Master Gamer News

August 11, 2000
   Consumers across the US are becoming concerned about when exactly they 
will be able to get their hands on a PlayStation 2 system once it's 
released on October 26.  Electronics Boutique, Funcoland, and Toys R Us 
have all stopped taking pre-orders at retail locations nationwide.  Some 
Babbage's stores are still taking pre-orders, but anyone who pre-orders now 
shouldn't expect to get their system until December, and possibly later.  
The online departments of several retailers are still accepting PS2 
pre-orders, but the delivery dates from these web sites is still up in the 
air for most consumers.
   Even for people who have already pre-ordered a PlayStation 2, it's still 
questionable when they will get their systems.  While availability 
timetables vary from store to store, here is a breakdown if what online 
stores are making what guarantees, and under what circumstances.

Gamestop.com (the Babbage's web site): You're guaranteed delivery on 
October 26 if you pre-ordered before July 4.

Funcoland.com: You're guaranteed delivery on October 26 if you pre-ordered 
before August 2.

EBWorld.com (the Electronics Boutique web site): EB is not guaranteeing 
that any systems will be delivered on October 26, regardless of when you 
pre-ordered the system.

ToysRUs.com: Toys R Us is taking the same stance as EB.
      
   If you haven't already pre-ordered a PlayStation 2, your best bet to get 
a system on Day One or shortly thereafter is retailers like Wal-Mart, 
K-Mart, and Target.  These stores haven't run any pre-order programs and 
will be selling systems on a first-come, first-serve basis.

   Games Business has published an interesting interview with Kelly Flock, 
the former president of the now-defunct 989 Studios and the current 
president of Sony Online.  From a corporate standpoint, Sony Online is 
separate from Sony Computer Entertainment, the division of Sony behind the 
PlayStation and PS2.  Here are some notable quotes from the interview:

Regarding almost going to work for Electronic Arts: "I don't hate f---ing 
EA.  I never hated f---ing EA.  I almost went to work for f---ing EA.  At 
the end of the day, my choice was Sony Online or EA.  Those were the two 
companies that I was looking seriously at.  And to be honest, I felt for 
sure I was going to end up going into EA and trying to fix it.  I think 
they took the attitude that it's probably better having me inside the tent 
pissing out than outside the tent pissing in... in the end, I didn't go 
with f---ing EA.  I can fix EA, but I'm not going to tell them what's 
wrong.  They'd have to give me the whole f---ing company to run, so f--- 
them."

Regarding what's actually wrong with EA in his opinion: "It's run by smart 
people, well-funded people, but I think the company itself is somewhat 
risk-averse."

Regarding the infamous Next Generation interview in which he said, among 
other things, that liquid AI is the crap that ran down EA's leg when they 
saw NFL GameDay: "I went for the jugular and belittled EA.  And there were 
a lot of reasons for doing that at that time, like the fact that we were 
about to get rolled over by Madden.  And we did get rolled over, but not as 
bad as we could have."

Regarding Sony Online's free games like Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune: 
"It's hard to believe in the free model.  Referring to the people that 
register on the site as customers, well, until you get their money, they're 
not customers... we're not running a charity."

Regarding Sony Online's platform focus: "Right now we're PC-focused, but 
we'll be on other viable platforms.  We'll be on the PS2.  We'll be on the 
Xbox."

   Sega appears to be doing some summer cleaning.  The company has dropped 
the US publishing rights to four different Dreamcast games in the past 
couple of weeks.  Here is a list of the four games Sega has dropped, plus 
early indications on whether any other company will publish them in the US.

-Illbleed (a survival horror game): Hasn't been picked up by another 
publisher, but almost certainly will be at some point

-Baldur's Gate (a PC port): Hasn't been picked up by another publisher, and 
might not be because it's so old

-Virtua Athlete 2000 (an Olympic-themed game): Has already been picked up 
by Agetec

-Extreme Sports: May be picked up by Infogrames

   As rumors swirl that Sega is planning to drop the Dreamcast's retail 
price to $150 in the near future, Wal-Mart has already gone ahead and done 
just that.  Sega's current suggested retail price for the Dreamcast is $200, 
plus a $50 rebate when you sign up for one free month of SegaNet access.  
This rebate promotion expires on August 31, which has led many people to 
believe that the Dreamcast will soon cost $150 at retail with no strings 
attached.  
   Sega has not yet done this on a national level, but some (not all) 
Wal-Mart stores throughout the US are already selling the Dreamcast for 
$150.  If you were to go out today and find a Wal-Mart store that's selling 
the Dreamcast for $150, you could conceivably buy it for $150 AND get the 
$50 rebate from Sega, bringing the net cost of the system down to $100.

   A company founded by three former Blizzard employees has changed its 
name from Triforge to Arena.net.  The founders of Arena.net include the 
original creator of Blizzard's Battle.net online gaming service, plus 
Blizzard's former vice president of research and development.  Arena.net's 
games will be playable exclusively on the Internet, where gamers will be 
able to try the company's games for free.  After a certain time period has 
expired, you'll have to buy the game if you want to continue playing it.  
The online multi-player strategy of Arena.net will also allow the company 
to frequently add new features to its games.

