Here is some new information on the game from this page at Interplay's (publisher) site: The critically acclaimed pioneer of stealth games continues in MDK2. Kurt and his distinctively-shaped sniper helmet enter an all new 3D world. In this action-thriller, you revisit this reluctant hero, the dangerously brilliant Dr. Fluke Hawkins, and the ever-helpful 6-legged Uzi-toting dog, Max.Here is some information from this page at Bioware's (developer) site: MDK2 is currently in development by BioWare for both the PC and the SEGA Dreamcast.Three screenshots showing the game for the first time can be seen here at Gamecenter's site. (Source: PsychoDCFan, Luya, Interplay's website, Bioware's website, Gamecenter's website) More Metropolis Street Racer
The demo shown was the Time Trial mode from Classic Arcade; the team was reluctant to discuss Gang Battle, though it seems there will be some story elements involved. The showcase was nothing short of amazing. The level of realism shown was almost indescribable. Bizarre showed the Shibuya level in both day and night modes - you should pray this gets a US release. At night, buildings are lit from the inside, trains pass over your head that may as well be real trains, balloons float up from the road in such an authentic manner, it was simply shocking. The Alpha Spider rattled around Tokyo with the driver responding to the cars movements, lighting effects were seen that literally blew the assembled crowd away; this is pre-alpha, and the Bizarre team was nervous about showing the game. They needn't have been. The mind boggles at what the finished game will look like. Fireworks exploded in the sky as the car raced round corners, handbraking as it went; headlights shone with beams visible in exactly the same way they would if you were driving the car yourself. The brake calipers visibly grab the brake discs, which glow after rough treatment. Jaws dropped. Journalists slavered. Bizarre and Sega won the day. No question.(Source: NGO article, Jim) Japanese Top 30 Sales Chart
You can tell that the Japanese really like games involving lots of dialog with onscreen Japanese girls, as To the North: White Illumination is one of those relationship games, and sold quite a number of copies. Last weeks Psychic Force fell off of the charts after being on it for two weeks, and Monaco Grand Prix - Racing Simulation 2 also fell off of the charts also after being on it for one week. Total sold this week is 37,867 compared
to 23,964 last week. Revenue for the week is 151.9 million Yen compared
to 137.43 million Yen last week (1.2 million US dollars compared to 1.6
million US dollars last week). Yen revenue was a bit higher than last week,
and the reason why it is not twice as high, as reflecting units sold, is
because Yuhawa's Treasure game sold only for 980 Yen. White Illumination
sold for the standard price of 5800 Yen. The Yen also fell over the week,
so profit in US dollars is even lower than last week!
Here are a few pictures taken at the Japanese Amusement Expo (AOU Show) 1999 of Crazy Taxi and Zombie Revenge. Great news is that these two games are now available for play in Japanese arcades! (Source: Gary Evans) Blue Stinger
Metropolis Street Racer
British French Italian German American
MDK2
MDK2 uses the "Omen" engine, a true multi-platform game engine developed internally by the team at BioWare. While both the engine and the game are being developed for the PC and Sega Dreamcast, BioWare is taking great care to provide maximum quality for both platforms. Perhaps the most powerful and unique features of the Omen engine include a realistic lighting engine which provides diffused and specular highlights and an animation-driven development system which allows segments of the game world to be dynamically modified in real-time. Additional features are the realistic object physics and complex scripted AI which provide inhabitants with intelligent interaction and mannerisms.Links: Developer: Bioware corp, MDK2 website (Javascipt needed), Pubisher: Interplay. (Source: Bloomberg.com, sonicfan) Famitsu Ratings
(Source: Weekly Famitsu magazine,
Gary Evans)
The Japanese are very lucky in the amount of video game material that they get to read each week. This issue of Dreamcast Magazine is 168 pages thick and covers a huge amount of games, going into great detail, and providing many screenshots. Check out what is in this issue. A big thanks to Gary Evans, for his generosity in sending me this magazine. (Source: Gary Evans, DC Mag) GameFan Retraction
We have finally received confirmation from the lead programmer of House of the Dead 2 that the final version of the game does not include a hidden version of House 1. This comes as a huge disappointment to Hi-Fi and the legions of other HOTD fans who had hoped the game would contain this killer "Easter Egg."
