Castlevania 2 Details Emerge

Konami releases new information regarding the sequel to Castlevania for N64.

May 10, 1999

The semi-sequel to Castlevania for Nintendo 64 is called Castlevania Special Edition according to Konami Entertainment. The game tracks the adventures of Kohnel, a young werewolf out to meet up with everyone's most-feared vampire, Dracula himself. Oddly enough, the backbone storyline for the game takes place in a time before the arrival of either Reinhardt Schneider or Carrie Fernandez when Dracula was just a budding bloodsucker. And, even more strange, our werewolf main character is unsure as to whether or not he must find the head vampire in order to kill him or serve him.

The game, developed by KCEK (which created last year's game), is said to use a slightly modified version of the engine used for Castlevania 64, meaning it takes place, once again, in 3D via polygons. The werewolf main character of the title, Kohnel, was one of the extra selectable personalities scheduled for the original title, but was cut at the last minute because Konami opted to iron out the storyline and gameplay for Reinhardt Schneider and Carrie Fernandez instead.

It is not yet known whether Special Edition features any of the characters present in last year's game, or just how much of the title is original. The title is scheduled to release this fall.

IGN64 will have more on the game during E3.

Courtesy IGN64.com

 

Omega Boost

Publisher: Sony
Developer: Polyphony
Players: 1
Released: 04/99

Thanks largely to 3D shooters such as Sega's Panzer Dragoon series, the shooter is officially back in style, after a long drought following the 16-bit era's market saturation. While initially more visceral than any similar game on the market, Omega Boost ultimately falls short in playability, style, and longevity.

As Japanese logic would dictate, you suit up in a large humanoid robot and fly through several missions to defeat an evil galactic empire bent on destroying humanity. As shooter logic dictates, you are humanity's only hope for survival. Omega Boost takes the formula established by Panzer Dragoon and, in the words of chef Emeril Legasse, kicks it up a notch. While your general movement is confined to the "rails" in each level, you have more freedom of movement than in any other game in this vein. The Omega Boost robot has two modes of movement: straight and scanning. Straight movement is like that of any other 3D shooter, always moving forward. Scanning movement lets you maneuver around an object in full 3D. Tapping the mode change button will turn you to face any imminent danger that may be approaching, an extremely useful tool for tackling enemies that will ultimately be attacking from above, below, and everywhere in between. Holding the mode change button will let you move along the outside of an invisible sphere, so you move around the huge bosses and deal damage from all sides with ease. In addition to the multiple modes of flight, you have a vulcan rifle with homing shots, lock-on homing lasers, a speed boost, and a few levels into the game, the viper boost, an uncontrollable series of ramming attacks. As in Panzer Dragoon Zwei, your mech is gradually upgraded depending on how well you do in each of the game's nine missions, earning you the viper boost and the ability to lock onto more enemies. In addition to the campaign mode, you can play in a number of customizable challenge levels, essentially ultradifficult versions of the original levels. Bam!

Unfortunately, Omega Boost is ultimately a vapid game - a quick adrenaline rush almost completely lacking depth. Each level consists of only a few waves of enemies and two or three quickly defeated bosses. Tackling the waves of enemies is never difficult; a quick tap of the mode change button locks onto them, while a tap of the attack button releases the homing lasers that will kill them. With a few exceptions, boss battles are equally predictable - lock on and fire, dash out of the way of enemy fire, turn to face the boss, repeat until dead. For any kind of challenge, you will have to wait until the final series of bosses. Omega Boost is a dismally short game; with the exception of the final level, each of the game's levels requires between two and five minutes to complete, resulting in a game that could very well offer nothing new after a few hours of ownership.

Omega Boost's aesthetics are hard to pin down - while technically brilliant, the game simply lacks the assets to really shine visually. Endowed with possibly the most amazing 3D engine to grace a shooter, the game fills the screen with beautiful effects and transparencies. In all but a few of the challenge levels, the engine still manages to keep a constant 60fps frame rate. Much of this gift is wasted, however, as the game is generally lacking in art assets. While the enemies and bosses are nicely constructed and textured, many levels use the void of space or a single texture as their only backdrop, resulting in a game that's lacking visually. Both human actors and CG are used in the expensive-looking FMV sequences that introduce the game and carry the "story" on, but the sequences are generally not too exciting or too short to really be appreciated. Omega Boost's sound is crisp and clear. Rock and techno tunes provide appropriate backdrop to the spastic action, although some of them have humorously corny lyrics for a space shooter.

With more levels and design variety, Omega Boost could've outclassed every other 3D shooter on the market. With so little of either, however, Omega Boost is only a decent game at best.

