Staying Optimistic, Plus Uplifting Fan Mail

It has been in fact a long time since I had posted on the blog.  Rest assured, it makes me feel crummy when an idea starts to coalesce in my head and for whatever reason I peter out.  Racing games, Shenmue, Yu Suzuki, E3, my job, Slidell, Orlando, Austin.  Don't worry, I've paid plenty of attention to those things.  I'll probably address them once inspiration strikes (which can be a day to a year, I won't make any guarantees).

I did get an email on May 2013 that piqued my interest.  It's an email from a Musings of a Sega Racing Fan fan!  I remember reading this the day it was sent but for some reason I didn't reply.  I wasn't feeling good that day.  But it still perked me up a bit and reminded me what all this blog nonsense is all about.  I won't share the guy's name or e-mail unless he's okay with it.

Hello Eric,

it's been years since I planned on e-mailing you, but I never did.
You could have been my brother, I have always been passionate about Sega Arcade racing games. Really just Sega.
I have my own arcade room, which had it's fair share of Sega cabinets the past years. Some get replaced, some stay etc.

I started with collecting pretty much every Sega console and game ever released. In the end I had about 300 boxed mint versions of basically every console release, from every region, in every different visual version. The next step of course was going for the real thing, arcade machines.
I have owned pretty much every version of Daytona USA. The single LE, the Deluxe version (god, that thing is really to big I can tell you, it's practically unmovable), wooden twins, plastic twins etc.
Also Daytona USA 2, Scud Race twins etc.
In general as soon as I decide to sell one to get something else, I regret selling it and buy another one back. I think I had about 10 Daytona USA twins in the past years due to this, I just can't live without it :)
I don't play daily, I sometimes don't play for months, but I just must need to have that stuff in my arcade room.
Sadly, most Model 2-3 games start dying out in the world due to oldness (especially Video board problems in all these games), I guess it's a matter of time before almost no Model 2-3 game will be operational anymore. More the reason to hold on to working ones and hope they keep working.

I have no clue why I mail all this to you, I guess I just wanted to get in touch with you once, and tell you I have enjoyed your blog the past years, and really appreciate it.

Regards,
*insert first name*

Thanks man.  I know it's been 433 days since I actually "replied" to your email.  It meant a lot to me reading it then as it does reading it now.  I don't own an arcade cabinet, mainly because they're so huge and I live in a second-story apartment, but I want to get that Daytona/Sega memorabilia.  I wear a Daytona (NASCAR) hat to work every other day, which is a pretty clever way for me to take Sega everywhere I go!  I should buy more Sega stuff, I should go to Daytona again and wave that stupid sign.  I don't care, it makes me feel good.  Sega fans have always been diehards and it shows.  Keep up the good fight!

But let's face it--Sega is a really stupid and disappointing company.  They blew up their consoles, beat Sonic into the ground, and disregard all their classic IPs.  I've been lackadaisical when it comes to getting the latest Sega news cause frankly, I know it's not going to be any good.  Sega makes a new Sonic, a new Yakuza, publishes another Aliens game, Hatsune Miku, what a piece of shit.  And then there's the classics we already have on consoles, PCs, and emulators.  I don't know whether it's a result of depression, work-related stress, aging, or the complete lack of progress made to any Sega racing game, but I definitely haven't been playing games as often as I used to.

But that's okay.  I think these games have gone past the point of me wanting to play them.  They've become "cultural"--they've shaped who I am and what I think about other games.  Daytona, OutRun, Sega Rally, Scud Race, Crazy Taxi--all games that are burnt into my psyche.  It's stuff that makes me exclaim "now THAT is cool!"  You take a game like Daytona, it only has one car and three tracks, yet somehow it's more memorable than 99% of the games I've played in my life.  I mean, just thinking about them, the cars, the atmosphere, the adrenaline, the soundtrack at any time gets me excited.  This doesn't mean I won't play these games anymore, it just means playing them is no longer a "requirement" to sanity or well-being.

I'd like to think that in all the disappointment in the last 14 years, at least Sega games made my life a little more blissful, optimistic, ambitious, and intriguing.  I admit this isn't the first time I've said this on my blog but living in a "post-Sega world" where I've become more realistic than I ever have about what they are capable of and how the game industry works, I think it's a pretty big damn deal.

As to what I've been doing recently, I've been flying under the radar but rest assured--I'm working.  I'm actually making forward progress with my career and when the time comes to work for Sega, for someone else, or on my own game, I'll be prepared.  Do not doubt me.  As for my readers (whichever ones are still left), stay loyal fans, don't give up, tell your friends, show off your flair, and MAYBE a little Sega goodness will rub off on your friends or game developers!  Take care!

TOP GEAR AMERICAN ROADTRIP

Wow, you guys, the day after my birthday (you READ the last post in full, did you???), I make the 1,635,632th 9-hour Louisiana-Florida road trip back to my old apartment for video game work starting MONDAY.  I only stopped to refuel ONCE.  I'm a boss.

I'm on a Top Gear UK kick.  I was watching it at home in Louisiana on Netflix.  One of the episodes they drive in cheap used cars along a similar route as me.  And this is one thing that happened:

I saw the Florida Road Trip episode and laughed my ass off at this part...it's so brazen that you would paint "MAN-LOVE RULES OK" in pink on the side of your truck and drive through Alabama.  No way, they just did that, trolled 'em, HAHA!!  And Fat Stig, man, the US was the butt of every joke that episode.  I didn't even bother showing it to the rest of my family since I knew they'd flip their s*** over it.

EDIT: Worth mentioning there's more controversial Top Gear episodes like this.  I recently watched the Middle East and India road trip episodes.  When they got to the parts where they showed the "baby Jesus" and the "Shit for your company/Eat English muff" signs, my laughing woke up everyone in the house....come on, get a grip people.

But I don't care.  It's the British humour I like...they make fun of EVERYTHING, including their cohosts whom they insult and sabotage their cars constantly.  I mean I kinda do that, I make fun of every video game there is basically.  And besides, here in the states were are a little bit fat and anal when it comes to these things.  We say 'MURICA, they say INGLIN', just deal with it. I love America but prefer the UK Top Gear to the US one...

Oh, and I'll just leave this here.  Yu Suzuki is considering a Kickstarter for Shenmue III.  Can we raise the $50 mil we need?  I guess so, let's find out!  *sleeps before first day of work*

A Merry Sega Racer Christmas To You

Merry Christmas you bastards, now here's my NOT AT ALL HASTILY MADE Christmas card (two hours of this BS).

Outside the famous Daytona International Speedway, the Sega gang is all here for the big Sega race, giving away free Dreamcast 2 consoles to all attendees!!!

I wish.....

EDIT: I really should've done this sooner but here goes.
LIST OF PEOPLE/CHARACTERS FOR INFORMATIVE PURPOSES:

Toshihiro Nagoshi: Tan dude with white shirt/pants, dead center.  Producer of Daytona USA, Super Monkey Ball, F-Zero GX, and Yakuza.  Currently the Main Creative Director of Sega in general.

