I want m$ to buy out Nintendo... relocate some of the talent onto the pc

It would seem that Nintendo's upcoming dual-screen hand-held innovation, code-named Nintendo DS, has managed to gain the industry's attention and to appeal to the creative side of game developers who seem to be getting on-board Nintendo's project in great numbers.

To date, more than 100 companies worldwide have received software development kits and are planning games for Nintendo DS, which for the first time offers gamers two separate perspectives on the action. Companies include THQ, Electronic Arts, Activision, Atari, Ubisoft, Majesco, Capcom, Sega, Konami, Hudson Soft, Namco, Bandai, Koei and Square Enix, to name a few.

Nintendo DS will attempt to convince gamers to change how they approach, perceive and enjoy video games and at the same time include additional options in order to enhance the game-play experience.

In effect, thanks to the success of the wildly popular Game Boy franchise, Nintendo owns the current hand-held video game market: The Game Boy line has sold more than 168 million units worldwide during the past 15 years. And with the introduction of the DS, Nintendo's dominance may well continue in the future.

The Nintendo DS will be unveiled at the 2004 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), May 12 to May 14 in Los Angeles. The Nintendo DS remains on track to launch before the end of the year.

In the run up to E3, people are literally chomping at the bit about what will be shown of the Nintendo DS and the PlayStation Portable. However, in what could prove to be a major kick in the teeth to Sony, a few developers in Japan have gone on record as saying they are very unsure whether to support the PSP fully. Below are the main comments from the big-name players in the Industry:

Square-Enix's Michihiro Sasaki stated:
"We still don't know what Sony are trying to achieve with this product - that's the problem. Before we prepare anything, we'd like to know more about the PSP business model."

Konami's Kazumi Kitakami added:
"It would have been better if PSP were just a game machine. They [Sony] are foolish to try and build a market for watching movies any time, any place. Watching movies requires concentration. Also we fear the Japanese release date may also be delayed."

Both Square Enix and Konami have confirmed support for the Nintendo DS, with Square Enix expected to bring a big name RPG franchise and Konami a new Castlevania title as well as a version of Pro Evolution Soccer.

Other more general comments cover issues such as:


Not enough firm information has been released by Sony to give developers the chance to prepare for a proper launch.

Even by April's close, far too many developers had not even received development kits or even final specifications for the system!

Confusion currently surrounds how a system made for playing movies and games will be marketed.


Certainly not impressive in the slightest for the '21st Century Walkman' as it has been dubbed by the PlayStation's daddy itself. The US and European release has already been knocked back to early 2005 and the doubters are lining up very quickly.

This all contrasts to the situation surrounding the Nintendo DS, which is picking up more and more laudation every second by the look of things. Recently it was announced that around 100 developers were working on the system, including Capcom, Namco, Konami, Square Enix and *cough* Telegames! Now, though, it has also been revealed that the DS could be ready as early as September this year...

The dual-screened wonder that is due to be laid bare in front of millions across the world next week has had working prototypes floating around the Industry for several months now and carrying a two-level demo of Super Mario 64 as proof of its power (as reported a while ago). Therefore, whilst the official launch is meant to be the end of 2004, there is a chance that some territories could well see an extra-special, totally unlike Nintendo move occurring, with the DS hitting the streets during Autumn, much earlier than expected!

and carrying a two-level demo of Super Mario 64

Most interestingly, the lower screen is indeed touch sensitive, as was suggested by leaked specification information from Japan earlier this year. The system comes with a stylus for drawing on the lower screen, and one game demonstration apparently involves drawing clouds on the screen in order to slow the descent of baby Mario as he falls from the sky.

The system - which is slightly more powerful than the Nintendo 64, once again as suggested by the leaked specifications - has two game cartridge slots, one for Game Boy Advance games, and another for the smaller DS game cards. It also sports Bluetooth wireless networking technology for connecting DS devices together.

