Genesis
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Metareview: Sega Genesis Collection
When we first announced that Sega Genesis Collection was heading to the PSP with nearly 30 games to play on, many of you nearly pissed in your pants. At only $30, the collection is quite a steal, especially compared to Virtual Console prices ($8 for one Genesis game). What did the critics think of this orgy of games? Gamespot (81/100) calls it a winner - "The Sega Genesis Collection is one of the most satisfying, well-put-together classic game compilations to date... Even if you were an avid fan of the Genesis back in its heyday, chances are you never got around to playing a number of these games, many of which are still quite fun and remarkably challenging even by today's standards." Modojo (80/100) also thinks it's great - "This is still a wondrous trip down memory lane, with loads of 16-bit titles to invest hours in all over again. It's almost enough to make you want to go to the flea market and hunt down a lumbering old Sega CD unit. Almost." Deeko (75/100) thinks there's great stuff in a sea of crap - "I'll freely admit that many of the games in the collection are pure garbage, but for the most part, you're getting a wide assortment of games that literally covers the entire Sega Genesis spectrum - with four full length role-playing games to really keep you busy being the creme de la creme!" There's a ton of compilations coming out, but to be honest, it seems like this one is the best of the bunch. Too bad it's missing Streets of Rage.
Genesis VC games don't work with GC controller? [update 1]
Cruising around the Wii game pages on Nintendo.com, we noticed something a little odd in the listed "Extra Game Features" for the Wii's Genesis Virtual Console games. While other virtual console games all list support for the GameCube controller (and the Wii remote in the case of NES and TurboGrafx-16 games) all the Genesis game pages insist that you "use the Classic Controller to play this game." This contradicts an interview with CVG where Nintendo said "all virtual console games can be played using the Classic Controller or Nintendo GameCube pads," but seems in line with a note in the Wii manual that says "some Virtual Console games can only be played with a Classic Controller."The Genesis seems an odd system to single out for a lack of GameCube controller support, since the system's three buttons would map relatively easily to the GameCube's B, A and X buttons. Personally, we don't relish the idea of spending $40 for two classic controllers just to get some multiplayer Toejam and Earl action going, but we will if we must.We've contacted Nintendo for confirmation on this matter and will update as soon as they get back to us.[Update 1: Since launch it has become apparent that Genesis games do work with the Gamecube controller and occasionally with the Wii remote as well. The Nintendo game info. pages have been updated with this information.][Thanks to the commenters on this post for pointing us to this story]
Sonic 2 prototype now playable
Known only as "drx," some mysterious mage has resurrected a Sonic the Hedgehog 2 prototype cart and promptly dumped it (for emulation). It's an early build of Sega's sequel that's more akin to the first game than to the final version of Sonic 2. Can you spot the differences? It's been suggested that this prototype is the same alpha build that was featured in several episodes of Nick Arcade. Another early build, often referred to as Sonic 2 Beta, was stolen from a toy show in New York back in '92. The cart was pirated and sold as a final version in parts of Asia and Brazil, despite only featuring four semi-playable levels.
3GATE intros 23-inch 2310W LCD, mimics Dell
Korea's own 3GATE has announced the upcoming availability of its 23-inch 2310W LCD, which boasts a 1,920 X 1,200 resolution, 400cd/m2 brightness, 700:1 contrast ratio, and a striking resemblance to Dell's own 2407WFP and (to a "smaller" extent) 3007WFP. Aside from sporting the thin, black bezel and v-shaped stand, 3GATE's rendition touts a "Genesis chip that enhances image quality," as well as a plethora of ports including VGA, a pair of DVI inputs, composite, component, S-Video, and audio in / out. Although we don't have any pricing details to share, it probably won't deviate too far from its oh-so-similar competitors when it hits shelves in November.[Via AVing]
Two new Sega Genesis Collection videos released
Seeing Alex Kidd was good and all, but now we're talking with new videos of Ecco the Dolphin and Columns that will be crammed into Sega Genesis Collection.I know there are a lot of young gamers around these days and some of you may not be old enough to have experienced the greatness of these two games. That's why I'm so excited Sega is releasing this collection of almost 30 Genesis games. It's kinda funny because Sega's old slogan - "Genesis does what Nintendon't" is so fitting. You see, Sega has put all their classic games onto one disc, while Nintendo forces gamers to buy all their NES games separately. For shame!
Poll: What classic games do you want on the Wii?
We're not so sure that this rumored list of 26 titles for the Wii's virtual console launch is accurate, even if it's supposedly from a "trustworthy source." But we figured this was as good a chance as any to start a discussion of what games readers are actually interested in playing on Nintendo's enormously backwards-compatible system. Continue reading for a quick little poll on which of the listed games Joystiq readers would buy. Your favorite's not listed? Name drop it in the comments.