Yu Suzuki: Smiley guy at bottom right.  Producer of OutRun, Hang-On, Virtua Racing, Virtua Fighter, and Shenmue.  Considered "best game producer ever" by many Sega fans for bolstering their arcade division to first-class.

Tetsuya Mizuguchi: Guy on bottom left in a pink shirt sitting down.  Producer of Sega Rally, Sega Touring Car, Space Channel 5, Rez, and Lumines.

Yuji Naka: Guy on right center in white suit.  Producer of many Sega hits including Sonic the Hedgehog, NiGHTS, Phantasy Star, Billy Hatcher, and Burning Rangers.

Danica Patrick: Lady in blue racing suit, dead center.  Drove the Sega Sonic car at Texas Nationwide Race.  Spokeswoman for Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed.

Takenobu Mitsuyoshi: Guy in upper left with yellow shirt and mic.  Sega composer and infamous vocalist of Daytona USA soundtrack ("Rolllingggg sttttarrrrttttt!!!").

Makoto Osaki: Guy in blue shirt, upper center.  Director for Daytona USA 1/2, Scud Race, OutRun 2, and Virtua Fighter.  One of the main guys who fine-tuned these games so damn well but gets no credit.

Hajime Satomi: Guy on TV, lower left.  Founder of Sammy Corporation and current owner of Sega.  Rumored to be a leader of the Yakuza.  Nobody likes him.

Ryo Hazuki: Guy in brown leather jacket and jeans, dead center.  Main protagonist of Shenmue 1 and 2.  Knows martial arts.  Trying to avenge his father's death.

Segata Sanshiro: Judo guy in center of image, arms crossed.  Infamous fictional spokesman for Sega Saturn, known for beating up people who don't play the Saturn and deflecting a giant missile from destroying Sega HQ.

Jennifer, Alberto, Clarissa, Holly: Four people standing on left in front of presents.  Alberto is the "protagonist" of OutRun 2.  The three girls are you passengers for OutRun, Heart Attack, and Mission Modes, respectively.

Hornet Classic: Red and blue car on left center.  Based off a '94 Chevy Lumina, it's infamous stock car from Daytona USA.  Also appears in Fighters Megamix (a fighting car), Ridge Racer Vita (as DLC), and Sonic & All-Stars Racing: Transformed (unlockable character).

Sonic the Hedgehog: Upper center.  Everyone knows who this is.

Axel, B.D. Joe, Gena, Gus: Four guys on right center side of screen.  The four playable characters from the original Crazy Taxi.  Racing around town, catching big air, making huge tips along the way heading for KFC and Pizza Hut.

Ornaments: Cars from the following Sega games from top to bottom--Unicorn from Daytona USA 2001 (DC), Toyota Celica from Sega Rally, Ferrari F40 from Scud Race/Sega Super GT, Phantom Full Force from Daytona USA 2, F1 car from Virtua Racing.

Dreamcast 2: Poster in upper left corner.  Not real (of course) but all Sega fans want to see this (you do too, just admit it).  Rumored to exist through Sega's Ringedge/Ringwide hardware but it's pure speculation.

Sumo Digital: Tiny poster in center of screen.  Game company from Sheffield, UK responsible for porting OutRun  and Sega Rally Online Arcade to XBLA/PSN.  Also made Sega Superstars Tennis and both Sonic All-Stars Racing games.  Considered one of the last bastions of Sega goodness remaining on Earth.

Daytona International Speedway: Backdrop to this image (crap but there's so much stuff in the way so w/e). Located in Daytona Beach, Florida, USA, it opened in 1959, it's home to the most prestigious race in NASCAR (Daytona 500) and lends its name to Sega's 1994 arcade game Daytona USA.

THE MORE YOU KNOW...

Get the full size image off deviantART (please favorite!!!).  Sonic Claus fanart attribution.  Remember to keep Christ in Christmas and have a super day with family & friends.  Oh, and Happy New Year too.

Sumo Digital Q & A's, Not Bad...

Hey guys, I hate to play the role of "news reporter" (as opposed to news analysis/pundit) but here's the new Sonic All-Stars Racing Transformed trailer.

Wow, there's an After Burner track. You can see it in the video--it's just like the first stage of the game (nice and blue). That, OutRun, Virtua Fighter, Shenmue--it's nice to see AM2 games get some appreciation again. This can only mean Daytona USA 1/2, Scud Race, and Sega Rally, yeahhhhh!!! There's also Samba de Amigo, Space Channel 5, and Skies of Arcadia tracks too.

Already mentioned it, but here's the Sumo Digital AMA thread and I got the chance to ask DarthSol a few questions (page 133).  The thread is huge--it's been around since May so I couldn't dig up everything (maybe later). I can't say the answers for me are that great but what can you say. If he's reading this then thanks for putting up with my dumb questions!


1. What exactly was the rationale/influence behind this game? Or who came up with these Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing games and why? I know there's Mario Kart but let's put that aside. Was there this huge desire from the fans (like me) wishing for Sega to make a new racing game again (I know this is Sumo but close enough)? Or was there a desire to see more games celebrate Sega's roots so you guys decided "What the hell, let's do both?" I suppose this is a good answer but any more details I forgot would be great.

We'd done two games, we went 'Let's do a third' and went from there. We decided more could be done with a racer with land, air and sea in a single track, which meant Transforming vehicles. Initial design was probably written on the back of a beer mat - and we've been figuring it out ever since!



2. Some of my friends who are more into the "hardcore racing" side of Sega like OutRun & Daytona are concerned about the game's framerate. Should we be worried about the FPS dropping below 30 in the final build?

We're aiming for a locked 30fps, unless you're on PC of course. I'd love it to be 60, but the water alone means that's unlikely.


2.5 EVEN MORE, I guess I should reiterate the previous question. The guys are concerned that the game will cater more towards the Sega fanbase rather than the racing fanbase, hence this isn't as "good" of a racing game as it could be. Could you reaffirm to me and the other guys that this is still a serious racer, just once more to get them to ease up on the game?

We're aiming to make a pretty awesome SEGA Arcade racer based on all manner of classic SEGA franchises. It's been done by the same team as ASR, and I have the Lead Designer of Blur and PGR3 and 4 working full time on the project. This time we're going for a slightly older look so not to distress the hardcore. Not sure what more I can do to convince anyone really!


3. How much effort has been put into balancing the character tiers? In the first game, my favorite character was Jacky Bryant but he was dead last in tiers. I always played as him online though but barely kept up with the Sonic/Shadow abusers :S

It's no secret that we've brought in volunteers to do a better job of the balancing. We're committed to getting it right. We want to avoid tiers and there are things in the game that make that even less likely to happen.


