E3 Drivel, Sony, Racing Games

Guys, I have a confession to make.  I haven't been keeping up on E3.  I do not care about 99.9999% of the games they talk about.  I know about how everyone is taking a dump on Microsoft whom is trying to spin-doctor their way out of the fact their console sucks. Microsoft blows now, Sony all the way, even though I have little incentive to buy any next-gen consoles.  But I will tell you what I know.

This is the best thing that Sony has done since Kevin Butler.

Yeehaw, watch this burn on nine different screens for nine times the sizzle.
Also the PS4 is region-free, Xbox One isn't, oh happy days are here again.

See you in Hell, Microsoft.  Where you'll be forced to play sub-par Kinect games for eternity, the same exact games you forced your pitiful developers to make.  Really, they have a patent on viewing/counting the number of people the Kinect picks up on, NO SERIOUSLY, READ THIS.  Didn't get this from from /r/gaming either.  See you in hell too with your little 2-second satisfaction posts for LE SWEET, SWEET KARMA.

As for Pokemon, you now have Fairy type Pokemon.  Boy I'd never see the day, rofl!!  As for Smash Bros, you have Mega Man and Wii Fit Trainer.  Hooray Nintendo.  Let's hope that Sonic makes a return especially to return the favor that Sonic games are going Nintendo-exclusive.  Speaking of Sonic and Sega, well, there's really nothing I give a crap about.  There's new Sonic games, including another Sonic & Mario Olympics game (WHO KEEPS BUYING THESE????), Bayonetta 2, and some Mickey Mouse game I don't care about (I'm trying to get the fuck out of Orlando, remember?) but that's it.  Hey Sumo, where is that elusive DLC character for Sega All-Stars Racing: Transformed?  Where's Ryo Hazuki?  Where's Segata Sanshiro?  Where's Yu Suzuki with the Shenmue 3 announcement?  And that's how the world turns for a Sega fan--get your hopes up, wait, wait, wait, wait, get old, wait, wait, wait, wait, muse about how good you thought Sega was, wait, wait, wait, wait, then get a life or die of heartache.

Now about racing games.  Nope, nothing I care about.  Forza and Driveclub are bleh--too much realism, not enough emphasis on having fun.  Well, how about Need for Speed: Rivals?  Surely this game would induce vomiting but hold up a sec--just watch the gameplay footage.  It's a bit weird cause there's multiple screens going on.  Basically, it's simultaneous gameplay from the points of view from the evader and the cop.

  

Now this game isn't made by Black Box, responsible for the atrocity that is NFS: The Runs, or Criterion with their overrated crash-gasm games.  This is from Ghost Games, a new EA studio out of Gothemburg, Sweden.  And overall, looking at this game, it doesn't look TOO bad.  Basically, it feels kinda like the old NFS games--you drive around, cops are behind you with the radio chatter, you weave around ever-changing landscapes, and there's no stupid bonuses for doing stunts, shunting and using EMPs to make your rivals crash and die.  Here's footage from NFS 4: High Stakes on the PS1.

Looks familiar, don't it?  Plus Rivals has Ferraris in it.  Hey, if Ferrari endorses something (*coughoutrun2cough*), you know it's gotta be good stuff.  But I'm not getting my hopes up cause this is still a NFS game that has EA's greasy fingerprints all over it so I'm still a no-buy for me.  But it's worth giving props where it's due.

Other racing games...well, there's also Mario Kart 8.  Their new feature this time around is driving up on the ceiling and walls, kinda like in Super Mario Galaxy, to create more dynamic looking tracks.  They also seems to have tightened up the handling a bit cause I bet you they saw Sega All-Stars Racing: Transformed and thought "oh shit we're gonna get our asses kicked here" even though they have yet to introduce boats or planes into their game--rather they stuck with hang-gliders and driving on the bottom of the lakes.  Sumo, you got Nintendo where you want 'em.

One more thing.  Dead Rising 3 sucks ass.  What made the first two cool were the colorful mall/casino backdrops.  Here's it's a crappy-ass town loaded with gritty shaders.  Oh, and I don't give a damn about The Last of Us either.  I know that's not E3-related but I'm tired of hearing about that damn game.  Again, where's Shenmue 3.  Later guys.

Sega Can't Scrub Away SOPA

Now we all know this SOPA bill has been around for a long time yet it just won't die.  Hey, I've talked about it six months ago.  Basically, every single gamer hates it (the day a gamer likes it is the day Sega makes the Dreamcast 2) while the companies themselves are lukewarm to the idea.  And the fact that we have other pressing issues in the United States like our national debt, massive spending, massive unemployment, the healthcare debacle, illegal immigration, expanding size of government & regulations, our national debt, the disastrous housing market, energy independence (or lack thereof), our dwindling military, and our national debt, you'd think SOPA is a drop in the bucket.  But whatever, let's deal with it because this can be disastrous if it passes.

Here's a funny story pertaining to the bill that's generated some controvery and I want to address it.  There's some website that's been sending mass e-mails to all game companies requesting their stance on SOPA.  Some companies replied while some have not.  Sega replied to the e-mail...with an automated message that doesn't pertain to the question in the least (perform a "hard reset").  This set up for a funny Internet joke at the time.  Sega's inbox searches for keywords in its e-mails and sometimes sends an appropriate reply in order to save the Q&A crew some time.  But apparently, the story got around the Internet so much that Sega themselves replied to it.  With a video:



"I used to be Nintendo's rival company, until I took a hard reset." - YouTube comment.

Yes, it's a hokey video and some do hate it.  This is when the Sega haters come out the woodwork to take pot-shots at them.  For one thing, they never mentioned if they support SOPA or not.  Like they know they're "busted"--they don't want to lie but they don't want to admit they support the bill so here's a "non-answer."  But are we really going to find out if they support it?  These are just some guys working on the ground level who are just responding to Internet trends.  Do you think the suits at the top will find out and give their opinions on the issue?  Probably not.  But I REALLY would like to know Sega's stance on this.

Then again, we know that Nintendo, Sony, Electronic Arts, and Capcom have been flirting with the bill but have pulled support due to peer pressure so does it really matter if Sega supports it?  Who really cares what Sega thinks anyway??  Do they have that much clout in anything anymore?  I don't know...judging from Sega's cease-and-desist demands in a couple of things (Sonic advice YTMND's, Streets of Rage remake), I think they'd be somewhat for the bill.

Man, screw the bill.  I'm all for stopping illegal piracy (well duh, that's why it's illegal), but this whole streaming crap is next.  What's next--they systematically strip the Internet of any gaming-related media?  Yeah, you may not be able to watch every cutscene on Heavy Rain (which could remove the incentive from buying the game), but it may go much farther than that.  What's to stop them--what's the end-game anyway when it comes to censorship?  And you can blame the "evil corporate lobbyists" all you want (never mind the fact people will mass boycott them), if these dummies in Congress can't get the q-tips out their ears and end up passing this law, then SHAME ON THEM.  Will they even read the bill?  Remember: "We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it."

