Dang, well you could say Sony decided to release it early ahead of schedule lol.


I went back and added it - some other details too, for 2003. Mainly two more video game movies...found out a Crazy Taxi movie in OTL was planned but cancelled, here it got made.....well not that one, but, eh. Oh and Uwe Boll made a Zombie movie that sucked.

XD
 
Ohh I went back and saw that Microsoft won’t be entering the game console race in this TL, that would definitely lead a big space open for Nintendo and Sega/Sony
 
Hmm, so how does online gaming go on from here since Xbox live is never introduced.

While, Sony's Network is still going to be a thing, picked up from Sega, and Nokia will have it's own, they were sort of working with Microsoft ITTL.
I just suck at naming things so maybe that's why it didn't get mentioned XD
 
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2004 Part II: Comet Sighted
((Okay, so a lot happened since the last major update! I'm taking baby steps in getting a patreon off the ground, link is on my profile, and also working on starting some YouTube/Twitch stuff, but my anxiety has been getting in the way of that. I also had this to finish. So, I did it, after so much procrastination and multi-tasking holding it back. Part 2. 2004 is so full of content that I have to make 3 parts of it.))


SONY NEPTUNE GETS A MAKEOVER: SLICKER, SLIMMER AND STILL AWESOME
September 2004

The Sony (formerly Sega) Neptune. It’s the highest selling console on the market right now, with an ocean of high quality tear games for those loyal to it to feed their eyes (and thumbs) with. However, that isn’t to say that the system isn’t without its share of faults.

For one, it’s a rather heavy system. Or at least it sure looks like it. In fact, it almost looks like one of those old huge blocks that we used to have running around back in the 90’s.

However, all of that has changed now with the introduction of the Neptune’s recent weight loss story - the Neptune Lite! That’s right, the Neptune’s lost a hefty amount of it’s weight! So much weight that it’s a heck of a lot easier to pick it up with even just one hand!

The Neptune slim does not change anything about the Neptune’s hardware, as far as we can tell, but the much thinner design will allow it to be placed in the home much more easily. In addition, from what we’ve heard the disc tray is much more sturdier, negating the issue of discs falling out of the tray altogether - and apparently this also adds to the slim version being less prone to disc burn-outs. However that doesn’t change the fact that this new model of Neptune is very attractive to those consumers who value an affordable, small-sized system that can fit seamlessly in their living room without taking up too much space.

Now, as with the original Neptune, the slim version comes in too primary colors - new era white, and old school style black. A limited edition even has a decal of Sonic etched on the top-end disc tray, which I must say really adds in a dose of flavor to the console.

The Slim Neptune also comes with a reformation of how Sony’s handling the rest of it’s Neptune line: from controllers to VMUs and beyond.

First, let us properly introduce the DualShock controllers. Back in the Saturn era, they had been Sony’s alternative to the standard Saturn controllers, back when Sony and Sega were separate but allied entities. Now, for the initial Neptune release, Sega took influence from the DualShocks, but admittedly their controls are big and a bit of a chore to really use - too much going on, too much that most players don’t really use and aren’t sure how to. For this redesign of the Neptune, Sony has made sure to streamline. Now, the ‘DualShock 2.5” controllers get rid of the VMUs having to be connected to the controller, and introduce the idea of VMUs being bundled with the system, but something you simply connect your memory card to. In fact, the new VMUs can hold even more memory than their older counterparts!

The controllers though, do maintain the color scheme of the original controller - yellow square, green triangle, blue circle, and red x. However, with everything streamlined and strictly sticking to a pure Sony design, we can’t deny that the controllers look just so much better and easier to get a grip on.

These new model Neptunes and their accessories will be out on the market come October and November of this year, and we’re predicting them to only further an already successful console’s spotlight.

- Electronic Gaming Monthly, September 2004


SLY 2: BAND OF THIEVES
September, 2004

“Released for the Nokia Neo this past week, Sly 2: Band of Thieves is the latest and most welcome entry in the Neo’s signature platformer title, the Sly Cooper series. Sure, the console is home to a plethora of third and second party platformers, many hidden gems and obscure titles thus far but none of them have become as prolific as Sly Cooper - a series which Nokia actually has full control over. Developed by Sucker Punch, the sequel to 2002’s Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus is nothing short of an improvement in every aspect. The Comic Book-Cartoon style of the graphics is very well retained and continues to give the series it’s own distinct identity in the vast sea of colorful platformer titles, and the gameplay has been improved. There’s now a shop where you can buy gadgets, though the clue bottles are still there for abilities that I suppose aren’t available on the ‘ThiefNet’. The biggest change in gameplay however is the addition of Bentley and Murray as playable characters - in fact they even have ‘jobs’ exclusive to them, so the story mode isn’t just playing as Sly all the time. It’s not like Sony’s Sonic Heroes though, you have to travel to the safe house in each map to actually switch characters. There’s also the addition of a health bar instead of dying in one hit without a lucky charm - which is more than a welcome inclusion. As for how each character plays - Sly is very similar to the original title from before, having all of his abilities. Murray is naturally more brawny and includes stronger melee attacks and belly flops, and Bentley is involved with hacking and using bombs - and this isn’t even talking about the upgrades there are to purchase. The plot of Sly 2 follows after the first one - a museum heist of Clockwork’s parts goes wrong when the Cooper Gang finds out that a group known as the ‘Klaww Gang’ has already taken them. They set out on a road trip adventure to take down the Klaww Gang and retrieve the parts of Clockwork, leading them from the home country France, to the jungles of India, the streets of Prague, and even the Canadian Wilderness. We find out that each of the Klaww Gang actually uses the parts of Clockwork for their own purposes - Dimitri uses them to print fake money, Rajan puts them on display and then uses them to pump up his spices, the Contessa uses them for hypnosis, and Jon Bison uses them for shopping down wood. The leader of the Gang, Arpeggio, wanted to actually fully rebuild Clockwork so he could merge his consciousness with him - though things don’t go as planned when cop-turned traitor Neila does it instead, killing Arpeggio in the process. But Sly, Bentley, Murray and Carmeltia make short work of “Clock-La” after that, ending the game on a bittersweet note with Bentley injured, him and Murray allowed to escape, and Sly let again getting away from Carmelita in a way only he could pull off. Overall, a definite reccomendation for the Nokia Neo. ” - IGN User Review, 2004

“One of the best exclusive titles you could ever have for the Neo. Must Have.”

“I have many fond childhood and even teenage memories of Sly 2. It may not have been a multiplayer game, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t spend hours after school just playing it all the time. Unlocking that secret cutscene, and watching the story unfold, infact really just pickpocketing and knocking out the guards was just always a blast. ”

“Sly is King of the Neo. Where the House of Gecko has fallen, the House of Cooper (or Raccoon ...or Racamagookus) has risen in its place.” - Assorted Comments



THE SIMS 2
September, 2004

“It all began with the Sims. Four years ago, it rocked the world of PC gaming and overtook Myst as the top selling game on the platform. It was a simple game, so it appeared. It was simply a life simulator game, making a literal game out of this thing we call human life as you create a family and perhaps even a house and, well, just live. That really was all there was to it. Yet this simplicity, this freedom, to either fail at life on purpose, succeed in life in ways you perhaps could never hope to in reality, and of course to watch innocent virtual purple drown in a pool or burnt alive in a fire was just simply what people soon found out they wanted to play for hours. However, little did we know what was coming in 2004, in the form of The Sims 2. Improved in every way from the original, the Sims 2 is in my personal prediction going to be played on the PC for many gaming generations to come. There isn’t any set goal in the Sims 2, you simply select a town, and either select a staring Sim family or create your own new one. In a twist, you can now actually edit your own towns from plenty of templates. The character customization is also ramped up to the extreme - hairstyles, layered clothing, alternative outfits, and most revolutionary of all perhaps the most in-depth facial and body customization yet seen in a PC game. Not to mention the incredibly large, growing and lucrative market for ‘modders’, with entire websites dedicated to custom made, downloadable content for the game. It’s really impossible to perfectly state how much better the Sims 2 is when compared to the original - it’s just that much of a vast improvement. There’s so much more, from dudes in bunny suits to alien invasions, that is there to be done and seen in The Sims 2.” - IGN, article excerpt.

“The Sims 2 took over the world of PC Gaming by storm. It sold about as many copies as World of Warcraft did. That’s how big it was.”

“Many hours were poured into the Sims 2 back in the day on my part. It was a major part of my gaming career, and played a role in much of my earliest years. ”

“On the PC back in ‘04, you were either into The Sims 2 or you were into World of Warcraft. Of course, it’s WoW that’s still played to this day, Sims 2 going the sequel route.”

“The Sims 2 is nothing without it’s expansions, but is even less than nothing without it’s soundtrack, something which very likely will be remembered for as long as gaming exists as an industry. I can’t count how many times I’ve hummed the songs from Sims 2 either aloud or in my mind since the game came out - they have been forever etched into my mind and signify to me that I’m playing a real Sims game.”

