Thanks to Nintendo Power for its transcript of "Zelda guru" Eiji Aonuma's speech at last month's GDC conference. Aonuma, who's "been doing work related to a game known as Zelda... for roughly eight years", from the N64 through the current GameCube iterations, discusses his pre-Zelda influences ("What kinds of games did suit me? Those would be Text-Based Adventures"), the "three-day system" in N64 title Majora's Mask ("[done] to make the game data more compact while still providing deep gameplay"), and the essence of the series ("Zelda is a game that values REALITY over realism.")

Thanks to Nintendo.com for its new info page officially revealing Metroid Prime 2: Echoes for GameCube, showing several impressive screenshots of "this highly anticipated sequel to Metroid Prime", as the first hints of setting are discussed: "Hunted by a mysterious entity and a warring race called the Ing, Samus Aran must explore the light and dark worlds of this doomed planet." The previously rumored multiplayer mode is also confirmed: "Up to four players can battle each other as they search for weapons, grapple across ceilings, and turn into Morph Balls to make their escapes."

Thanks to GameSpot for its news story confirming the final line-up for multi-platform retro compilation Midway Arcade Treasures 2. According to the piece: "the compilation will feature 21 ports from the venerable publisher's arcade catalog on a single disc, including A.P.B., Arch Rivals, Championship Sprint, Cyberball 2072, Gauntlet 2, Hard Drivin', Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat II, Mortal Kombat III, NARC, Pit Fighter, Primal Rage, Rampage World Tour, Spy Hunter 2, Steel Talons, STUN Runner, Timber, Total Carnage, Wizard of Wor, Xenophobe, Xybots." The compilation, a follow-up to last year's first Treasures compilation, is "priced at $19.99... [and] is scheduled for a fall 2004 release on the Xbox, PlayStation 2, and GameCube."

CuBeFReNZy writes "Game-Science has an article mentioning: 'Capcom held a meeting today to show off their newly formed development team, Clover Studio.' The team showcased their first titles: a Viewtiful Joe conversion ('will include Dante, from Capcom's Devil May Cry series, as a playable character') to the PS2, Viewtiful Joe 2 ('new co-op gameplay') for PS2 and Gamecube, and Ookami ('toon-shading engine... nature adventure') for the PS2."

An anonymous reader writes "The GameCube has had a drought of games since the start of spring. Many gamers are eagerly awaiting 'the next big game,' The Legend of Zelda: The Four Swords Adventures. The game, which is set to be released this June, has already been released in Japan and a full review from the SiliconEra website. According to the piece, the game is 'easy to learn, innovative and can appeal to people of all ages', but the reviewer also states that the US release of the Four Swords will be minus some Japanese features, as it will be missing the Navi Trackers mini game."

Thanks to IGN Cube for its article discussing Star Wars: Rebel Strike developer Factor 5's official confirmation that they won't develop any more GameCube titles - apparently, "The studio is currently creating software for other platforms", and, although formerly having very close ties to Nintendo, "at the Game Developers Conference 2004 [Factor 5 president Julian] Eggebrecht was spotlighted as one of the studio heads very keen on Sony PSP development."

An anonymous reader writers: "On Blue's News, there's the official announcement of Gearbox's Brothers in Arms, a tactical WWII shooter with first-person action but the ability to 'command elements, which are your fellow squad members', to be published by UbiSoft, initially for Xbox and PC later this year (though 'PS2 and Gamecube [versions] will follow in 2005'). This was the Gearbox title rumored under a different name earlier this week. But better yet, UGO has the first in-depth preview with screenshots of the game. Looks sharp, sounds like it plays sharp, but we'll see - WWII games are a dime a dozen, but they seem to be getting better in quality recently."

