Thanks to Reuters/Yahoo for their report indicating that retail advertisements for video games in newspapers rose almost 77 percent in the second quarter compared to a year earlier. Interestingly, the survey also found that "...more than 40 percent of game ads in the quarter were for games costing $49.99, the usual price for top titles, compared with about 33 percent in the prior quarter. At the same time, the number of ads for discount $19.99 titles declined." Does this show companies are concentrating more on full-price wannabe blockbusters, as opposed to cut-price shovelware? In another intriguing finding, the survey also revealed average GameCube software prices at $26, compared to more than $33 for both PlayStation 2 and Xbox.

avayre writes "Nintendo is to press the pause button on production of its GameCube consoles while it clears inventory of unsold machines. the company's president said on Thursday. But Satoru Iwata promised the struggling games company was developing a radical new product to be announced next year -- however he gave few details save to say it would be a departure from mainstream gaming consoles 'that will have a big impact on the world.'" My prediction is that it's just downtime until Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles ships. That'll help move those units that are gathering dust.

Ian_Bailey writes "In official announcements, Nintendo has confirmed a number of new games, including a sequel to Wario Ware Inc. for the GameCube and a new Donkey Kong game developed by Namco. Furthermore, Nintendo indicated that a 'new game product' will be unveiled in Spring 2004, which could be their N5 next-gen console. Finally, after the IGN PS2 rumor reports, they have now had a look at the 10 Biggest Rumors on GameCube, including Metroid Prime 2, Too Human, and a realistic-looking Zelda."

Thanks to Gamesindustry.biz for their report on Nintendo's announcement of significant first-quarter profits, around $95 million (11.5bn Yen), "buoyed by stellar Game Boy Advance console sales, foreign exchange rate gains in Europe and the well timed re-emergence of the Pokemon brand." However, the article cautions that GameCube's current prospects are "...looking increasingly bleak, with a mere 800,000 units of the underperforming console selling through from April to June. Targets of six million have been set for the end of its financial year, but it's looking unlikely that it will reach this unless it's prepared to heavily discount the console in the run up to Christmas - something Nintendo has traditionally been reluctant to do." What can Nintendo do to get out of this hardware slump? Update: 08/05 20:43 GMT by S : According to this Reuters report, Nintendo sold just 80,000 GameCubes to retailers worldwide, not 800,000.

An anonymous reader writes "An article over at Curmudgeon Gamer collects together and discusses the revenue reported over the past eight quarters for five game companies: Electronic Arts, Take Two Interactive, Activision, THQ, and Midway. Using graphs and some discussion, it reveals some interesting points and trends in the market. You can see how important Grand Theft Auto has been to Take Two, just how big EA really is compared to Activision, and whether the Xbox or GameCube is generating more revenue for these game companies." This is a very interesting attempt at collating and comparing revenue data for some of the bigger multi-platform game publishers.

SycloneFX writes "According to an article on CNET News, Linksys have announced two new adapters that are designed to connect game consoles, including PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube. The article summarizes: 'The new adapters are available immediately, and are based on the 802.11b and 802.11g wireless networking standards. The 802.11b-based adapter, called the Wireless-B Game Adapter, costs $79, while the 802.11g-based Wireless-G Game Adapter costs $129.'" Seems like simple, easy-to-set-up wireless for online/LAN console gaming is a great way to go.

Thanks to Gamers.com for their article pointing out that the Japanese release of Nintendo's hotly-awaited F-Zero GX is partially incompatible with the Datel Freeloader region-free disc for the GameCube, which "normally allows players to run Japanese games on American or European Cubes without difficulty", as it "refuses to display the select screens or the in-game interface overlays (such as the speedometer, placing indicator, and so forth)." Since this a major Nintendo-developed title, and one of the first to sport notable incompatibilities with Freeloader, could it be that Nintendo are deliberately releasing games to break region-free circumvention, or is this just a coincidence?

Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing to the GameSpy preview of LucasArts' Gladius, a PS2/GameCube/Xbox "epic tactical RPG that'll have you building an army of gladiators, one axe swing at a time." There's also a new Gladius preview at RPGamer giving a combat overview: ".. [it] takes place on a standard, tactical-RPG square grid, but the graphics do a good job of hiding it... combat is turn-based, but.. using certain attacks on a foe necessitates the use of several action/arcade elements, such as combo attacks strung together by timed button-presses." They also comment on the unexpected genre choice: "American-developed as it may be, Gladius is a tactical RPG that takes its cue from the old favorites, while at the same time trying to expand the genre." Might this title improve on LucasArts' recent efforts?

chadlnx writes "The Warp Pipe Project, an open source project to bring LAN-based GameCube games online, recently released a specification detailing how GameCubes communicate over a network. The Warp Pipe Project is aggressively seeking out developers who would be interested in this project through its SourceForge project page."

Thanks to GameSpot for their article revealing the first details on Xenosaga Episode II, subtitled 'Jenseits von Gut und Bose' ('Beyond Good And Evil'), and a follow-up to the popular, if long-winded PS2 sci-fi RPG from MonolithSoft/Namco. Screenshots reveal the major characters have returned, "..and some of them have been given a more-mature look for the new game." In related news, GamePro reported on new details and screenshots from MonolithSoft's GameCube-exclusive RPG, Baten Kaitos (named after a star in the Cetus constellation), which is "set in a collection of five floating continents in the sky", and surprisingly, has a "..fighting system [which] will involve the use of cards." Both are likely, but as yet unconfirmed for release outside Japan.

Thanks to C+VG for their interview discussing the newly announced Harry Potter And The Sorceror's Stone with an EA producer, after this heavily rumored PS2/Xbox/GameCube update of the first book was officially announced last week. The game is summarized as having "..some stealth sections, some flying modes, but probably 80 percent of the time there's this sort of arcade adventure, it's almost Zelda-esque. We're not afraid to admit our influences." So unafraid, in fact, that they mention the Zelda series at least 5 times during the interview. There's already been a glut of Harry Potter games, most of which have been significantly different from one another - which ones have you actually enjoyed?

Thanks to Polygon for posting the Japanese games industry's half-year console hardware and software stats on their site. They summarize: "Sales of Sony's PlayStation 2 console significantly outpaced all competitors... surprisingly, Square-Enix topped all software publishers by a large margin." As far as Japanese hardware sales go, the GameCube (8.3 percent) and especially Xbox (1.6 percent) are falling ever-further behind the Playstation 2 (58.5 percent.) Regarding software, Square Enix may not have expected Final Fantasy X-2 to sell almost 2 million copies, but it only boosted their already top-selling Japanese output. Nintendo's second place in software may be more due to their handheld output, not including (?) the separately-listed and top-selling Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire for GBA, rather than their GameCube titles (though some GC titles like Animal Crossing have been surprise hits.)

Thanks to Gamers.com for their report discussing the newly revealed synergy between F-Zero's home and arcade versions (here's an alternate article at GamePro.) According to the article, "..customized racers are freely interchangeable between the arcade and console versions of the game. Just save a custom racer to the GameCube memory card with either game, and you can transport it from one game to the other." As well as this, "..winning a race in the arcade game can unlock.. ships or tracks as a special bonus - save that data to a GC memory card and you can play an otherwise unavailable ship or course in the home game." You'll also get a special magnetic License Card for high scores in the arcade version, in this interesting attempt at providing incentive for players to return to arcades.

Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing to a GamePro article discussing Nintendo's public attitude to online gaming, even as it extends to the GameCube successor. According to Nintendo's senior VP George Harrison, "[Online gaming] is a consideration. We're looking into it for the next iteration of the GameCube. We just don't believe consumers are ready for it. Right now, no one's paying for subscriptions. The real test comes when you have to start coughing up $15 per month." However, analyst Michael Goodman doesn't concur: "The game console isn't just a game console anymore. It's evolving into a home entertainment system. Nintendo has refused to acknowledge that and it's hurt them."

