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[KojiKnight]

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.

They would likely look on us with the same crazy view as we looked back upon them.

"They live in the freaking future! I can see actual hair! It's not just one giant polygon vaguely attached to a model's head! How can they complain about any of this!?"

 

[Good Job Bob]

Nothing ever changes.

 

[leesmapman]

What about Rare leaving Nintendo and joining Microsoft?

 

[scitek]

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)

Whoa, wait, did you retype these, or did people really use "IMO" in 1992?

 

[Mael]

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.

Yeah there seems to be a fair amount of negativity toward Nintendo every time...
I don't think it's that unwarranted this time though, then again in 2005 how could you know that the company behind the purple lunch box would rebound that way (by looking at the DS I'd say).

Still they're far from the only one though, having looked over all the thread I can say a few things :
that malstrom guy was actually right on few things :
- SMW was not as well received as its legacy would make you believe (actually I was there too and that's true in Europe too)
- hardcore/casual : casuals of yesterday are the hardcore of tomorrow
- NES was seen by pc gamers as that lamo kiddy stuffs no one want to discuss
- Zelda I & II were seen as something special far beyond how it's seen now
- 3D Mario indeed split the base between "awesome new Mario in 3D" and "where's my reflex demanding Mario"
I don't care about his opinion on the current market or this gen but his insights on oldies is pretty accurate, I guess it's neither the place nor the time so I'll shut up about it.

Things are jumping the fuck off in 1993 over a certain game.

SFX isn't that great!




Would you idiots stop the SFX arguing?



Yet some more comments on STARFOX





MEANWHILE:

3DO is good for a laugh.





EGM's Jaguar vs. 3DO quote

That really takes me back...

 

[Shining]

Consoles are Dying Off

It seems a lot of hoopla is surrounding the release of the N64,
just as it did the release of the Saturn and Playstation. Now, the kids
of the world are engaged in heated debates about who's going to "win" the
console wars.

The answer is simple: Intel.

you are absoutely wrong. The number of PC games (and
there are a lot) shows that many retatrded developers can develop and
market a PC game. I like Nintendo's idea about trying to get the best
developers and keeping the amount of games to a minimum. There aren't any
games on the PC right now that are as interactive or as "3-d" as mario.
Even quake is not as 3-d, as you do not have 6 degrees of freedom.

 

[CrunchinJelly]

"I like Nintendo's idea about trying to get the best developers and keeping the amount of games to a minimum."

Oh boy... Now that is some spin.

 

[Hawkian]

This one got me:

It's just that every new (arcade) game being released is YET ANOTHER
spinoff of that entire Teenage Mutant Ninja Gaiden Ikari Double Dragon
Dudes Warriors theme and I have HAD IT with these bullsh*it excuses for
"arcade" machines.

Gotta be honest my mind immediately went to

So, I'm a pedophile because I don't want to play Dudebro, My Shit is Fucked Up So I Got to Shoot/Slice You II: It's Straight-Up Dawg Time?

 

[Kai Dracon]

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.

But I think that's the real joke.

We ARE in a "golden age" now. If those people then had seen some of the shit we have today, their innocent minds would be blown to pieces. If someone who just played Super Mario World was given NSMB U, they would asplode at the unimaginable graphics and resolution and marvel at how four people could play Mario at the same time.

It's always a golden age, because there's always great things everywhere. Even if one particular thing you could single out, is actually worse than before.

The people of the past had no perspective on that, just as the people of the present have no perspective. Everyone is perpetually jaded about what they have right now. So they rant about how horrible everything is. It's like people don't appreciate the future, or most don't, because they arrive their gradually and so become acclimated to the changes. We remember the past as a "simple" time, tend to forget the bad, and only remember what made us feel good.

A console gamer remembering the golden age of 1992 seems to forget $80 game cartridges, a relatively tiny amount of really good games actually being made a year, being unable to ever get hardly any games of certain genres from Japan. People complaining about 3D games today forget the early days of the PS1, how 99% of games were terrible because nobody knew how to make a game with Porygons or how to make a game play well in 3d space. Nevermind everything that online connectivity has brought - people complain today their game needs a patch and "why can't they make it right the first time!" People yesterday had to accept bugs, glitches, terrible balance or design decisions that ruined a game with no hope of it ever being fixed. (At least the PC was ahead there, early on.)

 

[KojiKnight]

In article 20...@vax.sbu.ac.uk, cap...@vax.sbu.ac.uk () writes:
>
> Fair points I must admit, however, you must understand that this will
> give SNES gamers a more technical insight into their machine, and a
> better understanding of what they have.

And what good is that? When I play a game I don't care about the
hardware or how many colors are onscreen or what coprocessor is being
used. I see the game on a higher level and judge it on its design,
playability, and overall fun I have while playing. I'm a programmer
so I can admire good programming, but picking apart technical details
is like bickering over what kind of brushes were used to paint the
Mona Lisa.

> Surely this must be a good thing, as it will generate programming
> interest and hopefully some new SNES coders will emerge. I know that it
> may seem far fetched, but I hope you see my point.

IMO this hobby is about games, not a bunch of people quibbling about
techno-details.

It really hasn't changed at all has it?

 

[EmCeeGramr]

- Zelda I & II were seen as something special far beyond how it's seen now

Eh, people seem think of Zelda as just another good "major" series, and there certainly are examples I found of people thinking Zelda II is a weirdo disappointment.

- 3D Mario indeed split the base between "awesome new Mario in 3D" and "where's my reflex demanding Mario"

Haven't seen this at all?

 

[Jake Tower]

A console gamer remembering the golden age of 1992 seems to forget $80 game cartridges...

Nevermind everything that online connectivity has brought - people complain today their game needs a patch and "why can't they make it right the first time!" People yesterday had to accept bugs, glitches, terrible balance or design decisions that ruined a game with no hope of it ever being fixed. (At least the PC was ahead there, early on.)

-$80 game carts: many games still cost this much to get the full game (parts/modes held back as DLC)

-The bugs, glitches, terrible balance, design decisions that ruined a game used to the difference between a good publisher and a shitty one. The good publisher QAed the fucked out of their game and the day one purchase at retail could be made in full good faith. The sketchy publishers pushed out buggy/glitchy/poorly balanced shit that was properly disregarded by most customers. Now, the 'AAA' publishers feel comfortable letting their first customers be beta testers due to consoles being online and the availability of patches.

 

[Warm Machine]

But I think that's the real joke.

We ARE in a "golden age" now.

Absolutely. The cynicism that is everywhere right now is so saddening and completely unfounded. It almost feels like there are so few people who are actually happy with games in general. I remember the dark 1984-1987 era when consoles were not available and PC gaming was near non existant. Only arcades existed and the selection of games wasn't always cutting edge. I'm so thankful for how much there is and the incredible variety that we get.

 

[Victrix]

-$80 game carts: many games still cost this much to get the full game (parts/modes held back as DLC)

-The bugs, glitches, terrible balance, design decisions that ruined a game used to the difference between a good publisher and a shitty one. The good publisher QAed the fucked out of their game and the day one purchase at retail could be made in full good faith. The sketchy publishers pushed out buggy/glitchy/poorly balanced shit that was properly disregarded by most customers. Now, the 'AAA' publishers feel comfortable letting their first customers be beta testers due to consoles being online and the availability of patches.

If you're paying $80 for games, you're doing it so, so wrong. I have never paid less for so many games at any point in history. Steam sales + gamersgate + gog + etc + Gamefly + used games + online game sales + retail game sales = shit be cheap son. Oh, and uh, the whole f2p thing. Which is a big deal. And the indie scene, which is either free or cheap. And XBL/PSN titles.

Heck, if anything, I now have the opposite problem - more games than time.

And I can't remember the last game I had to patch to play to completion, so either you're buying really shitty games, or you're globally accusing all large publishers of releasing broken games which is a nice broad brush, but not a very accurate one.

 

[Nightstick11]

Where are the posts from when Final Fantasy VII defected to the Sony Playstation? That was the meltdown of meltdowns in this industry's history.

 

[See You Next Wednesday]

A lot of this is gold, it's almost too much to read through as I don't have the time.

 

[Randy Monk]

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Except this time theres no Derek Smart, gods gift to Usenet.

 

[EmCeeGramr]

RISE FROM YOUR GRAVE FOR A NEXT-GEN LAUNCH SPECIAL

Sega, where are the Saturn commercials????????? (11/28/95)

The title says it all. Where are the Saturn commercials? I haven't
seen any, other than couple short VF2 and VC commercials showing 2
seconds of VC and VF2. Why won't you show us the pictures of VF2 and
VC? They destroy their PSX counter parts!!!!!!!!! Whoever is doing
Saturn commercials should be shot to death with Justifiers!!!!!
On the other hand, I am sick and tired of those god damn PSX
commercials running everywhere. In fact, I have seen so many that I
hear "You are not ready!!!!" and "(e)NOS lives" in my dreams!!!! If
Sony can successfully brain-wash a Sega fan like me, think of how many
Sega gamers Sony have brain washed so far.
I am seeing tons of that dumb Virtual Boy and Game Gear commercials,
too. Yes, I see Game Gear commercials, but no Saturn commercials!!!!!!!

