The weekly roundup of everything Gamecube.

Welcome, readers, to another edition of the Weekly Digest: Cube-Europe's all-encompassing weekly news round up. Topping the bill this week really must be the goings on at C-E itself. Surely most of you have noticed by now that we've had the renovators over at the site and we've got ourselves a brand-new look. Judging by the hundreds of comments and emails we've received, it's been a massive success. There's no doubt about it, C-E is going from strength to strength at the moment. Nintendo of Europe have been in contact with some words of praise, as have others. There's more big news on the horizon, too- a well known figure around these parts will be making an exclusive guest appearance on C-E in the very near future. Who? Well, you'll just have to wait to find out. Let the speculation commence!

It hasn't been a quiet week by any means either, in the world of Nintendo- there's plenty to report.

Perhaps most significantly is the news that Nintendo are most likely going to be lifting the lid on� something, this month. A press conference is scheduled for a couple of weeks time, and it is expected that Ninty will have something new to show. Failing that, there will a proper unveiling of Pokemon Fire Red and Leaf Green, the GBA remakes of the original Pokemon GB game. The wireless multiplayer adapter will also be showcased.

Meanwhile, NCL head honcho Satoru Iwata has been speaking about a new piece of Nintendo hardware. In typically cryptic terms, said the following: [The new hardware will] "enable fun and movement not seen before." And also "I expect it to become a third pillar, next to GameCube and Game Boy."

In saying this, he essentially confirmed one of two things- if it is the fabled N5 (the GC's successor), then this Mystery Product will not be a conventional games console. The other possibility is that it is intended as a successor to nothing- a stand-alone, highly unique product that stands alongside the GBA and GC rather than usurp either.

Either way, E3 is when we can expect to hear the news. Let's just keep our hair on, shall we? The word 'megaton' is officially banned from Cube-Europe as of now.

Capcom have given us yet more reason to be cheerful- the company's highly-anticipated Resident Evil 4 will indeed be 'wholly exclusive' to the GameCube. Apparently poor sales of the ported Resident Evil 2 and 3 games had caused the rumour mill to move into overdrive about the future of one of the GameCube's most wanted titles. Now, though, we can all breath a sigh of relief.

Nintendo have meanwhile disclosed that they believe that GameCube sales targets will be met. Satoru Iwata, President of Nintendo, believes that Nintendo can hit the target they set themselves. The Japanese giants predicted worldwide sales of six million units by March 2004 for the year, and although he says it won't be easy, he believes they will hit the target. It was reported that Nintendo were re-evaluating their prediction, but the recent price cuts have boosted worldwide sales, and they're back on track.

Over in Japan, the GameCube is performing particularly well of late. The console shifted an impressive 164,500 units last week- well behind the PS2, but growing steadily. That's 38 times more than the Xbox, by the way. In the Japanese game charts, Nintendo games are occupying 7 out of the top 10 chart positions! Mario Party, Mario Kart , Mario and Luigi, Donkey Konga and Pokemon Colosseum are all in there, among others.

The most exciting rumour of the week is that the sequel to Metroid Prime will apparently feature a 'full-blown' multiplayer mode to complement the already-legendary single-player action. I'm not going to say any more, as it is just a rumour at the moment and nothing more, but including a multi-player mode would seem like the most logical step forward for the series, wouldn't it? Oh, yes. Ubi Soft, who's games I alluded to in Saturday's Cubistically Correct article, have told us, unequivocally, that Prince of Persia and Beyond Good and Evil are indeed coming to the GC, despite last week's scare.

In the most recent issue of popular Japanese publication Famitsu it was announced that Nintendo planned to unveil a new Pokémon game. The new game will be for either GameCube or Game Boy Advance (duh!), although it is not known which yet. It will be announced at either E3 2004 or Pokémon Festa, which is taking place in July in Tokyo.

It is not known whether this game will be a new entry into the RPG series, or a simple stand alone game such as Pokémon Snap or Pokémon Channel, or even voice-recognition curio Hey You, Pikachu, or another Stadium, or perhaps a trading card gam�.sorry, was I boring you?

Anyway, I think that's about enough for this week. See you all for next Sunday's edition.

Sl�n

[email protected] (To all those who contacted me- I'll reply soon, promise!)