4. How about backwards drifting? Has that been nerfed or not? My preference is towards removing it (seeing as it was unintentional, I think) but what do I know.

Not in. Wasn't supposed to be in the original either and we very nearly killed it with an update.


5. Any new content pertaining to Daytona USA, OutRun (besides the bonus track), Crazy Taxi, Sega Rally, Virtua Racing, or Scud Race?

Read the first post in this thread. If it's not revealed, we can't and won't discuss these kind of things!


6. Has Yu Suzuki, Toshihiro Nagoshi, or the AM2 team sounded off on this game? Do you think they will seeing as they were also responsible for OutRun 2 and other Sega racers in the past?

We work closely with SOJ. Some of the people mentioned may have played it, I'm not at liberty to say :P


7. What will Danica's character look like in the game (realistic, cartoony) and what will she be driving? I don't ask this because I'm attracted to her, I just wonder how she will fit into the scope of the game.

Again, you'll need to wait and see. We should have footage out shortly for this though!


EDIT: More questions & answers!!!  Here's what I got:

1. I know there's drifting in cars, but what is the equivalent boats and planes? The ability to do stunts for boosts I suppose? Or can you "drift" in planes/boats too?

Each surface has its own way of handling ...like in the air a tumble left or right can get you right back on the ideal racing line... But yeah, they all have 'drifting' of a sort, but it's not identical in each form. 

2. What are your tasks & responsibilities pertaining to the game (anybody who answers)? Probably already been answered but since I'm into game development, I'm wondering how I can relate to your tasks at the moment? I'm a programmer BTW.

S0L is "Guardian of the Library of All Knowledge", and I think he is known by mortals as "Executive Producer" (correct me if I'm wrong buddy) He is also, the "Argumentor Persuivant" ...the upholder of the forums. If anyone has fought for the wishes of the forums, it is S0L!

I am commonly called "the Twit with Part of a Crayon Stuck up his Nose" and also known amongst the beasts of burden as Lead Artist/Creative Director. My powers are weak and age shrivelled, like an old current which fell from a cake many, many years ago, disappearing down the back of the sofa... A old and desiccated thing. 

SumoSpartan is known only as "Tim". A shy mysterious creature, he flits mainly from dark corner to dark corner, fixing design issues where he is needed. If Commisioner Gordon shines the "Tim" lantern onto the night sky, you'll probably end up with Batman turning up wondering what the hell that shape is. And then "Tim" will arrive with his powers of 'creating unsolvable puzzles' to bamboozle all! He survives mainly on a diet of gingerbread men.

3. How would you say the atmosphere at Sumo Digital is right now? I suppose everyone is excited but are they exhausted rushing to get the game done? Would you say everyone is serious or are they laughing & having fun? Dumb question but I'm just interested in you guys and hope all is well.

Everyone is working hard at the moment. Well it seems we always are... But on the whole enjoying it. Lots of late nights and weekends... No home life, stress, depression, waiting for that comet with our names on to end it all, but, yeah. On the whole, good clean fun.

No more multiple questions now guys.... It's hard work! Lol.

Take what you want out of this, but I guess it will reassure you all a bit.  Yeah, me posing in my Daytona 2 avatar & signature...the Daytona Universe is still omnipresent.  NOTE, if you want to post questions too, only ask three at a time (he's adamant about that now).  Also if I ask more questions, I'll let you know.

Sega & Midway Similarities: The Death Of Gaming Giants

I read a good article on SEGAbits detailing five reasons for Sega's recent woes and they are as follows:

1. Poor marketing
2. Poor scheduling
3. Terrible games from '05 to '08
4. Terrible Marvel games
5. Too many new IP's, not enough old ones

Right now we are all bummed out about Sega.  But I cannot get too upset anymore.  This is to be expected for Sega.  I'm hoping this is a cathartic stage in that they'll turn around, albeit they'll have nothing to show for the next couple of years besides Football Manager and a few more Dreamcast ports.  But you never know cause just when I think they couldn't be any dumber, they either totally redeem themselves or reach unprecedented levels of dumb-ness.  It's a game of Chutes & Ladders and I can't guess where they'll be in 5-10 years.

And now for your feature presentation...

I did some research on Midway (and Atari and Williams) Games a few months ago.  I should've brought it up sooner but now is a good time.  You see, Sega and Midway had a lot of common.  See this:

*  Both were old-school distributors of arcade/amusement hardware, including slot machines, jukeboxes, and eventually bona-fide arcade cabinets.

* Both had their own "League of Legends."  Midway: Ed Boon, John Tobias, Eugene Jarvis, and Mark Turmell.  Sega: Yu Suzuki, Yuji Naka, Toshihiro Nagoshi, Tetsuya Mitzuguchi.

* Both were prolific at arcade games.  Both had their own lines of fighting, shooting, and (lots of) racing games.  Mortal Kombat<->Virtua Fighter.  Maximum Force & Area 51<->Virtua Cop.  San Francisco Rush, Cruis'n Everything, Super Sprint, Spy Hunter, Hydro Thunder, STUN Runner<->Virtua Racing, Daytona, OutRun, look on the right side of the screen.

* Both were known for pushing the envelope in terms of edginess.  While Sega had Sonic, Streets of Rage, Toejam and Earl, and all that "Sega does what Nintendon't" bullcrap, Midway had Mortal Kombat, Rampage, Smash TV, NBA Jam, and NFL Blitz.

* In the turn of the millennium, both  got hit hard by the decline in arcades.  In '99, Midway stopped manufacturing pinball machines and in '01, stopped manufacturing arcade games altogether.  Sega also suffered the same fate but at a much slower pace (i.e. AM2 released OutRun 2 and Ghost Squad in '04, Sega still continues to make arcade hardware--Ringedge & Ringwide--though it's awfully underutilized).

* Both were "bailed out" by private investors following the arcade heyday.  In '03, American media magnate Sumner Redstone bought a majority of Midway's stocks.  In that same year, Sammy Corporation bought out Sega.

* Both their "League of Legends" bailed out to create new studios.  John Tobias left to create Studio Gigante.  Eugene Jarvis left to create Raw Thrills.  Yu Suzuki left to create YS Net.  Yuji Naka left to create Prope.  Tetsuya Mitzuguchi left to create Q Entertainment.

* Both lost a s***-ton of money & prestige during that period.  Sega obviously lost billions for years after the Dreamcast debacle.  Midway lost $115 million in '03 as they began shutting down studios, including Midway Games West and Midway Adelaide, that same year.

* Both published a ton of mediocre games since then.  In Midway's case, this included BlackSite: Area51, Vin Diesel's Wheelman and Psi-Ops.  In Sega's case, the Marvel games are a great example.

However, unlike Sega, Midway actually did go bankrupt.  In '07 and '08, there was a revolving door of higher-ups getting their asses kicked out the door.  In '09, Midway defaulted on its $240 million debt and crumbled into a million pieces only to be devoured by Warner Bros. for a measly $49 million.  At that point, Midway's stock were worth less than a dollar.  Rumor has it that whatever remaining Midway execs were devouring caviar and wine while "Rome" burned.

