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Sega Dreamcast

Posted by kayrayorulmazyorulmaz on April 29, 2015
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Dreamcast

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dreamcast
Dreamcast logo.svg
Dreamcast-Console-Set.jpg

North American Dreamcast with controller and VMU
Manufacturer Sega
Type Home video game console
Generation Sixth generation
Release date
  • JP November 27, 1998
  • NA September 9, 1999
  • EU October 14, 1999
  • AUS November 30, 1999
Discontinued March 31, 2001
Units sold 10.6 million
Media CD, Mini CD, 1 GB GD-ROM
CPU Hitachi SH-4 32-bit RISCclocked at 200 MHz
Memory RAM 16 MB, GPU 8 MB
Storage 128 Kbyte VMU
Display
Graphics 100 MHz PowerVR2 (integrated with the system’s ASIC)
Online services SegaNet / Dreamarena
Predecessor Sega Saturn

The Dreamcast (Japanese: ドリームキャスト Hepburn: Dorīmukyasuto?) is a home video game console that was released by Sega on November 27, 1998 in Japan, September 9, 1999 in North America, and October 14, 1999 in Europe. It was the first entry in the sixth generation of video game consoles, preceding the PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube. The Dreamcast is Sega’s last home console to date, with no successor released since its discontinuation.

In contrast to the expensive hardware of the unsuccessful Sega Saturn, the Dreamcast was designed to reduce costs with “off the shelf” components, including a Hitachi SH-4 CPU and an NEC PowerVR2 GPU. Initially released in Japan to a subdued reception, the Dreamcast enjoyed a highly successful U.S. launch backed by a large marketing campaign, but interest in the system steadily declined as Sony built hype for the upcoming PlayStation 2. Sales did not meet Sega’s expectations despite several price cuts, and the company continued to incur significant financial losses. After a change in leadership, Sega discontinued the Dreamcast on March 31, 2001, withdrawing from the console business and restructuring itself as a third-party publisher. 10.6 million Dreamcast units were sold worldwide.

Although the system experienced a short lifespan and limited third-party support, reviewers have considered the Dreamcast ahead of its time. Its game library contains many titles considered creative and innovative, including Crazy Taxi, Jet Set Radioand Shenmue, as well as high-quality ports from Sega’s NAOMI arcade system board. The Dreamcast was also the first console to include a built-in modem for Internet support and online play.

History[edit]

Background[edit]

Released in 1988, the Sega Genesis (known as the Sega Mega Drive in Europe and Japan) was Sega’s entry into the fourth generation of video game consoles.[1] With 40 million consoles sold, Sega sold only 9 million fewer consoles than its main competitor, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.[2] The successor to the Genesis, the Sega Saturn, was released in Japan in 1994.[3] The Saturn was a CD-ROM-based console that displayed both 2D and 3D computer graphics, but its complex dual-CPU architecture made it more difficult to program for than its chief competitor, the Sony PlayStation.[4] Although the Saturn debuted before the PlayStation in both Japan and the United States,[5][6] its surprise U.S. launch—which came four months earlier than originally scheduled[7][8][9]—was marred by a lack of distribution, which remained a continuing problem for the system.[10]Moreover, Sega’s early release was undermined by Sony’s simultaneous announcement that the PlayStation would retail for US$299—compared to the Saturn’s initial price of $399.[8][9][11] Nintendo‘s long delay in releasing a competing 3D console and the damage done to Sega’s reputation by poorly supported add-ons for the Genesis (particularly the Sega 32X) allowed Sony to establish a foothold in the market.[5][12] The PlayStation was immediately successful in the U.S., in part due to a massive advertising campaign and strong third-party support engendered by Sony’s excellent development tools and liberal $10 licensing fee.[9][13] Sony’s success was further aided by a price war in which Sega lowered the price of the Saturn from $399 to $299 and then from $299 to $199 in order to match the price of the PlayStation–even though Saturn hardware was more expensive to manufacture and the PlayStation enjoyed a larger software library.[5][11][14] Losses on the Saturn hardware[14] contributed to Sega’s financial problems, which saw the company’s revenue decline between 1992 and 1995 as part of an industry-wide slowdown. Furthermore, Sega’s focus on the Saturn over the Genesis prevented it from fully capitalizing on the continued strength of the 16-bit market.[5][11][15]

Due to long-standing disagreements with Sega of Japan,[16][17] Sega of America CEO Tom Kalinske became less interested in his position.[18] On July 16, 1996 Sega announced that Shoichiro Irimajiri had been appointed chairman and CEO of Sega of America, while Kalinske would be leaving Sega after September 30 of that year.[18][19][20]Sega also announced that Sega Enterprises cofounder[21] David Rosen and Sega of Japan CEO Hayao Nakayama had resigned from their positions as chairman and co-chairman of Sega of America, though both men remained with the company.[18][19] Bernie Stolar, a former executive at Sony Computer Entertainment of America,[22][23] was named Sega of America’s executive vice president in charge of product development and third-party relations.[19][20] Stolar did not support the Saturn due to his belief that the hardware was poorly designed and publicly announced at E3 1997 that “The Saturn is not our future.”[17] After the launch of the Nintendo 64, sales of the Saturn and Sega’s 32-bit software were sharply reduced. As of August 1997, Sony controlled 47 percent of the console market, Nintendo controlled 40 percent, and Sega controlled only 12 percent. Neither price cuts nor high-profile games were proving helpful to the Saturn’s success.[23] Due to the Saturn’s poor performance in North America, Sega of America laid off 60 of its 200 employees in the fall of 1997.[24]

“I thought the Saturn was a mistake as far as hardware was concerned. The games were obviously terrific, but the hardware just wasn’t there.”

—Bernie Stolar, former president of Sega of America giving his assessment of the Saturn in 2009.[17]

As a result of the company’s deteriorating financial situation, Nakayama resigned as president of Sega in January 1998 in favor of Irimajiri.[24] Stolar would subsequently accede to president of Sega of America.[23][25]Following five years of generally declining profits,[26] in the fiscal year ending March 31, 1998 Sega suffered its first parent and consolidated financial losses since its 1988 listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.[27] Due to a 54.8% decline in consumer product sales (including a 75.4% decline overseas), the company reported a consolidated net loss of ¥35.6 billion (US$269.8 million).[26] Shortly before announcing its financial losses, Sega revealed that it was discontinuing the Saturn in North America, with the goal of preparing for the launch of its successor.[23][24] This decision effectively left the Western market without Sega games for over one year.[4] Rumors about the upcoming Dreamcast—spread mainly by Sega itself—leaked to the public before the last Saturn games were released.[28]

Development[edit]

As early as 1995, reports surfaced that Sega would collaborate with Lockheed Martin, The 3DO Company, Matsushita, or Alliance Semiconductor to create a new graphics processing unit, which conflicting accounts said would be used for a 64-bit “Saturn 2” or an add-on peripheral.[29][30][31] Development of the Dreamcast was wholly unrelated to this rumored project.[30][32] In light of the Saturn’s poor market performance, Irimajiri decided to start looking outside of the company’s internal hardware development division to create a new console.[32] In 1997, Irimajiri enlisted the services of Tatsuo Yamamoto from International Business Machines to lead an 11-man team to work on a secret hardware project in the United States, which was referred to as “Blackbelt”. Accounts vary on how an internal team led by Hideki Sato also began development on Dreamcast hardware; one account specifies that Sega of Japan tasked both teams,[33] while another suggests that Sato was bothered by Irimajiri’s choice to begin development externally and chose to have his hardware team begin development.[32][34] Sato and his group chose the Hitachi SH-4 processor architecture and the VideoLogic PowerVR2 graphics processor, manufactured by NEC, in the production of their mainboard. Initially known as “Whitebelt”,[32] this project was later codenamed “Dural”, after the metallic female fighter from Sega’s Virtua Fighter series.[28][33]

Yamamoto’s group opted to use 3dfx Voodoo 2 and Voodoo Banshee graphics processors alongside a Motorola PowerPC 603e central processing unit (CPU),[32] but Sega management later asked them to also use the SH-4 chip.[33] Both processors have been described as “off the shelf” components.[32] In 1997, 3dfx began its IPO, and as a result of legal obligations unveiled its contracts with Sega, including the development of the new console.[35] This angered Sega of Japan executives, who eventually decided to use the Dural chipset and cut ties with 3dfx. According to former Sega of America vice president of communications and former NEC brand manager Charles Bellfield, presentations of games using the NEC solution showcased the performance and low cost delivered by the SH-4 and PowerVR architecture. He further stated that “Sega’s relationship with NEC, a Japanese company, probably made a difference [in Sega’s decision to adopt the Japanese team’s design] too.”[33] Stolar, on the other hand, “felt the US version, the 3Dfx version, should have been used. Japan wanted the Japanese version, and Japan won.”[33] As a result, 3dfx filed a lawsuit against both Sega and NEC claiming breach of contract, which would eventually be settled out of court.[32] The choice to use the PowerVR architecture concerned Electronic Arts (EA), a longtime developer for Sega’s consoles. EA had invested in 3dfx but was unfamiliar with the selected architecture, which was reportedly less powerful.[33] As recounted by Shiro Hagiwara (a general manager at Sega’s hardware division) and Ian Oliver (the managing director of Sega subsidiary Cross Products), the SH-4 was chosen while it was still in development and following a lengthy deliberation process because it was the only available processor that “could adapt to deliver the 3D geometry calculation performance necessary.”[36] By February 1998, Sega had renamed the Dural “Katana” (after the Japanese sword[28]), although certain hardware specifications such as random access memory (RAM) were not yet finalized.[37]

Knowing that the Sega Saturn had been set back by its high production costs and complex hardware, Sega took a different approach with the Dreamcast. Like previous Sega consoles, the Dreamcast was designed around intelligent subsystems working in parallel with one another,[36] but the selections of hardware were more in line with what was common in personal computers than video game consoles, reducing the system’s cost.[32] According to Damien McFerran, “the motherboard was a masterpiece of clean, uncluttered design and compatibility.”[32] Chinese economist and future Sega.com CEO Brad Huang convinced Sega chairman Isao Okawa to include a modem with every Dreamcast despite significant opposition from Okawa’s staff over the additional $15 cost per unit.[21][38][39] To account for rapid changes in home data delivery, Sega designed the Dreamcast’s modem to be modular.[36] Sega selected the GD-ROM media format for the system.[40] The GD-ROM, which was jointly developed by Sega and Yamaha Corporation, could be mass-produced at a similar price to a normal CD-ROM,[36] thus avoiding the greater expense of DVD-ROM technology.[32][41][42] As the GD-ROM format can hold about 1 GB of data,[36][40] illegally copying Dreamcast games onto a 650 MB CD-ROM sometimes required the removal of certain game features, although this did not prevent copying of Dreamcast software.[41] Microsoft developed a custom Dreamcast version of Windows CE with DirectX API and dynamic-link libraries, making it easy to port PC games to the platform,[36] although programmers would ultimately favor Sega’s development tools over those from Microsoft.[32]

Sega held a public competition to name its new system and considered over 5,000 different entries before choosing “Dreamcast.” According to Katsutoshi Eguchi, Japanese game developer Kenji Eno submitted the name and created the Dreamcast’s spiral logo, but this claim has not been verified by Sega.[43] The Dreamcast’s start-up sound was composed by the Japanese musician Ryuichi Sakamoto.[44] Because the Saturn had tarnished Sega’s reputation, the company planned to remove its name from the console entirely and establish a new gaming brand similar to Sony’s PlayStation, but Irimajiri’s management team ultimately decided to retain Sega’s logo on the Dreamcast’s exterior.[32] Sega spent US$50–80 million on hardware development, $150–200 million on software development, and $300 million on worldwide promotion—a sum which Irimajiri, a former Honda executive, humorously compared to the investments required to design new automobiles.[32][45]

Launch[edit]

Despite taking massive losses on the Saturn, including a 75 percent drop in half-year profits just before the Japanese launch of the Dreamcast, Sega felt confident about its new system. The Dreamcast attracted significant interest and drew many pre-orders.[32] Sega announced that Sonic Adventure, the next game starring company mascot Sonic the Hedgehog, would arrive in time for the Dreamcast’s launch and promoted the game with a large-scale public demonstration at the Tokyo Kokusai Forum Hall.[46][47][48] However, Sega could not achieve its shipping goals for the Dreamcast’s Japanese launch due to a shortage of PowerVR chipsets caused by a high failure rate in the manufacturing process.[32][49] As more than half of its limited stock had been pre-ordered, Sega stopped pre-orders in Japan. On November 27, 1998, the Dreamcast launched in Japan at a price of JP¥29,000, and the entire stock sold out by the end of the day. However, of the four games available at launch, only one—a port of Virtua Fighter 3, the most successful arcade game Sega ever released in Japan—sold well.[50] Sega estimated that an additional 200,000-300,000 Dreamcast units could have been sold with sufficient supply.[50] Key Dreamcast software titles Sonic Adventure and Sega Rally Championship 2, which had been delayed,[32] arrived within the following weeks, but sales continued to be slower than expected.[51] Irimajiri hoped to sell over 1 million Dreamcast units in Japan by February 1999, but less than 900,000 were sold, undermining Sega’s attempts to build up a sufficient installed base to ensure the Dreamcast’s survival after the arrival of competition from other manufacturers.[52] There were reports of disappointed Japanese consumers returning their Dreamcasts and using the refund to purchase additional PlayStation software.[53] Seaman, released in July 1999, was considered the Dreamcast’s first major hit in Japan.[4][21][54] Prior to the Western launch, Sega reduced the price of the Dreamcast to JP¥19,900, effectively making the hardware unprofitable but increasing sales. The price reduction and release of Namco‘s Soul Calibur helped Sega to gain 17 percent on its shares.[32]

“Let’s take the conservative estimate of 250,000 Dreamcast units at presage—that’s a quarter of a million units at $200. We’ll have a ratio of 1.5 or two games for every Dreamcast unit sold. That’s half a million units of software. We think we’ll be .5 to one on VMUs and peripheral items such as extra controllers and what have you. This could be a $60 to $80 million 24-hour period. What has ever sold $60 to $80 million in the first 24 hours?”

—Peter Moore, speaking to Electronic Gaming Monthly about the upcoming launch of the Dreamcast.[55]

Working closely with Midway Games (which developed four launch titles for the system) and taking advantage of the ten months following the Dreamcast’s release in Japan, Sega of America worked to ensure a more successful U.S. launch with a minimum of 15 launch games.[56] Despite lingering bitterness over the Saturn’s early release, Stolar successfully managed to repair relations with major US retailers, with whom Sega presold 300,000 Dreamcast units.[33] In addition, a pre-launch promotion enabled consumers to rent the system from Hollywood Video in the months preceding its September launch.[57] Sega of America’s senior vice president of marketing[58] Peter Moore, a fan of the attitude previously associated with Sega’s brand, worked with Foote, Cone & Belding and Access Communications to develop the “It’s Thinking” campaign of 15-second television commercials, which emphasized the Dreamcast’s hardware power.[33][57][59] According to Moore, “We needed to create something that would really intrigue consumers, somewhat apologize for the past, but invoke all the things we loved about Sega, primarily from the Genesis days.”[33] On August 11, Sega of America confirmed[60] that Stolar had been fired, leaving Moore to direct the launch.[56][61][62]

Prior to the Dreamcast’s release, Sega was dealt a blow when EA—the largest third-party video game publisher—announced it would not develop games for the system. EA executive Bing Gordon claimed “[Sega] couldn’t afford to give us [EA] the same kind of license that EA has had over the last five years”, but Stolar recounted that EA president Larry Probst wanted “exclusive rights to be the only sports brand on Dreamcast”, which Stolar could not accept due to Sega’s recent $10 million purchase of sports gamedeveloper Visual Concepts.[17][33] While the Dreamcast would have none of EA’s popular sports games, “Sega Sports” titles developed mainly by Visual Concepts[63] helped to fill that void.[33]

The Dreamcast launched in North America on September 9, 1999 at a price of $199—which Sega’s marketing dubbed “9/9/99 for $199”.[4][52][57] Eighteen launch titles were available for the Dreamcast in the U.S.[57][64][65] Sega set a new sales record by selling more than 225,132 Dreamcast units in 24 hours, earning the company $98.4 million in what Moore called “the biggest 24 hours in entertainment retail history”.[33] Within two weeks, U.S. Dreamcast sales exceeded 500,000.[33] By Christmas, Sega held 31 percent of the North American video game marketshare.[66] Significant launch titles included Soul Calibur, an arcade fighting game that was graphically enhanced for the system and went on to sell one million units, and Visual Concepts’ high-quality football simulation NFL 2K.[33][58] On November 4, Sega announced it had sold over one million Dreamcast units.[67] Nevertheless, the launch was marred by a glitch at one of Sega’s manufacturing plants, which produced defective GD-ROMs.[68]

Sega released the Dreamcast in Europe on October 14, 1999,[67] at a price of GB₤200.[32] By November 24, 400,000 consoles had been sold in Europe.[67] By Christmas of 1999, Sega of Europe reported selling 500,000 units, placing it six months ahead of schedule.[32] Sales did not continue at this pace, and by October 2000, Sega had sold only about 1 million units in Europe.[69] As part of Sega’s promotions of the Dreamcast in Europe, the company sponsored four European football clubs: Arsenal F.C. (England),[70]AS Saint-Étienne (France),[71] U.C. Sampdoria (Italy),[72] and Deportivo de La Coruña (Spain).[73]

Competition[edit]

The PS2 provided stiff competition to the Dreamcast.

Though the Dreamcast launch had been successful, Sony still held 60 percent of the overall video game market share in North America with the PlayStation at the end of 1999.[67] On March 2, 1999, in what one report called a “highly publicized, vaporware-like announcement”[74]Sony revealed the first details of its “next generation PlayStation”, which Ken Kutaragi claimed would allow video games to convey unprecedented emotions. The center of Sony’s marketing plan and the upcoming PlayStation 2 itself was a new CPU (clocked at 294 MHz[11]) jointly developed by Sony and Toshiba—the “Emotion Engine“—which Kutaragi announced would feature a graphics processor with 1,000 times more bandwidth than contemporary PC graphics processors and a floating-point calculation performance of 6.2 gigaflops per second, rivaling most supercomputers.[75][76] Sony, which invested $1.2 billion in two large-scale integration semiconductor fabrication plants to manufacture the PlayStation 2’s “Emotion Engine” and “Graphics Synthesizer”, designed the machine to push more raw polygons than any video game console in history.[77][78][79] Sony claimed the PlayStation 2 could render 75 million raw polygons per second with absolutely no effects, and 38 million without accounting for features such as textures, artificial intelligence, or physics.[77][78][79] Even with such effects, Sony estimated the PlayStation 2 could render 16 million polygons per second (compared to the Dreamcast’s 3 million), whereas independent estimates ranged from 3 million to 20 million.[77][80] The system would also utilize the DVD-ROM format, which could hold substantially more data than the Dreamcast’s GD-ROM format.[81] Because it could connect to the Internet while playing movies, music, and video games, Sony hyped PlayStation 2 as the future of home entertainment.[82][83] Rumors spread that the PlayStation 2 was a supercomputer capable of guiding missiles and displaying Toy Story-quality graphics, while Kutaragi boasted its online capabilities would give consumers the ability to “jack into ‘The Matrix’!”[53][84][85] In addition, Sony emphasized that the PlayStation 2 would be backwards compatible with hundreds of popular PlayStation games.[5][81] Sony’s specifications appeared to render the Dreamcast obsolete months before its U.S. launch, although reports later emerged that the PlayStation 2 was not as powerful as expected and distinctly difficult to program games for.[11][77][86] The same year, Nintendo announced that its next generation console would meet or exceed anything on the market, and Microsoft began development of its own console.[87][88][89]

Sega’s initial momentum proved fleeting as U.S. Dreamcast sales—which exceeded 1.5 million by the end of 1999[90]—began to decline as early as January 2000.[91] Poor Japanese sales contributed to Sega’s ¥42.88 billion ($404 million) consolidated net loss in the fiscal year ending March 2000, which followed a similar loss of ¥42.881 billion the previous year and marked Sega’s third consecutive annual loss.[92][93] Although Sega’s overall sales for the term increased 27.4%, and Dreamcast sales in North America and Europe greatly exceeded the company’s expectations, this increase in sales coincided with a decrease in profitability due to the investments required to launch the Dreamcast in Western markets and poor software sales in Japan.[92] At the same time, increasingly poor market conditions reduced the profitability of Sega’s Japanese arcade business, prompting the company to close 246 locations.[92][94] Knowing that “they have to fish where the fish are biting”, Sega of America president Peter Moore (who assumed his position after Stolar had been fired) and Sega of Japan’s developers focused on the U.S. market to prepare for the upcoming launch of the PS2.[95] To that end, Sega of America launched its own Internet service provider, Sega.com, led by CEO Brad Huang.[38][84][96] On September 7, 2000 Sega.com launched SegaNet, the Dreamcast’s Internet gaming service, at a subscription price of $21.95 per month.[96][97] Although Sega had previously released only one Dreamcast title in the U.S. that featured online multiplayer (ChuChu Rocket!, a puzzle game developed by Sonic Team[97]), the launch of SegaNet (which allowed users to chat, send email, and surf the web) combined with NFL 2K1 (a football game including a robust online component) was intended to increase demand for the Dreamcast in the U.S. market.[96][98] The service would later support games including Bomberman Online, Phantasy Star Online, Quake III Arena, and Unreal Tournament.[33] The September 7th launch coincided with a new advertising campaign to promote SegaNet, including via the MTV Video Music Awards of the same day, which Sega sponsored for the second consecutive year.[97][99] Sega employed aggressive pricing strategies with relation to online gaming. In Japan, every Dreamcast sold included a free year of Internet access, which Okawa personally paid for.[100] Prior to the launch of SegaNet, Sega had already offered a $200 rebate to any Dreamcast owner who purchased two years of Internet access from Sega.com.[101][102]To increase SegaNet’s appeal in the U.S., Sega dropped the price of the Dreamcast to $149 (compared to the PS2’s U.S. launch price of $299) and offered a rebate for the full $149 price of a Dreamcast (and a free Dreamcast keyboard) with every 18-month SegaNet subscription.[32][96][97]

“We had a tremendous 18 months. Dreamcast was on fire – we really thought that we could do it. But then we had a target from Japan that said we had to make x hundreds of millions of dollars by the holiday season and shift x millions of units of hardware, otherwise we just couldn’t sustain the business. Somehow I got to make that call, not the Japanese. I had to fire a lot of people; it was not a pleasant day. So on January 31st 2001 we said Sega is leaving hardware. We were selling 50,000 units a day, then 60,000, then 100,000, but it was just not going to be enough to get the critical mass to take on the launch of PS2. It was a big stakes game. Sega had the option of pouring in more money and going bankrupt and they decided they wanted to live to fight another day.”

—Peter Moore, on the Dreamcast’s discontinuation.[103]

Moore stated that the Dreamcast would need to sell 5 million units in the U.S. by the end of 2000 in order to remain a viable platform, but Sega ultimately fell short of this goal with some 3 million units sold.[66][104]Moreover, Sega’s attempts to spur increased Dreamcast sales through lower prices and cash rebates caused escalating financial losses.[105] Instead of an expected profit, for the six months ending September 2000 Sega posted a ¥17.98 billion ($163.11 million) loss, with the company projecting a year-end loss of ¥23.6 billion.[106]This estimate was more than doubled to ¥58.3 billion,[107] and in March 2001 Sega posted a consolidated net loss of ¥51.7 billion ($417.5 million).[108] While the PS2’s October 26 U.S. launch was marred by shortages—with only 500,000 of a planned 1 million units shipped due to a manufacturing glitch—this did not benefit the Dreamcast as much as expected, as many disappointed consumers continued to wait for a PS2—while the PSone, a remodeled version of the original PlayStation, was the best-selling console in the U.S. at the start of the 2000 holiday season.[66][109][110] According to Moore, “the PlayStation 2 effect that we were relying upon did not work for us … people will hang on for as long as possible … What effectively happened is the PlayStation 2 lack of availability froze the marketplace”.[111] Eventually, Sony and Nintendo held 50 and 35 percent of the US video game market, respectively, while Sega held only 15 percent.[32] According to Bellfield, Dreamcast software sold at an 8-to-1 ratio with the hardware, but this ratio “on a small install base didn’t give us the revenue … to keep this platform viable in the medium to long term.”[112]

Decline[edit]

On May 22, 2000 Okawa replaced Iramajiri as president of Sega.[113] Okawa had long openly advocated that Sega abandon the console business.[114] His sentiments were not unique; Sega co-founder David Rosen had “always felt it was a bit of a folly for them to be limiting their potential to Sega hardware”, and Stolar had previously suggested that Sega should have sold their company to Microsoft.[17][115] In September 2000, in a meeting with Sega’s Japanese executives and the heads of the company’s major Japanese game development studios, Moore and Bellfield recommended that Sega abandon its console business and focus solely on software—prompting the studio heads to walk out.[33] Nevertheless, on January 31, 2001 Sega announced the discontinuation of the Dreamcast after March 31 and the restructuring of the company as a “platform-agnostic” third-party developer.[116][117] The decision was Moore’s.[103] Sega also announced a Dreamcast price reduction to $99 to eliminate its unsold inventory, which was estimated at 2.03 million units worldwide.[107][118] After a further reduction to $79, the Dreamcast was cleared out of stores at $49.95.[119][120] The final Dreamcast unit to be manufactured was autographed by the heads of all nine of Sega’s internal game development studios as well as the heads of Visual Concepts and Wave Master and given away with 55 first-party Dreamcast games through a competition organized by GamePro magazine.[121] Okawa, who had previously loaned Sega $500 million in the summer of 1999, passed away on March 16, 2001; shortly before his death, he forgave Sega’s debts to him and returned his $695 million worth of Sega and CSK stock, helping the company survive the third-party transition.[122][123] As part of this restructuring, nearly one-third of Sega’s Tokyo workforce was laid off in 2001.[124]

Overall, the Dreamcast sold approximately 10.6 million units during its lifetime.[125] After the Dreamcast’s discontinuation, commercial games were still developed and released for the system, particularly in Japan. In the United States, game sales continued until the end of the first half of 2002.[17] Sega of Japan continued to repair Dreamcast units until 2007.[126] As of 2014, the console is still supported through various MIL-CD independent releases.[127] After five consecutive years of financial losses, Sega finally posted a profit for the fiscal year ending March 2003.[128]

Reasons cited for the failure of the Dreamcast include hype for the PS2;[57][129][130] a lack of support from EA and Squaresoft, considered the most popular third-parties in the U.S. and Japan respectively;[131] disagreement among Sega executives over the company’s future, and Okawa’s lack of commitment to the product;[17] Sega’s lack of advertising money, with Bellfield doubting that Sega spent even “half” the $100 million it had pledged to promote the Dreamcast in the U.S.;[33][132] that the market was not yet ready for online gaming;[118][131] Sega’s focus on “hardcore” gamers over the mainstream consumer;[57][118] and poor timing.[33] Perhaps the most frequently cited reason is the damage to Sega’s reputation caused by several previous poorly supported Sega platforms.[125][131][133] Writing for GamePro, Blake Snow stated that “The much beloved console launched years ahead of the competition but ultimately struggled to shed the negative reputation [Sega] had gained during the Saturn, Sega 32X, and Sega CD days. As a result, casual gamers and jaded third-party developers doubted Sega’s ability to deliver.”[125] Eurogamer‘s Dan Whitehead noted that the “wait and see” approach of consumers and the lack of support from EA were symptoms rather the cause of Sega’s decline, concluding “Sega’s misadventures during the 1990s had left both gamers and publishers wary of any new platform bearing its name.”[129] According to 1UP.com‘s Jeremy Parish, “While it would be easy to point an accusatory finger at Sony and blame them for killing the Dreamcast by overselling the PS2 … there’s a certain level of intellectual dishonesty in such a stance … [Sega]’s poor U.S. support for hardware like the Sega CD, the 32X, and the Saturn made gamers gun shy. Many consumers felt burned after investing in expensive Sega machines and finding the resulting libraries comparatively lacking”.[57]

The announcement of Sega’s third-party transition was met with widespread enthusiasm. According to Fahs, “Sega was a creatively fertile company with a rapidly expanding stable of properties to draw from. It seemed like they were in a perfect position to start a new life as a developer/publisher.”[17] Former Working Designs president Victor Ireland wrote that “It’s actually a good thing … because now Sega will survive, doing what they do best: software.”[57] The staff of Newsweek remarked “From Sonic to Shenmue, Sega’s programmers have produced some of the most engaging experiences in the history of interactive media…Unshackled by a struggling console platform, this platoon of world-class software developers can do what they do best for any machine on the market”.[134] Rosen predicted “they have the potential to catch Electronic Arts”.[115] Game Informer, commenting on Sega’s tendency to produce under-appreciated cult classics, stated: “Let us rejoice in the fact that Sega is making games equally among the current console crop, so that history will not repeat itself.”[135]

Technical specifications[edit]

Hardware[edit]

Internal view of a Dreamcast console including optical drive, power supply, controller ports, and cooling fan.

Mainboard of a Dreamcast console.

Physically, the Dreamcast measures 190 × 195.8 × 75.5 mm (7.48 × 7.71 × 2.97 in) and weighs 1.5 kg (3.3 lb).[40] The Dreamcast’s main CPU is a two-way 360 MIPS superscalarHitachi SH-4 32-bit RISC[136] clocked at 200 MHz with an 8 Kbyte instruction cache and 16 Kbyte data cache and a 128-bit graphics-oriented floating-point unit delivering 1.4 GFLOPS.[36] Its 100 MHz NEC PowerVR2 rendering engine, integrated with the system’s ASIC, is capable of drawing more than 3 million polygons per second[40] and of deferred shading.[36] Graphics hardware effects include trilinear filtering, gouraud shading, z-buffering, spatial anti-aliasing, per-pixel translucency sorting and bump mapping.[36][40] The system can output approximately 16.77 million colors simultaneously and displays interlaced or progressive scan video at 640 × 480 video resolution.[40] Its 67 MHz Yamaha AICA[137] sound processor, with a 32-bit ARM7 RISC CPU core, can generate 64 voices with PCM or ADPCM, providing ten times the performance of the Saturn’s sound system.[36] The Dreamcast has 16 MB main RAM, along with an additional 8 MB of RAM for graphic textures and 2 MB of RAM for sound.[36][40] The system reads media using a 12x speed Yamaha GD-ROM Drive.[40] In addition to Windows CE, the Dreamcast supports several Sega and middleware application programming interfaces.[36] In most regions, the Dreamcast included a removable modem for online connectivity, which was modular for future upgrades.[36] The original Japanese model and all PAL models had a transfer rate of 33.6 kbit/s, while consoles sold in the US and in Japan after September 9, 1999 featured a 56 kbit/s modem.[138]

Models[edit]

The limited-edition black “Sega Sports” model.

The Divers 2000 CX-1 was a special edition of the Dreamcast that had a built-in television set.

Sega constructed numerous Dreamcast models, most of which were exclusive to Japan. A refurbished Dreamcast known as the R7 was originally used as a network console in Japanese pachinko parlors. Another model, the Divers 2000 CX-1, possesses a shape similar to Sonic’s head and includes a television and software for teleconferencing. A Hello Kittyversion, limited to 2000 units produced, was targeted at Japanese female gamers.[32] Special editions were created for Seaman[139] and Resident Evil Code: Veronica.[140] Color variations were sold through a service called “Dreamcast Direct” in Japan.[141] Toyota also offered special edition Dreamcast units at 160 of its dealers in Japan.[142] In North America, a limited edition black Dreamcast was released with a Sega Sports logo on the lid, which included matching Sega Sports-branded black controllers and two games.[143]

Accessories[edit]

The Dreamcast controller has two dock connectors for use with multiple accessories, like the VMU

The Dreamcast controller includes both an analog stick and a digital pad, four action buttons, and two analog triggers. The system has four ports for controller inputs, although it was bundled with only one controller.[137] The design of the Dreamcast’s controller, described by the staff of Edge as “an ugly evolution of Saturn’s 3D controller,”[144] was called “[not] that great” by 1UP.com’s Sam Kennedy[131] and “lame” by Game Informer‘s Andy McNamara.[145] The staff of IGN wrote that “unlike most controllers, Sega’s pad forces the user’s hands into an uncomfortable parallel position.”[146] In contrast to the Sega CD and Sega Saturn, which included internal backup memory,[147] the Dreamcast uses a 128 kbyte memory card[148] called the VMU (or “Visual Memory Unit”) for data storage.[36] The VMU features a small LCD screen, audio output from a one-channel PWM sound source,[149] non-volatile memory, a directional pad, and four buttons.[36][149][150] The VMU can present game information, be used as a minimal handheld gaming device,[151] and connect to certain Sega arcade machines.[36][147][148] For example, players use the VMU to call plays in NFL 2K or raise virtual pets in Sonic Adventure.[147][152] Sega officials noted that the VMU could be used “as a private viewing area, the absence of which has prevented effective implementation of many types of games in the past.”[36] After a VMU slot was incorporated into the controller’s design, Sega’s engineers found many additional uses for it, so a second slot was added.[36] This slot was generally used for vibration packs providing force feedback[149] like Sega’s “Jump Pack”[150] and Performance’s “Tremor Pack”,[137] although it could also be used for other peripherals including a microphone enabling voice control and player communication.[36] Various third-party cards provide storage, and some contain the LCD screen addition.[137] Iomegaannounced a Dreamcast-compatible zip drive that could store up to 100 MB of data on removable discs,[137] but it was never released.[32]

Various third-party controllers from companies like Mad Catz include additional buttons and other extra features;[137] third-parties also manufactured arcade-style joysticks for fighting games, such as Agetech’s Arcade Stick and Interact’s Alloy Arcade Stick.[137][150] Mad Catz and Agetec created racing wheels for racing games.[137] Sega decided against releasing its official light gun in the U.S.,[137][153] but some third party light guns were available.[137] The Dreamcast supports a Sega fishing “reel and rod” motion controller and a keyboard for text entry.[137][147] Although it was designed for fishing games such as Sega Bass Fishing,[150] Soul Calibur was playable with the fishing controller, which translated vertical and horizontal movements into on-screen swordplay in a manner that was retroactively cited as a predecessor to the Wii Remote.[147] The Japanese Dreamcast port of Sega’s Cyber Troopers Virtual-On Oratorio Tangram supported a “Twin Sticks” peripheral, but the game’s American publisher, Activision, opted not to release it in the U.S.[154] The Dreamcast could connect to SNK‘s Neo Geo Pocket Color, predating Nintendo’s GameCube–Game Boy Advance link cable.[57] Sega also produced the Dreameye, a digital camera that could be connected to the Dreamcast and used to exchange pictures and participate in video chat over the system’s Internet connection. Sega hoped developers would use the Dreameye for future software, as they later did with Sony’s similar EyeToy peripheral.[151][155] In addition, Sega investigated systems that would have allowed users to make telephone calls with the Dreamcast, and discussed with Motorola the development of an Internet-enabled cell phone that would have used technology from the console to enable quick downloads of games and other data.[151]

The console can supply video through several different accessories. The console came with A/V cables, considered at the time to be the standard for video and audio connectivity. Sega and various third parties also manufactured RF modulator connectors and S-Video cables. A VGA adapter allows Dreamcast games to be played on computer displays or Enhanced-definition television sets in 480p.[137]

Game library[edit]

Sonic Adventure was a significant title for the Dreamcast as the first 3D platforming game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series.