Anyway, forget about SOPA, I wonder what the corporate culture at Sega is like.  Seems like a couple of kids floating around the office with a camera as Sega continues to act impotent as usual.  If it weren't for Sega of Japan & Sumo Digital's heroics, they'd be in a much worse position than now.  I'm going to write an essay on that soon--I'll let you know about that in the future.

BTW, SOPA is a stupid name for a bill...almost reminds me of SOAP...shoes that is.  Sonic Adventure 2.

ROLLING AROUND AT THE SPEED OF SOUND...

Oh and one more thing.  Some Japanese tabloid has predicted which Japanese game companies will shut down in the next decade.  Sega, Square, and Tecmo are ranked "most likely to fail" followed by Capcom, Konami, Namco, and Sony.  Nintendo and Gree (who the f*** is that) have a massive gap over the others and thus are the only ones sitting cozy so basically Japan is screwed.  But to restate, Sega is doomed.  Go to Hell, Sega won't die on my watch.  They'll always have a niche and won't resort to producing slot machines and UFO catchers for all eternity.  Stop hating on your own country's developers and get lost.  And y'all can't stop me from talking about Sega racers--not SOPA, not Sega's misery, all that nonsense.

More Intricate Details On Game Design

Edited Once

First of all, RIP Steve Jobs...he was an American exceptionalist whose work made a lot of people happy.  So he should be commended for this.  I don't have much to say but to wish him well.

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Now about school.  Whenever I'm not doing schoolwork, I'm just lazy.  Didn't really know what to talk about on this blog until something popped up.  Nothing Sega-related but I'll discuss a couple of things I learned from school and how they pertain to the game industry.  The topics are: Playtesting, Game Challenge, Game Violence, Console Standards, and Licensed Titles.

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Playtesting.  You make a game and you want to make sure it's good.  One of the worst things you can do it keep it concealed until some climatic moment since you're not getting feedback.  The best thing to do is to get average joes (not "pros" at the game or so forth) to play the game.  Don't try to poke them with a stick into getting them to see things from your point of view.  Ask them "What are the worst aspects about the game?"  Because it's really easy to get mush that does you no good.

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Game Challenge.  Okay, this topic is really old but worth mentioning anyway.  When designing a game, it's really easy to tip the scales on direction.  If the game's too easy or too hard, it will turn off many players.

So what to do?  One solution to use self-defined metrics so that you can determine which aspects of the game are too easy and which ones are too hard.  This can help if you have a few segments of the game that are abnormally difficult while the rest are piss easy.  Also coming up with a fair punishment for failing is something to check out.  If there's no penalty for dying, then what's the point of trying (*cough*Bioshock*cough*)?  On the flip side, no one wants to feel ripped off because they made a slight mistake and must redo the same portions of the game over again.

Now, if the game's very difficult to balance, which would be better?  Easy or hard?  Err towards easy.  If you give the player lots of stuff to fool around with, they'll make up their own user challenge.  For instance, in Super Mario Bros., you'll want to stomp three goombas.  Or in Zelda, you want to collect all the items & stuff.  So think about that during level/stage design.

In the end, though, as a game designer, you want your players to win.  Work them through a series of steps so they get good at the game, overcome some challenging obstacles, earn some items that make the game easier, and then they win.  Of course, some gamers may be pissed that the game is essentially holding their hand the whole way (I somewhat agree) but the casuals will love you for it.

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Game violence & other misdemeanors.  We dedicated one class to just sitting there and discussing this issue.  Now, as a goody two-shoes Christian, there's some games I'm just offended about.  That doesn't mean however that those games shouldn't be made.  We have the First Amendment (freedom of speech) after all.  But what line games should outright be banned--I don't know.

Here's something that I brought up.  I'm thinking about the Fox News debates--you know how Mass Effect got busted for "sidal nudity" and Modern Warfare 2 for its airport shooting scene.  Now, I know that people rail on the news & other forms of media that point out these things (yes, they do go to extremes), but I hate it when people think these games shouldn't be called out ever.  Let me ask the people who made Mass Effect, MW2, Manhunt, etc.: What is the POINT behind your controversial content?  Like if you're going to put near nudity or graphic content in your game, you should be ready to give an answer for it.  Saying "well, it's just a game, it has no effect on kids' minds" is a load of crap.

It's funny that the teacher who brought up this point (Rick Hall) almost took the side of the anti-violence party.  Like everyone gets all anal when anyone questions violent games.  Aren't they a means of channeling someone's violent/sadistic tendencies?  What if some kids go overboard from a game you made--aren't you partially responsible?  It got people thinking, I see.

Of course, I also noted that people become violent over things that aren't violent in the first place.  Mario Party, Sports Games, nothing worse than getting RAGE'D and wanting to bash your friend over the head with your controller.  And throughout the course of history, people have been overly violent (wars, torture, killing people for fun, etc.) so a couple of violent games aren't anything new.  And please don't bring up the "violent crimes went down as violent games were released" because that reeks of "Correlation does not imply causation"...

A funny story--Rick Hall (being a producer in the industry after all) mentioned the MW2 airport mission and how Infinity Ward basically included it because of the shock value and how it could sell more copies of the game.  However, IW came to the conclusion that it had moreso a negative effect on the game so I betcha they regretted including that mission in the game...

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Console Standards.  When you submit a console game to be published, it goes through a rigorous checklist of qualities that the QA team checks for--game quality, the intro screen is so long, your controller comes unplugged and a warning pops up, etc.  You submit the game to the QA and must wait until they check off the necessary.  If it doesn't meet requirements, the game is given back to you and you're forced to the back of the queue.  So don't piss around or you'll end up wasting a lot of time.

Sony and Nintendo are notorious for this.  Sega, eh....sort of.  The biggest lack of quality control was the 3DO.  At the time, it was a powerful console, but people could submit whatever piece of crap they wanted to publish and it made it through.  The console died a sudden death.  Ever heard of Plumbers Don't Wear Ties?

Profanity Alert


And off on a slight tangent, we're talking about how dev kits, tools, API's, IDE's, etc for specific consoles.  You need these to adapt your game to the console you're programming for.  Nintendo is considered the easiest console to make games on.  Take the Wii for instance.  It even comes with tools which automatically convert Wiimote motions so they're very easy to implement into the game!  So no wonder we got a lot of Wiiware trash...

But you know what's one of the main offenders of this rule?  The Sega Dreamcast.  I'm not lying--Rick himself said that the console was very difficult to program for.  It's probably one of the contributing factors that led to the Dreamcast's short lifespan.  As a matter of fact, it took a team of programming experts to "crack open" the hardware and produce their own tools that eased the difficulty of development for the Dreamcast.  No wonder the DC now boasts a library of homebrew games...years after Sega discontinued support for the console.