MMO neophyte designs MMO by himself
Gavan H. Woolery isn't letting his inexperience with massively-multiplayer games stop him from designing one. The 24-year old computer programmer from California recently made public Genesis, a game that aims to be the "first truly dynamic massively-multiplayer online game." Woolery spent the last two years designing Genesis on his own, despite his admission that he has "never played a MMOG in my life."Though the game is still a work in progress, a video demo shows some impressively powerful yet intuitive world-creation tools being used. Creation is the focus of the game, in which characters will have "the power to create or destroy any aspect of your environment." Users will supply all the content in Project Genesis (a la Second Life) and users' actions will supposedly "reshape living conditions, political structures, economies, ecosystems, and all other aspects of the world," (a la Spore). A bit ambitious for one lone programmer? Perhaps. But since going public, Woolery says he's received support from hundreds of interested parties willing to help with the project. Whether or not it all comes together as planned, it's definitely something to keep an eye on.[Via Clickable Culture]
Sega does what Nintendon't on your PSP
If you're into classic games like me, you're probably eagerly awaiting the Nintendo Wii's Virtual Console feature so that you can play not only some Nintendo games, but some Genesis games as well. For those of you Sony fanboys that'll avoid the Wii like its a smelly grandmother, there's finally an alternative: Sega Genesis Collection, a compliation of nearly thirty Genesis games is heading to the PSP. The disc will not only come loaded with the games, but exclusive interviews and behind-the-scenes footage. PSP owners can rejoice in knowing that an exclusive wireless multiplayer mode is being created just for them. Maybe it'll even support Game Sharing? (I hope so!) Here's the list of games: Alex Kidd Altered Beast Bonanza Bros. Columns Comix Zone Decap Attack Ecco the Dolphin Ecco: The Tides of Time Ecco Jr. Eternal Champions Flicky Gain Ground Golden Axe Golden Axe II Golden Axe III Phantasy Star II Phantasy Star III Phantasy Star IV Ristar Shadow Dancer: Secret of Shinobi Shinobi III Sonic the Hedgehog Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Super Thunderblade Sword of Vermillion Vectorman Vectorman 2 Virtua Fighter 2 Whoa... out of breath just reading that list. Visit 1up to see details about all of these classics.
Earthworm Jim swirms back to the PSP
My my, it's been a long long time since we last saw Earthworm Jim. I was still a kid when the Earthworm Jim craze had reached its peak: some excellent games on the Genesis/SNES, a freaky cartoon on the WB, and some pretty weird action figures. The series' unique gross-out humor seems poised for a big comeback, as the PSP is getting an impressively beautiful continuation. IGN grabbed some screens from a recent Atari event and had some pretty positive impressions: The spacesuit-wearing worm has indeed return. More importantly, he's returned in proper form. The game plays very much like its 2D predecessors... What makes it special, though, lies strictly with how developer Shiny Entertainment mixes those elements to form something altogether groovy and unique.You'll be sure to see more of this game on the Fanboy, as it still has a long time left in development.
Samsung BD-P1000 shipping with picture-degrading chip
If you shelled out over $1,000 for Samsung's BD-P1000 Blu-ray player only to discover that the picture quality wasn't as impressive as you'd expected, fear not: it looks like a faulty-but-fixable chip may be responsible for the sub-par video. After noticing a "softness" in each of the titles he viewed with the P1000 -- especially compared to the performance of Toshiba's HD-A1 HD DVD player -- Perfect Vision editor Scott Wilkinson initiated a chain of events that has culminated with Samsung VP Jim Sanduski confirming that there is indeed a hardware problem with the initial rollout. Apparently, the machines have been leaving the factory with the Genesis scaler chip's noise-reduction circuit enabled, and after comparing a repaired unit to one out of the box, Wilkinson agrees that the fix does indeed result in a sharper picture. Future P1000's will be shipping with noise-reduction disabled, and luckily for current owners, Samsung will be releasing a firmware update that you can download, burn to disc, and pop into your player. So the lesson we've learned here is: early-adopters beware, because even though this problem has a relatively easy solution, next time you may not be so lucky.[Via HDBeat]
Rumor: Nintendo holding back more controllers
According to Dagbladet, Nintendo was hiding controllers from us all along! In addition to the zapper, Virtual Console gamepad, and different colored Wiimotes, Nintendo was showing replica Genesis, N64, SNES, TG16, and NES controllers that were compatible with the Wii behind closed doors during E3. This is a rumor at the moment, but honestly sounds like a good idea, that is if they have some sort of adapter available for the original controllers for these systems and don't make it mandatory for the consumer to purchase a new retro controller to be used for each system.What say you fine readers?[Via Gamers Reports]
