Master Gamer News

November 17, 2000
   Sega of Japan has announced plans to license the Dreamcast chipset to 
manufacturers of DVD players and set-top boxes.  If, for example, a 
particular DVD player included the Dreamcast chipset, it would be capable of
playing Dreamcast games.  The main benefit for Sega is not the up-front
licensing revenue, it's the fact that there will be a lot more devices in 
consumer homes that are capable of playing Dreamcast games.  Sega of America
may or may not adopt the strategy of its parent company.  A Sega of America 
spokesperson simply said, "It's a Japan thing."    
   In addition, Sega of America's Charles Bellfield says that the Dreamcast 
technology can easily be upgraded with improved CPUs and graphics chips in 
addition to more RAM.  Still, when asked if he was referring to some sort of
Dreamcast 2, Bellfield replied, "That implies the old, console way of 
thinking, and we're moving beyond that."
   Whatever you call the enhanced Dreamcasts that will eventually be 
released, the question on everyone's mind is, "Will games specifically 
designed on enhanced Dreamcast hardware be able to run on the current 
Dreamcast."  Sega refuses to answer this question other than to say that 
"it is entirely within the realm of possibility."  

   TopWare's PC game Earth 2150 has been generating quite a bit of 
controversy in the past few days for its voice-overs, which allegedly 
belittle and make fun of African-Americans.  The game's publisher, SSI, 
claims that before the game was finished, "We alerted TopWare about the 
offensive nature of these voice files and demanded that they be removed.  
They were supposed to have done so, and during the testing of our gold 
master candidate, we didn't find them."
   TopWare has a decidedly different take on the matter, essentially saying 
that there was no reason to remove the voice-overs because they're not 
racist.  TopWare Susanne Kiel says, "There was never any intention 
whatsoever to degrade, belittle, offend, or make fun of any ethnic groups 
whatsoever... our instructions to the voice actor were: 'Use your own voice,
but remember you're in a battle, so be sure to speak loud and rather 
aggressively.'"
   Kiel continues, "We did not attempt to do an African-American voice.  It 
just so happens that the voice actor is African-American, and it just so 
happens that he has a high-pitched voice.  Although we feel that there are 
limits to political correctness, we have already made arrangements, in 
cooperation with our publisher, to re-record the voice, re-master, and issue
a patch for all existing users who feel offended."  
   Kiel went on to rip into the video game industry for being hypocritical 
about such matters.  She said, "In many games, the bad guy, particularly if 
he's a soldier or officer, speaks with a German accent.  Being a German 
company, we are certainly the last people who would want to promote any 
stereotypes."

   3dfx has exited the graphics-card manufacturing business.  The 
manufacturing of 3dfx's future products will be handled by outside companies
rather than being handled internally.  Two years ago when 3dfx was on top of
the graphics industry, it moved to self-manufacturing and turned its back on
the companies that helped take it the top, including Creative Labs and 
Diamond Multimedia.  Diamond has since gone out of business, and Creative 
Labs is now one of the biggest allies of the current market leader, Nvidia.
   3dfx has also made it clear that through its acquisition of GigaPixel, it
hopes that one of its chips will eventually find its way into a video game 
console.  3dfx was almost the graphics-chip supplier for the Dreamcast, but 
Sega ended up choosing NEC instead.  In much the same way, GigaPixel was 
almost the graphics-chip supplier for the Xbox, but Microsoft ended up 
choosing Nvidia instead.
   3dfx's Nayan Patel admits, "In the past, we've put out a lot of 
expectations and have failed to meet them.  We have a big black eye in terms
of our ability to execute, and we know that."  Where would 3dfx be today if 
it hadn't turned its back on Creative Labs and Diamond two years ago?

   Crave Entertainment has been undergoing massive cutbacks.  Crave has laid
off 20 percent of its US work-force and closed down its European division 
entirely.  The next major US project from Crave is Soldier of Fortune for 
the Dreamcast, a port of the ultra-violent PC first-person shooter.  
   Rumors abound that Crave will drop the publishing rights to this game.  
Crave claims that it still plans on publishing SOF for the Dreamcast, but it
will be doing so in March 2001 rather than this fall.  Whether Crave 
publishes it or not, all of the online capabilities have been removed from 
the DC version of the game.

   Sega has announced a new Dreamcast bundle called the Smash Pack, which 
will be released in January for the price of $180.  The Smash Pack contains 
a Dreamcast console, one controller, the Dreamcast version of Virtua Cop 2 
(which has never been released in the US), and ten Sega Genesis games that 
will be playable on the Dreamcast.  
   The ten Genesis games are: Altered Beast, Columns, Golden Axe, Phantasy 
Star 2, Revenge of Shinobi, Shining Force, Sonic the Hedgehog, Streets of 
Rage 2, Vectorman, and Wrestle War.  Sega has not yet announced whether 
current Dreamcast owners will be able to buy the collection of Genesis games
separately.

