Thanks to a local video games import store called The Gamers Edge, I was
able to rent a Dreamcast with Sonic Adventure and Sega Rally 2. It was
a great experience and I just wanted to share some of my impressions.
In brief, both games are incredible but there is something understated
about their level of perfection.
I'll try to explain what I mean by this but I'm not sure I will be able
to hit the nail on the head. The best description that I have seen was
on Gamespot where they quoted the Nikkei Sangyo Shimbun interview with
Hironobu Sakaguchi, vice president of Square. He said,
"Capacity is getting larger with each release of new hardware. Dreamcast
enlarged the capacity, and so will the new PlayStation. It is yet to be
known by how much, but we are progressing research for this new
capacity. When we changed the field of expression from 2D to 3D, the way
of expressing things completely changed, but this time it won't change
so radically. It's more of a "natural" change. We think we can shift
naturally." He went on to suggest the next big change would be
something like hologram games.
That was my impression of the Dreamcast too, this will be a generation
of consoles where 3D gaming will be perfected as an art form and games
will look pretty much like you had wished they had looked on the 32 bit
systems. The flip side of this is that the graphics are so perfect,
it's easy to take them for granted. Sonic for instance just looks like
Sonic in 2D as you remember him from the Genesis, I mean he looks
exactly like Sonic, not a Sonic someone whittled out of a block of
wood. It was kind of a weird experience.
The point is, that no matter how powerful Sony's new system is
graphically, it really won't matter because when a car looks like a car
no one cares how many polygons it has. Yes it would have been neat to
have more dirt and mud flying in Sega Rally 2 but I would not trade Sega
Rally 2's game play for it (even though I insist they fix the frame rate
to a consistent 60 fps, or face getting dissed hard for it in US
reviews). I am convinced that until someone comes out with a system
that is done with holograms, graphic advances will take a second place
to other features of the game (like frame rate and camera angles). This
will be the hair-pin turn of this generation of console systems as
opposed to the last generation, where the Saturn was routinely knocked
for it's graphics. This means that in this generation of consoles, game
play will rule, and we all know who leads in game play. Go Sega! Go!
In conclusion, trying the Dreamcast has completely relieved any worries
that I had that it would get smoked again by the other consoles. For
the rest of you all that were also concerned, don't be, Dreamcast rocks!
One last thing. Bernie Stolar has been quoted saying that if Sony
decides to go with the DVD format, Sega will also use the DVD format in
the US, but they will not do both DDCD and DVD systems for the US.
This, of course, would increase the price above $200 because right now a
DVD player cost about $300 by itself. With this in mind, what would you
be willing to pay for a Dreamcast/DVD player? And perhaps more
importantly, what would the average Joe College/Bob and Mary Parent pay
for a Dreamcast/DVD player?
Fernando Mosquera Replies:
Nice rant...
Considering I paid around $500 for a Dreamcast and a game/VMS, I guess that's how much I would pay for a DC/DVD. Average Joe will probably have to see the Dreamcast at <$200 to buy one. Mark my words, the Dreamcast will not have a DVD come this September.
As I sit here and write this letter to you Fernando, a tear trickles
down my cheek, why?- you ask, it's because I'm weak Fernando. Despite all my
efforts and promises I made to myself that I won't import the Dreamcast, I
failed to comply. In fact, after a glorious weekend of playing Rally 2 and
Evolution (the gamer's store that I go to finally got them in) I just ordered
from consolexpress the Dreamcast and Rally 2. AND LET IT BE KNOWN, TO ALL YOU
PREPUBESCENT SONY ADVOCATES WHO TRY TO GIVE EXPERT REVIEWS-LIKE YOU ACTUALLY
KNOW C programming THAT SEGA RALLY IS ONE $#%&%$ BEAUTIFUL GAME, AND ITS
FUNNER THAN $#$%- After 6 hours of undisturbed play, I was still ready to go
another 12, but didn't want to accrue those late fees. Well I think I'm done
ranting and I'll let you go back to sleep, since it seems thats all you ever
do these days :)
p.s. As I was writing this letter, the message popped up that you "finally
responded to my previous letter "rumors and rumors"- its about time!! next
time I'd appreciate more promptitude and expediency when responding to my
emails:) - can't wait for BLUE STINGER!!
Fernando Mosquera Replies:
Don't mention Blue Stinger, the name induces uncontrollable drool - drool that ends up all over my freaking keyboard making it hard for me to type propely...
Simpsons, Simpsons, Simpsons I think since you are talking about them you better talk to one. I'm a Simpson and a Huge Simpson fan. You know whats really messed up is my aunts name is Lisa Simpson.(no joke)This arguing is getting stupid now. Sega and Simpson fans should stick together . We all really just a big family and assured to get even larger when the DC is launched. All we really need to know is if there is going to be another game. I loved those old ones think they do a game like that episode where Homer goes 3d. That would be the greatest! I think this game would sell because it's wached by all people not just kids. Maybe they could put you in each charaters places and you have to go threw a day in there shoes. This would be a blast. Imagine how great of a 4player game this would be.
Fernando Mosquera Replies:
Kind of like that Konami Simpsons arcade game in 3D? Man, that game was probably the only decent Simpsons game made - after Acclaim burned itself with about ten million Simpsons crap games I don't think we'll be seeing anymore. Besides, the show is sadly in its decline...
Today I shall endevor to abridge my dialog, so that I do not allow
myself to get swept away in a creative rip-tide. It's too easy to get
carried away in the wee early hours of the morning. Wait...hold on for a
moment please...it seems as though the combination of Sobe drinks and
Hot Wasabi chick-peas has a decidedly..ermm.."cleansing" effect. Back in
a flus...er flash.
Well, now that I've explored the transient nature of spicy
snack-foods, I hope you'll still have time for a question or three...
Ichi- I'm going to guess that it's probably to early to tell where
exactly Majesco is headed with the "Saturn 3" project, but have you been
privy to any good gossip regarding it's design (ie size ala Genesis 3).
Other than the oft rumored cup-holders and popourri simmer pot being
standard, I've heard nothing(Read: sarcasm, with
baseball-bat-over-the-head subtlety).
Ni- Any underground tid-bits on whether or not MODing will be possible
on this most recent and forth-coming rev of the Saturn?
San-The hububb has been that, in addition to re-releasing some of the
older Saturn titles, Majesco would either be releasing original games,
or Previously un-released existing Japanese Titles. Given the cost of
localizing these titles, and the over-all lack of interest in anything
Saturn in the States, this doesn't seem likely...But I'd swoon like a
green babe in Kirk's arms if I heard tell of, perhaps, just one tiny
SFIII scenario being translated!
OK...so I already have a US Saturn with a toggle switch...so I
already have all of the Shining Force scenarios...I'm a video-game
pack-rat, OK! Some people collect pebbles from the curb outside of
Graceland, I collect video-games! Not to mention that it would be nice
to catch all of the subtle plot-points...I like a good story.
Well, thank-you for letting me babble again! GOOD LORD! Please
don't attempt to count the number of hyphens in this letter...if you
check your keyboards I think you'll find I borrowed some of yours,
people:)! So much for keepin' it short.. sorry....Goombyyyyyyie!
Fernando Mosquera Replies:
Oh man, if this is the abridged version of your e-mail I hate to see the full version. There's something to be said for been concise, but that's just me...
Ichi- Considering Majesco has the PR force of zero, it's hard to tell just what exactly Majesco is up to. No online presence, no widely known phone number, no nothing.
Ni- Magic 8 ball says: Majesco is a two-bit, crap company, who only talks to Toys 'R Us; you're better off e-mailing that giraffe.
San- Nice thought, but it ain't going to happen...
Ah, if only the Saturn was a USA success the first time around!
After reading your mailbag yesterday, I saw that someone asked about the
sequel to SSS. Unfortunately for Sega lovers, the sequel, Tricky
Sliders, is heading to the PlayStation in Japan. This time around, it's
being published by Capcom. Read this
story for the details that we could discover.
Later,
Fernando Mosquera Replies:
Well, hope it does well enough for a Dreamcast sequel (third in the series) to be considered; thanks for "informing" the rest of us.
At least nobody will be able to complain about Rally 2 being too easy.
Tonight, I finally got first on year 6, and my heart was racing that last
half-lap after I pulled into first.
I have a question - have you heard of Dreamcasts running hot? After the
overheating Playstation mess I'm a little worried that my DC seems to be
really hot. Tonight I played Rally twice and Sonic for about half an hour
(45 minutes or so, total) and by the end of it the machine was warm-ish to
the touch on the top and almost hot inside the CD tray area. I have it
sitting on a wood table in my apartment so it's not a blocked vent or
anything. It could be perfectly normal for all I know but it's definately
warmer than either my Playstation or Saturn.
Thanks for the good Sega site, by the way. It's nice to get news and such
without wading through all of the crap on the IGN sites. I'm actually
afraid to go to any IGN site after Sony's announcement about the 55 million
polys/sec processor because of all of the "System War" crap that goes on
there. And the reader reviews are good, too, so there's more than one
viewpoint. I was just about to ask whatever happened to Dustin's site when
somebody beat me to it.
Fernando Mosquera Replies:
Nice, I also got first on year sixth a few weeks ago - turns out all I needed to do was tune my car! Hehe, now my Stratos is a fine-tuned, dirt kicking machine.
Dreamcasts have been known to run hot; initially it was thought that it was running so hot because of people playing the machine in the USA without a step-down, but it turns out they run hot no matter what. Sega says the machine is designed to handle the temperatures and everything should be fine. If you start seeing adverse effects caused by the heat, it's likely you have a faulty machine.
By now I assume you've heard or read the story about the supposed PSX
2000 specs(55 million polys per sec, 18.6 million with all effects on).
What's your take on this story? I'll believe it when I see it. All this
is just numbers on paper, which could all just be lies to kill the
enthusiasm over Dreamcast. The PSX is just a consumer version of the
Namco system 11 hardware which was designed by Evans and Sutherland, not
Sony. I find it very hard to believe that Sony who has no experience
developing 3D hardware made this kind of quantum leap over NEC, SEGA,
3Dfx, Intel, SGI.
Just how bad or good is the Neo Geo Pocket? I was
thinking about getting a color one. I have a few Lynx's and it's 16 bit
also. I was hoping it was at least as powerful. Your comment's the other
day suggested it sucked.
How do you gauge the framerate in console games you
review? I notice you and others mention it. How can you tell the
framerate? I know in some PC games you can type in a code to display a
framerate counter but this isn't usually in console games.
