Newsletter: Sega World Weekly issue 60 (then Dreamcast Weekly)
From Video Game Morgue File
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//// ~ Issue #60 - www.DreamcastWeekly.com ~ \\\\
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\\\\ Sega 2000 - www.sega2000.net ////
\\\\ Sega X - www.segadreamcast.net ////
\\\\ Perfect Zero - www.perfect-zero.com ////
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o> Please SCROLL DOWN to Editors Comments for the start <o
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======| ABOUT DREAMCAST WEEKLY |==========================
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> For back issues please visit www.dreamcastweekly.com
> DREAMCAST QUESTIONS: Please note because of the huge
amount of mail I get personally, I can't reply to all the
Dreamcast questions sorry. Please send your DREAMCAST
questions to...
Rob@sega2000.net
As he does a great job on our mailbag. Thanks.
> For the latest game news, reviews and previews visit the
Premier Video Games Site http://www.totalvideogames.com
With over 300 archived News Articles and the greatest game
reviews. Up-dated throughout the day with everything!
----------------- www.totalvideogames.com ----------------
> Our domain name for DC Weekly 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.com ------------------
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======| EDITORS COMMENTS |================================
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4 weeks left of this Millennium! Since Christmas is on
the final weekend too, that means there's just 3 issues
left of DC Weekly after this. Look out for a huge 3 part
feature starting next week, that I'm sure everyone will
be interested in!
This week marks an important date, the 1st Birthday of
Dreamcast. Our cover feature takes a look back at the
Japanese launch, and biggest announcement, biggest game,
and the sleeper hit of the year have been.
Zombie Revenge features in the reviews page, NBA Showtime
in the cheats, and Namco in the rumors. This week Namco
have confirmed 2 new games are actually coming next year
though!
Finally, a Java IRC chat room has been set up at Sega X.
Why not head over to http://www.segadreamcast.net/interact/
after reading DC Weekly?
Until next week then, Happy Gaming!
~ Graham "Tails" Parker (Editor)
> Dreamcast Questions to Rob@Sega2000.net
.oO Page 1 - Cover Story Oo.
.oO Page 2 - The News Oo.
.oO Page 3 - Rumors Oo.
.oO Page 4 - Importing Oo.
.oO Page 5 - Review Oo.
.oO Page 6 - Cheats Oo.
.oO Page 7 - OUR SUPPORT SITES Oo.
.oO Page 8 - Credits Oo.
HOT QUOTE This Issue: "Network play is very important for
us for next year"
-- NBA 2K & NFL 2K Sequel News
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======| COVER STORY |=====================================
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>>>> A Year Of Dreams
>>>> Written by Tails
A year ago this weekend, the Sega Dreamcast was released
in Japan. Their TV ad's won the "superior advertisement"
award at the 38th CC Advertisement Ceremony in Japan,
and they sold all 150,000 consoles on the first day.
The adverts are still inside Sega Of Japan's website
in fact, and can be viewed below...
http://www.sega.co.jp/sega/data/yukawa/y_vol1.avi
http://www.sega.co.jp/sega/data/yukawa/y_vol2.avi
http://www.sega.co.jp/sega/data/yukawa/y_vol3.avi
O The Launch Titles:
The launch was plagued with problem after problem (from
the Sonic Adventure and Sega Rally 2 delays, to the
massive shortage of consoles). But 4 titles made it
out by the deadline, including Virtua Fighter 3:TB
(with Project Berkley extra disc), Godzilla (ewww!),
Pen Pen Triicelon (which recently surprised many
people by being translated to English), and finally,
and certainly one many would like to forget, July.
On average each person picked up 2 games and peripherals
at the launch, and Virtua Fighter 3:TB almost sold 1:1
with the console.
O The $1,000 CD Player:
Some gamers got their hot little hands on the Dreamcast
before November 27th, from importers in Hong Kong. The
price however, topped $1,000 (Cdn$)! Since no games were
being released until Nov 27th too, that made for one
seriously expensive CD Player! As you may imagine, that
didn't stop some people buying one. We printed Kevin's
first impressions on the console back in Issue #19.
O December 1998:
Unfortunately it wasn't all smooth sailing for Sega Of Japan
after the launch. Sales haven't even really amazed people,
and even today aren't as impressive as America and Europe.
Days after the launch Sega of Japan announced its senior
executive managing director, Hidekazu Yukawa, has been
demoted. He appeared on their latest TV adverts, sadly
apologizing to everyone for the shortage of consoles.
This may have been nothing more than a publicity stunt,
and the question certainly did the rounds of Message
Boards during the next few days, but nothing more was
heard about Hidekazu Yukawa's demotion.
The next event for Japan in December was the Shenmue
confrenence, and jaws dropped the world over!
