May 2002

Thursday, May 30 2002 The Sticky Savior of E3 Posted by GreenGibbon at 11:33 AM CT Note: this is actually just a repeat of Segaholic's post below. He beat me to the punch by about a half hour, but I like mine anyway so I'm leaving it. It's my site and I can do that, so haha.

I attended E3 for the first time this year, and it was an eye-opening experience in more ways than one. One mystery that remains, though, is exactly what transpires up in those VIP lounges. While the masses are herded around like cattle on the ground level, forced to wait in line for half an hour then beat down any potential rivals for a chance at five minutes of Zelda, the important-looking guys in suits sit around at tables high and above the crowd, getting martinis served to them by famous developers who bring Zelda right to them. Any of the lowly bourgeois on the floor who dare to glance wistfully up at the VIP level are pissed on. In general, you'd think the high-class lounges would be a safer place to display valuable production models, such as those that might be used in the development of, say, Phantasy Star Card Battle. What a shock, then, that this happened. I'll do Pep's favorite thing and just cut & paste:

"Hello, this is SONICTEAM.

We hate to tell you this but, unfortunately, we have been missing 5 prototype character models of 'PSO CARD BATTLE' during E-3 days at Nintendo booth. These are just pre-production samples, and we were using them for our game development of 'PSO CARD BATTLE'.

Now this is causing us the serious trouble for our game development, so we would really appreciate if you can let us know any information about this.

We are hoping that those models will come back to us in the near future.
Thank you very much for your kindness in advance."

Oh, if we had only known it was this easy all along... Sonic Team Robbed Posted by Segaholic2 at 10:58 AM CT Sonic Team Robbed at E3

Looks like some idiot(s) at E3 decided to help themselves to some of Sonic Team's display items. Sonic Team is missing 5 prototype character models for their PSO Card Battle game. The game's display was featured at Nintendo's booth. These were pre-production samples, and Sonic Team was using them in game development for their card game.

Apparently having these models missing is causing Sonic Team some trouble in development. If you were at E3 and have any information on the missing character models, please contact Sonic Team (via their website) as soon as possible.

Links:
Sonic Team
Official Article
Source: My online friend Scotty. Thanks for the heads-up.

Tuesday, May 28 2002 SA3 Rumours - meh, etc. Posted by Pepperidge at 10:14 PM CT Okay, we normally don't post rumours up at the GHZ, but considering that news is slow (and generally bad when it does pop up), I thought I'd fill you all in on this one.

Mind you, this is nothing more than a rumour. There is yet to be any confirmation of any kind proving it to be in any way true. But according to an alleged "Industry Insider" (reported today here), Naka-san revealed information about the next Sonic Adventure game behind closed doors back at E3.

According to the report, the next game may be for X-Box as well as GameCube. It will not cycle through character specific levels like the last game, but instead go back to the ideas set by Sonic 3 whereas the "zones" (which they were referred to as by the insider) are tailor made for Sonic's high-speed action stages, whilst Tails and Knuckles take different routes through the levels in their own respective gaming styles. Amy, Rouge and Eggman are present, but whether or not they're playable is not said.

More interesting is that Naka-san has allegedly stated that the next game will not only fix the camera problems of the first two games, but introduce "the best camera system ever seen in any platformer ever". If it is true, he certainly owes us at least that much.

Though there is one thing sure to envoke frowning: the reporter also claimed that... he will return. You know, him. The guy that makes newbies cheer, and cynical old bastards like us use suggestive body language. Let it be said here: if he does return as a relevant part of the storyline, then I, Pepperidge, will perform seppuku using a spork and scrawl "I WAS WRONG" on the floor in Japanese using my own intestinal track. That's a promise.

It may sound a little too good to be true (except the last part), but the exact same information was obtained by Sonic HQ days eariler, provided by Zifei Wu who, in the past, has proven to have reliable sources (he was the first to obtained leaked info about Rouge, and how she was a total rip-off of Knuckles). He said he never got solid confirmation, but mind you he was told the exact same thing.