See also: List of Dreamcast games

Before the launch of the Dreamcast in Japan, Sega announced the release of its New Arcade Operation Machine Idea (NAOMI) arcade board, which served as a cheaper alternative to the Sega Model 3.[156] NAOMI shared the same technology as the Dreamcast—albeit with twice as much system, video, and audio memory and an 160 Mbyte flash ROM board in place of a GD-ROM drive—allowing nearly identical home conversions of arcade games.[4][36] Games were ported from NAOMI to the Dreamcast by several leading Japanese arcade companies, including Capcom (Marvel vs. Capcom 2 and Project Justice), Treasure (Ikaruga[157]), and Sega itself (F355 Challenge and Crazy Taxi).[32]

In what has been called “a brief moment of remarkable creativity”,[4] in 2000 Sega restructured its arcade and console development teams into nine semi-autonomous studios headed by the company’s top designers.[17][57][158] Studios included United Game Artists(UGA) (headed by former Sega Rally Championship producer Tetsuya Mizuguchi), Hitmaker (headed by Crazy Taxi creator and future Sega president Hisao Oguchi[159][160]), Smilebit (headed by Shun Arai and including many former Panzer Dragoon and future Yakuzadevelopers from Team Andromeda[161]), Overworks (headed by Noriyoshi Oba and composed of developers from Sega franchises including Sakura Wars, Shinobi and Streets of Rage[162][163][164]), Sega AM2 (Sega’s most famous arcade studio and the developer of Sega’s Virtua Fighter fighting game series, headed by the company’s top developer, Yu Suzuki[165]), and Sonic Team (the developer of Sega’s flagship series, Sonic the Hedgehog, headed by Yuji Naka).[4][166]Sega’s design houses were encouraged to experiment and benefited from a relatively lax approval process,[151] resulting in titles such as Rez (an attempt to simulate synaesthesia in the form of a rail shooter),[167][168][169] The Typing of the Dead (a version of The House of the Dead 2 remade into a touch typing trainer),[170][171][172] and Seaman (a pet simulator in which players use a microphone to interact with a grotesque humanoid fish whose growth is narrated by Leonard Nimoy).[173][174][175] Sega also revived franchises from the Genesis era, such as Ecco the Dolphin.[33] Sega’s internal studios were consolidated starting in 2003, with Mizuguchi leaving the company following the merger of UGA with Sonic Team.[4][176][177]

UGA created the music game Space Channel 5, in which players help a female outer space news reporter named Ulala fight aliens with “groove energy” by dancing.[63][178]Intended for a “female casual” audience, Space Channel 5 is considered one of Sega’s “most daring and beloved” original properties, combining a “defiantly retro” and “uplifting” soundtrack with “dazzling” and “colorful” visual presentation—despite “a lack of real gameplay substance.”[4][179][178] Neither Space Channel 5 nor UGA’s Rez were commercially successful, and the latter title was only available in the U.S. market through a PS2 port released in limited quantities.[167][176] Hitmaker’s arcade ports included Crazy Taxi—an open world arcade racing game known for its addictive gameplay,[171] which sold over one million copies[4] and has been frequently cited as one of the best Dreamcast games[179][180][181]—and Virtua Tennis—which revitalized the tennis game genre with a simple two-button control scheme and use of minigames to test the player’s technique.[4][182][183] Smilebit’s Jet Set Radio—in which players control a Tokyo-based gang of youthful, rebellious inline skaters called the “GGs”, who use graffiti to claim territory from rival gangs while evading an oppressive police force—has been cited as a major example of Sega’s commitment to original game concepts during the Dreamcast’s lifespan. Lauded for composer Hideki Naganuma‘s “punchy, psychedelic” soundtrack incorporating elements of “J-pop and electro-funk” as well as its message of “self-expression and non-violent dissent“,[184][185] the game also popularized cel shaded graphics.[4][186] Despite universal praise for its style, Jet Set Radio‘s gameplay was criticized as mediocre, and it failed to meet Sega’s sales expectations.[185][187][188] Produced by Rieko Kodama,[189] the Overworks-developed traditional role-playing gameSkies of Arcadia was acclaimed for its surreal Jules Verne-inspired fantasy world of floating islands and sky pirates, charming protagonists, unique emphasis on the environmental properties of weapons, exciting airship battles, and memorable plot (including a sequence viewed from multiple perspectives).[4][190][191]

AM2 developed what Sega hoped would be the Dreamcast’s killer app, Shenmue, a “revenge epic in the tradition of Chinese cinema.”[17][192] The action-adventure title involved the quest of protagonist Ryo Hazuki to avenge his father’s murder,[193] but its main selling point was its rendition of the Japanese city of Yokosuka, which included a level of detail considered unprecedented for a video game.[194] Incorporating a simulated day/night cycle with variable weather, non-player characters with regular schedules, and the ability to pick up and examine detailed objects (also introducing the Quick-time event in its modern form[194][195]), Shenmue went over budget and was rumored[196] to have cost Sega over $50 million.[193][194][197] Originally planned as the first installment in an 11-part saga, Shenmue was eventually downsized to a trilogy—and only one sequel was ever released.[4][198] While Shenmue was lauded for its innovation, visuals and music, its critical reception was mixed; points of criticism included “invisible walls” which limited the player’s sense of freedom, boredom caused by the inability to progress without waiting for events scheduled to occur at specific times, excessive in-game cutscenes and a lack of challenge.[193][199][200] According to Moore, Shenmue sold “extremely well”, but the game had no chance of making a profit due to the Dreamcast’s limited installed base.[201] Shenmue II “was completed for a much more reasonable sum”, while Sato defended Shenmue as an “investment [which] will someday be recouped” because “the development advances we learned … can be applied to other games”.[4][197] In addition to the mixed reception for Shenmue, IGN’s Travis Fahs stated that “the [Dreamcast] era wasn’t as kind to [AM2] as earlier years”—citing (among others) F355 Challenge as an “acclaimed” arcade title that “didn’t do much at home”, and Genki‘s port of Virtua Fighter 3 as inferior to the arcade version, “which was already a couple years old and never as popular as its predecessors.”[4][202][203] The Virtua Fighterseries would experience a “tremendous comeback” with the universally acclaimed Virtua Fighter 4—which saw a console release exclusively on PS2.[4][204]

“If ever a system deserved to succeed, it was Dreamcast. Dreamcast has a hell of a library. It’s dying now, 18 months old, with a larger library than the 5-year-old Nintendo 64. It’s a better library than the Nintendo 64. Dreamcast was a wonderful system.”

—Journalist Steven L. Kent, March 2001.[205]

As the first fully 3D platforming game starring Sega’s mascot, Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic Team’s Sonic Adventure was considered “the centerpiece of the [Dreamcast] launch”.[4] Adventure garnered criticism for technical problems including erratic camera angles and glitches,[206][207][208] but was praised for its “luscious”[209] visuals, “vast, twisting environments” and iconic set pieces —including a segment in which Sonic runs down the side of a skyscraper —and has been described as the Sonic series’ creative apex.[206][207][210] However, it failed “to catch on with players in nearly the way that [Nintendo’s] Mario 64 had done”, perhaps due to a perceived lack of gameplay depth.[208][211][212] Distinguished by its innovative use of multiple storylines with varied forms of play,[213] Adventure sold 2.5 million copies, making it the Dreamcast’s best-selling title.[42][214] Sonic Team also developed the Dreamcast’s first online game—ChuChu Rocket!—which was widely complimented for its addictive puzzle gameplay and “frantic” multiplayer matches,[179][215][216] and the critically successful music game Samba de Amigo, which was noted for its expensive maracas peripheral and colorful aesthetic.[217][218][219] Perhaps the most influential of Sonic Team’s Dreamcast releases was Phantasy Star Online, the first online console RPG. Developed after Okawa requested an online game from Sonic Team, PSO was heavily influenced by the PC action RPG Diablo, but refined and simplified its style of gameplay to appeal to console audiences.[100][220][221]

In sports, Visual Concepts’ NFL 2K football series and its NBA 2K basketball series were critically acclaimed.[222] NFL 2K was considered an outstanding launch game for its high-quality visuals[58][223] and “insightful, context-friendly, and, yes, even funny commentary“,[152] while NFL 2K1 featured groundbreaking online multiplayer earlier than its chief competitor, EA’s Madden NFL series.[33][129][183] Madden and 2K continued to compete on other platforms through 2004—with the 2K series introducing innovations such as a first person perspective new to the genre,[224] and eventually launching ESPN NFL 2K5 at the aggressively low price point of $19.95—until EA signed an exclusive agreement with the National Football League, “effectively putting every other pro-football game out of business.”[225][226] After Sega sold Visual Concepts for $24 million in 2005, the NBA 2K series continued with publisher Take-Two Interactive.[179][227] During the Dreamcast’s lifespan, Visual Concepts also collaborated with Sonic the Hedgehoglevel designer Hirokazu Yasuhara on the action-adventure game Floigan Bros.[228] and developed the critically successful action game Ooga Booga.[229]

To appeal to the European market, Sega formed a French affiliate called No Cliché, which developed titles such as Toy Commander.[4][230] Sega Europe also approached Bizarre Creations[231] to develop the critically successful racing game Metropolis Street Racer, which featured detailed recreations of London, Tokyo, and San Francisco—complete with consistent time zones and fictional radio stations—and 262 individual race tracks.[180][232][233]

Although Acclaim, SNK, Ubisoft, Midway, Activision, Infogrames, and Capcom supported the system during its first year,[33] third-party developer support proved difficult to obtain due to the failure of the Sega Saturn and the profitability of publishing for the PlayStation.[32] Namco’s Soul Calibur, for example, was released for the Dreamcast because of the relative unpopularity of the Soul series at the time; Namco’s more successful Tekken franchise was associated with the PlayStation console and PlayStation-based arcade boards.[4] Nevertheless, Soul Calibur received overwhelming critical acclaim[234] and has been frequently described as one of the best games for the system.[171][179][181] Capcom produced a number of fighting games for the system, including the Power Stone series, in addition to a temporary exclusive[180] in the popular Resident Evil series called Resident Evil Code: Veronica.[179][181][235] The Dreamcast is also known for several shoot ’em ups, most notably Treasure’s Bangai-O and Ikaruga.[4][180][236]

In January 2000, three months after the system’s North American launch, Electronic Gaming Monthly offered praise for the game library, stating, “…with triple-A stuff like Soul Calibur, NBA 2K, and soon Crazy Taxi to kick around, we figure you’re happy you took the 128-bit plunge.”[237] In a retrospective, PC Magazine‘s Jeffrey L. Wilson referred to Dreamcast’s “killer library” and emphasized Sega’s creative influence and visual innovation as being at its peak during the lifetime of the system.[238] The staff of Edge agreed with this assessment on Dreamcast’s original titles, as well as Sega’s arcade conversions, stating that the system “delivered the first games that could meaningfully be described as arcade perfect.”[144] GamePro writer Blake Snow referred to the library as being “much celebrated”.[125] Damien McFerran of Retro Gamer praised Dreamcast’s NAOMI arcade ports, opining “The thrill of playing Crazy Taxi in the arcade knowing full well that a pixel-perfect conversion (and not some cut-down port) was set to arrive on the Dreamcast is an experience gamers are unlikely to witness again.”[32] Nick Montfort and Mia Consalvo, writing in Loading… The Journal of the Canadian Game Studies Association, argued that “the Dreamcast hosted a remarkable amount of videogame development that went beyond the odd and unusual and is interesting when considered as avant-garde … it is hard to imagine a commercial console game expressing strong resistance to the commodity perspective and to the view that game production is commerce. But even when it comes to resisting commercialization, it is arguable that Dreamcast games came closer to expressing this attitude than any other console games have.”[151] 1UP.com’s Jeremy Parish favorably compared Sega’s Dreamcast output, which included some of “the most varied, creative, and fun [games] the company had ever produced”, with its “enervated” status as a third-party.[57] IGN’s Travis Fahs noted “The Dreamcast’s life was fleeting, but it was saturated with memorable titles, most of which were completely new properties.”[17] According to author Steven L. Kent, “From Sonic Adventure and Shenmue to Space Channel 5 and Seaman, Dreamcast delivered and delivered and delivered.”[239]

Reception and legacy[edit]

In December 1999, Next Generation rated the Dreamcast 4 out of 5 stars and stated, “If you want the most powerful system available now, showcasing the best graphics at a reasonable price, this system is for you.” However, Next Generation rated the Dreamcast’s future prognosis as 3 stars out of 5 in the same article, noting that Sony would ship a superior hardware product in the PlayStation 2 in the next year, and that Nintendo had said it would do the same with the GameCube.[240] At the beginning of 2000, Electronic Gaming Monthly had five reviewers score the Dreamcast 8.5, 8.5, 8.5, 8.0, and 9.0 out of 10 points.[241] By 2001, the reviewers for Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the Dreamcast scores of 9.0, 9.0, 9.0, 9.0, and 9.5 out of 10.[242] BusinessWeek recognized the Sega Dreamcast as one of the best products of 1999.[243]

In 2009, IGN named the Dreamcast the 8th greatest video game console of all time, giving credit to the innovations and software for the system. According to IGN, “The Dreamcast was the first console to incorporate a built-in modem for online play, and while the networking lacked the polish and refinement of its successors, it was the first time users could seamlessly power on and play with users around the globe.”[42] In 2010, PC Magazine‘s Jeffrey L. Wilson named the Dreamcast the greatest video game console, emphasizing that the system was “gone too soon”.[238] In 2013, Edge named the Dreamcast the 10th best console of the last 20 years, highlighting innovations that it added to console video gaming, including in-game voice chat, downloadable content, and second screen technology through the use of VMUs. Edge explained the system’s poor performance by stating, “Sega’s console was undoubtedly ahead of its time, and it suffered at retail for that reason… [b]ut its influence can still be felt today.”[144] Writing in 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die, Duncan Harris noted “One of the reasons that older gamers mourned the loss of the Dreamcast was that it signaled the demise of arcade gaming culture … Sega’s console gave hope that things were not about to change for the worse and that the tenets of fast fun and bright, attractive graphics were not about to sink into a brown and green bog of realistic war games.”[244] Parish, writing for USgamer, contrasted the Dreamcast’s diverse library with the “suffocating sense of conservatism” that pervaded the gaming industry in the following decade.[245] Dan Whitehead of Eurogamer, discussing the Dreamcast’s portrayal “as a small, square, white plastic JFK“, commented that the system’s short lifespan “may have sealed its reputation as one of the greatest consoles ever”: “Nothing builds a cult like a tragic demise”.[129] According to IGN’s Travis Fahs, “Many hardware manufacturers have come and gone, but it’s unlikely any will go out with half as much class as Sega.”[4]

