I'm still not sure what game I think I'm leaning towards Grand Theft Auto III for now, but I could switch to either Shenmue II or ICO at any minute. So many games to choose from! If I'm still game-less by Friday, I'm going to jump head-first into Final Fantasy X. And then everything will be simple for awhile.

• As noted in a news item at Cube.IGN, Minoru Arakawa, president of Nintendo of America for the last 22 years, has retired. Since this story originally ran last night, a second one has been posted which confirms that the guy is taking a much-earned vacation, and has no immediate plans for the future (so don't expect him to wind up at Sega or anything).
• In other 'Cube news, Nintendo has said that more than 70 GameCube games will be out by the end of the year, and they expect to sell "a minimum of four million" consoles sold worldwide by March.
• More sales figure chest-beating can be found at GameSpot, where Microsoft's Ed Fries talks about the success of the Xbox. The same news item also re-confirms Microsoft's plans to launch their online network this summer.
• Capcom has announced Capcom vs. SNK Pro for the PSOne, which is based on Capcom vs. SNK: Millennium Fight 2000 Pro, which is already available for the Dreamcast.
• New movies from Sonic Advance are up at GameSpot, while Cube.IGN has some new Sonic Adventure 2 Battle movies online.
• All right! Akira on PS2! Or, maybe not...
• So why was a whole shipment of PS2 HDD units recalled in Japan? Who knows, but it couldn't have been too serious, since they're taking orders again (which will ship in February).
• Reviews: Computer and Video Games has posted their review of Halo (9 - but beware of the free registration), PS2.IGN has their review of Rez online (8.5), GameSpot has a new review of The Simpsons Road Rage (5.9), DC.IGN reviews the PAL version of Headhunter (9.0),