Further information about the forthcoming Nintendo DS handheld has emerged just hours ahead of its official unveiling in Los Angeles - including what purports to be the first picture of the hardware, and details of some software demos.

The system is officially going to be called Nintendo DS at retail, despite earlier statements from the company which referred to the DS acronym as a codename, and not Nitro as had been speculated following the discovery of that name on a Nintendo developer website.

Like the GBA SP, it is a clamshell design, with one screen in each folding section - but it is significantly wider than the SP, with a D-pad on one side of the lower screen, and four buttons on the other side. The four-button design is a major departure for Nintendo's handheld consoles, which have always used two-button control layouts in the past.

Most interestingly, the lower screen is indeed touch sensitive, as was suggested by leaked specification information from Japan earlier this year. The system comes with a stylus for drawing on the lower screen, and one game demonstration apparently involves drawing clouds on the screen in order to slow the descent of baby Mario as he falls from the sky.

The system - which is slightly more powerful than the Nintendo 64, once again as suggested by the leaked specifications - has two game cartridge slots, one for Game Boy Advance games, and another for the smaller DS game cards. It also sports Bluetooth wireless networking technology for connecting DS devices together.

No details of pricing, or exact launch date information, has been revealed so far - this information may be forthcoming at Nintendo's conference (which takes place on Tuesday morning in Los Angeles, so early this evening European time), although the company has generally used this conference as a platform for revealing new software and technology, rather than discussing the nitty-gritty of pricing and launch dates.

Of course, while the systems are very dissimilar - and their price points are likely to be separated by over a hundred US dollars in difference - comparisons will inevitably be made with the Sony PlayStation Portable, which will be unveiled about two hours before the Nintendo device at a separate press conference in LA.

"I have not seen the PSP," Nintendo's legendary designer Shigeru Miyamoto is quoted as saying to USA Today, which provided the advance information by way of an early edition. "The screen, I believe, is bigger than a DS screen, and I am sure it will have excellent graphic quality... [But] the PSP will not be able to display anything that you cannot do on a current system... We want to do things that you could not do before. We are looking at the creative end."

Nintendo touts publisher and developer praise for the upcoming handheld.

May 06, 2004 - Nintendo of America issued a release today that reports on the industry interest of the upcoming dual-screen handheld videogame system, codenamed Nintendo DS.

According to the company, Nintendo has signed more than 100 companies worldwide for software development on the Nintendo DS, including THQ, Electronic Arts, Activision, Atari, Ubisoft, Majesco, Capcom, Sega, Konami, Hudson Soft, Namco, Bandai, Koei and Square Enix.

"Nintendo DS is going to push hand-held technology to uncharted territories," says Yves Blehaut, senior vice president of Atari. "It's going to energize both developers and consumers with amazing new game mechanics and new game design. Once more, Nintendo leads the way with something unexpected and totally innovative."

"The Nintendo dual screen is something that we're really excited about developing for," says Nick Earl, vice president and general manager of Electronic Arts. "It's very innovative, which is classic Nintendo."

"It's exciting to see so many publishers are as inspired about the Nintendo DS as we are," says George Harrison, Nintendo of America's senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications. "The creative contributions of the publishers will reinforce Nintendo's reputation as the industry's leader in innovation."

The Nintendo DS will make its debut at the Electronic Entertainment Expo next week, and will be a big part of Nintendo's pre-show presentation on Tuesday morning. We'll have all the goods then.

LOS ANGELES ? Video game giant Nintendo, facing increased competition in the market for handheld entertainment, will have a new portable out this fall with twin color screens, sharper graphics and the feel of a PDA. The Nintendo DS ? short for dual-screen ? will be unveiled Tuesday morning at the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo game industry gathering.

The DS will sell alongside today's Game Boy Advance, not replace it, according to the company. Nintendo has not announced a release date or price, though analysts predict it may sell in the $150 range.

One of the two 3-inch screens is touch-sensitive and works with a stylus ? like Palms and Pocket PCs ? to control the action in some games. In one demo, players guide a toddler-age Mario as he falls from the sky by drawing clouds. Other games give multiple views of the action.