What's so great about Guardian Heroes? I was looking at
it recently at EB and the pics on the box were very unimpressive. It
didn't look good compared to other Saturn titles. What is it a
fighting/rpg/action game. Yes, I read the reviews but the reviewers seem a
little too biased, too much of Treasure fanatics to tell if I'd like it.
Thanks,
Fernando Mosquera Replies:
Like I said in past e-mail responses, I don't want to speculate about a chipset for a system that hasn't been announced, doesn't have any images or movies to show for itself, and is not even made by Sega. I'm sure the PSX 2 is going to be a fine system and will hopefully offer a lot of fun games, but why worry about that? The Dreamcast is a fine system, it's a fine system today, it has fun games today, and I can play it right now. Ack, no more PSX 2 crap until they show the system official, okay?
I think I came off a bit too harsh on the NeoGeo Pocket Color, I didn't even intend to, but what I wrote could certainly be interpreted as an NGPC "sucks" statement. Considering that I haven't played the system and that the thing isn't even out in Japan, I can't really give an opinion on it.
Framerate is usually judge just by looking at it - if you play games long enough you just learn to tell what's what. That said, I never say the framerate is "35" or "40", I always give a nice, round, obvious number. Whenever the framerate in a game varies, I just say that instead of trying to give an specific figure. I don't think it's possible to accurately tell what the exact framerate is at any given time in any given game without a debug feature or development kit.
The pictures on the Guardian Heroes box don't even begin to do the game justice! The game is an old-fashioned, yet unique spazz fest: the beat'em up genre at its best. Just play it and you'll see what I mean.
Damn that's amazing. I remember people specifically saying (in other reviews) that they "wish the frame rate was a constant 30 fps instead of how jumpy it is...". Now there is a code out that does exactly that... Sega shoulda just put that in the options instead of making it a stupid code. Does this and that other higher framerate less quality code help the (already good) gameplay that much? Truth, I want the truth (unless it hurts).
I have to say to all you people complaining about framerate slowdown and popin and all that shiznit... KEEP DOING IT! I must say I'm a little dissappointed in you (Fernando) for getting angry at people for complaining about these things and acting like they don't matter. I understand were you are coming from. They are not nearly as important as gameplay, but what's the point of having superior hardware if it isn't used to the best of its ability. Complaining also gets improvement, so stop telling people not to complain about these things. That said, I hate those whores who right in saying, "I heard the framerate is really bad and it completely ruins the game,... so I'm not gonna buy it". It's only complaining if you actually played the game... otherwise shut the hell up. Another thing these same exact people say (Well, they are both stupid anyway), "I'm not gonna buy the game unless it can do perfect Model 3 supa dupa port... anything less would be uncivilized"! If you dumb bastards knew anything about game development you would know that this is IMPOSSIBLE. While the Dreamcast may be able to make a better or worse game, perfection is not possible with different hardware. It's just a fucking fact of life. Go read about it or something.
Fernando Mosquera Replies:
The truth, man, you can't handle the truth! Seriously, as neat as the codes are to play around with they don't really offer ME anything over the default mode. Then again, I was one of those people that actually didn't think there was anything worth changing about the default mode.
Oh well, I'll keep calling it like it is... and I still stand with my Rally 2 is just fine comment.
I have an Observation/Question about the Dead or Alive 2 movie. First I'd like to say that I havent played the first one because the Saturn Version never hit North America and I DONT like the look of the Playstation Version (WHY make the game look totally different from the arcade game? Oh well... I guess the Playstation cant do something that looks Model 2ish) ANYWAYS... The reason I mentioned the fact that I've never played 1 is cause I Noticed a name and am not sure weather it is a NEW character or not. The name is Hayabusa.... When looking at it something in my head clicked and said Hayabusa... I;ve heard that before... then it hit me... RYU HAYABUSA! NINJA GAIDEN! So my questions are 1: was this Hayabusa guy in the first game and 2: Weather he was or not does anyone know his relation to Ryu (or IS it Ryu) cause I MUST say that it LOOKS VERY similar to him :)
Now lets just hope for a 2d Ninja Gaiden game for the Dreamcast... course if that happens I think it'd make me faint...
Thanx and Keep up the good work Fernando
Fernando Mosquera Replies:
Er, yeah, he was in there, so yes, it's nothing new, but it is nice to know that Tecmo still remembers Ninja Gaiden. Hum, a 2.5d Ninja Gaiden on Dreamcast would be to die for...
Just came back from Fry's Electronics out here in Texas, they also have
many stores in California, anyways on to my story.
I asked one of the salespeople if they were going to carry the
Dreamcast when it reached our shores, this was his reply: Why would we
want to carry a system from the same people who made the Saturn, besides
it's already failed in Japan. Gave the guy a funny look, and said, so
700,000 units is a failure? He started passing judgement on the VF3
conversion, asked him if he's played it, and guess what his answer was,
NO! I told him that if he had never played the arcade, that he would be
hard pressed to tell the differences between the arcade and DC versions.
Get this he also said "When Sonic the Hedgehog comes out it'll be lame,
and probably won't help in the sales of the system." Oh well I hope
that many other gamers don't shop at Fry's Electronics, and I also hope
that other retailers aren't giving the system a bad rap. I've got my
money down for a Dreamcast, and no not VF3, but King of Fighters. This
is how a fighting game SHOULD be, sure VF3 is great, but I need a game
with really flashy combos, that actually take skill to perform, not like
the BS in Crapcom VS. (look Ma' I just performed a 40 hit by smashin'
all the buttons!) series.
I just pray to god that SNK develops the SNK vs. Capcom, and makes the
combo system like the KOF system.
Well thanks for hearing me out, and keep up the excellent work w/ the
site!
Fernando Mosquera Replies:
Looks like Sega has quite a bit more work to do when it comes to educating retailers, though it does sound like the guy you talked to was a bit, er, stupid?
I could pour all of the ignorance that I read in some sites' mail bags into a
huge stadium and make soup for the "Stupid-Giant." People can talk all day
long about how bad another system is--or specifically that the PSX 2 will be
better than the DC. Let's look at only the facts here. If the PSX 2 came out
back in November and Sega had over two more years to create a new system,
don't you think that they would have made it a hell of a lot better? The DC
is in the HERE and the NOW. The PSX 2 is--sorry to have to burst your bubble
here--nothing more than an elaborate rumor. The guts, the plastic molding, or
even the color of the system is nothin more than speculation. The same will
hold true when the PSX 2 is released (if it ever is or if that is in fact the
name of it)--Nintendo will do some heavy researching and you can bet your ass
that the N2000 or whatever it is WILL be better. It would be pointless to be
2 years behind in the system race (which is what Sony is right now as it
stands) and put out an inferior system. That's just common sense! I have a
crap load of different consoles including the PSX, Saturn, N64, and DC (to
name the more popular ones) and honestly, before the DC, I played my Saturn
just as much as I played my other systems--sometimes more. No one could beat
the jap games for the Saturn that were never released here in the states. Not
to say that the PSX isn't a nice piece of gaming guineas, because it is. The
reason that I bought my DC wasn't because I'm clingin to the breast of the
Sega mother figure. It was simply because I played it, I saw the quality, and
I saw the upcoming lineup. I watched a 3 and a half minute movie of Dead or
Alive 2 and it has got to be the most detailed, fastest, and original game I
have seen in a long time--there is nothing that can even rival it on the home
market--or for that matter, several of the DC games can't be touched. The key
words in that rant is when I said that, " there IS nothing that can rival it."
That's true. I'm sure there will be things in the FUTURE that will blow it
away. The DC will probably blow itself away before the PSX 2 will. The
bottom line is that there is NO PSX 2. No one has ANY idea when the system
will be released or what games will be on it or for that matter the exact
specs on the system are. There IS a Dreamcast. It has the backing of several
MAJOR game developers as well as Microsoft, NEC, and Web TV just to name a
very select few. Just know this--if any of these "ranters" over the failure
of Sega or the diehard Sony fans actually played the DC, they would look at
their systems and say, "You know what? This system is pretty good. It sure
does look and play a hell of a lot better than my (insert system here)." They
would. I know, I'm one of those people. It will sure be a rude awakening one
of these days when everyone finds out that the "beast" chip that is being
developed either gets scrapped or is actually the working design of a new
compact Toshiba and Sony laptop computer. Go out and play the games, then
come back and say what you will. And while you wait for your...whatever it's
called this week...or while you read the latest RUMOR surrounding it...I will
be playin some bad ass games on a system that has no contenders in the market
place. And, when the PSX 2 (tentative title) does come out, I will have
already played more than 85 titles for my DC. Also, DO BELIEVE that when the
new Sony unit comes out, I will by it too. I want to stay on top of
technology. I want to play the best games on the best system. I want to have
fun--NOW. The only way for me to do that now is to do it through the "miracle
of modern gamin" which is the mighty DC.
New paragraph--and last--aren't you happy? One of these dayz there will be a
new Sony. Until that day arrives, play the DC and give it the credit it WELL
deserves. Big props to Sega for not lying down and taking gamin to the next
level. Big props to Sony for not letting anyone get the best of them and for
keeping the future of gaming looking as bright and as enticing as ever...
Fernando Mosquera Replies:
Well said, but run spell/grammar check next time!
Hahaha. Oh my God, what a silly bastard. Goldenaxe3d, Shinobi...3D!!! Oh shit, I got a good laugh outta that guy's letter. That guy must have been joking. Even if he wasn't though, I love that silly bastard. What a guy! One more suggestion though. I think that whenever the home team is getting all the penalties that there should be a code were a mad crazy fan jumps onto the field and starts beating on the ref! Think about the emotions involved with this, the struggle between the fan and justice... and I'm thinking nobody should stop the fan and everyone should start cheering and then the ref would be hauled off on a stretcher :)... damn that would be pimp.
Okok, on to something else... I made a bet with my friend that the Sega would have 25 games out for the DC by April 17th. If I win (and as long as the DC costs under 200 when it ships in North America) he hasta by a DC come September. The odds were kinda in my favor considering I've been keeping up on all the news and I know the release schedule... but what are the chances of Sega fucking up and losing a customer (moving release dates back)?
Thanx for the Sega news (and funnier than shit letters),
Fernando Mosquera Replies:
Crazy fan code? Nuts, I rather have the cheerleader strip show code - man, did you get a look at those DoA 2 images? Some of those fighters are practically nude! Just ask Gary from UK:R, he's gumming up his keyboard something awful with that shot of Tina.
Sega fucking up? No way, not ever... game delays? In this industry, what, are you mad? Heh.
