Newsletter: Sega World Weekly issue 25 (then Dreamcast Weekly)
From Video Game Morgue File
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/ ___> > > DREAMCAST WEEKLY MAGAZINE < < <____ \
/ / \ \
/ / ~Issue #25 - www.DreamcastWeekly.com~ \ \
\ \ / /
\ \ Sega 2000 - http://www.sega2000.com / /
\ \ Sega X - http://www.segadreamcast.net / /
\ \________________________________________/ /
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======| ABOUT THE MAGAZINE |==============================
Dreamcast Weekly is proudly sponsored by Consolexpress,
New Zealand's only import dedicated store. But not just
aimed for New Zealanders of course, they supply to all
around the world.
The domain name www.DreamcastWeekly.com is provided thanks
to Total Video Games, the UK's premier video games magazine
up-dated daily, and The Junction, the best place for Teens
to chat.
www.the-junction.net & www.totalvideogames.com
======| EDITORS COMMENTS |================================
Only 12 days left until Sega Rally 2! Personally that and
Sonic are my reasons for importing a Dreamcast, and I can't
wait to play it! Speaking of imports aswell, our sponcer
Consolexpress has an AMAZING deal. Trust me you'll never
find better import prices. They are selling everything but
the system at the normal retail prices in Japan! I can say
after ordering from them myself that they are for real
aswell, (and no I'm not getting payed for saying this, hehe).
Defiently THE place to import from!
Well along with that, in this issue we feature mainly on
how to raise your Chao VMS creature, an Interview with
co-webmaster of Sega X, Matt Langan, an editoral on messages
in games, news, letters and plenty more.
~ Elijah (Editor)
---~> Page 1 - Cover Story <~---
---~> Page 2 - The News <~---
---~> Page 3 - Importing <~---
---~> Page 4 - Staff Interview <~---
---~> Page 5 - Editorial <~---
---~> Page 6 - Best Of The Web <~---
---~> Page 7 - On Your Mind <~---
---~> Page 8 - Credits & More <~---
---~> Page 9 - Finally... <~---
======| COVER STORY |=====================================
---~> HOW TO RAISE A CHAO
---~> By Elijah & Thanks To Jin
Sonic Adventure features the best use for the VMS yet,
expanding on the Nights A-Life engine, Sonic Team
presents... Chao's! Little creatures you can breed, play
games with, fight, explore, race, and so much more with
(including marrage! But being in Jap, it can take some time
and alot of guessing to work out how to do all this right.
Hopefully this guide will solve that problem, and I'll add
more details as I find them out.
Getting A Chao: First you need an egg. Either goto one of
the breeding areas (in the hotel lift for example) or find
one in the exploration areas. Then, in the breeding area,
smash it against a wall (A then B) and the Chao should hatch.
You can feed it by shaking the trees inside the room for nuts
(walk next to one, hold Y and shake with the d-pad) and then
picking the nut up and taking it to your Chao. If you've just
played a level and collected alot of creatures (after
destorying an enemy you get one) they should all pop out of
you when you enter the breeding room. To merge your Chao
with an animal, simply pick up the animal and take it back
to your Chao. Your Chao may grow bunny ears and have better
running power if merged with a bunny for example. Then, it's
time to put your Chao in your VMS. In the corner of the room
should be a large VMS machine (pictured to the left and right).
Take your Chao to it and step on the orange button. Then
release your Chao over the doors and it should start saving
it to your VMS.
Starting The VMS Adventure: After the title screen and
pressing A+B in the VMS, your Chao's adventure begins.
Please note if you take your Chao out of the VMS during his
adventure and put him back in later, it will start back from
the beginning again. Use the A button to select, and B to
cancel. Pressing Sleep will pause the entire game, so you
don't have to worry about minding him when your busy. Press
A, and you'll get a long list of menus. Below is their
English translations...
o Status
o Items
o Card Game
o Marriage
o VS Play
o Owner Info
> Name
> Birthday
> Telephone
> Favorite Things
> Secret
o Friends
o Map
o Settings
> Sound on/off
> View User Data
> Edit User Data
- Name
- Sex (Male/Female)
- Blood Type (A/B/O/AB)
- Birthday (YY/MM/DD)
- Telephone Number
- Things You Like
- A Secret
o Chao's Name
The first thing to do is scroll to the bottom and name your
Chao. Keep pressing down until you reach the English
characters and use A to select, B to backspace. Then your
adventure begins, the aim to build him up so he'll win in
the races, and to finish walking through all the VMS levels
(explained in Map). When ever your Chao needs something he'll
beep at you, and here is explainations for all the options...
