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Calstlevania DS comes out in Europe on September 30th. And Meteos comes out on September 23rd.

Interview with Hideki Konno NOM: Why did Nintendo choose to make a virtual pet game? Hideki Konno: When Nintendo introduced the DS last year, during the course of development we came to learn DS was going to have such unique features as a duel screen, touch screen and microphone input. And of course, as a developer we were supposed to make some unique software that could take advantage of some of these aspects. At the same time, we learned one of the missions of DS was to expand the gaming population of gamers we had to have some easy to learn/play user interface and we realised we could have an enjoyable user interface with dogs. NOM: Did you always plan to have dogs? Or did you think about other animals, like cats? HK: There were many other animals considered, including cats. But the reason why we decided to make it with dogs was because, for example, we wanted to teach them tricks with our own voices. Also we wanted to include as many other fun aspects as possible, like the agility contest and the flying disc contest. So if we had dogs, we could do things like that. But, as long as I know, cats would not be able to take part in these types of events. So we discussed for a while and decided we must make the game with dogs. NOM: A Pokemon version of Nintendogs would be awesome. Is that something Nintendo has ever considered? HK: All I can say is that it might be an interesting plan. NOM: Was it hard to choose the different dogs? HK: Selecting the dogs that are loved by people around the world was not such a difficult job. In Japan we have the Kennel Association (a club for dog owners) and it has data showing how many people have which dog. But other countries also have similar clubs and organisations that gave us the same data. So it was not too difficult to decide which dogs should appear inb each version. The US and Europe have the same dogs because they are both very similar in their tastes of dogs. NOM: Why do you think the game has been so popular back in Japan? HK: From the outset, one of our goals was to make a game that would appeal to a wide range of different people, from children to old age pensioners and both sexes. I think one of the reasons for its success has been word of mouth, as people compared their experiences to someone else. Many were reporting the joy they had with Nintendogs. NOM: Do you hope there will be a similar reaction in Europe? HK: At least in Japan it has become very popular and I believe it's because people feel it's a unique and pleasant experiance. It can't hurt to have an unusual encounter with someone you don't know thanks to the Bark mode. I really hope people in the UK will feel the same way. NOM: Which Nintendog do you have and what tricks can it do? HK: As a main developer I have all versions but now I own the Chihuahua version and I'm teaching my dog special tricks, like break dancing and standing on its paws. NOM: Do you wish real dogs were as easy to train? HK: I should not really comment on that or some peple may try to train their real dogs to break dance. Which could be risky. <laughs> NOM: There are so many different toys, was it fun to choose all the different ones? HK:It was necessary for us to think of many different toys to give a variety of gaming experiences. When you are playing with the remote controlled Mario Kart you are going to have some fun. Or when you use the helicopter, it's a toy that lets you see things from the sky. Also it's a nice and almost healing atmosphere when you watch two puppies playing with a football. We wanted to make sure you have some fun with the puppies. NOM: Which is your favourite? HK: I came up with many ideas for the toys but one of my favourites is the helicopter, especially the command helicopter. When you fly it around the room it plays the music from Apocalipse Now. NOM: Although there were lots of accessories in Nintendogs, your dog can only wear one at a time. Were there any plans to let them wear more? HK: Actually yes, during the course of development we were thinking about having different items at one time. But we were concerned that it may not be possible with the DS' specifications.Also, and more importantly, we wanted the game to be as simple as possible. If thee are many different things the user is meant to do at one time, it could become confusing. NOM: Were you pleased that you could have the Mario Kart as one of the toys? HK: I am also responsible for the development for Mario Kart DS so I asked the development team to give me the model idea for the actual Mario Karts in the DS game. There are three different karts in Nintendogs, including Bowser, Mario and Peach. And they're all fun. NOM: Do you think that Nintendogs would work on Gamecube or, in the future, on Revolution? HK: Well of course but being portable is one of the most important elements for Nintendogs to be successful because you can carry it around all the time. On the other hand, it doesn't mean we can't make the console version of Nintendogs. It depends on whether or not we can make something really unique for the home console. This could be the control style or it may be something more ambiguous. But if we could have something unique it may be possible. Although if it was just a graphical improvement we could pursue with the console, then I don't think people would be satisfied and we would not want to do that. NOM: Moving away from Nintendogs, what games are you playing right now? In order to expand my own knowledge I try to play as much as possible but only when I'm in my office. Once I'm at home I like to enjoy other hobbies and don't play video games at all. NOM: Are you busy developing more games at the moment, apart from Mario Kart DS? HK: Yes, I am working on many other products as well, including Revolution related projects. NOM: Can you tell us about any of those? HK: No but please wait for Mr. Iwata to break any news in the near future.