Rayman PSX vs. Saturn (11/11/95)

Saturn advantages:
-faster loading times
-something about the in game graphics just seems richer than PSX
version.
-new visual effects at the end of the level.
-the fairy no longer has that 'Im spitting on you' sound
effect when throwing her fairy 'water on you' they changed it.
-no slowdown.

Saturn disadvantages:
-FMV is not full screen as I remember the PSX version being
and is quite pixelated.

It seems that the Saturn can't handle FMV or Digitize graphics as well
as the PSX or it's those bad Programers again. There must be
something we can do to forced them to work has hard on the Saturn
games as they do on the PSX. Well we won one with Rayman but the
others, like NBA JAM, STREET FIGHTER and h mI hope they work hard on
both MK2 and MK3 are we will never hear the end of the PSX is better
crap!

Saturn or Playstation? (11/8/95)

PSX is a product of Sony's multi-million dollar bribes toward Media.
Like Sony owns a stake in Sendai who publishes EGM. Every PSX buyers
get 3 months free subscription of Sony Generation(Former Next
Generation). PSX is easy to develop for, but it's capability is
limited. That is why PSX games won't be better than current WipeOut in
the future; PSX is already running out of gas.

On the other hand, Sega and 3rd party developers are only begining to
understand haw to harness the power of Saturn due to its complex
architecture.

Just don't be surprised Saturn games start to look better than PSX
games in the future. Actually, that should start happening this X-mas.

Why Sony will overtake Sega in U.S. (9/17/95)

Did you ever wonder why Sony sold about as many PSX's in one weekend as
Sega Saturns sold in 6 months in the U.S.? If you weren't aware, sony has
it's greedy fingers in all forms of enertainment - from Movies to Music and
indirectly in many others. The Sony empire is buying up the United States
at bargain basement prices, snapping up companies that are bottoming out
then riding them to the top. What does this have to do with the PSX's
success? Well...people are unaware that Sony has launched a massive
subliminal advertising campaign. Every Movie and Music CD contains
subliminal messages such as "Buy Sony", "Japan make quality" and "Sega
Sucks". So the next time you view a Sony Movie or listen to a Sony Music
CD, watch or listen carefully and you might consciously pick up some of
the subliminal messages.

One reason why the PSX sold as well as the Saturn is probably because
the Saturn came out unexpectedly early opposed to the long wait for
the PSX. I also believe another reason is the subliminal messages.
Check out the PSX comercials on MTV. Right there in the beginning
of the comercials are stuff like "Saturn bites" or something like
that. You have to be pretty quick to pick this up because it's
right at the beginning with alot of other words being flashed
on the screen in between shots of thier games. I think this is why
most PSX owners seem to hate and bash the Saturn. I've yet to see
Sega do this type of low and desperite advertising.

PS2 > DC significantly. The leap is tremendous (8/1/00)

Are some of you smoking crack? The disparity between the two consoles
is night/day. Sure the first generation titles aren't as noticeablly
distinct, in a technical sense, but even the early PS2 games
demonstrate a clear technical advantage over the two consoles. It's
laughable when people attempt to justify the implication that the two
consoles are only slightly imbalanced. Spare me. I'm not a fanboy, and
I own a DC and have pre-ordered a PS2. DC is great and has some really
beautiful games and I'm sure it has advantages (texture ram) that the
Ps2 does not, but anyone claiming that the PS2 is merely a short step
ahead of the DC is not playing with a full deck of cards. Later.

Graphically, the PS2 is only a SMALL step up from the DC.

The step from the PSX to the DC is much,much greater than the small
step graphically from the DC to the PS2.

If you don't like the facts, then ignore them.

>MGS2? Hmmm, seems like more than just a small step...

Why bring up that game?

Once you see it running full screen you will see what I mean, it is a
jaggie mess and has the same 'feel' as a PSX1 game

Applied technology that produces results is one thing, and specs
and "possibilities" are another. You are basing your entire argument
on games that no one has seen and on "if's".

Is the Xbox the most "powerful" console? Sure it is. But does it look
the best? No one knows. And you also DON'T know that the future PS2
games will far surpass the graphical quality of future DC games.

So far, from what I have seen, the Ps2 is slightly beter graphically in
some areas to the DC, and slighlty worse in other areas. This is
hardly "far superior".

And the problem with maxing out the PS2 is its video memory. And any
fool knows that is a CRIPPLING problem. The makers of Oddworld can't
even get their game out on time because of the PS2's limitations.

Will it be a sharp looking console? Heck ya. But it certainly isn't far
superior, or even marginally superior to the DC.

preach on brutha!

PSX/Saturn/N64 -> DC = BIG step

DC -> PS2 = Small step.

Its not much faster, and not much graphically better. At the end of each
system's lives, games will pretty much look the same. (Although the DC will
have games that always look better than the PS2's simply because of VGA out.
The PS2 cant do the resolution the DC can on a simple TV)

DEATH OF PC GAMES & CONSOLE WARS (7/15/00)

HOW FAST WILL PC GAMES FINALLY KICK THE BUCKET?
HOW LONG BEFORE PC GAME DEVELOPERS ALL DIE OR GO TO CONSOLE GAMES?
WHICH CONSOLE WILL WIN THE WARS?

I PREDICT 2001 AS THE LAST YEAR FOR ANY SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF NEW PC
GAMES COMING OUT,ALTHOUGH FAR LESS THAN PREVIOUS YEARS,AND 2003 AS THE
YEAR WHEN THEY DISAPPEAR FOREVER.

I PREDICT PS2 BEATS GATES' FIRST BIG FLOP X-BOX,NINTENDO'S
PORPOISE/DOLPHIN/WHATEVER,SEGA'S DREAMCAST2 WHENEVER,ETC.

You are stuuuuupiddddd! It happens when you can run console games at 1027 x 768
resolution at 32bit and fully supporting FSAA like in a V5. And supporting online play.
In another words, it will happen if game consoles are a real PC with upgradeable hardware
and software. We all know that games are not made perfectly. You need patches. Now,
how would you go about doing that on console games? Just because you have a slower PC
that does not justify why you should make such a statement. Sure, a X-Box or PS2 would
be faster than your current system. However, a long way from my system. As long as
you are stuck with your TV to play games on your console, your dream will never happpen.

 

[Camjo-Z]

lol

Well...people are unaware that Sony has launched a massive
subliminal advertising campaign. Every Movie and Music CD contains
subliminal messages such as "Buy Sony", "Japan make quality" and "Sega
Sucks".

wake up sheeple!!

 

[IrishNinja]

man, if i had a dollar for every movie with a subliminal "SEGA SUCKS" message, i could afford a CIB copy of Cosmic Carnage.

Spoiler

Dreamcast is still the best tho

 

[Big-ass Ramp]

Man, Gerstmann is prolific.

 

[Lijik]

PSX is a product of Sony's multi-million dollar bribes toward Media.
Like Sony owns a stake in Sendai who publishes EGM. Every PSX buyers
get 3 months free subscription of Sony Generation(Former Next
Generation). PSX is easy to develop for, but it's capability is
limited. That is why PSX games won't be better than current WipeOut in
the future; PSX is already running out of gas.

On the other hand, Sega and 3rd party developers are only begining to
understand haw to harness the power of Saturn due to its complex
architecture.

Just don't be surprised Saturn games start to look better than PSX
games in the future. Actually, that should start happening this X-mas.

man... everything about this one is just incredible

 

[VXLbeast]

Something awesome about reading this stuff. Just knowing how long it's been sitting on a server.

Makes me wonder where these people are now?

Spoiler

Neogaf

 

[Poetic.Injustice]

Thanks for the bump, Love this thread.

 

[slapnuts]

One of my most favorite threads in recent times. Great work OP...much appreciated!

 

[Danny Dudekisser]

I still love this thread, even a year later.

Also loved this quote:

>MGS2? Hmmm, seems like more than just a small step...

Why bring up that game?

Once you see it running full screen you will see what I mean, it is a
jaggie mess and has the same 'feel' as a PSX1 game

The feel of PSX1.

 

[EmCeeGramr]

PC games don't FEEL right, not like consoles (3/23/99)

Don't you think that whenever there is a game that comes out on both PC and
console, that the console version plays better.
They tend to feel more complete. Manufacturers are able to adapt games for
the consoles specific controller, where as PC's have so many different ones
it would be very hard to customise the controls for just one.
This is just a gut feeling I get, and before anybody says that I am not
playing the right games. I know there are games that are only out on the
P.C. and that is why I have a P2 450 with and Riva TNT.