GameFan has a review of the House of the Dead 2 that you may want to check out. Here is an interesting quote from that review: Basically, what you've got here in House of the Dead 2 is the complete package. Two very sweet, arcade-perfect shooting games on one disc, satisfying all true fans of the arcade originals. A killer light gun which can be calibrated in the options menu for excellent accuracy. Multiple paths throughout the game which increase the replay value to mind-blowing levels. This is far and away my favorite Dreamcast disc so far. I'm as disappointed about the relative failure of past Sega consoles as anyone, but with a few more games like this, the Dreamcast will restore any lost faith you might have had. Any company that doesn't support this thing is run by lunatics, and that's all I've got to say about that.As you can see, the Naomi/Dreamcast synergy is starting to pay off big time, especially looking at the fact, this game was ported over in no time at all! (Source: GameFan) Marvel vs Capcom
Marvel vs Capcom has arrived on the scene to flex the Dreamcast's all-important 2-D muscle. You couldn't ask for a better conversion, right down to the complete absence of load times. Take a look at our gallery of images and our movie that spans over one minute in length!(Source: RK by email) Custom VGA Audio/Video Connector
This was already reported on quite a while back in this news section, but I have just now added it to the technical section. The two development tools are a MPEG1 video decoder and sound compression. Quite a few games are already using these two tools. MS Dreamcast Windows CE Pages
Update
Shenmue Music
From five titles last week to only two titles this week:
A very poor showing this week with
Puyo Puyo, Aero Dancing, Power Stone, and SEGA Rally 2 falling off the
charts. Surprising that Power Stone did not do better. Total sold this
week is 23,964 compared to 133,948 last week. Revenue for the week is 137.43
million Yen or 1.6 million US dollars compared to 6.7 million US dollars
last week. Maybe all those Dreamcast owners are saving their money for
the games coming out this week, which will not be reflected on the charts
for quite a few weeks.
NEC/SEGA/Microsoft gave some technical presentations at this years Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Jose, California (March 15th to the 19th) and now they are available online in the technical section. You need an Adobe Acrobat (PDF) viewer inorder to see these documents, which is available for free from Adobe's website. Dealing with Large 3D Worlds(Source: PowerVR.com downloads page)
GameFan reports from the Spring Tokyo Game Show (TGS), which started yesterday (Friday in Japan), and gives some details on Shenmue, where it will be broken up into different chapters. ShenmueEach chapter will sell for less then a regular price game, which is 5800 Yen. Maybe 4800 Yen. Yu Suzuki indicated that he has 16 chapters in mind, and possibly expanding it to 48 chapters, but he does not know how many chapters will end up in the game. The Shenmue.com website has been updated with pictures in the "About Shenmue" section showing:
(Source: qa analyst, ElectricPhase, GameFan article)
Four new titles this week:
(Source: Weekly Famitsu magazine, F5 Twister, SEGA-Zone article) Microsoft Actively Promotes WinCE
at Game Developers Conference
Windows CE has been "very specified" for the Dreamcast, and takes up 1MB, with all drivers.As you can see WinCE has been optimized to take up as little space as possible in the 16 MB of main memory of the Dreamcast. Another primary purpose for CE is Network Multiplayer. Currently, the only way to get a Dreamcast game running with network multiplayer is to develop it using the Windows CE environment. The Sega API does not do it.There you have it. Online games need WinCE, unless SEGA has plans to add network code to it's "Dragon" OS. One of the most exciting things, Microsoft believes, about the Dreamcast CE is that they have been able to bring Visual C++ to the console world, allowing developers an ease of entry which Microsoft believes is unprecedented.Microsoft's compiler technology is one of the best in the world, so developers are going to love, that it is available for the DC. There is no question that with the clout that Microsoft has, SEGA could not have a better partner when it comes to convincing developers to makes games for the DC!