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  18. ^ Jump up to: a b c Kent 2001, p. 535.
  19. ^ Jump up to: a b c “Sega of America appoints Shoichiro Irimajiri chairman/chief executive officer”. M2PressWIRE (M2 Communications, Ltd.). July 16, 1996. Sega of America Inc. (SOA) Monday announced that Shoichiro Irimajiri has been appointed chairman and chief executive officer. In addition, Sega announced that Bernard Stolar, previously of Sony Computer Entertainment America, has joined the company as executive vice president, responsible for product development and third-party business … Sega also announced that Hayao Nakayama and David Rosen have resigned as chairman and co-chairman of Sega of America, respectively. Closed access(Subscription required.)
  20. ^ Jump up to: a b “Kalinske Out – WORLD EXCLUSIVE”. Next Generation Online. 1996-07-16. Retrieved 2014-05-06.
  21. ^ Jump up to: a b c Kent 2001, p. 577.
  22. Jump up ^ “NEWSFLASH: Sega Planning Drastic Management Reshuffle – World Exclusive”. Next Generation Online. 1996-07-13. Retrieved 2014-05-06.
  23. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Kent 2001, p. 558.
  24. ^ Jump up to: a b c Stephanie Strom (March 14, 1998). “Sega Enterprises Pulls Its Saturn Video Console From the U.S. Market”. The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-01-02.
  25. Jump up ^ Feldman, Curt (1998-04-22). “Katana Strategy Still on Back Burner”. GameSpot. Retrieved 2014-12-09.
  26. ^ Jump up to: a b “Sega Enterprises Annual Report 1998” (PDF). Sega Enterprises, Ltd. pp. 1, 7–8. Retrieved 2014-12-07.
  27. Jump up ^ “Sega News From Japan”. GameSpot. 1998-03-18. Retrieved 2014-12-07.
  28. ^ Jump up to: a b c Kent 2001, p. 559.
  29. Jump up ^ “US Defense Corp Holds Key to Sega Plans”. Next Generation (Imagine Media) 1(11): 32–34. November 1995.
  30. ^ Jump up to: a b “Peep Show: Sega’s New Console Creeps Out of the Shadows”. GameSpot. 1997-05-01. Retrieved 2014-12-09.
  31. Jump up ^ cf. “Black Belt from a Lockheed Perspective”. Next Generation Online. 1997-04-29. Retrieved 2015-01-20. cf. “Interview: Toshiyasu Morita”. Sega-16. 2008-02-22. Retrieved 2015-01-20. Toshiyasu Morita: [I] was involved in two pieces of hardware which were never released: an SH3E+Nvidia combo which never went anywhere, and I was on the compiler/debugger guy for the SH4+3Dfx board.
  32. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z McFerran, Damien. “Retroinspection: Dreamcast”. Retro Gamer (Imagine Publishing) (50): 66–72.
  33. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Perry, Douglass (2009-09-09). “Features – The Rise And Fall Of The Dreamcast”. Gamasutra. Retrieved 2014-10-29.
  34. Jump up ^ Parkin, Simon (2014-06-24). “A history of videogame hardware: Sega Dreamcast”. Edge. Retrieved 2015-03-05.
  35. Jump up ^ “3Dfx’s Initial Public Offering”. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Retrieved 2011-12-16.
  36. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Hagiwara, Shiro; Oliver, Ian (November–December 1999). “Sega Dreamcast: Creating a Unified Entertainment World”. IEEE Micro(Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 19 (6): 29–35.
  37. Jump up ^ “Good-bye Dural, hello Katana”. Next Generation (Imagine Media) (38): 24. February 1998.
  38. ^ Jump up to: a b “Sega’s Superhero Vs. The Big Guys”. BusinessWeek. 2000-05-21. Retrieved 2014-10-29.
  39. Jump up ^ “How to Jump-Start Your E-Strategy”. BusinessWeek. 2000-06-05. Retrieved 2014-10-29. In Japan, where employees are usually treated with kid gloves, Sega Enterprises Ltd. Chairman Isao Okawa shocked his staff by announcing, after months of trying to implement a new Net product strategy, that those who continued to resist it would be fired.
  40. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h Johnston, Chris. “Hands On: Dreamcast”. Electronic Gaming Monthly(EGM Media, LLC.) (115): 26–27.
  41. ^ Jump up to: a b Borland, John (2000-06-30). “Hackers break Dreamcast safeguards, distribute games online”. CNET News. Retrieved 2014-10-28.
  42. ^ Jump up to: a b c “Dreamcast is number 8”. IGN. Retrieved 2011-09-07.
  43. Jump up ^ Szczepaniak, John (2014). The Untold History of Japanese Game Developers: Volume 1. p. 35. ISBN 978-0992926007.
  44. Jump up ^ Sato, Yukiyoshi Ike; Kennedy, Sam (2000-01-06). “Interview with Kenji Eno”. GameSpot. Retrieved 2015-03-04.
  45. Jump up ^ “Interview with Sega’s Boss: Shoichiro Irimajiri”. IGN. 1998-08-26. Retrieved 2014-10-24.
  46. Jump up ^ Obuchi, Yutaka (1998-07-16). “Sonic Onboard Dreamcast”. GameSpot. Retrieved 2014-12-09.
  47. Jump up ^ “International News: Sonic Rocks Tokyo”. Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM Media, LLC.) 10 (112): 50. November 1998. Sonic Adventure‘s Tokyo premiere was a grand event–three stadium-packed showings, a demonstration of the game and more … Afterward, Segata Sanshiro led the crowd in a Sonic chant, which will be used in the game.
  48. Jump up ^ “News: Sonic’s Back!”. Sega Saturn Magazine 4 (36): 6–8. October 1998. On Saturday, August 22nd at the Tokyo International Forum, Sega showed the future of computer gaming to a 15,000 strong crowd—and they weren’t disappointed.
  49. Jump up ^ “Sega Dreamcast”. Game Makers. Episode 302. 2008-08-20. G4 (TV channel).
  50. ^ Jump up to: a b Kent 2001, p. 563.
  51. Jump up ^ Kent 2001, p. 563-564.
  52. ^ Jump up to: a b Kent 2001, p. 564.
  53. ^ Jump up to: a b “Who’s Got Game? Beleaguered Sega Hopes to Get Back on Top in the Video Game Wars with Dreamcast, the First of a New Generation of Superfast, Supercool Fun Machines”. Newsweek. 1999-09-06. Retrieved 2014-10-30.
  54. Jump up ^ Langan, Matthew (1999-07-26). “Famitsu Weekly Reviews Latest Dreamcast Games”. IGN. Retrieved 2014-10-30.
  55. Jump up ^ “Dreamcast: It’s here…”. Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM Media, LLC.) (122): 168. September 1999.
  56. ^ Jump up to: a b Kent 2001, pp. 564-565.
  57. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k Parish, Jeremy (September 3, 2009). “9.9.99, A Dreamcast Memorial”. 1UP.com. Archived from the original on February 2, 2014. Retrieved January 31, 2014.
  58. ^ Jump up to: a b c Kent 2001, p. 565.
  59. Jump up ^ “Dreamcast: The European View”. IGN. 1998-08-26. Retrieved 2014-12-05.
  60. Jump up ^ Kennedy, Sam (1999-08-12). “A Post-Bernie Sega Speaks”. GameSpot. Retrieved 2014-12-17.
  61. Jump up ^ “Dreamcast: In the USA”. Next Generation 2 (9): 6–9. September 2000.
  62. Jump up ^ “News Bytes”. Next Generation (Lifecycle 2) 1 (3): 14. November 1999. More than one Sega employee was witnessed during the festivities raising a glass and toasting ousted COO Bernie Stolar. “This was his launch,” they would say; one or two was seen crying. cf. Kennedy, Sam (1999-08-12). “A Post-Bernie Sega Speaks”. GameSpot. Retrieved 2014-12-09.
  63. ^ Jump up to: a b Kent 2001, p. 581.
  64. Jump up ^ Gantayat, Anoop (2008-09-09). “IGN Classics: Dreamcast Launch Guide”. Retrieved 2014-10-29.
  65. Jump up ^ Kato, Matthew (2013-10-30). “Which Game Console Had The Best Launch Lineup?”. Game Informer. p. 4. Retrieved 2014-11-05.
  66. ^ Jump up to: a b c Edwards, Cliff (December 18, 2000). “Sega vs. Sony: Pow! Biff! Whack!”. BusinessWeek.
  67. ^ Jump up to: a b c d “Dreamcast beats PlayStation record”. BBC News. 1999-11-24. Retrieved 2014-10-29.
  68. Jump up ^ “Defective Dreamcast GD-ROMs”. GameSpot. 1999-09-10. Retrieved 2014-12-09.
  69. Jump up ^ Gestalt (October 17, 2000). “Dreamcast – thanks a million”. Eurogamer. Retrieved October 16, 2014. As Sega themselves point out, although Sony are shipping as many consoles in two months as Sega have in an entire year, this is still likely to leave retailers in short supply and unable to meet the massive demand for the Playstation 2.
  70. Jump up ^ “Sonic signs for Gunners”. BBC News. 1999-04-22. Retrieved 2007-07-19.
  71. Jump up ^ “SEGA EUROPE strikes third major European sponsorship deal with A.S. SAINT-ETIENNE”. PRnewswire.co.uk. 1999-06-15. Retrieved 2007-07-19.
  72. Jump up ^ “SEGA EUROPE strikes sponsorship deal with U.C. SAMPDORIA”. PRnewswire.co.uk. 1999-06-11. Retrieved 2007-07-19.
  73. Jump up ^ “SEGA announce new price for Dreamcast”. SEGA. 2000-09-01. Archived from the original on August 19, 2008. Retrieved July 19, 2007.
  74. Jump up ^ Croal, N’Gail (2000-03-06). “The Art of the Game: The Power of the PlayStation Is Challenging Designers to Match Its Capabilities-And Forcing Sony’s Competitors to Rethink Their Strategies”. Newsweek. Retrieved 2014-10-30.
  75. Jump up ^ Kent 2001, pp. 560-561.
  76. Jump up ^ Parkin, Simon (2014-06-25). “A history of videogame hardware: Sony PlayStation 2”. Edge. Retrieved 2015-03-05.
  77. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Casamassina, Matt (2000-11-03). “Gamecube Versus PlayStation 2”. IGN. Retrieved 2014-11-14. Jason Rubin: If the PlayStation 2 is going to sell as many hardware units as the PlayStation 1 sold, then I don’t care if I have to pierce my nails with pins to get it to work, I’m going to do it because that’s where the money is.
  78. ^ Jump up to: a b “Sony Playstation 2 and HPC”. Asian Technology Information Program. 1999-12-31. pp. 4–5.
  79. ^ Jump up to: a b Diefendorff, Keith (April 19, 1999). “Sony’s Emotionally Charged Chip”. Microprocessor Report 13 (5): 1, 6–7.
  80. Jump up ^ Kent 2001, p. 560.
  81. ^ Jump up to: a b Kent 2001, p. 561.
  82. Jump up ^ Kent 2001, p. 562, 580.
  83. Jump up ^ “The 30 Defining Moments in Gaming”. Edge. 2007-08-14. p. 3. Retrieved 2015-03-05. The Sega Dreamcast was the first home console that could go online out of the box, and the first to offer pay-to-play online games. These features clearly affected Sega’s primary rival, Sony, who promised many online features for the upcoming PlayStation 2 in press reports from 1999. Once Sega abandoned the Dreamcast, Sony quietly dropped its plans for online gaming and movie distribution, and settled for a much less ambitious patchwork strategy.
  84. ^ Jump up to: a b Kent 2001, p. 571.
  85. Jump up ^ “Here Comes PlayStation 2: More Than Just a Superpowerful Game Console, Sony’s New Black Beauty Aims to Turn the Company into an Internet Giant”. Newsweek. 2000-03-06. Retrieved 2014-10-30. cf. Grift, Kris (2008-09-17). “How Consoles Die”. Edge. p. 4. Retrieved 2015-03-05. The Sony hype machine didn’t help Dreamcast’s prospects either, as execs promised PS2 graphics on par with the CG movie Toy Story. cf. Smith, Tony (2000-12-19). “Iraq buys 4000 PlayStation 2s in world conquest bid”. The Register. Retrieved 2014-11-14.
  86. Jump up ^ Kent 2001, pp. 561, 568–569.
  87. Jump up ^ Kent 2001, pp. 563, 574.
  88. Jump up ^ DeMaria & Wilson 2004, p. 313.
  89. Jump up ^ Parkin, Simon (2014-06-27). “A history of videogame hardware: Xbox”. Edge. Retrieved 2015-03-05. In the run-up to the launch of Sony’s PlayStation 2, a number of Microsoft engineers became concerned at the Japanese company’s claims that their new console was set to wipe the PC from the home.
  90. Jump up ^ Davis, Jim (2001-01-11). “Sega’s sales fly despite business woes”. CNET News. Retrieved 2014-10-30.
  91. Jump up ^ Kent 2001, p. 566.
  92. ^ Jump up to: a b c “Sega Corporation Annual Report 2000” (PDF). Sega Corporation. pp. 10–12, 18. Retrieved 2014-12-09.
  93. Jump up ^ “Sega warns of losses”. BBC News Online. February 28, 2000. Retrieved November 10, 2013.
  94. Jump up ^ Kent 2001, p. 582.
  95. Jump up ^ Kent 2001, pp. 578-579.
  96. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Satterfield, Shane (2000-09-07). “SegaNet Launches”. GameSpot. Retrieved 2014-10-30.
  97. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Kent 2001, p. 579.
  98. Jump up ^ Kent 2001, pp. 578-579, 581.
  99. Jump up ^ “Sega.com Launches the World’s First Online Console Gaming Network, SegaNet”. BusinessWire. 2000-09-07. Retrieved 2014-12-03.
  100. ^ Jump up to: a b “Behind The Scenes: Phantasy Star Online”. GamesTM. Retrieved 2014-10-24.
  101. Jump up ^ Thurrot, Paul (2000-04-04). “Sega unveils plans for free Dreamcast, online gaming”. Windows IT Pro. Retrieved 2014-10-30.
  102. Jump up ^ “Sega Announces Formation of New Company, Sega.com, Inc.; Offers Rebate On Sega Dreamcast Hardware for SegaNet ISP Subscribers”. BusinessWire. 2000-04-04. Retrieved 2014-12-03.
  103. ^ Jump up to: a b Stuart, Keith (2008-09-15). “Peter Moore Interview: Part One”. The Guardian (Guardian Media Group). Retrieved 2014-12-03.
  104. Jump up ^ Kent 2001, pp. 581, 588.
  105. Jump up ^ “Dreamcast may be discontinued, Sega says”. USA Today. 2001-01-24. Retrieved 2014-12-09.
  106. Jump up ^ Smith, Tony (November 24, 2000). “Sega full-year loss to widen”. The Register. Retrieved November 10, 2013.
  107. ^ Jump up to: a b “Sega Issues Financial Statement”. IGN. 2001-02-01. Retrieved 2014-12-05.
  108. Jump up ^ “Sega Corporation Annual Report 2001” (PDF). Sega Corporation. August 2001. p. 22. Retrieved 2014-12-09.
  109. Jump up ^ Becker, David (2000-12-05). “Old PlayStation tops holiday game console sales”. CNET News. Retrieved 2014-10-30.
  110. Jump up ^ Kent 2001, pp. 585-588.
  111. Jump up ^ Kent 2001, p. 588.
  112. Jump up ^ Kent 2001, p. 585.
  113. Jump up ^ Kent 2001, pp. 581-582.
  114. Jump up ^ Kent 2001, pp. 577, 582.
  115. ^ Jump up to: a b Kent, Steven L. (April 2001). “A Few Words on Sega, From the Founder”. Next Generation (Lifecycle 2) (Imagine Media) 3 (4): 9.
  116. Jump up ^ Kent 2001, pp. 588-589.
  117. Jump up ^ Ahmed, Shahed (2001-01-31). “Sega announces drastic restructuring”. GameSpot. Retrieved 2014-12-09.
  118. ^ Jump up to: a b c “Sega pulls plug on Dreamcast”. Next Generation (Lifecycle 2) (Imagine Media) 3 (4): 7–9. April 2001.
  119. Jump up ^ Ahmed, Shahed (2001-11-21). “Sega drops Dreamcast price again”. GameSpot. Retrieved 2014-12-09.
  120. Jump up ^ “Sega Ships the “Dreamlast””. GamePro 14 (162): 30. March 2002.
  121. Jump up ^ “Dreamcast Collector’s Edition Giveaway”. GamePro 14 (163): 117. April 2002.
  122. Jump up ^ Kent 2001, pp. 582, 589.
  123. Jump up ^ Stout, Kristie Lu (2001-03-19). “Late Sega exec leaves legacy, new leadership”. CNN. Retrieved 2014-10-31.
  124. Jump up ^ “Sega: The Blue Sky Company”. Edge. 2007-05-31. Retrieved 2015-03-05.
  125. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Snow, Blake (2007-05-04). “The 10 Worst-Selling Consoles of All Time”. GamePro. Archived from the original on 2008-09-05. Retrieved 2007-10-28.
  126. Jump up ^ “Death of the Dreamcast Official”. Edge. 2007-04-02. Retrieved 2015-03-05.
  127. Jump up ^ “Keeping The Dream Alive: The Men Behind Dreamcast Homebrew”. Gamasutra. May 2011. Retrieved 2011-05-15.
  128. Jump up ^ “Sega Corporation Annual Report 2004”. Sega Corporation. p. 2. Retrieved 2014-12-09.
  129. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Whitehead, Dan (2009-01-02). “Dreamcast: A Forensic Retrospective”. Eurogamer. Retrieved 2014-10-30.
  130. Jump up ^ “The ten greatest years in gaming”. Edge. 2006-06-27. Retrieved 2015-03-05.
  131. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Kennedy, Sam. “Dreamcast 2.0: 10 reasons why the Xbox 360 will succeed where the Dreamcast failed”. 1UP.com. Retrieved 2014-10-31.
  132. Jump up ^ Kent 2001, p. 573. Charles Bellfield: “When you consider that Microsoft has announced a $500 million marketing program for the launch of Xbox and that Nintendo has a $5 billion war chest and the overall power behind Sony’s PlayStation brand, Sega does not have the ability to compete against those companies”.
  133. Jump up ^ Parish, Jeremy (2014-11-18). “The Lost Child of a House Divided: A Sega Saturn Retrospective”. USgamer. Retrieved 2014-12-17.
  134. Jump up ^ “Sega Gets Hip to Reality”. Newsweek. 2001-01-30. Retrieved 2015-02-16.
  135. Jump up ^ “Classic Reviews: Burning Rangers”. Game Informer 12 (110): 104. June 2002.
  136. Jump up ^ “SH-4 CPU Core Architecture”. STMicroelectronics and Hitachi, Ltd. 2002-09-12. p. 15.
  137. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l “Dreamcast Arrives!”. Next Generation (Imagine Media) (Lifecycle 2.1.1): 51–57. September 1999.
  138. Jump up ^ Carless, Simon (2004). Gaming Hacks: 100 Industrial-Strength Tips & Tools. O’Reilly Media. p. 198. ISBN 978-0596007140.
  139. Jump up ^ “Model:SEAMAN” (in Japanese). Sega of Japan. June 15, 1999. Retrieved October 15, 2014.
  140. Jump up ^ “Dreamcast CODE:Veronica” (in Japanese). Sega of Japan. December 6, 1999. Retrieved October 15, 2014.
  141. Jump up ^ “Dreamcast Direct” (in Japanese). Famitsu. Retrieved October 15, 2014.
  142. Jump up ^ “Toyota to market Sega’s Dreamcast”. Kyodo News International, Inc. January 28, 1999. Retrieved October 15, 2014 – via The Free Library.
  143. Jump up ^ Justice, Brandon. “Sega Reveals Details on Sega Sports Pack”. IGN. Retrieved October 15, 2014.
  144. ^ Jump up to: a b c “The ten best consoles: our countdown of the greatest gameboxes of the last 20 years”. Edge. 2013-09-20. Retrieved 2015-03-05.
  145. Jump up ^ “Marvel Vs. Capcom-Dreamcast”. Game Informer. 1999-10-28. Retrieved 2014-11-28.
  146. Jump up ^ “The Xbox Controller”. IGN. 2001-01-05. Retrieved 2014-11-05.
  147. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Redsell, Adam (2012-05-20). “Sega: A Soothsayer of the Games Industry”. IGN. Retrieved 2014-11-05.
  148. ^ Jump up to: a b “Dreamcast VMU”. IGN. 1999-08-13. Retrieved 2014-11-05.
  149. ^ Jump up to: a b c Loguidice, Bill; Barton, Matt (2014). Vintage Game Consoles: An Inside Look at Apple, Atari, Commodore, Nintendo, and the Greatest Gaming Platforms of All Time. Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press. p. 278. ISBN 978-0415856003.
  150. ^ Jump up to: a b c d “Sega Dreamcast Launch Titles and Peripherals”. BusinessWire. 1999-09-02. Retrieved 2014-12-03.
  151. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Montfort, Nick; Consalvo, Mia. “The Dreamcast, Console of the Avant-Garde”. Loading… The Journal of the Canadian Game Studies Association 6 (9): 82–99.
  152. ^ Jump up to: a b Ekberg, Brian (2005-08-02). “GameSpot Sports Classic – NFL 2K“. GameSpot. Retrieved 2014-11-05.
  153. Jump up ^ Chau, Anthony (2001-05-23). “Confidential Mission“. IGN. Retrieved 2014-12-03. Unfortunately, if you have the Japanese DC light gun, Confidential Mission will only work with US third party light guns.
  154. Jump up ^ Gantayat, Anoop (2000-06-05). “Virtual On: Oratorio Tangram“. IGN. Retrieved 2014-12-03.
  155. Jump up ^ “IGNDC Talks Dreameye with Sega”. IGN. 2000-03-06. Retrieved 2014-12-01.
  156. Jump up ^ Ohbuchi, Yutaka (1998-09-17). “How Naomi Got Its Groove On”. GameSpot. Retrieved 2014-12-09.
  157. Jump up ^ “Ikaruga Review”. Edge. 2002-10-10. Retrieved 2015-03-05.
  158. Jump up ^ Kent 2001, pp. 577-578, 581.
  159. Jump up ^ Kent 2001, pp. 324, 578.
  160. Jump up ^ “Sega Sammy Holdings Inc”. Businessweek. 2012. Retrieved 2014-10-26.
  161. Jump up ^ cf. Mielke, James (2007-09-11). “Panzer Dragoon Saga Retrospective”. 1UP.com. p. 5. Retrieved 2014-10-26. Yukio Futatsugi: The director of Orta was in charge of the battle system in Panzer Dragoon Saga.
  162. Jump up ^ “Overworks”. IGN. Retrieved 2014-10-25.
  163. Jump up ^ “E3 2002: Shinobi Interview”. IGN. 2002-05-23. Retrieved 2014-10-26.
  164. Jump up ^ Parish, Jeremy (2008-09-26). “Valkyria Chronicles Interview”. 1UP.com. Retrieved 2014-10-26. Ryutaro Nonaka: Yes, definitely—I’ve had a lot of experience with strategy thanks to Sakura Taisen. But I’ve also worked with a fair number of action titles as well, including a game called Nightshade … The team also worked with Skies of Arcadia, and we gathered a staff from many different titles.
  165. Jump up ^ Kent 2001, pp. 501, 578.
  166. Jump up ^ The others were Wow Entertainment, headed by Rikiya Nakagawa; Amusement Vision, headed by Toshihiro Nagoshi; and Sega Rosso, headed by Kenji Sasaki. Visual Concepts was led by Greg Thomas and Sega’s audio studio, Wave Master, was led by Yukifumi Makino. See “Sega Corporation Annual Report 2002” (PDF). Sega Corporation. July 2002. pp. 18–19. Retrieved 2015-01-20.
  167. ^ Jump up to: a b Kennedy, Sam (2008-01-29). “Rez HD (Xbox 360)”. 1UP.com. Retrieved 2014-10-24.
  168. Jump up ^ “Rez Review”. Edge. 2001-11-29. Retrieved 2014-11-05. In its appreciation of 3D space and in the way themes of evolution and transcendence are intertwined with, and layered on top of, exhilarating abstract soundscapes, Rez is a work of genius.
  169. Jump up ^ Parkin, Simon (2008-01-30). “Rez HD”. Eurogamer. Retrieved 2014-10-24.
  170. Jump up ^ “Retro Reviews: Typing of the Dead”. Game Informer 15 (150): 165. October 2005. One of the strangest titles to come out of Sega’s workshop … It’s actually a more addictive and challenging game than the original game that it is based on.
  171. ^ Jump up to: a b c “From the Living Room to the Grave: Remembering the Top 10 Dreamcast Games”. Game Informer 16 (166): 116–117. February 2007.
  172. Jump up ^ Mott 2013, p. 415. “‘I’m dating the head cheerleader’, you might type while playing The Typing of the Dead, before digressing into an extended discourse on health and safety measures or financial prudence”.
  173. Jump up ^ “Retro Reviews: Seaman“. Game Informer 15 (151): 198. November 2005. A surreal adventure with a certain brand of humor rarely achieved today. cf. Provo, Frank (2000-08-08). “Seaman Review”. GameSpot. Retrieved 2014-10-24.
  174. Jump up ^ Mott 2013, p. 407.
  175. Jump up ^ Hitmaker even developed Segagaga, a Japan-exclusive role-playing-game that features commentary on the perceived over-abundance of sequels produced by the video game industry, in which the player must prevent Sega from going out of business by helping the company’s mascots battle with the forces of a rival corporation: See, e.g., “The Story of Sega’s Oddest Game Ever”. Edge. 2008-07-21. Retrieved 2014-10-24. cf. Vore, Bryan (March 2012). “Alex Kidd: Sega’s Forgotten Mascot”. Game Informer 22 (227): 98–99. Alex Kidd, Segagaga: I debuted as Sega’s mascot, and went head-to-head against Nintendo’s Mario. But it didn’t work out in the end. For the longest time after that, I beat myself up about it, thinking about why it turned out the way it did. I spent a lot of time on this riverbank, staring at the sunset.
  176. ^ Jump up to: a b “Tetsuya Mizuguchi Interview 2005”. Kikizo. 2005-10-13. Retrieved 2014-10-24. cf. Thomason, Steve (March 2006). “Love Story”. Nintendo Power 19(201): 38–39.
  177. Jump up ^ On July 22, 2003, Sega announced the merger of Sonic Team with UGA, Hitmaker with Sega Rosso, and Smilebit with Amusement Vision. See “Sega Details Future”. IGN. 2003-07-23. Retrieved 2014-12-09.
  178. ^ Jump up to: a b Mott 2013, p. 410.
  179. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f “Best Dreamcast games of all time”. GamesRadar. 2014-09-09. Retrieved 2014-11-04.
  180. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Whitehead, Dan (2009-01-02). “The Dreamcast Dozen”. Retrieved 2014-11-04.
  181. ^ Jump up to: a b c “The Top 25 Dreamcast Games”. IGN. 2009-09-11. Retrieved 2014-11-05.
  182. Jump up ^ Hegelson, Matt (September 2002). “Tennis 2K2“. Game Informer 12 (113): 81.  … universally hailed as the greatest tennis game ever. cf. Chen, Jeff (2000-07-07). “Virtua Tennis: Sega Professional Tennis“. IGN. Retrieved 2014-10-24. cf. Gerstmann, Jeff (2000-07-10). “Virtua Tennis Review”. GameSpot. Retrieved 2014-11-04. cf. Reed, Kristian (2002-11-19). “Virtua Tennis 2“. Eurogamer. Retrieved 2014-11-04. Two of the greatest sports titles ever made were released on the console: Virtua Tennis and its superior sequel Virtua Tennis 2. cf. “Virtua Tennis(Dreamcast)”. Metacritic. Retrieved 2014-11-05.
  183. ^ Jump up to: a b “Top 100 Games of All Time”. Game Informer 11 (100): 22–41. August 2001.
  184. Jump up ^ Mott 2013, p. 431.
  185. ^ Jump up to: a b Ingenito, Vince (2012-09-17). “Jet Set Radio Review”. IGN. Retrieved 2014-11-04. The overall gameplay in Jet Set Radio is merely passable … But the game didn’t enslave a throng of loyal fans because of its gameplay, odd as that might sound. It was its style and spirit that made it worth experiencing.
  186. Jump up ^ Leone, Matt. “The Essential 50 Part 48: Jet Grind Radio“. 1UP.com. Retrieved 2014-11-04. Takayuki Kawagoe: It would be a success if it can become a part of the memory of the users rather than set a record for sales.
  187. Jump up ^ Justice, Brandon (2000-10-27). “Jet Grind Radio“. IGN. Retrieved 2014-11-04. Smilebit shows why Sega has the best development stable in the world … It truly is an original creation, and you can see this distinctness shine through in every aspect of the game. cf. Reiner (December 2000). “Jet Set Radio“. Game Informer 10 (92): 116–117. The rewards are magnificent, and each stage is something to behold, but the gameplay is mediocre at best. cf. Venter, Jason (2012-09-17). “Jet Set RadioReview”. GameSpot. Retrieved 2014-11-26. Even the simple act of skating in a straight line can sometimes prove difficult.
  188. Jump up ^ Kent 2001, p. 587.
  189. Jump up ^ Thomason, Steve (January 2007). “Birth of a Hedgehog”. Nintendo Power 20 (211): 71.
  190. Jump up ^ Chau, Anthony (2000-11-14). “Skies of Arcadia“. IGN. Retrieved 2014-11-04. cf. Shoemaker, Brad (2000-10-16). “Skies of Arcadia Review”. GameSpot. Retrieved 2014-11-04. cf. Reiner. “Skies of Arcadia Legends“. Game Informer. Retrieved 2014-11-04. cf. “Time Extend: Skies of Arcadia“. Edge. 2009-07-19. Retrieved 2015-03-05. The moment when Vyse officially leaves home … with his skyfaring dad acknowledging him as an equal, is as touching as it isn’t melodramatic, with both parents on hand to offer their blessings instead of blubbery histrionics. Vyse’s down-to-earth nature is buffered by the aforementioned Aika, an ever-present confidante and childhood friend, and a playful female companion. More games need a marriage like this: splitting the emotional and verbal duties of the lead character into a double act, a sexless husband and wife who can reassure and question one another without the game having to resort to the internal monologue of a glum teen. Aika and Vyse’s relationship is flirty and loving, but never blooms into the dreaded romantic subplot, filled with ellipses and uncomfortable mutterings.
  191. Jump up ^ Mott 2013, p. 438.
  192. Jump up ^ “Shenmue, the History”. 1999-07-13. Retrieved 2014-10-26.
  193. ^ Jump up to: a b c Kolan, Patrick (2007-08-07). “Shenmue: Through the Ages”. IGN. Retrieved 2014-10-26.
  194. ^ Jump up to: a b c Mott 2013, p. 406.
  195. Jump up ^ Lamosca, Adam (2007-06-24). “On-Screen Help, In-Game Hindrance”. The Escapist. Retrieved 2014-10-26.
  196. Jump up ^ In 2011, Suzuki stated that the actual cost of Shenmue was $47 million: See Gallegos, Anthony (2011-03-02). “GDC: The Future of Shenmue“. IGN. Retrieved 2014-11-05.
  197. ^ Jump up to: a b Kent 2001, p. 578.
  198. Jump up ^ Corriea, Alexa Ray (2014-03-19). “Creator Yu Suzuki shares the story of Shenmue‘s development”. Polygon. Retrieved 2014-12-17. Yu Suzuki: The biggest challenge we encountered was project management. By the end, we had 300 people [working] and no experience on such a large project. At the time there were no project management tools … so instead we made a job order sheet that was a list of action items in Excel. Because we kept testing, the items did not decrease. At one point we had 10,000 of them.
  199. Jump up ^ Chau, Anthony (2000-11-03). “Shenmue“. IGN. Retrieved 2014-10-26. cf. Provo, Frank (2000-11-11). “Shenmue Review”. GameSpot. Retrieved 2014-10-26. Like an old style text adventure, albeit filled with appointments and curfews. cf. Jay (December 2000). “Shenmue“. Game Informer 10 (92): 120. Every critical encounter … lasts for less than a minute, and if you fail, you simply try again … what once seemed so intricate in the Japanese version has become elementary now that the language barrier is broken. Determining your character’s next move requires little more than talking to someone, who will then tell you who to see or where to go … Shenmue is not the next step in video games; merely a glimmer of what the future of gaming might hold … all that’s left is a guy walking around an amazingly detailed environment. If I wanted to experience that, I could see it in another game with proven endless entertainment value. It’s called life. cf. “Shenmue Review”. Edge. 2000-11-29. Retrieved 2015-03-05. Shenmue is much more than an interactive movie, but certainly does not deliver the freedom expected. It’s involving, and ultimately rewarding, but only represents a step towards what may be possible in the future, rather than the milestone Edge hoped for.
  200. Jump up ^ In a 2009 retrospective, IGN’s then senior vice-president of content Peer Schneider, among others, criticized IGN’s contemporary coverage of Shenmue, stating: “I’m as amazed today as I was back in 2000 when we gave it a 9.7.” See “Where the F@!* is Shenmue?”. IGN. 2009-09-11. Retrieved 2014-10-26. The game was defended by IGN UK’s Martin Robinson: “Shenmue‘s stupendously large canvas, its superlative evocation of a time and place that to date remains alien territory to videogames and its unfading beauty all ensure it classic status … the sweetest memory came just this year, when on a trip to Japan with my girlfriend I convinced her to come with me to Yokosuka, the port town that stars in the original game and is only an hour’s ride from central Tokyo. It’s the ultimate Dreamcast fanboy’s pilgrimage, and as I took my first steps down Dobuita Street and recognized locations I’d walked past countless times before—Kurita’s Military Store, Mary’s Embroidery Store and the parking lot where Ryo honed his fighting skills—I couldn’t help but go a little dewy eyed.”
  201. Jump up ^ Kent 2001, pp. 587, 578.
  202. Jump up ^ cf. Matt (December 2000). “F355 Challenge: Passione Rossa“. Game Informer 10(92): 124. F355 Challenge was breathtaking when played in the three-monitor coin-op unit, but it seems to lose impact on Dreamcast. For an alternative perspective, see Wiley, Mike (2000-09-19). “F355 Challenge“. IGN. Retrieved 2014-10-26. It is smoooooth.
  203. Jump up ^ cf. “Virtua Fighter 3tb“. Game Informer. 1999-10-25. Retrieved 2014-10-26. cf. Gantayat, Anoop (1999-10-01). “Virtua Fighter 3tb“. IGN. Retrieved 2014-10-26. cf. “Virtua Fighter 3 TB Review”. Edge. 1998-12-23. Retrieved 2015-03-05. The omission of a proper ‘versus’ selection is unforgivable, forcing twoplayer fights to be organised via the singleplayer mode. Purists may well argue that the arcade original lacked said option, but in Edge‘s view, buyers of modern coin-op conversions have the right to expect more from their investments than unenhanced facsimiles.
  204. Jump up ^ “Virtua Fighter 4“. Metacritic. Retrieved 2014-10-26. cf. Andy (May 2002). “Virtua Fighter 4“. Game Informer 12 (109): 78–79. Will change everything you have ever come to expect from this genre. cf. “The Top 50 Games of 2003: Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution“. Game Informer 14 (129): 64. January 2004. The most balanced and challenging fighting game the world has ever seen.
  205. Jump up ^ “GI “Quotables””. Game Informer 11 (100): 44–45. August 2001.
  206. ^ Jump up to: a b Mott 2013, p. 370.
  207. ^ Jump up to: a b Justice, Brandon (1999-09-08). “Sonic Adventure“. IGN. Retrieved 2014-11-04. Engrossing, demanding, and utterly awe-inspiring, Yuji Naka’s vision has finally come full circle in this phenomenal title.
  208. ^ Jump up to: a b “Sonic Adventure-Dreamcast”. Game Informer. 1999-10-27. Retrieved 2014-11-04. I wish more time was spent to make this game truly remarkable, rather than the decent game we see today.
  209. Jump up ^ Smith, Sean (June 22, 2006). “Company Profile: Sonic Team”. Retro Gamer 3 (26): 27.
  210. Jump up ^ Noble, McKinley (2009-05-06). “The 20 Best Platformers: 1989 to 2009: Number 7: Sonic Adventure“. GamePro. p. 3. Retrieved 2014-11-04.
  211. Jump up ^ DeMaria & Wilson 2004, p. 312.
  212. Jump up ^ While Sonic Adventure 2 was positively reviewed, the extent of its improvements over the original have been debated. See “Sonic Adventure 2 (Dreamcast)”. Metacritic. Retrieved 2014-11-04. cf. Chau, Anthony (2001-06-22). “Sonic Adventure 2“. IGN. Retrieved 2014-11-04. There aren’t many viewing problems … be prepared to take a more active role when playing. cf. Reiner (August 2001). “Sonic Adventure 2“. Game Informer 11 (100): 100. Hardly any mistakes from the original were fixed … The lackluster difficulty and cartoon-like presentation is perfect for kids, but it really does nothing for hardcore gamers or Sonic fans of yesteryear.
  213. Jump up ^ “Sonic Adventure“. Edge 7 (68): 70–73. February 1999. Sampling one of the earlier levels out of context could leave many with the impression that Adventure is a flashy but essentially shallow experience. It isn’t until a good portion of the game world has been explored with a few of the characters … that the charm and style of Sega’s title is fully appreciated …It must be said, however, that none of Adventure is hugely challenging to the experienced player … Edge only managed to discover a few places where poor collision detection detracted from the gameplay … Given the never-before-witnessed scope and detail of Adventure‘s levels, these are forgiveable–but somehow the smaller problems are not … The camera’s occasional visits behind walls do little to aid the case for forgiveness, either, although it never frustrates to the extent that Banjo-Kazooie does … a wonderfully absorbing game experience.
  214. Jump up ^ Boutros, Daniel (August 4, 2006). “A Detailed Cross-Examination of Yesterday and Today’s Best-Selling Platform Games”. Gamasutra. Retrieved October 19, 2014.
  215. Jump up ^ Justice, Brandon (2000-03-07). “Chu Chu Rocket“. IGN. Retrieved 2014-10-30.cf. Jay (2000-05-02). “Chu Chu Rocket-Dreamcast”. Game Informer. Retrieved 2014-11-04. I consider it the best and most original puzzle game since Tetris.cf.Nutt, Christian (1999-12-13). “ChuChu Rocket! Review”. GameSpot. Retrieved 2014-10-04.
  216. Jump up ^ Mott 2013, p. 385.
  217. Jump up ^ “Samba de Amigo (Dreamcast)”. Metacritic. Retrieved 2014-11-04. cf. Justice, Brandon (2000-10-18). “Samba De Amigo“. IGN. Retrieved 2014-11-04. cf. Gerstmann, Jeff (2000-06-16). “Samba De Amigo Review”. GameSpot. Retrieved 2014-11-04.
  218. Jump up ^ Mott 2013, p. 405.
  219. Jump up ^ For a negative review, see Reiner (December 2000). “Samba de Amigo“. Game Informer 10 (92): 124. cf. “Retro Reviews: Samba de Amigo“. Game Informer 18(178): 110. February 2008.
  220. Jump up ^ Mott 2013, p. 435.
  221. Jump up ^ Parish, Jeremy. “The Decade That Was: Essential Newcomers: Phantasy Star Online“. 1UP.com. Retrieved 2014-11-04. cf. Oestreicher, Jason (2013-07-04). “Time Sinks-Phantasy Star Online“. Game Informer. Retrieved 2014-11-05. Certainly, by today’s standards, it was rudimentary and repetitive. But at the same time, it was revolutionary. cf. “Retrospective: Phantasy Star Online“. Edge. 2014-06-15. Retrieved 2015-03-05.
  222. Jump up ^ “NFL 2K1 (Dreamcast)”. Metacritic. Retrieved 2014-11-05. cf. “NFL 2K2(Dreamcast)”. Metacritic. Retrieved 2014-11-05. cf. “NBA 2K1 (Dreamcast)”. Metacritic. Retrieved 2014-11-05. cf. “NBA 2K2 (Dreamcast)”. Metacritic. Retrieved 2014-11-05.
  223. Jump up ^ “Best Launch Titles”. GameSpot. 2005-09-30. Retrieved 2014-11-05. cf. Kato, Matthew (February 2012). “Which Game Console Had the Best Launch Lineup? We Look Back to Find Out”. Game Informer 22 (226): 99.
  224. Jump up ^ Kato; Reiner (September 2003). “ESPN NFL Football“. Game Informer 13 (125): 106. Madden has become a deeper simulation, but it hasn’t evolved to the degree that Sega’s title has. ESPN NFL Football is jam-packed with new features, innovative ideas, and must-see elements. First-person football sounds like a nightmare, but Sega figured out a way to make it work.
  225. Jump up ^ Bissell, Tom (2012-01-26). “Kickoff: Madden NFL and the Future of Video Game Sports”. Grantland. Retrieved 2014-11-05.
  226. Jump up ^ Feldman, Curt; Surette, Tim (2004-12-13). “Big Deal: EA and NFL ink exclusive licensing agreement”. GameSpot. Retrieved 2014-11-05.
  227. Jump up ^ “SEGA Sells Visual Concepts Entertainment to Take-Two Interactive”. Businesswire. 2005-01-24. Retrieved 2014-11-05.
  228. Jump up ^ GI Staff (August 2003). “Sonic’s Architect: GI Interviews Hirokazu Yasuhara”. Game Informer 13 (124): 116. cf. Andy (August 2001). “Floigan Bros.“. Game Informer 11(100): 101.
  229. Jump up ^ “Ooga Booga (Dreamcast)”. Metacritic. Retrieved 2014-11-05.
  230. Jump up ^ cf. “Toy Commander-Dreamcast”. Game Informer. 1999-10-25. Retrieved 2014-10-24. cf. Justice, Brandon (1999-11-04). “Toy Commander“. IGN. Retrieved 2014-10-24.
  231. Jump up ^ “The Making Of: Metropolis Street Racer“. Edge. 2012-10-07. Retrieved 2015-03-05.
  232. Jump up ^ “Metropolis Street Racer (Dreamcast)”. Retrieved 2014-11-05. cf. Paul (December 2000). “Metropolis Street Racer“. Game Informer 10 (92): 121. I found the game’s control and physics to be exceptional. Likewise, the graphics are brilliant and are probably the best of any racing game on the Dreamcast. cf. Justice, Brandon (2001-01-19). “Metropolis Street Racer“. IGN. Retrieved 2014-11-05.
  233. Jump up ^ Mott 2013, p. 432.
  234. Jump up ^ “Soul Calibur (Dreamcast)”. Metacritic. Retrieved 2014-11-05.
  235. Jump up ^ Mott 2013, pp. 421, 432-434.
  236. Jump up ^ Mott 2013, pp. 382, 465.
  237. Jump up ^ “…Should you buy a Dreamcast or Wait?”. Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM Media, LLC.) (126): 150. January 2000.
  238. ^ Jump up to: a b Wilson, Jeffrey L. (2010-05-28). “The 10 Greatest Video Game Consoles of All Time”. PCmag.com. Retrieved 2014-11-26. A collection of creative, fun, and quirky games that you’d be hard-pressed to find in such abundance on any other platform.
  239. Jump up ^ Kent, Steven L. (2006-10-09). “SOMETIMES THE BEST”. Sad Sam’s Place. Retrieved 2014-10-31.
  240. Jump up ^ “The War for the Living Room”. Next Generation (Imagine Media) (2.1.4): 95. December 1999.
  241. Jump up ^ Davison, John et al. (January 2000). “Electronic Gaming Monthly 2000 Buyer’s Guide”. Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM Media, LLC.).
  242. Jump up ^ Leahy, Dan et al. (January 2001). “Electronic Gaming Monthly 2001 Buyer’s Guide”. Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM Media, LLC.).
  243. Jump up ^ Kennedy, Sam (1999-12-10). “Business Week Praises the Dreamcast – GameSpot.com”. Retrieved 2013-02-23.
  244. Jump up ^ Mott 2013, p. 434.
  245. Jump up ^ Parish, Jeremy (2014-09-13). “What if Dreamcast Had Won?”. USgamer. Retrieved 2015-01-20.

Sega CD

Posted by kayrayorulmazyorulmaz on April 12, 2015
Posted in: Uncategorized. Leave a comment
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sega CD
Sega CD Logo.jpg

Japanese Mega-CD Logo.png
North American model 2 Sega CD & a model 2 Sega Genesis
Sega CD (on right) attached to a Sega Genesis
Manufacturer Sega
Type Video game console add-on
Generation Fourth generation
Retail availability
  • JP December 12, 1991
  • NA October 15, 1992
  • EU 1993
Introductory price JP¥49,800
US$299
GB£270
Discontinued 1996
Units sold 2.7 million as of the end of 1994 (US)
Media CD-ROM, CD+G
CPU MC68000 @ 12.5 MHz
Storage Internal RAM
Sound Ricoh RF5C164
Related articles Sega 32X

The Sega CD, released as the Mega-CD (Japanese: メガCD Hepburn: Mega-Shī Dī?) in most regions outside North America, is a CD-ROM accessory for the Sega Genesis video game console designed and produced by Sega as part of the fourth generation of video game consoles. The add-on was released on December 12, 1991 in Japan, October 15, 1992 in North America, and 1993 in Europe. The Sega CD lets the user play CD-based games and adds extra hardware functionality, such as a faster central processing unit and graphic enhancements. It can also play audio CDs and CD+G discs.

Seeking to create an add-on device for the Genesis, Sega developed the unit to read compact discs as its storage medium. The main benefit of CD technology was greater storage capacity, which allowed for games to be nearly 320 times larger than their Genesis cartridge counterparts. This benefit manifested in the form of full motion video (FMV) games like the controversial Night Trap, which became a focus of the 1993 Congressional hearings on issues of video game violence and ratings. Sega of Japan partnered with JVC to design the add-on and refused to consult with Sega of America until the project was completed. Sega of America assembled parts from various “dummy” units to obtain a working prototype. While the add-on became known for several well-received games such as Sonic the Hedgehog CD and Lunar: Eternal Blue, its game library contained a large number of Genesis ports and FMV titles. The Sega CD was redesigned a number of times, including once by Sega and several times by licensed third-party developers.

By the end of 1994, the add-on had sold approximately 2.7 million units worldwide, compared to 29 million units for the Genesis sold by that time. In 1995, Sega began shifting its focus towards its new console, the Sega Saturn, over the Genesis and Sega CD. The Sega CD was officially discontinued in 1996. Retrospective reception to the add-on is mixed, praising the Sega CD for its individual offerings and additions to the Genesis’ functions, but offering criticism to the game library for its depth issues, high price of the unit, and how the add-on was supported by Sega.

