Hello everybody. I've been a fan of Sega Racing games (Daytona USA 1/2, Scud Race, OutRun 1/2, Sega Rally, Crazy Taxi, Virtua Racing, etc.) ever since I first played Daytona USA 2 in the arcade around 2002. I like them and try to promote them as much as I can. Let everyone know about the magic that is Sega Racing Games!!!
DAMAIT PEOPLE, it took me two hours to make this 100% legit pic:
What if I told you that the Hornet appeared in a Ridge Racer game, complete with a Dinosaur Canyon clone and a new Mitsuyoshi song (or at least an imitator) all thanks to PS Vita DLC??? Well yeah...cause that's exactly what happened!!!!
So then I watched the video and I was like:
I'm sorry about the very offensive f-bomb. I contemplated for 20 minutes whether to use this picture at all. So what does this mean??? Is Sega in bed with Namco now? First the Sega x Namco x Capcom game, now this? Is Namco trying to steal more thunder from Sega now or what? Whose wise idea was this? Certainly it wasn't Nagoshi since he's out drinking & recruiting more Yakuza models. And why is Sega assisting Namco when they should be helping THEMSELVES make another racing game??? And will Namco/Sega include the Hornet in Ridge Racer: Unbounded 2 as well (assuming they make a POS sequel)???
Lol, jk, that's crazy talk, in reality it's great cause we got a new Daytona USA. Sort of. Add the Hornet MT colors and then we'll talk. Therefore...
Good Guy Rjay e-mailed me these a while back and I presume he wants me to post them so here we go. This is from Dreamcast Magazine, Issue 6 (date some time in '99-'00). Now this isn't a very long article and it doesn't really tell us anything we don't know but it's got some funny lines. Stuff written in bold are quotes from the article. Here goes:
FUNNY QUOTES:
* Fancy a quick spin around the race track? Then strap yourself in and prepare for the ride of your life...and a touch of dizziness???
* Getting Dizzy With It
* It's not easy going, however, as you must navigate the track eight times without being rammed into the wall or, worse still, going cross-eyed with dizziness.
* With Daytona USA 2Dreamcast-bound... BWAHAHAHA!!! NICE CALL GUYS!!! THANKS, SEGA!!! Thanks for the laugh.
* Daytona USA 2 is the last game to be making the transition from coin-op to Dreamcast and is yet another beast of a game from Sega and its all-conquering AM2 department. HAWHAWHAWHAWHAWHAWHAWHAWHAWHWA
* Daytona USA 2 might be 'just another racing game' to some, but to others it is a religion, with its high speed capers and dirty tactics and cutting up opponents. I wouldn't call Daytona a religion...that would imply worship of false idols. But it can change your way of life!
* Despite the fact that all Daytona USA 2 requires you to do is drive around in circles... Who's writing this article? Aren't there two other tracks in the game, neither of which resembles a NASCAR oval???
* ...offering all the thrills and spills of the real thing...without the threat of killing yourself. Yes, because Daytona can drive you to suicide. No, it's the exact opposite--IT LIFTS YOU UP WITH THE VITALITY OF A DOZEN 5-HOUR ENERGIES!!! Without the tingling.
* The whole experience is made all the more realistic by the fantastic control offered by the steering wheel and the force feedback that is generated through it when skidding for ramming other cars.
* The speed is conveyed brilliantly, especially with the in-car views and the sound isn't bad either with a (words cut off) of engine revs, commentary, and music blasting in one ear and out the other, making the whole experience a veritable feast for the senses.
Compliments, lols
* Graphically, the game looks fantastic--much better than the original--with pop-up and other sinful entities banished to a far off land. Banished to the far off land of Cruis'n World.
* This game will incite the boy racer from within everyone!SPEEDY SPEED BOY!!! We all wanted to be superheroes when we grew up. I wanted to be a race car driver. Suck it, Spiderman.
* In truth, Daytona USA 2 is much like Sega's alternative arcade Sega Rally 2 in regards to its gameplay and instant fix of speed and adrenaline--that that that's a bad thing. No doubt Sega will include a greater number of cars, tracks, and modes for the Dreamcast version, much in the same way that Sega Rally 2 was beefed up for its home appearance.
* With this in mind, Daytona USA 2 could well be another Dreamcast success for the men from Sega, especially with a four-player mode...
