X Marks the Spot - A Nintendo and Microsoft console timeline

[the_idiot]

Super Smash Bros. Nitro

Super Smash Bros. Nitro is the third installment in the Super Smash Bros. series, and the first one to be made for a portable system, that being the Nintendo DS. Development on Nitro began shortly after Melee was released in 2002, with Masahiro Sakurai and HAL Laboratory once again taking the reins of development. Sakurai had been shown an early build of the Nintendo DS, and due to its control scheme containing a circle pad ITTL, Sakurai thought that it would've been well-suited for a portable Smash title. The game's display resembles that of Super Smash Bros. for 3DS, with the characters' health and status being displayed on the bottom screen, while the top screen displays the actual gameplay, with the control scheme from 3DS also being retained (A = Standard Attack, B = Special Attack, X/Y/Up Tilt = Jump, L = Grab, R = Shield, Arrows = Taunts, Left/Right Tilt = Move, Down Tilt = Crouch). Graphically, the game is somewhere in-between 64 and Melee, using character models based off of sixth generation-era games and renders, but being less graphically impressive than Melee was.

A total of 20 veterans are brought back, which are:

• Mario [Mario]
• Luigi [Mario]
• Peach [Mario]
• Bowser [Mario]
• Donkey Kong [Donkey Kong]
• Yoshi [Yoshi]
• Wario [Wario]
• Link [The Legend of Zelda]
• Zelda [The Legend of Zelda] (Sheik is cut completely due to the DS' power restraints).
• Ganondorf [The Legend of Zelda]
• Samus Aran [Metroid]
• Kirby [Kirby]
• Fox [Star Fox]
• Pikachu [Pokemon]
• Mewtwo [Pokemon]
• Ness [Mother]
• Captain Falcon [F-Zero]
• Marth [Fire Emblem]
• Mr. Game & Watch [Game & Watch]
• Sonic [Sonic the Hedgehog]

The game also contains fourteen newcomers, which are:

• Toad [Mario] (Toad's moveset is based off Super Mario Bros. 2, as well as the obscure NES/SNES game Wario's Woods)
• King Dedede [Kirby] (Plays mainly like OTL's version)
• Sceptile [Pokemon] (A heavyweight fighter who plays like a combination of OTL's Charizard and Ivysaur)
• Eirika [Fire Emblem] (A mage/swordfighter combination, comparable to OTL's Hero, but without the Mana Meter)
• Takamaru [The Mysterious Murasame Castle] (A fast swordfighter with a number of projectiles)
• Pit [Kid Icarus] (Pretty much the same as OTL's character)
• Andy [Wars] (A vehicle-based fighter who uses his tank for attacks, similar to OTL's Bowser Jr.)
• Fulgore [Killer Instinct] (A heavyweight and slower fighter that uses command inputs for its moveset)
• Banjo & Kazooie [Banjo-Kazooie] (Play very much like their OTL's counterparts)
• Joanna Dark [Perfect Dark] (A projectile-based glass cannon of sorts, best described as a mix of OTL's Joker and Zero Suit Samus)
• Master Chief [Halo] (A middleweight character who fights with a variety of weapons from the Halo games)
• Mega Man [Mega Man] (Plays identically to OTL's counterpart)
• Ryu Hayabusa [Ninja Gaiden] (A combo-based character, he makes use of his skills from the NES and his Dead or Alive moveset, though he does have some elements of the 2004 game integrated)
• Kasumi [Dead or Alive] (Kasumi is fast-paced brawler character, using moves from her home series, though with her sexuality considerably toned down)

In terms of gameplay modes, Nitro retains regular matches that can either be timed or be determined by stocks, and which can either played against computers or with local multiplayer. Outside of that, it also has Event Matches, Classic Mode, Tournament Mode, All-Star Mode, Break the Targets, Collection, and Online Mode as returning modes for the game. Home-Run Contest, Multi-Man Mode, and Adventure Mode were all considered at one point or another, but were cut either due to time constraints, or because of limitations from the DS' power. Event Matches, Tournament Mode, Break The Targets, Trophies, and Online Mode remain the same from TTL's version of Melee, while All-Star Mode and Classic Mode are both different. Classic mode consists of nine matchups, with every third match being against a pre-selected opponent (with Master Hand being the last one for everyone), and the six other matches being randomized. All-Star Mode is done in the order of the characters' appearances in Smash, which goes like:

• 64 (Default): Mario, Donkey Kong, Link, Samus, Yoshi, Kirby, Fox, Pikachu
• 64 (Unlockable): Luigi, Captain Falcon, Ness
• Melee (Default): Peach, Bowser, Zelda, Marth
• Melee (Unlockable): Ganondorf, Mewtwo, Mr. Game & Watch, Sonic
• Nitro (Default): Toad, Pit, Andy, Fulgore, Banjo & Kazooie, Joanna, Master Chief
• Nitro (Unlockable): King Dedede, Sceptile, Eirika, Takamaru, Mega Man, Ryu Hayabusa, Kasumi

Though the game doesn't have any Adventure Mode, each character does have a unique ending for their Classic Mode, which is animated and rendered with 16-bit models of the characters, as HAL Laboratory didn't have the time to create a large Adventure Mode, nor did they have the resources to create cinematic cutscenes in full 3D like with Melee's intro or OTL's Subspace Emissary from Brawl. Nevertheless, the Classic Mode and its retro-styled endings do have some charm, being reminiscent of older arcade fighting games like Street Fighter and Fatal Fury. Indeed, Sakurai and HAL Laboratory even had some designers from Capcom helping out with developing and animating these cutscenes, as a result of Mega Man being included in the game. Allegedly, there were also some rumors that other Capcom characters, such as a Street Fighter character, a Resident Evil character, or Dante from Devil May Cry had also been in consideration at some point for Nitro, but Mega Man was eventually chosen due to requests from fans, as well as the upcoming release of Mega Man 9. Meanwhile, Ryu Hayabusa had been chosen from Tecmo due to their support for Nintendo's systems, and Kasumi was added in later on as a result of Tecmo asking for Nintendo characters (Samus, Joanna, and Black Orchid) to appear in Dead or Alive 4.

Online functionality for matches is rather limited; players can only do 1v1 matches in online mode as a result of limitations, while local multiplayer is much more customizable and allows for up to four players to connect and play with each other. However, online functionality is also present outside of the actual fighting, namely in the Collection mode, where players can connect to the DS Shop and try out free demos of Virtual Console titles, much like OTL's Masterpieces mode from Brawl and Wii U. Unlike OTL's Masterpieces mode, however, these demos don't have a set time limit, but stop after the player completes a certain objective, such as completing World 1-1 in Super Mario Bros., catching a Pokemon in Pokemon: Red & Blue, or doing one race in Excitebike.

In terms of stages, there are twenty-six in total. Two of them are Battlefield and Final Destination, which are now default stages and not unlockable like in Melee, one stage from 64 (Sector Z), two stages from Melee (Yoshi's Story and Flatzone), and twenty-one completely new stages. Each franchise represented in the playable roster has one stage, including the three returning ones. Unlike Melee's stages, though, these stages are fairly simplistic due to the limitations of the Nintendo DS, instead just being platforms superimposed over backgrounds, like in 64. The twenty-one original stages are:

• Airship [Super Mario Bros. 3]
• New Croc City [Donkey Kong Tour]
• Outset Island [The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker]
• Frigate Orpheon [Metroid Prime]
• Castle Dedede [Kirby's Dream Land]
• Mt. Chimney [Pokemon: Ruby & Sapphire]
• Cave of the Past [Earthbound]
• Sand Ocean [F-Zero]
• Magvel [Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones]
• Monsoon Jungle [Wario Land 4]
• Green Hill Zone [Sonic the Hedgehog]
• Murasame Castle [The Mysterious Murasame Castle]
• Skyworld [Kid Icarus]
• Orange Star Field [Advance Wars]
• Industrial Warehouse [Killer Instinct]
• Spiral Mountain [Banjo-Kazooie]
• DataDyne HQ [Perfect Dark]
• Installation 04 [Halo]
• Wily's Fortress [Mega Man 2]
• Basilisk Mines [Ninja Gaiden]
• Aqua Palace [Dead or Alive]

Super Smash Bros. Nitro is released for the Nintendo DS on May 20, 2005, and is positioned as Nintendo's big summer title. Notably, it releases on the last day of E3 2005, and while it doesn't make an appearance at Nintendo's conference, the game is present and heavily advertised on the show floor itself. Reviews for it are highly positive; while it's not on the same level as Melee, it nonetheless manages to make great use of the Nintendo DS both in terms of features and power, and is considered to be a worthy installment for the series, and a great portable debut for it. On launch weekend alone, it sells around 3 million units, and would go on to sell 9 million units in terms of lifetime sales, while also being responsible for an increase in sales for the Nintendo DS, acting as one of the console's early killer apps (that wasn't a launch title, like Return of the Battletoads or Super Mario 64 DS), though the portable nature of the game makes it unideal for big tournament events, and so while it does carve out a niche for itself with the competitive audience (most of whom are welcoming towards it), it doesn't overshadow Melee. Nevertheless, it's generally thought of positively, and if nothing else, was a solid portable Smash experience for anyone who wanted it.

Firaxis Games declines Take Two acquisition offer

"Earlier this year, Take Two Interactive had finalized a purchase of Firaxis-created properties, such as Civilization, Pirates, and Alpha Centauri, from Infogrames. While Take Two and Firaxis Games said that they'd be working as partners in the future, it seems as if the two developers have already been met with bumps on the road. Reportedly, Take Two wanted to outright acquire Firaxis Games, and this wasn't some random decision either, as creative heads like Sid Meier were initially supportive of this offer. However, Firaxis was also allegedly worried that their titles would be overshadowed by Take Two's other efforts, mainly those by Rockstar Games, the publisher of Grand Theft Auto, Max Payne, etc. Firaxis thought that their strategy-based titles were too different when compared to Rockstar's other work, which are usually shooters or open-world sandbox games, and that they wouldn't have the creative freedom they desired if they had to work under Rockstar. They did ask Take Two if they were willing to establish a separate branding for Firaxis' games, but Take Two declined, instead wanting to center its entire publishing arm around Rockstar Games, which is what caused acquisition talks between the two to finally die out."

Soulcalibur III coming to Apple's computers; releasing exclusively on macOS

"SNK Namco's Soulcalibur III had a heavy presence at Apple's presentation for the iArcade during their Worldwide Developer's Conference, but in some surprising news from SNK Namco's E3 conference, the latest installment in the Soulcalibur series, Soulcalibur III, is not only coming as a console exclusive to the Apple iArcade, but is also due to be releasing exclusively on macOS in terms of computers. According to SNK Namco, Soulcalibur III's macOS release is due to come in 2006, and will be distributed via Apple's iTunes storefront in digital format, with physical copies also available. While Macintosh, 'Classic' Mac OS, and macOS have all been capable of playing video games, this comes after Apple has announced and prepared for its entry into the console market, suggesting that Apple may also be keen on carving out a niche for itself in the computer gaming space. Currently, Microsoft is publishing their own titles on both Nintendo consoles and PCs, but if Apple ends up throwing their hat into the ring for computer gaming, it would create a competitor to Microsoft (and by proxy, Nintendo) in more than just one gaming market, and could even influence Nintendo and Sony to follow suit."

 

[the_idiot]

Elemancia

Elemancia is an action-adventure game developed by Rareware for the Nintendo X. It takes inspiration from a variety of games, such as The Legend of Zelda, Ico, and Banjo-Kazooie, with the former inspiring the world and level design of the game, while the latter two influenced the game "two characters in one" mechanic. It is developed by many from the same team that worked on titles like Donkey Kong Country and Banjo-Kazooie, and as such, it has a more cartoonish look than games like Killer Instinct or Perfect Dark, though its artstyle is more comparable to things like the Monkey Island series or OTL's Kameo: Elements of Power than towards Banjo-Kazooie or Conker's Bad Fur Day.

