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I'm pretty confident there'll be a third one. The only concern I have is what format. I've heard that it could turn up on Xbox 360. While I don't mind what format it comes on really (although surely the Rev controller would be WELL suited!), I don't really want to have to spend a small fortune to play it. The thought of having to pay through the nose for Microsoft hardware goes through me. As for Shenmue 2, it's a funny one because at first it feels like the magic of the first one isn't there. It's not Dobuita after all, and no-one knows Ryo. And it's all so busy, after the sleepiness of the original. But it soon weaves it's spell, and Hong Kong really shines through. Never before have slums seemed so awe inspiring and magical. You'll love it. If you don't want to go there when you finished it I'll be very surprised!

Did it? When? I definitely missed that! Y'see, this is when things like "demographics" let you down. My argument is that "people" buy and play games, not neccessarily 12-25 year olds. If Nintendo aimed the mag at these "people", they'd have a much better chance of selling the mag. It's not so much the covers or appearance of the mag that puts me off (I buy NGC for example), as much as it's the content. I actually plucked up the courage to buy an issue a while ago and was disgusted. It was the issue they reviewed FIFA 06 on GC. Note to staff: You might consider FIFA beneath your incredible gaming skills, but a great many of your readers don't. We want to know what the game is like before we spend our money. I don't care whether you are predisposed to hating FIFA. You've got a job to do, so do it. The review managed to offer no insight whatsoever into the game at all, yet it still found space for a score at the end! Poor all round methinks.

I bloody hope so. The old NOM just about summed up all that was wrong with Nintendo's approach to the UK. Ferchrissakes I'm 33 in a couple of weeks, and there's no way I could buy that mag without feeling daft! I've been a Nintendo fan since I was a kid (I used to play Donkey Kong etc on my old Colecovision!), and while I don't expect, nor want Nintendo to get all "mature" (pfff) I'd love to see a mag that at least understands that some us of aren't children. Similarly, as an adult, I understand that there are kids out there that love the games so I understand the compromises. But NOM was a joke. I'm sure though, that everyone who worked on the mag was hardworking and did their best.

Thing is though, is it really worth getting if you already have Sega Soccer Slam? I've heard they are practically the same game, and while I quite like SSS, I don't really want to buy it again in Mario colours. Does it have a different feel, for example?

I am so jealous of you! You're getting your first play on Shenmue, and it's a wonderful thing. I remember mine. I played it through about 2 years ago, and the great thing was it was Christmas in the game and very actually Christmas for real, which really added to it. Then (because I was playing it on the DC) I got to go straight into Shenmue 2. Which is even better! Enjoy. Shenmue is imho a very good example of a mature, adult-themed game. And it flopped. True Crime sells by the bucketload... /Jumps off cliff.

Thanks for your reply. So I could basically then, buy some SD cards and store a load of my old favourite games for posterity? That's great if it's true. Has that been confirmed? Thanks again!

Sorry to rake this subject up again, and also apologies if this has already been discussed elsewhere. My question is; if Nintendo are to make their old catalogue of games downloadable for Revolution, just what will we be storing them on? I would be much happier being able to store these titles on a disc or a card of some sort, than I would be just downloading them to something internal in the Revolution itself, such as a HDD etc. I would love to be able to build up a collection of some description in this way. Also does anyone know where Nintendo stand as regards the availability of old Rare titles like Banjo etc? Are these owned by Nintendo, and are they to be available for download on the Rev? Thanks chaps.

Well quite often the developer just doesn't put enough effort into the GC version of a game because the perception is it just won't sell as well as the PS2 one. There's a few EA games for example that look just like the PS2 versions, when they should be somewhere closer to the Xbox version. After reading NGC's review I just presumed Activiasion would be the same. S'funny though. The review was pretty negative, but I was looking at the screenies and reading the game details thinking "this looks really good actually"! If you are sure Ysm, that the GC version is better than NGC say it is (and better than the PS2 version) then I think I'll have to get it.

There's no denying the GC, like the Xbox, is just about finished, with only a trickle of new releases for the faithful to consider. However mine still gets plenty of gametime, and doesn't get the chance to get dusty. It's got quite possibly the finest back catalogue of games available for any system, so there's loads to be getting on with. Plenty to keep you going till the Rev, surely?

What's the Gamecube version like, and do you know how it compares to the others? I only ask because I'm sure I read a review on the net somewhere that said the GC version was noticably poorer than either the PS2 or Xbox versions. Having seen the screenies in this months NGC, it looks quite lovely imho, even though it got a bad score. I too was hoping this would be good. It seemed to have promise, but I'm not buying an inferior version. The GC's more than capable of this type of thing, and if it is worse, it smacks of laziness.