First of al, the Dreamacst is essentially a PC, with graphics chips and
Operating Systems, isn't it? Also, is it not 'internet-ready', to further
enhance its PC backgrounds? The worst came however when it was announced
that the Dreamcast's main specs were to be used in an arcade board!!! The
real shock was the fact that Namco's latest system was to be a carbon
replica of this board, called 'Naomi'. Speculation has suggested that the
PS2 will easily out-perform the Dreamcast. However, here is my theory:
Namco are still contracted with Sony, and will therefore have to convert
their arcade tiltes to the Playstation2. Does this mean that Naomi games
will turn up on Sony's system? I don't think I could stand to see an AM
title on a Sony console, but it could soon happen if this arcade board was
to be developed by Namco. I have also recently heard rumours that the PS2
will feature a VMS- style device for use with both its home and arcade
systems.
The computer market has become very unoriginal, and companies
are either at each others backs (Sony VS Nintendo), or are sucking up to
each other (Namco and Sega???). What is your views on this? Is it all
going too far???
Fernando Mosquera Replies:
My view is that you're slightly misinformed (one too many Game Pro readings probably). Anyhow, the Dreamcast is not essentially a PC, it's a game console. Game consoles are made with one thing in mind: playing games really fast. The Internet stuff is just icing (not to mention a gateway to online games). Second of all, every console has an "operating system" some are lower level than others. With Dreamcast programmers can either go with WinCE or SegAPI; SegAPI is the typical console API type thing.
Naomi is Sega's own arcade board - it is essentially a Dreamcast with more RAM. The unit is relatively cheap and offers a high-level of performance; it also enables arcade games to be ported to the Dreamcast easily, not to mention data sharing via the VMS units.
Namco has announced that they are indeed supporting the Dreamcast in someway; at the very least they're official developers. This does not mean a thing, Namco was also an official Saturn developer. No Naomi/Dreamcast projects have been announced so far.
Since the Naomi offers high performance at a reasonable price, Sega is licensing the board to third parties such as Capcom and Treasure. Any third party developing for Naomi must pay Sega a license fee as well as sign a contract or two. These agreements grant the Dreamcast first-rights to all home console ports of Naomi games.
I know this is a Sega site and all, but I kind of have a comment
regarding the DreamCast in ways... Like many, I imported the DC when it
first came out, shelling out a whopping $600 so I could bask in its
glory. Bear in mind, I love the system to death. It is by far the
greatest thing ever created by man. I'm on my high chair exclaiming the
benefits of this "beast from the east." Heck, since I've gotten my
DreamCast, I've BARELY touched my PlayStation. It's just so hard to go
back, you know? Well, I'm trailing away from my intended point. So
here it goes: I am feeling shafted. Like I'm put into the position
that some people were when they bought the Saturn. That is that
something much better is following the heels of something that is so
great already. I'm talking about the PlayStation 2. Sure, I say "screw
it, it's not confirmed. 55 million polygons per second? HA!!! My ass
isn't even made up of 55 million polygons!!!" But this is scaring me,
man!!! I love Sega and everything associated, but jeez man!!! I wonder
why Sega didn't hold on for just a little bit longer, you know???
Apparently if the technology is here to do such wonderful stuff, why
didn't they make use of it??? Do they have something up there
sleeves??? Oh how I pray that the specifications are wrong about the
DreamCast. I HOPE that 3 million polygons per second is just something
that can be done now. I'm hoping this beast can pump out more. I'm
sure Sega knew this was coming, but how will they deal with it???
Another add-on??? We all know how well those things have done in the
past. I hate to sound like a pessimist, but one can't help. Especially
in this time of need. It's just that I want Sega to win this time, but
I fear that may not be true anymore.
If you want to put this as an editorial, feel free. But if you're
heading it towards the mailbag (which would make me happy) I have a
question of sorts for you. Uhh, Is Blue Stinger going to be more action
oriented than Resident Evil??? I hope its puzzles aren't as cheesy as
RE's. Why were those puzzles doing IN A POLICE STATION??? I could
easily understand the mansion, because it doubled as a laboratory. They
didn't want some punk going in there and finding about the experiments.
They HAD to have some sort of protection. Well, I hope this letter has
enlightened you. Thanks for the fabulous site!
Fernando Mosquera Replies:
I won't even address the PSX 2 deal, nothing personal, just that I'm not in the mood to discuss a piece of hardware that doesn't even have screenshots to show for itself. Besides, what good are 55 polys when you can't even play games on it? When Square announces FF9 and Namco Tekken 4 for the PSX 2 and they both look like something out the FF movie, moving at 60 FPS - then I get talking!
Considering I haven't played Blue Stinger yet and that the game isn't even done yet... I can't really answer. I will say this, the version at TGS was all action and no puzzles - I'm sure that's going to change to some degree or another by release time.
Hello Fernando. Cool site blah blah blah. =) Anyways, I was wondering,
could you cut down some of the letters you post on the mailbag section?
Getting to the point/question would be nice. It's becoming a chore to
read the mailbag recently. Not to mention, it cuts down on the number of
letters you respond. I visit an average of 4-7 sites a night, so reading
is not a problem.. But the letters are too freaking long! Anyways, it's
just a suggestion. The site still kicks ass regardless.
Fernando Mosquera Replies:
It's a decent idea, but it would just cut into my updating schedule way too much - the site takes long enough to update without having to worry about editing mailbag e-mails. I guess you'll just have to use the scrollbar a bit more.
I see a lot of attention being devoted to te specs that were recently
released. There is one point that most people are overlooking. The
.15 micron process that its supposed to be made with. I read within the
last two weeks that Intel is just now starting to work with .18 micron.
They aren't even producing yet. Just practicing to work out the kinks.
So it seems VERY unlikely that Sony even with Toshiba's help could beat
Intel to .15 micron. I guess the PSX wont debut untill fall 2000 in
Japan.
No date was given for the chip sony announced. It seems to me Sony is
just trying to slow DC hype. All I see since this anouncement is "Sega
lost before the battle begun." These are the 95% of people i like to
call ignorant.
I also hate it when people tell me to wait for PSX2 or Next Nintendo.
Sorry, but they will likely be released a year apart or so. I'll buy all
three. People act like there is a law that says you can only have one
system.
Sorry for rambling (and bad spelling). Keep up the great work on
Seganet.
Fernando Mosquera Replies:
Cool, I certainly dig the vibe; thanks for ranting off and enjoy your games!
Once again it is PsyberX with some more questions about Dreamcast and Sega in
General. Dreamcast unlike most systems (or all) has the option of upgrading.
The only upgrade I've heard of is the modem 33.6 to 56k upgrade. But besides
that will the Dreamcast be even more upgradeable. Here is an example:
Playstation 2 comes out in 2000 with it's 250 MHz processor and it's 1.5
million polygon advantage over the Dreamcast (yeah right)!
instead of buying a new Sega system will Sega be able to add on to or replace
the Dreamcast old chip to keep up to par with technology? Will the 3d chip be
upgradeable like they are on PC's? Also instead of releasing a new revamped
version of an old game (ALA Resident Evil Director's Cut and Dual Shock
version) will gamers be able to download a patches for games to solve problems
like bad camera angles, glitches, etc.? On a different Sega subject why did
most of Sega's systems fail? They all had great games (at least that I am
aware of) and usually had the upperhand in technological terms. Sega is
probably if not the biggest video game company ever. They pump out the best
arcade games ever to grace this earth. Unlike Sony who basically never if ever
had any games solely made by Sony itself. They make deals with other companies
to make the games for them. Whereas Sega made a good sized portion of all the
games for it's systems and most if not all were high quality titles. All Sony
has is a bunch of 3rd party developers who had a grab bag of games to choose
from which included some good games in the mix. Unlike most I don't want to
have to sort through a cesspool of games just to find something entertaining.
I like a company that will give my undeniably good gameplay. Another thing I
would like to voice is the Sega bias that most magazines have. This month
GamePro took a look at Pen Pen Triicelon. They described it as a "a high
resolution lame children's game." I don't know if this is true but when
reviewing Snow Board Kids 2 for N64 they say it is "challenging fun." They
mention that the game is kiddie and cute in nature (Like 99.9% of N64 titles)
but they say it as if it was a good thing. When reviewing Pen Pen they say
that being cute and kiddy is a sacrilege and they totally bash the hell out of
Pen Pen for the same reason that made SB Kids 2 so great. Can you say
Hypocrite? Anyway thanx once again for your time and your answers. You have a
great site and you say that it is independent? Get the hell out, no way, you
get the info straight from the horses mouth which is superbly amazing for an
independent site. Keep up the good work and thanx once again!
Fernando Mosquera Replies:
I'm not sure what you mean by independent, but thanks for the compliments... now onto the questions.
-The DC, like most consoles, is upgradeable. The thing is, I doubt Sega is looking forward to releasing upgrades in the USA... just look at how well the 32X fared.
-The VMS will never be used to store patches, all games that hit the market will be relatively bug free. The VMS will be used for extras and such. The hard drive add-on will be the place for game add-ons, besides, 120K isn't nearly enough space for the VMS to store big patches.
-Sega's systems failed for a variety of reasons, in general due to bad marketing, bad relationships with retail channels, and a strong competition. Don't even begin to ask for details...
-Game Pro, isn't that magazine aimed at kiddies anyhow?
Hey Fernado! Your the best and your site is too. It's the number one
site I visit everyday. I just have one question. What has happened to
the Saturn news? I know nothing big is happening, and the Saturn is just
about gone in Japan, but I went to the Sega of Japan website and they
had a bunch of games scheduled for the upcoming months in the Saturn
Japanese schedule section. From 12/98 to 04/99 they have a bunch listed.
The problem is, I have no idea what these games are because I can't read
Japanese and there is no info on the net about any of them, or about any
games coming to the Saturn, or games that have came out. Is there anyay
you know someone who can read Japanese that can get over there and give
you the scoop?
Have you been slacking off to much? Becuase there is just this huge gap
in Saturn game news when there is that list of games coming out, at
least from what I can tell. I am in withdraw, man! Damn! I need to know
what games are coming, because I have no way of knowing if it's not on
this site, which i the only one I really frequent. You gotta fill me in!
Get that Marcus Lai over there or something, he sounds Japanese, tell
him to get his ass in gear! Let him outta the domination cell long
enough to get over there.
Also, in the limited and very small English Saturn section they have a
schedule too, which is basiclly nothing because it is a Japanese site
and they rarely ever put anything in the English section, which makes me
wonder why they have it. But anyway, they have SONIC 3D FLICKIES'ISLAND
scheduled for release, but not available on the date. What's up? I heard
that is a new Sonic 3-D game for Saturn. Any news on any Saturn games
coming out in Japan? And anything on Sonic the Fighters? It was listed
for release in the English release section, but it disappeared. Again,
the Saturn English section, especially the schedule is nothing, and they
don't put any effort in putting anything new in it at all, and it's just
really half-assed.