If there's any good news to be had post-Midway, it's that their franchises aren't completely dead.  High-quality Mortal Kombat games are still being produced by Warner Bros.  NBA Jam and NFL Blitz got remakes from Electronic Arts.  Hydro Thunder got a remake for Xbox Live.  And, love it or hate it, the Cruis'n games made a comeback in the form of multiple Fast & Furious games for arcades (including a terrible Wii port).

The good news is that Sega's "death" has been a much slower process, mostly because Sega still has Japan's support while Midway only had America to rely on.  I only hope that Sega learns from Midway in that they aren't eating the caviar while their company continues to die.  I think the changes  they've made says "Well, we know we suck but at least we're going to do something about it," which demonstrates more maturity than Midway ever did IMO.

Also, I was thinking about Sega and what we would do if they actually did perish from this earth.  Would it be THAT terrible?  All those IP's don't just disintegrate into thin air--they are still in existence.  Midway's prime IP's still get love today.  Who's not to say Sega's old IP's couldn't get the same recognition?  Maybe someone else will give Sonic their dues.  Maybe someone else will actually bring back Daytona.  Maybe Yu Suzuki will be able to make Shenmue 3 no longer bounded by the shackles of Sega-Sammy.

To be disappointed with Sega's death would mean to be disappointed that they missed the opportunity to return to "glory."  Yet clearly as of their condition today and the trends in game design it's very unlikely this'll occur even if they remain alive for a long time.  Everyone says that today's Sega is only a hollow shell of their former selves and will continue to be mediocre regardless of what happens.  I hope I'm proven wrong and that Sega and the fans stay resolute.  It's always great to remain optimistic but, as you've heard plenty of times, it's necessary to prepare for the worst.

"No society is guaranteed perpetual existence." - Mark Levin

Still we have faith that Sega will live and by God, even past the grave they will.

Sega Was Quite The Prolific Contributor!

Sup super brothers, this wasn't meant to showcase new material/opinions but I've got stuff to share anyway.  So here's a new IGN article that has sprung up lately which is surprisingly flattering towards Sega!  Sega: A Soothsayer of the Games Industry.  What a lot of you noobs didn't know about Sega so I'm gonna recap any achievements thus far whether it was a hit or miss.  I'm going to do this in timeline format and add a few things of my own so here goes:

1976: Let's go ride some bikes!  Fonz was not the first racing game Sega released (that would be Moto-Cross, a game relatively identical to this) but it was the first game to feature force feedback controls and also the first to be based off a TV character.

1985: Let's go ride some bikes...again!  Hang-On was a motorcycle game that boasted the world's first full-body experience gameplay (steer by leaning left & right on the special bike cabinet).

1986: Embark on a beautiful journey!  OutRun was the first racing game to combine multiple soundtracks and non-linear routes.  Most of the landscapes were derived by memories accrued by the eclectic Yu Suzuki during his European tour.

1987: Early attempts at lousy 3D gaming!  Sega revealed an add-on for the Mega Drive...a pair of black 3D glasses with LCD shutters that would project 3D full-color images from the screen.  It was a flop, of course.

1989: HOOOOOOO!!!  Sega released the arcade version of Moonwalker, an isometric beat-em-up featuring none other than music legend Michael Jackson.  A 1990 version was released for Genesis that featured drastically different gameplay (2D action sidescroller).

1990: Go buy some DLC!  Sega released a network system exclusive to Japan dubbed the Sega Net Work System.  Download games using a modem attached to the MegaDrive for a sizeable monthy fee (unfortunately, you had to redownload the games after you shut the console off).

Also that year, you could now watch TV on your handheld system!  The Sega Game Gear came with a backlit color screen and a TV tuner.

1991: Save your files on internal console memory!  The Sega CD (of all consoles, geez) was the first to include this feature.  The Saturn in 1994 also did the same thing as well.

Also this year, Sega released the very first Sonic the Hedgehog game which would later become Sega's official mascot and spawn one of the most largest game franchises in history.

1992: Play racing games in 3D!  While Virtua Racing wasn't the first 3D racing game (predated by Namco's Winning Run and Atari's Hard Drivin' by '88 and '89 respectively), it was the first of the Model 1 arcade series and the beginning of Sega's 3D arcade dominance.  It was also the first racing game to feature multiple view points--cockpit, bumper, chase, and far chase views.

1993: Play fighting games in 3D!  Virtua Fighter was the first 3D fighting arcade game.

Also that year, we said screw the Kinect--let's play hands-free gaming Sega-style!  The Sega Activator was an octagon-shaped Genesis controller that was placed on the floor and read player inputs as they waved around like idiots.  It was a piece of crap but kudos for trying.  Over a decade later, the Kinect has no excuse to suck.

And yet again for that year, Night Trap was released for Sega CD, an abysmal game that was presented during US Senate hearings which eventually ushered in the ratings system.

1994: Highest grossing arcade game of all time!  Well, at least the highest-grossing arcade racing game of all time.  Daytona USA, ladies and gentlemen.  It requires no introduction.

Also, Sega would continue their online exploits by releasing a similar online service for the Genesis known as the Sega Channel.  This time, it was available in North America.  Pay the subscription to download games, cheats, manuals, unreleased content, and demos off the server hosted by Time Warner Cable.

1995: Play Mega Drive & Genesis games outdoors!  The Sega Nomad was a portable Genesis/Mega Drive system with a 3.25 inch color LCD screen and an A/V out plug for connecting to another TV (you could watch a video game on two screens).  Also came with AC adapters and battery packs (with abysmal life, of course). Was supposed to have a touch screen but Sega ditched that feature due to a high price tag (over $250).

1997: Play more games online!  Sega released the 28K NetLink attachment for the Sega Saturn, complete with keyboard and mouse compatibility.  Unfortunately, only five games were playable online, one of which was a special version of Daytona USA: Championship Edition.

1998: Carry your saved games around with style!  For the Dreamcast, Sega ditched internal memory in favor of those "evil memory cards" that Sony profited from.  But the Dreamcast memory cards (Visual Memory Unit or VMU) also functioned as a second screen during gameplay AND as a mini handheld gaming device elsewhere.  Everyone knows this but it's a neat idea that's so clever it's worth mentioning multiple times.

1999: Show the Wii who's boss!  Sega released the Dreamcast Fishing Controller which was quite versatile for a mere fishing game peripheral.  It could be used to play other games...such as Virtua Tennis or Soul Calibur!

Also that year, Yu Suzuki released the most expensive game ever produced for its time, Shenmue, at $47 million (in 1999 money).  This and its 2001 sequel Shenmue 2 both cost $70 million (in 2001 money) to make.  It was also the first game to use Quick Time Events and also spawned one of the most delayed yet anticipated threequels in history (Shenmue 3).

