8/25/01 - WSB2K2 and the August Issue of PSM?
- by digitaltaco
Welcome to the latest edition of the PlanetDreamcast Mailbag. As usual, I read the letters you send and respond to them with a little bit of "the funny" and and a bit of "the knowledge." Then they get posted here for you too read. And as always, if you want to be a part of it all, send letters to this address. So without further adieu, I present to you, the PlanetDreamcast Mailbag...
From: IceGreg
Subject: Outtrigger with Broadband Adapter
Hello, everybody
I have the Broadband Adapter with my Dreamcast
I can not connect to the Online of Outtrigger
My connection ADSL is PPoE so I think it's the problem
Can you explain me what to do, please, to play online with Outtrigger ?
Thank you
I hate to break it to you, but you nailed it yourself... Though it's true that Outtrigger supports the Sega Broadband Adapter, it is incompatible with PPPoE connections. So though I hate to say it, you are out of luck.
Sometimes screaming helps me vent my anger... Or punching a pillow... or my roommate.
From: John Wood
Subject: sega net
im a loyal dreamcast owner, but im beggining to hate sega with a burning passion. Im psyched for ncaa football 2k2 and nba and nfl2k2, and some of the other games coming out like shenmue 2 and pso version2. but im getting fed up with sega net. what 56k modem?? i connect at a steady 33.6, which is barely playable with nba2k1. lag changes the entire game engine, i have to time everything half a second before i do it, which isnt that much of a problem, because the games are still pretty fun if not as fun as playing with 3 friends in a 2 on 2 match of lakers-sixers. But i cant complete the games without the other player dropping. Not quitting mind you, just dropping. You know, when the game slows down to a halt and the black screen pops up and says lost connection with opponent or whatever. I havent finished a game because of issues like that in a while. And whats the freakin deal with 19 players being online. are there only 19 people playing this game in the entire U.S. right now?? especially since i cant get one of them with a great connection. Sega of America deserves to be bombed for wasting my money on a system that had potential as seen with a few great games, and just dropping it like yesterdays diapers. I had faith in sega and now im gonna sell all my dreamcast games to buy a ps2. Damn i hate those bastards at sega. Thanks for listening to me bitch, especially since im sure youve had tons of emails like this. see ya
Though I don't really share the anger you seem to have with Sega, I can understand why consumers such as yourself have been so disappointed with Sega and the Dreamcast. If you play games with a dial-up modem, you will no doubt encounter lag. That is the plain and simple fact. But the fact that the Dreamcast supported online gaming in the first place is very revolutionary in terms of console gaming. And while it may not have been executed as well as we would have liked, hopefully the other console makers will learn from Sega's mistakes. Then maybe the future of online console gaming will be a bit brighter.
And I don't really think Sega abandoned the Dreamcast because they wanted to... Speaking financially, it was either ditch the Dreamcast, or file for bankruptcy. And in my opinion, it's better to have Sega games on alternate consoles than to not have them at all... But then again, that's only my opinion. You may still want to bomb them...
From: Fox5
Subject: What will happen to Dreamcast games?
After reading the Dead or Alive article at your site, it got me thinking about where the Dreamcast games will go in stores with shelves already crowded, and soon have to make room for two more systems. When I walk into the local Electronics Boutique, on the right I see the sales counter and gameboy games, on the left I see computer games in the middle, sharing a shelf with computer hardware are n64 games, on the back right are playstation games, and in the back is a small section of dreamcast games, with scattered playstation and n64 games. Now, with two new systems coming out, where do the Dreamcast games go? Will they end up like the saturn did and the n64 is, and be put in bargain piles just trying to clear out inventory, or will they just completely disappear from shelves, thrown in the garbage behind the store or shipped back to the head office, possibly sold at rock bottom prices to discount stores? Whatever happens, I don't think people will see Dreamcast games on the shelves much longer.
Dreamcast is getting less and less shelf space at stores everyday. More and more retailers seem to pulling or clearancing their Dreamcast stock to make space for PS2 or the newer consoles. Stores like Electronics Boutique and Software Etc. will probably carry the Dreamcast software until the bitter end, but the simple fact is that the Dreamcast is nearly gone. After Shenmue II, we will see very few releases on our beloved console. And the new systems will require shelf space. The Nintendo 64 has seen its shelf space cut dramatically in the past few months and like the Dreamcast, it too will be phased out to make room for new software. It's a vicious circle, but at least new game systems will come to fill the void.
From: KeN
Subject: Question
What made the Dreamcast unique is that fact that they had a minal 3rd party support, good enough to release soul calibur, dead or alive and so on. The PS2 has too many 3rd party support that they're flooded with games. If only some of the games had been release, like Soul Reaver 2, Half Life, Black and White, and so on, then the dreamcast would had a stable amount of 3rd party support. Not too much though, cause they're be the system would be flooded with bad games. Why can't company just release them? I mean, there's dreamcaster that demand new dreamcast games, this is a perfect time to make money. Release it on the playstation along side the many other must own release games. They will only make a width of a profit. Unfortunatly, these company are just stupid, and wont' take chance. Sega always took chances. Hell if Sega is gonna support Sony, then why couldn't Sony release just one of thier best games on the DC just to show that good relation between the company. If Sony did that, i would buy a PS2 for sure.
