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A R C A D E   /   O T H E R S

- Korean developer Unotac will release The King of Fighters Online for PC in March, an online 3D action combat RPG game featuring characters from SNK's KOF series. The story takes place in the South Town in the KOF world, the 6 basic characters are Kyo, Iroi, Leona, Athena, Kula and Kim. This game features the Arcade Battle System, which allows you to use the fighting game special moves in battles. It is possible to join other players to form a team. You can obtain different recovery items after defeating the enemies, or pick them up on the street. There are also accessories that you can pickup to increase the ability of your character. The character grows stronger when you participate more battles....

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- Several Japanese developers have highlighted their plans for the year of 2002:

• Atlus - currently developing two online titles, one is Shin Megami Tensei Online for XBox, another one is a secret title
  
  
• Capcom - Biohazard for GameCube is currently 70% completed, after the game is completed, then they will work on the GameCube version of Biohazard 2, 3 and Code: Veronica.
  
  
• Chun Soft - currently developing two new titles.
  
  
• Koei - currently developing Crimson Sea for XBox, and two other new PlayStation 2 titles.
  
  
• Namco - the arcade version of Soul Calibur II is expected to release in mid-2002. The home versions are scheduled for release by the end of the year.
  
  
• Nintendo - Miyomato expects GameCube to last 7 - 8 years; he is hoping to show both Mario Sunshine and Legend of Zelda in playable form at the coming E3 show in May. Other than the two titles, Miyomato is also working on one secret title for GameCube, which will be revealed at E3.
  
  
• Red - currently hard working on Sakura Taisen 4: Maidens Fall in Love for Dreamcast. The PlayStation 2 version of Sakura Taisen will be revealed sometimes this summer.
  
  
• Sega Amusement Vision - they will reveal 3 brand new game titles, one of which will have ground breaking features.
  
  
• Sega Overworks - other than Sakura Taisen, they expect to reveal brand new titles sometimes this year.
  
  
• Sega Smilebit - Gun Valkyrie for XBox is already 95% completed.
  
  
• Sega Sonic Team - the development of the PC, XBox and GameCube versions of Phantasy Star Online are smooth, all versions are able to hook up to the internet now.
  
  
• Sony Polyphony - currently developing Gran Turismo 4, which will have network battle mode for sure. They are also planning to release a PC version called Gran Turismo Professional.
  
  
• Vivarium - we are planning to develop handheld game titles, and we are currently researching on online games.

- Credit Suisse First Bank has released the latest sales report on video game hardware sales for the pre-Christmas week between December 16 to 22. Sony has sold another 596,000 units of PlayStation 2 during the week, pushing the installed base to 6.6 million units in North America. During the same week XBox has sold 165,000 units and GameCube has sold 259,000 units. For the handheld market, Nintendo has sold a total of 639,000 units of GameBoy Advance, pushing the installed based to 4.6 millions. (from GameSpot)

- Here are the Famitsu Top 10 Best Selling Games for the week of December 24 - 31:

- Here are the Top 10 Game News in Japan for the year of 2001, voted by Game Watch Impress:

1. Sega exited the hardware market and discontinued the Dreamcast line.
2. The launch of Nintendo GameCube, and two new colors in November.
3. The launch of XBox in North America, and the Japanese launch delayed to February 22, 2002.
4. The retail price of PlayStation 2 reduced to 29,800 yen.
5. The court battles of the game developers and used game retailers.
6. SNK gone bankrupted, and the game properties sold to a Korean firm.
7. The launch of Nintendo GameBoy Advance, with over 20 launch titles
8. Sega brings Phantasy Star Online to Dreamcast, PC, XBox and GameCube
9. The release of the PlayStation 2 Linux Kit
10. Sony Computer Entertainment International invested into Square and became the 2nd biggest shareholder.

- Tecmo mentioned that the latest installment of  Ninja Gaiden will be coming to all major platforms, including GameCube, XBox and PlayStation 2. Ninja Gaiden will be a new action RPG similar to Legend of Zelda. The GameCube version will be released ahead of the other versions because of the easy development environment.

- RUMOR: IGN reported that Capcom is currently developing Marvel Vs Capcom 3, the latest installment of the popular cross over fighting game. This time the game will be released directly on home console, instead of making its way to arcade.

- Sega Rosso has confirmed that a new sequel to Sega Rally is under development.

H A N D H E L D S

- Enix will release their first GameBoy Advance RPG The Wonder Captor! Snap Kids in Japan on January 17, for 5980 yen. This game combines elements from Pokemon and card battle games. During the game you can capture monsters by using your snapshot camera, and turn the monsters into cards. The battles are in the form of card battles, you can use combinations of monster cards, attack cards and ability card to battle.

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P L A Y S T A T I O N   2  /   P S O N E

- Success will release Psyvariar Complete Edition for PlayStation 2 in Japan on March 7, for 5800 yen. The PS2 version is ported over from Taito's arcade shooter, featuring both Psyvariar and Psyvariar Revision in the same game. Success will also release two limited edition of the game: Psyvariar Complete Edition Special Sound Box and Special Capture Box, both will retail for 7800 yen each, the Special Sound Box version will include a sound track album, and the Special Capture Box will include a DVD strategy guide.

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- Here are some new screen shots of Capcom's PlayStation 2 celshaded action game Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Whirlwind of Gold, scheduled to release in Japan this spring. During the combats, you can switch between Main Body Mode and Stand Mode. The basic strategy is first move your main body to an advantageous location, then call our your stand to attack the enemies. There is psychic gauge in the game, the gauge fills up as you hit the enemies; when it is full, the offensive power of the stand will greatly increase. Lastly, there is a Stand Shot system, when the enemy stand shows up, you can locate its weakness and give it a critical blow. (From EG NTTPub)

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- Here are some new screen shots of EA's PlayStation 2 racing game Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2, scheduled to release this spring. The game will feature 20 exclusive licensed cars from different manufacturers such as Ferrari, Lamborghini and Porsche; 12 race courses and several play modes. (Source: IGNPS2)

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