Newsletter: Sega World Weekly issue 17 (then Sega 2000-X)
From Video Game Morgue File
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/ > > > SEGA 2000 - X MAGAZINE < < < \
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/ Issue #17 of "The Original Dreamcast Magazine" \
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\ Sega 2000 - http://www.sega2000.com /
\ Sega X - http://www.segadreamcast.net /
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======[ EDITOR'S COMMENTS ]===============================
Hey everyone! Here it is... the month you've all been
waiting for... NOVEMBER 1998... month of the Dreamcast!
However, lets just hope the chip shortage gets sorted out
so everyone can enjoy this month. :) But that aside, I'm
so excited about it!! Just think, this time last year we
we're looking at the end of the Saturn... woundering what
Sega might do to survive... and possibly a few were thinking
should they get a Playstation for Christmas? Now we're here,
and in 27 days, Sega is going to release THE world's most
powerful console ever.
Prepare, for the biggest video launch in history, prepare,
for the console of your wildest Dreams... prepare, for the
Sega Dreamcast.
Also, the big draw is this week at Sega X, yes two lucky
people will win a Dreamcast and the game of their choice!
But the winners will have to check Sega X to see if they
won, and if so contact them as quick as possible. (if the
winner dosn't contact Sega X within a week, a new winner
will be a drawn). Good Luck to everyone!
Finally, if your looking for a good read, I highly recommend
reading Game Center's Dreamcast feature at...
http://www.gamecenter.com/Consoles/Features/Dreamcast/
Elijah (Editor)
----> Page 1 - Andys Rantings <----
----> Page 2 - Web Event <----
----> Page 3 - News <----
----> Page 4 - DC vs PSX2 <----
----> Page 5 - Surveys <----
----> Page 6 - Editoral <----
----> Page 7 - On Your Mind <----
----> Page 8 - Web Sites <----
----> Page 9 - Last Words <----
======[ ANDYS RANTINGS ]==================================
---> ANDY'S RANINGS...
This week, my weekend column is pretty much my weekly
column’s highlights. I was out partying with my friends
all night, and now I have a splitting headache. Nonetheless,
enjoy.
10/27 -->
Well, first up is the Virtua Fighter 3: Team Battle tournament.
That’s right. Sega is going to host a VF3: TB arcade tournament
next month in Japan, to promote the upcoming Dreamcast launch
(ONE MONTH!!!). After a 200 yen registration fee ($2 US), they
battle it out for the best of each arcade. Come November 23,
the grand final is held. For all those who don’t make it, the
recieve a spcial prize (likely something to do with Dreamcast).
Hrmm...my thoughts. Wow, 2 bucks is pretty cheap considering you
get a prize no matter what. I would do it in a flash. I wonder
what they will hand out as the special prize...
It’s incoming...the highly anticipated Japanese launch title,
Incoming, is in the final stages of debugging, and will be ready
for mastering within the next few days. A Rage spokesperson
confirmed that there are only four more implemation-based
bugs that need to be fixed. The company is delighted with
the game’s progress. Rage is pleased with the development
structure, and the assistance provided by Sega during
development. This sounds like it will be a great game, and
I can’t wait till this game comes. I’m proud of Sega for
helping out because they know that the more launch games they
have, the better sales will be.
10/28 -->
OK, I really talked alot about Square *possibly* developing on the
Dreamcast. I would rather not take up a whole page just on
that story again, so I shall summarize it. Here is
Elijah’s new story, as I don’t really feel like taking the time and
summarizing it myself. Square (makers of FF7, and also
joined to EA) might be porting their upcoming RPG, Saga
Frontier 2 to the Dreamcast. They have recieved five Dreamcast
development kits from Sega, but currently, they aren't an
offical developer. Strange? Well yes, but there is 2
possibilities... they will make an announcement as to
developing on the Dreamcast, or EA will publish the game for
them. Well what ever does happen, it seems Square has been
impressed with the Dreamcast. - Elijah
OK, here’s what I think. Saga Frontier was a terrible game, and
hopefully the sequel is much, much better. Also, I think
that Square should stay on the PlayStation for the time being
because that is where they are shining. Umm, that’s the real
short version. Hopefully you saw the full, weekly version.