Yet more PSX2 thoughts... (3/4/99)

OK, think of it like this.....

The president of Square was recently quoted as saying basically that only
five developers could fully utilize the power of the PSX2.
Some have come back and said "the developers don't have to use the system
to it's fullest potential".

My response is, if the developers don't utilize the PSX2's full power, than
the PSX2 wouldn't be superior than the DC in the publics eye. If they don't
use it's "fullest potential" what we will have are PSX2 games that look
pretty much like DC games.
Of course, I still think that they will end up looking pretty equal
anyway...

I still say though that what was shown in the demo's does not show a giant
leap over the DC. I've compared the MPEG's over and over again. For
example: compare the "Gran Tourisimo2's replay" PSX2 footage to that of
Sega Rally 2's replay mode. They look almost the exact same in quality!

I'm not saying the PSX2's demos aren't impressive, I'm just saying I am not
as overwhelmed as the hype would lead me to believe I would be. I keep
reading this "70 million polys!!!!!!!!!", "60 Million polys!!!!!!!!!!",
"Dreamcast DOA!!!!!!!!!!!". From what is povided to the public so far (the
PSX2 mpegs), it looks comparable to the DC but, not a DC killer.

Remember though, while I am a Sega fan, I am also a Nintendo fan, Atari fan
etc, I own many different systems....

Yeah, but if game magazines (*cough*Next Generation*cough*) start saying
that the DC's 'already been beaten' by the PSX2, no doubt the casual gamers
will make a point to avoid buying it. Sort of like how NG's constant
bashing of the Saturn helped it to an early grave.:T

Also these game magazines have been running "the DC is great... but the psx 2 is
better" for the last x months well before anything was known. What kind of msg
is this to send out? Every single magazine seems set on offering half praises to
the DC but any whisper of sony and you get more hype than having the Spice Girls
rammed down your throat.

Some early thoughts on the fate of Dreamcast (based on preliminary PSX2 info).... (3/3/99)

Well, "official" news is starting to seep through as Sony apparently released
info today at some sort of show in Japan. Contrary to what has been said
earlier, I do not believe this Sega/Sony battle will be a tie. If what we
are told is true, it will be total domination. One of those two companies is
going to get absolutely slammed. The only question now is "who?".

On the Sony side... The mistranslation the other day about PSX2 costing
840 bucks has been corrected. While surfing the game sites today, I saw
$400. This sounds pretty realistic to me. But, I sincerely wonder how much
cheaper they can make this system. If it is even remotely as powerful as
they say, how could it possibly be cheaper? No doubt, the games are probably
going to be graphically intense. And, backwards compatibility doesn't hurt
either. But.. some of Sony's statements bug me. No, not the cocky statement
slamming Nintendo and Sega. Namely those about taking Intel and the
comparisons toward PC's. Exactly what market is Sony looking to battle? Is
this system going to be a gaming console, or a 3DO? If they are looking to
go after the PC market, as they seem to be, it wouldn't surprise me to see a
high price tag. Also, if they want to compete with PC's, they will have to
constantly release upgrades. And we all KNOW how well the gaming industry
reacts to those! If Sony concentrates on games, and can bring the price
down, this could be a juggernaut of NES proportions.

On the Sega side... Sega's biggest strong point is that it will get to the
market first. PSX2 doesn't come out until late 2000. I guarantee you that
the mainstream (the so-called non-hardcore) gamers won't find out about it
until August or September 2000. Up until then, the most powerful system in
their eyes will be Dreamcast. Remember, in order to win the console wars, a
company needs to win over the "mainstream". You know, those people who think
crap like "Beyond the Beyond" and "Tomb Raider 4: Rehash" are great games? A
lot of these people will be picked up if there are a few good sports games at
launch. Sega seems to be doing things right be releasing a great Sonic game
right off the bad, which already puts this system ahead of Saturn. The price
is already half of what Saturn's was at launch and apparently half of PSX2's.
On the downside, its pretty obvious that DC will be outmuscled by PSX2. Not
to mention that Sega's name still makes some people cringe. But, how many
people can resist the first arcade perfect "VS" game to be released in the
US? I don't know well how well Shen Mu will sell with the mainstream US
gamers, but Powerstone and Dead or Alive 2 both will sell systems.

To close, I think what it all comes down to is:

1) PSX2's price. A great many people WILL buy a PSX2 for $400, but there
is no way it will break into the mass market. A 12 year old kid can save
money for his paper route, or beg his mom and dad for a 200 dollar system,
but for 400, they won't even try. It will have a Neo Geo or NEC-FX type fan
base. The owners will be considered fanatical, but the system won't be too
profitable for 3rd party companies.

2) How efficiently Sega deals with their US launch, and how well they use
the extra time they have. A year is a long time in the gaming world. If
they portray it as the "cool" system, it will be. But, if they have
commercials throwing PSX2's off of buildings, well... I guess we'll end up
playing Virtua Fighter 5 on PSX3.

Weekly Japan Sales 3/15 -3/21 (4/4/99)

4/4/99
Weekly Famitsu
Issue 539
4/16/99

Sales date: 3/15 - 3/21

System Units Total Since 11/23/98

PlayStation 51,863 1,089,928
Dreamcast 8,852 543,141
Nintendo 64 17,681 608,422
Game Boy Pocket/Color 31,294 1,114,830
Neo Geo Pocket Color 18,809 18,809
Wonder Swan 23,192 177,204
Pocket Station 52,431 400,116

Software Market Share

System Percent

PlayStation 77.1%
Dreamcast 1.7%
Nintendo 64 13.3%
Game Boy 4.2%
Wonder Swan 2.2%
Neo Geo Pocket Color 1.5%

Top 10 Sellers

Game System Sold Total

Um Jammer Lammy PlayStation 181,904 New
Densha De Go! 2 PlayStation 176,591 New
Chocobo Racing PlayStation 128,660 New
Pokemon Snap Nintendo 64 94,846 New
Gallop Racer 3 PlayStation 90,585 New
Final Fantasy 8 PlayStation 65,830 3,294,068
FinalFantasy Collection PlayStation 47,337 256,705
Million Classic PlayStation 36,432 New
Smash Bros. Nintendo 64 36,164 615,057
Monster Farm 2 PlayStation 33,911 438,011

Noteable Mentions

Silent Hill (11) PlayStation 31,263 184,071
White Illumination (13) Dreamcast 20,414 New
Dragon Quest Monsters(15)Game Boy 17,886 1,667,359
Beat Mania GB (16) Game Boy 16,596 62,656
Mario Party (21) Nintendo 64 12,792 537,743
Pikachu Genkidechu (23) Nintendo 64 12,536 698,670
Final Fantasy 6 (29) PlayStation 9,916 37,041

30th Place # Sold - 9709 units

Microsoft should enter the console market (9/25/99)

Yea MS should do that. Get Intel to make a good prosseser that is used just
with games. Make the thing easy to program with. Port a zillion games sell
for low price and you have a system almost(you also need a nice graphics
card for the console, storage....)

: Why?? I don't see Microsoft pushing the console gaming industry any more
: forward than Sega, Sony, and Nintendo are. I mean hell, can you honestly
: remember the last time Microsoft did anything revolutionary for PC
: Operating Systems since Windows 95?

All Windows 95 did was give PC's the same nifty interface that
Mac, Amiga, NeXT and X owners had been enjoying for years. It wasn't that
revolutionary.

I think they should leak a bit of information very soon and that it will be
referred to as the Microsoft X-box...

>It is bad though that Microsoft will monopolize consoles as well as PC
>OSs.
>But at least we might get some of the better PC titles like Quake
>series, Unreal, some adventure titles, flight and other combat games.
>It seems that current consoles are stuck in the fighting, racing, and
>sports game rut, nothing with any depth.

Umm, and the PC games aren't stuck in FPS, 3rd person, flight sim, and
RTS genres? Not that those aren't fun, mind you, but I don't think
Quake, for instance, qualifies as a game with a huge amount of depth
either. Its just that the computer will have more network games and
the consoles will have more games that have multiple players using the
same screen. Physical considerations probably plays a large part as
to which games are popular on which system.

VMUS........future of gaming............. (9/15/99)

No not the Sega DC vmu. Its to limited but Sega has started somthing. In a few
decades we will have vmu-like things playing dc quality games! There are a ot
of options with these things and I hope Dolphin and PS2 expand on it.

 

[Perkel]

> Acutally, the ATARI JAGUAR will be a 64 bit machine with 4 68000's running at
>once! Next year.
>
>Mark Santora

You can't just add up the bits of the individual processors and say you
have an n-bit system. If this were true, the Genesis would be 24-bit
(16-bit 68000 and 8-bit Z80).

Looks like Microsoft employees learned to add things from that post

 

[antitrop]

Thanks for bumping this, it's one of my favorites.

