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"What Do You Expect? I Used Up All My Good Jokes In A Day At The Races"
May 26, 2000
The PlayStation 2 could support online gaming at launch if third-party
developers take advantage of a development tool that has just been released.
Due to the fact that the PlayStation 2 itself has a USB port, it's possible
for you to insert any USB modem into the system (USB modems typically
range in price from $20 to $50). The only problem at that point is that
you can't experience online gaming in any game that's not specifically
programmed to support it. Enter SN Systems, which has just released a
development tool that will allow third-party developers to add online
gaming capabilities to their PS2 games. So, in order to play a PS2 game
online, both of these conditions must be met:
1. You need to have a USB modem (preferably 56K) inserted into your PS2.
2. You need to be playing a PS2 game that has been specifically programmed
to support online gaming
Now the big question is: How many third-party developers are going to
make their games online-compatible? The answer to that question isn't
known yet, but I'll be sure to let you know when specific third-party
developers begin announcing their plans.
Square's vice chairman Yoshi-Hiro Maruyama has revealed some interesting
new details about Final Fantasy 10's online capabilities. Square
previously said that the bulk of the game's online elements would be
downloading tips and strategy guides off Square's Play Online service. Now
Maruyama has revealed that in order to get past some parts of the game,
you'll need to play with a few other people online in a co-op manner.
Maruyama said, "You'll be able to play certain parts of the game
yourself, but there will be areas where teams of three or four people will
need to come together to move the story forward." It's still unknown how
multiple players would come together (or why they would have to in the
first place from a story standpoint). Maruyama went on to say, "Almost all
future Square games will have some online elements." He estimated that 50%
of the company's resources are currently being dedicated to online games,
and that number could increase to as much as 80% in the near future.
The newest issue of Spin magazine features an article about PlayStation
product placement in TV shows. Lots of TV shows make references to the
PlayStation, but even more would if Sony let them. Sony actually reviews
the scripts of shows that want to make PlayStation references, and they
have turned down many requests "from shows that aren't cool with its 18-to-
34-year-old target demographic."
Some of the shows that Sony has allowed to make PlayStation reference
are Friends, Just Shoot Me, and Dawson's Creek. Of course, all of this
begs the question: Who is Sony to tell anyone whether or not they can make
references to the PlayStation in TV shows? They might have legal grounds
to do so, but you would think that any publicity would be considered good
publicity.
After more than three years of delays, Daikatana is finally on store
shelves. After telling me about the game's $30 price point, a Babbage's
employee said, "I personally think they should sell it for $9.99 to make up
for making us wait three and a half years." When I asked an Electronics
Boutique employee if Daikatana was actually out, he said, "Yes, it is.
I opened up the box this morning and almost fainted when I saw the game.
I had to lift it up and examine it to make sure that it was the final game
and not some kind of Coming Soon promotion."
Most of the mainstream media's reports on the E3 show praised the
PlayStation 2 and ignored most other products on the show floor. This is
despite the fact that Sega's booth was widely regarded as the best of the
show, and the PlayStation 2's lineup was widely regarded as a
disappointment. Time magazine, which has a circulation of over three
million, said, "The PlayStation 2 may be the most hotly-anticipated
entertainment device since the checkers board." Time added, "The Dreamcast
refuses to lie down and die."
Age of Empires 2 and NBA 2Night could be Konami's last Dreamcast games.
The company doesn't currently have any Dreamcast games planned for 2001.
Speaking of Konami, the company's VP of marketing Chris Mike recently said,
"We'd like to make the Dreamcast version of Age of Empires 2 an online
game, but I don't know if Sega has the execution."
On a national level, Babbage's and Electronics Boutique have both sold
out their PlayStation 2 pre-order allotments and are no longer supposed to
be taking pre-orders. In addition, people who pre-ordered their system in
the last month or so might have to wait until the second shipment of
systems arrives sometime after the October 26 launch date.
South Park co-creator Trey Parker said in a recent interview, "Comedy
Central owns South Park, we don't. Comedy Central can do whatever the f---
they want with these characters... and they've made all this s--- and these
video games that we f---ing hate." Remember, Acclaim previously said that
they were working closely with Trey Parker and Matt Stone in the
development of their South Park games. Apparently that was nothing more
than marketing BS.
In a story that speaks volumes about the reliability of the PC game
industry, Ion Storm's Noel Stephens told Blue's News, "I am sure there will
be a good handful of bugs sent our way once Daikatana gets into full
circulation." You would think that four years of development would have
provided Ion Storm with sufficient time to find and remove bugs...
The Associated Press has written a news story about Illinois Attorney
General Jim Ryan's efforts to prevent video game retailers from selling
Mature-rated games to anyone under 17. The news story will undoubtedly be
picked up by newspapers across the country. Ryan is now targeting four
retailers in particular: Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Target, and Best Buy. In
addition to meeting with officials from these four retailers, Ryan
persuaded nine US senators to send letters to the retailers in which they
state their support for Ryan's efforts.
In an interview with MSNBC, Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima expressed
his disappointment with the PlayStation 2 hardware. Kojima said, "I was
actually expecting something much better, and we're not getting what we
expected. In the early days, I really dreaded going to work because I knew
we were not going to get what we expected." Kojima also revealed that
Metal Gear Solid 2 won't be much longer than Metal Gear Solid 1. He said,
"We are going for something of equal length or possibly a little bit
longer." In a related note, Konami is looking for Metal Gear Solid 2
suggestions from gamers at this URL.