The DS also has Bluetooth wireless communication to connect with other units within range for cordless competition. DS has separate slots for current Game Boy Advance cartridges and new, smaller DS game cards.

DS is largely viewed as Nintendo's response to Sony's PlayStation Portable, or PSP, a new system that will play both movies and video games stored on mini DVD discs. Sony has announced plans to release PSP in Japan later this year and in the USA in 2005.

"I have not seen the PSP," says Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto, creator of the famous Mario, Zelda and Donkey Kong characters. "The screen, I believe, is bigger than a DS screen, and I am sure it will have excellent graphic quality." But, he adds, "the PSP will not be able to display anything that you cannot do on a current system. ... We want to do things that you could not do before. We are looking at the creative end."

The DS has slightly more processing power than the Nintendo 64 console released in 1996. While that's nowhere near today's top game-system graphical capabilities, two- and three-dimensional game images, when viewed on DS screens, are surprisingly crisp.

Sony's PSP, reported to be only slightly less powerful than the PlayStation 2, will have a higher-resolution screen and more graphics power. The price has not yet been announced, though estimates have ranged to $250 and up.

Having sold more than 168 million Game Boys worldwide since 1989, Nintendo dominates the handheld game market, even as it's losing market share in console systems to Sony and Microsoft. Over the past 15 years, such companies as Sega, NEC, SNK and most recently cell phone giant Nokia have launched nine competing portable game systems without much success.

and the feel of a PDA

"I have not seen the PSP," says Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto, creator of the famous Mario, Zelda and Donkey Kong characters. "The screen, I believe, is bigger than a DS screen, and I am sure it will have excellent graphic quality." But, he adds, "the PSP will not be able to display anything that you cannot do on a current system. ... We want to do things that you could not do before. We are looking at the creative end."

The price (of the psp) has not yet been announced, though estimates have ranged to $250 and up.

E3 2004: Miyamoto Roundtable
Read the full transcript of tonight's Nintendo DS roundtable with Shigeru Miyamoto. Find out why he loves the system so.
May 12, 2004 - Earlier tonight, Nintendo held a Nintendo DS-related roundtable with famed game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, as well as two software producers responsible for several of the demos running on the Nintendo DS hardware: Takashi Tezuka and Hideki Konno.


The following is the full transcript, including the question and answer session after Miyamoto's informative monologue.

Tom Harlin, Nintendo of America: I'd like to begin by introducing our speakers. This is my co-host, Bill Trinen from Nintendo of America. He will serve as the translator for this event. Next we have someone that needs no introduction, Mr. Miyamoto. Beside him is Mr. Tazuka, and Mr. Konno. They will each start by giving a small introduction about essentially who they are and their work at Nintendo. We'll start with Mr. Miyamoto.

Shigeru Miyamoto: Good evening. I'll be speaking Japanese tonight. (laughs). I would like to thank so many of you for joining us here tonight. Mostly we're going to be talking about the Nintendo DS and the new Zelda game. But first there's something I'd like to clear up. I've heard that some of you have heard that my heart is doing so well these days. Is there a rumor going around? (laughs) There are rumors going around that I've actually quit Nintendo? At least, that's the rumor going on over in Japan right now. (laughs) At the hotel yesterday I had a good kilometer swim, and my heart's doing fine, so you don't need to worry. (laughs)

Actually, things are really going great for me, I'm really enjoying work and a part of a great situation at Nintendo. My work has been divided up a little bit recently. And I'm sure you all know that the president Mr. Iwata has been in development for some time and last year he has been taking a look at Nintendo's internal development and made some changes to our structure. We've been trying to break up the molds of all of our producers at Nintendo.