Get in gear, man! Let's us know about our Saturn goodness! You gotta
fill this now gaping hole! I don't know anything about any new games
coming for Saturn from 12/98 to 4/99, and I need to know.
And what has happened to the Saturn preview section? There is nothing
new in it, you're just...slacking! You got a lot of catching up to do
and you have missed (*at least it seems that way from the Saturn
schedule, but I MAY be WRONG*) what seems like a few games.
Well, ok, I'm finished. Your doing a great job, Fernado, and keep it up.
I don't know where I would be without SegaNet..I cannot sleep without
the glow of the main page filling my dark room.
Until next time,
Fernando Mosquera Replies:
I hear where you're coming from, and frankly I miss the Saturn coverage as well but there really hasn't been anything worth covering as of late. The last halfway decent Saturn game on the list is Dungeons and Dragons Collection and Street Fighter Zero 3, other than these two the entire line up is all re-releases and fruity Japanese rubbish.
SONIC 3D FLICKIES'ISLAND is out in Japan; it's just the Japanese version of Sonic 3D Blast, whoopee! Sonic Fighters has long been canned, etc.
Sorry I'm not filling you in on the Saturn news, but sadly there's nothing to fill you in on.
One, has there been any rumors about a possible Steep Slope Sliders
DC? That game was insane. It whooped C.B. and 1060 so hard they had to
take the school bus home. (don't ask what that means)
Two, what was that I remember about some guy at Sony saying that he
would eat his own underwear or something if Sega Rally was online
playable? just want to know if anyone has pic's
Fernando Mosquera Replies:
Steep Slope Sliders? Where did you hear that? Anyhow, Cool Boarders is in the works, and yes, SSS on Saturn kicked major tail.
1. Wow, I was hit with nostalgia when I saw what Mark Steelman said on
Thursday. I too pretty much started off my Saturn info searches at
Dustin's Sega Saturn Site, before that I only was looking up arcade game
faq's at Andy Eddy's (who I think was at Gamepro) ftp site. Damn, that
was a while ago. (Well, 1994.) Then I found Dave's site,
Sega-Saturn.com. Does that even exist anymore? Fernando, you said his
cousin or something was running it, but I think he was operating on the
"I update every six months, sure!" mode. I never cared much for
Eclipse, I was too enthralled with Saturnworld. Then they got
railroaded by the conscientious, Sega-friendly, true gamers of IGN. I
was screwed until, in early '98, I found Sega-Zone and Seganet.
Sega-Zone being a rarely updated reflection of the better Seganet, (run
by some weird Argentinian kid who liked to tease the Brits over their
unsuccessful attempt to Redress the Balance in the World Cup) I soon
cared nothing for non-Seganet gaming sites. Do I want news for my PSX
or N64? I'll still get better news for that here than elsewhere.
Please put up a site history section. This fall will see the DC
launch and a two year anniversary for SN. Please also include the story
of Saturnworld.
2. What's up with SNK versus Capcom? And what is this Street Fighter
3:Fourth Blitzkrieg?
3. Do we have word yet on N64-esque multicolored controllers?
Loren Smith
PS - Thanks for running this site. Please make plans to keep it running
forever and ever.
Fernando Mosquera Replies:
1. Dave's ghost town of a site is now at http://www.digiweb.com/~davez; last update is from last September. Anyhow, your heaping-helping of PSX and N64 news via people involved with SegaNet may just be on its way... Chew on that for a bit.
2. SNK VS Capcom is semi-confirmed, sort of, kinda, er, yeah, right now. Look for first screenshots at TGS.
3. They're coming, eventually.
Thanks for your extremely kind words, I'll do my best to keep pleasing you guys...
Firstly, could you please try to keep the sarcasm low?? I've developed
a kind of allergy to it after reading the recent mailbags. Besides its a
little bit rude to be overly sarcastic but it's nice to hear that you're
trying to keep it down.
Getting started, I couldn't help commenting after reading what you said
about 3rd party carts. Based on past experience, 3rd party carts do not
have to be 'rubbish'. On the countary, many 3rd party carts can be
reliable and also pull down the cost more than original carts could.
Furthermore, some features are just not avaliable by original carts.
Game Shark or Action Reply Codes, are all third party creations and
they are quite useful as well as reliable. Unless you got a defective
copy, they work fine. Mine has never given me any problems in my 2
years.
There are also further advantages. Only 3rd party carts have
combination abilities like a 4 Meg or 2 Meg Ram upgrade with a converter
option in the ##same## cart. Other examples include 20 Meg of saving
memory. The best part is that they are priced way below original carts.
The trick of course will be to get quality 3rd party carts. Thankfully
in an area choke full of piracy like Singapore, this isn't a problem.
While this may not apply everywhere in the world, its a bit too general
to say that ##ALL## third party carts are crap.
While on the subject of piracy, I thought you'd be interested to know
that local pirates have received word from Hong Kong and Taiwan
modifiers that the Dreamcast is as of yet unhackable. How long it will
hold out however, is anyones guess. It seems that Sega designed a 'weak'
system in the sense that it will break easily if tampered with. While
this is a good thing for Sega to generate original sales, it could
create a short life span for the dreamcast. And that is VERY, VERY, VERY
BAD.
Personally, I believe they'll crack it. After all, pirates have even
cracked the N64 by adding a CD Drive to the system than transferring the
data from the carts to a CD. I'll probably get a Dreamcast when the
modification process is both created and optimised to be more stable,
like in about 4 months or so.
Lastly, cart swapping is a very common process over here. While I'd
rather not do it, since I do have everything I need in multi carts, many
shops do use this practice and the fatality rate is near zero as
compared with the largely exaggerated internet statistics. In a case of
a single shop, a cart gets swapped with a saturn approximately 20 times
a day. It can last for at least 1 year. And its still working last time
I checked. I suppose it could be due to the skill of the swapper and
perhaps weather your saturn is white or not.
Oh and by the way, have you heard of the new Saturn releases coming out
these days??? There are some really cutey gems like one about a Witch's
Magic School (I can't read the original name) where you're training to
be a witch!!! Hilarious!! I recall that you wrote off post Dreamcast
Saturn sales recently saying that the only thing noteworthy will be the
'occasionaly dating sim'. Perhaps you should look again, its a shame to
miss out on potentially nice titles.
Fernando Mosquera Replies:
I'll try to taper off my sarcasm on some of the mailings, but really, I can't help it. The mailbag is my time to go casual and write whatever comes to mind first... Anyhow, I think you'll find I'm only sarcastic when I'm either being friendly or when responding to rubbish e-mail. The "tweeners" I tend to play straight up.
Third party carts are still crap, I wouldn't go near them - use them at your own risk.
Er, OK, that's nice, you're holding off buying a Dreamcast until you can play the pirated games? Er, hum, I'm sure Sega is loving that...
Hey, if I see a Saturn games worth covering I will, believe me, I'm looking...
Hulllooo, howdy, Hi! This will be my first "letter" to a "mailbag",
so please be gentle (water-based lubricants only, please).
I keep reading your frustrated commentary as you speak to the
problem of inflated arcade prices and overall lack of timely arcade
product in your neighborhood. I too am left suffering from joystick
envy, as the other-wise cosmopolitan city I live in bears no
cutting-edge fruit. There are two Namco arcades in the area--the most
recent release is HotD2...for two bucks a pop (it's not even a "deluxe"
cabinet)!
You may now be thinking " Hey, ass-munch...that's a pretty recent
game! Quit yer bitchin'!" Unfortunately, there is an additional, as yet
unspoken nugget of info that truly puts the wasabi on the tuna roll. The
time-line of arcade machines gaps wildly; the next most contemporary
piece would be Time Crisis II...still fetching top dollar as well. There
are absolutely no Capcom updates (ie. Marvel vs Capcom, or even X-Men vs
Street Fighter) to be found (although some would find that to be a mixed
blessing). The only "deluxe" worth playing would have to be a
(admittedly nice) four-player Tokyo Wars set-up. There exists no other
signs that SEGA's AM departments are still in the business of making
games.
I would guess that I returned to the stomping grounds of my youth
somewhat jaded (and perhaps a bit spoiled) by the fertile arcade panacea
that I had left behind. I was living in north-eastern NJ, 20 minutes
from China Town and Mott st. by train. The local 70's cookie-cutter
strip-mall even managed to get the very latest in their
store...sometimes even test-revs!
In my estimation, it probably would be prudent to cast aside any
hopes of seeing anything bearing the "powered by Naomi" moniker...thank
all that is polygonal for Dreamcast! This
"little-engine-that-just-might" could be the only opportunity for many
of us to get that indescribable SEGA AM "goose" that sent a tingle up
our collective spines the first time we heard "rorring (rolling)
staaaart" and felt the wheel come alive in our sweaty little palms.
Now that I've 'splained myself, Lucy, I'd like to ask a
(somewhat related) question or two, if I haven't already over-stayed my
welcome. Please allow me provide them to you in the now-obligatory
numerically-listed fashion.
1) For those of us who still enjoy the arcade scene (although I
still miss the dim lights, REO T-shirts, and Boston blaring over the
sounds of the local Gorfian empire representative goading me into
parting with yet another two bits...and does anyone remember Wizard of
Wor? Star Castle?...but I digress..), is there a site with some sort of
search engine, or at least a geographical listing of good arcades in the
US? I'd walk a mile for a vertical......shooter.
2) Although SOJ's choice of launch titles seems say otherwise,
when news of the DC first broke, there were some statements made
regarding a reluctance to push SEGA's arcade properties on the new
system. This lead to speculation that even VF3tb would not see the light
of day. Most of us who were hoping for a flawless system release, and a
SEGA revival saw this as pure folly, and immediatly began reserving
grave plots for yet another still-born system. With the release list
currently padded like Arkam Asylum with arcade titles, coupled with the
advent,and seemingly wide acceptance of NAOMI, this all appears to have
been an attempt to distance DC from the "dead planet" and the miserable
Virtua Fighter. Do you concurr, or do you think SOA will concentrate
more on original games for the DC, skipping over most arcade titles, and
once again alienate the loyal?
Thank you for your time sir...as it is still the wee hours, I
think I'll try to get some sleep now. Into the arms of Morpheus I
slip....(wow!!!!!!! Cold feet!)
Yours mit sauce,
MADCITYBOY
Coming to you from the land of cheese and
crunchy granola people. Madison WI... 25 square miles surrounded by
reality.
Fernando Mosquera Replies:
Nice e-mail, easy to read, interesting, and a few questions to finish it off...
