http://www.gamedaily.com/general/feature/?id=352
Rumormill: 06.29.04
by Todd Mowatt
Another round of rumors comes your way from the Video Cowboy. Some you may already know about, others might just surprise you.
Welcome to another romp through the wild's of the video game industry, Video Cowboy style. This week I have been on a mission to saddle you up with some prime cut fine gaming gossip, the likes of which will keep you on the edge of your seat. First let's start off with the rumors you may not have heard about.
New Ridge Racer for XNA
Namco was in Toronto recently chatting it up with XNA developer Pseudo Interactive regarding their interactive car demo that was showcased at Microsoft's press conference at the Electronic Entertainment Expo. The two companies chatted about the possibility of Pseudo doing the next generation Ridge Racer title. We will keep you posted as more information becomes available. Pseudo Interactive is doing the port of Pariah for the PlayStation 2 and they are trying to drum up some other work. If you think you know the name Pseudo Interactive, you probably have, they are the folks who made Cel Damage in the early days of the Xbox!
Samurai Warriors XL
Word out of Japan has it that Koei is developing a new version of Samurai Warriors (Sengoku Musou). The new game will be entitled Sengoku Musou Moshoden in Japan, and will include several new characters, stages and scenarios, including a weapon level. The game will also be able to be combined with the original Samurai Warriors in much the same way that Dynasty Warriors 4XL remixed with Dynasty Warriors 4. The game will be released in Japan on September 16th and according to our sources, it will be making its way over to North America, sometime in 2005 or possibly sooner!
Now on to some rumors that you may already be aware of, but here's the full scoop.
Too Human Exclusively for Xbox
Silicon Knights might be going solo after breaking its ties with Nintendo as a second-party developer. We are not sure who broke the ties with whom, but suffice it to say that the St. Catharine's Canada based developer has had some rough luck with sluggish sales of Eternal Darkness and Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes for the GameCube. Now the company is working hard on Too Human for the Xbox. A little bird told us that Konami, Capcom and Atari have been poking around the company's offices checking out the game. Too Human was supposed to be a PSone title for MGM Interactive. That group got out of games, but before that, they sent the game document back to Silicon Knights for some much-needed tweaking. SK seems to have the design document locked down and the platform. The game will only be released for the Xbox and not the PlayStation 2 or GameCube.
No Backward Compatibility in Xbox Next
Sources close to the big M tell us that the next version of Bill Gates gaming console won't be backward compatible. Meaning that you won't be able to play the Xbox titles you already own on the new system. Sony Computer Entertainment of America and Nintendo are licking their chops waiting for Microsoft at high noon to expose any errors they make in launching their second system. There's a couple of reasons Nintendo's GameCube got smoked by Sony with the PlayStation 2. The two main reasons were backward compatibility with the PSone, and the DVD player being in the PlayStation 2 and not in the GameCube. In terms of when we can expect to see Microsoft's next gaming console analysts predict that we will see the system sometime in 2005.
GBA, Halo, and GTA
Nintendo's Game Boy Advance SP is a popular little beast, and we are hearing that some of gamings key franchises are heading to the Nintendo portable. One of these titles won't be that much of a shocker, but the other one will blow you away if you haven't already heard about it. We have it on good authority that a pint-sized version of Halo might be in the works for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance SP. While this may just be a mistake brought about by the 2D fan-developed Halo game for PC, if it does turn out to be true, you knew it had to happen due to the proximity of their offices in Redmond Washington. The Microsoft campus is right across the street from Nintendo. So when Bill Gates takes out the trash or gets the mail, he probably gets to chat it up with the Nintendo folks. Not sure when the game will be released, but we have heard that it is happening. In other GBA SP news Grand Theft Auto: Vice City is headed to the system and the game will feature the same ratched up game play, except you will be able to game it on the go!
Need for Speed on PS3
Need for Speed Underground 2 will be out later this year, and we are hearing that development has started on a new next generation PlayStation 3 Need for Speed: Most Wanted. The game will feature a potpourri of licensed cars including some muscle cars, exotic cars and maybe even the new Porsche from their affiliation with some upcoming movie properties that they are making games about.
Multiplayer Golden Sun on GameCube
The rumormill has been spinning like a roulette wheel and it has stopped on the fact that Nintendo is considering making its third Golden Sun title; this time for the GameCube and Game Boy Advance. The second game didn't sell as well as the first, or end in a cliffhanger. However, insiders suggest that both titles set the table for a much larger and bigger presentation for the third game.
From what we are hearing Golden Sun will make the jump from the GBA to the GameCube in much the same way that Wario Ware, Advance Wars and Fire Emblem have. These same insiders suggested to the Video Cowboy ranch that Golden Sun for the GameCube might even include a multiplayer component.