History

Background

Sega entered the 16-bit era of video game consoles with the Sega Genesis. It was first released in Japan in 1988 as the Mega Drive and later released in North America in 1989 (as the Sega Genesis) and in Europe and other regions in 1990 (as the Mega Drive).[1] In mid-1990, Sega CEO Hayao Nakayama hired Tom Kalinske as CEO of Sega of America. Kalinske developed a four-point plan for sales of the Genesis: cut the console’s price, develop games for the American market with a new American team, continue aggressive advertising campaigns, and ship Sonic the Hedgehog with the Genesis as a pack-in game.[2] The Japanese board of directors initially disapproved of the plan,[2] but all four points were approved by Nakayama, who told Kalinske, “I hired you to make the decisions for Europe and the Americas, so go ahead and do it.”[1] Magazines praised Sonic as one of the greatest games yet made, and Sega’s console finally took off as customers who had been waiting for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) decided to purchase a Genesis instead.[2]

Development

By the early 1990s, compact discs were making significant headway as a storage medium for music and video games. NEC had been the first to use compact disc technology in a video game console with their PC Engine CD add-on in October 1988 in Japan, which sold 80,000 units in six months.[3] That same year, Nintendo announced a partnership with Sony to develop its own CD-ROM peripheral for the SNES. Commodore International released their CD-based CDTV multimedia system centered in early 1991, while long-in-waiting CD-i from Philips finally arrived towards the end of that year.[4]

Shortly after the release of the Genesis, Sega’s Consumer Products Research and Development Labs led by manager Tomio Takami were tasked with creating a CD-ROM add-on for the system, which became the Sega CD. The Sega CD was originally intended to equal the capabilities of the PC Engine CD, but with twice as much random-access memory (RAM), and sell for about JP¥20,000 (or US$150).[5] In addition to relatively short loading times, Takami’s team planned for the device to feature hardware scaling and rotation similar to that found in Sega’s arcade games, which required the use of a dedicated digital signal processor (DSP).[5][6] However, two changes made later in development contributed to the final unit’s higher than expected price.[5] Because the Genesis’ Motorola 68000 CPU was too slow to handle the Sega CD’s new graphical capabilities, an additional 68000 CPU was incorporated into the add-on.[5] In addition, upon hearing rumors that NEC planned a memory upgrade to the PC Engine CD, which would bring its available RAM from 0.5 Mbit to between 2 and 4 Mbit, Sega decided to increase the Sega CD’s available RAM from 1 Mbit to 6 Mbit.[5] This proved to be one of the greatest technical challenges during development since the Genesis’ access speed was initially too slow to run programs effectively.[6] The cost of the device was now estimated at $370, but market research convinced Sega executives that consumers would be willing to pay more for a state-of-the-art machine.[5] Sega partnered with JVC, which had been working with Warner New Media to develop a CD player under the CD+G standard, to develop the Sega CD.[3][7]

Up until the middle of 1991, Sega of America had been kept uninformed of the details of the project, without a functioning unit to test. According to former Sega of America executive producer Michael Latham, “When you work at a multinational company, there are things that go well and there are things that don’t. They didn’t want to send us working Sega CD units. They wanted to send us dummies and not send us the working CD units until the last minute because they were concerned about what we would do with it and if it would leak out. It was very frustrating.”[4] Even though they were not provided a functioning unit, Latham and Sega of America vice president of licensing Shinobu Toyoda put together a functioning Sega CD by acquiring a ROM for the system and installing it in a dummy unit.[4] Further frustrating the Sega of America staff was the construction of the add-on. “The Mega-CD was designed with a cheap, consumer-grade audio CD drive, not a CD-ROM,” stated Scot Bayless, former Sega of America senior producer. “Quite late in the run-up to launch, the quality assurance teams started running into severe problems with many of the units—and when I say severe, I mean units literally bursting into flames. We worked around the clock, trying to catch the failure in-progress, and after about a week we finally realized what was happening,” citing the need of game titles to utilize more time seeking data than the CD drive was designed to provide.[8]

Launch

Sega announced the release of the Mega-CD in Japan for late 1991, and North America (as the Sega CD) in 1992. It was unveiled to the public for the first time at the 1991 Tokyo Toy Show, to positive reception from critics.[9] The Mega-CD would go on to be released in Japan on December 12, 1991, initially retailing at JP¥49,800.[10] Though the unit sold quickly, the small install base of the Mega Drive in Japan meant that sales declined rapidly after launch.[11] Within its first year in Japan, the Mega-CD only sold 100,000 units. Third-party development of games for the new system suffered because Sega took a long amount of time to release software development kits.[9][12] Other factors impacting sales included the high launch price of the Mega-CD in Japan and only two titles being available at launch.[9]

On October 15, 1992, the Sega CD was released in North America, with a retail price of US$299.[4] Advertising for the add-on included one of Sega’s slogans, “Welcome to the Next Level”. Though only 50,000 units were available at launch due to production issues, the add-on sold over 200,000 units by the end of 1992.[11] As part of Sega’s sales, Blockbuster LLC purchased Sega CD units for rental in their stores.[13] The Mega-CD was launched in Europe in the spring of 1993,[9] at a price of GB£270. Only 70,000 units were initially available in the United Kingdom, but 60,000 units were sold by August 1993.[11] Emphasized by Sega of America, the benefits of the Sega CD’s additional storage space allowed for a large amount of full motion video (FMV) games to be published for the add-on,[12][14][15] with Digital Pictures becoming an important partner for Sega.[4] After the initial competition between Sega and Nintendo to develop a CD-based add-on, Nintendo eventually canceled the development process of its own competing peripheral after having partnered with Sony and then with Philips to develop one.[4]

PAL Mega-CD 2 without a Mega-Drive attached

Sega would go on to release the add-on’s second model, the Sega CD 2 (Mega-CD 2), on April 23, 1993 in Japan at a price of JP¥29,800,[16] It was released in North America several months later at the reduced retail price of US$229, with one of the system’s best-selling games, Sewer Shark, as a pack-in.[12][17] Designed to bring down the manufacturing costs of the Sega CD, the newer model is smaller and does not contain the motorized disc tray used in the initial model.[11] A limited number of games were also later developed that utilized both the Sega CD and the Sega 32X add-ons, the latter of which was released in November 1994.[18]

Night Trap controversy

See also: Sega Genesis § Videogame Rating Council and Congressional hearings on video game violence

On December 9, 1993, the United States Congress began to hold hearings on video game violence and the marketing of violent video games to children.[19] One of the games at the center of this controversy was the Sega CD’s Night Trap, a full-motion video adventure game by Digital Pictures.[15] Night Trap had been brought to the attention of United States Senator Joe Lieberman, who said of the game, “I looked at that game, too, and there was a classic. It ends with this attack scene on this woman in lingerie, in her bathroom. I know that the creator of the game said it was all meant to be a satire of Dracula; but nonetheless, I thought it sent out the wrong message.” Lieberman’s research later went on to conclude that the average video game player at the time was between seven and twelve years old, and that video game publishers were marketing violence to children.[19] Similar issues were brought up in the United Kingdom, with former Sega of Europe development director Mike Brogan noting that “Night Trap got Sega an awful lot of publicity…. Questions were even raised in the UK Parliament about its suitability. This came at a time when Sega was capitalizing on its image as an edgy company with attitude, and this only served to reinforce that image.”[8] Although experiencing increased sales as a result of the hearings, Sega decided to recall Night Trap and re-release it with revisions in 1994.[20] After the close of these hearings, video game manufacturers came together in 1994 to establish the rating system called for by Lieberman, eventually materializing in the form of the Entertainment Software Rating Board.[19]

Decline

As time passed, the releases of new CD-based consoles such as the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer and the Philips CD-i rendered the Sega CD technically obsolete, reducing public interest in the add-on.[11] In late 1993, less than a year after the system’s launches in North America and Europe, the gaming media reported that Sega of Japan was no longer accepting in-house development proposals for the Mega CD.[21] 2.7 million Sega CD units were sold by the end of 1994, compared to the 29 million Sega Genesis units sold by the same time.[22][23] In early 1995, Sega shifted its focus to the Sega Saturn and discontinued all advertising for Genesis hardware, including the Sega CD. The add-on itself was officially no longer supported in 1996.[12]

Technical specifications

Mega-CD 2 motherboard

The Sega CD can only be used in conjunction with a Genesis system, attaching through an expansion slot on the side of the main console. Though the Sega CD is an add-on, it does require its own separate power supply. In addition to playing its own library of games in CD-ROM format, the Sega CD can also play compact discs, karaoke CD+G discs, and can also be used in conjunction with the Sega 32X to play 32-bit games that utilize both add-ons. The second model, also known as the Sega CD 2, also includes a steel joining plate to be screwed into the bottom of the Genesis, as well as an extension spacer to work with the original model of the Genesis.[24]

The main CPU of the Sega CD is a 12.5MHz 16-bit Motorola 68000 processor,[9][25] which runs 5 MHz faster than the Genesis processor.[12] It contains 1 Mbit of boot ROM, allocated for the CD game BIOS, CD player software, and compatibility with CD+G discs. 6 Mbit of RAM are allocated to data for programs, pictures, and sounds; 512 Kbit to PCM waveform memory; 128 Kbit to CD-ROM data cache memory; and an additional 64 Kbit are allocated as backup memory.[24] Additional backup memory in the form of a 1 Mbit Backup RAM Cartridge was also available as a separate purchase. Audio is able to be supplied through the Ricoh RF5C164, and two RCA pin jacks allow the Sega CD to output stereophonic sound separate from the Genesis. Combining stereo sound from a Genesis to either version of the Sega CD requires a cable between the Genesis’s headphone jack and an input jack on the back of the CD unit. This is not required for the second model of the Genesis.[24]

Though the Sega CD offers a faster processor, its main purpose is to expand the size of the games. Whereas ROM cartridges of the day typically contained 8 to 16 megabits of data, a CD-ROM disc can hold more than 640 megabytes of data, or more than 320 times the storage of a Genesis cartridge. This allows the Sega CD to run games containing full motion video.[4]

Variations

See also: Sega Genesis § Variations
Sega-CD-Model1-Set.jpg
Sega-CD-Model2-Set.jpg
Genesis-CDX-Console-Set.jpg
Sega CD with original Genesis Sega CD 2 with second model Genesis Sega Genesis CDX
Console-wondermega.jpg
Victor-WonderMega-RG-M2-Console-Set.jpg
Pioneer LaserActive CLD-A100.jpg                  3LxWu
Victor Wondermega RG-M1 Victor Wondermega RG-M2 Pioneer LaserActive                 Aiwa CSD _GM1

The Sega CD received several variations during its lifetime, of which Sega constructed three. The original model utilized a front-loading motorized disc tray and sat underneath the Genesis.[12] Sega later released the Sega CD 2, which was redesigned to sit next to the second model of the Genesis and featured a top-loading disc tray in place of the motorized tray of the original model.[12] In addition to the add-on models, Sega also released the Genesis CDX (Multi-Mega in Japan and Europe). This console was a combination of the Genesis and Sega CD into one unit, and initially retailed at US$399. Unique to this model was its additional functionality as a portable compact disc player.[26]

Three additional system models were created by other electronics companies. Working with Sega of Japan, JVC released the Wondermega on April 1, 1992, in Japan, at an initial retail price of ¥82,800 (or US$620). The system was later redesigned by JVC and released as the X’Eye in North America in September 1994. Designed by JVC to be a Genesis and Sega CD combination with high quality audio, the Wondermega’s high price kept it out of the hands of average consumers.[27] Likewise was the case with the Pioneer LaserActive, which was also an add-on that required an attachment developed by Sega, known as the Mega-LD pack, in order to play Genesis and Sega CD games. Though the LaserActive, developed by Pioneer Corporation, was lined up to compete with the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer, the combined system and Mega-LD pack retailed at nearly $1600, becoming a very expensive option for Sega CD players.[28] Aiwa also released the CSD-GM1, a combination Genesis/Sega CD unit built into a boombox.[1]

Game library

Sonic the Hedgehog CD’s special stage uses the Sega CD’s enhanced graphical capabilities

The Sega CD supports a library of over 200 games created both by Sega and an array of third-party publishers. Included in this library are six games which, while receiving individual Sega CD releases, also received separate versions that utilized both the Sega CD and Sega 32X add-ons.[18] Among the titles released for the add-on were a number of FMV games, including Sewer Shark and Fahrenheit. Well-known titles include Sonic the Hedgehog CD, Lunar: Eternal Blue, and Snatcher, as well as the controversial Night Trap.[14][15][29][30] Although Sega created Streets of Rage for the Genesis to compete against the SNES port of the arcade hit Final Fight, the Sega CD received an enhanced version of the latter game that has been praised for its greater faithfulness to the arcade original.[31][32] Eternal Champions: Challenge from the Dark Side was noted for its impressive use of the system’s hardware as well as its violent content.[33][34] In particular, Sonic the Hedgehog CD has garnered critical acclaim for its excellent graphics and new time travel elements, which improved upon the traditional Sonic formula.[15][35][36][37][38][39] The Sega CD also received enhanced ports of games from the Genesis, such as Batman Returns and Ecco the Dolphin.[9]

Given the large number of FMV games and Genesis ports, the Sega CD’s game library has been criticized for its lack of depth. Full motion video quality was substandard on the Sega CD due to poor video compression software and the system’s limited color palette,[14] and the concept never caught on with the public.[12] According to Digital Pictures founder Tom Zito, “Sega CD could only put up 32 colors at a time, so you had this horrible grainy look to the images,”[4] though the system was able to put up 64 colors at one time.[40] Likewise, most Genesis ports for the Sega CD added in additional full motion video sequences, extra levels, and enhanced audio, but were otherwise the same game as the Genesis release.[12] The video quality in these sequences has also been criticized as comparable to an old VHS tape.[14]

Reception and legacy

PAL Mega-CD 2 with a Mega Drive and a Sega 32X attached. Each device requires its own power supply.

Near the time of its release, the Sega CD was awarded Best New Peripheral of 1992 by Electronic Gaming Monthly. Four separate reviews scored the add-on 8, 9, 8, and 8 out of 10; reviewers cited its upgrades to the Genesis as well as its high-quality and expanding library of games.[41] Later reception in 1995 by Electronic Gaming Monthly showed a more mixed response to the peripheral, with four reviewers scoring it 5 out of 10, citing its game library issues and substandard video quality.[42] GamePro also criticized the weak games library and substandard video quality, noting that many of the games were simple ports of cartridge games with minimal enhancements and commenting that “The Sega CD could have been an upgrade, but it’s essentially a big memory device with CD sound.” They gave it a “thumbs sideways” and recommended that Genesis fans buy an SNES before even considering a Sega CD.[43] Likewise, in a special Game Machine Cross Review in May 1995, Famicom Tsūshin scored the Japanese Mega-CD 2 a 17 out of 40.[44]

Retrospective reception of the Sega CD is mixed, praising certain titles in its game library but criticizing its low value for money and limitations on the benefits it provides to the Genesis.[14][15][45] GamePro listed the Sega CD as the 7th-worst selling video game console of all time, with reviewer Blake Snow noting that “The problem was threefold: the device was expensive at $299, it arrived late in the 16-bit life cycle, and it didn’t do much (if anything) to enhance the gameplay experience.” Snow went on to note, however, that the Sega CD did have in its library “the greatest Sonic game of all time” in Sonic the Hedgehog CD.[45] IGN‘s Levi Buchanan criticized Sega’s implementation of CD technology for the Genesis, noting, “What good is the extra storage space if there is nothing inventive to be done with it? No new gameplay concepts emerged from the SEGA CD—it just offered more of the same. In fact, with few exceptions like Sonic CD, it often offered some of the 16-bit generation’s worst games, like Demolition Man.”[14] By contrast, Jeremy Parish of 1UP.com gave a positive review of the Sega CD, stating that “taken on its own merits, the Sega CD had much to offer—solid tech that more than doubled the Genesis’ raw hardware power, interesting capabilities, and a strong software library.”[15] Writing for Retro Gamer, Damien McFerran cited various reasons for the Sega CD’s limited sales, including the add-on’s high price, lack of significant enhancement to the Genesis console, and lack of ability to function without a console attached.[11] Retro Gamer writer Aaron Birch, however, defended the Sega CD and wrote that “the single biggest cause of the Mega-CD’s failure was the console itself. When the system came out, CD-ROM technology was still in its infancy and companies had yet to get to grips with the possibilities it offered… quite simply, the Mega-CD was a console ahead of its time.”[9]

The poor support for the Sega CD has often been criticized as the first link in the devaluation of the Sega brand. Writing for IGN, Buchanan described an outside perspective on Sega’s decision to release the Sega CD with its poor library and console support, stating, “[T]he SEGA CD instead looked like a strange, desperate move—something designed to nab some ink but without any real, thought-out strategy. Genesis owners that invested in the add-on were sorely disappointed, which undoubtedly helped sour the non-diehards on the brand.”[14] In reviewing for GamePro, Snow commented that “[the] Sega CD marked the first of several Sega systems that saw very poor support; something that devalued the once-popular Sega brand in the eyes of consumers, and something that would ultimately lead to the company’s demise as a hardware maker.”[45]

Former Sega of America senior producer Scot Bayless attributes the unsuccessful market to a lack of direction from Sega with the add-on. According to Bayless, “It was a fundamental paradigm shift with almost no thought given to consequences. I honestly don’t think anyone at Sega asked the most important question: ‘Why?’ There’s a rule I developed during my time as an engineer in the military aviation business: never fall in love with your tech. I think that’s where the Mega-CD went off the rails. The whole company fell in love with the idea without ever really asking how it would affect the games you made.”[11] Sega of America producer Michael Latham offers a contrasting view of support for the add-on, however, stating “I loved the Sega CD. I always thought the platform was under-appreciated and that it was hurt by an over-concentration of trying to make Hollywood interactive film games versus using its storage and extended abilities to make just plain great video games.”[46]

See also

Portal icon Sega portal
Portal icon Video games portal

References

  1. Horowitz, Ken (February 8, 2005). “Interview: Michael Latham”. Sega-16. Retrieved May 19, 2014.

Sonic adventure

Posted by kayrayorulmazyorulmaz on February 15, 2015
Posted in: Uncategorized. Tagged: . Leave a comment

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sonic Adventure
Sonic Adventure.PNG
North American Dreamcast cover art
Developer(s) Sonic Team
Sonic Team USA(international)
NOW Production[1] (DX staff)
Sega Studios Shanghai (360/PS3)[2]
Publisher(s) Sega
Director(s) Takashi Iizuka
Producer(s) Yuji Naka
Programmer(s) Tetsu Katano
Artist(s) Kazuyuki Hoshino
Yuji Uekawa
Writer(s) Akinori Nishiyama
Composer(s) Jun Senoue
Kenichi Tokoi
Fumie Kumatani
Masaru Setsumaru
Series Sonic the Hedgehog
Platform(s) Dreamcast, GameCube, Windows, Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, Steam
Release date(s)
Genre(s) Platformer, action-adventure
Mode(s) Single-player
Multiplayer
Distribution CD-ROM
Download
GD-ROM
GameCube Game Disc

Sonic Adventure (ソニックアドベンチャー Sonikku Adobenchā?) is a platform video game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega for the Dreamcast as the first video game to be released for the system. It was originally released for the Dreamcast in 1998, with enhanced ports of the game being released in 2003 for the Nintendo GameCube and Microsoft Windows. It has since been re-released as a downloadable game for Xbox 360 via Xbox Live Arcade, and PlayStation 3 via PlayStation Networkin 2010.

Taking place on a fictional island connected to a city, the game follows the adventures of the protagonist Sonic the Hedgehog. An ancient entity named Chaos is released by series villain Doctor Eggman and plots to steal the seven Chaos Emeralds for the entity. Sonic is joined by his best friend Miles “Tails” Prower, Amy Rose, who views Sonic as her love interest, Knuckles the Echidna, who plans to reassemble the Master Emerald, Big the Cat, a cat who attempts to rescue his frog friend, and E-102 Gamma, one of Eggman’s robots.

Sonic Adventure received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised the game’s graphics, gameplay, and soundtrack. The game would later go on to become the best-selling Dreamcast game. A sequel, titled Sonic Adventure 2, was released in 2001 for the Dreamcast.

Gameplay[edit]

An example of gameplay in the Emerald Coast level in Sonic Adventure. Sonic is being chased by a giant Orca.

Sonic Adventure is a platform game in which the player controls six different characters: Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles “Tails” Prower, Knuckles the Echidna, Amy Rose, Big the Cat, and E-102 Gamma.[5] They must stop Doctor Eggman from stealing the seven Chaos Emeralds and feeding them to Chaos, a monster known as “the God of Destruction”.[6] The first in the Sonic the Hedgehog series to feature free-roaming 3D gameplay, Sonic Adventure features two game modes: Adventure and Trial.[7] There are different goals for each character in the game: Sonic involves high speed gameplay, while Tails must reach the end of the level before Sonic does and Knuckles searches the area for shards of the Master Emerald.[8] Each of the three characters retain many of their trademark moves from previous Sonic games, such as Tails being able to fly for short periods of time, and Knuckles being able to glide through the air, though they can use updated techniques as well.[9] The rest of the playable cast is rounded out by Amy, who must use her hammer to escape from Eggman’s E-100 Zero robot chasing after her, Gamma, who must use its laser beam to shoot through levels to reach a target, and Big, who fishes in efforts to find his friend, Froggy.

The “Adventure Mode” is a one-player game which consists of two areas, the “Adventure Field” and an “Action Stage”.[10] The Adventure Field contains several “Events” that are encountered in the course of the story, while the Action Stages have each character fulfilling a goal to clear the stage.[10] Players may also find hidden Chao Gardens, a protective environment inhabited by Chao, a sort of virtual pet. The player can hatch, raise and interact with a Chao.[11] Chao can be taken with the player by downloading the minigame Chao Adventure to their VMU, or in the GameCube version, a Game Boy Advance with Sonic Advance or various other Game Boy Advance Sonic games. The player can also raise their stats by giving them small animals that they found by defeating the robots, which improves their performance in Chao Races. There are also eggs hidden throughout the Adventure Fields which can produce special types of Chao.

By playing through Action Stages and Subgames, searching through the Adventure Fields or winning Chao Races, players can earn Emblems. In the case of Action Stages, each one has three Emblems, which can be earned by replaying the stages and fulfilling certain objectives, such as beating the level within a time limit. In Sonic Adventure DX, these can unlock hidden extras such as Game Gear games.[12]

Plot[edit]

Characters[edit]

Main article: List of Sonic the Hedgehog video game characters

The titular protagonist of the game is Sonic the Hedgehog, a hedgehog with the ability to run at supersonic speeds who has returned home after a long journey.[13] His longtime friend is Miles “Tails” Prower, a fox with two tails.[14] Knuckles the Echidna is an echidna with the ability to glide; he is the guardian of the Master Emerald.[15] Amy Rose is a pink hedgehog and views Sonic as her love interest.[16] E-102 Gamma is a gunner robot belonging to the E-100 Series who must pass a test for his superior.[17] Big the Cat is a giant cat interested in fishing and is usually accompanied by his friend, Froggy.[18] The characters are aided by Tikal the Echidna, a mysterious female echidna who appears whenever Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, E-102 Gamma and Big are sent back in time, and also gives out hints to the player.

The main antagonist is Doctor Eggman, an evil scientist who is planning to use the Chaos Emeralds to destroy Earth.[19] Aiding Eggman is Chaos, a liquified life-form.[19] Chaos was previously sealed by Tikal after her father Pachacamac attempted to steal the Chaos Emeralds from the shrine, but has been freed due to Eggman’s actions. Also aiding Eggman is E-100 Alpha (better known as Zero), the first E-series robot constructed as a prototype[20] dispatched to find Amy’s friend Birdie. Other characters include the E-Series, who are sent away after Gamma locates the Chaos Emerald. All of them have letters of the Greek alphabet as part of their name. E-101 Beta is a black robot with two gun arms who is later upgraded; E-103 Delta is a blue robot; E-104 Epsilon is an orange robot; and E-105 Zeta is a purple robot who is later turned into a cylinder-like form with several turrets made up of a few Dreamcast machines.[citation needed]

Story[edit]

Sonic Adventure ’​s story begins on Angel Island, an island floating above Earth. Three thousand years prior, the Ancient Echidna Tribe’s ruler, Pachacamac, plans for world domination. His daughter Tikal enters a shrine, discovering the Chaos Emeralds and the Master Emerald, a group of mysterious emeralds with unlimited power. She befriends a peaceful entity known as Chaos, the guardian of the emeralds, as well as the Chao. Despite warnings from Tikal, Pachacamac and the tribe attack the shrine, attempting to use the emeralds for their own gain. However, Chaos transforms into Perfect Chaos and destroys them all. Following Chaos’ attack, Tikal seals the entity and herself inside the Master Emerald.

In the present, Knuckles the Echidna guards the Master Emerald on the floating Angel Island when the evil scientist Doctor Eggman shatters the Master Emerald and sets Chaos free.[21] As a result, Angel Island plunges into the sea, causing the Master Emerald’s shards and the seven Chaos Emeralds to be scattered.[22] Resolving to search for the shards of the Master Emerald, Knuckles sets off. In the city of Station Square, Sonic the Hedgehog battles Chaos after witnessing an attack by the police.[23] Miles “Tails” Prower tests his Chaos Emerald-powered airplane, only to crash on the beach of Emerald Coast.[24] After Sonic rescues Tails, they go to his workshop in the Mystic Ruins, where they are confronted by Eggman.[25] The mad scientist uses Tails’ Emerald to transform Chaos and he reveals his ultimate plan: with the power harnessed from the Emeralds, Chaos will eventually become invincible and destroy Station Square and Eggman will build Robotnikland over the city’s ruins.[26] Sonic and Tails resolve to search for the emeralds to prevent Eggman from getting them first, but eventually lose the ones they find to Eggman and Chaos. Eggman escapes in his airship, the Egg Carrier, and shoots down Sonic and Tails’ pursuing plane.[27]

Eggman activates E-102 Gamma[28] and fights E-101 Beta during his training. He orders the rest of the E-Series robots to search for Froggy, a frog who has eaten Chaos’s tail as well as a Chaos Emerald. Gamma finds Froggy but is chased back to the ship by Froggy’s owner Big the Cat. After his crash, Tails finds another emerald and uses it to prepare the Tornado II plane to find Sonic while Sonic lands in Station Square once again. While lamenting her time with Sonic, Amy Rose discovers a Flicky bird in possession of a Chaos Emerald and names him Birdie. However, Eggman, having discovered Birdie’s location, dispatches his robot Zero to chase the Flicky down.[29] After Sonic turns down an offer to protect Birdie, Zero captures Amy and Birdie and detains them both on the Egg Carrier, with Sonic and Tails using the Tornado II to follow them on board. Knuckles also boards the aircraft after collecting pieces of the Master Emerald and seeing an image of the Egg Carrier in the emerald.

On board the Egg Carrier, Eggman calls out the E-Series robots for their failure and removes them before stationing Gamma in Amy’s cell. However, Gamma witnesses Beta being rebuilt and Amy convinces Gamma that he should not work for Eggman, as he is an enemy. In a confusion of newly discovered emotions, Gamma releases Amy and Birdie. While being chased by Zero, Amy goes to the ship’s deck. She meets up with Sonic and Tails, but Eggman appears and steals Birdie’s emerald, dispatching Gamma to attack Sonic. Sonic damages Gamma, but Amy intervenes and asks Sonic to spares him. Gamma, understanding that Eggman is an enemy, decides to follow the others. The ship loses altitude and Tails, Amy, and Gamma flee, while Sonic restores the ship to its original form. Sonic is confronted by Chaos, now with six Chaos Emeralds and his tail restored, and defeats it once more before pursuing Eggman. Meanwhile, Big retrieves Froggy from inside Chaos before finding the Tornado II, and Knuckles steals back the six Chaos Emeralds; they both flee from the ship as it crashes.

Upon erasing his master registration, Gamma resolves to track down his brother robots.[30] After freeing the animals inside the robots, he goes to the Egg Carrier and confronts Beta, in his rebuilt form.[31] Gamma defeats him, but the fight also causes Gamma to be destroyed, with Birdie’s parents being released from within the two.[32] Returning to the Egg Carrier, Amy reunites Birdie with its family, but she is confronted by Zero after he knocks down the Flicky.[33] Amy defeats the robot and sees Birdie and his family off, vowing to do her best.[34] Elsewhere, Tails chases Eggman and stops him from detonating a missile in the middle of Station Square. Eggman resorts to using the Egg Walker to try and level the city, but is again defeated by Tails.[35] Later, Sonic confronts the mad scientist in his Egg Viper and destroys it.[36]

A day following Eggman’s defeats, Knuckles restores the shards of the Master Emerald,[37] but Angel Island collapses into the sea once again when Chaos attacks him and Eggman. Chaos absorbs the 6 Chaos Emeralds and locates the seventh aboard the Tornado II, which crashed after Big used it to escape the Egg Carrier. With all the Chaos Emeralds, Chaos transforms into Perfect Chaos, draining the Chaos Emeralds of their negative energy, and destroys Station Square in a massive flood. Tikal appears, having taken each main character into the past numerous times beforehand, demanding that Chaos must be sealed back in the Master Emerald. Sonic objects, saying that Chaos’s heart would still be filled with anger and sadness if he were to be sealed inside the Master Emerald. Sonic’s friends cheer him on, and Sonic uses the Chaos Emeralds’ still-present positive energy to become Super Sonic and face off against Perfect Chaos.[38] Following his defeat, Chaos discovers that the Chao thrive in Station Square, quelling his anger. United with Tikal, Chaos disappears. The game ends with Sonic chasing after a fleeing Eggman.[39]

Development[edit]

Development of Sonic Adventure began around April 1997 with a development team of 30 members. After developing several titles for the Sega Genesis, producer Yuji Nakaworked mainly on the game Nights into Dreams… for the Sega Saturn. Sonic Team started to work on an original 3D Sonic title for the Saturn, but development was ultimately shifted to the Dreamcast; according to Naka, remnants of the project can be seen in the compilation Sonic Jam.[40][41] The development team focused on graphics and high resolution for this game, with Naka reflecting that “[w]e have pushed the Dreamcast as far as we can at present”.[42]

Director Takashi Iizuka, having developed Nights into Dreams…, proposed to Naka that they should develop a role-playing video game-style Sonic game.[43][44] The development team wanted to make a realistic world in the game; however, they never saw environments like ruins or jungles. As a result, the core members of the Sonic Team went to Central America and South America. The team visited Cancun, Guatemala and Peru, and used pictures taken from their journey as “textures in the games.” For Tails’ sandboarding, the development team used a group of people boarding on sand dunes in Ica, Peru as a reference.[43]

Naka aimed to create levels that would take the player at least five minutes to complete, yet retain similar gameplay to the Mega Drive titles. Following the creation of the basic level maps, Naka wondered “why don’t we use this map for other characters?” This led to the introduction of Big and E-102.[42] The development team conducted surveys of fans to ensure that the final product, especially the characters, would please them. The character of Sonic was redesigned for the game by Sonic Team artist Yuji Uekawa, with longer legs and spines that Iizuka subsequently noted were more suitable for 3D than Sonic’s original and more compact design, which was meant to be seen from the side.[45][46]Certain levels, such as “Lost World,” were rebuilt dozens of times.[44] Sega made it a top priority to keep the game a secret until shortly before its release. Despite these efforts, screenshots were leaked onto the Internet in mid-1998. Naka presented the game to Edge in mid-August, and official announcement fell on August 22 in Japan.[42] The soundtrack was composed by Jun Senoue and Fumie Kumatani and it contains vocal performances from Tony Harnell, Karen Brake, Marlon Saunders, Dred Foxx, Ted Poley, Nikki Gregoroff and Johnny Gioeli, the latter of whom would later join Senoue to form the band Crush 40. The development team preferred the use of “hot, funky, and rock ‘n’ roll” music over the traditional techno-based music present in earlier Sonic games.[42][47] The sound effects were created by Takashi Endo, Tatsuyuki Maeda, Yutaka Minobe and Masaru Setsumaru.[48] The game was first unveiled at the Tokyo Game Show in Tokyo, Japan in October 1998 to a positive response.[49]

In February 1999, Sega’s vice president Tadahiko Hirose announced that Sonic Adventure would be released along with Virtua Fighter 3tb and Sega Rally 2 as launch titles for the Dreamcast’s international release.[50] In June 1999, Sega announced that Sonic Adventure would be one of the five titles in the Dreamcast’s “Masterpiece Collection”.[51] The North American version of the game includes Japanese and English-language audio tracks, as well as Japanese, English, Spanish, French and German subtitles.[52] Online gameplay and downloadable content were also added for the localization.[53]

Alternate versions and releases[edit]

Sonic Adventure International[edit]

The international version of Sonic Adventure was re-released in Japan on October 14, 1999 under the title Sonic Adventure International (ソニックアドベンチャー・インターナショナル Sonikku Adobenchā Intānashonaru?).

GameCube and Windows ports[edit]

In 2003, an enhanced port was released for the GameCube and Windows titled Sonic Adventure DX: Director’s Cut (ソニックアドベンチャー デラックス Sonikku Adobenchā Derakkusu?). Sonic Adventure DX includes a Mission Mode, which included 60 missions to complete throughout the Adventure Fields and Action Stages. It also contains an unlockable compilation that features twelve Game Gear games featuring Sonic and friends. They are Sonic Drift, Sonic Chaos, Sonic Labyrinth, Sonic the Hedgehog: Triple Trouble, Sonic Drift 2, Tails’ Skypatrol, Sonic Blast, Tails Adventure, and the 8-bit versions of Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball, and Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine. Also, if all Emblems are collected, then the player can play as Metal Sonic. Reviews were generally less positive than those of its Dreamcast predecessor.[54][55]

Digital releases[edit]

On June 10, 2010, Sega officially announced that Sonic Adventure would be released on both the Xbox Live Arcade and the PlayStation Network in Fall 2010. The Xbox Live Arcade version was released on September 15, 2010, while the PlayStation Network version was released on September 20, 2010.[56] The initial release is based on the PC version of Sonic Adventure DX despite the game simply being called “Sonic Adventure“.[57] The DLC package, simply titled “Sonic Adventure DX Upgrade”, has launched alongside the game on XBLA, and PSN, which upgrades the game to include all of the features from the GameCube and PC versions with the exception of the Game Gear games and Dreamcast DLC. This version also includes Metal Sonic as an unlockable character.[58]

Sonic Adventure DX was released again on Steam on March 4, 2011 as a digital download across several platforms.[citation needed]

Reception[edit]

[icon] This section requires expansion. (April 2014)

Sonic Adventure received generally favorable reviews from critics. The current GameRankings average ranking is 86.51%.[59] It became one of the few Sega All Stars games. The Japanese video game magazine Famitsu gave the game a score of 38/40.[60] Although criticized for its camera system, framerate issues, and fishing stages with Big, the game was still highly praised for retaining the fast and enjoyable gameplay that Sonic was known for in 2D as well as the game’s graphics, multiple character storylines, and soundtrack. Brandon Justice of IGN rated the game an 8.6/10, criticizing various glitches and voice acting while praising the game’s visuals and gameplay.[61] On the other hand, GamePro gave it a 5/5 saying, “Sonic is fun, fast, and a great reason to purchase a Dreamcast”.[citation needed] As of August 2006, Sonic Adventure has sold over 2.5 million units worldwide, making it the best-selling Dreamcast game.[62] This includes one million sold in the United States.[63]

At the time of its release, Adventure was acclaimed by the Arcade magazine as a “quantum leap forward” in aesthetics and visual detail in video games,[64] estimated by Hyper to exceed that which was possible on high-end PCs.[65] Computer and Video Games stated shortly after release that “Sonic Adventure is one of the best games ever made” and marveled that “many things you thought were impossible to see and experience in computer games are now here.”[66] Edge ’​s preview stated that graphical features like an “amazingly detailed cityscape” showed off the Dreamcast’s potential, comparing it to Super Mario 64 ’​s role for the Nintendo 64, and exclaimed that “as a showcase of what the machine can do, Sonic Adventure is perfect.”[67] Speculation arose that the game could save the Dreamcast,[64][68] which had not sold well so far by the end of 1998,[64] or even re-establish Sega as the dominant console manufacturer after the relatively unsuccessful Saturn.[69]

PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade versions[edit]

Reviews for the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade versions of Sonic Adventure were mixed. IGN UK’s Arthur Gies gave the Xbox 360 version a score of 3.5/10 and calling it “so fundamentally flawed that it borders on unplayable–the sections that move the fastest, that work best, require the least input from the player.”[70] 1UP.com criticized both the game’s dated mechanics and the perceived lack of effort put into the port, which “feels like it wasn’t even tuned for the Xbox 360 controller.”[57] By contrast, Gamer 2.0 claimed that the controls were “slightly more responsive than those of the Dreamcast original,”[71] and PlayStation LifeStyle scored it 8/10, complimenting the “frantic, fun gameplay” and “tons of replayability”, concluding that “If you manage to overlook the glitches and dinky camera, you’ll easily find a gem (or emerald) in this Dreamcast classic.”[72]

Promotion and tie-ins[edit]

Prior to the official launch of the Dreamcast in the US, Sega of America formed an exclusive deal with Hollywood Video to allow customers to rent the Dreamcast console along with Sonic Adventure. This promotion began on July 15, 1999 and took place at 1,055 Hollywood Video stores across the country.[73] This non-retail version of the game that was included, titled Sonic Adventure: Limited Edition, featured an initial English of the game’s text and voice overs, as well as improvements to Japanese version’s controls and camera.[74][75]

Sonic Adventure received a comic book adaptation courtesy of Archie Comics‘ Sonic the Hedgehog on-going series. The story arc took place in issues #79-84 and Sonic Super Special #13, originally published from November 1999 to May 2000. This adaptation is notable for its permanent integration of characters and story-lines from the video game into the pre-existing continuity of the comic series, providing explanations for the altered character design for Amy Rose and the history of Station Square hidden beneath Sonic’s planet, Mobius. Selected portions of these issues (with the exception of issue #79) were reprinted in Archie’s Sonic Super Special Magazine #2 (February 2012).

Franco-American‘s Sonic the Hedgehog pasta featured Sonic Adventure inspired labeling for a limited time and offered consumers a chance to obtain a free Archie Sonic comic book.

In 2000, Toy Island produced multiple lines of Sonic Adventure toys, featuring 5″ action figures, 10″ talking figures, and 3″ bendy figures. Several of these figures were later reissued as part of their Sonic X lines in 2004.

Legacy[edit]

Following Sonic Adventure, Sonic Team developed Sonic Adventure 2, the final Sonic game for the Dreamcast. Adventure also introduced two characters that would appear in later games and other media—Big and Gamma—as well as the ubiquitous Chao creatures.

