Pac-Man Vs. Europe
Europe loses. Again.
"I have good news and I have bad news."
It's amazing that we don't get to write that more often around here, because it can be overlaid on pretty much any Nintendo announcement over the lifespan of the GameCube.
Good news! Metroid Prime is being spruced up for Europe! Bad news! You can't play it until six months after the Yanks!
Good news! Nintendo has announced a new console ahead of anybody else! Bad news! It's some sort of Pirate's eye-patch with built-in stellar cartography!
So here's another one of those fabulous good news/bad news moments that gives your PS2 and Xbox owning pals a decent chuckle. Good news! EA is bundling Shigeru Miyamoto's Pac-Man Vs. with Namco's Cube output in Europe, just as the Pac-Man publisher originally did in the States! Bad news! R: Racing is the only suitable EA/Namco publishing collaboration, so if you want to play with Shigs' daft and addictive little multiplayer game then you'll have to buy Namco's latest failure to recapture the essence of Ridge Racer on March 26th!
Gosh that's daft. Pac-Man Vs. was one of the most entertaining little diversions on Nintendo's E3 stand last year, and every time I've played it since it's been an absolute hoot. Given EA's considerable might in retail circles, why not line up a catalogue-wide EA promotion, or just give it away when buying all Namco titles? We can understand Namco's desire to help shift heart-breaking crap like R: Racing and pay the rent, but surely more people deserve a chance to play one of Shigeru Miyamoto's best multiplayer games than a handful of uninformed impulse buyers and hardcore fans? As if the need for a GBA/link cable and three controllers wasn't prohibitive enough...
If Pac-Man sneaks into any other boxes this year, we'll let you know. Let's hope he does.