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September 17, 1999
The Sega Dreamcast was released on September 9, and it was even more
successful than it was expected to be. In addition to being the biggest
video game console launch of all time from a sales standpoint (410,000
systems sold in one week), the Dreamcast also set the all-time
entertainment industry record for one day of revenue. The previous record
holder for one day of revenue in any form of entertainment was Star Wars
Episode I: The Phantom Menace, which generated about $28 million on its
first day back in May. The Dreamcast generated approximately $97 million
on September 9, more than tripling The Phantom Menace's record.
However, the Dreamcast's record-breaking launch was not without its fair
share of problems. Many consumers found that some Dreamcast software was
defective, with most of the complaints focusing on Sonic Adventure, the
Dreamcast's web browser CD, Activision's Blue Stinger, and Midway's Hydro
Thunder. While only a small percentage of these CDs were defective (and
this is nothing compared to the technical problems the PlayStation had when
it first launched), that doesn't make it any less frustrating for the
people who bought defective games. If you bought a defective Dreamcast
game and the retailer who sold it to you isn't being cooperative with you
about exchanging it, just call Sega at 1-800-USA-SEGA. If you're having
problems with Blue Stinger, you can also call Activision at 1-888-402-8951.
Just four days after the Dreamcast's launch (what a coincidence), Sony
revealed the PlayStation 2's Japanese release date (March 4, 2000),
Japanese price ($368), and the design of the console itself (butt-ugly).
The console is black with "PS2" written on it, and the game CDs will be a
stylish blue.
Gamers may be able to plug their own USB modems into the PlayStation
when it launches, but an official modem from Sony will not be available
until 2001. In 2001, Sony will begin to sell cable modems and high-
capacity hard drives (supposedly tens of giga-bytes) that can attach to the
PlayStation 2. With this combination, you could download full games onto
the hard drive, as well as movies and music. The cable modem will be fast
enough to ensure download speeds of about 10MB per second. You will also
be able to play multi-player games over the Internet using the PlayStation
2's cable modem when the modem is released in 2001.
Packaged with the system will be the new Dual Shock 2 controller, which
features analog input for every single button except start and select
(which opens up possibilities like "the harder you press a button in a
football game, the harder the tackle"). The Dual Shock 2 controller is
black and will also work on all PlayStation 1 games that support the Dual
Shock 1 controller.
Also packaged with the system will be a new high-capacity memory card,
which can hold up to 8MB of data and can transfer data up to 250 times
faster than a PlayStation 1 memory card. Unfortunately, this new memory
card will not be backwards-compatible with PlayStation 1 games.
Needless to say, plenty of third-party developers are working on
PlayStation 2 games. The following are some high-profile games have
already been confirmed to be in development for the system:
-a new Resident Evil game from Capcom
-a new Ridge Racer game from Namco
-Tekken Tag Tournament from Namco
-a new Ninja Gaiden game from Tecmo
-Command & Conquer: Renegade (a first-person shooter set in the C&C
universe, which will be released for the PC first in the spring of 2000)
Other PlayStation 2 Facts:
-The PlayStation 2's US release date and price will be announced at the
2000 E3 show in Los Angeles, California.
-Sony hopes to sell one million units of the console in its first two days
on Japanese store shelves.
-The system will only have two controller ports and two memory card ports.
-The system will be able to play DVD movies and music CDs.
-Electronics Arts has confirmed that it will be a PlayStation 2 developer.
Initial sales figures for Final Fantasy 8 indicate that the game sold
over 400,000 copies in its first four days on store shelves. Not bad...
As yet more proof that Nintendo and Rare are the two worst companies in
the world in terms of releasing their products on time, Rare's Perfect Dark
has been delayed. The un-official sequel to Goldeneye 007 was previously
scheduled to be released this December, and it is now set for an April 2000
release (until they delay it again, of course). Nintendo's Peter Main
said, "With more development time, we're all convinced it will produce a
considerably better product." There are always things you can change about
a game to try and make it better, but smart developers know when to say
"enough is enough" and ship the freakin' game out the door.
GameSpot News recently ran a news story claiming that Sega delayed the
introduction of online gaming on the Dreamcast until the second half of
2000. Sega quickly issued a press release saying that GameSpot's report
was incorrect and that around a dozen Dreamcast games will be fully
playable over the Internet before July of 2000. Then again, Sega also said
"Online gaming on 9/9/99" for months, so I'll believe it when I see it...