The setting is Elemancia, an island that is home to the Diamond of Life, a large gemstone that grants its wielder power over all of the elements of the island. However, Ancient, a Lovecraft-inspired cosmic entity who tried to absorb the Diamond of Life, but was sent into a slumber while trying to do so, with the Diamond rebelling against Ancient and harnessing all of the elements to defeat it. The Diamond, then weakened by the ordeal with Ancient, separated itself in six separate shards that were scattered across the island, which then created six unique biomes that corresponded to each of the six elements; fire, wind, earth, lightning, ice, and water. The six regions can be traversed in any order, and can be travelled to at any time with the help of Regional Gates (portal-like structures that transport the player to different regions instantaneously). Their names are:

• Aquilie - The water region, a lush and tropical area and the place in which the game begins.
• Electrille - The lightning region, a mountainous region caught in the midst of an eternal thunderstorm.
• Frostevis - The ice region, a cold and harsh glacier-filled terrain with lots of blizzards and ice storms.
• Gustlade - The wind region, which is a large valley with lots of plains and fields.
• Infernia - The fire region, covered in volcanoes and molten rock.
• Subterrus - The earth region, a desert area home to many mining colonies.

The player controls two characters, an amnesiac boy named Edan, and a fairy companion named Kameo. Kameo can either be controlled as a duo, or separately without the other. Controlling the two separately is essential for the game, as the world and levels are designed in a way that the player must utilize both Edan and Kameo to solve puzzles and complete objectives, with each of them having separate skillsets and abilities. Edan can fight and move/destroy objects, while Kameo can fly (allowing her to access high areas unreachable to Edan or cross gaps that Edan can't jump over) and become transparent in order to pass through indestructible/immovable objects. Throughout the game, both also gain access to elemental powers that can enhance their skills; Edan can use fire abilities to melt ice, Kameo can use water to pass through cracks in stone, etc. As for combat, the game has Edan fighting with a sword, but rather than having combos or weapon swapping like in games such as Devil May Cry, Edan has some fairly basic moves, but they can be enhanced with elemental powers in order to make his moves more powerful. Additionally, Kameo can also fire projectiles (in place of Edan having a bow and arrow or some other kind of projectile-based weapon), which can also be enhanced by elemental powers. The elements that Edan has access to over the course of the game are fire, earth, and lightning, while Kameo's elements are water, wind, and ice.

The story begins with Edan washing ashore on Aquilie. Kameo finds him and takes him to her shelter, where she heals him and restores him to health. However, aside from his name, Edan has no memories of his past life. Kameo offers to take him to Azernath, the oracle of Elemancia, in order to figure out his identity. However, when they arrive at Azernath's temple, they find it under attack from the Leviathans, cephalopod-like creatures that resemble the Shoggoth from the works of H.P. Lovecraft. Initially, Edan and Kameo are unable to overwhelm them, and are nearly killed then and there. However, Azernath appears and shaves them from the Leviathans, banishing them to the Umbral World. Azernath explains that the Leviathans are servants of Ancient, the being who battled the Diamond of Life eons before and was defeated by it. Currently, Ancient is supposed to be slumbering in the Umbral Realm, but the reappearance of the Leviathans suggests that he is beginning to reawaken. In order to defeat him and send him back to sleep, the six shards of the Diamond of Life must be retrieved from each region of Elemancia and be reassembled, so that Ancient can be kept asleep or destroyed for good. Azernath then tasks Edan and Kameo with finding the six shards, and gives Edan a sword to fight with.

As they collect the various shards, they begin to wield control over the elements themselves, and the two slowly become more capable of fighting the Leviathans and other monsters. But they face other obstacles aside from the forces of Ancient as well, such as the Relurim and the Oselas, two warring factions of fairies who reside on Elemancia. Kameo, as it turns out, had a Relurian father and Oselian mother, and has been ostracized by both factions since her birth. Both of them desire to reassemble the six shards to annihilate the other, but fail to keep them from Edan and Kameo. Throughout their journey, Edan and Kameo also encounter a group of undead warriors named "The Pitch"; they reanimated corpses controlled by the consciousness of Ancient, and like with the Leviathans, have appeared because of Ancient stirring in his slumber. However, after assembling the sixth shard, Azernath betrays Edan and Kameo, and takes the six shards of the Diamond for himself. Ancient, whose real name is Sorodus, is the brother of Azernath, and the two of them had fought over control of the Diamond of Life centuries ago. However, the Diamond sent Ancient into a slumber and reduced Azernath into a human, and Azernath desires to absorb the power of the diamond in order to do battle with Ancient again.

Edan and Kameo are then rescued by Relurim and Oselas, who agree to a temporary truce in order to defeat both Azernath and Sorodus. To do this, they have Edan and Kameo open a portal in the center of the island that leads to the Void, a realm that exists between Elemancia and the Umbral World, and to trap Azernath and Sorodus inside of that. However, as they do so, the shards of the Diamond surround Edan, drawn to him, and it is here that Edan regains his memories; Edan is the Diamond of Life reborn. When he had initially fought Azernath and Sorodus, he separated himself into seven fragments; the six shards containing the Diamond of Life's elemental powers, and his soul, which would be reawakened the moment Sorodus' slumber began coming to an end. Using his power, Edan fights Azernath and Sorodus, defeating and weakening both of them, but allows himself to be drawn into the portal with them as well. The three of them are then trapped in the Void between worlds, permanently.

Kameo returns to the Relurim and the Oselas, who wish to crown her their queen and unite under her, now worshipping her as a hero. However, Kameo is uninterested, and disappears off of the face of Elemancia, seemingly for good. Centuries later, the legend of the Diamond of Life, Azernath, Sorodus, Edan, and Kameo is being told to a group of younger fairies that exhibit traits of both the Relurim and the Oselas. However, we then see that Elemancia has now become a modern-day city, but powered by magitek and populated by fantastical creatures. As we see a distant view of the city's skyline, a silhouette of Kameo is shown watching over it, with the game ending there.

Elemancia is released on August 10th, 2005. It receives positive reviews for the gameplay and puzzle-solving, but the story isn't considered to be anything special, and a popular opinion voiced in the months to come would be that most players would've preferred a whole game revolving around Kameo, rather than both her and Edan. While Elemancia does have its admirers, it only translates to lukewarm sales, measuring up at around 700,000 copies, though Nintendo and Rareware do manage to make back the money spent on the game's development, so it isn't a bomb by any means. Ultimately, while it's enjoyable, it's not the start of a franchise for Nintendo or Rare, but at some of the creatives at Rare would say years later, it didn't really need to be a franchise, and it was just a fun game that they worked on for a bit.

Take Two facing investigations from SEC, FTC; hostility between shareholders and corporate leaders increase

"While the Grand Theft Auto games are no strangers to controversy, the latest round of happenings seem to indicate that the last straw for media watchdog groups has been met. Not long ago, it was discovered by some modders that within the code of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, was a minigame in which the game's protagonist, Carl "CJ" Johnson, could have animated sexual intercourse with a female nurse of the player's choosing. While the minigame isn't present in the finished game itself, it still remains present within the code of the game, and sparked an outpouring of criticism and disapproval from watchdogs and media activists. A few days ago, Rockstar did patch the minigame out on PC, but the damage had been done by this point, as the Federal Trade Commission had announced an investigation into Take Two Interactive and Rockstar Games as a result of this recent controversy.

"But those are not the only troubles that are brewing for Take Two. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a complaint against Take Two Interactive for artificially increasing the company's earnings, seemingly as a result of a complaint from 2001 in which their earnings were not equal to the amount of game sales from that year, with fraud of as much as up to $60m being suspected on Take Two Interactive's part. All of the above has led to their latest shareholder meeting being charitably described as 'tense' by insiders, with a not-unsubstantial number of shareholders expressing dissatisfaction or resentment at the management of Take Two Interactive. Aside from the SEC filing and the Hot Coffeee controversy, the shareholders also criticized Take Two unsuccessful bid to acquire Firaxis Games, which had been reported on a few months ago. To say that Take Two's future looks rocky would be understating the situation, as it seems that their and Rockstar's golden age is drawing closer and closer to an end."

Valve to expand game development workforce; two new studios formed to develop games exclusively for Steam

"Valve, the publisher that has made a name for itself with the Half-Life and Counter-Strike series of games, as well as the Steam digital storefront, has announced that they will be expanding their game and software development workforce, adding in around 300 new employees to produce and develop games for Valve to publish and distribute. Supposedly, this move is being made as a result of the announcement that several Apple iArcade games will also be releasing exclusively through iTunes on macOS computers; while Steam does support macOS, games like Soulcalibur III, ESPN NBA 2k6, Tomb Raider Arisen, and Epic Games' upcoming Gears of War have all been announced to be distributed exclusively through Apple's iTunes storefront on macOS computers, thus providing competition for Valve's own storefront. It seems like Valve is deciding that in order to compete with iTunes and Apple, they'd need to produce more of their own exclusives beyond titles like Half-Life and Counter-Strike, with two new studios being established with the purpose of developing game for Valve. The studio at Valve's Bellevue, Washington headquarters is now known as Valve North, while Valve's new studios in Atlanta, Georgia and Albuquerque, New Mexico are known as Valve Atlanta and Tite-Reach Studios respectively."

 

[the_idiot]

Cubios

Cubios is a puzzle-platformer game developed by Japan Studio for the PlayStation Portable and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. While sharing similarities with games like Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, Cubios is developed by a different group within Japan Studio, rather than Team Ico. The game follows a boy named Am, who enters a forbidden castle and gets transported to a different dimension when he moves a cube-like device. Am must find his way out of this dimension by navigating cube-like structures and arranging a way to traverse them. The gameplay of Cubios is simple enough; Am is moved around by the left analogue nub, the camera is controlled by the right analogue numb, and every other button corresponds to a command that allows the players to shift the terrain and structures that Am traverses throughout the dimension. The story is fairly minimal, consisting of the summary written above, and contains little traditional enemies or bosses. It's a puzzle game first and foremost, and was intended to be more mind-provoking than intense.

Cubios is released on August 19th, 2005, and received generally positive reviews. While not addictive in the same way as games like Tetris, Puyo Puyo, or Bejeweled, and certainly not as artistically-revered as Ico or Shadow of the Colossus, Cubios fits the portable nature of the console it was developed for, and players can spend hours solving the many puzzles of the game, and it even manages to grow a decently-sized speedrunning community, as the single-player nature of the game coupled with the gameplay of a puzzle game makes it easy fodder for speedrunners. Cubios would also end up being bundled with some PlayStation Portable units in Japan, and while it doesn't make too big of a splash in the USA, it becomes something of a minor killer app for the PlayStation Portable in Japan. Overall, it manages to sell around 2 million in lifetime sales, and is fondly regarded by those who played it.

SimWorld

SimWorld is a life simulator/god game developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts exclusively for the PlayStation Portable. As the name implies, it's an installment in the long-running Sim series of games, and SimWorld is much more online-heavy than its predecessors in the series. SimWorld is designed as being a game that one could not only easily take on the go with them, but be encouraged to bring it on the go with them as well. Utilizing the online features of the PlayStation Portable, SimWorld allows for players to connect with one another in a manner similar to OTL's SpotPass and StreetPass software for the Nintendo 3DS. Players can build and design their own cities and structures as normal, but the character's choice of country will influence the material, cosmetics, etc. that they receive when booting up the game. By taking their PSP consoles and SimWorld with them, and by connecting with other people, they not only attract visitors to their cities, but also receive new materials and cosmetics based off of other regions of the world (someone in America starts off with American structures and cosmetics, but they can connect with a French person to receive French structures and cosmetics, for example). Everyone has access to the same basic materials, but landmarks such as Big Ben or the Eiffel Tower depend on which country the player is from.

SimWorld is released on September 1st, 2005. It receives positive reviews for the online integration, with many noting that it encourages the portable aspect of the PlayStation Portable greatly, though these features end up being rather muted in the long run in terms of impact, as most people are just content with having a portable Sim game, and the content received from the game's online features is viewed more or less as a bonus, if anything. SimWorld initially sells 1 million in its first month, but would be bundled with PlayStation Portable consoles during the holiday season of that year, and go on to sell 5 million units worldwide, with a Nintendo DS port coming later in 2007.

