Massively Multiplayer: Gaming In The New Millennium
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Please don't take the Sydney Olympics from us
Don't worry, we decided that Sydney gets to keep the Olympics in 2000.
Updates might not come out as fast as I'd like them to over the next few days, mom's car is having issues so I may have to spend a lot of time driving her around while it's in the shop, cutting into writing time. Sorry about that.
Sydney 2000 is released for the Ultra Nintendo, the Sega Saturn, the Game Boy Nova, and the PC in August 2000. It sells decently enough and reviews are good, though it doesn't merit much mention beyond that. The Ultra Nintendo version looks SIGNIFICANTLY better than the Saturn version, really showing the Saturn's age. The Game Boy Nova version is one of the best looking Nova games to date, it basically looks like how the PS1 version does IOTL.
Eh, I could see Ruby and Sapphire being done on the Nova as their swan song. By this point, project nitro is just an idea in the head of Nintendo's executives.
The Tribe Has Spoken - TTL's Survivor: Borneo
In the summer of 2000, a television phenomenon swept America. Survivor, created by Mark Burnett, would take 16 Americans and maroon them on a desert island, where they would be forced to brave the elements and forage for food while cameras followed their every move. Every three days, one of them would be voted off the island until just two remained. These final two survivors would have to convince a jury comprised of the last seven castaways to be voted off that they should be awarded a million dollar prize.
The show was hosted by Jeff Probst, though Mark Burnett initially considered Christopher Reeve (who turned Burnett's offer down because he was too busy filming a movie) and GameTV's Ted Crosley (who MTV didn't want to let go of, though this was just before the network began seriously considering the show's cancellation later that year). In an ironic twist, Jeff Probst had been one of the people initially considered to host GameTV, though show producers dismissed the idea when they determined that he was too old and that they wanted hosts who knew considerably more about video games.
The sixteen castaways were divided into two tribes, Pagong and Tagi. The tribes consisted of:
Pagong-
Colleen Haskell (23)
Dirk Been (23)
Greg Buis (24)
Gretchen Cordy (38)
Heather Fonn (24)
Lauren Stoner (28)
Ronald Goldman (31)
Rudy Boesch (72)
Tagi-
Andrew Winkell (25)
B.B. Andersen (64)
Gervase Peterson (30)
Kelly Wiglesworth (22)
Ramona Gray (29)
Richard Hatch (39)
Sonja Christopher (63)
Susan Hawk (38)
Though none of the castaways knew one another, casting had initially been concerned about allowing Ron Goldman, who had become famous for a time as being the person who discovered the bodies of O.J. Simpson and his wife Nicole Brown Simpson after the Simpson murder-suicide, onto the show. However, it was determined that after nearly six years had passed, Goldman had largely become an obscure figure again, the answer to a trivia question more than anything, and that his "fame" would give him no advantage on the show (later seasons of Survivor would have no qualms with adding far more famous people as castaways).
The season began with a focus on the castaways surviving the elements, but as the early days passed, it was clear that Richard Hatch had come into the game with a strategic mindset dwarfing that of anyone else on the island. He quickly formed a core "alliance" with Kelly, Susan, Gervase, and B.B., while on the Pagong tribe, though Ron and Rudy bonded somewhat and Colleen, Heather, and Lauren formed a fairly tight bond, alliances weren't really a part of the game on that side, with the vote largely consisting of who performed weakest in individual challenges. Tagi and Pagong alternated the first four eliminations, with Sonja, Heather, Ramona, and Colleen being voted off in that order. Pagong would lose the next two challenges, and though Ron and Rudy had initially been aligned with Greg and Dirk, Ron formed a bond with Gretchen and Lauren, and sent Greg and Dirk packing. At the merge, Richard's plan to get rid of the Pagong tribe members was set in motion, and he set his sights on eliminating Ron first. But Ron won the first two immunities, and the Tagi alliance was forced to vote out Lauren, and then Gretchen. Realizing that his days were numbered, Ron reached out to Andrew, who seemed the odd man out in Tagi. Meanwhile, B.B.'s temper, which had gotten him into trouble numerous times over the past few episodes, flared up again in an incident with Susan, who insisted to Richard that B.B. be voted out next, and persuaded Kelly to join her. B.B. was the next to go, though the Richard/Kelly/Gervase/Susan alliance seemed strong enough to