Score: 6.4
Gameplay: 6
Graphics: 6
Sound: 7
Value: 6
Reviewer's Tilt: 7
Difficulty: Hard
Learning Curve: from 0 to 15 minutes

Courtesy Videogames.com

 

 

Final Fantasy VIII at E3

Square Electronic Arts, L.L.C. in a surprise announcement on Monday afternoon said that it would be showing Final Fantasy VIII for the PC and the PlayStation at this week's E3. The title is expected to release for the PC sometime this winter and will release for the PlayStation this fall. As an added bonus, the company will also be showing Final Fantasy Anthology for the PlayStation, which is scheduled to ship this winter. It offers gamers Final Fantasy V and VI in one package.

FFVIII was released to Japanese gamers back in February and has sold more than 3.3 million copies in one month. The series has sold more than 22 million copies worldwide. Square's oncoming tsunami FFVIII could take the US by storm, as it places gamers in control of Squall, an elite combat-team member who engages in a power struggle with another faction. As Squall makes his way, he'll cross paths with a free-spirited woman named Rinoa Heartily, the sorceress Edea, the instructor Quistis Trepe, and Squall's archrival, Seifer.

"The Final Fantasy franchise has been a game-industry phenomenon in terms of its popularity, and we are thrilled to bring more PC gamers into the fold to share in the excitement of the series," said Jun Iwasaki, president of Square Electronic Arts. "The PC platform has allowed Square's development team to significantly enhance the graphics in this already visually stunning game. Characters' detailed expressions and facial movements will be amazingly lifelike. Final Fantasy VIII promises to become the benchmark for RPGs on the PC."

All the Final Fantasy games for both platforms will be shown during E3 at booth
#1506.

By Micheal Mullen, videogames.com

 

Ehrgeiz

 

I picked this one up yesterday, and I've been playing it pretty much non-stop ever since. Here's an early review.


3D Arena Fighter
Squaresoft
Sony Playstation
2 Players

Graphics: (10) the first thing that strikes me when playing Ehrgeiz is the amazing quality of the graphics. Quite honestly, I think these visuals are even more impressive than those seen in Namco's Tekken 3, and they are at least on par with Soul Blade. The screen and texture resolutions are extremely high, providing the player with a crisp, sharp, detailed image that bests nearly every home fighter I've ever played (with the exception of any DC titles). The character models are solid and intricate, and the backgrounds are generated in real-time polygonal glory second only to SB. And all of this at 60 frames per second! Just imagine Tobal-quality resolution and animation with Soul Blade quality textures, and you're starting to get some idea of just how capable Square has become on this hardware.

Sound/Music: (8) while the music isn't necessarily outstanding, it is more than adequate at all times. Some of the songs are pretty familiar (FFVII anyone?), but I would not put this soundtrack on the same pedestal as Tobal's fine music. The sound effects are pretty much your basic fighting game getup, neither highly impressive nor exceptionally disappointing. Average is a good word for Ehrgeiz in this category.

Control: (7) as one of the most free-roaming fighting games I've ever played, Ehrgeiz emphasizes lots of manic movement and running around. The analog stick functions pefectly to allow full 360 degree directional control at all time. Unfortunately, the button layout is a bit confusing. Alternate settings help out the configuration a bit, but it is hardly the most refined in the genre. Also, the attacks are a little unresponsive. Some might call this predictable, and that worked when I was playing the semi-realistic Tobal. But Ehrgeiz is all about fast paced action, and the game really needed faster controls.

Gameplay: (8) I'm going to be perfectly blunt here: Ehrgeiz is flawed. It isn't the deepest fighting game you'll ever play (far from it in fact), though it is nowhere near the shallow play of an MK title. In a nutshell, you run around like madmen batting each other with an impressive but limited assortment of maneuvers and super attacks. There is no real environment interaction to speak of, and the stages are a little small to begin with. However, the game plays fast and exciting, and the intuitive nature of the controls allows novices to play with the fighting game elite. This is not to say that button smacking will get you anywhere, but the game is definitely of a broader appeal than SFA3. On top of the straight fighting game, Square has also included a variety of entertaining distractions, including a pretty darned cool quest mode and some fun mini-games. In fact, in the quest mode I see the most potential for Square; the graphics are gorgeous, and the ideas behind the gameplay are very cool. The execution leaves something to be desired, but I hope that someday Square sees fit to concentrate on an adventure-style game in the vein of Ehrgeiz's quest mode. And yes, the addition of some FF characters has transformed the lineup from a bunch of a nobody's into a star-studded lineup that is actually fun to play with.