Nintendo, Sega, and Capcom developing successor to Triforce

"The partnership of Nintendo, Sega, and Capcom this past generation with the Triforce arcade board has resulted in titles like Bizarre Creations' Excitebike, F-Zero GX and AX, and Wave Race: Blue Storm, as well as arcade ports done by Capcom of home console titles like Halo. With the announcement of Nintendo and Microsoft's Project Next coming out next year and in active development, it shouldn't surprise many people that Nintendo, Sega, and Capcom are already developing a successor to the Triforce arcade board for the upcoming HD generation. According to insiders, it is being developed to fit games within a variety genres, including racing, shooting, fighting, rhythm, and more, which could help narrow down the kinds of games Nintendo, Sega, and Capcom have in their pipeline and are planning to developed and release with the yet-to-be-named arcade board in mind. We would be surprised if a brand-new Killer Instinct didn't show up after the success of the 10th Anniversary Collection, and we'd love to see a true modern fighting game from Capcom as well."

Sony acquires minority stake in Level-5

"Nintendo and Level-5's success with Gold Empire, the exclusive MMORPG for the Nintendo X, has seemed to attract the attention of other parties that have an interest in Level-5. Sony Computer Entertainment, with whom Level-5 has collaborated with for the Dark Cloud games, as well as the upcoming Rogue Galaxy and Jeanne d'Arc games for the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable respectively, looks to be desiring to keep Level-5 close to them, as in their latest financial report, Sony Computer Entertainment announced that they have acquired a minority stake in Level-5. While this stake is minuscule in the grand scheme of things and doesn't compare to a controlling investment, it's nevertheless a demonstration of Sony wanting to keep the studios it's close with from straying too far from them."

 

[the_idiot]

(AN: I finally got my computer fixed and managed to get back to writing. Originally the chapter was gonna be for Mind|Hunt: Cavalier, but I didn't like how it was turning out and scrapped that in favor of this. Hope you enjoy it, and sorry for the delay.)

Wayfarer Tobias

Wayfarer Tobias is a turn-based JRPG developed and published by Capcom for the PlayStation Portable. The development team at Capcom consists of employees poached from Sega, many of whom had worked on Skies of Arcadia for the Dreamcast and GameCube, though there also some former employees from tri-Ace and Konami, among others. Initially conceived of as a PlayStation 2 title, Sony instead asked for Capcom to develop it for the PlayStation Portable, feeling as if a new JRPG series had more potential for success on the PSP than on the PS2. It is the first original turn-based JRPG series made by Capcom since Breath of Fire, and subsequent entries would establish it as being part of the Wayfarer series, with the title changing to suit the name of each game's protagonist (similar to Gust's Atelier series).

Like Skies of Arcadia, Wayfarer Tobias places an emphasis on open-world exploration, though unlike Skies of Arcadia, the game's setting is instead that of a post-apocalytic flooded world named Kolue, where people live on man-made islands called "islets". While there is organic land present in this world, most of these natural landmasses are spread far apart from each other, which means that seafaring exploration is a necessity. This leads to the game's exploration to resemble a cross of Skies of Arcadia and The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker, with the player using a number of ships and vessels to navigate the world. The game, while having a post-apocalyptic setting, has a fantasy aesthetic more akin to Squaresoft's JRPGs, though unlike the SNES Final Fantasy games or Skies of Arcadia, there aren't any steampunk or magitek elements to it, instead resembling 16th or 17th century Earth in terms of innovation.

The game has six party members total, which are:

• Tobias Cunningham - The main protagonist and eponymous character of the game. Tobias Cunningham is a roguish mercenary and treasure hunter in his early twenties, having spent his life by traveling from islet to islet, and has lived by himself since the age of fourteen, ever since his older brother died. He is cocky, and confident, but also reckless and somewhat full of himself, though not to an insufferable level. When the game begins, he is under the employment of the Marauder King Alphos, searching for and delivering treasure and artifacts for him. He is voiced by Doug Erholtz.
• Jasmine Sorell - The secondary protagonist, she is a disgraced member of the Tide's Watch, a militia dedicating to protecting the high seas and the various islets. Jasmine's reason for her fall from grace is that during a battle against a group of bandits, her ship was sunken and three of the militia members under her command ended up drowning, while the wealth they were transporting was stolen by the bandits. She is snarky and bitter, but also regretful of her misdeeds and seeks to clear to her name and earn back the respect of her fellow militia members. She is voiced by Kari Wahlgren.
• Regina Venable IV- A young woman who is the heiress to a great fortune and a member of the aristocracy, she is sheltered but adventurous, and has spent most of her life living on her family's private islet, with little interactions with the rest of the world for most of her childhood. This results in her being somewhat naive, though she is good-hearted and approachable, and the emotional center of the group. She is voiced by Cindy Robinson.
• Edward Tam - A marine biologist and professor at Rondeis Academy, a prestigious academy for researchers and intellectuals. Tam is much more introverted and antisocial than his colleagues, and feels overshadowed by their achievements, wishing to make an accomplishment of his own and measure up to his peers. He is, however, a patient and helpful teacher, and knowledgeable in aquatic life and evolution. Voiced by Ben Diskin.
• Alastor - A sorcerer who lives on one of the last remaining natural islands. Having lived in isolation for centuries, he is dismayed and disappointed to find out that he had been forgotten, as he was a notorious figure during his glory days. He seeks to assert his reputation by joining the group, and can be summed up as egotistical and brash, though he is sensible enough to not act irrationally and out of emotion. Voiced by Gerald C. Rivers.
• Miranda - A notorious pirate known for using her looks and charms to steal treasure from others, she is self-serving and and intelligent, knowing to get what she wants how she wants to, but is affable and never tries to hurt anyone with her schemes, preferring to steal what she wants to take and leave without a trace. While untrusted at first, she gradually gains the group's trust as the game goes on. Vocied by Michelle Ruff.

Leveling in Wayfarer Tobias is actually fairly different that most JRPGs, instead resembling the leveling system of WRPGs; with each level gained, the player chooses stats for the characters to enhance, and when each character is initially introduced, they get to choose what areas and stats they excel in. No character has stats that they excel in before they're recruited, so it's entirely possible to make one character a warrior archetype in one playthrough, a healer in another, etc. The battle system is also fairly different from normal JRPGs, featuring two kinds of battles:

• Ship battles - While exploring the seas and the overworld of Warfarer Tobias, having a random encounter with a monster or a group of bandits out at sea won't result in them appearing on the ship, but rather having the player fight against the enemy using the ship; think of how Aeons are summoned and fight by themselves in Final Fantasy X for a better comparison. These battles make it so that maintaining and fixing the ship being used is as much of a priority as keeping the party members healthy and ready to battle.
• Regular battles - Like with most other JRPGs, the player chooses three characters to take into a turn-based battle. However, the mechanic that separates Wayfarer Tobias' battle system from those of other JRPGs is a gameplay feature called "Positioning". Each character has a gauge that fills up to four points, and the player can use these points to move characters around the enemies they're facing, with eight different attacking spots in total, including the starting point. When each character's gauge is filled, the player can activate a group attack that operate similarly to an All-Out Attack from the Persona games.

The main premise of the game is fairly simple; Tobias Cunningham, the titular "Wayfarer", learns of a treasure, and wishes to be the one to claim it for himself. Along the way, he meets the aforementioned five characters, who all join his quest for the treasure for their own reasons; Jasmine wants to redeem herself and her reputation, Regina because the treasure belonged to an ancestor of hers, Edward desiring glory and respect among his peers, Alastor in a bid for power and regain his infamy, and Miranda out of her own self-centeredness. However, no one knows where to find the treasure, as its location has been hidden for centuries. Because of this, the group has to explore seven natural landmasses in order to find a number that makes up the coordinates of the treasure. The seven landmasses are:

• Runicana - A tropical island of ancient ruins and abandoned temples.
• Dustoris - A dry and humid island, with plantlife and species one would expect to find in a desert.
• Sunken Tower - An ancient building submerged in water, whose architectural style hints towards the old world being similar to modern-day Earth.
• Olympiana - An island in the middle of a raging storm that has barely been explored due to how volatile the storms are.
• Makaru - A volcano rising out of the ocean, with a landscape covered in fire and lava.
• Glacier Frontier - A glacier rising out of the ocean, it is barren of life, save for several monsters and bandits.
• Ralipanos - An archipelago full of many monsters and dangerous lifeforms, few people survive traveling through it.

Eventually, after exploring all of the seven landmasses, assembling the coordinates, and leveling up and customizing the characters well enough, the player unlocks the final dungeon of the game; an ancient whale named Pagorus, inside of whom the treasure is located. After traversing the insides of Pagoru, the player reaches the final boss of the game; Yi-ka-ru, an ancient God who guards the treasure from all those who try to steal it, and whom after fighting and defeating, gives the treasure to the player. However, the character who earns the treasure in-game is the one who lands the final blow on Yi-ka-ru, and depending on which character that is, there are six possible endings:

• If Tobias lands the final blow, he is shown celebrating at a pub with the rest of the group. However, just as he's about to leave, he overhears two patrons talking about another long-lost treasure, and pesters them for information. After they tell him, he heads off in search of the treasure and in search of more wealth.
• If Jasmine lands the final blow, she is shown at a Tide's Watch naval ceremony being reinstated and having her honor restored. She is then shown taking command of a new ship, and gives a rousing speech to the crew about protecting the high seas from all monsters and ne'er-do-wells.
• If Regina lands the final blow, she is shown taking her wealth and using it to invest in more construction efforts for islets and artificial landmasses, with the intent of one day building entire continents and establishing a more connected world.
• If Edward lands the final blow, he is seen giving a lecture to all of his peers at a dinner event, with everyone applauding him. However, the treasure is then stolen from Rondeis Academy's museum by bandits, much to his (and everyone else's) dismay.
• If Alastor lands the final blow, he is seen performing a summoning ritual that will resurrect an army of the dead to conquer the world in his name. However, the spell goes wrong, and he ends up traveling back in time to the world before the apocalypse, which looks like a modern-day Earth, with him standing in the middle of a crowded street and pedestrians poking fun at his outfit and physical appearance.
• If Miranda lands the final blow, she is seen surrounded by an entourage of muscular and physically attractive men at her service, while she sits on a throne made of gold eating a bowl of fruit. One of the men tries to steal the treasure, but she commands the rest of them to beat him up for trying to do so, while she sits and laughs at him.

Wayfarer Tobias is released on September 13th, 2005 on the PlayStation Portable, and garners incredibly positive reviews. Many people appreciate it for being a more light-hearted and less heavy JRPG, while still offering an engaging cast of characters, a unique battle system, and other gameplay features that help it stand out from games like Pokemon, Final Fantasy, and Dragon Quest. Sales for Wayfarer Tobias pick up almost immediately in the east, with a million units sold in Japan alone. It takes more time for it to find an equally adoring audience in the west, but it still sells well enough for Capcom to feel justified in the localization effort. A sequel for the PlayStation Portable would be put into production almost immediately by the same team, and Wayfarer Tobias would eventually be ported to the DS a year later. Overall, it was a successful new IP launch for Capcom, and signified a rare attempt from them at making a JRPG, after having mainly done fighting games and survival horror for so long.

Bethesda signs contract with Valve to distribute The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion exclusively through Steam

"While eastern role-playing games are making their mark on consoles, western role-playing games are planning for the future on PCs. Bethesda's The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, which was announced several months ago at E3 2005, will now be exclusively distributed through Steam, as per an agreement between Valve and Bethesda. Bethesda had announced at E3 that Oblivion would be seeing a release on both Microsoft Windows and macOS in 2006, but digital copies will only be available on Steam for both platforms. This move can be seen as further retaliation on Valve's part towards Apple, who had announced a number of high-profile games that will be exclusively distributed through iTunes macOS, including Tomb Raider Arisen, ESPN NBA 2k6, Namco's Soulcalibur III, Epic Games' Gears of War, and most recently, id Software's Doom 3. It was reported that Valve had expanded their workforce so that they put more first-party exclusives to compete with Apple, but until those exclusives are released, it seems that Valve will be relying on third-party exclusivity deals with developers like Bethesda for the time being."

Pokemon: Diamond & Pearl delayed to 2006

"At E3 2005, Nintendo and GameFreak unveiled the next generation of Pokemon, confirming that it would be formally begun by the upcoming games Pokemon: Diamond & Pearl, as exclusives for the Nintendo DS. However, earlier this week, Nintendo and GameFreak announced that Diamond & Pearl will be delayed past its initial release date of 2005's holiday season, and will instead be releasing sometime in 2006. Reportedly, GameFreak's developers are still working through several gameplay aspects, likely the online component for the game, though according to insiders, there has also been debates going on behind the scenes on whether to move away from the 2D sprite-based graphics, or to make full use of the DS and had the game built in full 3D. While no definitive answer on the last rumor has been given yet, it seems that Diamond & Pearl will not be ready for this year's holiday season regardless."

