September 3, 1999
Next Generation Magazine is reporting that Microsoft is working on its
own video game console, code-named X-Box. The X-Box is due for release in
late 2000 and will be sold for under $300. Multiple versions of the system
could be sold by companies such as Microsoft, Gateway, and Dell, each of
them possibly with different hardware components, and each of them able to
play all X-Box games. NGM reports that a 500MHz processor from Intel
and/or AMD along with Nvidia's awesome new GeForce 256 graphics accelerator
(see story below) will put the X-Box in the same league as the PlayStation
2 from a technical standpoint.
If Microsoft wanted to, they could make the X-Box an open platform like
the PC, meaning that third-party developers don't have to pay for a license
or pay royalties to make games for the system (whereas they do have to pay
Sony, Sega, and Nintendo to make games for their systems). If they so
desired, Microsoft could also ensure that all X-Box games will run on your
computer as PC games in addition to being X-Box games. Doing this would
make the system extremely attractive to third-party developers because they
could sell their games to the entire population of PC gamers in addition to
the X-Box's user base.
Microsoft will not officially confirm the X-Box's existence because they
don't want news of the system to hurt Dreamcast sales (Microsoft supplied
the Dreamcast's Windows CE operating system). A Microsoft spokesperson has
referred to NGM's report as "wishful thinking," and stated, "This is a
rumor. It is not Microsoft's policy to comment on rumors."
As if Nvidia's 3D graphics accelerators weren't already destroying 3dfx
from a technology standpoint, Nvidia has unveiled a new line of 3D
accelerators entitled GeForce 256. The little chip with the stupid name is
actually more powerful than the PlayStation 2 in some respects, including
the crucial area of floating point operations per second (the PlayStation 2
is capable of 6.2 billion, the GeForce 256 is capable of 50 billion). The
first graphics cards utilizing the GeForce 256's capabilities will be
available on September 24 of this year, and the chipset is also rumored to
be a key component in Microsoft's X-Box.
Square has announced plans to bring the classic Super Nintendo RPG Chrono
Trigger to the PlayStation, but only in Japan. Square EA currently has no
plans to bring the game to the US. A Square spokesperson said, "We feel
that we just didn't piss enough people off when we refused to bring Tobal 2
to the US because of 'trouble programming the text boxes.' By bringing
Chrono Trigger to the PlayStation and not releasing it in the US, it
ensures that Square will be pissing people off well into the 21st century."
Users of America Online will be disappointed to find that they cannot
connect to the Dreamcast Network using their AOL account due to the fact
that AOL is not PPP-compliant. There is no way Sega can alter AOL's
servers to make them compatible with the Dreamcast Network, although AOL
certainly could if they wanted to. AOL users who are not addicted to the
service's poor customer service, high prices, pathetically slow connections,
and vast amounts of spam will have to switch to another ISP in order to get
online with the Dreamcast. In other AOL news, unconfirmed rumors indicate
that AOL is considering changing its slogan from "So Easy To Use, No Wonder
It's #1" to "Pre-Installed On So Many Computers And Shoved Down The
Public's Throat On TV So Much, No Wonder It's #1." (Sorry, I couldn't
resist.)
Sega has announced that over 300,000 US gamers have pre-ordered the
Dreamcast, more than tripling the amount of pre-sales the PlayStation
garnered in 1995. Sega anticipates that September 9 will be the biggest-
money day in entertainment history, with the Dreamcast expected to generate
around $45 million on that day. The current 24-hour record-holder is Star
Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, which generated $28 million in its
first day. Sega's current sales goals are to sell one million Dreamcasts
in the US by the end of this year, and then to sell another 500,000 systems
in the first three months of 2000. Also, Business Week has proclaimed that
the Dreamcast is "The Product To Watch" for 1999. Lastly, in addition to
being the chief sponsor of the MTV Video Music Awards on September 9 and
unveiling two new Dreamcast commercials during the telecast, Sega has
announced that it will give free Dreamcasts to all the performers and
presenters at the show.