2000: Play with even more fun Dreamcast toys!  Shake the maraca controllers to Samba de Amigo.  Also talk to Seaman the fish with your microphone.

Also this year, SegaNet (or Dreamarena in Europe) was released for Dreamcast consoles.  The Dreamcast was the first online-ready console which ran over a 56K dialup connection.  It also had its own built-in web browser with keyboard & mouse support.

2002: The legend will never die!  First game company ever (to my knowledge) to survive a total loss of over $1.5 billion (from 1998 to 2002) and still survive.  Partially due to one of the greatest altrustic moves in gaming history--former Sega Chairman Isao Okawa donated $695 million that same year just before his death.

2003: Listen to video game music LIVE!  The infamous Takenobu Mitsuyoshi performed the Shenmue soundtrack at the first Symphonic Game Music Concert in Leipzig, Germany--the first video game music concert held outside of Japan.

2004 onward: Sega did nothing worth noting (except a few racing games).  Cause they suck and are an embarrassment to us all.  I give them props for staying alive this whole time but that's it.

2012: The Dreamcast homebrew scene still forges ahead.  Sturmwind was the most recent Dreamcast game released this very year, thus proving the Dreamcast is still "alive."

What a damn shame.  To see all these achievements go to waste after the post-Dreamcast era.  Seriously, listen to the New Sega Theme Song--it sums up everything perfectly.  This post has gone on way much longer than it should've so I'll end with a few choice quotes from the IGN article that sums up Sega all too well:

Unfortunately for SEGA, offering future tech in the present is expensive, and I would chalk up a majority of Sega’s commercial failures to prohibitive price tags with minimal returns. This is in stark contrast to the company’s ancient rival, Nintendo, which is historically quite content to sit on emerging technologies until they become affordable, and by extension, profitable.

It is little wonder SEGA was the prime mover for video games for so long: with teams AM1 through to AM7 during the 1990s, surely SEGA burned through an insane amount of money in research and development alone. Like a dog digging holes in the backyard, SEGA leapt from the Mega CD to the 32X to the Saturn within the span of three years. This did nothing to build up consumer confidence in the SEGA brand, but in retrospect, it’s hard not to admire the excitement for the medium that SEGA so clearly shared with its fans, and demonstrated with its business decisions. Its devil-may-care attitude towards game development in the Saturn and Dreamcast eras is something that we simply do not see outside of the indie scene today. The Dreamcast read like a love letter to gaming itself.

Even stranger for Sega, a retired prize fighter sitting on the sidelines. Watching Nintendo grapple with the internet; watching Sony outfit handhelds like Swiss Army knives; watching Microsoft struggle to make full body control viable; and being able to say, “been there, done that.”

Yeah, that's right.  Sega kicks ass and now you know why.  Yes, they were a very foolish company but when they did something right, it was awesome.  The end.

If you have any Sega "firsts" that I forgot to mention, please let me know cause I want to learn more too.

How To Save G4 Television (Not Really)

This is on the heels of Adam Sessler's and Kevin Periera's departures from the so-called-titular gaming cable channel known as G4.  The 4 G's stand for Games, Gear, Gadgets and Gigabytes, BTW.

Now, I don't watch G4.  Used to watch it a bit years ago but now I stay the hell away.  I'm not even a TV person anymore.  I leave the TV on Speed Channel and listen to it as I work.  But I still have some pity on G4 since I'm a "gamer" and so is G4.

The main problem I have with G4 is that I always felt like it insulted my intelligence.  Whatever original programming that station has consists of a bunch of gloating airheads who use dumb catchphrases like "fus-do-rah" or "the cake is a lie" or "epic fail."  And they oogle over models at Comic-Con (yes, I'm talking about Olivia Munn and the "Olivia's Rack" segment).  And then they air reruns of Cops, Cheaters, and The Man Show.  Literally, I just checked G4's schedule for the next six hours and there's X-Play, Revenge of the Show, and 3 hours worth of Cops.  That's all you got???

I'm sorry, but I'm not a toolbag.  Not all of us are energy drink hopped-up nerds who sit around in our underwear playing World of Warcraft or Xbox Live 10 hours a day.  Gimme a break.  Even though I found Adam Sessler irritating in the past, at least the dude knew his stuff and brought some new ideas to the table.  He made you think a little.

 Yes, Adam, you may be a bastard, but at least you're a magnificent bastard.  Like me.

Browsing through sites like Kotaku, Reddit, and GameFAQs, I doubt I'm going to heavily invest in another "mainstream" gaming channel.  But these are some common sense ideas I'm going to throw out a Top 10, no, Top 14 list of ideas to help you guys out.  Since I know very little about what G4's airing these days, they may doing a few of these things anyway.  Here goes:

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1.  Ditch Cops, Cheaters, The Man Show, etc.  Literally, I just checked the channel's lineup for the next six hours and it was all Cops, all the time.  This is a gaming channel, not Spike TV.  Try to focus in on shows that have to do with  gaming and technology, not dudes running around with guns or women.  Also, no more juvenile jokes like "Revenge of the Kha'ak" from X-Play a few years ago.  Yes, this is real.  And yes, the "kha'ak" was blurred out.

 If I wanted to watch crap on TV, I'd sit through a To Catch A Predator marathon.  It's got cops, girls, and controversy...it's got it all.

 
2. Channel the old TechTV/early G4.  Bring back some decent shows like Icons.  Documentaries help!  We want shows that are both educational, fun, and not idiotic.  Even if the show is old, at least try to keep it interesting.  Like Angry Video Game Nerd--it's meant to be informative as well as entertaining in the long run.  But here's some an episode of Icons you should like:




Wow, Yu Suzuki on cable TV.  It's a miracle.


Holy cow, Yuji Naka's got some nice wheels (Lotus Elise).

3. There are three things that many websites/news channels focus on--News, Opinions, and Fan Stuff.  Focus on this.  There needs to be more "radio-esque" shows.  Have one or a roundtable of pundits report the news, take in some calls, give out some fan polls, make it feel like we're getting involved in the process.  Even if they dish out game reviews, allow some fans to offer a counter-opinion so the hosts don't develop this superiority complex.  Sites like GameSpot, Kotaku, and Joystiq get gamer feedback all the time--why can G4TV air some of their feedback too?

4. You can't cover ALL gaming with just one or two shows.  Gaming is such a BIG thing so you gotta break it down into many pieces.  How about some shows that are dedicated to specific aspects of gaming?  How about a show on FPSes.  Another on RTSes.  Another on MMO's.  Another on RPG's.  Another on sports games.  Another on--dare I say--racing games!  Throw out some news, a few reviews, get some fan involvement in there.  Also throw in some shows on gaming hardware, computers, new gadgets, etc.  Revenge of the Show doesn't count.  Air a new episode at least once a week, even if it's just for 30 minutes.  Get gamers of ALL interests involved.  Show 'em some love.

