Thanks to 1UP for their report on a Japanese poll rating the top 30 Famicom (NES) games of all time, as conducted for an upcoming Tokyo museum exhibition. The report comments that this poll is "an interesting look at the titles that were big in the early days of Japanese gaming, as well as what's held up in retrospect", and the Dragon Quest series (Dragon Warrior in the U.S.) is particularly well-represented, since "...all four Famicom games in the series made the top 10, compared to only one Final Fantasy." Also pointed out: "It's also interesting to see what's ahead of Super Mario Brothers 3, the most popular NES game in the United States. In Japan, they'd rather play Ice Climber and Balloon Fight."

Thanks to the Warp Pipe Project for their announcement that they've released a Windows alpha of their GameCube tunnelling software, which allows previously LAN-only games such as Kirby Air Ride and the forthcoming Mario Kart: Double Dash to be played over the Internet. The site will post the Linux alpha soon, but warns that all versions of the utility are unoptimized: "Be advised that half frame rate was attained by two people with a fairly good connection and not much in between." Elsewhere, Nintendo are ramping up the Japanese version of Club Nintendo with exclusive merchandise for frequent game buyers, detailed at IGN Cube, and including exclusive T-shirts, posters, and soundtracks, but not yet the amazing-looking Famicom/NES 20th Anniversary calendar recently acquired at Nokonoko.net.

Thanks to GameSpot for their large feature charting a comprehensive history of Capcom's Mega Man. The article explains: "Mega Man recently celebrated his 15th anniversary, and the Blue Bomber is showing no signs of giving up the fight for everlasting peace", and goes on to document more than 30 Mega Man-related titles, from the original NES version, which sported "totally appalling box art" in the States, through the 3D stylings of the Mega Man Legends series, and the VR-styled RPG gameplay of the Mega Man Battle Network series. The mammoth article ends on the hopeful: "Here's hoping Capcom sees fit to grace a current or future system with a good, honest 2D - or 2.5D, at the very most - Mega Man IX."

An anonymous reader writes "GamesIndustry.biz has the scoop that Datel will be launching an alternative GameBoy Advance player for the GameCube, an unofficial third-party device that plugs into the memory slot of the GameCube. The Advance Game Port will be smaller than the official GameBoy Player, and play GBA games only, but is cheaper (30 GBP) then the Nintendo version (40 GBP)." No word on US release, but it's interesting to speculate/dream that Datel could theoretically make devices to adapt other Nintendo systems to GameCube.

Thanks to Lik-Sang for their report on a third-party 'Time Machine' NES adapter for the GameBoy Advance SP, being developed by a Taiwanese manufacturer and trailed at the Hong Kong Electronics Fair. According to Lik-Sang, who are also showing a promo picture of the device: "The product is supposed to be market-ready within the next couple of weeks, and the primary use is to play your Famicom/NES cartridges on your GBA through the unit. Famicom cartridges are plugged in at the back of the unit, while the system sits underneath the GBA SP."

Thanks to Game Informer for their interview with Nintendo Of America translator/localizer, Bill Trinen. He discusses being Shigeru Miyamoto's translator for American trade shows, as well as localizing many of Nintendo's top titles, and says a major challenge is that "...up until recently, there hasn't been a whole lot of continuity... I think originally on the NES [Zelda] Ganon's name was spelled with two N's. We've actually been going back and trying to solidify and define all the terminology and the names of all the franchises." He also discusses Mr.Resetti, the mole who chides you when you reset without saving in Animal Crossing, saying: "...in Japanese Resetti had this very, very gruff Osaka accent and [the translator] took that and... as he was writing it he was saying the lines out loud in the thickest Bronx accent you could think of."

