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[remz]

That shenmue thread about the sailors is amazing for it's detour into gay rights and prejudice against people with tattoos, and a short discussion on the merits of the dealth penalty. Never change internet.

 

[Canis lupus]

Are there posts around 1994 discussing Sony's intro in the game industry?

 

[djtiesto]

Found some old posts of mine. Nothing earth shattering, some cringe inducing, but they go all the way back to 1996.

One of my old posts is in this thread, and it's pretty cringeworthy But that's what happens when you let a 14 year old on usenet I guess!

 

[FillerB]

Has anyone found any interesting posts about the initial release and response to Pokemon Red/Blue? I'm interested in seeing what people though about those games back then.

 

[rollingstart]

Not much on Silent Hill 1. People selling copies, saying it's out, etc. Nothing noteworthy. I haven't checked for any Sonic 1 and 2 stuff yet.



Less reaction to Raiden than I thought. I had to dig deep. Maybe MGS fans were all on "modern" forums at the time? There's one funny incident where someone played through the game early on Very Easy and posted about Raiden and people thought he was nuts, and then were surprised to find out he was telling the truth.


As for Shenmue, there's talk about how the voice acting is bad, and the traditional sailor jokes, as well as some people who think it's perfect and that Yuki Naka needs to make the sequel right away.

Thanks.

omg at the "Shenmue Feelings So Far" post.

If you like Zelda you owe it to yourself to give Shenmue a try.

I'd call this crazy if I weren't a huge Zelda and Shenmue fan...maybe he had a point.

 

[diffusionx]

So Nintendo has been on the verge of death for at least the last 20 years.

This is what I say all the time and nobody ever listens to me. Armchair analysts have been predicting Nintendo's imminent death since about 1991.

I never posted on Usenet but I do remember a lot of these controversies. It really doesn't ever change. In 2022 NeoGAF 2.0 will be talking about the golden age of the PS3/360 console era.

 

[GamePnoy74]

What a trip down memory lane...rec.games.video.* was my go-to video game message board before GAF/NeoGAF, especially during my college days in the 90s (damn I feel old).

I've always held the feeling that all y'all here are truly rec.games.video.*'s evolution and/or successor...for better or for worse, yo. =)

 

[Dave Long]

One of my old posts is in this thread, and it's pretty cringeworthy But that's what happens when you let a 14 year old on usenet I guess!

Fortunately, I was like 24 then, so not quite so bad!

I posted a lot more on CSIPGS back then, though. (comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.strategic)

 

[cRIPticon]

I'm too afraid to look through the archives for my posts. Probably really embarrassing.

THIS. I may go in and start digging for some *cringe*.....

 

[mj1108]

Some of us on this board probably posted some of that stuff.

I know I'm there....

 

[Josh7289]

Good Lord, it's like looking into a mirror.

Ladies and gentlemen, conclusive proof that people whining about how gamers complain too much on the internet in this generation are talking out of their arses. Gamers complain too much on the internet in EVERY generation.

It's truly fascinating, and, honestly, enlightening just how much things stay the same, despite the how much the surface seems to change.

 

[EmCeeGramr]

Sega vs Starfox

Well I'd like to comment on what you said about the Sega system. 1. The super
FX chip only gives the game a 3D effect and that's about it. It doesn't
increase the memory of the cart. The slowdown on the SNES is extremely
horrible. Even games reviewed that have "no slowdown" I found had plenty, such
as SFII. I have played Genesis 8 meg carts that blow away the SNES ones I have
played, such as Out of this World. Most of the SNES 8 meg cart games are
wasting the memory of the cart as well. I played a game, 8 meg, on the SNES
which could have been done on a 4 meg cart just as well. I guess the 8 MEG
label sells. Nintendo is also too slow with it's technology development. At
the latest CES show they hardly had any new hardware. Sega, by far, is the
forerunner in hardware development. The Genesis, even though it was developed
2 years before the SNES, is still superior. It may have a limited color pallet
, which has been fixed for the CD ROM by using a new data compression technique
, but the 68000 processor running at 12.5 MHZ, with cd rom 7 MHZ without,
blows away the 3.5 MHZ running speed of the SNES, which runs as fast as an old
Mac or an IBM 286. Sega has developed some Virtural Reality glasses and the
activator, which incorperates full body motion in a game, the next step to the
next level which is virtural reality gaming. Nintendo keeps uping the date of
their "super CD-ROM". Which they are still having problems with slow up. As
for the three button controller, the new six button controller is going to be
out soon. Now let's talk about games. The games being released for the SNES,
some being great games like SFII, on the most part are really slow or extremely
easy to beat. Well that's what I have to say about Sega vs SNES.

Game Mags Worst Disservice [Fatal Fury 2]

After playing this game in the arcades a couple of times, I purchased it for my
Neo-Geo -- the game magazines were so horribly wrong on this game, I can't quite
understand it...

EGM gave it 7/8/8/8, VG+CE gave it (editors' corner) 7/8/7/8... Gamepro gave
it all big smiley faces, but who knows what to make of that crap anyway?
These reviews (except maybe GamePro's) would indicate something good enough to
play for a few days and then get rid of.

This game is totally awesome - The graphics and sounds are among the absolute
best, period, especially for a fighting one-on-one game. They far outclass SF2
(although it took 2 years for SNK to find a way to do that), and the character
balance and control are just amazing. The SNK titles have just gotten more and
more refined to the point at which FF2 is simply great. It's tough, too, even
for SF2 aficionados - only 4 credits to beat the game, and it has 12 matches
per game [you versus all 8 player characters (yourself included) and 4 bosses]
plus two bonus stages. The manual is among the absolute best I've ever read
(quite funny!). You have to love seeing the SF2 old man from Chun Li's
bicycle stage riding on a motorcycle in Korea (and Italy) and then being
able to knock him off the bike...

It gets a very strong recommendation for any Neo-Geo owner who has found him-
or herself disappointed by easy games which are unbalanced in gameplay as well.

never put your faith in a number-scale review!!!

the slime at these magazines rarely explain precisely where their number
came from; I'd wouldn't be surprised if many of these reviewers rate
games on their first impressions...

also keep in mind that many magazine reviewers tend to slice off points
for 'originality.' Championship Edition SF2 (review of arcade in EMG)
was not given as high a rating as SF2 classic, for example. A sequal
that is an improvement over an original, may be given a worse review
because 'it was not enough of an improvement'

For the public, I think this is a disservice. Imagine the first time
buyer who gets the original rather than the (improved) sequal because of
a fuzzy rating scale. I'd rather a reviewer rate a game as objectively
as possible, and leave concerns as to 'originality' to the readers...
And objective comparisons to an arcade title are a must with ports.

Unless you are lucky enough to share the same opinions as the reviewer,
a brief # review is worthless. And the preferences of the multiple
reviewers in most magazines are all too similar. When was the last time
you saw a game review in EGM differ by more than 3 points? Look at this
net - even on a popular game, there is a lot of disagreement.

Old news. Every mag I've seen puts down on the Neo Geo. I would guess Sega or
Nintendo paid them to do it so their system won't seem so inferior. They'd say
anything if you pay them enough. Honest reviews? Ha! Like most people, I only
read them for the pics. Reviews? I don't even bother.

EGM

What is that "secret message" in the Atari Lynx insert produced by Sendai
anyways?

In the first 16-page "Atari Adventure" ad put out by Sendai publishing,

go to the two-page writeup of TOURNAMENT CYBERBALL. The first letter of each
sentence spells out: "Gamepro sucks".

EGM's people should worry about writing coherent sentences before they
worry about doing "clever" garage like that...

Esp in the May '93 issue they very childishly insult a reader's letter
about subliminal advertising... How ironic that not only their advertisers
use it (as is probably expected), but they themselves use it in one of
their own articles - against another magazine!

Oh, and in the same issue, I get a feeling that they got the Genesis SF2
pictures from one of their Japanese magazine cousins... Why else would some of
them be in BLACK AND WHITE!!!

The TRUTH is the Jaguar is a FRAUD!

John Gordon makes an explanation that one of the reasons that the
Jaguar doesn't exist is because of the 64-bit RISC processor. Well,
this is not reason enough to disprove the existence of the Jaguar be-
cause of the video game industry's notorious use of how many bits con-
stitute a system. Remember the Neo*Geo advertisements claiming the
Neo*Geo was a 24-bit machine? Well, it's not. For all we know, Atari
could have two 32-bit processors in the Jaguar and are calling the Jag
a 64-bit machine on that basis however incorrect it may be.

> If the Jaguar doesn't exist, then what machine has been shown to the Atari
>shareholders all this time?

While it is true that Atari is showing the shareholders a Jaguar,
I haven't heard anyone comment on seeing a Jaguar in actual use. In
fact, for all I know, Atari just cranked out a nice looking plastic
box and attached some controllers to it -- break open the box and you
might find that it's empty with no PCB inside.

Honestly, if Atari really does have something, why don't they at
least give us or anybody at least a sneak peek at what the Jaguar can
do? One would think that the least Atari would have is a canned pro-
gram which demonstrates the Jaguar's graphics and sound capabilities.
So far, nothing but second hand information -- no screen shots, no de-
monstrations. Absolutely nothing.

>P.S. Heck, if things work out, I'll see a Jaguar in September. If not sooner.

Not to pick on Atari or you for that matter, but I cannot be-
lieve the Jaguar will be out in September. That's only three months
to get the software ready assuming the hardware is already done. If
one piece of software really were three months away from completion,
I can't imagine why Atari wouldn't show it -- it certainly would re-
move the cloud of uncertainly surrounding Atari.

So does EA still hate Nintendo or what?

I'm wondering if EA's sports titles for the Super NES are still complete
shit, as has been the case for the past couple of efforts (NHLPA '93 stands
out in my mind as one example of total shit on the Super NES).

NHL '94 is, I believe, superior on the Super NES, as I've owned both
versions. The colours are better, the uniforms are more detailed, the
crowd noise and playing sounds are better, and you can have five guys on
ONE TEAM unlike the Genesis version. The animation is fine, just as good
as the Geni, IMHO.

The game I'm really wondering about is NBA Showdown. I rented this the
other day, having heard that the Genesis version has a new foul throw
perspective, and sure enough, this is lacking in the Super NES version.
The crowd noise was non-existent, just a stupid buzz.

The game was still quite fun however, and I'm wondering if owners of
the Genesis version or anyone who has played both can tell me how the
Super NES and Geni NBA Showdown games stack up. Is the Genesis version
vastly superior or are the two compatable?

Can someone answer the exact same question vis a vi (sic??) Madden '94?

One more question....can someone PLEASE give me some sort of hope that
FIFA Soccer will be available for the Super NES someday?

Oh, and also, is FIFA Soccer marketed as FIFA Football in Europe? Just
curious.

Sega is spineless - Night Trap recalled

Well, I read in the paper this morning that Sega is recalling Night Trap
from the stores. They will release it sometime later with Ratings and after
they have edited it.

I can't believe Sega caved in to this censorship. In the article they talk
to Tom Zito who developed the game and he said since the controversy that
sales have gone up quite a bit (I can't remember the exact figures). He
said this doesn't bode well for the emerging multimedia games industry.

I feel bad for Tom Zito and whoever else was responsible for this game.
This game has been made a video game scapegoat by our out-of-touch with
reality congress people and lazy ignorant parents who would rather have the
government sanatize everything for them so they don't have to think.

Of course you don't see Sega pulling Mortal Kombat off the shelves since it
sells too well.

I must agree. It's a total crock that Sega have pulled the Night Trap
CD off the market for re-editing. The game is rated by their rating
authority as a game for those over 17 (I think..I bought it before the
vaunted rating system was in place). Video games are filled with violence
but it's all pretend. The public, scared vecause they have let the poor become
so desperate they don't care who they shoot anymore, are temporarily
satisified by shows like the one the congress puts on in investigating
video game violence. Term limits for all the pusillanimous, pandering,
putrid, pea-brained congress people for this horror show. Ridiculous!

Yep, probably the only large company that was willing to take
a stand against censorship has just told us how spineless they really
are. Thanks a lot SEGA!

Re-read your last sentence. Now consider the fact that Sega has stopped
production of the game and is going to re-edit it so the offensive
scenes are removed -- in other words, censor it. Does that not meet
your definition of spinelessness?

A smart move? Sega has become THE cool system to own, in part because
of a backlash against Nintendo's "we know what is best for you"
attitude. If you ask me, this is *the* worst PR move they could have
made. Their make a few moms happy, but a lot of kids (and adults)
will no longer think of Sega as standing up to this nonsense.

And nonsense it is. On CompuServe, two people independently had
discussions with people about the game in which they were asked, "Isn't
that the game with the rape scene at the end?" Rape scene?!?! This
is madness! There is *no* nudity, there is *no* sex, and the only
violence is some very fakey, cheesy, intentionally unrealistic draining
of blood. Instead of sticking to their guns, Sega caved in, and many
people are rightfully disgusted.

Defending the Sega CD

I agree on most of your points. I don't think we can expect to see a tremendous
bonus over cart games in the future however.

Really all the CD player adds to the Sega console is storage capacity and
highly enhanced sound abilities. The rest is just icing.

Let's face it. 16 colors is still the limit. The screen resolution is not
enhanced. The graphics processing is not enhanced either. So on the surface
all the CD -can- do is make the sounds better and allow larger programs that
have a large array of data avaliable to them.

I honestly think that most of the crappy games out there suffer from the same
flaw. They are attempts to use the Sega CD in a capacity well over its limits.

The first Sega CD game I bought that -really- looked like the CD made a
difference was 'Final Fight'. I don't claim this is a great game (I love it),
but I can easily argue it is an example of a good Sega CD game.
It makes good use of the sound advantage of the Sega CD as well as the
storage capacity of the drive for the intro scenes. It would be a -great-
Sega cart, and the CD makes it better. (Is it avaliable on cart?)

The crappy games for the CD all try to offer things that the machine can't
deliver. 16 color FMV is gonna suck any way you look at it. Sorry, but I
think that even the best stuff out there now blows chunks. Many of the
CD games that first came out tried to take advantage of the FMV hipe and
produced such pathetic games as "Road Avenger" which was little more than
a cartoon with a memorization game attached with it. You could have gotten
the same fun from a Video rental and a sheet of paper.

"Batman Returns" is another example of a good use for the Sega CD. The game
features a good soundtrack on the CD, a great driving game, and the regular
platform game thrown in (which I ain't so nuts about.) The storage capacity
gives you 2 games in one, some fun intro sequences (with alot of flash), and
some neat sounds and music.

The original Sega CD (which I bought) came packaged with alot of good stuff.
One of my favorites was the 'Sega Classics' CD. Another good use for the
Sega CD. 4 regular good CD games in 1 (Golden Axe, Columns, Street Fighter,
and Shinobi) with somewhat enhanced sound effects. It made good use of the
storage capacity and a more limited use of the sound capacity. I liked the
CD alot. I wish there were more like them avaliable. (Are there?)

Well, in a nutshell, I think that most of the best Sega CD games so far have
proven to be ones that stayed within the abilities of the hardware avaliable.
The bad ones have mostly been the ones that were written to provide food to
the masses that were promised things like FMV. Perhaps with time the software
programmers for Sega will be able to deliver on such promises, but for now
I think we can't expect anything.

 

[Kade]

Thanks for keeping this stuff updated. Always looking for stuff to read at work during downtime.