   In a conversation about Working Designs' future games, the company's 
president Victor Ireland recently said, "Of course, Lunar 3's out there, 
too, but we can't really talk about the details of that yet... but I'm sure 
people will be dying to know about the next game once they finish Lunar 2."
The Lunar series' Japanese developer, GameArts, previously said that they 
would develop Grandia 3 before even considering Lunar 3.  Hopefully, the 
company's plans have changed in the time since that statement was made.

   Microsoft has dropped the publishing rights to the upcoming PC game, 
Conquest: Frontier Wars.  The game is being developed by Digital Anvil, 
which was founded by the creators of the Wing Commander series.  Microsoft's
original announcement was that work on the almost-complete game would cease 
completely and that the developers would be assigned to different projects, 
but the company has now agreed to let Digital Anvil search for a new 
publisher.

   Sierra has announced that Half-Life is being ported to the PlayStation 2 
by Gearbox Studios, which is already developing the Dreamcast version of the
game.  The PS2 version will supposedly contain both single-player and multi-
player modes, and it's set for release in the second quarter of 2001 (April,
May, or June).  On a related note, the PC release of Team Fortress 2 is 
still nowhere near ready for release.  It's not due out until March 2001 at 
the absolute earliest, and probably much later.

   Microsoft has launched the Independent Developer Program for the Xbox.  
Game designers who can't afford an Xbox development kit can get an "Xbox 
Protype Kit" (essentially a mini development kit) for free.  Designers are 
then free to submit their game prototypes to publishers with the hope of 
eventually getting a full development kit if a particular publisher likes 
what it sees.

   Interact has released a peripheral that will allow gamers to download 
roster updates in the PlayStation 1 version of Madden NFL 2001.  Called 
"Football Midseason Update," this peripheral has a suggested retail price of
$10.  In addition, owners of Interact's Dex Drive will be able to download 
roster updates without having to buy Football Midseason Update.  Dex Drive 
owners can download updated rosters every week at gameshark.com.

   Nintendo has released a Christmas-themed poem that takes a few shots at 
Sony.  The vast majority of the poem simply hypes Nintendo's upcoming 
products, but the beginning of the poem says:
     'Twas the month before Christmas and all through the nation,
     Gamers gave up on that brand new PlayStation,
     The orders were stacked up at retail with care,
     But the merchants all knew Sony wouldn't be there

   Capcom has announced that Resident Evil: Code Veronica will be released 
for the American PlayStation 2 in May 2001.  The PS2 version of the game 
will feature dialogue, cut-scenes, and locations that were cut from the 
original version of the game that was released on the Dreamcast.  The 
updated version of the game will also be released for the Dreamcast in 
Japan, but the DC version may or may not make the trip across the Pacific.

   Roy Conrad, who was one of the voice actors in the classic PC game Full 
Throttle, has been afflicted with cancer.  If you enjoyed Roy's performance 
as Ben in Full Throttle and would like to send him some words of 
encouragement, the address is:
     Roy Conrad
     c/o Bobby Ball Talent Agency
     4342 Lankershim Blvd.
     Universal City, CA  91602

   Origin has announced plans to revamp Ultima Online with an upgrade called
Third Dawn.  Set for retail release in early 2001, Third Dawn will introduce
polygonal graphics and a new continent to the world of Ultima Online.  If 
your computer isn't powerful enough to handle the graphics of Third Dawn, 
you'll still be able to play with the current old-school graphics (the only 
thing you won't be able to do is explore the new continent).  This project is
separate from Ultima Online 2, which will be released in mid-to-late 2001.

   German officials are unhappy with a PC game called Invasion Deutschland 
because it portrays monsters attacking Germany's Parliament building.  A 
spokesperson said, "This is tasteless.  We would never allow it."  The 
creators of the game at a company called Davilax respond, "It's patriotic...
you defend the fatherland against the monsters."

   Working Designs has announced the full contents of the Lunar 2 package, 
which is set for release in "late November."  The package will contain three
game CDs, a "Making of Lunar 2" CD, a soundtrack CD with 73 minutes of music
from the game, a hard-bound instruction manual, a map of the game world, a 
mini-poster, a replica of Lucia's pendant in a cloth pouch, and 17 character
mini-standees.

   Microsoft has introduced a referral program for its online RPG, Asheron's
Call.  If you're an Asheron's Call subscriber and you refer a friend to the 
game between November 14 and January 8, you will get a free month of 
Asheron's Call gameplay as soon as your friend signs up.  Before you start 
thinking about having the game paid off for the next eight years, I should 
mention that the limit for this promotion is three free months.  Still, it's
a smart program that will hopefully boost membership totals for Asheron's 
Call closer to the level of EverQuest and Ultima Online.

   Capcom has announced the next game from Resident Evil producer Shinji 
Mikami.  Entitled Devil May Cry, Mikami's next project is an action game for
the PlayStation 2.  The game focuses on supernatural things like 
poltergeists and people who are possessed by demons.  Devil May Cry is due 
out in late 2001.

   Konami and Universal Interactive Studios have revealed the developer of 
the next Crash Bandicoot game, and it's not good news for hardcore gamers.  
The developer is Traveler's Tales, the company behind several crappy Disney 
action/platform games and one of the worst games of all time, Rascal.
Meanwhile, Universal still hasn't announced the developer of the next Spyro 
game.

