Videogames.com Rewind

Halloween's over, and the rush to the holiday season (not to mention the Japanese launch of the Dreamcast) has begun. As that magic date approaches, not a week has gone by without substantial Dreamcast news. This week was no different, with plenty of other news too, so let's get right to it and jump into the headlines!

Making news on the Dreamcast side of things this week were delays with many of the system's most anticipated games, including Sega Rally 2, Blue Stinger, and a small bump for Sonic Adventure. This leaves Virtua Fighter 3 as the only major title ready for launch on November 27. Be sure to check out our full coverage on Sega's Gamer's Day yesterday and today.

Final Fantasy has finally made the jump from game to movie. Square and Columbia Pictures are getting together for the film, which is being made in Square's Honolulu studio. It will be released in 2001, so we've got a while to wait yet.

GameSpot News learned this week that Konami is developing Castlevania for the Dreamcast in the US, not in Japan where the series originated. We have also learned that there are some problems with the development, which has lead some insiders to call the title "Cancelvania."

Wondering what the Neo Geo Pocket is like? SNK's entry into the portable market was introduced in Japan this past week. Videogames.com's James Mielke got his hands on one and filed this report of his impressions.

Final Fantasy VIII, in English? Yes, and we've got the first look at what you'll be playing if you grab a copy of Brave Fencer Musashi.

Wrestling fans, prepare yourselves. WCW Thunder is ready to take the PlayStation by storm. Fans have been asking us a lot of questions about the title, so we went straight to the source, the game's producer, David Hoffman, to find out the answers.

Namco's R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 is sounding better and better as it approaches its December release in Japan. This time around, Namco announced that the game will include a second disc, which includes the original Ridge Racer, running at 60 frames per second with cleaner graphics. It also includes a catalog of Namco's titles, just in case you haven't completed your collection.

Nintendo grabbed a deal with LucasArts that will provide new titles based on Star Wars Episode One (The Phantom Menace) for the Nintendo 64 and Game Boy Color. This doesn't eliminate the possibility that other Episode One-based titles won't be out for other platforms though.

Nintendo's got high expectations for Zelda 64. The company said this week that it expects to sell two million copies before the end of the year. Will it happen? Well, considering the fact that many stores are closing preorders for gold cartridges already, we expect that Nintendo will be well on its way to that magic number.

Finally, Sega Enterprises and Sonic Team released more details and screenshots on Sonic Adventure. Naka & Co. has added people to the mix in the Station Square level and has also put in a very interesting interface for sticking Chaos characters into the VMS....

That's it for this week. If you're not visiting our news page every day for the latest video game news, well... you should be! Later!