E3 '99 Report

This past week E3, the Electronic Entertainment Exposition, was held at the LA
Convention Center in Los Angeles. I was there and was quite surprised with a
lot of what I saw. However, before I get to the details of the show I'd like to
discuss some of the details that were revealed at the press conferences held the
day before the show began.

I arrived in LA last Tuesday, May 11th, and settled into my hotel room. Tuesday
evening was uneventful as my roommates and I basically just lounged around. The
next morning we were up bright and early. Our first destination was the LA
Theater where Nintendo was holding its pre E3 press conference. There was a
large crowd already waiting outside when my associates and I arrived. We made
our way into the theater, got seated, and talked amongst ourselves while waiting
for Nintendo of America's President Howard Lincoln to come out and address the
crowd. Mr. Lincoln eventually made his way out onto the stage and began to
speak. For about half an hour or so he went on about Nintendo's premiere titles
that would be at E3, namely Donkey Kong 64, Perfect Dark, Jet Force Gemini, and
Star Wars: Episode I Racer. He also talked about the Pokemon phenomenon that is
fueling the brisk sales of Nintendo's recently released Gameboy Color portable
and he announced that a new, and limited, Nintendo 64 package would soon go on
sale. This package will contain a Nintendo 64 console and the soon to be
released Episode I Racer for $149.95. The most significant news came towards
the end of the conference. Lincoln announced, to the surprise of everyone in
attendance, that Nintendo had signed a one billion-dollar agreement with IBM
which will have IBM produce the CPU for Nintendo's next console, codenamed
"Dolphin". This chip will be a 400 MHz CPU that will utilize IBM's 0.18 micron
copper technology. The chip, currently being called the "Gekko" processor, is
an extension of IBM's PowerPC architecture. The deal also leaves the door open
for IBM chip technology to be used in other Nintendo products.

Lincoln also announced a few of the other specs for "Dolphin". First and
foremost, Dolphin will be DVD based. This announcement brought cheers from
myself and the rest of those in attendance. Nintendo has finally realized that
cartridge based consoles aren't the way to go. Lincoln went on to say that the
graphics chip will be made by ArtX, Inc. of Palo Alto, CA, that it will have a
200 MHz clock speed, and that it will have semiconductor process 0.18 micron
embedded DRAM technology. Furthermore, "Dolphin" will have a system memory
bandwidth of 3.2 GB/second and it will have enhanced counterfeit protection
technology that, according to Mr. Lincoln, will make pirating "Dolphin" software
virtually impossible. What I found a bit surprising was the unabashed
confidence that Mr. Lincoln had regarding Nintendo's immediate future. He made
some bold predictions such as stating that he and Nintendo believe that Donkey
Kong 64 will end up being the best selling game of all time and that Nintendo 64
hardware sales are going to rise. I think Mr. Lincoln and Nintendo may be
underestimating their competition.

As if all those announcements weren't enough, Lincoln went on to announce an
alliance with Matsushita Electric, best known for it's Panasonic brand name, in
which Matsushita will develop and supply the DVD medium and drive for the
"Dolphin". Finally, it was announced that the "Dolphin" is scheduled to be
released around the 2000 holiday season, but it wasn't made clear whether that
launch date was for Japan, the US, or both.

After the Nintendo press conference had concluded, my associates and I headed
back to the hotel to relax and doing nothing much. Around 4:30 that afternoon
we departed for the Sega press conference that was being held at an LA
nightclub. The conference was set to start and six, and it was a good thing
that we left when we did because we got lost and didn't get there until a little
after six. Once we got past security we went inside and enjoyed the
complimentary bar while we waited for the conference staff to herd us all into
the area where the actual conference would be held. Once inside we sat and
talked for about five minutes and then a video presentation began to play. It
consisted a weatherman reporting from the middle of what seemed to be a
hurricane talking about a storm that was heading for the LA area. As you might
guess, he was referring to the Dreamcast, but I thought this was clever
nonetheless. After the mock news report Sega of America's President, Bernie
Stolar, made his way out onto stage.

Mr. Stolar began by announcing that Sega is fully committed to making Dreamcast
a huge success and as such have instituted a marketing campaign for North
America and Europe that will cost approximately 200 million dollars. Ads will
appear on MTV, ESPN, as well as ESPN2 and several other networks. After those
announcements were made we were treated to a video presentation which showed
footage from a multitude of Dreamcast games including Sonic Adventure, NFL 2000,
NBA 2000, Soul Caliber, Trickstyle, Ready 2 Rumble, and Powerstone. Immediately
following the presentation Bernie stated that the Dreamcast's graphics
performance is four times better than the fastest Pentium 2 and that Capcom's
Powerstone, Konami's Castlevania, and Namco's Soul Caliber would be available
when the Dreamcast launches on September 9th. Mr. Stolar said that fifteen
titles would be available when the Dreamcast launches and that by the end of the
year thirty titles would be on store shelves. The most significant announcement
though was that the Dreamcast will come packaged with a 56k modem and will
retail for only $199. This brought lots of cheers from the crowd. Details of
Sega's Dreamcast website, which will interface with the modem, were also
divulged. Sega's Dreamcast site will have chat and conference capabilities as
well as an up to the minute sports ticker such as the one found on Headline
News.

Mr. Stolar then introduced Sega's Senior VP of marketing, Mr. Peter Moore.
Before Mr. Moore came out to address the crowd, Mr. Stolar said something that I
think really summed up Sega's philosophy. He said, "We're not a kids company,
we're not an electronics conglomerate, we're a gaming company". I thought that
hit the nail on the head. Mr. Moore soon came out and began to describe, in
great detail, just how Sega is going to market the Dreamcast. I was extremely
impressed by his presentation. Mr. Moore also announced that Sega will be the
premiere sponsor of this year's MTV Video Music Awards and that the monetary
commitment to MTV was around six million dollars. Last, but not least, Mr.
Moore announced that Sega had reached a deal with Pepsi that will put Dreamcast
ads, along with Pepsi ads, on 11,870 screens in movie theaters across the US.

The conference concluded with another video presentation showing Dreamcast
titles. I left this conference thoroughly impressed with Sega's marketing
campaign and their lineup of titles. In fact, I was so impressed that yesterday
I went out to my local Electronics Boutique and pre-purchased a Dreamcast. The
one disappointment of the conference was the fact that neither Mr. Stolar nor
Mr. Moore addressed the Dreamcast's abysmal sales in Japan. The most recent
sales figures I've seen have shown that the Playstation is outselling the
Dreamcast in Japan by a nearly 4:1 margin. That has to change and I hope that
Sega has an aggressive plan to bring that change about.