Writers at GamesRadar have stated that, as Sonic Adventure was one of the first 128-bit console games, “the gaming world was changed forever” despite presence of some glitches.[76] Travis Fahs of IGN asserted in 2010 that it is still remembered as the most impressive Sonic game from after the Genesis era and that, despite Sega’s efforts, no post-Dreamcast Sonic game has achieved similar success.[77] Taylor Cocke of Joystiq has stated that the original Sonic the Hedgehog and Adventure both succeeded and innovated in gaming—among 2D and 3D games, respectively—by feeling “good to play” and making effective use of linear level design.[78] In 2009, GamePro listed the game as the seventh best platformer of all time, asserting that while it had not aged well in certain respects, its core gameplay “is still some of the best” in the entire series.[79] According to game journalists Rusel DeMaria and Johnny L. Wilson, Sonic Adventure “wasn’t a strong enough title” and “failed to catch on with players in nearly the way that Mario 64 had done,” “though it had many fascinating features, including the use of the Tamagotchi-like memory card to incubate eggs for little pet creatures” and “some good action segments.”[80] In a 2006 retrospective, Retro Gamer‘s Sean Smith noted that while Adventure “has its share of detractors”, it “still looks luscious and plays extremely well.”[47]Writing in 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die, Kieth Stuart described Adventure as “Sonic Team’s flawed masterpiece”, praising its “vast, twisting environments” and noting “From driving bumper karts in Twinkle Park to legging it down the side of a skyscraper in Speed Highway, the game brilliantly captures traditional Sonic elements.”[44]

In 2011, Sonic Team developed Sonic Generations, a game that remade aspects of various past games from the franchise. The PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC version contained a remade “Speed Highway” level, and a remade battle with Perfect Chaos. The Nintendo 3DS version contained a remade version of the “Emerald Coast” level.

Notes[edit]

  1. Jump up ^ “Game Developer Research Institute”.
  2. Jump up ^ “Sega Considering Saturn Download Releases”.
  3. Jump up ^ Gantayat, Anoop (June 30, 2010). “Coming soon to the Xbox LIVE Marketplace”. Archived from the original on December 15, 2010.
  4. Jump up ^ Search: (2010-09-15). “Sonic Adventure Release Information for Xbox 360”. GameFAQs. Retrieved 2011-08-11.
  5. Jump up ^ Arthur Gies (23 September 2010). “Sonic Adventure Review”. IGN. Retrieved 20 April 2013.
  6. Jump up ^ Peter Bartholow (31 December 1998). “Sonic Adventure Review”. Gamespot. Retrieved 20 April 2013.
  7. Jump up ^ Sega, p. 7
  8. Jump up ^ Peter Bartholow (December 31, 1998). “Sonic Adventure Review”. GameSpot. Retrieved April 20, 2013.
  9. Jump up ^ Arthur Gies (September 23, 2010). “Sonic Adventure Review”. IGN. IGN Entertainment. Retrieved April 20, 2013.
  10. ^ Jump up to: a b Sega, p. 9
  11. Jump up ^ Sega, p. 15
  12. Jump up ^ Matt Casamassina (June 21, 2003). “Sonic Adventure DX Director’s Cut”. IGN. IGN Entertainment. Retrieved April 20, 2013.
  13. Jump up ^ Sega, p. 18
  14. Jump up ^ Sega, p. 20
  15. Jump up ^ Sega, p. 22
  16. Jump up ^ Sega, p. 24
  17. Jump up ^ Sega, p. 26
  18. Jump up ^ Sega, p. 28
  19. ^ Jump up to: a b Sega, p. 31
  20. Jump up ^ ソニックチャンネル/キャラクター/キャラクターデータ/ガンマ (in Japanese). Sega. Archived from the original on December 20, 2012. Retrieved December 20,2012.
  21. Jump up ^ Sonic Team (1998). “Sonic Adventure”. Dreamcast. Sega. Level/area: Opening sequence 3. Knuckles the Echidna: (a noise awakens him) What the..? (he sees Chaos) What’s going on here?
  22. Jump up ^ Sonic Team (September 9, 1999). “Sonic Adventure”. Dreamcast. Sega. Level/area: Opening sequence 3. Knuckles the Echidna: Oh, no! It’s starting to happen! Without the Master Emerald’s power, this whole island will fall into the ocean!
  23. Jump up ^ Sonic Team (September 9, 1999). “Sonic Adventure”. Dreamcast. Sega. Level/area: Chaos.
  24. Jump up ^ Sonic Team (September 9, 1999). “Sonic Adventure”. Sega. Level/area: Opening sequence 2.
  25. Jump up ^ Sonic Team (September 9, 1999). “Sonic Adventure”. Sega. Level/area: Eggman.
  26. Jump up ^ Sonic Team (September 9, 1999). “Sonic Adventure”. Sega. Level/area: Mystic Ruins.
  27. Jump up ^ Sonic Team (September 9, 1999). “Sonic Adventure”. Sega. Level/area: Sky Chase Act 1.
  28. Jump up ^ Sonic Team (September 9, 1999). “Sonic Adventure”. Sega. Level/area: Opening sequence 6.
  29. Jump up ^ Sonic Team (September 9, 1999). “Sonic Adventure”. Dreamcast. Sega. Level/area: Opening sequence 4.
  30. Jump up ^ Sonic Team (September 9, 1999). “Sonic Adventure”. Dreamcast. Sega. Level/area: Mystic Ruins. E-102 Gamma: Dr. Robotnik… Enemy… Master registration… Deleted. E-Series… Friends… (touches down on the ground) Must save…
  31. Jump up ^ Sonic Team (September 9, 1999). “Sonic Adventure”. Dreamcast. Sega. Level/area: E101mkII.
  32. Jump up ^ Sonic Team (September 9, 1999). “Sonic Adventure”. Dreamcast. Sega. Level/area: Ending sequence 6.
  33. Jump up ^ Sonic Team (September 9, 1999). “Sonic Adventure”. Dreamcast. Sega. Level/area: Zero. Amy Rose: You idiot! How could you do this? (pulls out her Piko Piko Hammer)Now, you’re gonna get it!
  34. Jump up ^ Sonic Team (September 9, 1999). “Sonic Adventure”. Dreamcast. Sega. Level/area: Ending sequence 4. Amy Rose: You did it! Now, you three can live in peace again! (Birdie’s family flies off) I’m so happy! I’m going to try my best, too!
  35. Jump up ^ Sonic Team (September 9, 1999). “Sonic Adventure”. Dreamcast. Sega. Level/area: Egg Walker.
  36. Jump up ^ Sonic Team (September 9, 1999). “Sonic Adventure”. Dreamcast. Sega. Level/area: Egg Viper.
  37. Jump up ^ Sonic Team (September 9, 1999). “Sonic Adventure”. Dreamcast. Sega. Level/area: Ending sequence 3. Knuckles the Echidna: (after restoring the Master Emerald) This should do it! Perfect. All is well now! The Master Emerald and the Island are restored.
  38. Jump up ^ Sonic Team (September 9, 1999). “Sonic Adventure”. Dreamcast. Sega. Level/area: Perfect Chaos.
  39. Jump up ^ Sonic Team (September 9, 1999). “Sonic Adventure”. Dreamcast. Sega. Level/area: Ending sequence 7.
  40. Jump up ^ Barnholt, Ray. “Yuji Naka Interview: Ivy the Kiwi and a Little Sega Time Traveling”. 1UP.com. Retrieved 2014-03-04.
  41. Jump up ^ Towell, Justin (2012-06-23). “Super-rare 1990 Sonic The Hedgehog prototype is missing”. GamesRadar. Retrieved 2014-03-04. The reason why there wasn’t a Sonic game on Saturn was really because we were concentrating on NiGHTS. We were also working on Sonic Adventure–that was originally intended to be out on Saturn, but because Sega as a company was bringing out a new piece of hardware–the Dreamcast–we resorted to switching it over to the Dreamcast, which was the newest hardware at the time. So that’s why there wasn’t a Sonic game on Saturn. With regards to X-Treme, I’m not really sure on the exact details of why it was cut short, but from looking at how it was going, it wasn’t looking very good from my perspective. So I felt relief when I heard it was cancelled.
  42. ^ Jump up to: a b c d “Sega Unveils Sonic Adventure”. Edge: pp. 6–7. October 1998.
  43. ^ Jump up to: a b The Secrets of Sonic – Director’s Commentary with Takashi Iizuka. Tokyo: Sega. June 5, 2003.
  44. ^ Jump up to: a b c Mott, Tony (2013). 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die. New York, New York: Universe Publishing. p. 370. ISBN 978-0-7893-2090-2.
  45. Jump up ^ Thomason, Steve (January 2007). “Birth of a Hedgehog”. Nintendo Power (Future Publishing) 20 (211): 72.
  46. Jump up ^ “Summer Of Sonic 2011 – Takashi Iizuka & Yuji Naka Q&A”. YouTube. 2012-03-25. Retrieved 2014-07-10. Event occurs at 18:20.
  47. ^ Jump up to: a b Smith, Sean (June 22, 2006). “Company Profile: Sonic Team”. Retro Gamer 3(26): 27.
  48. Jump up ^ Sonic Team (November 27, 1998). “Sonic Adventure”. Dreamcast. Sega. Level/area: Credits.
  49. Jump up ^ IGN Staff (October 15, 1998). “TGS: Games Show Renewed Faith in Sega”. IGN. News Corporation. Retrieved January 19, 2013.
  50. Jump up ^ Ohbuchi, Yutaka (February 2, 1999). “Sonic, VF3, Rally 2 lead US DC launch”. GameStop. CBS Interactive. Retrieved January 19, 2013.
  51. Jump up ^ IGN Staff (June 1, 1999). “Sega’s New Challenge Conference ’99 Report”. IGN. News Corporation. Retrieved January 19, 2013.
  52. Jump up ^ Gantayat, Anoop (August 28, 1999). “Sonic Adventure US Shocker”. IGN. News Corporation. Retrieved January 19, 2013.
  53. Jump up ^ Gantayat, Anoop (August 24, 1999). “Sonic Adventure: Internet Gaming!”. IGN. News Corporation. Retrieved January 19, 2013.
  54. Jump up ^ “Game Rankings’s average review score for Sonic Adventure“. Game Rankings. CBS Interactive. Retrieved April 20, 2013.
  55. Jump up ^ “Game Rankings’s average review score for Sonic Adventure DX: Director’s Cut“. Game Rankings. CBS Interactive. Retrieved April 20, 2013.
  56. Jump up ^ Stephany Nunneley (2010-08-31). “Crackdown 2 Toy Box DLC, Sonic Adventure and more dated for XBLM”. VG247. Retrieved 2011-08-11.
  57. ^ Jump up to: a b Barnholt, Ray (2010-09-14). “Sonic Adventure Review for 360 from”. 1UP.com. Retrieved 2011-08-11.
  58. Jump up ^ http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/Product/Sonic-Adventure-DX-Upgrade/00000000-0000-400c-80cf-000158410a25
  59. Jump up ^ “Sonic Adventure Reviews”. Game Rankings. CBS Interactive. Retrieved April 20,2013.
  60. Jump up ^ “GEIMIN.NET／週刊ファミ通クロスレビュープラチナ殿堂入りソフト一覧”. Geimin.net. Retrieved April 15, 2013.
  61. Jump up ^ Justice, Brandon (September 8, 2009). “Sonic Adventure Review”. IGN. Retrieved September 17, 2009.
  62. Jump up ^ Daniel Boutros (2006-08-04). “Sonic Adventure”. A Detailed Cross-Examination of Yesterday and Today’s Best-Selling Platform Games. Gamasutra. Retrieved 2006-12-08.
  63. Jump up ^ “US Platinum Videogame Chart”. December 27, 2007. Retrieved April 20, 2013.
  64. ^ Jump up to: a b c “Sonic Adventure”. Arcade (1): p. 23. December 1998.
  65. Jump up ^ “Sonic Adventure”. Hyper: p. 18. March 1999.
  66. Jump up ^ “SONIC: It’s been a long time coming, but we’ve been very”. Computer and Video Games (215): p. 60. October 1999.
  67. Jump up ^ “Sega Unveils Sonic Adventure”. Edge: p. 6. October 1998.
  68. Jump up ^ “Sonic Adventure”. Computer and Video Games (209): p. 20. April 1999.
  69. Jump up ^ “Sonic Adventure”. Computer and Video Games (209): p. 12. March 1999.
  70. Jump up ^ Arthur Gies (2010-09-14). “Sonic Adventure Review – Xbox 360 Review at IGN”. Uk.xboxlive.ign.com. Retrieved 2011-08-11.
  71. Jump up ^ Dinolfo, Filippo, Review: Sonic Adventure (Xbox 360, PS3), Gamer 2.0, September 27th, 2010.
  72. Jump up ^ Hartnett, Mike (September 23, 2010). “PSN Review – Sonic Adventure”. PlayStation LifeStyle.
  73. Jump up ^ IGN staff (June 29, 1999). “Sega Releases Full Details of Rental Program”. IGN. Retrieved October 24, 2014.
  74. Jump up ^ Gantayat, Anoop (July 15, 1999). “Sonic Adventure: Limited Edition Quick Look”. IGN. Retrieved October 24, 2014.
  75. Jump up ^ IGN staff (July 15, 1999). “A Sit-down with Sonic Adventure: LE“. IGN. Retrieved October 24, 2014.
  76. Jump up ^ Cundy, Matt; Houghton, David; Irvine, Nathan; Towell, Justin (June 23, 2012). “Top 7… horrendously buggy games we loved anyway”. GamesRadar. Retrieved May 1,2014.
  77. Jump up ^ Fahs, Travis (September 9, 2010). “IGN Presents the History of Dreamcast”. IGN. Retrieved April 19, 2014.
  78. Jump up ^ Cocke, Taylor (June 21, 2012). “Silver Lining: Sonic the Hedgehog and a history of disappointment”. Joystiq. Retrieved April 19, 2014.
  79. Jump up ^ Noble, McKinley. “The 20 Best Platformers: 1989 to 2009”. GamePro. Archived from the original on May 6, 2009.
  80. Jump up ^ DeMaria, Rusel, and Johnny L. Wilson (2004), High Score: The Illustrated History of Electronic Games, McGraw-Hill/Osborne, p. 312.

References[edit]

  • Sonic Team Staff (1999). Sonic Adventure Instruction Manual. Sega. 51000.

External links[edit]

 Media related to Sonic Adventure at Wikimedia Commons

Sonic unleashed

Posted by kayrayorulmazyorulmaz on February 15, 2015
Posted in: Uncategorized. Leave a comment
rom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sonic Unleashed
Sonic World Adventure
Sonic unleashed boxart.jpg
European box art.
Developer(s) Sonic Team[1]
Dimps (PS2/Wii Day time level design)[2][3]
Publisher(s) Sega
Director(s) Yoshihisa Hashimoto
Producer(s) Akinori Nishiyama
Artist(s) Sachiko Kawamura
Writer(s) Kiyoko Yoshimura
Composer(s) Tomoya Ohtani
Kenichi Tokoi
Fumie Kumatani
Hideaki Kobayashi
Takahito Eguchi
Mariko Nanba
Series Sonic the Hedgehog
Engine Modified internal engine (PS2 & Wii)[4]
Hedgehog Engine (Xbox 360 & PS3)[5]
Havok (Physics Engine)
Dolby Digital (Sound Laboratory Engine)
Platform(s) PlayStation 2, Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3[6]
Mobile phones,[7]PlayStation Network
Release date(s)
Genre(s) Platformer, Action-Adventure, Beat ’em up
Mode(s) Single-player
Distribution DVD-SL, Wii Optical Disc, DVD-DL, Blu-ray Disc, Download

Sonic Unleashed, later released as Sonic World Adventure (Japanese: ソニックワールドアドベンチャー Hepburn: Sonikku Wārudo Adobenchā?) in Japan,[13] is a 2008 video game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series developed by Sonic Team[1] and published by Sega for multiple platforms in 2008. The game follows Sonic the Hedgehog as he attempts to restore the world to normal after his nemesis, Doctor Eggman, splits the world into pieces, as well as his struggles with his new beast form, Sonic the Werehog. Gameplay features two distinct styles, with each being played either during daytime or night-time. Daytime stages incorporate Sonic’s traditional platforming and trademark speed, with a combination of behind-the-back third-person viewpoints and 2D side-scroller platforming; gameplay seamlessly transitions between these two views.[14] Night-time levels see Sonic transform into the Werehog; gameplay slows down to accommodate greater platform play, and involves combat against waves of enemies using the Werehog’s brute strength.

The game’s existence was first brought to light when Sega trademarked the Unleashed name, and shortly after, images and a gameplay video were leaked to the public in March 2008. Public anticipation for the game was high, owing to the video’s demonstration of some two-dimensional gameplay, seen as a possible return to Sonic’s platforming roots. However, critical reception for the game was mixed, with reviewers praising certain elements, such as the sense of speed in daylight stages and the graphics and audio that make up the environments, and criticizing others, such as the new Werehog game mechanic, as well as several gameplay and design concepts. Many reviewers felt that Unleashed was ultimately not the title that would be able to reinvigorate the series.[15][16][17][18] Sonic Unleashed was de-listed in 2010, following Sega’s decision to remove all Sonic titles with average Metacritic scores from sale in stores.[19] Despite this, the game was made available to purchase on PlayStation Network on April 8, 2014.

Gameplay[edit]

Third-person gameplay in daytime levels (Apotos, Xbox 360/PS3 version).

Sonic Unleashed is a platform game in which the player controls the titular Sonic the Hedgehog in two modes: fast-paced levels that take place during daytime, showcasing Sonic’s trademark speed as seen in previous games in the series, and slower, night-time levels, during which Sonic transforms into the Werehog, and gameplay switches to an action-based, brawler style of play, in which Sonic battles Gaia enemies (those created by the main enemy in the game, Dark Gaia).[5][20] Each level takes place on a particular continent, each of which is based on a real-world location (i.e., Greece-based Apotos, Italy-based Spagonia, Africa-based Mazuri, New York-based Empire City,[Note 1] China-based Chun-nan, Antarctica-based Holoska, Middle East-based Shamar, and Southeast Asia-based Adabat).[13] In sections of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the game, the player may choose to advance the time of day in order to play as either Sonic or the Werehog; in the PlayStation 2 and Wii versions, time is advanced automatically.[21]

Daytime levels focus on Sonic’s speed, and to this extent, sees the player control Sonic through fast-moving stages containing both 2D and 3D styles of gameplay.[22] 2D sections are reminiscent of the Mega Drive/Genesis-era Sonic games, where the player controls Sonic in a side-scrolling fashion,[23] while 3D sections see the camera placed behind Sonic, so the player may move in all directions. In addition to moves available in past games, such as the homing attack,[24] new moves are also introduced. For instance, a new sidestep feature known as the Quick Step is available, allowing Sonic to dodge left and right, and a Drift feature, which allows Sonic to make tighter turns without slowing down.[24] The game also features a gameplay mechanic previously used in the Sonic Rush series called the Sonic Boost, which greatly increases Sonic’s speed, allowing him to smash through objects, destroy enemies instantly, or even access different level paths.[25] In the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions, an on-screen “Ring Energy” meter displays how much boost is available.[25] The amount of boost remaining may be increased by collecting more rings, and is decreased by using the Boost.[25] In contrast, the PlayStation 2 and Wii versions of the game represent available Boost using bars, which may be added by performing “Action Chains”, destroying multiple enemies in quick succession through the use of homing attacks, or by collecting rings.

Nighttime features slower-paced, action-oriented levels, in which Sonic transforms into the Werehog, a beast form that has great strength and stretchable arms.[17] Gameplay here sees the player use a variety of melee and combo attacks to defeat large numbers of enemies, collect items, and move items around to advance through the level, and use his stretchable arms to cling to distant objects;[17] simple puzzle elements are also featured.[26] Collecting rings in these levels replenishes the Werehog’s health,[23] while a special move, Unleashed Mode, allows the Werehog to channel his energy into increasing the power of his attacks for a short time.[27] Nighttime levels are adjusted in the Wii version to allow greater use of the Wii Remote, such that players may control the arms of the Werehog by using the Wii Remote and Nunchuk in order to grab onto objects and proceed in the levels.[21] The Wii version of the game also expands upon the ratio of nighttime levels to daytime, with more than three times as many nighttime levels (twenty-five in all).[28] After nighttime levels are completed, Dark Gaia Points are gained, allowing access to bonus moves.

In addition to these two gameplay types, Sonic Unleashed also features hubworlds, in which the player may reveal, as well as advance, the story of the game.[17] Hubworlds operate differently depending on the version of the game being played; the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions feature fully interactive, explorable 3D hubworlds, similar to those in Sonic 2006 and Sonic Adventure, in which townspeople may be interacted with and side quests may be undertaken, in order to gain experience or unlock items, such as artwork, videos and music tracks.[17][23] In contrast, the PlayStation 2 and Wii versions feature menu-based map systems, in which players simply click on areas to talk to townspeople and find information.[21] Within both day and nighttime levels are medals that Sonic may collect, two types of which exist: Sun and Moon.[25] In the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions, collecting these medals allows the player to level up Sonic’s Sun and Moon stats, and these must be increased to reach new stages in the game, with a certain number of Sun medals for Hedgehog levels, and a certain number of Moon medals for Werehog levels.[25] Because only the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions feature playable hubworlds, these are also the only versions in which Sun and Moon medals may be found by exploring the towns, talking to the citizens, and completing side quests.[25]In the PlayStation 2 and Wii versions, Sun and Moon medals are earned after completing stages and clearing their objectives. The medals are used to open up doors in Gaia gates, which can earn bonus content.

Plot[edit]

Sonic Unleashed begins with a cold open that sees Sonic confronting his nemesis, Doctor Eggman, bounding around a fleet of spaceships. After the defeat of several of his robots, Sonic transforms into Super Sonic.[29] After a brief chase through the airships, Sonic corners Eggman. However, Eggman manages to trap him using a powerful new ray weapon which drains the power of the Chaos Emeralds,[13] causing them to turn gray and useless. He then uses the Emeralds’ energy to fire an enormous laser and unleash a powerful beast, Dark Gaia,[30] from the center of the planet, which has devastating consequences, shattering the planet into seven pieces.[29][30] In addition, the ray and drained Chaos Emeralds have the unforeseen side-effect of transforming Sonic into a “Werehog” — a beast form with greater strength and abilities — at night.[14][31] Eggman then ejects Sonic into space, who then lands safely onto the planet below.

After landing along with the Emeralds, Sonic encounters a friendly creature who appears to suffer amnesia.[32] Assuming he has caused it with his fall,[32] Sonic decides to assist him in his quest to find out who he is, and the monster becomes a guide for the player;[29] Sonic soon gives him the nickname Chip.[33] Sonic’s quest begins, and with the help of some old friends, such as Amy and Tails,[28] he attempts to solve the crisis by traveling the world’s continents, finding shrines that will fix the Emeralds, in order to return the world, and himself, to normal.[13] After six of the seven continents are returned to normal, Chip is able to regain his memory; he is in fact Dark Gaia’s opposite, Light Gaia.[34]Since the beginning of time, the two of them had been in a cycle where Dark Gaia would break the planet apart, and Light Gaia would put it back together.[35] Chip was released along with Dark Gaia, but because both of them were released prematurely, he lost his memory, and Dark Gaia was broken apart.[36] They are able to place the last Chaos Emerald in the shrine on the final continent at Eggman’s new empire, “Eggmanland”, but are interrupted by him;[37] Sonic then defeats Eggman who is using a robot that utilizes Dark Gaia’s power. During the battle, the three sink into the core of the Earth and encounter Dark Gaia. Eggman orders Dark Gaia to destroy Sonic, but it turns on him, knocking him away with one of its tentacles, and absorbs the power that turned Sonic into a Werehog, curing Sonic of lycanthropy,[38] and uses that power to become Semi-Perfect Dark Gaia.

Dark Gaia then attacks Sonic and Chip, but Chip protects them both and calls all of the Gaia temples together and forms the Gaia Colossus, and begins to fight Dark Gaia.[39]The Gaia Colussus seemingly destroys Dark Gaia, but Dark Gaia is not finished with them or the Earth yet, and consumes the entire world in darkness, becoming Perfect Dark Gaia in the process. Chip then gives the restored Chaos Emeralds to Sonic, allowing him to turn into Super Sonic and destroy it; Dark Gaia then sinks back into the planet, but the battle takes its toll on Super Sonic. Chip saves Sonic by throwing him to the surface, before returning himself to the inside of the planet; he leaves behind his necklace and some parting words, and Sonic places the necklace on his hand as a bracelet to remind him of their adventure together. The game ends as Sonic speeds off with Tails, who flies amongside him on the coastline in the Tornado plane.[40]

Development[edit]

Sonic Team began development of the game in 2006, after having begun work on the core technology, the Hedgehog Engine, in 2005.[41] The title was first brought to public attention when the Sonic Unleashed name was trademarked by Sega on March 12, 2008.[42] Screenshots of cut scenes, artwork, and a video were leaked ten days later,[42] with the title then officially confirmed by Sega on April 3, 2008[6] with a small selection of screenshots and an updated video. The game was developed internally by Sonic Team in Japan.[1] It was originally intended to be the third installment of the Sonic Adventure series[43] and subsequently, at an early development stage, had the working title Sonic World Adventure, complete with work-in-progress logo. However, the development team began to introduce enough new innovations to separate it from the Sonic Adventure titles,[44]and so a new title, Sonic Unleashed, was decided upon.[45] It was then later revealed that the game’s name in Japan would in fact remain Sonic World Adventure for its release there.[13]

Sonic Team decided early on in the development process to reduce the number of characters present in the game, as well as to make Sonic the only playable character; this decision was taken to get more quality out of fewer characters.[46] While it felt that these ideas combined with traditional Sonic gameplay was a good beginning, it also had to consider how to introduce newer gamers unfamiliar with the Sonic franchise to the series, and so the concept of the Werehog was born, in addition to exploring its own mythology and ideas for the story.[46] Director Yoshihisa Hashimoto felt from the outset that there would be both praise and criticism, but hoped that long-term Sonic fans would understand and empathise with the ideas and direction the team had taken.[46]

In terms of technology, Hashimoto remarked that the visual style was born out of desire to see a global illumination solution used for the game’s lighting — that is, light reflecting from one object in the scene onto others.[46] To this extent, development on the renderer for this process began, and the final solution allowed the developers to use distributed rendering over hundreds of computers to calculate lighting for each ten- to twenty-kilometer action stage in around two or three days.[46] Characters, enemies and objects are then lit at run-time with Sonic Team’s “Light Field” technology to blend them in with the surrounding pre-calculated lighting.[46] Because the game was being developed for two levels of hardware capability depending on the target platform, two development “silos” were set up to work on two separate builds of the game: one for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 version utilizing the Hedgehog Engine, and one for the PlayStation 2 and Wii version, which instead utilizes a modified version of an existing, internal Sega engine.[4] Hashimoto, who had never directed a Sonic game before,[44] incorporated new features such as a “Quick Step” mechanic allowing players to dodge obstacles with the L and R triggers.[47] Hashimoto sought to combine the best qualities of 2D and 3D Sonic gameplay[44] and address the criticisms directed at previous 3D entries in the franchise.[47] Additional code to dynamically adjust the speed of the game for different situations was used to properly balance its fast pace with traditional platforming elements.[47]

As well as the unique motion-based gameplay mechanics, the Wii version of the game also supports the GameCube controller, and also the option of using the Classic Controller.[29] The daytime levels for the Wii were altered to accommodate the motion control-based drift mechanic,[48] while night-time levels include a mostly behind-the-back view and different platforming styles and combat mechanics.[21] Developer Dimps, who had past involvement in the Sonic franchise, was involved in the design of the daytime areas for these versions.[3] In addition, overall, the PlayStation 2 and Wii versions have fewer daytime levels than the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 counterparts.[17]

Initially, it was stated that Unleashed was to be intended solely as a single-player experience, and would not offer any multiplayer or online modes. This was cast into doubt when references to online modes were alluded to around E3 2008,[49] but later interviews re-iterated that Unleashed would have no online modes at all.[30] However, downloadable content, including additional levels, would remain a possibility after the game’s release.[30] A demo version was released on the Xbox Live Marketplace on December 8, 2008[50]and on the US and EU PlayStation Stores on December 18 and 24, 2008, respectively. The demo does not contain any of the Werehog stages.[50] On March 12, 2009 Sega released Sonic Unleashed ’​s first downloadable content for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, consisting of four Chun-nan daytime stages and two night stages in addition to two new missions. Since then, more downloadable levels have been added: Spagonia, Holoska, Mazuri, Apotos, Shamar, Empire city and Adabat.[51]

Speaking after the game’s release, Sonic Team member and Sonic and the Black Knight director Tetsu Katano remarked that although he did not feel the Werehog concept was a mistake, time and resources were a limiting factor in the game’s production. He also remarked that the Werehog may reappear in future games, or possibly in a sequel to Sonic Unleashed, should one be made.[52]

Game developer Gameloft announced in May 2009 that it had secured a licensing agreement with Sega Europe Ltd. to produce mobile phone versions of Sega properties, and that its first title would be a version of Sonic Unleashed for mobile phone platforms. It was released in June 2009 in Europe, Middle East, Australia and New Zealand.[7]

Reception[edit]

[hide]Reception
Aggregate scores
Aggregator Score
Metacritic 66/100 (PS2)[61]
66/100 (Wii)[62]
60/100 (X360)[63]
54/100 (PS3)[64]
Review scores
Publication Score
1UP.com C (X360)[15]
D (Wii)[55]
Eurogamer 6/10 (Wii)[21]
4/10 (X360)[16]
Game Informer 6.5/10 (Wii)[56]
6.0/10 (X360)[57]
GameSpot 7/10 (Wii)[53]
3.5/10 (X360/PS3)[54]
GameTrailers 7.0/10 (Wii)[60]
IGN 7.2/10 (Wii)[22]
7.0/10 (PS2)[58]
4.5/10 (X360/PS3)[59]
Official Nintendo Magazine 79% (Wii)[28]
Official Xbox Magazine 6.5/10
VideoGamer.com 6.0/10[17]

Initial anticipation when the first media for Unleashed was revealed was high, as the demonstration videos hinted at a possible return of Sonic to his traditional platforming roots, especially because of the series’ declining quality in recent years,[18] and a number of poorly received titles in the franchise that preceded it, such as the 2006 game, Sonic the Hedgehog.[18]

Critical reception to Unleashed was mixed, with Metacritic aggregate scores of 60 and 54 out of 100 for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions respectively, and 66 out of 100 for the PlayStation 2 and Wii versions.[61][62][63][64] The added element of motion controls for the Werehog sections, as well as text-based hub worlds and better Werehog level design and camera system, were reasons cited for the higher review scores for the Wii version of the game,[21][56] though a few review websites, such as 1UP, gave the Wii version a lower score than its Xbox 360 and PS3 counterparts.[15][55] Nevertheless, the game was a commercial success and sold 2.45 million units combined making it Sega’s third best selling game during their last fiscal year period of 2008.[65]

Positive elements of Sonic Unleashed remarked upon by reviews include the environments, such as the “postcard-perfect architecture”,[15] and the graphics, with stages looking “absolutely gorgeous”[15] and being “very pretty and lovingly animated”,[23]with one reviewer comparing them to a playable Pixar film.[27] Praise was given to the technical competence of Sega’s new Hedgehog Engine as a whole on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions, with “bright cartoonish graphics that fly by without a stutter”;[56] however, some complaints were raised about frame rate reduction when large numbers of enemies appeared during the Werehog sections.[66] Although the Wii and PlayStation 2 versions do not use the Hedgehog Engine, graphics for these platforms were still praised for their high quality,[22] with the title being nominated for Best Graphics Technology for the Wii by IGN in its 2008 video game awards.[67] The soundtrack to the game was also praised as being an improvement on more recent installments in the series;[22] use of an orchestral score, rather than rock as in more recent games, was appreciated.[23]

An overwhelmingly negative reaction was given by critics to the Werehog concept and corresponding night-time sections, which contributed greatly to the lower than expected review scores. Some reviewers compared the Werehog sections to God of War. Complaints stemmed from the game’s change of speed, from high-speed daytime sections to the slower, night-time sections; the “pace-breaking combat levels”[27] were described as “plodding”,[56] as well as “lethargic” and “combat-heavy”.[15] Further to the change of pace, the new style of gameplay that accompanies the night-time levels was widely criticized, involving “frustrating” platform elements[56] and combat described as not “terribly interesting”[68] and “boring”,[56] with “awkward” action sequences overall.[26] Some reviewers felt that the Werehog as a concept did not mix well with the daylight areas and traditional Sonic gameplay; GamePro ’​s review described them as “dreadfully out-of-place”,[26] while IGN stated that they have “nothing to do with Sonic whatsoever”, feeling that the Werehog was “being slapped on” to the Sonic experience.[59]

In stark contrast to the Werehog sections, many reviewers found the daytime levels to be enjoyable, especially the “exhilarating”[15] sense of speed they provide; with “the most satisfying gameplay of any Sonic title in years”,[26] the game “perfectly [captures] the feel of classic Sonic”.[26] Many also enjoyed the mixture of, and transition between, 2D and 3D sections.[27] Indeed, many reviewers remarked that they would have appreciated the game more had it consisted solely of, and expanded upon, the daytime levels.[15][56][66]GameSpot’s review for the Xbox 360 version, however, argued that the controls were “unresponsive” in the daytime levels, and that most of them were “horribly designed”,[54]instead describing the Wii version as a “vastly superior experience”, with its daytime levels praised for better control and design.[53]

Aside from the criticism of Werehog levels, further aspects of the game were criticised, contributing to the mixed review scores. The quests that players must undertake in hub-towns were described as “inane”[15] and “tedious”,[56] where “figuring out what happens next involves aimlessly wandering through towns and speaking to citizens, only to discover that most of them don’t know what we’re looking for”.[66] The story and overall tone of the game, including the new character Chip, were criticised,[66] some remarking that it was too juvenile,[23] or comparable to that of a Saturday morning cartoon.[15]

Other media[edit]

 This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2014)

The game’s original soundtrack was released in Japan on January 28, 2009. The three disc soundtrack is entitled Planetary Pieces: Sonic World Adventure Original Soundtrack.[69] The main theme music for the game is entitled “Endless Possibility”, and features Jaret Reddick of the rock band Bowling for Soup.[70] The ending theme music for the game is a slow tempo ballad entitled “Dear My Friend”, and features singer songwriter Brent Cash.

