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Pojo's Friday News Page
for May 21, 2004

Pokemon: Leaf Green and Fire Red (GBA)

You'd think there wouldn't be too much life left in the Pokemon franchise - one of the most flogged horses in gaming, but Nintendo comes up trumps yet again with two more monster-collecting extravaganzas. This time around you can collect EVERY Pokemon ever created - that's over 300 in total - while there are plenty of new additions to please Pokemaniacs. You can also use Nintendo's new wireless adaptor to trade Pokemon with no strings attached.
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Gran Turismo 4

It'll will likely become the best selling PS2 game of all time. Sony is holding multiple press conferences during E3 to give journos the low-down on GT4. In the hour and a half presentation Yamauchi-san delivered a blow to the racing community that will not only leave video game racers euphoric and speechless, but have rival developers scrambling to out do the master at his own game.

We've seen some of the tracks in GT4, thanks to "Prologue". These include the Grand Canyon, New York, Tsukuba Circuit, Fuji Speedway and Assissi, Italy. For E3, Sony announced three additional tracks, the famous 13-mile, 176-turn Nurburgring test track, Capri and a Hong Kong street track.
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Playboy Video Game To Have Topless Animation
Company Hopes To Avoid Adults-Only Rating

Soon you too can be Hugh Heffner, at least in a video game.

A new computer game, "Playboy: The Mansion," is being previewed at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles. Producer Chris Boxmeyer said the Playboy title will feature some topless animation, but no full frontal nudity. Boxmeyer said the game could go further, but Playboy doesn't want an adults-only rating. Gamers play the Playboy founder hosting a party at the fabled mansion.

The video-game Heffner also has to persuade some bodacious babes to pose nude for a Playboy cover.
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Videogame review: Pokemon Colosseum: 'Gotta save 'em all'

Nintendo's newest edition of the popular video game series is the best. Yes, I have played them all. It combines the old with a new inventive twist.

The theme of Pokemon Colosseum has changed from "Gotta catch'em all" to "Gotta save'em all." Changing "catch" to "save" does in fact make a difference. All of the Pokemon have been captured and catching wild Pokemon is not the motivating force behind this game.

Pokemon Colosseum has all of the elements of the Game Boy games from before. They are all basic RPGs (Role Playing Games Ö Final Fantasy Style games). You get to one point and talk to people to find your way around. Only now, you don't get attacked by random wild Pokemon. Like I said before, there are none. Instead, you engage in a series of battles with random people or tournaments.
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Yu-Gi-Oh DS Impressions
Check out what we thought of the card game on the handheld. Screens and video, too.

There's a bazillion Yu-Gi-Oh games on the Game Boy Advance, and Konami's wasting no time getting the first Yu-Gi-Oh game for the Nintendo DS.

The company had Yu-Gi-Oh: Nightmare Troubadour on display in Nintendo's DS demo area, and the game is essentially another Yu-Gi-Oh card game on a console. It definitely fits the platform, especially with the system's touch screen control since it's easy to slot cards up on the playfield by dragging them from your hand into battle. The secondary screen handles all the 3D graphics and displays the game from the perspective of the player, and when the two opponents battle the game pulls up polygonal versions of the creatures in the Yu-Gi-Oh universe to represent the attack.
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Two New Spider-Man Games
Even though Spider-Man 2 isn't even finished yet, Activision is already making two other Spider-Man games.

Sony Pictures is banking on the success of Spider-Man 2 so much that the Hollywood wing of the Japanese conglomerate has already inked a deal to produce Spider-Man 3 for May 2007 theatrical release. Hot on the heels of that announcement comes this, Activision's Spider-Man 3 videogame announcement. Ron Doornink, CEO of Activision Publishing, Inc, "Activision is very excited to further expand its licensing agreement with Spider-Man Merchandising, L.P. on the third installment in the blockbuster series. We expect that our upcoming Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3 video games will continue building on the success we have already experienced with the franchise. Spider-Man has proven to be one of the most popular video game properties in the world. We expect that our future titles based on the brand will continue to top consumers' most wanted lists every year."
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Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone announced for the Xbox

Atari and Stormfront Studios confirm that their Dungeons & Dragons-inspired action adventure game is coming to the Xbox and PS2 this fall.

Atari and Stormfront Studios have today confirmed that Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone, which is scheduled for release on the PlayStation 2 in September, is also in development for the Xbox. Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone is a single-player action adventure game set in the popular Dungeons & Dragons world created by Wizards of the Coast. The game will boast a storyline developed by New York Times best-selling author R.A. Salvatore, and it will feature the considerable voice talents of actors Michael Clarke Duncan and Patrick Stewart.
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Dragon Ball GT coming to GBA Video

Majesco announces an agreement with FUNimation Productions to bring its popular Dragon Ball GT anime franchise to GBA Video.

Majesco has today announced an agreement with FUNimation Productions to publish Game Boy Advance Video products based on its popular Dragon Ball GT franchise. Under the terms of the agreement, Majesco secures the exclusive GBA Video rights to the Dragon Ball GT series for both the United States and Canada.

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Atari announces Limited Edition Duel Masters

Atari announces that a limited-edition run of Duel Masters: Sempai Legends for the GBA will ship with free trading cards.

Atari and Wizards of the Coast have today announced that a limited-edition run of Duel Masters: Sempai Legends for the Game Boy Advance will ship with collectible Duel Masters cards. Just how limited the special edition will be has not yet been confirmed at this time.

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Gamers going gray

Sixty-five percent of PC gamers are 18 and older. Fourteen percent are 36 to 45, and 25 percent are over 46. Game players average 29 years of age, and game buyers average 36 years, according to the trade group, which released its findings this week in tandem with the Electronic Entertainment Expo trade show in Los Angeles.

What's more, 53 percent of gamers interviewed in the ESA survey said they expected to be playing as much or more 10 years from now. This, the ESA concluded, means gamer demographics will skew ever older in the future.
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