Longevity: (6) there is some hidden stuff that may take a few hours to uncover, and there are a lot of different ways to play the game will all of the different modes. However, the gameplay is ultimately a little too shallow, preventing this one from hanging in there with the big boys (namely Tekken 3 and SFA3) for an extended period of time. Still, the game is a blast when you've got friends to play with (read below). Multiplayer: (8) surprisingly, Ehrgeiz is darned fun with two players! The gameplay is fast, the controls are easy, and the graphics are truly spectacular. The rounds move quickly, and shouting is sure to errupt in a crowded room.<g>

Overall: (8) it ain't perfect, and it ain't no Tobal 2 (which I hear is quite good), but Ehrgeiz is a quality piece of software that may well be worth the price of admission for those who enjoy a "light" fighting game every now and then.

Rob H.



Infogrames E3 Lineup Revealed

 

Here's a listing of all titles the French publisher is planning to show off atE3.

May 11, 1999

French publisher Infogrames today announced its complete lineup of titles, to be shown at the upcoming Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles. Infogrames is planning to unveil a total of 35 games during the course of the show.

Infogrames' lineup will include nine titles for the Sony PlayStation, six for PC systems, four for the Nintendo 64, eight for Game Boy Color, three for Sega Dreamcast and five for additional platforms or the Internet.

"We'll have a great roster of A-plus titles this year at E3, headlined by `Looney Tunes' and `Outcast' and bolstered by the addition of the Test Drive franchise," said Jim Barnett, president and chief executive officer, Infogrames North America. "We're poised to make the show a strong launch pad for the future."

The full lineup of titles is as follows:

Bugs Bunny Lost in Time (PlayStation) Summer 1999
Taz Express (Nintendo 64) Spring 2000
Duck Dodgers (Nintendo 64) Winter 1999
Carrot Crazy (Game Boy Color) Available
TWOUBLE (Game Boy Color) Available
Collector Series (Game Boy Color) Winter 1999
Outcast (PC) Fall 1999
Outcast (Sega Dreamcast) Summer 2000
Silver (PC) Fall 1999
Mission: Impossible (PlayStation) Fall 1999
Mission: Impossible (Nintendo 64) Available
Eagle One (PlayStation) Fall 1999
Independence War II (PC) Fall 2000
Independence War Deluxe Edition: Defiance (PC) Fall 1999
Alone in the Dark 4 (Dreamcast) Fall 2000
Heart of Darkness (iMac) Fall 1999
Supreme Snowboarding (PC) Fall 1999
Supreme Snowboarding (Sega Dreamcast) Fall 1999
Supreme Snowboarding (Game Boy Color) Winter 1999
Brazil V-Soccer (PlayStation) Spring 2000
V-Rally Edition '99 (Nintendo 64) Spring 1999
V-Rally (Game Boy Color) Spring 1999
Demolition Racer (PlayStation) Fall 1999
Demolition Racer (PC) Fall 1999
Test Drive 6 (PlayStation) Fall 1999
Test Drive 6 (PC) Fall 1999
Test Drive 6 (Sega Dreamcast) Fall 1999
Test Drive 6 (Game Boy Color) Fall 1999
Test Drive Off-Road 3 (PlayStation) Fall 1999
Test Drive Off-Road 3 (PC) Fall 1999
Test Drive Off-Road 3 (Game Boy Color) Fall 1999
Smurfs Nightmare (Game Boy Color) Summer 1999
Klustar (Game Boy Color) Summer 1999
Lucky Luke(Game Boy Color) Summer 1999

Courtesy IGN64.com





PSX games on display at E3

More than 170 PSX games will be on display at E3 starting Thursday morning. Here's the list so far.

May 11, 1999

We're killing ourselves getting ready for the most important week in the videogame industry: the Electronic Entertainment Expo. Hundreds of companies will have booths to show off thousands of PlayStation, N64, Dreamcast, PC, Mac, and Gameboy games -- so we've got our work cut out for us.

So you can see how much work is truly involved in covering such a mammoth show, we've compiled a list of confirmed titles that will be announced and/or on display in Los Angeles this Thursday through Saturday. The following list is alphabetized by publisher.

3DO

Crusaders of Might and Magic
High Heat Baseball 2000
Army Men Sarge's Heroes
Army Men Air Attack
Vegas Games 2000

989 Studios

NFL Extreme 2
Twisted Metal 4
Jet Moto 3
Xena Warrior Princess
Okouden
Bust A Groove 2

ASC Games

Jeff Gordon Racing
TNN Hardcore 4x4 II

Acclaim

Shadowman
RC Revolt
South Park
Armorines
WWF Attitude
Jeremy McGrath Supercross 2000

Accolade

Test Drive 6
Test Drive Off Road 3
Test Drive: Cycles
Demolition Racer

Activision

Quake 2
Vigilante 8: Second Offense
Space Invaders
Tony Hawk's Pro Skateboarder
Wu Tang Clan
X-Men
Toy Story II
Nightmare Creatures II