The rumors that Acclaim and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) are
about to strike a deal (or have already struck a deal and just haven't
announced it yet) are at an all-time high. The rumors are heating up now
that ECW's weekly show on TNN has debuted and it's drawing ratings that are
more than twice TNN's average rating. However, as logical as the rumors
are, they're still just rumors, and they have yet to be confirmed by either
Acclaim or ECW. Considering that if Acclaim and ECW have indeed struck a
deal, the first ECW wrestling games still wouldn't be released until
sometime next year, it makes sense for Acclaim to hold off announcing the
deal for a while. The last thing they want to do is cut into sales of WWF
Attitude for the PlayStation and Nintendo 64, as well as the Dreamcast
version due for release next month.
Sega has confirmed that last year's smash hit PC game Half-Life is on
its way to the Dreamcast. It will supposedly let you play multi-player
games over the Internet, but that was all Sega was willing to reveal about
the Dreamcast version of the game.
Sega has also confirmed that Star Wars Episode I: Racer is on its way to
the Dreamcast. It will also be turned into a Naomi-based arcade game by
Sega, but unfortunately the Dreamcast version probably won't be released
until early next year.
On a recent edition of Judge Judy, a man was suing his ex-wife for
taking his PlayStation with her when she moved out of his house. Judge
Judy lectured the man for trying to take the PlayStation away from his son
(who lives with his ex-wife), but also said that his ex-wife's testimony
was "full of baloney." However, she did not follow up the "full of baloney"
comment with her usual, "No, no, no, madam!" Seriously, in the end Judge
Judy awarded the man $250, despite the fact that the PlayStation only costs
$99.
Rage Software has revealed that its upcoming PC shooter Hostile Waters
may be brought to the Dreamcast. As anyone who has played Incoming or
Expendable can tell you, Rage is the master of shooters with great graphics
and horrible gameplay. Sega would be wise to make an example out of Rage
and reject all their games until they make one with decent gameplay.
Nintendo has announced a Game Boy Color "game" called Pokemon Card, due
for release in February 2000. It's basically the Pokemon card game from
Wizards of the Coast, only in digital form. It may sound pretty pointless,
but it must have been something that Nintendo couldn't resist given the
amount of money such a game will surely generate, coupled with the small
amount of development talent, effort, and money required to bring a card
game to the Game Boy Color.
The creators of Deer Hunter at WizardWorks have announced that the new
brand WizardWorks Outdoors will debut along with Deer Hunter 3 in October.
WizardWorks' Paul Rinde said, "By putting the WizardWorks Outdoors logo on
our hunting and fishing games, we're hoping to make consumers more
consistently aware of our brand and that they can be assured they're buying
a quality hunting or fishing game each time they pick up our box." Man,
all that just for adding the word "Outdoors" to the box?
In a sign that Nintendo's marketing department couldn't think of
anything better than the same old multi-colored crap, Donkey Kong 64 will
be packaged with a "jungle green" Nintendo 64 when it is released on
November 22. For $130, gamers will be able to buy a jungle green N64, one
controller, one banana yellow DK 64 cartridge, and the N64's RAM Expansion
Pak. If you already have an N64 and want to buy DK 64, you'll still have
to buy the Expansion Pak along with it because DK 64 requires the Expansion
Pak to run. In another DK 64 promotion, drinkers of Dr. Pepper may look
under the cap this fall and find that they have won an N64 console with
DK 64.
Midway is reportedly working on a wrestling game similar in design to
Ready 2 Rumble Boxing. Like Ready 2 Rumble, Midway's wrestling game will
probably feature wacky, fictional characters instead of an actual
professional license.
3dfx has struck a deal with Compaq in which 3dfx's Voodoo 3 graphics
accelerators will come packed in with certain Compaq Presario PCs. Of
course, with the frequency at which 3dfx is releasing new graphics chipsets
these days, anyone who buys a Compaq PC with a Voodoo 3 accelerator in it
will probably find that it becomes obsolete in the ten minutes it takes to
un-pack the system...
The London Times has reported that Microsoft has been meeting with
numerous video game developers in an attempt to get them to sign non-
disclosure agreements (NDAs). The NDAs would prevent anyone who signs them
from saying anything about Microsoft's X-Box gaming console. Despite the
fact that the launch of the console is supposedly only a year away,
Microsoft doesn't want any more details to leak out about the console
because they don't want their relationship with Sega to be damaged
(Microsoft supplied Sega with a modified Windows CE operating system that
Dreamcast developers have the option of working with).