I was one of many watching it over Real Video on the
net, and on an IRC chat room. When Sonic Adventure
was revealed, gamers were amazed, but with Shenmue,
it blew people away!!
Sega ruled the world of video game news for days, and
for once, Sony message boards were strangely quiet.
So the first month with the Dreamcast will filled with
promise, and 1999 certainly made many gamers happy.
Around 3 million so far in fact, 1.7 million of those
in Japan.
O Year #1 (Nov 98 - Nov 99 in Japan):
Biggest Announcement Of The Year: Shenmue, of course.
Sleeper Hit Of The Year: Chu Chu Rocket? Close, but it's
actually Seaman: Virtual Pet. The game has spent more
time on the Japan Top 30 than any other Dreamcast
title. Who would of thought eh?
Most Delayed Game Of The Year: Well, it could of been
Climax Landers, or perhaps Shenmue, but no, D2 has to
take this title. The first game revealed for the
Dreamcast, and it's still due to be released late next
month.
Biggest Game Of The Year: Would have to be Sonic Adventure.
Do you remember the 3 minute movie of Sonic Adventure? It
had the theme tune in the background. heh, anyway... I
must of watched that movie at least 40 or 50 times before
Sonic was released. After the 3D Zone in Sonic Jam, I
couldn't believe what I was seeing! So is Sonic still
Sega's mascot? You bet!
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======| NEWS |============================================
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>>>> NFL 2K And NBA 2K Sequels Online
If you can't think of much to improve on for sequels of
NFL 2K and NBA 2K, Visual Concepts may have the perfect
answer. Online play.
Greg Thomas commented for VC that "Network play is very
important for us for next year". Imagine a national
championship of the games, the possibility's are awesome!
They may also make changes to the saved data on your VMU.
"One of the biggest changes to the VMU saving that we are
considering for next year is to save separate files
instead of just one big file – like we have this year."
Both games are due out in the fall of 2000, right when the
Dreamcast Online Gaming is going to begin.
>>>> BIG Changes At Sega
Sega Of Japan today posted a loss of $182 million in the
six months ending September 30th 1999.
SOJ are blaming it on promotion of Dreamcast overseas.
Their increased costs for sales and general administration
by about 50%, comes to a cost of $247 million.
However after all this bad news, their stocks went shooting
up to the highest they've been in a long time, an almost 14%
raise. Sega announced major restructuring plans for the company.
Sega Of Japan and America will open up new spin offs of
their company starting in the new business year next
April. The company said it will turn its video game and
arcade operations into separate companies to enable it to
concentrate on the Internet. "We are a believer in the
Internet, so we will focus on entertainment on networks,"
said Sega president Shoichiro Irimariji at a press conference
in Tokyo. "Traditionally, we sold hardware. We sold
software. And that was it," he continued, "We are now aiming
to provide our services on the Net...we aim to become a
network entertainment kingdom."
There will be 10 spin-off companies, such as "Sega Toys",
and a marketing firm "Sega Muse Corp". "The plan is positive
step for the company," said Eiji Maeda, analyst at Daiwa
Institute of Research. "Spin offs will make the company
more cost-conscious and speed up its decision making process."
While their have been rumors this past week about Sega
developing for consoles such as the Gameboy Color to help
battle it's financial trouble, however those are looking
lightly to be nothing more than just rumors Finally, Isao
Ohkawa, chairman of CSK, Sega's largest shareholder,
said: "I know there are some concerns in the market on
the financial health of Sega... CSK as a group is ready
to give any support (to Sega)."
>>>> Chu Chu Rocks It!
Last week we mentioned the catchy Chu Chu Rocket theme music
is spreading across the net.
Here's a special remix of the music, produced by Dale North.
You can download the 1.2mb MP3 from the address below, and
I certainly recommend it :)
http://bhstigers.k12.ar.us/BHS/kitamusic/dale/chuchurocket.mp3
>>>> Dead Or Alive 2 US Release Date
Tecmo's Dead Or Alive 2 is a game that regularly appears on
our Top 10 Most Wanted page (Sega 2000's). Now they have
announced the release date for this popular fighter.
The arcade version is coming to the states in early to mid
December, and while the Dreamcast version's release date of
March 2000 isn't new, Tecmo have confirmed it will be a
Dreamcast exclusive in the US.
>>>> 10 Million Sales By 2001
Sega of Japan talked about some big numbers it hoped to
reach by the turn of the millennium in 2001. This included
ten million Dreamcasts sold by 2001, as well as fifty-five
million software titles globally in the same fiscal year.
As we said in sister news piece tonight, Sega already
hopes to have close to five million in the world by this
March, so the numbers before us, though grand, are very
possible. Best of all, it would smash both world sales
records set by Playstation and N64 in that same time frame.
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======[ RED HOT RUMORS ]==================================
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Welcome to the rumors section of Dreamcast Weekly, each
week we'll keep you upto-date with the latest rumors going
around.