 

[the_idiot]

Enix Anniversary Collection

Enix Anniversary Collection is a compilation rerelease developed by Enix and Hudson Soft, and published by Enix. Intended to celebrate Enix's 30th anniversary, Enix Anniversary Collection is a collection of games from Enix and Hudson Soft's back catalogue, spanning from NES games to PS1 games and even PC Engine titles. Overall, a whopping fifty one games in total are included in the collection, which are:

1. Door Door (originally released for the NEC PC-8801 in February 1983)
2. Bomberman (originally released for the MSX in July 1983)
3. 3-D Bomberman (originally released for the NEC PC-8801 in 1984)
4. Portopia Renzoku Satsujin Jiken (originally released for the NES on 11/29/85)
5. Dragon Quest (originally released for the NES on 5/27/86)
6. Star Soldier (originally released for the NES on 6/13/86)
7. Adventure Island (originally released for the NES on 9/12/86)
8. Dragon Quest II (originally released for the NES on 1/26/87)
9. China Warrior (originally released for the PC Engine on 11/21/87)
10. Victory Run (originally released for the PC Engine on 12/28/87)
11. Dragon Quest III (originally released for the NES on 2/10/88)
12. Momotaro Dentetsu (originally released for the NES on 12/2/88)
13. Military Madness (originally released for the PC Engine on 2/9/89)
14. Dungeon Explorer (originally released for the PC Engine on 3/4/89)
15. Tengai Makyo: Ziria (originally released for the PC Engine on 6/30/89
16. Super Momotaro Dentetsu (originally released for the PC Engine on 9/15/89)
17. Bonk's Adventure (originally released for the PC Engine on 12/15/89)
18. Dragon Quest IV (originally released for the NES on 2/11/90)
19. ActRaiser (originally released for the SNES on 12/16/90)
20. Bonk's Revenge (originally released for the PC Engine in 1991)
21. Soul Blazer (originally released for the SNES on 1/31/92)
22. Tengai Makyo II: Manjimaru (originally released for the PC Engine CD-ROM on 3/26/92)
23. Soldier Blade (originally released for the PC Engine on 7/10/92)
24. E.V.O.: Search for Eden (originally released for the SNES on 12/21/92)
25. Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen (originally released for the SNES on 3/12/93)
26. Bonk 3: Bonk's Big Adventure (originally released for the PC Engine on 4/2/93)
27. Super Bomberman (originally released for the SNES on 4/28/93)
28. Illusion of Gaia (originally released for the SNES on 11/27/93)
29. Mega Bomberman (originally released for Sega Genesis on 12/10/93)
30. Itadaki Street 2 (originally released for the SNES on 2/26/94)
31. Wonder Project J (originally released for the SNES on 12/9/94)
32. Terranigma (originally released for the SNES on 10/20/95)
33. Saturn Bomberman (originally released for the Sega Saturn on 7/19/96)
34. Star Ocean (originally released for the SNES on 7/19/96)
35. Wonder Project J2 (originally released for the Nintendo 64 on 11/22/96)
36. Tengai Makyō: Daiyon no Mokushiroku (originally released for the Sega Saturn on 1/14/97)
37. Mischief Makers (originally released for the Nintendo 64 on 6/27/97)
38. Bloody Roar (originally released for the PlayStation on 7/7/97)
39. Bomberman 64 (originally released for the Nintendo 64 on 9/26/97)
40. Bust a Groove (originally released for the PlayStation on 1/28/98)
41. Star Ocean: The Second Story (originally released for the PlayStation on 7/20/98)
42. Dragon Warrior Monsters (originally released for the Game Boy Color on 9/25/98)
43. Bloody Roar 2 (originally released for the PlayStation on 1/28/99)
44. Bust a Groove 2 (originally released for the PlayStation on 4/15/99)
45. Torneko: The Last Hope (originally released for the PlayStation on 9/15/99)
46. Valkyrie Profile (originally released for the PlayStation on 12/22/99)
47. Bomberman Land (originally released for the PlayStation on 12/21/00)
48. Dragon Warrior Monsters 2: Cobi's Journey (originally released for the Game Boy Color on 3/15/01)
49. Dragon Warrior Monsters 2: Tara's Adventure (originally released for the Game Boy Color on 4/12/01)
50. Dragon Quest Monsters: Caravan Heart (originally released for the Game Boy Advance on 3/29/03)
51. Ninja Five-O (originally released for the Game Boy Advance in April 2003)

As one can see, the Enix Anniversary Collection boasted one of the largest collections of games at the time of its release, and needed to use two DVD discs, rather than only one, in order to contain every game (mainly because of multi-disc PS1 games). Many games were also localized for the very first time, such as Door Door, 3-D Bomberman, Wonder Project J and J2, Bomberman Land, among others. Initially, the collection was meant to be much smaller, but after Enix acquired Hudson Soft, they began adding more and more games from Hudson Soft's back catalogue, mainly at the behest of the executives who wanted to emphasize Enix's growing library of properties and games. While this was not known at the time of release, it would later emerge that Enix workers had reportedly been crunched and overworked frequently during the development of Enix Anniversary Collection as a result of this, including localization teams that had to translate multiple games for the first time. While Japan did have a culture that emphasized overworking at the expense of one's health, it was reported that many employees considered their time working on Enix Anniversary Collection as one of the most exhausting projects they've ever worked on, if not the most exhausting. These revelations came about in 2008, and while they didn't affect Enix too badly, their reputation did take a hit as a result of this outside of Japan, due to the difference in work culture in western countries as opposed to Japan.

Enix Anniversary Collection released exclusively for the Nintendo X on September 22, 2005, the day of Enix's 30th anniversary, and is also accompanied by Nintendo X ports of Bloody Roar 4, Itadaki Street 3, and Star Ocean: Till the End of Time, all as their own separate releases. It received rave reviews from critics and audiences, with most of the praise going to the large collection of games, both famous and obscure, as well having a mix of older legacy titles and newer titles from the previous and current generations of consoles. In Japan alone, the collection sold 4.6 million units and was marketed extensively, mainly because of Enix's reputation as the company behind Dragon Quest. The rest of the world didn't take to it as much as Japan did, but it sold around 1.7 million units in western territories, leading to a total of 6.3 million units overall, making it not only a tremendous financial success for Enix, but also cementing Hudson Soft as a permanent part of Enix's operations. The money itself would be put to good use as well, as the Enix Anniversary Collection had also shined a spotlight on franchises either long forgotten or obscure in the west, and starting from the next year, Enix would begin reviving older franchises one by one...

Sony and Type-Moon's Mind|Hunt: Cavalier delayed to 2006, Final Fantasy XI gets release date

"At TGS 2005, Sony showed off a number of titles that were present several months earlier at E3 2005, including Final Fantasy XI, which received a release date of April 14, 2006, after having previously been confirmed for a tentative 2006 release date. And it seems as if 2006 will be a larger year for Sony in more than just that, as Type-Moon and Sony announced that Type-Moon's PlayStation Portable-exclusive visual novel, Mind|Hunt: Cavalier, has been delayed from its late 2005 release date and instead been pushed into 2006. While the PlayStation Portable isn't lacking in titles, with Final Fantasy Redivivus, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, Cubios, SimWorld, and the recently-released Wayfarer Tobias all keeping interest in Sony's first portable console at a good level, something like Mind|Hunt: Cavalier could've provided an answer to the Nintendo-exclusive Ace Attorney series, which has proven that handheld consoles are a good platform to develop visual novels for. Sony was also asked about their next-generation plans, but declined to comment any further and refusing to commit to any specific release date, at least publicly."

Apple shows off Panzer Dragoon spiritual successor Wyvern's Reach

"Earlier this year, Apple unveiled a spiritual successor to Sega's Panzer Dragoon series named Wyvern's Reach, which also boasts Yukio Futatsugi at the helm of the game, though this time as a member of Apple Virtual Entertainment Tokyo (AVE Tokyo for short). Wyvern's Reach, which set to be released on the Apple iArcade in 2006, is probably the most visually and technically impressive rail shooter we've seen thus far; convention-goers at TGS 2005 reportedly described the gameplay as 'frenetic but familiar', with some citing it as an evolution of the formula that Futatsugi used for Panzer Dragoon. Unlike this year's Star Fox Rogue, the game won't be playing like a flight sim, and will retain the traditional rail shooter gameplay that made Panzer Dragoon a hit with audiences on the Sega Saturn, and while most fans have enjoyed Star Fox Rogue, something like Wyvern's Reach should please the minority who desire something that doesn't break away from the traditions of the genre."

 

[the_idiot]

PlayStation Mania

PlayStation Mania is a 3-D fighting game developed by AKI Corporation (developers of Def Jam Vendetta and Def Jam: Fight for NY) and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 2. It is a crossover fighting game featuring franchises owned by Sony, now coming together to fight against each other for the first time. However, unlike OTL's PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, PlayStation Mania has less in common with Super Smash Bros. and more in common with various 3-D fighting and wrestling video games. While comparison to Nintendo's Super Smash Bros. are still abound ITTL, there are also a number of comparisons with Sega's long-forgotten Fighters Megamix for the Sega Saturn.

In terms of gameplay, PlayStation Mania plays like a cross of Tekken and the WWF games produced by AKI Corporation, with the button layout consisting of:

• Cross - Jump
• Circle - Attack
• Triangle - Strike
• Square - Special
• L1 - Grapple
• L2 - Block
• Left analogue stick - Move
• R1 - Throw
• R2 - Activate "Champion Gauge"
• Right analogue stick - Control camera

Attack, Strike, and Special all have "weak", "hard", and "hardest" variations depending on what commands the player uses, and each variation also has midair (during Jump) and dashing (when moving) versions. The "Champion Gauge" is similar to the Blazin' meter from the Def Jam games, filling up as players attack each other, but it has its own dedicated button to press (R2), for simplicity's sake. L1/Grapple allows players to attack opponents while holding onto them, or they can use R1/Throw to toss them a certain distance, which they can turn into a combo by running towards then and attacking them. Square/Special attacks use usually flashy moves referencing various attacks from the characters' home series, while Circle/Attack and Triangle/Strike attacks are standard attacks. The difference between the two is that Triangle/Strike is bare-handed punches and jabs, while Circle/Attack has characters taking out weapons, projectiles, or in the case of fighters that are brawlers, use kicks. Movement in the game is more like the Def Jam and WWF games, in that players can move freely around the arena and interact with various elements on it to their advantage (picking up objects and hitting opponents with them.

Up to four players can play in one match, through the game's various modes. There is Duel Mode (1v1), Battle Royale (four players fight each other simultaneously), tag team (2v2), Horde Battle (one player battling thirteen CPU opponents in succession), Survival Marathon (endless fighting until the player drops out), Deathmatch (tie-breaker only mode, where whoever lands the first hit wins), and Online Mode (Duel Mode but online). In all of these mods barring survival, the main way to win is just like any other fighting game or wrestling game, which is by draining the opponents' health, unlike OTL's PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, which determined winners by how many super moves they struck their enemies with, thus creating for a more traditional fighting experience than the latter title.

