Never one to follow the crowd, Nintendo has blown off several game conferences in the past, and chosen instead to display its wares at its own conference, dubbed Spaceworld. With the recent gargantuan success of the Game Boy Advance, and the impending Gamecube onslaught, Nintendo's consoles are generating a lot of buzz. Factor in the pint-sized juggernaut of the handheld market, the 100 million-selling Game Boy, and you've got a company that has some seriously successful hardware. The latest iteration of the show, Spaceworld 2001, will take place in Japan from August 24th to 26th. There will be a pre-show press conference on August 23rd, followed by a press-only day on August 24th, while the public can get their greasy mitts on the games on the 25th and 26th of August. To tide us over, Nintendo has divulged which games the attending companies will have on display.

Of the myriad games that are due to be showcased at Spaceworld, there are more than a couple that should be of interest to RPG enthusiasts. Below is a list of RPG-related games that will be at the show, arranged by console.

Gamecube:
Phantasy Star Online Version 2.0 (Sega)
Rune (From Software)

Game Boy Advance:
Breath of Fire II (Capcom)
Fire Emblem Sword of the Seal (Nintendo)
Genso Suikoden Card Stories (Konami)
Lunar Blade (Nintendo)
Magical Vacation (Nintendo)
Medarot Navi Tomato Adventure (Nintendo)

Game Boy:
Lufia: The Legend Returns (Taito)
Sakura Taisen GB2 Thunderbolt Strategy (Sega)

Of interest is Rune for the Gamecube, which is listed sans company information. Could this be the rumored Camelot NGC RPG? We'll see in August. Also noteworthy is that this list is for games that will be playable at the show. With a 13/55/11 split for NGC/GBA/GB, the Game Boy Advance is clearly the best represented console at the show. However, the proximity of the Gamecube launch means that most of the buzz will more than likely be around Nintendo's player in the home console war. Keep checking RPGamer as Spaceworld approaches and additional information is released.

UPDATE (07/31/2001): Nintendo revealed the identity of the company responsible for Rune today, and it's none other than From Software. The track record of the company has led to the speculation that the game is indeed an RPG, but we'll have to wait a few weeks for confirmation of that.