 

[QisTopTier]

Now, there is no doubt that Nintendo retains a lot of name recognition and
marketing power . . . But Sony's 1-yr.-and then some head start has gotta
hurt. A frequently heard comment from fellow gamers is "I wanted u64, but
I got tired of waiting, bought a PSX and I'm happy with it."

lol It's like 360 and PS3

 

[jooey]

The more things change... the more they get routed into isamu posts

 

[EmCeeGramr]

super famicom at ces (1991)

The Super Nintendo was the big event of the show, but I was only
mildly impressed. I certainly am not going to run out and buy one
when they become available. Some of the software I saw running
was no better than present Nintendo games with maybe a few more
colors and a little better graphics. Some I saw were outstanding
though. One in particular which I forget the name of showed you
walking through a forest. The background of trees was scrolling
a slightly different speeds giving a great 3D effect.

There were as many or more booths for third party software companies
as last year which surprised me a little. I expected to see some
cut backs.

The biggest surprise was the number of companies showing MS-DOS
software. Probably the biggest selection I have ever seen at a
CES show.

!News! Nintendo to launch 32-bit SNES at CES (1992)

Redmond, Wash.-Nintendo of America Inc. has changed gears on the delivery
schedule of it CD-ROM deck for its 16-bit Super Nintendo Entertainment
System (SNES) originally slated for January release, disclosing that the
company will wait until the June CES to unveil a new 32-bit version which
will reportedly provide better game play.

In the meantime, Nintendo plans to introduce a selected line of 16-bit game
cartridges in January with a patented "super" microchip that will
reportedly allow Nintendo to produce 16-bit SNEs software that provides 3-D
effects.

The proprietary chip is based on RISC technology and includes digital
signal processor functions.

The Super FX chip will perform high-level mathematical function such as
texture mapping, shading, and real time 3-D perspective which will be used
to produce a new generation of 3-D games.

The first batch of game titles using the Super FX chip will be released
next February, and Nintendo licensees will be able to use the Super FX chip
beginning early 1993, according to Peter Main, vice president of marketing
for Nintendo of America.

Contending that the current CD-ROM technology available from Sega of
America and Turbo Technologies Inc. is limited, Main said Nintendo will
wait until it can provide a CD-ROM system which provides sufficient speed
for game players. "If you're going to be late, you' better offer something
better," Main said.

Main said that CD-ROM sales in both the U.S. and Japan, where it was
introduced last year, have produced mixed results, mainly because of what
he described as hesitancy from one visual screen to the next.

Main said that delivering the product on time will hinge on successful
development of software which "offer a significant difference from
cartridge-based games." The company said it will disclose plans for its
32-bit CD-ROM deck at the 1993 summer CES next year.

Main would not disclose exact prices on either CD-ROM hardware or software,
but hinted that the game would come in at a $200 to $300 price while the
software would have to fall into the $50 to $60 price scheme for the system
to be successful.

Main also said that the summer sales of its SNES and 8-bit game systems
have exceeded the company's original projections, with July 16-bit sales
more than double the company's anticipated goals.

The major reason for the better than expected performance, said Main,
include the June price cut on the SNES to offer a $99 and a $149
configuration and that the video game category has historically done good
business during poor economic conditions.

CES EVERYTHING FAQ/UPDATE [Horwitz] (1993)

The list below contains 21 GIF files (which are, by design, capable of being
read on almost every computer format); this format was chosen by a majority
of Net users, so I went with it. All of the following photographs were taken
by me unless otherwise noted.

Araiser2.gif: This shot of Actraiser 2, taken at Enix's booth, has a
reflection in it, but is better than nothing... I hope.
Terrific detail is still visible. [1]
Edge16.gif: A (blurry) shot of the new 4800BPS AT&T modem, the Edge-16. [2]
[This file was originally uploaded in ASCII by accident - Edge16-w.gif works.]
Konami.gif: This is a shot of the Konami booth at the show. [3]
Marioyos.gif: A large Nintendo balloon of Mario and Yoshi. [4]
MegmanX1.gif: This shot of Mega Man X (SNES), by Capcom, is one of very few
taken at the show. Although it's blurry, Capcom wasn't allowing
any pictures of the game (something I found out after the guy
behind me was stopped by a Capcom rep before he took a shot).
It's Mega Man fighting a giant bee; giant robotic animals are
still a large part of the game. [5]
MegmanX2.gif: This shot of Mega Man X is blurrier, and needs some explanation.
Behind Mega Man is a large bridge, drawn in 3-D and coming out
at you. In the foreground are large street lamps. On this
street area, the ground beneath you occasionally crumbles and
cars drive out at you (nicely drawn). [6]
NHLCup.gif: Nintendo's truly excellent NHL Stanley Cup Hockey for the SNES;
this shot taken from Nintendo's press kit photos. [7]
NES2.gif: The redesigned $50 Nintendo Entertainment System; this shot
taken from Nintendo's press kit photos. [8]
[This file was originally uploaded in ASCII by accident - NES2-w.gif works.]
Nintendo.gif: A wide shot of the Nintendo pavilion (this is only showing the
Nintendo products), Yoshi's Safari etc. to the left, and FX
Trax to the right. In the center, the Nintendo dome, where a
5 minute laser/movie show (using 3-D glasses to view laser-
polygons superimposed on a movie screen) took place. [9]
[This file was originally uploaded in ASCII by accident - Ninten-w.gif works.]
Panasonc.gif: This is a shot of the Panasonic booth at McCormick Place East,
where the main 3DO demos were all being given. The large area
shown here is where 6 or 8 systems were set up, and a huge
video screen was displaying choice segments of a 3DO video
tape. A man stood in the center of the display, speaking to
the crowd about the future of games and the virtues of 3DO. [10]
Philips.gif: The Philips CD-I area at McCormick East, away from the main
video gaming area (which was in McCormick North). [11]
Sega1.gif: The arcade games Sega was showing; to the left, on the Megalo
machines, 2 Sonic The Hedgehog arcade games (sorry, no pics)
which used a 3-D overhead perspective like Viewpoint (Neo-Geo)
and swift 3-D polygon objects; to the center/right, an 8-person
Virtua Racing. Behind the VR machines, you may see a little of
Sega's AS-1 simulator. [12]
[This file was originally uploaded in ASCII by accident - Sega1-w.gif works.]
Sega2.gif: This photo of Sega's pavilion is among the best of the photos
for one major reason: If you have a high-res GIF displayer,
you can zoom in on some of the important Sega exhibits, like
the Sega-VR booth near center, etc. [13]
Sega3.gif: Another area of the Sega pavilion, which focuses on the Sega
Sports part of the show. [14]
SF2HF.gif: The Street Fighter 2: Hyper Fighting (Turbo) display, with a
large screen full of arcade SF2HF shots and some kiosks with
the SNES version. The Capcom booth is also visible; note that
this is on a *trade* day... Another shot I took of the fourth
(consumer) day has this entire area mobbed with people. [15]
[This file was originally uploaded in ASCII by accident - SF2HF-w.gif works.]
Surprise.gif: Jer's vote for dopiest gimmick at the show. Enjoy! [16]
3DO.gif: The system, under glass, at 3DO's booth in McCormick East. [17]
[This file was originally uploaded in ASCII by accident - 3DO-w.gif works.]
TTI1.gif: One look at the TTI booth; their large multi-screen display
which highlighted certain games (like Might and Magic 3) and
some kiosks to the left. [18]
TTI2.gif: Madden Duo Football on screens to the right, kiosks with Working
Designs' games to the left. This is to the right of the last
photos. [19]
VVision.gif: Virtual Vision, the sunglasses with the TV screen built in,
being displayed. [20]
Worldbbl.gif: Sega's World Series Baseball, a grainy shot taken from a Sega
press kit slide photograph. A very impressive game - this is
grainy, but accurate on the character proportions. [21]

CES Report (1994)

The show was kicked off by Howard Lincoln, Chairman of the Board, Nintendo
USA. He rambled on about the state of the video game industry and how
SEGA and Nintendo were the leaders, etc. He did put down Trip Hawkins of
3d0 by stating that software leads the industry, not new hardware like the
3d0. He then put up a graphic of the 1983 donkey kong and said this
character will lead Nintendo's software front this year.

Then donkey kong of 1983 turned into the 1994, Nov 21. Donkey Kong Country
video game. This game looks HOT. It is a mario type of game with D.K. as
the prime character. The graphics are first rate. At first, we thought it
was from the 64-bit machine, but no, this was all on the SNES. More on this
game later.

Lincoln also introduced Nintendo's new 64-bit machine. It is no longer
called Project Reality. The real name is now "Ultra 64". Two games are
already completed for this sytem. One was Touring USA or some such and the
other was Killer Instinct. Both will be available later THIS year in the
arcades. Lincoln said that the Ultra 64 still should be released by fall
of 1995.

Lastly, with little fanfare, he announced the Super Gameboy. Nuff said,
who cares???

Sega was no where to be found, CONTRARY to what was written in the latest
Game Player's magazine which when delivered to my house said that SEGA was
at the show and that it was a smashing success (all this printed at least
4 weeks prior to the show beginning!).

The Nintendo booth was easily the biggest and best booth. Donkey Kong
Country was displayed EVERYWHERE. There was a nice mountain with a jungle
motif along with a variety of donkey kong-like scenary. There were about
10 or 12 donkey kong country video games set up. They looked to be nearly
final versions and the gameplay was enhanced via help from Silicon Graphics.
This is a game you must see to appreciate. Gameplay, like I said, is similar
to a mario adventure, but many more weapons and options. I particularly
liked jumping on top of a rhino and "horning" all the baddies.

Other nintendo games shown included Stunt Racer FX. I liked how they
displayed it in that it was displayed in the body of a small race car.
Super Street Fighter II was shown, but not to many people were there since
the vast majority of people focused on the Donkey Kong Country. 3rd Party
Licensees showed virtually all the games out and due out soon. Akklaim had
a very large booth as did Konami (thanks for the T-shirt Patty!). There were
a ton of other nintendo things too. Most I have forgotten, but it was nice
to meet Major Kira (Deep Space Nine). She was giving out pictures and
autographs in the Paramount section (right next to Beavis and Butthead).
Speaking of which, you could also get your picture taken with life size
statues of B & B. I passed on that one hehe hehe heheheheh.

Jaguar support was strong. Atari had a large booth across from Nintendo and
this was what was showing:

-snipped for char limit-

A few others that I can't recall. The Jaguar section was set up in clumps
of 4 games per pod. Most of the games, except the 5 current releases
and Wolfenstein 3d were all beta or alpha test roms. You could see that
they weren't even in cartridge shells! Nice display though and at least
one of the Tramiels was on hand to give out tips and stuff. Nice....

3d0 was not setup in the video games pavillion. Instead, they and CDI
set up in the other pavillion and I darn near missed them. 3d0 had a large
booth set up with many displays. GDX and Way of the Warrior were the big
hits. Way of the Warrior looks pretty good too.

CES Report - My Nintendo Experience (1995)

STARFOX 2

My favorite in the Nintendo area, Starfox 2 looks to be everything the
original was, with a whole lot more. And less, in a manner of speaking.
Less restrictions. You can now fly anywhere you want, and the missions
do not follow a scriped path anymore. That alone is worth the price
of admission.

You can transform your ship into a walker, and (I believe) leave in
the middle of missions to go to another planet -- I saw one person
do this and I don't think it was scripted. What a refreshing
update!

The Starfox 2 machines were *always* occupied. In fact, it seemed that
no one wanted to leave. This one looks like a winner.


KIRBY'S AVALANCHE

I didn't play this one, but I watched it. KA is Nintendo of America's
version of Puyo Puyo, the smash puzzle game in Japan. Unlike the
original Japanese version, Nintendo changed all the characters to
Kirby-themed ones for maximum marketability. This seems a little
less lame than the face-lift that Sega imposed on their version, but
not by much.

Fortunately, the great gameplay isn't influenced at all by the character
portraits. This is a fun game, and it's *awesome* with a friend.
If you don't already have it, get it.


KIRBY'S GOLF

This was described as taking the physics of a golf game and putting them
into the Kirby universe. Kirby's been a busy guy in the past six months!
This is the ultimate in non-threatening video games, and lots of people
wanted to give it a try. In fact, the Kirby machines were far more
popular than the FX Fighter machines.

I didn't give this a try since golf really isn't my thing, but it was
bright and clear, and had good graphics. If you like minature golf,
this one might be worth checking out. It won't appeal to blood and
gore fans, but it will probably appeal to most everyone else.


VIRTUAL BOY

Let me state now that I like Virtual Boy. I think it's a neat little
portable, and I enjoyed playing with it. However, it's *not* virtual
reality, not at all.

If I had to describe VB, I'd say you take a Gameboy, color it red, and
attach the Sega Master System 3D glasses and a SNES pad and there you
go. The quality of the system is better than this description implies,
but I feel this describes the contents better than "virtual" anything.

The 3D images are nice, sharp, and plentiful. I had no problem resolving
the images, nor felt any eyestrain or discomfort. I found the
red coloring a bit sharper and brighter than the Gameboy, and I wasn't
turned off by having just red.

There were two games on display -- Space Pinball, and a first-person
rock'em-sock'em type game. I got to play the pinball one, and it was
very nice. The pinball physics was a little off, but it was a fun game
and the 3D effects made some great eye candy. I had a real sense of
depth and 3D images. There were a good selection of tables, although
some were much better than others.

My biggest beef is Nintendo trying to pass this off to the public
as virtual reality. It's not. If this is virtual reality, so is the
8-bit SMS and *that* was in color. As a minimum, I think VR necessitates
head-tracking, something the VB wasn't designed to do.

The VB itself is also underpowered for real VR environments. It plays
a good game of 3D pinball, but the one demo which showed a spaceship
traveling through a 3D environment looked pretty bad. Imagine the
old Atari vector Star Wars with 1/3 as many lines and lots of flashing
and jagged lines everywhere. Yuck.

Personally, I don't see this going over too well. $200, with $50-$60
for games is too much for this technology. It's nice, but that's too
steep for my wallet. I wouldn't mind having one, but not at that price.


ULTRA 64

The only signs of the U64 in the convention was a demo tape by SGI
concerning their development tools kit for the U64. There were some
graphic demonstrations, but none of them were actually produced by
a U64. Nintendo and SGI were very careful to verbally dance around
the fact that they didn't have a real demo, actually running off of
a U64 or prototype hardware.

The demos are outstanding. In fact, they're so outstanding that it's
just too hard to swallow yet. Not until I see it, without a VCR
or a SGI connected to the display. Nintendo's demo is very slick,
and it looks light-years beyond the currently available systems.
If they pull it off, it will be a spectacle. I'm definately rooting
for them, but don't take it personally if I find it just a little hard
believe just yet.

Why? The demos were just perfect. In one, they showed a town landscape
with a bird's eye view. In the first half of the demo, they described
how current consoles have a pop-in problem -- with complex scenery,
the machines can't draw everything in the scene from all distances,
so when the camera comes close enough, the details "pop" into view.
Then, they showed the scene over again, telling us what the U64
would look like. Here, there was no pop-in effects at all as the
landscape scrolled smoothly by and everything scaled into view flawlessly.

The next demo concerned anti-aliasing. They showed a town with a fence
around it, and as the camera closed in on the town, brought attention
to how the fence seemed to shimmer and the rooftops on the buildings
had jaggies all over the place. Now the demo started over, telling
how the U64 anti-aliases which removes the problems in the previous
scene. It looked perfect -- the fence was crystal clear, and the
rooftops were pixel perfect. Actually, that's a lie. I couldn't
distinguish any pixels anywhere.

The level of perfection they promise bothers me. I find it hard to
believe that Nintendo and SGI will deliver something so far ahead of
their competitors. I'd love to see it, mind you, but it just seems
too good to be true.

To put this into perspective, the demos I saw are essentially promising
that the U64 will deliver graphics and performance that is an order
above Sega's *arcade* Daytona machine. Daytona has the pop-in problem,
and it's graphics weren't as detailed as the ones on the U64 tape.
So is the U64 going to deliver better-than-Daytona quality for
$250-$300? You can bet that if they do, I'll be first in line at
the cash register. I'm not going to start holding my breath *now*, though.