5. Channel some of the more successful online brands that have sprouted up recently.  Like Giant Bomb.  Or Machinima.  Or Mega64/Rooster Teeth.  They've put out some clever stuff.  There's a reason why people are browsing them more than your channel.  Like check out these YouTube vids--they're pretty interesting:

Warning: Bad language.

Dumbass kids on Xbox Live


Stuff about Black Ops

6. Gaming competition shows.  Holy cow--who would've thunk it?  Isn't gaming about competing against other people???  Get some MLG, EVO, or CPL coverage in here.  These events go on all the time.  Seriously, I have a friend at FIEA who watches Starcraft 2 competitive streams all day.  Or if the pro circuit is too heavy for you, make a casual gaming show like the old Button Mashing on GameSpot.

Button Mashing aired back in GameSpot's Jeff Gerstmann/Alex Navarro days (before Giant Bomb).  Basically, three people near the GameSpot offices came in for three rounds of competition.  First round--go through three console games and accomplish menial tasks like "kill 2 guys on Mega Man" or "get in a car in Grand Theft Auto" as quick as possible.  Fastest 2 players go to the next round where they try to identify a bunch of games from a bunch of spliced game clips.  The player with more correct answers goes to the final round where they challenge one of three GameSpot editors at their favorite game (i.e. Tecmo Super Bowl, Guitar Hero, Street Fighter II).  Beat the editor and you win some GameSpot swag.  Lose and you go home with just the GameSpot t-shirt.  Still a fun, simple idea that wouldn't take much effort to produce.



EDIT: There was once an old G4TV show called "Arena" which featured LAN events between teams of gamers.  It aired from '02 to '04.  Don't know why they canned it but that's G4 for you.  Making room for more Cops reruns.

7. Do your convention event/interview footage.  Like E3, Comic-Com, Blizz-Con, GDC, whatever.  But be rational report the news.  Talk with big shots like Gabe Newell or Cliff Bleszinski.  EDIT: Try to get interviews with Japanese guys too--yes, do the translator interviews with guys like Miyamoto or Inafune.  Then you can gloat but don't act like nerds.  Seriously, if you didn't get the memo by now--act like men, not like geeks with the mentality "I am nerd, hear me roar."  Avoid phrases like "noob" or "epic fail."

8. Bring in a show that contains nothing but user-created & submitted content off of YouTube.  Like some Super Mario Bros. movies, a gaming speedrun, a Minecraft creation, or a funny glitch.  Just some cool stuff for us to watch.  But no YouTube Poops, just say no.

9. No more Bit Monkeys.  The concept is okay but the humor is so juvenile...guys calling each other douchebags and hitting each other in the head with bats.  A missed opportunity.  This coming from a guy who's a game programmer who longs for the games of the 80's/90's.

10. AND ESPECIALLY NO AWARDS SHOW LIKE THE SPIKE VGA'S.  HELL F***ING NO.  If you want to do an awards show, don't blow it out with a bunch of self-gloating celebrities and other talking heads.  You'll make gaming look bad.

11. Air the old Mario & Sonic Cartoons, but only at 1 am since they can be cringe-inducing for 20+ year olds to watch at times.  And air The Wizard or some other vidya game movie like Super Mario Bros, Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, etc. once a month.  HA, scratch the movie part.



12. Follow these steps:

1. Make the Mass Effect cartoon a reality.
2. Get lots of viewers.
3. ???
4. PROFIT.



13. LAST DITCH EFFORT TO GET VIEWERS.  BREAK GLASS ONLY IN CASE OF EMERGENCY.  Air My Little Pony.  I'm not a Brony but it will help you guys out, I swear.  At least it's not The Man Show so I'll let it pass...reluctantly of course.

 That's some EPIC WIN right there.

14. The Golden Rule: What will non-gamers think of our channel?  Will they look at us like we're serious about games like any other everyday interest (cars, sports, food, travel, politics, etc.)?  Or will they look at us like a bunch of morons caught up on a massive nerd-gasm orgy of crappy memes, Comic-Con cosplayers, and Mountain Dew?  Think about it.

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That's the list, have fun and please don't "frag the messenger."  If you do all these things, Adam may come back and you may restore some sanity to gamer culture.  Now get working, G4, cause times are changin'.

Beautiful Yu Suzuki Conference At TGS 2011

TGS as in "Toulouse Game Show," not "Tokyo Game Show."  This was in November 2011 so this is quite recent!  It's always great to hear from Yu Suzuki and this time it's nothing short of emotional.  Thanks to the Shenmue Master guys who were so loyal to ask Yu the tough questions and make videos like this.  There's two parts to the conference: one on Shenmue, the other on everything else.  Here's the super-quick recaps since the videos are quite long.

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Part 1 (Shenmue) recap:

Intro: Standing ovation for Suzuki-San!  EDIT: It's really worth saying I'm moved by his reaction to the applause.  Yu still seems genuinely surprised that he's admired as much as he is.  He seems so humble and quiet up there unlike others who go up there to gloat and suck up as much attention as possible.  I really gotta give him props.

Making an RPG: Sega was working on the Dreamcast and they needed a killer title.  No one wanted to make the RPG so Yu did it himself.

Shenmue on Saturn: It was a prototype for the Dreamcast version.  The rendering, development of characters, cities, and quests were just tests for the real thing.

XBL/PSN Ports: Are they possible some day?  Yu nods his head and doesn't say anything.

Martial Arts: Does Yu practice martial arts?  He want to China and learned a lot.  Went to the Shaolin Temple and got beat up.  He's not very strong but he just wanted to see it for himself.

QTE's: He likes that other games are using QTE's.  Not much to say.

Shenmue Gai (Town): It was developed for Japanese mobile phones.  It's possible to Westernize it.

Title: Why the title "Shenmue"?  It's the name of a tree.  "Mue" means "tree."  "Shenfa" means "flowers that grow on the tree."  Very old story about the Shenfa.

Shenmue III again: Yu says he wants to work on Shenmue III again, ha.  People want to donate money for him to finish Shenmue III.  Yu says thank you and everyone cheers.

Jokes: Yesterday, have you seen a black car?  Takes a while for him to get it.

Popularity: Shenmue was a catastrophic commercial failure (jeers from audience).  What do you think of the difference between the excellent quality of your games versus their low popularity?  Because of his enthusiastic audience, he denies there is no lack of popularity (cheers from audience).

French words: What do you think of French translation of Shenmue II?  Yu is confused and cannot answer.  Fans begin a sing-along for the Happy Birthday of Shenmue II's European release.  These people are nuts passionate!

Shenmue III yet again: Despite opposition to Shenmue III questions, people still asked 'em anyway.  Is it still possible to see Shenmue III someday?  "If I can have the opportunity, the chance, really, I would make it.  Like today, to be requested by so many people on 'Please bring us Shenmue III!', I think that I really must do it!"

