You read that title correct. Nintendo has gone through hardware shortages with the DS. They've gone through the same hell with the DS Lite. They've gone through software shortages as well with this little system that could. Now, they're facing plastic shortages.

Instead of selling their DS games in their plastic covers, they're going back to the old cardboard covers they used to use with the Game Boy Advance. The new cases will be the same size as the plastic DS cases. They'll also have a small explanation saying that only the case is different and that everything else is the same. Those who desperately want a plastic one can call customer service and get it in late December.

The letter which spoke of these events was by the Nintendo of Benelux (Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg) but there's a chance that it may reach other parts Europe as well. It might not stop there either, it may be a problem in North America and Japan.

The following games will be in cardboard boxes:

Super Mario 64 DS
Nintendogs Chihuahua & Friends
Nintendogs Dachshund & Friends
Nintendogs Labrador & Friends
Mario Kart DS
Animal Crossing: Wild World
Tetris DS
Nintendogs: Dalmatian & Friends
New Super Mario Bros.

In an interview today, Square Enix Senior Vice President of Software Development, Hiromichi Tanaka, discussed the recently released Final Fantasy III. The game has sold 99% of its shipment in Japan so far, making it a very successful title. And the demand is much higher than the supply. After all this success, Square Enix is definitely looking at the whole remake business in a better light.
 

This is the first time for this game to come to the US. Alongside the plans for FFV and FFVI, we'll soon have seen remakes of every classic FF game. Where do you go from here?

Tanaka: FFIV, V and VI have been ported to the GBA. As you have seen FFIII is not a port but more of a remake. In the future, since FFIII has been received pretty well so far, we're actually considering remaking some of the other Final Fantasy games.

Seeing as Final Fantasy I, II, IV, V have just been released on the Game Boy Advance, it seems unlikely that these titles will be receiving the treatment first. Maybe a Final Fantasy VII port to the DS? Or maybe the much obsessed-over Final Fantasy VII remake for the PlayStation 3? We just might find out soon enough!

Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker is coming out soon in Japan and it should prove to be a hit. What you see above is the box art for the game. In Japan, Dragon Quest is the biggest franchise in the world of video games. The Monsters subcategory of the series is very much like Pokemon, which is another huge name in gaming. Obviously, this makes for a good combination!

DQM: Joker is set to come out on December 28th. As you can see, it uses the Nintendo WiFi Connection. Hopefully it'll allow users to battle monsters like in Pokemon Diamond and Pokemon Pearl. Square Enix hasn't talked much on how this feature will be used but we'll hopefully find out soon!

Although it's relatively easy to find the Top 10 or even Top 30 sold list for countries like the UK and Australia, it's a pain to ever find out how the gaming landscape is in Canada. For example, did you know that the GameCube has currently sold more than the Xbox in Canada? That's right, Canada's not the identical twin of the United States when it comes to gaming, and this Top 5 proves it:

1. [NEW] Dead Rising (Capcom | 360)
   
2. [#01] New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo | NDS)
3. [NEW] Madden NFL 07 (Electronic Arts | PS2)
4. [NEW] Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerberus (Square Enix | PS2)
5. [NEW] Madden NFL 07 (Electronic Arts | 360)

Now compare that to the USA sales in which Madden destroyed the competition! You'll see the difference even greater once we find out what happened in September. NHL 07 and NHL 2k7 will be on the list. If it's anything like last year, expect the list to have five or six titles containing the word "NHL"!

Buy: [Dead Rising]
Buy: [Madden NFL 07]
Buy: [New Super Mario Brothers]

Another week in Japan has passed and the software list isn't as DS dominated as usual. A bunch of new PS2 games were released last week and the PSP got a new Ridge Racer game which made the list a bit more balanced between Sony and Nintendo.

1. (PS2 | SCE) Minna no Tennis - 226,976 [NEW]
   
2. (PS2 | Banpresto) Rurouni Kenshin: Enjou! Kyoto Rinne - 75,007 [NEW]
3. (NDS | Square Enix) Final Fantasy III - 57,057 [655,533]
4. (NDS | Nintendo) New Super Mario Brothers - 53,089 [3,080,126]
5. (PS2 | Capcom) God Hand - 48,280 [NEW]
6. (NDS | Nintendo) Brain Training 2 - 34,959 [3,186,871]
7. (PSP | Bandai Namco) Ridge Racer 2 - 28,232 [NEW]
8. (NDS | Sega) Atama Scan - 27,890 [NEW]
9. (NDS | Nintendo) Animal Crossing Wild World - 24,792 [3,230,554]
10. (NDS | Nintendo) Cooking Navigator - 20,766 [465,958]

The software shift didn't stop the DS from being the "Dominating System" in Japan. The hardware sales were nothing out of the ordinary with the DS Lite easily outselling everything else put together!

1. DSL - 134,885
2. PS2 - 34,189
3. PSP - 26,995
4. GBASP - 2,330
5. GBM - 1,244
6. 360 - 928
7. GCN - 630
8. NDS - 478
9. GBA - 27
10. XBX - 7

The Game Boy Advance SP isn't even selling the 10k units or so it used to do. Neither is the Game Boy Micro. The 360, GCN, and original DS have all dropped below a thousand units. Let's see how everything looks once the Pokemon games hit Japan!