I feel your arcade troubles, though I wouldn't discount the possibility of Naomi titles invading the arcades this year. The unit is relatively cheap and offers a wide-variety of quality games, if Sega plays its cards right it might be able to establish a decent presence across the states.
1. If you have a Saturn, you need to check out Taito's Layer Section; the game was published by the Acclaim in the states and it kicks serious ass. Look for it in the bargain bins.
2. I'm 100% sure that SoA will bring over all mainstream arcade ports that Sega of Japan does. Well-done arcade ports serve as good system showcases, feature game play everyone can get into, and have brand-appeal. All the Naomi stuff is coming, as is some of the remaining Model 3 titles (though it's not clear which games will or will not be ported). In the end it's less of a SoA decision than it is a Japanese one.
Hey Fernando, just wanted to drop you a line to say what a great site you
have. Good info and pics and not alot of bullshit and posturing. Just wanted
to give my two cents on something that really pissed me off recently and that
is the Neo Geo Pocket. I saw it as a good alternative to Gameboy, and since
the Game Gear was gone I said what the heck. Even miniature versions of some
cool Neo Geo games would be a treat. So around Christmas I treated myself to
one and King of Fighters and was not disappointed. Now 2 months later and
guess what? They go ahead and announce a color version. What the f..? I know
there is nothing I can do and now I'm stuck with an inferior system after only
2 months! I just needed to rant and after I saw your story on the Neo Pocket
color and since I admire your site I thought I should drop you a line and get
it off my chest. Thanks for a great site.
Fernando Mosquera Replies:
I know, I understand how you must feel and it can't be good. SNK really botched the original NeoGeo and the announcement of the color version so soon after the B&W is just one of the things they screwed up on. That said, the NGPC looks good, should build on the original's good design, and will hopefully offer a decent amount of quality games. Best of all, SNK is going to release the new portable in the states!
Hi ya Fernando, it's been awhile since I've last written- and quite
frankly there are some issues abroad that need to be addressed by you, you
arch duke guru of all things sega. first, sega2000 has a piece on their
website on Phantasy Star- where the guy states " will be back with pictures"
who is this guy, and is this possible?? secondly, These specs on the PS2-
hogwash 55 million (b.s.) using all the effects 13 million, running all 3
processors tandemly, ha I scoff at the notion. All Sega fans and hardened
saturn developers learned one thing from the saturn- dual processors don't cut
it!! - and know sony thinks they'll be able to get developers to properly get
3 processors working in tandem- hah!! guaranteed. If sony's next system does
have 3 processors, developers will not even attempt to tandemize all 3. What
are your thoughts??
Fernando Mosquera Replies:
This guy as what I like to consider "full of shit", the only pictures they'll be back with are captures from their Genesis emulator game. Believe me, when the word surfaces about Phantasy Star on Dreamcast, every website will be on it like white on rice.
PSX 2? Bah, I don't have time to speculate on crap I haven't even seen - I rather be playing my Dreamcast.
I want to comment on the commentary suggestion for sports games(ie
interviews, trash talking, etc.). If the Dreamcast has voice recog.
capabilities, and a head-set, why not allow for the user to provide the
play-by-play, answers to interview questions, and imput (ala
Bust-A-Move) their own celebratory dances. In fact, in a more
arcade-style game, these could, after a big play (90 yard TD run, etc.),
be used to generate bonus points, beef up "turbo" meters, or fire-up the
crowd, which in turn would increase your "turbo" powers. Perhaps
unlimited turbo until you no longer have momentum, thus losing the
crowd's enthusiasm.
In addition to the obvious advantages against friends at home, you
could also allow for VMU usage, perhaps on an arcade version of the
game. It would save your "momentum", or crowd "enthusiasm" levels for
use in the arcade, beefing up your stats; your chances of forcing
turn-overs while on defense,
or making that one-handed catch in the back of the end-zone, increasing
your starting turbo levels, and other goodies. When facing a player who
also has a VMU, the arcade unit would read the cards, and the higher
level player would be home team. Anyone who has traveled to see their
favorite team play on the road knows what a differance a faithful, and
psyched home crowd can make. Lambeau Field anyone? The crowd could even
participate in-between plays; cheers and jeers..."Whose house? Our
house?", " Defense! Knock him on his (BLEEP!)", "Hey ref, need to borrow
my glasses?", or in the last seconds of the game, if the home team is
winning, the crowd could sing "Na na na hey hey hey goodbye" just to
annoy the other player!
Prior to the start of the game, confident players could even
choose to wager their levels and turbo bonuses on the game. The winner
takes all, and the loser loses all his saved data (unless he has the
foresight to back it up on another VMU). These ideas could also be
applied to online games, and the headset could be used for
trash-talking, or, during two-on-two games, private chat in the huddle
(O.K., you go long and I'll hit you on the side-line...make sure you get
out and stop the clock. On three..Ready..Break!) It could even be used
for calling cadence, and trying to draw the defense off-sides!
As for interviews, since the DC is capable of voice recog. and
synth., the questions wouldn't have to be red-book audio, and could,
using algorythms, be game specific, with the player answering the
questions themselves. Then, indicating with the controller, the player
could let the system know when to go to the next question. The answers
could be saved on a server, for shits and giggles, or (since these would
be an absolute must) in the event of an on-line tournament, be posted by
the sponsor. Bragging rights and all that...
Finally, since there almost always is someone waiting to play the
winner ("I got next!"), this person could make themselves useful, and do
the play-by-play. Wouldn't you love to have your smart-ass friends doing
color commentary, while your busting someone's ass on-line?!?
Just a few thoughts. Please let me know what you think.
Fernando Mosquera Replies:
All great ideas, but I still seriously doubt that they can be implemented properly in real life. Besides, the online games will be busy enough trying to keep the actual game play up to speed - adding voice transfer would almost certainly create horrible lag. Keep on dreaming though, maybe someday everything will come together...
If you're going to use Simpsons references, how about not butchering
them so mercilessly. The quote is "first you get the sugar, then you
get the power, then you get the women." - Homer
I'm an average Simpsons fan but even I can remember famous one-liners
such as this, no I did not look it up, but I'm still sure I'm 100%
correct. No disrespect to you, but a show of this calibre deserves to
be accredited correctly.
Fernando Mosquera Replies:
OK, sure, but then again, I wasn't quoting the Simpsons, I was offering a play on a line from the show - big difference. Something tells me you're one of those guys who enjoys counting frame rates in games rather than playing them.
I had a thought recently regarding custom VMS units for the Dreamcast. Do you
think is is likely that companies will release special game specific VMS units
packaged with the game?
The prospects of this are enormous, as the developer could add additional
storage space if need be, or even have a special customised display. Chances
are that such a device could only be used with that particular game, but
seeing as some games pretty much need their own VMS unit anyway (Sonic
Adventure for example) this might not be such a bad idea. Developers could
design a game that requires an enormous amount of storage space for save
files, and simply create a specialised VMS unit that is required to play the
game. Even VMS units with radically different displays (such as colour
display or even LED!) could be created for exclusive use with a game.
On an even more extreme thought, developers could design a completely custom
controller with a display built in, and even rumble/feedback support based
around the VMS technology. If the Dreamcast becomes as popular as the
Playstation has, do you think we will see exploitation of the VMS units like
this?
Fernando Mosquera Replies:
Actually, I don't think VMS units will ever be so customized, Sega does not want the confused market that VMS units that work with only one game would create. There's also a problem with selling a VMS+game combo - it would cost around 80-90 bucks, probably hurting the sales of the game more than anything else.
I think you'll continue to see various different colors of VMS units, stuff like this will pick up once the Dreamcast becomes truly mass-market. Game specific VMS units will be limited to the Mothra/Godzilla style units, the VMS has a special Godzilla design and game built-in but the game can be erased and the unit used just like any other VMS.
I think you remember me, I was the guy who sent the the mind bogglingly long
and terribly repitious letter.
I was just wondering if Namco is making any games to speak of. Cuz I heard
that they're bringing Tekken 3, and 4, Ridge Racer, Soul Calibur, and Time
Crisis 2 to the Dreamcast. Yet I have also heard that from a different source
that Namco has made absolutely no announcements whatsoever, if you could clear
this up I'd be greatly appreciative.
Fernando Mosquera Replies:
Damn, this stupid Namco crap is being asked almost as often as the lock out questions. Anyhow the answer is that Namco has not announced any Dreamcast projects. This doesn't mean they're not working on anything, it just means that they haven't talked about Dreamcast work publicly/officially.
I have heard that Sega's new CEO, Shoichiro Irimajiri is going to be leaving Sega soon to be the new head of General Motors Delphi subsidiary, which is being spun off into an independent company. If so this could not bode well for the success of the Dreamcast, so is this true?
Fernando Mosquera Replies:
I actually addressed this rumor a while back, turns out Iri-san is now on the Board of Directors at Delphi, an independent company with ties to GM. The position only requires Irimajiri to sit in at a few meetings a year, so it shouldn't be that much of a drain on his efforts at Sega.
I beleive the DC is a very powerful system. To what extent, I don't know.
The standard for PC gaming right now is Unreal. As you know to play the
game you need At Least! a 300 mhz. PII processor with a Voodoo II card. Do
you beleive the DC is capable of running a perfect version of the game
while maintaining at least 30 FPS? I was happy to see that the DC could
handle Incoming, but I heard there was lots of slowdown?
Fernando Mosquera Replies:
The Dreamcast is more than capable of handling the Unreal engine - in fact, most Unreal based games are shoe ins to be released on Dreamcast (the original game won't make it, it's too old). Incoming on Dreamcast is a PC perfect port, save for the lack of options to run at the higher-resolutions.
Great site, yada yada yada. Anyways, I've got 2 questions, 1 on registering
my system and 1 about Sonic Adventure. First off, can I use my DC with AOL as
my ISP, if so, what do I fill in for the info (mail server,etc.)? My last
question is referring to Sonic Adventure, the other day I was playing and
noticed something pretty strange, there are marijuana leaves on the floor of
Big's house, has anyone asked Sega why or if they know what those leaves on
the floor are/resemble? Thanks, and keep up the good work!!
Jason
P.S. Sega Rally 2 kicks ass, everyone should stop whining about frame rates
and such. Enjoy it as it is!
Fernando Mosquera Replies:
1. Nope, you can't use AOL with your Dream Passport software, sorry!
2. I never noticed this, but I'm not all that surprised - I mean, some of the crazy far out stuff that's in Sonic Adventure, hell, in all Sonic games has to be drug influenced.
Hey Fernando!
Great site you've got there.
I have some unusual Dreamcast questions...