As for delivery time, a SGI rep on the tape stated that they are on
schedule, and they're just where they want to be with regards to
production. Take that how you will.


UNIRACERS

Nintendo was pushing this title. I won't spend much time on it, since
it's out, but to be honest, I don't see the appeal. Maybe if I sat
down and tinkered with it for a few hours, but it didn't impress me
at CES.


SUNSOFT

As I mentioned in my misc posting, Sunsoft had quite a few platform
games for Genesis and SNES, all based on licensed characters and
all less than inspiring. Thankfully, the SNES didn't have an overdose
of platformers like the rest of the show did. Still, I was struck
by the utterly repetitive nature of this exhibit. They have games
for the SNES, but I wouldn't want them

FX FIGHTER

In one sense, the designers should be commended for attempting the
impossible: VF on the SNES. The final product, though, is kind of
ugly. It looks flat, color-impaired, and grainy.

At this point, only two of the characters were done, and a GTE rep told
me it was 40% complete. However, I get the feeling that much of the
remaining 60% is adding the remaining characters. The game could really
use a graphical boost, but I don't think it's going to get it.

I'm really bad at VF type games, so I can't really comment on gameplay.
I couldn't seem to get that many moves out of the fighters, and there
wasn't a summary of the controls anywhere in sight. People seemed to
ignore this one, as I had no problem finding an open SNES in both the
GTE and Nintendo setups.

The game is a nice attempt, and it may play very well, but it's hard
to get excited over it. VF isn't exactly the world's most popular
fighting game to begin with, and I wonder how a version which is a
lot less in the graphically impressive department is going to do.

(Of course, it didn't help that DGHF brought a Sony Playstation and
demoed Toshinden, which has to be seen to be believed. It makes
Saturn VF look pale in comparison, so just imagine what it makes
FXF look like. Sony blew it big by not showing off the Playstation
at this CES, where they would have commanded a lot of attention by
default. Their loss is everyone else's gain, though


JUSTICE LEAGUE

-snipped for char limit-


There were lots of other software titles, but not much stood out.
Titus was showing Ardy Lightfoot, which was a 3/4 perspective game
like Equinox of Landstalker which looked fun, but I couldn't get to
play it because this guy was there forever. I'd give this a look.
I saw Vortex, which looked somewhat impressive, but not overly so.
I'd trade for this one, but wouldn't go out and buy it tomorrow.
Konami had a sequel (I think) to Cybernator, but it didn't look
all that different, and felt like it was shaded in red tones --
maybe their designers have spent too much time playtesting Virtual
Boy

Konami and Capcom had really lackluster displays, with nothing of any
real excitement. Same with Squaresoft, where I didn't see anything new.
Same with most of the SNES booths -- they had stuff, but none of it
especially attention-grabbing or attractive.

A special award to Nintendo for *not* having a Doom clone. This seemed
to be the only platform in existence without a pointless and boring
retread of Doom. Nintendo-only fans may not be happy about this, but
it was so refreshing not to see one!

After last year's bombshell of DKC, it seems like Nintendo took some
time to relax. Nintendo's offerings were good, just not revolutionary
or exceptionally exciting. The no-show of the U64 was just another
component of the whole lack of energy. Nintendo is offering some good
solid titles (Starfox 2, Kirby's Avalanche) that will be top-notch
additions to anyone's game library. But there was nothing that made
me stand up and take notice. Oh well.

 

[EmCeeGramr]

Joe's CES ramblings (1993)

Hey Folks!

Because I don't have the time to respond to what other peopole are
saying about the CES, and because I've always been one to spout my opinions
even when no one asked for them, I'd like to present my own CES awards.


OVERALL BEST OF SHOW:

Street Fighter II Turbo: Hyperfighting for the SNES!

This cart actually has two games in one: Champion edition and
Turbo edition. All the moves are there, along with a lot more detail than the
original SNES SFII. A hell of a lot more voices, too. An incredible game!
Should be out in the last week of July, according to Capcom representatives at
the show. They also said it would cost $80, but I ordered it on monday for $72
from Chips and Bits. That included 2-day shipping. A must have!

BEST OF SHOW FOR GENESIS/SEGA CD

Silpheed!

EGM was right about this one. It makes Starfox look like a NES
game.


BEST OF SHOW FOR LYNX

Battle Wheels from Beyond Games!

Should be available by the end of this week. It deserves all
the hype it got here on the net -- an incredible game!

runner up: Super asteroids/missile command!
Two awesome arcade classics done in nifty Lynx
style.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT:

Mortal Kombat -- all formats.


Sorry, gang! The SNES version is totally censored with no
blood and goofy alternate "finishing moves" (please!) and the Genesis version
just didn't look that good, even though it had all the gore. Maybe the Genesis
version will improve before its release on September 13. I hope so. A Sega CD
note: on the screen that was supposed to be a CD version of MK, a videotape of
MK in all its glory was being shown. Right down to the words "insert coin."
Feh!

MOST SURPRISING GOOD GAME

Clay Fighters for the SNES from Interplay.

Combine SF with claymation of goofy fun characters and awesome
sound. It looked great. Available in late '93

runner up: Mario all-stars. What a good idea for Mario fans.
The graphics and sounds are really nice.

that's all I got time for right now. E-mail me with any comments or
questions!

CES Sega News part 1 (1994)

Ok before I start forgetting all the stuff I saw at CES, I'm gonna unload all
the Sega info I saw on you guys...

Here's more info on Castlevania Bloodlines by Konami for the Genesis. I spent
a lot of time playing it at the show, because it's one of those games that you
just can't put down once you start. IMHO it is probably one of the top 3
action games ever made for the Genesis. I was unimpressed by screenshots I saw
before in mags, but once I saw and played the game it turned out to be
fantastic. The main character may be small, but I don't mind that at all. The
gameplay and layout of the levels are very similar to that of the classic
Castlevania I on the NES. There are 2 characters to pick from, one uses a whip,
and the other a spear. The enemies and bosses are some of the most original
I've seen in a long time. The animation of all the enemies are excellent and
so are the sound effects the make. The great art on the enemies make them look
really demonic and realistic. For example one of the mid-level bosses is a big
hell hound which breathes fire and howls which shatters all the glass in the
stained glass windows around you. Really cool. The intro scenes are very well
done too. The game looks 100% complete so it should be out soon.

Konami also had a Double Dribble game for the Genesis, an update on their
classic basketball game on the NES. The players are bigger than any other
basketball game except NBA Jam, but there are a full 10 players from both
teams on the court and they really crowd up the screen without any slowdown or
flicker. They are also very well animated.

Contra is also coming out, but it was not shown.

The CDX from Sega is an amazingly compact Genesis/Sega CD combo player.
However with no screen, I don't see what is the point. Perhaps they will sell
a portable screen which you can attach to it.

Rebel Asssault for Sega CD from JVC was a big disappointment. It look just as
bad as it did in the screenshots. The FMV is probably Dracula quality - full
screen but very blurry and washed out. The FMV in the actual game itself is
pretty bad too. For example in the first stage, the canyon scene, it is very
hard to see what's going on. I also don't know if there is even a CD soundtack
since all I heard was PCM music. The game is very hard, just the first stage
was very frustrating. I don't know why they can't make the FMV as good as the
ones in Tomcat Alley.

JVC is bringing out the Wonder Mega! It is going to be called the XEYES and
will include a CD encyclopedia and one game. (I will have more specific
details like price later)

I played a little bit of Soulstar, the new Sega CD 3-D shooter from Core. It
has scaling and is very much like Galaxy Force 2. However the graphics lack
color and the game was kinda boring. The background is also stationary which
looks lame. Hopefully it will be improved.

The Virgin booth had some of the best Sega games at the show. Out of this World
1&2 for Sega CD looks awesome. In part 2 you play the alien, and the graphics
look much better and more cinematic than part 1. It's almost like watching a
movie. For fans of OOTW1 this game is a must-have. Dune CD had great graphics
and the scenes where you fly over the desert look awesome. It looks like a
it will be a pretty good adventure game. Jungle Book for Genesis has great
animation like Aladdin, except the graphics are much better.

I played a bit of Revenge of the Ninja, the latest FMV Sega CD from Renovation.
It plays very much like Timegal. The FMV occupies a large area of the screen
but is very grainy.

I played a bit of Terminator CD which is already out. Great graphics and game
play, much better than the horrible cart version.

I tried Battle Fantasy, a Sega CD fighting game from Extreme/Bignet. It
features the biggest characters yet seen in a 16-bit fighting game, but the
animation of the characters were very slow and jerky. The graphics are good,
the characters(anime style) and their special moves are interesting. This game
has a lot of potential if they would just improve the speed and animation.

Extreme was also showing the Battletech game for the Genesis. The game uses the
same overhead 3/4 perspective as Jungle Strike except you are controlling a
big mech. The mech moves very realistically and is big. The game looks far from
completion, but seems to have a lot of potential.

FCI is bringing out Eye of the Beholder on Sega CD. It looks good, with better
graphics than the SNES version. And of course the music by Yuzo Koshiro will
be awesome. They are also bringing out a 16 meg version of Might and Magic 3,
which is kinda weird since the Japanese version was on CD. I guess they didn't
want to leave out the Genesis-only owners. Anyways it looks like a pretty good
RPG too.

Vay, Working Design's 2nd RPG for the Sega CD looks terrific. They were only
showing a demo. It showed full screen animated scenes that looked really
dramatic, and the battle scenes has a lot of animation and special effects. The
music was great too. Overall the game looks much better than I had expected. I
guess we can really look forward to this one. Victor Ireland, president of WD
told me that they are bringing out Lunar 2 later this year (over 3 times the
size of Lunar1) and one yet unannounced title. He just had lunch with the
president of Gamearts (their two companies have very good relations) and he
told me that a Sega CD version of the Urusei Yatsura game is a big possibility.
Also it seems like that there will be a special fan-appreciation Lunar
promotion. All people who bought the first shipment of Lunar can receive for
free the following: a really cool Lunar pin, and a new version of the CD box
and instructions.

Vic Tokai is really hyping Dream Mansion for Sega CD. It features a 3-D
environment which scrolls in FMV when you move around. However I though that
the graphics were a bit too grainy.

Like I said before Sega themselves only had 1 new Sega CD game which was kind
of disappointing, but at least that game (Tomcat Alley) signified that they
had finally figure out how to do full screen high quality FMV on the Sega CD.

I tried out the Edge-16 Modem from AT&T. I played BallZ, a fighting game, over
the phone line with another person in a seperate building. Since the modem
allows simultaneous data and voice transfer, I was talking to him the same time
he was kicking my butt. BallZ is an innovative fighting game. The characters
are all made up of spheres, and they can morph into different shapes. The game
plays like Dark Edge or Virtual Fighters, that is in a totally 3-D environment.
It seemed to play well but it had some flicker and the backgrounds are boring.
Other modem compatible games were Brutal, the Sega CD/Genesis fighting game
with funny cartoon characters, and a multi-player RPG game. The RPG game had
poor graphics and looks like Wizardry, but the multi-player capability should
be intersting. Overall I thought the modem had a lot of potential.

Tengen had a large booth showing a lot of games. My favorite was Grind Stormer,
a new shooter for the Genesis. This was a rarely seen arcade vertical shooter
in the same vein as Truxton by Toaplan, and the Genesis version is just as
intense and fun as the arcade. IMHO the best shooter at the show.

Takara had a few surprises. There was Fatal Fury 2 which I talked about in my
last post. The game was about 80% complete and with a few improvements to the
graphics this will be a killer game. It has a lot of neat touches and extra
features not found in either the SNES or Neo Geo versions. Joe and Mac for
Genesis was excellent, much closer to the arcade version than the SNES, with
an amazing amount of enemies on screen at once. It also has that cavemen
dragging away cavewomen by the hair scene that was taken out of the SNES
version. King of the Monsters 2 looked really good too, just slightly less
colorful than the SNES version.

Sega had a big area set up for their Sega Sports line up, but since I don't
care much for sports game the only one I checked out was their new baseball
game (forgot the name) that features the huge behind the batter hitting
perspective which was really awesome.

Hmm that's all for now I still have more Sega info which I will post later

Rob's Jaguar E3 bits (1995)

* FLOOR SPACE. Yes, Atari had the smallest space of the various console
makers at the show. On the other hand, their space was well used. Sega's
area (which was in the center of the South hall and next to Atari) was the
biggest, but much of the area was open space, big displays, and to redudant
showings. The Saturn area, for instance, had three units running DAYTONA (A
personal disappointment for me -- the resolution's low, the horizon is -far-
too short, and the steering wheel is sensitive as h*ll. Give me RIDGE RACER
on the PlayStation instead), three running PANZIER DRAGOON, etc. Sega also
had a section devoted to different forms of shelving(!) and Sega merchandise,
and massive mock-ups for less-than-stellar games like GARFIELD and VR
TROOPERS. Or look at Nintendo, who wasn't even in the South Hall with
Atari/Sega/3DO/Sony, but in the West Hall with most of the computer firms.

I lost count of how many Jaguar games I saw (I'll have to count after I finish
this message); almost each kiosk was running a completely different title,
with a few networked demo exceptions, which helped Atari cram more games in a
small amount of space. A few games -- RAYMAN, THEA REALM FIGHTERS, WHITE MEN
CAN'T JUMP, and ULTRA VORTEX -- got the "big screen" treatment, with massive
color TVs and a decorated theme area. RAYMAN, for instance, had vines and
plants in the area, and "tree stump" seats for people to sit in.

* JAGUAR VR. This was Atari's "big gun" product, and they made sure everyone
knew it. Atari was handing out VR promotional packets with free photographic
slides (for you magazine publishers) and lots of information, as well as
"Jaguar VR" T-shirts (take the traditional black Jaguar tee, but replace the
blood-red Jaguar logo on the back with a shiny embossed "Jaguar VR" instead).

Two raised diases were set up in the front of the area, where visitors got a
chance to try the Jaguar VR prototype gear. One line was devoted to members of
the press and media, while a second line was for "everyone else." Both lines
were long, though the media got preferental treatment. The hardware is 98%
finished, and final molds of the equipment were on display. The VR system
consists of three parts:

(1) VR goggles. No stereo vision, but otherwise a snug-fitting headset. Works
fine with glasses, too. Adjustable knobs for picture focus and head fit.
Plugs into the expansion port of the Jaguar.

(2) Trigger controller. A lightweight hand-held controller with two buttons: a
"trigger" and an "action" button. Plugs into the Jaguar controller port.

(3) Infrared receiver. Not used in the demo setups, but the final Jaguar VR
set will use an infrared receiver to track the position of your trigger
relative to your helmet.

The software being shown was ZONE HUNTER, a shoot-everything-that-moves
sci-fi game. It was currently running on a dedicated computer (unseen,
possibly an IBM PC). A Virtuality rep I talked to says that work on the Jaguar
game software has begun; the polygon count will probably be lower in the end,
but they expect to make up for it by giving you a larger "virtual world" to
play in.

Yes, I got to try the VR gear. B-) ZONE HUNTER is a simple game: you play a
futuristic space Marine, who walks around, through, and under a high-tech
city, blowing away all sorts of aliens and enemies. Grab powerups for your
gun, avoid damage, and reach your checkpoints before time runs out. Nothing
too complicated, but it was fun to play -- think of it as VR DOOM, if you
want (though not as fast). Graphics were plain polygons with a minimal amount
of texture-mapping; sounds consist of weapons fire and a "radio" voice from
your headquarters.

The prototype VR gear works like a charm, and the tracking of your head and
gun are perfect. For example, I stopped at the end of a hall, spun around,
and blew away a mutant creeping up behind me, and didn't feel any sort of
discontinuity from the game. Suffice it to say that this is a solid product.