Here is the whole transcript of Bernie Stolar's speech, that took place this morning at the Game Developers conference. SEGA continues to do everything right! (Source: F5 Twister, Toole, 3Dgaming PowerVR message forum) Bernie Stolar's Keynote Speech
at the Game Developers Conference
3rd Party Launch Titles (Source: Gaming-Age article) The Windows CE Advantage!
Using the Windows CE Toolkit for Sega Dreamcast, we were able to bring one of our key game engines developed with Win32 and DirectX APIs over to the Sega Dreamcast platform and get title development underway within the space of a month.Quote from this Yahoo press release: Acclaim and Microsoft Team Up for Sega Dreamcast-TM Development(Source: Yahoo press release)
Benie Stolar, who has shown a knack for heading out of the corporate office and trying to convert developers to the wonders of the Dreamcast, will be one of the keynote speakers, at this years Game Developers Conference, which is taking place now in San Jose, California from March 15th to the 19th. Here is a part of what Bernie is going to discuss as listed at the GDC website: With growing expectations from an increasingly sophisticated consumer, the gaming industry is set for a change in the way it does business. No longer can hardware and software developers hope to be successful by locking themselves into a static box that can't grow to meet consumer demands.It will be interesting to see exactly what Bernie means by "platform that will actually evolve". Processor/memory upgrades or cable/ADSL/harddisk upgrades? Bernie will be speaking tomorrow from 8:30 am - 9:45 am pacific time. (Source: Game Developers Conference website) WinCE Toolkit From Microsoft!
Microsoft Announces Windows CE Toolkit for Dreamcast(Source: sonicfan, Yahoo News article) New Development Tools for DC
Metrowerks Licenses CodeWarrior to Sega for Dreamcast™ Game Title Development(Source: NGO article, Metrowerks website press release) Japanese Sales Chart
I was hoping that Sonic Adventure
sales would pickup again, and this title would be on the list, but it looks
like Sonic Adventure has run it's course. Total sold during the week in
Top 30 is 133,948, generating revenue of 794.47 million Yen or 6.7 million
US dollars. Every title except Power Stone is 5800 Yen. Capcom can charge
a premium for it's products, by charging 6800 Yen.
Velocity (working title) is a futuristic hoverboard racing/stunt game, being developed by Criterion in the UK, and will be published by Acclaim. Here are some quotes from the videogames.com article: One track, for example, is a futuristic version of New York City. To say the detail and track design is astounding is to do it an injustice.This game is expected at this year's upcoming E3 show in Los Angeles. (Source: Luya, videogames.com article) MDK 2
What are your thoughts on other platforms, for example Dreamcast and the recently announced PlayStation 2?It was mentioned at an earlier date that the graphics engine Bioware has designed for MDK 2 has the capability to do curved surfaces. (Source: NGO article) Dreamcast Fan Japanese Magazine
Ratings
(Source: Andrew, GameFan article)
The Japanese publication Dreamcast Magazine (Vol. 10, 1999, 3/19) has announced Dynamite Deka 2 for the Dreamcast. This game maybe considered 'old' by some people since it is running on SEGA's Model 2 arcade board, but this game has only been in the arcades in North America for about 4 to 5 months now. You can tell that this sequel to the original Dynamite Deka (Die Hard Arcade) was done by the same development team, as it is full of the same gaudy tacky looking textures that the first game had. Some of the combo's you can pull off in this game are down right hilarious. Like the first game, the gameplay is ace! (Source: Joe Musashi, NCS Dreamcast Magazine (Vol. 10, 1999, 3/19) cover page) March: Biggest Game Release Month
SegaHolic Update
Nice Quote
Sega's thrust into the next level of console gaming comes in the form of the Dreamcast. The DC, once known as the Katana, is capable of playing near pixel perfect arcade games. Playstation owners will scoff at that claim and lob the assertion that their venerable 32-bit console has been doing that for years. We don't argue the point, the Dreamcast just does it with more panache, more power, more pop. Get used to the next generation.Not only more panache, power and pop, but a lot more in quantity! Thanks to Naomi, the Dreamcast should see more arcade games in the next few years, then the Playstation could ever have dreamed of in it's entire life span. Ready 2 Rumble Launch Title