* ...but for now we shall just have to wait and hope for the best...
Oh, right. There's two more pages to go.
SO WHAT DO YOU THINK? We were so impressed with Daytona USA 2, we went in search of other speed junkies to find out what they thought of Sega's top racing game...
* Jonathon Eason the bank clerk: "I like it. The controls are really good and it reacts well to the steering. It gives a good sensation of speed too which is good." The other three guys (students) say pretty much the same thing. So we unanimously agree that the controls & sense of steering are good, OK??
More user reviews:
* Jon Petty the occupational therapist: Hold on a second, you don't need a therapist when you got Daytona USA 2--that's all the therapy you need.
* Nancy Davis the "carer": OMG, THERE'S GIRLS THAT PLAY DAYTONA!!! WE MEN ARE NOT FOREVER ALONE!!!
* Campbell Morrison the builder: He does one thing right and another thing wrong. First, he only reviewer not to use the word "good." Seriously, people, the blue-collar worker has a better understanding of the English language than you all. Hello, here's a thesaurus of words describing Daytona USA 2:
Oh but then when asked if he would buy it for the Dreamcast, he replies "Probably not."
AW HELL NAW, I AM NOT IN THE MOOD FOR THIS...
Either that or he successfully predicted Sega's ineptitude on releasing the game. You can't say you'll buy something that doesn't exist, can you?
Then the article ends on this:
IT'S NOT JUST A GAME. That's right, Sega has done something rather special with Daytona USA 2 by linking up certain machines from around the world so that arcade fans can compete for a $1000 prize for posting the fastest time. Rjay talks about this a lot. It was who runs the fastest time on Beginner with the Scorpio AT. Here are the records:
Top 10 UK Times: 2:16.366 to 2:17.929
vs.
Top 10 US Times: 2.17.660 to 2:19.310
So basically, the best US time barely beats the worst UK time. It's great to know my fellow countrymen suck at racing games. They are too busy playing Call of Duty and WoW to even give damn. To quote: Well, you'll be glad to hear that we're trouncing the Yanks, confirming us Brits as the kings of track.Watch out for those Asians while you're at it. Rofl.
Until then, if you got any unmentioned Daytona/Scud Race/other arcade material you want me to see, shoot me an email. Adios.
I'm sitting around FIEA again and when I'm not burning out my eyeballs with C++/Unreal Script coding, I get to hear interesting things from Mr. Rick the Production teacher.
One of the things that is paramount is any career is to get connected with other people. It's like advertising--you can have all the skills in the world and/or make the best products but if no one knows, then you will get nowhere. But there's always other people. Higher-ups who see value in you. You make friends and expand your opportunities. It's common sense, though people don't tend to think about it. Some day, you may luck out and your dreams come true because you lucked out and met all the right people. But it's very unlikely you'll meet one or two people and then all your dreams come true--it takes a multitude of relationships before you are elevated to greatness...lame, you gotta do all the hard work there. Wish it was just like in the movies.
Great examples: In the 2006 feature film The Pursuit of Happyness (based on a real story), Chris Gardner (Will Smith) plays a completely broke man trying to get a job as a stockbroker in San Francisco. This means undergoing a long-term internship with no pay or guarantee of getting the job. Of course, this also means dressing up nice and duping his superiors into believing that he's not a homeless bum. All while trying to find places to stay and take care of his son.
Eventually, he impresses one of his co-workers by solving a Rubix cube in a matter of minutes. Then he does a good job selling stocks (or whatever) that the same co-worker offers him a free seat at his luxury suite at a 49ers game in Candlestick Park (oh God no). Then Chris gets the job. I bawled my eyes out.
If I got hired by Sega, this is what would ensue.
Another example is Harrison Ford. Since the 60's, he's been hanging around Los Angeles trying to catch a break and become a movie star. Failing numerous times, he became a carpenter for the stars. He eventually made some kitchen cabinets for a certain movie director called George Lucas. The two became friends. Georgie needed someone to play the role in the little 1977 movie of his called Star Wars and...well, the rest is history. Talk about being in the right place at the right time.
BUT HAN SHOT FIRST!!!