“The Sims 2 is nothing short of Maxis’ peak performance. Everything about just oozes the heart, soul and effort put into crafting this masterpiece of life simulation.” - Assorted comments


ROME: TOTAL WAR
September, 2004


“Rome: Total War is the third Total War game from England's Creative Assembly, and, to make a long story short, it's the best one yet. It was naturally expected to build on its illustrious predecessors, which featured epic-scale real-time battles and impressive attention to historical realism and detail. Shogun: Total War was a promising start for the series, while Medieval: Total War built on that promise to create an even more engrossing strategy game. With Rome: Total War, Creative Assembly takes the next step, and it's as much a revolutionary step as it is an evolutionary one, thanks to a beautiful new 3D graphics engine that makes the series' tactical battles--featuring thousands of soldiers--better than ever. The results are nothing short of spectacular, helping make Rome: Total War the very definition of an epic strategy game.” - Gamespot, review excerpt.




PSYCHITWINS
September, 2004

“Developed by Traveller’s Tales but published Vivendi Universal for the Nokia Neo and Sony Neptune, Psychitwins is an interesting addition to the large family of platform games that our world has been graced with over the years. In a similar manner to Sonic Heroes, Psychitwins has you controlling multiple characters at once - this time a twin brother & sister who possess a psychic connection with them. Though you don’t really play as one over the other nor can you switch between the two, you do get to use the brother as the ‘brawns’, as he can be used literally as a weapon to bash through obstacles and enemies alike in an extremely cartoony, slapstick fashion while his sister primarily focuses on solving puzzles and, well, other things such as that. There isn’t really much the plot, it’s simply the twins discovering their psychic connection is rather literal and binds them together, and they have to stop your standard evil mad scientist. In fact, the game as a whole is fun but there isn’t really a whole lot of content beyond what I’ve already said. There’s collectibles in the form of Psychic Energy clusters, literal hidden crates of gold, and you can unlock alternate costumes but beyond that there really isn’t much for 100% completion. Get it if you see it, but I would not go out of my way to make sure this is in my collection. ” - Gamespot, Review excerpt.

“I feel like in another world Psychitwins is something great to the entire industry. But in our world, it really was just kind of another game in the vast ocean of titles that exist.”

“Meh. It was fun and had a charming style, but aside from the basic gimmick of playing two characters at once it doesn’t really try anything that wasn’t already done by other platforming-collect-a-thons.”
- Assorted Comments



ZETAFORCE
October, 2004


“The Heroes of a Brave New Future” - Zetaforce tagline, 2004

“Zetaforce, developed and published by the relatively obscure Fujiwara - whom we honestly thought went defunct but apparently not - is the incumbent latest member of the now growing first-person-shooter genre. Though it’s unlikely to compete with the marketing juggernaut that is Halo 2, at the very least it offers a small revolution of its own, as like Nokia’s Egypt game it takes the genre and adds it’s own twist to it - this time being the inclusion of superpowers. Yes, superpowers. Well, that and the option to switch the camera to a third person mode. Each character has a different superpower, ranging from elemental powers ‘n super speed to the good ol’ fashioned Batman style ‘equipment only’. While this game is more focused on the recent invention of online console multiplayer and doesn’t have much in the way of a single player mode - little more than a free roam through a city where objectives randomly and endlessly spawn for the sake of gaining experience, unlockables and other bonus features. Still though, it is a wonderful start and an addicting experience when it comes to the innovative and uncharted world of online multiplayer, which is where the game absolutely shines - just like that of Halo. As a whole, I definitely feel like Fujiwara is off to a great start with actually making a name for themselves, honestly I remember this title but most of their other titles are the type you usually tend to forget about not long after playing. Hopefully they actually keep up the pace this time around.” - Gamespot review, excerpt.


“Game of the Year 2004......’til Halo 2 inevitably comes out.”


“I spent many upon many of hours playing this online. Single player sucked, but this game was definitely meant for online play anyway. Still though I kinda hated that unlike Halo they didn’t even try.”


“This game was the start. It was only the beginning of greatness. Least that’s what I thought of it at the time, anyway. I still personally think it.” - Assorted Comments


“Trend of the Year 2004” - Anonymous Blogger


GRAND THEFT AUTO: SAN ANDREAS
October, 2004

“How do you follow up a runaway success like 2001's Grand Theft Auto III? Rockstar North responded a year later with GTA: Vice City, a game that took the gameplay of its predecessor and expanded it considerably. At the same time, Vice City gave the series an extensive and amazing stylistic makeover, drenching the experience in the sights, sounds, and attitude of Miami, Florida from the mid '80s. So where do you go from there? You take it statewide. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas expands the series' concept to encompass three entire cities, as well as the countryside between them. The gameplay similarly expands, packing in some explosive set pieces and amazing action-movie-like thrills while maintaining that same remarkably fun, freefom GTA feel. In short, Rockstar has done it again. San Andreas definitely lives up to the Grand Theft Auto name. In fact, it's arguably the best game in the series.” - Gamespot, review excerpt.

“Aw s--t, here we go again.”


“10/10, Best Game of the Year” - IGN

“GTA: SA, by far one of the most important games of the sixth generation. A truly ambitious title that managed to blow everyone’s minds away. The media coverage, of course, attempted to be damning. Decrying the game for allowing players to play as effectively a criminal, cause mayhem in the streets, kill people, and of course the use of drugs, alchohol and sex - though any actual sex scenes were of course removed despite what certain members of the media might say. It certainly was the naughtiest title of the year. Coming out on both the Nokia Neo and the Sony Neptune, it actually managed to basically dislodge Sonic Adventure 2 as the Neptune’s highest selling game. Though I’m not sure if the Neptune version sold more or not. Either way, GTA:SA was a further sign that the age of colorful mascot characters was on the way out, and the age of ‘maturity’ and edge was on the way in.”


“The best installment in the series. At least for the sixth generation.”


“Definitely worth the many hours it takes to complete, and of course, have fun. The story was a blast from start to finish.” - Assorted Comments


THE SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS MOVIE
October, 2004

“Something nefarious is afloat in the depths of Bikini Bottom: King Neptune's crown has been stolen, and the prime suspect is Mr. Krabs, SpongeBob's boss at Mr. Krabs' Krabby Patties. Despite the overwhelming evidence against Mr. Krabs -- not to mention having been turned down for a long-awaited promotion at the restaurant -- SpongeBob (voice of Tom Kenny) refuses to believe that his boss is responsible and teams up with his best friend, Patrick (voice of Bill Fagerbakke), on a mission to Shell City, where he hopes he can exonerate Mr. Krabs and return the crown to its rightful owner.” - Rotten Tomatoes, review excerpt.

“We’re all goofy goobers.”

“I found that the THQ all-platforms game based on the movie, actually destroys the movie. Not literally, but it really is that good of a game. I’m serious. Let me explain...” - Assorted Comments and review excerpt



COUNTER-STRIKE: SOURCE
October, 2004

“Released in October of 2004, one of gaming's busier years, Counter-Strike: Source was the latest in Valve (creator of Steam)’s Counter-Strike series. Now, by today’s standards this game is nothing new - given that it’s effectively just a modern warfare title, you play as a soldier and combat against what are effectively terrorists. Yet another in the first person shooter genre, this one takes a team-based and mostly online-focused approach, in which you play either with computers or with other players on a single map. To finish the match, you have to complete some type of objective; defusing a bomb, rescuing hostages, or killing the entire opposing team. Once you die in the game, if you do, you don’t respawn until the next round. There is no such thing as a single player campaign, it really is just that simple. However, it’s also really that addictive, and is really making a name for itself among Valve and it’s platform Steam’s early line-up for purchase & download. If you own steam, definitely consider getting yourself ‘CS:S’.”


“As the years have rolled on since CS:S and the shooter genre has changed so much, this game’s primary legacy ultimately became it’s involvement with Garry’s Mod. Well, that and the sequel that it would spawn later down the road.” - IGN, User Review excerpt.


NICKTOONS MOVIN’
October, 2004


“Released in 2004 by THQ, Nicktoon’s movin’ is a minigame collection game for the Sony Neptune, requiring & utilizing the EyeToy attachment - the Neptune’s obligatory motion capture thing. The game is really nothing more than a collection of mini-games featuring Danny Phantom, Spongebob Squarepants, Fairly Oddparents, Rocket Power and Jimmy Neutron. Beyond specifying what the mini-games really are and the motion control feature that’s already been basically mentioned that really is about all there is to this game. It pales in comparison to the Spongebob Movie game.” - Review excerpt.