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Licensed Titles.  Why do movie-based games almost always suck?  Probably the most apparent reason is that these games are quick cash-ins to be released along with the feature film or whatever.  People watch Spiderman in the movies...therefore they play as Spiderman in the video games.  Makes sense, right?  Sega did this with Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor so it's good to know that their efforts are spent in the right places.

Another one of the main reasons why is that the devs are basically constrained by the IP's source material.  You can't Harry Potter and turn it into a FPS or The Terminator and turn it into a point-and-click adventure (go play Full Throttle).  You're working on a Star Wars game?  Well, you can't mess around with the source material because people buy the game to play STAR WARS, not whatever take you decide to put on the game.  Good example: the MMO Star Wars Galaxies.  People play Star Wars games to be a Jedi or fly a TIE Fighter, not to be some junkyard guy or hair dresser.  Originally, the main producer had an idea for a generic space MMO but later tacked on the "Star Wars" IP in order to sell the game to the publishers.  So that game bombed very quickly.

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I still have more to say about game design but not now...I'm very sleepy.

Sonic Takes One Step Forward & Two Steps Back...

Oh boy, ever have one of those moments when you wake up and proclaim, "My God, I'm a GAMER!"???  Like, dammit, I spend my time on video games and the computer so this is a stupid day for me.  Ok, let me get my head screwed on straight here.

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But anyhooo...enjoy this footage of the Sonic Boom event at E3!  Here's some fun YouTube comments I picked out!

* Why are you pandering to the worst fans SEGA?!
* Suddenly the sonic games sucking makes sense. They are making them for retards.
* Well I'm glad this happened on the opposite side of the country from me.
* So this is what it's like to be autistic. .
* I.... I..... I don't know what the f*** did I just watched..... My childhood memories were just raped and tossed to the garbage bin.
* Those segafags are so retarded XDDDD
* These people buy the same games I do? F*** my life.
* Just another reason why I'm a Nintendo fan.

I thought Sonic Boom a more enlightening experience when I first mentioned it, now I'm not so sure.  So it was "stupid," I get the picture.  Hey, go back to E3 and fiddle with your new Wii U controller which I'm sure will please you in many ways.  FYI, I happened to live with someone with autism so don't throw that term around with me.

EDIT: Some people have said that Sega should've spent the time & money on making better Sonic games or localizing Valkyria Chronicles 3.  Really?  This is just a drop in the bucket--it means next to nothing on what
Sega does pertaining to game design.

Oh boy, where have we come as a gaming society?  Nintendo making new controllers that look like iPads with buttons and have silly names.  Microsoft completely pissing away the Kinect.  Sony sucking at everything.  And what's Sega doing?  Throwing nerd parties.  Awww, come on!  The frustration builds every day.

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Anyway, this is an utterly ridiculous story.  This is on SEGAbits.  Now you know about the game blog 1UP.com, right?  Well, it along with several other sites have a real Sonic problem.  Now you know why I prefer Kotaku & Joystiq.  1UP goes to E3 and pulls a little stunt on the Sega people there.

Click here to see the video (can't embed it).  This is someone named Boss Janine or something like that.  The volume here's awfully low so I transcribed it for you:

LADY: Hey 1UP, I'm gonna ask Mike here a quick question, so uh...this is the new, is it, Sonic game?

GUY: Yep, Mario and Sonic London 2012 Olympic Games, it's the third in the series.  Second time we're in the Summer Olympics.  First time was in Beijing, last time was in the, uh, Winter Olympics in Vancouver and now we're in London.  Coming out with the Olympics next year.

LADY: So, uh, do you have any anti-depressants?

GUY: Anti-depressants?  No I don't.  Why do you--why do you ask?

LADY: Oh, I don't know, just hearing about Mario and Sonic, another Sonic game.  *guy, huh?*  Just hearing about another Sonic game.  *overtalks guy*  I have an overwhelming need for anti-depressants.

GUY: No it's not, it's a Mario and Sonic game...bringing the two back together in an, uh...international Olympic game...atmosphere.

LADY: Okay, well I'm gonna go off to Walgreen's to get that prescription then.

Nice drive-by piece.  I'm surprised "Mike" was able to keep a straight face.  So stupid, not even worth replying to.  TBQH, Mario & Sonic Olympic Games aren't exactly hall-of-famers, if you know what I mean, but they're not abominations upon mankind.  I can think of many, MANY games that are worse than that.  In all honesty, thinking about new Burnout games would make me wish for medication, but I'm not about to break into E3 just to shame a Criterion employee on the Internet.  I'm much classier than that.

 EDIT: Well...if you're a Sonic diehard, this is all you can really say:

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I did try looking for some Sonic articles on 1UP and I found one that I seem to stumble upon often: How Sega can Save Sonic the Hedgehog.  It mentions five steps:

1. Only Sonic should be playable.  Other characters have limited appearances or not at all.
2. No more Shadow the Hedgehog.
3. Huge emphasis on running fast with skill involved.
4. Spend more time between game releases.
5. Get rid of "epic" plotlines, focus on just running and saving animals.

Okay, a lot of this is common sense.  I do have a problem with #1 and 5...ever since when did Mario get away with bunches of playable characters and convoluted plots (see Paper Mario series), but when Sonic tries it results in prescription overdoses?  Hold that thought for a sec...

Now here's another 1UP article: How We Would Save Sega.  Oh Good Lord, this can't go over well.  This is the TLDR version:

1. Invest in classic games.  Make use of existing IPs.  Only aged diehards care about Sega's super-old classics so attempt to raise user awareness (Microsoft Game Room, etc.).

2. Take your time with games, have games evolve for the new generation (don't copy-and-paste, try to compete with other titles).  Okay, so Afterburner is bad because it's too niche.  Got it.  But this is worse:

"I'd seize control of Sonic from Japan and pass the next big console game off to some young studio full of the Sonic fans who grew up and are professional game developers now," says 1UP news editor Frank Cifaldi.

Well, hasn't that already happened?  You got Dimps and Sonic Team in America who made multiple Sonic titles.  But isn't he suggesting that Sega go further and completely disown Sonic...?  Well, congratulations, Sega, that would be suicide.  If Sega can't even take care of its #1 franchise, then that's it, just close up and burn the studio to the ground.

And another thing.  They mention that games need to "evolve" and change and become more innovative...but what about the five things that 1UP mentioned above on how to save the Sonic series?  They want to return the series back to Sonic 1 on the Genesis, but here they're asking for all sorts of new crap?  So isn't Sonic basically trapped in limbo here--can't come up with anything new, but can't go back?  Sonic will always be hated for whatever reason--furries, it's not Mario or Zelda, etc... 

3. Worst case scenario: When fanservice fails, press the big red button and nuke the company, come up with new ideas, and work on digital distribution.  Sega needs to make games that are marketable to the whole world in general.  This is what the article has to say: 

Tough as it is to swallow, Sega's drastic cuts and reorganization may prove to be the only medicine that can cure what ails the company. Fanservice and warm nostalgia won't do the deed, and neither will constantly flogging the company's cash cow, Sonic. Sega has to completely rethink how it works.