By the time my associates and I had gotten back to our hotel it was around 10pm
and we were all tired. We played some Nintendo 64 games for a little while and
then went to sleep. The next day began bright and early around 6:30am. The
show wasn't going to start until 10am, but we all got up as early as we did so
that we could attend the keynote speech that preceded the show. The speaker was
a Mr. Don Tapscott who is the author of several books on the Internet and
technology, the Chairman of the Alliance for Converging Technologies, and the
President of New Paradigm Learning Company. His speech lasted for approximately
one hour and touched on the effect of videogames and technology on our culture,
economy, and society. He was extremely articulate and had some very interesting
things to say. Among the highlights of his speech was the portion where he
addressed the current assertion by much of the media that videogames contribute
to youth violence. In a very simply presentation using straightforward graphs
he showed that over the past ten years videogames sales have risen dramatically
while youth crime and violence have decreased. In a nutshell, there's a
negative correlation between videogames and youth crime.

After the keynote had concluded the show was officially opened and I ventured
out onto the floor to see what all the major companies had to offer. Instead of
giving a day by day rundown of what I did, I'm going to go over the highlights
of the show in a booth by booth breakdown.

I'll start with Nintendo's booth. Nintendo's big titles: Perfect Dark, Donkey
Kong 64, Jet Force Gemini, and Stars Wars: Episode I Racer ranged from above
average to mediocre. Perfect Dark, the pseudo sequel to the smash hit
Goldeneye, looked worse than it did at last year's E3 as it was extremely
pixilated and the collision detection was horrible. Donkey Kong 64 looked no
more impressive than Nintendo's previous 3D platformers, although it was fun to
play. Jet Force Gemini, a shooter, had bland, blocky graphics and monotonous
gameplay. Finally, Episode I Racer looked good and it was fun to play, but it
didn't have some gameplay elements that I felt it should've.

Instead of being a combat racer where you could race around a myriad of tracks
while shooting your opponents with an assortment of cool weaponry, it was just a
pure racer. There's nothing wrong with pure racing games, but I think a Star
Wars racing game needs some weaponry. There was also video footage of several
upcoming N64 titles such as Kirby 2, Excitebike 64, and Super Mario RPG 2.
Excitebike 64 and Kirby 2 looked very good, but Super Mario RPG 2 looked worse
than Super Mario RPG 1 and in fact looked like it was a Super Nintendo game. Not
good. The most impressive and noteworthy thing in Nintendo's booth by far was
Capcom's Resident Evil 2. The game itself wasn't that impressive, but what was
impressive was the Full Motion Video intro to the game. FMV intros are standard
fare in Playstation game, but up until now no one had really thought it was
possible to put an FMV intro onto a cartridge. The intro doesn't look as good
as the Resident Evil 2 intro on the Playstation, but it was still amazing
considering it was on a cartridge. There were so huge Pokemon displays as well,
but overall Nintendo had a pitiful showing. The worst disappointment of all
though was the absence of Metroid 64. Absolutely inexcusable.

Next up is Sony. Like Nintendo, Sony had some big name titles at the show that
ultimately failed to deliver. Spyro the Dragon 2, Um Jammer Lammy (the sequel
to Parappa the Rapper), Gran Turismo 2, and Ape Escape were all there. With the
exception of Um Jammer Lammy, which I personally don't like but recognize that
it isn't a bad game, all of the aforementioned titles were average at best.
Spyro 2 looked like and played just like its predecessor. Gran Turismo 2's
graphics were extremely grainy and there were only a scant few cars to choose
from. Ape Escape didn't look very good either and its gameplay was boring and
repetitive. I understand that many of these titles are still in development,
but they should've looked and played better than they did. What was impressive
was the pyramid in the middle of Sony's booth that had several screens on it.
Those screens were showing a few different Playstation 2 demos. When I first saw
the Gran Turismo demo that they had running my jaw dropped. I have never, ever
seen graphics as impressive as that. Not in an arcade, not on a PC, not
anywhere. I was absolutely floored. Aside from the Gran Turismo demo there was
a demo of face that showed off Sony's new "Emotion Chip" technology and a cube
demo. I do have to say that Final Fantasy 8 and the new R-Type game looked very
good, but aside from them and the Playstation 2 demos there was nothing in
Sony's booth that impressed me at all.

It's unfortunate that Nintendo and Sony's showings were so pathetic, but Sega's
booth made up for it. The assortment of Dreamcast games and their quality was
phenomenal. From Midway's quirky and extremely entertaining boxing game Ready 2
Rumble, to Namco's weapons based fighter Soul Caliber, to Capcom's Marvel vs.
Capcom and Powerstone the Sega booth was chock full of quality games. Other
Dreamcast games that blew me away include Sega's wonderful fishing simulation
Get Bass that was made even better by the special fishing rod controller that it
utilized. The two Sega Sports titles at the show, NFL 2000 and NBA 2000, looked
marvelous and played beautifully. Sega Rally 2 was also there and your truly
competed in a Sega Rally game with three other individuals that was being played
via the Dreamcast Network in Japan. Sonic Adventure was there too, of course,
and it looked great. The only problems with it were the camera angles. They
constantly changed. I would've liked a fixed camera that stayed right behind
Sonic at all times. There were a few stinkers there too, like Crave
Entertainment's Aerodancing, but all in all the titles shown were wonderful. I
also really liked Atlus' first person corridor game Maken X and Sega's Dynamite
Cop, which was a lot like Final Fight and Streets of Rage except with better
than arcade quality graphics. Also, Sega's arcade shooter House of the Dead 2
was there and it looked great. The Sega gun that works with HOTD2 wasn't there,
which hurt the experience of playing the game a bit. I can't forget to mention
Yu Suzuki's new game Shen Mue. Shen Mue is an action/adventure game and it was
playable, but I couldn't get a real good feel for the game because it was so
incomplete. However, what I did see looked excellent. Shen Mue will make use
of the Dreamcast's internal clock, which I think is very cool. If you play Shen
Mue at night it'll be nighttime in the game, and if you play Shen Mue during the
day it'll be daytime in the game. As for the stock Dreamcast controller, it was
very comfortable to hold, and the VMS (Virtual Memory System) was very cool.
The VMS plugs into the back of the Dreamcast controller and functions a lot like
a memory card, with a few other major features. The VMS has an LCD screen of
its own and interfaces with most Dreamcast games. A good example of how this
interaction works is illustrated by Midway's Ready 2 Rumble. While playing
Ready 2 Rumble I was able to glance down at the VMS screen and see how many
punches I had landed with my character's left and right hands as well as how
accurate my punching was. Very, very cool. Sega also has a slick flight stick
coming out as well as a microphone plug in for the Dreamcast controller that
will work with several of their upcoming titles. Several other peripheral
companies such as InterAct, Nyko, and Mad Catz will have their own Dreamcast
peripherals coming out.