I'm not being overly optimistic, just wanted to show this to you all. Make of it what you like, I'll keep you posted. Or something. Saturday, May 25 2002 Oh for the love of God... - Crap-ass PS Card game announced Posted by Pepperidge at 2:28 PM CT I'm too pissed off to say anything, so I'll just copy and paste.

Publisher Sega and developer Sonic Team have confirmed development of a second Phantasy Star title for the Nintendo GameCube. While Sonic Team wraps up developed on its real-time online RPG Phantasy Star Online Episode 1 & 2, a second title by the name of Phantasy Star Card Battle is being developed for the GameCube. Phantasy Star Card Battle is a card battle game set in the Phantasy Star universe. A brief video clip was shown of the game, and it appears that players will collect cards that represent particular attacks and will then play them in the game's turn-based combat sequences. The idea for the game sprung from Nintendo's idea to develop a portable screen for the GameCube and create the ability to link four GameCubes together for portable multiplayer gameplay. Yuji Naka of Sega reportedly felt that such a game would be a perfect fit with the proposed GameCube linkup feature and portability.

Yes, this was the closest thing to a new Sonic Team game announced at E3. I don't think anyone has an excuse to say that Sonic Team doesn't suck now.

Source: N-Sider Thursday, May 23 2002 Sega's E3 Site Posted by Segaholic2 at 4:06 PM CT For you slow-pokes who haven't caught it yet, check this address for Sega's official E3 site action (i.e. sucky coverage, scanty screenshots, and stupid press releases).

http://e3.sega.com/ E3 : The impossible has happened - A NEW NiGHTS GAME ANNOUNCED! Posted by Pepperidge at 1:11 AM CT How do you make a sequel to a game that can't possibly be improved? Simple: you trim it down.

That's right people. According to this IGN article that KD was so kind as to point out to me (thereby giving me an excuse to put off my history homework for a few more minutes), it's happened. Sonic Team has made a new NiGHTS into Dreams game for the Game Boy Advance.

Apparently, the new game NiGHTS into Dreams: Score Attack is a condensed version of the original game (obviously focused on high scoring as opposed to anything else), transforming the world into a fully believable 2-D environment with a scrolling bitmap background.

Though I'd still prefer to see a graphically enhanced remake, this is definitely music to my ears. Watch the video. Die happy.

EDIT: Whoops, misread that. The game is actually downloaded from the PSO server onto the Game Boy Advance. Guess that's what I get for skimming the news. Wednesday, May 22 2002 It’s that time of the month again… Posted by Bakari at 4:36 AM CT This year’s E3 has rolled around and the Sonic Team has unveiled...more cell phone games. Those among us with particularly short attention spans and Japanese phone access can look forward to seeing Puyo Puyo DX, and...some, weird crappy 3D Chao thing. *shrugs* Make of it what you will.... Tuesday, May 21 2002 Not just a cat with a vacuum cleaner... Posted by Pepperidge at 6:48 PM CT Because I'm even lazier than SuitCase (who found this little tidbit), I'll just copy and paste this little article from IGN giving some details about Artoon's newest creation, Blinx: The Time Sweeper. Unlike previous screens suggested, Blinx isn't exactly your average platformer:

Read it now and believe it -- Blinx is a revolutionary platformer. Not just for the platform genre (he's more than just a cat with vacuum cleaner and his name isn't Luigi), but for videogames as we know them. Blinx takes the Xbox hard drive and more or less makes it function like a Tivo or Ultimate TV system. Play is recorded using around 200 megs of hard drive space. When you die, the game rewinds in front of your eyes to a point where you can start again. That's not all Blinx can do, though.

Players will be able to fast forward, record, rewind, and stop time to assist them in their quest. For example, a barrel falls off a roof. You pause the game, then hop on the barrel and rewind the game, allowing you to ride the barrel to the top of the roof from where it had fallen. The title character in Blinx is not affected by the shifts in time, and can move independent of the affected environment.

Not only is the application of the hard drive in this game an amazing innovation, but has the looks of a second generation Xbox game. Created by Sonic/Nights game designer Naoto Oshima for his Artoon development house, Blinx should be bolting, as you read this, to the top tier of most wanted Xbox games.