take the Tagi Four all the way to the finals. But Richard's arrogant attitude stood in contrast to Ron's personable and easygoing nature, and Kelly in particular was tempted to switch sides, much to Sue's consternation. Ron won another immunity challenge, and the Tagi Four stayed together, voting out their former tribemate Andrew instead of Rudy, due to Andrew's strength in challenges (he'd finished second twice in recent immunities). In the final six, Kelly and Sue had a major blowup, and Kelly decided to switch sides and team up with Ron and Rudy. The tribal council vote was deadlocked between Gervase and Ron, but in the end it was Gervase who went home because of a tiebreaker (he'd gotten one more total vote over the course of the game than Ron). In the final five, Kelly had the swing vote between Ron/Rudy and Richard/Sue. Sue and Kelly seemed to reconcile, but ultimately Kelly decided to vote out Richard, taking out the strategic mastermind once and for all. In the final four, Sue tried to get Kelly to vote out Ron because of how likeable he was. In a memorable tribal council, once it had become clear that Kelly was going to side with Ron and Rudy to vote out Sue, Sue went into a rant about how she wouldn't spit on Kelly if she were on fire, calling Kelly a rat and calling Ron a pussy (though this was bleeped out). In the final three, the challenge came down to Ron and Rudy holding onto a pole for several hours. Finally, Rudy collapsed to one knee (he was briefly tended to by Survivor medical, but turned out to be okay) and Ron won the immunity and the right to choose who he'd take with him to the finals. He ultimately chose to vote off Kelly, despite knowing that Rudy would be the stronger opponent, because of how close the two had bonded over the course of the show. In the finals, the jury decided that while both Ron and Rudy were worthy of the million dollars from a personal standpoint, Ron had been stronger strategically and in challenges, and ultimately, Ronald Lyle Goldman was named the sole Survivor and the million dollar winner.
After paying about $450,000 in taxes, Goldman would split his prize money evenly between charity and his restaurant, which had been on the verge of going under when he'd gotten called to be on the show. The prize money saved the restaurant, and starting in 2005, it had become so successful that Goldman decided to start a chain. The initial restaurant had been known only with an anhk symbol, but after Survivor, he decided to name the restaurant "Goldman's", and that's what the chain went by as well, with the slogan "Come in and have a great time!". There are now 16 Goldman's locations throughout California and Arizona, with a 17th planned to open in Scottsdale. Goldman has also stated his intentions to open a restaurant in the Las Vegas area.
Survivor, of course, became the biggest hit of the summer, and continues airing new seasons to this day, having filmed on location in five continents. It would spawn a host of inspirations and imitations, its influence felt for nearly 16 years and counting.
-from "Summer Reality Hits: The Beginning", an article on tvline.com, published June 23, 2016
The show was hosted by Jeff Probst, though Mark Burnett initially considered Christopher Reeve (who turned Burnett's offer down because he was too busy filming a movie) and GameTV's Ted Crosley (who MTV didn't want to let go of, though this was just before the network began seriously considering the show's cancellation later that year). In an ironic twist, Jeff Probst had been one of the people initially considered to host GameTV, though show producers dismissed the idea when they determined that he was too old and that they wanted hosts who knew considerably more about video games.
The sixteen castaways were divided into two tribes, Pagong and Tagi. The tribes consisted of:
Pagong-
Colleen Haskell (23)
Dirk Been (23)
Greg Buis (24)
Gretchen Cordy (38)
Heather Fonn (24)
Lauren Stoner (28)
Ronald Goldman (31)
Rudy Boesch (72)
Tagi-
Andrew Winkell (25)
B.B. Andersen (64)
Gervase Peterson (30)
Kelly Wiglesworth (22)
Ramona Gray (29)
Richard Hatch (39)
Sonja Christopher (63)
Susan Hawk (38)
Though none of the castaways knew one another, casting had initially been concerned about allowing Ron Goldman, who had become famous for a time as being the person who discovered the bodies of O.J. Simpson and his wife Nicole Brown Simpson after the Simpson murder-suicide, onto the show. However, it was determined that after nearly six years had passed, Goldman had largely become an obscure figure again, the answer to a trivia question more than anything, and that his "fame" would give him no advantage on the show (later seasons of Survivor would have no qualms with adding far more famous people as castaways).