The long and the short of it is that Sega blew the competition away. Their own
Dreamcast games as well as 3rd party Dreamcast games were very impressive with
the exception of a few titles. Sony and Nintendo didn't even come remotely
close. I think Sega has an excellent chance to make the Dreamcast a huge
success if they can execute their excellent marketing strategy. Also, if the
initial crop of Dreamcast software is any indication, we're all in for some
major treats. First generation software is never very reflective of a system's
capabilities so developers really haven't been able to tap into the Dreamcast's
full power just yet. There's a lot to look forward to as far as Dreamcast
software is concerned and I think that Sega has a bright future ahead of them in
North America. The horribly low sales in Japan have to be addressed, but I have
confidence that they will be. Prior to E3 I was a jaded former Sega fanatic
that wasn't too optimistic about Sega or the Dreamcast. After E3 had concluded
I was, and still am, gung-ho about the Dreamcast. If it hadn't been for Sega
this year's E3 would've been a huge disappointment for me, but as it is Sega was
the show and what a hell of a show it was.



IGN's Best of E3 Awards

IGN64 takes a look at E3's highlights and picks the Nintendo 64 game of the
show.

This year's Electronics Entertainment Expo (E3) proved to be one of Nintendo's
best. The gaming giant not only invaded the event with a rock-solid line-up of
Nintendo 64 software, but threw a hook in Sony's direction as well with the
announcement and initial specs of its next-generation hardware, codenamed
Dolphin.

IGN64 was there for it all. We played the big games, we played the small games,
and we saw a few surprises here and there that managed to turn our heads. For
your information, we've provided an awards list of sorts for a number of
categories related to Nintendo 64. So sit back, read on, and enjoy.




DESIGNER DIARY: 4PLAY -

by Scott LeGrand

In the Beginning

On September 23rd, 1993, my roommate (who I believe Bill thinks was Doug Engel)
and I were invited by Bill Rehbock to come up to Glendale, California to see the
very first video games running on the Atari Jaguar. Besides playing a really
crude edition of Checkered Flag, we pitched a space combat game called
"Singularity" which we indicated could better be called Star Raiders 2000. Bill
told us that the name was already taken, but that he'd get back to us. One month
later, we met Tom Harker across the Internet and he agreed to act as our
interface to Atari and I conned - vinced my wife (then fiancee) Stephanie to
write the soundtrack. In November, I drove and Tom flew to Santa Cruz and we met
for the very first time. Tom was here to trade away the 8 bit line of ICD tools
for a cool 1950s monster mobile. The next day we drove up to Sunnyvale,
navigated our way to 1190 Borregas avenue and played Tempest 2000 and Cybermorph
for the first time. Big time! We're on our way and making it...

We walked away that day with a very early prototype of Aliens vs. Predator,
along with a deal for 2 development systems. By then the game had been renamed
to "Star Battle", in honor of a game I had written on a high school mainframe
back in 1980 about which I still get email now and then. On December 24, we
received our first alpine board in dysfunctional condition in a Fedex box. After
several frantic phone calls, we were sent a second, functional alpine board and
Doug kept the first in order get medieval upon it with a soldering iron. Within
a week, we both had working development systems and the evolution of the game
that became BattleSphere began. The kicker is that since there was no backing of
any sort for this game, we would have to develop it entirely in our spare time
while maintaining full-time day jobs. Our advice: Don't do this. Our original
estimates were that we could have the entire game coded in 12-18 months. Bzzzzt!
Wrong! We had yet to encounter the black hole that was Atari developer support,
as well as a myriad of inexplicable bugs and random flaky development tools.
They like us, they really like us!

6 months later, we showed off the very first demo of the polygon engine at SCES
'94. The demo makes an appearance in the AEO SCES '94 Video, for those of you
collecting BattleSphere Trivia and anyone there could see we ought to have sued
the pants off of Nintendo over the N64 logo, but of course, they must have
thought of the thing first, they're Nintendo. Things went well, but I wish it
had been a playable demo by that time, but c'est la vie, we were just getting
introduced to some of the many jaguar hardware bugs and part-time development
already sucked. Six months later at WCES '95, there was sound, the first pass at
the music engine, primitive collision detection, and a simple game involving
rescuing animated astronauts. The game was now called "BattleSphere". This is
really starting to take too long, isn't it? Trouble ahead, trouble behind...

5 months after that, BattleSphere had its last trade showing at the very first
E3. This was the first place we ever demonstrated networked dogfighting. It was
a resounding success and numerous professional aviators commented on the quality
of our flight engine compared to what they could play on the PC and other
systems. This demo almost never happened, because a insiduous bug in the
hardware forced some last minute rewriting practically on the show floor. Of
course, the real star of E3 was the Playstation unveiling, but we were happy
with our reception. After all, at this point, the fat lady was clearing her
throat for her Atarian anthem. They said we were daft to build a castle in the
swamp!

At this point, we realized we were behind schedule. I decided to take 3 months
off and Doug took a month's worth of accumulated vacation time off from work and
go full time on game development. From July through September, BattleSphere
became my one and only obsession. In that time, we went from a primitive
dogfight engine to networkable deathmatching with the infamous subsumption
architecture AI. A fun footnote here is that but 2 days after we got the AI
marginally running, a mysterious request came from Atari for a demo. We sent it
off, only to find out later that they secretly put the badly behind Battlesphere
head to head with the completed Space War 2000 in a focus group. Guess who won
and who got cancelled? This pattern repeated itself in October when Atari
demanded working networking code from us on a Friday, to be provided by the
following Monday, for incorporation into Iron Soldier II or it wouldn't have
networking. Ah, the fun final days of Atari. However, we now had a solid demo
for showing off to potential backers of a PC or PSX edition and the search for a
future past Atari began. Is there life after death?