“It’s a motion capture game that nobody ever played.” - Gamespot user comment


SONY SUPERSTARS
October, 2004

“Released in October of 2004, Sony Superstars is Sony’s way of celebrating it’s ‘Sega Inheritance’ - as this EyeToy-using title brings together not only Sonic, but a surprising collection of Sega faces for what can best be described as a collection of mini-games. Who are featured in this get-together? Sonic the Hedgehog, Jak & Daxter, Ratchet & Clank, NiGHTS into Dreams (which still doesn’t have a sequel yet), The House of the Dead, Crazy Taxi, Virtua Fighter, Billy Hatcher, Puyo Pop Fever, Super Monkey Ball, Space Channel 5, ChuChu Rocket and even a - very tiny - Chao Garden. As a whole, there is not much else to this game, it’s a very bare-bones mini-game collection with motion control functions. The main allure of the game is simply it’s not-really crossover of so many new and old brands from the days of Sega, with some usage of the Sony era’s introductions to the gaming world. It’s the first game where Sony’s trio of mascots, Sonic, Jak & Ratchet, all show up together. Honestly it’s pretty amazing how quick it took for Jak & Ratchet to show up alongside Sonic! Though, they don’t really interact together at all outside of the intro video.” - Gamespot, review excerpt


“This game is nostalgia for me. Very overlooked nostalgia, but still nostalgia.”

“Honestly this game was alright! Aside from having so many Sony-Sega franchises though, it’s not really anything all that special, just a collection of mini-games. No real campaign. No real online features. Really it’s just that. Plus it requires the EyeToy to play, and that’s not something all Neptune users have. So ...yeah. A hidden gem for the attachment, though.” - Assorted comments


MARIO POWER TENNIS
October, 2004

“In October of 2004, Nintendo created and released a tennis game featuring Super Mario Bros. characters, 18 of them in total. Though of course, being Nintendo, they added in a whole bunch of Mario-themed courts to the game to give it proper Nintendo flare - in addition to a variety of rules to choose from so that it’s a little more than just tennis but with Mario. Overall, yet another solid Mario game for the Gamecube!” - IGN Review excerpt.


SUPER SONIC SOCCER
October, 2004

“In October of 2004, almost concurrently with Nintendo, Sony released their own sports game. Nintendo does Tennis? They do Soccer. That’s right, Sonic is apparently a soccer player now. And, to be honest the game’s actually kind of good. It’s a little humorous to see the characters dressed up in Soccer outfits, but as a whole, the gameplay is actually pretty solid. The game’s aesthetic focuses on having a surprisingly long yet fast-paced match of Soccer, with Sonic themed gimmicks, events and abilities thrown into the mix to ensure the game has maximum fun value and is not just soccer with Sonic plastered onto it. However, the basic rules of soccer are still the basic rules of the game. Kick the ball into the net to win. They do let you save your replays though, and you can even view them with certain effects added in to make them more of a spectacle. Though, they already seem to make the game’s basic camera be a spectacle-cam. With most of the present Sonic cast to choose from as playable characters and the ability to customize your own team out of them, it’s a rather solid Sonic game!” - Gamespot review excerpt.

“Nintendo: Does Sports Games.
Sony: WE HAVE TO DO WHAT THEY JUST DID. - IGN User comment



THE INCREDIBLES
October, 2004

“In this lauded Pixar animated film, married superheroes Mr. Incredible (Craig T. Nelson) and Elastigirl (Holly Hunter) are forced to assume mundane lives as Bob and Helen Parr after all super-powered activities have been banned by the government. While Mr. Incredible loves his wife and kids, he longs to return to a life of adventure, and he gets a chance when summoned to an island to battle an out-of-control robot. Soon, Mr. Incredible is in trouble, and it's up to his family to save him.” - Excerpt, Google Review, 2010's.


“Released in October of 2004, the Incredibles was released and left it’s mark on Disney & Pixar lore. There’s really nothing I can say about it that hasn’t been said before, it simply put is an absolutely fantastic movie. Go watch it if you haven’t already.” - Review excerpt.



HOUSE OF THE DEAD - MOVIE CANCELLED
October, 2004

Last year, Sony had announced plans to do a film based on the House of the Dead franchise, one of the many franchises that they ‘inherited’ from their purchase of Sega back in 2001. However, after several months of almost no further information beyond “it’s happening”, Sony has given up the facade and announced that the film has indeed been cancelled. How far it was production, if it was far into it at all, has not been clarified in the release. All that has been released to us is the fact that it was planned, but now cancelled.

Judging by the nature of the franchise in question, we can assume that the film would have been released around this month either this year or perhaps even next year, and was almost certainly going to be a member of the Horror franchise. As to why Sony decided to cancel the movie, there are rumors abound though the most likely scenario is likely merely a lack of interest in producing the film, or perhaps a lack of interest in producing one based on this franchise over other members of Sony’s vast family of video game titles. It’s also possible that other, similar video game based movies and their reception played a role in influencing this film’s cancellation.

Now, thankfully, the game series itself has not been cancelled. Sony has still expressed interest in making media adaptations inspired by it, though instead of a feature film they instead leave it at “we’ll work something out.”

For some, people are amazed that Sony has cancelled one of their video game-inspired films, as they had made history in the eyes of many when they produced the original Sonic the Hedgehog film in 1998. However, outside of their two Sonic films, even Sony’s own video game films have not received nearly as much of a stellar reception. It’s very possible that the House of the Dead movie may have been so bad behind the scenes that the company decided it wasn’t worth making into a final product. We’ll only ever be able to speculate. - Los Angeles Times


HALO 2
November, 2004

“November, 2004. After months, in fact practically a full fledged year of intense hyped-up marketing to an extent that people were even willing to be in danger of a hurricane to take part in it’s marketing campaign, Halo 2 was released to the world. It was a game so powerful that the Gamecube port had to be cancelled, forcing it to be a Nokia Neo exclusive. It was a game that expanded on the lore of the game and supplementary material before it, and did it flawlessly. It was a game that only further revolutionized the society of online gaming and put Neo Network on the map. Now, obviously the big pull of the game is in fact, that online multiplayer capability. It’s by far the biggest franchise of first person shooters currently on the market, or at least it sure will be the more copies this game sales. In fact I believe it’s already on its way of becoming one of this generation’s highest selling titles. Now, beyond all of that, a main pull of Halo 2 in terms of existing fans of the series and those who actually play the campaign is that you now get to explore the story from the perspective of one of the Covenant’s many extra-terrestrial members - in this case the Arbiter, and this extends to online & multiplayer as the ability to play as the Sangheli, better known as the Elites. You get to see the leaders of the Covenant and even get a glimpse at some of their internal political intrigues. Most important of all though, the Covenant finally take the fight to Earth…oh and a second Halo ring. It’s a shame that the Gamecube version had to be cancelled ,but at least it’s because the game was literally too big for it. All in all, this is an absolutely phenomenal experience, completely worth full price whether it be for the Neo or for whatever you have as your personal computer.” - Gamespot review excerpt.


“The fact that Halo 2, due to how complex it was, necessitated an exclusively Neo release, did a lot to help the Neo get even more sales. Just in time for the holiday season, too!”


“Please let Chief and the Arbiter be in Smash one day.”


“This was the game that ended the House of Gecko and officially raised the banner of the House of Chief.”

“Blow me Away”


“This game drove the world mad when it came out, or at least the gaming world. For first few months after it’s release, everyone and I do mean everyone was talking about it and the Nokia Neo. For once, Nokia was on top of the world. That’s really how it was at the end of 2004.”


“Halo and it’s sequel are basically 3DO, or PIE as it is known as now, finally maturing from ‘Army Men’ and blossoming into a true, hardcore gaming company.”


“I wish Halo 2 had a Gamecube port, it would have looked SO good next to the Metroid Prime series! Like, come on ...but alas, Halo 2 was just too good for the Gamecube.” - Assorted comments



RATCHET & CLANK: UP YOUR ARSENAL
November, 2004

“Putting out a follow-up every year is the sort of crunch-time madness that's usually reserved for sports offerings. But for the third year running, Insomniac Games has put together an entry in its excellent Ratchet & Clank series. This installment, subtitled Up Your Arsenal, doesn't reinvent the usual single-player mechanics. Instead, this year's iteration makes incremental changes to things like weapons, locales, and so on, while wrapping the game in a new story. It also adds a great, objective-based multiplayer mode that can be played by up to eight players online. All things considered, Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal is great fun, combining some solid platforming action with a lot of exciting combat.

For those of you who haven't been following the series, Ratchet & Clank is a very combat-focused platformer that gives you a lot of wild weapons to play with. You play as Ratchet, some sort of big-eared alien thing, and Clank, his robot companion. For the most part, Clank sticks to Ratchet's back. However, from time to time, the duo will separate. When this happens, you'll take control of Clank by himself. The action is fairly standard for a platformer in that you'll be doing a lot of jumping around and hitting things with your standard wrench attack. The weapons in the game do change this up a lot, though.” - Gamespot, review excerpt.


“An absolute must have for the Sony Neptune.”


“Proof that Sonic is not the only furry platformer that Sony can make good games with, and also that Ratchet is far from just a Sonic clone.” - Assorted comments



WORLD OF WARCRAFT
November, 2004

“When World of Warcraft was released, it started not a new game. It started a whole new part of gaming culture.” - Anonymous.