For the star of such a revolutionary game, Blinx himself doesn't exactly have the most ground-breaking character design (he's... a cat. Big wow...). Fascinating nonetheless... Monday, May 20 2002 The Love-Child of Sonic CD and Luigi's Mansion? Posted by Pepperidge at 1:35 PM CT Well, well. It seems that we already have some new pics and info pertaining to Ohshima's latest attempt at a game, Blinx: The Time Sweeper.

Sadly, it's been all but confirmed that Artoon is, indeed, the developer. Funny how you get all excited about hearing Ohshima's name attached to a game, but then groan when you hear the word "Artoon" tacked on beside it.

Well, these few shots don't make it out to be much more than an average platformer featuring a weird cat-thing. But hey, maybe they'll toss in a Sonic CD style time travel gimmick. It's just the vacuum he's carrying that I'm worried about... Saturday, May 18 2002 At long last, ol' Horseface "Blinx", showing signs of life... Posted by Pepperidge at 12:07 AM CT Oh yes.

As Sonic Team digs themselves further into their little eternal pit of dimentia and... well lameness, our boy Ohshima is still apparently ticking. Ohshima (and presumably Artoon), are now hard at work on a completely original X-Box title known as "Blinx". It's about a... giant lynx, or something. Oh well, who cares! It's Ohshima for Chrissakes, and it will be at E3! Let's just cross our fingers and hope that this won't turn out to be another "Pinobee".

Oh yeah, and Sega announced that a new Sonic game is officially "TBA", and there's a new Sonic anime in the works. Uhh, yeah...

For the record, I refuse to get excited over a Sonic anime unless Ohshima is directing. It's Sonic CD style animation or bust. Friday, May 10 2002 More Than One Way to Skin a Chao Posted by GreenGibbon at 9:26 PM CT I'm meant to be studying for my math final tomorrow, but I don't like studying so I figured I'd waste time with this instead. Y'all have probably stumbled across this spiffy Chao papercraft section of the Sonic Team site. It's like origami with an attitude. The first couple are simple enough to acquire and build... just download, unzip, print, and fold. They've just added a new one, though: a genuinely impressive (and probably life-size) paper Chao model. Unfortunately, Sonic Team would like you to fill out a brief Chao survey before downloading the prize. That should be easy enough... if you can read Japanese. But fear not, my fellow American Chao haters, for we won't be cheated out of a highly destructable Chao model so easily. Here now, courtesy of myself and G. Silver (mail us anime porn!!!), is a translation of the form that can be found on this page:

Q1) What is your gender?
   ·I gots ballz!!! (boy)
   ·I belong in the kitchen. (girl)

Q2) How old are you?

Q3) Which Sonic Team games do you own?
   ·Sonic Adventure (DC)
   ·Sonic Adventure 2 (DC)
   ·Sonic Adventure 2 Battle (GC)
   ·Sonic Advance (GBA)
   ·Phantasy Star Online (DC)
   ·Phantasy Star Online Ver.2 (DC)
   ·Phantasy Star Online (PC)
   ·Samba de Amigo (DC)
   ·ChuChu Rocket! (DC)
   ·ChuChu Rocket! (GBA)
   ·Minna de Puyo Puyo (GBA)
   ·You guys suck my grandma's ass!

Q4) Which gaming systems do you own?
   ·Dreamcast, I am ELITE!
   ·GameCube, I respect my elders.
   ·PlayStation 2, I can't fight the power.
   ·Xbox, I needed a storm shelter.
   ·PC (Windows), I'm a rich bastard.
   ·Macintosh, I pooped my pants again.

Q5) When did you discover the joys of Chao parenthood?
   ·Sonic Adventure (DC)
   ·Sonic Adventure 2 (DC)
   ·Sonic Adventure 2 Battle (GC)
   ·Sonic Advance (GBA)
   ·I'm going nowhere near those ravenous beasts.

Q6) So, whaddaya think of Chao?
   ·God is a Chao.
   ·I love them, they're so cute!
   ·Eh, comci comca.
   ·I could do without 'em.
   ·I prefer dental surgery.