Status: The first screen is easy to understand, but pressing
A again brings up his stats. They include...
o Swim
o Fly
o Run
o Power
Items: During it's adventure you'll collect items, either in
treasure or by winning the card game. Eating different items
will incrase different stats. There's alot of different ones,
from increasing HP, max HP, running power, swimming etc...
but becareful not to over feed him otherwise when you try
again, he'll just kick the fruit away. More specail fruits
are detailed below...
Card Game: It's a game of memory. The object being to flip
over 2 cards at a time, and if they match, they stay turned
over. Once you've got every card flipped over (6 pairs),
you win. But you only get 3 errors (none matching cards)
before it's game over. Try to remember as many pairs as you
can at the start of the game when it flashes the cards at
you as possible, and finally aim to get 0 wrong. If you do
you'll get...
o Chao's Fruit (+ 4 to all status) or
o Star Fruit (Punch * 2) or
o Speed Fruit (Agility * 2)
Punch and Agility are explained in the VS Play section.
Marriage: If you have 2 VMS's with Chao's in them, join them
together and they can get married (This means they will
produce an offspring aswell!).
VS Play: Join 2 VMS's with Chao's in them together, and
fight! It goes like fighting a CPU character along your
adventure, and quick reactions, strong Punch and Agility
stats will dicide the winner.
Onwer Info: Along the adventure it will ask questions about
yourself, it's best just to ignore them to be honest.
Friends: Details about the onwers of other Chao's you've
joined with.
Map: This shows you how far your Chao is on his adventure.
The first screen shows how many metres it has until the
next junction and the second screen shows the route he has
taken. At each junction you have 3 options...
o Left
o Right
o Let the Chao dicide (random)
Settings: The different settings are showen at the top menu
translation.
Chao's Name: It's important to give your Chao a name, and
there is a huge range of letters and symbols to choose from.
Scroll down to get more of them, including English. Use A to
select a character, and B to backspace. When your done,
highlight OK and press A. It's name isn't set forever, so
you can always go back to this option and change it later.
======| NEWS |============================================
---~> MARVEL VS CAPCOM DETAILS
The Dreamcast version of Marvel Vs Capcom won't just be a
straight arcade port, it features multiple brand new game
modes! GR Online reports...
The first new system is called "Variable Cross", which will
enable you to call in the first character that you select,
during the fight and control it for a specific period of
time. At the same time, the other character that you have
been using can be used for attacking other opponents.
Surprisingly, you can use as many hyper combos as you want
during this period.
Another new mode is Variable Assist where you can pick one
friendly character out of 20 and make them attack your
opponent anytime you want. Of course, the systems that came
with arcade version such as Variable Counter where you can
change your partner anytime during a bout and Variable
Combination where two characters can use super attacks at
the same time, will be available in the DC version.
To be kind on novice players, Capcom will include an Easy
mode, where a player can attack with super combo by pressing
a button continuously. This should prove to be a monster
title for the DC!
---~> NEW ARCADE GAMES
While Sega is mostly concentrating on the Dreamcast, they
haven't forgotten about the arcades... here's a list of what's
currently in development thanks to Magic Box...
AM2 is working on a new Naomi arcade racing game called
Ferrari F 355. AM4 announced a new arcade drum music game
called Smash Beats. Sega will release their new 3D action
game Zombie Zone and music game Flash Beats in February.
Sega is also working on a brand new arcade soccer title
called Flash Soccer.
======| IMPORTANT MATTERS |===============================
Consolexpress wishes to thank all those who responded to our
advertisement from the previous issue. Please be informed
that our website(www.consolexpress.co.nz) will definitely be
ready by next Saturday,23 January(NZ time/+1300GMT).
