Thanks to Shack reader Chris Kelly, with whom I was able to work out a trade, I am now the proud owner of a TurboDuo system. It arrived today, and naturally I tore into the box and had it up and running within minutes, and it is indeed a huge step up from the clunky hardware of the original TurboGrafx-16. Aside from the fact that this is a faster system and incorporates the CD add-on for the original system, the Duo has an internal battery for saving games and the all-important composite video cables, both of which the original system lacked (without shelling out for an add-on unit that, is). Looking back on it, it's tough to argue in favor of any system as late as 1989 shipping without the ability to save at all in most games, and only with a password in those that could. I know the HuCard dates back a few years before to the original PC Engine in Japan, but its absence was pretty silly nonetheless. Password saves were annoying in 1986 with the original Metroid, especially considering that games like The Legend of Zelda and Phantasy Star both included on-cart battery saves around the same time. But regardless, for the entire life span of the HuCard -- across the original TG-16, Duo and TurboExpress -- very few games took advantage of the battery backup feature for systems that had it. Not being able to save really sucks in Military Madness, a tight, action-packed strategy game. Thankfully you can save in most CD games, including the sublime Ys Book I & II, which I am now the proud owner of as well. That's first on my list of games to jump into. As soon as my extension cable arrives for that damn gamepad, that is, as like the original TG-16 the Duo's gamepad has a cable that's barely two feet long.

	Still More Square Rumors Just because I know how much you all love these...Video-Fenky is the latest place to claim that SquareEnix is working on a sequel or remake to Final Fantasy VII. Slightly raining on that parade is IGN's Insider-only Gaming Life in Japan column, which speculates that even if such a project is in the works, it's more likely to be revealed at a separate press conference than this month's Tokyo Game Show. I'm inclined to agree with them there. If Square does have another title besides Front Mission 4 to unveil at the show, it's probably going to be Kingdom Hearts 2. Either that, or a new release of Star Ocean: Till the End of Time, which would be an attempt on their part to make up for the bug-filled first release of the game.
	Uber-Zelda Package in the Works? GameInformer has a news item up citing sources close to Nintendo that a huge Zelda GameCube package is in the works for release this holiday season. The package will reportedly include The Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask (the second N64 game in the series), the first two NES titles and a special Zelda documentary. Missing from the list are Master Quest (AKA Ura Zelda) and The Wind Waker, whose absence would mean that this is the first console package I can think of that wouldn't include a single native game for the platform.
	Xbox 2 Details? Team Xbox has posted what they claim are rough details on ATI's GPU for the Xbox 2 (thanks HomeLAN). There is of course no way to verify any of this, and even if it is true, there's a good chance it could change between now and the 2005 - 2006 release of the system.
	Mario Kart Pre-Order Bonus Revealed Sorry retro-fans, but you're about to be disappointed...Nintendo has officially announced their bonus disc that will be sent to those who pre-order Mario Kart: Double Dash, and sadly, unlike the pre-order bonuses for Zelda: The Wind Waker and Star Wars Rogue Squadron: Rebel Strike, it's lacking in retro-fun. Instead you'll get something a bit more forward-thinking: a disc full of playable demos and previews of upcoming GameCube titles. Cool? Sure, but Mario Kart or Mario Kart 64 would have been cooler.
	Sony Reigns Supreme With the expected amount of chest beating, Sony announced today that they have shipped a colossal 60 million PlayStation 2s worldwide. The breakdown by country shows 14.17 million in Japan, 19.44 million in Europe and 26.42 here in North America.
	Suikoden IV at TGS Konami has revealed their full list of games that will be shown at the Tokyo Game Show, and as a pleasant surprise, none other than Suikoden IV will be on display in video form. Also on display will be Castlevania: Lament of Innocence and Metal gear Solid: The Twin Snakes for PS2 and GameCube respectively.
	Front Mission 4 Details Some new details from Front Mission 4 are up at GameSpot tonight. There's nothing too exciting here, but they do have some general plot information and the news that the game will likely sport a very different combat system from the other games in the series.
	Soul Calibur II Selling Well In case there was any doubt, Namco announced today that Soul Calibur II is selling very well. How well, you ask? They shipped over 1.6 million copies on the first day, a new record for the company. Unknown at this point is how each version is selling, something the console war junkie in me really wants to know.
	FIFA 2004 Interview Computer and Video Games has conducted a new interview with Dan Holman of EA, talking about their upcoming soccer game FIFA 2004. Topics dealt with include the game's extensive online component, and even more important, the number of hairstyles they'll have for David Beckham.
	Max Payne 2 Bumped Up Good news for those waiting for Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne...you won't have to wait quite as long anymore. While the console versions were originally planned for release early next year, they've been bumped up to an early December release.
	Morrowind GOTY Interview Team Xbox's Morrowind GOTY Interview talks with Bethesda's Todd Howard about their upcoming budget-priced re-release of Morrowind for the Xbox. Thanks HomeLAN for the tip.
	Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu Q&A HomeLAN has conducted a Q&A with Benoit Galarneau, the producer at Ubi Soft on their upcoming cross-platform title Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu.
	Zodiac Q&A Also at HomeLAN is a Q&A with Byron Connell, the co-founder of Tapwave, the company developing the Zodiac handheld gaming system/PalmOS PDA that's set for release later this year.
	Nintendo Adds to Player's Choice Lineup Nintendo has announced a new batch of games in their Player's Choice lineup: Star Fox Adventures, Pikmin and Luigi's Mansion will soon be available for $19.99, while Metroid Prime, Animal Crossing and Super Mario Sunshine will be available for $29.99. The prices fall on September 25th.
	Ratchet & Clank Q&A The newly relaunched GameInformer.com has posted a Q&A with Ted Price, the president of Insomniac Games, talking about their upcoming title Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando.
	New Releases This Week The big releases this week are Final Fantasy Tactics for GBA and ESPN NHL Hockey for PS2 and Xbox, but there are others as well. For PS2 there's Hunter: The Reckoning Wayward, .hack://OUTBREAK and Lethal Skies II, GameCube has P.N.03, for Xbox there's Starsky & Hutch, and GBA there's Banjo Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge and Battlebots: Design and Destroy.
	Misc. Media/Previews GameSpot has new shots from ESPN NBA Basketball (PS2, Xbox), a new preview of SSX 3 (GC, PS2, Xbox), the first official shots from The King of Fighters 2000/2001 (PS2), a first look at Motorsiege: Warriors of Primetime (PS2), footage from Arx Fatalis (Xbox) and new shots from Ghosthunter (PS2). IGN has new shots from Metal Arms: Glitch in the System (GC, PS2, Xbox), new previews of Activision Anthology and Ultimate Card Games (both GBA), footage from Banjo Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge (GBA) and a new trailer from Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando (PS2). Elsewhere online, PlanetGameCube has posted impressions of Tales of Symphonia (GC), CvG has shaky-cam footage from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (GC, PS2, Xbox) and shots from Fatal Frame 2 (PS2) and Pikmin 2 (GC), Gamers.com has shots from Dynasty Warriors 4 Xtreme Legends (PS2), and the official sites for Rogue Ops (GC, PS2, Xbox) and Battlestar Galactica (PS2, Xbox) have gone live.