I expressed some doubt that the $300 price tag might not make it worthwhile for
players. The Atari rep I talked to quickly contradicted me: a LOT of retailers
and sales representatives think there's a HUGE market for a $450 ($300 headset
plus $150 Jaguar) setup. Atari's very eager to get this out by Christmas 1995
as a result, and I can't blame them.

Final VR note: The current plans are to have at least two VR games available at
the headset's release: ZONE HUNTER and MISSILE COMMAND 3D. I managed to sneak
a peek at MC3D (it wasn't being shown to the general public), but the game was
too early to get a feel for what was going on. At least coding has started...

>> Who's Afraid of Sony? Is Atari worried about the $300 Sony PlayStation?
No. Why not? Because it doesn't exist.

Take this with a bag of salt, too, but apparently the $300 PlayStation
announcement is a bit of misdirection from Sony, to recoup some of their
lost thunder from Sega's early Saturn release. The PlayStation will hit
the 'States for $300, but there are reports that it's the WHOLESALE price.
If this is true, then depending on how retail sales go, the PlayStation may
end up costing anywhere from $340 to $380 retail after the dust settles...

Semi-related sidebar: most of the retailers I talked with weren't floored
with Sega's early Saturn release. The feeling is that, at $400, it's still
priced too high for most consumers. The SNES and Genesis are still seen as
the price favorites, and the low-cost upgrades -- the Jaguar and the 32X --
are given better odds for survival. The consensus is also that the Jaguar
is technologically superior to the 32X, and Atari's lack of games is the
biggest thing holding them back (hmmm, sound familliar?).

* JAGUAR CD. Everyone seems to be looking at August as a release date for this
peripheral. Why the delay? (Repeat after me) "No software!"

A walk around Atari's E3 floor will confirm that -- NONE of the Jaguar CD
titles shown were finished. Even VID GRID, the so-easy-I-can't-believe-it
title, was running as an unfinished "E3 Demo Version." You could play it, but
there were no provisions to set options yet. Some titles were closer to
completion than others, but every Jaguar CD game was clearly stamped "Work in
progress," and looked like it too.

On the good side, the CD does exist; a few Jaguar CD games were running off
EEPROMS, but most were playing on final-production CD units. I got a quick
glimpse of the Jaguar CD packaging mock-up; there's not much to report, other
than the Virtual Light Machine gets a good amount of promotion, and the box is
printed for international sales (in three languages).

* AIR CARS. Now, -this- is a title that can be called "lamest Jaguar game
ever" (or at least at E3). My deepest apologies to Midnight Software, but this
is one gamer's opinion. While the game may have been reworked after a poor
showing at the 1995 Winter CES, the near-final version on the E3 floor didn't
move me in any positive direction. The only real changes that I could spot
were better and more extensive use of Goraund shading; the sense of movement
and terrain height is there. On the other hand, game objects look blocky and
simple (a "tree" was nothing more than an elongated green pyramid stuck on a
brown cube, for example) and things got chaotic pretty quickly (I suddenly
found myself stopped in front of a tank which blew me away after three shots).
The Midnight rep I talked to emphasized the eight-player networking aspect of
the game, but I don't know if people will put up with the title just for that
feature alone.

* RAYMAN. Forget Donkey Kong, Mario, or Sonic; Ubi Soft was promoting RAYMAN
in a big way all through E3. Sticker sheets were everywhere, a twenty-foot-
tall inflatable Ray was waving across the street from the Convention Center
entrance, Ubi Soft's RAYMAN advertising (for all systems) was easy to snatch,
and several Rayman cosumed walkers paraded around the show floor.

Oh, the game itself? Like BURN OUT, this game's either finished or Very Darn
Close. Anyone who's followed the progress of RAYMAN will not be surprised
here; luscious-smooth graphics, wonderful sounds, and some interesting twists
on the platform idea. I admit, I didn't give it that much of a look, since I
was more intently after games that have received less attention to date. I
will mention that the early version of RAYMAN on the Sega Saturn looks
identical to the Jaguar version; take that as you will.

 

[EmCeeGramr]

E3 Stuff (1995)

>Demolition Derby looked like fun. I didn't play it as someone else was
>on the machine and I didn't have much time to wait, but I think I would
>have enjoyed it. It's not exactly like anything else I know of.

Demolition Derby was excellent (game of show in my eyes actually).
Networkable fun. The present version only had an oval track, but the
inside of the oval will be "removed" so that true derby action may
commence. The collision graphics were incredible as was the control.
Futhermore, one of the programmers I spoke to said that there would be a
"racing" variant to the game that utilized it derby engine so it would
be almost two games in one.

>Wipeout was there, but it was a big disappointment only in that the
>version at the show was not far enough along to really qualify as any
>demo. It could well be an excellent game when finished, but so far it
>was a very limited thing where you could fly/drive for a short ways and
>then it would just crash. It crashed several times in the few minutes I
>was there. The artwork showed potential though.

Didn't crash on me, but there were problems with horizion clipping and
collision detection. Other than that it was fun... it will be another
quality title when complete. This title is also slated to be
networkable.

E3 Day 1 Report (1995)

Sony announced that they would release the system on September
9th, Saturday, for a retail price of $299.99. Mortal Kombat 3
for the PSX was shown and it looked 1:1 to me. Its still early
and not all the moves were there, but it did play very well.
NBA Jam TE was also shown and it too looked arcade perfect.
The famous Alien Trilogy from Acclaim was finally seen on the
PSX. It looks like it could give Alien vs Predator a run for
its money at the rate its coming. Road Rash looked as good as
the 3DO version except at 30 frames per second. It was really
smooth. Shockwave also was very smooth, and appeared to be 30
FPS. The FMV was better over the 3DO version. Not only is it
Shockwave, but Operation Jumpgate as well will be included.
FIFA 96 was shown in its early form and looked no different
than the 3DO version. Wing Commander 3 will also be making its
way to the PSX. Basically when it came to EA, everything for
the 3DO was showing up on the PSX. Capcom had SF: The Movie,
and Dark Stalkers as well. Street Fighter Legends is slated
for a release as well. More hopefully tomorrow.

Sega so far looks to be the company of the show. They had
roughly 30 Saturn titles on display and that isn't even
counting Saturn titles at 3rd party developers. Titles that
stood out were NHL All Star Hockey, Bug, Black Fire, Ghen War,
Solar Eclipse, Vertigo, Rig Lord Saga, Gran Chaser, Virtua
Cop, and Virtua Fighter Remix. The title I want to stress here
is Virtua Fighter Remix. Its basically Virtua Fighter 1 but
all the characters are textured mapped like in VF2. Not only
does it look great, but the frame rate is high. Its simply
unbelievable by words, and something you have to see, cough
its on my video, cough. Once you see it, you'll have a good
feeling toward VF2 for Saturn. EA is also supporting the
Saturn just as much as they are the PSX. Capcom had SF: The
Movie for the Saturn as well. Acclaim had NBA Jam TE, but it
was crashed at the time I saw it. 32X Motherbase looked great,
but was quite buggy. The 2 Player Vs mode is really fun in
which basically you're trying to shoot the other person down.
X-Men looked great, kind of like Bug. Great animation with a
large character of Wolverine walking around. Tronix stated it
was Doom like. Its not. Its like Bug. Virtua Fighter looked
decent and should do well on the 32X. It had no collision
detection, wasn't as great as the Saturn version, but looked
pretty good. Kolibori is a unique game taking after Ecco. In
this game you're a humming bird but its also like a side
scrolling shooter. What stood out was the very colorful
graphics, and the excellent parallax scrolling. Looks like a
great game for the 32X. T-Mek, while early looked to be
turning out reall good as well. Other games shown were World
Series BAseball, Shadow Squadron, Spiderman, X-treme, Brutal,
Rayman, Prime Time NFL Football, and BC Racers. Oh yeah 32X
version of NBA Jam has scaling players. For the Genesis, I
didn't get too much time to check things out on this or the
Sega CD. The only genesis game that comes to mind is MK3,
which looked just ok, but was overshadowed by the PSX version
sitting next to it. More about Sega tomorrow.

Nintendo just didn't shine like the others did. It was the
lack of the U64 or any demos from SGI. Hopefully those things
will change tomorrow after the keynote. I didn't bother
spending too much time here but did look at some stuff.
Basically Killer Instinct for SNES, a quick look at DKC 2 and
Virtual Boy. Killer Instinct is 32 megs and does not contain
any special chips. It will retail for about 74.99. The
characters looked very well done, maybe slightly smaller, but
very well animated. It seems as if the characters are pretty
much perfect to the arcade, with some minor differences. The
one thing you will notice is that the backgrounds are
completely 2D, The 3D arenas are now 2D. The warping effect of
the backgrounds is now static. I didn't hear the music or
sound but the play control was there. Its pretty impressive
for SNES and should do well. DKC2 looked pretty much like
DKC1, not much differences, but new levels and new characters.
Its called Donkey Kong: Diddy's Quest, or Donkey Kong Country
2. Virtual Boy everyone seems to slam on but give it a chance.
A few people wasn't expecting it to be all that, but found it
quite neat when they actually gave it a shot. Its not worth
the 180 retail price tag, but it definately is an experience,
and it doesn't exactly suck like everyone says it does. The 3D
effects are done quite well and used too. Doom on the SNES had
a larger screen than the 32X, but didn't appear as smooth. It
however was very good for the SNES. MK3 was there as well, and
looked as good as a translation as MK2 was if not better.
Dracula X was there for the SNES but it just didn't shine like
the PC Engine version did. Run N Gun however looked great.
Capcom is working on Mega Man X3 for the SNES as well. More
info on Nintendo stuff tomorrow, after the keynote. Oh yeah,
SF2 and KI for Game Boy.

3DO I just gave a quick run into since I planned to check it
out tomorrow. M2 I've already talked about. NHL 96 was
disappointing but more on that tomorrow. PO'ed is looking
great, which was the main reason I went over today. There were
a ton of new titles for the system on display. Blade Force
supposedly is amazing, but I didn't get a chance to see it.
Space Hulk looks great, as does the new AD&D game. No
announcement of a price reduction so far. Their setup is
really nice though and for once in the right area, its
Nintendo this time who is out of the way.

Atari I just stopped by to talk to Scott from 4 Play, and see
the Hyper Image crew. Both of their games are looking great.
Battle Sphere appeard to have a 30 fps update rate and was
networked. Hover Hunter also was networked and they have just
gotten rid of the pixelization. Fight For Life looks much
better than before from WCES. Defender 2000 looks great. More
info about the Jag tomorrow when I check out my private
appointment with the Jag VR Helmet.

E3 Diary: Chronicles of the Nintendo 64 (1996)

I attended a plenary session (held just before the exibits opened) where
Sony announced a $199.00 Playstation!! All eyes turned to Howard Lincoln
(Nintendo) to see if he would make an even lower bid. His attitude was
one of... don't look at me guys! My guess is that they are holding their
guns until the final hour (notorius Nintendo antics). But they are going
to have to do something since, as of today (May 17, 1995), Sega has
matched Sony's $199.00 price tag for the Saturn. Also note that the
Nintendo 64 will still be released on September 30th for a MSRP of
$249.95; with no packin and one controller. Mario 64 will retail for
$69.95. Now before all of you get upset, remember that you are getting a
four player system and an awesome controller to boot! Besides, with Sega
and Sony's price drop, I'm sure we'll be hearing something from Nintendo
around launch time. There are approximately 50 games currently in
development for the Nintendo 64.

Onto the Games:

First I'd like to say that the Nintendo 64 booth was mediocre in size in
comparison to the others at the show, but it was dedicated entirely to the
Nintendo 64. It was set up like an adventure where you walked through a
narrow corridor, with smoke and lights, that led up to a balcony with a
super wide screen color projection TV, at eye level, about 30 feet away.
It was continuously showing footage of the latest Nintendo 64 games; with
intermissions every 10 minutes or so at which time they demo'd Super Mario
64. Below the balcony was about 30-50 (?) Nintendo 64's all connected to
wide screen televisions (there were about 10-20 similar configurations
outside of the enclosure supposedly bringing the grand total to 64 [isn't
that special]). So, after viewing the footage, I strolled down the
staircase to view what I had been waiting 3 years to see... The real live
Nintendo 64 in action! There were exactly 8 playable N64 games including,
Super Mario 64, Wave Race 64, Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire, Killer
Instinct 2/64, Blast Corps, Cruisn' USA, Wayne Gretsky 3D Hockey and
PilotWings 64. However, Turok: Dinasaur Hunter was playable at the
Akklaim booth bringing the grand total to that of 9 playable games.

*** Super Mario 64 ***

The first setup I went to was Super Mario 64. In a word, it was
awesome!! It was soooo smooth; and not a pixel or, more importantly,
texel in site. Couldn't hear it much because of all the noise, but the
music was typical Mario CD quality fanfare. Sources indicate that the
game is in its final testing phases. Everything appeared to be in order.
Absolutely no flicker, super high framerate, with high quality textures...
simply amazing! This game, IMHO, was the BEST console game at the show
(and maybe ever); and not too many people here (including those from the
Sega and Sony camp) would disagree. I was told that there are about 70
some odd levels in 15 or so worlds. The object of the game appears to be
to collect the 100 stars that are spread throughout the game. About the
only thing that wasn't fun about this game was watching others play. I
definately think the general population is ready to play 3D games, but I
don't think we are ready to _watch_ 3D games. For example, there are
times when you can go somewhere and just sit there with no enemies in
sight (typical of a non-video game player). Nonetheless, this game played
as good as it looked. The analog controller works perfectly with the
equation. On that note, I wanted to tell you about my first experience
with the controller. When I first started using it (the analog control),
I had a tendency to use it like the traditional digital crosspad; meaning
that I would push it fully in one direction as opposed to pushing it
gradually. But within minutes, I was using it the way it was intended to
be used. After the brief learning curve, it was so natural to me that I
thought things were this way all the time. Well, that concludes my
experience with Mario. I know I could say a lot more, but I don't want to
make this post too long.

*** WaveRace 64 ***

On to WaveRace 64... Well, at first glance, I was dissapointed. They
took away the boats and replaced them with Jet Skis!! Another noticable
difference (for those of you who have seen either the screen shots or the
AVI files), is that the game's environment is completely different. No
more racing through narrow waterways or sewer sytems. Now you are on the
ocean directing your way through marked bouys (sp?). It looks and sounds
like they threw out the old idea and started from scratch. A source from
Nintendo said the reason for the dramatic difference (so dramatic, it's a
different game), is that "Myamito (sp?) wanted a game that fully revealed
the capabilities of the N64's analog controller." In other words, with
the original concept, your primary craft was a speed boat; and, as we
know, boats can primarily only go in two directions - left and right.
However, with Jet Skis, you can push the analog controller forward to dive
under water and pop up or you can pull the controller backward to lean
back for sharper turns or in preparation for a jump. Nonetheless, I still
want the original game back! Anyways, this game wasn't really that
special. It looked okay and played okay. Nothing groundbreaking.
However, I will add that upon inspecting a new Playstation game that is
very similar, the Nintendo 64 version out does it in every way (especially
graphics). This game was said to be about 20% complete (I guess it would
be, since they started all over again).

*** Killer Instinct 2/64 ***

Next we have a game that was labeled "KI2". Although I doubt that will
be its name at launch. First, I would like to preclude this review by
saying that I am in no way a big time KI fan, but I am a critic of
graphics, sound and gameplay. With that said, let me tell you that
graphically, the Nintendo 64 version of KI is BETTER than the arcade
version. It's said to be running at a whopping 60fps! The 3D backgrounds
are totally amazing! And the characters on the character select screen
are flawlessly smooth and realistic looking (however, they aren't
animated, yet?). As far as gameplay is concerned, it played equally as
well as the arcade. Some commented that it was slightly different while
others were able to pull off combos with ease. I should also note that
this game is about 90% complete and will be available at launch. Things
that aren't included (that I noticed) were the announcer's voice and the
accompanying on-screen text. Overall, I was very impressed! Didn't see
any new characters, but all the backgrounds appeard to be new.

*** Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire ***

This game was surprisingly unimpressive. Before you jump all over me,
let me explain. First of all, the graphics... True, they were
astonishing, but I don't think they lived up to the hype. Especially the
first person stage. It was smooth and unpixelated, but it didn't have
that Mario 64 quality to it (maybe I should have left this one (Mario
64) for last; it gave me a very critical eye; in fact, after leaving the
Nintendo 64 booth, I swear, every game after that looked like it was made
with lego's). Anyway, I'm glad Nintendo released the tools they used for
Super Mario 64 to the general development community because it really
makes a difference. I only played 3 stages of this game. The opening
screen had about 4 or 5 total that were selectable. There were about 5 or
so that weren't selectable but appeared labeled "password needed." My
guess is that they weren't finished. Anyways, the level with the AT ATs
showed off the explosion algorithm (which was very detailed). You had a
full 360 degrees of motion, but there were invisible bounderies. If you
hit these bounderies, the game would automatically turn you around. The
first person stage was alright. Nothing fancy here but the high quality
graphics. The space stage was what you'd expect from a Star Wars game.
It places you in a fighter, with enemies flying all around you...
basically, you aim your turret and shoot. The game features first
person and third person views. This game was about 80% complete and will
be available at launch.

*** Blast Corps ***

Up next we have Blast Corps (formerly Blast Dozer). In this game, the
object is to ride around destroying everything in the path of a seemingly
robotic driven vehicle carrying explosive material before it is able to
hit anything (whew!). You play a little man who has the ability to jump
out of one vehicle and into another at will. It's a time base game that
can be fun for all of 20 minutes. After the hypnotizing effects of the
awe inspiring graphics wear off, you are left with a very simplistic game.
By the way, this game has the BEST explosions ever seen on a PC or
console. This game makes Twisted Metal look like trash. However, I did
witness some slowdown when many large objects were on screen at one time.

*** Cruisn' USA ***

I am surprised this game made it onto the show floor. It was a very big
dissapointment (that's IF this is how it will look and play when it's
finished). In fact, this was the most dissapointing of the titles shown
at the show. The game played like the arcade... No problem here, but the
graphics were absolutely terrible! The game was graining, and had a very
low framerate. Not to mention, it was so buggy, I witnessed it crash
_four_ times!! There was also noticeable pop-up, or in this instance,
fade in; objects on the horizon would kind of fade in giving almost an
interlace effect. I'm guessing the only reason they showed it was that
they promised to. Nonetheless, I'm glad it won't be ready for launch.
They could use all the time they can get!

*** Wayne Gretsky 3D Hockey ***

Well surprise, surprise... Williams pulled a fast one (on me at least).
I wasn't expecting to see this title. It's a very nice looking hockey
game that runs as smooth as silk. For this baby, Nintendo showed off it's
different color controllers and ports that allowed up to 4 simultaneous
players. The game was good for a hockey game. I also want to add that I
strolled over to the Williams booth to take a look at the Arcade version
of the game; and I must say, they are on par with each other. The only
noticable difference was that the arcade version had an animated audience.
Perhaps the finished N64 version will include one as well. I didn't see
Doom 64, but I think it was shown somewhere behind closed doors.
Meanwhile, I'll try to find out how much power my press pass really has.
Stay tuned!

*** PilotWings 64 ***

The only game in the whole booth that had graphics that rivaled Super
Mario 64. Everything from the old SNES verison of PilotWings is here and
more (still can't find that bi-plane though). The game looks like a
dream. Although I did spot a few bugs. Namely, when I used the crosspad
instead of the analog control, a whole bunch of little solid colored blips
appeared on the lower right hand corner of the screen (it reminded me of
the big screen featured near the end of close encounters). Other than
that, the game played equally as well as it looked. This game looks like
it was almost done as well. I couldn't believe my eyes, everything was so
smooth and beautiful; with a comfortable framerate to boot! At times, I
felt myself not knowing what I wanted to do next (just as with Mario 64).
With 360 degrees of motion in a completely 3D world (including Mount
Rushmoore, Washington DC, New York City, The Grand Canyon, etc.), there is
so much to explore you sometimes find yourself wandering with no
particular goal in mind but to see the sights.


*** Turok: Dinosaur Hunter ***

For this game I had to walk over to the Akklaim booth. For starters, this
game is a Doom killer. Its smooth, and the graphics are very sharp. The
control was a little awkward though. There were too many directional
buttons. For intance, you could go in the standard 360 degrees of motion,
but you could also pan up, down, left and right. There were about 8
weapons that you could chose from including a machine gun, knife, shotgun,
some kind of plasma weapon and another weapon that blew up everything
within ten feet of its' projectile. Vampires rejoice, as this game
contains what appears to be blood and guts!! The enemies in the game are
very detailed and huge and do not use quality even when they are right up
on you. Congratulations Akklaim on a fine effort.

Final Impressions:

Overall, I was very impressed with Nintendo's US debut of the Nintendo
64. It was actually more than I had ever hoped for. From what I've heard,
the system already has 500,000 pre-orders for distributors in Japan and is
expected to have the same in the USA. Therefore, it's not surprising that
Sega and Sony felt desperate enough to lower their prices in hopes that
this will lure any of those who are still left undecided about the current
state of affairs into their camp. I'm a little dissapointed with Nintendo
for being so selfish about this whole ordeal. Specifically, anyone can
tell that the quality of the in-house Nintendo games is, in general, an
order of magnitude above everyone elses. These games actually look like
2nd generation [Super Mario 64 and PilotWings 64], 1st generation games
(if that makes any since). It was so unreal (or real, depending on how
you look at it); no flicker or po-pup in sight. Let's look at SM64, for
example. This game is incredible. I can not stress enough how good this
game really is. And for those of you who might think Sonic Xtreme or
Bubsy 3D or Nights or even Crash Bandicoot come close; well, I've seen
them all and they are not even in the same league. Crash and Nights, for
instance aren't even in true 3D. They lie somewhere between being on
rails and 3D (being closer to the former). Not to mention, texel city for
all of them. I must admit though, even though Crash isn't true 3D, the
game looks great for its class. After seeing a game like Super Mario 64
on the Nintendo 64, there is no doubt in my mind that a game like Resident
Evil could be done on the N64 in real-time 3D minus the opening live
action FMV. I have to make sure that I distinguish between live action
FMV and computer generated FMV because with the N64's capabilities, it
could do all of the computer generated FMV on the fly in real-time.
Hence, intro's like the ones in Panzer Dragon could easily be done on the
N64 without spooling them of off the CD; thus saving tons of space! If all
the other games used the same engines as SM64 and PW64, they would be
untouchable (BTW, the PC versus console wars end here, even Bill Gates
admitted it). Oh, a quick note on the N64 consoles configuration. The
power pack is mounted on the back is NOT hot to the touch. In fact, it
was only moderately warm. Just thought I'd mention that because my
playstation and Saturn are hot enough to cook breakfast and I remember
there was some controversy over this in the past.

 

[EmCeeGramr]

MY PREDICTIONS

I do not believe that Nintendo will release the U-64 in the U.S. in
1995. I believe it will be released in Japan in the Fall of 1995, but not
in the U.S. until Spring of 1996.

Nintendo will concentrate on its VR-32 in the U.S. in 1995 and hope
that there is still demand for its SNES while releasing other games similar
in graphics and sound as Donkey Kong Country.

Sega's Saturn

I believe that Sega will release the Saturn in the U.S. in Fall of
1995, but at the price of $399.99. The reason Sega releases it in 1995 instead
of later is because the 32X is a failure.

Sega will attempt to keep Genesis alive by releasing some pretty good
graphics and sound games to compete with Nintendo's games. The Genesis will
continue to have a $100 price tag.

Sony PSX

I predict Sony will release their Playstation in the United States
in Fall of 1995. But Sony will not charge $250 for their Playstation or take
the $100 loss that so many people hope that Sony will. Because this isn't
Sony's way. They always believed in making money off of their hardware and
think they can on video game systems too.

My guess is that Sony will charge $399.99 for their Playstation in
the United States. It will go one-on-one with Sega's Saturn. And it will
compete quite favorably.

But Sony will not sell nearly the amount of systems that it thought
it would sell in the U.S. This is because people are still not willing to
spend $400 on a game system.

My prediction is that Sony will eventually lower the price of the
Playstation to $299.99 in which it becomes popular. But this will not happen
until 1996.

3DO

I predict that 3DO will have 150-175 titles available for it by
Fall of 1995. An impressive number. But the company continues to have
problems in the number of systems sold. I predict that 1 million units will
be sold by Fall of 1995.

My guess is that 3DO will be highly criticized by investment firms
and game companies aren't too happy by sales numbers.

In order to help increase sales, 3DO convinces manufacturers to sell
their machines for $299.99. And the company releases another 3DO unit which
companies will charge $499.99 for it.

But because 3DO isn't becoming the "standard multimedia format" in
which it was suppose to be, it just isn't working out. Matsushita or
Electronic Arts buys majority share in the company in an attempt to make it
more successful.

I don't believe that Toshiba and Samsung will release 3DO hardware.
They discover there are not enough sales for competition.

JAGUAR

I predict that Atari Corp. will reduce the price of the Jaguar to
$199.99 in an attempt to sell it in large quantities. I predict it will
happen as early as February.

I also predict that Atari Corp. needs additional funds to manufacture
more units (its biggest problem now) and IBM decides to invest in the
company.

I believe there will be fifty Jaguar titles by September of 1995.
But because of the price reduction, 1 million Jaguars have been sold.

There will be seventy-five Jaguar games by Christmas of 1995 and
because of the large number of games and the $199.99 price tag, the Jaguar
sells better than all of the other systems.

The Virtuality headset is released in November of 1995. But it only
has three games for it. I predict it will have a suggested retail price
of $249.99 NOT the $199.99 price expected. The headset will receive high
praises, but it will not be a mass market item until 1996 when the price is
reduced to $199.99.

I predict the Jaguar II is not released in the later part of 1995.
Instead, Atari starts sending developing kits to game companies in March
of 1995 and waits until 1996 to bring it out. The reason it is not brought
out earlier is not because Atari does not want to be criticized for lack of
games, but because retailers don't have room for it. Atari decides to
release it in 1996 in which it will be the most powerful game system on the
market at the time.

Two things will haunt Atari though in 1995. Lack of game companies
making games for the Jaguar. And Atari waits until the second half to
bring out the voice-modem. Most software will not support the voice-modem
because Atari does not realize the importance of it.

CD-i

It will sell slowly even more because of all the other systems on
the market. I predict it will be discontinued for a more powerful model.
I predict this more powerful model will not make it on the market in 1995
and Phillips may scrap it once it sees the competition.

NEC FX

I predict it will not last in 1995. Too much competition.

It will be one of those lost in the video game war.

NEO-GEO CD

It will not be a mass market item. It will be bought by loyal
NEO-GEO owners, but that's it.


That's my predictions. Like it or not, it's my predictions...

Just image a RPG game by Square on U-64!!!!Hahaha, where else
can you get Square's RPGs besides Nintendo? Hey, I'll get U-64 just for its
quantity of good RPG games.

The "first" systems to go down and prediction of market for next year

Well It is almost late spring / early summer and we have seen the first
systems to be the latest casualties in the video game wars. Even though
supporters of these machines will deny the failure of their game machines to
take the market, it is pretty plain to see what will be the winners and
losers of the next year.

The 3do is one of the systems that will not make it and support will begin to
drop later this year (already has started). If you own a 3d0 machine, you
should already be worried about the Sega Saturn being released so early before
the Power PC upgrade (M2) as well as the Sony Playstation which will be
available by September 9th, 1995 in the U.S.A. It will retail for $299.00
(some say it could go as high as $350.00), the Sega Saturn is currently going
for $399.00. The 3d0 system has lost millions of dollars and is a cash cow
to keep afloat and has lost momentum into the market. With things like a high
price and a royality, 3do has been hurt pretty bad and will be crawling by
this winter. As of today AT&T has dumped their 3d0 investment (even though
they claim it has nothing to do with 3do sales, which by the way have been
dismal at best). The 3do alliance is falling apart and the lack of money and
another investor is pretty much the final nail in the coffin.

Atari Corp's Jaguar is the other system to be failing in the market. The
Jaguar lacks software and lacks quality software for their game machine.
Atari released the Jaguar in small markets in November 1993, but never
announced a full release. They have had a poor release and most stores in the
U.S.A do not carry the Jaguar, this is partly due to retailers not trusting
Atari and also Atari not having the resources to have Jaguars stocked on store
shelves. Atari had 1 and a half year lead over most of its competitors, but
was unable to pull ahead due to lack of programmers and money. Atari did
settle a patent suit with Sega of America Inc. for some of the games and
settled for $90 million dollars. However, it appears that that is not enough
to keep Atari in the Home Video game market. Atari does have a price
advantage over the other consoles, but the lack of high quality software and
popularity for the other platforms, makes the price advantage something of a
moot issue. At the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) last week, Atari showed
its new Virtual Reality system for the Jaguar, but it was using a PC.


In the Console race of 1995, there are some winners as well. The Sega Saturn
has more software already than the Jaguar had all last year and with Sega's
marketing clout, they are already ahead of both of the other systems. The
Sega Saturn was pushed into the market early and caused problems with some of
the developers that make 32x systems. The system that will win the race in
1996 will be the Sony Playstation, most of the current developers will be
programming for the Sony console. The Nintendo Ultra-64 will be due out in
April 1996 (delayed from December) and this will hurt Nintendo but this system
is still a wildcard, but it apears to be too late into the market and without
the support of Sony's console.

The PC will also be a powerfull game medium in 1996, with pentiums already
replacing old 486 computers and 486's not being manufactured anymore will
cause a massive price drop. Pentiums of 135, 150, and 180 will be due out
later this year and August of this year we will see new goodies like the
Hexium (P6) 133 Mhz and by Christmas 1995 we will see 200 Mhz P6 computers on
the market for high-end servers.

Windows 95 is also a big boost, with features like Pre-emptive multi-tasking,
Autoplay (insert your cd rom and bingo it runs the software automatically),
multi-threading, Built-in Analog Joystick support, network and modem support,
Super Vga - True color support, Digital Joystick support via Game API,
RenderMorphics 3-D API with the rest of the Microsoft Game API, 3-D graphics
boards (Glint Chip), etc....

The Sony Playstation will be the video game standard and
the PC as the computer platform. Its going to be a very interesting year next
year, be ready for it folks......

***ALL NINTENDO FANS ARE LYING BASTARDS***

HOW DO NINTENDO FANS KNOW EXACTLY HOW THE ULTRA 64 is going to be? CAN
THEY TELL THE FUTURE? ULTRA 64 could be like the jaguar (laugh). Oh
its 64 bits wow! Amazing! WHO GIVES A CRAP? We want a mixture of teh
games and the graphics not just the graphics! Look at Saturn and all
the great games already out! Daytona, Virtua Fighter, Clockwork Knight,
Panzer Dragon, WorldWide Soccer they all RULE! These are just the first
batch wait till Christmas! Virtua Fighter 2, Virtua Cop, Eternal
Champions 2! These games rule!STOP GOING INTO THE SEGA GROUPS LOSERS.
Nintendo fans hang around in the sega groups more then the snes (laugh)
they must be real losers if they don't even go to their stupid group!
Sorry nintendo fans but you are lying bastards (at least most of you)
can't you even admit that Saturn games are fun to play! Stop waiting
years for your stupid snes cd wait a minute it isn't even cd!
Whoops...nintendo bad idea. I got the snes five years ago hearing there
would be a snes cd about a year later. WRONG! I am not waiting any
longer. I am glad to get this anger out Saturn+Sony Playstation
rule and nobody knows if ultra 64 will rule because IT IS NOT OUT YET
ANYWHERE. All of the information you got in gamefan is false. My
friends father works for an electronic company and tried the Ultra 64 i
asked him how it was he said 'It SUCKED!' Sorry I can't prove this info
to you but do you want to call him up!!! Haha Sega is not going down
just the opposite. The first few games are supposed to be the worst
then again they rule! So wait till a year from now! There will be
hundreds of Saturn titles before your Ultra 64 and this will be a
PARTY. Saturn fans please help me get the message out

E3 and all the new mac games?