Sony has finally shipped PlayStation 2 development kits to over 40
American developers, but the kits are woefully incomplete. In the kits
shipped to US developers, there is no sound chip or DVD mechanism, and the
processor is running at half-speed. Finished development kits are not
expected to be released until December, and yet it's still scheduled to be
released in the US before the end of next year. Am I the only one who's
not expecting to see the PlayStation 2 in the US until 2001?
Sega has announced that multiple Dreamcast launch parties will take place
on the night before the Dreamcast's launch, and the systems will be sold
at those locations starting at 12:00 midnight. Here are the locations of
all the launch parties and the celebrities scheduled to appear at them:
San Jose, California
celebrities: Verne Troyer (who played Mini-Me in Austin Powers: The Spy Who
Shagged Me) and Baywatch star Donna D'Errico
store phone number: 408-261-9011 (Software Etc.)
Atlanta, Georgia
celebrity: Mitzi Kapture of Silk Stalkings and Baywatch fame
store phone number: 770-434-1805 (KB Toys)
Las Vegas, Nevada
"celebrities": several Sega executives
store phone number: 702-435-2217 (Electronics Boutique)
Minneapolis, Minnesota
celebrities: Minnesota Vikings Dwayne Rudd and Tony Williams, plus Rena
Mero (formerly known as Sable in the WWF)
store phone number: 651-638-9551 (FuncoLand)
Now, insert your own nickname for Rena Mero here! Choose from:
A) I enjoy filing absurd lawsuits that get laughed out of court
B) I have no talent or personality, but I do have implants
C) I got over by taking my clothes off and then I sued the WWF because I
took my clothes off
Nintendo has revealed a new portable gaming system tentatively titled
Game Boy Advance. The GBA will have a 32-bit RISC Central Processing Unit
(so does the PlayStation), and it will supposedly run for 20 hours on two
AA batteries. Using a cellular phone in conjunction with the GBA, gamers
will be able to connect to the Internet to play multi-player games,
download game updates, send e-mail, and chat. In addition, a new digital
camera peripheral could allow gamers to see the face of their opponent in
multi-player games on the Internet. Both black-and-white Game Boy games
and Game Boy Color games will run on the GBA, but games made specifically
for the GBA will not run on the older systems. No price has been set for
the Game Boy Advance yet, but it is expected to sell for under $100. A US
release date of late 2000 has been set for the GBA, but as is the case with
all things Nintendo, that release date is subject to change.
A new company called Mobile 21 will make software for the Game Boy
Advance. Fifty percent of Mobile 21 is owned by Nintendo, and the other
50% is owned by Konami. The company will focus on producing software for
the system's cell phone uplink and its digital camera, and it will also be
responsible for the software that will link the GBA to Project Dolphin.
Sony will never admit it publicly, but they've just got to be concerned
about the momentum Sega is gaining with the Dreamcast. Sony is countering
Sega's $100 million Dreamcast marketing campaign with a $150 million
PlayStation market campaign of their own. In addition, Sony previously
planned to publicly unveil the PlayStation 2 at the Tokyo Game Show on
September 17, but now they're going to unveil it four days early on
September 13. Gee, that's only four days after the Dreamcast's launch.
What a coincidence...
Sierra has some interesting marketing plans for their upcoming PC game
Homeworld, which is now set for an October 1 release. Over a million
passengers on Delta and America West airlines will hopefully see a one-
minute long, in-flight advertisement for Homeworld.
Sony's Phil Harrison recently had some interesting things to say about
the PlayStation 2's digital camera capabilities. Harrison is both Sony's
vice president of Research and Development, and its vice president of
Third-Party Relations. Harrison recently said, "PlayStation 2 may ship
with software enabling users to import photographs from digital cameras.