>>>> Namco 2000
A rumor on Namco's next Dreamcast title? Wow! No this goes
beyond rumors, Namco have confirmed they have 2 more DC
titles in development for release after March next year.
Ridge Racer is a popular choice, given that Nintendo
already has a version. The Dreamcast version however, is
said to be almost of PS2 quality. Now that would be good
news, especially if it had an extra mode like Net Racing
or something. Heh, ok I better not start rumors here.
The other title is more of a mystery, but Soul Calibur 2
and, of course, a Tekken game keep coming up.
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======| IMPORTant MATTERS |===============================
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>>>> New Import Additions - Lik-Sang.com
In the importing section we'll keep you updated on any
new products. So, what's new this week?
O Total Control Adapter
Adapter to use any Playstation control device such as
Dual Shock Joypad, gun, etc. on your Dreamcast console.
O Saturn Joypad For Dreamcast
Modified Saturn Analog Joypad. no VMS saving or Puru Puru
support.
O Ascii Pad FT
Original digital Ascii Fighting Pad. Built-in Puru Puru
vibration pack, and VMS save card port.
O Cooling Fan
External Ventilation adapter. Protects the console against
overheating.
Dreamcast Weekly recommends checking out www.lik-sang.com
for importing.
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======| REVIEW |==========================================
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>>>> Zombie Revenge
>>>> Import Version
>>>> Written by Sajed
More times than I had expected I hear comparisons between
Sega's recently released Japanese (import) title Zombie
Revenge and Capcom's Resident Evil series. Personally,
this is somewhat disconcerting, because in reality Zombie
Revenge has about as much in common with Resident Evil as
E.T. does with the Predator. They're both aliens. And RE
and Zombie Revenge both happen to have legions of Zombies.
Where Resident Evil is an action/adventure title strewn
with multiple plot-lines and suspense building gameplay,
Zombie Revenge is a no holds barred shoot 'em up, with
quick, arcade style play. Not that one is better, but a
wiser comparison may be drawn between Zombie Revenge and
Sega's own Dynamite Cop. Think of it as Dynamite Cop, with
a lot more weapons, levels, and fighting moves…and yes,
zombies instead of international terrorists. Both games
have similar controls, animations, character designs and
overall play. It almost seems that Sega took the Dynamite
Cop blueprint and expanded it for ZR.
If you've ever seen the Naomi arcade version of Zombie
Revenge in action, you've seen the Dreamcast version.
In an identical DC port, Sega has transferred every last
polygon and every single glorious texture map from the
coin-op original. For those not fortunate enough to
have seen the Naomi version, let me try to embellish
on the game's impressive graphics. The characters, as
mentioned earlier, are very much reminiscent of the
Dynamite Cop characters, even sporting the requisite
two guys and a girl. But unlike Dynamite Cop, the
camera stays just a little further from the action,
which actually makes the on-screen characters look
smoother and more detailed. The zombie designs are
absolutely amazing. They're not bursting with massive
polygon counts, but they are certainly creatively
designed, and positively cool to look at - particularly
the game's bosses. Even more impressive than the
characters however are the game's diverse environments.
The light sourcing, texturing, and some of the
reflections are done at incredibly high levels. When it
all melds together, although Zombie Revenge is not
visually revolutionary, it looks well above average
visually.
As mentioned briefly in the opening, the gameplay in
Zombie Revenge is almost identical to Dynamite Cop,
complete with a lot more weapons, moves, and options.
The game lets you "pick up" anything from machine guns,
flame throwers, Hatchet Axes, Laser Guns, Land Mines,
and more. It progresses from one small area to another,
much like Dynamite Cop, in the grand setup of several
massive levels. As you encounter zombie attackers in
a specific area, you must destroy them all to move to
the next section. Moving through these individual
areas, you'll also be assigned tasks, and be updated
on the game's story, through well placed cut-scenes.
The Dreamcast version also has some console exclusive
gameplay modes, like the Fighting Mode for example.
Here you and a friend can do battle in a fighting game
style setting, but now you can use automatic weapons,
along with your bare fists. However, the ability to
use machine guns and hand guns and such, actually
makes the Fighting Mode less interesting. As ultimately,
the player who reaches the automatic weapon first
usually wins the match. As much as you try sporting
your martial arts skills, there is no beating a man
with a gun. Other gameplay modes include the
Arcade Mode, Original Mode (which is one player only),
Vs. Boss Mode (where you can take on the game's bosses
only), Training Room, and a Japanese only Network mode.
The diversity in these gameplay modes will keep you
occupied for some time, even after you beat the
game's flagship arcade mode.
