Looks like the GameCube has been pushed back a bit according to a report by FGN. According to a calender at the Annual Toy Fair in New York, the GameCube has been pushed back to Nov. while the Game Boy Advance has been moved up to a June 11 release. Nintendo has yet to comment on this news.

OPTIMUS LIVES!!!

Shugashack has some great news for us folks that miss the Original Transformers.

TRANSFORMERS: There are robots, and then there are ROBOTS IN DISGUISE. The original toy robot that took the world by storm in the '80s comes full circle with the return of ROBOTS IN DISGUISE. Hasbro is bringing back the "classic" theme for TRANSFORMERS right down to the car-to-robot transformation. Plus, in the fall, Fox Kids will begin airing all-new TRANSFORMERS ROBOTS IN DISGUISE programming six days per week.

According to FGN Interplay and Shiny have officially announced that they are developing games for current and future platforms that are based on their newly aquired Matrix agreement.

Welcome Mr. Anderson...

Famitsu has snippets from a Yu Suzuki interview as well as screenies from new info based on the Virtual Fighter 4 arcade game. An ed. note in the article mentions that the interview occured before Sega announced that it would be publishing on mutliple consoles.

Yu Suzuki on VF4 Characters
"We will definitely add some new characters, though we haven't decided how many yet. We also intend to re-design the costumes of the VF series' characters: the Player1 outfits will follow the same vein as the earlier titles in the series, while Player2's ones might be pretty different. Sorry, we can't show them now, but I guarantee they're worth waiting for. Also, we will improve each character's facial expressions, and they should look like they've aged a bit. Anyway, all of the characters will get a makeover. For VF4's presentation, we borrowed some movie-like styles that were cultivated during Shenmue's development and incorporated them into various parts, like characters' victory poses."

Yu Suzuki on VF4 Stages
"The graphics of stages will also become even more realistic than before, as we take advantage of Sega's architecture on the NAOMI2 board: For example, look for impact shocks when a character is thrown down and footprints during snow battles."

Control and the fighting system might be chaged as well. Removal of the 4th button (Escape), different throws being based on location from the other fighter, and changes to the "Guard" system are being tested and may be implemented in this Naomi 2 based arcade title.

Interplay has secured the rights to the Matrix video games, according to eV. Shiny, creators of Sacrifice, Messiah, and the might Earthworm Jim, is supposed to be developing games based on the movie, hopefully having a one ready in time for the launch of it's prequel at the box office.

"All I can tell you is this: Any studio bidding on 'The Matrix' better drive a Brinks truck to the negotiations," said a spokesman for Electronic Arts, which was rumored to have been in the running for the license.

" 'The Matrix' is one of the most sought-after properties in the history of the industry, which means WB is going to expect (and deserve) top dollar for the license. What's more, expectations coming off of the movie are so high that delivery of a quality game is going to set records for cost of development."

The deal is expected to allow Interplay to create several game titles based on "The Matrix" franchise.

For those who didn't know, the Matrix Trilogy will play out similar to the Star Wars Trilogies. The first movie out was actually the second in the series. The next out will be the first in the series followed soon after (reportedly within a month) by the last in the series. Star Wars was supposed to a Trilogy of Trilogies with the first three movies being the 4th, 5th, and 6th in the series and the next three, starting with Ep. 1, being the first three in the series. From what I've heard, Lucas has said that the books and comics have done more than an adiquate job of keeping the legend alive and he will not make the last Trilogy (Films 7, 8, and 9).

Smikwily.com is alive. Smikwily.com should now point to this website. I know it isn't much yet, but I'm planning an update soon. I've changed both the font and the size. Going for a more mainstream look. Also, I'm planning on moving away from Blogger again. I love Blogger, but I'm looking for something I can do more with and something that I can modify like I want to. The new posting software may be a little overkill, but it gives me plenty of room to grow. Send me an email and let me know what you think...

IGN's site has the has info on the PS2 version of Half Life. All I can say is wow. Can't wait to see a 128-bit Freeman! Here is the first pic.