AGETEC

R-Type Delta
Bass Landing
Rising Zan
Clock Tower II
Fighter Maker
Echo Night

Atlus

Thousand Arms
Bomberman Fantasy Race

Bandai

Macross Digital

Capcom

Dino Crisis
Resident Evil: Nemesis
Trick 'n Snowboarding
JoJo's Venture
The Misadventures of Tron Bonne

Crave

Jade Cocoon
Shadow Madness

EA Sports

Madden NFL 2000
Tiger Woods PGA 2000
Knockout Kings 2000
Nascar 2000
NCAA Football 2000
NHL 2000
NBA Live 2000
FIFA 2000

Eidos

Fear Factor
Omikron
Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver
Urban Chaos
Saboteur
Fighting Force 2

Electronic Arts

Warpath: Jurassic Park
Hot Wheels
Sled Storm
Tomorrow Never Dies
Road Rash 2000
Medal of Honor
WCW Mayhem


Fox Interactive

Die Hard Trilogy 2
Croc 2
Alien Resurrection
Planet of the Apes
Fox Sports NHL Championship 2000
Fox Sports Pro Basketball 2000

GT Interactive

Animorphs
Driver
40 Winks

Hasbro

Scrabble
Q*bert
Missile Command
Worms Armageddon
Action Man
The Next Tetris
Pong
Cat Dog
Glover

Infogrames

Bugs Bunny Lost in Time
Viper
Mission Impossible
Test Drive: Le Mans
Eagle One
V-Soccer

Interplay

Carmageddon 2: Carpocalypse Now
Wild Water World Racing

Konami

NHL Blades of Steel 2000
NBA In the Zone 2000
Major League Soccer 2000
Fisherman's Bait 2
Konami Rally
Vandal Hearts 2
Suikoden 2
Soul of the Samurai
Konami Arcade Classics
Metal Gear Solid VR Special Edition

Lucas Arts

Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace
Star Wars Episode 1: Racer
Indiana Jones and the Inferno Machine

Mindscape

Panzer General
Chessmaster Millenium
Rat Attack

Midway

Blitz 2000
Ready 2 Rumble
Jackie Chan Stuntmaster
RC Stunt Copter
Gauntlet Legends
Midway Arcade Pack III
Hydro Thunder

Namco

Ace Combat 3
R4
Pac Man World 20th Anniversary
Dragon Valor

Natsume

Reel Fishing

Psygnosis

Colony Wars Red Sun
Destruction Derby 3
Rollcage Extreme
Wipeout 3
Team Buddies
Motocross Madness
G-Police 2

Rockstar/Take 2

Grand Theft Auto 2
KISS: Psycho Circus
Railroad Tycoon 2
Thrasher: Skate and Destroy
Darkstone
Spec Ops

Sony

Spyro 2
Crash Team Racing
Gran Turismo 2
Bloody Roar 2
Um Jammer Lammy
Disney's Tarzan
Tiny Tank
Grandia

Square

Final Fantasy VIII
Final Fantasy Anthology
Chocobo Racing
Saga Frontier 2

THQ

Danger Girl
Shao Lin
Bass Fishing Classic: Championship Edition
Ultimate 8 Ball
Brunswick Circuit Pro Bowling
Rugrats 2

Titus

Evil Zone
Superman
Blues Brothers 2000
Top Gun

Tecmo

Monster Rancher 2
Gallop Racer
Ninja Gaiden * (might not be for PlayStation)

Ubi Soft

Rayman 2
All Star Tennis
Monaco Grand Prix

Working Designs

Lunar: Complete
Silhouette Mirage
Lunar: Eternal Blue
Slayer's II

Courtesy IGN.PSX.com






PSX2 Chip in Spotlight


Sony so badly wants its next-generation game console to offer a superrealistic "virtual reality" experience, the company will design and build its own advanced 128-bit processor to realize this goal. Processors inside game consoles usually toil away in obscurity, derided as poor cousins to desktop chips, such as Intel's Pentium line. But with Sony Computer Entertainment's ambitious plan, its chips could outclass the offerings of the world's largest chipmaker--if all goes well.

To keep up with the heavy graphics demands of video games, the new PlayStation will rely on a 128-bit chip based on core technology from MIPS and manufactured under a joint venture with Toshiba. This new main processor, called the Emotion Engine, will run at 300 MHz. It also has the 32-bit processor from the first-generation PlayStation attached alongside of it on the same piece of silicon so it can play older games.  Another key component to the upcoming PlayStation is a separate graphics chip, dubbed the Graphics Synthesizer, which has 4MB of memory integrated and runs at 150 MHz.

