Sports Interactive, creators of the Championship Manager series, have announced a collaboration with The Express newspaper to produce an online rugby simulation. The team were approached by The Express to deliver a gaming engine that can both simulate a fictitious rugby tournament and predict the outcome of the Six Nations matches. The site takes the six greatest teams of all time and pits them against the current Six Nations teams. You can take part by voting online for the tactics you think the classic teams should use. The aim is to find the best European national rugby team of all time.

Nikkei Electronics Online have reported that the PlayStation2 start-up screen won't be the same each time the system boots. We don't really give a damn.

Infogrames will release a version of Alone in the Dark for Game Boy Color this autumn. The handheld version will be based on the forthcoming PC, PlayStation and Dreamcast title, which is the fourth game in the scary series. It will be interesting to see this one go head-to-head with the Game Boy Color version of Resident Evil.

Some US-based importers have reported that there might be a shortage of PlayStation2s. They reckon that Sony will ship around 600,000 to 750,000 units at the system's launch on March 4, though we believe this to be cobblers. Think about it. Firstly, the same thing happened with the Dreamcast launch, everyone flapping around trying to pick up an 'elusive' machine. It wasn't true. Secondly, by warning the gaming public of impending shortages, importers are able to push the price up to around four or five times retail value for a short time. We remember seeing an imported PlayStation with Ridge Racer in Tottenham Court Road for around £500 in 1994. Don't fall for it.

A bizarre new handheld was unveiled at the New York Toy Fair recently. The Cybiko Wireless Intertainment System is more of a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) than a gaming system, but it does have some rather nifty features. The unit can scan a 150-foot radius indoors and 300-foot can then send email to your new friend, or even have a live chat session using the tiny 72-button keyboard. The Cybiko outdoors and will vibrate when another unit is present. You will retail for around £100 when it's released in the US next month.