 

[Dr.Acula]

I didn't start posting with my own account until I think 96, but I think my most embarrassing stuff was posted under my dad's account starting in 93 or so... which I guess kinda sucks for him! Real names being attached to that stuff is really lame in retrospect.

My "Mom" had some real strong opinions about Ultima VIII.

 

[Freshmaker]

Gamers...

Gamers never change.

Usenet was magical.

I was so popular after Sega pulled the plug on the DC.

I ruined one man's life by telling him that if he wanted to play DC games to keep his DC.A few months before. (Shame on me for becoming dulled to the Sega's quitting narrative the press constructed and maintained during the Saturn onwards.)

Then there was the Xbox trolling... I did stuff like write a negative DOA3 review without ever playing it and most people agreed with my conclusions on the game etc. Good times.

 

[Dr.Acula]

"PSX is easy to develop for, but it's capability is limited. That is why PSX
games won't be better than current WipeOut in the future; PSX is already
running out of gas.

On the other hand, Sega and 3rd party developers are only begining to
understand haw to harness the power of Saturn due to its complex
architecture."

"And the problem with maxing out the PS2 is its video memory. And any
fool knows that is a CRIPPLING problem. The makers of Oddworld can't
even get their game out on time because of the PS2's limitations."

"You are stuuuuupiddddd! It happens when you can run console games at 1027 x 768
resolution at 32bit and fully supporting FSAA like in a V5."

Fantastic. Never change, internet.

 

[GulAtiCa]

Hahaha. This is one of my favorite threads.

 

[IrishNinja]

Then there was the Xbox trolling... I did stuff like write a negative DOA3 review without ever playing it and most people agreed with my conclusions on the game etc. Good times.

thank god we long ago emerged from this Dark Age of Game Reviews, as this could surely never happen in our modern era~

 

[EmCeeGramr]

Silent Hill 2: Why It Sucks Compared to Halo (12/29/01)

Because SH2 sucks ass and Halo doesn't.

Who in their right mind would ever subject themeselves to playing SH2
(or any RE game) over once you've completed it? No one in their right
mind, that's who. Man, there are so many things I hate about SH2 and
the RE games. The gameplay is just fucking awful.

But with Halo, I've been playing that shit for a good month and a half
with no signs of putting it down. It's fun as fuck. SH2 is a piece of
dog shit.


Why don't they allow you to slip into FPS when fighting a boss in those
stupid SH2 and RE games? Why are you constantly shooting into the blind
because the camera is too stupid to swing behind you to give you a
better persective. Why can't these lazy programmers fix this problem?


I think this is probably why a lot of people like FPSers. Control. You
have control of the camera. I hate games that put you into ridiculous
situations because of poor camera logic.


I fucking hate SH2 and RE. I don't think I've ever hated a genre of
game before but I do now. I will never buy another one of these pieces
of shit until they make some major changes. Maybe these fucks should
send their programmers to Nintendo for some training in 3D game design.


Did I tell you how much I hate Konami and Capcom for putting out such
dogshit? FUck those bastards.

POLL: What makes HALO trully great...

Nothing. Halo (which I've played at a friends house even though I don't own
an Xbox) is just a stupid, violent, PC-style FPS with no purpose in life.
Reminds me why I don't have an Xbox - not a single decent game (in my
opinion - if you like Halo, great!)!

Gamespot: Most dissapointing game of the year... (12/28/01)

>Luigi's Mansion

Even though I like my Xbox, and enjoy playing the great games so far, I have
to say that Max Payne should be right up there with most disappointing game
of the year. Even on my PC that game disappointed me. I remember waiting a
long time, with preorders and all. It didn't live up to what I expected at
all. As a matter of fact, I never even finished that game. Couldn't
motivate myself to do it. For a sidenote, I once again was at Fry's
watching people play all they systems, and Xbox looks best hands down. I
mean no disrespect, but it shines. Some dude was playing that Jak and
whatever game for PS2, and it was very dull in color and lots of jaggies. I
told my friend maybe it's the monitor he is playing on, and he told me he
didn't think so considering it was a $1800 monitor.....LOL! So even on the
best stuff it looks very outdated already. The Xbox on an ordinary TV had
RICH color and smooth animations with no slowdown. What disappoints me most
is the lack of color and major slowdowns. Not to mention weak resolutions.
Peace!

> I do want to play smash bros.:melee and i do want to play pikmin and i do i
> want to play waverace. Damn straight, just because they didn't get in the
> top ten best of the year doesn't mean i don't want it!

You're an idiot. Those games are for flamers.

Pretty amazing when you realize that Luigi's Mansion outsold the xbox's best
game, Halo. Doesnt say much for Halo, if more people are buying the "most
disappointing game of the year" over the "best shooter of the year"

Oh and by the way, Unreal Tournament is the best shooter of the year.

Sony's Dilemma: Sometime's You Get What You Asked For (12/23/01)

Sony, with its incessant hype (and never realized) of the PS2 and its
backroom dealings succeeded in knocking Sega out of the console hardware
business. Unfortunatley, they created space for the world's richest,
most profitable and mst ruthless company in the world. In succeeding,
Sony has lost.


Microsoft will never leave the console market. Too much money to be
made. Too many opportunities for Microsoft to further its hegemony.
Microsoft can lose billions of dollars to compete in a market. To wit,
Pocket PC. Palm continues to stumble in the face f the PocketPC
onsaught. Last weekend, more layoffs were reported at Palm. Meanwhile
Pocket PC continues to capture market share and mindshare. The same
will happen with the Xbox.


Sony's gambit with the PS2 may not work. Their hunge investment in
infrastructure was predicated upon the PS2 having no competition this
round. Not only will Microsoft take %30 of the market, but so will
Nintendo. Sony is already talking about releasing the PS3 in late
2002. This will clearly alienate millions of PS2 fans who will then go
to the Xbox. Within 5 years, Sony will be out of business.

Hey, why dont you email me, ill bet my left testicle against yours, that
this doesnt happen.
Happy Kwaanza

XBOX's Battle in Nippon (12/21/01)

I hope XBOX can gain some support in Japan, but knowing how the
Japanese are, it will be tough.

The lack of "dating" games (what pathetic losers) and soft-core porn
for XBOX will be a turn-off for the racist and xenophobic Japanese. And
add to this fact that the Japanese government will step in the moment
XBOX appears to be making any kind of headway makes for a tough time.
The Japanese Government has long been know as nothing but a shill for
the huge Japanese Corporations, and especially for the likes of Sony.
Those who accuse the American government of the same sort of behavior
haven't a clue as to how bad this problem is in Japan. These
anti-competitive policies are why Japan's economy has been in the
dumpster for the past 12 years.

Europe could be a great XBOX market as Europeans share some common
gaming tastes as Americans, and have no native gaming platform to
defend. Plus, XBOX has a manufacturing plant in Europe, so supporting
XBOX would be supporting Europe too.

MAX PAYNE: PROOF POSITIVE that the XBOX is vastly superior to the PoS2! (12/11/01)

Max Payne is out for both the XBOX and the Piece of Shit Station 2,
and look at the difference! The PoS2 version has shitty graphics and
long load times, and the XBOX version has unbelievable graphics and no
load times at all! I'm laughing my ass off at all you PoS2 fanboys
right now! You bought an overhyped, underpowered console and it's
starting to show! Ha ha ha!

By this time next year, the PoS2 and the Gaycube will both be dead,
and Microsoft will have a complete monopoly in the video game market!
All you PoS2 fanboys will have no choice but to buy XBOXES for $500,
because that will be the only way you can play games! I can't wait for
the time when all of you will have to pay $75-100 per game! It'll be
perfect payback for you killing the DC! TAKE IT, PoS2 FANBOYS!

Oh, yes, X-Box is just the best thing since slicing your hand open
with a razor blade... er, I mean sliced bread. But why buy one when
you can make one at home? It's fun! Just do what Bill does and throw
together a wimpy PC processor, the 3D graphics card from your attic,
and a fragile, limited hard drive, then toss it in an ugly black box.
Fire up the green spraypaint can and you've got yourself a homemade
X-Box, designed with all the quality you'd expect from disgruntled
Mexican sweatshop workers! Plus, you'll get all the satisfaction of
helping Bill Gates, the world's scariest nerd, dominate yet ANOTHER
industry with his iron fist!

JR

P.S. I think "GamePube" is the best of the immature GameCube
putdowns.

Heh. How can the X-Box version which runs at 640 x 480 compare to PC's
that can run this game at 1600 x 1200? With in a few months time you
should be able to get PC's running this game up to 2048 x 1536, possibly
with AA enabled.

It's not just about resolution. It's also about polygon count - something
that consoles are better at.

alt.games.video.xbox was a fucking cesspool around launch

 

[protonion]

WOW at the guy not impressed by MGS2. Even developers were floored during the reveal.