Got this from Gamefaqs.com: Unlockable Games (Japanese Version Only) Make sure that Vectorman 1 and 2 are already unlocked on your game, and that total play time is 12 hours. After fulfilling the conditions you will have to exit the game select menu and re-enter for the game to register the game as unlocked. Unlockable How to Unlock Bare Knuckle Play Bonanza Bros. at least once, play any game(s) at least 30 times. Bare Knuckle 2 Play Bare Knuckle at least once, play any game(s) at least 50 times. Bare Knuckle 3 Play Bare Knuckle 2 at least once, play any game(s) at least 70 times. Bonanza Bros. Play Vectorman 2 at least once, play any game(s) at least 20 times. Bare Knuckle is the Jap name for SoR. Go play you lucky thing!!

Won't last long. Never does. Regarding RE4 on PS2, I don't think it's having quite the impact that it had on GC. If you have a look on Play.com for example, where they update their own chart daily, it's perhaps not selling quite as well as they'd hoped. It's not reached "Temporarily out of stock" status yet either! Of course this will probably change, and it doesn't really matter anyway, but hey ho.

Am I the only person who thinks Zelda will be made a Revolution launch title? Oh....

I like the Sonics too. Sonic Heroes was quite good fun all told on GC, ditto Mega Collection. I just got Wario World free from Nintendo's Stars catalogue and it's quite a hoot. It's pretty old fashioned I suppose, and I've been told it's quite short too, but it's great fun (so far). Billy Hatcher's another good one, although I suppose the graphics are a little bit dated nowadays. Don't know if this counts as a platformer, but I also really liked Simpsons: Hit and Run. It's GTA-lite, but great fun.

Yay, my Wario World showed up today! I can stop moaning now! What gear did I miss in the most recent update to the stars catalogue? Anything good? (By the way Harribo - top sig! I'm an Owls fan too)

Then it would be a waste of cash on GC! I've never personally played the FF game, but experience of film licensed games previously tells you that it won't be too good. Some of the screenshots I've seen look OK though... I think £20 is still a bit steep though. £10 would be more like it for me to take a gamble. But then again, I've become the most incredible gaming tightass ever this gen.

Not really.... Save yer £20, add a fiver and order Lego Star Wars off Amazon. Surely better value.

I'm not complaining! I was just saying it hadn't turned up yet. Anyways, it's not free until it turns up, is it? Plus how much do you spend to get your "free" item"? Exactly. They've got 28 days (which I'm fully aware of thanks) which means Thursday. Which means Friday it's moany email time.

Glad you put this up as a topic. I've not got mine yet either. I ordered Wario World which I was really chuffed about getting for free because I had intended to buy it. I received my confirmation email on the 22nd September, but as I say - so far nothing. One guy on the official Nintendo forum told me it took him 7 weeks and 3 emails before his item turned up! So I'm preparing for a fight!!

The only time I care about the Jap sales charts is when they're getting something we aren't. I can honestly say to you, other than what my monthly mag tells me (GamesTM) I have no idea how Nintendo are faring abroad. They have a Japanese and a US column that occasionally features Nintendo and some figures. What I don't do is then go on the net and post the figures accompanied by a reasoned arguement as to why Nintendo should approach an ad campaign in the US with the 17-26 demographic in mind etc, etc!! Still, it's my personal, and if I'm alone in it, I'll cope.... Enjoy your charts people!

No, no, no. You've misunderstood what my complaint is (which is probably fair do's considering how long my posts go on for). I'm not saying don't follow your hobby, or don't be a fan of Nintendo or anything. That would be daft - I'm a fan myself, what right would I have to tell you not to be! What really set me off on this whinge was, I was on another forum that I read regularly, but rarely ever post in. Basically the whole front page of the forum over time has become filled practically with people using sales stats and share prices in order to vindicate their fan devotion to Nintendo. Threads about "will Nintendo be around in 5 years if these sales trends continue" etc. These threads would go on for ages, and people like you and me would suddenly become business consultants, pointing to the North American demographic etc, ad infinitum. As if they really know...as if anyone really cares. I don't need to point out how well Nintendo are faring in their recent ad campaigns to justify my fandom. It's just lies, damn lies and statistics (as somebody famous once said) anyway. However I have been interested by your replies regardless, so many thanks for them! Tell you what though Overlord. I had no idea gaming had gotten so tribal! Comparing Nintendo devotion to your local football team! Scary....

More so, and perhaps more than you could imagine. Read "The Corporation" by Joel Bakan. Or have a listen to Bill Hicks! :wink: Don't get me wrong here, I'm not pleading ignorance. I'm not saying "go play the games and stop thinking about stuff". Quite the opposite. I'm not a stupid person myself, and I don't presume you are. But as far as the importance of things like ad campaigns and sales figures etc go, though, I only have a passing interest at best. I was amused to see the Nintendogs ads on CH4 for example. Great. But it just doesn't affect me as personally as perhaps it does others on the internet. And please - I love Nintendo. I have to stress that. I still have a US Virtual Boy, and have only recently started selling off what was a huge Nintendo collection spanning generations. If Nintendo went under I would probably have a really good cry. But gaming goes on. Anyway it's a moot point because Nintendo aren't going to go under. The truth is whether you're a student in business or not it borders, and often falls arse-first right into obsession. It's unhealthy, surely you can see that. You don't need to wave stats around in order to justify your interest in gaming/Nintendo. Most of the statistics that are touted anyway are made up purely to suit some suited-up creepo's agenda, with little or no basis in reality. I think it's quite interesting/really worrying just how far modern corporations have the minds and souls of youngsters so sewn up that they would be concerned about a company's well-being in such a way. Please tell me I'm wrong....

