Nintendo confirms Christmas release schedule

The European release schedule for the Cube and Game Boy Advance this Christmas has been revealed, showing a number of key titles being launched in November - and the company has apparently made another U-turn on the e-Reader.

The new release schedule shows Soul Calibur II being launched on September 26th, as previously announced, followed by F-Zero GX on October 31st. The company's Christmas season begins in earnest in November however, with the release of Mario Kart Double Dash on November 14.

This is followed by Pikmin 2 and 1080 Avalanche on November 28, with the final release of the year being Mario Party 5 on December 5th. All in all, it's a far healthier line-up than last years, when the only major title was Star Fox Adventures in mid-November.

The Christmas selection is followed by a strong 2004 line-up which includes Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles (originally a Christmas title), Star Fox 2, Legend of Zelda: Four Swords and Pokemon Colosseum.

The (relatively) good news for Nintendo fans doesn't end there, however; according to C&VG today, the company has also changed its mind about the e-Reader peripheral again, and now plans to release it in early 2004 in Europe after all. And according to our sister site Eurogamer, Nintendo Europe head honcho David Gosen dropped broad hints at the EIGF event in Scotland earlier this week that an announcement about a European launch for cult favourite title Animal Crossing was imminent, with early 2004 also mooted as a date for the game.

Could it be that after months of maltreatment, Nintendo of Europe has finally decided to listen to the pleas of European retailers and consumers? This afternoon has seen three separate instances of common sense from the company - perhaps the game isn't up for the Cube in Europe after all.