“World of Warcraft has just been unleashed into this world of ours and is already raking in stacks of cash after stacks of cash. If you like Lord of the Rings, you’ll think this is almost like a video game adaptation of it. If you like Harry Potter, you’ll at least dig the use of magic up in this game. If you like the fantasy genre at all, you will absolutely be hooked on this game. It is the latest in the MMO RPG series, and the best way to describe it is that it lets you play as one of many fantasy-genre inspired creatures (or a normal person if you honestly want to), and you basically get to just escape from reality and do what you want. There certainly goes to accomplish and levels to upgrade to, but you basically don’t really have to do any of it and can choose if you want to participate in the events or not. Though you do need to have money for a monthly subscription if you really want to get the full experience. Overall, if you call yourself a PC gamer and don’t give this experience a try, something is wrong with you.” - Gamespot review excerpt.


“This game created basement dwellers everywhere for years to come, and is still creating them to this day.”


“This game literally defined cultural references of gamers from the day it was released. I highly doubt it was intentional, but this game in and of itself became basically a lifestyle.” - Assorted comments



JAK 3
November, 2004

“Jak is back for the third and purportedly final time in Jak 3, the conclusion to Naughty Dog's best-selling platforming franchise. Last year's Jak II turned the series right on its ear, replacing the original Jak & Daxter verdant hills and lighthearted whimsy with a dystopian future cityscape and gameplay sensibilities reminiscent of Grand Theft Auto. The final entry in the Jak trilogy makes no such ambitious changes. This game simply builds on Jak II's winning formula by adding more weapons and abilities, varied kinds of action, and an interesting and well-told story; in short, all the stuff that made its predecessor a great game. Jak 3 offers something for any fan of action games, and despite some extreme similarities to Jak II, it's a fitting end to the series.” - IGN Review excerpt.


“One of 2004’s later releases, Jak 3 concluded what was honestly a solid trilogy for the early Post-Sega era, albeit it was a trilogy that literally started in that same era. The Jak series was one that basically grew up with it’s audience; it started from a relatively kid friendly and inviting platformers and grew into a darker, more mature title as the games progress - albeit not going as far into that direction as my wording makes it sound like, but still going clearly in that type of direction given that Jak himself grew up with each successive game. Now rated T for Teens, Jak 3 combines paltforming, driving and gun combat (and the use of Dark Jak) into one epic conclusion to one of the Neptune’s most iconic series! Furthermore, Jak continues to show how good character animations from Sony can be when effort is put into them, lest we forget that’s part of why Sonic Adventure 2 got delayed. No really.” - Gamespot review excerpt.


“Longer hair. Longer goatee. Longer amount of edge.”


“Best conclusion to the franchise.”

“I think it could have been a little better, but so could literally everything in existence, to be fair. For what it is, solid game!”


“Best experience of my early teenhood.” - Assorted comments


NEED FOR SPEED: UNDERGROUND 2
November, 2004

“Last year, EA took its long-running Need for Speed series in an exciting new direction with the release of Need for Speed Underground, a racing game that focused on making the import tuner scene the star of its arcade-style racing show. The game worked really well, combining the right level of car customization with good track design, challenging opponents, and impressive graphical effects. Now, one year later, a sequel is on the streets, adding some new race types and a big, open city to cruise around. The actual racing in Need for Speed Underground 2 is still pretty good, but unfortunately most of the stuff you do in between races keeps you away from the game's best moments.” - IGN review excerpt

“Overshadowed by the plethora of other big sequels that came out the same year as it, but still an exhilarating and wonderful experience - with a seriously cool soundtrack too!” - Blog review excerpt


METAL GEAR SOLID 3
November, 2004

“Sometimes there can be too much of a good thing and one begins to wonder if the greatness can hold its death grip on your senses for the whole trip. There's a fear that at the last moment the experience will take a drastically wrong turn and turn your favorite t-shirt into a dishrag. But put those fears aside because Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater manages to set a fantastic pace early on and keeps everything going right up to the closing credits and then some. Overall, this is the best Metal Gear Solid game that we've seen and, yes, it rules.

First of all, I have to come out and say that Metal Gear Solid was the previous titleholder for the Solid Snake crown. With the creative boss battles and innovative style it was well worth replaying over and over despite the naysayers who complain about its length. After all, the same thing can be said for Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty with its incessant Codec conversations and movies. Strip away MGS2's story and there's a pretty short game there as well. As for its story itself there's little of interest unless you really want to spend a couple of late, smoky nights going over the details and putting all the pieces together, and they do fit together. While that's kind of interesting if you want a pleasant mind rutting, it was far from fun to watch a game eat itself.

Still, the one thing that MGS2 did right, fantastically right, was take the gold standard of stealth espionage action from MGS and update it beautifully for the current generation. The graphics were amazing to look at and with the new sets of moves and details to dig into, gamers kept going back again and again for more to try out a situation in a different way or collect all of the dog tags they could get. It was so slick and pulled off so well that it even helped the Metal Gear RAY battle go down nicely, or at least be stomached.

Pulling the trilogy nice and tight with the best ideas from both games is MGS3:SE, a game that takes the series to its fullest incarnation yet. Both the storytelling and the action have been improved to make a game that still has its fair share of movies to sit through as well as a healthy amount of different situations to work through. The biggest changes have obviously been in the raw mechanics of the game which have taken the franchise a full step forward in the evolutionary scale of games.” - IGN, Review Excerpt


JFK: RELOADED - EDUCATIONAL, OFFENSIVE, OR DANGEROUS?
November, 2004

“It’s a game made to simulate the assasination of John F. Kennedy. It pissed a lot of people off when it came off, even though it’s intention was allegedly supposed to educate people and help with the whole conspiracy thing. Whatever the intention was, it really just caused a lot of outrage. That’s really all that there is to know. ” - IGN forum comment.



SONY LEAK REVEALS 2006 SONIC FILM & SHENMUE ADAPTATION
November, 2004

Big news as come into the hands of the presses, as it’s been revealed by way of what appears to be an accidental leak, that Sony has quite the duo of big plans for 2006. These leaks came in the way of concept art that was posted onto Sony’s official Sonic-and-Sega websites last week, resulting in their circulation. These concept art pieces showed what appeared to be designs for a major update to the appearance of Sonic the Hedgehog, in addition to what appeared to be none other than Shenmue’s Ryo. Initially, these were believed to be for upcoming games, until a Sony spokesperson came out and revealed that they are actually concepts for upcoming films intended for release in 2006.


Indeed, not only is Sonic going to get a third film and is going to get an update in looks for it, but even Shenmue is going to get an appearance in extended media forms than just it’s video games! Whether or not Shenmue will be getting a movie or some other adaptation was not actually stated, but either way both fan bases are now buzzing with heavy excitement. After all, Sony so far has a decent resume when it comes to adapting games into other art forms.


As for how the leak actually got spread out, there is no clear answer. It appears to have just been the incredibly rare accidental upload, though of course we can’t really rule anything out. We also can’t rule out if this is anything related to whatever Sony’s planning for the next generation of gaming and/or the future of Sonic’s games. After all, Sony is still the undisputed king of gaming, with the Saturn being gaming’s most highest selling console in history and the Neptune well on it’s way in actually surpassing it based on current sales predictions. When it wouldn’t be hard to imagine what they’re thinking of spending their money on, though it does seem they’ve finally stopped focusing on theme parks and gone back to focusing on gaming. - Electronic Gaming Monthly.

“We here at Nintendo Power would like to give our condolences to Sony. We know how hard it must be to keep things under tight wraps. I mean, it isn’t easy to run a tight ship. Nobody deserves to have their private information leaked, not even a company that is way too big for its own britches. P.S. is that really the best you leakers could actually dig up?” - Nintendo Power, November 2004 issue.
 
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So, Nokia has basically taken Microsoft's place in TTL? And they Sly Cooper and Halo franchises? In all honesty, I'm glad for them. But Sony is clearly still the number one gaming company in the world right now.
 
So, Nokia has basically taken Microsoft's place in TTL? And they Sly Cooper and Halo franchises? In all honesty, I'm glad for them. But Sony is clearly still the number one gaming company in the world right now.
Actually, they own Sly Cooper but Halo is third party, owned by 3DO (now Panasonic Interactive Entertainment/PIE). Halo 2 is a Nokia exclusive because it's simply too much for the others to handle.
 
So, Nokia has basically taken Microsoft's place in TTL? And they Sly Cooper and Halo franchises? In all honesty, I'm glad for them. But Sony is clearly still the number one gaming company in the world right now.

Pretty much, to the point that the neo is just the og xbox in a different shell.
 
Pretty much, to the point that the neo is just the og xbox in a different shell.

Well there are minor differences in the numbers I think, but I suppose you are right lol.
It felt like there wasn't much of a way to really make them that different, at least early on.
But I'll try and make them feel different later.

I suppose for one they don't own Rare.
 
Pretty much, to the point that the neo is just the og xbox in a different shell.
Well there are minor differences in the numbers I think, but I suppose you are right lol.
It felt like there wasn't much of a way to really make them that different, at least early on.
But I'll try and make them feel different later.