Does anybody else, like me, think that gamers spend far too much time worrying about huge corporations business concerns, particularly Nintendo's? The amount of gamers that fret and post regularly about Nintendo's ads, Nintendo's shares, Nintendo's profits blah, blah, blah really is more worrying than anything I've ever come across. Why should you care how a huge multi-national corporation is doing financially? I don't for one. Put it another way - Nintendo are incredibly rich. As a company something would have to go drastically wrong for it to go down the dumper. Sure there are thin times for all as interest peaks and troughs in the entertainment industry. Look at the music industry and how it's struggling to find a new identity. Pop music as an art form is practically finished, years and years of selling out will do that. But music itself isn't finished is it? It goes on, and has to find a new way of expression. Nobody sits in front of the PC fretting and writes : "Ooh I do hope Warner Records will survive this terrible situation". Because nobody could give a flying fudge. Ditto the movies: Nobody cares about how George Lucas is doing. He's f***ing loaded!! If Nintendo went down - pfff - so what? I'd find something else to do, or buy an Xbox or whatever. So would you. Basically my point is stop caring about Nintendo's financial situation please. Stop caring about ad campaigns ferchrissakes! Don't you have something better to do? Families? Friends? Actually playing and enjoying the games??? Please understand; I'm a massive Nintendo fan truly. Have been for many years, and I'm now old enough to know better frankly. But I draw the line at this type of crazy sub-fan that's now emerged. The business stat-o-weirdo, highlighting Japanese and US sales figures, or pointing to the demographic of the latest Nintendo ad campaign! I don't CARE! And neither should you.

Erm, starting to sound a little bit like an ad there yourself Overlord me old. If I'm brutally honest with you, I couldn't give a monkeys about ad-men, or what brands compliment each other. I have no love for the capitalist gang-bang that is modern business in truth. Although I really don't mean to be rude; I can see a lot of what you're getting at. But in many ways it's kinda like asking Nintendo not to be well, Nintendo. Much like Disney, they are incredibly good at what they do, and also are very profitable and cash-rich, again like Disney. The recent dip in profits has happened to pretty much everyone in gaming - Sony and MS included. It happens at the end of a cycle. Again if I'm honest with you, I don't want Nintendo to change particularly. Well, not in so far as I want them to keep creating fine videogame entertainment. Disney didn't especially change when it worked with Pixar: they still made great kids movies but they just found a new way to express it. As far as I can see that's what Nintendo are attempting with the Revolution. Though using your example, it would be a very good idea if they teamed up with more quality 2nd party talent. I think the GC missed someone like Rare who could fill in the gaps between 1st party titles with great games. Perhaps if you are unhappy with Nintendo then you should look at alternative platforms to alleviate your concerns. Crappy UK ad campaigns or not though, I'm still unfortunately a bit of a sad fanboy, so I'll stay put. For now. Thanks for a great discussion Overlord

Perhaps I'm off base. It's been known....! I'm sure I read in Edge or on the internet, that taking in to account all three console's worldwide actual userbase (not consoles in shops waiting to be sold), that second place was a close call, and that Nintendo had just edged it. A good thing for them particularly when you consider how cheap the GC must be to manufacture next to the Xbox, and how much less they spent on advertising. Still if I'm wrong - I'm wrong. I would imagine Nintendo made more money overall with the GC than Microsoft did with the Xbox. Although no doubt as Overlord has pointed out, Nintendo has seriously lost brownie points among the cognoscenti, while MS has waltzed right into the gaming community much more confidently. Regarding advertising, I'm sure we could sit here all day and come up with a million better ideas than Nintendo's bods have. What's really confused me though, is the attitude from the high street. You'd think a company like GAME would be desperate to sell all it's products regardless of console zealotry. But no. Witness the alleged scaling back of the DS. I've not seen it myself (I only buy off the internet) but I've certainly heard about it. How can they do such a thing? The DS has a great line-up, everyone's buying them, young and old, and it looks to have a great future. EXCEPT as soon as the PSP launched, GAME saw it as the death knell for the DS! Absolutely mental. It makes no sense to scale back support for a popular product with a strong future. Could instore zealotry have something to do with this? Or do retailers really have zero confidence in Nintendo? They must have had rotten dealings with Nintendo in the past to warrant it... As for Kylie Minogue, she might have reinvented her image, but she's still making the same crap music. Only this time her arse is hanging out. I don't think Nintendo really need to reinvent their overall image - they are after all still perceived as the classic gamers company. What they need to do is get to work on cast iron classic games. THAT is what will differentiate them from the plebs in the console 'war', not a "sex and gore" image change which is surely what you're proposing. I'm sure Kylie's making money, but she's still crap. If Nintendo go down that route, I'm off!