Although I had largely dismissed it because it was published by Prima, which publishes strategy guides (and sucks up to publishers to do so), Salon.com has published an excerpt from "Opening the Xbox: Inside Microsoft's Plan to Unleash an Entertainment Revolution" a new book chronicling the creation of Microsoft's console. And despite the questionable journalistic integrity of the publisher, it's totally honest, and a pretty good read. A second piece at Salon discusses the book and the recent announcement that Seamus Blackley has left MS, although these two things have absolutely nothing to do with one another (as the article confirms, after raising some questions to the contrary).

• Yet another Xbox gloom-and-doom article was published by Reuters yesterday, this time noting that there were only two Xbox games in NPDFunworld's top 20 list for March. Other facts from the list: the PS2 had nine (including #2 GTA3), the PSOne four, and the #1 game was Super Mario Advance 2.
• Sony has updated their official EverQuest Adventures site with all kinds of info, including a FAQ and new screenshots. The FAQ confirms that there will be a monthly fee, although the exact number hasn't been announced yet.
• Here's some good Xbox news for a change...subscribers to the Official Xbox Magazine (US) should be getting this month's issue soon (if they haven't already gotten it), which includes the Dead or Alive 3 Booster Disc. Also on that CD is the official playable Halo demo, so if you've got an Xbox but not Halo, you can see what the hubbub is all about.
• GameSpot has posted a preview of Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis, the newest installment of the strategy RPG series with the name that makes no sense for a system with a name that makes no sense (although both probably sound better in their native Japanese).
• I hate it when companies do this...the creator of Devil May Cry has revealed that he's working on something called "Project Devil" but hasn't confirmed that this is Devil May Cry 2.
• There are some new Mario Sunshine shots up at Cube.IGN, including one showing the first look at Yoshi in the game.
• PS2.IGN seems to think this is a hint that a PS2 Castlevania game is in the works, but I think it sounds more like there could be one, but only if there's enough support from fans. Of course, there probably is one already in the works, but I don't think this says anything to support that.
• Sony's releasing updated DVD drivers in Japan, which are said to dramatically improve audio quality.
• Here are some awesome new shots from Soul Calibur 2. Enjoy.