Master Gamer News

March 2, 2001
   Sega has exited the hardware manufacturing business and is now a third-
party video game publisher.  Sega will continue to make games for the 
Dreamcast, but now it will also be making games for other systems.  Sega 
estimates that between now and March 31, 2002, it will release a total of at
least 30 Dreamcast games, and at least 30 additional games for other 
systems.  Which other systems, you ask?  For now, Sega's announcement is 
limited to the PlayStation 2 and Game Boy Advance.
   Only two games have been officially confirmed for the PlayStation 2: 
Virtua Fighter 4 and a Space Channel 5 game of some sort (which could be a 
port of the original game, a full-fledged sequel, or anything in between).  
The only games that Sega has announced for the Game Boy Advance are Sonic 
Adventure Advance and Chu Chu Rocket Advance.  Sega's first games for the 
PS2 and/or Game Boy Advance will be released in August at the absolute 
earliest, and November at the absolute latest.
   Worldwide production of the Dreamcast console will cease as of March 31, 
2001, although the remaining inventory of over two million systems is 
expected to last until the end of 2001.  To facilitate brisk sales of 
remaining Dreamcast systems, each unit now sells for $99 instead of the 
previous $149.  The final installed base of the Dreamcast will be 
approximately eight million systems worldwide, four million of which will be
in the US.  Sega will not be releasing any more video game systems in the 
future.
   Sega has not officially announced Xbox or GameCube support, but Sega of 
Japan VP Testu Kayama admits, "We already have development tools for the 
GameCube and Xbox up and ready to go."  Kayama also says that Sega's 
programmers have gone as far as to create development libraries for the 
Xbox.  The only official word on the matter is that Sega is "in 
negotiations" with Microsoft and Nintendo, although Sega has said that it 
will "support all viable systems."
   In the future, some of Sega's games will be exclusive to one system on a 
permanent basis, some will be exclusive to one system for a limited amount 
of time, and some will be multi-platform games.  Sega will make the decision
for each game on a case-by-case basis, and the company remains tight-lipped 
about which of the games in its 2001 line-up will be exclusive to which 
systems.
   Sega's goal is to become the top third-party publisher in the world, a 
position that has been held by Electronic Arts for several years.  
Naturally, Sega's proclamation struck a nerve with EA, whose president John 
Riccitiello says, "It's not quite as though this is General Motors saying 
we'll make BMWs, but it's the same kind of proposition."  
   On the subject of Sega games on systems other than the Dreamcast, 
Riccitiello says, "They may look like BMWs, but I doubt if they'll drive 
like BMWs."  In response to EA's comments, Sega's Charles Bellfield fires 
back, "BMW is in significant financial problems at this moment, and I 
wouldn't do a comparison like that if I were EA."
   Some of the biggest games that Sega has lined up for the Dreamcast this 
fall are Shenmue 2, Virtua Tennis 2, NFL 2K2, NBA 2K2, Crazy Taxi 2, and 
Sonic Adventure 2.  Sega will also be bringing several of its classic 
Genesis, Saturn, and possibly even Dreamcast games to the PlayStation 1, 
although the company hasn't revealed any details about a possible timeframe 
for these releases, or even which specific games will make the jump to the 
PlayStation.
   Sega's decision to finally exit the hardware business comes after the 
announcement of yet another net loss of over $400 million.  Sega of America 
is now running on a $750 million personal cash infusion from Sega of Japan 
head Isao Okawa.  While Dreamcast owners will be treated to at least 30 Sega
games between now and March 31, 2002, Sega may or may not release games for 
the system after that date.  Sega says that it will take a wait and see 
approach to this decision, using terms like "if it's profitable" and "if 
it's viable."
   In an inspirational interview with Famistu, Sega of Japan's executive 
vice president Testu Kayama said, "Even with Sega's current situation, our 
brilliant game creators haven't abandoned us.  Their decision to stay was a 
huge shot in the arm for us as a company... I'm sure that we'll be able to 
become the top software maker in the world in the near future.  I think that
we have to achieve this for the many people related to Sega, and of course, 
the fans that have always supported us.  Otherwise, there is no meaning in 
my life."
   Much like Sega as a whole, SegaNet will be platform-agnostic.  According 
to Sega of America president Peter Moore, this means that SegaNet will 
support "any system that catches up with the Dreamcast" in terms of online 
gaming, adding that his "new friends" at Sony need to pick up the pace with 
their online gaming plans for the PS2.  Any online Sega games that are 
released for other systems will be fresh and not ports of pre-existing games
(which means that Phantasy Star Online will remain a Dreamcast exclusive).
   The following are additional notable quotes from Peter Moore.

When asked about Sega of America's ongoing personal problems with Sega of 
Japan: "Today's announcement doesn't have anything to do with rumors about 
in-fighting."

