Welcome back. Contrary to what Allan eluded, I'm not going to indulge any more letters pertaining to the Colorado shootings. I think that it's time we put this unfortunate and entirely tragic event not out of our minds, but out of the spotlight.

Personally, I think we've all heard every side of the story, and while simply forgetting about it won't help change anything, there's nothing left to discuss.

On a more positive note, I've got some good stuff for you today, and it's even game related. I'm such a swell guy.

Yes, the Pocketstation will be released in America, but Sony is pretty sketchy about when. All they're saying is "sometime in 1999". And again yes, Final Fantasy 8 will indeed make use of the goofy little gadget.

As for the game itself, it's called "Odekake Chocobo", and is a chocobo raising game in the same vein as the Tamagotchi. Playing this game is necessery in order to get the Kochocobo and Mumba call items.

Hey, what's this? Why, I do believe it's a chance to blabber about my personal opinions in an egotistical assumption that you guys care! That's always fun. To be honest, it's really hard to say at this point without seeing Nintendo's next console offering. To go out on a limb, however, here's my guesstimations.

Things aren't looking good for Sega. Although they've made a valiant effort to right their past wrongs, word of slow sales in Japan and the simple truth that the Dreamcast is horribly outclassed in virtually every category by the Playstation 2, accompanied by the fact that game developers are, for the most part, more than happy sticking with Sony is going to hurt Sega. The fact that they also plan on selling to seperate versions of the Dreamcast (one with modem, one without) will immediately divide the market from the outset. Those who don't mind shelling out a few extra bucks will have the modem, and those who want to save a little won't. Since not all of the Dreamcast owners will have the modem, game developers will probably shy away from developing for it as they did with the NetLink for the Saturn. This effectively makes the modem worthless while screwing those who supported the cause by paying a little extra for it in one fell swoop. Way to go, Sega!

As for Sony, although it's a bit pricey, the sheer power of the Playstation 2 coupled with the might of the corporate beast that is Sony will move it off the shelves. Initially it will just be the older and more hard core (to use a horribly overused term) gamers that will be willing to shell out for the system, just the same as with the original Playstation. But, game developers will be attracted by the new power afforded by the Playstation 2, and as the saying goes, where the hardcore go, the casual will follow. Unless Sony drastically screws something up, their place in the next gen market is pretty much assured.

And then there's Nintendo. Say what you will, Nintendo is the only company to have a strong presence in every generation of console wars since the 8 bit days. The biggest concern is what format Nintendo's next system will utilize. Judging by the reaction of third parties to the N64's use of carts and the attractive pricing model of discs, Nintendo will almost undoubtedly go with DVD. However, everybody knows that Nintendo absolutely adores proprietory technology for their games. Both to discourage pirating, and also to keep third party developers over the barrel so to speak, forcing them to go through Nintendo to get the discs needed to develop for the system. Hey, it's the way Nintendo makes their money. As such, expect to see them use a proprietory form of DVD, just as the Dreamcast uses a proprietory CD.

Also it should be mentioned that, contrary to the belief held so dear by many Nintendo antagonists, Nintendo's age group isn't entirely youths. While it is true that Nintedo's mascot characters such as Mario and Yoshi attract the greatest percentages of youngsters amongst the gaming crowd, the hardcore gamers know a great game when they see it, "cutsy" or not. I mean, c'mon, living without playing Zelda and Mario 64 is downright criminal! Amongst casual gamers, the Nintendo name still is familiar and a known comodity. Also, Nintendo has seriously been loosening it's tie on game content, so more mature games have and will continue to appear on the Big N's systems. I guess what I'm saying with all this rambling is never count out Nintendo. They'll surprise you. Who would've ever imagined that a cart-based system in an age of CD's would even stand a fighting chance in a competitive market? Who would've guessed that a silly little 2.2" screen, black and white handheld would become the best selling system in the history of gaming? Nintendo, that's who.

Obviously, this is all just my speculation. But I'd hate to disappoint you readers with a boring, stuff-shirt "it's too hard to say" reply. I'm kind of stupid that way.

Uh, whatchoo talkin' 'bout, Willis? There's Electronics Boutiques in Canada. I guess there just isn't one in your area. Which kind of sucks, I have to give you that.

The life of an Agent is one devoid of music, I'm afraid. At one time Allan and I both had musical tastes, but we had no choice but to remove these blemishes from our minds. Musical taste is a sure sign of personality, and personality can only be curse in the cut throat world of the undercover.

Nope, you're not going to get me to admit that Allan is a huge Spice Girls fan. Ever. Next question.

Yeah, I've got to admit, "Eyes on Me" just screams Disney. And not even cooler Disney, like the Elton John, especially for the radio Disney. Fear.

As for the rest of the soundtrack, I've not played FF8 enough to say. Yes, that's right, I've managed to resist the urge to play the import despite working for a site devoted to games. It's been rough, but I want to get the fullest from it, and playing it in a language you have a full grasp of really adds a lot to the experience, believe it or not.

Sure. As soon as I finish donating my blood to the veterinarian Red Cross for use on blood transfusions for earthworms and scrubbing the pigeon crap off every statue in Manhattan, I'll be right over.

Amazing. Stephen's letter manages to be incredibly insulting... and yet contain a kernel of truth so large that you could heat it up and make a piece of popcorn the size of the moon.

On one hand, let's be honest. The "female" characters that have been appearing and even starring in games lately, and this certainly isn't confined to RPGs alone, have taken on the fighting roles once reserved to men, because in all honesty men are the grunt laborers of the planet. Characters like Tifa, Lara Croft, and so many others I can't even begin to name them, are in a way nothing more than men with superidealistic female bodies.

However, and there is always a however, as technology changes the face of the planet and former cultural boundaries and roles fade away, women can and have successfully taken on the roles once reserved solely to men. What's to say that a woman couldn't become a martial arts expert? What's to say that a woman couldn't become highly proficient with weaponry? This is an argument of many layers, it is.

Closing Comments

Hehe... if that last letter doesn't start some debate, I don't know what will. Agree? Disagree? Think Stephen here should get aqcuainted with the front of your speeding car? Tell me all about it, my little grasshoppers.

And with that, I bid thee farewell for tonight. See you tomorrow when we'll find out the meaning of Life. The board game, that is.

- Drew Cosner