcade games" also due on November 24th for Xbox and December 17th for GameCube. This budget-priced compilation, previously mentioned on Slashdot and including Gauntlet, Paperboy, Marble Madness and Robotron: 2084 among many others, is basically well-received by IGN PS2, who suggests that "many of the games on the disc retain their fun and addictiveness, even to today's standards", but GameSpot is somewhat less impressed, commenting: "Games that feature analog input feel very loose and are hard to control", although noting that "...almost every game... is completely and totally enjoyable once you get a handle on how they play."

Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing to a Warp Pipe website posting, in which the creator of the GameCube tunneling software alleges that "members of [planned GameCube tunneling alternative] Xlink community have exploited the fact that our source code (previously open source) is still sitting our SourceForge CVS servers." The confusing allegations, eventually shown to be unrelated to the Xlink creators, have ended in the Warp Pipe code declared closed source and removed from SourceForge. However, the Beta of the Warp Pipe online-enabling software for the GameCube, which "...will support residential DSL and Cable broadband with either a router or 2 NIC setup", is still due before the end of the year.

EvilDonut writes "According to Bloomberg.com, Nintendo intends to launch a new machine in Japan next year, in order "to boost sales". There are no details as to wether the machine will be hand-held or not, but Bloomberg does describe it as a next-generation console. This is pretty odd, as Nintendo has previously stated that the GameCube successor wouldn't be out until 2005, and the GBA is doing so well that I can't imagine they'll replace it as early as next year. The article also mentions the Nintendo iQue, so it's pretty clear this is not just a mix-up regarding the new, China-only system." Update: 11/13 23:44 GMT by S : GameSpot has a very cryptic clarification from Nintendo, that "the new product will be a unique item that is different from any traditional machine", and will be "be [neither] a home console nor a portable machine."

Thanks to Game Informer for their hands-on impressions of Legend Of Zelda: Collector's Edition, as the GameCube bundle/bonus compilation approaches release. The article describes "The first two old-school games [The Legend Of Zelda, Zelda II: The Adventure Of Link] look just as they did when they released way back in the day", and shows comparison screenshots for the N64 titles [The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and The Legend Of Zelda: Majora's Mask], for which "...the graphics are now in high-res." Elsewhere, 1UP has news on Nintendo release dates for 2004, as "The four-player GameCube Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles is still on track for February 9", and "will share that ... release date with Metroid: Zero Mission for Game Boy Advance... [which] expands on the original 8-bit Metroid adventure with revised levels, new story elements, and other added features."

Thanks to the Gaming-Age forum regulars for pointing to news of a new world speed record at Metroid Prime for GameCube. The record-breaker, Radix, was originally inspired by an earlier Slashdot article about CALFoolio's non-item-based speed record, and "decided... to focus on a 100% speed run: one that gets all 100 items in the game." This run comes with a complete video record of the amazingly swift 1 hour, 37 minute play-through.

Thanks to GameSpot for their feature documenting the final hours of development on Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time, Ubisoft's update of the classic '80s platform adventure. The piece follows the development team as they squash the final, most obscure bugs, such as "...the disappearance of the head of the female character, Farah, if you leave the game on for more than 12 consecutive hours", and elsewhere, IGN PS2 rate the results as "the perfect realization of the franchise in 3D." GameSpy also has a set of features on the game, with the Xbox version's review largely positive, proclaiming "this prince is no pauper", while 1UP spell out the bonuses for each version, including "PS2: The entire original Prince of Persia... Xbox: The entire original Prince of Persia 2... GC/GBA: The entire original Prince of Persia, unlockable via the GBA or GameCube."

Thanks to Gamesindustry.biz for their article revealing that GameCube consoles are rolling off the production lines in Japan once again, as revitalized demand for the system "finally outstrips the backlog of units which had built up at Nintendo's warehouses", following the suspension of GameCube manufacturing earlier this year. The article points out that "Recent price-drops combined with the roll-out of key software titles [including the Zelda bundle] for the machine in all three major markets have given the Cube new life in the run up to Christmas", as Nintendo VP George Harrison "...told the Wall Street Journal that he expects to sell two million Cubes in the US market this Christmas."

nakedxray writes "Yahoo posted a Nintendo press release earlier this morning claiming that the GameCube has almost doubled its marketshare in the U.S, rising from 19 percent to 37 percent. The $99 price point seems to be paying off. Now, how about those online games?" Nintendo are again lagging in UK sales, however, as "the Xbox is now outselling Nintendo's machine by over two to one", according to GI.biz, although a UK variant, including Mario Kart:Double Dash, of the allegedly forthcoming U.S. Zelda bundle may help revitalize Nintendo's hardware in that market. Update: 11/04 20:59 GMT by S : The U.S. GameCube Zelda bundle is no longer 'alleged', since it's due on Nov.17th for $99, and the Zelda disc is available separately "by [consumers] registering their Nintendo GameCube system and two... hot holiday titles... [or] by subscribing to or renewing their subscription to Nintendo Power magazine."

An anonymous reader writes "According to Biz Ink, 'Microsoft has licensed leading-edge semiconductor processor technology from IBM for use in future Xbox products and services to be announced at a later date..' IBM are already working on the PlayStation 3 CPU alongside Toshiba, and have a relationship with Nintendo after making the GameCube CPU, though there's been no official announcement on GameCube 2's hardware. Is the next-gen hardware war heating up?"

Thanks to Planet GameCube for their news story revealing that a GameCube version of the Xbox-specific Xlink Messenger tunneling software is in progress. According to the site, "The XLink team says initial testing with the GameCube and their... [Windows] software ran 'nice and smooth'." This free utility, due out before the end of the year, is an alternative to the Warp Pipe GC tunneling software previously mentioned on Slashdot Games - the products allow you to play LAN-only GameCube games over the Internet using "a PC... a broadband connection, and a router or a second ethernet card to connect the GC to your PC", in the absence of significant Nintendo support for much-desired online play.

Thanks to EGM for their interview with Nintendo vice-president George Harrison, discussing the current state of the GameCube, as well as plans for the future. Harrison is surprisingly honest, commenting: "I think we've had individual successes with things like Zelda: The Wind Waker and Smash Bros. and others. If there's a shortcoming for us on GameCube, it's not delivering enough consistent breadth and variety of software. That really is the key." He also explains the exact reasoning behind the GameCube's recent price drop: "We see people buying it for $99 as a second system; potentially someone who has owned a PlayStation 2 for three years already and know that they have another two or so years to wait [for the next console hardware generation]."

Thanks to GameGirlAdvance for pointing to a Healing Iraq weblog entry about the state of gaming life in Iraq. The Baghdad-based author says: "Videogames are a huge part of our society. Almost everyone I know, regardless of their socioeconomic status, either owns a console or has regular access to one", and goes on to note that "The most popular console in Iraq is the Sony Playstation. Dreamcast and the PS2 also have their devoted fans. The Xbox and Gamecube aren't very popular here." The games industry may not be raking in much money from Iraq, though: "We have a special gamers district at Bab Al-Sharji at the heart of the city where you can find hundreds of videogame vendors. Of course all the games we get are copies and we rarely find originals."