   A web site called Swapoo has been the source of controversy over the 
past couple of weeks.  Swapoo allows users to download the ROMs of games 
like Goldeneye 007, Pokemon, and Tetris and then play the games on their 
PCs.  Sega has already called Swapoo "a proliferation of piracy," while 
Nintendo is "looking into the matter."  Given Nintendo's history of being 
vehemently opposed to the downloading of cartridge game ROMs, it would seem 
to be a given that they will eventually take a stance against Swapoo.

   Sony previously announced that the PlayStation version of NFL GameDay 
2001 would be released on August 1, two weeks before the scheduled release 
of Madden NFL 2001.  August 1 came and went, and GameDay 2001 was never 
released.  The game is now scheduled to be released on August 16, a day 
after Madden 2001.  Despite the fact that 989 Studios no longer exists as a 
company, Sony will continue to use the 989 brand on new sports games for at 
least the rest of the year.

   Just a few short weeks after the Keep America Beautiful organization 
expressed concerns about Sega's Jet Grind Radio, Sega has announced that 
the game will feature a warning label when it's released in the US.  The 
warning label will read: "Graffiti is art.  However, graffiti as an act of 
vandalism is a crime.  Every state/province has vandalism laws that apply 
to graffiti, and local entities such as cities and counties have anti-
graffiti ordinances.  Violation of these laws can result in a fine, 
probation, or a jail sentence.  Sega does not condone the real life act of 
vandalism in any form."

   Nintendo and Cyveillance have formed a partnership to shut down web 
sites that feature Nintendo characters in sexual situations.  Nintendo 
didn't go into specifics, but apparently some "sexually explicit web sites" 
have been featuring "unwanted associations with Nintendo's products and 
characters, including Mario and Pokemon."  Nintendo previously grabbed 
headlines by shutting down the porn web site Zelda.com and replacing it 
with a site relating to the Zelda series of video games.

   Al Gore has selected Senator Joseph Lieberman as his running mate in the 
upcoming presidential election.  Why is this being reported on a video game 
web site?  Because Lieberman is the senator who has campaigned against 
video game violence more than any other.  Lieberman is also on the board of 
directors of the PTC, which has taken a stand against the WWF's edgy 
content.  It's scary to think that the real-life equivalent of WWF 
character Steven Richards could actually be America's vice president.

   Sega has announced the dates on which several of its games will be 
reduced to $20 in price.  NFL 2K will be the first game to join Sega's 
All-Star line, with its price scheduled to drop to $20 on August 15.  Four 
more games will follow on August 22: NBA 2K, Sonic Adventure, Sega Bass 
Fishing, and House of the Dead 2.  Crazy Taxi's price will drop to $20 on 
October 31.

   It appeared that the Thief series was dead when its creator, Looking 
Glass Studios, went out of business earlier this year.  Fortunately, Eidos 
Interactive has picked up the rights to the series and placed it in the 
hands of Ion Storm's Warren Spector, the lead designer of Deus Ex.  
Spector's team at Ion Storm is currently developing Thief 3 for the PC and 
PlayStation 2.  Spector used to work for Looking Glass, where he 
contributed to the design of the original Thief.

   The next WCW game from Electronic Arts will be called WCW Backstage 
Assault, which adds credibility to the rumors that there won't even be an 
actual wrestling ring in the game.  There is no word yet on whether WCW 
head writer Vince Russo will try to insult the intelligence of video game 
fans everywhere by trying to make us believe that the in-game characters 
have broken script and are actually "shooting."

   Sony has announced that three million PlayStation 2s have been shipped 
to Japanese retailers since the system's launch on March 4.  Then again, 
Sony also said that two million systems had been shipped shortly after the 
launch, only to rescind that statement and claim that 1.4 million systems 
had been shipped.  I guess we'll have to wait a couple weeks to see if Sony 
is lying again or serious this time...

   Deer Hunter 4 has been announced for the PC and will be released in 
September.  Meanwhile, Simon & Schuster's parody game Deer Avenger will be 
released for the Dreamcast this November.  In Deer Avenger, you play as a 
deer and try to kill humans, who are portrayed as stereotypical rednecks.

   Sony has delayed the European launch of the PlayStation from October 26 
until November 24.  This move was made not only to ensure a decent supply 
of the system for the European launch, but also to ensure a decent supply 
of the system for the American launch.  An undisclosed number of systems 
that were previously scheduled to be shipped to Europe are now scheduled to 
be shipped to the US instead.

   Planet Moon's president Nick Bruty has revealed that a sequel to the 
highly-anticipated PC game Giants: Citizen Kabuto is already in the works.  
The original Giants is set to be released for the PC this October, and 
Bruty says that it could be the company's last PC game due to the general 
slump of the market.  Instead of continuing to focus on the PC, Planet 
Moon's future lies in one or more of the upcoming console systems 
(PlayStation 2, Xbox, and Dolphin).

   A new web site called gamegrams.com is now offering web surfers free 
electronic greeting cards with video game themes.  Consumers can quickly 
and easily send greeting cards to multiple friends through e-mail with 
pictures from Final Fantasy 7 and 8, Quake 3, Unreal Tournament, StarCraft, 
and many other games.