Thanks to GameSpy for its in-depth interview with Nintendo president Satoru Iwata regarding "what's gone wrong, what's gone right, and why Nintendo will end up on top." Iwata admits that "the competition is tougher than ever before; and in the short run, we have seen declining profitability", but makes it clear that the next-gen GameCube (which he calls "GCNext or GCN") isn't about raw processing power - rather, Nintendo are "discussing... what should be done to entertain people in a new way; and in order to achieve this, what functionality must be added to our current technology."

galtish writes "M. Schrag has put together an amazing PC stat tracking system called 'Soul Calimeter' for use with the GameCube version of fighting game Soul Calibur II. The software is as yet unreleased, but uses a cheap video capture card to analyze the video feed from the console and create a stat database. It's not just stats, there's also a web browser-based front-end for analyzing the stats and starting circuit matches, and voice synthesis using AT&T Natural Voices for in-game commentaries on the action. His website includes pics of the stats screens, and samples of the synthesized audio commentary. Pretty sweet - I'd love something like this for the weekly Halo LAN matches..."

Thanks to GamerDad for its editorial discussing some of the problems of videogame remakes. The author, having recently played Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes for GameCube ahead of playing the original, comments "I never really came to grips with that game either until I played the VR missions in [the original Metal Gear Solid" He goes on to point out: "Never assume that the audience for your remake is the same as the audience for the original. Hollywood has been remaking a lot of old movies and TV shows in the last few years but they're certainly not expecting audiences to know those plots inside and out to the point of leaving out crucial bits. That's kind of the situation I think Silicon Knights and Konami got in with leaving out the VR missions (or something similar) in Twin Snakes." But he concludes by arguing that 'what makes a remake most worthwhile is when time is spent reworking the game to make things 'different'." So exactly how reverent should a remake be?

Thanks to Nintendojo for its review of the GameXplain series of DVD-based game strategy guides, in this case oriented around Mario Kart: Double Dash!! for the GameCube. The reviewer seems to approve, arguing: "Why bother struggling through conventional strategy guides by reading vague text and squinting at tiny images when you can actually see in motion exactly how you're supposed to solve that puzzle, defeat that annoying boss, or shave 15 seconds off your best lap around the track?" He also notes: "When the video arrives at the critical part of the strategy the video will pause, cued by a camera clicking sound effect, and everything unimportant will gray, leaving only the important information in color." The official GameXplain site also mentions forthcoming guides to Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask.

Thanks to CNN Money for its column interviewing a Nintendo spokesperson on the company's possible strategy for the rest of 2004. Although not giving much away, the article notes official word that: "Though the company has publicly referred to [their new handheld] system as the DS since announcing it on Jan. 20, the plan was never to use that name at retail", renewing "Internet rumors [that] have suggested that system will be called 'Nitro'." The piece also mentions the company is "already planning a second wave of classic [NES] games for the GBA, with a possible launch date of the 2004 holiday season", and elsewhere, GamerFeed confirm Nintendo has announced a GameCube sequel to Paper Mario, an N64 title which was "an RPG-like game that was based on a unique combination of 2D graphics set against a 3D background." Update: 04/02 16:02 GMT by S : GI.Biz has the U.S. Nintendo release schedule for the rest of the 2004, "with Geist, Mario Tennis, Metroid Prime 2, Paper Mario 2 and Star Fox 2 all down for release between October and December."

Thanks to Evil Avatar for pointing to the Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes speed demo archive, which is storing a massive 294MB DIVX video showing the recently released GameCube title completed perfectly on Extreme mode in 1 hour and 10 minutes - the record holder 'Karma Hunter' explains: "I decided to help those I knew by making a video of a no-save game. Nothing fancy--a perfect run. So, I turned GOID (Game Over If Discovered) on, and made a video. Imagine my utter shock when I achieved a World Record at the end of the video." Elsewhere 1UP has a few more details regarding the PS2's Metal Gear Solid 3, after last week's voice casting call revealed possible new character names, also noting much more complex combat for the sequel, with moves "...developed by MGS military advisor Motosada Mori, himself a teacher of self-defense and close combat techniques."

herrvinny writes "As a followup to a previous Slashdot Games article, the upcoming Pokemon Colosseum GameCube game will download an update to a Ruby/Sapphire Pokemon game to fix the internal clock." Pokemon players in the US who want their games patched without buying a new GameCube game can take their carts to EB World or GameStop stores to receive the update. There's also a "special gift" distributed with the patch that requires an open party slot.

