Hi all!

Before I get to the news I just wanted to say that things at dEX will slow down a bit. As I return to school, I must commit more time to my studies and examinations. I will continue to make weekly updates to the site, but I expect that daily updates will not be as common...

Another fairly slow week for the Saturn, however one title did manage to ship this past week in the US, EA's Madden NFL '98. The game arrives with a new AI system which EA claims will greatly enhance the computer controlled players' abilities. Other than that, there is not much to note that is new in the game; another year, another version.

In Japan, Sega continues the retro gaming trend with a new collection: The Columns Arcade Collection. The set contains Columns, Columns II, Stack Columns, and the upcoming Columns '97. It is expected to ship at the end of October. There has been no word on a US release...

Third party support for the Saturn in Japan is much stronger than it is here in the US. At the upcoming Tokyo Toy Show, many 3rd party games are expected to be shown. Games that should be demoed there include: Baroque, Chaos Seed, Grandia, Lunar Magic School, Lunar: Eternal Blue, Mobile Suit Gundam, Silhouette Mirage, and Slayers Royal 2. Capcom is also expected to show several new Saturn titles at the TTS. X-man vs. Street Fighter using the new 4MB RAM cart will be shown finally. No word on how the US release will be handled. Capcom also plans to show their Dungeons & Dragons Collection and Street Fighter Collection. Both games are planned to be released in the US.

Virus has been released in Japan as well this past week. The animated action adventure games is the result of a collective effort between Sega and Hudson. The game spans 3 discs and sells for about �7100 ($60US). From the videos I've seen, the game looks very good, I only can wonder how loading time will effect the game.

Finally, early this week, Bandai announced that they plan to 'place priority' on developing Saturn games. Check out the news area for the full story.

On the site, I've also made several updates to the software area, and have added a link to a new games site. That's all for now, cya!

-Greg