Praise be to the Lord (or Allah, or Buddah) for Nintendo.

What a month its been for Nintendo in terms of software, hardware, and sales- the holy trinity of success has been attained this month. With the launch of Resident Evil �, The terrific Phantasy Star Online, not to mention the great but rather muted arrival of the two modem adaptors. Add to that the release of Sega's superb Super Monkey Ball 2 and it's a good month for gaming. And that's without the launch of the splendiferous Metroid Prime from Retro Studios- one of the most beautiful, playable, and darn gorgeous games ever conceived. What a month, eh? And then there was today- March 28th. The Game Boy Advance SP got its European release today. It's a dead cert to sell like hotcakes, of course.

And not only was the console released, but also quite possibly the GBA's best game yet- The Legend of Zelda: A Link the Past. I'm aware that a large proportion of C-E's readers haven't yet had the opportunity to sample this game. Suffice to say, it's a magnificent Zelda title of typically epic proportions, it's the standard by which all other action-RPG's are measured against, and is at least as good as any of Link's 3D offerings. Trust me on this one- this is something you do not want to miss. Not one little bit. So once you read this article, drop everything, and get yourself down to your local games shop and buy it- I can promise you won't regret it.

So, as I said, what an amazing, amazing month- but it gets better! Resident Evil � and Super Monkey Ball 2 both gained entrance into the UK top 10 all-format charts (something which is rapidly becoming a rare feat these days) slotting in at 2nd and 8th positions respectively, while Metroid went into the coveted number one spot after only a day on sale. In fact, since Metroid's release, the GameCube has been comprehensively outselling all other next-gen consoles, including the PS2. Huge cause for celebration, then. GC sales have been experiencing a massive Europe-wide rebound since the unofficial retailer price drops have come into effect. In terms of sales, the next couple of months are absolutely critical- the price cuts were a necessary measure to spike sales- the question is, will it last? The GameCube's retail future lies, to an extent, with the sustained effectiveness of the price cuts. Clouds loom on the horizon- several shops in my home town are apparently clearing out GC stock- selling games at 50% discounts, or more (30 for any GC game? Whatever next?) Lets all hope that the shops dont abandon our favourite console. The launch of the Platinum GC and Zelda bundle will go some way towards allaying our fears; but ple vote with their wallets.

Some other quick snippets of news, now: EA have announced that The Sims will be released imminently in Europe, Splinter Cell makes an early U.S release- perhaps Europe will be treated equally kindly? Perhaps. Sega have announced that henceforth they, not Infrogrames will publish their own games in Europe. Which doesn't really mean much to average Joe, but there you are. And finally, a kick in the teeth for all proponents of online gaming: Ninty just confirmed this week that there would be no first-party online games shown at E3. My dreams of 10-player online Mario Kart are over. Well, I'll leave it there.

Until next week, dearest readers.

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