Pojo's Friday News Page
August 19th - 2005

Yu-Gi-Oh!™ touches on Nintendo DS

Konami of Europe has announced it is to bring the phenomenally successful Yu-Gi-Oh! series to the Nintendo DS handheld, with Yu-Gi-Oh! Nightmare Troubadour specifically designed to make use of the system's dual screen and touch screen abilities.

Due for release in November, Yu-Gi-Oh! Nightmare Troubadour marks the first appearing of the famed dueling game on Nintendo DS. Recreating the many intricacies of the trading card game, where players use monster, trap and spell cards to defeat their opponents in a series of duels, Nightmare Troubadour also makes full use of the Nintendo format's capabilities. FullStory

4KIDS ENTERTAINMENT TO RELEASE YU-GI-OH! SEASON 4 IN TIME FOR THE HOLIDAYS

Episodes Now Airing on Kids’ WB! Available Beginning December 6, 2005 on DVD

LAS VEGAS – 4Kids Entertainment Home Video, Inc., the home video unit of 4Kids Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: KDE), in association with FUNimation Productions LTD, will release Yu-Gi-Oh! Volume 4.1: A New Evil featuring seven action-packed episodes from the current Kids’ WB! broadcast season on DVD on December 6, 2005, it was announced by Joe Lyons, Director of Home Entertainment. FullStory

Gen Con's road show lures gamers, sci-fi fans

The traveling convention, now in its 38th year, is a haven for fans of sci-fi, fantasy, role-playing games, miniatures and trading card games. Companies, including Upper Deck Entertainment and Wizards of the Coast, swoop in to debut their new games to tickle the fancy -- er, fantasy -- of tens of thousands. FullStory

Atari to Showcase Three Top Titles at Gen Con Indy 2005
Dungeons & Dragons(R) and The Matrix: Path of Neo Video Games to Shine During One of North America's Largest Consumer Gaming Conventions

Atari, Inc. announced today that it will showcase three of its most eagerly anticipated video games at Gen Con Indy 2005, taking place August 18-21, 2005, at the Indianapolis Convention Center in Indianapolis, IN. Titles scheduled to be on display include Dungeons & Dragons(R) Online: Stormreach(TM), Dragonshard(TM), and The Matrix: Path of Neo. The Dungeons & Dragons property is used under license and is owned by Wizards of the Coast.

"As one of the largest consumer conventions in North America, Gen Con Indy is the ideal venue to demonstrate some of our most eagerly anticipated titles, and do so with a remarkably targeted demographic," said Marc Metis, Senior Vice President of Marketing for Atari, Inc. "We're excited to unveil both Dungeons & Dragons(R) titles as well as The Matrix: Path of Neo, and think consumers will be equally as thrilled." FullStory

Man captures the magic at national tournament
Players of a mystical card game battle in downtown for U.S. title

It's a game that transports players into the caldrons of sorcery, unleashing trolls, minotaurs, nameless abysses, vampire trainers, fanged rats with dripping saliva and hulking monsters with ram horns.

But in a card game that often honors creatures that can quickly slash flesh or rip out hearts, Antonino De Rosa, 23, of Port St. Lucie, Fla., advanced to the "Magic: The Gathering" national championship in Baltimore yesterday using a trio of serene, human-feline hybrids pleasantly named "sun droplets."

"It's an obscure card," said Randy Buehler, 33, of Wizards of the Coast, the game's maker. "Antonino had three sun droplets out there, meaning that every time he took a hit, he'd get three points back on his next turn. His opponent surrendered. His case was hopeless." FullStory

Konami Signs Deal With Marvel, Set to Release 2 New Sports Games

Konami Digital Ent. Inc. announced a multi-year agreement with Marvel Enterprises Inc. and Upper Deck Ent. that gives Konami exclusive worldwide interactive rights to develop games for current and next-generation videogame systems based on Upper Deck’s best-selling Marvel Trading Card Game. This is the latest addition to Konami’s collection of interactive trading card based properties, which also includes the tremendously successful YU-GI-OH! series.

This announcement comes on the heels of Konami’s announcement that it is set to release two new sports titles — wrestling game RUMBLE ROSES XX and soccer game WORLD SOCCER WINNING ELEVEN 9. FullStory

PS2 price cut expected; Xbox 360 date unlikely, price leaked?
Microsoft and Sony both to make announcements; Xbox 360 price "leaked"?

With announcements due from both Sony and Microsoft at Game Convention in Leipzig tomorrow, rumours at the show suggest that Sony will be dropping its PS2 price point - but that Microsoft may have little news to announce. FullStory

Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks (PS2)

The Mortal Kombat series has proved to have surprising longevity. Midway has done a lot of work to keep it relevant over the course of this generation, releasing two fighting games that kept its loyal fanbase appeased while working in some welcome changes to the fighting system that quickly brought it up-to-date. Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks, however, may be the most exciting development for the series we've seen in several years. FullStory

4th-grader going for Pokémon title

Most rising fourth-graders are wondering if they will remember their multiplication tables once school is back in session, but 10-year-old Patrick Tuskey, a student at Spring Run Elementary School in Chesterfield County, has a lot more on his mind.

He's "practicing like a madman" for this year's Pokémon Trading Card Game World Championships in San Diego. The competition, which attracts youngsters from more than 35 countries, will be held Friday through Sunday. FullStory

Nintendo to launch micro console in Europe in November

Nintendo Co. Ltd will launch its Game Boy Micro, a portable mobile phone-sized games console, in Europe on November 4 for a recommended price of 99 euros, it said on Wednesday.

The Japanese company hopes to attract women and so-called casual gamers -- those unwilling or unable to spend hours playing games on a PC or console at home -- with the new device, which is available in metallic pink, green, blue and silver. FullStory

Nintendo delays Zelda release, cuts DS price

Nintendo Co. Ltd. on Tuesday said it will delay its "The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess" game release until after the holiday season, and that it is cutting by 13 percent the U.S. price of its Nintendo DS portable video game device.

The company also said its upcoming Game Boy Micro, a cell phone-size handheld, will ship at the end of September and sell for $99 in the United States. It will also be released in Japan and Europe in time for the holiday season.

Nintendo said shipment of the latest installation in the Zelda franchise would be no sooner than April 1, to give developers more time to perfect the game and add levels, Nintendo spokesman George Harrison told Reuters. FullStory