WE SUCK AGAIN!!  GOODBYE, WORLD!!  Sega becomes a backbencher dev of backbencher devs...thereby becoming completely irrelevant.  Thankfully, this was written a year ago and Sega's been making money recentlyso maybe they won't have to resort to making iPhone/iPad games to get by anymore.

And that's it, I can't take it anymore.  Now I need anti-depression meds.  That's right, I already take them...but I need even MORE THAN EVER CAUSE I'M LOSING IT!!!

Not Talking About E3 (LOL RIDGE RACER)

EDITED 1 TIME, OOO THIS TOPIC JUST GOT BETTER...

You know today's E3 day, you know everyone's gonna talk about it, I could go crazy about it but no I won't.  Unless there's some surprise bombshell game (or an actual bomb that goes off), then I don't really care.  Here's a list of things to expect at E3.  Yes, stuff like "OMG WII 2 DETAILS" and "FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE!!"  Just brilliant.  I mean, I'll still view the headlines out of morbid curiosity but I'm not going to play news reporter of another news reporter of yet another news reporter of a talking head holding an overrated electronic device if you know what I mean...

But anyway, this is a funny story about Ridge Racer.  The Nintendo 3DS is getting an update!  However, according to Nintendo themselves, people who play Ridge Racer 3D "may experience a disruption in their gameplay experience under certain conditions."  So for what reason I don't know, they can't play Ridge Racer for several weeks until the next update.  Very funny news.

NO RIDGE RACER FOR YOU!!

Anyway, this is a quote from one of my Sega racer friends, F40, on the GameFAQs board about Ridge Racer:


Makes me laugh that Namco can always release a new Ridge for a new machine and then nothing as if it's the only way to maximize sales being one of only a handful of games you can buy lol.

BLOODY BRILLIANT!!  You buy a new console and you want a racing game.  It's either Ridge Racer or some other dreck (like Bloodwake or Pulse Racer) so you get RR.  Never thought of that one before.  Sega would never stoop that low.  Ridge Racer (and I'm not including that Unbounded cancer) will always be average, haha...

EDIT: Woahowahowah...hold the phone.  This from E3 (contrary to the post title).  There's a new Playstation handheld called the Vita.  And guess what one of the launch titles for said device is?  Ridge Racer.  Yes, ANOTHER LAUNCH TITLE RIDGE RACER.  Unbelievable.  Go for the cheap, easy sales.

Oh yeah, and before you hit me with the "y ru such a sega fanboy," crap, here, read this.

And one more thing, we got hackers trying to get into Nintendo(as well as Sony again, as if they haven't been picked on enough).  Really, what the hell this world's come to?  Just hack, hack, hack.  Come on Nintendo, TAKE IT!!  Hack the hackers and send them Windows Account Alert!!! emails.  I guarantee you all malicious/evil hackers are anti-Semites so f*** 'em...  This I know because my undergrad college's website (www.selu.edu) was once hacked and plastered with anti-Israeli paraphernalia, true story bro.

Anyway, when I started this entry, I was really tired but since then, I popped in some tunes on my MP3 player and now I feel GREAT.  See, this is where happy stuff like Billy Joel, Doobie Brothers, and The Offspring (yeah) kick in.  Check you guys in two seconds.

Sega E3 Booth: IT'S AWESOME, BABY!!! (And More)

And as E3 rolls around the corner once again, this is the time where I complain about the talking heads from Kotaku, GameSpot, G4TV, 1-Up as well as the fat slobs who try to look important by entering a loud room full of electronic devices and "swag" consisting of t-shirts, keychains, and cheap plastic crap.  Wait, I thought E3 was supposed to be blocked to the public...apparently, they reversed on their decision when the angry masses battered open the doors to get inside so there was nothing they could do about it.


RUN RUN RUN TO E3 AS FAST AS YOU CAN!!!

So this is supposed to be the 13 games in Sega's booth this year .  This list is from some guy on Kotaku and it doesn't have any sources or anything, but it sounds believeable to me.  EDIT: Never mind, this list is on all the official Sega blogs.  These are the games:

Aliens: Colonial Marines
Anarchy Reigns
Binary Domain
Captain America: Super Soldier
Crush3D
Guardian Heroes
House of the Dead Overkill: Extended
Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games
Renegade Ops
Rise of Nightmares
Sega Rally Online Arcade
Shinobi
Sonic Generations

And...that list is completely underwhelming.  Sonic Generations is the only thing really worth mentioning.  They will probably reveal some new levels (maybe City Escape and a casino stage).  Old-school Sega diehards will love HotD, Guardian Heroes, and Shinobi, so I like seeing Sega give a few old franchises a nod.  We already have Sega Rally Online Arcade so if they rehash that, it would be stupid.  The rest are just expendable to me.  It's great to see more movie-based games (Captain America & Aliens) as well as Nagoshi's sparking gem of a masterpiece, Binary Domain.  If Nagoshi is there, then someone please kick his ass for me.

This is terrible.  I mean, really, who are the ones begging for a new Captain America??  Seriously?  People want Captain America THAT badly???  Well I guess after Superman renounced his US citizenship, America needs a new hero.  Superman, what a putz.

Yeah, this list may not be 100% correct, but do you really expect Sega to just pop out with a new Daytona or Shenmue game?  Remember how we first discovered OutRun & Sega Rally Online Arcades?  We found this name patents on these Korean websites.  We've seen nothing about a new Daytona, Shenmue, Jet Set Radio, anything.  I think Sega is banking all their chips on Sonic Generations, a game that they came out with a month before E3 so if Sega has another game up their sleeve, they'd probably have revealed it already.  The ONLY surprise I can think of is Yu Suzuki popping up to announce Shenmue 3, but that old man is already over his head so don't count on it.

But if something BIG happens, then I'll admit my error.  But I doubt it.

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As for the rest of E3, we can already tell what's going to happen.  Microsoft is going to release more Kinect crap in another vain attempt to get the diehards to give it a shot.  Sony will release the new PSP and apologize profusely for the server downage thanks to a mumbling Kaz Hirai (while everyone else makes fun of him for everything).  Nintendo will cause gamers to faint with their new Cafe demo (which will probably be on par with the Xbox 360 but who cares, it's Nintendo, they are WINNERS regardless) and some 3DS games.  Then something on Duke Nukem, Final Fantasy, Metal Gear Solid, Soul Calibur, and Rage.  Another E3, another waste of time, thank you, please come again.

BTW, this new Internet Explorer sucks horribly.  It lags, my tabs mysteriously vanish for no reason, I'm constantly being logged out of Blogspot, and I can't even find out where the history is on this thing.  Oh well, back to Firefox.