Good news for everyone! We have lowered our prices and is
now selling all but one of our Japanese Dreamcast products
at Japanese retail prices(in NZD). We are fixing the
exchange rate at NZD1=YEN60. The exception is the Japanese
DC System which is now selling at NZD710.22. Our specially
made DC transformer is priced at NZD52.44. All prices are
fixed in NZD and will be displayed on our website.
We have now decided to process orders only once our website
is ready. Because of the changes in our prices and to be
fair, we have to cancel all current orders that were done
by email/fax/phone. All customers will now be paying at the
new prices. Current customers have been given reservations
for their requested DC products. New customers can also
reserve our DC products from now until the time the website
is ready. Reserved customers are under no obligation to
purchase anything from us. If we do not receive any online
order from them, those reserved products will be made
available to other customers. To become a reserved
customer...
Email us at order@consolexpress.co.nz with your...
o Name
o Country
o Dreamcast Products that you wanted
In stock DC products are: Japanese DC System, VMS(grey),
Arcade Stick, DC transformer, Virtua Fighter 3tb and Sonic
Adventure. You can backorder or preorder any other DC
products once we are online.
We accept payment by credit card(Visa/Mastercard/Amex) or
money order. Payment instructions and shipping information
are all available on the website.
New releases coming out soon: Evolution, DC Steering Wheel
and Sega Rally 2. More updates in the next issue. Happy
gaming to everyone!
======| STAFF INTERVIEW |=================================
---~> Interview With Matthew Langan
---~> By Mike
Next in line of our staff intreviews feature is Matt,
co-webmaster of Sega X.
1. First of all, tell us a little bit about yourself.
How long you have lived in Ireland and what you do at
Sega X? How has the site come on in the last few months?
Matt: Well, I've lived in Ireland all my life, and am a full
blown Irish man, although I do have Canadian, American and
Scottish relations. I started off working at Sega X last
June. It was all of a coincidence really. I ran Sega Zone
with Ryoni Shouten for the first few months in 1997, which
were basically my first time getting experienced in working
and writing for websites. I learned a lot working there.
Anyway, after a while, I started to become fed up. I decided
to go and form my own site, and with a number of top class
staff in mind, I'm sure it would have been a success. Before
I made my final decision, I happened to meet Sajed Ahmed,
the webmaster of Sega X. We got talking and after a while,
I was offered a position at Sega X. I was having doubts
about doing my own site, and I wanted a break away from
the industry, so I took the job, expecting only to
contribute once or twice a week. But being me, I couldn't
help but contribute every day, and form some sort of passion
for working at that site. It wasn't long before Sajed gave
me the position as Senior Editor, which I still hold to
this day.
My jobs include writing news, reviews, previews, running the
mailbag section, and contacting developers within the gaming
industry. I also do the odd editorial, when I can manage to
get the time. When joining, I honestly never expected Sega X
to be all that big. Thankfully, with some great staff, and
Sajed being the top guy he is, we put a lot of work and
effort into the site which has paid off today. I've learned
a lot over the past few months, and I'm just glad I can be
apart of it. I'm also glad that I can help out other Sega
fans by keeping them up to date with all things concerning
Sega's brand new machine, the Dreamcast.
2. In America, Sega became one of the most unpopular
game-brands thanks to a parade of failures. Where does the
company stand with European gamers, especially in Ireland
and England?
Matt: Well, while Europe has realistically been a more successful
area for Sega's past consoles, I still wouldn't class their
recent machines such as the Mega CD, 32X and Saturn to be
successes. While I enjoyed my Saturn, and found it to be
better then the Sony Playstation and Nintendo 64 in many
areas, it didn't achieve the sales which it did deserve,
despite a number of mess ups on Sega's behalf.
3. Overall, Saturn was a great system with unrealized vigor
in the West. What must Sega do to avoid those same mistakes
with Dreamcast?
Matt: If I had to give you a one word answer, I'd say marketing.
Basically, Sega need to establish the Dreamcast as a "cool
machine", just like Sony did five years ago. Along with
quality titles at launch, such as Sonic Adventures, Sega
Rally 2, Virtua Fighter 3, and perhaps Blue Stinger, Sega
would definitely be off to be a good start. It's also
important that SOE take full advantage of their one year
lead against Sony's next machine. If they can do that, and
have a good user base by mid 2000, then I think the
Dreamcast will have a very good chance of rivalling any
product that Sony may unleash within the next period of time.