Virtua Fighter 3: Team Battle PC? Why yes. Sega PC is
planning on porting VF3: TB to the PC. They commented that
"VF3tbPC details are sketchy for the time being." Along
with Sega Rally 2 PC, it will be interesting to see how they compare to
the DC, and even the Arcade versions. Sega 2000 will keep
you updated if any info suffices. Wow, that would take some
major processing power! Probably a Pentium II 500 Mhz, at
least 32 Megs of RAM, and definitely at least a Voodoo II
or Riva TNT. For you clueless on those, it’s a lot of power.
Major moola. $$$ :)
Speed Busters hits Dreamcast. UbiSoft’s upcoming PC racer,
Speed Busters, is being "seriously considered" for the DC,
says Pierre Szalowski (games producer). He also said, "Our game
has all the necessary qualities to appeal to the console gamer.
We have implemented strong graphic rendering, a quality that
the Dreamcast utilizes, so all the initial elements are
there for us to work on a conversion." The PC version goes
on sale November 20th.
10/29 -->
Star Trek: Insurrection is coming to the Dreamcast.
Activision, who has the rights to all Star Trek games for
the next ten years, has announced a DC version of the
upcoming movie Star Trek: Inserrection. It will be
released in Spring 1999. The movie opens everywhere this
December. Yawn. Star Trek games of recent years haven’t
really been exciting.
Capcom is working on 8 Dreamcast games? BS? No no no...it
is quite true! It’s quite amazing. So far, only 2 are known.
Bio Hazard: Code Veronica, and the 24 part RPG that Sega
2000 reported on last week. Sega X has also commented that
Street Fighter Alpha 3 is also a possibility. I think that
they are probably working on Marvel vs. Capcom.
That would be so great...
Rage (makers of 6th launch title, Incoming) has announced
two new games. Like the Capcom story, we don’t know which
specific titles are being made. Sega X gave some possibilities...
Midnight GT, Savage Arena, Ruud Gullit Striker, or Expendable.
Wow...8 previously unannounced games in one day! That sure is
a lot...
10/30 -->
Apparently the story last week about the chip shortages,
yes the one I argued about, seems to be true. Because of
the NEC chip shortage, most stores have stopped taking
orders. No one is really sure what is going on. All the
stores have big signs in their windows saying that the
machines may not be there for the release. If so, there will
only be a few available at each store. Sega may not ship any
out of the country until this situation is cleared up. This
is a big blow for Sega and a disaster if it isn’t resolved soon.
No comment from Sega yet. It will be very hard to get an import
machine this winter, so good luck. Well, it still could be a
lie to convince people to buy quick, but now I think it is the
real thing. Too bad...ouch.
Sega of America has job openings. Check out the news page for the
direct link.
10/31 -->
OK, new story. It’s a good thing I checked out the
news page today... wasn’t expecting anything new. I’m not
going to do anything about this one. Here’s the story.
Shouei System has announced that it's releasing a "network
multiplayer-enabled RPG" named Warrz for the Dreamcast next
year. The game was originaly planned for the Saturn, but
now in a wise move, they swapped over to Dreamcast. While their
isn't any details about the Dreamcast version the Saturn
version could support 5,000 simultaneous players. Gamespot
described the game as, "polygon based, set on a medieval-like
world (with the usual magic and swordplay), where players
tried to beat an evil lord. Players could choose to be a
merchant or to be married to another player, with a kid."
Hrmm, sounds kinda fun. Sounds kinda crazy too. Anyways...
Final -->
Anyways, I’m really sorry that I just did a quick weekend thing.
I didn’t have the time or willpower to do this. Read the
weekday column, for it is better. Goodbye.
- Andy
- http://come.to/ff8source
======[ WEB EVENT ]=======================================
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I ---> THE EVENT FOR SEGA FANS EVERYWHERE! <--- I
I ---> www.sega2000.com <--- I
I ---> Details Soon <--- I
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NOVEMBER 28th 1998 - The Event For All Sega Fans!
---> ARE YOU A WEBMASTER?
If your a webmaster, and are intrested in being part of
this huge Net Event, please e-mail me on Elijah@sega2000.com
with your site name and URL. Thanks.
======[ NEWS ]============================================
Are you intrested in buying Import? Here's a great mailing
list to join brought to you by VGL...
http://server.com/WebApps/mail-list-subscribe.cgi?id=12567
Just follow the link above and enter your e-mail address,
and thats it, simple!
Also, there is a new daily newspaper starting up run by
Adam (SegaDream). If your intrested in joining, please
send an e-mail to supera66@concentric.net with only the
word "subscribe".