We have our own internal first party development studio. We also have second party development studios which are games that are developed outside of Nintendo but published by Nintendo. We also have games produced by third parties. We've seen the number of second party developed titles increase dramatically. And because of that increase in second party development, the number of titles I was overseeing had increased as well. And every day I'd get countless documents on my desk that I'd have to put my stamp of approval on just to disperse money to our second parties. (laughs) So, as of last year I have been put in charge of first party content exclusively. And that's where my focus is now. We've also opened an EAD studio in Tokyo. That studio has been responsible for Donkey Kong Jungle Beat which is available for play on the show floor.

So I'm in a great environment now and have a great setup because I work directly with a lot of the Nintendo DS tech demos on the show floor today.

Takashi Tazuka: I've been working with Mr. Miyamoto for the last twenty years, primarily on the Yoshi series, and more recently as the producer on Animal Crossing. My most recent title will be Pikmin 2 which I serve as producer as well. I've been helping out with the DS tech demos today.

Hideki Konno: I am Hideki Konno in EAD's planning department. I've been working with both Mr. Tazuka and Mr. Miyamoto for almost twenty years now. The best way to explain what I've been responsible for is to start with the most recent and work my way backwards. I was the director on Luigi's Mansion, the director on Mario Kart 64, and the director on Super Mario Kart on the Super NES. And before those rolls as director I was working with Mr. Miyamoto for several years on games like Yoshi's Story, Yoshi's Island, Super Mario World and Super Mario Bros. 3. The reason why I'm here is because of the Nintendo DS, which I' m working on Metroid Prime Hunters, Mario Kart DS, and a little game called Nintendogs.




Miyamoto: This is the Nintendo DS. (holds it up) If you glance at it, it kind of looks like a Game Boy. But we've created the hardware with the idea that it's not a Game Boy. Obviously the chipset and graphics the DS is capable of are far beyond what the Game Boy's been capable of during its lifetime. I'm sure because we've provided backwards compatibility with Game Boy people will see it as the next Game Boy. But really this is our third pillar.

What we mean by that is, with the DS, we're going to create software that we haven't been able to produce on any Game Boy, nor software that's been able to be created on the GameCube. It's going to be software that's never been seen before on any system. People always talk about Nintendo creating and innovating, and we're always under pressure to create new ideas. The idea was to reevaluate the idea of just continue to improve on graphics and technology. One thing we've looked at was to change the controller, and we've taken the DS and brought a whole new generation of capabilities to the hardware. We're also known for our software titles, so because of that we're able to put together a piece of hardware that no one else can create.

As you can see, we've taken handheld graphics and increased the capabilities, we've taken ideas from other systems like connectivity and found ways to bring that into the hardware. We've been researching wireless connectivity with other systems for a long time and what we saw with the Game Boy was that with linking games, people would have to buy a cable, and as we released new hardware and new peripherals, and linking them becomes very complicated. What we tried to do was to bring it together, like the microphone that's built into the unit, which is really neat. We had lots of ideas for using microphones in games in the past. You have all this functionality in one box.


If you look at the game industry now, people have been playing games for a long time. There's been better graphics, better technology, and more indepth gameplay. But as the industry continues to grow, we see that the world is really separated into two camps. One camp that plays videogames and one camp that doesn't. So when I went back to the days of the original Mario where it had one button to jump and that's it, I think that people long for that type of control again and those days where games were for anyone to enjoy.

With the DS we tried to focus on control where people can be directly in control, feel what it's like to be directly in control of that character. And that's what we're doing with the DS. So with the DS people who haven't been gaming for a long time or ever are suddenly brought to the same level as other gamers without having to worry about difficulty of control.

So the reason why we're calling it the third pillar is that with all these features and capabilities, the DS becomes a hardware system that doesn't just take games we've seen before and add new technologies or better graphics, it becomes a system where we can bring new styles of games that we've never seen before either on a handheld or a console.

That's why a lot of game developers who have been challenged in coming up with new game ideas see the DS and become very excited in its capabilities. One example of that is a game called Pac Pix which Namco has created. Namco had this idea floating around for a while, and made some experiments with it, but there wasn't any hardware out there that allowed them to create this idea. And when we showed them the DS, they immediately got very excited, and told us that they had a videogame idea that would be perfect for it. Everyone at EAD is very excited, there's a lot of energy, and a lot of fresh ideas floating around.



