The Madman's Cafe is back after a month of haitus centered on the excessive bandwidth problem the old host syste.ms was having. It was the whole server having the problem and the admin- Lanzer, is still fighting with the issue right now, even weeks after the MMCafe has left. I wish him the very best of luck.

MMCafe is now being hosted by a GameSpy Network server- PlanetPS2.com, in particular. A special to its producer, Ben Turner for offering to host the site since last April. Thanks to him, this site can expand a bit more in a bit roomier server than was first planned since the closedown.

While ads will begin to appear on the top of pages as a part of the hosting agreement, it's a minute change considering that the site can now host media. Also, the drawing board which ran privately underneath the MMCafe for limited members back in the old server has now been made public, so give it a shot if you're a self-proclaimed artist like myself.

Please relax and enjoy. All in all, I hope everyone continues to have a good time at The Madman's Cafe. - "Madman" Henry A. Moriarty

Enterbrain Inc's arcade based periodical, Arcadia Magazine has documented the new Playmore structure, which will be succeeding the former SNK.

In addition, interview questions to both Playmore and Eolith have also made clear the current state of KOF 2002- scheduled for release on the MVS, licensed for development by Playmore to Eolith Co., Ltd.

[ More Details... ]

Capcom has released a trailer footage of their upcoming Playstation 2 million seller sequel, Onimisha 2.

The trailer reveals in-game footages, behind the scene footages, and a promotional advertisement clip of Japanese rock singer Tomoyasu Hotei, singing the main theme song "Russian Roulette"- the music clip will be a featured bonus for the first press of Onimusha 2. The full footage being 17 minutes long, the trailer has been divided to four parts, and is currently available from the Dessert section.

[ Dessert Section ]

Japanese gaming site "Gamer no Futokorokatana" has released footages of the Capcom vs SNK 2 national tournament finals, formerly hosted by gaming site "Replay Data land".

Ten movies are present in total- the first six are the preliminary finals, the next three are semifinals, and the last is the final, featuring Shinya Ounuki(winner) and Yuuji Nakasone. For the footages, check the site's section.

Short Comment- When asked the reasons behind his victory in an Interview , CvS2 champion Ounuki quoted "[I] mastered Sagat and Blanka more than anyone". Ounuki also commented that he had wanted to defeat Daigo "The Beast" Umehara [Link] in the finals, who lost in the preliminary finals (tourn. footage 4) before they had the chance to match up.

Also, check "Replay Data land" itself for user submitted DC replay data and other videos if you're interested. They host DC replay data from the CVS2 fan disk as well. [ Link: Replay Data Land ] -H. Moriarty

Success Co. has announced to port a Japanese release of "Cupid Bistro" on the Microsoft Xbox, renaming it to "Bistro Cupid". Originally a Hong Kong PC game from FireDog Computer Entertainment, Bistro Cupid will be the first date-sim genre game for the Xbox.

Bistro Cupid centers on a talented student chef named Rato in a fantasy world, who must manage a twelve story high restaurant as his final test to graduate from cooking school. In order to succeed, the main character must manage the store layout, develop new dishes, and fight with monsters to acquire new recipies. A dozen girls are present in the game and have their own specializations, ranging from French to Fast food. By working and battling together with the girls, the main character can build a stronger relationship with them.

Bistro Cupid will be released in 3/7 for the Xbox, priced 5800 yen. A limited edition featuring an illustrated plate, logo spoon, a set of 12 character coasters and an invitation to an event, will also be available for 9800 yen.

Short Comment- Yes I know it's old news, but noone seemed to mention that it 's a game from Hong Kong, making its way to Japan. My guess is that this year will mark a beginning to new changes in the game industry. -H. Moriarty

Latest commercial advertisement of Sega's Virtua Fighter 4 for the Playstation 2 and Jet Set Radio Future for the Xbox are now available from the Dessert section.

[ Dessert Section ]

Japanese site 'Fao No Page" has released version 1.2 of its Final Fantasy X voice extractor. The tool extracts voice drama from the game for personal use. It is unknown if the tool works for the English and FFX International versions as well. For the utility, check the site.

Short Comment- Again, it's for personal use only. Don't do weird things with it. -H. Moriarty

No, not really- I'm sure he's hopping full of joy with all the success of the Xbox. But the movie "Nothing so Strange" sure seems to do a good job at depicting his death. I really wonder if this movie is coming out for the theaters, if it even can in the first place. It'll be quite controversial for sure.-H. Moriarty

[ Link: Nothing so Strange ] [ Bill Gates is Dead. ]

this is pretty interesting- a site dedicated to Gumdam mobile suits made of Lego toys. There's also Evangelion and Macross available in the site. If you're a fan of robots or Lego- or both, best check it out! Special thanks to Ichirin no Hana for the news.-H. Moriarty

[ Link: The Foundry ]

Man, these upcoming Macfarlane Onimisha 2 figures look pretty nice. They're currently on display at the Toy Fair 2002 in manhattan Also, check out figures.com for more items in the Toy Fair. Special thanks to Leon for the news. -H. Moriarty

[ Link: Spawn.com -Macfarlane Toys -Onimusha2 ]