Well, just because a publisher decides to release a game, it doesn't mean that that particular title will make the company any profit. In light of the current Dreamcast situation, it is simply not financially profitable for a third party to develop, press, or release software for the Dreamcast. This is especially true if the same game could be tweaked and released for another console like the Playstation 2. A release for that console almost guarantees a company a larger profit. So though it may suck hardcore, companies are concerned more with profit then pleasing we gamers. And that's why those last few third-party releases have been either canned or delayed indefinitely.
From: Chris Teel
Subject: Sega Smashpack
I just recently got a Dreamcast, and one of the first games
I decided to pick up was the Sega Smashpack. With the
exception of the poor music emulation, it's a pretty great
package... But it says Volume One... Does Sega have any
plans for a Smashpack Vol. 2??? There are so many games
that would be worth putting on a second volume, the most
important being the eternal classic Toejam and Earl!!!!! My
friends and I would spend entire weekends playing that game,
switching off to get some food/sleep/whatever. I'd love to
have access to that game again, along with some others I
missed, like Shining Force 2 (Which always irked me, cause I
love SF1 so much) and Phantasy Star 3.
Actually, Sega has already released Sega Smashpack Volume 2. Unfortunately, it was released for the PC. It contains the following titles: Comix Zone, Flicky, Kid Chameleon, Sega Swirl, Shining Force, Super Hang-On, Sonic The Hedgehog 2, and Vectorman 2. I wouldn't plan on a Dreamcast release, though. So if it interests you, head to your local retailers and look for the PC release.
From: [email protected]
Subject: Just received the August issue of PSM!
....wait a minute. I don't subscribe to Playstation Magazine.
I Don't even own a Playstation. It says here the remaining issues of my ODCM subscription are being filled
with PSM. No option to take a refund. Just take this and be happy about it. Thanks guys.
And what's this on page three & four, a two full page ad for Soul Reaver 2
for the Playstation. That's nice. But, on the bright side, my subscription is good until May 2003!
That's the strangest thing I've heard of in quite some time! Well, maybe that's reason enough to buy a Playstation 2?
...nah. Probably not.
From: John Reuter
Subject: MSR
UMM I'm just wondering how you gave MSR a 7 then in your dead or alive editorial you call it a classic.
That's because the person who wrote the "Dead or Alive?" editorial, RaptoR, did not write the MSR Review. That piece was done by Zerothreat. Though we all work together on the same site, we havve different opinions on which games are good and which games aren't. Had I been assigned to review MSR, I probably would have given it an 8 or 9. While I don't think it's a classic, I think it's a very, very, good racing game. And most of the flaws mention in the review are outweighed by the good features in the game. So while we post articles written by many different people here, the ideas and beliefs in each article are not necessarily shared by the other writers. I hope that clears some things up.
From: Emmett & Noriko
Subject: WSB2K2 Review
The review of WSB2K2 was a pretty well thought out and informative one. It pointed out everything that is right and wrong with the game. And even though I would have scored the game in the 7.5/8.0 range, I thought the review was accurate and a pretty good barometer of what the game holds. But I have one question.... DID Visual Concepts make this game? I know they are in the credits and their logo is prominent thoughout the game and the packaging, but every other thing about the game in no way resembles a VC effort. Not in the least. I've read in a few places where VC was involved in some minimal way, but Exile and Blue Shift actually handled the bulk of the game. If this is true, it would make more sense. You don't go from the stellar products such as NFL2K1/2 and NBA2K1/2 to WSB2K2. I do like the game but something ain't right. I'm suspicious enough to think that since the Dreamcast is on its way out, game developement resources have been allocated else where. That sure seems like the truth to me.
Thanks for the vine.
Bubba4
Though I don't have a definitive answer to your question, I wouldn't doubt that your thinking isn't at least somewhat correct. I myself don't play very many (read: any) sports games, and as such, am not a very good judge of which games are and are not good. But as you can tell from our review, the people who do play sports titles, like our reviewer Josh from SportsPlanet, seem to have a number of prblems with the game. I just think it's unfortunate that the last baseball outing on the Dreamcast wasn't as solid as it should have been. But, then again, their are some people who feel differently...
From: Todd Windes
Subject: WSB2K2
Nice review, but you to stop smoking crack. This baseball game is one of the best out there on any console as my friends agree. The graphics are tight, the play smooth etc. Yeah there are some gripes (can't adjust batter in box, can't control bunts, no homerun length meter, (can't chat online, the worst one!)) I agree, but not enough to make this a 6.5 game. No way hell buddy. 2words...Online baseball. 2K3 should be awesome... on the xbox:) VC has got a good foundation to build from.
Sincerely,
32 year video game addict.
Well, I'm glad you liked the review, 32 year old game addict. But, it sounds as if you were being sarcastic... Oh wait, now I'm being sarcastic.... Hmm, what should be done about this. I supposed we should ask your friends since they seem to be some kind of a physical gathering of intellect and opinion. Or we could just drop the whole thing and get back to playing the games that we enjoy. WSB 2K2 for you, and Soul Calibur for me...
That's it for this Mailbag. We'll see you next week! And remember, you can send all your questions and hate-mail to this address.
Until next time!
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