But just because there's two screens doesn't mean you have to use two screens. And even though we have wireless capabilities in the system, it doesn't mean every game has to be wireless compatible. And just because there's a microphone in the system doesn't mean you have to put in voice recognition into your game. And you don't even have to take advantage of the pressure control system. We think this is a system where developers have freedom to choose what to incorporate into their games.

The one thing I want to apologize for is how short many of the Nintendo DS tech demos are. There's a very specific reason for it. We think about how many people come to E3, how many people are going to be seeing the system for the first time, and we realize that the DS is a system that you have to get your hands on and play to understand what the system is about. We decided that we needed to have very short demos so that not only so the press could see everything in a very short time, but also so the developers who are here would see what it's capable of and use that to create ideas in their own minds. Hopefully you won't be let down by how short some of these demos are.

We have a request to all of you. This is a system that you have to touch and feel to understand. If you've had a chance to play it, try to find a way to explain it to them so they can understand how fun it is. That's why we're only going to be talking about the capabilities and not the specs of the system. Thank you.

Question: The Game Boy brand is the most powerful brand in handheld gaming, and the Nintendo DS is a handheld system. Why aren't you going to call it Game Boy?


Takashi Tazuka: As we've said before, the DS is not an expansion of the Game Boy. It's an entirely new system, entirely new capabilities. And for that reason, we're not going to call it the Game Boy Something. We'll come up with another name for the system when it's all done. That's why we didn't reveal the backward compatibility with the Game Boy Advance when we announced the system. Because we wanted people to have the opportunity to see the system, understand the concept behind the system, and realize that concept and accept the fact that it's not an extension of the Game Boy hardware.

Question: Why do you feel the industry is ready for a device like the Nintendo DS?

Miyamoto: I think that if you ask the developers about the DS, they're going to tell you they're very excited to develop for it, and the opportunity it provides them. It's going to allow them to create new software, and that new software is going to please consumers in new ways.

Question: With the stylus control, have you had any problems in your internal testing where the screen would scratch over time? Is that a concern with this hardware? What have you done to address this issue?

Miyamoto: I'm not the best person to answer this question since I'm not directly involved in the testing. But we are researching possibilities. We've looked at potential covers for the screen to protect it. But based on Nintendo's past, you can count on a very sturdy screen, so don't worry. Actually, I've been playing a lot of the games, and when I play Wario Ware, I find that I have a really good time playing it with a cotton swab, like the kind for cleaning your ear. It feels very smooth and very funny. (laughs)

Question: Which technologies or game ideas are you most impressed with, in general?

Miyamoto: I'm very interested in games that change the way people play. Like Samba de Amigo and EyeToy and obviously our Donkey Konga and Jungle Beat, games that are not only fun to play, but also look fun to play to people watching people playing them.

Question: With the DS' chat and instant message capabilities, are you competing with mobile phones? What direction are you going with this?

Miyamoto: I think there are two ways of looking at it. Our target user is everyone: people age 5 to 95. And if you look at that wide user base, you have children who see their parents with PDAs and such. So there's a lot of appeal for kids to use the DS and the stylus for its chat and IMing. And it's possible for someone with a wireless router in their home to potentially link up the Nintendo DS to that router, the computer and the internet and then to potentially link up to other instant messenging programs. I don't know how Microsoft will see this or if anyone will put anything out for this, or we may put something out independent as well. But maybe since Microsoft isn't making any cellphones maybe we'll be fine. (laughs).

Tapwave officially announced that their Zodiac products and games for the Zodiac will be available, starting in June 2004, in CompUSA stores nationwide.

With hardware from ATI and support from developers such as iD and publishers such as Activision the Zodiac is slowly emerging as a considerable quantity in the upcoming handheld wars and this latest move to retail shelves in the U.S. further pushes the device into the industry mainstream. The Zodiac consoles, accessories and four of the most popular Zodiac gaming titles are scheduled to be on CompUSA store shelves by late June.