My RB3 Disc Is Broken!!! X360 Game Cases Are A Piece Of S***...

Yes, I may chastise today's gaming industry to the brink of hysteria, but chalk up another complaint for the laundry list--Xbox 360 game boxes.  EDIT: Ok, so this article may be a bit extreme, but it was annoying enough to warrant an entry.

I've owned a hard copy of Rock Band 3 for the Xbox 360 for seven months.  I purchases it back in October '10.  Now I like to take good care of my CD's; I store them in boxes when not in use and not let them get scratched up.  Not bad, you think I'd have no complaints there.

But here's what happened to my RB3 disc today.  The inside part of the CD cracked.  The part that comes in contact with that little push-down holder in the game box.  See here:

 This is the RB3 CD in question.

The red "circle" detonates where the crack is.  The Xbox 360 won't even detect it anymore.

Take a look at the inner-most clear piece surrounded by the shiny Xbox 360 ribbon--it's all chipped to pieces from putting the CD in and out of the damn game box.

That's how my RB3 CD broke.  Because the push-down button in the game box is so damn terrible that wear and tear starts to chip away at the CD.  Eventually the RB3 CD gave way and broke.  The same thing also happened to my RB2 CD but I was fortunate enough to own more than one copy at the time.

And to make things worse, I have RB3 installed to my 360's hard drive.  Yet because the 360 can't detect that I have the RB3 CD in there, I can't play it.  What the f'n hell man; son of a b**** man.  I HAVE THE FULL GAME ON THE HARD DRIVE AND I CAN'T PLAY IT, WHAT HAS THE WORLD COME TO THESE DAYS???

Here, to illustrate how poor these Xbox 360 game boxes are, I'm gonna pull a random game off my shelf.  This is Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing:

Take a look at the plus-shaped centerpiece.  The one with eight hatches touching the CD.  The one that makes putting the game in and out a pain in the ass.  Every time I push down on that button (and I have to push down HARD on it), I'm afraid I'm going to crack the CD.  It's terrible and I hate it so much.  EDIT: Ok, if you push down the button as far as it'll go and hold it, moving the CD is much easier but still, some game cases are more stubborn than others (so I think my RB3 case was).

Now let's go take a look at a PS3 game container; Lego Indiana Jones 2.

THE TRIANGLE CENTERPIECE--MY GOD THE TRIANGLE CENTERPIECE!!  IT IS SO EASY TO TAKE OUT AND PUT IN THE CD.  I HAVE NO PROBLEMS WITH IT.  GOD BLESS YOU, SONY!!!  SHAME ON YOU, MICROSOFT!!!

Also, let's go back one gen to the PS2.  Grabbing another random game off my shelf, this is Tony Hawk's Underground...

See, the same-old triangle centerpiece.  NO PROBLEMS HERE.  Pulling and putting the CD in is EASY.  I've never had to worried about damaged CD's ever back in the PS2 era.

I can understand what these Xbox 360 devs were thinking--games were coming loose inside the boxes so they decided to tighten the grip of the centerpieces so that they stayed in place...but what they've done is help to increase the amount of wear-and-tear on the games as well as my extreme frustration.  And I've only had ONE PS2 CD become loose inside the box and that was on a damaged box that had a piece of the exterior chipped off...  Basically, the only PS2 box that "lost" the CD was one that was already damaged.  Makes sense, right.

Thankfully, when I bought the game from GameStop, I got the $3 one-year warranty so HOPEFULLY I will bring home a new game today.  EDIT: Got the new RB3 disc, everything's fine.  Funny thing is that the GameStop I originally bought RB3 from was closed up but I was able to trade it in at another GameStop just fine :)

Screw game designers, screw Microsoft, screw Xbox 360, screw you pieces of plastic.  Oh, and my 360 wired controller stops working now...great, another faulty Microsoft product!!  Eh, no more questions...

Weddings, Sony, Sega Money, THE ROCK BAND FC'S

Saturday the 14th, I was invited to be a usher at a wedding.  To say "invited" is an understatement--I was forced by my parents to be an usher for my grandmother's sister who's 60+ years old...someone I don't think I've talked to since I was 5 years old.  But anyway, I rented a tuxedo, went over to this chapel placed, walked an old lady down the isle, and they were married.  And I was mature and I didn't really get in anyone's face about it and then they kissed and I started to feel a bit honored to be there even against my own will.  And that's it, they live happily ever after (I hope).

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Oh boy...anyway, Playstation Network is coming back online and Sony is giving out two free PS3 and PSP games from a small list plus bonuses.  So check it out if you have a PS3.  And then maybe PS3 users will be able to play Sega Rally Online Arcade on May 18th too, be happy PS3 folks.

Here's some "Sega-Sammy" news--they are making money.  Their profits have increased to $513 million, a 105% jump, this fiscal year which ended March 31.  Sonic Colors sells 2.18 units, Iron Man 2 the game sells 1.54 million units (wtf?), Vanquish sells 830,000, Shogun 2 sells 600,000, and Phantasy Star Portable 2 Infinity sells 370,000.  This is in contrast with my April Fools' joke in which they went bankrupt.



So why is it that when we say Sega "sucks," they're making lots of money?  Yet when Sega was in its "glory days" (Dreamcast era), they were borderline bankrupt.  So is it true that appealing to fans causes you to lose money?  Well, that just applies to Sega.  Nintendo, Capcom, Microsoft, Electronic Arts, Activision (errr...no), they all make money when catering to fans.  Sega operates in opposite world and all money they make will be spent on publishing random games as well as distributing UFO catchers and pachinko machines.

So isn't Sega great?  SEGA VICTOLY, ROUND OF APPLAUSE!!!

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And as you can see, as a loser who's going through a major slump right now trying to get into graduate school (which is coming along now), it's small victories like this that get me by.  RB3 Xpert Pro Keys Smash Mouth's Walking on the Sun FC!!!!  THE EFF-CEE!!!  Dammit, busted my ass on this one (I don't like this song much, but I rated it a 5 cause I was so stoked).  I would hate to play this song for hours to not FC it and be pissed that I wasted my evening.  I actually have to get back to the progress I've made on RB Pro Keys but I'll save it for later.

BUT WAIT, one more thing...why did the number of poll votes jump from 31 back down to 19?  What the hell is this crap?  That poll has glitched up many times before, you suck, Blogspot.

Ridge Racer Has A "Daytona" Problem (And Incredible Reggie)

I don't mean in terms of "competition" (although we do know that Daytona wipes the floor of Ridge Racer...it's just that Sega has no initiative to continue the series while Namco keeps plugging along), but in terms of "sound clips."

When you bring up Daytona USA, one of the things that comes to mind is the infamous "Dayyyttonnnaaa!!!" and "Rollinnnngg Sttarrrttt!!" clips.  It just is cause it's so nutty.  For Sega Rally, it's "Game Over Yeeaahhhh!!"  Proving that Sega of Japan is completely out of touch with Western culture.