1 - Am I the only one that noted that weird texture problem there is on Sonic Adventure? I mean... some floor textures... they look messed up when on distance (look at Tail's "dream" on the echidna temple). What the hell is that? Does it happen on every DC game (I only have Sonic right now)?
2 - Does the DC recharges the VMS's battery when its inserted on the controller?
3 - Since FPS games are sure to hit DC, and its controller doesnt have enough buttons, do you think that Sega would be smart and allow players to use the DC's own Keyboard + Mouse to play those games?
That's all for now... thanks in advance
Fernando Mosquera Replies:
1. Messed up? Can you be more specific, I don't really feel like loading up the game right now and I don't remember what you're talking about.
2. Nope.
3. My guess is as good as yours, I really have no information that would help me give an educated answer here - sorry.
When Sega Rally 2 is released in Europe, there will be improvements to the
game- Will this include a four-player split screen mode and all the
original tracks? These features were promised for the Japanese version,
but were bizarrely left out!!!
Also, will Virtua Fighter 3tb feature a real team battle mode, using all
four player pads? This would really be a cool mode, like in the Marvels VS
Streetfighter series, wouldn't it???
Finally, I would like to know whether Sega has any plans to
release a series of demo discs, as they did with the Saturn here in the
U.K? I really enjoyed purchasing the Sega Flash collection-They gave me a
good preview of the best games. The reason I ask this is because I have
recently seen a Japanese Dreamcast magazine which included a demo disc of
some flight-sim.
Please, give me the truth!!!
Fernando Mosquera Replies:
OK, I'll try to give you the truth but it's sort of hard to do when Sega hasn't talked about most of the stuff you ask about.
Rally 2 will remain relatively unchanged, save for perhaps some new cars and a little bit of graphical tweaking.
VF3tb will also remain pretty much the same; I do expect the addition of an official VS mode though.
Sega may have plans for demo discs, but they are not talking about them just yet, it's just too early to talk about these kind of little details. I'm willing to guess that the official European Sega mag will have demos of some sort packed-in every now and then.
I've been reading Seganet for a while and though I once saw something
about how many years you've been up, I was wondering about the origin of
Seganet? Why do you update so consistently? Is this a hobby that you
run out of your home, or do you have an office with the staff all
together? If it is a hobby, how do you update so consistently. I guess
this is something you are asked periodically but it must have been some
time ago because I have been logging in at least once a week for about a
year and haven't seen it. It would be cool if you did a FAQ on it like
"How we got started" or maybe a mission statement, though the latter
doesn't seem to fit the style of SN, too corporate.
The first Saturn page I frequented was Dustin's, which to my mind was
one of the very first anywhere with frequent updates. As that faded,
because Dustin left school or something, I went to Dave's Saturn Page.
Now that's gone and for a while good ol' Dustin resurfaced in
Eclipsegaming.com which petered out with the end of the Saturn. I said
all that to say, why does Seganet succeed where other great pages have
gone by the wayside?
Finally, I'd like to say I think the SegaNet staff is great and just
wanted to thank all of you for giving all of us our daily Sega fix.
Also, thanks for keeping those game developers strait with point on
reviews.
Later,
Fernando Mosquera Replies:
Lots of questions here, it's nice to see that you show interest in the site beyond "give me the latest Sega rumors, dude!" SegaNet's path to its current state is actually quite a long story, perhaps writing that "How the site started" article wouldn't be such a bad idea... Anyhow, for now I'll try to answer your specific questions and keep that article in mind for later in the year.
-I update consistently because you guys demand daily content. Besides, I'm really dedicated to covering the world of Sega with a passion and that requires daily updates.
-I update from home, I'm currently finishing up my last year of High School. I guess I update so much because, well, I have nothing better to do. Oh, and it's a real kick to put something together in my spare time that matches (and sometimes surpasses) the quality of "pro" sites.
-If you want a better idea of the history of SegaNet, I suggest you check the archives from the first year the site was up (1997). In October of '97 I launched this site as a page for the #Sega Efnet channel (a channel that pretty much sucks now), you know, to recruit potential chatters and to recap the day's video game news so people in the channel could have stuff to chat about it. The site became SegaNet in April of '98... Before running the #Sega page I contributed to many other video game publications (Zero Gravity, Cybergames, Overkill fanzine, and a whole load of others). You'll have to get me in a real sentimental mood to make me recap in detail the history of the site. Maybe this October or something...
-Well the two great Saturn pages of the past faded out because the folks who maintained the sites moved on: Dustin is working on his graduate studies at Temple and Dave is Vic's monkey at Working Designs.
The entire SegaNet staff thanks you for your support and admiration - look for that article later in the year (maybe, hehe).
Hi, my name is Ben Yang and I've been a sega fan for years and years.
I just had some ideas to give the dreamcast a pig push in the following
years. I have a bagful of ideas. You might like some but you might
dislike some. If you like some, I was wondering if you could contact the
sega programmers and give some suggestions. Here goes nothing.
First of all, lets start with action games. Bring games back like
golden axe. Name it golden axe 3d. That would kick ass. I'd like to see
those dwarves fly around like crazy. GAmes like this need and i mean
need an innovative plot and it would be great if some replay was added.
The only problem would be the violence. Golden Axe has been one of those
games in which all ages can play. That would mess up the graphics detail
wise. How might you control the blood loss and blood detail. Just
think, sega could get a great push if games such as DJ boy3d,
shinobi3d, strider3d, Alex kid 3d, and etc. would be made. Sega has a
great history. It would be great to bring back these old games into a 3d
enviroment. I really do believe sega should bring all these games back.
They should execute these ideas in an excellent manner though. They
shouldn't abandon any ideas. Nothing is impossible though. They should
take their time if they have to.
Next up are sports games. This may sound corny but Sega should really
rehire Marv Albert, and Lon Simmons from the sportstalk football series.
Bring back Joe Montana if possible. All video games thse days lack
emotion but include great graphics only. Nhl 99 is a great game but it
lacks emotion. Here is an example, I was using the dallas stars an di
played the colorado avalanche. Every time i score a goal, they do the
same robotic actions. There is no adrenalin rush feeling. I also scored
a game winning goal and the crowd or people on the bench didn't
acknowledge anything. They did the same robotic actions. The bottom line
is Sega should use this to their advantage. They should not only cover
the physical aspects of sports but the emotional aspects as well. Here
are some clever examples. In Nfl 2000 for the dreamcast, if the away
team comes back to win a game in a 2 minute drill, make the home crowd
shocked and devastated. Make the camera angles show people on the bench
on teir knees praying to win. Then the camera angles should show the
away team very excited and pumped up with feeling dammit! Make the
pressure points and the adrenalin rushes very obvious I know its not
very easy to do that but Sega should really consider it. At the end of
football games, sega could make the postgames great with all players
coming out to the field saking hands with their helmets off and the
press should swarm the field and make interviews. I've got one more idea
for footbaall and then to basketball. When the home team is losing in
the late 3rd quarter the cameras can show peolpe leaving and the crowd
can be booing. At Lambeau field, you could display the fans being happy,
fired up, and rowdy. They should show football clips in the beginning of
the game. One in particular is when Joe Monatana pulled off the game
winning drive on John Elway in Mile High Stadium. For basketball you
must rehire Marv Albert. Do you remember the time when John Stockton hit
the game winning 3 pointer in Houston to advance the Jazz to the NBA
finals for the firts time? The players on the bench crowded around John
and patted him on the head and jumped around like crazy while the crowd
was as still and filled with disbelief. Marv Albert should point out the
fact of how still the crowd is. The bottom line is to show some people
on the bench excited and in the game. I can't believe that in all these
years of hiring all these sports stars for their opinion of the game,
that all these sports stars forgot to give their opinion about how it
feels to play basketball or football and the adrenalin that is involved
in sports. The bottom line is that there is still a big gap in sports
games these days, and that Sega should be the first company to fill in
these gaps in 2000.
Thanks for reading my list of ideas.
Fernando Mosquera Replies:
Ah, naive reader, if I had the sugar, perhaps I would have the power, and once you have the power, you get the ladi... er, the Dreamcast programmers at your attention. Simpson references aside, I do have contacts with folks working on Dreamcast games but I'm not in a position to tell them what to do. I can however post your letter in the mailbag and let the industry folks who read the page take what you say into consideration (and if they do use your ideas, don't expect any credit from them - those guys don't need to be sharing their apple pie with fans).
Golden Axe 3D - oooh, how original, yes, original with a capital R! Not that there's anything wrong with sequels or anything, but if you want to impress people it's usually best to talk about something of your own creation. Talking about sequels and such should probably be reserved to when you're speaking directly with the makers of the original game. That's just my take on the whole thing, keep in mind that you did send this with the idea that I would pass it on to a game design of some sort. That said, I'm sure many a Sega fan (me included) would pay a pretty penny for Dreamcast sequels of those Sega classics.
Your sports game ideas are right on the ball, I've been saying this for awhile now - the crowd needs to come alive more realistically in these sports games. In football games the band should start playing when you score, the crowd needs to get pumped and not just on touchdowns (some games can't even manage that much!).
The only problem with unique interviews and celebrations is that they would be hard to implement well in a video game - there's only so much interview speech you can put in and it's bound to get repetitive after a few games. As much as we'd like to believe it, video games can't think for themselves, we have not reached the point where a video game can produce it's own speech based on the events created by the player... and this is even if we forget about being coherent. Hell, most games can't even simulate celebrations or abilities right: why is Jeff Hornachek dunking in NBA Live? Why is Steve Young doing backflips in Madden? Think about things like this and you start seeing the problems of implementing the features that most of us want in our sports games. Think about what it would take to implement all of this stuff - shit, the game would never ship!
I'll be happy if Visual Concepts and other first time Dreamcast sport games developers can deliver a great looking and fun playing simulation of their sports in their first Dreamcast efforts; God knows it's hard enough to do just that!
Hey Fernando,
First of all, I'd like to say that I love your site. I think it's the site
I visit most often, even on weekends, hoping there might be some kind of
update, even though I know there won't be.
I'd also like to state that I have been a loyal follower of Sega since the
Master System back in 1987. Geez, I was only nine then. My dad bought the
system that came with two control pads, the light gun, the 3D-glasses, and
Missile Command was the pack in game. I bought around 25 games for it.
Afterwards, in 1989, I got my hands on one of the Genesis systems for $220
(you know the one with the head-phone jack and volume control). I only
bought about 10 games for the Genesis, because by that time any local video
store rented videogames and there was no reason to buy anymore. Then the
Sega CD, came out and I wanted one bad, but my dad didn't buy it for me.