I suppose for one they don't own Rare.
Different Specs Too, you could say would be what a OG Xbox would have look have they used AMD tech since begin(OG Xbox was Intel+nvidia, here was Amd-3DFX/AMD(
 
2004 Part III: "Feel Old Yet?"
((And this finishes this 2004 up! Next post will bring the TL into 2005! Which I'm sure will be something you'll want to stick around for! Also might go back and add details to some of the previous posts, for the sake of forgetting things or last-minute revelations regarding things which should have been mentioned before. Maybe, we'll see. Just look out for that. 2004 was such a big year compared to 2003 that I may have lost track of things.))


SHENMUE: SONY’S HUMAN DARLING
November, 2004

It’s March 2000. The Millennium has just dawned, and the gaming industry is dominated by Sega, Nintendo and 3DO. Video games are 3D these days, but the graphics aren’t precisely good looking. Most faces are just images slapped on shapes, and fingers are hardly ever more detailed than basic sticks - if they even exist at all.

Then comes the Sega-Sony Neptune. One of the largest line-ups of video game launch titles the industry has ever seen, featuring games destined to go down as some of the best of all time. Among these, is the Neptune’s golden boy, with a budget of over 47 million dollars, Shenmue entered the world of gaming. Sure, Sonic the Hedgehog was there, but his game was just an updated version of his adventure from last year. Shenmue was an all new thing, all original, and all revolutionary.

The graphics were like looking into the future. The faces were fully rendered. The fingers were as detailed as a real life person’s. When a character wore pieces of cloth that draped it actually moved with their bodies like it would in real life. It made it seem as though the future of simulating life wasn’t so far off as it seemed to be. Sonic may have been the mascot of the corporation, but it was Shenmue that was the real star of the launch.

Or at least, that’s what most people think. Created by Yu Suzuki, the “Sega Miyamoto”, Shenmue actually began development back in 1993, seeing how it was originally intended for the Saturn. However, Suzuki’s perfectionist desire for the title resulted in it taking longer than expected - development eventually moving over to the Neptune for it to be a launch title for the system. Now, the original Shenmue title is certainly a Neptune classic. What won many people was simply that it combined ideas and genres in a way that nobody had ever seen before. It was an open world title complete with a day-night cycle, and NPCs who actually operated on their own daily schedules, offering you more immersion into what seemed like a virtual world than ever before. You could collect toys, play arcade games, get a job driving a forklift, go to a bar, do all sorts of things to simply waste time while waiting to come across the next advance in the story. All while venturing around your hometown. The game was, for all intents and purposes, Sega taking a gamble on Yu Suzuki’s legendary skills, banking on the Saturn (and Neptune)’s success, and letting their massive egos run wild.

And…...it worked.

The original Shenmue was a commercial success on its release at the Neptune’s launch. In Japan, it was the highest selling Neptune game on launch, and it’s sales in America, Europe and other regions were also impressive. To this date it has sold approximately 11.5 million copies worldwide. Now, it is true that while most critics completely praised it, others were not so kind. The original title was criticized for it’s slow nature, and how much time one has to spend on a forklift. However, none can deny that this game had heart and soul pumped into it. Heart and soul that was further realized in 2001, when it’s sequel, Shenmue II, was released for the Neptune as well. The game had been developed alongside the predecessor and originally intended to be the same game, but much like Sonic 3 & Knuckles Sega decided instead to split it into two and release them separately.

In Shenmue II, everything was improved from the original - there was even more things to do around the world (now China instead of your home town), and though it ends on a cliffhanger you actually do confront the man who killed your father. There’s also plenty of lively characters who debut in the sequel that add plenty of more character to an already enriched series.

The only problem for Shenmue is that it has to compete with the game series Grand Theft Auto, which is a very tough act for any Open World game to contend with. Grand Theft Auto III came out in between Shenmue I & II, and sold about 14.5 million copies so far - landing it on some best selling games of all time lists. Of course, Shenmue II still managed to sell pretty close to that with inertia from the previous release, but GTA III being a multi console release was just more accessible to the masses. For many, Shenmue is something of a kid friendly GTA. The game that parents, who live in a Sony/Sega household, give their kids when you’re too scared by the press GTA games get every time one is released. That said though, it’s still a phenomenal set of games, and millions of gamers are looking forward to the future - given that the leak of a Shenmue movie for 2006 is no doubt going to come with the announcement of when the next installment in the story is going to come out.

- Lee Qui, Blog Post, 2004


END OF THE YEAR: THE GAMES OF THE YEAR ‘04
December, 2004

The year is 2004, but the month is December. Like it or not, 2004 is going to be over once this month is over and there’s nothing not even an immortal vampire or zombie can do about it.

Now, in terms of culture as a whole, this year has been a blast. George W. Bush is still the American President, and America is still fighting it’s War on Terror in Iraq and Afghanistan. Meanwhile, in the theaters of that same country Shrek 2, The Grudge, Mean Girls, Saw, Napoleon Dynamite, Godzilla: Final Wars, The Passion of the Christ, Million Dollar Baby, Kill Bill Volume 2, The Butterfly Effect and even the Garfield Movie have all graced the world in some way or another over the course of this year. I only mentioned Godzilla: Final Wars because though it was in Japan, it was the end of an era as the latest in the self-proclaimed “final” Godzilla films. Speaking of ending, Friends and the Rugrats franchise both ended this year too, just as shows like Lost and 6teen have started up. Meanwhile, in the online world, MySpace is still the rising star of websites, on the verge of overtaking Friendster as the internet’s most viewed and used website, alongside the still toddler-aged Google and Wikipedia. Oh and there’s some website called Encyclopaedia Dramatica running around these days too, but trust me that website shouldn’t even be spoken of.

But, what about the gaming world? Well, luckily for us the gaming world has been just as active with content this year as the film world has - a stark contrast to ‘03, which was like a drought in comparison. So as we await New Year ‘05, let’s look back at many of the big games that have come out over the course of this year, and be grateful that we received so many excellent titles all in the span of one single year.

First, let’s start with Sony and their Neptune console. The current King of the gaming world and the assimilator of Sega, Sony has the lion’s share when it comes to quantity of games at its disposal. However, if we listed them ALL we would miss out on Nokia and Nintendo’s listings so we’ll only focus on their first party titles that were from this year alone, and only those whom we personally feel were the most important for the duration of this year.

First and foremost, Sonic Heroes. Released at the start of the year, it’s the obligatory ‘04 must-have Sonic game. Honestly it just makes sense to have at least one Sonic title if you own a Sega or Sony branded product.

Other Sonic titles released during this year include Sonic Custom Battle GP and Super Sonic Soccer, if you want to satisfy needs for racing or soccer, respectively. Besides Sonic though, Sony also released sequels to Samba de Amigo, Jak & Daxter and Ratchet & Clank over the course of this year as well - so there’s that!

On the other side of the mascot game, Mario didn’t give us a whole lot in the way of home console games. All we really have to work with for this year are Mario Power Tennis, Mario Party 6 and Donkey Kong Jungle Beat - all of course for the Nintendo GameCube. Now, things do pick up for the plumber on the Gameboy Advance, which was filled to the brim with Donkey Kong, Warioware and innumerable Mario related titles throughout the past few months of this year. Not to mention the obligatory set of Pokemon games for all of us to waste hours on “catchin’ ‘em all”.

Back to the Neptune for a bit, the EyeToy Camera got a fair bit of love during this year in the form of Sony Superstars and Nicktoons Movin’ being released, and there’s also a hoverboard game out there too but I’m not entirely sure if that was this year or not. Unfortunately for the EyeToy, not all too many people are really seeming to take much note of it - such is the way of most motion control gaming peripherals.

The biggest hit for the Neptune however is nothing except for the one and only Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, which managed to dislodge Sonic Adventure 2 as it’s top selling game and ultimately make the Neptune - for now - become the first Sony/Sega system since the Master System that didn’t have a Sonic game as it’s highest seller. Though a phenomenal - and naughty - game, GTA:SA is a third party title, having a Nokia Neo port as well. There appears to be no such thing as a GameCube version though - despite the GameCube proudly sporting its own port of Halo: Combat Evolved.

Speaking of Nokia Neo titles, let’s talk for a bit about Sly Cooper. It’s effectively Nokia’s closest answer to Mario & Sonic, and though the raccoon is not quite as successful as either of those two it would still be a massive lie to call his two current games failures by any means. Sly 2 in particular, as a game released this year, is definitely worth both a purchase of itself and that of a Nokia Neo! It is unfortunate that playing Neo Geo CD games on it is a Japan-only luxury, though. However, other exclusives such as the Battlefield series and the surprise hit Egypt: Kingdom of the Sun offer the Neo plenty of enjoyable exclusive memories for you to build up in your life as a gamer this day and age!

Though, much like Neptune, it too has a third party killer app. Halo 2. The sequel to Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2 is dominating gaming publicity for this holiday season and it will very likely leak this publicity dominance into the early months of ‘05. If you have a Nokia Neo, I’ll be shocked if you don’t have this game. Following a history of lackluster American marketing, Halo 2 has actually given the Neo a fair bit of traction outside of Europe.