Thanks to Gamesindustry.biz for its article discussing the list of specific games and publishers going without GameCube support, mentioning: "Joining the swelling ranks of publishers without any Cube titles in their portfolios (which already includes the likes of Acclaim and Eidos) is Lucasarts, which currently has no titles for the platform on its internal schedules." It goes on to note: "While support from Japanese publishers remains strong... Western third-party support for the Cube is facing a serious decline this year." Elsewhere, 1UP reports that a Game Developer's Conference lecture by Nintendo's Eiji Aonuma had oblique news on a GameCube Zelda sequel, since he "showed in his presentation a slide reading 'Wind Waker 2: 2XXX,' so we can expect to play the game within the next 996 years." Aonuma also "strongly hinted at the prospect of a new Legend of Zelda or Zelda-related game for the DS."

jvm writes "A new article at Curmudgeon Gamer speculates on the prospects for backward compatibility in the upcoming generation of video game consoles. Sony's PlayStation 3 will reportedly play both PSOne and PlayStation 2 games, but how it will achieve this is unknown. Building from the facts we know and the rumored specifications, can we look forward to replaying Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker on the GameCube 2 and Halo on the Xbox 2?"

Thanks to Planet GameCube for its article discussing Nintendo Japan's rolling-out of the store-based JoySpot service for the Game Boy Advance wireless adapter. According to the article: "Consisting of wireless base stations - also known as hot spots - at retail locations around the country, JoySpot acts as a miniature server and hub for GBA games supporting the wireless adapter." Although players can use the limited-range wireless adapter with friends separately of the JoySpot locations, "...players can download news from the JoySpot station in Pokémon Fire/Leaf via the virtual JoySpot kiosks.. [and] can also take part in special JoySpot challenge battles among other gamers within the station's range by talking to them in the [virtual] union room."

Thanks to Game Informer for its interview with Silicon Knights' founder Denis Dyack, following this week's release of fairly well-received GameCube Metal Gear Solid remake, MGS: The Twin Snakes. Dyack says of the game: "I think we've met the watermark and I think gamers are going to be happy and looking at the responses so far... we think people are fairly pleased", and looks forward to the next Silicon Knights project, suggesting wistfully: "We'd really love to make a hardcore dark Zelda, but at the end of the day, that's something that needs to be discussed with Mr. Miyamoto and his group and that's his baby."

Tim Butler writes "According to 1UP.com, Nintendo's official developer relations site offers an interesting clue as to what Nintendo's DS dual-screen handheld may be called at launch. Between the GameCube and the Game Boy Advance, Nintendo has a platform called 'Nitro' listed." Though this may be a previous working name and unrelated to the final moniker, 1UP's screenshot of the website is useful, since Nintendo has already changed the image back to read 'Nintendo DS'. We've previously covered what's currently known about the handheld's technical specs. Update: 03/10 22:22 GMT by S : MCV has spoken to a Nintendo representative, who claims "this is a reference to... [the project code name] before the working name Nintendo DS was decided", but the piece also notes: "The final official name for the Nintendo DS... is still to be confirmed."

TheFuzzy writes "Hey folks, thought you'd like to know that the guys at Cybertec.at have succeeded in porting PostgreSQL 7.4.1 to the Nintendo GameCube. Now you, too, can turn your former video console into the world's most underpowered database server. And before anyone asks... the Windows port is coming real soon now, so be patient - it says something that the GameCube was easier to convert to than Windows, don't it?" Elsewhere in GameCube homebrew development, it looks like the GameCube Linux project is moving along quite swiftly, with "a 22 MB Debian base system image" now available, and an "ARAM block device driver" also created, now allowing 40mb of space for Linux to run in.