What's Ridge Racer's quote?  "It's Ridge Racer!  Riiidddgggeee Raaacceerrr!!!"



Kaz Hirai, the Representative Corporate Executive Officer and Executive Deputy President of Sony Corporation, is responsible for putting Ridge Racer back on the map (2006).  It's good advertising!  Like "Double A-honkhonk-M C O!" or "Ba ba ba ba ba, I'm lovin' it."  We know that Namco paid off Kaz Hirai to say this.

"My work here is finished."

Seriously, Harai-San, go explain to the world the ineptness of Sony and the Playstation Network.  "Don't frag the messenger," he says.  EDIT: He also takes a seven-second bow.  For the record, when I'm reading this years later while basking in the glory of my words, PSN was hacked and the servers went down for several weeks so don't you forget it.

"Not even I can help you now."

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And I was looking up other video games spokespeople (in the YT related videos...I'm awesome) and here's Reggie of Nintendo.

Reginald Fils-Aime, President and Chief Operating Officer of Nintendo of America, has more than enough "cool" quotes.  He's probably badass material.  Goodness, why can't Sega get anyone who's clean and articulate like this?  Instead, we got Yu Suzuki mumbling around (God bless him), Toshihiro Nagoshi going out to bars and getting tans, and the rest of Sega is making urinal games...I mean--what the hell's going on here?  How the MOTHER-F****N HELL DID SEGA STOOP SO LOW???  Gee whiz.  MAKE THE GOOD GAEMZ ALREDY SEGA!?!!!11

EDIT: I guess it's up to the fans to step up and Save Sega now.  Let's do this.

Japan/Sega Relief Fund, Nagoshi In Another Awkward Situation

But first, Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

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Well, the Japanese disaster is apparently past its climax (I hope) and that they can hopefully contain the damage.  There's freakin Red Cross ads all over the place, but I did donate money before it became a trend.  Hey, either that or fly over in a jet to Japan in order to haul rubble.  I have cash, but I really don't need it.  Everything I buy is stupid anyway.  So pray AND pay.

EDIT: Removed the section about the power plants, doesn't really matter.

I wonder if life in Japan is okay elsewhere.  I was playing some CoD: Black Ops earlier and on the world map, I saw some white cloud in south Japan and even a few dots in north Japan (way north).  So can you tell the state of a country just by how many people are playing online video games??  I guess so.

I know there are other countries that are ailing like New Zealand, Haiti, and Libya, but I really don't want to get into schematics of the news cause this isn't the blog for it.  You gotta try to help as many people as you can; that's all there is to it.

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Ok, so about Sega.  Yu Suzuki and Yuji Naka are okay.  Haven't heard about many other people but if there were any big losses, we'd know about them already.  Stay safe, Sega HQ.  Move all your source code to an indestructible bunker.  Too bad you already lost the Daytona USA source code, oh you idiots.

Sega (and Sammy) are donating 200 million Yen to the relief effort.  This equals $2.44 million or 1.53 mil GBP.  Now where the hell does Sega get that kind of money???  Like I said, Sega is an enigma--they may be printing their own money for all I know.  Also, Sega Europe is donating a week's worth of money from iPhone app Football Manager Handheld 2011 which is good too.  I mean, I can't see any Japanese company donating nothing to help their country, but Sega is a pretty cool guy and doesn't afraid of anything.

Also on the donors list is Namco (100 mil Yen), Nintendo, and Sony (both 300 mil Yen, outclassing poor old Sega again).

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And this is one more thing I noticed.  Now I haven't heard anything from Toshihiro Nagoshi since the disaster, but I know he's working on two games: Yakuza 5: Of The End and Binary Domain.  Now both display a dilapidated image of modern-day Tokyo.  You come up with your own impressions in the light of this disaster:

You've got to be kidding me.  EDIT: Enough with the apocalyptic crap already, make some HAPPY games and maybe you won't have to remind us of the awful news when we play your games for FUN.

Outrun And Sega Rally Under Attack? (More Yakuza, Sonic)

This is a good bit of investigative reporting by my buddy isamu on the ORA board.  I'm repeating this just for any readers not from that board...

OutRun Online Arcade is available on the Xbox 360 in any country.  On the PS3 however, it's only available in the UK store.  Well it turns out that he and many others have scoured the UK store to find the game removed altogether.  So basically OutRun 2 is not on the PS3 anymore.  What???

This isn't the first time that a downloadable game has been removed from an online store.  Paperboy, Root Beer Tapper, and other Midway classics have been sucked under (Midway went bankrupt).  Same thing with Yaris which was free BTW (it was a promo game).  You can redownload them again ONLY if you purchased it previously.  Presumably, the game is still on the server but it's not for sale for some reason which makes no sense because you're missing out on the opportunity to earn money...

I think we should all play OutRun Online Arcade on the Xbox 360 in memory.  Just cause we need to do SOMETHING and give Sumo Digital props for making the game more available to a larger crowd (although it wasn't a big seller).  People, you had no excuse to try out the demo cause it's right there in front of you...

To make things worse, Sega Rally Revo has been pulled from the PSN store too.  Yes, I know that Revo isn't considered a powerhouse Sega title, but it's still one of Sega's babies.  So that's two Sega racers gone.  I'm not 100% sure this is true, but I'll let you know if something comes up.

Why would something like this happen all of a sudden?  Does Sega want out?  Does Sony hate Sega?  Is this a stupid mistake?  The last thing we need is every trace of Sega goodness to go away...look out for the future...

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And then add this just because I saw it.  This is entirely in Japan.  New Pokemon game on DS and new Sega Yakuza (under some weird name) game on the PSP.  FIGHT!  Pokemon outsells Yakuza 5 to 1 despite the fact that PB/W has been out for a week already.  This is from Sept. 20 to 26.  All in all not surprising.  Why is Sega making all these PSP games, much less ones that'll never come out in America anyway?  Who knows, who cares.  Congrats on coming in second I guess, Sega has a reason to hold their heads high now.

01. Pokemon Black / White (DS) - 829,000 / 3,386,000

02. Kurohyou: Ryu ga Gotoku Shinshou (PSP) - 174,000 / NEW

http://kotaku.com/5652709/pokemon-black--white-show-the-yakuza-whos-the-boss-in-japan

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And one more thing cause I'm teeming with information.  We're talking about the new Sonic games.  Sonic 4: Episode 1 is coming out in mid-October so that's pretty good.  I'm pretty sure it'll be 1200 MSP but I can't prove it.  Made by Dimps, it's a downloadable title.  Yes, Sonic's gonna be GOOD AGAIN!!  And what's best is that it's just the first episode which means more Sonic titles to come!