When asked about a report that Sega's final Dreamcast game will be released
about 18 months from now: "That's not true... Sega will support the 
Dreamcast indefinitely, just as long as the user base stays active."

When asked about Isao Okawa giving Sega of America $750 million of his 
personal money: "That is purely a gift."

When asked about the difficulty of developing games for the PS2: "If our 
people managed to program for the Sega Saturn, they can program for 
anything."  

When asked how long Sega has had PS2 development kits, Moore responds 
"several months... our PS2 games are much farther along in development than
most people would expect."

When asked about the logic behind Sega's decision to get out of the hardware
business: "The hardware business is not profitable... it's the model of a 
couple years ago... the model doesn't work, as evidenced by the financial 
situation of our new friends at Sony."

When asked about the possibility of developing PC games in the future: "The 
PC will always be around for us, but not a priority."

When asked about the rumor that the Xbox will be able to play Dreamcast 
games: "That's an urban myth that has absolutely no truth... that story is 
fabricated."

When asked about a report by The New York Times that Sega would have a game 
out on the PS2 in April: "The Times needs to check its fact at times."

When asked whether the Dreamcast chipset will find its way into DVD players 
in the future: "No."

   Nintendo owner Hiroshi Yamauchi, being the genius that he is, has lashed 
out against Square, the most influential video game company in the world 
among hardcore gamers.  When asked about the chances of Nintendo and Square 
reaching an agreement for GameCube or Game Boy Advance games, Yamauchi 
replied, "There is no contract with Square, and that matter is not open to 
further discussion.  Square can say whatever they want, but we have no 
intention of signing a contract, and there's little chance of one being 
signed in the future."
   Yamauchi's thin-skinned words about Square were uttered in one of several
recent Yamauchi interviews in which he made a complete ass of himself.  In a
separate interview, Yamauchi seemed to take pride in the net loss that 
Square recently posted, the first net loss in the company's history.  He 
boasted, "Square said that they would produce several billion yen in profit 
for fiscal 2000, but more recently they've turned it into several billion 
yen in losses, which is essentially exactly what I said would happen to 
them before."
   Yamauchi spoke harshly about the current state of the video game 
industry, particularly the large amount of start-up game developers.  He 
said, "What I see right now are lots of people who look towards the game 
business with all these dreams in their minds about how bright the future of
the industry is... I've been consistently saying that this is wrong, but 
most of them look at what I say and respond, 'No, no, you're wrong.'"
   Yamauchi continues, "There really are just an overwhelmingly huge number 
of people out there that know nothing about the business of games... money 
is given to people that really should be unemployed, and they round up some 
friends, start a company and begin creating software, but is this really the
best way to go about this right now?"
   As you might have guessed by now, Yamauchi isn't too excited about the 
future of the industry.  He continues, "If the game industry went away, it's
not like people would keel over and die on the street.  If people started 
saying, 'These games are all stupid, I have to stop playing them all the 
time...' the market could fall right out.  It could even shrink to a tenth 
of what it was."
   Yamauchi doesn't even seem excited about his own company's next gaming 
console, the GameCube.  He recently said, "The main problem is GameCube 
software... our major goals are centered around Christmas 2002, but the 
GameCube will fail if nothing interesting is released for it before then."  
What is he trying to say here?  That the 2001 launch line-up doesn't look 
very good to him?  That the launch will be delayed until 2002?  Your guess 
is as good as mine.
   Yamauchi also spoke out against the lack of innovation in today's game 
market, saying, "Users are getting bored faster than ever, and the 
development of truly new games has all but stopped."  This coming from a man
whose company generates well over 50 percent of its revenue from the 
Pokemon franchise, which has been re-hashed almost as many times as Tomb 
Raider and Army Men.  Reports that Yamauchi is a complete idiot could not be
confirmed at press time.
   And just in case there are still a few people out there who have not yet 
been alienated by any of Yamauchi's comments, consider his take on online 
gaming: "Most people going on and on about the Internet know nothing about 
games.  People who don't get game creation are going on and on about 
networked games, probably because they can't come up with any better ideas 
themselves."
   If you're one of the many people who has e-mailed me in recent months 
asking something to the effect of, "When will this senile old goat finally 
retire?" Yamauchi has given two different answers in two different 
interviews.  In one interview he said, "Right now, I am intending to leave 
after I see how our new game systems do this Christmas," and in another 
interview he said, "I will return when it is the proper time to do so."  
Yamauchi first made his now-annual "I'll retire after this Christmas" 
statement in 1996.