4. How well do you feel the Dreamcast affected Christmas
sales in Japan? Was there room for improvement?
Matt: There was definitely room for improvement on Sega Japan's
behalf. Their launch titles, were, overall, a disappointment.
July should have never seen the light of day, and games like
Godzilla, Pen Pen and even VF3 should have had more time
spent on them, perfecting both the gameplay and graphics.
Also, Sega Rally 2 being delayed didn't help the situation
either, but overall, it was a wise decision to make, as Sega
will be depending on this game to keep the Dreamcast hype
going throughout the slow month of January. Finally as you
know, not enough machines were made available, which was, in
a word, shocking. Sega had their chance to sell off their
128 bit machine to almost any Japanese games fan eager enough
to get the newest piece of technology. Sega left a lot of
shops with little or no Dreamcasts available on the day.
Thankfully, Sega has a stronger image in Japan, but if this
were to happen in Europe or America, then Sega could kiss
goodbye to any hope of future success.
5. Living in Europe, what must Sega focus on there to win
gamers next Christmas?
Matt: Well in Japan, we all know that role playing games and
simulation dating titles are extremely popular.
In America, it's sports titles, particularly basketball,
American football and ice hockey. In Europe, it's mainly
arcade titles, particularly racing and beat em up games,
hence Virtua Fighter 3, Sega Rally 2 and Metropolis should
do very well. English football games also do well, and
titles such as the Fifa series manage to sell off the
shelves at an amazing rate, despite most of them being
utter crap. Another genre that also does very well over
here is one with lots of blood, guns and gore, so a Quake
or Duke Nukem style game would go down very well over here
on the Dreamcast. In general, European games players like a
variety of different titles, which is why I think we won't
just see a lot of one genre being published over here.
6. Realistically, how do you think the launch day will go in
Europe later this year?
Matt: Well as I said before, it really all depends on how SOE
handles it. We all know that if they release it without a
modem or a handful of killer titles, along with a hefty
price, it's going to be doomed. Thankfully, they do know
this tactic won't work again, so they'll have to play things
safe. I've yet to see any advertising for the machine over
here yet, but I don't expect any until late Spring. If they
do get a good advertising scheme running, with words such
as "Let your Dreams come true..." showing glimpes of all
the graphically stunning games being released. They'll
need to keep the Dreamcast in the minds of the public, so
frequent showings of the machine on the television will
probably be necessary. If that happens, and they play all
their cards right, then, and only then do I honestly think
we'll see some excellant sales in the first week of the
console.
7. As with the problem plaguing NOE, which ultimately left
them to delay a completed Rogue Squadron, do you see
similar debacles happening with SOE?
Matt: Rogue Squadron was delayed in Europe by Nintendo because the
reality is, after Christmas, they would have little or no
big games lined up. With this Winter being a fairly strong
one for Nintendo, what with games such as Zelda, 1080
Snowboarding and Turok 2 hitting the streets, they felt that
they need to spread out their line up, hence the delay of
Rogue Squadron. Also, for some reason or other, Nintendo
don't have their own publishing offices over in Europe.
N64 games are distributed by a company called "The Games".
One of the main reasons Nintendo are not doing well over
here right now is because of the fact that they don't care
enough about European game fans. Sony completely changed that
attitude, and gave a lot of attention to us, which led to a
huge success over here. I believe that Sega are trying to do
the same, what with the 1.5 European developers being
brought in. That was a good move, and one that will
hopefully pay off.
8. How do you think Playstation gamers will react to the
Dreamcast?
Matt: Difficult to say really. Brand loyalty is a major issue in
sales these days, and even I was victim to that just a few
years back. Obviously, a lot of them will of course be
sketical of the machine at first, and will probably look out
for as many faults as they can find. Once Sega don't provide
the fuel, there shouldn't be too many problems. As soon as
SOE start to show people that they can get amazing titles
like SA, VF3, SR2, Biohazard: Code Veronica and a long list
of others on the Dreamcast only, it will definitely change
people's opinions about the machine.
9. Sonic Adventure and Virtua Fighter 3tb have been
impressing titles, a great close to 1998. Give us some of
your top picks for games slated in 1999.
