On May 16th, 2001, America was hit by a powerful force. As the morning mist faded, our enemy began to infiltrate, while we rolled over in bed. Japan launched an unexpected attack that would change the world forever...

No, this isn't World War III; it's Nintendo vs. Microsoft. When Nintendo unveiled the GameCube (with actual games this time around, no less), Microsoft got more than just a few jabs to the face -- they nearly got their head cut off. Many critics say this is because of Nintendo's high quality titles that are full of gaming excellence. I didn't write this editorial to bash Nintendo, but if you'd rather be sucking up ghosts with a vacuum cleaner in Luigi's Mansion, instead of throwing enemies out of a window in Munch's Oddysee, be my guest.

Whatever the reason for Microsoft's loss of support at E3, I know this war is far from over. Prior to May 16th, a rumor about the Xbox starting spreading fast. It stated that Microsoft may choose to hold back some of its bigger announcements until late summer/early fall, presumably two months before the Xbox's launch. Although this may sound a bit strange (why would Microsoft pass up the opportunity to flaunt its goods at the biggest game show in the world?), after E3 was over, I quickly realized the reason behind Microsoft's seemingly foolish decision...

Microsoft was the first to announce a solid date for their upcoming console, which would be released on November 8th. During the Q and A at the end of Nintendo's E3 press conference, Shigeru Miyamoto and Peter Main answered many of the questions asked with the simple response, "We'll have more at Space World." Space World takes place this August. If a big Xbox announcement really is headed our way, it would be made in September, one month after Nintendo reveals the rest of its plans for GameCube. This means that if Space World came and went without a solid release date announced for the proposed GC Mario game or anything comparable, Microsoft could reveal something big in September and gain back all of the support they lost to Nintendo.

Most of you are probably bursting with laughter right about now. "A big announcement? Two months prior to the system's launch? Hahahaha!" I would be too, if I wasn't aware of all the facts. Ever since E3, I have been trying to reserve an Xbox from Electronics Boutique. Babbages and all of its affiliates (including FuncoLand) have already taken reservations and, as one Babbages employee told me, wouldn't be taking anymore until January. Chains like Electronics Boutique, Best Buy, KB Toys and Target decided to wait for Microsoft's official pre-sale program to start before taking any reservations. After a few weeks, EB told me that the official pre-sale program would begin this September. Hmmmm, interesting. Why would Microsoft wait so long to start taking our money for Xbox, when Sony gladly took our cash more than a year ahead of the PS2's release? That's just it, they wouldn't...unless they were planning something big for September.

If you're still not convinced, then consider this. Right now, only the really hard-core gamers like myself want an Xbox. None of the games, not even Halo, can change that. But a new game could. Now let's forget about the possibility of an announcement and assume that one is definitely coming. What might that announcement be? What could possibly steal GameCube's thunder?

Last year, Microsoft shocked the world when Lorne Lanning announced that Munch's Oddysee was no longer in development for the PS2 and that it would now be exclusively on Xbox. A lot of people (including myself) were planning to buy Munch as soon as it was released on the PS2. However, because it was no longer on Sony's uber-console, we began to think a lot more about getting an Xbox. Before we knew it, January was here and everyone wanted an Xbox. Despite the fact that I had bought a PS2 last October, fall 2001 couldn’t come any sooner for me. Bill Gates was coming on strong and he meant business!

Then something happened. Nintendo decided to unveil the GameCube after more than two years of nothing but hype. The fickle minds of journalists and gamers alike quickly turned their attention to Nintendo. This made Mr. Gates mad. Really mad. It was time to get his revenge.

To achieve his goal, he must hit Nintendo in the heart of Japan -- or rather, the heart of GameCube. Gates hit Sony pretty hard when he took away Munch's Oddysee from the PS2. Obviously he can't do the same with most of GC's big titles, because they're developed and owned by Nintendo. However, there is one title that Bill Gates could remove from GC's line-up that would hurt the system immensely.

One of the biggest complaints about the GC at E3 was its lack of adult games. There were a few shown on video, however, one of the star titles, Raven Blade, was recently canceled. This is where Xbox excels, as most of its titles aren't childish. But brand-name games are extremely important and no doubt make or break every console. If Gates' big announcement does in fact have something to do with a GameCube-exclusive title moving to Xbox, then it is going to be, without a doubt, Resident Evil Zero.

Before you start singing the Nintendo praise and tell me that I'm crazy, listen to what I have to say. The last game Gates stole, Munch's Oddysee, has a lot in common with Resident Evil Zero. Let's look at the facts...

1) Both games were officially unveiled in 1999.

2) Very little has been revealed about RE0 in its 2+ years of development. Other than a handful of screenshots for the N64 version (which was due in the summer of 2000 until delays struck) and some info on the story, no one really knows anything about the game. Up until it moved to Xbox, the same could be said for Munch.

3) No one's ever seen RE0 running on GameCube hardware. No one saw Munch on actual PS2 hardware either.

4) All NDAs (Non-Disclosure Agreements) with Nintendo expired on May 17th. According to IGN's "sources," Capcom held back RE0 because it needed more time. I know we've heard this many times before regarding third party games associated with Nintendo. However, GamesBusiness, IGN's ill-fated game industry magazine, reported a similar story on Munch's Oddysee shortly after E3 2000, which was absent from the show. Coincidence? Maybe, maybe not.

If four facts aren't enough to convince you, that's alright. Most people didn't believe me when I said that Sega was more likely to to unveil new games for Xbox at TGS than anyone else. No one believed me when I said we wouldn't see a new Mario game at E3. Whether you think I'm right or wrong, you can't deny the fact that something isn't right about Resident Evil Zero. I can't think of a single game from Capcom, especially a Resident Evil title, that they didn't hype to death. They've been going on and on about Resident Evil: Code Veronica X for months and it's just a rehash. There's no way they'd pass up the chance to vaunt RE0 at E3 unless someone was keeping them from doing it.

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