   The National Institute on Media and the Family has released its annual 
report card on the video game industry.  In a presentation by its leader,
Senator Joe Lieberman, the institute gave the industry an overall grade of 
C.  The industry also received the following grades in specific categories:

Ratings education: C (apparently they have never seen the huge "Check the 
rating" ad campaign)
Industry response to institute's recommendations: A-
Implementation of recommendations: Incomplete
Accuracy of ratings: B-
Ratings enforcement: D+
Arcade industry ratings and enforcement: C
Marketing and advertising: C
Industry's ability to stand up for itself in the fight against censorship 
and borderline-fascist government officials: F
   No, wait a minute, scratch that last one.  When asked by a reporter if he
feels the slightest bit silly about issuing a report card on the video game 
industry like it's a little kid, Lieberman shot back, "No soup for you!" and
banned the reporter from all press conferences for one year.  On the broader
topic of the entertainment industry as a whole, Lieberman gave the same 
response when asked if he feels the least bit deceptive when he accepts 
fund-raising cash from some of the companies he is "crusading" against.
   In a related story, independent sources report that the video game 
industry tried to hide its report card from its mother, only for its mother 
to find the report card and threaten to ground the industry if it didn't 
bring the overall grade up to a B.  Eric Cartman-like squeals of "But 
maaaaa..." were not enough to deter the video game industry's mother in its 
thirst for improvement.

   Reports continue to surface about Microsoft plans to eventually release 
a portable gaming system.  According to a story on redherring.com, Microsoft
plans to release a portable system called the "Xboy" in 2002 or 2003, but is
putting the Xboy on the back burner until the Xbox has successfully 
launched.  In response to this story, Microsoft's chief Xbox officer Robbie 
Bach says, "I'm focused on one thing and one thing only.  If I take my eyes 
off the Xbox mission for two seconds, I'll lose."
   Bach concludes, "I can think about portable games when I have time to 
think about those things."  Meanwhile, Microsoft spokesperson David Hufford 
hints at a portable system being part of Microsoft's long-term plan.  
Hufford says, "Microsoft will evaluate its opportunities for expansion, 
since consoles are not the only way that people will play games in the 
future."

   Ritual Entertainment, best known as the developer of Sin, has split 
itself into two separate companies.  One of the companies will be known as 
Ritual, and the other has been named Mumbo Jumbo.  Mumbo Jumbo has already 
announced that its first game will be Myth 3: The Wolf Age, the latest 
installment in the series originally created by Bungie Software.  The 
Gathering of Developers will publish Myth 3 for the PC and Macintosh this 
November.
   Meanwhile, Ritual level designer Levelord has written about Sin 2 in his 
.plan file.  Levelord says, "Sin is a Ritual property, and unless someone 
wants to pay a lot of money, it will always be a Ritual property... we have 
nothing but absolute desire to make Sin 2.  No one wants this more than we 
do.  My guess is that it will happen, perhaps even this year."  The original
Sin was rushed out the door just weeks before the release of Half-Life, and 
the video game community responded to the obvious rush-job by giving the 
game mixed reviews and disappointing sales.

   Epic Games is interested in the possibility of re-designing Unreal 
Tournament for the Xbox.  Epic's Steve Polge says, "The Xbox version of UT 
will be a new game with all-new content, taking full advantage of the new 
technology we are developing."  Meanwhile, Epic's vice president Mark Rein 
says, "No final decision has been made on what game we will make for the 
Xbox."
   Rein continues, "Like every other developer on the planet, we would love 
to make a game for the Xbox.  It depends on our publisher and on Microsoft, 
but Steve's answer certainly represents our thinking of what we would want 
our Xbox game to be, which is completely designed for that platform from the
ground up."

   Sid Meier's Dinosaur has been put on hold indefinitely.  Game design 
legend Sid Meier of Civilization fame says that the game "might eventually 
come to fruition," but then again, it might not.  Regarding the game's 
development problems, Meier wrote in his online journal, "We've tried 
various approaches to gameplay.  There's been a real-time style of game, 
there's been a turn-based style game, there's been a game where you are one 
dino, there's been a game where you are an entire dino tribe, there's even 
been a much more abstract game with a heavy online component."
   However, Meier says that despite all of the interesting possibilities for
the game, "We haven't found that magic combination of ingredients that makes
it really fun.  And if it ain't fun, it don't get done!"  With the Dinosaur 
project on hold for a while (perhaps forever), Meier and his co-workers at 
Firaxis Games will focus on Civilization 3 (which has also had its fair 
share of development problems), as well as a separate game that has yet to 
be officially announced.

   3DO's bottom line in the latest financial quarter was a $12 million loss.
Given the fact that it hasn't released an innovative game in years, 3DO's 
ugly financial situation shouldn't come as a surprise.  3DO's financial 
situation has been so dire in recent months that the company recently made 
the decision to not rent out booth space at the annual E3 show in May.  I 
can just imagine the disappointed show attendees now... "No 3DO booth?!?  
I came all the way to Los Angeles for nothing!"
   In a statement about the latest in a string of losses for 3DO, the 
company's founder Trip Hawkins said, "We are pleased with the many good 
reviews and previews we are receiving in the game press."  Uh... which "game
press" is that, Trip?  Surely you're not referring to the one that has been 
almost universally giving you a well-deserved bashing for your ridiculous 
re-hashing of the Army Men series...