Yes. We are planning our release to coincide with the US launch of Sega's Dreamcast.This game is also expected on the PlayStation and N64, and the Dreamcast version should be far superior than the versions appearing on those two consoles! There has been lately a lot of third party companies indicating that they will have titles ready for launch, and this just goes to show you, that SEGA has given 3rd party companies lots of time to have their wares ready for the launch along with SEGA titles. Kudos to SEGA in giving the 3rd party companies equal footing, and this can only benefit greatly to the Dreamcast's success! (Source: FGN online) Spring Tokyo Game Show
Altus(Source: Magic Box Gaming news) Red Dog
News does not get much bigger then this: At a private show in Tokyo today, Namco Ltd. announced plans to release a Dreamcast version of the company's hit weapons-based arcade fighting game, Soul Calibur. No release date for Japan or the U.S. was given for Soul Calibur, although a 30%-complete version of the game was demonstrated at the show. This will be the first title Namco will release for Sega's Dreamcast system. No other titles for Dreamcast have so far been announced.Three screenshots of the DC version can be seen here at Namco's site. (Source: F5 Twister)
One new title this week, worthy of mention, is Monaco Grand Prix 2, which is now the 5th top rated game on the DC according to Famitsu magazine:
(Source: Famitsu magazine, SEGA Otaku article) Japanese Sales Chart
Sonic Adventure fell off the chart
since last week.
Tecmo has put up an English page at their website on Dead or Alive 2. The game that will be coming out on the Naomi board, and then later for the Dreamcast. (Source: Galford) A Couple From Gaming-Age
Review of the VGA BoxPictures From Tokyo Some pictures of SEGA's marketing of the Dreamcast games in Akihabara's Electric town in Tokyo. As you can see in the pictures, SEGA has given these shops lots of Kiosks so that Dreamcast games can be promoted. As Japan does not have a rental market in order to try a game out, it makes perfect sense for these gaming shops to allow you to play the game for awhile, in order to convince you to buy it. Thanks to Gary in providing these pictures! (Source: Gary Evans aka Gaz) Sony's New Console
The event had all the marks of a rushed technology announcement. (If this were software, the word "vaporware" might spring to mind.) There was no real hardware prototype on display, although the crowd did get treated to some very slick 3D graphics.Sony's machine does not exist yet, except in development form. They are clearly jumping the gun, and worried about the Dreamcast, and the solid lineup of software that it has. Sony has every right to be concerned, as the DC has a huge number of 3rd party companies that have pledge support for the "easy to program" DC! Another quote from the BusinessWeek Online article: At this juncture, the threat Sony faces is real: By the end of March, in Japan alone, Sega expects to sell 1 million units of its Dreamcast machine, which also processes data in 128-bit chunks. In September, Sega hopes to launch the console in the U.S. That would be a disaster, from Sony's perspective. Hence the hasty announcement of PlayStation II, or "PS2" -- as the technology platform has long been code-named.SEGA is well on it's way to selling 1 million DC's in the first four months of it's existence! This is incredibly good news, because 3rd party developers will then see that the DC has reached a critical mass. A million in sales is usually seen in this industry that a console will be successful, and for the DC to pull this off in 4 short months in a single market is nothing short of amazing! Sony knows very well, that in the
console business, it is very hard to maintain dominance for long, and has
pulled all stops, including stating unrealistically high specs in order
to out market SEGA, and to try a dampen the incredible strong starting
sales of the DC.