DELAYS
Soldier of Fortune for Dreamcast
old release date: Fall 2000
new release date: March 2001

The Settlers 4 for PC
old release date: Fall 2000
new release date: January 2001

NEWS BRIEFS
   Nintendo claims that over 550,000 copies of Zelda: Majora's Mask have 
been sold in the US.  In addition, over 2.9 million copies of Pokemon Gold 
and Silver have been sold in the US.  Nintendo's goal is to sell ten million
copies of Pokemon Gold and Silver by March 2001.

   Interplay has announced that a Baldur's Gate game will be released for 
the PlayStation 2 sometime in 2001.  This game may or may not be a port of 
Baldur's Gate 2.  Interplay claims that it has yet to make a final decision 
on the matter.

   The developers of EverQuest at Verant Interactive have announced a new PC
game called Planetside.  Due out in late 2001, Planetside is a first-person
shooter with a twist: It's a persistent-world, massively multi-player game.

   Believe it or not, Crave Entertainment has signed the worldwide 
publishing rights for games based on Razor scooters.  The first game based 
on the license is due out for the PlayStation 1 before the end of this year.

   Sega of Japan has announced a new game called Segagaga, in which players 
take on the role of Sega's CEO and try to make Sega the top video game 
company in the world.  No plans have been announced to bring the game to the
US, and in all likelihood, it will probably never happen.

   Konami is blaming Sony for the reduced profits it will post this year.  
Konami claims that due to the much-publicized PlayStation 2 shortages, 
the company's net profit for 2000 will be $107 million, which is down from 
the $129 million profit of 1999.

   Jaleco has picked up the US publishing rights to the Dreamcast survival 
horror game Illbleed, which Sega dropped from its line-up earlier this year.

   A holiday promotion fort he Dreamcast is currently underway at 
thevideogamestore.com.  For the same price as a PS2 system ($300), you can 
buy a Dreamcast system with two controllers, one memory card, and three 
games (NFL 2K1, Shenmue, and Soul Calibur).

   Infogrames' annual revenue has gone from $91 million to $39 million in 
the past year, but the company has also lowered its expenses drastically.  
The company's bottom line was a $57 million loss in 1999 and will be 
recorded as a $15 million loss in 2000.

   The 4th Annual Interactive Entertainment Awards will take place in March 
of next year rather than May.  In the first three years of the award show's 
existence, it took place during the E3 show in May.  This year, it will be 
held separately from E3.

   The NPD Group has announced that Dreamcast sales were actually up 25 
percent in the days surrounding the PlayStation 2's US launch.  The N64 
experienced a smaller, but still noticeable increase in sales (seven 
percent).

   Now that Tony Hawk 2 is out on the Dreamcast, the DC version of the 
original Tony Hawk has seen a reduction in price.  The new suggested retail 
price for the game is $20.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK
Frank O'Connor, on the final edition of the Next Generation disc, in a mock 
developer interview:
   "Many people who are coding on the PlayStation and Saturn and machines 
like that like to do polygons, but we decided that better than polygons 
would be to fake polygons using sprites.  We take four polygons, remove all 
the three-dimensional attributes, replace them with sprites, and bring the 
sprites back together into a cube.  And then we simply assemble millions and
millions of these sprite-cubes until they have a 3D appearance.  This is 
more efficient on our processing ability... and, uh... also I don't know how
to do polygons..."

SALES CHARTS
   The following sales charts are based on unit sales for the week of 
November 5 to 11.

Top Ten Best-Selling Games For All Systems
1. Shenmue for Dreamcast
2. Pokemon Silver for Game Boy Color
3. Pokemon Gold for Game Boy Color
4. Zelda: Majora's Mask for Nintendo 64
5. NBA 2K1 for Dreamcast
6. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 for Dreamcast
7. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 for PlayStation (click on the blue text for 
Master Gamer's review of the game)
8. The World Is Not Enough for Nintendo 64
9. Madden NFL 2001 for PlayStation 2
10.Madden NFL 2001 for PlayStation

Top Three Best-Selling Games For Each Individual System

PlayStation 2
-Madden NFL 2001, Tekken Tag Tournament, NASCAR 2001

Dreamcast
-Shenmue, NBA 2K1, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2

PlayStation
-Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, Madden NFL 2001, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater

Nintendo 64
-Zelda: Majora's Mask, The World Is Not Enough, Hey You Pikachu (this game 
is #3 on the N64 list despite the fact that its average retail price is $81)

PC
-Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2, RollerCoaster Tycoon, The Sims

   The following is a list of old games that are currently among the top ten
best-sellers for their respective systems:
-Sonic Adventure for Dreamcast
-Tony Hawk's Pro Skater for PlayStation
-Gran Turismo 2 for PlayStation
-Driver for PlayStation
-Tekken 3 for PlayStation
-Star Wars Episode I: Racer for Nintendo 64
-Star Wars: Rogue Squadron for Nintendo 64
-RollerCoaster Tycoon for PC
-The Sims for PC

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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