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December 10, 1999 Sega has sold two things to CRI that I think you'll find very interesting. They sold Shenmue's publishing rights to CRI, and they sold their entire AM2 division to CRI. AM2 is the division of Sega that developed the Virtua Fighter series and Daytona USA. AM2 is currently working on Shenmue, and after that they're going to be working on Virtua Fighter 4 for the Dreamcast. This news comes after lots of internal bickering took place within Sega's numerous arcade divisions when Sega made the transition from the Model 3 arcade board to the newer, Dreamcast- compatible Naomi arcade board. Final Fantasy 8 was expected to be one of the best-selling games of the year, but right now it's not even among the top ten best-selling games for the PlayStation, much less one of the best-selling for any system. Likewise, Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun was expected to be one of the best-selling PC games of the year, and right now it's not even in the top ten. However, both games racked up impressive sales before falling off the charts (FF8 with a million copies sold and Tiberian Sun with several hundred thousand copies sold). Square has confirmed that Final Fantasy 9 does indeed exist, and it's being developed for the PlayStation 1. However, FF9 won't be released in Japan until mid-2000 so that its sales aren't hurt by Dragon Quest 7 (because we all know that nobody in Japan ever spends more than $40 at once for any reason). If it won't be released in Japan until mid-2000, that means it probably won't be released in the US until 2001. In a separate announcement, Square claimed that they are going to have a Final Fantasy game ready for the PlayStation 2's Japanese launch on March 4, 2000. If the Final Fantasy game for the PS2 is being released before the next Final Fantasy game for the PS1, shouldn't the PS2 game be called Final Fantasy 9 and the PS1 game Final Fantasy 10? Nintendo has announced that they are not going to publicly unveil the Dolphin until August 2000 at their annual Space World show. This means that the system won't be shown at next year's E3 show, and it should also erase any doubt that may be left in your mind that the system will be delayed. Contrary to what was previously believed, Evolution will not be the only RPG released for the Dreamcast this year. Barring any last-minute delays, Hudson Soft is going to release a Dreamcast RPG called Elemental Gimmick Gear for the Dreamcast this year. Unfortunately, like Evolution, Elemental Gimmick Gear looks pretty bad. Bandai has announced that they are bringing their portable gaming system, the Wonder Swan, to the US in late 2000. Bandai says that the system will somehow be link-able to the PlayStation and PlayStation 2. In addition, Square is bringing several of its classic games to the system, most notably Final Fantasy 1 and Secret of Mana. Capcom has delayed the Dreamcast version of Street Fighter Alpha 3 until early 2000 in order to give the game some network capabilities. You still won't be able to play the game against other people across the nation, but you will be able to upload and download characters that have been built up in the World Tour portion of the game. Sega has revealed the first step in its plan to make games downloadable through video game consoles. Over 300 Genesis and Turbo-Grafix 16 games will be downloadable through Japanese Dreamcasts starting in February 2000, starting with such classics as Sonic the Hedgehog, Outrun, and Pac-Man. The games will range in price from $1 to $3, and supposedly the downloading process only takes a few minutes. No US plans have been made yet, but it seems inevitable that this concept will make its way to the US if it proves to be successful in Japan. VM Labs has renamed their frequently-delayed "multimedia machine" once again. First it was called Project X, then Nuon, and now DVD-N2000 (probably with the vague hope that someone somewhere will mistake it for Nintendo's next system, which used to be called N2000). The system is scheduled for a spring 2000 release, but then again it was also scheduled for a 1998 release at one point. The DVD-N2000 will be able to play DVD movies, audio CDs, and video games that are specifically developed for the system. Unfortunately, the system will cost $500, and it has almost no third-party support whatsoever. Hmm... a $500 launch price and no third- party support... sounds like a winner to me! NEWS BRIEFS In addition to the previously announced Resident Evil game for the PlayStation 2, Capcom has announced that they are working on Dino Crisis 2 for the PlayStation 2. Another PlayStation 2 sequel that's in development is Medal of Honor 2 from Dreamworks Interactive. The latest word on Gran Turismo 2 is that it will, in fact, be released before Christmas, despite previous rumors that it would be delayed until early 2000. Supposedly, the game is done and is being manufactured right now. An executive at Electronic Arts previously said that EA is planning on having ten games ready at the PlayStation 2's launch, but these projections are reportedly being scaled back. Rumor has it that Square is now planning on having around four games ready at the PS2's launch. Eidos Interactive previously said that they would be releasing a Dreamcast version of Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver in January. Eidos now says that the Dreamcast version of the game will be released before Christmas. Take-Two Interactive will publish a PlayStation version of the PC game Railroad Tycoon 2 in January. Two highly-anticipated Dreamcast games have been given exact US release dates. Resident Evil: Code Veronica is now set for a March 14 release, and Seaman is set for a March 31 release. SALES CHARTS In the two-week period between October 31 and November 13, the top ten best-selling games for all systems were: 1. Pokemon Yellow for Game Boy Color 2. Pokemon Red for Game Boy 3. Pokemon Blue for Game Boy 4. Pokemon Pinball for Game Boy Color 5. Resident Evil 3: Nemesis for PlayStation (click on the blue text for Master Gamer's review of the game) 6. Pokemon Snap for Nintendo 64 7. NBA 2K for Dreamcast 8. Knockout Kings 2000 for PlayStation 9. Crash Team Racing for PlayStation 10.Tony Hawk's Pro Skater for PlayStation On a points basis (with the first-place game earning its system ten points, the second-place game earning its system nine points, and so on), the Game Boy Color and Game Boy tied for first place with 17 points apiece, followed by the PlayStation with 12 points, the Nintendo 64 with five points, and the Dreamcast with four points. You can see the top-selling PlayStation games in the list above, and here are the top-sellers for the Dreamcast, Nintendo 64, and PC (in order from #1 to #3). Dreamcast: NBA 2K, NFL 2K, and WWF Attitude Nintendo 64: Pokemon Snap, Army Men: Sarge's Heroes, and WCW/NWO Revenge (which is now selling at an average price of $13) PC: RollerCoaster Tycoon, Delta Force 2, and Age of Empires 2 The following is a list of old games that are still among the top ten best-sellers for their respective systems: Spyro the Dragon, Gran Turismo, WCW/NWO Revenge, Mario Kart 64, and Goldeneye 007 A hilariously pathetic sales chart to look at is the list of the top ten best-selling fighting games on the PC. Like most PC fighting games, the top ten all have three things in common: They're old, they suck, and their average retail price is $15 or less. Here is the list, with each game's average retail price in parenthesis. 1. WCW Nitro ($10) 2. WWF Wrestlemania ($10) 3. Rise of the Robots 2 ($3) 4. Tribal Rage ($8) 5. Mortal Kombat Trilogy ($10) 6. Virtua Fighter 2 ($4) 7. Ultra Fighters ($10) 8. Last Brox ($9) 9. X-Men: Children of the Atom ($8) 10.Street Fighter Alpha 2 ($15) The best-selling video game accessory on the market is Sega's VMU for the Dreamcast. Interact's Dreamcast controller (the Astro Pad) is actually out-selling Sega's own Dreamcast controller due to very limited supplies of Sega's controller. Sources for news: Fastest Game News Online, GameSpot, GameFan, Blue's News, GI News, Next Generation, Adrenaline Vault, The Magic Box, Happy Puppy, PSX 2 Online, IGNPSX, IGN 64, Nintendorks, The Sega Zone, Sega Otaku, Gaming Age, The NPD Group, www.hamsterdance.com
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