======[ FEATURE ]=========================================
SEGA DREAMCAST -VS- SONY PLAYSTATION 2
Yasir Qureshi provided an excellent set of questions with
the Sega Dreamcast vs the Sony Playstation 2, and here is
the details...
> Hi! I am seriously considering getting a Dreamcast on import
> in December but many articles on your website suggest that it
> will be destroyed by the Playstation 2. Do you believe this
> to be true and I want a straight answer (please). I also
> have a few other questions:
Really, I don't see how sites can say that... there is no
offical news on the Playstation 2 atall, so far it's all
rumours... but here is one way of thinking about it... Sega
have always ruled the arcades with the best technology, even
since the days of Afterburner and outrun... now they've created
a home system with an ammount of power that shocked the world,
the developers and other hardware companys. Now the rumours say
that Sony, who has just come along within the last few years,
has developed a peice of hardware, that can do 3 times the
power of the Dreamcast. Erm... come on... I just can't believe
they could do that to a company with so much experience, and
more so... I really don't believe they could be so quiet about
it if the hardware is complete like they say now... I mean
developers are SO excited with the Dreamcast, they would explode
with 10 million polygons! Plus with the DVD, it's a fact they are
very expensive, so if it's a 1999 launch they are after, it's gonna
cost alot. The backwards compatablility however, I belive... and
I think that's a part of the machine that will defiently come true.
> Will Time Crisis 2, Virtua Cop 3, Tekken 4, or Streets of Rage
> 4 come out for the Dreamcast?
Time Crisis 2 and Tekken 4 arn't knowen yet, but Namco is a
developer for the Dreamcast... and without a new Playstaion
to work on for awhile, it's highly lightly they will want to
port Tekken 4 onto something right? The N64? Hmmm... I don't
think so. For Virtua Cop 3, yes... Sega have been waiting for
a far enough advance in technology for VC3 however, because of
the lack of extra game play they can add... they need advanced
graphics to make it alot better. Streets Of Rage 4? Not sure,
Spike Out is very like it... but for an offical game I really
wouldn't know sorry. But Mega Drive games such as Ecco and
Phantasy Star are coming... maybe it will too.
> The Dreamcast seems to have many amazing games confirmed
> and many developers signed up but will the Playstation 2
> with its superior specs sway these developers to make games
> for it?
If the rumoured specs are true, then yes it's lightly almost
all of them will develop for the Playstation 2... but... the
Dreamcast will also be popular since it got a head start, so
they will continue to make Dreamcast games aswell of course.
> The Playstation 2 will be DVD. Does this mean that the games
> will be much bigger and better than on the Dreamcast with its
> 1 gig high-density disks.
DVD? Well again, that's not a fact... it would make the price
very high. But anyway, yes the games could be bigger, but not
by a huge ammount since the Dreamcast uses 1 gig high-density cds.
> I do not yet own an NTSC television which is necessary for
> a Japanese Dreamcast. Is it possible to purchase some kind
> of converter that will make the change from PAL to NTSC?
> If not, can I buy a converter for my monitor?
Yep you should be able to pick one up from your local importer shop.
> What games do you predict will come out for the Playstation
> 2 with its 10 million polygons per second and from which
> developers? Do you think Sony will come up with Crash
> Bandicoot 4 as a Sonic Adventures Beater.
Erm... sorry I'm really not sure... Tomb Raider would be
the only game I could say at the moment really. Crash
Bandicoot 4 to beat Sonic Adventure? hahaha, well it's
possible they might try... but seriously, there is NO way
that could beat Sonic Adventure. Sonic beat Mario in most
people's view, and even lots of Playstaion owners think
Crash isn't that great. They need something new if they
will beat Sonic Adventure, and I don't just doubt this
because I'm a Sega fan... I'm sure almost everyone would
say that.
> Sonic adventures, is the gameplay any good?
Oh yes, it's as fast as the previous 2D games, and with
new moves Sonic is awersome to play!
> Do you know when Sony will release info about their
> console and will it be over the internet like Sega did.
Probably yes... they will try to out hype the Dreamcast,
but that's gonna be very HARD work, even for the mega
advertising lovers which are Sony.
> How much better is 10 million pologons than 4 million?
> Can you give me a comparison, for example is it like
> the difference between the Master Systen and the Mega
> Drive? Do you think that the PSX2 will be like the N64,
> superior in its specs but few good titles to back it?
