The Madman's Cafe

News from 03/07/2001

Dessert: Sister Princess Trailers

The Sister Princesss trailers are now available in the "Desserts" section. There are two trailers, one is a promo and the other is a game footage. I had them hanging around the server, forgetting to link them -just like the Wind of Klonoa 2 trailer.

IMO, these two should be DL'ed if only you are a date sim player. The one last trailer coming tomorrow- Bloody Roar 3, should be more packed with action. Stay Tuned. Oh, and one more thing. Check the Official Yahoo vs Infoseek trailer from Infoseek Co., if you haven't yet- it's weird, and Infoseek gets beaten badly. Also in the desserts section. -H. Moriarty
[ Dessert section ]


	Nintendo announces Metroid & etc for GBAdvance, aims sales of 24 million GBA units

	In a presentation meeting held today 3/7/01, Nintendo has announced their future plans for the Game Boy Advance. 25 titles will be available simultaneously with the release of the GBA in Japan; a record for simultaneous releases. The North American release has been announced as 6/11; price 99.95$. Nintendo aims to sell 24 million units of the GBA worldwide. In line-up of software, Nintendo has revealed "Metroid for GameBoy Advance" -a continuation of the Metroid series with new elements. "Wario Land 4" is scheduled for release this year, as well as "Yoshi Story". The sequel to "Super Mario Advance"; "Super Mario Advance 2", is scheduled for this year as well, and "Super Mario Advance 3" is also planned -release schedule undetermined. Nintendo declined to explain details on the announced sequels, quoting "The game's fate lies on its ideas, so we cannot reveal (details) on games scheduled for the future." [ Related: Nintendo ]


	Reuters: Analysts Say Microsoft to lose 130$ per machine sold, Xbox Payoff 5 Years Away

	"SEATTLE (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp. will lose $2 billion on its upcoming Xbox video game console before it breaks even in about five years, when it could add as much as $1 billion a year to the software giant's bottom line, according to a Wall Street analysis released on Tuesday. "Although we think Xbox represents a big opportunity, we do not believe it will become a major contributor to operating profit in the next five years," Merrill Lynch analyst Henry Blodget said in a summary of his report on the Xbox. " [ Link: Reuters ] [ Cache ]


	Bloomberg/C-Net: Possible X-Box delay in Japan due to lack of third party games

	"REDMOND, Wash.--Microsoft may delay until 2002 the introduction of its new Xbox video-game system in Japan, where it's scheduled for release by year-end, industry analysts and executives said.... Microsoft may face delays in Japan because many game companies there have yet to embrace Xbox, executives said. Only Tokyo-based Konami has publicly identified game titles it's developing for the system. Microsoft needs homegrown games as Japanese consumers' tastes differ from those in the United States. " [ Link: C-Net ]


	Phantasy Star Online server hacked, server halted for Emergency Maintenance

	Sega has announced than an illegal access to their Phantasy Star Online server had been detected on 3/6/01, 5PM JST. Upon an emergency system halt for maintenance, some of the PSO's server data was found to be hacked. After restoration of the system, the PSO server returned to its normal operation at 11PM JST. [ Related: PSO Online ]


	Reuters: Nintendo contracts with Olympus for optical on Gameboy Advance

	"TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Nintendo Co OS>began whetting game players' appetite for its next generation hand-held player on Wednesday, unveiling plans to develop a new gaming system for the successor to its best-selling Game Boy machine. Nintendo announced it will join forces with camera maker Olympus Optical to develop a system allowing people to play games using characters, including those from the popular "Pokemon" game series, downloaded from electronic data cards." [ Link: Reuters ] [ Cache ]


	Short Comment: Petition for Linux on the Playstation2

	Well, here's something interesting. A site called "Linux Sports" supported by a number of Japanese programmers, is starting a petition to have SCEI release an Linux for the PlayStation 2 under the GPL or LGPL License, open source. The site explains that the PS2 is very compatible to the Linux and gcc, since development and testings of PS2's games/software are done under them. Thus likewise, having a Linux run under the PS2 should be as easy, explains the site. Once an open source Linux is released for the PS2, individual programmers and other non-profit organizations will be able to develop software for the PS2 without the need to purchase SCEI's expensive developer kit, aimed for companies. Quoted from SCEI chairman Ken Kutaragi from a party in Tokyo the end of Febuary, "A Linux for the PS2 can be even released tomorrow if (we) feel like it, but a company needs motivation to engage in non-profitable acts. If a lot of users say "bring it out!" , (we) wouldn't mind thinking about it..." The petition currently has over 1800 signatures, and it's only been open for 4 days (including today). That quite signifies the interest of individual programmers to the system. The group is aiming for 10,000 signatures. An English version of the petition section is scheduled to be opened soon. -H.Moriarty [ Related: Linux Sports- Petition for Linux on the Playstation2 ]


	Short comment: Cnet- NakedWife virus Reported to rape PCs

	"A virus advertising itself as an e-mailed photo of someone's wife has started infecting computers in Europe and the United States and may have started spreading from the U.S. military, antivirus experts said Tuesday." If someone can get a graph of how many men actually fall for these kinds of trojans, it should be worth a laugh. -H.Moriarty [ Link: Cnet ]