Back to the real world. I'm just not very good at socializing with new people. You have to find what you can advertise like...oh, like my programming skills, my l33t video game skills, my excellent blog, or my determination to win at Sega stuff. But from what I hear, about 60% of all murders are done by people who are relatives/acquaintances of people they know. So basically, the more people you meet, the more likely you are die.
I think it all comes down to fate. You just need to be lucky. But hard work and persistence will greatly raise those odds.
Now, here's my plan. We're going on a Yu Suzuki/Toshihiro Nagoshi watch. Check any possible conventions/PR events and go get those guys. I know here at FIEA, a few of the instructors got passes for GDC in San Francisco (March 5-9) but they cost $750 a piece. San Fran also happens to be the HQ for Sega of America. The goal is to get to any of these guys--hell any Sega guys in general--and deliver my "elevator speech," that'll be so moving I'll get hired on the spot and get in there and save the video game industry. Ridiculous, yes...but we got to try!!! There's always other conventions like E3 or Comic-Con to check out. Just keep your eyes peeled. That's a good start.
"Sorry, I don't speak English"...DAMN my elevator speech failed.
Until then...try appealing to some EA guys. I know there's a paintball outing coming up soon. I've never played paintball before but it would be hella fun to shoot the crap out of EA guys!!! Lol, no, I'm getting over my head. Dueces, man, dueces.
At first, we were all jovial about the Supreme Court ruling that permits retailers to sell M-rated games to minors, but that's peanuts compared to this next bill...
I'm pretty sure everyone's heard about this US Congress bill S.978 which makes streaming or uploading various types of media (including video games) illegal and worthy of jail time. The irony that this was discussed on July 4th, America's birthday in which we celebrate the freedoms we have. Now I don't think this will get passed, but really, do we need more vague regulations as it is? In a country where you can't even dig a hole or buy a toilet without getting hit in the face with some red tape?
A lot of this article talks about streaming. I know jack about streaming--I'm mainly focused on uploading YouTube videos. It's not as if we're already getting our asses kicked by copyright infringement (random vids getting pulled left and right). Fun fact--I actually did get suspended from YouTube years ago by uploading three short clips from movies/TV: Home Alone 2, Office Space and...the Monster Rancher anime (as if anyone cares about an twenty-second, crappy VHS quality clip of an abandoned anime but alas...someone DOES care). Funny fact is the Office Space clip was removed because it had the Comedy Central logo in the corner (Viacom is anal about that logo), not because of the actual feature film itself. I got my account back though--more on that in a sec.
A brief overview if you don't know what we have today: How YouTube works is that companies (particularly Viacom) scroll through videos that they believe have copyright material that belongs to them, marking videos that don't follow Fair Use (though due to the subjective nature at hand, they hardly put thought into it and just mark anything without regard to this) so they send letters to YouTube demanding their removal. YouTube takes the videos down and gives the uploader a "strike." Three strikes and the account is "suspended" (a big fat lie since odds are you'll never get it back) and the user is told he can't create any future accounts (something YT rarely ever enforces...many people come back although they have to start from scratch again).
Nowadays, this process is made a bit simpler since YT can auto-detect movie, TV, and music in uploaded vids and immediately correct the situation (though people have found ways to circumvent this--i.e. mirror the media clips so the scanners don't pick it up). Not only that, but YT doesn't even have to follow the "three strikes" rule--they have to power to kill your account for whatever reason...one strike, that's it, goodbye, don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.
The reason why YouTube seems to be pulling "dick" maneuvers by suspending accounts left and right is because no one wants to get sued. YT could get sued if not pulling the cord on these videos so soon. Consider this a blessing...would you rather lose your YT account or face the wrath of civil courts? You can actually counter-act videos you think were unfairly removed by e-mailing YT back claiming that the videos in question were actually Fair Use. If the original copyright owners don't reply in two weeks, you get your video back and a strike removed. That's what I did although it may just be wiser to avoid the mess and just create a new account and get back on your feet that way.
Of course, I haven't even mentioned getting sued for hundreds of thousands of dollars...don't go around monetizing movies or music that doesn't belong to you. Simple as that. Obviously I admit that's bad, but I'm not even talking on that grand of scale here. Just lame-o YouTube filler.