Although we knew at this point that Atari was pining for the fjords, we decided
that BattleSphere was not enough of a game to actually release the thing (in
retrospect, this was a BIG BIG BIG mistake). So now, we commenced development of
the play modes. Atari died in January, 1996 and the Gauntlet play mode first
appeared in March of that year. It was soon followed by the BattleSphere and
training play modes, and that took us into early 1997 since we still didn't have
any funding for a PC version, despite a one year search leading to 10 or so
pitches with big publishers who just couldn't grok the networking, the 3D, the
jaguar, or some random combination of the above (or possibly our failure to
closely resemble the current trendy genre). In March of 1997, I quit my science
career, leaving behind 8 years of dedicated research. It was painful and we once
again considered releasing BattleSphere at that point. However, we faced the
concorde fallacy that we had already put too much time into the thing so why not
make the Alone Against the Empires play mode and call it a day. This play mode
was completed by October of 1997, and there's nothing like it on any other
platform. And that's when the playtesting began. It's oh so much fun to put a
game into beta when you have no money. Thankfully, a dedicated crew of
playtesters put their own free hours into the thing and now, 8 months later,
BattleSphere is finished.

And on day 1745, God said "Ship it already!"

Oh, you thought this was the end of the story? BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Silly you, now
we have to get the sucker encrypted and produced so it will actually run on
other people's jaguars. But, it will happen. And when some twit naysayer tells
you it won't, just remember how many times they said we'd never finish the
thing.

May your urine be fresh and frothy!

EDITOR NOTE: These sort of comments and the ongoing arrogance is
exactly WHY its recommended this game be ignored!

Scott Le Grand
Doug Engel
Stephanie Wukovitz
Tom Harker

Team "The Mess that is BattleSphere"

Courtesy of www.atarihq.com

- Larry -



PlayStation 2 Bigger Than Star Wars?

With Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace breaking box office records, with
sold-out shows likely to last for weeks, George Lucas is certainly the king of
all media. And with this new marvel in film making, he stands on the forefront
of cinema technology. However, the Phantom Menace, which makes use of digital
effects throughout 95 percent of the shots, did nothing to prepare him for a new
technology on the horizon, the PlayStation 2. Recently Roger Ebert of the
Chicago Sun Times spoke with Lucas to discuss Sony's upcoming machine.

"I just finished this movie, which is kind of state-of-the-art, you know.
Nobody's been able to do some of these things. We've created full 3D digital
characters and 3D environments that are photo-realistic, and we were sitting
there being extremely proud of ourselves - boy, we're way ahead of everybody.
And then they put this toy on the desk that is more powerful than anything we're
using. It can re-create what we're doing in the movie. I mean, it's like we
struggled for four years to get there, and a year from now, it's gonna be
available to everybody. It's not quite the same quality as what we're putting on
film, but it's high enough quality for TV. It's astounding."

Previously Lucas had commented that he did not want to work on the Star Wars
prequels until computers were fast enough and cheap enough to deliver any image
he could conjure up. And now not only has this technology become available to
him so he can create his latest masterpiece, but next year it will become
available to the mainstream population. "I was just as blown away as you were. I
looked at it and thought, this is going way too fast. I can't keep up. It's
mind-boggling. What they've accomplished is just beyond comprehension, if you
know anything about computers."

"The thing about the PlayStation 2 is that it works in real time. We didn't make
Phantom Menace in real time. Some of the shots in the film took 48 hours to
render. We had huge, giant computers cranking every minute of the day. Here
they're doing it in real time as you sit there."

For the full Roger Ebert/Chicago Sun Times interview, click on our link to the
right [http://www.suntimes.com/output/eb-feature/roger16.html].

By Sam Kennedy, videogames.com




PlayStation 2 Week in Review

Capcom, Tecmo, and KOEI all prepare games for Sony's PlayStation 2. Dev Kit
costs revealed.

May 19, 1999

Riding the wave of the biggest game show in the world, IGNPSX is finding the
gentle descent back to reality still packed with excellent PlayStation tidbits
and news. As always, we'll be back next week to fill you in with the latest on
PlayStation 2.

While E3 had a strong showing of PlayStation games this year, in many ways the
kinds of games shown reminded one of last year's event, lots of sequels, loads
of franchise stuff, and all major niches taken care of (RPGs, platformers,
action games, etc.).

How Much? The cost of development kit is rising these days, to be sure. But it's
bound to happen when the old systems go out and newer, more powerful ones take
their places. With PlayStation 2, a few developers have told IGNPSX that the
cost for a single dev kit is higher than most companies can account for. Or had
planned for. The cost for one development system is approximately $20,000. In
retrospect, the original cost of PlayStation dev kits totaled about $4-5,000.
It's been four years since then, and the PlayStation 2 can do a phenomenal
amount of crunching in comparison, but $20,000 per unit? Well that doesn't sound
so bad, until you do the math. Now take into account each company has at least
one or two teams of developers and each team may use 5-10 kits, one kit per two
people. With three teams and 20 people per team, using one kit per two people,
that's $600,000. Wow. Is that too much? The price of inflation? Or the right
amount for such a powerful system?

Capcom Hints at PS2 Zombies, Hellspawn, and Demon Warriors In a conversation
with IGNPSX, Capcom's Yoshiki Okamoto, producer of R&D, and President of
Flagship, explained that Capcom already has started plans for bringing its
famous Resident Evil series to the new system. Okamoto said that there will
definitely be a "zombie" game on PlayStation.

Later on the in the conversation, Okamoto stated clearly that the exquisite
Spawn arcade game, on video only for E3, is not exclusive to the Naomi board on
which it's been developed. Being on such an arcade board, it's almost guaranteed
to come to Dreamcast. But it was clear that Okamoto is as excited about
PlayStation 2 this year as he was with Dreamcast last year.

The funny and insightful producer also explained that Onimusha The Demon Warrior
was making a major change in hardware. He said that the game was switching from
one piece of kit to another, adding that the game wasn't due until the year
2000. Onimusha could arrive in the first or second round of PlayStation 2 games
for the system, when it arrives.

Up on CG Hill While at E3, Sony showed two new PS2 tech demos at E3. One, which
we already reported on, was Konami's Silent Hill, seen at the Sony party. The
other was Star Wars: Episode 1, according to The GIA. Silent Hill's demo is much
like Square's re-creation of Squall's dance scene from Final Fantasy VIII, from
a FMA to a completely realtime scene, with almost no change in appearance.
Certainly the suggestion is that Konami is hard at work on a Silent Hill sequel

Omega Force In recent Koei news, its in-house development studio Omega Force,
which developed Destrega and Dynasty Fighters, is in the works with a
PlayStation 2 action title.

Tecmo's Ninja Gaiden Tecmo of Japan is now developing for Playstation 2. The
company's first game is believed to be the sequel to its popular action-fighting
title, Ninja Gaiden.