He told me to wait for the next Sega system. I guess that was a good thing
in the long run. Well, I got my Saturn in December of 1995 and spent a
hefty $350 on it and I loved it to death. I think it was a great system
and still is. I was able to get my hands on Panzer Dragoon Saga and
Shining Force 3 and now I have a total of about 36 games for my Saturn.
But, of all the games I ever played on any of the Sega systems, I think,
and many will agree, that the Phantasy Star Series were the best games
ever. I was disappointed that a sequel never came out for the Saturn, and
I had gotten my hopes up when I found out that a Compilation had been
released in Japan, and was disappointed again when I found out it wasn't
going to be released in the US.
Please tell me that a sequel is being made for the Dreamcast, or I won't
buy one...
(Just kidding, I couldn't give up my streak that easily).
Fernando Mosquera Replies:
Hey there,
Wow, you love the site? That's, that's, sad! Using such a powerful word to describe your feelings for such a meaningless and silly website... hey man, I love you too! The folks that make the daily updates possible are people such as yourself, with your entertaining e-mails, FAQs, reader reviews, news tips, and other contributions you keep SegaNet going strong. I can't thank you all enough and to think that someone out there enjoys the site so much that they would say that they "love" SegaNet almost brings a tear to my eye.
That's why it's so hard for me to tell you that I have no official information on a Phantasy Star Dreamcast game. If it's in the works, Sega is staying awfully quiet about it. I would guess that Phantasy Star Dreamcast is just a design document hidden away somewhere and a dream in the mind of every Dreamcast owner.
I know this isn't much of a consolation, but as soon as anything worth reporting on Phantasy Star DC surfaces I'll be sure to put it up on the site you love so much!
Irony note: spellchecker wants to change "Phantasy" to "Phantasm", in other words "ghost." Is a Phantasy Star sequel destined to be a ghost that haunts the lives of Sega fans the world over, never to reveal itself in a psychical form?
The reason I gave such a small description and didn't even mention which
episode it was in, was because I was sure I wouldn't be the first person
to send in a e-mail.
Then again... I probably should of been more thorough... but, after all,
doing things a half-assed job is the american way.
Okay, time for my Dreamcast questions... (Which never will be "What kind
of lockout does SOA have planned?") *Ahem* Here goes... Is there any
additional news on ToeJam & Earl? Am I the only person that liked the
original game and is looking forward to the third? It sure would be fun
to play the game with a partner over the modem...
Well, that's the end of me...
Keep up the good work on the page
Up and at them!
Fernando Mosquera Replies:
Dear half-assed Simpsons fan,
There is no news on the new Toe Jam & Earl game. And yes, you are a sick, strange, and disturbed person for enjoying the first game - be proud of yourself you half-assed Toe Jam loving weirdo super freak!
Great site. I frequent it at least once a day. One of the few with
interesting news and information. I finally broke down and bought a DC last
week. I opted for the Asian version because I figured if I want to surf I
can just use my PC and not have to worry with the registration problems
people are having. Anyway I bought the system an extra controller, a memory
card, and Sega Rally & Sonic Adventure. To my surprise when I opened the DC
box it contained 2 controllers. I didn't really believe I was seeing 2
controllers, but after emptying the box there were in fact 2 controllers
that came packed in the system. Is this a mistake or does the Asian version
come with 2 controllers? Every site I have been to that sells the DC
including the one I bought it from only mentions that the DC comes with 1
controller. So now I have 3 controllers which is justification enough to
buy Pen Pen I guess. Anyway I was just curious. Keep up the good work.
Fernando Mosquera Replies:
I guess you're just lucky! Or maybe the two controllers were something of a special deal from the retailer you got the console from? How much did you pay for the whole thing? Weird...
Hi ya Fernando. I'd like to say that I'm really impressed with your site.
It's the best independent site on the net.
Now for my questions. I'm all for the Dreamcast and everything, and right now
I've got my heart set on buying it when it hits American shores but
something's a little iffy. And its that triangular polygon thing. What does
this mean? Is this the reason why Virtua Fighter 3 and Sega Rally 2 are not
arcade perfect? I'd hate to see awesome games like Time Crises 2, Harley
Davidson & L.A. Riders, and Soul Calibur (assuming it comes to the Dreamcast)
be imperfect because of some stupid triangles!
Oh, I went to my local arcade the other day and saw the Hydro Thunder arcade
unit sitting there un played. Now I had heard that this game would be coming
to the Dreamcast as a launch title, yet I wasn't terribly excited. But I
figured I'd try it out... HOLY SHIT! It was very, very cool. First off, it
had brilliant graphics, better than any other boat game I'd ever seen. The
control was tight, and it moved real fast. Did I forget to mention the fact
that it was pretty !#%*ing intense! In the unlikely event that this letter
gets printed, if you haven't had the opportunity to try Hydro Thunder out, I
think you should, its better than Blitz.
And one more question. I'm sure that u know how good a game Soul Calibur,Time
Crisis 2, Tekken 3, and RR 4 are and I think it would be great if Namco, a
developer that supposedly is giving support to Sega, would port them to the
Dreamcast. Well I know that getting all four of them on Dreamcast is just
wishful thinking, but it would be great, I mean Tekken 3 was almost arcade
perfect on Playstation, as someone who has played that game extensively in not
only the arcades, but also in the comfort of his own home I can certainly
vouch for that, so making a Dreamcast version would be an absolute cake walk.
I can live without RR 4, as long as I've got Sega Rally 2 I'm just fine. I
have heard from some very highly reliable sources that Time Crises 2 is
Dreamcast bound, and I hope very much that it is. And now the great gand
daddy of 'em all, Soul Calibur. Let us first get one thing straight. I may
well be the largest Soul Calibur fan ever to walk this green earth, and I'd be
forever grateful if Namco could make a Dreamcast version. Sure Tekken, and
Virtua Fighter may be the cult biggies, but when it comes to goodness this
fat-ass takes the cake as easy as hell. Fine so I over did it, but Namco
should do as I say. I mean, it is clearly feasible. The games graphics are
somewhere between Tekken 3 and Virtua 3. The latter being the standard I'd
guess that Tekken 3 would be about 80% as good, and Soul Calibur about
85%-90%. Virtua 3 was 90% arcade perfect, while it was rushed through on
unfinished hardware by Genki, not Sega. In theory if Soul Calibur was of the
same, relatively low quality port, it would still be just as good as the
arcade. To recap, in the worst case scenario (Soul Calibur is ported as well
as Virtua), with Virtua Fighter looking as good at home (probably better) as
Soul Calibur in the arcades, Namco could make a port that is better than VF 3,
seeing how the hardware is finalized now. So that a game ported as well as VF
3 would then be better than the arcades.
Hope I wasn't to confusing or repetitive.
Fernando Mosquera Replies:
Confusing or repetitive? In the mailbag? No way! Hehe.
Okay, here goes!
"Triangular polygon thing" - confusing and vague, please explain what you mean.
I'll try Hydro Thunder when I get a decent, reasonably priced arcade near my house (never).
That last Namco bit wasn't a question...
To recap: you were confusing and repetitive, but I still love ya for using somewhat proper English. Next time try for coherent!
Hi Fernando, remember me? (Sega Rally 2 didn't work in my Dreamcast)
Problem has been solved. I sended my Sega Rally 2 back to
retailer(to Nordic Games), and they tested it. They said it worked fine!
So the problems are in my dreamcast. It appears that I really have so
excellent luck, that they have sold over 500,000 Dreamcasts, and I have
the broken one.
Fernando Mosquera Replies:
If it's your Dreamcast that's broken, then shouldn't they give you an exchange for it? If that doesn't work out, then, er, claim it was damaged in the post and try to get the money from the system from your carrier. Chances are that it really was damaged in the shipping anyhow!
My name is Selwyn and expecting to be a dreamcast owner this week.
Luckily i had the chance to order at the consolexpress in Newzealand
We sega fan in seychelles are very proud of the dreamcast and can't wait
to get hold of one.
There were news on the net last week that dreamcast importer would not
be able to register their dreamcast at sega server in japan. Definetly I
would like to comment on that .What if we would like to use our modem to
brows the net.If incase you guys know any news about this information
e-mail me back as soon as possible.I think I'll i cry if i won't be able
to use the net on my 300 dollar baby
I always want to get hold of one since you could brows the net also.And
also I'm a internet fanatic.
I wish you could sent me back answer.
Thank you in advance
Fernando Mosquera Replies:
Nope, you can still register from outside the country, no idea where the rumor that you couldn't originated. Good luck and enjoy!
I bought a GameShark ($10 at Toys R Us ^_^) so I could finally get
somekind of backup for my Saturn.. I don't really trust it, so my
really important saves are staying on the Saturn, but something REALLY
strange happened yesterday. My younger brother (delighted now that
there was finally enough free space for him to play Panzer Dragoon Saga
beyond the first disc) attempted to play PDS with the GameShark inside.
When he ran the game, a PDS-like font came up and said "Please remove
the cartrige," and bumped him to the BIOS/CD-Player screen. Then he
pulled out the cart, and he says it was like picking up a cup, it
offered no resistance whatsoever. The game ran fine, then. This was
ALL when the machine was ON, and TOTALLY TOTALLY TOTALLY FREAKED ME
OUT, because I got the information second hand, I wasn't there to stop
him. Anyway, no damage (that I can see..) came from this, everything
still works.. But I'm not about to try pulling the cart out when the
machine is on to experiment with this sort of thing, but pulling it out
when the machine is off is a real pain, so it seems like the Saturn
loosened its grip on the cart while it was on.. But I don't want to
mess with it.. So does anybody know what was going on there?? ^^;;
Fernando Mosquera Replies:
Er, if you know what's good for your Saturn don't ever do that again - there's a good chance something nutty will go down if you keep doing it. Those third party carts are so rubbish, so rubbish I wouldn't even put one near my Saturn. Evil I tell you, evil - pulling them out while the Saturn is still on is even more evil.
Fernando, who has lost the ability to write coherently after reading about the crap you're putting that helpless little Saturn through…
(1) I read somewhere on the internet that Panzer
Dragoon Saga wasn't well received in Japan. Is this
true? I can't believe that such an incredible game
would be overlooked by the Japanese gamers.
(2) Recently,everytime I turn on my Saturn system
something strange happens - the damn time/date screen
comes up. Why is this? Does it mean that the
system's internal battery is dying? I have one of
the original 100,000 systems shipped, so the battery
is old, but I have no problem saving/retrieving
files. Do you know what is behind this? I figure
you are the guy to ask.
Thanks a lot,
Fernando Mosquera Replies:
OK, hello, I have a few answers for you,
1. PDS did well in the press, but it just didn't sell as well as a game of its caliber should of. I believe it had more to do with the declining Saturn market than the reception of the game - gamers in Japan had given up on Saturn, leading to some pretty horrid numbers for grade-A titles. That was the story of the Saturn in '98, and that's why Sega had to release the Dreamcast when it did.