   Microsoft is currently locking horns with Xbox Technologies, a technology
company that is based in Florida and has absolutely nothing to do with 
Microsoft's Xbox system.  This company registered the name "Xbox" in March 
1999, which is months before Microsoft did, but also months after it was 
well-known that "Xbox" would be the name of Microsoft's next video game 
system.  Xbox Technologies CEO John Van Leeuwen told The Financial Times, 
"There's no way that we can co-exist.  We can't afford to have our business 
confused with games for kids."
   Van Leeuwen concluded, "Either we find a business solution or we get into
a legal battle."  There is a very good chance that by "business solution," 
Van Leeuwen means "a huge cash settlement."  It could just be a matter of 
time before Microsoft offers this to Van Leeuwen to settle out of court, but
no such offer has been made at press time.

   After years of struggling to make a name for itself in the video game 
industry, Fox Interactive is finally getting out of the game publishing 
business.  The spin that Fox is putting on the situation is that it is 
"seeking co-publishers" for all of its upcoming games.  The reality of the 
situation is that Fox's future in video games will be similar to 
Universal's.  
   Like Universal, it will license out its franchises to companies that know
how to publish games effectively.  In Universal's case, this company is 
Konami, but Fox has yet to reveal any of its so-called "co-publishers."  If 
Fox really needs a short-term cash fix, it could always consider the 
possibility of pulling a Bill Clinton and stealing thousands of dollars 
worth of furniture from the White House...

   LucasArts and Ensemble Studios are teaming up to create Star Wars: 
Battlegrounds, a real-time strategy franchise that "will combine elements 
from Star Wars: Episode I and classic Star Wars."  Ensemble is best known 
for being the developer of the critically-acclaimed Age of Empires series.  
The first installment in the Star Wars: Battleground series will be released
for the PC this fall.
   Previously, LucasArts struck similar deals with two other top-notch PC 
game developers.  LucasArts and Verant Interactive (of EverQuest fame) are 
currently working on a massively multi-player RPG set in the Star Wars 
universe.  Meanwhile, LucasArts and BioWare (of Baldur's Gate and MDK 2 
fame) are currently working on a single-player RPG set in the Star Wars 
universe.

   Sony has purchased two of its development houses, Red Zone Interactive 
and Naughty Dog.  Red Zone is the company behind the NFL GameDay series 
(which has been a joke since 1998), and Naughty Dog created Crash Bandicoot 
1-3 and Crash Team Racing.  Naughty Dog co-founder Jason Rubin says, "Most 
game developers that are violently independent are violently independent 
because they continually have publisher-relation problems, and we don't have
any of that with Sony.  We find Sony to be incredibly good to us in all 
ways, shapes, and forms."
   On the subject of the Xbox, Rubin acknowledges that it's 2-3 times more 
powerful than the PlayStation 2, but still says it's "laughable" and "pretty
much a failure in creating hardware... they should be far more powerful than
that coming out two years later."  Actually, the Xbox's launch is scheduled 
for 18 months after the PS2's Japanese launch and 12 months after the PS2's 
American launch, so it remains a mystery where Rubin is getting the 
timeframe of 24 months.
   When asked about the difficulty of programming PS2 games in the specific 
case of Oddworld Inhabitants, Rubin replies, "They never took the 
PlayStation trainer course... you're talking about guys that never tried to 
do this stuff before, don't even have 3D programmers in-house, and were 
relying on somebody else to write their engine in the first place.  I don't 
really take Oddworld very seriously."
   On the subject of PlayStation 2 development in general and the 
development community's complaints with it, Rubin says, "We're talking about
the same guys with the PlayStation in the last generation that were saying 
to Sony, 'You write too many tools.  You don't let us touch the hardware.  
We can't get games done.'  And they're now saying, 'You don't give us tools.
You don't let us do anything the easy way.  You're expecting us to touch the
hardware.'  So I think that we as game developers a bunch of whiners."

   EA has announced the next two games in the massively popular Sims series.
Sims Live is due out in April and will add instant messaging capabilities to
the series, while Sims Online is due out in December and will be a full-
fledged online game.  In Sims Online, you'll be able to compete with other 
gamers in an attempt to be the best in any category you desire, whether it's
wealth, fame, power, or anything else you can imagine.
   In related news, following the huge success of the original game and the 
Livin' Large expansion pack, another expansion pack for The Sims is on the 
way.  Entitled House Party, this expansion pack will allow gamers to throw 
parties for their Sims.  Of course, if you get addicted to The Sims, you 
won't be attending any real parties or other social functions for a long, 
long time...