Courtesy IGNPSX



Big Dreams: Part 1 "Corporate Gaming"

By: Michael Bess

Over the years Sega has proven itself to be a tenacious survivor. From the
disappointing start with Master System it went on to create a gaming empire in
the Genesis. The darkest age in the company's history has passed with Saturn and
for the last year prior to, and passed, the Dreamcast launch, Sega has set
policies and projects in motion which may take them further than ever before.
The Dreamcast is unlike any other system Sega has conceived, and contains within
its grasp the potential to become the most successful console, Sega and the
gaming industry have ever seen.

The path to become a great system begins with the management structure and
policies of a hardware company's corporate side. Without a well-executed plan to
propagate a console to the masses the best technology is useless. In the Saturn
years, management attempted to play catch-up with Playstation, which is clearly
obvious when the technicians were ordered to include a second CPU in the 32-bit
system's final plans after Sony disclosed their own specs. After the Summer '98
reshuffling of corporate heads, which included Shiochiro Irimajiri's promotion
to President, Sega has cut its loses and even learned to laugh at itself with
the popular series of Hidekazu Yukawa commercials. Sega no longer needs to play
catch-up with a rookie in the gaming industry, but has set forth to creating a
strong presence through-out the world and preempt the second strike from Sony
and its Next-Generation Playstation.

This is the long-term plan for Sega: getting the jump on the competition. On the
eve of the 128-bit console wars, Dreamcast is the only advanced player in the
industry. While taking on the veteran Playstation will be no small feat, Sega
has more than pretty graphics up its sleeve to propogate its new hardware.

The D-Day Invasion

On September 9, 1999, Dreamcast Day, Sega will return to the continent which
spurned it with Saturn and entrench itself, for a second time, against the
Playstation warhmact. A year's head start is a double-edged that cuts both ways,
but has its irresitable advantages. Never has the gaming market in the United
States been more ready for a new, more powerful system. Dreamcast will be
appearing in the fifth year of Playstation's reign, over a year ahead of the
"threatening" Emotion Engine. Coupled with the strong development support N64
lacked and the games Saturn desperately needed, Dreamcast looks better prepared
than any systems before it.

Sonic Adventure and Sega Rally 2 will certainly spotlight the console's mass
appeal, but perfect conversions of House of the Dead 2 and PowerStone will speak
volumes for its hardware. Sega needs to unload the Dreamcast in the United
States without the snags it fell upon in Japan, but retain the marketing muscle
of a Hidekazu Yukawa commercial or Toyota promotional campaign. Of course,
selling Dreamcast in a Ford Motors Showroom, would probably not be such a good
idea, which leads to two of the most important factors for a new console: image
and mass-appeal.

The N64 may never have intended to, but with its cartoonish line of games,
latched onto the under 12 audience with a vice grip. It's image was never
improved and some even dubbed it the 'Coloring Book' system, as the N64 was
embraced by the training wheels contingent of the nation and scorned by all the
rest. It may sound shallow, but society is drawn by a pleasing image. The same
type of superficial appeal which increased early sales of the Playstation with a
graphically detailed, but simple Toshinden, over Saturn and the technically
superior Virtua Fighter.

Playstation's eventual rise can be attributed to more factors than simply image,
but it was marketing which strengthened its sales and hardened its appeal. In
Sony's fight against the N64, Jim Whims, who has worked with both companies,
expressed his opinion in a recent interview conducted by Next-Generation:
"Nintendo blew it. They've now been positioned as 'the system for little
brother.' This is the absolute kiss of death."

What can Sega do then to improve its image and create a successful launch? The
April 15 announcements from Bernie Stollar at the recent retailers conference
has revealed parts of these preparations. One of the singlemost promising
elements is Sega America's decision to release the Dreamcast at just under two
hundred dollars. Ushering in a new age of high-powered, low-cost consoles, this
move speaks volumes of the company's resolve to rebuild themselves in America.
When a console rested deep within two and three hundred dollar figures, many
simply took a "wait and see" position rather than spend precious savings on an
uncertain and uncheap console. Departing from these expensive hardware prices,
consumers may be fast to reconsider the Dreamcast after reviewing it against the
weaker competition.

Sega of America must also take the initiative to create their new console's
appeal in mores ways than simply price. Dreamcast is virgin hardware to the bulk
of the American market, but old habits die hard. To make a strong entrance into
the on-line gaming business, inclusion of the modem in the core package is
necessary, which Sega of Amerca has confirmed at the recently concluded E3 show.
History has demonsrated that when asked to buy peripherals, these promising
components usually went ignored by a majority of gaming consumers. Sega Netlink
and the Sega Channel were two debacles which hit close to home, proving that
most hardware "extras" introduced side-by-side the main console results in
dissmal sales. To keep the Dreamcast modem from becoming nothing more than a
simple foot-note in gaming history and protect their multiplayer interests when
it does become vogue in the console market, Sega America has decided to make
this an intergral part of the basic DC package.

An economical price has been announced and inclusion of the Dreamcast modem is a
pleasant surprise. To reinforce the fledgling hardware against an established
Playstation, the accompanying launch software must be executed flawlessly and
plentifully. Again, Mr. Stollar seems confident of Sega America's position in
the April 15th announcements, "By 9.9.99 you can expect to see the biggest
launch weekend in video game history." Which would not be much of a stretch with
fifteen games slated to debue with Dreamcast. Including such titles as in-house
Sonic Adventure, Virtua Fighter 3, and House of the Dead 2; a fine blend of
third party titles will compliment the mix: PowerStone, Ready to Rumble, Soul
Calibur, and others.

Sega of America have made big promises to gamers across the nation. Instead of
covering the usual fare or platformers and niche titles, the US Dremacast launch
covers nearly every gaming genre. Thus the question of marketing and image
resurfaces admist the bustle of corporate announcements with more words from
Bernie Stollar, "Our ad campaign will be in full swing, with gaming magazine
ads, mainstream consumer publication, cable TV, prime time TV, and even movie
trailers... ...consumers will not be able to go about every day life without
seeing or hearing about the Sega Dreamcast." How can one gauge these
announcements? Look East across to the unfolding drama of Sega Japan and the
Nippon Dreamcast.

Protecting Their Assets

With the question of success open for debate in the West, Sega of Japan have
worked hard to reassemble their tattered image and promote the Dreamcast to
gamers of the East. Expansive development support has been vital to this cause,
but the company's own renewed vigor in the industry speaks volumes for the
console. Pressured by parent CSK to succeed and feeling the pinch of heavy debt,
Sega knows that Dreamcast could be their last chance to survive as a hardware
manufacturer. The main challenge ahead of Sega will be to capture the minds of
gamers made cynical by the failures of Saturn. Led by Shiochiro Irimajiri, the
Japanese hierarchy have made tremendous progress, reaching the coveted
million-mark in sales, and christening rounds of innovative, new marketing
strategies.

