Nintendo have confirmed that Mario Artist will appear on N64, as opposed to the much-delayed 64DD. The paint package has been in development for more than four years. Could this mean that Nintendo have finally given up on the 64DD altogether?

The conspiracy theorists continued their investigation this week into the arrival dates and times of their weekly Future Gamer. Some Chat Forum users believe that there may be some underhand dealings taking place, and that they are being treated badly because they have to wait longer than they used to. Future Gamer's technical team assure us that it's simply due to an ever-increasing list of subscribers. Shrewd gamers have been comparing their best bargains - Turok 2 for £15 anyone? How about Forsaken, also for three blue notes? The best deal had to be Street Fighter 2 Turbo on the SNES for an incredible £1.50 (we remember seeing it on import for £70 before it came out over here). One lucky chap even managed to pick up a copy of Superman on the N64 for £49.99. What a tool. Elsewhere, 'Kev' reported that he saw a positive games-related news story on TV - in the midst of all the 'if you play Quake you will turn into a mass-murderer' hysteria around at the moment, this was a welcome relief. Apparently, a jet pilot was interviewed and stated that if you are a very good gamesplayer, you would probably make a very good jet pilot. Something to do with hand-eye co-ordination, no doubt, although it's unlikely that Andy Smith's top score on Get Bass will help him much in the interview. And finally, if you happen to be brilliant at Half-Life, please pop into the Forum and challenge 'Tek' to a deathmatch. Hopefully you can give him a sound thrashing, thus ridding us of his constant boasting!

Seeing as it's Space Week (in our office, anyway) we've got three out-of-this-world demos for you. There's the new English language version of X-Beyond the Frontier, Star Trek: Star Fleet Command and Independence War: Deluxe Edition. Get 'em while they're hot from the Future Gamer website. New additions to the Hints and Tips database include King of Fighters Dream Match '99 on the Dreamcast, Hidden & Dangerous on PC, Ape Escape on the PlayStation and the Madden NFL '99 on N64. We've also got patches and upgrades for all the latest PC games.