Saturn vs N64. Quake used for comparisons.

The curmudgeongamer has an excellent shootout between the Saturn and the N64. Having just bought Quake for the Saturn (mainly because it is one of the few games to utilize both CPUs' well) this article is pretty honest and true. This is perhaps the best console comparison I have seen to date.



EDIT: The site like the saturn has fallen to vapour demon. But you can read the article on the wayback machine here https://web.archive.org/web/20071011222718/http://curmudgeongamer.com/article.php?story=20021222175001808

More Mad World Screenshots.

clipped from www.computerandvideogames.com Infinite Line concept art Infinite Line concept art Infinite Line concept art Infinite Line concept art MadWorld screenshot MadWorld screenshot Bayonette screenshot Bayonette screenshot Bayonette screenshot Bayonette screenshot Bayonette screenshot

Sega Posts Losses, Announces Publishing Deal with PlatinumGames

From the game reviewer.

As reported by Game Daily, Sega Sammy posted major annual losses on Tuesday. The holdings company, which is comprised both of videogame publisher Sega and pachinko manufacturer Sammy, saw a fall in sales from 528.24 billion yen ($5.04 billion) to 458.98 billion yen ($4.38 billion) during the course of the 2007 fiscal year, which resulted in a net loss of 52.47 billion yen ($501 million) as opposed to the net profit of 43.46 billion yen ($415 million) from the previous year.

Sega Sammy cited rising fuel prices and the increasing availability of the current generation of consoles as the primary reasons for pachinko and arcade divisions losses. Though the games division’s sales were up, the Japanese region posted losses. The company is currently projecting sales of 470 billion yen ($4.48 billion) for a net profit of 5 billion yen ($47.4 million) for the 2008 fiscal year, but Sega Sammy is cutting costs in the meantime, as the entertainment group will cut around 400 jobs and close about 110 facilities.

News was not all bad from Sega this week, however. None of this financial woe is currently expected to have any effect on any of the games under development. On Thursday, Sega announced a publishing deal with PlatinumGames Inc., formerly known as SEEDS Inc., which was founded by a number of key figures from Capcom’s erstwhile development studio Clover. The deal involves the development of four titles by PlatinumGames, though details were only available for three of the upcoming games.

First is MADWORLD, directed by Shigenori Nishikawa. Sega describes the game as “an inventive hyper-violent third-person action game” and given the stylized graphical style and mostly monochromatic color scheme copiously splashed with blood, one can’t help but think of Frank Miller when looking at it. Though the game is Nishikawa’s directorial debut, his previous credits include Dino Crisis 2, Resident Evil for the Gamecube and Resident Evil 4.

Sega also announced Bayonetta, directed by Hideki Kamiya, whose previous directorial efforts include such titles as Devil May Cry, Viewtiful Joe and Okami. Bayonetta represents Kamiya’s most recent effort to “push… the limits of the action genre.” While little is known about the game’s mechanics at this point, few directors have proven themselves as well-suited to the task as Kamiya.

The third and final game Sega named was Infinite Line (working title), directed by Hifumi Kouno, who previously worked on series such as the survival-horror Clock Tower and the mech nerd’s wet dream Steel Battalion. Again refusing to be relegated to a specific genre, Kouno’s Infinite Line is a sci-fi RPG that features 200 characters and control of a fleet of highly customizable spaceships.

The fourth game in the deal has not yet been named, though Sega revealed that it would be directed by Shinji Mikami, whose works include Resident Evil 4 as a director and Devil May Cry and Killer 7 as a producer.

Most of these games currently have a release target of 2009, but we’re already pretty excited about the sort of games this well-qualified collection of developers could create. It could certainly be a much needed shot in the arm for Sega, even if it will likely come too late for the 2008 fiscal year. Either way, thanks to this deal, gamers have a lot to look forward to, and we’ll keep continue to report on these titles as more information is released.

Wii Masacre: Sin City Meets The Wii.

The Nintendo Wii has a bit of a “goody-two-shoes” image. Many Wii games are multiplayer and usually involve some kind of play which is also even good for players. The game MadWorld is going to break this tradition, with its spraying blood and roaring chainsaws. The game is in black and white, giving it a comic book feel. That is except for the bright red blood. Which developer decided to pain the town red? The answer may be surprising, as the game was developed by no less than Sega (in cooperation with Platinum Games). If everything runs to schedule the game should be out towards the beginning of next year. Child protection groups will be looking at the game before that though.








A quick look at the screen is enough to tell you that this game will not get a rating suitable for children. According to rumours the game will include a whole arsenal of weapons with which the players can fight the enemies. A new feature is the football-like commentary which will accompany the fights. One thing that will be exciting to see is how the Nintendo’s unique control system will be applied to MadWorld.

clipped from www.nwiizone.com These are some new Artwork images of the Nintendo Wii game Mad World

Download Hundereds Of Mega Drive Games

I'm not sure about the ethics of it but if you want a 16 bit hit,
segaabonware.com has hundereds of Mega Drive games ready to download.
I am not too sure about the ethics of it but it has been going for a while and no signs of the SEGA five-oh shutting it down.