Yeah, there hasn't been much discussion of E3 in the Mac newsgroups. Then
again, E3 has traditionally been an IBM-PC/console gamers' playground for
years, and has ignored the entire Macintosh gaming industry anyways. This
was THE FIRST YEAR when the Mac platform had any noticeable presence in
the E3 convention.

However, the Mac industry did not totally ignore E3. Just days after the
trade show ended, MacWorld Online, MacUser Online, MacAddict and Inside
Mac Games (web site) all reported on the MacOS' huge presence in E3 1996.
Also, major news services like Newsbytes and Reuters reported on
Bandai/Apple's Pippin making headlines during opening day of E3 this year.


If you can summarize the expo for us, we'd appreciate it.... especially
all the Mac-related things that went on this year.

One final note, I personally thank all the Mac-friendly gaming companies
that attended E3 this year. Kudos to Bungie for being at E3. Kudos to
Bandai (who, I was told, showed off some demos of Pippin games to run off
Pippin and MacOS). Kudos to LucasArts for making press releases during E3
that specifically announced upcoming games for MacOS as well as Windows.
Kudos for many other companies that demonstrated upcoming Mac games in E3.


Because of them, the entire Computer Gaming Industry will take the MacOS
platform more seriously as a "capable, yet often ignored gaming
platform".

I have no doubt that the Mac's strong presence in E3 this year can only
help the growth of the Mac games market.

E3 Observations (LA, May 16-18, 1996) [LONG]

The second annual E3 (Electronics Entertainment Expo) was held in Los
Angeles again this year. From what I've heard, every last square foot
of floor space had been sold and over 80,000 people showed up for the
three day event. The show was geared more towards the home videogame
market, but there was a good selection of dedicated upright machines to
be found. I'll limit my comments below to those topics that pertain to
arcade machines and current and classic video games available on home
systems.


Nintendo (http://www.nintendo.com/)
-----------------------------------
Nintendo has seemingly withdrawn from the the arcade manufacturing
arena. I guess they're making too much money on all their home and
portable game systems to be bothered with the dwindling arcade market.

I played a preliminary version of Nintendo 64's Crusin' USA. There's
still a fair amount of work to be done on the title (including bug
fixes), but it would be my guess that this home version will still be
somewhat scaled down from the real version even in it's final state. I
didn't bother playing any of the other N64 titles like Killer Instinct.


SEGA (http://www.segaoa.com/)
-----------------------------
I heard from last year's event that there was an 8 player Daytona and I
was hoping that it would return. Well, I wasn't disappointed. Races
were held all day long and I waited in line for a race. It was the
first time I'd ever played Daytona (yes, I don't spend much time in the
arcades anymore) and even after flipping the car twice, I still made
3rd place.

SEGA also had several of their motorcycle racing games and, of course,
their fighting games (e.g. Virtua Fighter 2) available for play. I
didn't pay much attention to these titles since there were far more
interesting things to explore.


Williams (http://www.wms.com/)
GT Interactive (http://www.gtinteractive.com/)
----------------------------------------------
The major show stopper, at least for classic gamers like me, was the
presense of an original dedicated Defender and Robotron 2084! These
machines were in mint condition except for a few minor scratches and
scrapes -- no doubt from touring from place to place. The control
panels were the best I've ever seen. No cigarette burns on them
whatsoever. There were very few people in line for these games so I
just had to play a couple of games each day.

Williams also had a few of their latest titles out: MK3 Ultimate, War
Gods, Area 51, and Robotron X (this still looks like a prototype
version, though, because I heard some guys talking to the players and
making comments like "We'll add a few of these ..." and "We'll change
that ...". Gee, maybe they were the game programmers?!). It's too bad
that there are no plans for a coin-op version of this game.

GT Interactive shared the adjacent exhibit space with Williams. I
looked for the Arcade Classics package, but I didn't find any station
with the software running. It was mentioned in their sales literature,
though.


Konami (http://www.konami.com/arcade.htm)
-----------------------------------------
Konami had some rather *attractive* incentives for visiting their
exhibit. For instance, play one of their selected games for a few
minutes and get a Polaroid taken of you and one of the models who was
showing off the product. Another was to make ten points in a certain
amount of time for a chance at winning ten thousand dollars. Of
course, the line to get your picture taken with the women in bikinis
was the longest ...

I played some Ultra Sports Soccer and Hockey. These games are like
modern Atari Football games, but feature color displays with a
translucent backlit trackball. The graphics aren't really anything to
brag about and there's no real excitement in the game play, other than
the head-to-head competition. The first time I played the soccer game,
I completely pummeled the other player (who I didn't even know) 7 to
1. We moved over to the hockey machine and he accidently(?) hit the
one player button, so I kind of took that as a hint.

The new Crypt Killers game is the latest blast-everything-as-fast-as-
you-can gun machine. The 3 player simul game takes you through a
catacomb where various baddies, such as skeletons, ice monsters, rats,
etc., jump out at you and attack each player. Shooting treasure chests
give you weapon upgrades and there are different paths you can choose
to traverse at the end of a stage. It takes hundreds of shots from
each player to kill any of the end bosses, so this should be a real
quarter pumper at the arcades.

I watched Midnight Run: Road Fighter 2 for a little while. First of
all, it's nothing like the early Konami classic Road Fighter.
Secondly, it doesn't look all that interesting. The game's got nice
scenery, but Crusin' USA is much more fun and realistic.

Run and Gun 2: ho-hum. It's much better than Double Dribble or Super
Basketball, though, so I guess we might have to change that remark in
the KLOV ...


Capcom (http://capcom.ms.wwa.com/)(http://www.capcom.com)
---------------------------------------------------------
Capcom had several of their games displayed: all two player fighters
and comic book hero games -- nothing worthy of a second look. Street
Fighter Alpha 2?! When will this madness end (soon, I hope)?


Data East (http://www.dataeast.com/)
------------------------------------
All Data East had was a few sports games displayed (MVP series).
They're out-sourcing most of their work now, so it seems that they're
relying heavily upon their former successes to keep propelling them
(take a look at their web page to see what I mean; specifically, at the
bottom paragraph of http://www.dataeast.com/DEblue.htm).

I asked if they had any plans to cash in on the recent resurgance of
older emulated games in the PC market, seeing as they've authored quite
a few successful titles in the '80s. The person I talked with said
they had considered it, but their biggest concern and hinderance was
that they'd lost a number of licenses for their previous titles (e.g.
Robocop).


Namco (http://www.namco.com/)
-----------------------------
The Namco exhibit was dedicated entirely to their home game software
and I got a chance to play the Namco Museum Vols. 1 and 2. Volume 2 is
going to be released later this year for the Sony Playstation and it
contains my favorite vertical shooter, Xevious, so I *had* to check it
out.

The environment has a horizontal mode that plays the game on a regular
TV and options that even let you change all the dip switches on the
boards. You can even run the "harware" tests, just like the original
upright. There are also scans of the promo flyers you can zoom in/out,
pan around, and read along with a vitual museum that you can explore,
highlighting different items that are related to the games. These are
really neat packages to have. If I didn't already have a dedicated
Xevious machine, this is what I would have instead.


Jaleco (http://www.jaleco.com)
------------------------------
Jaleco was present, but they're not into coin-op games anymore it seems.


That was pretty much it for the entire E3 show as far as coin-op games
are concerned. Next years expo will be held in Atlanta, Georgia on
June 19th, 20th, and 21st (Thursday through Saturday).

 

[clockpunk]

What a wonderful blast from the past - so many memories of by-gone times. Thanks for the continued update of nuggets!

 

[EmCeeGramr]

1996 E3 Game Tradeshow report

Brad's E3 Report

Disclaimer:
I work for an ISV that makes games also. This report is as
objective as I can make it but it is only fair to warn you that I
work for 'an interested' party.

Introduction

E3 is the biggest, the best, and the main trade show for computer
games and console games now. It has totally eclipsed the older
"CES" as the place to be when it comes to showing off your new
games. This year's was pretty exciting!

The official WEB version of this, complete with links, snapshots,
etc. is available on:

http://www.stardock.com

General Themes

Nintendo Ultra 64 will be HOT!

Look out for Blizzard! They have some great games coming out!

Microprose has a surprise instore with their new super hero
game!

Ultima On-line? MUDs & RPG's collide?

Console platforms next internet onramp?


Console Games

I generally don't like console games (I haven't owned a console
platform since the Atari 2600) but there was some interesting
things going on...

Nintendo

Okay, I will admit that I am not usually a big Nintendo fan. I
thought the "Super NES" was kind of junky and that other than
Donkey Kong Country, the games for it were fairly weak.
Nintendo's Ultra64 is going to change all that. In the past I
would have s aid "Eh, a high end PC could do that...", Nintendo64
is the first console platform in which no PC, no matter how high
end, could do what it is doing. Super Mario64 looks fantastic.
My co-worker had to drag me over to the Nintendo booth and then
he had to drag me away since I just couldn't take my eyes off
this hit game. Definitely some hot stuff. Super Mario64 is like
the older Super Mario's in terms of plot but now it's truly 3D.
It will be interesting to see how easy it is to control Mario in
a 3D world


I was disappointed that Super Mario RPG doesn't look nearly as
impressive as Super Mario64. Perhaps it's because I saw it later
but it pales next to Super Mario 64.

Sega

Well, SEGA didn't have anything that matched Nintendo and the
Saturn is clearly being run over by the popular Sony Play
Station. A Saturn official commented that the Play Station might
be easier to program but the Saturn had more power and once it is
tapp ed, they will jump ahead. Of course, with the 64bit
platforms coming, will this be too late?

SEGA also had some internet offerings which I don't know too much
about yet but they are definitely onto something. Instead of
households running out and buying an Internet console, why not
just hook it into your existing game machines? This sure makes
se nse and it looks like SEGA has an early lead. Web surfing
from your console could be the way of the future. Only time will
tell.

Other Neat Stuff...

I saw a sneak peak at a new Virtual Fighter that was just
extraordinary. I wonder how long it will be until the people you
control on screen look exactly human. At the pace they're going,
probably this decade!

The rest of the games I played were the same old "beat them up"
type games which usually make me not like console platforms.

PC Games

Okay, I admit that I like PC games a lot more. I am just not
into "beat them up while walking to the right" games (or two
people on the screen at the same time beating each other up
games.

Lot's of action in the PC arena and the PC games clearly dominate
E3 for whatever reason. The budgets are high as well as the
stakes. The days of going it alone are long gone, even we
(Stardock) are looking for financial partners on its future
titles as o ur future game budgets soar into the millions of
dollars (Wing Commander IV was $12 million to do).

I can't even begin to cover all the games I saw, so I'll talk
about the ones I think people (and myself) are particularly
interested in.

Action Games: ID vs 3D Realms - Round 1 to 3D Realms

It's official, Quake will not be out this year. New
release date is now "sometime in 1997". The alpha they
demonstrated at E3, which is clearly technically superior to Duke
Nukem 3D still looks pretty much like DOOM with better lighting.
ID is going to have to call in legi ons of artists for their
technology to really shine.

Duke Nukem 3D clearly dominated the show (heck, after 5PM,
Duke Nukem 3D dominates the offices of Stardock) when it came to
hype and excitment. The full version, just released, was on-hand
and you could walk up to the 3D Realms booth and play others.
This coinicided with the announcement that Duke3d would be part
of TEN (Total Entertainment Network) which is striving for
latency times of only 125ms (very impressive). The Duke babes
they had walking around were...well, babes and the guy they got
to play Duke Nukem lo oked extremely authentic (I wouldn't want
to mess with this guy). Even though Quake has a technological
advantage, Duke Nukem 3D has so many "nice touches" to the game
that you really feel more like you're there whereas Quake (and
remember, it's just an a lpha so it's hardly fair to really
compare the two) is just more of the same dungeon like artwork
ala DOOM. If they can get enough artists in on it, it will
really shine. Of course, 3D Realms is busy working on Prey which
is targeted directly at Quake fro m a technological standpoint.

Surprisingly though, there were very few first persion action
games (of note) vying for the spot light. The glut of games has
passed. Though, Dark Forces 2: Jedi waits in the wings
which is also targeting Quake.

Keep in mind (Before I get flame mail) that I am not saying that
Duke is as wondrous as Quake in terms of technology, I'm just
saying that 3DRealms put a lot of nice touches on Duke that
it makes up (in my opinon) for its lack of a true 3D engine.
Plus, 3D Realms has Prey on the way. It's going to be an
interesting year for this type of game.

Blizzard: Great Software, nice company!

I have no affiliation with Blizzard but the people working their
booth and the engineers I met were particularly friendly. Their
new RPG game, Diablo is as good as the hype it looks like.
Diablo, an action, adventure, RPG plays a bit like Warcraft (but
wi th considerably better graphics) in a fantasy world. Visit
their website for more info on it. I was not that familiar with
Diablo until E3, now it is on my definite "to get list" when it
comes out.

They also had a surprise there which I hadn't heard of before
"Starcraft". It's essentially Warcraft 2 in space (in fact, it
is basically the same). Still, Warcraft 2 being one of my
favorite games means Starcraft will have an early buyer.

Activision: The Harrison Ford of game software...

They say that Harrison Ford has never been in a bad movie.
Similarly, I cannot think of a bad Activision game. I didn't
take notes at their booth (now I wish I had) but they had a new
game in which you travel through time battling different creates.
What looks particularly neat about this game is that your
opponents are very smart. For example, when you are battling an
animal, it may eventually get wounded enough where it cowers.
Activision was pushing this game pretty hard at the show and I
could see why. They also pushed their new Zork game. I really
enjoyed the original text adventures, though I haven't had a
chance to play Zork: Nemisis yet. It looks fairly similar to
Stardock's Avarice in terms of gameplay.

Activision also continued its Mech Warrior campaign (of which I
am quite a fan of). If you don't already know about Mech Warrior
2, well, visit their site.

MicroProse: The cool, neat the neat, and the late!

Microprose has an excellent reputation for their strategy games.
While there have been some misses (Colonization), their hits stay
in the mind (Civilization 1&2, Masters of Orion, Xcom, etc.).
They have some excellent stuff coming which I will freely admi t
I am extremely excited about. They showed off a Superhero game
(I cannot remember the name but I think it was Agents of Justice
or something like that). Imagine a game similar to Xcom
(engine-wise) but where you built super heros and had to go
around sa ving the world. I think this game will blow away Xcom
in terms of popularity because it has such a wide appeal (and
Xcom was a great game too).

Master of Antares, the long awaited sequel to Masters of Orion,
looks like it takes care of many of the first version's problems
in terms of having gigantic fleets. You can now not only build
your own ship classes but modify individual ships as well. This
gives the game more of a feel where each ship is very crucial as
opposed to having 65535 fighters that lose 10000 every turn.
MOO2 -- Fall release it looks like.

Microprose's parent company, Spectrum Holobyte, was showing off
Falcon 4.0. Too early to say, I'm not a big fan of flight
simulators as a rule -- particularly modern ones, but the
graphics are certainly impressive.