Matt: Being a huge Resident Evil fan, I'm definitely looking
forward to Capcom's Biohazard:Code Veronica the most. After that,
I'd have to say Sega Rally 2, Metropolis, Carrier and Shenmue.
10. Finally, thanks for your time Matthew, and best of luck
with Sega X.
Matt: No problem, and likewise with Dreamcast Weekly.
======| EDITORAL |========================================
---~> Messages In Games
---~> By Tunek
Many games and other forms of culture/entertainment have
messages that they want to have the player/viewer/reader
discover by using their own mind. Often these messages fit
in one easy sentance, like "Save the nature" from Final
Fantasy 7 (I'm using a PS game even though we are a Sega
site, but a lot of people have played it and it is a good
example) or "Follow your heart" from the movie Titanic.
Sometimes they are a lot more complicated.
Dark Savior is a good example. To describe the message it
has, according to me, would be a whole new article. Most of
the time, these messages can only be found in games with a
story, which would meana RPG or similar, but there are a
number of action games with strong messages. For example
Panzer Dragoon Zwei. That game makes a very clear statement
about racism, but is a bit hidden :)
Another example would Desert Strike and its sequels. It is
quite clear in that game that the only real people in the
world are we in the rich parts. If you're arab you don't
seem to be more than cannon fodder.
The games that I belive to have lead the way in presenting
messages to people are the Final Fantasy series. Both FF5
and FF7 have strong nature messages. For example in FF5
(download that game now!!!!!) they talk about how they used
their crystals too much and they now will break. Obviosly,
the crystals are metaphor for the nature and how we humans
have exploited it and that someday the nature will totally
fall apart. You could even go as far as saying when the
crystals shatter, that is an indication what will happen
to nature.
And FF7's message is also very nature oriented. But it also
criticezes the huge multinational corporations of today. One
could almost go so far to argue that it favors some kind of
socialistic rule, but that might be going a bit to far. It
certainly is pro-democratic though (to american readers,
this isn't about US political parties).
But why do they put these messages in games? Are games
really reaching a level of 'high' that would put them equal
to books and movies? They way I see it, games are the most
dynamic part of our western/eastern culture. As more and
more game designers start to realise that they are making
people think they will start to think what people think
about. Do they, like in Desert Strike's case, encourage
stereotypes and racism, or do they like FF7 and Dark Savior
really have people think about the lives we live and what
we can do about them. I hope so, but time might prove me
wrong............
---~> Have Any Thoughts On This?
Why not e-mail Tunek (tuna@ebox.tninet.se) and we'll post
them in the letters section of next issue.
======| BEST OF THE WEB |=================================
There are sooooo many Sega sites across the web, wouldn't
it be great if one place listed the most interesting bits??
Presenting the "Best Of The Web" section...
---~> Sega 2000 - www.Sega2000.com
Want to win a copy of Sega Rally 2 for FREE? Even if you
don't have a Dreamcast, we'll send you a copy of the English
version this fall instead! Be sure to come to Sega 2000
this week and check out our new Forum for entry details.
Happy Gaming everyone!
---~> Sega X - www.SegaDreamcast.net
This Monday, Sega X will be celebrating its very first
birthday. Of course, usually on anyones birthday, you'd
expect them to take the day off right? Will the Sega X
staff be doing that? Of course not! In fact, we've been
working on some pretty hot content all week, which will
include an interview, a new contest (yes!) and a special
Sega X trivia and more.
---~> Dreamcast Life - www.DreamcastLife.com
In the coming weeks look out for new sections and writers.
It is an exciting time for us and we hope you will come
along for the ride.
---~> The Sonic Zone - http://szone.simplenet.com/soniczone/
Updated daily with a HUGE ammount of Sonic content that is
sure to blow you away! From Fan Fiction to Chatting to
Cheats and even Fan Created Games this is your one stop
Sonic site.
---~> Sega Runway - underworld.fortunecity.com/ninja/60/
Daily updates, plenty of awersome downloads and a weekly
poll make this a Sega site defiently worth visiting.