An interesting note is that the .exe you download installs fusion (a MD emulator), the game rom and a shortcut pionting to it on your desktop. Simple eh?

clipped from www.segabandonware.com Aladdin Lion King Streets of Rage 3 Sonic and Knuckles Mickey Mouse World of Illusion Contra_Hard_Corps Terminator 2 Judgement Day

World Destrution Screenshots

clipped from au.media.ds.ign.com

SEGA to make new RPG for DS: World Destruction

SEGA have announced that they will be making a new RPG titled World Destruction. A new twist on the game will be instead of saving the world, you will be destroying it. Kyrie, a World Destruction Committee member, has the power to destroy the world.

To help aid in you buying the game, Image Epoch have recruited the talents responsible for games such as: Xenogears, shadow hearts, ninja gaiden, chrono trigger and grandia. So it is fair to say it will rock.

The world will be presented by 2D sprites on a 3D background. And will no doubt be the best example of 2D graphics to date. Rumour has it that some of the largest monsters will span both screens. Which can be defeated using the tried-and-true turn based system.

This is a real breath of fresh air for the DS which for a while has been feeling a little overshadowed by the PSP.

Bad news is that although the game is near completion, there is no sign of a US or PAL release. Yes folks we may have to start learning Japanese.

More news as I find it.

UPDATE: N4G.com has 3 page scans showing game screens. GO ON CLICK!

News

Ok the blog is back and this time it is in full swing. I will be adding categories, a regular update schedule and some and interesting and original new articles.

The blog will now be focused around sega related news and articles that would interest a serious sega fan.

So stay tuned I promise I will be doing work.

PS sega or SEGA?

Scott Steinberg slashes Wii. Scott Steinberg for president!

Scott Steinberg slashes Wii. Scott Steinberg for president!

“I am a little concerned about the creative depth of the Wii pool,” Steinberg said in an interview. “I’m not sure if they will top out in 2008 or 2007.”

“The Wii will start to look really dated in a couple years when developers get more value from the 360 and learn more and more about the PlayStation 3,”

Ok so the Wii might lack some longevity. I think it may be a valid point seeing that once the novelty factor of the Wiimote wears off there may not be much left to compete with the raw power of the 360 or PS3. Although a valid point, I seem to disagree. But my opinion doesn't matter to anyone, Steinberg does until:

“Sega has been behind the Wii since day one,” he told GameSpot in a statement. “If we don’t realize its true potential, we will have missed a great opportunity to expand creatively and that is what I was cautioning against in the Reuters interview. I’m not just putting the responsibility of innovation on Nintendo. It’s on Sega and all the publishers and developers as well to carry that flag.”

Whoa what? Seems that if a few fans get annoyed Sega will backtrack and put the most bueatiful spin on things. Maybe my opinion does matter. This guy should run for president.

Freeze SMS - An Awesome Emulator

Believe me, I have tried a few emulators in my time, and freezesms is one that never gets deleted off my system and is always abused. One feature that puts it above the rest is .frz files. These awesome things allow you to view information, screen shots, pictures of the packaging, and cheat codes to the ROM in you library. This emulator is essential for any Sega retro die hard.

powered by performancing firefox

OK So it has been a while..... again.

I think I might start SEGAFTW again. Mainly because gamers cult will be so much more work.

Games that that the Wi should steal from the Dreamcast.

It On thing I like about this post is the picture of the dreamcast and Wii side by side. The DC is still a looker after all these years.

Mario is the antichrist

I always knew that Mario was a shady chracter and here is six reasons why.

New Shooter for the Dreamcast

Redspot games has released a new SHUMP for the Dreamcast. Here's an interview.

So this is what I think

After a few months of playing around with this blog. I think I might change a few things.
One would be to change the title to Retro FTW so to cover all things Old school (32 bit and earlier). This would contain the following categories:

News
How to
Emulation
Rant
and finally Reviews.

Alternatively I might intergrate this into a another WIP blog called gamerscult.
We will see.

Ready for the next gen? Sega will show you the way...

Ferrago have posted a neat little article about the upcoming title: SEGA revo.

Deformable terrian for each pixel? Well maybe not but at least it is a step closer.

Sega, Lineup At 2006 Gamers convention.

E3 Has been and gone. So Sega try and amplify thier sucess at the Gamers Convention held in leizpeg. The convection fetured Medieval 2, Sonic and Vitua Tennis on the Xbox 360, and The newly renamed Sonic and the Secret Rings for the Wii.

Although I'm looking foward to seeing most of these games. The one that really stands out would have to be Medieval 2: Total War.

Of course once the next-gen is fully under way, Sonic will become the largest thing since Yu-Gi-Oh! and Pokemon

Another mention is that the public will get to meet Yakuza. A great addtion to a already great line-up of games.

PS Sonic will be the biggest thing once more. I promise.