I'm also aware about music and video piracy (even non-profit) which has always existed...companies have gone nuts shutting down sites like Kazaa and Limewire but the fact is it's like trying to kill a horde of bugs with a fly swatter--there's too many of them. So companies have to derive new ways to monetize copyrighted material, such as slap on ads to user-uploaded vids to at least save face. That's how the economy works--you can try to hunt down infringers, but change with the times and find other means to get by, not just pass more bills looking to strike down the very people who you're catering to. ESPECIALLY those who are barely doing anything illegal such as the little kid singing Lady Gaga in an embarrassingly bad YT clip...
This new bill in the legislative branch is going scorched earth--basically scaring the living daylights out of anyone attempting to upload anything barely copyrighted. This is from the article above: According to the bill as it’s currently written, if you engage in “public performances by electronic means” 10 or more times over a 180 day period, and if either the total economic value of those performances exceeds $2500 or the cost of getting the copyright holder’s permission to perform exceeds $5000, then you can potentially get fined and put in jail for 5 years. Jail. FIVE YEARS.
Think about this--want to get people to stop doing something bad, such as driving over the speed limit? Hand out tickets? Doesn't seem to stop many people. How about subjecting people to life in prison or the death penalty? Does it get people to stop doing this? Yes. Is it ridiculous? Obviously.
And the main problem I have with the bill is that it's just vague. Okay, so you upload a short clip from a movie or something. Considering the companies' habit of marking anything as copyright infringement, what's to stop them from coming up to you, claiming you broke the financial threshold, and getting your ass thrown in jail?
So no new gaming videos? What for? Watching video game clips on YouTube and such is not a substitute to obtaining the game and playing it for yourself. Otherwise, I'd get my gaming fix just by watching Daytona 2 and Scud Race footage but no...I'm still overwhelmingly depressed by games today. The only time I've seen gaming clips get removed from YT is Grand Theft Auto 4 footage around the time that game was released. So Rockstar was being picky...okay, but for the most part, go ahead and type in any game in YT and you're bound to find some sort of gameplay footage of it.
And if this bill gets passed, then what's to stop them from punishing people who posted videos previously, such as walkthroughs, tool-assisted runs, speed runs, Let's Play's, and other miscellaneous stuff? What about anything falling under Fair Use? So get rid of every user-uploaded video off of YouTube (which has its own category BTW)? Congrats, that's about a fourth of YT gone there. Goodbye gaming community. What's next--prosecute anyone that creates an emulator that plays copyrighted ROMs for free (talking about old stuff like NES or *cough* arcade games)? Or even worse--come over to my blog and say it's illegal for me to use pictures from video games, particularly Sega racers? When does this end?
The funny part about this is that some companies don't care. For instance, Treyarch has implemented means for users to upload Black Ops clips to YouTube from their consoles...so suddenly, uploading Black Ops clips is bad? Now things get even more dicey because you don't know what copyright material will get you busted and what won't. But all of a sudden, you get cozy and try to share clips of great games like Daytona USA 2 and that's under fire. Yeah, imagine that--Sega doesn't give a damn about Daytona USA anymore, but if any fans try to revitalize or enshrine the series, they get their asses kicked. Geez...
And one more thing. I read this here from some guy...perhaps this is a sneaky maneuver for some anti-gaming politicians to cut at the knees of video gamers everywhere. They can't even stop retailers from selling M-rated games to minors so what do they do? Chip away at the community. I don't think this is entirely true but it's something to think about. We are dealing with modern-day politicians here who think they know better than everyone else on how to run our lives...
Anyway, this is just me rambling on about copyrights. I still don't think this bill will be passed. Anyway, go here and sign a "petishun"--very easy to do. The gaming blogs aren't harping on it anymore so maybe this thing's really dead--I don't know. I'm not saying that we should be able to violate any copyright we want but this bill is just absurd...hunting people down like dogs for uploading clips of stuff that hurts nobody (and spending the taxpayers' money while they're at it). God bless America...
I hope there is nothing factually incorrect about this post--feel free to correct me since I want to learn too...
CALL THE POLICE, WE HAVE A CRIMINAL ON THE LOOSE!!! PEOPLE SAW A 14-SECOND CLIP OF WILL SMITH PUNCHING AN ALIEN AND THEREFORE, THE MOVIE PRODUCERS HAVE BEEN CHEATED OUT OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS!!! BEAT HIS ASS!!! WELCOME TO EARTH!!!