"Embedded chips used to be the ugly stepchild of the processor industry [and] used to be built on trailing-edge manufacturing processes," said Jim Turley, senior analyst with MicroDesign Resources, at the Embedded Processor Forum in San Jose, California. However, these chips are starting to close the gap, most notably in the case of Sony's two upcoming offerings. The system is so advanced, MicroDesign Resources analyst Keith Diefendorff wrote in a report, that the system "has the potential to swipe a chunk of the low-end market from under the noses of PC vendors." According to Diefendorff, the platform may "signal the company's intention to move upscale from current game consoles, cutting a wider swath through the living room" with its abilities to function as a stand-alone DVD player and Internet set-top box.

But despite all the computing power offered by the chip--it has the ability to crunch three times the number of floating point calculations as a Pentium II 500-MHz chip, Sony claims--Sony says it isn't interested in exploring other uses for the chip outside of the home entertainment market. For instance, Sony doesn't appear interested in selling the chip to other companies for other uses. All of this technology comes at a significant cost, though, and because of the use of such advanced production technology, analysts question whether Sony and Toshiba can deliver on their promise to ship systems in Japan by March of 2000. Sony executives, however, aren't expressing concern.

Sony said it needs a lot of computing power to create a compelling experience for users, and that will be done at "any cost." Phil Harrison, vice president of research and development at Sony Computer Entertainment, demonstrated at the  Embedded Processor Forum realistic scenes, such as ripples on glassy water, large numbers of complicated 3D objects moving about, and real-time "morphing" of graphical characters similar to that first seen in the movie Terminator 2. Harrison noted that the special effects in that film required millions of dollars worth of specialized workstations. "We now have done [those effects] with nearly the same quality in a low-cost consumer device," Harrison said.

How Sony will offer the device at a low cost is a mystery to some analysts. MicroDesign Resources estimates that the chip will cost about $100 to produce. Including the cost of the DVD drive, the IEEE 1394 and USB connection ports, a modem, digital surround-sound capabilities, and other materials, MicroDesign Resource said in a report that the PlayStation 2 will likely cost more than $300 to manufacture. "We don't care about the cost of the chips. Cost is a secondary issue," said a senior Sony engineer at the Embedded Processor Forum. While admitting that the chip, if purchased from a third-party manufacturer, would cost around $200 to $300, Sony is cutting out the middleman by making the chips itself. The cost issue will be resolved over time by making the chips using ever-more advanced manufacturing processes that yield more chips per silicon wafer, executives said. Eventually, the companies hope to make two million chips per month.

Analysts note that the game industry works on a different business model than the PC industry, so cost may indeed ultimately be a secondary issue. Game makers typically plan on losing money initially on hardware sales, while making most money from software royalties.



Sony's President Talks PS2, EMUs and More

 

Kazuo Hirai, President and COO of Sony Computer Entertainment of America talks to NGO about Sony's hopes for both its PlayStations, its fight with Emulators, and much more.

May 13, 1999

Sony Computer Entertainment America kicked off its 1999 E3 with a whopping display of titles today. At the Sony booth are games like Ape Escape, Bloody Roar II, CTR: Crash Team Racing, Gran Turismo 2, Grandia, Omega Boost, Spyro 2, Star Ocean The Second Story, Tarzan, Tiny Tank, and Um Jammer Lammy, many of which are nearly guaranteed to be blockbuster hits.  With PlayStation software sales still going strong, Sony is in a peculiar position. Having announced its next generation, the company is sitting on an aging technology with an enormous install base. How it will negotiate a 19 million unit market share and a consumer base eager to move on will be one of the most difficult challenges any console manufacturer has ever faced.

And it's a challenge for a company that has never dealt with the transition from old console to next generation.

Though it is the first day of the show, the heart of this trial is already apparent. A booth full of games that look amazing, and Sony is getting most of its show buzz from the PlayStation 2 -- a piece of technology present only in demo form at the front of the booth. Who is developing for the new platform, what they are developing, the price point, its potential success, how it will fare against an increasingly strong looking Dreamcast and the exciting new Dolphin system are all drawing more attention than Gran Turismo 2. Spearheading SCEA's efforts to deal with this peculiar transition will be Kazuo Hirai (known to most as Kaz, which rhymes with Oz), SCEA's President and COO. NGO caught up with Hirai to talk about its transition, its future, its business and those pesky emulators Sony has been filing so many lawsuits against lately.

The President

Hirai started with Sony Music Japan in 1984, fresh out of college, back when it was called CBS Sony. He characterizes his first job with Sony as a "gofer," working in a department that handled non-Japanese CBS acts like Earth, Wind and Fire, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, and Journey (could any list of musicians scream "1984" more forcefully?). After a short time, he moved into Business Affairs and ended up running the department. In what sounds like a lost bet, a drunken prank, or a favor, Hirai was asked in the mid-90's to work in management at Sony Music's crazy new joint venture with Sony Corp., Sony Computer Entertainment, producing a device sure to fail -- the Sony PlayStation. It didn't fail.