It's a Wonderful World is the upcoming DS game by the team that did Kingdom Hearts over at Square Enix. The story follows a boy named Neck who wakes up only to realize he has seven days left to live. Just for kicks, the God of Death has chosen to play a game with Neck. Our guy goes outside and looks up at the Outback Cafe, only to witness both horrible and wonderful things that he must deal by using his psychic abilities.

A girl called Tsuki joins Neck and both of you are battle against monsters called "Noise" to find out what's really going on. Like everything else in the game (such as the Outback Cafe modelled after the biggest Starbucks store in Tokyo), Noise are based on the real world. The Noise are altered animals: monstrous dogs, evil pigeons, and such.

The game is rich with style. Artistic flair can be seen everywhere, and will probably remind you heavily of Jet Grind Radio. The clothing, the settings, even the way the text is displayed and the story is told just oozes with personality. It's a real visual treat!

Click "Full Article" for the gameplay details!

Capcom has announced the English title for what we've been calling Rockman Rebirth. It is now known as Mega Man Star Force. Sounds a bit kiddy, don't you think? Maybe Capcom wants to go with an Anime that they can license to 4Kids... Anyway, the game is set to be released in Japan later this year and in North America in the fall of 2007.

The game takes place in the year 22XX. Viruses and cyber crime are things of the past and technology is much more advanced than it was in Mega Man Battle Network. The world of 22XX has mobile computers called "Trancers" which change navigation systems into EM waves. These EM waves form the "Wave Road", something that exists in the real world but can only be seen by those who come from the planet FM.

The lead character of Star Force is a boy called Subaru Hoshikawa, whose father disappeared years ago in an accident in a satellite station. This gave Subaru an interest in astronomy. One day, he put on "Visualizer Goggles" that belonged to his father and was able to see EM waves. He triggered something that made Warlock, a being who escaped from Planet FM, appear and learned that monsters from FM were going to attack Earth. Subaru combines with Warlock to transform into Mega Man and enters Wave Road.

Click "Full Article" for the fact list!

The CESA announced the winners of its annual Japan Game Awards at a ceremony at the Tokyo Game Show (TGS 2006). Over half the winners were from handheld gaming systems! Japan really loves handhelds as you can see. This is good news for the DS and PSP.

Grand Award
Dr Kawashima' s Brain Training: How Old Is Your Brain? (NDS, Nintendo)
Final Fantasy XII (PS2, Square Enix)

Award for Excellence
Animal Crossing: Wild World (NDS, Nintendo)
Kingdom Hearts 2 (PS2, Square Enix)
Tamagotchi Corner Shop (NDS, Namco Bandai)
Tales of the Abyss (PS2, Bandai Namco)
Nintendogs (Dachshund, Shiba & Chihuahua) (NDS, Nintendo)
Mario Kart DS (NDS, Nintendo)
Monster Hunter 2 (PS2, Capcom)
Rryu-ga-gotoku [Yakuza] (PS2, Sega)
Shadow of the Colossus (PS2, Sony)

Best Sales Award
Animal Crossing: Wild World (NDS, Nintendo)

Global Award: Japanese Product
Nintendogs (Dachshund, Shiba & Chihuahua) (NDS, Nintendo)

Global Award: Foreign Product
World of Warcraft (PC, Blizzard)

Special Awards
Monster Hunter Portable (PSP, Capcom)
English Training: Have Fun Improving Your Skills (NDS, Nintendo)

The DS and PS2 were the big winners at the awards show. The PSP and PC also made it on the list. Blizzard in particular must be glad to see that their game is making such a splash in a market that's regarded as almost impossible to crack by Western developers. Congrats to all the winners!

The box art for the Japanese version of Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin is up on Konami's website. The box features official artwork we've previously shown on QJ, although the colour scheme had changed dramatically. There is a strong red overtone that you can see quite plainly with just one glance. The artistic style, in our opinion, is much better than that of Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow. However, many long-time fans might be still saddened that it doesn't go back to the gothic artwork of the older Castlevania titles.

Portrait of Ruin should be out later this year in both Japan and North America. It's much anticipated as it is the sequel to one of the most critically acclaimed titles of 2005. Hopefully it won't be too long before our explorations begin! It will sell for 4,980 Yen ($43 US) in Japan.

Lookie here, we got the Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings trailer that was shown at the TGS. Square Enix has also opened the new official site today, which features the said trailer. What does it show? Lots of CG scenes, although the gameplay or in-game graphics weren't present. Well, we know there will be very pretty CG scenes at least!

The website has wallpaper for you to download and a bit of character art, but there's not much else to see just yet. It is, after all, a teaser site. But we'll probably learn more about the game in the coming months, as it seems that Square Enix is going all out with DS support!

Interestingly enough, Final Fantasy XII still isn't out anywhere outside Japan. Although that's the case, Square Enix has announced this game as well as multiple titles in Final Fantasy XIII. So be sure to check QJ regularly for more updates.