   Sega has filed a $2.2 million lawsuit against K-Mart due to K-Mart's 
alleged refusal to pay Sega for Dreamcast systems.  Sega's Charles Bellfield
says, "This is all for product that has already shipped to K-Mart and that 
they have already sold to their consumers.  They've already received the 
money for these products from their customers, but are refusing to pay Sega 
money that is contractually obligated to us."  
   As a result of K-Mart's refusal to pay Sega, new Dreamcast systems 
haven't been shipped to K-Mart stores since the summer of 2000.  Sega has 
been in negotiations with K-Mart ever since in an attempt to get K-Mart to 
cough up the money, and just recently filed this lawsuit after nine months 
of negotiations.
  
   Retro Studios has put two of its GameCube projects on hold and laid off 
an undisclosed number of its employees.  The Texas-based developer is owned 
by Nintendo and is expected by its parent company to be the US equivalent of
Rareware (even though a large percentage of Retro's employees came from 
Acclaim).  
   The decision to put two of Retro's games on hold was apparently made so 
that Retro could place more of an emphasis on the three remaining games that
it has in development, including the GameCube sequel to Super Metroid.  
According to IGNCube, this game is now going to be a first-person shooter 
because "product evaluators at Nintendo were not impressed with the 
direction Metroid in which was headed as a third-person game."

   THQ has announced that it will be releasing a wrestling game for the 
launch of the Xbox.  Called WWF Raw Is War, the game is being developed by 
Anchor of Ultimate Fighting Championship fame.  When asked whether Raw Is 
War will be based on the UFC engine, THQ's head of product development 
Michael Rubinelli tells Master Gamer, "This will be a brand new engine."  
Rubinelli continues, "Of course, Anchor learned many things from making UFC 
for the Dreamcast, but the gameplay will have more of a No Mercy feel than 
a UFC feel.  Actually, we are trying to combine the best of both worlds."  
   In related news, THQ has officially confirmed a story that was published 
on Master Gamer long ago- The company's first WWF game for the PS2 will be 
released this fall and will be based on the Smackdown engine.  The game will
be called WWF Smackdown 3 and will allow for up to nine wrestlers to be in 
the ring at one time.  THQ also touts the fact that Smackdown 3 will feature
over 1,000 different moves and a whopping 78 match styles.

   Another newly-announced Xbox launch game is Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2x.  
This game will be mostly the same as Tony Hawk 2 for the PlayStation and 
Dreamcast, with a few key exceptions beyond the obvious graphical 
improvements.  The biggest change is the addition of online gameplay, which 
will include multi-player tournaments.  The only notable changes to the 
actual gameplay will be, in Activision's words, "more populated environments
and additional levels."

   Blizzard Entertainment has filed a lawsuit against New Line Cinema for 
trademark infringement.  The lawsuit stems from the fact that in a New Line 
movie starring Vin Diesel, the lead villain is named "Diablo," which is also
the name of Blizzard's popular gaming franchise.  Blizzard claims that this 
is unauthorized use of the Diablo name and warrants a trademark infringement
lawsuit.  In related news, Satan is said to be considering a lawsuit of his 
own against Blizzard for unauthorized use of the word "Diablo."

   Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi has announced that Final Fantasy
12 will be an offline game.  So, to recap, Final Fantasy 10 will be offline,
Final Fantasy 11 will be online, and Final Fantasy 12 will be offline.  In 
related news, Square has plans to re-release Final Fantasy 7, 8, and 9 on 
the PlayStation 2 at some point in the future.

   A number of fabricated stories about the Xbox version of Metal Gear Solid
2 have been circulating on the Internet, including one that was picked up by
most of the major news web sites.  This report claimed that the Xbox version
would be a mix of the original MGS and its sequel, meaning that the full 
version of MGS 2 would be exclusive to the PlayStation 2.  Konami responds, 
"Nothing has been decided on Metal Gear Solid 2 for the Xbox yet.  This is 
just a rumor.

   Square has released details on the DVD version of the upcoming Final 
Fantasy movie, The Spirits Within.  Producer Jun Aida says, "With the PS2 
being DVD-compatible, we are working on a very interactive product.  Namely,
you will be able to render certain sequences of the movie in real time, and 
be your own director, and change camera angles and shots."

   Infogrames could very well be the king of licensed crap in the video game
industry, and several recent deals will assure that Infogrames' status 
remains unchanged for years to come.  In the past few weeks, the company has
acquired the rights to make games based on La Femme Nikita, the Men In Black
animated series, and Peanuts (yes, Peanuts).  According to Variety, 
Infogrames is currently bidding on the rights for Terminator and Men In 
Black 2.