Free Gift: Pokemon stickers (to put on Pokemon poster, also included with the mag). Reviews Pokemon Emerald (GBA) - 85% Nintendogs (NDS) - 90% Advance Wars: Dual Strike (NDS) - 90% Geist (GCN) - 71% Fifa 06 (GCN) - 74% Sonic Gems Collection (GCN) - 52% Rainbow Six: Lockdown (GCN) - 79% WWE Day of Reckoning 2 (GCN) - 72% Zooo - (GBA) 61% Madden NFL 06 - (GCN) 83% Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones (GBA) - 88% Tiger Woods PGA Tour 06 (GCN) - 88% Hello Kitty: Roller Rescue (GCN) - 68% Gauntlet and Rampart (GBA) - 56% Who Wants To Be A Millionare? Junior (GBA) - 8% (A game even worse than Ping Pals!) Chicken Shoot (GBA) - 12% NHL 2006 (GCN) - 66% Klax and Marble Madness (GBA) - 61% Previews Ultimate Spider-man (GCN) - 80%+ Spartan: Total Warrior (GCN) - 80%+ Viewtiful Joe: Red Hot Rumble (GCN) - 65%+ Mario Power Tennis (GBA) - 80%+ Electroplankton (NDS) - 75%+ Snowboard Kids DS (NDS) - 60%+ Fifa 06 (NDS) - 75%+ Prince of Persia 3 (GCN) - 75%+ Feature: When Comic Books Attack! Talks about Jump! Superstars, plus the following games: Naruto RPG2: Chidori VS Rasengan Naruto: Saikyo Ninja Daikesshu 3 One Piece: Grand Battle Shaman King: Masters of Spirits 2 BoBoBo-Bo bo-BoBo: Bakuten Hajike Taisen Dragon Ball GT - Transformation Yu-Gi-Oh: Sugoroko No Sugoroko And some Bleach GBA game that they didn't show the name of. Also an interview with Nintendogs producer, Hideki Konno (I'll write it here later).

Not many people do really, since people usually talk like a pirate whenever they want to. But the holiday does exist.

At the moment I haven't really been playing anything. I am eagerly awaiting my copies of Meteos and Castlevania DS to arrive though.

I'll be getting this and Sacred Stones. Its conveniant that they're both released on the same day (4th November 2005).

Ahoy me hearties! Those who've seen me on msn should already know about this, but for the many people who don't, its basically an unofficial holiday where you talk like a pirate for the day obviously. This holiday occurs every September 19th (which is this Monday). Any ideas for TLAP day? Post them here. Yaaaaaar!

Its kind of hard to decide where to put this thread since the Fire Emblem series has been on Consoles and handhelds alike. So move the thread elsewhere if you think its necessary. Basically this is the thread to go to for anything Fire Emblem related. Whether its talking about the old, Japanese exclusive games (that will hopefully come to Revolution), saying how much you love the handheld games (and soon the Gamecube version), or just bragging about how good you are with Roy on Super Smash Bros Melee, it all goes here. Find Revo Europe's awesome Fire Emblem Coverage here