10 million and 4 million really don't mean a set ammount...
it all depends what effects they have on... I mean they
might mean the Playstaion 2 can do 10 million polygons
without any textures or anything on. If they are true, it
will look alot better, but looking at Sega's lineup...
Sega is gonna be soooooo hard to beat in Game Play...
well... few good titles yes, but I think they will have alot
of bad games that just look good. With 10 million, they will
be obssesed with the "eye-candy" and have a lack of gameplay.
But of course, like N64... there will be some winners.
> When do you think the PSX 2 will be launched and will its
> launch mean that Sega will launch the Dreamcast earlier in Europe?
I think Christmas 99 for Japan, and mid 2000 for the rest of the
world. Sony do know how important a first line up of games and
hype are... so I don't see a 1999 release for other countrys
being possible atall. Launch the Dreamcast earlier? I doubt
it very much, since they pushed the Saturn's release 3 months
forward and look at what happened... but they have given them
selves alot of time, so I guess if REALLY needed, they might.
Thanks to Yasir Qureshi for the e-mail
---> HAVE COMMENTS ON THIS FEATURE?
If you have any comments/things to add etc... to this feature,
please e-mail them to Andreas at our letters section. Thanks.
Andreas - tuna@ebox.tninet.se
======[ SURVEYS ]=========================================
Last week we run a very intresting poll on when people
thought the Playstation 2 would be released. We got 289
votes, and here are the results...
1998 ------------- 06 votes
1st Quarter 1999 - 17 votes
2nd Quarter 1999 - 19 votes
3rd Quarter 1999 - 33 votes
4th Quarter 1999 - 74 votes
Early 2000 ------- 25 votes
Mid 2000 --------- 38 votes
Late 2000+ ------- 46 votes
----> This weeks survey...
----> What are your 10 most wanted games?
Please use the Charts page of Sega 2000 to vote, thanks.
======[ EDITORAL ]========================================
I am sorry for not writing an editorial last week, but
I was a bit busy. I have been working on my game. Oh,
that reminds me: my company's web site is up, you can
find it at fantasoft.home.ml.org. Many of you already
know of it, from Sega 2000, but this is for those of
you who don't. We'll be having a pole on what a few of
the characters will look like for the game soon. Anyway,
here's the editorial:
With all of the rumors flying around about Sega Rally 2
& VF3 TB (people saying how they're going to suck because
the graphics aren't arcade perfect), I can't help but say,
"Who cares!?" People are always telling me how they won't
buy games because of their graphics, but they go out and
buy the stupidest games and tell me, "look at those
graphics; mmm, hmm... those graphics are so cool." "But
the game isn't fun," I tell them. "That's only because you
suck at it, you uncultured swine!" Then I tell them,
"you aren't God's gift to gaming either, pal!"
At this point, I usually get thrown out of their house.
But I go home and play my Saturn, and enjoy it. No flashy
graphics here, that's for sure! But I play Mega Man X4,
even though I've beaten it numerous times; I play Sonic
Jam, even though I have all of the Sonic games anyway!
Saturn may be dead, but Sega isn't. They are spending
all of their time making games for simply the sake of
making games (and money, of course). They are only making
them with good graphics so the swine that buy games only for
graphics can learn what they missed. This will start a
new era; an era of good, fun games. The stupid games will
no longer sell. "Hardcore Gamers" (the ones that buy games
for their graphics): I say this to you: the Dreamcast has
amazing graphics, sure, but the whole reason they made it
is for fun! So go out and buy a Sega game, a few bags of
candy, and a bag of sugar! Eat the edible items and play
the Sega game! You will have fun with these items, and
it will last a long time (like until 4am). Long live
gameplay! - Stan @ sonic999@juno.com
---> COMMENTS?
Please send them to Andreas (tuna@ebox.tninet.se) at our
letters section or Stan, our editoralist (sonic999@juno.com).
======[ ON YOUR MIND! ]===================================
---> SEGA VS NINTNEDO
Through the years, I have been performing research on two
major video game companies, Sega and Nintendo. Everyone
says Nintendo is better (they do? - Elijah), but the truth
is that Sega was and still is state of the art. Look at
some games for the SMS and NES. California Games for SMS
had better graphics and sounds, while the NES had much
better control. These two companies ripped each others
games. Nintendo Tennis and Sega Tennis. Nintendo boosted
their copy with a Mario cameo, but Sega used more advanced
chips and boards to produce clearer and crisper graphics
and sounds. This same thing goes for the SNES/Genesis wars.
