Nintendo revealed some brand new game screens from Mario Sunshine today. The new screens reveal Mario hanging from a fence over water, talking with village locals, and using his water backpack to clean up paint that has fallen from the sky.

The "communication game" which proved to be a smash success in Japan, Animal Forest + will see a name change for North American release. Animal Crossing, as it is now dubbed, is expected to arrive in the States in late 2002.

Nintendo has announced that the next installment in the wildly popular Mario Party franchise will be released for Nintendo GameCube before the end of this year in Japan. Previous Mario Party titles topped best-seller lists in 2000 and 2001. The completely unexpected announcement just adds to the level of anticipation Nintendo fans everywhere are feeling for what's shaping up to be the most impressive holiday lineup in Nintendo history.

According to Nintendo Co. Ltd, 1080° Snowboarding will debut this winter in Japan. Ironically, the announcement directly contradicts statements made by Shigeru Miyamoto just weeks ago when he commented that 1080° Snowboarding was scheduled for a winter 2003 release. More as it develops.

In press releases from both Nintendo and Sega, it was just announced that F-Zero will be coming to Nintendo's GameCube console and the Triforce arcade system. Triforce is a 3D computer graphic board for next-generation arcade machines that applies the architecture of the Nintendo GameCube. Bear in mind that the following details are based on conflicting translations of this announcement and thus may be subject to future correction...

Nintendo promised a summer release of Super Mario Sunshine in Japan and they will deliver. According to Nintendo, Super Mario Sunshine is scheduled to release in the homeland on July 19, 2002. North American gamers will not have to wait long for game, which will release on this side of the Pacific on August 26, 2002.

The long awaited announcement revealing Nintendo's first-half release schedule has finally come. In a press release issued today, Nintendo revealed the full release details on StarFox Adventures, Eternal Darkness, and the Wavebird Controller.

Nintendo has announced that Super Mario Sunshine is scheduled for release on August 26, 2002. In just five short months, GameCube owners will experience the first action-adventure platform release of Mario since Mario 64.

Nintendo of America revealed a number of GameCube titles at the Game Developer's Conference currently taking place in San Jose, California. These titles are all currently scheduled for releases in Q2 and Q3 of 2002. Many thanks to IGN Cube.

Free Radical Design's much anticipated FPS, Time Splitters 2, is scheduled for a Q3 2002 release on GameCube. The incredible news came from Nintendo at this year's Game Developers Conference. David Doak of Free Radical Design told IGN Cube, "With TimeSplitters, we were just finding out feet... Now we can go to town and show people what we're really capable of doing. TimeSplitters 2 will be an exceptional game." Many thanks to IGN Cube.

Jango Fett, the most ruthless and feared mercenary in the Star Wars galaxy, will make his spectacular interactive debut later this year in the action-packed Star Wars Bounty Hunter from LucasArts. Players will plunge into the dark, deadly world of a bounty hunter, a role Star Wars game fans have long awaited to play. Star Wars Bounty Hunter is expected to release fall 2002 on PS2 and GameCube. Inspired by events between Star Wars: Episode I and II, Star Wars Bounty Hunter presents an original, compelling third-person action game experience which establishes Jango Fett's place in the Star Wars galaxy, and his connection to the notorious clone army.

Bringing an exciting new dimension to puzzle solving games, Acclaim today announced that it will release ZooCube for the Nintendo GameCube and GBA. Available this spring, "ZooCube delivers an entirely unique puzzle-solving gaming experience, that is highly addictive and perfectly suited for the rapidly expanding mass-market Nintendo audience,” said Evan Stein, Vice President of Brand. Created by PuzzleKings, ZooCube takes puzzlers to a whole new dimension – the third dimension. Around the world, animals have been transformed by shape-altering science experiments and need help in returning to their natural state. Players use their ZooCube to rescue and return the animals to the flying ark.

Majesco today announced Black & Bruised for the Nintendo GameCube. Developed by Digital Fiction, Black & Bruised is scheduled for release in Q4 2002. "Young and old video gamers alike will have a great time 'beating the expressions' out of each other," said Ken Gold, Vice President of Marketing. Black & Bruised thrusts players into the colorful world of 18 lively boxers, each forced into competitive boxing for individual reasons. Competing in 18 different arenas, players learn the life story of each boxer and how winning will benefit them. High-quality cartoon cel-shading technology showcases the game’s cartoonesque visuals and cleverly exaggerates game play. Black & Bruised features pressure sensitive controls, which are easy to learn, but hard to master, and provide players a full sense of control over their boxer. Player immersion is further heightened with the use of skeletal motion and skin morphing technology which creates fluid character movements.

According to the very reliable gaming site, IGN Cube, Rare's Star Fox Adventures has been delayed yet again. The title, which Nintendo announced last month would release on June 10, is now reported to have fallen back to September. No reasons were given for the delay and Nintendo has yet to confirm the date change.

According to EASports.com's release list, a number of GameCube titles have been confirmed for 2002 releases. FIFA World Cup is headed to GameCube for an April release, Freekstyle and F1 2002 will be released in May, NCAA Football 2003 and Madden NFL 2003 will see a summer release, NHL 2003 is scheduled for late summer, and NASCAR Thunder 2003 should see a fall release.

Partnering with premier Japanese software publisher and developer FromSoftware, Activision will publish Lost Kingdoms, the first real-time action RPG for the GameCube, in North America this spring. In Lost Kingdoms, the player takes control of a beautiful heroine, Princess Katia, on a quest to rid the land of a deadly menace intent on engulfing the five Kingdoms of Argwyll. During the adventure, the player must find and gather the cards that hold the power to unleash incredible creatures into battle, fighting off the endless hordes of monsters that stand in their way.