In addition to launching at retail, Tapwave will release up to 10 new premiere titles by the end of the year, along with 60 to 75 Tapwave Certified or Tuned titles, such as MicroQuad (arcade/racing game), Hellfire: Apache vs. Hind (helicopter combat game), Orbz (action arcade) and Acedior (RPG). Some of the Zodiac premiere titles for this year will include Activision's Moto MTX: Mototrax and Street Hoops, Eidos' Tomb Raider and Atari's Neverwinter Nights. Activision's Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 just released in March, DOOM II and Duke Nukem: Mobile Mayhem will be launching in the next few weeks.

To ensure the continued success of the Zodiac, Tapwave is partnering with leading game publishers to bring other well-known premiere titles to Zodiac console users. Since launch, Tapwave has penned deals with leading titles from Activision, id, Eidos, Atari, Midway, Apogee, Fathammer, Sega and Epyx.

The Zodiac mobile entertainment console also provides a perfect platform to bring classic games back to life and quickly deliver more content to the Zodiac platform. With its ATI Imageon graphics accelerator and Motorola i.MX1 ARM 9 processors, the Zodiac is the first handheld device to have enough power to run full versions of "retro" game engines. Currently, Zodiac users are able to run the Sega Genesis, and Atari 2600. In fact, Sega Genesis classics like Golden Axe 3 and Altered Beast, and Atari 2600 games, like Centipede and Asteroids, are already available in the Tapwave online store. In the near future, the Commodore 64 engine will be available for the Zodiac, and will be supporting Bluetooth multiplayer play. Commodore 64 games will be sold in bundles, such as the C64 Sports Bundle, featuring Winter Games, Summer Games and a baseball game, or the C64 Action Bundle, including Sub Battle Simulator, Destroyer, Pitstop II and Super Cycle.

The company has also recently completed the Zodiac software 1.1 update, which has the following features:

- Background Music Play: You can play music in the background while playing games, viewing photos, managing your organizer or doing just about anything with your Zodiac console. An icon has been added to the status bar to provide one-tap access to music playback controls. In addition the Music/Preferences dialog features controls to customize background play behavior.

- System-wide Quick Launch: The Quick Launch feature lets you launch your favorite applications using the action buttons. With the 1.1 Software Update, Quick Launch works system-wide by simply holding down the home button while pressing the selected action button. This chording feature ensures that Quick Launch is always available, but never interferes with gameplay or other applications. In addition, Quick Launch settings are now made in the Quick Launch panel in the Prefs category. For users who still want one button Quick Launch from the Home screen, that feature is available in Home/Preferences dialog.

- Open Home to Last View: Some users expressed a desire to return to the last category viewed (instead of the top-level Home Screen) when they press the Home button. To allow this, we have included a new Open to: preference in the Home/Preferences dialog. You can select from three options: Home Screen (the standard radial menu), All Applications (the three column list view), or Last View (the view shown the last time the user exited Home).

Other subtle enhancements, based on customer feedback, were made as well. Examples include:

- Wake to Music in the Clock now plays the full song instead of stopping playback after 1 minute.

- Four new alarm sounds and enhanced MIDI capabilities to support downloaded alarm sounds.

- The ability to advance and reverse through Photo slideshows using the trigger buttons.

- Enhanced Bluetooth discovery dialogs that cache previously seen devices.

- Improved calibration, noise-filtering, and movement tracking for the analog controller.

According to Tapwave, in less than a year, more than 2400 developers have signed up for the Tapwave developer program and requested the software development kit (SDK). The majority of these developers are coming from established computing and entertainment platforms (e.g., Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Game Boy) and over 40 per cent are from international markets.