Thanks to IGN Xbox for their hands-on look at Tecmo's Ninja Gaiden for the Xbox, as the eagerly-awaited ninja action title got an updated showing at the Tokyo Game Show. As well as what GameSpy call the "beautiful and frenetic action" of the main game, the developers showed off the NES Ninja Gaiden games that were recently announced as unlockable features, found "...hidden inside of a random chest. After finding it, series creator Tomonobu Itagaki directed us to a rundown arcade cabinet in the corner of the [in-game] room. Suddenly... we were playing the original Ninja Gaiden in all its 8-bit glory." Intriguingly, Itagaki was concerned that the new Ninja Gaiden was too easy, and "...said many Japanese gamers don't really like challenging games, and that he wanted to make sure the American fans were pleased and found the game challenging enough."

Thanks to Nintendojo for their story regarding Shigeru Miyamoto's positive reaction to an online petition about the Earthbound games. Miyamoto, discussing the series (soon re-released for GBA in Japan) in an interview with Official UK Nintendo Magazine, says "We had high hopes for Earthbound, the Super NES version, in the US, but it didn't do well... You might not know this, but there was a petition in the US, a 'Please make Mother 3 [an Earthbound sequel]' petition and it got about 30,000 signatures! After that, we thought 'Wow... Earthbound fans are really solid'." The petition in question was put together by the fansite Starmen.net, and Video-Fenky previously got hold of a copy, commenting on the "testament to the Mother fanbase's... deep-seated devotion to the game they love."

Thanks to IGN Xbox for their hands-on feature on Tecmo's Ninja Gaiden, claiming that Star Wars:Knights Of The Old Republic "...has some competition for game of the year" on Xbox. According to the effusive preview, "While the original Devil May Cry made it fun to juggle enemies with your gun and then slice them in half with your sword, Ninja Gaiden one-ups Capcom's classic with a combat system that is more free-flowing and naturalistic than any 3D action game I can remember." The game, a sequel to the classic NES title, is "...tentatively set to ship Holiday 2003."

Thanks to Video-Fenky for a new feature illustrating the Nintendo censorship affecting the NES version of Maniac Mansion. These comments were originally written up in a 1993 issue of Wired, and an unedited prototype NES cart of the classic point n' click adventure has been found to show the changes - though "Nintendo didn't catch the old 'blow up the hamster in the microwave' trick (it was removed in the European version)", changes include editing Nurse Edna's suggestive speeches ("I should have tied you to my bed, cutie!"), and switching graffiti in the bathroom from "For a good time EDNA 3444" to "Call EDNA 3444".

Thanks to InsertCredit.com for their feature reviewing a selection of crazed Asian bootleg NES fighting games. The introduction explains: "In the days when Street Fighter II was the king of all games, you could make a killing by making a halfway decent Famicom port of it. And apparently you could still make money even if the game wasn't anywhere near halfway decent.." The expose checks out such completely unlicensed titles as Fighter 12 Peoples Street VI, Kart Fighter (using the characters from Super Mario Kart), Mortal Kombat 3 Special 56 Peoples, and even Tekken 2, rating each messily hacked-together game, many of them produced as recently as the late '90s, "...on a scale of negative one to negative ten."

Thanks to Video-Fenky for posting an interview with Konami NES veterans, Kazuhisa Hashimoto and Shigeharu Umezaki, as they "...discuss what was involved in creating your typical 8-bit console game in the mid-1980s." Highlights include discussion of the infamous Konami cheat code - Hashimoto says "There's [no special story behind it], really. I mean, I was the one using it (laughs), so I just put in something I could remember easily", and the much-reduced development teams of the '80s - "With Hyper Olympic, my first game, there was a programmer and a designer - two people - and it took half a year. Gradius was four people and I don't think it even took that long."

Thanks to Nintendojo for their continuing Family Computer (NES) 20th anniversary special, which is still adding new game reviews and content, but now has 'under the knife' dissection pages for both the original Japanese Famicom and the classic American NES, showing the consoles disassembled and analyzed. The rest of the site has mini-reviews of some classic NES titles, and info on oddities like I Am A Teacher: Super Mario Sweater: "Japanese appliance and sewing machine maker Royal Industries Co., Ltd. saw an opportunity to cash in with the Nintendo Famicom Disk System. Selling pixel art sweater design software for a mere 2900 yen (about $24), the company could make a fortune taking orders for custom sweaters! It sounds crazy, but it must've seemed like a good idea at the time."

