Though the Gamecube is already home to such high-profile extreme sports games as Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 and SSX Tricky, developer ParticleXS Studios began development on a new snowboarding game late last year.

"At first it was going to star four shapely, young ladies to appeal to the teen demographic' says the game's designer, "but when the Golden Girls license fell into our laps, well, we sure couldn't say no!"

Golden Girls Extreme Snowboarding, or GGXS, as the development team calls it, will feature actual voice clips from the show and motion-captured extreme action by Rue McClanahan, AKA Blanche Devereaux. "We're lucky, because with Rue, the sex appeal we were shooting for in the beginning is still there, but she also embodies a sort of timelessness, too, the kind of timelessness I think today's gamer wants in an extreme snowboarding game," says the game's designer.

GGXS is progressing well and should be out by the end of the year.

"I think it was pretty inevitable," says lead programmer David Dorshek of the popular Microsoft franchise Minesweeper making its way to the company's own console. "The cards are all in place. We've got probably one of the most-played video games of all time, and we've got a brand new system just screaming for some killer apps. It's just a matter of the right place and the right time."

Development on Minesweeper X began nearly three years ago, early in the planning stages of the X-Box. "We knew that if we waited too long, we'd never get the game out the door in time," says Dorshek. A development team of 83 people have worked day and night on this title, and it shows. The graphics and sound of Minesweeper X are amazingly close to those of the PC original, thanks to the amazing processing power of the X-Box. "Trust me, we know how much people expect from Microsoft in terms of gaming innovation and graphical overhauls. I'm personally making sure that Minesweeper X is gonna be a perfect port from the PC version."

When asked about future games he'd like to work on, Dorshek only smiles and says, "Well let's just say there's a little game that starts with an 'S' and ends with an 'olitaire' that I'd love to get my hands on."

MSX should hit retail Fall 2003.

Another popular game getting an overhaul soon is the universally-loved Tetris. Many consider Tetris to be the perfect videogame. Many, but not all. "I always thought Tetris was great, but a little lacking in the story department," says Tetris RPG's director Denis Blarnon. "I think Tetris fans are gonna be really happy with the direction we've gone in with this game. In fact, I know they will be."

Tetris RPG starts players with only one block, but the player can build a party of blocks as the game progresses. The developers have managed to include all seven blocks -- a task many thought they couldn't achieve. "When Elorg first gave us the go-ahead, they said 'You have to include all seven. Each one is somebody's favorite.' That really set us in the right direction and we're very proud we've managed to include them all."

While the development team is very coy about giving away any plot secrets, producer Kevin Ramadart offers up this juicy tidbit: "Ever wondered where those blocks are falling from? I think you can expect to have some questions answered."

Tetris RPG is still in relatively early stages of production, but Blarnon says fans can be on the lookout for a spring 2003 release. "One more thing," he adds slyly, "after this game, you're never gonna look at curvy backwards S-shape block again. That's all I'm saying."

"I think, if you look at the current selection of Gameboy games on the market, you'll see, very plainly, one big hole: Lap dance games," says Frank Frigosa, director of the upcoming GBA game Lapdance Advance. "I don't think people realize what they're missing; lap dances have been part of our culture for years, and are a timeless form of entertainment. Now you can get a lapdance on the go!"

The portability of the lap dance is what first attracted Frigosa to the project, although he admits that having a chance to work with producer Koshima Tomishi was also a big factor: "Tomishi-San and I did a lot of research for this title, and I think it shows. We're probably getting 40 or 50 lap dances a week for the development time of this game, but it's definitely worth it. Definitely."

Although the game is done, for some reason Frigosa and Tomishi are planning on keeping development going indefinitely:. "The way I see it, we could always just shrug and put out the game as it is and say 'oh well,' or we could keep working and do the best we can do. Unlike a lot of game creators, I prefer the latter, though this does mean I'll have to schedule a whole lot more lap dances for our continuing research. I'll do it, though. We're very dedicated to this project."

Lapdance Advance has not been given a release date.