Origin: Luke Skywalker and more!

Origin had Mark Hammil (spelling?) at their booth signing
autographs. Electronic Arts (Origin's parent company) also had
John Madden on hand as well. It was pretty cool to see the hero
of the Star Wars saga right there. Origin had quite a surprise
in stor e for us, Ultima on-line. They will have versions of it
for DOS, Windows, Macintosh, and Linux (but not OS/2 which
surprised me given OS/2's superior internet integration). Ultima
on-line will be like an on-line service in itself. You can walk
around Brit ania and the surrounding areas (they only had that
area done at the show). One guy took off all his close
(virtually, not in real life) and walked around the streets. I
watched as other players who were not at the show offered to give
him a shirt and pant s. The graphics were not quite as good as I
had hoped but it does look promising. Though, I believe it won't
be this first generation of RPG/MUD combinations that make it
big, expect the second generation games of this genre to be the
ones that make it re ally popular.

Origin did not have Ultima9 there as far as I could tell.
Origin, which has been extremely pro-Windows95 as of late, has
said that Ultima9 will be available only on Windows95. It will
be interesting how that turns out.

Wing Commander IV was the big push (not surprisingly) for Origin.
LucasArts' "Xwing vs Tie Fighter" game looks a bit more
interesting to me but that's probably because I'm not as into
interactive movies.

Other Cool things I saw...

The main themes I saw (mostly listed in the themes) were that
games are going to get a lot more interactive over the internet
and that they will all cost millions of dollars. Windows95 has
definitely started to come into its own as a game platform as
Dire ctX seems to becoming popular. Stardock has developed a
library that allows it to create games that work under OS/2 using
DIVE and with a simple recompile with a different switch option
it compiles as a DirectX game so that both platforms can be
reached i f we want. However, we're still waiting to see how the
first batch of Windows95 games does. Christmas95 didn't instill
excitement of Windows95 as a game platform, I think Christmas96
will be the big year for it (or whether DOS becomes a game
console itsel f).

Star Control 3 is still not out. This Fall is the new target
date for the much anticipated sequel. They demonstrated it at
the show and the verdict is still out.

OS/2 Warp games are acoming...

While not at E3 itself, lots of OS/2 games were announced during
E3. While the Microsoft marketing machine has loudly proclaimed
that Windows95 is the future of gaming (and indeed it might be),
native OS/2 Warp games are starting to become very common as the
truly 32bit game platform with built in multiplayer support,
direct sound and direct graphics support make it a reliable 32bit
game platform with an already large installed base of over 13
million and more coming on. Indeed, OS/2 Warp (and more likely
to continue with "Merlin" the upcoming new version of OS/2 Warp)
appears to becoming the consumer power user's platform of choice.
The question most power users are asking now is "Will it be NT I
run or OS/2?" If NT 4.0 can truly support those Win95 game s
coming out, my bet will be on NT but that's a big IF. Of course,
to any real game player, the OS is totally irrelevant. OS/2 is
extremely inexpensive and you can install it right on top of
Windows95 and dual boot between the two with absolutely no fuss
(and in fact, our systems that come with Windows95 are setup just
this was). So if I want to play a Windows95 only game, I just
dualboot to Win95, and then dual boot back to OS/2 to get my work
done or to play OS/2 games.

A new first person racing game called Road Kill is on the
way. While similar to other games of this genre (i.e. racing)
its graphics and texture mapping along with a combat orientation
should bring out some very unique possibilities. I don't know
too much about this one so I can't give a release dat e.

Another OS/2 game I'm pretty excited (very excited) to see it
called Frontier. Anyone who's ever played X-trek knows
the wonders of commanding a single starship in a real-time
multiplayer environment. Frontier provides this and a lot more
with simply stunning graphics. Given OS/2's "plug in" internet
connectivity, OS/2 is the n o-brainer platform to bring such a
game onto first. Again, I don't know a heck of a lot about this
game except that I want it and want it now!

For people who enjoy real-time multiplayer strategy games like
Warcraft or Command and Conquer, a new game called Seeds of
Discord is in the making. Being published by Stardock, Seeds
of Discord combines the elements of the former with some of the
strategy elements of games such as Warlords. Stunning graphics
and a great musical sound track will make this game a must-have.

Stardock recently released Galactic Civilizations 2 and
Shipyards 2 which bring the most popular OS/2 game of all
time up to speed in terms of graphics, playability, and more. In
fact, Stardock recently released Galactic Civilizations 2.14
after talking to reviewers at PC Gamer and Computer Gaming World
as to what they liked and don't like about Galactic Civilizations
2 (and added virtually every suggestion) such as planetary
governors, auto-building, a hall of game and more.

One of the things that makes Galactic Civilizations 2 unique is
how flexible it is. Third parties (using our developer's kit)
can make their own scenarios. For example, one player recently
made (and uploaded to our ftp site ftp.stardock.com) a Babylon5
(t m of Warner Bros.) scenario in which the GalCiv engine is
used to play in the Babylon5 universe. Most games would have to
create a brand new game (ala Starcraft which uses much of the
Warcraft engine to create a space version of that awesome game),
but Ga lCiv2 was created so that the players could really get in
and change the game around quite a bit and we will continue to
enhance the game (free of charge) in this direction.

OS/2 is also getting its first first person adventure game (ala
Myst, Zork:Nemsis). Avarice: The Final Saga
Stardock released Avarice: Preview back before
Christmas to give users a taste of what was coming.
Its performance was not what we hoped (though we largely
fixed that with an update in February). The development company,
Continuous Software Systems, has
been working around the clock to get the NPCs (non-player
characters) going so that you can interact with them.
Avarice:The Final Saga, should be in manufacturing nearly
imminently.

The long awaited Entrepreneur continues its journey
towards completion. Public beta 2 was recently released.
Entrepreneur is the game I'm most personally involved with right
now and most excited about because of how unique it is and how
fun I think the final version will be. I ten d to describe games
in terms of other games since that way we all have a common view
of what the game will be like. Imagine taking Warcraft 2,
Masters of Orion and mixing it with Capitalism. In Entrepreneur,
you start a company, build products, and conque r the world.
It's a war game but there's no shooting, you try to conquer the
world's markets and destroy your competitors. Internally, we
call it "The Microsoft Simulator"! Multiplayer, real-time, with
great graphics, Entrepreneur is scheduled for a Fall release.

OS/2 users have been clammoring for a first person action game
that exploits the powerful and performance of a 32bit OS such as
OS/2 Warp. Trials of Battle does just that. Imagine Wing
Commander meets DOOM. You design your own hover tank and get
into an arena to destroy computer controlled opponents or your
friends on the network. A public beta of this game comes out in
just a couple of weeks.

Predictions for E3 97...

Wing Commander on-line. Jump into the Wing Commander universe as
you and your ships are put to the test on-line. While Origin
tried this before using modem support with their much-maligned
Wing Commander strategy game (1994), this time it will be done
rig ht.

On-line games on the internet are the future. The bad side
effect is that AI will probably not be a very high priority as
everyone plays friends and co-workers from across the LAN or
across the world.

3D cards don't pan out like people hoped.

Quake will be a big hit afterall (I hope at least).

Nintendo64 comes to dominate the console arena.

JAVA games begin with MUDs based on websites and such.

That's all for this year...

Definitely a great show! Will be there again next year (probably
manning a booth).

Anyone else who went to the E3, please post your observations.
I was there for the whole show but with so much there, I probably
missed a lot.

DIABLO!!!

Yeah I just read the guide part of PC Games and it featured Diablo. I
think you are right in assuming that there will be only one town. As far
as the random dungeons go, your right in that the plot cannot be that
complicated. In the magazine it gave a small description of the plot which
consisted of theme standard theme, a town is in the pits some evil lurks
underground, it is your goal to root out the evil and help the town.
Pretty standard!! But that being said I was amazed at the detail in the
game in so far as the spell that I saw and the graphics, yes I will be the
first to say graphics certainly do not make the game, but in some respects
they can make the game more fun. This is an example. Looking at the game
it does not seem to try to be some complicated RPG with an intricate plot.
The sense that I got from hearing people talk and reading this about it is
that it just looks like it is going to fun to play. <Period> I think that
is cool. And the fact that Blizzard will start its dedicated game server
at the release of Diablo will make it very cool because all you will you
will need is your ISP account all of us obviously have.

Anyway that is my two cents. Complicated plot with lots of stats - no,
build up your character bash some cool looking monsters, with lots of
different weapons and spells, and have fun yes. I would have to hear some
VERY negative validated comments to keep me from buying this. This to me
is a must have already, but we'll wait and see.

BTW IMHO the best game around the corner this year will be Daggerfall, not
Daggeryawn, or Daggerlate but Daggerfall........Can you say Kick
Ass........I knew that you could

You bet they should. Playing on Blizzards servers will be *FREE* .. Just the
way it *SHOULD* be. All of Blizzards future multiplayer games (And some
former, IE. WC2) will all eventually have their own FREE gaming server for
those that have bought the game. None of this $2/hr bullsh*t! What im really
liking about their jump to Win95 is that the games will run right over Winsock
for all this. No KALI crap! Just dial into your ISP, check your email, boot up
Diablo or WC2, join in a game, and blam, a night full of some serious
devistation.

Finally a company with some brains, and dedication to gamers.

I really want Diablo as well... It looks too cool! Did ya hear about
War.Net (or maybe Battle.Net...)? Blizzard (I think it was Blizzard...
check out NG Online for more info. It's under "news") is making a _free_
on-line service for Diablo an' all it's future games. I didn't hear
anything about WarCraft 2, though...

I went to E3 last week and messed around with Diablo. I LOVED the way
it looked and it seemed to be very controllable. I had very high
hopes for the game, but besides the glitz, it doesn't seem to be much
more than DOOM from an isometric view (read: Crusader). There were
really cool touches with the art and stuff. Now, if only we could
have gameplay to match...

E3 Write-Up Microprose, etc.

-Blizzard
Starcraft or is that Craft.Star , a big OOPs?
(**1/2)
Blizzard, caught up in a storm of plug-compatible, Object-Oriented
Programming, was showing the "new" StarCraft game. Don’t blink, that
asteroid looks an awful lot like a familiar Warcraft II gold mine,
which has inexplicably sprouted horrifying fingers of crystalline
space-fungus. Moldy-oldy, with a new spacey-face?

 

[PetriP-TNT]

Subscribed! Things weren't that different in 90's I guess, I didn't get to internet gaming forums/groups until late 90's. maybe 97.

They got pretty famous for that short film with the lamp. Also, these aren't "people", these are people that post on usenet in the 80's.

Hahaha

This. fucking. guy. This guy right here.

I am so using Nofundo from this point forward

 

[EmCeeGramr]

The GameFan Article in Question: Here it is!

I checked and double checked my typing so yes that is REALLY how it was
written. Very messed up. It was also in an article in the sports section
which should have had a review for College Football USA 96, by EA. There
was a blurb above it and two reviews of the game to the side which were
pertaining to the football game.

What ever the "excuse" they have I don't want to hear it. The only adult
course of action they CAN take now would be to publically apologize, admit
the wrongness of the article and bigotry, and explain the course of action
they have taken to correct this to prevent future happenings.

I don't need excuses. I especially don't want to hear why it happened
because like I said the damage is done. For this type of article to even be
on their computers or on their " minds" in the first place IS the real
problem. That it got to print only opens our eyes to their true beliefs.

I think Game Fan has gotten just a little to high and mighty. Too bad for
them they didn't remain the humble, accurate, and great magazine they once
were.

The internet, and these newsgroups in particular, are only a magnified
version of the general populace. Anything bad here becomes fruit of the
devil, and anything good because sent from the heavens. There is no gray
area here on the net. Enthusiast gamers, and in particular the ones on
the internet, seem to feel that the entire world looks to them for the
true and final word on any video game related subject. Perhaps it's the
kind of culture that's been developed on here... one that has become so
central that the people who are on it forget that they are part of a
larger picture, and begin to believe that they are the center of the
gaming universe.

At any rate, the outcry among gamers HERE is many times over magnified
from the general video game public. To the casual reader, all that will
be necessary is an editorial apology for an editing mistake, and that
will be that... the general public is far more forgiving than the intense
scrutiny with which net gamers view virtually EVERYTHING that enters their
sacred hobby. The article, as far as I'm concerned, LOOKED like a
mistake. It was pasted over and over into the columns, and it certainly
does not look intentional. Certainly I don't condone the comments made,
but I think that is for the writer of those comments to live with,
whoever that might be. Beyond that, it was certainly also the
responsiblity of the editing staff to make sure something like that
didn't sneak in. But to issue a press release blaming it on sabateurs?
Well, personally I find that a little offensive to my own intelligence.
But I'll tell you what, to the majority of the GameFan readership, it
won't make much difference at all. They like the pictures.

Got My PS... Unimpressed

Yeah, although I had played the Japanese PSX quite a bit, I bought
a PSX today and the demos on the CD were kind of a let down (well some of
them). My friend wanted to get a PSX, so I decided to get one too...ah,
what the hell. But, I couldn't find a game I wanted, so I just passed
on the games. I'll wait a few days for Air Combat or something.
First off, the CD interface SUCKS. I mean, not only is the
menu system UGLY but as far as I can see you don't get any kind of trippy
color demo when you play a CD like the various 3D0 models. Also, I couldn't
find any way to show graphics on CD+Gs. Anyone know how to do this?
Now, on to the demos. First, let me say I'm not a big sports or
fighting game fan. Perhaps that explains why I couldn't really find a game
I wanted today.
Anyway first with the good: Warhawk looks great--Panzer Dragoon
with an airplane/combat theme and 360 degree movement. Demolition Derby
looks like a lot of fun. Jumping Flash, while semi-choppy at times and kind
of dull, seems like a decent game.
But... There was no in-game footage of Air Combat or Kileak. Is this
for a reason (I haven't seen either in motion)?
Wipeout, IMHO, sucks. It's too slow, the sound/music blows, and
you just don't get that hyped up racing feeling you do when you play
something like Hi-Octane. If Bullfrog adds in some more levels and options,
and makes the game a bit harder, the PSX version of Hi-Octane will blow
Wipeout away. Wipeout did have some nice textures though.
I want to see more of Philosoma! The demo had WAY too much FMV
and just a few seconds of actual game footage (the poorly translated
narration didn't help). Despite reports that it's too short, I'll
probably pick this one up too. (When's the US release?)

HEY DUMBASS BUY ESPN AND YOULL CHANGE YOUR OPINOIN !!!!!!!!!!!!!1


NBA JAM WAHT A JOKE!!!!!!!!!1
3DO WILL RULE THE GAMING WORLD


"The meaning of life is to play games and have fun"

SATURN,3DO and waiting for the M2 M2 M2 M2
yeeeeeeeeeeeeessssssssss

NEWS from Japan regarding Nintendo 64!!!

yes.. fully rendered but... is it real 3d? killer instinct isnt
so hot because its very similar to donkey country in that its
2d with looks of 3d. From what ive seen at the arcade, the nintendo
chip is quite flawed. it doesnt do proper 3d and fails to update
fast enough... and worse... if the pre-rendered scene is missing
or not loaded quick enough, you get garbage.. ive seen it many times
with the game Crusin' USA.. go up on an embankment.. scenes seem to
be missing.. and the garbage pops up.. no polygons.. its looking for
a pre-rendered scene and cant find one... guess they need to work
on starfox or something similar and work on the graphics.. nintendo
has really bad graphics and even worse gameplay. considering the
hardware, nintendo can do better but it doesnt. sega is already maxed
out but i guess we all know that...

If Square makes a killer RPG for NU64 (and they probably will) I'm gonna
have to get me a NU64 too!!! Arrghh!!! So many machines, so little
money! Not that really complaining, if the games are cool, it'll be
worth it!