The roster for this game consists of thirty fighters, and like the WWF games, as well as similarly to OTL's PlayStation All-Stars, each character has a rivalry with another character, which results in special interactions. The game's roster is:

• First-Party
  • Auron [Final Fantasy X]
  • Aya Brea [Parasite Eve]
  • Ayame [Tenchu]
  • Cloud Strife [Final Fantasy VII]
  • Dr. Nefarious [Ratchet & Clank]
  • Fei Fong Wong [Xenogears]
  • Gabe Logan [Syphon Filter]
  • Jak & Daxter [Jak & Daxter]
  • Kain [Legacy of Kain]
  • Kyoya Suda [Siren]
  • Parappa [Parappa the Rapper]
  • Ratchet & Clank [Ratchet & Clank]
  • Raziel [Legacy of Kain]
  • Rikimaru [Tenchu]
  • Sephiroth [Final Fantasy VII]
  • Sly Cooper [Sly Cooper]
  • Specter [Ape Escape]
  • Spike [Ape Escape]
  • Sora [Kingdom Hearts]
  • Sweet Tooth [Twisted Metal]
  • Toan [Dark Cloud]
  • Toro [Doko Demo Issyo]
  • Tifa Lockhart [Final Fantasy VII]
  • Vincent Kessler [Snowblight]
  • Virginia Maxwell [Wild Arms]
• Third-Party
  • Heihachi Mishima [Tekken] (SNK Namco)
  • Jimmy Patterson [Medal of Honor] (Electronic Arts)
  • Nina Williams [Tekken] (SNK Namco)
  • Pyramid Head [Silent Hill 2] (Konami)
  • Tommy Vercetti [Grand Theft Auto: Vice City] (Rockstar)

The characters' rivalries are as follows:

• Auron vs. Rikimaru
• Aya Brea vs. Vincent Kessler
• Ayame vs. Tifa Lockhart
• Cloud Strife vs. Jimmy Patterson
• Dr. Nefarious vs. Specter
• Fei Fong Wong vs. Raziel
• Gabe Logan vs. Nina Williams
• Heihachi Mishima vs. Sweet Tooth
• Jak & Daxter vs. Ratchet & Clank
• Kain vs. Sephiroth
• Kyoya Suda vs. Pyramid Head
• Parappa vs. Toro
• Sly Cooper vs. Tommy Vercetti
• Sora vs. Toan
• Spike vs. Virginia Maxwell

The game also comes with eighteen arenas, and unlike OTL's PlayStation All-Stars, the stage invasion gimmick isn't present, having been butterfield away. The eighteen arenas are:

• Apostles' Territory - Snowblight
• Baskar Colony - Wild Arms 3
• Clockwerk's Lair - Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus
• Dream Zanarkand - Final Fantasy X
• Gohda's Castle - Tenchu: Stealth Assassins
• Hollow Bastion - Kingdom Hearts
• Laboratory Courtyard - Tekken 3
• Midgar - Final Fantasy VII
• Metropolis - Ratchet & Clank
• Ninth Circle - Twisted Metal: World Tour
• Norune Village - Dark Cloud
• Pagoda Temple - Tekken 2
• PharCom Warehouse - Syphon Filter
• Pillars of Nosgoth - Legacy of Kain
• Sandover Village - Jak: The Precursor Legacy
• Silent Hill - Silent Hill
• Specter's Factory - Ape Escape
• Vice City - Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

PlayStation Mania is released for the PlayStation 2 on October 7th, 2005. Positioned as the big holiday title for the PlayStation 2, the game garners a much better reception than OTL's PlayStation All-Stars, though not as good as Def Jam: Fight for NY or WWF No Mercy. The fighting is praised by fans of Def Jam and other wrestling games, though it also garners a following among fans of traditional fighters who have wanted a PlayStation crossover in vein of Super Smash Bros. or Marvel vs. Capcom. The rivalry system is also praised, helping it distinguish itself from other crossover fighting games by featuring unique taunts, cutscenes, and interactions between characters, emphasizing the feeling of a crossover even more by having characters from different franchises interacting with one another beyond just fighting each other. It also becomes an easy sales success, moving 4.5 million units in lifetime sales, a number that Sony is satisfied with, and bodes well for the high hopes they have for the series in the future, with the relationship between them and AKI Corporation growing all the more closer...

Launch date, price, and launch lineup for Apple iArcade fully revealed

"With Apple iArcade set to release next month, gamers eager to buy Apple's foray into the console market received an announcement that many have been waiting for, that being the price and launch date of the Apple iArcade. Last Friday, Apple announced that the iArcade will be launching on November 19th of this year, one week before Black Friday, for a retail price of $499.99 USD. While more expensive than any of Nintendo or Sony's offerings so far, the console was already expected to be significantly more expensive than prior consoles, due to its status as the first fully HD console on the market, and representing a new generational leap in console technology.

"The launch lineup for the Apple iArcade was also fully revealed, with Tomb Raider Arisen, Veloce, ESPN NBA 2k6, Soulcalibur III, Call of Duty 2, Far Cry, Civilization IV (already available on Windows and macOS), Def Jam: Fight for NY (already available on the PlayStation 2), Hulk: Ultimate Destruction (already available on Nintendo X and PlayStation 2), Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (already available on Nintendo X and PlayStation 2), and Crash Tag Team Racing (set to be released on the Nintendo X and PlayStation 2 later this month) consisting of the games that will be available at launch for the Apple iArcade, with the first six games all being console exclusives."

 

[the_idiot]

Startropics

Startropics is an open-world action-adventure game developed by Avalanche Studios and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo X. A revival of the NES duology, Startropics is a continuity reboot that ignores the first two games, and instead features its own story, though characters like Mike Jones and Sam Jones are still featured. The game itself is set in the late 1950s, during tensions between the USA and the Soviet Union, and Coralcola is now an archipelago instead of a village on an island, which the player can traverse and explore freely, much like OTL's Just Cause. However, unlike Just Cause, the player is limited at first in terms of how they can travel, and thus have to wait until they can fly a plane or a helicopter, which makes traveling to other islands at the beginning more inconvenient. This was deliberately done, as the Avalanche was also putting a large emphasis on Startropic's narrative and story, and wanted players to also focus on that. Players could swim or take a boat to other islands if they pleased, but the slow nature of traveling there like that meant that most explored the islands one at a time. Coralcola is made up of six different islands, which are Rau'kiti, Oma'lono, Lakama, Mihuri, Valnui, and Tal-Te-Koto.

Aside from exploration, the game's combat is also somewhat different from Just Cause. Mike Jones, due to being aged up to a college student in this reboot, was not given the yo-yo the original incarnation had in the NES games, nor does he carry guns or other firearms, as Nintendo didn't want him to use realistic machine guns and pistols. As a compromise, he instead uses a bow and arrows as a projectile, with the character being written as part of his university's archery team, while using a wooden bat in melee combat, similar to the original NES games. The game runs on Unreal Engine 2.5, the same engine used for games like Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, and squeezes out every bit of the Nintendo X's power to make Startropics one of the most graphically impressive games on the system.

Like with Eternal Darkness, Startropics has voice acting featuring a mix of voice actors and TV performers, at the direction of Avalanche Studios. Initially, Nintendo was hesitant to spend so much on voice acting, but Avalanche managed to win them over by pointing to games like Legacy of Kain: Defiance and Kingdom Hearts of successful games with professional voice acting. The recording and motion capture for the characters is entrusted by Avalanche Studios to Retro Studios, who have a motion capture studio in their Austin, Texas headquarters, and was more convenient for the cast of the game to travel to than to Avalanche Studios' HQ in Stockholm, Sweden. The cast and characters for the game are as follows:

• Mike Jones (played by Jensen Ackles): A twenty-one year old student as UCLA, Mike Jones is on his university's archery team and majoring in American literature, studying the likes of Mark Twain and F. Scott Fitzgerald. He is a generally carefree and amiable young man, albeit somewhat naive. In contrast to Indiana Jones, the main character of Startropic's main source of inspiration, Mike lacks the roguish edge of Indiana, instead being comparable to Luke Skywalker from Star Wars in terms of temperament.
• Dr. Samuel "Sam" Jones (played by Tony Jay): Mike Jones' uncle, an award-winning researcher and archaeologist currently on an expedition in Coralcola, he is researching a fictional civilization that lived on Coralcola named the Zoda, who are based off of various Pacific Islander groups and civilizations. Sam Jones is a notable departure for Tony Jay, who is known for usually voicing antagonists, whereas Sam Jones is a kindly uncle to Mike, though dedicated to his studios immensely. His research makes him the target of S.C.I.R.E.A., a Russian intelligence agency.
• Elaine Rosen (played by Jamie-Lynn Sigler): Elaine Rosen is a NYU student and an apprentice to Sam Jones, accompanying him on his studies and helping him in his research on the Zoda. While Sam Jones treats her as a peer, she is looked down upon by other characters for being of lower-class status, as she of Sephardic Jewish descent (which was added after Sigler was cast in the role, as an actor-inspired element), being the first generation of her family born in America. She is adventurous and friendly, but also more reckless than Mike Jones.
• Julian Marley (played by Kevin McKidd): An English researcher and the rival of Sam Jones. Younger than Sam by twenty-eight years (Sam Jones is 66, Julian Marley is 38), Marley is much more brash and hotheaded than Sam Jones, and is also something of a glory hound in comparison to his rival. He is also suspected to be in allegiance with the Soviets, which cost him his honors from Oxford University (his alma matter), though the public sees him as a dashing and handsome hero who was unfairly persecuted.
• Lisa Marley, née Gloucester (played by Natalie Dormer): The young English wife of Julian Thompson, Sam Jones’ rival researcher. A woman of the English aristocracy, she fills a “femme fatale” role comparable to Ada Wong from Resident Evil or Elsa Schneider from The Last Crusade, and remains ambiguous throughout the story in terms of whose side she’s on. She serves as an potential love interest to Mike Jones, though he remains wary of her throughout the story.
• Nataliya Aronova (played by Juliet Landau): A Russian KGB agent and the leader of S.C.I.R.E.A., a wing of the KGB dedicated towards extracting and taking information from American researchers and the American Government, be it scientific, historic, technologic, etc. She is cold and unforgiving to her subordinates, and was designed as being a female expy of Darth Vader from Star Wars in terms of her actions, her mannerisms, and behaviors.
• Capt. Robert Clark (played by Michael Ironside): A Captain in the US Army and assassin stationed in Coralcola. He is under orders to watch over Sam and Mikes Jones, and to combat S.C.I.R.E.A., should the time come for him. An enigmatic man, Robert Clark is an expy of Sam Fisher from the Splinter Cell games in terms of behavior and temperament, to the point of even being voiced by Michael Ironside, to boot. While the player doesn't play as him in the base game proper, he is playable in an expansion for the game that is released in 2006.

The game begins with a flashback sequence of the ancient Zoda people, the original inhabitants of Coralcola. They are shown being wiped out by an unseen force or power, with no indication as to who or what it may be. Centuries later, British colonists arrive on the main island of Coralcola, Rau'kiti, and discover the ruins and decayed remains of the Zoda people. The begin investigating and researching the matter, but over time, they continue to lose faith in the project, with what was originally a royally commissioned expedition now being regarded as nothing more than fodder for vain researchers by the British, with America, Russia, Canada, Germany, and Japan all trying their own investigations, albeit with little to no luck.

The story then picks up in 1958, where third-year UCLA student Mike Jones arrives at Rau'kiti, now home to settlements of various Pacific Islander communities, as well as a "no man's land" of sorts in the ongoing Cold War. Mike arrives and meets Samuel "Sam" Jones, his uncle, whom he has come to visit for his spring break. Samuel brings him to his archaeology site, where an expedition commissioned by the American government is currently in the works revolving around the disappearance of the Zoda people. Sam introduces Mike to Elaine Rosen, his apprentice and a student at NYU who has accompanied him on his expedition. The expedition is suddenly interrupted by the appearance of Julian Marley, an English archaeologist and researcher who is a rival of Samuel's. While Julian Marley is adored by the inhabitants of Coralcola, Elaine tells Mike privately that Julian was disgraced in his home country, and has taken up residence on Rau'kiti with the help of an inheritance given to his wife, an aristocrat named Lisa Gloucester.

Later that evening, Mike is out in the main city of Rau'kiti when he sees smoke in the distance, in the direction of Samuel's expedition. Upon arriving to the compound, he finds the place in flames and with many researchers either wounded or dead. When he asks one wounded researcher what happened to Samuel and Elaine, he is told that they were taken captive by Soviet operatives, who had attacked and vandalized the expedition's main compound. Mike is told to go to Samuel's office and get his notes, but finds those missing as well. He eventually finds out that the Soviets went to the other side of the island, where a Soviet ship is waiting for them. Mike witnesses Samuel being boarded onto the ship, named the Red Barracuda, while watching Elaine being taken to Julian Marley's manor. When arriving at and after sneaking onto the manor grounds, Mike sees Marley conversing with a female Soviet operative, apparently working with the KGB. The female is intimidating and cold towards Marley, and confirms Mike's suspicions that Marley is in league with the Soviets. He overhears them saying that Elaine is inside the manor, and has to sneak inside it in order to find Elaine.