2. Sounds like a battery problem to me, I assume this wasn't happening before, right? There's only one way to be sure, save all your Saturn data to a memory cart and replace the battery. For the record, I too have one of the initial USA Saturns and I have yet to change the internal battery. Good luck!
Love your site, you're the best, keep up the good work,
blah blah blah. Now three more questions for your always
finger-licking good Mailbag section:1.- Is "Marvel Super Heroes Vs. Street Fighter" for the
Sega Saturn worth buying for its collectible value alone
since very few mainstream importers are carrying it because
of the Capcom legal threats? I know a place where I could
buy the game and the 4-in-1 RAM cartridge for about $90,
and was wondering if this Capcom brawler is worth that much
dough, IYHO.
2.- How the hell is the Dreamcast controller going to be
able to handle the commands for a first-person shooter when
one gets released ("Half Life"?, "Sin"?, "Duke Nukem
Forever"?)? I can see some people who like to handle
movement with the analog controller using the four buttons
to the right for shooting/opening/switching
weapons/whatever, but those of us spoiled by "Turok"-like
controls are going to be missing quite a few buttons when
it comes to Dreamcast FPS action. Comments?
3.- Clinton's off the hook; has the air in our nation's
capital changed in any way/shape/form since last Friday?
Fernando Mosquera Replies:
Heya Mackman,
What's the deal with you not replying to my reply to your e-mail a few weeks back? Pfft, and you wonder why I don't post your little reviews - it's called retaliation, you don't answer me, you pay the consequences, muhahaha.
1. Doug (currently MIA) wrote an excellent review of the Capcom fighter in question when it first came out. You should read it for the scoop, here's a recap of sorts:
-It's a game only for fans who can't get enough of the Capcom games.
-You'd be stupid to pay 90 bucks for it.
2. Don't know, don't care - FPS are bad enough on the PC, why the hell do I want to play that garbage on my Dreamcast?
3. Yes, last Friday the air was somewhat humid, now it's dry.
Sorry if I'm completely wrong here, bit abount the mailbag AM acronym question (a bit of a mouthful, but what else to call it?). The old UK Sega Saturn Magazine said that AM stood for Arcade Machine. Whose right?
PS- Love the site!
Fernando Mosquera Replies:
Of course I'm right, I'm always right! Actually, you're probably right here:
AM R&D #2 - Arcade Machine Research and Development Department #2
Amusement Machine works too though...
I'll look around for an official answer to this very pointless question.
Do you think there is any connection between the fact that
DreamCast is being refered to as DC and Washington D.C.?
I mean it is a known fact that sex sells and, well, I don't
think I need to go any farther for fear of my protection.
I downloaded all the mpeg videos from your page and the media page from
SA and I am of course impressed. However, now that the dust has settled
and the initial eye candy factor has faded, is this game a keeper? Do
you still play it? I assume that you already have all the coins.
I still enjoy Nights every now and then even though I long ago got A
rank on every level. It has the same appeal that racing games have to
me. I know there is a time attack mode for each action level and I was
hoping this would appeal to the racers, is this the case? Is SA like
this or is it like most RPGs I've played and once you finish it you have
no desire to start over much less ever play it again? I am hoping the
former is true but I haven't heard too much about it recently.
Fernando Mosquera Replies:
Some good questions here, and as is usually the case with something like this, opinions will vary.
I played through Sonic straight through, just trying to beat it as fast as possible with all the characters. It was great fun and an exciting experience - I also got to messing around with the VMS game, creating my little Chaos guys and whatnot.
After I beat the game with Super Sonic, I went ahead and played through my fave levels a few times, showing off the game to friends and whatnot, but that's about it. I then started to try to go ahead and get all the coins, but gave up on that for a few reasons.
First of all, I wasn't really enjoying trying to get through levels under a certain amount of time. Second of all, I don't have as much time as I would like to play games, I eventually moved on to other titles. Lastly, no one knows if there's a reward for getting all the coins, I mean, why I am going to do all these tasks if I don't get anything in the end.
I don't know, I guess it all depends, Sonic was fun the first time through, but it didn't keep me coming back too much, I just never got on the same wavelength as the game. Perhaps if I had some more free time and a bit more determination I would of enjoyed it more.
i was wondering if the Dreamcast had some sort of port at the back of the
system for a GameShark? or any type of slot that could be used to put a
Gameshark in? Just Curious, cause it would be awesome to use some Gameshark
cheats to beat people over the net! hehehehe
Fernando Mosquera Replies:
The makers of GameShark have said that they would go ahead and make one when the Dreamcast hits the states. As for where the GS would fit, hum, there's a few places it could go, including the modem slot, the VMS slot, and the expansion port thing. We'll see...
Once again it is me but not with question but with news!!
This little tid bit that I got of Sega-Otaku.com should show that PSX and N64
should shift there loyalties to Dreamcast.
Reports from Famitsu Weekly indicate that the PSX may finally be losing ground
to the Dreamcast. According to the recent issue of Famitsu Weekly, in the week
of 1/25/99 through 1/31/99 the Dreamcast was ranked 2nd in total sales of
software and hardware. The PSX lead the pack with 39.2% of sales, the
Dreamcast ranked 2nd with 27.7% of sales, Game Boy ranked 3rd with 16.5% of
sales and the Nintendo 64 brought up the rear capturing 16.5% of sales.
This is undoubtedly a tremendous move by the Dreamcast considering the huge
difference between the established hardware base of the PSX and the emerging
hardware base of the Dreamcast. On a side note, Sega Rally 2 has now captured
the #1 spot in Famitsu Weekly's top 30 favorite games. This is a first for any
Dreamcast title.
I think this and the recent report from Sega Japan that 700,000 Dreamcast
units have been sold proves that the Dreamcast is undoubtedly for real.
Fernando Mosquera Replies:
That's nice, but it's really common sense - look at it this way:
How many people that still want a PSX or N64 don't have one yet? Not that many, just the folks who can't get one because they can't afford it.
Then look at how many want a Dreamcast that don't own one yet. A lot. There's a lot more people left to buy a Dreamcast than there is people left to buy a PSX. Make sense?
Hello,
I'd like to comment on that self proclaimed Simpsons freak, Lee Danforth.
*Ahem*. How dare that basphemer call himself a Simpsons freak!, I am a true Simpsons freak! He couldn't even give you anything better than a vague description of the scene, while I could have recreated the script from the entire episode with a full description of the actions and scenery. That, is a testment to how often I watch The Simpsons, I have forsaken friends, canceled dates, almost missed my graduation ceremony all for the love of that wacky family..... Wait a minute....... can this be true....am I so obsessed......"Oooh I've wasted my life."
Anyway, just to better the chances of this being printed I will ask a Sega related question. Has there been information that hints that Konami might port Metal Gear Solid to the Dreamcast?. I've heard rumors and wondered if you might know something.
Thanks in advance.
Fernando Mosquera Replies:
Hehe, well, Lee got the e-mail in before you so he gets the credit - stay on your toes buddy boy!
MGS on DC, no, I don't really know anything that would provide additional insight; I do know the PC port would be mighty easy to throw onto Dreamcast though.
Hi Fernando! I think you have the best Sega Site on the net, so let me
congradulate you on winning that spot! I was wondering if there was anyway
possible that I could get a hold of one of the DC Magazines with the Demo
CD's coming on March 19th? I was also wondering if anyone got on the SEGA
Rally 2 Network? Last but not least, Do you think that in the future, US DC
games will play on my Japanese DC? Thanks for your time!!
Fernando Mosquera Replies:
A lot of people asked about the Dreamcast Mag with the game demos, but I decided to go ahead and answer this e-mail publicly because you asked about other stuff as well.
The DC Magazine you want should be offered at the regular import shops; I'm getting mine from NCS (www.ncsx.com) for a pricey 15 bucks.
I know a few people crazy enough to pay the long distance charges and dial up Japan to play Rally 2 online - more power to them, but I'll pass.
USA DC games on the Japanese console is something that has been discussed here many times - frankly, I'm sick of people asking me about it. Bottom line, no one knows what the hell Sega has cooked up for a territorial lockout, so no one knows if it can be defeated or not.
You said in your last mailbag that Namco had signed up but hadn't announced
anything yet. I thought they had announced Tekken 3: New Edition (or
something like that) and Soul Calibur?
And about the controller - I like it in general, but VF3 really needs a
controller with 3 buttons next to each other. I guess that's what the
arcade stick is for... And Sega Rally! I have played so much Gran Turismo I
can't get use to the reversed control scheme - accel/braking with the
shoulder buttons and shifting gears with the normal buttons instead of the
other way around. Even after two weeks of playing it I still can't drive a
manual, which means I can't get any higher than 3rd on Year 6... More
practice needed I guess.
And thanks for pointing out that Dreamcast isn't any worse than
Playstation. That was all the argument I needed to silence a certain critic
I know regarding it's name. And you could always point out possibly the
worst name ever - Bandai's new handheld system, the Bandai "WonderSwan"!
Fernando Mosquera Replies:
Where did Namco announce those two games? Show me the statement from the Namco rep, I'm not saying it's not going to happen, I'm just saying that Namco hasn't gone on the record about it (and that's the definition of announced as far as I can tell).
I was used to shifting with the triggers as well, but I have gradually became accustomed to Rally 2's default control scheme. But, um, you are aware that there's a control config in the options that let's you change the controller to use the triggers for shifting. It's under device configuration I think...
Ooh, WonderSwan, crappy name and crappy games - Bandai really needs to stay out of the video game market.
Hey Fernando,
I live to be as hardcore a gamer as possible. If you don't own any
JAMM boards then you ain't got shit! If you think of that "Aliens" game and
think of anything other than Konami's Aliens or Capcoms AVP (if you are a
young'un) then you don't know shit! I am sad to say I ain't got shit, but I
do my homework and have an unparralled, unrivaled, and quite frankly an
unhealthy love (or is it lust) for all things that are console, specifically
sega! Now I don't know about you but I rushed out and purchased my
Dreamcast as soon as possible and believe me when I day this thing is so
worth it. If I can't play domestic games, I'll just buy another one then
strictly for RPGs. The reason I love it so much is the fact I can play
pretty good conversions of all those arcade games I know and love so well,
but I am very concerned! What about some of those forgotten games like Top
Skater? What about Dynamite Dekka 2? How about a beyond heavenly
conversion of the OG (Original Game -to hell with that original gangsta)
Daytona? Please God don't tell me they will just rust in mediocrity like
so man