The decision to not reveal anything about the Dolphin or Game Boy
Advance at E3 didn't come from Nintendo of America, but from Nintendo of
Japan. The N64 absolutely bombed in Japan, so Nintendo's owner Hiroshi
Yamauchi has declared that all future Nintendo system unveilings will take
place in Japan, not in America. New details on the Dolphin and Game Boy
Advance are scheduled to be revealed at Nintendo's annual Space World show
in August.
Sony has openly questioned Take-Two Interactive's strategy of selling
new release PlayStation games for $10. Sony's VP of sales Jack Tretton
says, "I fail to see any good coming from that. The end result is that the
publisher will make less money and the retailer will make less money... I
don't know that anybody wins in the long term." Despite these feelings,
Sony is not going to change its new licensing structure and will continue
to allow third-party publishers to sell their games at any price they want.
Looking Glass Studios has closed down during a year in which game sales
have been down across the board, particularly PC game sales. The company
had been seeking a partner that could have kept it in business, but was
unable to find one in time. Looking Glass was responsible for two cult hit
series: System Shock and Thief, both for the PC. System Shock 2 will be
released for the Dreamcast later this year by Vatical Entertainment.
The current sales slump that the video game industry is in has even
affected THQ, which has had over 20 profitable financial quarters. THQ
announced this week that their streak will finally end when they post a net
loss of between $2.7 million and $3.1 million in the next quarter. The
company's CEO Brian Farrell has also announced that THQ will cut back on
its Dreamcast support next year. Farrell says, "While we're supporting the
Dreamcast now and we're rooting for the Dreamcast, the word we're getting
from retail is that it's going to be tough for Sega next year. We've got
to allocate our dollars accordingly."
Take-Two Interactive is going to publish a PC game later this year
that's actually titled, "Enemy Engaged RAH-66 Comanche Versus KA-52 Hokum."
Can you imagine calling a video game retailer and saying, "Hi, do you have
Enemy Engaged RAH-66 Comanche Versus KA-52 Hokum?"
The 37-member Game Critics Awards committee has announced the five
finalists for its Game of E3 award. The finalists are Black & White, Halo,
Neverwinter Nights, Jet Grind Radio, and Conker's Bad Fur Day. Metal Gear
Solid 2 was widely regarded as the most impressive game at the show, but
it's not eligible to win the Best of E3 award because it was only present
in movie form.
Due to poor sales of the Dreamcast in Japan, Sega's corporate team has
been shaken up. As of last week, Isao Okawa was the chairman and president
of CSK, Sega's parent company. Now Okawa has stepped down from that
position at CSK and appointed himself the new worldwide president of Sega
Enterprises. Sega's former worldwide president Shoichiro Irimajiri has
been demoted to the still-prominent role of being in charge of developing
Sega's next video game system.
NEWS BRIEFS
Nintendo's VP of marketing George Harrison has confirmed that a Metroid
game is in development for the Dolphin.
Square has moved up Legend of Mana's US release date by one week. The
game was previously scheduled to come out on June 13, and it will now come
out on June 6.
3dfx shipped Voodoo 5 graphics accelerators to retailers this week, only
to recall them due to operating problems. Way to catch up to Nvidia, guys!
The masters of game design at Titus are working on a Dreamcast platform
game called Denis the Kangaroo and a Nintendo 64 game called Blues Brothers
2000. No joke necessary...
Sega posted a net loss of over $400 million for the last 12-month period.
This marks the third year in a row that Sega has reported losses. Sega
forecasts that it will turn things around this year and post a $14 million
net profit.
Peter Molyneux's Lionhead Studios has not backed down on its stance that
Black & White will be the last game it designs directly for the PC.
However, Lionhead will still be seeking partnerships with other companies
who might port the company's games to the PC.
The latest Game Boy Advance release dates are November 2000 for Japan
and March 2001 for the US. Don't worry, I'm sure those dates will change
again next week...
Not only will Final Fantasy 9 be the last Final Fantasy game for the
PlayStation 1, but it will also be Square's last game of any kind for the
system.
SALES CHARTS
The following sales charts are based on unit sales for the week of May 7
to 13.
Dreamcast
1. Rainbow Six
2. Resident Evil: Code Veronica (click on the blue text for Master Gamer's
review of the game)
3. Grand Theft Auto 2
4. Crazy Taxi
5. Dead or Alive 2
launch games still in the top ten: NFL 2K and Sonic Adventure
PlayStation
1. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater
2. WWF Smackdown
3. Star Wars: Jedi Power Battles
4. Syphon Filter 2
5. Syphon Filter
old games still in the top ten: none other than Syphon Filter
Nintendo 64
1. Pokemon Stadium
2. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater
3. Excitebike 64
4. Mario Party 2
5. Super Smash Bros.
old games still in the top ten: Super Smash Bros., Super Mario 64, Mario
Kart 64, and Goldeneye 007 (which has sold over five million copies in the
US)
PC
1. Who Wants To Be A Millionaire
2. The Sims
3. Who Wants To Be A Millionaire: Second Edition
4. RollerCoaster Tycoon
5. EverQuest: Ruins of Kunark
old games still in the top ten: nothing other than RollerCoaster Tycoon
Sources for news: Fastest Game News Online, GameSpot, GameFan, Blue's News,
GI News, Next Generation, Adrenaline Vault, The Magic Box, Daily Radar,
Sega X, PSX 2 Online, Nintendorks, IGN, MCV, The Sega Zone, Sega Otaku,
Gaming Age, The NPD Group, www.cowdance.com
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