Once inside, he finds out that Elaine is being held in Marley's cellar, but has to steal a key in order to get in there. He tries to find one in Marley's bedroom, but is forced to hide when Marley's wife, Lisa, enters the room. Mike remains hidden in their closet and only reemerges after Lisa leaves the room, but as he prepares to search again, he sees that a key was left on their bed where it hadn't been before, implying that Lisa had known Mike was in the room with her. Nevertheless, he takes the key and goes to the cellar, where he finds Elaine struggling against some KGB soldiers, whom Mike helps her knock out and bind together. Elaine tells Mike that once of Samuel's papers was taken inside the house by Marley, and two head to his research laboratory to find it. However, they are surrounded by the KGB and are forced to fight their way out, managing to hold their own for a while, before being overwhelmed. Just before the two are captured again, the KGB are attacked by a smoke bomb and incapacitated in hand-to-hand combat. Once the smoke disperses, Mike and Elaine find an older American man standing before them, who introduces himself as Capt. Robert Clark, saying that he's here to take them elsewhere. He helps them escape to a cove near Marley's manor, where an American military helicopter is waiting for them. He then takes them to Camp Darwin, the American military base on Oma'lano, another one of the islands in the Coralcola archipelago.

Once they arrive on Oma'lano, Clark tells Mike and Elaine that they will be evacuated the following day, with the American military taking over the situation with their own operation. Elaine tells Mike that there are five more sets of notes that Samuel had hidden, one on each of the other islands. When Mike asks why she's telling him and not Clark, she says that she maintains a distrust of Clark and the Americans, in terms of how they'd use Samuel's notes. Mike and Elaine, under the pretense of going on a date, head to a nearby village on Oma'lano, and from there they escape the military's attention and search for the second set of notes, which is hidden in a trading outpost. However, they see the KGB are searching for the second set of notes as well, and are forced to evade from and hide from them. Mike manages to take the second set of notes, but the KGB spot the two, forcing them to escape into the jungle. They sneak back to the village later that night in order to use a boat to travel to travel to the other islands, but the KGB, led by the Russian woman from earlier, Nataliya Aronova, have blockaded all of the piers. The American military then arrives, and a firefight breaks out between the two factions, which Mike and Elaine use as a distraction to steal a boat and escape with it.

They arrive on Lakama, but are forced to abandon their boat in order to evade detection from the KGB and the American military. They hide in a hotel in the island's main village, contemplating what they do next. They hear someone knocking on their door, who is revealed to be Lisa Marley. Lisa confirms that she knew Mike had been at the manor, but has no intention of turning him into her husband. As a token of her trust, she then gives them half of the third set of notes, but will only give them the second half if Mike goes and steals a valuable jewel from the island's museum. Mike, though distrustful of leaving Elaine alone with Lisa, accepts her offer. He disguises himself and steals the jewel from the islands museum, thus receiving the second half of the third set of notes from Lisa. As she leaves, she tells them that she has left a boat for them to use to travel to the other islands

On the fourth island, Mihuri, Mike prepares to search for the fourth set of notes, but runs into an undercover Robert Clark, who is on a mission to assassinate a war criminal in hiding on the island. Clark, despite the hostility of the other American forces, promises Mike that he'll help him find the fourth set of notes and not blow his cover if Mike distracts the war criminal in hiding, who lives on a plantation on the opposite side of the island. Mike is initially hesitant on asking how Clark knows there are multiple sets of notes, which Clark says he had learned from a number of KGB operates the Americans took prisoner back on Oma'lano. Mike then agrees to distract the war criminal, and while he nearly botches the mission, he gives Clark a clear shot from which to assassinate the war criminal. Mike is forced to escape from the chaos by himself and rendezvouses with Clark near the village. Clark gives him the fourth set of notes, and disappears into the jungle. Mike lies to Elaine about how he retrieved the notes, and the two then head to the fifth island, Valnui, though Elaine remains skeptical of Mike's claims.

When they arrive on Valnui, they learn that the fifth set of notes has been discovered by a different researcher, a former colleague of Julian Marley's named Gideon Bruce. They head to Bruce's residency, expecting a confrontation, but Bruce lets them in after recognizing them. Bruce tells them about how he and Marley used to work together during their days at Oxford, and both desired to come to the Coralcola archipelago and solve the mystery of the Zoda people's disappearance. However, Marley grew more obsessive as time went on, eventually leading to Oxford revoking all of his honors. While Marley maintains a good reputation among the Coralcola inhabitants, in England he is considered a pariah by various academics and a laughingstock by the public, eventually moving to Coralcola for good alongside his wife. Bruce also reveals that Marley had manipulated Bruce into killing his father-in-law, the Baron Gloucester, in order for him and Lisa to receive the money necessary to relocate to Coralcola, as Lisa was Baron Gloucester's only child, and thus the only recipient of his fortune.

As the pages are assembled throughout the game, Mike and Elaine learn that Samuel was studying and documenting an ancient ritual that, according to Zoda legend, was meant to summon the deity Whiro, a Polynesian god of darkness and evil. They also discover that he had been studying accounts of their attempts to summon him, noting strange occurrences that happened after every attempt, such as the islands' wildlife turning against them, a storm that rained burning hail, and cataclysmic earthquakes. Their accounts end just before the final attempt, which Samuel theorizes is what wiped out the Zoda. Mike is initially dismissive of this, but resolves to rescue his uncle and find the last page anyways.

On the last island, Tal-Te-Koto, the final page is hidden in a Zoda shrine under a volcano. Nataliya Aronova and Julian Marley have taken Samuel to the mouth of the entrance inside it, though Samuel remains the defiant and refuses to divulge the location of the final page. As Mike and Elaine make their way there, Elaine feels as if they are being watched, but Mike brushes off her warnings. When they arrive, they confront Nataliya, who threatens to kill Samuel if they don't give up the final pages. Despite Samuel pleading not to, Mike gives her the pages, and he and Elaine as bound alongside Samuel. But just as Nataliya and the KGB are about to enter the cave, she and her soldiers are assassinated by a squadron of men lead by Robert Clark. While Mike is initially ecstatic, Clark ignores him, Elaine, and Samuel, and instead takes the pages off of Nataliya's body, and instead approaches Marley, asking him if the last page is inside the volcano. Deducing that Clark had been using them all along and that Marley had been a double agent for him, Mike tries stop them, but he is still bound and still easily beaten by Clark. Clark, his men, and Marley enter the volcano, leaving Mike, Elaine, and Samuel stranded at the foot of it.

At that point, however, Lisa arrives with two of her bodyguards and frees Mike, Elaine, and Samuel. Mike asks her about the information given to him by Bruce, and she says that she had been waiting for years until she could take revenge on her husband for plotting the death of her father, and had guided Mike in his adventure to eventually defeat Marley. She then tells Elaine and Samuel to head back to her boat, while she accompanies Mike inside of the volcano, wanting to personally dispatch of her husband herself. As the two descend into the volcano, Lisa begins making advances on Mike, but Mike rebuffs her gently, taking note of the age difference between them and her scheming nature, though she takes the rejection well. Eventually, they reach the entrance to the shrine, which is guarded by Robert Clark. Mike tries to get Clark to step aside, but is forced to fight him alongside Lisa's help. Clark is difficult to defeat, but eventually the two subdue him. But just as Lisa is about to kill him, Mike pleads with her to spare him, not wanting to kill more people than necessary. She is reluctant to do so, but lets him go, albeit while taking his gun and other weapons, leaving him disarmed. She also says that her bodyguards will kill him on sight if he tries to board her boat. Clark says nothing, and leaves silently.

Mike and Lisa enter the shrine, where Marley is performing the ritual. The bodies of Clark's men are all slumped on the floor, with the ritual having absorbed their life forces. Marley explains to them how both the KGB and American military came to him asking for his help in locating and summoning Whiro, presumably in order to harness his power against one another in the Cold War. He then fed information to both sides while acting as a mole for both, leading either one to believe that he was on their side, as long as he could claim credit for discovering Whiro and proving his peers and the public at home wrong. Mike and Lisa try to stop him, but Whiro had already been summoned. To Marley's horror, however, Whiro possesses him against his will, and prepares to fight Mike and Lisa. The two are then forced to fight against him as the shrine collapses, though Lisa is subdued early on, forcing Mike to fight against Whiro alone. Eventually, Mike wears Whiro down, but is unable to kill him, as Whiro can only be vanquished once the summoning ends. Mike prepares to restrain Whiro, but instead chooses to stay behind with Whiro and her possessed husband, due to her desire for vengeance. Mike is reluctant to leave her, but ends up following her demands and escape from the shrine. He makes it to Lisa's boat, where Elaine and Samuel are waiting for him, and they escape from Tal-Te-Koto just as the volcano erupts and sinks the island.

A week later, the three are on Rau'kiti, packing up Samuel's research and evacuating the compound, preparing to return to the USA. When they land at Washington D.C., a pair of CIA agents approach them and ask them for their recollection of the events. Once they are done, the CIA agents tell them that officially, the events in Coralcola had never happened, and that it would remain a secret. When Mike questions why the American military resorted to plundering ancient ruins to steal something they didn't even know they would control, the CIA agents remain silent, eventually leaving them. Despite Mike's displeasure, he is happy that his uncle is safe, and returns to UCLA, promising to write to Samuel and Elaine more often. As Mike reunites with his friends at UCLA, Robert Clark watches him from a distance, revealing that he had escaped Coralcola.

Startropics is released on October 28, 2005. Nintendo pegs it as their big holiday title and advertises it as such, making note of the large open world and cinematic story-telling, intending for this to be their answer to story-based like Metal Gear and Legacy of Kain, as well as large open-world games like Grand Theft Auto. The game's release is also accompanied by the NES Startropics games being released on the Nintendo DS' virtual console service in August of that year. Startropics receives acclaim for prioritizing storytelling while also providing a solid gameplay experience, for the performances of the voice actors, and for successfully reviving an old NES series and making it fit with modern console games. It sells 3.9 million units worldwide, and while not the last game on the Nintendo X, is considered to be a swan song for the system in wake of Project Next releasing in 2006, as well as one of the defining games for the system in the long run. The game also receives a DLC expansion in 2006 titled Startropics: Classified, which revolves around Robert Clark prior to the events of the game, and a definitive edition containing both the base game and the DLC is released in 2007 for Project Next. Mike Jones quickly becomes a popular mascot for Nintendo, comparable to Kirby or Samus, and Nintendo expands Avalanche Studios in order for them to focus not only on the next Startropics, which would begin development for Project Next in 2006, but also for original projects. The game also has an effect on Nintendo internally, with many developers wanting to add more narrative to their own games, though this change would take a little more time to fully occur...

(AN: No news sections here, this was a hefty update and the Apple iArcade launch is coming up next, which I anticipate will also take some time and be fairly large as well).

 

[the_idiot]

(AN: Good to be back. Sorry I kept everyone waiting for so long, but the Apple iArcade launch is here and I've finally gotten to the seventh generation of games. Enjoy!)

Apple iArcade

Appearance: Physically, the Apple iArcade is rectangular in shape, but with rounded corners and edges that make it slightly similar in appearance to OTL's Wii U. In terms of measurements, it has a height of 3.6 inches (91.44 mm), a width of 12.5 inches (317.5 mm), and a depth of 10.9 inches (276.86 mm). The console itself is colored black, with a silver Apple logo on the top of the console. Like OTL's Xbox 360, the Apple iArcade uses a tray with its disc drive instead of automatically retracting the disc. The system's controller is built like OTL's DualSense controller, having both of the analogue sticks positioned near the bottom of the controller, with the d-pad and the face buttons on the top of the controller's face. The controller itself is also colored black for the shell, and grey/silver for the buttons, with the face buttons being (counter-clockwise from bottom), A, Ω, Θ, and Σ.

The Hardware: The Apple iArcade, being the first HD console ITTL, boasts technical specifications that easily dwarf the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo X in terms of power, with Apple consulting and working with the other two members of the AIM Alliance, IBM and Motorola, to develop components and figure out the system's architecture. It has 5.1 surround sound for its audio, and is capable of reading both CDs and DVD discs. The CPU for the Apple iArcade is named "Mirror", which runs on three cores clocked at 3.2 GHz (like OTL's Xenon for the Xbox 360, which was also developed by IBM), an L1 cache of 32/32 mb, and an L2 cache of 1 mb. The GPU, which is custom-built by Apple, IBM, and Motorola, is named "Glass", and has a frequency of 512 MHz. For resolution, the Apple iArcade can output up to 720p in high definition, though that depends on the formats used for displaying the resolution. The Apple iArcade's internal hard drive for storage was developed by Motorola, and can store up to 35 GB of content, with the iArcade also being capable of supporting external storage.

