Twelve games will be released as part of this run – Alex Kidd in Miracle World, Super Hang-On, Revenge of Shinobi, Wonder Boy in Monster Land, Wonder Boy in Monster World, Monster World IV, Streets of Rage, Streets of Rage II, Streets of Rage 3, Golden Axe, Golden Axe II and Golden Axe III.

The games are packaged differently based on which service you decide to use. On PlayStation Network, Alex Kidd in Miracle World, Super Hang-On, Revenge of Shinobi, Wonder Boy in Monster Land, Wonder Boy in Monster World and Monster World IV will be available May 22nd for $US4.99 each.

Meanwhile, on Xbox Live Arcade, the games will be available in packs of three – Monster World Collection (Wonder Boy in Monster Land, Wonder Boy in Monster World and Monster World IV) and Alex Kidd & Co. Collection (Alex Kidd in Miracle World, Super Hang-On and Revenge of Shinobi) on May 23, while Streets of Rage Collection and Golden Axe Collection will arrive on May 30. All Xbox Live Arcade collections will be 800 points.

Boxed/Complete 32X w/ Kolibri

Goldstar 3DO

SNES Super International Cricket Bundle

Box of 48 packs of 1989 Nintendo Game Pack cards

Mike Tyson’s Punch Out!! (NES)

DuckTales (NES)

NES lot with Bartman vs. Radioactive Man (NES), Shadow Warriors/Ninja Gaiden II, Street Gangs/River City Ransom and others

Pokemon Trading Card Game (Game Boy Color)

The Punisher (Mega Drive)

Ecco Jr. (Mega Drive)

Magical Tetris Challenge (N64)

HSV Adventure Racing (N64)

Tombi (PSX)

Bubble Bobble (Master System)

32X and Mega CD lot with Sonic CD

Nintendo eShop (Australia, Europe)

3DS Virtual Console
Kirby’s Dream Land 2 (Game Boy) – $AU6.00

Nintendo eShop (North America)

3DS Virtual Console
Kirby’s Block Ball (Game Boy) – $US2.99

PlayStation Store (Australia, Europe)

Deus Ex (PS2 Classics) – $AU15.95
Outlaws of the Lost Dynasty (PSOne Classics) – $AU8.45

PlayStation Store (North America)

Red Faction II (PS2 Classics) – $US5.99
Myst (PSOne Classics) – $US5.99

Good Old Games

New Releases
Silver – $US5.99
Torin’s Passage – $US5.99

Discounts
Rule the EA Worlds Sale (All $US2.99)
Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri
SimCity 2000 Special Edition
Dungeon Keeper
Dungeon Keeper II
Populous
Populous II: Trials of the Gods

Today, May 17, marks the 10 year anniversary of the release of the Nintendo GameCube in Australia.

The Australian launch took place some eight months after the Japanese launch, much to the chagrin of local Nintendo fans. In fact, Nintendo Australia didn’t even have a planned launch date until some three months after the American launch.

The successor to the Nintendo 64, the GameCube had strong pre-release buzz in Australia, helped along by a nice pre-launch price drop from $AU399 to $329. It had a varied launch lineup, although it was the first Nintendo home console to launch without a Mario game.

Twenty games were there on day one: 2002 FIFA World Cup, Batman Vengeance, Bloody Roar: Primal Fury, Burnout, Cel Damage, Crazy Taxi, Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 2, Disney’s Tarzan Freeride, Donald Duck: Quack Attack, Driven, ESPN International Winter Sports, International Superstar Soccer 2, Luigi’s Mansion, Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, Star Wars: Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader, Super Monkey Ball, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3, Universal Studios Theme Park Adventure, Wave Race: Blue Storm and XG3: Extreme G Racing. Many were disappointed that launch window titles for the US and Japan like Super Smash Bros. Melee and Pikmin were not there on day one, but they were available within two months.

Nintendo expected to sell 50,000 consoles in the launch window, and although it had a strong first week, Microsoft’s dramatic price slash of the Xbox just two weeks after its launch took the wind out of Nintendo’s sails. Despite a great lineup of software, the GameCube never really gained traction in Australia, with barely 150,000 consoles sold over the system’s life.

The system was home to some fantastic games, so we took the opportunity to highlight a few of our favourites.

Charly’s Favourites:

Animal Crossing (Nintendo, 2002)
Animal Crossing sees players living in a small town inhabited by anthropomorphic animals. Daily life involves running errands, catching bugs, fishing, collecting items, upgrading your house, building relationships with your animal neighbours and more. The game uses the GameCube’s internal clock and calendar, so time passes and players experience seasons and holidays.

This life simulation is both adorable and incredibly addictive. I played Animal Crossing daily for almost a year and it remains one of my favourite games to this day.

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (Nintendo, 2003)
While people were caught off guard, and even outraged by the cel-shaded vision for The Legend of Zelda, the final result was easily one of the finest games of all time.

The cartoony look makes for a much more timeless game – it looks great, even nine years later, but the best part of the game is that everything oozes character.

Luigi’s Mansion (Nintendo, 2001)
Time has been friendly to Luigi’s Mansion – the disappointment that it wasn’t a Mario game at launch subsided, and people began to realise that it’s a really great game.