We’re also seeing what looks to be the rise of Valve and their recently launched platform known as Steam. Games such as Half-Life 2, Counter-Strike: Source and the most recent one - Garry’s Mod are the current top-level games to get from these guys. Half-Life 2 alone is definitely on the recommended list as another one of this year’s most anticipated gaming sequels, but Garry’s Mod is certainly an addictive experience as well as an exercise in one’s creativity. As a whole, Valve has both an established and a growing following as a faction within the gaming industry - and Steam is definitely on the way up. They might not be a part of the console wars, but they certainly are something to be keeping an eye on.

Last but not least, let’s finish the discussion of ‘04 Gaming off with four last bits of noteworthy games released in these last two months of the year. Since they’ve already been mentioned, Valve’s Garry’s Mod & Half-Life 2 aren’t in this selection.

First, let’s start with Godzilla: Save the Earth. To commemorate this being the latest “last year” of Godzilla, Atari & Pipeworks have put together a massive overhaul of their previous Godzilla related fighting game in the form of this one - complete with a roster of twenty playable monsters from the film series to choose from as well as fun challenges to get involved with and a far more intricate multiplayer system, this game is definitely worthy of any Godzilla fan. This game is available for both the Sony Neptune and the Nokia Neo.

Second, there’s Prince of Persia: Warrior Within. Sequel to Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, this game picks up right where the previous title left off and continues the tale of our titular character. In fact, not only does it continue it, but it enhances it with the best achievements that ‘04 Gaming can accomplish. Available for all three of the major gaming systems (Neo, Neptune and GameCube), there’s very little excuse as to why you don’t already own a copy of this one.

Third, let’s get the more lackluster one out of the way first. Kill Bill, the video game form. Now, as a licensed game from Vivendi Universal, one can’t really expect this to be the best game in the universe, and it certainly isn’t the worst either. But I struggle to call it anything truly worthy of the Kill Bill name. You play as the Bride and go on her eponymous roaring rampage of revenge, but the thing is this is a licensed game. The controls can be fairly mediocre, for a fair warning. Overall, only get this game if you are a truly diehard fan of the movie, or Tarantino. Available for Neptune & Neo.

Finally, let’s top things off with Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories. A Gameboy advance title, yes, but it is the latest in the Kingdom Hearts series! Really, a GBA RPG featuring Sora, Mickey, Donald and Goofy as well as Winnie the Pooh should be all we really have to tell you - but of course there’s many other Disney stars featured in this continuation of a rising star series that make it worth purchasing. It’s quite possibly going to be the only Not-Sony installment to the series, or at least one of them, so we definitely say go get it.

And it is with that last note that we now begin preparing to see what direction gaming and culture as a whole will take come ‘05 in the next few weeks.

- William C. Lambert, Blog Post, 2004




SONY PLUTO RELEASED IN JAPAN
December, 2004

It’s happened.

Sony has joined the battle for the best handheld gaming system, challenging the long-unrivaled (in that field) Nintendo. The name of the new handheld on the block? The Pluto. The Sony Pluto. No resemblance or relation to Disney’s yellow dog. Oh no. This is no dog, it’s a state of the art gaming system, all in a size perfectly compacted for playing on the go - and it’s got some decent games to start out with as it enters the Japanese markets!

What would a Sony console be without something Sonic related? Enter Sonic XL, the first Sonic game to kick off the Pluto’s entrance to the world. Now, there isn’t really much to XL, beyond it being a fast game. And we mean fast. The entire game is about what’s basically a mach speed dash straight to the goal ring, racing against another character such as Shadow, Knuckles or Metal Sonic while dodging obstacles. Think the Metal Sonic race from CD except heck of a lot faster, in 3D, and the entire game. It’s an interesting handheld spin-off game, and definitely a good purchase if you want the true Sonic speed experience.

We also have Tiny Chao Adventure, which is presumably going to be the Pluto’s Chao hub. It will connect to Chao Online and can be used to transfer your Chao both from there or from your Neptune save files, or you can just get home-grown Chao from within the game itself. You can also take your Chao on an RPG style adventure through the mysterious lands beyond the garden, complete with a mystery to solve in why Chao are apparently disappearing. Overall, get this if you really like the Chao.


We also are getting a return of a face not seen for quite some time - NiGHTS! That’s right, NiGHTS into Dreams is getting yet another enhancement port, in the form of a Pluto edition of the hit Saturn game! Apparently there will be some additional features added to the game, but as a whole it will still be the mid-90’s game we all know and love, and is sure to be just as beloved on the small screen as it is on the bigger one!

Now, of course there are many other titles that are lined up for the Pluto’s launch - both in Japan and those planned for it’s remaining international launches. Games such as ports of the Sakura Wars games, various racing, fighting, sports and various other types of games have all been discussed as releases to expect in the immediate upcoming future. As for when that future will arrive, we’re told that it’ll be around March ‘05.

This release also coincides with Nintendo's very own newest installment in it's line of handhelds - the Nintendo DS, successor to the GameBoy Advance. The Pluto now has to contend not with the Gameboy Advance, but instead the DS, which is already revolutionizing handhelds due to sporting not one but two screens and in addition to sporting many titles both standard Nintendo fare and creative, specially with those double screens and the use of a stylus pen, it's sure to be a tough fight.

- Electronic Gaming Monthly, 2004




STATE OF GAMING IN 2004

December, 2004

It all started with the Magnavox Odyssey. It was little more than a bit of an upgraded pong console that graced the world of the later 1970’s, yet from that single entity an entire industry would blossom. An entire industry that by the turn of the century has raked in billions, yes billions, of dollars internationally. So much for gaming being just a kid’s hobby.

In today’s gaming world, there are three major players: Sony, Nintendo and Nokia. The idea of there being this few is actually alien to the industry, which in the days of Magnavox & Atari had so many players that it was honestly difficult to keep track of them all - and that arguably goes for the 1990’s too. However, almost all of the real OG players in gaming have fallen to the dustbin of history, with the only real survivor being Nintendo. Before you ask where Sega ran off to, you forget that they literally basically became Sony as far as the market’s concerned. In fact honestly, even this current generation of gaming started back in 1998 as a completely different market than what we have now.

Back in ‘98, 3DO was still alive and kicking as the newest gaming company on the block, an early 90’s company trying to make it out of the century. Finally seeing it’s first truly positive stream of income, and finally having gaming’s media darling in the 3DO M2. The first console to have the ability to play DVD’s. It wouldn’t last. Sega, partnered with Sony, released the Neptune. As the Neptune’s sole opponent in the Y2K holiday season, Panasonic’s media darling was completely replaced and destroyed. It was a financial failure from which they would not recover, forcing them to ultimately drop from the console market in the summer of 2001. In fact, it was by that time that Sony had taken over and completely assimilated Sega into itself, so from now on we will use the name Sony in place of Sega. In some ways, the fall of 3DO and the assimilation of Sega was the true end of the gaming industry that we as kids in the 80’s and 90’s grew up with and the true beginning of the 00’s current gaming industry.

Following those two events, the Nintendo GameCube and the Nokia Neo would hit the scene. The GameCube was Nintendo’s valiant effort to reclaim what Sony (via Sega) had stolen from them in terms of market share. The Nokia Neo was more of a random surprise entrance into the ring, and was the first real European effort to compete with the big boys since the Philips CD-I (and to be fair, that statement is very debatable). In fact, Philips actually manufactured the Neo’s case/body. I guess that makes the Neo a combined European effort to maintain relevance in the industry. As well as a self-proclaimed spiritual successor to the Neo Geo. And it only is that because Nokia bought SNK so that they could turn it into a Japanese division. You can actually play Neo Geo CD games on Japanese Nokia Neos, though. Only in Japan though. Only in Japan. Or on Japanese models.


The Nintendo GameCube promised a lot but did have a few issues with itself. Though they were the eternal kings of the handheld market and the emperor of the 1980’s, Nintendo had fallen on some hard times due to their previous mistakes. The GameCube had to deal with the mess created during the Nintendo 64’s time - a loss of key third party supporters, lack of online connectivity (something which became highly important during this current generation of gaming), and even a poorly thought out inclusion of DVD capabilities that just reeked of being a last minute decision. You literally have to buy a separate add-on to play DVDs. You can’t even have the GBA player and the DVD player attached at the same time. The whole thing just screams of being a last minute decision. Only the Samsung ‘Q’ version, which is very rare and Japan only, has the DVD add-on basically built into the GCN. I commend Nintendo for focusing on the games, and their games are always high-tier quality, but still, I gotta knock points off the way they handled DVD playing. Then again, the Neo basically didn’t advertise it’s DVD playback feature at all (or not very much anyway) either so it loses points on that front too. Once the M2 bit the dust, the console everyone associated with being a DVD player with video games too was the Sony Neptune, formerly known as the Sega Neptune.