UPDATE: The full line-up at GC

• Medieval II: Total War (PC)
• Sonic The Hedgehog (Xbox 360, PS3)*
• Sonic and the Secret Rings (Nintendo Wii)*
• Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz (Nintendo Wii)*
• Virtua Tennis 3 (Xbox 360, PS3)*
• SEGA Rally (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)*
• Yakuza (PS2)
• Phantasy Star Universe (PS2, PC, Xbox 360)
• Full Auto 2: Battlelines (PS3)*
• Charlotte's Web (PC, GBA, Nintendo DS)
• Sonic Rivals (PSP)

Sega Announces First Coin-Op Video Game Title on New Online Platform, ALL.Net

From biz.yahoo.com : '' Designed as a platform for online entertainment services, ALL.Net empowers players to compete in massive multiplayer tournaments. The SEGA product, Extreme Hunting 2 -- Tournament Edition(TM) is the first title offered for the platform and is quickly making its way across bars, arcades and family entertainment centers''

Does This mean the possibilties of playing Virtua Tennis and Vrtua Fighter online? If so. then it might help with that finacial trouble Segasammy is in. Not to metion being absolutly fun.

PS. Whipping powerslides in a 20+ multiplayer game of outrun would totally own.

Metal Gear Solid Features Sonic The Hedgehog!!

Well Not really. But you can hear the classic sonic "ra-RING'' sound in the backgroud that sounds strangely familar.

Snake Rattle n' Roll Written by: Raja Published: 7:00 PM - 29 Sep 04

Snake Rattle n’ Roll on the MegaDrive isn’t an easy game to find. After falling in love with the NES version of the game I decided to try and find this version of the game, it took a while but I finally got it (from the UK). So how does this port of the game stack up now that it’s on a 16-bit machine? Read on to find out. Of course the first change you will notice is that the graphics have had a going over. Everything still looks the same, just now with more colours and more detailing. Gone are the bright blue spikes in almost every level, well actually they are still there, they have just been redrawn to fit into each environment a little easier. In the first level for example they are rather sharp looking trees. Most levels do look improved from the NES original, but a couple do look slightly worse such as level 5 which now features gaudy horrible yellow and brown colours. The MegaDrive version of the game doesn’t have the little bit of flickering that sometimes happens on the tops and bottoms of the screen sometimes in the NES version, but it does have some lovely borders. These look a lot bigger in the earlier levels when they are coloured, but are much less noticeable when they are black later on. The sound has also been redone for this game which is a real shame. The NES version had some of the best game music I have ever heard with swinging tunes on the first levels and some deep and dark tunes coming in for level 6. Sure they were repeated a couple of times throughout the game, but they were so good you would hardly complain. Well it’s all been thrown out of the window here as the MegaDrive version of the game has an all new soundtrack. A couple of the tunes sound pretty good, but mostly they are boring and generic which certainly doesn’t fit with the quirky nature of the game. The sound effects for the most part have a lot more depth than the NES version, but one or two of them, such as triggering a warp really hurt my ears! For anyone that hasn’t played the game before, you need to get to the moon. No one knows why, but there’s plenty in your way to stop you (and a friend if you have an extra controller) from achieving your goal. You have to jump on and/or lick with your tongue big feet, nibbly pibblies and even toilet seats to get to the end of the levels. It gets weirder, you can’t exit the level unless you have put on enough weight to trigger the scales and open the door. Controlling your sneaky snakes still takes some getting used to (unless you’re used to the NES version) and you’re sure to fall off a good many cliffs before you get the hang of things. Once you get used to playing in isometric though, you’ll never have to think about what your doing again as the controls are still sharp and responsive. Anyone familiar with the original version will know that it was a bloody tough game even by NES standards. To put this into perspective, myself and many other gamers have been playing the game for years and still haven’t beaten it. This version is easier. It’s not noticeable until things start getting tough (level 7) though as the early stages in the game are virtually unchanged (apart from a missing anti-power-up in level 5). Come the end of level 7 though and one of the toughest jumps in gaming history has been seriously dumbed down. Even after years of practice I still lose a few lives at this point every time on the NES. Anyone that has played the NES game extensively will soon notice a good amount of other differences too, although I won’t spoil your fun and point them all out. The games still wicked fun to play and a decent enough challenge but I can’t figure out if making the game easier is a good thing or not. The difficulty of the NES version is one of the things that made the game stand out. People were on the edge of their seat just watching me whizz through the simply insane levels yet alone dropping the controller in awe of what they need to do when playing themselves. The difficulty is what made the game so addictive to long time players. It took a huge amount of practice to get near the end of the game. Sure it was frustrating at times, but ultimately satisfying. Then again, this version is easier to pick up and play without long term commitment. It’s bittersweet really. I just think I won’t play this version in long doses in fear of a sharp dose of reality when I plug my NES back in. Publisher: SEGA Players: 2 Developer: Rare Genre: Platform Pros: It’s still a fantastic game which supports co-operative play with two players. Cons: The music can’t touch the NES version. Final verdict: I still consider the NES version to be the definitive copy of this game and it’s definitely more impressive for the hardware it’s on. However this is still a fantastic game that comes highly recommended to anyone after an original game, Rare fans or hardcore fans of the original. 88%