It's like Deja Vu, though. Several years ago I was committed to the NES.
Then I bought a Genesis. When SNES came out, I said "No Way!!". The
games sucked in the beginning, so I thought I was in the clear...then
Street Fighter II came out. Now PSX and Saturn are here, and I'd like to
just stay with one or the other, but...

Anybody else out there have that same, familiar feeling?

FYI,

Square (Japan) was present at the last SIGGRAPH show in L.A. this past
August. They had a FF demo running off an SGI Onyx (which is the
development system of the NU64) that was incredible. 3 characters were
present as was a huge stone opponent. All characters were high res,
anti-aliased, rendered on the fly 3D elements. Texture maps,
transparancies, active camera, this game was flawless. If you visit the
Square www page, you'll see the characters I'm mentioning. Anyways this
demo was created roughly in a month and hinted at what could be done on a
NU64 (mind you I love my PSX). A hint at the demo's gameplay was a
realtime battle simulation. As the fight progressed, symbols would appear
on the right hand side of the screen, you would then mimick the patten
within the symbol with your mouse. If you correctly did the patter while
the symbol was still on the screen, your character would then execute the
move on the stone creature. If you didn't, you'd lose your turn.

great stuff, be on the lookout next year, there should be some amazing
games for the NU64.

RPGs and PSX

Yeeecccchhh. So PSX is focusing much more on computer-style RPGs than on the
'traditional' console RPGs like Final Fantasy? I'm glad I own a Saturn, too.

Personally, I would prefer to see BOTH, but SCEA seems to have decided
not to "pollute" the Western market with those icky trashy Japanese-style
games. The most respected translators/porters in the business (Working
Designs) has had a standing offer for OVER A YEAR to translate and
release Arc the Lad in the United States. SCEA doesn't want it released
in the US -- too Japanese, not enough of a market, etc.

Bottom line: SCEA is so paranoid about not having any crap games
associated with the Playstation that they are actively discouraging small
developers from translating or developing any game which is not perceived
as having mass-market appeal.

(All the Playstation games I'm looking forward to are IBM PC ports which
I expect never to see in a version playable on my old Mac... but non-PC
owning households are relatively rare in the US...)

 

[MikeE21286]

After finding this thread (which is amazing) I have gone down a usenet rabbit hole the last couple days and pulled out this usenet post that I thought was appropriate to put here.

Greg Sewart announces Gaming Age Online, a great new site from the former editors of Gaming Enthusast Online

 

[AutumnAve]

After finding this thread (which is amazing) I have gone down a usenet rabbit hole the last couple days and pulled out this usenet post that I thought was appropriate to put here.

Greg Sewart announces Gaming Age Online, a great new site from the former editors of Gaming Enthusast Online

How awesome is that?

 

[EmCeeGramr]

today we learn that new zelda games are awful, repetitive, and easy, that nintendo consoles have bad graphics and no games, and all new games these days are just generic sequels



Why Zelda ]|[ wasn't good enough (11/2/92)

I enjoyed the first two games in the series more than this third installment.
Here are the problems with Zelda ]I[:

Most of the game is too easy. You remember Gleeok with 4 heads or the room
with about 10 Darknuts in it from the first outing? How about the boss of
the final palace and fighting your shadow in Zelda II? The game has seemingly
evolved into I wanna win! (with little effort).

To give you your money's worth because the game is so easy, they drag out the
game with lots and lots of items, puzzles, and mazes. Sure these are fun the
first time around, but sometimes they require help from someone else,
otherwise you never finish the game. Try playing _Hitchhiker's Guide to the
Galaxy_ from Infocom on the PC, or _Deja Vu_ on the NES. Has anyone beaten
these games entirely on their own? Hence, if you do complete it, you don't
have quite the sense of accomplishment if you had done it on your own (which
is one reason I've never liked crossword puzzles; too many answers I can't
fill in).

Also, running through the same areas a billion times makes me tired.
After running through Kakariko village for the thirtieth time, I felt like
screaming.

And after you have completed the game the first time, it isn't much fun the
second. I think I'll own _Super Ghouls and Ghosts_ for a much longer time
than I did _Zelda III_ because it has a lot of replay value. Zelda III, IMO,
has none. (That is, playing _Super Ghouls and Ghosts_ with stage select, for
variety).

_Zelda III_ didn't push the graphics or music capacities of the Super NES
either. I want more scaling, more mode 7 rotation, etc. There are less
impressive games, of course. _Lagoon_, for example.

The last game that I considered to be the best in the Adventure category was
_Crystalis_ for the NES, for it had all of the flavor of the original Zelda
and more. Unfortunately, I don't think Zelda III fulfilled its potential.

--John.

Unfortunately, most "games" are now like this. It makes sense if you
think of video games as interactive movies, something similar to
CD-I, and not a game in the traditional sense.

SNES-where's the graphics (6/17/92)

I bought a SNES a couple of weeks ago. When I first started playing super
mario world I thought the system was ok. The graphics were nice and the
Sound was a lot better than my NES. I was looking forward to games that
would take advantage of the hardware and give my graphics like I see in the
Genesis adverts in any magazine.

I have so far rented several games trying to find one good enough to buy.
I am VERY DISAPPOINTED. The only game that was playable for more that a few
hours was Pilot's Wings, and I could see that getting tedious after you
finish the rescue mission. Of the other games I have palyed I can truly say
that the SNES games are no better, as far as entertainment value goes, than
simple NES games.

If this is such a good machine......... WHERE ARE THE GAMES for it?

Is it just me or do most SNES games SUCK?
Please tell me I am wrong and that there are some games on the way for the
SNES. Games that will have new features, better graphics, more colors,
longer story lines, more action, better sound. Because the games I have
played offer no more chalange that a well programmed NES game.

Tell me what games to try ... I am thinking of selling me SNES if the
games dont improve!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Did anyone notice... (7/31/92)

the amount of SEQUEL games in the latest issue of EGM? Especially noticeable
on the cover. If I remember correctly it sort of went like this... (doing this
from memory!)

In this issue:

"generic game" 2
"generic game" 3
"generic game" 2
"generic game" 4
"generic game" 2
"generic game" 2
"generic game" 3

Am I complaining? I'm not sure. I realize that this issue has been discussed
to the point of boredom in the past, but I thought it was interesting.

I'd would like to see, though, some of the older arcade games moved to the home
gaming format.
How's about: Asteroids, Missile Command, Battle Zone, Crazy Climber, Defender,
Dig Dug, Tempest, (boy this is looking like an Atari list!), Joust, Rip Off,
(am I showing my age?), Omega Race, Centipede, many many more....

Since newer gamers might be bored = "Why would I want to play a game that
doesn't even have an ending?" - what about 4 or 5 of these games into one cart?
These wouldn't even be BIG (as in megs (god, I hate that term)). I'd snap
one up in a minute - well as long as they were on the SNES - but I'd be happy
to see them in any format. (I like the direction the Lynx is taking with there
Asteroids/Missile Command cart. I might have to pick up a system.)

Here's to hoping my word is heard by the game software execs/writers. Cheers.

David

 

[IrishNinja]

god, i just lost a few hours to the first page and it's links alone, damn you emcee.

also a dollar says Death of Fighting Games (May 1, 1993) was written by The Take-Out Bandit

 

[PastorOfMuppets]

There definitely needs to be a separate thread for the PC gamers around at that time. The Quake 3 vs UT battles were legendary on the comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action boards.

 

[IrishNinja]

MSNBC sets the record straight?

I'm pretty excited and interested to see what we are in for. This could
effect me in any number of ways. Dreamcast will be the last gaming system I
buy (save maybe GBA) and if Sega discontinues the system, this is it. I
will support the system to the end though and pick up most all of the big
releases: the Shenmue IIs, the Phantasy Star Onlines, the Sonic the
Hedgehogs, the Crazy Taxis etc. Games similar in greatness and importance
to these will all be in my collection no matter the number of great
releases. I will remain a Sega fan through and through but they won't get
any of my money on other systems, in my opinion the Dreamcast has 3 years of
life left in it and could easily go this distance as long as Sega continues
to support it (it is pretty much dead in Japan already). My suggestion,
make the US priority and release the games here first and then translate
them to Japanese. The US is where the money is and Sega will continue to
lose money in Japan no matter what. Hopefully though the announcement will
be a bunch of blown up BS and everything will continue how it is going,
perfectly. Dreamcast is my favorite system ever already no matter if
another game was never released after Phantasy Star Online. Long live Sega.

pretty timeless post TBH, seems legit to me

That shenmue thread about the sailors is amazing for it's detour into gay rights and prejudice against people with tattoos, and a short discussion on the merits of the dealth penalty. Never change internet.

oh wow, i gotta go see this now

 

[BurnOutBrighter]

So this is how people talk without quoting memes.

 

[cacildo]

Quote:
Christopher M Songer writes:
>
>With that kind of side - by - side display, no wonder. If you gave me
>a choice of whether to play Sonic or SMW for 15 minutes (or even which
>I'd rather look at) it would be Sonic. If you have me a shot at two to
>four hours of play, I'd go for SMW. They are really different games.

Quality does not sell video games. Hype and flashy effects do. Ever
notice how all the big gaming magazines (EGM, VG&CE, etc) always put
graphics and sound on equal footing with gameplay? There's just no way
for a newcomer to make a reasonably intelligent decision. Look at all
the ads which are brimming with fancy artwork which has absolutely
nothing to do with the game in question. And reviews which claim a
game is boring and repetitive and not at all fun but has neato special
effects and ends up with an 8 out of 10 rating. Yeesh.

This sort of nonsense is okay for $9 tapes or $6 movies or $5
paperbacks, but for a $60 game? I don't know how the industry
survives...

Since this is, 20 years after, still true, i guess it will simply never change

 

[mrklaw]

After finding this thread (which is amazing) I have gone down a usenet rabbit hole the last couple days and pulled out this usenet post that I thought was appropriate to put here.

Greg Sewart announces Gaming Age Online, a great new site from the former editors of Gaming Enthusast Online

07/09/97
Hexen review (N64)
Worms 2 preview (PC)
Come visit our forum!

Nice

 

[Lissar]

If this is such a good machine......... WHERE ARE THE GAMES for it?

SNES has no game.

 

[Weltall Zero]

What I took away from this AMAZING thread:
1) Foresight is 0/20.
2) Everything you complain about now, will be even worse in the future. Not just worse, so much worse that it will make your original complaint utterly hilarious.

I loved a couple posts in the early 90's, the one about games becoming way too casual and the one about there only being sequels of generic games. However the cake is taken by the one derising still ongoing console wars with "it's 1996, people". Oh god, if they only knew...

I saw a sneak peak at a new Virtual Fighter that was just
extraordinary.

Oh great, people have been saying "sneak peak" for over 15 years. There goes my hope of them getting it right eventually.

 

[Mael]

Just discovered this goldmine of a thread,
in 30 years time people will look at our posts the same way :lol

 

[mokeyjoe]

Just discovered this goldmine of a thread,
in 30 years time people will look at our posts the same way :lol

I don't think you even have to go back that far. I think some of the best speculation came from the first announcements and demos of the Wii. There was ker-azy speculation and doom-saying up to the launch of that system.

It'll be interesting to look at the Wii U thread in a couple of years, because nobody ever seems to learn any lessons. Apparently Nintendo are perpetually doomed.

 

[Izick]

Just discovered this goldmine of a thread,
in 30 years time people will look at our posts the same way :lol

"Why did they always write ':lol' after everything? How silly."

 

[LiveFromKyoto]

All those deluded Dreamcast fanboys...

...they're living in the alternate Dreamcast-victoryverse that I wish existed. *sniff*

 

[EmCeeGramr]

What I took away from this AMAZING thread:
1) Foresight is 0/20.
2) Everything you complain about now, will be even worse in the future. Not just worse, so much worse that it will make your original complaint utterly hilarious.

I loved a couple posts in the early 90's, the one about games becoming way too casual and the one about there only being sequels of generic games. However the cake is taken by the one derising still ongoing console wars with "it's 1996, people". Oh god, if they only knew...

Those are my favorite types of posts to find.

How there has never been a time on the Internet when videogames weren't dumbed down casual graphics-over-gameplay pieces of shit sequels that played themselves and were more movie than game, when the current generation was awful while the previous generation was a Golden Age of skill and creativity.

It's even better when those posts come from periods of time that lots of people today would consider a "Golden Age."

 

[Combichristoffersen]

today we learn that new zelda games are awful, repetitive, and easy, that nintendo consoles have bad graphics and no games, and all new games these days are just generic sequels

They knew about the Wii U already back then?

 

[fabricated backlash]

It's kind of amusing to see how the gaming enthusiast community has kept their codified stereotypes intact for over 20 years now. I think it's going to be a gift for historians and sociologists, that keeps on giving. A mostly isolated, still standing subculture, that renews itself every 5 or 6 years with a new generation coming in replacing the old one, but still repeating the same arguments over and over again.

 

[endresults]

I found some posts by me from way back in '98 centered around console game emulation...holy shit, how embarrassing; I used my full name and everything.

My taste in games back then was horrible too.

 

[bigdaddygamebot]

This is wonderful.

 

[bigdaddygamebot]

The Gerstmann stuff is fantastic. Someone get Monster Dunk in here to school these fools...two decades later.

 

[mugurumakensei]

It's kind of amusing to see how the gaming enthusiast community has kept their codified stereotypes intact for over 20 years now. I think it's going to be a gift for historians and sociologists, that keeps on giving. A mostly isolated, still standing subculture, that renews itself every 5 or 6 years with a new generation coming in replacing the old one, but still repeating the same arguments over and over again.

Ageless Truths in Gaming:
Nintendo systems suck have bad graphics and no games.
Gerstmann sucks
Generic Sequels
Zelda's for babies
That other gamer is not a "real" gamer
Games are all style with no substance

 

[Kai Dracon]

Those are my favorite types of posts to find.

How there has never been a time on the Internet when videogames weren't dumbed down casual graphics-over-gameplay pieces of shit sequels that played themselves and were more movie than game, when the current generation was awful while the previous generation was a Golden Age of skill and creativity.

It's even better when those posts come from periods of time that lots of people today would consider a "Golden Age."

lol - nerds are hyper emotional and invested in their objects of worship.

This is human nature and doesn't change with the generations. All this has happened before and will happen again. So bitch and moan we all.

Every group of gamers who become super invested fans tend to say new games suck and the golden age (of just 3 years past, back then) was when real mans strode the earth with hair on their chest, steel balls knocking. Every game company sucks now and has forgotten how to make a game, compared to the days of yore, etc.

It's all really independent of objective reality, and whether or not any particular things are actually better or worse than they were before. Sometimes a griping geek will get it right, but it seems its just as oft coincidence as not.

Everybody might have a happier time if they just chilled and enjoyed fun stuff wherever they found it, but I guess that'd just be too easy, ah hah.

Edit: I will add, that as someone who has actually enjoyed every single Zelda game outside, of course, the CD-I game, the Zelda III bitching puts a big old smile on my face. I'm going to think of that every time I see someone going on about how Skyward Sword is the worst Zelda ever and is so objectively wrong in three dozen different ways.

 

[bigdaddygamebot]

War.

War never changes.

+1

 

[The Omega Man]

The word is about, there's something evolving,
whatever may come, the world keeps revolving
They say the next big thing is here,
that the revolution's near,
but to me it seems quite clear
that it's all just a little bit of history repeating

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzLT6_TQmq8&feature=share

 

[KojiKnight]

I... I can't stop reading... These are so great. Makes me want to pull out my ancient Nintendo Powers.

 

[The Hermit]

Amazing find eemcee... Damn some post are nuts, It feels like they belong into the present. And they were living the fucking golden age of gamming... If they only knew what the future was holding for them.