DVDs aren’t all that matters in terms of modern gaming though. There’s also online connectivity. The Neptune and Neo both had this in spades - SegaNet and the Nokia Network are the primary online services for gamers in this day and age. Yes really, SegaNet is just about the last official use of the Sega name remaining. At least as of 2004. Nintendo and Panasonic though, didn’t really have anything. There are games for the GameCube that could connect online, but they are a very rare species to come across, and even then what you can do online with the GCN is very limited anyway compared to what you can do with a Neptune or a Neo. When it comes to the M2, I’m not sure that thing had any online at all but maybe it did. All they ever advertised for that thing [the M2] was the fact it could play DVDs. And that it played games too, I guess.

Anyway, beyond DVD playback and Online Connectivity are the games themselves - and this is where I personally think the GameCube makes up for its shortcomings, having that classic Nintendo quality and creativity in practically all of it’s exclusive titles - and sporting many arguably 10/10 games under its belt. As any Nintendo console should. If it didn’t have that Nintendo seal of approval on it, it would be like the M2 right about now. Trust me, Super Smash Bros. Melee, Pikmin, Metroid Prime, Luigi’s Mansion and Super Mario Sunshine help make the GameCube. Oh, and definitely get Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem. But it’s still standing and fighting the good fight. I mean, it has Melee on it. However, that is not to say that it’s competition is not strong. Far from it.

The Sony Neptune is by far the more threatening opponent, as it’s on the verge of surpassing its own predecessor as the highest selling home console of all time. It’s highest selling games include Sonic Adventure 2, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Shenmue, Jak & Daxter, Ratchet & Clank and it has hundreds upon possibly thousands of other games under its belt that i’ve noticed across multiple stores and online ads. This of course, makes it one tough beast to tango with. While for every Shenmue you have a game from Phoenix Games, there still is more than enough quality games to keep the quantity from being too much of a bad thing.

Then we have the Nokia Neo. The Nokia Neo is a den for 2D fighters such as King of Fighters, and First Person Shooters such as Battlefield and it’s sequels. It’s also the home of the newcomer to the platforming scene, Sly Cooper. Now, the Nokia Neo does not have as many games as the Neptune or the recognizable franchises that the GameCube has, but it does have superior graphics and a far superior CPU to both of it’s surviving competition, giving many of its ports an edge against them. It also houses the superior port of Halo: Combat Evolved, and is so powerful that it was the only console able to properly run a port of Halo 2, causing what could’ve been shared between itself and Nintedo to be a Nokia exclusive - much to Nintendo’s dismay as Halo 2 is set to be the Neo’s own highest selling game.


Speaking of Halo, it’s rise has so far signified a major shift in gaming as a whole. A shift away from platforming mascots, and towards that aforementioned first person shooter genre. Mature rated games such as Halo and Grand Theft Auto have been top tier sellers so far, with Master Chief even basically replacing Gex as Panasonic’s mascot. We’re probably never going to see that gecko again. This also coincides with the increasing use and popularity of online gaming, making it more damaging to the GameCube’s fight that it still lacks that crucial component. The Nokia Neo and Neptune’s online communities are just as much fighting each other as the companies are in the market itself, and I’m going to spare you the sight of actually seeing the nastier side of these arguments. But it does go to show how serious gaming is getting these days. Perhaps then Nintendo staying out of the online thing actually is a good idea.

Or maybe it’s not because it might be negatively impacting Nintendo’s overall sales.


Sales. They are by far the most important thing to any company in the end, no matter how much they claim to care about their fans. I know these companies can mean a lot to our childhood memories but let’s be real, they don’t care about us so much as they care about our money. Or in the case of our past selves, our parents’ money. These contemporary gaming companies are pulling in big dollars, but as for who’s doing the best - well it’s not really much of a difficult analysis to make.

Sony is doing by far the best, and that’s even if we don’t count the money they bring in from being a conglomerate with a vast ocean of other industries they take part in. What’s worse for their competition, they are doing well in all of the world’s regions, still having a stranglehold on the Japanese home console market since they first dethroned Nintendo over there - they even remain #1 in Europe as well, though they finally do have a semblance of competition there after decades of Sega dominance over there. They also dominate over Brazil as well, which has been claimed by Sega about as long as Europe has so it makes since for Sony to inherit it. America is far more of a Battle Royale battleground between all three of them though, but Sony is certainly not doing terrible.

Then we have Nintendo. Once the emperor of gaming with dominance over both America and Japan, they have lost their thrones in both of those regions. One can only imagine how humiliating it is for Nintendo to see their homeland market be ruled by their arch nemesis, and the western market that they once brought back life into being something they have to fight for. Now, while Nintendo has certainly lost a lot of the power it had back in the day, that is not to say it’s weak. It gets a lot of sales from the Gameboy Advance - which maintains the Nintendo tradition of ruling the handheld market practically undisputed. However, the GameCube is being battered by the Neo and the Neptune right now. Don’t get me wrong, I love the system personally but it really isn’t doing that hot in sales - a little worse than the Nintendo 64 even. In fact, the Neo’s head start in Europe has actually proved damaging to Nintendo’s own ability to perform in the region. Along with Rare, their legendary British development team, beginning to slow down with game production as of late. However, Nintendo remains strong in America, and especially Canada where it actually remains the most popular gaming company.

Finally, we have the Nokia Neo, which despite how much gaming press in America is hailing it - actually didn’t sell that well over here until Halo 2 came out. I’m serious. Nokia seems to be very skilled with how European marketing works, but has fumbled a lot when it comes to marketing here in America where it’s mostly been carried by third party titles and having fantastic graphics. Some of their E3 presentations have been outright atrocious. It’s a different story in Europe though, where the system is now #1 in Finland and a rising star in the home console market for other European nations. It’s ownership of SNK also gives it a small but dedicated Japanese following, and also some money from arcades to have as a bonus - alongside those sweet cell phone sales. In America, though, the competition with the GameCube seems to be just slightly leaning on a GameCube victory just due to Nokia’s inexperience in American marketing - and home console marketing for that matter, these guys are really out of their comfort zone. Now, with the advent of their Halo and Halo 2 ports, and as first person shooter games are increasing in popularity, the Nokia is catching up as time goes on however it’s American market share still remains quite vulnerable looking.

Now, to finish things off let’s talk about handheld gaming and PC gaming. PC Gaming has certainly changed a lot since the 1980’s, and like console gaming is continuing to get all the more serious. The rise of Valve’s Steam service and online gaming are making this shift all the more inevitable. The days of arcades are dying, and the days of having that experience in the home have come. Now, in handheld gaming as I said before Nintendo remains on top, though Sony has just entered the ring with their own competitor to it, so who knows, perhaps we will soon be shocked. Probably not though, as many have tried and failed before. Besides, Nintendo I think deserves at least one place where it can still call itself #1.

As 2004 fades away and begins to make way for 2005, and presumably the reveal of the next generation of consoles, we must all prepare to see where gaming goes next.


- Landon Jones, Blog Post, 2004




NINTENDO VS NOKIA: A EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVE
December, 2004


Nokia.

For us Europeans, the first things that come to mind when we hear that name is one of the following: Finland, and Cell Phones. That or both, possibly even within that order. What we didn’t think of pre-2001 was a gaming console manufacturer thinking itself capable of battling it out with both Nintendo and Sony. However, that’s precisely what Nokia seems to be doing at the moment through their answer to the Neptune and GameCube - the Nokia Neo. They even purchased SNK as if to have a reason to use that name in the first place.

Nevertheless, Nokia is the only true European competitor that the gaming industry has yet seen in the home console market. The Philips CD-i does not, unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) count. So yes, it was ultimately the Finns who brought Europe into the gaming industry properly, and I’m not sure how I feel about that.

Now, those same Finns had a true battle ahead of them. While not the largest home console market, what Europe did have in that theatre was dominated by Sega & Sony, later just Sony, and had been since the 1980’s with the Sega Master System. Yes, for you American and Japanese readers, we were a world where Sega came in first and Nintendo came in second. Not even Rareware, for all they were capable of, were not able to fully dethrone the blue (now black) S from our peninsular shores. That’s not to say that Nintendo and Panasonic didn’t try, it’s just to say that it was a daunting task. One that many weren’t sure Nokia was capable of - though they did have the homeland & brand awareness advantages. One must understand, a cell phone company suddenly entering the video game industry practically out of the blue is not precisely something one simply expects to happen.

However, Nokia did something smart when it came into the video game market. It came as prepared as it could be. The purchase of SNK gave it much needed franchises to start out with, and allowed it to have an immediate fanbase within Japan. A small one, but still one nevertheless. For their hardware, the Nokia Neo is by far the most powerful of the three major home consoles, in terms of sheer raw power it’s CPU processes at 700 MHz, and it’s GPU at 400 MHz - compared to the Neptune at 300 MHz & 150 MHz and the GameCube at 486 MHz & 162 MHz. However, no matter how powerful the hardware is, what matters is software; and this is where Nokia struggled, at least initially.