Favorite game he made: Shenmue.  Naw, really?

Wow, I don't know how big of a crowd this was, but just these thousand or so fans really moved him.  Great show so far.

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Part 2 (everything else) recap:

Hang-On: Rode a lot of off-road bikes in the past.  Had an urge to make a bike game but thought an "off-road" game wouldn't sell well (say that to Trials HD) so he created an "on-road" game.

OutRun: He wanted to create a "driving game," not a "racing game."  Driving with the radio on, girl in the seat, checking out the view, it's just cool.

Look, it's a radio.

Cars: We love all cars, even small ones!  Drifting is a lot of fun.

Technology: Used Assembly.  That's it.  (I've used it too)

Ports: Watched over the arcade ports.  Had to work hard since console technology was inferior to his superb arcade technology.

Virtua Racing: First 3D Sega game.  Could only get 300 polygons at first.  But because Yu is such a racing game pro, that's no problem.  Wanted to model 3D living beings but that was too complicated hence a car game instead.  Player models in Virtua Racing were the basic models for Virtua Fighter.  Looking back, it looks more like robots or walking boxes!!!

Check it out guys, I stole this picture.

Arcades: Some of his best memories.  Going to 3D was most exciting.  Release new technology early but not too early.

Social Games: Interested in them, particularly smart phones which is the "future."

Development Tools: He had to create his own.  Yeah...

Virtua Fighter 6: Since Virtua Fighter 5, he's entrusted the series to AM2.

Japanese Creativity Crisis: Doesn't think there is one.  Many original games have come out of America & Europe so it's all good.

Psy-Phi: Designed in 2005 but canceled.  Was too ahead of its time.   Used a touch screen like Tom Cruise from Minority Report (his words).  Would be more suitable now.  When asked about it, he teased releasing the game for iPhone (for obvious reasons).  Learn more about the game here.

If this game came out for the Kinect, I'd kick my own ass.

Sega: Can't speak of what he's doing there--it's confidential.  He does give advice in arcade games' production.  Still maintains a good relationship with Sega and mentions if he had the Shenmue license, he could do something with it...!!!

Nintendo: Has worked with Nintendo before!  Doesn't mention anything else.

Future Plans: In Yu's words, "It is certain that I would make Shenmue III if I had the chance."  Also thinking of other projects include one in which "monsters and other animals fight together."  Raise your monsters and send them to fight.
Wait--what???  Is he talking about Monster Rancher???  That's it--we take over Tecmo and pool our efforts into a Monster Rancher fighting/RPG game.  We have Virtua Fighter/Dead or Alive expertise under our belt.  If Capcom and Namco want to play footsies then so can Sega and Tecmo.

Then hhows a picture of a cat kicking a dog and everyone laughs.  No one knows if he's joking or serious.  These things draw inspiration for new games.

What's your favorite game???: Easy games.  Effortless games that you can play with kids.  Like Animal Crossing from Nintendo.  Yes, he actually says "Animal Crossing."

troll-face.jpg

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Anyway, it's super-encouraging right now to see Yu Suzuki speaking to the fans.  He looks humbled by his standing ovation.  He's a good man looking out for his games.  He also has a contagious smile.  Wish we had more game devs like him nowadays.

Going It Alone Without Sega

Well first off, I'll start by saying that Daytona USA and Sega Rally Online Arcade are on sale for 400 MSP each (XBL only, sorry guys).  So if you have an Xbox 360 with internet, you have no excuse not to but these now.  Good for you, good for Sega. YOU'RE TOO LATE NOW.

But now for the bad news.  I'm fairly certain everyone knows this but Sega has recently posted big losses of about $240 mil in the last year (March '11 to '12).  Tons of people laying off and Sega claims they will restructure their development to only include big IP's like Sonic, Total War, Football Manager, and Aliens.  We don't know what this means for titles still in development, like Jet Set Radio, Shenmue, or Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing 2.  Something's gonna get cut cause that's the business.

EDIT: Seems that SEGAbits says that big bloggers like Kotaku have overstated the news.  Sega isn't giving up on other IP's as easily as it seems.  I already take Kotaku with a grain of salt and now it pays off.

...

I'm a bit distressed by the news but it's not totally surprising.  We all know Sega has been ailing for years and their only way out is to take even fewer risks.  All of this on the heels of my "Sega needs to do more" rant.  I know it sucks ass.  No specific reason why Sega is doing poorly other than that they've gone back to being "Good Old Sega" again...the one that falls into holes that it can't climb out of.  Oh wait, that's right, it's because of all the money spent on Dreamcast 2 development, thanks Zach Morris. (sike)

A brief aside pertaining to financial woes: I recently wrote a paper on Midway Games.  Yes, the Midway of Mortal Kombat, NFL Blitz, and Cruis'n games.  Like Sega, they were lucrative in the arcade business.  In '01, they closed their arcade division due to financial losses.  In '03, American media magnate Sumner Redstone owned 80% of Midway's stock.  Later, Midway started publishing mediocre games like Area 51, Psi-Ops, and The Wheelman.  Midway lost an ass-load of money and was eventually stripped and sued to pieces, only to have whatever remaining pieces to be bought out by Warner Bros. for cheap.  But I'll get into Midway again at a later date--I'm getting off-topic and I want to save it for later.

It's distressing to me because I've said many times it's my "goal" to work at Sega.  Then make some new racing games and actually restore sanity to video games.  A while back, I took some initiative and asked somebody on the official Sega forums if they offer any jobs for aspiring programmers.  Here's how it went down.  This is me:

Here's a strange question. I'm studying to get my graduate degree in game programming at Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy (ranked 2nd in Princeton's Top 10 gaming schools) and will most likely be doing some intern work in the next six months. Rather than be harvested by Electronic Arts (like 2/3rds of my class will be), I was wondering if Sega was interested in holding some internships or job openings for programmers. I know Sega of America is in California but if I have to travel, then so be it. I like Sega so...I guess I would like the chance to work with you guys.

I'm just curious and am throwing this out there. Don't know where else to ask this question since Sega doesn't have a "contact" e-mail besides video game support (such as "perform a hard reset").

And this is an admin:

Gaming jobs are the best out there, so firstly - welcome to the first step in a satisfying career! For jobs at SEGA, keep in mind that we are a publisher, not a developer. If your programming focus is aimed at game creation, you'll be better suited for development positions. If you have interest in web programming, you'll be an excellent fit within a publisher.

My recommendation for anyone looking for jobs in video games covers off two main websites - www.gamejobs.com and www.gamasutra.com/jobs. Both should give you a ton of resources for available positions by company and region. SEGA jobs are listed in the above link (as noted), but again, this will depend on what you are looking for.