Genesis was way better, but it did not have to same video
technology as the SNES. The SNES produced more colors than
the Genesis. Look at MKII for both systems. The SNES
version has better colors and more sprites, but the Genesis
had better sound and game play. Check out the 32X to SNES.
The SNES version of DOOM sucked ass. The control sucked,
the sound sucked, and the graphics sucked. They used
their "FX Chip" in the game, but it still sucked. The 32X
version had the correct components to run such games. The
bottom line is that Sega is better. Check out the size of the
processors and such on each systems mother board. Run your own
experiments. The Dreamcast will help Sega. Nintendo will slowly die...
- Chuck
---> EARLY DC RELEASE?
We asked what people thought about an earlyer DC release
for countries outside of Japan, here is spme of the
responce...
No, I think sega is right on track with the plans to
release the dreamcast in fall 99. It gives them time to
develop the translations and other companys to get their
games together for the launch, remember what happen to
the Saturn launch that had many gamers screaming for more
games. Get the games ready first and then release it,
Its painful to waite but in the long run I think It will
be worth the wait.
- Kevgolgo13
This question is a no-brainer. Sega should consider
bringing the Dreamcast to all shores earlir than
determined. As technology grows and the economic relations
of the world increase we should be seeing product debuts at
closer intervals. It does no good to make everyone else wait
ten extra months. I don't know many people who aren't excited
about the Dreamcast. I mean, I'll buy one as soon as it is
released (maybe even sooner if I an get my grubby little
hands on an import.) Well, thanks for listening.
- C. Pimentel
---> COMMENTS? We'll print them in the very next issue,
just e-mail them to Andreas at tuna@ebox.tninet.se :)
======[ WEB SITES ]=======================================
---> ARE YOU A WEBMASTER?
If your a webmaster, and are intrested in being part of
the huge Net Event (with the advert printed below this
section), please e-mail me on Elijah@sega2000.com
with your site name and URL. Thanks. Also if your looking
to have your site advertised in this section, please e-mail
me.
----> http://www.angelfire.com/ms/elijahparker/
Elijah Net
----> http://www.dreamcastlife.com
Dreamcast Life
----> http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Portal/5062
Dreamcast Apex
----> http://www.dchq.com
Dreamcast Alliance
----> http://pluto.beseen.com/chat/rooms/k/11061
Kevin's Sega Chat Room
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I N N OO V V EEE M M BBB EEE RRR I
I NN N O O V V E MM MM B B E R R I
I N N N O O V V EEE M M M BBB EEE RRR I
I N NN O O V V E M M B B E RR I
I N N OO V EEE M M BBB EEE R R I
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I ---------------- 28th 1998 ------------------ I
I I
I ---> THE EVENT FOR SEGA FANS EVERYWHERE! <--- I
I ---> www.sega2000.com <--- I
I ---> Details Soon <--- I
\_________________________________________________/
NOVEMBER 28th 1998 - The Event For All Sega Fans!
----------------------------------------------------------
Copyright, 1998 Elijah Parker - ELIJAH@SEGA2000.COM
- MADCOW@IHUG.CO.NZ
----> http://www.sega2000.com - Sega 2000
----> http://www.segadreamcast.net - Sega X
Written and edited by Elijah Parker (just so you know who
to blame for the terrible spelling... he he... and who's
real name isn't even Elijah, it's Graham! But anyway, that's
a totally different story) The magazine is owned by
Sega 2000 / Sega X and no parts may be copied without
prior permission. It would be very mean and I will
tell my mummy about you! (he he, kidding!) If you have any
friends that might be intrested in this magazine, it would
be excellent if you could let them know about it. Thanks!
p.s So what is this web event your advertising Elijah? hehe,
wouldn't you like to know! Well... yes actually, that's why
I asked. Oh... fair enough... well, I'll announce the details
this week. Not even a clue? Hmmm... ok, it's been in plan
since about June this year. Ok, well I think I know what it
might be anyway. You do? Yes... I think so. Well we'll see
for sure later this week. So why do webmasters get to know
and things earlyer? They can be part of it, and get quite
alot of hits from it probably. :) Happy Gaming everyone!