The little nuances in the gameplay, like quick reloading,
and realistic fighting animations, makes Zombie Revenge
a fast paced, highly enjoyable shoot 'em up. There are
plenty of Zombies to blow to smithereens, as they attack
from all angles. Sega has taken the entertaining
gameplay of Dynamite Cop, and expanded it into an excellent
import game. It is set to arrive on the US Dreamcast in
January, but for our import readers who just can't wait,
you can't go wrong with Zombie Revenge. If you like beat
'em up type games, you'll fall in love with the
multiplayer arcade mode.
Zombie Revenge has very little Japanese, as the story
actually unfolds in English. Which is yet another reason
to look closely at this game as a great import buy.
>>>> Graphics - 81%
>>>> Sound - 77%
>>>> Gameplay - 84%
>>>> Lastability - 70%
>>>> OVERALL - 81%
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======| CHEATS |==========================================
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>>>> NBA Showtime
O Play As Team Mascots:
For each corresponding team enter the following mascot
names and PIN numbers:
o Toronto Raptors - RAPTOR 1020
o Seattle Sonics - SASQUA 7785
o Denver Nuggets - ROCKY 0201
o Charlotte Hornets - HORNET 1105
o Atlanta Hawks - HAWK 0322
o Chicago Bulls - BENNY 0503
o Houston Rockets - TURBO 1111
o Indiana Pacers - BOOMER 0604
o Minnesota Timberwolves - CRUNCH 0503
o New Jersey Nets - SLY 6765
o Phoenix Suns - GORILA 0314
o Utah Jazz - BEAR 1228
-- Contributed by Jb and Noah Bellotti
O Create-a-Player Characters:
o Kerri the Female Player - KERRI 0220
o Kerri in Alternate Uniform - KERRI 1111
o Lia the Female Player - LIA 0712
o Lia in Alternate Uniform - LIA 1111
o Retro Rob - RETRO 1970
o Pinto Horse - PINTO 1966
o White Horse - HORSE 1966
o Small Alien - SMALLS 0856
o Large Alien - BIGGY 0958
o Nikko the Devil Dog - NIKKO 6666
o Old Man - OLDMAN 2001
o Clown - CRISPY 2084
o Pumpkin - JACKO 1031
o Wizard - THEWIZ 1136
o Referee - THEREF 7777
-- Contributed by Jb
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======| BEST OF THE WEB |=================================
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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 X - www.segadreamcast.net
Plenty of news added every day, and the best coverage of
the US Launch details you'll find anywhere.
>>>> Sega 2000 - www.sega2000.net
Christmas Is Coming! Sega 2000 has some BIG things planned
for this December, be sure to come and check us out
sometime. For your Sega coverage, and a little extra.
>>>> The Next Level - www.the-nextlevel.com
The Next Level is a multi-platform gaming magazine focused on
all current and upcoming next-generation systems. We provide
up-to-date news, in-depth reviews, reader reviews, intriguing
editorials, and more.
>>>> Perfect Zero - http://www.perfect-zero.com
A brand new design, and what a design!! You have to see this!
They have the biggest collection of video game mp3's, video's
(including some Saturn video's you've probably never seen
before) and more. Also don't forget to vote for your favorite
staff member.
>>>> SegaDC - www.segadc.co.nz
Updated daily with lots of news, a forum and more, this is
a must see site for any Sega fan.
>>>> The Sonic Zone - www.suneet.com/soniczone/
Updated daily with a HUGE amount 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. You can now send online postcards too!!
>>>> Gaming Central Starpath - www.startpath.com/gamingcentral
Our newest support site and provides hundreds of links for
anything a gamer might be interested in.
>>>> DC Australia - www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Fortress/6831/
With the Dreamcast launch in Australia fast approaching it
is my pleasure to bring to you interviews with some of the
most important people in the gaming industry. Recent
interviews include Archer Maclean (Awesome Developments -
Jimmy White's 2), Frederick Raynal (No Cliche - Toy Commander),
Trip Hawkins (3DO - Heroes III) and Greg Zeschuk (Bioware -
MDK2). But thats not it, there are several more surprises in
the coming weeks (does Sonic Team sound good?)
The official website for the Dreamcast Weekly is now open at
www.dreamcastweekly.com :) We've got the history of the
magazine, back issues, and more. Then in the future... who
knows, hopefully we'll be a print magazine one day :)
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======[ CREDITS ]=========================================
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O Editor: Graham Parker "Tails" - Webmaster@sega2000.net
O DC QUESTIONS: Please send to - Rob@sega2000.net
But please NO tips questions
>>>> www.DreamcastWeekly.com - Official Website!
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Copyright, 1998-9 Graham Parker - Webmaster@sega2000.net
Written and edited by Graham Parker. No parts may be
copied without prior permission. Otherwise I would be
forced to send out my group of goons... Ok so I don't have
any goons, but copying is just mean... very mean. There,
that should scare them off :)