   The Official US PlayStation Magazine has revealed that Electronic Arts is
working on an updated version of SSX Snowboarding for the PlayStation 2.  
The magazine reports that EA is considering giving the game "new music, 
evolved tracks, more scripted elements, rivalries between characters, and 
challenges between individuals."  Giddy-up.

   After several years of growth, the video game industry suffered a slight 
decline in sales in the year 2000.  The console game market's total revenues
were $6.5 billion in 2000, down from the previous high of $6.9 billion in 
1999.  Meanwhile, the PC game market actually grew from $1.5 billion in 1999
to $1.6 billion in 2000.  The game industry already shows signs of 
rebounding in 2001, with sales in January 2001 being recorded as 12 percent 
higher than sales in January 2000.

   The PC version of Black & White is finally done.  Lionhead Studios' 
highly-anticipated game has been in development for what seems like forever,
but it has finally gone to manufacturing and will be on store shelves around
March 27.  Xbox and Macintosh versions of the game will definitely be 
released later this year, but the status of the PlayStation 2 and Dreamcast 
versions of the game are up in the air.

   Illbleed, the survival horror game from the creators of Blue Stinger, 
could be on its way to the PlayStation 2.  Jaleco will publish the game for 
the US Dreamcast in late March.  When asked about a possible PS2 version, a 
Jaleco spokesperson replies, "There is currently no development on that 
particular platform, but we are considering other platforms in addition to 
the Dreamcast."  In related news, Jaleco has cancelled the PlayStation 2 
version of Carrier.

   Sony claims that by the end of April, it will have doubled its worldwide 
production of PlayStation 2 systems to a total of two million systems per 
month.  Then again, this is the same company that promised US gamers 100,000
systems per week, only to deliver about half that amount.

    Konami of Japan's web site is giving gamers worldwide a chance to get 
their name in Metal Gear Solid 2.  If you submit your name to the company, 
it will be considered as the name of one of the game's enemies.  Each enemy 
in the game will be identified by a dog tag.  To give it a shot, click here.
  
   The IDSA has officially announced the timeframe of this year's E3 show in
Los Angeles.  The show will run from May 17 to 19.  A tip for anyone 
interested in attending the show: Don't schedule any kind of surgery around 
the time of the show.  This could drastically decrease your chances of being
able to attend...

   In a relief to gamers everywhere, Nvidia has announced that it has 
completed the design of the Xbox's graphics processor.  Bill Gates 
previously mentioned at the Consumer Electronics Show that the graphics chip
might not be complete until a few weeks before the Xbox's launch, which led
many in the industry to fear that the system's release could be delayed 
until 2002.  With the chip complete well over six months before the 
scheduled release of the Xbox, the chances of the system being delayed have 
just fallen drastically.

   Ubi Soft has purchased German developer Blue Byte.  Ubi plans to bring 
Blue Byte's Settlers series to platforms other than the PC, including the 
PlayStation 2 and GameCube.  The Settlers is a strategy/simulation series 
that focuses on the economy side of things rather than combat.  The series 
has sold a combined 2.7 million copies worldwide.  Prior to the Ubi Soft 
deal, Blue Byte had gotten out of the US retail business and made its web 
site the only way that US consumers could buy its games.

   Oregon senator Ken Messerle has proposed legislation that would make it 
illegal for arcade operators to let children play gory arcade games.  If the
legislation is passed and an arcade operator violates it, he or she could 
face a fine of up to $5,000 and/or jail time of up to one year.  Similar 
legislation took effect several months ago in Indianapolis, Indiana.

   Gran Turismo 3 has been delayed yet again.  The Japanese release of the 
game is now set for April, with the US and European releases to follow 
sometime thereafter.  At no time did a Sony spokesperson say, "The first few
delays were for legitimate reasons... now we're just screwing with you!"

   A ritual burning of Pokemon dolls and magazines recently took place in 
central Mexico under the supervision of Father Ramon Hernandez.  Over 100 
children took part in the ceremony at the priest's church after he declared,
"Pokemon contains subliminal messages that dispose children to evil... these
monsters have caused physical and metal damage to several young people."  
The church's message to children across the world is clear: If you don't 
like something, burn it!
  
   Sony's Phil Harrison and Chris Deering have reiterated Sony's claim that 
the PlayStation 2's broadband adapter and hard drive will be released before
the end of this year in the US, Europe, and Japan.  Sony remains tight-
lipped about the size of the hard drive, only saying that it will be at 
least 10GB.  This is larger than the Xbox's 8GB hard drive, with the major 
difference being that a hard drive will be built-in to every Xbox system 
from Day One.