Downloadable packs containing extra levels for this game are available on the PlayStation Network and the Xbox Live Arcade.

Archie Comics has made an adaptation of Sonic Unleashed featuring the opening cutscene and Sonic’s transformation into the Werehog.[71] A short 3D animated film was released on November 21, 2008, entitled Sonic: Night of the Werehog, which tells the story of two male ghosts who live in a haunted house taking pictures of scared children in order to woo a female ghost, and their frustration with an unafraid Sonic who enters the house with a very afraid Chip. But soon, it’s the ghosts who are afraid when Sonic looks at the full moon and transforms.[72] The film was produced by Sega VE Animation Studio.[72]

On March 25, 2010, a pack of Sonic costumes was released to the PlayStation Store for the PlayStation 3 game LittleBigPlanet. The pack includes Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Dr. Eggman and Sonic the Werehog.

For Sonic the Hedgehog’s 20th anniversary, Sonic Generations includes major gaming aspects from past titles. A remake of the Rooftop Run stage appears in the console and PC versions, along with a modified Egg Dragoon serving as the second-to-last boss of those versions. However, Sonic does not retain the Werehog form and instead must fight the machine in his normal form.

On May 14, 2014, Archie Comics’ Sonic the Hedgehog series branched out to follow some of the main events in Sonic Unleashed, such as the planet breaking apart, and the addition of Sonic the Werehog starting in issue 264.

Notes[edit]

  1. Jump up ^ Only on the Xbox 360/PS3 versions. Not available on the Wii/PS2 versions

References[edit]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c “Unleash the Beast”. Official Nintendo Magazine (Future US) (29): 37. With Sonic Unleashed being developed internally by Sonic Team (no matter what you might heard elsewhere about the game being spread across American and European development teams)…
  2. Jump up ^ Halverson, Dave (May 2008). “Sonic the Hedgehog Unleashed”. Play Magazine(Imagine Publishing): 20. Sonic Team is managing the Wii development, but the coding and some of the design is being handled by some of our external partners in Japan. Fans of Sonic Rush and Sonic Rush Adventure will be pleased to hear that Dimps is involved in designing the Wii stages!
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b Casamassina, Matt (2008-05-15). “Eyes-on Sonic Unleashed”. Retrieved 2008-06-25. […]software house Dimps is providing backup support with daytime level designs for the Wii and PS2 versions.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b Rileyk, Patrick (2008-05-16). Sonic Unleashed Interview 1. Interview with Ricardo Torres. GameSpot. Retrieved 2008-05-16.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b Leyton, Chris (2008-12-01). “Sonic Unleashed Review”. TotalVideoGames.com. Retrieved 2008-12-02.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b Chalk, Andy (2008-04-03). “The Escapist : News : Sega Confirms Sonic Unleashed”. The Escapist. Retrieved 2008-12-03.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b c “Gameloft signs multi-property agreement with SEGA Europe Ltd.”. MCV. 2009-05-06. Retrieved 2009-05-08.
  8. Jump up ^ “Sonic Unleashed release summary (PS2)”. GameSpot. Retrieved 2008-11-08.
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  13. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e “Sonic Unleashed”. GamesTM (Imagine Publishing): 28–31. July 2008.
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  16. ^ Jump up to: a b Whitehead, Dan (2008-11-27). “Sonic Unleashed Review”. Eurogamer. pp. 1–2. Retrieved 2010-01-25. Sonic Unleashed is an obviously poor effort from a series that is still hopelessly lost in the modern gaming landscape.
  17. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g Orry, Tom (2008-11-28). “Sonic Unleashed Review for Xbox 360”. VideoGamer.com. pp. 1–2. Retrieved 2008-11-30. We didn’t need gimmicks back then and we don’t think kids need them now either. Ultimately we can’t help but feel disappointed… yet again.
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  20. Jump up ^ Sterling, Jim (2008-11-30). “Destructoid review: Sonic Unleashed”. Retrieved 2008-12-02.
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  29. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Victorio, Danreb (2008-12-01). “Gamer 2.0 Xbox 360 Review – Sonic Unleashed Review”. Gamer 2.0. Retrieved 2008-12-02.
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  31. Jump up ^ Riley, Patrick (2008-07-16). Sonic Unleashed producer on night-time stages, Werehog Sonic, more. Interview with Majed Athab. Joystiq interview: Sonic Unleashed producer on nighttime stages, Werehog Sonic, more. Retrieved 2008-07-16.
  32. ^ Jump up to: a b Sonic Team (Sega) (2008-11-18). “Sonic Unleashed”. Sega.
  33. Jump up ^ Sonic Team (Sega) (2008-11-18). “Sonic Unleashed”. Sega. Chip: Chocolate chip… sundae… supreeeeme! […] Wow, this chip-whatever stuff is great! Sonic: If you say so. How about you give me a hand help look for somebody who knows you, Chip? Chip: Chip? Sonic: Gotta call you something, don’t I?
  34. Jump up ^ Sonic Team (Sega) (2008-11-18). “Sonic Unleashed”. Sega. Chip: My… My real name is Light Gaia. I draw power from the day and light, and guide the planet to its rebirth.
  35. Jump up ^ Sonic Team (Sega) (2008-11-18). “Sonic Unleashed”. Sega. Chip: My job was to protect the planet from Dark Gaia. […] Dark Gaia grows over millions of years, then rises to destroy the world. And I put it all back together. […] We’ve been doing this over and over, again and again… since the very beginning of time.
  36. Jump up ^ Sonic Team (Sega) (2008-11-18). “Sonic Unleashed”. Sega. Chip: Eggman broke the world apart himself, and Dark Gaia and I were awakened before we should’ve been. That’s why Dark Gaia broke apart, and I didn’t know who I was. I didn’t remember what I was supposed to do. All because this isn’t the proper time of awakening.
  37. Jump up ^ Sonic Team (Sega) (2008-11-18). “Sonic Unleashed”. Sega. Chip: The final Chaos Emerald… Back at last! This should put the world back to normal. Dark Gaia will go back to being sealed within the core, and my work will be done. […] Hmmm? Do you feel that? Eggman: Ahh ha ha haa! Looks like you’re a bit too late, Sonic! Sonic: Eggman!
  38. Jump up ^ Sonic Team (Sega) (2008-11-18). “Sonic Unleashed”. Sega. Chip: It’s Dark Gaia! Eggman: Yes. YES! Dark Gaia, crush this insolent little hedgehog! Kick him to the outer limits of space! …huh? (Eggman is catapulted upwards). Why meeeeeee?! Chip: Sonic! What’s wrong? Sonic roars as the power transfers back to Dark Gaia, and he returns to normal.
  39. Jump up ^ Sonic Team (Sega) (2008-11-18). “Sonic Unleashed”. Sega. Chip: Seven lights of the earth rekindled! Awaken, and gather here to me! The colossus forms from the joining of the temples.
  40. Jump up ^ Sonic Team (Sega) (2008-11-18). “Sonic Unleashed”. Sega.
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  43. Jump up ^ Robinson, Andy (2008-04-09). “Sonic Unleashed “has no relation” to Sonic 360/PS3″. Official Nintendo Magazine. Computer and Video Games. Retrieved 2008-04-13.
  44. ^ Jump up to: a b c Thomason, Steve (August 2008). “Back on the Fast Track”. Nintendo Power(Future Publishing): 67–69.
  45. Jump up ^ Sonic City Blognik (2008-06-10). “Sonic City Blognik: “Sonic World Adventure””. Retrieved 2008-06-13.
  46. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Hashimoto, Yoshihisa (2008-11-03). “SEGA_SonicUnleashed’s Blog – Sonic Unleashed – Night of the Werehog”. IGN. Retrieved 2008-12-06.
  47. ^ Jump up to: a b c Doree, Adam (2008-11-12). “Sonic Unleashed: Yoshi Hashimoto Interview”. Kikizo. Retrieved 2014-07-09.
  48. Jump up ^ “Sonic Unleashed”. Official Nintendo Magazine (Future Publishing): 34–39. November 2008.
  49. Jump up ^ Ballow, Ken (2008-07-16). Sonic Unleashed E3 2008 Stage Show Demo. Interview with Ryan MacDonald. Retrieved 2008-07-16.
  50. ^ Jump up to: a b Purchese, Rob (2008-12-09). “Sonic Unleashed demo now on Xbox Live”. Eurogamer. Retrieved 2008-12-10.
  51. Jump up ^ “Sonic Unleashed Downloads”. IGN. Retrieved 2009-05-03.
  52. Jump up ^ Kelly, Neon (2009-02-27). “Sonic and the Black Knight Interview for Wii”. VideoGamer.com. Retrieved 2009-03-04.
  53. ^ Jump up to: a b McShea, Tom (2008-12-06). “Sonic Unleashed for Wii Review”. GameSpot. Retrieved 2008-12-13.
  54. ^ Jump up to: a b McShea, Tom (2008-12-06). “Sonic Unleashed for Xbox 360 Review”. GameSpot. Retrieved 2008-12-06.
  55. ^ Jump up to: a b Barber, Tyle (2008-12-23). “Sonic Unleashed Review for the Wii from 1UP.com”. 1UP. Retrieved 2009-01-03.
  56. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h Reeves, Ben. “Game Informer Online”. Game Informer. Archived from the original on 2009-06-09. Retrieved 2008-11-30.
  57. Jump up ^ Reeves, Ben. “Game Informer Online”. Game Informer Online. Retrieved 2008-12-03.
  58. Jump up ^ Casamassina, Matt (2008-11-18). “IGN: Sonic Unleashed Review”. IGN. Retrieved 2008-11-20.
  59. ^ Jump up to: a b Goldstein, Hilary (2008-12-02). “IGN: Sonic Unleashed Review”. Retrieved 2008-12-03.
  60. Jump up ^ “Gametrailers.com – Sonic Unleashed – Review”. GameTrailers. Retrieved 2008-11-27.
  61. ^ Jump up to: a b “Sonic Unleashed (ps2: 2008): Reviews”. Metacritic. Retrieved 2008-11-30.
  62. ^ Jump up to: a b “Sonic Unleashed (wii: 2008): Reviews”. Metacritic. Retrieved 2008-11-30.
  63. ^ Jump up to: a b “Sonic Unleashed (Xbox360: 2008): Reviews”. Metacritic. Retrieved 2008-11-30.
  64. ^ Jump up to: a b “Sonic Unleashed (ps3: 2008): Reviews”. Metacritic. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
  65. Jump up ^ “Financial Results” (Portable Document Format) (in Japanese). Sega Sammy Holdings. 2009-05-13. p. 7. Retrieved 2009-09-11.
  66. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Buffa, Chris (2008-11-25). “Sonic Unleashed on Xbox 360 Review”. GameDaily. Retrieved 2008-11-30.
  67. Jump up ^ “IGN Wii: Best Graphics Technology 2008”. IGN.com. 2008-12-18. Retrieved 2008-12-19.
  68. Jump up ^ Brown, Adam. “Sonic Unleashed Review for Xbox 360”. Cheatcc.com. Retrieved 2008-11-30.
  69. Jump up ^ “Game Music / Planetary Pieces: Sonic World Adventure Original Soundtrack”. cdjapan.co.jp. Retrieved 2008-11-30.
  70. Jump up ^ ArchangelUK (2008-07-15). “Sonic City Blognik – 2008 – July – 15”. Sega Europe. Retrieved 2008-11-12.
  71. Jump up ^ “Sonic Unleashed”. Sonic the Hedgehog (Archie Comics) (#193). October 8, 2008.
  73. ^ Jump up to: a b

Sonic 3

Posted by kayrayorulmazyorulmaz on February 15, 2015
Posted in: Uncategorized. Leave a comment

Sonic the Hedgehog 3

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Sonic the Hedgehog 3
Sonic3-box-us-225.jpg
North American cover art
Developer(s) Sonic Team
Publisher(s) Sega
Director(s) Hirokazu Yasuhara
Producer(s) Yuji Naka
Designer(s) Hirokazu Yasuhara
Hisayoshi Yoshida
Takashi Iizuka
Programmer(s) Yuji Naka
Hiroshi Nikaidoh
Masanobu Yamamoto
Artist(s) Takashi Yuda
Satoshi Yokokawa
Composer(s) Brad Buxer
Cirocco Jones
Michael Jackson
Sachio Ogawa
Tatsuyuki Maeda
Tomonori Sawada
Jun Senoue
Miyoko Takaoka
Masanori Hikichi
Series Sonic the Hedgehog
Platform(s) Sega Genesis, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo DS, Wii (Virtual Console), Xbox Live Arcade
Release date(s)
Genre(s) Platform game
Mode(s) Single player, multiplayer
Distribution 16-megabit cartridge, CD-ROM

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (Japanese: ソニック・ザ・ヘッジホッグ3 Hepburn: Sonikku za Hejjihoggu Surī?) is a platform video game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive as part of the Sonic the Hedgehog series. It was released on February 2, 1994. The game is a direct sequel to Sonic the Hedgehog 2: in it, Dr. Robotnik‘s ship, the Death Egg, crash-lands on a floating island, and Sonic and Tails follow him there. There, the duo must once more retrieve the Chaos Emeralds to stop Death Egg from relaunching, while also making rounds with the Emeralds’ guardian, Knuckles the Echidna.

Development of the game began shortly after the release of its predecessor in 1992; it was originally intended to be a top-down, isometric game, similar to what would eventually become Sonic 3D Blast. However, this concept was abandoned early into development as the team did not want to change the Sonic formula too radically for a sequel.. The game is closely tied to its direct sequel Sonic & Knuckles, as the two titles were originally developed as a single game until time constraints and cartridge costs forced them to be split into two interlocking parts. Some re-releases have packaged the two together as Sonic 3 & Knuckles.

As with its two predecessors, the game was both a critical and commercial success upon release, with critics seeing it as an improvement over previous installments. The game sold 1.02 million copies on the Genesis; although that ranks it as one of the best-selling Genesis games of all time, its predecessors, which were both bundled with the Genesis in some regions, had sold a combined 21 million. Since its 1994 release, the game has been re-released through several compilations and download releases for various platforms, including Sonic Mega Collection for the GameCube and Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

Contents

Plot

After Sonic defeats Dr. Robotnik at the end of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, his space station, the Death Egg, crash-lands on a mystical floating landmass called Angel Island. As Robotnik begins to repair the damaged station, he meets up with Knuckles the Echidna. Knuckles is the last surviving member of an ancient echidna civilization that once inhabited the island, as well as the guardian of the Master Emerald, which controls the Chaos Emeralds and grants the island its levitation powers.

Knowing Sonic the Hedgehog and Miles “Tails” Prower will try to track him down and realizing he can use the Master Emerald to power the ship, Robotnik dupes Knuckles into believing Sonic is trying to steal the Emerald. Shortly after, Sonic and Tails in their biplane, the Tornado, are in search of Dr. Robotnik. Sonic, possessing the emeralds from the events of Sonic 2, then turns into Super Sonic. As soon as they arrive, Knuckles ambushes Sonic from underground and knocks the Chaos Emeralds from him, returning him to normal. Knuckles steals the Emeralds and disappears inland. As Sonic and Tails travel through the levels, they encounter Knuckles in almost every level, hindering their progress.

At the Launch Base Zone, Sonic uses a spare Egg-O-Matic to travel to the Death Egg, and ends up encountering Knuckles on a girder. As usual, Knuckles tries to stop Sonic, but is defeated when the Death Egg re-launches and the girder collapses, sending Knuckles plummeting into the water. Sonic continues to a deck on the Death Egg, where he fights and defeats Robotnik’s Big Arm machine. The Death Egg is damaged and falls out of orbit, after which it explodes.[1]

Gameplay

Sonic and Tails explore the underwater portion of Hydrocity, the second zone in Sonic 3.

Sonic 3 is a 2D side-scrolling platformer. At the game’s start, players can choose to select Sonic, Tails, or both. In the latter choice, players control Sonic while Tails runs along beside him; a second player can join in at any time and control Tails separately.[2] Sonic 3 adds the ability for Tails to fly for a short time by spinning his twin tails like a propeller;[2] when he gets too tired, he falls. Unlike Sonic, Tails can also swim underwater.[3]

The game takes place over six zones,[4] each divided into two acts. Levels are populated with Robotnik’s robots, called “badniks”; Sonic and Tails can defeat badniks by jumping on them or using the “spin dash” attack, which also gives the character a speed boost.[3] The levels include obstacles and other features such as vertical loops, corkscrews, breakable walls, spikes, water that the player can drown in, and bottomless pits.[5] There is a miniboss fight with one of Robotnik’s large, powerful robots at the end of the first act of each level and a full boss fight with Robotnik at the end of the second.[6] Reaching a new level saves the player’s game to one of six save slots, which can be loaded later.[7]

As with previous Sonic games, Sonic 3 uses rings, scattered throughout the game’s levels, as a health system; when the player is attacked without rings, is crushed, falls off-screen, or exceeds the act’s ten-minute limit, they lose a life and return to the most recently passed checkpoint. Dying with zero lives gives the player a game over. The levels also include power-ups in television monitors that, when hit, grant the character an extra life, temporary invincibility to most hazards, a number of rings,[8] a shield that allows them to breathe underwater, a shield that allows them to withstand fire from enemy projectiles, or a shield that attracts nearby rings.[9]

Tails in one of the game’s special stages, in which the player can earn Chaos Emeralds
A diagram of how rings are generated by walking the perimeter of a group of blue spheres

The game contains two types of “special stages”. When the player collects at least 50 rings and passes a checkpoint, they can warp to the first type,[10] which involves bouncing up a gumball machine-like corridor to earn power-ups by hitting a switch. Both sides of the corridor are lined with flippers, which disappear when the character bounces on them, and the switch drops when both flippers supporting it are removed. The corridor’s floor contains a bounce pad, which also disappears after one use; falling afterwards causes the player to leave the stage with the most recent power-up collected.[11]

The second type, triggered by entering giant rings found in secret passages, involves running around a 3D map and passing through all of a number of blue spheres arranged in patterns. Passing through a blue sphere turns it red, and touching a red sphere causes the player to leave the stage, unless the player has just completed a cycle around an arrangement of blue spheres, in which case all of these spheres turn to harmless rings. Removing all of the blue spheres gives the player a Chaos Emerald; if Sonic (not Tails) collects all seven, he can become Super Sonic at will, which makes him invincible to most obstacles.[9][12]

Sonic 3 includes a competitive mode: two players, controlling Sonic, Tails, or Knuckles the Echidna (this is the only way to use Knuckles without attaching Sonic & Knuckles to the cartridge), race through one or all of five stages that do not appear in the main game. In these same stages, a single player can compete against the clock in time attacks.[13]

Connection to Sonic & Knuckles

Main article: Sonic & Knuckles

If the player owns a copy of Sonic & Knuckles, they can attach it to their Sonic 3 cartridge in order to play through both games end-to-end as “Sonic 3 & Knuckles“. This allows for scenarios that are not possible in the individual games, such as playing Sonic 3 levels as Knuckles or Sonic & Knuckles levels as Tails or the combination of Sonic and Tails.[14] The two games were intended for release as a single title, but ended up being separate games due to time and financial constraints.[2]

Other new features are the ability to collect Super Emeralds, which can unlock new “Hyper” forms for all three characters, and improved save options, which record the number of lives and continues a player has. Lock-on functionality is also available in certain digital releases of the game, such as the Virtual Console service for the Wii, if the player owns both games on the same platform.[10] This also allows for an additional ending that shows Sonic returning the Master Emerald to Angel Island.[15]

Development

As with its predecessors, Sonic 3 was developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega. Yuji Naka and Hirokazu Yasuhara were the primary creators of the Sonic 3 design document and project schedule.[16] Sonic 3 originally began as a top-down, isometric game, similar to what would eventually become Sonic 3D Blast. This concept was abandoned early into development as the team did not want to change the Sonic formula too radically for a sequel.[17]

Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles were originally planned as one single-cartridge game. However, time was limited and the manufacturing costs of a 34 megabit cartridge[18] with NVRAM would have been prohibitively expensive. As a result, Sonic Team decided to split the game in half, giving Naka and the other developers more time to finish the second part, and splitting the high cost between two cartridges.[19] The cartridge has a small amount of non-volatile RAM built into it, which allows the player to save game progress to the game cartridge.[20]

Sonic 3 was released on February 2, 1994 in North America[21] and February 24 in Europe. To help promote the game’s European release, Right Said Fred adapted the song “Wonderman” to include references to many aspects of Sonic.[22] The song was used in the game’s advertisements and released as a single, which charted in the UK at number 55.[23] In the music video, Fez and Skull from the Pirate TV Sega advertising campaign appeared along with Sonic.[24]

Michael Jackson’s involvement

See also: Michael Jackson-related games

In a 2005 interview, STI director Roger Hector stated that Michael Jackson was brought in to compose music for Sonic 3, but after scandals involving Jackson arose around this time, his involvement was terminated and the music reworked to hide said involvement.[25] However, various interviews with more senior Sega staff have made it clear that any involvement of Jackson was arranged without the knowledge of Sega’s executives or marketing staff, and no contracts or formal agreements were ever made.[26]

James Hansen of Sonic Stuff Research Group has stated that Cirocco Jones (credited as “Scirocco” in Sonic 3) possesses some demos of Jackson’s contributions. “I actually have ‘all’ of the tracks…,” Jones wrote, “from the original humming of Michael calling in the middle of the night leaving messages, to his ideas at Record One with Matt Forger and Bruce Swedien. – but, I don’t think I can let any of that out to the public without permission.”[26] Jones is credited alongside Jackson and Jackson’s tour keyboardist and songwriting collaborator Brad Buxer on his website, which mentions their roles in contributing musical cues for “levels 2 & 3” of “Sonic the Hedgehog”.[27]

In a 2009 interview with French magazine Black & White, Buxer stated that Jackson was indeed involved with some of Sonic 3  ‘​s compositions, but chose to remain uncredited because he was unhappy with the sound reproduction capabilities of the Genesis. Buxer also said that the ending music of Sonic 3 later became the basis for Jackson’s single “Stranger in Moscow“.[28] It has also been noted that Ice Cap Zone’s theme shares the same chord progression as “Hard Times”, a previously unreleased track by The Jetzons, of which Buxer was the keyboardist and co-songwriter.[29]

In October 2013, GameTrailers dedicated an episode of its Pop Fiction mini-series to discerning Jackson’s involvement. Roger Hector, who previously stated that Jackson’s involvement in the game was dropped due to scandals surrounding the artists coming to light, reaffirmed his stance, stating any similarities to Jackson’s music in the final game was not intentional on Sega’s part.[30] Whilst GameTrailers were unable to interview Buxer to confirm his stance and were about to close their investigation, they were able to find and speak to an anonymous source who was directly involved with the game’s development. They echoed Buxer’s statements that Jackson left the project due to his displeasure with the sound quality and that tracks that he had worked on before he left the project, which the source claimed was actually before the scandals concerning him were made public, remained in the game unaltered, with Jackson choosing to remain uncredited. Carnival Night Zone was specifically mentioned as one of the tracks he composed.[31]

Alternate versions and ports

Compilation releases

Main article: Compilations in the Sonic series

Compilations that include the game are Sonic Jam (1997) for the Sega Saturn;[32] Sonic & Knuckles Collection (1997) and Sonic & Garfield Pack (1999) for the PC;[33] Sonic Mega Collection (2002) for the GameCube;[34] Sonic Mega Collection Plus (2004) for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and PC;[35] Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection (2009) for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3;[36] and Sonic Classic Collection (2010) for the Nintendo DS.[37] Most compilations feature the game largely unchanged. However, Sonic Jam, in addition to featuring the original release, also had a few new “remix” options.[38] “Normal” mode altered the layout of rings and hazards, and “Easy” mode removes certain acts from the game entirely.[39] Sonic & Knuckles Collection features a MIDI rendition of the game’s soundtrack, with certain levels featuring completely different music altogether.[40][41]

Digital releases

The game was released for the Wii‘s Virtual Console in September 2007[42] and for the Xbox Live Arcade on June 10, 2009.[43] The Xbox version has enhanced graphics for high definition displays as well as online leaderboards and support for multiplayer via split screen and Xbox Live. The original method of saving the game is replaced with a revamped version that allows progress to be saved anywhere during play, except after completing the game.[15] When the PC version was released via the Steam software, the game and its successor were released together as Sonic 3 & Knuckles as originally intended, with the player (even if playing as Tails) simply continuing at the beginning of Sonic & Knuckles after finishing Sonic 3.[44]

Reception

[hide]Reception
Aggregate scores
Aggregator Score
GameRankings 89% (Genesis)[45]
78% (X360)[46]
Metacritic 79% (X360)[47]
Review scores
Publication Score
Electronic Gaming Monthly 9.5/10 (Genesis)[48]
Eurogamer 8/10 (X360)[49]
GameSpot 8/10 (Wii)[20]
IGN 9/10 (Wii)[2]
NintendoLife 8/10 (Wii)[50]
PALGN 7/10 (X360)[9]
Hyper 90% (Genesis)[51]
Mean Machines 94% (Genesis)[52]
Sega Magazine 95% (Genesis)[53]
Sega Power 90% (Genesis)[54]

Like its predecessors, Sonic 3 received strongly positive reviews upon release, with a score of 89% at review aggregator GameRankings.[45] Reviews of later ports have been slightly less positive; its Xbox 360 release has scores of 78% and 79% at GameRankings and Metacritic, respectively.[46][47] Some critics, such as Adam Ghiggino of PALGN, felt the game had been insufficiently upgraded for its re-releases;[9] Dan Whitehead of Eurogamer wished online co-op had been implemented.[49] Frank Provo of GameSpot and Lucas M. Thomas of IGN wished Sega had re-released the game and its successor together as Sonic 3 & Knuckles instead.[2][20]

Critics generally felt Sonic 3 was the best game in the series so far. Andrew Humphreys of Hyper, who declared himself not a Sonic fan, said it was “undoubtedly” the best of the series, including the acclaimed but obscure Sonic CD, though he admitted having preferred Sonic 2 ’​s special stages by a small margin.[51] Sega Magazine, however, stated that Sonic 3 has better special stages and was not only superior to Sonic 2 as a whole but would be “a serious contender for the Best Platform Game Ever award”.[53] Sega Power wrote that despite their skepticism, they found it “excellent” and easily “the most explorable and playable” in the series.[54] Electronic Gaming Monthly also compared Sonic 3 favorably to Sonic 1, 2, and CD and awarded it their “Game of the Month” award.[48] Thomas of IGN stated that Sonic 3 “completed the trilogy as the best of them all.”[2] Whitehead, however, considered Sonic & Knuckles superior.[49]

Some critics felt that Sonic 3 had innovated too little from previous Sonic games. Humphreys of Hyper saw only “a few new features”[51] while Sega Power thought it was “not all that different”[54] and Nintendo Life writer Damien McFerran said that “there’s not a lot of new elements here to be brutally frank”.[50] Provo stated that the game’s most significant addition was its save system.[20] However, he and Electronic Gaming Monthly also both enjoyed the new power-ups.[48][20] Many aspects of the game’s level design were praised; Electronic Gaming Monthly and Sega Power enjoyed the game’s expansive stages, secret areas, much less linear level design, and difficulty.[48][54] Mean Machines agreed, describing the game as “a rollercoater ride from start to finish” and listing Carnival Night as their favorite level, which they described as “probably the most slickly programmed portion of game in Megadrive history”.[52] Humphreys and Mean Machines felt that the game was too short, but they and Sega Magazine felt that its two-player mode and the Emerald collecting would significantly extend the title’s replay value.[51][52][53] On the other hand, Whitehead said that the stages’ large sizes would keep players sufficiently engrossed.[49] Sega Magazine also enjoyed having the ability to play as Knuckles in the two-player mode.[53]

The visuals were very well received. Humphreys described Sonic 3 as “one of the most beautiful games around” and full of “flashy new visual tricks”, highlighting Sonic’s ascension up pipes and spiraling pathways as particularly inventive.[51] Sega Magazine exclaimed that its graphics were “brilliant” even for a Sonic title,[53] while Provo praised the “elaborate” backgrounds.[20] Mean Machines thought similarly, giving special praise to the camera’s quick scrolling, the diversity of the level themes, and the “chunkier, more detailed” overall aesthetic.[52] Thomas and Provo especially enjoyed the use of wordless cutscenes to create a coherent story and thematically connect the zones.[2][20] McFerran, however, felt that the visuals had been downgraded, particularly Sonic’s “dumpier” sprite and “the infamous ‘dotty’ textures”.[50]

The sound effects and music were also well received, though somewhat less so than the visuals. Sega Magazine described them as “brilliant” and “far superior” to Sonic 2 ’​s.[53] Mean Machines stated that every level had “great tunes” and sound effects and particularly praised the game’s ending music.[52] However, Humphreys described the sound as “Sonicky … with the emphasis on the ‘icky'”; he also found it strikingly similar to the first two Sonic games’ soundtracks.[51] Thomas thought the music was “impressive”, but not quite on par with Sonic 2 ’​s.[2]

The game has sold 1.02 million copies on the Sega Genesis as of December 2007.[55] While Sonic 1 ’​s sales have been estimated at 15 million[56] and Sonic 2 ’​s at 6 million,[57] Sonic 3, unlike these two, was not bundled with the Genesis console itself. However, Sonic 3 is still classifiable as one of the best-selling Genesis games of all time.[58] Mega ranked it the fifth best Genesis game ever in November 1994.[59] In 2014, GamesRadar ranked Sonic 3 & Knuckles as the seventh best Genesis game;[60] Jeremy Parish of US Gamer ranked the combined title eighth on a similar list in 2013.[61]

Legacy

Issues 33 and 34 of Sonic the Comic and issue 13 of the Archie Comics version of a Sonic the Hedgehog comic consisted of their own comic adaptations of the game.[62] For Sonic ’​s twentieth anniversary, Sega released Sonic Generations, a game that remade aspects of various past games from the franchise.[63] The Nintendo 3DS version of the game features a remake of the game’s final boss, “Big Arms”. Additionally, a re-arranged version of the “Game Over” theme appeared in the game.[64]

References

  1. Lee, Patrick. “Bark beats bite: 7 video game boss themes better than the actual boss fights”. The A.V. Club. Retrieved January 6, 2015.

External links

Portal icon Sonic portal
Portal icon Video games portal
Portal icon 1990s portal

Rayman

Posted by kayrayorulmazyorulmaz on January 3, 2015
Posted in: Uncategorized. Leave a comment
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the video game series. For the titular protagonist, see Rayman (character). For the first game of the series, see Rayman (video game).
İçerik images images
Rayman-logo.png

Current Rayman logo used since Rayman Origins
Genres Platform
Developers Ubisoft Montpellier
Ubisoft Milan
Ubisoft Bulgaria
Ubisoft Shanghai
Ubisoft Casablanca
Ubisoft Romania
Publishers Ubisoft
Gameloft
Feral Interactive
Nintendo
Creators Michel Ancel
Platform of origin PlayStation, Atari Jaguar, Sega Saturn, Windows
First release Rayman
September 1, 1995
Latest release Rayman Fiesta Run
November 7, 2013
Spin-offs Raving Rabbids
Official website http://raymanzone.ubi.com/

Rayman is a platform video game series created by Michel Ancel and owned by Ubisoft. The original Rayman was a 2D sprite based platformer similar to those of the 16 bit era. Rayman 2: The Great Escape moved the series into 3D, and added more variety to the gameplay with new actions such as being pulled through a marsh by a snake, riding a rocket, and the ability to temporarily swim in water. Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc kept the same core platforming of Rayman 2, but added timed power ups and had a bigger emphasis on combat. The handheld entries in the series have remained similar to the sprite-based original in gameplay in that they are mostly 2D; Rayman DS and Rayman 3D are the only exceptions to this, as both are ports of Rayman 2.

Rayman Raving Rabbids, which was at first planned to be a traditional platformer, turned into a mini-game collection late in development after the developers were able to try out the Wii Remote and Nunchuck. Early trailers for the game and early information portray it having a darker atmosphere than is typical of a Rayman game, and show Rayman riding animals including a giant spider. Rayman could alter his appearance, and his dancing style with it, and dance to entrance the Rabbids. Ultimately this idea was scrapped, and replaced with motion based mini-games similar to those in WarioWare: Smooth Moves. Rayman Raving Rabbids was also released on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS, and PC despite being made around the motion-sensing Wii controller, and simply replaced physical actions with traditional button presses and stick movements. Rayman M features Rayman characters racing on foot through platformer like stages and battling in a separate arena mode. There has also been a Rayman educational game, Rayman Junior, which focused less on gameplay and more on learning.