Infrastructure: Like the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo X, the Apple iArcade supports online multiplayer for its games, as well as other forms of online functionality. The main digital storefront for the Apple iArcade is an offshoot of iTunes called "iTunes Virtual", where players can buy and download games digitally onto their consoles, as well as downloadable content, applications like an internet browser and a music player, and updates for the system. iTunes Virtual is also accessible via computers, with players being able to buy content from their other devices and download them onto their console later. Unlike OTL's PS3 or Xbox 360, however, the iArcade does not have any kind of achievements system in place for its games. Voice chat is supported via various games or through the player's Apple account, allowing for more direct interaction between players in massively-multiplayer titles.

The Software: The Apple iArcade launched with eleven games in total, with six of them being console exclusives, three of which are published by Apple's publishing label for video games, Apple Virtual Entertainment. All six of these console exclusives would also see ports to macOS computers in the following months. The titles are as follows:

Tomb Raider Arisen

Tomb Raider Arisen is an action-adventure game developed by Eidos and published by Apple. It is the first Tomb Raider title to be developed under Apple's ownership, and it is the marquee exclusive for the Apple iArcade. The gameplay remains close to the first three Tomb Raider games, featuring an emphasis on dungeon-crawling and puzzle-solving, and features a stance system for Lara; one stance allows her to brawl barehanded with punches and kicks, while the other allows her to use weapons such as a hunting knife, her dual pistols, etc. The setting of the game is mainly Greece, with eight of the nine levels/dungeons in total all being set in various cities and ruins across the country, with one exception. The nine locations are Alexandria, Athens, Corinth, Crete, Cyrene (the only location not in Greece, rather instead being in Libya), Delphi, Mount Olympus, Sparta, and Troy.

Arisen, from a storyline standpoint, is a complete continuity reboot of the series, though it keeps Lara's background as an archaeologist who is a member of the British aristocracy. Lara Croft is now voiced by Jo Wyatt, taking the place of OTL’s Keeley Hawes. Arisen’s story starts with Lara being approached by Milos Galanis (voiced by Daniel Brühl), a Greek historian and archaeologist who hires her to find and assemble the original manuscript of Homer’s Iliad, with the manuscript having been split into eight different components scattered across Alexandria, Athens, Corinth, Crete, Cyrene, Delphi, Sparta, and Troy. As she searches for the Iliad’s original draft, she is attacked and accosted by the Cult of Delphi, a religious order devoting themselves to worshipping the Greek Gods of old. While they try to steal the manuscript from her at various points, she manages to shake them off and assemble the manuscript. When the manuscript is assembled, it depicts more than what the final version had shown; the original draft depicts all ten years of the war, rather than the last few weeks of it, and more specifically, it reveals that Paris hadn’t garnered the attention of the Greek Gods by himself, but rather used a summoning ritual to summon them, promising them human sacrifice if they help him begin a war in Troy.

When Lara finishes reading, she is kidnapped by the Cult of Delphi, and finds herself on Mount Olympus. After breaking free of her bonds and traversing it, she finds Milos Galanis waiting for her at the top along with the rest of the Cult of Delphi. Milos reveals that he is the Greek deity Apollo, and that the final version of the Iliad had been written by him; the Greek Gods had him kill and replace the original Homer, and he had written the final version of the Iliad in order to cover up the crimes of the Greek Gods. However, Apollo had also been exiled from Olympus centuries prior, and because the original manuscript detailed the summoning spell for the Olympians, he needed to assemble it in order to return to Olympus. As he begins the summoning spell, Lara fights off the Cult of Delphi, and then fights Apollo. While she is unable to defeat Apollo herself, he is killed by his twin sister Artemis, who descended from Olympus to end his bloodshed. She apologizes to Lara Croft for the actions of her brother and her extended family, and gives Lara her blessing, giving her an enchanted Drachma coin that Lara can use to summon Artemis whenever she needs her help. She then transports Lara back to England, and Lara stores the coin deep inside Croft Manor, hiding it from the outside world.

Tomb Raider Arisen receives mostly-positive reviews. While the story is considered to be weak, the gameplay and exploration is very well-liked, and the game is praised as being a comeback for the series after the disastrous Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness from 2002. The game is bundled alongside some Apple iArcade consoles, and manages to sell around three million units in total during the launch period, and would go on to sell more across the iArcade’s lifespan. Arisen cements Apple’s confidence in their decision to acquire Eidos, and they put the Tomb Raider brand at the front and center, immediately commissioning a sequel for the iArcade.

Veloce

Veloce is a racing simulation game akin to Sonty’s Gran Turismo series and OTL’s Forza games. Developed by AVE Florence (an internal division of Apple Virtual Entertainment based in Florence, Italy), the game features upwards of 275+ cars with an emphasis on European automobile manufacturers, such as Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Aston-Martin, Fiat, Lamborghini, Masserati, Volvo, Volkswagen, Rolls-Royce, Porsche, Bentley, and more. The game has twenty-four different tracks based off of real-world locations, which are:

• Barcelona, Spain
• Beijing, China
• Berlin, Germany
• Buenos Aires, Argentina
• Cairo, Egypt
• Casablanca, Morocco
• Johannesburg, South Africa
• Lisbon, Portugal
• Lima, Peru
• London, United Kingdom
• Mexico City, Mexico
• Monte Carlo
• Moscow, Russia
• Paris, France
• Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
• Rome, Italy
• San Francisco, United States
• Seoul, South Korea
• Singapore
• Stockholm, Sweden
• Sydney, Australia
• Tokyo, Japan
• Vancouver, Canada
• Vienna, Austria

Veloce receives positive reviews from critics and audiences, who compare it favorably to Gran Turismo as a racing simulator, noting the large number of cars and the variety in real-world locations. That being said, some end up criticizing the cars for being limited only to European brands and companies, rather than also using brands from other countries. That being said, the game’s European emphasis helps it sell very well in European countries, with Veloce even outperforming Tomb Raider Arisen in some of them.

ESPN NBA 2k6

ESPN NBA 2k6 remains mostly the same from its OTL counterpart, using Shaquille O’Neal as the main basketball player on the cover art and in promotions. However, because of Apple now owning the 2K Sports brand, they also elect to use Shaquille O’Neal to help them advertise the Apple iArcade in America, creating and airing a series of commercials where he promotes it to audiences. The game’s graphics are also enhanced at Apple’s behest, wanting it to be an early benchmark of the iArcade’s power. It ends up receiving slightly more positive reviews than OTL’s game, but it still ends up being criticized for the controls, UI, and lack of any solid improvements compared to previous games in the series, though it being a sports game means it was always going to sell well regardless.

Soulcalibur III

Soulcalibur III is a 3D weapon-based fighting game developed by Project Soul and published by SNK Namco. It is the long-awaited sequel to the incredibly popular Soulcalibur II, and Apple, knowing this game was anticipated by audiences and remembering how the original Soulcalibur was a system seller for the Dreamcast, paid for the game to be a console exclusive for the Apple iArcade. As a result of this, SNK Namco worked to make Soulcalibur III much more visually appealing than previous games in the series, while also adding in an online mode and OTL’s create-a-soul mode.

Gameplay-wise, it plays much faster than the previous games in the series, and is closer to OTL’s Soulcalibur V in terms of speed and mechanics. The game features most of the same roster from OTL’s game (Astaroth, Cassandra, Cervantes, Ivy, Kilik, Lizardman, Maxi, Mitsurugi, Nightmare, Raphael, Rock, Seong Mi-na, Siegfried, Sophitia, Taki, Talim, Voldo, Xianghua, Yoshimitsu, and Yun-seong as the returning characters, and Abyss, Olcadan, Setsuka, Tira, and Zasalamel as newcomers), but with some additions:

• Aria - A Maori girl whose father is the Chieftain of their tribe, and who seeks the Soul Edge in order to fight off invading colonizers from her tribe’s lands.
• Erik - A Viking lord who was deposed by his people for his cruel and tyrannical rule, he seeks to marshall forces to help him retake his kingdom.
• Inferno - The only veteran in the game that wasn’t in OTL’s Soulcalibur III, who is now playable again instead of being removed after three appearances.
• Lara Croft - One of the two guest characters, and the one advertised in promotional materials for the game. She was added in after the game was determined to be an iArcade exclusive (what with Tomb Raider now being owned by Apple), and uses a variety of weapons and hand-to-hand techniques from her home series.
• Misako - A songstress from Japan, she fights with an odd combination of dancing techniques and magic, prioritizing grace and elegance while in combat over power, being something of a glass cannon.
• Scorpion - The second of two guest characters and the more surprising one, Scorpion from Mortal Kombat was added as promotion for the upcoming Mortal Kombat: Carnage, which is also an iArcade exclusive. His moveset is taken from his home series (albeit sanitized to remove the gore), but adapted into a 3D environment, similar to Akuma in OTL’s Tekken 7.

Soulcalibur III is received much more positively than OTL’s version, though still not as good as Soulcalibur or Soulcalibur II. The character roster, create-a-soul, and gameplay are praised, but the online is seen as underwhelming and unstable, leading to a passable experience at best and a painful one at worst. Nonetheless, this gets evened out over more updates, and the game isn’t as forgotten as OTL’s game by the mainstream gaming public, going on to sell more than a million copies overall. There is some backlash from Nintendo and PlayStation fans over it being an Apple iArcade exclusive, but SNK Namco wouldn’t be abandoning those platforms for long, though Soulcalibur III wasn’t going to be ported to non-Apple platforms for a long time.

Call of Duty 2

Call of Duty 2 remains the same as OTL’s game, but due to the Xbox 360 being butterfield away, it is now a launch title and a console exclusive for the Apple iArcade instead. It is also the only launch title to have a simultaneous release on macOS, with the iArcade version being the port instead of the original version. It receives the same reception as OTL’s game, and sells just as well - WWII shooters are a genre that appeal easily to the casual audience, just like ESPN NBA and racing simulators.

Far Cry

Ubisoft and Crytek’s Far Cry, originally a Windows exclusive IOTL, now comes to the Apple iArcade as a console exclusive, with the macOS version coming a month afterwards. As a result of the original game being directly ported to the Apple iArcade, Far Cry Instincts ends up being butterflied, as the Apple iArcade’s processing power is far superior to that of OTL’s Xbox. Not only does Far Cry still get positive reviews and sell well on the iArcade, but the game’s added success ITTL causes Ubisoft to work out a deal with Crytek for the latter to develop more sequels for Far Cry, rather than having Ubisoft Montreal work on the series, something that will greatly change the course of the series going forward.

Other Games:

In addition to the six console exclusives listed above, five other multiplatform games are all available on the Apple iArcade from day one, those being Civilization IV, Crash Tag Team Racing, Def Jam: Fight for NY, Hulk: Ultimate Destruction, and Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater all being ported to the iArcade. These ports are enhanced from their original versions to have cleaner textures, faster loading speeds, and enhanced graphics all meant to take advantage of the Apple iArcade’s power. They receive about the same reception as their counterparts on other platforms, though many note the various enhancements and QOL features that make them more enjoyable to play over the other versions.

Launch Weekend:

The Apple iArcade launches on November 19th, 2005, with a standard bundle for $499.99, and a deluxe bundle featuring Tomb Raider Arisen plus an extra 25 GB of internal storage for $549.99. Sales of the new console are high, despite being much more expensive than the Nintendo X and PlayStation 2, as Apple had advertised the system to the wazoo, putting emphasis on the iArcade’s raw power, and also airing commercials featuring celebrities such as the aforementioned Shaquille O’Neal (for ESPN NBA 2K6), Angelina Jolie (parodying her role as Lara Croft in the live-action Tomb Raider movies), and Riccardo Patrese (for Veloce) advertising the console and specific games for it.