 

[NewGame]

Oh dear. Oh dear oh dear hodearyme.

PC gaming dead 2001

I was still maxing out my Starcraft micros in those days!

Silent Hill 2: Why It Sucks Compared to Halo

This is so bad it gave me cancer.

 

[IrishNinja]

well those racist xenophobic japanese losers never did cotton to the xbox, and i remember Max Payne running like butt on PS2. i'm likewise glad we're past all the condescension & hostility of the late 90's/early 2000's as well!

 

[scytherage]

Hmm, this made me remember how fun gaming was before we could all instantly talk about it with people with conflicting opinions.....

 

[EmCeeGramr]

Remember what DK Country did? (11/17/00)

<<>What do you guys think, do you think Nintendo can pull off another
game that will make you say 'I never knew this was possible on N64, its
as good as DC or PS2'. Or, is Zelda MM N64's swan song that is supposed
to last us another year?<>>

I'm hoping Eternal Darkness turns out to be that sort of thing. Silicon
Knights has huge potential as a second party. I'm really looking
forward to ED as well as their Gamecube stuff.

Nintendo vs. Square (1/31/01)

I'm a bit disappointed right now. Square is probably my second or third
favorite game developer of all time, right behind Nintendo and right up
there with Rare. It seemed to me that Square wanted to make amends with
Nintendo and try to develop for the GameCube. Can someone tell me exactly
what was going through Yamauchi's head when he said the things he said? Is
it just me, or is he really stupid?

I'll give the guy credit for running an awesome company. But if that's what
he wants to do with his company, I'll give the guy the gun to shoot himself
in the foot next time.

Yamauchi is a crackpot old lunatic. Hopefully, the rest of nintendo will
yes man to his face and laugh at him behind his back, until square
delivers the goods on nintendo systems. Where they belong.

Doesn't jpan have mandatory retirement ages? make the nutter go away.

Cube vs Box: texture performance (3/19/01)

How do Gamecube and XBox compare, texture-wise? I've read that Gamecube can do
8 different texture effects per triangle. But just what texture effects can it
do? How does XBox compare?

One thing I can tell you is not to look at screenshots to gather competitive
comparisons because all XBOX shots are fake.

And now they've apologised and put up "real" pictures.
How do we know that these are real ?
Maybe they just took a bit more time to carefully come up with these ?

The system is not even out yet and already we see the dirty Microsoft
tactics.

Gaga over GameCube? Not Quite... (5/24/01)

"GAMEcube ruled E3!"
"What are you TALKING about? Xbox totally stole their thunder, fanboy!"

Gaga over GameCube? Not Quite...

First of all, let's talk about Nintendo. They finally let the 'Cube out of
the bag, and of course, the fanboys came slobbering in, ready to declare
Miyamoto their Lord and Master, making many industry analysts wonder if his
most recent work isn't a bit more subtly autobiographical than we might like
to believe. There are those who would declare that Nintendo has managed to,
merely by showing up and not sucking complete ass, "win" the show in a
heavy-handed fashion.

Unfortunately, those of us back in the real world know that nostalgia and a
general good feeling are not enough to make a console worth owning, and the
truth of the matter is, the GameCube came out last week looking like a
viable purchase, but it certainly failed to establish any sort of real
dominance in terms of market potential

Before you send me hate mail, again, hear me out: What exactly was it that
Nintendo has managed to do outside make a lot of lofty promises and show a
lot of uninspired content? As far as I could tell, they failed to do much
more than come out with the same pitch we tore the PS2 a new one for last
Fall - lots of visual enhanced rehashes of old franchises, a few shiny
b-titles that couldn't move s system to save their lives, and hints at a
brighter tomorrow.

Sure, I think it will come, but was it here last week? Nope. 'Fraid not,
kids. I went to the booth, and I saw the content. I had our GameCube EIC
take me around for part of my tour, and the truth is, the things he labeled
as the most impressive games in the booth did little more than make me
wonder what the hell all the fuss was about. Sure, Eternal Darkness looked
great from a graphical standpoint, but 2 minutes in, I'm watching a puzzle
sequence straight from the Tomb Raider or Resident Evil series wondering why
anyone expects gamers to still put up with that crap.

And Super Smash Bros.? Wow...it looks better, as it must, and they added
side-stepping. Great job guys..you finally caught up with the original
Toshinden. Not that I don't love this game, mind you, but let's be honest
here. If you already have the N64 version, what makes you think the sequel's
gameplay experience will be more dynamic than Dead or Alive 3 or Soul
Calibur 2? If you ask me, your better off keeping your N64 copy and buying
on of the latter.

Terrible, I know. And before you ask, yup, I saw Luigi's Mansion. Let me
tell ya, as great as this game looks from a visual standpoint, but if what
we were shown was all this game has to offer, you're going to be bored to
tears quicker than you can wish for the sound of "ITSA ME!" Running around
catching ghosts may be cool for a bit, but after five minutes, I was
yawning. What happens when other people realize that they could be playing
something more robust? Sure, there may be more to the game, but Nintendo
didn't show or allude to this, so there's no reason to assume it. Based on
what was presented, this game is a one-dimensional flop.

And then we have the system's crown jewel: Rogue Leader. Man, this game
looks sweet. Julian and the boys at Factor 5 certainly did a great job of
making one hell of a beautiful Star Wars title, but again, the gameplay
dynamic isn't exactly earth shattering, and there is only so much one can do
with a space shooter. We'll have a blast with this game from start to
finish, but beyond that, would we buy a system for a better-looking version
of an experience we've had countless times before? Nope. To be honest, we
doubt anything more than a rental will be required. From a replay
standpoint, something like Galaxies takes the concept of putting you in the
SW universe and puts this game in the ground before it even hits, folks.
Think about it.

And then you have your larger questions: Why did Nintendo feel the need to
lie about running games off finished hardware at every kiosk? We were told
by one member of demo personnel that the hardware was wired into a dev kit
"behind the curtain," yet officials at the booth kept pounding their chests
in mockery that they were running on "final hardware." What fueled that, we
wonder? Hmmmmmmm.

And then there's the games we didn't see. We heard an announcement, but
where was Mario? Like it is some major revelation that Nintendo is making a
new Mario game.... Yet, somehow, this was a big restoration of faith? Is it
that easy? If so, guess what guys? I'm writing more words in a second...isn'
t this article looking better and better already?

And why were Zelda and Metroid stuck on video? Why is Retro, one of
Nintendo's most ballyhooed studios, swarmed by reports of big, big trouble?
Again, this didn't fill us with hope. Sure, we know Zelda will rock the
house, but the point is, that has nothing to do with E3. We could have
skipped the whole shebang and told you that it was coming.

The bottom line is, Nintendo did little more than show up, and everyone is
cheering like a bunch of skinheads at a Nazi rally. If they really took any
time to think about the message, they'd realize that they're being filled
with little more than quick-fix titles that Nintendo intends to use as a
hold-over distraction until the REAL compelling content hits in 2002. They
had a good E3, but it is nothing short of a marketing pitch to insinuate
that they had the best show ever. They didn't screw up royally, and for
that, they should be applauded, but they hardly won the day.

So calm down GC fanboys !!!

XBOX deliver the goods ! (5/24/01)

And MicroSoft is a company with no where near the game making history
of Nintendo. No proven track record when it comes to the gaming
industry.

Japan has a real chance of snubbing the great X-Box simply because
it's an american company coming into their turf.

Failure in Japan, can not help at all, in America, leading to a
quicker death.

A very underwhelmed perception of X-Box at E3 with showcase games
looking choppy and no where finished, and others looking like they ran
on last years PC processors.

$100 more than the Cube which has the number one publisher of
videogames behind it, and a much more guarrenteed level of success.
with a library that will at least equal but much more likely surpass
the N64's. Which had a library worth every penny paid for an N64.

The X Box will be quite limited in games for the first 6 months, and are not
g oing to draw much 3rd party support after that, once the GameCube is
prevailent.

5.1 sound is long obsolete, by at least a year and a half. It does NOT
provide 24 BIT stereo, which is industry standard, especially for DVD audio.
Therefore, any DVDs you play on it will NOT be true DVD audio quality.

The GPU is actually a wasted, expensive piece of garbage. The end result
will cause runtime communication problems between the GPU and the CPU,
resulting in a lot of system lock ups/freezes.

Re-evaluate your statement.

Well...at least it's not Shigsy... (7/18/01)

> ...but peter main!!??!?!?! SHIT!

Yeah, I was kinda hoping for Yamauchi. When's he going down?

I'm kinda glad yamauchi is out.
His bushido is getting in the way.

True.

The Truth about IGN (7/13/01)

Its simple realtionships. Microsoft and IGN have a hush-hush affiliation.
Thus, IGN puts down the Gamecube to make the XBOX look better. I've heard
stories at places like Babbages where the managers have been telling people
who wanted to preorder a Gamecube to wait a few days for the Xbox.