Catching ghosts is really fun, the Poltergust 3000 (think Proton pack meets vacuum) makes short work of the charming but dead inhabitants of the mansion . One can’t help but love the increasingly frightened Luigi’s mannerisms in the game – like the different ways he’ll call out Mario’s name. Mario? Mario? Maaaarrrrriiiiiioooooo?

Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (Nintendo, 2003)
Mario Kart: Double Dash!! is the fourth instalment in the Mario Kart series, and my personal favourite.

Like other Mario Kart titles, Double Dash!! has players race various characters from the Mario series on a range of Mario-themed tracks. What separated this title from the pack was the introduction of two racers per kart – too fun!

Skies of Acadia: Legends (Overworks, 2003)
It was one of the best RPGs on the Dreamcast, and the same holds true for Skies of Arcadia‘s GameCube appearance, which adds a number of minor enhancements such as improved load times and a few extra sidequests.

Tales of Symphonia (Namco, 2004)
The Tales series’ return to Nintendo hardware proved to be one of the best RPGs on the system, combining fantastic graphics with a great combat system, a compelling story and an amazing soundtrack into one lovely package.

Matt’s Favourites

Metroid Prime (Retro Studios, 2002)
Samus’ triumphant return after some eight years on the sideline proved to be one of the most atmospheric games of the era. It has everything – great graphics, a phenomenal soundtrack, and highly refined gameplay. One of the best.

F-Zero GX (Amusement Vision, 2003)
Sega showed Nintendo a thing or two about arcade racing when it struck a deal to develop F-Zero. GX has an absolutely ludicrous sense of speed, yet manages to combine that with perfectly tight controls to make one of the most exhilirating racing games to date. It’s arguably one of the best looking games on the system, too.

Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes (Konami/Silicon Knights, 2004)

Some would argue that Twin Snakes is something of a travesty – those people are fools. Twin Snakes is a reimagining of Metal Gear Solid using the engine technology and advanced visuals of Metal Gear Solid 2 and the delightfully over-the-top direction of Japanese filmmaker Ryuhei Kitamura. People might complain about Snake running over the top of missiles, but this is a series with characters who shoot bees at you.

Resident Evil 4 (Capcom, 2005)
I think we can all agree that Resident Evil 4 is one of the finest action games of all time. Sure, it abandons the series’ defining survival horror for a far greater emphasis on action, but the sheer quality of that action makes it all worthwhile. The sheer level of refinement and detail in the game is still amazing, which is why people keep demanding Capcom put it on every system out there.

Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat (Nintendo, 2005)
Upon first impression, the concept for Jungle Beat seems utterly ludicrous – c’mon, a platformer that uses the bongo controller? EAD Tokyo manages to pull it off – it’s a high energy, combo based platformer that’s supremely addictive and polished.

What were your memories of the GameCube’s launch? What about your favourite games? Let us know in the comments!

Downloadable content for Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD has been confirmed via the titles official Facebook page, and the first DLC installment will feature levels from fan favourite Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3.

The Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 levels to be included are yet to be determined; and Activision, Robomodo (the developer), and Tony Hawk want fans to help decide . Simply head on over to the Facebook page and leave a comment sharing your favourite levels and why.

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD is set for a June release on XBLA and PSN, but no date has been revealed for the first batch of DLC.

Ys I & II Chronicles has made its way to the PlayStation Vita store, well for North America anyway.

Ys I & II Chronicles, originally released on the PlayStation Portable in 2009 (for Japan, and in 2011 in North America), is based on Ys I & II Complete and thus includes enhanced remakes of the first two Ys games (1989) with updated graphics and FMV sequences.

Ys I & II Chronicles allows players to select between two game modes – one displays character portraits from Ys I & II Complete (Windows, 2001) and the other uses new portraits created for the PSP version. Additionally, the soundtrack can be switched between that of Complete or the reorchestrated soundtrack of Chronicles.

Europe received Ys I & II Chronicles on PSN, but apparently this version isn’t compatible with the Vita. At this stage, no announcement has been made regarding a PAL Vita release for Ys I & II Chronicles – but we will keep you posted.

Redux: Dark Matters is a new space scrolling shooter coming to Sega Dreamcast, iOS, Steam, PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade.

The Sega Dreamcast and iOS versions are confirmed, but NG:DEV.TEAM are utilizing Kickstarter to crowd fund development of Redux: Dark Matters for Steam, PSN and XBLA by offering an exclusive Limited Edition version of the game for Sega Dreamcast as a pledge reward.

Redux: Dark Matters, which features gorgeous HD visuals (only on compatible devices), 6 stages, a tonne of weapons, and arcade-style gameplay; is set for release on iOS devices in July and in December for the Sega Dreamcast version. The all but confirmed Steam, PSN and XBLA releases are also expected in 2012.

The $25,000 goal has been met, but head on over to the Kickstarter page to snag a copy of the Redux: Dark Matters Limited Edition for Sega Dreamcast with a pledge $65 or more.

Rockstar are offering a free copy of Midnight Club II to members of the official Rockstar Group on Steam.

Ensure you sign up prior to May 15 (that’s tomorrow – so hurry!) and if your Steam account has at least one successful purchase, gift or retail registration to its name, expect to see Midnight Club II in your library by the end of the month.

Hooray for free stuff.