Thanks to Kikizo for running a series of articles on Sega, including an unconfirmed list of the AM2 studio's output for 2003, and new information about the state of Sega Rally 3. The AM2 list includes both Virtua Fighter Quest (working title) for Gamecube and Outrun 2 for arcade, both due later in 2003. Interestingly, the Outrun sequel is marked as running on the Xbox-based Chihiro arcade board, which powered the arcade version of Crazy Taxi 3, meaning an Xbox conversion would be very straightforward if this is true. Finally, as well as a separate story touching on the possible existence of Fighting Vipers 3, Kikizo claim Sega Rally 3 has been "..completely finished since January this year", but remains unreleased in arcades (and unannounced for PS2) because of "licensing issues", presumably with cars.

Thanks to IGN Cube for running an import review of Capcom's crazed 3D-graphics but 2D-gameplay action platformer, Viewtiful Joe, which has just been released (and immediately sold out) in Japan, but isn't out in the US until October. According to the article, "Viewtiful Joe is an extremely stylized quasi-2D side-brawler .. [with] polished control mechanics.. you can effortlessly slow down time, speed it up.. the game's graphic presentation, from.. cel-styled worlds.. [to] breathtaking slow-time and speed-time effects, and fluid animation that drowns every character, is just gorgeous." There's also a US demo of Viewtiful Joe on the recent official GameCube demo disc - is this title proof that 2D gameplay can still enchant the mass market?

Thanks to GameSpy for posting a three-part article discussing the problems of pirated console games, and the steps being taken to combat the problem. The article talks to IDSA boss Doug Lowenstein, and suggests that "..console piracy is a worldwide industry, as multi-national as wireless telephones or McDonalds hamburgers.", also contrasting the piracy problems of the major manufacturers: "Nintendo's piracy problems are more localized than those of Sony and Microsoft. While GameCube piracy has not been a problem, Game Boy piracy, on the other hand, has proliferated."

Thanks to several readers for pointing out the IGN Pocket summary picking their 15 must-have GameBoy Advance titles for those who've bought the GameBoy Player add-on for the GameCube, and so are getting a chance to play GBA games on their TV sets for the first time. The authors have "..gone through the GameBoy Advance library, and hand-picked 15 titles in the collection that we'd consider 'can't miss' games on the handheld." Picks include obvious class acts like Advance Wars 2 and Castlevania: Aria Of Sorrow, as well as less well-known titles such as Ninja Five-O and Puyo Pop.

Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing to a GamerFeed article translating an interview with former Nintendo boss Hiroshi Yamauchi about the state of gaming. The legendary Yamauchi is customarily dismissive about Sony's attempts to get into handheld gaming with the PSP ("I don't think [Sony] understand the game business... but software for both machines will be much different, and it would be a mistake to consider them in direct competition."), and also offers a different perspective on slipping GameCube sales ("Sales of GameCube software fell short in North America and Europe last year, and I believe that's due to the popularity of violent games on other consoles. The culture of Japan is much different and less accepting of such titles. Our target market is the entire world, so it's very difficult to develop software that appeals to everyone.")

Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing to The Magic Box's item indicating that Midway are publishing a PS2/Xbox/GameCube title called Midway Arcade Treasures this fall. According to the site, "..the compilation will contain the following classic arcade games: Spy Hunter, Defender II, Gauntlet, Joust, Paperboy, Rampage, Marble Madness, Robotron 2084, Smash TV, Joust 2, Bubbles, Road Blasters, Rampart, Sinistar, Super Sprint, 720, Toobin', Klax, Splat!, Satan's Hollow and Vindicators. In addition, the compilation will include interviews with the creators and developers of these games."