Basically, there is a major resistance against Nintendo now.
Yet, they will fail, since the XBOX has already proved its inferority at E3.

Yet, as for IGN, they will continue to badmouth the GC to put it in a bad
light for launch.

> Again with the excuses, this has got to stop. I looked at cube.ign.com
today
> and they got there main headline for a game called Animal Leader
> ahahahahahahaahahahaahahaah

Jes, have you actually thought WHY the "good" news headlines are so weak? My
previous argument sums it up for you. Of course they're not going to say
"MGS2 coming to GC" or "New clips from Zelda GC"... that would make people
look into getting a GameCube.

Unfortunately, all these gaming websites have all turned political, taking
sides with a console. You will never get an educated fact from any of them.

Ultimately, it's all a hands-on experience.. the only opinion you can ever
trust is your own.

The X-Box/PS2/GameCube timeline (8/6/01)

My crystal ball is all nice and shiny today. I can clearly see the
whole next gen wars and how they will play out. I've offered a
timeline of the most significant events that will happen.

Oct/2001 - The hype for the GameCube and X-Box are at a fevered pitch.
As part of the pre-order hysteria MicroSoft dispatches representatives
to all gaming specialty stores, offering cash and other incentives to
management, in exchange for them hawking the X-Box above all other
gaming systems.

Sony and Nintendo complain that MicroSoft is attempting to overshadow
all competition by offering displays that stretch around all 4 walls
of the stores. Babbages and EBs return to MicroSoft half their display
items.

Nov 5th/2001- GameCube arrives and promptly sells out across America.
Software sells are brisk also, as the $100 cheaper price tag allows
gamers to buy several games apiece.

Nov. 8th/2001- X-Box arrives and sells briskly, but MicroSoft touts
sell through numbers to stores, rather than sell through numbers to
homes. Reports trickle in on Consumer dissatisfaction at having to buy
an extra $30 device to get DVD Movie playback. Also reports of
hardware problems with the laser unit, have people thinking they have
bought a PSX. 1 out of every 10 units have freezes in games. But
MicroSoft still manages to sell through at very respectable numbers.

Dec/2001 - The cheaper price tag of the GameCube makes it the system
of choice for the Christmas season. Along with the GameBoy Advanced
Nintendo does extremely well at retail. Sony drops the price of the
PS2 too $250 and does well also. X-Box sales drop dramatically during
the Christmas holidays. Most who wanted the X-Box have already gotten
one before the holidays. It's high price keeps it from being a
mainstream gift for the holidays.

Jan/2002 - Sony begins to hint at another price drop, making the PS2
$200 to compete with the Cube. X-Box stays at $300, because MicroSoft
is already losing a large amount on every console sold. MicroSoft
begins to have special meetings discussing ways they can reduce
manufacturing costs.

Feb/2002- Sales of the X-Box are dismal from the beginning in Japan.
The people of Japan never really warm up to an American console. There
is some sell through, but it is rather small. Giant software houses
such as Square and Konami start making announcements about GameCube
developement. Konami announces Metal Gear Solid 2 is coming for the
Cube. Square announces Final Fantasy for the Cube.

June/2002 - Due to a bad showing in Japan, MicroSoft pulls almost
entirely away from Japan, to focus on the American market. Sales are
good in America, but they are clearly behind GameCube. PS2 is still
the leading console in America, but the Cube continues to gain market
share back that they had lost in the last gen of machines. GameBoy
Advanced continues dominance as the leading game machine in sales.

July/2002 - MicroSoft desperately tries to find a way to cut the cost
of the X-Box hardware. Licenses are not enough to keep a console
healthy. There's been some great sellers on the console, but MicroSoft
has spent so much on advertising and the hype machine, that they are
losing money with the X-Box at an alarming rate. They bite the bullet,
dig deep into the companies pockets and drop the price of the X-Box
too $200. Sales pickup on the hardware, but the sofware charts are
dominated by Nintendo and Sony.

Oct/2002 - Nintendo drops the price of the GameCube to $150 and sales
go through the roof for the month of Oct. Rumours of MicroSoft
dropping their system after the holidays begin to surface. MicroSoft
denies such reports.

Dec/2002 - Nintendo wins the holiday wars again, finally inching up to
the numbers Sony has at the time. Nintendo is named most profitable
gaming company and leading software developer for the 2nd time in a
row. MicroSoft puts on a brave face in public, but privately they
admit X-Box sales are not where they had wanted them to be.

Jan/2003 - The industry is buzzing that this could be the last year
that MicroSoft is supporting their X-Box. The much promised online
play finally debuts, but the countries digital infrastructure is still
one of a majority of modem users. MicroSoft announces some concern
about the matter. They smile through the press conferences, but you
can still feel their dissappointment.

Dec/2003 - Nintendo has returned to the number one spot in retail,
surpassing the PS2, but just barely. The PS2 and Cube sit side by side
with very same numbers of sell through. But Nintendo sells more
software. All gaming mags, are talking of this Christmas being the
last for the X-Box. MicroSoft is announcing X-Box 2 to arrive at the
end of 2005.

Thats all I got from the crystal ball. Hey, it's the truth. Blame the
Crystal ball if it doesn't go the way you had hoped. I'm only
reporting what I saw.

Looks like a hard road for X-Boxer's but Sony and Nintendo will do
well.

 

[EmCeeGramr]

Hiroshi Yamauchi steps down (5/30/02)

Did you guys here about the followup, "Games not Hardware" line?
http://cube.ign.com/articles/361/361600p1.html

I mean, on the one hand, I appreciate a focus on gameplay rather than ever
increasing numbers of polygons. On the other hand, "The effort to produce
machines with better technology has reached its limit"? Sony's already
thinking of a PS3; I'd hate to see them wind up in a situation where they
have no choice but to follow Sega's footsteps and become pure software.
(I've historically admired Nintendo's hardware more than Sega's, though
the DC had a lot of nice qualities.) Heh, the thought of Mario PS4...

The quote at Gamespot seems to address Iwata's concerns with pricecuts
as much as the limits of technological improvements:

"We have a sense of crisis, that price cuts in software could destroy
the game industry," he said. "The effort to produce machines with better
technology has reached its limit," Iwata said. "If things continue, they
may lead to the decline of the entire game industry."

Jaguar or Ultra 64 (or PSX?) (1/10/95)

It's called "advertising," son. Learn to live with it.

Atari's use of 64-bits as an ad point is no worse than beer companies using
scantily-clad women to promote their products, or cigarette companies using
rugged mountain men and cowboys to promote theirs. Heck, at least I don't
recall hearing of anyone getting killed over a Jaguar, versus DUI-related
accidents and lung cancer rates...

--R.J.
B-)

P.S. To tie this in to rgv.nintendo ... IMO, anyone who bought Nintendo's
propaganda over DONKEY KONG COUNTRY is practicing a high form of stupidity
by complaining about Atari's advertising.

: I would say you should add the Sega Saturn or 3DO to this list and remove the
: Jag. It really isn't a great machine and can't compete with the processing
: power of the next generation machines.

1) Have you ever programmed a Jag?
2) Have you actually laid your hands on these "next generation"
systems?
3) Have you taken notice of the fact that the Saturn is coming on
the heels of the 32X?
4) Have you noticed that the Ultra 64 will be later than all
other machines?
5) Have you noticed that the Super NES isn't that old, but
Nintendo's already talking about replacing it?

If Nintendo doesn't get the U64 out before next Chistmas they might as well
quite right now. It would be sucide to release it after Christmas '95. I
think they will be in trouble if they don't get it out around the same time the
PSX and Saturn hit these shores. I think many people have already forgoten
about the U64 and went out and got them selve a PSX. If Nintendo wants to keep
us interested they should release some information soon.
I my self decided to wait until the new systems come to N.America before I buy
one and wait to see what the U64 is like. If I havn't seen or heard anything
about by the time the PSX and Saturn have been release Nintendo can forget
about my money. I would probably buy a PSX.
Is anybody else with me. I wanna have some info now! I refuse to wait a whole
year for another system while I am stuck with 16-bit games and the money I have
been saving up for a new system.

FYI: One view of the videogame industry (5/3/95)

PROMISES, PROMISES. Much was announced, but few new technologies were
delivered in the consumer electronics industry of 1994 (though one of the few
was digital satellite television). So will a spate of new technologies swamp
retailers' shelves in early 1995? Maybe not, because many devices may be
earlier in development phase than their developers would like people to
believe.

Take video games. Announced, but not as yet available, is much of a new
generation of games, most of which will use CD-ROM-based software. One system
is the Ultra 64, a Nintendo Co./Silicon Graphics Inc. joint venture previously
tagged Project Reality, which is based on the reduced-instruction-set computer
(RISC) chip MIPS. The Sony Playstation, also with a MIPS microprocessor, has a
geometry engine, as well as a Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG)
decompression system that has been integrated onto a single chip by LSI Logi
Inc., Miltipas, California (at this writing it was headed for a December launch
in Japan only).