The Zodiac console offers 3D graphics, stereo sound, vibration effects, and wireless multiplayer gaming, but also everything required for a rich multimedia experience including music, pictures and video. From a work perspective, the Zodiac offers the added benefit of running a Tapwave-enhanced version of the Palm Operating System (5.2T) and provides immediate access to thousands of existing applications and games already available on the operating system.

The console is offered in two models -- the Zodiac(1) for USD 299 (32MB RAM) and the Zodiac for usd 399 (128MB RAM). Both models are currently available at the official web site, follow the download tab above, and will also be available at CompUSA nationwide this summer.

SurfaceInk has also announced an accessory for the Zodiac, the PowerPlay grip. This is an ergonomic grip created exclusively to fit the Tapwave Zodiac console. When snapped onto the Zodiac console, it transforms the ergonomics into that of a full-size video game controller. The PowerPlay grip easily attaches and fits inside the Zodiac sport case. It accommodates a variety of headphones including the Zodiac console's earbuds and includes molded rubber grips for a more stable gaming interface. The Zodiac console already comes with an AC adaptor, a USB/power cable, earbuds, wrist strap and a flip cover.

Rhe Tapwave Zodiac console, its accessories and games made their retail debut today in J&R Music World, a large consumer electronics and entertainment destination in lower Manhattan. The Zodiac boasts a brilliant high-resolution display, excellent graphics performance, rich stereo sound, and the multimedia full-throttle power of the Zodiac mobile entertainment console.

Along with the Tapwave Zodiac, J&R consumers will also be able to pick up the latest Zodiac accessories and popular Zodiac launch game cards, such as Activision's Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 and Midway's SpyHunter. Along with premiere titles, Tapwave is also offering 2 game packs - Z:Pak: Adventure, which will include Galactic Realms and Legacy; and the Z:Pak: Fun featuring Paintball, MegaBowling and Kickoo's Breakout. In a few weeks, id Software's DOOM II and 3D Realms/MachineWorks Northwest's Duke Nukem Mobile will also be joining other Zodiac games on the retail shelf.

The Zodiac accessories available today include the Zodiac Sport Case, Zodiac Cradle and a Zodiac Stylus 3-pack. Other accessories for the Zodiac will also be available in the coming weeks. These include a Zodiac Deluxe Leather Case and the Zodiac Universal Travel Kit.

In addition to launching at retail, this year Tapwave expects to offer a total of 60 to 75 Tapwave Certified titles, such as Tiger Team: Apache vs Hind (helicopter combat game), Orbz (action arcade) and Acedior (RPG). Some of the Zodiac premiere titles for this year will include 3D Realms/MachineWorks Northwest's Duke Nukem Mobile, Activision's MTX: Mototrax and Street Hoops, Eidos' Tomb Raider and Atari's Neverwinter Nights. Activision's Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 just released in March, and id Software's DOOM II recently launched in May.

To ensure the continued success of the Zodiac, Tapwave is partnering with leading game publishers to bring other well-known premiere titles to Zodiac console users. Since launch, Tapwave has licensed premiere property titles originally created by Activision, id Software, Eidos, Atari, Midway, 3D Realms, Fathammer, Sega and Epyx.

The new retail model comes with the latest Zodiac 1.1 software suite which includes many new enhancements like background music playback (e.g., listen to music while you play games, view a photo slideshow or read an e-book) and the ability to sync your personal organizer data with Microsoft Outlook using Chapura PocketMirror. Housed in a sleek and ergonomic 6.3 ounce, anodized-aluminum design, the Zodiac console not only provides an unparalleled mobile gaming device with analog control, 3D graphics, stereo sound, vibration effects, and wireless multiplayer gaming, but also everything required for a rich multimedia experience including music, pictures and video. From a work perspective, the Zodiac offers the added benefit of running a Tapwave-enhanced version of the Palm Operating System (5.2T) and provides immediate access to thousands of existing applications and games already available on the operating system.

The console is offered in two models - the Zodiac(1) for USD 299 (32MB RAM) and the Zodiac(2) for USD 399 (128MB RAM). Both models and accessories are also available online by following the download tab above.