Promotions must be tailor-made, catering to the needs and oddities of each
territory. Reflecting on what has come before, advertisments that work in the
East may not always translate well in the West and vice versa. The Japanese are
famous for their taste in the unique and an affinity for niche-based, sometimes
bizarre products. In this breath Sega has the freedom to expand their marketing
beyond the usual channels of entertainment and gaming which Western gamers are
accustomed too.

A large deal inked over the winter gestation with Toyota Motors hopes to do just
that. In showrooms all across Japan, Sega has placed Dreamcasts, included with
special-made software, giving consumers an opportunity to test new models before
ever leaving for an actual trial run. Inticing in practice, but unconventional
in application to Western markets, it is one of many schemes in Japan Sega has
created, also including convenience store campaigns, to sell Dreamcast.

Advertising which have had their noticeable affects in the East and jealous
results in the West, are those of the hallowed August 22nd Sonic Conference and
December Shen Mue Summt. Each of these have spawned maddened anticipation with
product lines of consumer goodies, and healthy amounts of yen, dollars, and
euros spent at attaining a piece of both. From soundtracks to stuffed animals,
coffee mugs to notepads; gaming merchandise has had differing amounts of success
amongst Americans. It is in Japan that every trinket and bobble are welcomed
with open arms and have remained a large part of the gaming sub-culture in Asia.
Dreamcast has banked on the frenzy created by these two meetings, the first as
an initial boost and the latter to push it foward through the New Year.

The young console seems to be gaining momentum from ever direction. Whether it
be announcements of UnderCover with the involvement of a popular Japanese author
or low-cost rentals of Dreamcast; Sega is strengthening their position.
Playstation remains a formidable opponent, but the pre-launch jitters in America
and Europe have long been cast aside. For Sega Enterprises of Japan there can be
no turning back. Strong marketing, quality development support, and renewed
vigor will determine the company's place in subsequent years of their dream
machine's lifetime.

Dreamcast and "The Future"

A year's head start cuts like a double-edged blade. Sega has placed itself in a
precarious position, delicately balanced between great success and resounding
failure. Two systems, fifteen and ten times slower, are its competition from
early launch through the six month unloading period. Dreamcast is a powerful
system and coupled with company promises of sweeping marketing campaigns, faced
against inferior hardware, seems poised to dominate.

The arch-rivals of the Sega super-hero, have prepared their own rebuttals,
though. No sooner had the battle call been cried by Dreamcast in late 1998 that
Sony came clean concearning speculation of the Playstation 2 in early 1999.
Nintendo with nearly five billion dollars in undebted savings, watches from the
distance as Sega advances to 9/9/99 and Sony maneuvers to protect its holdings.

Dreamcast has without a doubt conveyed the 128-bit wars with a positive
campaign. Almost a year to convince and convert game-buyers, Sega has a solid
advantage against the competition. Whereas Playstation could boast large RPGs
and FMV against the cramped storage-space on the N64, this no longer may be a
luxury for Sony when Dreamcast arrives. What it will have to rely on in turn is
the Playstation's popular image, vast library of titles, and jaded gamers' own
bias against Sega. In the early months expect Dreamcast to devour Nintendo's
market-share, before deep incursions into the Playstation's percentage begin
appearing.

What Sony will attempt to use as Dreamcast gears to launch are scare-tactics
through the famous demos seen last March at the Playstation Conference. Banking
on the belief that many gamers may simply wait seven or eight months for the
Playstation 2, Sony will unfold more details concearning their system. Namco and
Square have already cast their hats into the console-maker's corner, though with
only rumors to go on for games, is enough for some hard-core consumers. Sony
will still hold the advantage even after Dreamcast's launch, not because Sega
has failed to promote their console, but rather that many gamers will wait in
vigil for the Playstation 2. The cynical gamer will quickly point out that the
"Next-Generation Playstation's" hardware is still simply on paper and with the
demos running off workstations, nothing can be guaranteed. For an average gamer
who follows the quality of graphics and presentation with little care on the
politics of the game industry, they, will simply overlook this major point and
criticism, prematurely declaring Sega "screwed".

It cannot be denied that Playstation has been a tremendously successful system.
Sony has lured many of the old Genesis and SNES fans away into their camp, and
some may never return from there. Sega America must reinterate its commitment to
Dreamcast, targeting both the hardcore and mainstream communities of gaming.
Taking their console, "to the people" as Sega Japan have done will be the key to
building the Dreamcast's image into one synonimous with fun and entertainment.

The Final Word

From concept to completion Dreamcast has dazzled gamers all along the way.
Achieving sales the mark of one million consoles, it steadily expands
marketshare in Japan. The duty to Sega America and Europe are to prove the
Dreamcast to gamers jaded by past failures. To do this strong development and
marketing, which strike at the very foundation of the industry, are necessary.
Bernie Stollar has revealed apart of the plans for Dreamcast's entrance in the
West, and to say the least, its future in this continent looks bright. 9/9/99:
for Sega, it has already begun.

Feature Co-Written by: Michael Bess & Sajed Ahmed

Courtesy of SegaDreamcast.net

Big Dreams: Part 2 "Import Gaming"

Face it, if you're an owner of an import Dreamcast system, then you are much
more than just a Sega fanatic. You're a Sega fanatic with masochistic
tendencies. Why else would you shell out several hundreds, sometimes nearing
thousands, of dollars for a video gaming system? An import Sega system at that?
While most of those games are in complete Japanese? Especially when the rest of
the world tends to think that the Dreamcast will be nearly as successful as the
next David Spade theatrical release.

At times it seems that the only people who believe in the Dreamcast's success
are the hardcore importers, seemingly even more than Sega themselves. You're on
the frontlines defending Sega at every opportunity -- "...c'mon, Godzilla IS a
pretty good game, just listen to the music." No, you're not just Sega fans,
you're remarkably loyal Sega fans. And it's your evidently blind support and
continuous enthusiasm toward the Dreamcast that the folks at Sega value. Not to
malign buyers who are patiently waiting for the US release-believe me, importers
envy your resolve and patience more than anything-but Sega can use all the
endorsement they are getting from import buyers. Your efforts in promoting and
supporting the Dreamcast may seem insignificant at times, but they're much more
than just hollow gestures. Following on that notion allow us to give something
back. What ensues is a discussion of the currently available Dreamcast games and
Sega's strategies in selecting appropriate software. For the most part, this is
an exercise in determining what games to get and what not to get for your import
Dreamcast, mixed in with a few thinly guised rants. The good, the bad, and the
ugly of the DC software selection.