The Sega Saturn, based on Hitachi Ltd.'s RISC microprocessor and being
developed with Microsoft Corp., Redmond, Washington, was scheduled for a late
November launch, again in Japan only. And 3DO Co., Redwood City, California,
is rumored to be developing a new model of its game machine, introduced last
year by Panasonic Co., Secaucus, N.J., possibly using Motorola's PowerPC
technology. But "all these companies are trying to bluff each other out of the
market," IEE Spectrum was told by Rob Fulop, creative director of PF Magic
Inc., San Francisco.

When (and if) the new products do all come out, they will join the languishing
Compact-Disc Interactive game system, the 3DO Real Multiplayer, and Atari
Corp.'s Jaguar, along with Sega's 32-bit upgrade for its aging 16-bit game
system. And, said Fulop, "the consumers will give up in disgust. You will
have eight different boxes, that almost all play silver disks. The disks will
look exactly the same, but none will play on the other manufacturers' boxes.
At least with the Beta and VHS VCRs, the physical media looked different."

Fulop predicts that the consumer will react by waiting for interactive
television to arrive, although that industry has also fallen short of its
promise.

Very interesting perception that may in fact happen. Not only will there
be too many competitors to confuse the consumer, but most of these
competitors will be high-priced items as well. The consumer could very
well stay away from the video games market and look for another source of
entertainment. PC-based? Interactive television?

Last year, sales of game consoles and games shrank by almost 15%. This is
a significant drop for a big industry such as this. In the meantime, PC
sales are skyrocketing. This just goes to show you that not only are
systems like the Jaguar and 3DO on shaky ground, but also that companies
like Sega and Nintendo aren't invincible.

> Sales shrunk..true ..but I suspect its
>because people are awaiting the next wave of consoles...and I'm
willing to
>bet they'll pay $350 for them...rather than $3000 for a PC.
>
>All of course IMHO

Yeah I would definately rather spend $350 on a game console, If i
could EASILY walk in a store and just pick up a copy of that game I
want. But unfortunately you can't always. What I makes ME as consumer
cautious of investing more than say $200 on ANY game machine is worry
about what games the compettion may come out with. Take for example
what happened with S.F. and the SNES and GENNY. First SNES gets SF2.
However it was criticized for being very slow, I thought of buying one
for the game but an "informed" friend said wait for the Genny version
that may be faster. Well it was faster, and thus more playable, but not
as pretty, however being addicted to the game I decided to buy. After
that there was a SNES version came out that was faster and well I felt
sorta dissed. I felt better later though when the gEn version of
SHADOWRUN finally came out.

Of course these aren't the best examples because these are at least
crosss-platform games. But now I wish I had waited for the SNES instead
because they have all these really (seemingly) cool games like the STAR
WARS series and the INDY JONES game, not to mention the Death of
Superman and things like that.

What I'm getting at is that Yes you may have to only pay $400 for a
say a Saturn, And now you can play VF and VRdeluxe, but what if you
want TO-Shin-Den? Or Killer Instinct, or Crusin USA or Defender 2000?
It really is frustrating not just being able to walk in the store and
pick up that cool new game. (unles you buy ALL the systems and then you
may as well just buy the PC for that price)

PC's (not macs) in general seem to avoid this situatin. IMHO. Yes I
know there can be certain Hardware compatability problems, but I have
found those to be MINIMAL and always solvable with just a little sweat.
For the most part if your system is relatively up to date you can just
walk into a store pick up the software you find exciting and use it.
Besides investing in an upgradeable, backward compatible computer seems
to be so much less... un appetizing than a fixed game system, and You
cant surf the net on a PLAYSTATION!


There is one mentalitty that would differ from mine. Let's say one
does buy all the game systems that judging by the names that are
throwing their hats in the ring someewhere around, $1300 then you can
spend say $800 for a 386 notebook with a high speed modem for "working"
costing a total of $2100, but then what happens when you download that
cool JPEG of Winona Ryder, or that Quicktime movie of a lightsaber Duel
from Star Wars, or the latest DOOM-like megahit? You know you will
want to see them so I think the temptation of Upgrading would be to
great..

I do see darker times for the home video game industry ahead.

oh my god

Face it, guys, the net's not for the hackers anymore. I've no idea what
"ps -aux" means, but that's only because I have the good fortune to not be
stuck on some god-awful UNIX system. Instead I'm on some god-awful VAX
system, and we have entirely different arcane commands. ;-)

Seriously, though, we've lost control of the net, and it's all Al Gore's
fault for coining that damn "information superhighway" buzzword that made
everyone think they had to be a part of it RIGHT NOW. That alone should
make every dedicated net denizen vote republican in 1996.

On the other hand, Newt has spent a lot of time pushing his pet buzzwords
like the "third wave" and the "electronic town meeting." Can you imagine
the US being run by the results on an IRC channel?

"Gee, Mr Prezydent, they say on #warez that copyright laws are a waste.
Let's trash 'em."

SATURN OUT NOW! NINTENDO GOING DOWN! (5/13/95)

YES, no rumour as you will already know, the Saturn has been released.
Limited quantities but "It's out there." At EB, Toys R Us and some other
outlets, you can buy it NOW.

Damn, this pisses me off. I was going to buy the NU64. I will not buy a
Saturn, nor will I wait until '96 for a '64. I will not buy any of the
new systems in fact. Nintendo is making a HUGE fucking mistake. Ahem, and
did anyone see Nintendo's keynote speech at E3? (available at
http://www.nintendo.com) NOA has lost it. Everything. While Sega is
surprising everyone with an instant release in their keynote, Nintendo
goes ON AND ON AND ON about the horrors of this giant mass of criminal
activity we call the Internet and how Piracy is destroying the entire
market, hmm I didn't see Sega and Sony complaining like that. What the
hell is wrong with NOA??? Game players and FORMER loyal Nintendo
customers don't want to hear about that crap that doesn't even effect 95%
of them! They want to hear about systems and games! Not the corporate
attack plan in the war on copyright violation. NOBODY is going to feel
sympathy or empathy for a company with $3 BILLION in the bank. Brain death
seems to have occured.

> Sega usually releases products before Nintendo does.
>Hasn't really hurt Nintendo, now has it?

EXCUSE ME? I must have read wrong...Nope, I didn't. I can't believe
that you could even THINK of saying such an idiotic thing...What was Sega
with the master system? NOTHING! It was a fuckin' joke...MAYBE they
had 10% of the gaming population...MAYBE! Fast forward to the Genesis...
You guys like to it's an inferior product...Ok, so it is (except sports
games!)...What's their market share? I'll tell you...50% +/- 5% (pre- Donkey
Kong Country) And that's the truth Ruth...

Now, why is it this way...They beat Nintendo to the punch...that's
why...What's the result going to be w/ Sega beating Nin by a year??? Add to
that the FACT that Sega will announce a 64 bit upgrade before the vapor 64
hits the shelves...Face it, Nintendo has goofed, and it's gonna be hard as
hell for them to come back...

5/19/95
Amen brother. N is oughtta their fucking minds. What the hell are they
thinking? Anything this crazy has a logical explaination, and it isn't
this load of bs they are feeding us about soft shortage. There is
something damned wrong with the machine meaning KI ain't even ready for
the U64 and won't be until April next year. If they at least had a
working proto of the U64 and an at least 10% working KI, then they coulda
had it on display at E3 and let people come up and play, at least to give
them a small taste. Where's the U64? We haven't seen anything outside
of demoes, and if it is only a soft shortage, then you have SOME softs
and HARDWARE that are in some sort of working condition. Where are they
Nintendo? You f--ked up big time this time. You're only lucky that some
people have more patience than I do, and will wait for anything. And to
think we all defended N when people called them liars. Haaaaaahahahaha.
I feel like a total moron now. I musta been a gulla-bull or nin-cow-poop
to believe all that bs. Damn I mad (I think I'll put that in my sig).

The point is Marty that it is not ready here, in the U.S. The hardware
is not ready, the softs are not ready. So what it is ready in Japan.
What about here in U.S.A???? If it was ready, here in the U.S., it would
be out, here in the U.S. Too bad, Yawn, Sega Rules. Too bad I do not
have a Saturn or Sony Playstation, the U64, Jaguar, etc, etc, all I have
is my 32x. Buuutttttt, My Pentium -S computer will kick the living
sh** out of all of those game systems out there. Nothing can touch the
graphics of my Pentium -S with 90Hrz 64bit processing. Ask anyone who
knows what real game graphics and play ought to be. Anyone out there who
thinks anything is better, I'm all ears. ;-).