Having to build your gaming library effectively from the ground up - including gathering third party support, is no easy task for any gaming company. The majority definitely fail at this task. However, Nokia has had a rather decent amount of luck so far. Their partnership with Sucker Punch gave them Sly Raccoon (known in America as Sly Cooper). Their purchases of SNK and DICE gave them a plethora of arcade titles and the Battlefield series, respectively. They also already had ‘Snake’ under their belt, as we all should know. However, none of these aside from the last two were really set in stone when they first entered the race, and they had to build their audience from the ground-up.

From the very beginning, Nokia was destined to take Finland by storm almost through national pride alone. Their phones were already #1 there, so it came as no surprise that the Nokia Neo was soon Finland’s #1 selling home console as well. For the rest of Europe however, winning us over would not be so easy. Nokia’s only saving grace was that many European third party developers, such as Ubisoft and Infogrames, were largely among the first to pledge their support to the fledgling system - no doubt due to some fellow European pride, though also likely influenced by how powerful the system was. Namco, Konami and Capcom also would support the system - Namco in particular perhaps still feeling a rivalry between itself and formerly-Sega. This third party support would be crucial in ensuring the system had a long-term survival compared to the other attempts at a #3 system prior to itself.

And it worked.


Especially here in Europe. The Nokia Neo released first in Europe, right ahead of it’s Nintendo competitor the GameCube. This head start in the region allowed Nokia most of what little the M2 actually had in the market, and also allowed them to better prepare their marketing for competition with Nintendo (and by extension, Rare). As the system with the most raw power, the Neo was powerful competition for the red N in Europe, with Nintendo already having been historically weak within Europe’s borders at the time of the Neo’s rise. Sony was certainly taking at least a bit of a hit, but it was far from damaging. Now, Nokia’s marketing did not specifically target Nintendo in the way that other people did, but the Neo’s appeal to the more ‘mature’ and ‘hardcore’ gamer crowds brought to it a demographic which Nintendo simply didn’t appeal to, while games such as Sly Racoon and many similar yet third party titles brought in those of Nintendo-type demographics. In addition, Rare had begun to slow down as a creative force come the 2000’s, still being valued members of the Nintendo team though definitely not being as powerful as they had been in the 1990’s. With all of this in motion, in appeared as though timing was in Nokia’s favor, and Nintendo’s power in Europe weakened just enough for Nokia to begin chipping away at what market share Nintendo had in Europe.

However, from what I have heard Nokia’s situation is different in American than it is in Europe. Evidently, Nokia has historically ruined many of their public showings at American conventions such as E3, and admittedly the N-Gage debacle does not paint them in a good light. Apparently, they have not been doing very well in America until only very recently.

However, I only want to focus on Nokia’s performance here in Europe.

- Carson Anderson, "The Euro-gamer", Blog Post 2004


HALO 2, SAVIOR OF THE NEO IN AMERICA?:

December, 2004

The Nokia Neo. The European system that could. Came in right when 3DO finally gave up the ghost. The game system battling the Neptune in Europe, but yet here in the states it really hasn’t been doing so hot. Probably because of Nokia’s bland if not terrifying E3 showings, or because their marketing efforts here just don’t seem to ‘get it’, but whatever the case the Nokia Neo has really not been able to ‘bust in’ to our American markets either very well or for very long.

At least, until now.

With the advent of Halo 2 being a Nokia Neo exclusive due to how powerful the system is, Nokia Neos are practically flying off the shelves here in America - something that hasn’t really happened since the system first launched. While Halo 2 is officially a third party game, a title so powerful it can only be on one system is certainly a rare event for a console marker than likely only happens once in a lifetime, and you can bet Nokia is basking in the glory of this moment given how hyped up Halo 2 has been literally all year. Just in time for the holiday season too!

This holiday season is so far predicted to be a massive success for Nokia’s first home console, something which they are indeed very pleased about should all go right. Perhaps Halo 2 was what Nokia needed to keep the Neo relevant, but hopefully they don’t plan on relying on Panasonic Interactive, because as we said before they are a third party company. Hopefully if Nokia is smart they will use this success as valuable time to plan for the inevitable future where Halo will be on all platforms at once. For now though, they certainly have plenty of that aforementioned basking time, with millions of both copies and of units flying off the shelves to be in consumer possession before Christmas comes in.

By the way, Merry Christmas!

- Johnathon Lubeck, Blog Post, 2004



SONY'S HIDDEN SONICS: SIGHTINGS SO FAR

December, 2004

Sony has decided to take a few pages from Disney it seems, using Sonic being their mascot (since they inherited him from Sega) to their advantage as they cleverly hide references to him in most of their movies (especially those released post-2001). It has become a fun game of movie watchers to look out for references to the blue hedgehog in Sony's films. Sonic is usually placed into Sony/Columbia Pictures Productions or Co-Productions, he does not tend to appear in films they only distributed, with few exceptions. Sometimes the hedgehog seems to be a time traveler, he appears in a lot of movies that take place well before he even existed! Here's a list of what we've found so far:

The films actually based on the Sonic franchise, obviously, do not count.


2001: Baby Boy | There is a small bit of graffiti that is actually a drawing of Sonic that appears briefly in but one scene of the film.

2001: The One | Sonic appears on some billboards & advertisement signs in the background of a few shots throughout the movie.


2001: Not Another Teen Movie | There is a Sonic plush toy semi-hidden within the girl's bedroom. There's also posters of him in the brother's bedroom. Evidently, they live in a Sonic household.


2002: Panic Room | There is a small Sonic figure that decorates the living room of the home, in a style very much like that Godzilla figure from Roseanne.


2002: The Sweetest Thing | There's a Sonic poster on the wall for but one scene of the entire film.


2002: Spider-Man | A small Sonic figure graces Jameson's desk. He may not like Spidey, but he evidently likes Sonic.


2002: Men in Black II | Sonic graffiti appears in a few alley ways, and there are some kids & adults alike wearing/holding Sonic merchandise in various scenes.


2002: Stuart Little 2 | George Little has some Sonic figures in his room.


2002: Trapped | There is a Sonic plush that appears in various background places throughout the film.


2002: I Spy | Sonic appears on a few advertisement billboards/signs, and there is yet another plush toy that cameos in a few shots.


2002: Eight Crazy Nights | A cardboard cut-out of Sonic appears in the mall to presumably be selling something at the gaming/electronic store(s), but it is not one of the product placements that come to life, unfortunately.


2003: Adaptation | A magazine with Sonic on the cover is carefully placed in one of the shots.


2003: National Security | There's a scene where a Sonic themed coffee mug is present at a police station.


2003: Anger Management | One of the characters on the plane early in the movie is holding a Sonic plush, situated on their laps.


2003: Identity | As in National Security, there are Sonic-themed coffee mugs.


2003: Daddy Day Care | Scattered across the room during the day care scenes are a plethora of hidden Sonic merchandise


2003: The Matrix Reloaded | Sonic appears in the form of advertisement signs hidden in the background.


2003: Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle | There is a scene featuring someone drinking from the rare Sonic the Hedgehog energy drink in the background of a shot, and a Sonic plush is hidden on the floor in later scene.


2003: Bad Boys II | Sonic appears again as graffiti casually painted on a wall.


2003: S.W.A.T. | The police chief also happens to have a Sonic themed coffee mug.


2003: Once Upon a Time in Mexico | Despite the moving taking place before Sonic's (and even Sony's) existence, Sonic appears in the form of a carving onto the wood of one of the buildings – is a very easy one to miss.


2003: The Rundown | Sonic merchandise appears in various scenes taking place in Brazil in the film, mostly in the background being used by the extras.


2003: The Matrix Revolutions | There's a cardboard cut out of Sonic hidden deep in the background around the half-way mark of the movie.


2003: Gothika | There's a sign with Sonic on it at the Hospital that appears in the background during, well, the scenes in the hospital.


2003: Big Fish | There's some rocks in a river that form the shape of Sonic's head.


2003: Something's Gotta Give | Return of the Sonic themed coffee mug.


2003: Peter Pan | Sonic plushes appear in the room of the children. Again, this is despite the time of the movie's setting.


2003: 50 First Dates | A Sonic figure cameos at the end of the movie, in the main couple's bedroom on the boat. It may be the same one owned by Jameson.


2003: Crazy Taxi | A small Sonic figure dangles from the titular taxi's rear view mirror.


2004: Secret Window | A Sonic plush yet again appears in the background – this time in the opening scene (which is....interesting).


2004: Spider-Man 2 | The Sonic figure reprises it's role as a decoration on Jameson's desk.


2004: The Grudge | There is a hidden, albeit damaged Sonic toy in the home, and also a Saturn that can be spotted if you look close enough. These are Toshio's things though, no doubt. Would not advise taking them under any circumstances.


2004: Christmas with the Kranks | The Kranks have a Sonic figure which casually decorates their home Roseanne Godzilla style.


2004: Closer | One of the movie's female characters happens to own a Sonic themed keychain.


2004: Spanglish | A Sonic plush toy appears in the the home of Paz Vega's character – presumably it is for her characters' children.

Say what you will about Sonic's filmography beyond his two self-centered movies, but he's sure been active in the industry lately!

- IGN, 2004
 
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