THE GOOD

Since the Dremcast's release in November, I have played all of the games
released thus far for the system. Yeah, I know it's a tough job reviewing video
games, but somebody has to do it. Although the Japanese release has seen its
share of ups and downs, a few games stand out head and shoulders above the
others. These are the games you should be playing for your import Dreamcast-the
Clint Eastwood's of the import DC library.

Sonic Adventure - The most enjoyable and playable game currently available for
the Japanese Dreamcast. Even gamers who haven't enjoyed platformers in the past
will fall in love with this game. The only real question is whether you have the
resolve to wait for a more polished and, more importantly, translated US
version. With, shudder to think, very good camera controls.

Power Stone - This is exactly the type of fighting game that appeal more to the
Western gamers than the Japanese gaming public. It's fast paced and entertaining
action with very little in terms of realism. Despite the fact that it sold
modestly in Japan, much to the chagrin of the folks at Capcom, import gamers
should own a copy of PS.

House of the Dead 2 - Non-stop, shoot-em-up action with a plot that unfolds with
English voiceovers. What more could you ask for? For newbie import Dreamcast
owners it should come down to this or Power Stone as their first DC game. Pick
up HOTD2 and a DC lightgun and you won't regret the choice for a second. The
game can be difficult, but that only gives more incentive to spend hours on end
shooting down frightful zombies.

Blue Stinger - A very good action/adventure title with a commendable, albeit
unexceptional, storyline, above average gameplay, stellar graphics, and just
like HOTD 2, English voiceovers. The last reason alone should be enough to
warrant a look at Blue Stinger. Despite the fact that this game is headed
stateside, it's not going to look or play very much differently from the
Japanese version.

Puyo Puyo 4 - Yes, I see the look of disbelief on some of your faces, but pound
for pound this series has been one of the most addictive puzzle games on any
console. I hope SOA has the foresight to bring this game to the US market, but
if you're not into taking that risk pick up a copy of Puyo Puyo. Plug in a
couple of DC controllers and you and a friend can play this game for hours.

Marvel vs. Capcom - Arcade games, especially great ones like Marvel vs. Capcom,
are always very safe bets for import buyers. Capcom has brought their signature
2D world into this compilation fighter. If you're into fighting games pick this
one up.

Conspicuously missing from this list are Sega Rally 2 and Virtua Fighter 3TB.
Both are great games in their own right, but there are completely valid reasons
they're not on our list. Really! Take Sega Rally 2, as good as the Japanese
version is, the US one will get its share of enhancements, with possible work
being done on the frame rates and game feature additions. However, the real
reason to ignore the import version of SR2 is the coolness of the game's network
play option, and the unavailability of that to most import gamers. Wait for the
US release and take on all comers on US SR2 network play. Virtua Fighter 3TB
will also receive some major enhancements and the US version will be worth the
wait.

Upcoming Titles to Watch: Dynamite Deka 2 (yet another arcade translation,
always a safe bet), KOF Dream Match '99, Frame Gride (Our money is on this From
Software title as a surprise hit on the DC), Soul Calibur (depending on the
Japanese DC translation, we may change our mind and advise you to wait for the
US version), Cool Boarders (will have a lot of English content and should be
great fun), and of course Shenmue (how can you own an import DC and not get this
game, despite the fact that playing the Japanese version could be a complete
pain in the neck).

THE BAD

These games appeal to some, but shouldn't be bothered with for the mass import
audience.

Psychic Force 2012 - Taito gives a valiant and daring effort with this unique
Dreamcast fighter, but it lacks the speed and overall gameplay features to
warrant an import buy. Skip this one and pick up Power Stone.

Incoming - It looks like a pretty good buy, but in this case looks are gravely
deceiving. The game moves at a snail's place, the vehicle physics are completely
out of whack, and the graphics aren't all that stellar to begin with. The words
'fast paced action' seems to elude this maligned 3D shooter.

Tetris 4D - Tetris, in its original form, has been around for what seems like
eons. Recruiting Bullet Proof software to re-create the original version of the
game, with a four player twist, didn't work out like Sega anticipated. Its the
same old, same old.

Super Speed Racing - This CART racing game has the speed, but it's certainly not
super. The computer AI is hardly versatile and the graphics are coarse. SOA's
decision to make this one a launch title is perplexing to say the least.

THE UGLY

Seventh Cross - Evolution sims haven't worked too well in the past, and despite
its rather unique premise, it doesn't work on Seventh Cross. The graphics are
mediocre and bland and the gameplay is excruciatingly tedious.

July - It's 2D action/adventure in complete Japanese. Even an English version
would not be worth your import dollar. Forty Five is working on their next DC
titles, hopefully it will be a stronger effort.

Since its launch in November of '98 in Japan the Dreamcast has had its share of
quality titles and mediocre games. The hodgepodge import lineup has been marred
by inadequate efforts like Senngoku Turb and White Illumination. But in the
midst of all that, import owners have enjoyed the entertainment rich titles like
Power Stone and Sonic Adventure. The upcoming months will see the Japanese
Dreamcast game launches become much more frequent, but that also means more
sub-par games. So, how does Sega maintain a strong mix of quality original
titles and easily done arcade and PC ports? The answer is a rather complicated
one.

To Port or Not To Port?

Over the last two decades Sega Enterprises has seen their share of ups and
downs-perhaps more than any other gaming company, and notably in the home
console market. The Master System, although at the time a powerful piece of
hardware with a solid software library, constantly played second banana to the
now legendary Nintendo Entertainment System. The Master System's demise brought
about the 'Golden Ages,' otherwise known as the Genesis years, for the folks at
Sega. Consequently, who can forget the well-documented adversity of Sega's
Saturn console when faced with Sony's dynamic marketing and intelligent
direction of the Playstation system.

Nevertheless, despite Sega's roller coaster ride through the perilous business
of console gaming, one thing remained constant: the companies' rock-solid arcade
market. Faced with stiff competition from Konami, Midway, and of course Namco
through the years, Sega's vaunted AM teams have continued to define new
directions in arcade gaming, and has continuously developed entertaining and
revolutionary titles.