Win95 is nothing but a dream. It sounds like a cool OS--but unfortunately
by the time it's released, a) Nintendo will be producing the Giga 256 <g>
and b) it will have been renamed to Win 2005. I'm sorry but, considering
Microsoft's reputation (which they truly did EARN, by the way) I wouldn't
keep my hopes up. At this point IBM is more likely to bring out a
function version of OS/2. Besides, Open GL is licensed from (who else?)
Silicon Graphics. But basically the bottom line is: Win95 won't be out
for quite possibly another year or two (despite what MS claims).

> I don't believe the U64 will do HDTV true-colour, ...

1024x768 is expected but I too would be surprised if it did true HDTV.
There are three HDTV standards: 1920x1035, 1920x1152 and 1600x1200. I
doubt the U64 will support either of them; 'compatible', yes. Support? No.

videogames.com Zelda Review (11/23/98)

The Legend of Zelda is one of those magical series of games that always
cause huge amounts of excitement. It sprung onto the NES scene in 1987, and
it was a runaway success. Remember the chip shortages that delayed the 1988
release of the Adventure of Link? Or what about the first time you saw
pictures of the Japanese version of 1991's A Link to the Past? With the
possible exception of Mario, no Nintendo series has caused such a level of
hysteria or left behind so many great memories. Ocarina of Time definitely
follows in the footsteps of the previous games, and the result is a game
that can't be called anything other than flawless.

You begin the game as a child of the forest. But by the time you're done,
you'll be a fisherman, an errand boy, the hero of time, and, yes, even a
traveling mask salesman. The game is chock-full of minitasks and subgames
that run alongside the main quest, saving Hyrule from Ganondorf's evil. This
leads to an extreme feeling of freedom, even though a good portion of the
game must be executed in a linear fashion. Stuck at the water temple? Then
why not go scout around for some extra heart containers while you think
about your dilemma?

The control really holds the game together. Most 3D game designers still
haven't mastered the art of controlling characters in a 3D environment, but
that's not the case here. Link moves beautifully, and controlling his
various actions is a breeze. Essentially, your B button will always attack
with the sword. The A button, however, acts as an action button, performing
every non-item-related task in the game. At various times, A lets youclimb,
grab, dive, talk, and lots more. Three of the C buttons are used for items,
any of which can be assigned to any of the three buttons. The top C button
zooms in to a first-person perspective, which allows you to look around. The
R shoulder button is used for blocking with the shield. The Z trigger is
perhaps the most important button when it comes to dealing with enemies in
the 3D realm. Hitting Z while looking at an enemy will cause you to lock on
to that opponent. From there you can circle-strafe around them, hop from
side to side, and always block in their direction. This is key to fighting
all but the most basic of enemies and is extremely well conceived.

While there are some tough monsters, the main enemy in Zelda is the puzzle
aspect of the game. Ocarina of Time forces you to think before you act, with
numerous puzzles spread throughout the entire game. Some puzzles must be
solved simply to exit a room, while other, larger puzzles sometimes cover an
entire area. Some of the game's puzzles are totally optional, usually
rewarding you with a piece of a heart container - which you'll need, but you
won't have to collect every single one as long as you're quick with the
Master Sword.


The game's items are the usual assortment you've come to expect from a Zelda
game. The boomerang is an invaluable tool for young Link, as is the
slingshot. These weapons are mere toys for Link's adult body, however, so
you'll be using the bow and the hookshot (or grappling hook) for most of the
game's latter portions. Bombs, of course, come in handy no matter how old
you are. The ocarina is probably the most-used item in the game. Throughout
the entire game, you'll learn various tunes for the ocarina. Playing these
tunes does a lot of different things, such as turning night to day, opening
certain doors, calling your horse, and warping from place to place. In a
world as large as Hyrule, warping is an extremely useful time-saver.

Time plays an important role throughout the game. As you proceed, time
passes, and day quickly becomes night. At night, the fields of Hyrule can be
a dangerous place. Time travel also comes into play, allowing you to jump
seven years into the future and back again. The two times act similarly to
the light and dark worlds in the SNES Zelda game, A Link to the Past. Things
you do as a child will affect locations, and a few puzzles require the use
of both time periods.

Graphically, Ocarina of Time is simply unmatched. Everything about the game
just looks fantastic. You can see Death Mountain in the background of some
portions of the game, complete with various smoke effects depending on what
stage of the game you're in. The cinematics, which, of course, use the game
engine, look absolutely spectacular, and the effects used (the time travel
sequence is especially sweet looking) really give the game a spectacularly
majestic look. The game's sound is also really quite amazing. Every tune in
the game perfectly relates to the onscreen action. Even the songs you play
on the ocarina are hummable. The sound effects are also perfect. The speech
consists of mostly laughter, gasps, and battle yelps (heavy on the
"hi-yah!") and works very, very well. The game also takes your location into
consideration. Dungeons and large canyons sound appropriately echoey, while
underwater, noises are nice and warbled.

In a way, Ocarina of Time is a textbook example of retro done right. It
manages to combine small aspects from all the previous Zelda games, giving
you the same Zelda feel but in an entirely new way. Even in its huge,
fiercely 3D world, the game retains a truly classic feel. This is a sequel
at its finest, expanding on previous themes and bringing plenty of new stuff
to the table.

Even if you're specifically looking for it, it's hard to find fault in
Ocarina of Time. OK, to be fair, there's a slight bit of slowdown in a
couple locations, such as the water temple, but it isn't frequent or harmful
enough to even matter. The game offers a nice challenge, a stunningly
well-told story, and the gameplay to back it all up. This game is the real
thing. This is the masterpiece that people will still be talking about ten
years down the road. This is the game that perfectly exhibits the "quality
not quantity" mantra that Nintendo has been touting since the N64 was
released. In a word, perfect. To call it anything else would be a bold-faced
lie.

By Jeff Gerstmann </misc/contributors/index.html>

While I'm happy to find that Zelda got such positive reviews, declaring it
perfect is far from correct. A bigger step forward than any other game in
it's genre? Sure. Perfect while it sometimes has dipping framerates and no
multiplayer mode? No.

> I gotta agree. It will have NO replay value (though heaven to some while
> it lasts - M64), it is a rather slow affair and like most rpgs you have
> to put up with the most childish dialogue imaginable.

Have you played through Zelda? How do you know it has no replay value?
Maybe the game is so compelling, the storyline so intensive, the gameplay
so amazing, that you just HAVE to play it again and rescue Zelda and face
off against the dastardly Ganondorf?

A rather slow affair? Lemme guess, you thought Metal Gear Solid's teeny
length was the right amount: where you literally pay the game minimum wage,
on a dollar-to-time basis.

 

[Danny Dudekisser]

God, these are so, so good. I wonder how many of the people spouting this nonsense back in 2000 are doing the same thing today.

 

[CrunchinJelly]

> I don't believe the U64 will do HDTV true-colour, ...

1024x768 is expected but I too would be surprised if it did true HDTV.
There are three HDTV standards: 1920x1035, 1920x1152 and 1600x1200. I
doubt the U64 will support either of them; 'compatible', yes. Support? No.

What in the world... people actually believed the N64 would output 1024x768?

 

[EmCeeGramr]

What in the world... people actually believed the N64 would output 1024x768?

From what I can tell from a cursory search, Nintendo announced that "Project Reality" would support HDTVs, and some magazines and spec sheets included 1024x768 and 1280x1024 modes under output.

 

[SeventhSon]

I love internet time machines!

Here's a living fossil from this era for your enjoyment: http://www2.warnerbros.com/spacejam/movie/jam.htm

 

[Freshmaker]

thank god we long ago emerged from this Dark Age of Game Reviews, as this could surely never happen in our modern era~

To be fair, I merely posted that on rec.games.video.xbox or whatever the usenet Xbox group was. That wasn't for any outlet cause I have standards etc.

I also called out Jonah Falcon's UGO DOA 3 review which I can't find anywhere. It had memorable lines like "DOA is a lot like a boxing game except you have flying feet and fists."

 

[antitrop]

To be fair, I merely posted that on rec.games.video.xbox or whatever the usenet Xbox group was. That wasn't for any outlet cause I have standards etc.

I also called out Jonah Falcon's UGO DOA 3 review which I can't find anywhere. It had memorable lines like "DOA is a lot like a boxing game except you have flying feet and fists."

That's Jonah "Largest Penis in the World" Falcon.

 

[Freshmaker]

That's Jonah "Largest Penis in the World" Falcon.

I know that all too well after trying to call up that review on Google a few times.

 

[blame space]

i actually am smoking crack

 

[Morrigan Stark]

While I'm happy to find that Zelda got such positive reviews, declaring it
perfect is far from correct. A bigger step forward than any other game in
it's genre? Sure. Perfect while it sometimes has dipping framerates and no
multiplayer mode? No.

*facepalm*
There you go folks, the reason why tacked-on MP is a thing.