The season began with a focus on the castaways surviving the elements, but as the early days passed, it was clear that Richard Hatch had come into the game with a strategic mindset dwarfing that of anyone else on the island. He quickly formed a core "alliance" with Kelly, Susan, Gervase, and B.B., while on the Pagong tribe, though Ron and Rudy bonded somewhat and Colleen, Heather, and Lauren formed a fairly tight bond, alliances weren't really a part of the game on that side, with the vote largely consisting of who performed weakest in individual challenges. Tagi and Pagong alternated the first four eliminations, with Sonja, Heather, Ramona, and Colleen being voted off in that order. Pagong would lose the next two challenges, and though Ron and Rudy had initially been aligned with Greg and Dirk, Ron formed a bond with Gretchen and Lauren, and sent Greg and Dirk packing. At the merge, Richard's plan to get rid of the Pagong tribe members was set in motion, and he set his sights on eliminating Ron first. But Ron won the first two immunities, and the Tagi alliance was forced to vote out Lauren, and then Gretchen. Realizing that his days were numbered, Ron reached out to Andrew, who seemed the odd man out in Tagi. Meanwhile, B.B.'s temper, which had gotten him into trouble numerous times over the past few episodes, flared up again in an incident with Susan, who insisted to Richard that B.B. be voted out next, and persuaded Kelly to join her. B.B. was the next to go, though the Richard/Kelly/Gervase/Susan alliance seemed strong enough to take the Tagi Four all the way to the finals. But Richard's arrogant attitude stood in contrast to Ron's personable and easygoing nature, and Kelly in particular was tempted to switch sides, much to Sue's consternation. Ron won another immunity challenge, and the Tagi Four stayed together, voting out their former tribemate Andrew instead of Rudy, due to Andrew's strength in challenges (he'd finished second twice in recent immunities). In the final six, Kelly and Sue had a major blowup, and Kelly decided to switch sides and team up with Ron and Rudy. The tribal council vote was deadlocked between Gervase and Ron, but in the end it was Gervase who went home because of a tiebreaker (he'd gotten one more total vote over the course of the game than Ron). In the final five, Kelly had the swing vote between Ron/Rudy and Richard/Sue. Sue and Kelly seemed to reconcile, but ultimately Kelly decided to vote out Richard, taking out the strategic mastermind once and for all. In the final four, Sue tried to get Kelly to vote out Ron because of how likeable he was. In a memorable tribal council, once it had become clear that Kelly was going to side with Ron and Rudy to vote out Sue, Sue went into a rant about how she wouldn't spit on Kelly if she were on fire, calling Kelly a rat and calling Ron a pussy (though this was bleeped out). In the final three, the challenge came down to Ron and Rudy holding onto a pole for several hours. Finally, Rudy collapsed to one knee (he was briefly tended to by Survivor medical, but turned out to be okay) and Ron won the immunity and the right to choose who he'd take with him to the finals. He ultimately chose to vote off Kelly, despite knowing that Rudy would be the stronger opponent, because of how close the two had bonded over the course of the show. In the finals, the jury decided that while both Ron and Rudy were worthy of the million dollars from a personal standpoint, Ron had been stronger strategically and in challenges, and ultimately, Ronald Lyle Goldman was named the sole Survivor and the million dollar winner.
After paying about $450,000 in taxes, Goldman would split his prize money evenly between charity and his restaurant, which had been on the verge of going under when he'd gotten called to be on the show. The prize money saved the restaurant, and starting in 2005, it had become so successful that Goldman decided to start a chain. The initial restaurant had been known only with an anhk symbol, but after Survivor, he decided to name the restaurant "Goldman's", and that's what the chain went by as well, with the slogan "Come in and have a great time!". There are now 16 Goldman's locations throughout California and Arizona, with a 17th planned to open in Scottsdale. Goldman has also stated his intentions to open a restaurant in the Las Vegas area.
Survivor, of course, became the biggest hit of the summer, and continues airing new seasons to this day, having filmed on location in five continents. It would spawn a host of inspirations and imitations, its influence felt for nearly 16 years and counting.
-from "Summer Reality Hits: The Beginning", an article on tvline.com, published June 23, 2016
Irrelevant, but has the underrated classic Bionic Commando had any sequels or successors?
Not yet, though one of the early concepts for Victory was a Bionic Commando sequel.
Hm. So basically,the Ultra- Nova era of Nintendo is kind of the 64 and early Gamecube eras combined
About the same. A few of the celebrities are different of course, and there's a GameTV special, but for the most part it does about the same as it did IOTL.
Well, no American Crime Story: The People vs. OJ Simpson; glad Goldman has his life in order.
OTOH, no OJ Simpson case means no Kardashians. IMO, Bruce (Caitlyn) Jenner probably still transitions (his gender issues went back to before the PoD, IIRC; it triggered the breakup of his first marriage to Linda Thompson (1)) ITTL.
(1) Linda Thompson is also known for dating Elvis Presley after his divorce from Priscilla; they broke up eight months before he died.
OTOH, no OJ Simpson case means no Kardashians. IMO, Bruce (Caitlyn) Jenner probably still transitions (his gender issues went back to before the PoD, IIRC; it triggered the breakup of his first marriage to Linda Thompson (1)) ITTL.
(1) Linda Thompson is also known for dating Elvis Presley after his divorce from Priscilla; they broke up eight months before he died.
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