   When Sega first announced SegaNet, they said that the marketing would 
revolve around the MTV Video Music Awards on September 7, but that SegaNet 
would actually launch sometime in August.  Those plans fell by the wayside 
at some point, as the current plan is for SegaNet to launch on September 7, 
not in August.

DELAYS
Eternal Darkness for Nintendo 64
old release date: October 31, 2000
new release date: February 2001

Lunar 2: Eternal Blue for PlayStation
old release date: August 2000
new release date: November 2000

Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee for PlayStation 2
old release date: October 26, 2000
new release date: June 2001

NEWS BRIEFS
   Nintendo's George Harrison stated in a recent interview with Gamecenter 
that the company is "aiming" for a $200 launch price for the Dolphin and 
$100 for the Game Boy Advance.  Harrison also said that the GBA will be 
released in the US at least three months before the Dolphin.

   The Onion, a hilarious satire web site, recently published a story 
called "Video Game Characters Denounce Randomly Placed Swinging Blades."  
For a bit of PCXL-style sarcasm from The Onion, click here.  

   Working Designs has announced plans to release a PlayStation 2 game on 
the system's October 26 launch, but they haven't revealed the name of the
game or even its genre.

   It was reported six months ago in Master Gamer News, but Sega has just 
now announced that World Series Baseball 2K2 will be developed by Visual 
Concepts, the makers of NBA 2K and NFL 2K.  World Series Baseball 2K1 was 
developed by Sega of Japan.  

   Railroad Tycoon 2 was recently released for the Dreamcast with no online 
capabilities whatsoever, but not before Take-Two Interactive purchased 
advertising space in various print magazines that hype the game's non-
existent online capabilities.  Oops!

   Id Software's John Carmack has announced that Doom 3 will definitely be 
released for the Xbox and PC, with PlayStation 2 and Dreamcast versions 
also being a possibility.  Unlike Quake 3, the focus of Doom 3 will be 
placed on single-player, not multi-player.

   Kemco still has the N64 publishing rights to Ion Storm's PC game 
Daikatana, but it's not known when the game will finally be released for 
the N64.  However, Kemco has announced that when the game is eventually 
released, it will be a rental-only game (not sold at retailers).

   Square is tentatively hoping to have The Bouncer released for the US 
PlayStation 2 by the end of this year, but of course, the possibility 
remains that the game will be delayed.

   EA has been working on a PlayStation 2 sequel to its PSX racing game
Sled Storm, but the game has now been delayed indefinitely and may never be
released.

   The inhabitants of Oddworld have finished a massive update of their web 
site, with over 150 new pages.  Check it out for yourself at oddworld.com.

   The supplier of the Xbox's sound chip has not yet been announced, but it 
could be Nvidia, who is supplying the system's graphics chip.

   Fans of extreme sports will be happy to hear that Activision is working 
on at least four different extreme sports games for the PlayStation 2: Tony 
Hawk's Pro Skater 3, Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX 2, Shawn Palmer's Pro Boarder 
Cross, and Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer.

   Bullfrog has cancelled Dungeon Keeper 3 so that the company can place a 
greater focus on other projects.  These projects include a PlayStation 2 
version of Theme Park, plus games based on the recently-acquired Harry 
Potter license.

   Monolith's LithTech game engine is currently being re-vamped to support 
massively multi-player online RPGs, and Monolith itself is working on an 
online RPG to show off the new technology.

   In addition to internally developing football, basketball, and baseball 
games for the Xbox, Microsoft is also working on a hockey game for the 
system.

SALES CHARTS
   The following sales charts are based on unit sales from July 1 to 31.

Dreamcast
1. World Series Baseball 2K1
2. Marvel vs. Capcom 2
3. Virtua Tennis (click on the blue text for Master Gamer's review of the 
game)
4. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater
5. Silver
launch game still in the top ten: Soul Calibur

PlayStation
1. Legend of Dragoon
2. Driver
3. Spec Ops: Stealth Patrol
4. X-Men: Mutant Academy
5. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater
old games still in the top ten: Driver, Tekken 3, and Syphon Filter

Nintendo 64
1. Star Wars Episode I: Racer (now selling at an average price of $10)
2. Perfect Dark
3. Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards
4. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater
5. Jet Force Gemini (now selling at an average price of $16)
old games still in the top ten: none other than Star Wars Episode I: Racer 
and Jet Force Gemini

PC 
1. Diablo 2
2. The Sims
3. Who Wants To Be A Millionaire: 2nd Edition
4. RollerCoaster Tycoon
5. Who Wants To Be A Millionaire
old games still in the top ten: RollerCoaster Tycoon, Who Wants To Be A 
Millionaire, and RollerCoaster Tycoon: Corkscrew Follies

Sources for news: Fastest Game News Online, GameSpot, GameFan, Blue's News, 
GI News, Next Generation, Adrenaline Vault, The Magic Box, Daily Radar, 
Sega X, PSX 2 Online, Nintendorks, IGN, The Sega Zone, Sega Otaku, Gaming 
Age, The NPD Group, PC Data, www.cowdance.com

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