   It has been months since it was practically a done deal, but Interplay 
has just recently announced that it has acquired the publishing rights to a 
game based on The Matrix.  Only a few facts have been revealed about the 
game, namely:
1. It's being developed by Shiny Entertainment of Earthworm Jim and 
Sacrifice fame, with Dave Perry as the lead designer
2. It's in development for "multiple systems"
3. It will feature slow-motion bullet dodging

   Agetec's new "A1 Games" sub-brand has been surprisingly successful in the
US.  Games included in the brand do not contain steak sauce; they contain 
simple gameplay with even more simple titles like Bowling, Racing, and 
Boxing and a price tag of $10 for each game.  Most of the games included in 
the line have actually sold fairly well, particularly Bowling.

   It has been known for quite a while that a Baldur's Gate product of some 
kind was on its way to the PlayStation 2, but Interplay has finally spilled 
the beans on the details.  The PS2 game will be called Baldur's Gate: Dark 
Alliance and will not be a port of Baldur's Gate 1 or 2.  Instead, it will 
be a completely original game developed by Snowblind Studios that is based 
on a new game engine and the rules of Dungeons & Dragons: Third Edition.

   A company called East3 has released a product called the Attention 
Trainer that allows you to play Pong while a device reads your brainwaves 
and transmits them into the game.  Playing "in the right state of mind" and 
with high levels of concentration will cause the game on the screen to 
respond favorably.  A similarly-equipped racing game causes your car to go 
faster and control more smoothly when you're in the proper frame of mind.  
If you're interested, you can buy this product for $900 at attention.com.

   A game developer known as "The Groove Alliance" recently issued a press 
release touting the fact that they had just hired Charlie Wallace and Rob 
Wyatt, two "veteran game developers" who they hyped up as if they were game 
development legends.  In fact, Wyatt's previous credits include such 
horrible games as Jurassic Park: Trespasser and The Lost World.  Not only 
did Wallace work on the aforementioned two games, but he also worked on 
fellow stinkers Tai Fu and Xena: Warrior Princess.

NEWS BRIEFS
   When asked for a response to Sony's harsh comments about Oddworld 
Inhabitants (as published in the previous issue of Master Gamer News), 
Oddworld's Geri Wilhelm tells Master Gamer, "The proof is in the games."

   Nintendo has announced that June 11 will be the US launch date of the 
Game Boy Advance, which is earlier than the previously announced July 
release date).  In addition, Nintendo claims that GBA units could be sent to
US retailers for in-store demonstrations as early as April.

   The Dreamcast version of System Shock 2 has been "put on hold 
indefinitely" for undisclosed reasons.  Over 90 percent of the time that a 
game is supposedly put on indefinite hold, it's just a diplomatic way of 
saying that the game has been cancelled.

   Namco's net loss for the year ending March 31, 2001 is expected to be 
over $55 million, according to the company's own financial statements.

   After months of speculation, Namco has officially confirmed (in one of 
its financial statements) that both Tekken 4 and Soul Calibur 2 will 
eventually be released for the PS2.

   God only knows why, but Acclaim is now a profitable company.  In the 
latest financial quarter, the company posted an $11 million profit.

   Sony Corporation's net loss in the latest financial quarter was $121 
million.  Taking a loss of over $100 for every PlayStation 2 unit sold can't
help the parent company's bottom line too much, but selling the PS2 for $400
or $500 would drastically reduce demand.

   Satire web site "The Onion" has published an absolutely hilarious parody 
over the controversy of video game violence.  To read all of the details 
about how Armored Core 2 desensitizes young robots to the concept of robot-
on-robot violence, click here.
    
   Midway's bottom line in the latest financial quarter was a $3 million 
loss.  As a result of Midway's continued inability to become profitable, the
company's executive vice president Mike Ribero has been fired.

   Now that the Dreamcast is selling for $99, the price of the Sega Smash 
Pack has been reduced to $120, down from its original price of $180.  The 
Smash Pack contains the Dreamcast system, one controller, and a GD-ROM that 
contains over a dozen Sega Genesis games.

   Majesco has acquired the rights to re-release the Sega Game Gear and ten 
of its games.  The portable gaming system is now selling for $30 at Toys R 
Us stores nationwide and on the Toys R Us web site, with games selling for 
$15 a pop.

   Firaxis Games programmer Soren Johnson has revealed awesome-sounding new 
details about Civilization 3's diplomacy system.  Click here for the full 
scoop.

   Tecmo has announced that Monster Rancher 3 for the PlayStation 2 will be 
released this summer.

   According to Nintendo Power, Namco is currently working on three Game Boy
Advance games: Tekken Advance, Pac-Man Advance, and Namco Museum Advance.

   Nintendo has sold the European publishing rights to Conker's Bad Fur Day.
THQ will now publish the raunchy N64 game in Europe, and Nintendo will still
be the US publisher.

   At the upcoming Interactive Achievement Awards, Id Software's John 
Carmack will be the fourth person inducted into the official video game Hall
of Fame.  The first three people were Shigeru Miyamoto, Sid Meier, and 
Hironobu Sakaguchi (in that order).