Looks like Sonic's moving slower in this one, apparently to improve the controls.  The way he runs looks funny, like his foot movement is potato-shaped or something.  Oh yeah, and I know Sonic 1 had Starlight, Sonic 2 had Casino Night, and Sonic 3 had Carnival Night, but this looks like another Casino level...there's enough of those already, but whatever, that's ok, I like that...  Also, didn't I see a boss battle on Green Hill zone with Eggman and the ball thing?  I think it's good to "revisit" old Sonic classics, but come on, make something semi-original.  Who knows, it may be good.

http://forums.sega.com/showpost.php?p=6228418&postcount=215 - Sonic 4: Episode 2 is currently not in development yet.

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Sonic Colours (yes, I like the British spelling) is coming out mid-November and Takashi Iizuka of Sonic Team says...:

This is a similar title to Sonic Adventure 2 Battle, but the similarity comes from the concept – keeping the tempo very fluid.  A similar concept applies here. Is it the best since then? We always strive to make the best Sonic game yet. It’s at least on a par with Sonic Adventure Battle 2 [sic], and I’m confident it is one of the best Sonic games ever.

http://www.tssznews.com/2010/09/22/iizuka-says-sonic-colors-one-of-the-best-sonic-games-ever/

I've been looking up some info on this Iizuka guy and he's been working on most every Sonic Team game since Sonic 3...  So looking at the footage of Sonic Colours, this looks just like Sonic: Unleashed except without the nighttime Werehog stages.  If it turns out like Sonic Adventure 2 (which I thought was great but remember, not EVERYONE liked it), then it will be alright.  I'm not too stoked though.  Also, it's just gonna be on the Wii and DS which sucks too--no Xbox 360 or PS3 love.

Other Japanese Game Publishers

Okay, I'm looking at some of the GameFAQs polls of the day and they went through some Japanese companies, listed some game series for each, and asked which is your favorite.  Because we know Sega is out there as a big player until they took it in the chin after the DC and were basically neutered, it's kind of interesting to see what their rivals are up to...  Makes me feel bad for Sega, they are basically the laughing stock of Japan as far as I'm concerned.

DISCLAIMER: When I mention this game or that game and get mad, it doesn't mean that the games specifically suck or are bad or that I hate them and wish they didn't exist--they're all good in some way.  I'm just giving you my personal thoughts on the game, not necessarily commenting on the quality of the game unless I so feel like it.

Also, GameFAQs has a bias towards RPG/Adventure games which explains stuff like Zelda >>> Mario, etc.

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Capcom: Resident Evil, Street Fighter, Megaman, THAT'S IT.  The definitive trifecta of horror, fighting, and platform-shooter games.  Surprisingly, RE and Megaman got over 25% each and SF got 13%.  But Capcom has other games like Devil May Cry, Viewtiful Joe, Okami, Dead Rising, Breath of Fire, Phoenix Wright, holy crap, they make Sega look bad, really bad.  They don't have a definitive racing game--they had that Auto Modellista game which as far as I'm concerned is a joke so really.  Overall they are probably #2 behind Nintendo.  This whole 2-D Fighter genre is just too much for games like Tekken or even Virtua Fighter to compete with, sorry.

Konami: They have Metal Gear Solid and that should be all as far as I'm concerned.  Number one choice at 38%.  Oh they have Castlevania too which is 22%.  They also have Contra, DDR, and Silent Hill.  Oh yeah, it was also Konami that made the Enthusia PS2 racing game which was nearly up to par with Gran Turismo but hardly as popular.  I think Sega could take these hooligans but knowing Sega, they will putter across the finish line with four blown tires.  Next.

Namco-Bandai: Tales of Fill In The Blank is number one, 27%.  Okay, I just don't give a damn about stupid RPGs, just let it pass.  They made Pac-Man, another juggernaut, but since people have their heads up their asses, they don't care about it anymore--10%.  You also got Ridge Racer, the series that was most identical to Daytona USA and Sega, but they've kind of fizzled out despite getting numerous versions for recent consoles.  Sega is still #1 baby when it comes to racers.  Tekken and Soul Calibur are still legendary but once again, they aren't making headline news.  The most recent SC games are just getting obnoxious as far as I'm concerned.  Katamari Damacy, okay yeah, roll up stuff.  They also have Time Crisis which is one of the few arcade games left that I actually am interested in.  They also have Klonoa and Digimon for the kiddies.  No one cares anymore, right.  If there's a company that's most similar to Sega in terms of games and at falling asleep at the wheel, it's Namco so I sympathize with them a little.  Just a little.

Square-Enix: Final Fantasy (51%), Kingdom Hearts (18%), Chrono Trigger (15%).  Just walk away cause nothing else matters.  The less said about Square, the better, although that Einhander game was kind of cool.

Sega: Okay, here we go.  Root for the home team!!  The choice are...:

Panzer Dragoon -- 2.48%

Phantasy Star -- 12.08%

Shenmue -- 6.54%

Shining Force -- 7.14%

Sonic the Hedgehog -- 55.8%

The House of the Dead -- 6%

Total War -- 4.41%

Virtua Fighter -- 2.62%

Yakuza -- 2.92%

What kind of lousy-ass choices are these!?  Virtua Fighter--3%!?!?  Total War, Yakuza, WTF?  Shenmue has like two games and it gets at least 7%, wow how amazing.  I see a lack of Daytona USA but nothing could be more predictable.  That reminds me that Sega has always been one to spread the goodness around to many, many series, but still, looking at the choices we have...oh man, how weak.  Take this poll 10 years ago and you'd see something else.  But really, if it weren't for Sonic, Sega would be dead.  Oh man, this is sad.

Nintendo: Zelda THAT'S IT EVERYONE I JUST SUMMED UP NINTENDO.  Okay, if it takes just one good game to destroy the others, then how about SUPER MARIO, POKEMON, Kirby, Metroid, Star Fox, Animal Crossing, Smash Bros., F-Zero, Donkey Kong, Pikmin, Fire Emblem, Advance Wars, Wii Sports, I mean, just look at the lineup in Smash Bros Brawl.

............

I mean, look at Smash Bros. Brawl.  Sega and Konami were performing all sorts of favors (what kind, you use your imagination) just to get ONE of their characters in the game.  So there you go, Sonic and Solid Snake, yucking it up with Nintendo's cast of characters...

Did I mention that Nintendo has sold over 74 million Wiis and 132 million DSes worldwide as of June 2010?  Let that sink in for a moment.

.....

Sega has no chance, they really don't.  At least we know that Nintendo just plain sucks at racing games cause every Mario Kart game they've released has been highly flawed with maybe the exception of the original SNES version (tiers, snaking, stupid sprite cardboard cutout characters, you name it).  And the latest F-Zero game?  Sounds great but that was SEGA that had a hand in making that game, did you know that?  Sega is still #1 in racing games, sorry, call me a homer, but that's how I see it.

Oops, forgot about the poll results...Zelda got 100% just leave it at that.

Oh yeah, there's one more game company I forgot to mention...let's get it over with.

