RETURN OF THE KING

Quite a busy week really, and plenty of news to sink your teeth into. Heading the bill this week, though is Shigeru Miyamoto's hugely popular and successful visit to London, where he was besieged by well over 1,000 adoring fans on Oxford Street's Virgin Megastore. Owing to the fact that I live in Ireland, combined with the fact that I'm slap bang in the middle of exams, I was unable to go to this earth-shatteringly exciting event. Still, good to see the man being given such a good reception- he, if anyone in this industry deserves it. Stay tuned to C-E for some first hand reports of the Miyamoto Visit.

Nintendo's upgraded Game Boy Advance, the GBA SP has gone on sale in Japan, a mere couple of weeks after it was officially announced. The SP is technically identical to the 'old' GBA- the only differences are the stylish new casing and the long-awaited introduction of internal lighting. Goodbye Afterburner. It's fantastic to see Nintendo listening to its customers (who couldn't make out much on the old GBA's screen) and introducing the upgrade. Do I sense some humble pie quietly being eaten? This from a company who have repeatedly played down the Game Boy's lighting problems, which have been a feature of Nintendo's handhelds since the original mono GB. What Nintendo definetly weren't expecting was for the SP to completely sell out instantly- Nintendo are struggling to supply stores with sufficient numbers of the console. Sales projections are being met much earlier than previously predicted; copies of Square's Final Fantasy Tactics Advance are also selling like hotcakes- just as well as the console in fact. All a cause for great jubilation and back slapping back at NCL H.Q, no doubt. And with a mere 5 weeks to go before it repeats the feat over in Europe, who can blame them?

Nokia, purveyor of mobile phones to, er, just about everyone, have decided to take on the Game Boy Advance. At this stage of the game, it takes a brave challenger to take on the might of the GB. Many have tried, and many have failed. All, hilariously, for the same reasons- namely, short-lived battery life, a lack of killer games, and the biggie- a much too high price point. The GBA succumbs to none of the above pitfalls. Nokia's brave stab at wrestling away some of the GBA's market share, the N-Gage, certainly is an impressive beast- aesthetically and technically.

The design is modern and sleek- although the button placement looks decidedly awkward and confusing- it is a mobile phone at heart after all. Its powerful, too- the machine is capable of full 3D- its graphical capabilities far outclass Nintendo's king of handhelds. Impressively, Nokia have managed to coerce some high-profile developers to their cause, namely THQ, Sega, and Eidos. Sega are providing significant support, developing a version of Super Monkey Ball and Sonic N, a new 2D Sonic game, among others. The question is, should Nintendo be worried? In a word, no. Battery life is pitiful, with estimates varying between 3 and 6 hours. In a way, its highly amusing to see Sega backing the N-Gage; after the company's failed Game Gear, you really would have thought they would learn the harsh lessons of handheld failure- clearly, they have not. Price is another contentious issue- the phone/console will cost more than three times as much as the GBA SP- a clearly unacceptable price. Nintendo can breathe easy, and laugh as the Game Boy, in all probability, condemns another challenger to failure.

�But not quite as we had all been hoping. Rather than introduce the pre-order scheme seen in Japan and successfully replicated in the U.S, NOE have apparently decided to do things differently- bundle the limited edition bonus disk, containing Ocarina of Time, Master Quest, and a host of video footage with the Wind Waker when it launches here on the GameCube's 1st anniversary on May 3rd. Still great news though, and another example of Nintendo's commitment to bringing successful promotions to Europe (after the Cube Clubs). May really can't come soon enough.

Mark Cullinane

That's your lot for this week, people. As ever, if you want to comment on this or any other news, you can email me at [email protected], or if you want to talk via MSN, [email protected] will do the trick.