In April of this year, Hirai was promoted to the President and COO of SCEA after a stint as Exec. VP and COO.

The PlayStation Business

With the Next Generation PlayStation right around the corner (Japanese trade journals and game mags are reporting that it is a lock for release by March, 2000 in that country), why is Sony promoting its old PlayStation so heavily. With a truly opulent booth, pushing Crash Team Racing like it's the second coming, one has to wonder if all this effort isn't a bit much for a system that will be discarded in just a few months. According to Hirai, Sony continues to promote the PlayStation, and will continue to promote it in the future, because of the console's most trend-bucking feature: backwards compatibility.

"Because of the backwards compatibility, we're able to make those investments and continue to promote the current PlayStation business -- to the trade, to the press and ultimately to the consumers," Hirai tells us. "There's strong message that says 'Hey, we're making the investments. Mr. Publisher, Mr. Developer, Mr. Retailer, and Mr. Consumer, you guys can make those investments as well, with confidence, because of backwards compatibility. It's not going to go by the wayside." Given that, we ask whether Sony will back up its existing PlayStation E3 Presentation with a hum-dinger announcement about the PlayStation 2 (an official name, price, title line-up, etc.) at the show -- perhaps at its party tomorrow night.

"No," Hirai assured us. "We do not have any announcements."

One Company, Two Platforms

With an E3 dedicated to the PlayStation, and only the PlayStation, Sony is indeed signaling its commitment to its gracefully aging console. But in March, the company went beyond statements of supporting both platforms to imply that its goal was to have a PlayStation and a Next Generation PlayStation in every living room -- a goal that seems, if not unlikely, at least overly optimistic. What is Sony's goal for its two platforms in the coming year? Hirai, pointing out that this is the first transition the Sony Computer Entertainment empire has ever gone through, looks to other companies rather than drawing on Sony history. "You could still, as late as last Christmas, go out and buy the SNES or the Sega Genesis," he says. "Especially here in the United States, there is a market for perhaps not the latest, cutting edge console. We will continue to have the current PlayStation in the market after the Next Generation PlayStation comes out."

As for talk from Sony execs in Japan that every house will have both systems in the living room, Hirai laughs. "I'd be happy if everybody would do that."  Hirai believes the NGPS will primarily appeal, at first, to the hard core, while the other continues to sell to people who have perhaps never owned a game console. "The current PlayStation is going to continue to have even more mass consumer appeal," he explains. "I think the two really can exist in the market place. Perhaps not in the same retail outlet, but in the marketplace."

A Personal Computer or a Console?

Perhaps the reason for the "both systems, one house" statements is the plan, hinted at by some Sony brass in Japan, for the NGPS to be positioned against the Wintel market. In a recent New York Times article, the internal struggle between game machine and personal computer uses was demonstrated by conflicting quotes from SCEI Chairman Ken Kutaragi and Sony Corp. President Nobuyuki Idei. Idei suggests that the system will be for more than games, while Kutaragi states clearly that the system is for entertainment. Hirai is fairly certain that the NGPS will at least have an effect on the PC market, though he doesn't know the extent. "The biggest concern is not vis a vis Wintel, but to do everything in our power to repeat the success of the first PlayStation. And in the course of doing that, I think we are going to, I'm going to use the word put a 'dent', in the Wintel world. How big a dent that is, and what sort of a dent that is, will depend on the success...and the software of that is available for the system." "It will remain primarily entertainment," he concludes. "The key word is entertainment, which is wider than just videogames." When we ask why he uses the word 'primarily,' Hirai laughs and explains that he's hedging his bets. "Suppose someone want to make...I don't know...a Quicken Adventure Game?" he laughs, "It's primarily an adventure game in balancing your check book? That's why I say 'primarily.' It is an entertainment console. If there is productivity on the side because it works well on the PlayStation, I'm sure the users would accept it."

Developer Support

In introducing this entertainment console, while keeping its last console popular in the mass market, Sony will have its work cut out for it. Many developers we've spoken to are already moving projects over to the Next Generation PlayStation, and more than a few are at E3 discussing their plans for the system, including high profile groups like Oddworld Inhabitants, the developers of Abe's Oddysee. If the original PlayStation is to thrive on the mass-market shelves, Sony will have to court developers to stick with it. That is, unless the system is going to become a nostalgia act or a bargain bin item (as the Sega Genesis and SNES were last Christmas, priced as low as $25). For Hirai, it comes down to that wonderful I/O chip in the Next Generation system that will play the older system's titles. "With backwards compatibility there is more confidence among the publishers and developers, ultimately, that even if they put their heart and soul -- and make a hefty investment -- in making software for the current PlayStation which might come out next year at this time, or maybe later, it is less exposed to risk than a platform that is going by the wayside. Just as we're able to go into E3 with confidence and continue to just send home the message of 'Software, Software, Software,' I think the publishers and developers have a higher  degree of confidence that they are going to get a return on their investment."

