Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire buggin' out

TOKYO--Today Nintendo posted a statement on its Japanese Web site acknowledging several bugs in the GameBoy Advance games Pokemon Ruby and Pokemon Sapphire.

According to the company, several users have reported that time-lapse events in the two games--including the growth of berries used to upgrade the Pokemon stats and the purchase of a Pokemon lottery ticket at the Lilycove department store--are no longer working properly.

The cause of the bug is suspected to be a glitch in the cartridge's internal clock, which keeps track of events happening in the game. Nintendo reports that the bug only affects users who have played either Ruby or Sapphire for over one year. The company also reported that the error does not affect saved data, and deleting saves will not solve the issue.

Nintendo is offering to fix the malfunctioning cartridges free of charge, and asks customers having the issues to send their game to the nearest Nintendo service center. The company assured gamers that the bug has no effect on Pokemon Colosseum, which can be played with data downloaded from the two GBA titles. Customers that are not having the trouble with their cartridges can continue playing the game without any problems.

As of press time, no errors in the American versions of the two games had been reported.