Mark's tied up so I'm in the Digest seat this week. Let's see, how does he do this? Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to...nah. Erm, this is the Weekly Digest, with your host, Conor...never mind. Let's just dive into the news. Yes, that's it, let's look at the news.

And next, lot number 47...

Undoubtedly the hot topic is yesterdays astonishing prospect of a Namco-Sega merger. Namco have put forward to Sega the idea of merging the two companies. It's not just bewildering that this has happened, but also the fact that this has been the latest in the clamouring for the fallen face of Sonic. Sammy have done the same as Namco in February, publishing giants EA have been interested in some sort of capital tie-in, not a full-blown merger. And it's common knowledge that Microsoft have been eyeing Sega up over the months. Reportedly a meeting will take place this coming Wednesday when shareholders and company executives will make a decision on where Sega's future lies. Going alone? Joining with sports giants Electronic Arts? Merging with top rivals Namco? No-one should downplay next week's meeting. It could well decide what path one of most loved games companies will travel.

But stepping back from the enormity of the prospect, will you, for one second. It's deeply, deeply troubling that our beloved industry is in such a state that companies, big companies, have to take such drastic decisions to secure financial security. Okay, Sega aren't the masterful wizards they once were, I don't think anybody is disputing that, but Sega is no Atari. They're still making great games, just look at Super Monkey Ball, Phantasy Star Online or Skies of Arcadia Legends. Because make no mistake about it, Sega will not decide to ignore these proposals. It would be folly in the current dwindling climate for Sega to turn down these offers. I could count the amount of games companies that turned a profit last year on one hand; while game development costs rise, profits fall.

So Sega will go with one of the companies. My money's on Namco, the two share game philosophies, are in bed with Nintendo with the Triforce arcade system, are the top developers in the arcade field and are obviously two companies deeply rooted in loyal fans and classic games. And I really do not think Sega would actually, seriously, merge with EA or Microsoft. The wholely-American, money-grubbing, extravagant, Hollywoodised attitudes of EA and Microsoft conflict very much with the gaming-over-green, mellower, more loyal and past-rooted developers of Japan. I am no industry expert, but I seriously see a mass exodus of Sega employess if such a thing happened. And Sammy? Well, I don't feel Sammy is a big enough company to get Sega shareholders excited, their scepticism about any deal with Sammy has been noted.

So who will benefit from the merger if it happens? Well, Gamecube and Xbox owners would certainly be happy, especially the former. It's no secret Nintendo, Namco and Sega have a chummy relationship, with their collaboration on the Triforce arcade system, Nintendo handing over F-Zero to Amusement Vision and Starfox to Namco. And the prospect of having Virtua Fighter and Soul Calibur, Ridge Racer and Daytona and House of the Dead and Time Crisis, as well as a slew over top titles, from the same company. It's enough to have any gamer on the floor foaming at the mouth.

But in the long-term, I don't think any such merger is beneficial to the games industry as a whole. Japanese heavyweights Square and Enix have already joined together, and now with a Sega and Namco one on the cards you have to wonder where this will end. These aren't little developers now, these are some of the biggest there is. What I don't want to see is a team approach to console development, where a multitude of games companies have all moulded into a handful, and console makers are scrambling over each over to get one of these all-in-one companies in an exclusive deal. And, ultimately, it is the gamers that will lose out in this 1984-esque situation.

Am I over-reacting? I don't think so. If this time next week we've got not Sega, or Namco, but Namga, or Seco, or Samco are whatever it'll be called (or even maybe even Namco will be swallowed in the Sega name) I'll condemn myself to an eternal Universal Studios session. But if the merger does go through, this could become a dangerous, albeit sadly necessary, trend.

Disappointment, go!

So there I was, just logged onto C-E, when lo and behold! A new Pokemon game! For Gamecube! It couldn't be, could it? But soon enough any hopes of a massive, epic, fully-3D Pokemon adventure faded as I saw not what I, and hordes of Nintendo fans, wanted, but a cheap organiser for your GBA Pokemon. No doubt it's handy, similar to a mini-Pokemon Stadium. But please, please Nintendo could you give us what we dare to dream of, a fully-3D, all-new Pokemon RPG on Gamecube. Essentially, a great, new GBA Pokemon game blown up on Gamecube. We live in hope.

Capcom take massive blow

Just as the Digest was about to go up came the devastating news that in light of recent games sales falling below the expected level, Capcom has ceased development of a staggering eighteen games. It is yet another sign of the times, and most definitely worrying stuff. Could Capcom be next on the merger list? It looks like it. Maybe not this month, or in the next few months, but if the industry continues as it does then who knows? Capcom could join with Sega/Namco, or Nintendo, or another games developer who's feeling the burn of a market in relapse.

I just pray Viewtiful Joe isn't on the chopping block, it would be sorely missed. Luckily (or unluckily, depending on where you're standing) eight of the eighteen slashed games are on the three next-gen consoles, so there's a good chance Viewtiful Joe could survive. And there's no way Capcom are going to be using the term 'exclusive' a lot for a long time.

Losing a legend

Today I found out the sad news that Billy Berghammer, founder and director of the infamous Planet Gamecube has left the site. I have great respect for the man, anyone can he his passion and dedication for what he does. Planet Gamecube is one of the sites I truly look up to, and no doubt it will remain one of the premier Nintendo sites on the net, albeit a little less bubbly. Strangely, I've always imagined bumping into the man at E3 2005, exchanging a few handshakes, jokes and compliments. It's odd, I know.

Well Billy, good luck at Game Informer. And Farewell. If only the magazine was available where I live.

Conor Smyth

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