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Some words from Naka-san come from Core Magazine:

Sega subsidiary director Yuji Naka appeared at Nintendo's Spaceworld pre-show event this afternoon in Tokyo and briefly agreed to speak about Nintendo's new console. Therein, he was asked about the appeal of the GameCube and what impact he believes it will have on the market. He responded, "The gaming industry is in a depressed state, but I think the GameCube will trigger a resurgence of players. Nintendo is focusing on fun original software with multiplayer compatibility, and I think people will be delighted with the GameCube. In terms of Sega software, Super Monkey Ball will be available at launch. We believe the GameCube could trigger an industrywide turnaround, and we're proud to be a part of it." Sega and its subsidiaries have emerged as Nintendo's strongest third party developers. Do they believe in Nintendo's claims of easy software development on the GameCube? Naka-san contunued, "I believe it's true. If today's showing is any indication, we've been able to transplant Sonic Adventure 2 and Phantasy Star Online easily to the GameCube. The short translation time is allowing us to focus on adding new elements to both games." Speaking of Phantasy Star Online, when can players expect Sega's network RPG on the GameCube? Naka-san revealed, "Because it involves the modem which Nintendo has control over releasing, I can't give a specific release date yet. However, we've been working with Nintendo on the online aspects and scheduling a release date. On the development end, we've been focusing on adding new elements lately, and we look forward to bringing network gaming to the GameCube in the near future."

Source: Core Magazine

The good Sega related news just keeps coming in for Nintendo and their next-gen system. The following is from SegaWeb:

When the news hit last week that Sega would have eight titles for the GameCube at Space World it set off speculation of a new team working on the system. Today that news has been confirmed as IGN spoke with Wow Entertainment, the developer of the House of the Dead series among others, and they confirmed two games are in production for the Cube.

No specifics were offered, but they are expected to be announced, if not shown, by Friday at Space World. In the past Sega has confirmed that ten GameCube titles are currently in production, raising the possibility of yet another team working with the system. Expect the trickle of news leading up to the show to build to a flood by the weekend.

Gotta love this....

Source: SegaWeb

For ages now, Sega has had a page in Japanese for it's toys. Now, we english reading fans can check out their line-up too. Go here to check out the site. A lot of people have probably been waiting on this one...

Source: SwirlVision

The official Sonic Adventure 2 for GameCube site has opened on Sonic Team's site, along with the first two shots of the port. Click here to check out the site, but like just about everything else on Sonic Team's page, much of it's in Japanese, so I hope you have a translator...

It seems that the Sega Smash Pack Volume 2 has been spotted for the PC on shelves. I'm not sure how long this has been out, but Sonic 2 and Vectorman 2 seem to be among the games on it, and it only costs $9.99 US.

However, a Dreamcast port isn't expected in the near future.

Source: SwirlVision

Well, well, the recent Sonic Team blurry screenshot may have been explained. What has resulted from some disecting seems to increase the odds that a Sonic title is the mystery game. Go here to get the full details. However, please remember that it could also be a decoy that Sonic Team put out to stir talk in the media. As IGN says, please remember both possibilities.

Source: IGNcube

Some sad news from video game voice over land today, as one can see by the title. The following comes from Ryan Drummond's site:

Before I go for this month, I have to pay respects to a fallen talent here in San Diego. Steve Broadie was a very talented Voice-Over actor here and I always enjoyed seeing him at auditions and working with him on projects. He passed away at 2pm on Friday the 10th. He will be missed. Hope he's doing V.O.s in heaven! :)

That is the mention from his site. Very sad, indeed...

Source: ryandrummond.com

And in the process, Sonic actually hits a historic milestone:

Sega today announced the release of the 100th issue of the Sonic the Hedgehog comic book series, making the speedy hedgehog the first videogame character to reach the milestone.

First published back in 1993, the strip has traced the adventures of Sonic and the Knothole Village heroes as they take on the evil of Dr. Robotnik and the Robotropolis villains for the past eight years. The 100th issue, which coincides with the 10th Anniversary of Sonic The Hedgehog, will mark the return of the Freedom Fighters, a band of Sonic allies that help him battle Robotnik on his home turf.

"The Sonic The Hedgehog comic book is very special to us and we are thrilled to see it reaching Issue #100," said Michael Silberkleit, Chairman and Publisher, Archie Comic Publications. "'Sonic The Hedgehog' is one of our top-selling comic books and we look forward to many issues to come."

Director of licensing and character development at Sega of America, Jane Thompson enthused, "Since Sonic's 1991 debut as Sega's mascot he has been a leading icon among consumers, and our 'Sonic the Hedgehog' titles are consistent top-sellers for Sega." "Sonic embodies Sega's unique ability to create innovative properties and characters - a strength we've had for more than 40 years with Sonic leading the way."

If these guys want many more issues to come, they got a lot of another kind of 'issues' to deal with first...

Source: SegaWeb

This could definitely open some floodgates. Sonic Team is showing four titles at Space World (For those that don't know, Space World is Nintendo's Japanese showcase of upcoming games). We know of three, which are Phantasy Star Online (GameCube), Sonic Advance, and Puyo Puyo, both for the Gameboy Advance. However, there also seems to be a mystery fourth title lurking in the shadows from the team... noone outside Sonic Team knows what it is yet, so it could be any number of things...

Source: SwirlVision

More Sega Music News... for Japan:

Sony has reaffirmed plans to release a compilation of music from popular Sega games. Over the past few months Sony has allowed players to vote for their favorite Sega tunes for possible inclusion in the compilation. Due to overwhelming demand however, Sony plans to release a series of compilation discs dubbed 'The Best of Sega's Game Music.' The first two volumes in the series are expected to hit Japanese retailers on October 24th and November 21st respectively. Each volume will consist of two discs, though definitive track listings remain undisclosed. Each volume will retail for 3,059 yen ($25), no word on plans to release the compilation discs outside Japan.

News import retailers love to hear... also, I personally find it wierd to hear Sony releasing Sega stuff. I know there's no problem with it now, but it still feels somewhat odd.

Source: Core Magazine