   Twelve video companies have teamed up with the IDSA to file a lawsuit 
against four US-based individuals accused of pirating video games.  If 
convicted, these individuals could be fined up to $150,000 and/or sentenced 
to one year in jail per copyrighted work.

   LucasArts hasn't officially announced its support the Xbox, but that 
doesn't mean it's not working on Xbox games.  The Jobs section of the 
company's web site includes a listing for a "lead programmer who can work on
the PlayStation 2, Xbox, or GameCube."

   The PlayStation 2 version of Ground Control has been put on indefinite 
hold.  No reason has been given for this turn of events, but it's probably 
the same reason that Half-Life still hasn't been released for the Dreamcast:
Sierra knows next to nothing about console game development.

   LucasArts has cancelled the Dreamcast version of its Star Wars kart 
racing game, Super Bombad Racing.  Unfortunately, the game is still 
scheduled to be released for the PlayStation 2 and PC.

   Microsoft and Turbine Entertainment have announced that they are working 
on a sequel to the massively multi-player PC game, Asheron's Call.
  
   In a recent interview with Hyper Magazine of Japan, Resident Evil creator
Shinji Mikami had this to say about online gaming: "It is very attractive, 
and I want to do something like that by all means."

   Sega has finally released its long-delayed Broadband Adapter for the 
Dreamcast.  The adapter is selling for the price of $60 on sega.com.

DELAYS
Austin Powers for PlayStation 2
old release date: September 2001
new release date: sometime in 2002 (probably around the same time as the 
release of the third Austin Powers movie)

Gran Turismo 3 for PlayStation 2
old release date: March 2001 in the US
new release date: April 2001 in Japan (US release to follow)

Red Faction for PlayStation 2
old release date: March 2001
new release date: May 2001

SALES CHARTS
   The following sales charts are based on combined sales throughout the 
year 2000, unless otherwise noted.

Top Ten Console Games Of 2000
1. Pokemon Silver for Game Boy Color
2. Pokemon Gold for Game Boy Color
3. Pokemon Stadium for Nintendo 64 (click on the blue text for Master 
Gamer's review of the game)
4. Pokemon Yellow: Pikachu Edition for Game Boy Color
5. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 for PlayStation
6. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater for PlayStation
7. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask for Nintendo 64
8. Gran Turismo 2 for PlayStation
9. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater for Nintendo 64
10.Madden NFL 2001 for PlayStation     

Top Five PlayStation 2 Games Of 2000
1. Madden NFL 2001
2. Tekken Tag Tournament
3. SSX Snowboarding
4. NHL 2001
5. Ridge Racer 5

Top Five Dreamcast Games Of 2000
1. NFL 2K1
2. Crazy Taxi
3. NBA 2K1
4. Shenmue
5. Resident Evil: Code Veronica

Top Five PlayStation 1 Games Of 2000
1. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2
2. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater
3. Gran Turismo 2
4. Madden NFL 2001
5. Final Fantasy 9

Top Five Nintendo 64 Games Of 2000
1. Pokemon Stadium
2. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
3. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater
4. Perfect Dark
5. WWF No Mercy

Top Five PC Games Of 2000
1. The Sims
2. Who Wants To Be A Millionaire
3. RollerCoaster Tycoon
4. Diablo 2
5. Who Wants To Be A Millionaire: 2nd Edition

Top Ten Game Publishers Of 2000, Based On Sales 
(rounded to the nearest $10 million)
1. Nintendo-         $960 million
2. Electronic Arts-  $440 million
3. Activision-       $330 million
4. THQ-              $260 million
5. Sega-             $260 million
6. Sony-             $240 million
7. Midway-           $140 million
8. Acclaim-          $130 million
9. Capcom-           $120 million
10.Infogrames-       $110 million ("leading third-party publisher" my ass)

Top Ten Video Games From February 11, 2001 to February 17, 2001:
1. Paper Mario for Nintendo 64
2. Mario Tennis for Game Boy Color
3. Pokemon Gold for Game Boy Color
4. Pokemon Silver for Game Boy Color
5. ATV Offroad Fury for PlayStation 2
6. Knockout Kings 2001 for PlayStation 2
7. Madden NFL 2001 for PlayStation 2
8. Phantasy Star Online for Dreamcast
9. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 for PlayStation
10.Oni for PlayStation 2

Sources for news: Fastest Game News Online, ZDNet, GameFan, Blue's News, 
Next Generation, Adrenaline Vault, The Magic Box, GameSpy, Daily Radar, 
Core Magazine, PSX 2 Online, PS2 Era, Nintendorks, IGN, RPGamer, Gaming Age,
The NPD Group, PC Data, www.cowdance.com

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