Given the Dreamcast's ability to match Model 2, 3 and Naomi arcade titles nearly
pixel to pixel, Sega realizes that quality ports of the companies' most
successful arcade games are a necessity. Many of the current top-notch titles in
the DC's Japanese software library are also some of the most popular arcade
titles: Virtua Fighter 3TB, Sega Rally 2, HOTD2, and third party arcade ports
like Power Stone and Psychic Force 2012. We can expect this trend to continue
with hits like Die Hard Arcade 2 and Daytona 2 PE in the Japanese market, and
Mortal Kombat 4DC and Hydro Thunder here in the US. Nothing beats the delight of
playing carbon copy home versions of games like VF3TB and HOTD2. Just thinking
of the wealth saved in quarters, while playing Sega Rally 2 on a $200 home
console, would bring a satisfying smile to anyone's face.

As good as arcade ports are for the Dreamcast console, PC ports, when not
filtered properly by Sega, can become a major dilemma for the company. As much
as Microsoft's Windows CE development environment is an advantage for Sega, it
can become just as much of a curse on the system's software library. Windows CE
greatly facilitates the porting of PC titles to the Dreamcast, as such it also
intrinsically encourages a large number of mediocre PC ports. As powerful as PCs
have become, most are still considerably behind the type of graphical
performance the Dreamcast is capable of (This is certainly not a knock on PCs
themselves, but a realization that the DC is made exclusively for gaming). I
could go into the technical numbers (which most of you are aware of anyway), but
take a look at the Japanese DC library itself for evidence. As good a game as
Incoming was on the PC, with what was at the time outstanding overall graphics,
it pales in comparison to Sonic Adventure or Power Stone. Even a strong PC port
like Unreal would look relatively dull when compared to the graphical glimmer of
Yu Suzuki's Shenmue. Ultimately, when you walk into your local EBX or Babbages,
you only really have the screenshots on the back of the title case, and maybe a
brief description of its gameplay features to go by. A game could be
mind-numbing fun, although lacking exceptional graphics and complicated gameplay
features, but in the grand scheme of things it will usually go hopelessly
ignored. Looks do matter folks, and if Sega is not keen in limiting the number
of PC ports on the Dreamcast, a disproportionate total of DC games could begin
to look unprofitably mediocre. The reason the N64 continues to trail PS sales,
outside of the stigma of a paltry software library, is because the games don't
look that much better than Sony's system. The Dreamcast has the distinct
advantage of having games that look considerably better than any of the current
competition. Ask a blind man and even he can tell you that Yuji Naka's Sonic
Adventure looks eons ahead of any existing title, graphically. Its up to Sega to
not dilute, and overshadow, games like Sonic and Power Stone with a barrage of
sub-par (atleast graphically) PC ports.

What does it all mean?

The Japanese Dreamcast launch hasn't been exactly what the company envisioned
when they announced their all-world next generation console. The intelligent
marketing by Sega of Japan and top-notch titles didn't begin to make up for the
excrutiating software delays and console shortages at launch. In the midst of a
terrible recession the Japanese gaming public couldn't take dearly to a $200+
console and the paltry selection of games (compared to the PSX atleast).
However, it seems that Sega of America will not have to deal with the
overwhelming launch setbacks that SOJ were faced with. The US economy is at all
time highs and the gaming industry in particular is reaping the benefits of a
bullish market. The gaming public is ready for a new console experience, after
years of enjoying Sony's Playstation and the N64. More importantly, they're in
good enough financial standing to go out and spend the money on this next
generation console. Unlike the Japanese launch, which had to be near perfect
(and consequently was far from it), there is room for some minor mistakes by
Sega of America. If they can avoid any major setbacks, the strong economy and
the 'hungry for change' gaming public will embrace the Sega Dreamcast. The date
is set, on 9.9.99 we could see the Dreamcast return Sega to
respectibility-towards a level not enjoyed by the company since the Genesis
days.

Feature Co-Written by: Michael Bess & Sajed Ahmed

Courtesy of SegaDreamcast.net



Will the Dreamcast Succeed?

Sega has been the talk of the show for developers, publishers, retailers and
other attendees, but always not in the way it may have hoped

May 14, 1999

There appears to be a crucial disconnect between the people who make games and
the people who sell them.

On the show floor, every retailer we have spoken to is incredibly excited about
the Dreamcast. The platform’s lineup as displayed in its booth is astonishing
most (despite a few hiccups, such as the poor demo choices for Shenmue, which
manages to impress with its concept and graphics nevertheless).

In sheer numbers, Dreamcast has appeared at E3 prior to its launch with more
titles than any console in the history of games and many, if not most of them
look like serious winners to the retailers and casual attendees we’ve spoken to.
Titles like Ready to Rumble from Midway and Soul Calibur from Namco show the
incredible possibilities the system has opened for third-party developers both
in graphical excellence and in fluid, solid control.

From Sega itself, the company’s two sports games being displayed, its basketball
and football titles, are gorgeous, easy to control, responsive, and are
impressing nearly everyone we’ve spoken to.

And yet, most of the publishing executives and developers we’ve spoken to (all
on the condition of anonymity) at the show take it as a given that the Dreamcast
will get skunked by the PlayStation 2 and will not be a major success.

Interestingly, the notable exceptions are the people on third-party teams
working with Sega. Neal Robison, Sega’s Group Director of Third Party Licensing
told us that the company has "learned so much from past mistakes." Sega is
supporting its developers to the hilt, Robison promises, and from the
conversations we’ve had, it’s true.

As for retailers, they report not only enormous early consumer excitement for
the Dreamcast, but personal excitement as well. "Sega’s got it going on," one
told us. "They’ve done everything right this time. It’s not another Saturn."

With retailers excited, developers working on the platform excited, and
apparently consumers excited (according to retailers), why do many in the
industry assume that Sega will not succeed?

The dominant explanation from those who have little faith in Sega’s prospect is
that the Dreamcast is an inferior machine to the PlayStation 2 with a small,
indebted company trying to make it fly. Others mention Sega’s past failures
which, in many cases, are remembered with serious acrimony.

Other skeptical members of the games industry elite we spoke to, though, feel
that this holiday will be owned by Sega. It is only long term that Sega will
have serious trouble. "They will launch very well," one exec predicts. "But when
Nintendo and Sony launch, they’ll be left in the dust."

Will Dreamcast succeed? It is impossible to say what the platform’s long term
prospects may be, but it would surprise us greatly given the quality of the
titles shown this E3 and the excitement from the people actually selling the
things if the launch is not one of the most successful in videogame history. It
may be that Sega and those supporting it will have the last laugh on the
platform’s detractors.

After all, with companies like EA, Square, Eidos and others choosing to support
only the PlayStation until the PlaySation 2’s release, if the Dreamcast has a
hugely successful launch, the smaller companies that got in early will make a
lot of money.

Courtesy Next Generation Online

 


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