Users could animate these images in 3D, add sounds, and e-mail them to
family or friends, just like a greeting card." Harrison also said, "In a
sports product, you could paint your face onto the character and be in the
game. Or in some real-time multi-player game, your video image can be
transmitted over a network to the other player and they can see you. Or
quite simply, you could put your boss onto the face of a boxer and beat the
crap out of him."
Sharp Corporation has developed new storage technology that allows 200GB
(that's 200,000MB) to be stored on a single 12-inch disk. Sharp will spend
the next two years further developing the technology before making it
available for purchase in 2001. Suddenly your 32MB Zelda 64 cartridge
doesn't seem so impressive, does it?
Sony has released a new development tool for the PlayStation 2 that
should make programming high-polygon models in PSX 2 games a much more
efficient task. Called the PolygonEater P2, the tool automatically reduces
the number of polygons required to build the advanced models, which is
normally a very time-consuming process for developers. An independent
developer working out of his garage stated, "This is great! With the
PolygonEater P2, PlayStation 2 development will be a lot quicker! Now all
I need is $5 million..."
Square has gone on record saying that it is indeed developing a new
Final Fantasy game for the PlayStation 2. In addition, they have told The
Wall Street Journal that the budget for the game is a whopping $40 million.
Midway's latest financial figures are in, and the news isn't good. The
company posted a net loss of $15 million in its latest financial quarter,
as compared to the $9 million profit it made in the same quarter last year.
In addition, the amount of revenue the company generated went down from $98
million last year to $56 million this year. It has also been revealed how
much Midway recently paid GT Interactive to settle a lawsuit between the
two companies: $11 million.
Sony has set a US release date for Gran Turismo 2: December 7.
Sega and AT&T are at it again, this time letting gamers download a
special update to Sonic Adventure's Speed Highway level. After downloading
the update, gamers across the country will be delighted to find that there
are now AT&T banner advertisements spread throughout the level. Joy! The
only thing keeping this promotion from being completely worthless is that
the gamer who gets the fastest time on the custom Speed Highway level (and
posts it on the Dreamcast Network web site) will win a free year of
Internet access from AT&T WorldNet. Another thing you can download for
Sonic Adventure is an update that celebrates such important dates as
September 9 and Christmas by changing the game's scenery (similar to
Christmas Nights for the Saturn).
Electronic Arts has signed a deal with Michael Jordan for Jordan to
appear in NBA Live 2000 and help EA promote the game. The part of the game
Jordan will appear in is the Legends of the Game section, which features
about 60 other basketball superstars in addition to Jordan. Jordan has
always been in NBA Live; the difference is that now he's called "Michael
Jordan" instead of "Roster Player."
Nintendo and Capcom has decided on a name for the first Zelda game the
two companies will create together for the Game Boy Color. The game will
be called Legend of Zelda: Fruit of the Mysterious Tree: Tale of Power.
Catchy, isn't it? For their second Zelda game on the GBC, perhaps Nintendo
and Capcom should consider the title "Legend of Zelda: Fight To Stop The
Colons: Although I Guess You Can Never Have Too Many Colons: Arena."
Sega has announced that they are bringing Seaman to the US. The voice
recognition-enabled virtual pet game will be released in the US early next
year along with a microphone peripheral. I can just see the Seaman jokes
already...
Ambrosia Software's marketing director Jason Whong claims that if any of
Ambrosia's upcoming products require bug fixes, he will eat real bugs at
next year's MacWorld Expo. Somebody introduce this guy to the makers of
Unreal...
PC developer Monolith Productions has officially signed on as a
PlayStation 2 developer with the help of Fox Interactive. Monolith will
use their LithTech game engine to make games for both the PlayStation 2 and
PC that carry the names of several Fox properties, possibly including Die
Hard and Aliens. In addition, Fox will handle publishing duties Monolith's
upcoming PC games Sanity and No One Lives Forever. Last year, Monolith
developed and published two first-person shooters for the PC (Shogo: Mobile
Armored Division and Blood 2), but unfortunately both of them bombed at
retail.