The games in the main series have fairly distinct settings (sometimes described as different realms, etc. within Rayman’s home world) and plots. Nonetheless, besides the titular hero, several characters (Globox, Murfy, Ly) and themes (freeing magical beings from cages, collecting magical energy, etc.) do appear with some regularity. As of April 2014, the main series had sold over 25 million units worldwide, while Raving Rabbids series had sold 14 million.[1]

Games

See also: Raving Rabbids
Year Title Developer Platform(s)
Console Computer Handheld Mobile
1995 Rayman Ubisoft Montpellier
Ubisoft Milan		 PS1, Sega Saturn, Atari Jaguar, PS3, GBA MS-DOS PS Vita, GBC, PSP, 3DS, DSi Symbian
1997 Rayman Designer Ludimedia
Mindscape		 Windows
Rayman By His Fans Ubisoft Montpellier
Rayman Gold
1998 Rayman Dictées Micro Application
Rayman 60 Levels Ubisoft
English with Rayman
French with Rayman
1999 Rayman Activity Centre
Rayman CP
Rayman (SmartSaver Series)
Rayman Collector
Rayman 2: The Great Escape Ubisoft Montpellier
Gameloft		 PS1, N64, Dreamcast, PS3 PS Vita iOS
Rayman 100 Levels Ubisoft
2000 Rayman Junior Aqua Pacific PS1
Rayman Revolution Ubisoft PS2
2001 Rayman M Ubisoft Montpellier
Ubisoft Milan		 Windows
My First Rayman Micro Application
Rayman 2 Forever Ubisoft GBC
Rayman Advance Digital Eclipse
2002 Rayman Rush Ubisoft Shanghai PS1, PS3 PSP
Rayman Arena Ubisoft Montepellier Xbox, GameCube
Rayman Golf Gameloft Java ME
Rayman Bowling
Rayman Garden
2003 Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc Ubisoft Shanghai
Gameloft		 PS2, PS3, Xbox, Xbox 360, GameCube Windows, Mac OS X GBA, N-Gage
2005 Rayman: Hoodlums’ Revenge Backbone Entertainment GBA
Rayman DS DC Studios DS
2006 Rayman Raving Rabbids Ubisoft Montpellier
Ubisoft Bulgaria		 PS2, Xbox 360, Wii Windows, Mac OS X GBA, DS Symbian
2007 Rayman Kart Gameloft Java ME
Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 Ubisoft Paris Wii Windows DS
2008 Rayman Raving Rabbids: TV Party
2009 Rayman DSi Junglevision Software
Making Fun		 DSi
2011 Rayman Origins Ubisoft Montpellier PS3, Xbox 360, Wii Windows, Mac OS X PS Vita, 3DS
Rayman: Slap Flap, and Go! Web Browser
Rayman 3D Ubisoft Casablanca
Ubisoft Bucharest		 3DS
2012 Rayman 3 HD Ubisoft Montepellier
Ubisoft Shanghai		 PS3, Xbox 360
Rayman Jungle Run Pastagames
DotEmu		 Windows 8 iOS, Android,
Windows RT, WP8
2013 Rayman Legends Challenges App Ubisoft Montpellier Wii U
Rayman Legends PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii U Windows PS Vita
Rayman Legends Beatbox Supergazol
Ubisoft EMEA
Ubisoft Montpellier		 Web Browser iOS, Android
Rayman Fiesta Run Ubisoft Casablanca Windows 8 iOS, Android,
Windows RT, WP8

Characters

See also: List of Rayman characters

Protagonists

  • Globox is a gentle, sensitive glute, who acts as Rayman’s sidekick. He is very cowardly, fleeing at the sight of any enemies, leaving Rayman alone to fight them. Globox’s magic power is the ability to create a small cloud that rains over fire and machinery after performing a rain dance. He is shown to be allergic to plum juice, which has alcoholic effects on him. In Rayman 3, he is voiced by John Leguizamo.
  • Barbara is a young and beautiful barbarian girl who becomes Rayman’s travel companion. She is hot-headed and adventurous with a kind heart. She uses her axe and hat to fight against her enemies.
  • Betilla the Fairy is a fairy who helps Rayman throughout the first game by granting him several powers. Mister Dark kidnaps her to stop this, but she is rescued once Rayman chases Mister Dark off. She appeared in the first game and later in Rayman Origins, where it is revealed she was the one who created Rayman (in the original trailer for the game).
  • Ly the Fairy is a fairy made by the godlike Polokus to help Rayman. She appears as a weak and serious character, but despite this, she’s potentially dangerous if she has to be, though is an energetic, loving and playful character and hardly loses her patience. She likes activity and experimenting with magic. She is voiced by Kim Michelle Broderick.
  • Murfy serves as a guide to Rayman. He has a really hasty nature unable to deal with failure. He appears bored with his job and can’t be bothered with trivial details. His race is depicted as mischievous and described as “cultivated hedonists”. He is voiced by Billy West.
  • The Teensies are a race of small Cyan skin colored creatures with elongated noses and beady black eyes. They exist in many forms and most of them have magical powers. Their purpose is to unveil all the roads in the world. They are led by Grand Minimus, who acts as caretaker of the Heart of the World; the Grand Minimus is the greatest little king of them all.
  • Bzzit is the son of a large mosquito named Moskito who Rayman befriends in the first game. He helps Rayman out by giving him a ride during various flying sections.
  • Tarayzan, the Musician and Joe are three friends of Rayman’s who find themselves in different predicaments thanks to Mister Dark’s doing and each give Rayman a temporary power in return for his help.
  • Bubble Dreamer (a.k.a. Polokus) is the creator of Rayman’s world, who appears in Rayman 2: The Great Escape, Rayman Origins and Rayman Legends. He dreams up creatures that then come in to existence.

Antagonists

  • Mister Dark is Rayman’s first enemy and the main villain in Rayman. Little is known about him, except that he is an incredibly talented yet evil sorcerer. After stealing the Great Protoon and imprisoning all the Electoons, Mr. Dark hides away in his lair, at the Candy Chateau, high above the Cave Of Skops. Once Rayman meets him, Mr. Dark shape shifts into fused versions of his main Henchmen and flees after he is defeated. Ever since fleeing the scene, he has not reappeared fully.
  • Admiral Razorbeard is Rayman’s second enemy, the main villain in Rayman 2 and the Game Boy Advance version of Rayman 3. He commands a force of Robo-Pirates and ships that plague Rayman’s world. He rules from a gigantic ship, known as the Buccaneer. Razorbeard is infamous for his attacks that have reduced over 100 peaceful planets to cosmic dust, making him a vicious and cruel mass murderer. His personality is mainly similar to a power-hungry dictator, a cruel and sadistic villain. Razorbeard is also extremely frustrated and he has a short fuse, as he throws minor temper tantrums whenever one of his henchmen comes to tell him bad news. Unlike Mr. Dark, Razorbeard fights Rayman at the game’s climax, but after being beaten by Rayman, he flees the scene. In Rayman 2, he is voiced by Ken Starcevic.
  • Andre is a maniacal dark lum and the main villain in Rayman 3 and Rayman: Hoodlum’s Revenge. Globox has a strange fondness for him. At the beginning of the game, Globox accidentally swallows him, and the Teensies tell Rayman to take Globox to a doctor to get him out. After visiting three different doctors, Andre finds Reflux and makes a deal with him: that if he steals King Gumsi’s sceptre, he will give him the opportunity to kill Rayman. At the end of the game, Reflux is defeated and Rayman turns Andre back into a red lum. Shortly we learned in the past he turns into a dark lum when scared by Rayman’s hand’s shadow puppet. He is voiced by Ken Starcevic.
  • Reflux is a Knaaren, a race of invincible, ruthless warriors who cannot stand sunlight, who gives up his invincibility while stealing the scepter from the Leptys.
  • The Magician is a Teensy and the main villain in Rayman Origins and its sequel Rayman Legends. An obsessive admirer of Mr. Dark, he initially poses as an ally to Rayman and his friends, recruiting them for the collection of lums, which he presumably uses as a power source for his mechanical base in the Moody Clouds, from which he plans to take over the Glade of Dreams. When the heroes make their way into the base at the game’s climax, the Magician reveals his true identity as the base’s mastermind, before dropping them into a pit and forcing them to battle mechanical incarnations of previous enemies (in a similar manner to the battle against Mr. Dark’s henchmen at the climax of the original Rayman). When the heroes manage to escape and make their way back to the Magician, he attempts to flee aboard an airship, but they give chase on the back of Moskito, eventually causing him to crash into the base’s core. The ensuing explosion supposedly kills the Magician and destroys the base, while the heroes survive and fall back to the Glade of Dreams unharmed. However, he proves to have survived the explosion from Rayman Origins and has multiplied into 5 villainous dark teensies. Using their superior minds, they took control to an extent of the nightmares. As Rayman and friends grow closer to the last dark teensie, the nightmares grow more uncontrollable and at Olympus Maximus they turn into a ravaging horde and betray the last dark teensie. After the final boss, The Darkness, is beaten, the last one is sent to the moon.
  • The Livid Dead are a race of elderly skeletons who reside in an underworld known as The Land of the Livid Dead. In Rayman Origins, they are annoyed by Rayman and his friends’ loud snoring, so they declare war on the surface world, sending it into chaos. They return in the sequel and are harmless.
  • The Nightmares of Polokus are the central villains of the Rayman games. As of Rayman Legends, they are defeated.
  • Hades Hand is the final boss of Rayman Legends. It is the most powerful of all Nightmares.

Reception

Aggregate review scores
As of 29 January 2012.
Game GameRankings Metacritic
Rayman (GBA) 85.06%[3]
(JAG) 85.00%[4]
(SAT) 85.00%[5]
(GBC) 78.75%[6]
(PC) 77.00%[7]
(PS1) 75.00%[8]
(DSi) 66.33%[9]		 (GBA) 84[10]
Rayman 2: The Great Escape (DC) 93.05%[11]
(PC) 90.70%[12]
(N64) 88.83%[13]
(PS1) 87.23%[14]
(PS2) 85.17%[15]
(3DS) 64.78%[16]
(NDS) 58.93%[17]		 (N64) 90[18]
(PS2) 90[19]
(3DS) 61[20]
(NDS) 58[21]
Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc (GBA) 82.34%[22]
(PS2) 80.19%[23]
(PC) 78.31%[24]
(GC) 78.08%[25]
(Xbox) 76.91%[26]
(X360) 68.58%[27]
(PS3) 67.89%[28]		 (GBA) 83[29]
(GC) 77[30]
(PS2) 76[31]
(Xbox) 75[32]
(PC) 74[33]
(PS3) 72[34]
(X360) 69[35]
Rayman Origins (Wii) 91.27%[36]
(Vita) 89.85%[37]
(X360) 88.81%[38]
(PS3) 88.07%[39]
(PC) 86.60%[40]
(3DS) 70.83%[41]		 (Wii) 92[42]
(Vita) 88[43]
(X360) 87[44]
(PS3) 87[45]
(PC) 86[46]
(3DS) 71[47]
Rayman Legends (WIIU) 93.00%[48]
(XONE) 92.17%[49]
(PS3) 91.81%[50]
(PS4) 90.45%[51]
(PC) 90.00%[52]
(X360) 88.88%[53]
(Vita) 83.33%[54]		 (WIIU) 92[55]
(XONE) 91[56]
(PS3) 91[57]
(PS4) 90[58]
(X360) 90[59]
(PC) 89[60]
(Vita) 87[61]

Since his debut in 1995 on the Atari Jaguar, Sega Saturn, PlayStation and PC, Rayman has become a popular and recognizable video game character over the past decade, along with his trademark lack of limbs and helicopter power, having appeared in several titles up for many platforms until the present day. Since the first game’s release in 1995, the Rayman games have become highly successful and popular with many fans.

At the end of May 2010, as a result of rumors that Rayman creator Michel Ancel was leaving Ubisoft and the Beyond Good & Evil 2 project, fellow game designer and close colleague Nicolas Choukroun posted on Ancel’s unofficial Facebook page stating that Ancel had instead moved into another studio to work on a new Rayman game.[62] The game was revealed as Rayman Origins at Ubisoft’s E3 2010 conference.

References

  1. “Facts & Figures”. Ubisoft. Retrieved 21 April 2012.
  2. “Electronic Gaming Monthly’s Buyer’s Guide”. 1996.
  3. “Rayman Advance Reviews”. GameRankings. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  4. “Rayman Reviews”. GameRankings. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  5. “Rayman Reviews”. GameRankings. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  6. “Rayman Reviews”. GameRankings. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  7. “Rayman Reviews”. GameRankings. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  8. “Rayman Reviews”. GameRankings. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  9. “Rayman (DSiWare) Reviews”. GameRankings. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  10. “Rayman Advance Reviews”. Metacritic. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  11. “Rayman 2: The Great Escape Reviews”. GameRankings. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  12. “Rayman 2: The Great Escape Reviews”. GameRankings. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  13. “Rayman 2: The Great Escape Reviews”. GameRankings. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  14. “Rayman 2: The Great Escape Reviews”. GameRankings. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  15. “Rayman 2 Revolution Reviews”. GameRankings. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  16. “Rayman 3D Reviews”. GameRankings. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  17. “Rayman DS Reviews”. GameRankings. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  18. “Rayman 2: The Great Escape Reviews”. Metacritic. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  19. “Rayman 2 Revolution Reviews”. Metacritic. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  20. “Rayman 3D Reviews”. Metacritic. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  21. “Rayman DS Reviews”. Metacritic. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  22. “Rayman 3 Reviews”. GameRankings. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  23. “Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc Reviews”. GameRankings. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  24. “Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc Reviews”. GameRankings. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  25. “Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc Reviews”. GameRankings. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  26. “Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc Reviews”. GameRankings. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  27. “Rayman 3 HD Reviews”. GameRankings. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  28. “Rayman 3 HD Reviews”. GameRankings. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  29. “Rayman 3 Reviews”. Metacritic. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  30. “Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc Reviews”. Metacritic. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  31. “Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc Reviews”. Metacritic. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  32. “Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc Reviews”. Metacritic. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  33. “Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc Reviews”. Metacritic. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  34. “Rayman 3 HD Reviews”. Metacritic. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  35. “Rayman 3 HD Reviews”. Metacritic. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  36. “Rayman Origins Reviews”. GameRankings. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  37. “Rayman Origins Reviews”. GameRankings. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  38. “Rayman Origins Reviews”. GameRankings. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  39. “Rayman Origins Reviews”. GameRankings. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  40. “Rayman Origins Reviews”. GameRankings. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  41. “Rayman Origins Reviews”. GameRankings. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  42. “Rayman Origins Reviews”. Metacritic. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  43. “Rayman Origins Reviews”. Metacritic. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  44. “Rayman Origins Reviews”. Metacritic. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  45. “Rayman Origins Reviews”. Metacritic. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  46. “Rayman Origins Reviews”. Metacritic. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  47. “Rayman Origins Reviews”. Metacritic. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  48. “Rayman Legends Reviews”. GameRankings. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  49. “Rayman Legends Reviews”. GameRankings. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  50. “Rayman Legends Reviews”. GameRankings. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  51. “Rayman Legends Reviews”. GameRankings. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  52. “Rayman Legends Reviews”. GameRankings. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  53. “Rayman Legends Reviews”. GameRankings. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  54. “Rayman Legends Reviews”. GameRankings. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  55. “Rayman Legends Reviews”. Metacritic. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  56. “Rayman Legends Reviews”. Metacritic. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  57. “Rayman Legends Reviews”. Metacritic. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  58. “Rayman Legends Reviews”. Metacritic. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  59. “Rayman Legends Reviews”. Metacritic. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  60. “Rayman Legends Reviews”. Metacritic. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  61. “Rayman Legends Reviews”. Metacritic. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  62. “Michel Ancel Now Working On New Rayman?”. 29 May 2010.

External links

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Crash Bandicoot

Posted by kayrayorulmazyorulmaz on January 3, 2015
Posted in: Uncategorized. Leave a comment
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the video game franchise. For the titular character, see Crash Bandicoot (character). For the video game of the same name, see Crash Bandicoot (video game).
Crash Bandicoot
CrashBandicootLogo.png

The original Crash Bandicoot logo from 1996
Genres Platform
Racing
Party
Developers
Publishers
Creators Andy Gavin
Jason Rubin
Composers Josh Mancell (Mutato Muzika) (1996–1999)
Steve Duckworth (2000)
Swallow Studios (2001–2003)
Spiralmouth (2004–2005, 2010)
Marc Baril (2005–2008)
Platform of origin PlayStation
First release Crash Bandicoot
September 9th, 1996
Latest release Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 2
May 27, 2010
Official website Crash Bandicoot series official site

Crash Bandicoot is an American series of platform video games. The series, originally exclusive to the Sony PlayStation, was created by Andy Gavin and Jason Rubin during their tenure at Naughty Dog for Sony Computer Entertainment. Since its conception at Naughty Dog, the series has appeared on multiple platforms and gone through various developers and spans numerous genres. The series has a total of eighteen games and shipped over 40 million copies worldwide.

The games are mostly set on the fictitious Wumpa Islands, an archipelago situated to the south of Australia, although other locations are common. The main games in the series are largely platformers, but several are spin-offs in different genres. The protagonist of the series is an anthropomorphic bandicoot named Crash, whose quiet life on the Wumpa Islands is often interrupted by the games’ main antagonist, Doctor Neo Cortex, who created Crash and now wants nothing less than his demise. In most games, Crash must defeat Cortex and foil any world domination plans he might have.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the video game franchise. For the titular character, see Crash Bandicoot (character). For the video game of the same name, see Crash Bandicoot (video game).
Crash Bandicoot
CrashBandicootLogo.png

The original Crash Bandicoot logo from 1996
Genres Platform
Racing
Party
Developers
Publishers
Creators Andy Gavin
Jason Rubin
Composers Josh Mancell (Mutato Muzika) (1996–1999)
Steve Duckworth (2000)
Swallow Studios (2001–2003)
Spiralmouth (2004–2005, 2010)
Marc Baril (2005–2008)
Platform of origin PlayStation
First release Crash Bandicoot
September 9th, 1996
Latest release Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 2
May 27, 2010
Official website Crash Bandicoot series official site

Crash Bandicoot is an American series of platform video games. The series, originally exclusive to the Sony PlayStation, was created by Andy Gavin and Jason Rubin during their tenure at Naughty Dog for Sony Computer Entertainment. Since its conception at Naughty Dog, the series has appeared on multiple platforms and gone through various developers and spans numerous genres. The series has a total of eighteen games and shipped over 40 million copies worldwide.

The games are mostly set on the fictitious Wumpa Islands, an archipelago situated to the south of Australia, although other locations are common. The main games in the series are largely platformers, but several are spin-offs in different genres. The protagonist of the series is an anthropomorphic bandicoot named Crash, whose quiet life on the Wumpa Islands is often interrupted by the games’ main antagonist, Doctor Neo Cortex, who created Crash and now wants nothing less than his demise. In most games, Crash must defeat Cortex and foil any world domination plans he might have.

After presenting Way of the Warrior to Mark Cerny of Universal Interactive Studios, Naughty Dog was signed on to the company for three additional games.[1] On August 1994, Jason Rubin and Andy Gavin began their move from Boston, Massachusetts to Los Angeles, California.[2] During the trip, Gavin and Rubin decided to create a 3D action-platform game. Because the player would be forced to constantly look at the character’s rear, the game was jokingly codenamed “Sonic‘s Ass Game”.[1] The basic technology for the game and the Crash Bandicoot series as a whole was created somewhere near Gary, Indiana. The rough game theory was designed by Colorado. Soon afterward, Gavin and Rubin threw out their previous game design for Al O. Saurus and Dinestein, a side-scrolling video game based on time travel and scientists genetically merged with dinosaurs. After moving into the Universal Interactive Studios backlot, Gavin and Rubin met with Mark Cerny, discussed the design of the game and made an agreement to go into production.[1] On September 1994, Gavin and Rubin decided to develop their new game for the PlayStation, after which Rubin began character design.[2] On November 1994, Naughty Dog hired Dave Baggett, their first employee and a friend of Gavin’s from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.[1][2] Together, Gavin and Baggett created the development tool “Game Oriented Object LISP” (GOOL), which would be used to create the characters and gameplay of the game.[1] On January 1995, Rubin became concerned about the programmer-to-artist ratio and hired Bob Rafei and Taylor Kurosaki as additional artists.[1][2]

Needing a lead character for the game, Naughty Dog recruited American Exitus artists Charles Zembillas and Joe Pearson and met with them weekly to create the characters and environments of the game,[1][2] eventually creating a character named “Willy the Wombat“.[3] The marketing director of Universal Interactive Studios insisted that the character be named “Wez”, “Wuzzles” or “Wizzy the Wombat”.[4] On creating the levels for the game, Zembillas and Pearson first sketched each environment, designing and creating additional individual elements later. They aimed for an organic, overgrown look to the game and worked to completely avoid straight lines and 90-degree corners. A Naughty Dog artist sketched every single background object in the game before it was modeled. The artists were tasked with making the best use of textures and reducing the amount of geometry. Dark and light elements were juxtaposed to create visual interest and separate geometry. The Naughty Dog artists would squint when sketching, texturing and playing the levels to make sure they could be played by light value alone. Correct use of color was an important goal for Naughty Dog’s artists; for example, mutually accentuating colors were chosen as the theme for the “Lost City” and “Sunset Vista” levels. The interior of Doctor Neo Cortex’s castle was designed to reflect Cortex’s twisted mind.[5]

After the main character’s creation, the team went into three months of developing the game. The game first became functional on April 1995 and became playable on June 1995. The first three levels in the game were completed by August 1995. However, they were judged to be too difficult to appear so early in the game and were moved to the game’s power plant area. Artist Charlotte Francis joined Naughty Dog at around this time.[2] On September 1995, a videotape of Crash Bandicoot was shown to Sony Computer Entertainment behind closed doors.[1][2] While playing the game during development, Rubin realized that there were many empty areas in the game due to the PlayStation’s inability to process numerous on-screen enemy characters at the same time. Additionally, players were solving the game’s puzzles too fast. Rubin soon came up with the idea of a box and putting various symbols on the sides to create puzzles. Breaking these boxes would serve to fill in the boring parts of the levels and give the player additional puzzles.[4] The first “crate” was placed in the game on January 1996, and would become the primary gameplay element of the series.[2] Willy the Wombat’s destruction of the crates would eventually lead him to be renamed “Crash Bandicoot”.[2][4] On March 1996, Sony agreed to publish Crash Bandicoot, which went into the alpha stage on April 1996. Crash Bandicoot was first shown at the Electronic Entertainment Expo on May 1996.

Development of Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back began in October 1996. For the game, Andy Gavin created a new engine named “Game Oriented Object LISP 2″ (GOOL 2) that was three times faster than the previous game’s engine, could handle ten times the animation frames and twice the polygon count.[1][2] The jungle levels were originally to have featured ground fog, but this was abandoned when magazines and the public began to brutalize other developers for using fog to hide polygon count. Sunlight and depth accentuation was experimented with for these levels. Wanting to have some “dirty” locations in the game, Naughty Dog worked in the sewer levels and added color contrast to the levels to show depth and break up the repetitive monotony of the endless sewer pipes.[5] A flat plane z-buffer was created for the game; because the water surfaces and mud in the jungle had to be a flat plane and be exactly flat on the Y-axis, there could be no waves and the subdividing plane could not be at an odd angle. The effect only worked on objects in the foreground and was only used on Crash, some enemies and a few boxes at the same time.[1] The soundtrack of Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back was provided by Mutato Muzika (consisting of Mark Mothersbaugh and Josh Mancell), while the sound effects were created by Universal Sound Studios (consisting of Mike Gollom, Ron Horwitz and Kevin Spears). The characters were designed by Charles Zembillas of American Exitus, Incorporated. Clancy Brown provided the voice of Doctor Neo Cortex, while Brendan O’Brien voiced the dual role of Doctor N. Gin and Doctor Nitrus Brio and Vicki Winters voiced Coco Bandicoot.[6] The game was unveiled at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Atlanta, Georgia on June 1997 to a positive response from the game industry. The game went into the alpha stage on August 1997. Around that time, Dan Arey, the lead designer of Gex: Enter the Gecko, joined Naughty Dog and streamlined the level design.[2]

Like the first, the second game was a commercial success, green-lighting a third game. Production of Crash Bandicoot: Warped began on January 1998, with Naughty Dog given only 10½ months to complete the game.[1][2] Programmers Andy Gavin, Stephen White and Greg Omi created three new gameplay engines for the game. Two of the three new engines were three-dimensional in nature and were created for the airplane and jet-ski levels; the third new engine was created for the motorcycle levels in the style of a driving simulator. The new engines combined make up a third of the game, while the other two-thirds of the game consist of the same engine used in the previous games. Jason Rubin explained that the “classic” engine and game style was preserved due to the success of the previous two games and went on to say that “were we to abandon that style of gameplay, that would mean that we would be abandoning a significant proportion of gamers out there.” An arbitrary plane z-buffer was created for the jet-ski and flooded Egyptian hallway levels of the game.[1] To create a completely fluid feel for the water on these levels, an environment map that reflects the sky was fitted onto the surface of the water. A real shadow was given to the Crash character at the request of the Sony Computer Entertainment America producers, who were “sick of that little discus that’s following him around.” To create an “arcade” experience in the airplane levels and to differentiate them from flight simulators, the enemy planes were programmed to come out in front of the player and give the player ample time to shoot them before they turn around and shoot the player rather than come up behind the player and hit them from behind. The Relic system was introduced to give players a reason to return to the game after it has been completed.[7]

While initially Naughty Dog was only signed on to make three games, Crash Team Racing was a possible Crash 3 as it started out in production after Crash 2 and the game which was finished first in production would be released first. However, Naughty Dog had already gotten far into the project and decided to finish it and release it. David Baggett produced the game’s soundtrack, with Mark Mothersbaugh and Josh Mancell of Mutato Muzika composing the music. Sound effects were created by Mike Gollum, Ron Horwitz and Kevin Spears of Universal Sound Studios.[8] This marked the end of Naughty Dog’s Crash Bandicoot games.

Multiplatform

With the release of Crash Bash, Vivendi Universal’s publishing deal with SCE had ended, and Crash’s prominent status within the video game community prompted the company to make Crash a multiplatform series. Giving the series to Mark Cerny and Vicarious Visions to develop two separate but connected games.

Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex was originally in development by Travelers Tales. After a falling-out between Vivendi Universal and the two entities, Traveller’s Tales was forced to alter the game from a free-roaming title to a standard Crash title. Traveller’s Tales had to begin development of the game from scratch and were given only twelve months to complete the game.[9] The game received mixed reviews but made the Greatest Hits lineup due to strong sales. Despite the rights of Crash Bandicoot going to Vivendi Universal, Sony still retained the rights for the distribution and porting of the original Crash Bandicoot game series.

The following year, Vivendi would have Vicarious Visions release their first Crash Bandicoot game, a handheld exclusive called Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure was developed by Vicarious Visions and released to favourable reviews. The game would be noted for being extremely similar to Naughty Dog’s Crash Bandicoot 3. This would warrant a sequel, Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced, which would also be met to similar reception. During this time a subsidy of Traveller’s Tales – Traveller’s Tales Oxford Studio were developing a new Crash game for console. This game was to be Crash Nitro Kart but due to unknown circumstances Vivendi moved development of Crash Nitro Kart over to Vicarious Visions. Traveller’s Tales Oxford Studio then moved on to their next project, Crash Bandicoot Evolution.

Crash Bandicoot Evolution was set to create a new form of gameplay for Crash with the game planned to be a Platformer/RPG with many different elements planned for the game; it eventually became Crash Twinsanity. Although Traveller’s Tales planned on creating a Crash Bandicoot game titled Cortex Chaos, Vivendi never picked up the game, effectively cancelling it. Vicarious Visions’s fourth and final game was Crash Bandicoot Purple: Ripto’s Rampage for the Game Boy Advance.

Redesign

Although Cortex Chaos was cancelled, Traveller’s Tales was nonetheless commissioned to develop one final Crash Bandicoot game. It was to be a kart racing game titled Crash Clash Racing. However, Traveller’s Tales was taken off the project as it was given to Radical Entertainment. The new studio proceeded to change the project into an entirely new game, keeping only two core ideas, clashing and fusion. The game marked the first game published under Vivendi’s Sierra Entertainment brand, and the first game to use Radical’s Titanium Engine, receiving the title Crash Tag Team Racing.

Development on Crash of the Titans, Radical’s second title, began after the completion of Crash Tag Team Racing.[10] The graphics of the Wii version of the game was one of Radical Entertainment‘s main focuses in the game’s development,[11] with Radical stating that the Wii has “a lot of horsepower under the hood” and expressing their desire to make full use of it.[12] They also considered implementing a feature to connect the Wii to DS during gameplay, but stopped due to technical issues and time limitations.[13] The Xbox 360 version got a few extra months of development time to improve its graphics before setting a final release date.[14]

While the game was being developed, the title’s main character, Crash Bandicoot, became the new mascot of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society‘s “School and Youth” programs in an effort to promote the battle against blood cancer.[15] In a bid to further promote the game, a Hummer was painted with imagery from the game and displayed at the Annual Balloon Fiesta in Bristol, United Kingdom.[16] A “Monster Edition” of the game was released exclusively in Europe on October 12, 2007 for the PlayStation 2. This special edition of the game features “Making-of” videos, water-on tattoos, game hints, a cheat code list, and the game’s E3 and theatrical trailers in multiple languages. Due to its “mild cartoon violence and language”, the game received a PG rating from the BBFC.[17]

Development on Crash: Mind over Mutant, Radical’s third and final Crash title so far, began immediately after the completion of Crash of the Titans. The idea of preserving a Titan for later use came from the play testing sessions of Crash of the Titans, in which the testers were found to be reluctant to leave the Titans behind after an epic battle was won. Fans of the series were also a source of inspiration for Crash: Mind over Mutant, having such wishes as a free-roaming environment, Coco Bandicoot being a playable character and the return of the character Doctor Nitrus Brio. Full camera control was considered for the game, but was rejected for graphical reasons and to avoid having to insert a split-screen view in the cooperation mode.[18] Online gameplay was also considered as a feature in the finished game,[19] but was omitted due to the brief development schedule.[20] Coco Bandicoot as a playable character was omitted from the PlayStation 2 version of the game due to her distinct animations taking up much of the console’s memory.[20] The Wii version of Crash: Mind over Mutant was created first, with the graphics scaled up for the Xbox 360, and scaled down for the PlayStation 2.[21]

In 2010, rumors appeared that High Impact Games was developing a remake of Crash Team Racing for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii, but the game was canceled by Activision before the prototype initial. Several ideas for the game eventually made it into DreamWorks Super Star Kartz.[22] Radical Entertainment was developing a fourth Crash Bandicoot title, but due to large layoffs in the studio, the game was canceled with all remaining developers put to work on Prototype 2.[23] The DS edition of this game, titled Crash Landed, would be in development by Renegade Kid for approximately two weeks before similarly being cancelled by Activision.[24][25][26]

Future

On a Kotaku interview with Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg regarding the future of the Crash series, he said, “I don’t have anything official to announce, but I can speak as an individual, I love Crash Bandicoot. Those were some of my favorite video games growing up. And I would love to find a way to bring him back, if we could.”[27] Andy Gavin, co-creator of Crash Bandicoot, has said that he would love to see a HD version of the marsupial’s first four games, or even a full blown reboot.[28] Jason Rubin, co-creator of Crash Bandicoot, said he is hopeful that Activision will “Bring Crash back to their glory days and that the character is still very dear to fans between 17–49 years”.[29] A new design of Crash Bandicoot has been spotted in a photo from the Vicarious Visions‘s studio, raising rumors that a new game might be in development,[30] though this was later confirmed to be concept art from a previous Crash Bandicoot cancelled game.[31]

In June 2013, co-creator Andy Gavin suggested ways to revitalize the series. “Crash needs a total reboot. There’s an opportunity to reset the history, and go back to his creation story and the original conflict with Cortex. In that context, you could reprise classic Crash 1 and 2’s settings and villains. It would make sense to use a more modern, free-roaming style. I would concentrate on Looney Tunes-esque animation and really addictive action. That’s what we did with the original Crash, and there’s no reason it couldn’t be done today. Given the current Crash games, people forget that he was once cool. Our Crash had a certain whimsical edge to him. Sure, it was goofy – but it wasn’t dumb.”.[32]

In November 2013, rumours began circulating that Sony bought the rights to the franchise from Activision.[33] Speculations have been fueled after the release of PlayStation 4‘s #4ThePlayers campaign, featuring a road sign of a bandicoot, with an arrow pointing towards the orange diamond logo of Sony Computer Entertainment.[34][35] It was also noted by publications such as IGN that Crash had been removed from Activision‘s official website,[36] which would seem to add further credibility to the rumor. This was later proven false however, as Activision confirmed through an interview that they still own Crash Bandicoot and are currently exploring ways to revive the series.[37]

In July 2014, Sony Computer Entertainment CEO Andrew House revealed that reviving the Crash Bandicoot series is something that they have been thinking about and Naughty Dog also revealed through an IGN interview the possibility that they may revive both the Crash Bandicoot series and the Jak & Daxter series. While Sony did not guarantee reviving the series, House has stated “It’s never off the table.”[38]

Common gameplay elements

Crash Bandicoot is primarily a platforming series. The goal of each level is to guide Crash from the beginning to the end, travelling either into the screen, towards the player or left and right in a side-scrolling manner. Several levels place Crash in unique situations which require the use of motorbikes, jet skis, submarines and various wild animals to reach the level’s end.

In the original Crash Bandicoot, Crash’s moveset is rather limited; he can run, jump and spin his way through treacherous environments and hostile creatures. Cortex Strikes Back introduces several new moves for Crash to utilise, including a high jump, high spin jump, body slam and slide attack. Warped expands on this by awarding the player with new abilities after each boss is defeated, which was carried over to The Wrath of Cortex.

Collectibles

The most common collectible in the series is Wumpa Fruit, which is found on the main path of most levels, as well as inside most crates. Collecting 100 Wumpa Fruits will award the player an extra life. Wumpa Fruit takes on other uses in most spin-off titles, such as restoring health in certain Crash Bash levels and increasing weapon power in Crash Team Racing. In recent titles, Wumpa Fruit is used to replenish Crash’s health, with Mojo effectively replacing it as the new main collectible item. By collecting Aku-Aku masks, Crash can be protected from harm from most enemies and obstacles (though certain elements such as bottomless pits will cause him to lose a life regardless.) Crash can collect up to two masks for two extra hits of damage, with an additional mask granting him temporary invincibility.