"Lost Kingdoms invites players to experience an epic fantasy world filled with magic, monsters and mystery," states Larry Goldberg, executive vice president, Activision Worldwide Studios. Throughout the game, players will explore over two-dozen graphically rich 3D worlds as they uncover the mystery that threatens to destroy the Five Kingdoms of Argwyll. Along the way, gamers will have the opportunity to collect over 100 unique Guardian Cards that can be used to release powerful creature allies such as fighting skeletons, ravaging wolves and fire breathing dragons.

Japanese gaming publication, Famitsu, has given Biohazard (Resident Evil) a near perfect 39/40! The equivalent of a 97.5%. This qualified the title for Platinum, the highest award given by Famitsu and an incredible achievement for games rated by very harsh Famitsu reviewers. Reviewers noted that the game was so graphically impressive and well expanded over the previous incarnation that it could nearly be considered a completely new game. Resident Evil looks to be the first true system-selling GameCube title to be released in Japan since Super Smash Bros. Melee.

Some fantastic news to report this evening from Japan. According to the Japanese news publication, Nikkei Net, "Nintendo has agreed to resume procuring the popular "Final Fantasy" video game software for its game consoles from Square Co. after a five-year hiatus." The article confirms that Square will develop for both Nintendo GameCube and Game Boy Advance...

Revealed today on Capcom's Japanese site, Capcom vs. SNK 2 is scheduled for release on Nintendo GameCube. The popular 2D fighter, which brings famous characters from Street Fighter and SNK's King of Fighters into a single game, has been previously released on PlayStation2.

Camelot Software Planning is currently developing Mario Golf and Mario Tennis for the Nintendo GameCube. Though little is known about the titles, Camelot has commented that they intend to greatly expand the games over their highly acclaimed Nintendo 64 predecessors, for which the firm was also responsible. No release details have been announced. GameCubicle.com will of course have addition information as news develops...

Nintendo luminaries Shigeru Miyamoto and Satoru Iwata recently took part in a roundtable discussion at the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences Summit in Las Vegas, Nevada. Subjects of discussion included the quality of next-generation games, Nintendo's image, Pokemon, Yamauchi, Zelda, and much more...

Ubi Soft today announced plans to release Rayman 3 Hoodlum Havoc in the U.S. and Europe this fall for all platforms. With more than 10 million copies sold, Rayman is one of Ubi Soft's most popular brands. Created by Ubi Soft Game Creator Michel Ancel, the character with no arms and no legs has been a true crossover game, attracting both younger and older fans. Ancel commented, "The extravagant imagination that has gone into the design of Rayman 3 Hoodlum Havoc will not only appeal to our existing fan base, but also attract a whole new group of players to the genre...

THQ today announced it will publish Disney/Pixar’s Monsters, Inc. for GameCube. Scheduled for fall 2002 release, the game will be based on the Academy Award-nominated animated film, Disney/Pixar’s Monsters, Inc. THQ's VP of Licensing , Germaine Gioia commented, “THQ is pleased to extend our interactive videogame collaboration with Disney by bringing Disney/Pixar’s Monsters, Inc. to GameCube.” Gameplay features a unique dodge ball-style match set in special stadium arenas where your favorite monsters launch an artillery of “laugh balls” at each other which upon contact will affect each monster differently. In the game, Monsters train and learn how to bring laughter to the children they once scared with the ultimate goal of filling their individual laugh canisters first. The game also features a multi-player mode allowing up to four players.

GameCubicle.com's release list has been updated with the latest dates available for all upcoming GameCube games. The latest update includes a new dates for James Bond: Agent Under Fire, Resident Evil 0, Resident Evil 2, and the addition of Monsters, Inc.

Nintendo of America producer Ken Lobb has departed from Nintendo to assume a new position at rival Microsoft. According to IGN Cube, no reason was given for Lobb's departure. In his time with Nintendo, Lobb took an active role in some of the company's most successful games including Star Wars: Rogue Squadron 2, Perfect Dark, and Goldeneye. Rare fans will remember the "Klobb" gun from Goldeneye. Initially, named the "Spyder," the automatic gun was renamed after Ken Lobb. He was immortalized by Rare once more as a guard in Perfect Dark. We wish Lobb a fond farewell and best of luck at Microsoft.

Nintendo held a roundtable media interview this week in Las Vegas with Shigeru Miyamoto and Satoru Iwata. Topics of discussion included the quality of next-generation games, Nintendo's image, Pokemon, Yamauchi, Zelda, and much more. One memorable quote during the discussion came from Iwata on the issue of competition, "I think the media will often to refer to Sony and Microsoft as game industry giants and it's true in the sense of the sizes of the companies that they really are giants. But to me the question is, among the software makers and who is really selling software, who is the giant?" IGN Cube participated in the Q&A and has transcribed the discussion for your reading pleasure.

Last week GameCubicle.com reported a number of rumors from Japanese gaming site, The Magic Box. One rumor in particular, we can now confirm was false. According to Shigeru Miyamoto, in statements given to IGN Cube, 1080 Snowboarding 2 is scheduled for a winter 2003 release. In late 2001, 1080 Snowboarding 2 was taken away from former second-party Left Field Productions after Nintendo was unimpressed by the developer's progress.

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