Hirai then laughs. "So long as they have a good game -- which is applicable, obviously, to ourselves and to third parties."

Business Models and Emulators

Sony and Nintendo have shown the world that there are two very viable models for an entertainment console. Nine months ago, Nintendo seemed to be losing the race to Sony, with a smaller market share and a console with fewer games. Flash forward to April of this year. Sony Corporation is now basing much of its empire on flagging Software sales by third parties for the PlayStation while Nintendo is sitting on a war chest of several billion dollars made from massive software sales on its "less popular" system. The PlayStation maker is now in the peculiar position that it is riding on the quarterly success of its licensees, while Nintendo can take its time and make sure every game it releases is AAA and sells three million units. If GT, EA and Eidos all decided not to ship a PlayStation game for six months, Sony would feel the pain just as much as those companies' stockholders.

We first ask Hirai why, given its model is so dependent on software sales (though right now it is making quite a bit off of PlayStation sales, he tells us), the company is fighting so hard against emulators like Connectix's Virtual Game Station and Bleem, LLC's bleem! Those companies assert that all they are doing is contributing to Sony's bottom line by adding sales to their central business -- software. "What else are they going to say?" a suddenly very stoic Hirai says. "It's a matter of principal to us. What they are saying sounds well and good, but I don't think I would want to be, principally, in a position where I am profiting from sales of software to run on something that is based on copyrights and intellectual properties that are, by the way, being stepped all over! I would say 'okay, we don't need that extra unit sale' if that means I get to protect my copyrights."

Putting emulators aside, we ask Hirai whether Nintendo has proven with its billions in sales that a very open platform such as the PlayStation is not as good a business model as a carefully controlled system. Is Sony's business model flawed? "If you consider good business to be good business just for yourself in the short term, perhaps. I would say that our business model is certainly not flawed. I think that it's the right approach," he fires back. "Being a platform holder, what you want to do is increase your install base. Therefore, you get yourself into a positive, rising spiral where the install base invites more people to develop and publish games on your platform, which therefore increases your install base. The best way to get into that is to be able to offer the platform under a business model that is going to benefit the third parties, as well as yourself so that people are going to be compelled to say 'yes, it makes business sense for me to invest money and develop for this platform.' In order to get the rising spiral, you can't do it by yourself. You have to get the support of as many publishers, and therefore developers as you can to support your platform. If you're looking long term, I would certainly not say our business model is flawed. It's probably the best around."

The Games

So what game is Hirai going to make sure he catches on the floor of E3 (a question we will try to ask all of our interviewees this E3)?

"Last year I did not have time to walk around -- not just the floor. I literally did not to get see our booth until the last day when people started tearing down. I was running around, people were tearing down, and I was saying 'Oh! Hold it! Let me see this game for just five seconds before you turn it off!'" he says, laughing. "People were, like, turning stuff off...That's how tough it gets." Then he shakes his head sadly, though there is a broad smile on his face. "I wish I had time to walk around the booth, sneak into Nintendo's booth, say hi to Howard, go over to Sega's and see if Bernie's around and try out their games and whatnot. If I had the time, I'd certainly enjoy doing that."

So if you see Kaz Hirai, Bernie Stolar and Howard Lincoln on the show floor playing a game of Soul Calibur, try not to talk business for a while. No matter which of them you ask, they'll all agree -- it's about the games. Even for the guys in charge.


Courtesy Next Generation Online



HOWARD LINCOLN
E3 1999
REMARKS AT PRESS CONFERENCE

MAY 12, 1999

Thank you and good afternoon everyone.

While Nintendo's focus clearly remains fixed on the N64--We happen to believe that it has many more years of profitable life, both for our retail partners and for our company--I want to take this opportunity to share with you some of Nintendo's plans for the future. Let me raise the curtain just a little on Nintendo's next home video game system. One that we are targeting for worldwide launch at the end of year 2000.

The code name for this product is "Dolphin." That's not the name of the product, but I'll use the Dolphin name this afternoon when I refer to our new hardware system. While our new Dolphin hardware will be extremely powerful, it will not be expensive. It will retail at a mass market price for home video game systems. And, as you're about to see, Dolphin's software will also be competitively priced at retail.

Nintendo has been working on dolphin for sometime now.

The graphics chip is being developed by ArtX of Palo Alto, California. This company is headed up by Dr. Wei Yen,--the man who was primarily responsible for the N64 graphics chip. Dr. Yen has assembled at ArtX one of the best teams of 3D graphics engineers on the planet. We are absolutely confident that Dolphin's graphics will equal or exceed anything our friends at Sony can come up with for Playstation 2. Dr. Wei Yen is here today in the front row and I'd like him to stand and be recognized.