Sony: Sony hasn't been one to make games but they have some damn good hardware.  The PS3 makes the Xbox 360 look like a baby's toy.  God of War run away with this at 33%, is there any surprise?  I mean, I know I'm going to seem like an ass, but what's the big deal with that game?  You play as some burly man with two swords, slashing the crap out of monsters and other stuff, you kill Greek gods and have rough sex with the goddesses.  Tons of gore, violence, and sex.  Am I missing something here, or does this game seem like a glaring embarassment of society in general?  You have Ratchet and Clank at 18%, Gran Turismo at 12%, and Twisted Metal at 10%.  Gran Turismo is one of the only good racing games left and frankly, I don't see anything else barring Mario Kart and MAYBE Burnout getting higher ratings.  SOCOM, Little Big Planet, yada yada yada, Sony's more of a hardware company and recently the PS3 is really picking up steam so look out Nintendo and Microsoft.

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There's other companies though that the polls forgot to mention and two come to mind--Tecmo and SNK.  Tecmo made Monster Rancher/Farm which is one of my favorite series of all time but that's six feet under.  They've also made Dead or Alive, Ninja Gaiden, Fatal Frame, and Tecmo Super Bowl which at least have some relevance today.  SNK made Metal Slug and a load of fighters such as King of Fighters.  They also made their own console, the Neo Geo, which bit the bullet just like the Dreamcast so at least we gotta give props where they're due.

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Wow, this was really painful to go through.  Sega, what a lame pathetic company to be a fan of.  Nintendo, Capcom, and Square are laughing it up while Sega is out on the street begging for spare change.  I can't take this anymore--Dreamcast was Sega's Alamo, and they've lost it.  I got a headache, I'm gonna go do something else and go away for a while.  geez...

Oh yeah, and one more thing.  If you think I'm a Sega fanboy who's blowing hot air, hey, take a loookat all of the Sega video game franchises here, cause there's a lot:


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Sega_video_game_franchises

No excuse for Sega to be dirt compared to everyone else.

Sega Dreamcast History With Scud Race Tech Demo

As an addendum to the Scud Race tech demo, here was something posted by rjay63 a month ago about the Dreamcast.  Very, very long article that would take at least a couple of hours to read, but it's very informative on Sega's history with the Dreamcast and how companies, particularly Sony, snuffed them out.

http://www.eidolons-inn.net/tiki-index.php?page=SegaBase+Dreamcast&bl=y

I wrote a TLDR version here.  I probably missed a few things but that's because I'm not smart and I never learned how to read:

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Sega realizes they screwed up their previous consoles by rushing production and poor advertising. They spend the time to develop superior hardware. Sega works with Microsoft to develop a good programming environment. By 1997, Sega shows the Scud Race demo. By 1998, they have plenty of companies planning to develop on their system.

Sega opted out of using DVD players because they were too expensive. Sony would take advantage of this later as people would buy it as a cheap DVD player. Sony always one-up's the competition with superior hardware (by making a "mini-supercomputer" in their PS2 for one), and Sega is no exception. Sega tries to come up with some unique ideas, particularly the VMU which came with minigames and planned for MP3's and whatnot.


Dreamcast released in 1998, Dreamcast has some good games, particularly Soul Calibur. Sales in Japan are held back because of a lack of some "Power2" chip (I'm bad with names). Eventually, sales in Japan would become abysmal and Sega would eventually abandon it within a year or so. Sales in America were much better, about 10x as much as Japan. Sales in Europe were about as bad as Japan and they were basically ignored as well.


Eventually, companies like EA didn't see the point in investing in the Dreamcast because they thought it was a lost cause before the PS2 even came out. The PS2 sold a lot and not even hit titles like Space Channel 5 or Shenmue could sell well. In 2000, Sega declared that all its developers could produce titles for other consoles, which meant that ports for the PS2 and others were on the way.

Also worth mentioning--in 1999, Sega chairman Isao Okawa declared that they have no intention of making another console after the Dreamcast. That certainly didn't help the console's growth any.


Nintendo is in the dog's house for 1999-2000 waiting for the GameCube. Microsoft begins working on the Xbox and Sega believes that they used them as a platform for their own console development. BTW, PS2 is very popular. Trying to create an incentive for people to use SegaNet (for basic internet, not gaming I guess), Sega tries to give out free hardware in exchange for the monthly fee of $20 or so, but it fails due to bad advertising.


Sega gives $500 mil of their remaining funds to Peter Moore to advertise for the DC in America because that was their last chance. Despite the Dreamcast's GD-ROM format which was supposed to ward off hackers, numerous bootlegs were available which killed Sega's software sales.


SegaNet gaming comes very late in 2000 but it's a mild success. 2000 is the year of the Dreamcast, basically. The console fails to beat Nintendo for second place that year though and subsequently bites the dust two years later. The article cuts off here so there's not much else to say here.

Sega posted a net loss in the three years of 1998 to 2000, although 2000 was the year that they lost the least amount of money.


To summarize what the guy said, Sega should've changed their mascot to Samba because he's obliviously happy and dancing despite the chaos around him. In Japan, they believe in honor so Sega just didn't back down. Props...

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I never knew that the Scud Race tech demo was available on YouTube all this time (maybe I did, but I must've forgot by then) so take a look.  You didn't play the game, it was just a display of the system's graphical capabilities.  In the track demo, you press a button to change camera angles.  The audio (which never existed in the first place) was inserted by someone else.



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You know, if there was ever a company that took it in the chin and kept going, it was Sega.  This read was just unbelievable.  Can't believe they didn't back down.

It also seems like no coincidence that the last "great" Sega racer to come out after the Dremacast era was OutRun 2 and that was in 2003.  Since then, Sega has a lost of its mojo and it seems like they play second fiddle to Nintendo, Microsoft, Sony, Capcom, all your big Japanese players, etc.  They seem relegated to release a few crap Sonic games or some random movie adaptations (Iron Man, etc.) and that's it.

It's crazy that so many unique games came out in the Dreamcast period like Shenmue and Jet Grind Radio that never really got the chance to flourish.  Also, games like Scud Race and Daytona USA 2 never saw the light of day and probably never will (without a miracle of course) because of stuff like this.  It's sad compared to the incredibly violent, dark, and depressing games we have today.

Which is why it's good that Sega plans on re-releasing a bunch of Dreamcast classics for Xbox Live.  Crazy Taxi and Sonic Adventure are first coming soon.  You should buy these and throw your support behind Sega.

Nintendo lives and prospers, but if it weren't for the Dreamcast's collosal failure, I think Sega could've given the leviathan a run for its money in the 2000's.  I say that Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing was more fun than Mario Kart Wii (this is coming from someone who's played both for a lengthy period of time) but other than that, not much has been going on.  This Bayonetta game has given Sega new life so anything that helps Sega is a win for our side.

R.I.P. Dreamcast
R.I.P. Scud Race
R.I.P. Daytona USA 2