Top 10 custom-built consoles
TechEBlog has assembled a list of the "Top 10 Strangest Custom Gaming Systems." It should come as no surprise that more than one of their selections was created by console hacker-extraordinaire Ben Heckendorn. In addition to variants of popular consoles like the NES and Genesis, the list includes portable versions of famous flops like Atari's Jaguar, and Sega's Genesis add-on, the SegaCD. We're hoping these aren't ranked in order 'cause that portable Colecovision totally houses that NESPlusSega monolith![Via VH1's new game blog, Game Break]
GDC Recap: Retro Revolution
The keyword that was bandied about during Satoru Iwata's speech at the Game Developer's Conference was "disruption". Through the DS, Mr. Iwata illustrated how Nintendo was disrupting the mechanistic game industry by creating new and unusual games, some which may not even have been considered as games if Nintendo hadn't pushed the idea that maybe, just maybe, exercising your brain was just as fun as exercising your trigger finger.Unfortunately for some (particularly us), the attention placed on Brain Training meant that not much information was revealed regarding that most secretive of next-generation consoles. Sure, Nintendo's strategy of unsettling the games industry is equally applicable to the Revolution, but what we really wanted was a few more cold, hard facts. Undoubtedly the biggest Revolution news (which we completely failed to predict) to emerge from the speech was Nintendo's announcement that the "best" Genesis and Turbo Grafx 16 games would be available on the Virtual Console service. What exactly "best" entails has yet to be seen, but we're fairly confident that we'll have once again the opportunity to wise fwom our gwaves.Iwata also implied that original content would likely be hitting the Virtual Console, possibly in the form of smaller games generated by independent developers. With plenty of retro power already backing it up, the service would truly enjoy the best of both worlds if it could obtain unique games on par with the Xbox 360's insanely addictive Geometry Wars. Let's just hope that the machine's 512MB storage capacity gets upgraded between now and E3, lest we constantly be switching SD cards in and out. It looks like we'll have to wait until E3 before we get any more substantial news on the Revolution front. And yes, that's still the console's name. For more coverage on Iwata's keynote, check out Chris Grant's ramblings over at Joystiq by clicking the "Read" link.
Virtual Console: Sega and Hudson games are a go!
Our trenchcoat-clad Joystiq informant, Christopher Grant is currently listening in on Satoru Iwata's GDC keynote and has informed us that Sega and Hudson have announced full support for the Revolution Virtual Console. To be more specific, the "best" titles from the Sega Genesis and the TurboGrafx will be available on the system's download service. Well, I guess that's not very specific at all. Regardless, I believe I speak for everyone when I say: Holy yes!More news (and a more fleshed out post) as soon as we get it.
Spoiler City: gallery of game endings
Game Revolution has an awesome gallery of classic 8-bit and 16-bit game endings. Don't remember how Sonic the Hedgehog ends? Never did finish Strider? There are a couple dozen videos on the site, all playable in flash. The majority of the games are all AAA classics like Super Metroid and The Revenge of Shinobi, with the obligatory Zero Wing entry, and the occasional Kid Chameleon. Where's the Final Fantasy endings?If you don't mind the absence of video, the Video Game Museum has a huge library of stills from tons o' games.
Sega licensed handheld and TV game
According to DCEmu, Asian Toy Source, makers of the PSPonTV device, sent out a press release stating, "we have finalized the official license from Sega to manufacture many Sega licenced TV game systems and a hand-held console (like Gameboy)." They say the plug & play TV game system will support 10 or 20 games, from a library of over 50. It is unclear through which process users will be able to select the games they want: "This means you can get the list and choose 10 or 20 games to put inside each game console. You can do less than 10 but the cost would be the same as 10 games. But for example, you can create a Sega Sports game system just for sports games, or a Sega Sonic game system just for Sonic games...however remember the price stays the same for 1 up to 10 games."There's a handheld also! "We are developing a Sega hand held system also (like Gameboy), which will contain 20 games of your choice and have a high quality 2.5 inch LCD screen. For an additional cost, we can create a cartridge based version as well, so you can have 20 games inside plus sell multi-game cartridges also."Again, how will users be able to select these twenty games? Atari's Flashback units have proven to be big sellers, offering people all the nostalgic gaming they can handle for $30. Sega apparently hopes to emulate their succes. Does their newfound interest in capitalizing on their back catalogue of games bode well for inclusion in Nintendo's virtual console?[Thanks, craig]