Of course, we need to power Dolphin with a CPU that's second to none. A CPU that is the most powerful processor of any current or planned home video game system. How about a 400 MHz CPU? Well, that's precisely what we're going to use. And we call that chip the "Gekko processor." I am pleased to announce that Nintendo's partner and the company that is now in the advanced stages of designing the Gekko processor and which will manufacture this chip at its world class manufacturing facility in Burlington, Vermont is . . . . . . .IBM.

IBM & Nintendo have entered into a multi-year, $1 billion technology agreement under which IBM will manufacture the custom designed 400 MHz Gekko processor for Dolphin. Gekko is an extension of the IBM Power PC architecture. The Gekko processor will feature IBM's unique industry leading copper chip technology. Only IBM has the technology to manufacture chips using copper circuitry. Nobody else in the world can do what IBM does. And quite frankly, anything less is simply not state of the art technology.

By the way, you may have seen a recent article in the New York Times about how Sony & Toshiba plan to build a brand new factory to manufacture a chip with quote "Cutting edge 0.18 Micron technology"? The article went on to say that Toshiba had never mass produced a chip using 0.18 Micron technology. Well guess what! IBM already makes 0.18 Micron chips at its Burlington, Vermont manufacturing facility! That's where the Gekko processor will be manufactured. And the Gekko processor will be a 0.18 Micron chip . . . using copper chip technology.

As I said before, it will be the fastest and most powerful CPU in any home video game system . . . . period.

Needless to say, Nintendo is very pleased with its strategic alliance with IBM.

Our engineers have for sometime now been working closely on the Gekko processor with a team of engineers from IBM Microelectronics. IBM Microelectronics is headed up by Dr. John Kelly. At this time, I'd like to introduce Dr. Kelly and ask him to say a few words about the new IBM/Nintendo relationship. [dr. kelly remarks]

Thank you, John.

Well, as all of you know, the world's most powerful CPU and the world's best graphics chip have to play games on . . . . . something. On some software medium. And this time around, that software medium is not going to be ROM cartridges! Dolphin's software medium will not only be one that will be very inexpensive and quick to manufacture, it will also be one that is counterfeit proof. Earlier today in Tokyo, Mr. Yamauchi, Nintendo's president, and Mr. Morishita, the president of Matsushita, held a joint press conference to announce another strategic alliance.

As many of you know, Matsushita is the largest consumer electronics company in the world. It's best known outside of Japan for products marketed under the "Panasonic" brand. Here's what Mr. Morishita and Mr. Yamauchi announced:

First, Matsushita will develop, manufacture and supply to Nintendo a DVD disk drive for incorporation into the Dolphin hardware unit. The software medium for Dolphin will be DVD and this DVD software will be manufactured by Matsushita and supplied to Nintendo. Second, Dolphin's technology will be integrated into various Matsushita or Panasonic branded DVD consumer electronic products, enabling consumers to play movies and music as well as Dolphin games published by Nintendo and Nintendo's third party publishers.

Third, the Matsushita and Nintendo strategic alliance will enable the two companies to explore various ways of extending Nintendo's Dolphin technology and Matsushita's DVD technology to other products. I mentioned before that Dolphin's software will be competitively priced at retail.

Let me assure you that this is a critical objective for Nintendo--as is the need for flexible and quick manufacturing turn around of Dolphin software and strong and effective counterfeit protection. All of these objectives will be achieved under the Nintendo-Matsushita alliance.

Joining us today from Princeton, New Jersey is Dr. Paul Liao ("lee ow") the chief technology officer and vice president of Matsushita Electronic Corporation of America. Dr. Liao is also president of Panasonic Technologies Inc. And the head of R&D for Matsushita in North America. Dr. Liao is sitting in the front row and I'd like him to stand and be recognized. Thank you, Dr. Liao ("lee ow").

In a nutshell, Dolphin hardware and software will be fast, powerful and inexpensive. Need I say that it will also feature world class video games from people like Mr. Miyamoto and the Stamper brothers? Is there any question about Nintendo's proven track record of mega hit video games spanning the last 15 years? I don't think so.

Well, there you have it.

We've lifted the curtain a little on Dolphin. But we aren't going to lift it all the way. We're going to continue to be very circumspect in revealing all of Dolphin's specs . . . for a very simple reason--there are more technological surprises to come, and we'd like to keep them just that--surprises--for you and especially for our competitors.

But as I stand here this afternoon, I think Nintendo is very well positioned to take on Sony and Sega.

And with partners like ArtX, IBM and Matsushita, I'm very confident we'll do very well in that coming battle. In fact, we can hardly wait!



left.gif (2263 bytes) Back to Index