Oops! E-tailer slips Xbox game plan

The online version of the video game retail chain GameStop began taking pre-orders for Microsoft's Xbox game system, Xbox system peripherals, and several dozen Xbox games today. While Microsoft has yet to officially announce what games will be available at the system's launch November 8, GameStop had the following games listed as being available on that date: Azurik: Rise of Perathia, Dark Summit, Dead or Alive 3, Fuzion Frenzy, Halo, Mad Dash Racing, Madden NFL 2002, NASCAR Thunder 2002, New Legends, NFL 2K2, NHL Hitz, Nightcaster, Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee, Project Gotham Racing, Simpson's Road Rage, Star Wars Starfighter Special Edition, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2X.

Additionally, Amped: Freestyle Snowboarding, Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen 2, Star Wars Obi-Wan, NFL 2K2, and Shrek were marked as shipping later within November. Also, this is the first time that Eidos titles such as Hitman 2, Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen 2, Salt Lake 2002, Thunderstrike: Operation Phoenix, and Race Nation have been mentioned as coming to the Xbox. GameSpot was unable to contact the publishers of these games to confirm these dates at press time. --Joe Fielder, GameSpot VG