The Apple iArcade managed to sell over 3.5 million units in the launch month alone, thanks to being released one week before Black Friday and being seen as a desirable item for the holiday season, with many fights breaking out over console units in stores (though that’s just normal for Black Friday). As for the games that sold the most, Tomb Raider Arisen is the highest-selling due to it being bundled with consoles, though the raw numbers are:

• Tomb Raider Arisen - 3,043,052
• ESPN NBA 2K6 - 2,955,390
• Veloce - 2,914,229
• Call of Duty 2 - 2,512,334
• Def Jam: Fight for NY - 2,243,787
• Civilization IV - 2,061,549
• Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater - 1,653,984
• Soulcalibur III - 1,439,003
• Far Cry - 1,372,118
• Crash Tag Team Racing - 943,298
• Hulk: Ultimate Destruction - 720,102

Overall, the Apple iArcade’s launch period is seen as a success by Apple, though internally, Steve Jobs expresses disappointment over Apple not pricing the iArcade at a higher price (he had argued for pricing it at $599.99, but the majority had been wary of pricing the iArcade at a price that would’ve been seen as too high by consumers for a console). Nevertheless, the hype was worth the wait, and the pressure was on for Nintendo and Sony to tell audiences more about their own next-generation machines...

 

[the_idiot]

(AN: I deliberately kept this chapter shorter, as the last ones were fairly long and comprehensive. Think of this as being something of a Breather Episode, if you will.)

Banjo-X

Banjo-X is a platformer game for the Nintendo DS, developed by Rareware and published by Nintendo. It is a remake the original Banjo-Kazooie for the Nintendo 64, though unlike Super Mario 64 DS, Banjo-X is less of a 1-for-1 remake, and more of a metafictional reimagining of the original game. While it uses all of the same locations (Spiral Mountain, Gruntilda's Lair, Mumbo's Mountain, Treasure Trove Cove, Clanker's Cavern, Bubblegloop Swamp, Freezeezy Peak, Gobi's Valley, Mad Monster Mansion, Rusty Bucket Bauy, and Click Clock Woods) and starts off normally, the characters in the game slowly begin to show self-awareness at the "sameness" of the events, with the story becoming denser and wackier than the original game, as well as much more self-referential. This all culminates in the final battle, where Gruntilda reveals that the events of the game were an illusion; she trapped Banjo and Kazooie in a dream world reenacting the events of the first game, and from there everything goes off the rails in a spectacular final boss rush consisting of (in order) Mingella and Blobbelda from Banjo-Tooie, Gruntilda in Mumbo's body from Banjo-Ghoulie, the Dark Queen from Battletoads, the alien from the end of Conker's Bad Fur Day, King K. Rool from Donkey Kong Country, and even Fulgore from Killer Instinct. Eventualy, Gruntilda is defeated, causing Banjo and Kazooie to wake up in the real world, with both of them dismissing the events of the game as a bad fever dream.

Banjo-X is released on November 21, 2005, and receives incredibly positive reviews from critics and audiences, who deem it a great return to form for the bear and bird while keeping things original in its own way, with some even deeming it superior to Super Mario 64 DS by experimenting with the remake formula and not playing it safe like that game did. The game sells nearly 2 million copies in its overall lifespan, and while demands for a Banjo-Tooie or a Conker's Bad Fur Day remake grow with the release of Banjo-X, Rareware confirms that this was a one-time thing, and they intend to keep things original for most of their games for the time being.

Ridge Racer Portable

Ridge Racer Portable is a racing game developed and published by SNK Namco for the PlayStation Portable. With previous PlayStation consoles having had Ridge Racer games at launch, the lack of a new Ridge Racer installment during the PSP's launch was lamented by fans, though this was remedied around half a year after the PSP's launch when Ridge Racer Portable was announced at E3 2005. Like OTL's Ridge Racer for the PSP, this Ridge Racer acts as a compilation title of sorts for the series, featuring tracks, songs, and cars from the 90s installments of the series; in this case, the installments Ridge Racer Portable takes from are the original, 2, Rave Racer, Revolution, and Rage Racer. Ridge Racer Portable also features collaborations with Sony ITTL, having cars themed after Sony-owned games like Final Fantasy VII, Parappa the Rapper, Ape Escape, Twisted Metal, Wipeout, and Ratchet & Clank, among others, along with corresponding music tracks from those series, and even a racetrack from Chocobo Racing, in the form of Cid's Test Track, as well as a Twisted Metal-themed track based off of Midtown.

Ridge Racer Portable receives generally positive reviews from critics and audiences. While it doesn't look as good as OTL's Ridge Racer games in terms of graphics (due to TTL's PSP being much weaker than OTL's PSP), the collaborations with Sony and the content from past games make for a title that satisfies older Ridge Racer fans while drawing in some new ones to the series. That being said, the game being released a year after the PSP's launch hurts its sales performance somewhat once it is released, and it just barely meets the expectations put into place by SNK Namco. And while Sony's next-generation machine was still some time away, Ridge Racer Portable missing the launch of the PSP was seen as something of a failure in SNK Namco's eyes, and thus the Ridge Racer team quickly found themselves working on the series' next big installment...

Konami sends out survey asking fans about potential crossovers

"With the successes of Nintendo's Super Smash Bros. series, Capcom's Vs. series, SNK Namco's King of Fighters series, and most recently, Sony's PlayStation Mania, it was only a matter of time before other publishers decided to follow in their footsteps and create their own crossover franchises, and of this month, we have a clue as to who will be doing their own crossover series soon. Konami, the publisher overseeing such franchises as Metal Gear, Castlevania, Silent Hill, Contra, and Dance Dance Revolution, sent out a survey to fans regarding, among other things, feedback on their recent games and brand recognizability. One question, however, was targeted at gauging fan interest in a potential crossover by Konami. Not only that, but another question asked fans what brands they'd like to see Konami collaborate with in the future, with such brans as Image Comics, Toei Animation, and Hasbro as some of the potential brand listed. While this is only a survey so far, the fan response has been rather positive, with many a fan of Metal Gear or Castlevania excited to see their favorite franchises crossover with not just other Konami series, but entirely different brands as well."

 

[the_idiot]

Tecmo Rally

Tecmo Rally is a racing video game developed and published by Tecmo. It is inspired by games like Gran Turismo and Bizarre Creations’ Excitebike reboot, in that it takes a more “realistic” look at racing games than things like Mario Kart or Ridge Racer. The difference, however, is that Tecmo Rally revolves primarily around racing monster trucks, rather than race cars or dirt bikes, and bases its gameplay around making players feel as if they are actually driving monster trucks in an actual monster truck show. Tecmo had originally intended on making a much more straightforward racing game, but after some of their staff played a hands-on demo of Excitebike in early 2004, Tecmo ended up deciding to make a motocross-themed game instead of a racing simulator.

Tecmo Rally has two gameplay modes; Competition Mode and Freestyle Mode. Competition Mode puts the player in a series of races against other monster truck drivers, and plays like a standard racing mode. Freestyle Mode, meanwhile, has the player doing a solo round, but instead of racing, their goal is to perform as many stunts and tricks as they can within a three minute window of time. Online is integrated into both; Competition Mode has online matches that allow for players to race against others, while Freestyle Mode offers a leaderboard containing various records from the playerbase.

Like with Gran Turismo and Excitebike, Tecmo Rally uses a variety of real life monster truck brands, and was even done in partnership with Feld Entertainment, the owners of the Monster Jam brand. As a result of this, Tecmo Rally features a number of real life monster trucks such as Grave Digger, Bigfoot, Maximum Destruction, El Toro Loco, Carolina Crusher, Avenger, Blue Thunder, Bulldozer, etc., with some even having multiple variations based off of various versions used throughout the years, namely Grave Digger and Bigfoot. In addition to all of the real-life Monster Jam trucks, there is also a “create your own truck” option that allows players to create their own monster trucks, and it is a fairly in-depth creator as well, allowing to players to create their own art, decals, and offers a variety of truck bodies and wheels for them to choose from. And on top of allowing players to race real-life trucks and create their own, Tecmo also added monster trucks themed after their own game franchises; trucks based off of Ninja Gaiden, Dead or Alive, Rygar, Monster Rancher, Fatal Frame, and Galaxy Ark are all available as unlockable bonuses.

Tecmo Rally is released on December 5, 2005. While it was announced at Nintendo’s E3, it ends up launching on all platforms available at the time, those being the Nintendo X, PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable, Apple iArcade, Microsoft Windows and macOS, as Feld Entertainment mandated that the game needed to be released across all platforms if Tecmo wanted to use the Monster Jam brand and its associated trucks in Tecmo Rally. The Nintendo DS and PlayStation Portable versions are developed by TOSE and are much more barebones than the console versions, having a smaller amount of tracks, trucks, and a more simplified truck creator. Despite the multiplatform nature of the game, Tecmo still adds in exclusive content into the Nintendo X version of the game; namely, they release a paid DLC pack shortly after the game’s release that brings trucks themed after Wario and Waluigi, as well as the Waluigi Stadium and Wario Colosseum courses from Mario Kart: Double Dash!!

Tecmo Rally ends up receiving generally positive reviews from critics, who laud the customization, modes, and the variety of trucks to choose from, but dismiss the actual gameplay as being too derivative of Excitebike and generally unremarkable, though still entertaining nonetheless. Tecmo Rally is accompanied by a large advertising campaign courtesy of Monster Jam, who advertise the game at many of their events and rallies in late 2005, up until the game’s release date. The large advertising campaign plus the multiplatform launch results in Tecmo Rally selling incredibly well, averaging out at around 6.6 million units in terms of overall sales. Broken down by platform, those sales amount to:

• Nintendo X - 1,922,145 units
• Apple iArcade - 1,752,053 units
• PlayStation 2 - 1,452,007 units
• Windows - 704,234 units
• macOS - 520,334 units
• Nintendo DS - 383,608 units
• PlayStation Portable - 102,897 units

While the Nintendo X version of Tecmo Rally sold the best, the Apple iArcade version managed to hold its own, mainly due to the lack of other games on the iArcade outside of the launch titles, as well as the iArcade’s version having enhanced graphics compared to the Nintendo X version, and especially the PlayStation 2 version. This multiplatform success isn’t ignored by Tecmo, who quickly begin thinking about balancing their support across all platforms, and which of their games they can port to other platforms as soon as possible…

Rareware announces Sister of the Battletoads at the Spike Video Game Awards

"With the success of Return of the Battletoads as a launch title for the Nintendo DS, the subject of a sequel became speculated about fans, and their answer has arrived sooner than they likely expected. At the Spike Video Game Awards, a trailer for Sister of the Battletoads was shown off, confirming that a sequel to Return of the Battletoads was in production and scheduled for release on the Nintendo DS in late 2006. The trailer shows Rash, Pimple, and Zitz discovering that they have a long-lost sister named Acne in an animated cinematic, with the four of them teaming up to defeat the Dark Queen once again, who has teamed up with a whale-like entity known as Leviathan that is capable of flying through space and eating whole stars. The trailer also showed off local co-op play, where up to four players can join in if each of them have Nintendo DS. The trailer also revealed that the game would have full voice acting, though we were unable to identify the voice actors of each character just yet. Overall, the Nintendo DS already had an impressive 2006 before with Mario Kart DS, Legionite, Halo Tactics, Mega Man 9, Tokyo Tale, and Devil May Cry: The Legend of Sparta, and now the addition of Sister of the Battletoads only increased the Nintendo DS' status as a must-have handheld."

Sony confirms that they have "no plans" to release a next-generation console in 2006; Sony and Toshiba reportedly in talks with NEC

"Earlier this year, it was reported on that development on Sony's next-generation console had come to a halt due to IBM's involvement in the Apple-IBM-Motorola (AIM) alliance, as IBM had been involved early on in assisting Sony and Toshiba with developing a next-generation console, but the partnership was broken off due to IBM's cooperation with Apple and Motorola on the Apple iArcade. Since then, Sony and Toshiba have reportedly been searching for a hardware developer to take IBM's place, as IBM was rumored to be assisting Sony and Toshiba in creating a custom CPU for Sony's next-generation console. However, with development of said console stalling for month, it seems as if plans have changed from creating custom components to using pre-existing ones, as Sony and Toshiba have allegedly been in talks with NEC to use components developed by them in place of the custom-developed ones. When asked for confirmation if the rumors of them cooperating with NEC was true, a Sony representative simply stated that Sony has "no plans" to release any new hardware in 2006, and that for the time being, it would continue supporting the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable, implying that the rumors about Sony's next-generation being delayed to 2007 are correct."