In my opinion VF3tb already looks perfect, but SEGA will fix the very minor 'flaws' that were present in the Japanese release, as this quote from EGM indicates: As for the release plans in the U.S., they're still shrouded in secrecy inside Sega's new San Francisco offices. What we do know, as revealed by Sega Enterprises VP Tadahiko Hirose, is that Sonic Adventure, Sega Rally 2 and Virtua Fighter 3 are definite launch titles. No big surprise, but what is surprising is the conformation that Virtua Fighter 3 will be enhanced above and beyond the Japanese release. [note by Kevin: can we say: "model 3 perfection"?] -source EGM(Source: Kevin Rutherford by email) Conference Call
(Source: GunneR of Dreamcast HQ)
With all the hoopla and hype surrounding the Playstation 2 introduction yesterday, you had many people writing off the Dreamcast. It seems some people have come to the conclusion that the video game market is won or lost entirely by the specifications of the machine. Things are nowhere near that simple, and if they were, there would be no Gameboys available on the market today. Here is an article at Game-Online where they indicate how well SEGA's launch has been so far in Japan: Actually, we think it's going rather well for Sega in Japan. According to our reports, Sega has sold in one million units, sold through a four-fifths of that, and has overcome its manufacturing problems (which can be laid at the door of NEC). In terms of game quality, it has had a better start than either Saturn, N64 or Playstation. After a shaky start, the machine has four 'AAA' titles; VF3, Sonic Adventure, Sega Rally 2 and Powerstone.800,000 sold so far! Well on their way to selling a million in Japan by the end of March. It nice to see that a third party company has a 'AAA' title in there, as it will be the number of third party 'AAA' titles that will largely determine the success of the DC, along with effective marketing. SEEGGAAA! (Source: Arthur, Darkfalz, Game-Online article)
Sonic Adventure makes it back on the list after spending one week off the list. SEGA Rally moves one place down, for the third week of February:
No DC games fell off the chart since
last week.
Game-Online has ten 640x480 screenshots of Power Stone, which really show the beauty of this game. They also have a preview on the same page, and here is a quote from that preview: Powerstone is a real novelty amongst fighting games, although you can see similarities between it and Square's Ergheiz. Certainly it's the best-looking and fastest moving, making Virtua Fighter 3 look tame by comparison. The development seem determined to make use of all Dreamcast's fancy effects features, with a litany of huge explosions, and special moves to die for.Game-Online have also indicated that a lot more screenshots will be put up soon. (Source: Game-Online Power Stone preview) Famitsu Ratings
A couple of mediocre titles based
on the marks that these two games have received.
Peter Molyneux Speaks
The success of any hardware - be it a sound card, video card, new PC or new console - is solely dependent on the software that runs on it. In the case of Dreamcast we have yet to see a killer title which makes it a must buy.What about Sonic Adventure! I for one will be buying the Dreamcast next September solely to play Sonic Adventure. Another quote: "I think it matters less and less to the consumer, especially the mass market, what technical specifications and speed any new machine can attain,"Molyneux continued, "and more and more about the brilliant and innovative games that are published for that system. I recently saw Shen Mue which I thought looked absolutely stunning - I believe there are upwards of 200 people working on this game."200 people working on Shenmue! (Source: NGO Online article)
Game-Online has ten 640x480 screenshots of Power Stone, which really show the beauty of this game. They also have a preview on the same page, and here is a quote from that preview: Powerstone is a real novelty amongst fighting games, although you can see similarities between it and Square's Ergheiz. Certainly it's the best-looking and fastest moving, making Virtua Fighter 3 look tame by comparison. The development seem determined to make use of all Dreamcast's fancy effects features, with a litany of huge explosions, and special moves to die for.Game-Online have also indicated that a lot more screenshots will be put up soon. (Source: Game-Online Power Stone preview) Famitsu Ratings
A couple of mediocre titles based
on the marks that these two games have received.
Peter Molyneux Speaks
The success of any hardware - be it a sound card, video card, new PC or new console - is solely dependent on the software that runs on it. In the case of Dreamcast we have yet to see a killer title which makes it a must buy.What about Sonic Adventure! I for one will be buying the Dreamcast next September solely to play Sonic Adventure. Another quote: "I think it matters less and less to the consumer, especially the mass market, what technical specifications and speed any new machine can attain,"Molyneux continued, "and more and more about the brilliant and innovative games that are published for that system. I recently saw Shen Mue which I thought looked absolutely stunning - I believe there are upwards of 200 people working on this game."200 people working on Shenmue! (Source: NGO Online article) |
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