The official website for the Dreamcast Weekly is now open at
www.dreamcastweekly.com :) We've got the history of the
magazine, daily news and plenty more. Specially if your a
webmaster, there is lots of great information about how
you can be involved as well! Then in the future... who knows,
hopefully we'll be a print magazine one day :)
======[ ON YOUR MIND! ]===================================
---~> GOT SOMETHING TO SAY?
If you would like to express opinions, get some questions
answered, or just feel that you need some light and wisdom,
why don't you drop us some lines of text? Please e-mail
Tunek, our letters guy on tuna@ebox.tninet.se.
---~> ONLINE GAMING
I will be getting a Dreamcast sometime next week and I have
a couple of questions to those who already do (or know
better than me) regarding Dreamcast online gaming. According
to Sega, Sega Rally 2's official release date is January
28th. The game will have capabilities for online gaming too.
Well, I should have my system up and running by then. If I
import Rally 2, could I play someone in the U.S. with the
same game and a modem? Does the Dreamcast modem let you put
in the phone number you want it to dial for direct
connection with another player? Or will it be something like
X-Band was for the Snes where you have to connect to the
network and wait for an opponent? This is considering that
both players have the imported system and game. Now, having
one player using an imported system and trying to play
someone with an american Dreamcast.. That's another question.
Only time will tell. Hopefully you will be able to.
REPLY: As far as we know, yes, you should be able to have no
troubles playing someone in the US or anyone in the world
for that matter outside of Japan. Like I said before this
can be expensive, but if you dial your own connection, calls
will be of a normal rate. Another problem that seems to be
rearing its ugly head is the fact that SOJ will probably
charge people to play the game online, which could turn out
pretty expensive. As soon as the game is released, we'll
know for definite, and in turn, give you all the information
you need. - Matt
---~> SEGA TOURING CAR 2
Sega Touring Car is a highly underrated game that is worthy
of a sequel. It would only make sense to continue the
series since now it seems that everybody is making one after
Sega started the trend. I'll admit that the graphics were
pretty weak on STC forthe Saturn but it was a hell of a fun
game. It doesn't even have to come from the arcades, it
could just be a Dreamcast exclusive. If the game contains
the same racing elements as the first one, it very well be
one of the best racing games. Are there any words on a sequal
coming out? If not, you could place it on your wishlist
because it sure as hell will be on mine.
REPLY: While Touring Cars definitely has its critics,
especially on the Saturn version, it also has its fan, and
I'm definitely one of them. I love that game to bits, and
like Scud Race, I'd like to see a conversion to Dreamcast,
even though it seems unlikely at this point. Even if a
sequel never makes it out, I'm going to bet that at some
stage or other, Sega will release a special "Model 2
Collections", with the racing one including this game, in
arcade perfect form. Here's hoping Sega won't disappoint
this time around.... - Matt
======[ CREDITS ]=========================================
Editor: Elijah - madcow@ihug.co.nz
Assistant Editor: Mike - melbess@adelphia.net
Letters: Tunek - tuna@ebox.tninet.se
---~> www.DreamcastWeekly.com - Official Website!
----------------------------------------------------------
Copyright, 1998-9 Elijah Parker - ELIJAH@SEGA2000.COM
Written and edited by Elijah Parker. (Who's real name,
is interestingly Graham Parker, and who has a pile of
74 game magazines) The Dreamcast Weekly website is
hosted thanks to www.totalvideogames.com and the
magazine is owned by... me :) No parts may be copied
without prior permission. I would have to send
out my group of highly trained thugs who will have
a tea party with you until you crack and your mind
turns into jello... MMmmmmm.... Sweet Sweet Jello....
hehe, anyway... If you have any friends that might be
interested in this magazine, it would be excellent
if you could let them know about it. Thanks!
Oh and finally...
-----------------
This is a taken from the rumours section of the latest
PSextreme Issue... it's so funny but also so #%&)*# annoying
this kind of stuff is published... The Playstation 2 will
be DVD based and push sixty million (60,000,000) polygons
per second! Since real life runs at 80 million (What??
Where did they come up with that?!?!) Sony are 75% on the
way to real graphics! Then they went on to say the Dreamcast
is only selling as well as it is in Japan because the people
over there are quick to buy stuff and in the end, they say
Sega has failed again. Surely even PSX owners arn't that
thick... are they?
