Videogames.com Rewind

It was a short week because of Presidents' Day, but somehow there still managed to be piles upon piles of video game news. From the release of Final Fantasy VIII late last week, to the announcement of a chip that will probably become the innards of the next PlayStation. Not able to catch all the news this week? Here's a rundown of the console stories that were making headlines this week.

The first bit of official news: PlayStation 2 rocketed its way through the video game industry this week, as the 1999 International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) got underway. Sony and Toshiba made a joint announcement about its Emotion Engine. Although Sony was reluctant to say it, the new chipset will probably be at the very heart of its next PlayStation console.

But until PlayStation 2 comes along, the original is still capable of pumping out hours of gaming goodness, as evidenced by Square's blockbuster release of Final Fantasy VIII. It sold over 2 million copies on its first day of release and hasn't slowed down yet. Check out our hands-on reports from spending hours playing the game, including screenshots and movies.

Out of Japan came the 1999 AOU Show. Several major game announcements took place at this year's expo, like Capcom's newest Street Fighter game, Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike - Fight for the Future. Sega had plenty of NAOMI-based arcade titles that will eventually be on Dreamcast. Tecmo delivered its latest achievement--Dead or Alive 2. But the biggest news was from a game only shown on video - Strider 2.

It's only a few weeks away - the movie based on Origin's Wing Commander game series is making it to the big screen (and it's rumored to have the new Star Wars Episode One trailer in front of it). The $27 million movie stars Freddie Prinze Jr., Mathew Lillard, Saffron Burrows, David Suchet, Ginny Holder, and Jurgen Prochnow, and was directed by the series creator, Chris Roberts. Check out the international trailer for the flick by following the link below.

Nintendo takes the Pokemon license to the next level with Pokemon Pinball, a Game Boy Color game featuring a rumble cartridge and starring the 150 monsters from Pokemon. Pinball is a natural for the series, as you store Pokemon in PokeBalls - but we have to ask ourselves "Where's Pokemon Bowling?"

Treasure, developer of the cult hits Gunstar Heroes and Dynamite Headdy, has turned its attention to NAOMI, with its first 3D game, Gun Beat. Described as a racing shooter, the game stars four anime-ish characters who must blast and speed their way to the finish.

That's it for this week. Expected in the weeks to come are more information on PlayStation 2, as well as new Dreamcast game announcements as Tokyo Game Show nears. Stay tuned to GameSpot News for all the latest video game industry headlines.