Q7) What useless Chao crap would you buy if we made it?
   ·Stationery, Hello Kitty is getting lonely.
   ·Strap, I keep dropping my damn cell phone.
   ·Plush doll, cuz they're so... soft....
   ·Clothes, they arrest me when I'm naked.
   ·Candy, because then I can chow! Geddit?
   ·Stickers, so everyone will know that I'm gay.
   ·Picture book, I don't like big words.
   ·Trading cards, I'll show those Magic faggots.
   ·Other (specify)

Q8) Please write any comments regarding Chao and the Chao Laboratory.

So there you go. Liberties have been taken with exact wording, heheheh. If you respond to question #8, be sure to use big college words and long, complex sentences so that whoever's reading will be less likely to understand what the hell you're saying. The reward for your troubles is a printable diagram that, when constructed, will look like this:

braaaiiins...

So, how many ways can you maim a Chao? SA2:B Still Selling Well Posted by Segaholic2 at 3:21 PM CT The best-selling GameCube titles of March have been revealed, thanks to NPD Funworld. Sonic Adventure 2: Battle holds onto the top spot, where it has been since its release... Woohoo, or something.

1. SONIC ADVENTURE 2 - SEGA OF AMERICA
2. BOND:AGENT UNDER FIRE - ELECTRONIC ARTS
3. SUPER SMASH BRO MELEE - NINTENDO OF AMERICA
4. GAUNTLET: DARK LEGACY - MIDWAY
5. NBA STREET - ELECTRONIC ARTS
6. LUIGI'S MANSION - NINTENDO OF AMERICA
7. PAC-MAN WORLD 2 - NAMCO
8. BLOODY ROAR: PRIMAL - ACTIVISION
9. PIKMIN - NINTENDO OF AMERICA
10. SW: ROGUE SQUADRON II - LUCASARTS ENTERTAINMENT

Source: ConsoleWire.com Sunday, May 5 2002 Samba de Amigo Music becomes popular... Posted by BoBayles at 4:15 PM CT Remember that awesome track in Samba de Amigo? "Take on Me"? And remember how cool it was? You do. Don't lie.

The ska/ punk group from Orange County, California, Reel Big Fish performed that song in Samba, but it's a cover of the '80's Norweigen group A-ha's verison (The original sucked. MxPx did a cover too, but RBF's is the best.)

Anyway, Reel Big Fish just recently established a presence in the UK. They released Take on Me as one of their singles, and it shot up the pop charts in April. Then they released a 3 track E.P. called "Sold Out", which made it to #7 on the UK charts. It's at #30 this week. Their full-length album for the UK was also on the Top 40, entitled "Favourite Noise". Both of these include "Take on Me".

Useless information: "Take on Me" was in the movie "BASEketball", and that's where the music video was shot. It's available streaming here.

Other useless information: Reel Big Fish just recently signed on to a new record label, which re-published their other two CD's, "Turn the Radio Off", and "Why Do They Rock So Hard" in the U.S. They're in record stores all over the place. In the UK and the rest of Europe, "Favourite Noise" and "Sold Out" are in record shops. Late in May, RBF is releasing a new single to radio stations and a new music video, and then on June 25th, their next full length album, "Cheer Up" is due out. The Fish will also be appearing on every date of the Vans Warped Tour (U.S. only) this summer, and they always play Take on Me at their concerts. Be sure to bring your maracas if you go (I know I will).

This is probably the first time a song's become popular AFTER being in a video game. Thursday, May 2 2002 Buy a Custom (sorta) Sonic Watch Posted by Segaholic2 at 4:01 PM CT

Design your own Sonic watch! O frabjous day!

Here's a fascinating bit of miscellany. For $29.95 (not including shipping), you can get yourself a semi-customizable piece of Sonic merchandise for sporting on your wrist. Oh, and it tells time too. Head here to check it out. And tough luck if you don't live in Japan or the USA, as this place won't ship to any countries besides those two.

Pretty interesting, especially with the level of customization you're given. You can change strap color, face color, face image art, dial style and color, and even get a two-line message laser-engraved onto the back. I want one.