Thanks to Video-fenky for his article translating a recent Famitsu interview with Hiroshi Imanishi, former executive director of Nintendo, about the original launch of the Famicom/NES console, which celebrated its 20th anniversary last week. The Famicom wasn't immediately well-received, according to Imanishi: "We were the new kid on the block, and a lot of places said to us 'We've already seen Donkey Kong in the arcades and on the Game & Watch! You're putting it out again?'" He also describes how the trademark NES controller almost never came to be: "...during development the majority of Nintendo wanted to include a regular joystick with the system. However, during that time, we made the first multi-screen Game & Watch, and we introduced the control pad so you wouldn't have to keep on glancing at your hands while you're playing the game"

Tim Grube writes "Gaming Horizon is running a story announcing that Nintendo of Japan has revealed a special edition GameBoy Advance SP to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Famicom/NES. A total of 1000 will be made and will not be available for sale. Instead, they will be given away as part of a lottery if you purchase certain GBA games." IGN Pocket has more information, including a good picture of the unit, which sports the original maroon and white Famicom colors.

Daetrin writes "Originally reported on The Magic Box and relayed (and edited) at Games Are Fun: 'Square Enix is currently pondering the possibility of porting their [unreleased] Wonderswan remake of Final Fantasy III to Nintendo's Gameboy Advance.' This is the only FF that hasn't been released in the US yet." However, this rumor last surfaced 10 months ago, so should probably be viewed warily - but the WonderSwan remakes of FF1 and FF2 were ported and enhanced further for Final Fantasy Origins on Playstation, so if FF3 is done, it might make sense for it to be re-appropriated as well.

Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing to a Gamers.com article showcasing new screenshots and details from Super Mario Advance 4 for GameBoy Advance. This title, which is a portable revival of the classic NES title Super Mario Brothers 3 with the higher quality visuals of the SNES Super Mario All-Stars version, will also have e-Reader connectivity, and a recent IGN Pocket preview claims "players can transfer the data from e-Reader to the game... to upload brand new levels and challenges", though, logically enough, "you'll need two GBAs (or a Game Boy Player [for Gamecube] and a GBA) to take advantage of this feature."

Thanks to Gamespy for finishing up its 25 Dumbest Moments In Gaming set of articles by picking their Top 5 mistakes of all time. We ran a story on these articles earlier in the week, and congratulate Slashdot commenter Saige for correctly guessing Gamespy's No.1 pick, Atari passing on producing and distributing the NES Stateside. Plus, well done to, uhm, pretty much everyone for guessing a certain long-haired FPS designer might make it into the Top 5 somewhere.

Thanks to Nintendojo for posting a preview of the forthcoming GBA title, Metroid: Zero Mission. This game, which the site says is rumored to be either a prequel, or more likely, a partial remake of the NES Metroid, was shown only in video form at E3. The Metroid Database comes to similar conclusions about the game, saying "..it looks as though we will be taken back to Zebes for Samus' first encounter with Mother Brain, but this time our girl will have all the abilities and weapons she's gained in all her adventures since then."

Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing out the news on Gamespot that Nintendo is ending production of the classic Famicom (NES) and Super Famicom (SNES) consoles. Apparently, a limited amount of AV Famicoms and SFC Jr. Super Famicoms were still being manufactured in Japan - but sadly, not any more. Also, according to Gamespot, "Nintendo will also stop its disk-rewriting services for the Famicom Disk System, a supplemental device released in 1986" - amazing that Nintendo was still allowing Disk System re-writing after almost 20 years, and that they allowed Gameboy/SNES cartridge re-writing, which also never made it outside Japan, until late 2002.