My final recommendation is not to be down on any company or job you take. Experience is experience, and you'll find that a diverse portfolio will be helpful in finding work where ever you go. If SEGA or one of our developers is in your sights, then figure out the kind of jobs they hire for and build your resume to match that, both in school and real world experience. Hope this helps, good luck!

That sounds like a great response and I really can't complain.  The thing that gets me is how Sega is now labeling themselves as a publisher only.  Ok, I've known for the longest time that Sega only publishes great games and doesn't make them themselves...but where are all these official Sega games coming from?  I know they're making some on their own.  I heard Sonic Adventure 2 was developed in San Francisco, hence the City Escape and Radical Highway stages.

And then there's the crap licensed games like Iron Man, Thor, Aliens...where are these games being made then???  Yeah, that's right--Sega Studios San Francisco, which I have no idea where it is...in a underground bunker under a non-descript building it seems.  Shoot for the studios owned by the publisher...like if you're into Nintendo, go for Retro Studios in Austin, Texas.

Speaking of non-descript buildings, I've looked up Sega of America's headquarters on Google Maps multiple times.  Here's what it looks like.

This is it.  A plain brown 4-story building in a medium-density zone in San Francisco.  If it weren't for the small Sega logo on the building, you'd never know it was a Sega building at all.  LOL WHERE'S THE BLUE SKIES???  Yeah, Sega is some juggernaut, huh....performing hard resets in a modest San Fran office building.  Living the life it seems.

I know many of you were expecting Sega to dwell in a massive university campus setup (like Microsoft, pictured above), but no, just a tiny brown building.  Sega ain't that rich.

HA, now that we've gotten the building stuff out of the way, let's talk about actually working at Sega.  And this is where it get's really sad...

It's about time I start to discount working there.  Let's be real--Sega is downsizing.  They aren't looking to hire anybody.  In the meantime, job outlooks in general continue to get worse despite the fact that Electronic Arts is snatching up as many programmers as possible.  No really, we NEED jobs and if that means doing the programming equivalent of shoveling horse manure at EA Tiburon, well....what choice do you have?  Money talks--you need money to live.  To make your family and friends happy.  Am I going to throw away everything over the pursuit of lousy racing games???

And even if you did work at Sega, would it be that great?  Travel across the country and sit in your little office cubicle working on Aliens or bad Sonic games just to keep Sega on the respirator.  Never get to meet Yu Suzuki or Toshihiro Nagoshi.  It would be lousy as you'd expect.  And it all comes down to the climax which is this...

I think the outlook of new Sega racing games is really bleak.  Maybe a new Sumo Digital title or another XBLA/PSN port but I can't see much through the fog.  I have little faith at this point they can churn out new Daytona/OutRun/other non-derivative racing game.  You need the stars to align to convince Suzuki-San and Nagoshi-San to make another racing game especially considering the sad outlook of the game industry, MUCH LESS have the chance to pitch the game to Sega altogether.  Also throw in the possibility of another financial catastrophe and that likelihood can drop even lower or be wiped out altogether (as in Chapter 13, look it up).

So now what?  Well, we can continue to chip away at Sega and its studios and hope to catch a break but it may be in vain.  So we make our own racing game.  And we do it without Sega, Yu Suzuki, Toshihiro Nagoshi, Makoto Osaki, Tetsuya Mitzuguchi, Takenobu Mitsuyoshi, the AM2 team, the #41 Hornet car, and the Daytona soundtrack.  Can it be done?  Yes.  Will it be painful.  Hell yes it will.

WE NEED PROGRAMMERS.  WE NEED PRODUCERS.  WE NEED ARTISTS WHO ACTUALLY LIKE RACING GAMES.   WE NEED SEGA FANS WHO ARE SICK AND F***ING TIRED OF THIS GENERATION OF GAMES.  WE NEED TO GET TO WORK SOMEHOW!!!  Cause really...what other choice do we have...?

So it can be done without the Sega/AM2/Daytona name, huh?  Well let's look at two examples:

The first is Medal of Honor.  The first game came out in '99 for the Playstation and it had excellent reviews.  Electronic Arts bought the rights to the game but decided to kick the original team off the project.  So 22 ex-employees formed their own little studio called Infinity Ward which would go on to make Call of Duty.  Then Call of Duty would later triumph over Medal of Honor although that series has probably been run into the ground by Activision so that figures.  What goes around, comes around.

Second is Guitar Hero.  It was made by Harmonix.  After making Guitar Hero 1 and 2, Harmonix was kicked out--Activision made Guitar Hero 3 and so on.  Harmonix went on to create Rock Band.  Despite the ultra-success of Guitar Hero 3, the series fizzled out while Rock Band re-innovated the music genre with a huge library of music and new instruments and gameplay modes.

And if, should the Good Lord will it, maybe Sega will see our good deeds and intervene like an angel and then we will be able to make the best racing game ever made.  One can only hope.  I may be wrong but as they say, "Hope for the best but prepare for the worst."  We'll see what happens in a year or two .  But be on alert people since WE MANY NEED YOU some day.

...

Uh, so you know what Sega needs?  Sega needs a little help from his friends.  HIS SEGA FRIENDS LIKE YOU AND I!!!  GOD BLESS YOU SEGA!!!

OutRun Accused Of Plagiarism???? TX-1 The Game...

I was browsing thru random racing game vids the other day and I came across this old game I've never heard before.  It's called "TX-1" which doesn't make any sense.  It was developed by Tatsumi (who's that?) and published by Atari in 1983.

...

Game seems innocuous at first.  Reminds me of Pole Position but with super wide-screen vision (16:5 ratio???).  You're driving this red F1 which looks like it was drawn in Windows Paint.  But then:

You come to a fork in the road.  Take left or right and travel to foreign worlds...

Oh, this fork is leading me into a tunnel...

And now I am in a completely different part of the world!

Now I am in yet another part of the world as you can see.

Now I am someplace else and I have ANOTHER set of crossroads!  Wait, crossroads--that reminds me of...

Outrun

OUTRUN IS A RIPOFF!!!! TX-1 CAME OUT IN '83, OUTRUN IN '86!!! WE'VE BEEN MISLED!!! THE SEGA LEGACY IS RUINED, LIFE IS OVER, DELETE THIS BLOG IMMEDIATELY!!!!!

SEGA NEVER STEALS ANYONE'S IDEAS...RIGHT???  HEY GUYS, I'M ON THE ROOF!!!

HOW COULD YU DO THIS!!!!!!!!!

--wait, OutRun deploys the 1-2-3-4-5 diamond, TX-1 uses the 1-2-4-8 elimination bracket, so it's not 100% the same thing.  Sega can snatch, grab, run like hell with whatever they want since they're Sega and they need every edge they can get nowadays.  Plus TX-1 looks like crap and OutRun doesn't.  So don't reach for that big red button yet.

Remember kids, don't drink & drive...

...and while you're at it, don't smoke crack.

Dayum, too much drugs, now I'm seeing s***.