Capcom and SNK have confirmed the existence of Capcom vs. SNK for the
SNK's new portable gaming system, the Neo Geo Pocket Color. The game
features many characters from both Capcom's line of fighting games and
SNK's line of fighting games, and it could also be brought to the Dreamcast
at some point in the future.
Blizzard has finally confirmed the existence of WarCraft 3. It's no
surprise that the game will be fully polygonal and will be released
sometime next year, but it is a surprise that it will be a strategy/RPG
instead of a real-time strategy game.
Due to the huge demand for the Dreamcast, some people who pre-ordered
the system from sega.com didn't get their system on September 9. In an
effort to try to turn these potentially pissed off customers into happy
customers, Sega has sent them all a free gift, but they haven't revealed
what the gift actually is. If they really wanted to be cruel, Sega could
mark the packages "Complete Dreamcast Software Library," but fill the boxes
with the 32X's software library instead.
As part of its ongoing partnership with Nintendo, Blockbuster Video is
now renting out Game Boy Color games and systems. Participating locations
are currently renting out the games ($4 for five nights) and the system
($10 for five nights). In addition, for a limited time Blockbuster is
selling batteries for 99 cents instead of their usual $1.50, and they're
giving members of their "Rewards" program a free set of batteries when they
rent a Game Boy Color system.
This has nothing to do with video games, but in a recent feature on
Comedy Central's The Daily Show, a Daily Show correspondent harassed people
in Florida after a printing error led to dozens of people mistakenly being
marked "deceased" on their W2 forms. Here's what the correspondent said to
a man at the printing facility.
Daily Show: How many people died as a result of this incident?
Man (puzzled): None.
Daily Show: Then how do you explain the X's in the "deceased" columns?
Man: It was a mis-alignment in the printers. The printer made a mistake.
Daily Show: And this ended up killing people?
Man: No, I told you, nobody died.
Daily Show: If you're so innocent, why won't you admit that you're not?
Man: Innocent of what?
Daily Show: You tell me.
Master Gamer, along with dozens of other members of the video game press,
recently got an e-mail from Sonic the Hedgehog. While it is likely that
the e-mail was actually written by a human and not a polygonal video game
character, I really did get the following meaningless e-mail from an
address at Sega:
"Hello!
I've been chilling at the Emerald Coast where the weather is great! If you
get a copy of Sonic Adventure, you can check this place out too.
Unfortunately, I can't seem to find Tails anywhere, so I guess I'll head
back to the Station Square Hotel. By the way, Amy introduced me to this
bird she found....cute little guy (She's not so bad herself!). I'd love to
stay and chat, but I've got to run--and at 60 frames per second, that's
pretty taxing work!
Take Care,
Sonic the Hedgehog"
If you want to get in touch with a sweaty man in a Sonic outfit... er,
I mean Sonic the Hedgehog, you can do so by sending an e-mail to
sonic@sega.com
In the period between August 15 and August 21, the best-selling
PlayStation games were:
1. WWF Attitude (click on the blue text for a review of the game)
2. Madden NFL 2000
3. Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver
4. NFL GameDay 2000
5. Driver
6. NCAA Football 2000
7. Final Fantasy 7
8. Gran Turismo
9. The Need For Speed 3
10. Spyro the Dragon
In the period between August 15 and August 21, the best-selling N64
games were:
1. Pokemon Snap (also the #1-renting game on the market)
2. Mario Golf
3. Super Smash Bros.
4. Monster Truck Madness
5. Goldeneye 007
6. NFL Blitz 2000
7. In-Fisherman's Bass Hunter 64
8. Rugrats: Scavenger Hunt
9. Mario Party
10. Super Mario 64
In the period between August 15 and August 21, the best-selling PC games
were:
1. Half-Life
2. Starfleet Command
3. System Shock 2
4. RollerCoaster Tycoon
5. Rainbow Six Gold Pack
6. Cabela's Big Game Hunter 2
7. Drakan: Order of the Flame
8. The Need For Speed 3
9. Sim City 3000
10. Tomb Raider 2
Sources for news: Fastest Game News Online, GameSpot, GameFan, Blue's News,
GI News, Next Generation Online, Adrenaline Vault, The Magic Box, Happy
Puppy, PSX 2 Online, IGNPSX, IGN 64, Nintendorks, The Sega Zone, Sega Otaku,
Gaming Age, www.hamsterdance.com
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