Sega has announced plans to sponsor the Family Values music tour, which
will feature such musical acts as Limp Bizkit, the Crystal Method, DMX, and
Filter. At each of the tour's 34 stops between September 21 and November 7,
the Dreamcast Mobile Assault vehicles will be there to let people try out
numerous Dreamcast games. A Dreamcast competition will also be held, with
the winner taking home $15,000 in cash.
Sony recently filed another preliminary injunction against the makers of
the commercial PlayStation emulator Bleem, and once again their request was
shot down. Earlier this year, Sony was able to stop Connectix from selling
their Virtual Game Station emulator for the Macintosh, but similar attempts
to stop Bleem sales have been unsuccessful. The court date for a full-
fledged trial between Sony and Bleem has been set for April 24, 2000.
Rumors have been circulating recently that Rare is working on Killer
Instinct 3, but Rare claims that the rumors are simply not true. Good!
The last thing the world needs is another crappy fighting game...
What used to be known as the Total Entertainment Network, or TEN, is now
known as pogo.com. TEN got its butt kicked by Mplayer.com (among others)
in the online gaming war when it decided that it would continue to force
its customers to pay $20 per month to use its service despite the fact that
they could go anywhere else and play the very same games for free. With
their focus now being on card games, trivia games, and bingo, pogo.com's
motto is "Games For Everyone." Except hardcore gamers, that is.
Some notable quotes this week:
Nintendo chief Hiroshi Yamauchi, on the Game Boy Advance: "The days when
costly, movie-like, realistic video game software attracted attention have
gone. People now want simpler games." (People also want a company leader
who is not completely out of touch with reality...)
Sega of America's vice president of marketing Peter Moore, on Bernie
Stolar's departure from Sega: "We're not selling Bernies on the shelves.
We're selling Dreamcasts."
In the week of August 1 to August 7, the best-selling PlayStation games
were:
1. WWF Attitude (click on the link for Master Gamer's review of the game)
2. Driver
3. NCAA Football 2000
4. Final Fantasy 7
5. The Need For Speed 3: Hot Pursuit
6. Tarzan
7. WWF War Zone
8. Syphon Filter
9. Triple Play 2000
10.Namco Museum Volume 1
In the week of August 1 to August 7, the best-selling Nintendo 64 games
were:
1. Pokemon Snap (also the #1-renting game on the market)
2. Mario Golf
3. Super Smash Bros.
4. Rugrats: Scavenger Hunt
5. Star Wars Episode I: Racer
6. Goldeneye 007
7. Mario Party
8. Mario Kart 64
9. Super Mario 64
10.WCW/NWO Revenge
In the week of August 1 to August 7, the best-selling PC games were:
1. RollerCoaster Tycoon
2. Rainbow Six Gold Pack
3. Darkstone
4. Fly
5. Cabela's Big Game Hunter 2
6. The Need For Speed 3: Hot Pursuit
7. StarCraft: Battle Chest
8. Sim City 3000
9. Tomb Raider
10.Total Annihilation: Kingdoms
Sources for news: Fastest Game News Online, GameSpot, GameFan, Blue's News,
GI News, Next Generation Online, Adrenaline Vault, The Magic Box, Happy
Puppy, PSX 2 Online, IGNPSX, IGN 64, Nintendorks, The Sega Zone, Sega Otaku,
Gaming Age, www.hamsterdance.com
Back To The Main Page
Master Gamer News- August 20, 1999
Master Gamer News- August 6, 1999
Master Gamer News- July 23, 1999
Master Gamer News- July 11, 1999
Master Gamer News- June 26, 1999
Master Gamer News- May 21, 1999
Master Gamer News- May 9, 1999
Master Gamer News- April 27, 1999
Master Gamer News- April 10, 1999
Master Gamer News- March 29, 1999
Master Gamer News- March 17, 1999
© 2001 ivan@mastergamer.com