The other major recurring valuables Crash finds on his adventures include Gems and Crystals. Most Gems in the series are won by breaking open every crate in a level. Starting with Cortex Strikes Back, an additional five coloured Gems can be obtained by completing special tasks or finding hidden areas. Crash Twinsanity contains six colored Gems per level, most of which are earned by solving a small puzzle. Crystals, which play a key role in the plot of most Crash games following Cortex Strikes Back, are usually required to make progress through most games. Relics, first introduced in Warped are earned in Time Trial modes, with more valuable relics earned for higher times.

Crates

Crates come in several varieties and can be found in abundance across Crash’s world. Most crates will assist the player’s journey through the game, providing Wumpa Fruit, additional hit points in the form of Aku Aku masks and extra lives. In most games, players will be awarded a gem if they break all the crates in a level.

TNT and Nitro Crates are the only boxes that can damage Crash. TNT Crates have a three second fuse when jumped on, but Nitro Crates will explode instantly upon any contact with Crash or anything else that runs into them. Switch Boxes (distinguished by an exclamation mark) are used to make previously invisible crates appear. A green Switch Box will detonate all Nitro Crates in the level.

Crates marked with a “C” are checkpoints that Crash will return to if he is killed during play. Steel Crates are protected by a metal casing that can only be destroyed with Crash’s body slam move, while Spring Crates allow him to reach high up areas by bouncing on them. Slot Boxes rapidly switch between multiple types of crates, and if they are not broken in time, will become metallic and indestructible. Time Boxes are a special crate found exclusively in Time Trial mode. They will freeze the clock for the number of seconds displayed on the box, increasing the player’s chance of beating the time trial.

Structure

The original Crash Bandicoot uses a fairly linear structure in which Crash clears through levels on a map, with some areas accessible by locating gems. Beginning with Cortex Strikes Back, the game usually takes place in a hub world called a Warp Room, with levels divided up into sets of five. To progress, the player must find and collect a Crystal within each of the stages, which can be played in any order, before facing the boss of each room. From Twinsanity onwards, the games took a more free-roaming approach, with Crash travelling various areas on foot.

Music

Numerous composers have contributed music to the Crash Bandicoot series. Mutato Muzika and Josh Mancell were responsible for the music of the first four games. After the fourth game, numerous other composers were responsible for the music in other games. Steve Duckworth composed music for Crash Bash, Swallow Studios for The Wrath of Cortex, Ashif Hakik and Todd Masten for Crash Nitro Kart and Spiralmouth for Twinsanity. The music for Tag Team Racing was composed by both Spiralmouth and Marc Baril, while Crash of the Titans and Mind Over Mutant were composed by Baril alone.

Games

Main series

Title Details
Crash Bandicoot

Original release date(s):

  • JP December 6, 1996
  • NA September 9, 1996
  • EU November 2, 1996
 Release years by system:
1996 – PlayStation
2006 – PlayStation Network
Notes:

  • Developer: Naughty Dog (1996)
  • Producer/Publisher: Universal Interactive Studios and Sony Computer Entertainment
Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back

Original release date(s):

  • JP December 17, 1997
  • NA October 31, 1997
  • EU December 5, 1997
 Release years by system:
1997 – PlayStation
2007 – PlayStation Network
Notes:

  • Developer: Naughty Dog
  • Producer/Publisher: Universal Interactive Studios and Sony Computer Entertainment
Crash Bandicoot: Warped

Original release date(s):

  • JP December 17, 1998
  • NA October 31, 1998
  • EU December 5, 1998
 Release years by system:
1998 – PlayStation
2007 – PlayStation Network
Notes:

  • Developer: Naughty Dog
  • Producer/Publisher: Universal Interactive Studios and Sony Computer Entertainment
Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex

Original release date(s):

  • JP December 20, 2001
  • NA October 29, 2001
  • EU November 23, 2001
 Release years by system:
2001 – PlayStation 2
2002 – Xbox, GameCube
2007 – Xbox Originals
Notes:

  • Developer: Traveller’s Tales Knutsford Studio
  • Producer/Publisher: Universal Interactive Studios and Konami
Crash Twinsanity

Original release date(s):

  • JP November 9, 2004
  • NA August 30, 2004
  • EU October 8, 2004
 Release years by system:
2004 – PlayStation 2, Xbox
Notes:

  • Developer: Traveller’s Tales Oxford Studio
  • Producer/Publisher: Vivendi Universal Games (NTSC) and Sierra Entertainment (PAL)
Crash of the Titans

Original release date(s):

  • NA October 4, 2007
  • EU October 12, 2007
  • AUS October 18, 2007
 Release years by system:
2007 – PlayStation 2, Xbox 360, Game Boy Advance, Wii, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo DS
Notes:

  • Developer: Radical Entertainment
  • Producer/Publisher: Sierra Entertainment (under Vivendi Games)
Crash: Mind over Mutant

Original release date(s):

  • NA October 7, 2008
  • EU October 31, 2008
  • AUS October 29, 2008
 Release years by system:
2008 – PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Xbox 360, Wii, Nintendo DS
Notes:

  • Developer: Radical Entertainment
  • Producer/Publisher: Sierra Entertainment (under Vivendi Games) and Activision (Due to Vivendi’s Activision merger)

Racing

Title Details
Crash Team Racing

Original release date(s):

  • JP December 16, 1999
  • NA September 30, 1999
  • EU October 20, 1999
 Release years by system:
1999 – PlayStation
2007 – PlayStation Network
Notes:

  • Developer: Naughty Dog
  • Producer/Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Crash Nitro Kart

Original release date(s):

  • JP July 8, 2004
  • NA November 11, 2003
  • EU November 28, 2003
  • AUS December 3, 2003
 Release years by system:
2004 – PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, Game Boy Advance, N-Gage
Notes:

  • Developer Vicarious Visions
  • Producer/Publisher: Universal Interactive/Vivendi Universal Games and Konami
Crash Tag Team Racing

Original release date(s):

  • JP December 1, 2005
  • NA October 19, 2005
  • EU November 4, 2005
 Release years by system:
2005 – PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox, PlayStation Portable
Notes:

  • Developer: Radical Entertainment
  • Producer/Publisher: Sierra Entertainment and Vivendi Universal Games

Party

Title Details
Crash Bash

Original release date(s):

  • JP December 14, 2000
  • NA November 6, 2000
  • EU December 1, 2000
 Release years by system:
2000 – PlayStation
2008 – PlayStation Network
Notes:

  • Developer: Eurocom Entertainment Software and Cerny Games
  • Producer/Publisher: Universal Interactive Studios and Sony Computer Entertainment
Crash Boom Bang!

Original release date(s):

  • JP July 20, 2006
  • NA October 10, 2006
  • EU October 27, 2006
  • AUS November 2, 2006
 Release years by system:
2006 – Nintendo DS
Notes:

  • Developer Dimps
  • Producer/Publisher: Sierra Entertainment and Vivendi Universal Games
  • Notes: The most recent Crash game released in Japan.

Spin-offs

Title Details
Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure

Original release date(s):

  • JP July 18, 2002
  • NA February 25, 2002
  • EU March 15, 2002
 Release years by system:
2002 – Game Boy Advance
Notes:

  • Developer Vicarious Visions
  • Producer/Publisher: Universal Interactive and Konami
  • Crash Bandicoot XS in Europe
Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced

Original release date(s):

  • JP December 4, 2003
  • NA January 7, 2003
  • EU March 14, 2003
 Release years by system:
2003 – Game Boy Advance
Notes:

  • Developer Vicarious Visions
  • Producer/Publisher: Universal Interactive/Vivendi Universal Games and Konami
Crash Bandicoot Purple: Ripto’s Rampage

Original release date(s):

  • JP December 9, 2004
  • NA June 3, 2004
  • EU June 25, 2004
 Release years by system:
2004 – Game Boy Advance
Notes:

  • Developer Vicarious Visions
  • Publisher/Producer: Vivendi Universal Games
  • Crash Bandicoot Fusion in Europe

Mobile

Title Details
Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D

Original release date(s):

  • NA June 9, 2008
  • EU July 9, 2008
 Release years by system:
2008 – iPod Touch, iPhone, Zeebo, N-Gage 2.0
Notes:

  • Developer: Polarbit
  • Producer/Publisher: Vivendi Games Mobile and Activision
Crash Bandicoot: Mutant Island

Original release date(s):
July 30, 2009

 Release years by system:
2009 – BlackBerry, Java Micro Edition
Notes:

  • Developer Glu Mobile
  • Producer/Publisher: Vivendi Games Mobile and Activision
Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 2

Original release date(s):
May 27, 2010

 Release years by system:
2010 – iPod Touch, iPhone
Notes:

  • Developer: Polarbit
  • Producer/Publisher: Activision

Cancelled games

Title Details
Cortex Chaos

Cancellation date:

 Proposed system release:
2005 – PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube
Notes:

  • Developer: Traveller’s Tales Oxford Studio
  • Producer/Publisher: Vivendi Universal Games
  • Cancelled
Crash Landed

Cancellation date:

 Proposed system release:
2010 – PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, Nintendo DS
Notes:

  • Developer: Radical Entertainment (DS pitch by Renegade Kid)
  • Producer/Publisher: Activision
  • Cancelled: Due to Layoffs in February 2010[39][40]
Crash Team Racing 2010

Cancellation date:

 Proposed system release:
2010 – PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii
Notes:

  • Developer: High Impact Games
  • Producer/Publisher: Activision
  • Cancelled

Publishers and developers

The first four Crash Bandicoot games were developed by Naughty Dog. Crash Bash was developed by Eurocom. Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex and Crash Twinsanity were developed by Traveller’s Tales and its division Traveller’s Tales Oxford, respectively. Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure (Crash Bandicoot XS in Europe), Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced, Crash Nitro Kart and Crash Bandicoot Purple: Ripto’s Rampage (Crash Bandicoot Fusion in Europe) have all been developed by Vicarious Visions. Crash Tag Team Racing, Crash of the Titans and Crash: Mind Over Mutant were developed by Radical Entertainment and Crash Boom Bang! was developed by Dimps. The first five Crash titles were published by Sony Computer Entertainment as well as the games being produced by Universal Interactive Studios. Wrath of Cortex was published by Universal Interactive Studios. All of the other Crash titles were published by Universal Interactive Studios (now the defunct Vivendi Games). Konami published and distributed some Japanese-released Crash Bandicoot games for the Japanese market and the worldwide release of Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex.

Other media

Manga

In 1998 Coro Coro Comics developed a manga series titled Crash Bandicoot – Dansu! de Jump! na Daibouken; was drawn and produced by Kawashima Ari in 1998, and only been two manga volumes published to date, leaving the total number of comics unknown. It is loosely based off the events of Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back.

Short films

In 2007 The Animation Picture Company had produced four web-short films, to promote the game Crash of the Titans, titled Crash Bandicoot: No Use Crying, Crash Bandicoot Monster Truck, Crash Bandicoot – Titan Idol and Crash Bandicoot – Have Another, all lasting for about three minutes. These are available for free download on the Xbox 360 video service or are available to watch on the web, originally available for viewing on the Crash Bandicoot official website.

Reception

Aggregate review scores
As of January 4, 2011.
Game GameRankings Metacritic
Crash Bandicoot (PS1) 80.40%[41] –
Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back (PS1) 88.54%[42] –
Crash Bandicoot: Warped (PS1) 89.07%[43] (PS1) 91[44]
Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex (Xbox) 70.48%[45]
(PS2) 70.12%[46]
(GC) 63.01%[47]		 (Xbox) 70[48]
(PS2) 66[49]
(GC) 62[50]
Crash Twinsanity (Xbox) 68.84%[51]
(PS2) 66.20%[52]		 (Xbox) 66[53]
(PS2) 64[54]
Crash of the Titans (NDS) 72.00%[55]
(PS2) 71.86%[56]
(Wii) 71.03%[57]
(PSP) 70.00%[58]
(X360) 64.79%[59]		 (NDS) 73[60]
(PS2) 70[61]
(Wii) 69[62]
(X360) 65[63]
Crash: Mind over Mutant (PS2) 74.60%[64]
(Wii) 71.79%[65]
(X360) 61.94%[66]
(PSP) 54.75%[67]
(NDS) 48.55%[68]		 (PS2) 73[69]
(Wii) 70[70]
(X360) 60[71]
(NDS) 45[72]
[icon] This section requires expansion. (January 2013)

The Crash Bandicoot series has been a commercial success. As of 2007, the series altogether has sold over 40 million units worldwide.[73] According to Gamasutra, the first Crash Bandicoot game has sold 6.8 million units as of November 2003,[74] making it the seventh best-selling PlayStation game of all time. Cortex Strikes Back sold 3.87 million units in the U.S.,[75] while Warped sold 3.76 million.[75] The last two games on the PlayStation console, Crash Team Racing and Crash Bash, sold 1.9 million and 1.6 million units in the U.S. respectively.[75] The only individual non-PlayStation Crash game to break the one-million mark in sales is the PlayStation 2 version of Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex, which sold 1.95 million units in the U.S.[75]

The Crash Bandicoot series is one of the few Western video game series to find blockbuster success in Japan. Cortex Strikes Back and Warped sold 1.3 and 1.4 million units in the country respectively,[76] while the PlayStation 2 version of Wrath of Cortex sold 203,000 units.[77] Crash Bandicoot was highly praised by Curmudgeon Jude from the popular Toronto Noise band HSY, “This game is the inspiration for my music”

References

  1. “From Rags to Riches: Way of the Warrior to Crash 3“. Game Informer 66 (October 1998): 18–19. 1998.
  2. “[ Crash Bandicoot – Time Line ]”. Naughty Dog. Archived from the original on July 29, 2008. Retrieved March 8, 2010.
  3. “Interview with Charles Zembillas”. Crash Mania. May 17, 2009. Retrieved March 8, 2010.
  4. “Interview with Jason Rubin”. Crash Mania. August 16, 2008. Retrieved March 8, 2010.
  5. “[ Crash Gallery – Background Studies – Crash 1 ]”. Naughty Dog. Archived from the original on July 28, 2008. Retrieved March 8, 2010.
  6. Universal, pp. 14–15
  7. “Crash Bandicoot: Warped“. Naughty Dog. Retrieved April 4, 2010.
  8. Instruction Booklet, p. 26.
  9. Alistair Wallis (November 9, 2006). “Gamasutra – News – Playing Catch Up: Traveller’s Tales’ Jon Burton”. Gamasutra. Retrieved May 25, 2011. This became even more clear in 2001, when the company worked with Universal Interactive for Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex. “[It] was meant to be designed by Mark Cerny, who designed all the others, and published by Sony,” says Burton. “Vivendi/Universal fell out with them and we had to go from a free roaming game to a standard Crash game with a reduced time-line – 12 months – and having to design the game ourselves from scratch.”
  10. JumpButton (2007-04-24). “Crash Mania official interview with Radical Entertainment”. Crash Mania. Retrieved 2007-07-13.
  11. Harris, Craig (2007-04-19). “IGN: Crash of the Titans Preview”. IGN. Retrieved 2008-07-08.
  12. “Wii has a lot of Horsepower says Radical”. Codename Revolution. 2007-03-02. Retrieved 2007-07-13. The Wii has a lot of horsepower under the hood and we’re making full use of it. We’ve overhauled our graphics engine to get the most out of the console by updating the shaders responsible for rendering the environment, vehicle, and characters. In many ways Scarface looks sharper on the Wii than it does on the PS2 and Xbox.
  13. JumpButton (2007-07-12). “Crash Mania official interview with Amaze Entertainment”. Crash Mania. Retrieved 2007-07-13.
  14. Reed, Kristan (2007-04-26). “Eurogamer’s preview of Crash of the Titans“. Eurogamer. Retrieved 2007-07-13.
  15. “Video Game Hero Crash Bandicoot Urges Kids to Join the Fight Against Leukemia”. GoNintendo. 2007-08-06. Retrieved 2007-08-19. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and Vivendi Games today announced that Crash Bandicoot, the valiant, action hero of the highly popular video game series, is the new national champion for the Societyfs School & Youth programs.
  16. De Marco, Flynn (2007-08-12). “Crash of the Titans: The Hummer”. Kotaku. Retrieved 2007-08-19. Has spinners, the works. All with a Wii on the inside that people can play.
  17. “Crash of the Titans: Monster Edition rated PG by the BBFC”. British Board of Film Classification. 2007-07-31. Retrieved 2007-09-13.
  18. “Crash Mania – Interview with Radical (Mind Over Mutant)”. Crash Mania. May 8, 2008. Retrieved November 14, 2008.
  19. De Marco, Flynn (April 28, 2008). “Crash Bandicoot: Mind Over Mutant Impressions”. Kotaku. Retrieved April 28, 2008.
  20. “Overview: Crash: Mind Over Mutant Q&A”. Gamer’s Hell. Retrieved July 7, 2008.
  21. Stern, Zack (April 28, 2008). “Joystiq impressions: Crash Bandicoot: Mind over Mutant (Wii)”. Joystiq. Retrieved April 28, 2008.
  22. “Crash Team Racing 2010 Screenshots Show Cancelled Kart Game”. Cinemablend.com. 2012-09-03. Retrieved 2012-11-07.
  23. 25 Jul 2011 (2011-07-25). “Crash Bandicoot 2010 [Cancelled – Xbox 360 / PS3 / Wii] | Unseen 64: Beta, Unreleased & Unseen Videogames!”. Unseen 64. Retrieved 2012-11-07.
  24. “Never-Before-Seen Renegade Kid-Developed Crash Bandicoot DS Demo Revealed”. Nintendo World Report. January 10, 2013. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
  25. https://twitter.com/JoolsWatsham/status/289409822657507331
  26. https://twitter.com/JoolsWatsham/status/289418982744788995
  27. “Waiting for a Crash Bandicoot Comeback”. Kotaku.com. 2011-11-08. Retrieved 2012-11-07.
  28. “Crash Bandicoot co-creator: ‘I’d love to see an HD version’ « BeefJack – The Gamer’s Sauce”. Beefjack.com. 2012-02-07. Retrieved 2012-11-07.
  29. “Naughty Dog co-founder hopeful Activision can return Crash Bandicoot to former glory”. VideoGamer.com. Retrieved 2012-11-07.
  30. “Crash Bandicoot Sports New Look At Vicarious Visions”. Game Revolution. January 7, 2013. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
  31. “Skylanders: Swap Force preview and interview – toy story”. Metro. February 5, 2013. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
  32. “The other Naughty Dog: co-founder of the Uncharted studio chats next-gen, The Last Of Us, and how he’d fix Crash Bandicoot”. PlayStation Official Magazine. May 7, 2013. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
  33. “Rumor: More On Sony Buying Crash Bandicoot”. Just Push Start. November 22, 2013. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
  34. “Did Sony Buy Crash Bandicoot From Activision?”. IGN. November 21, 2013. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
  35. “Is Crash Bandicoot Making a Comeback on the PS4?”. Unleash The Fanboy. November 22, 2013. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
  36. Search for Crash Bandicoot on Activision’s website
  37. Zeidler, Brett (25 November 2013). “Activision states it still owns the Crash Bandicoot IP”. Destructoid. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
  38. “Naughty Dog Talks New Crash Bandicoot, Jak 4 and Uncharted Remastering”. IGN. Retrieved 8/6/2014. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  39. http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2011/08/experience-going-indie/
  40. http://ign.com/articles/2010/02/11/layoffs-at-radical-neversoft-luxoflux-closes
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  42. “Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back Reviews”. GameRankings. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
  43. “Crash Bandicoot: Warped Reviews”. GameRankings. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
  44. “Crash Bandicoot: Warped Reviews”. Metacritic. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
  45. “Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex Reviews”. GameRankings. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
  46. “Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex Reviews”. GameRankings. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
  47. “Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex Reviews”. GameRankings. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
  48. “Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex Reviews”. Metacritic. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
  49. “Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex Reviews”. Metacritic. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
  50. “Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex Reviews”. Metacritic. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
  51. “Crash Twinsanity Reviews”. GameRankings. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
  52. “Crash Twinsanity Reviews”. GameRankings. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
  53. “Crash Twinsanity Reviews”. Metacritic. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
  54. “Crash Twinsanity Reviews”. Metacritic. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
  55. “Crash of the Titans Reviews”. GameRankings. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
  56. “Crash of the Titans Reviews”. GameRankings. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
  57. “Crash of the Titans Reviews”. GameRankings. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
  58. “Crash of the Titans Reviews”. GameRankings. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
  59. “Crash of the Titans Reviews”. GameRankings. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
  60. “Crash of the Titans Reviews”. Metacritic. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
  61. “Crash of the Titans Reviews”. Metacritic. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
  62. “Crash of the Titans Reviews”. Metacritic. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
  63. “Crash of the Titans Reviews”. Metacritic. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
  64. “Crash: Mind over Mutant Reviews”. GameRankings. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
  65. “Crash: Mind over Mutant Reviews”. GameRankings. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
  66. “Crash: Mind over Mutant Reviews”. GameRankings. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
  67. “Crash: Mind over Mutant Reviews”. GameRankings. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
  68. “Crash: Mind over Mutant Reviews”. GameRankings. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
  69. “Crash: Mind over Mutant Reviews”. Metacritic. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
  70. “Crash: Mind over Mutant Reviews”. Metacritic. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
  71. “Crash: Mind over Mutant Reviews”. Metacritic. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
  72. “Crash: Mind over Mutant Reviews”. Metacritic. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
  73. “Sierra Ships Crash of the Titans“ (PDF). Vivendi. 2007-10-23. Retrieved 2006-11-15.
  74. Daniel Boutros (2006-08-04). “Crash Bandicoot”. A Detailed Cross-Examination of Yesterday and Today’s Best-Selling Platform Games. p. 6. Retrieved 2008-05-10.
  75. “US Platinum Videogame Chart”. The Magic Box. 2007-12-27. Retrieved 2008-05-10.
  76. “Japan Platinum Game Chart”. The Magic Box. Retrieved 2008-05-10.
  77. “Sony PS2 Japanese Ranking”. Japan Game Charts. Retrieved 2008-05-10.

External links

Look up Appendix:Crash Bandicoot in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

http://downloads.khinsider.com/game-soundtracks/album/crash-bandicoot-1-psx-gamerip-/01-naughty-dog-logo.mp3
Official websites (in gaming order)
General resources

Nintendo Classic Controller

Posted by kayrayorulmazyorulmaz on January 3, 2015
Posted in: Uncategorized. Leave a comment
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  (Redirected from Classic controller)
Classic Controller
Wii-Classic-Controller-White.jpg

The original Classic Controller
Manufacturer Nintendo
Type Video game controller
Generation Seventh generation
Retail availability Regular
November 19, 2006
Pro
August 1, 2009
Power Provided via Wii Remote
Storage Provided via Wii Remote
Sound Provided via Wii Remote
Input
  • 2 × analog sticks
  • Digital d-pad
  • 7 × digital face buttons
  • 2 × digital shoulder buttons
  • 2 × analog shoulder buttons
    (digital on Pro)
Connectivity Accessory connector plug
Predecessor Nintendo GameCube controller
Successor Wii U Pro Controller

The Classic Controller (クラシックコントローラ Kurashikku Kontorōra?) is a video game controller produced by Nintendo for the Wii video game console. While it later featured some compatibility with the Wii U console, the controller was ultimately succeeded by the Wii U Pro Controller. As of April 2014, Nintendo had discontinued production of both the Classic Controller and Classic Controller Pro.[1]

History

When the Wii Remote was first revealed in September 2005, Nintendo had announced a controller “shell” which resembled a traditional game controller, often referred to as a “classic-style expansion controller.”[2] As described at the time, the Wii Remote would fit inside the shell, allowing gamers to play games using a traditional-style gamepad, while allowing use of the remote’s motion sensing capability. According to Satoru Iwata, it would be meant for playing “the existing games, Virtual Console games, and multi-platform games.”[3] Early demos of the Wii’s capabilities, showed two players competing in what appears to be Wii Sports with one player using a Classic Controller and another using two Wii Remotes, though this cross functionality was dropped.[4]

Super Famicom Classic Controller

During E3 2006 Nintendo introduced the Classic Controller (model number RVL-005), which, rather than housing the remote, instead plugs into it via a cord, in a similar fashion as the Nunchuk. It contains two analog sticks and two extra shoulder buttons: the ZL and ZR buttons, used to replicate the L and R buttons’ digital functions found on the Nintendo GameCube controller. The overall configuration is similar to that of other major seventh generation console gamepads.

In November 2007, Nintendo listed a special Super Famicom Classic Controller as one of the choices for the free gift for 2007 Japanese Club Nintendo platinum members.[5] In 2010, a similar SNES Classic Controller was made available on Europe’s and Australia’s Club Nintendo service.[6]

The Wii U Pro Controller has been developed for the Wii U console, the Wii console’s successor.[7] However, some games specifically for the Wii U are compatible with the Classic Controller, especially games with flexible control schemes such as Call of Duty: Black Ops II and Trine 2: Director’s Cut.

Features

The Classic Controller is plugged into the Wii Remote in order to be used. It features two analog sticks, a D-pad, face buttons labeled “a”, “b”, “x” and “y”, similar to that of a standard SNES controller. Analog shoulder buttons labeled “L” and “R”, and two digital “Z” buttons (labeled “ZL” and “ZR“) are located more closely to the center axis on their respective sides. It also has a set of “–”, “Home” and “+” buttons like those on the Wii Remote, with the “–” and “+” buttons additionally labeled “Select” and “Start”, respectively. The body of the Classic Controller measures 6.57 cm (2.59 in) tall, 13.57 cm (5.34 in) wide, and 2.6 cm (1.0 in) thick.[8]

The body of the controller contains slots on the underside, opened via a button at the top of the controller; the function of the slots was never officially clarified,[9][10] although third-party gaming accessory manufacturer Nyko released a clip which holds the remote to the classic controller. In addition to a grip shell, the clip contains storage for the controller’s three foot cable.[11] While the only color available for the Classic Controller in most markets was white, a limited edition teal and gray version was released in tandem with Monster Hunter G in Japan in 2009,[12] and in 2010, Sonic Colors was bundled with a blue version in Australia.[citation needed]

Uses

Main article: List of games that use the Classic Controller

Classic Controller can be used with the Virtual Console as well as with certain Wii and WiiWare games. Along with the Nintendo GameCube controller, the Classic Controller is one of the controllers required to play certain Virtual Console games, such as SNES or Nintendo 64 titles, which require more buttons than the Wii Remote. However, the Classic Controller cannot be used to play GameCube games. When in the Wii Menu, the left analog stick takes control of the cursor when the Wii Remote is not pointed at the screen. The Classic Controller can navigate through the Message Board, settings menus, and Wii Shop Channel, but becomes inactive on all other channels. It is also compatible with the Wii U,[13] and some Wii U-specific games support it as well, such as Trine 2: Director’s Cut.[14] The Classic Controller can also be used to navigate the Wii U home screen and menus as well.

Classic Controller Pro

Classic Controller Pro
Black classic controller pro.jpg

A black Classic Controller Pro
Manufacturer Nintendo
Type Video game controller
Generation Seventh generation era
Eighth generation era
Connectivity Accessory connector plug

Copies of Goldeneye 007 Classic Edition are bundled with a limited edition gold-colored Classic Controller Pro

In early 2009, Nintendo announced the Classic Controller Pro which functions the same as the original Classic Controller with the exception of the shoulder buttons, which are now digital trigger-shaped buttons arranged vertically rather than horizontally.[15] Instead of a SNES controller, this one is shaped more like a GameCube controller, and has an overall layout almost identical to a Sony DualShock 2 controller. Physical changes include the ZL and ZR buttons, which are now full shoulder buttons, the addition of grips underneath the controller for additional stability,[16] and analog sticks which are spaced farther apart than the original. The cord is positioned on top of the controller rather than the bottom, and the spring-loaded attachment slot underneath the original model was removed. The Pro version was first released to Japan in August 2009 in white and black versions.[17] It was subsequently released to Europe and North America in November 2009[18] and April 2010, respectively (though only in black in Europe). The black version is available bundled with Monster Hunter Tri, Pro Evolution Soccer 2010,[19] and SD Gundam Gashapon Wars.[20] In addition to the standard colors, a black version with gold-colored artwork on the face was available bundled with Samurai Warriors 3 in Japan, and a completely gold-colored version is available bundled in the GoldenEye 007 Classic Edition.[21] A red version was packed with limited copies of Xenoblade Chronicles in Europe,[22] and was eventually released separately in Europe as well.[23][24]
The L and R shoulder buttons are also no longer analog as they were on the original Classic Controller.

Wii U Fight Pad controller

A series of Wii U Fight Pad controllers manufactured by PDP were announced in June 2014. These controllers function as Classic Controller Pros and were modeled after the GameCube Controller and featuring Mario, Peach, and Yoshi designs. They plug into the Wii Remote and are compatible with Wii and Wii U titles that support Classic Controllers. The controllers were released by Nintendo in October 2014.[25] Four more variants featuring Donkey Kong, Link, Samus, and Wario themes will be released in February 2015.[26]

Legal issues

Anascape Ltd filed a lawsuit against Nintendo claiming that the Classic Controller and other Nintendo devices violated Anascape’s “six degrees of freedom” interface device patent. In July 2008, the court ruled in favor of Anascape; Nintendo was ordered to stop selling the Classic Controller in the United States until further notice. Nintendo exercised the right to continue selling the Classic Controller pending a verdict at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.[27] On April 13, 2010, Nintendo won the appeal, and the previous court decision was reversed.[28]

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wii Classic Controller.

References

  1. [1]
  2. Gibson, Ellie (2005-09-16). “Jim Merrick Takes Control”. Eurogamer. Retrieved 2006-05-09.
  3. Satoru Iwata. “Tokyo Game Show 2005: TGS FORUM Keynote Speech”. Archived from the original on 2006-03-07. Retrieved 2006-03-15.
  4. Gamespot Staff (2010-08-27). “Revolution renamed Wii”. Gamespot. Retrieved 2007-04-27.
  5. Gantayat, Anoop (2007-11-15). “SNES Classic Controller for Wii”. IGN. Retrieved 2007-11-15.
  6. Brown, Andrew (2011-04-11). “Club Nintendo Australia Offers SNES Classic Controller”. Nintendo World Report. Retrieved 2011-04-11.
  7. “Nintendo Unveils Hardcore Wii U Controller”. Kotaku.com. 2012-06-03. Retrieved 2012-08-28.
  8. “Wii の概要 コントローラ” (in Japanese). Nintendo Company, Ltd. Retrieved 2006-05-09.
  9. Greenwald, Will (2006-12-07). “ZDNet Nintendo Wii Classic Controller Review & Comparison”. CNET. Retrieved 2007-01-01.
  10. Sklens, Mike (2006-05-10). “News Article: Wii ‘Classic Controller’ Revealed”. Nintendo World Report. Retrieved 2006-05-11.
  11. “IGN preview Nyko Wii classic Controller shell”. IGN. 2007-02-23. Retrieved 2007-02-24.
  12. Brian Ashcraft. “Monster Hunter G Dated, Getting Own Classic Controller”. Kotaku.
  13. Norris, Erik (2011-06-13). “Wii U Allows Only One Touchscreen Controller”. CraveOnline. Retrieved 2012-08-28.
  14. Mason, Mike (2012-10-09). “Developer Interview: Frozenbyte Talks Trine 2, Wii U eShop and Working with Nintendo”. Nintendo Life. Retrieved 2012-10-11. It’s designed to be easy drop-in, drop-out multiplayer and several controller types — “Nunchuk and Remote, or the Pro Controller, or the Classic Controller” – can be used.
  15. Harris, Craig (2010-04-13). “Classic Controller Pro Impressions”. IGN. IGN Entertainment, Inc. Retrieved 2010-12-19.
  16. Jenkins, David (2009-02-26). “Nintendo Reveals Revamped Classic Controller”. Gamasutra. UBM TechWeb. Retrieved 2010-12-19.
  17. Caoili, Eric (2009-06-04). “Black Wii, Red DSi Announced For Japan”. Gamasutra. UBM TechWeb. Retrieved 2010-12-19.
  18. Spencer (2009-10-20). “Black Wii Bundle, Classic Controller Pro Dated For Europe”. Siliconera. MaxCDN. Retrieved 2010-12-19.
  19. “Konami Announces Winning Eleven Classic Controller Pro Bundle – News”. Nintendo World Report. 2009-10-20. Retrieved 2011-02-11.
  20. “SD Gundam Port Comes Bundled with Classic Controller (andriasang.com, 04.01.2010)”. Andriasang.com. 2010-04-01. Retrieved 2011-02-11.
  21. McElroy, Griffin (2010-08-11). “Goldeneye 007 Classic Edition includes gold Classic Controller Pro”. Joystiq. AOL Inc. Retrieved 2010-12-19.
  22. By Ishaan . June 28, 2011 . 5:59am (2011-06-28). “Europe Will See Xenoblade Chronicles In September, Here’s The Pre-Order Bundle”. Siliconera.com. Retrieved 2012-08-28.
  23. Classic Controller Pro – Red (Wii): Amazon.co.uk: PC & Video Games. Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved on 2013-08-23.
  24. Buy Official Nintendo Wii Classic Controller Pro – Red online at Play.com and read reviews. Free delivery to UK and Europe!. Play.com (2011-11-25). Retrieved on 2013-08-23.
  25. http://kotaku.com/the-new-wii-u-gamecube-controllers-are-super-hot-1588991448
  26. http://nintendonews.com/2014/10/pdp-wii-u-fight-pads-link-samus-dk-wario/
  27. Decker, Susan (22 July 2008). “Nintendo Faces Ban on Some Wii, GameCube Controllers”. Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved 2009-09-13.
  28. “Anascape, LTD. v. Nintendo of America Inc.”. 13 April 2010. Retrieved 2010-08-27.

Nintendo Optical Discs

Posted by kayrayorulmazyorulmaz on January 3, 2015
Posted in: Uncategorized. Leave a comment
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Nintendo Optical Disc
Nintendo GameCube Game Disc and Wii Optical Disc.jpg

Nintendo GameCube Game Disc (left) and Wii Optical Disc (right).
Media type Read-only optical disc
Encoding Digital
Capacity GameCube: 1.5 GB
Wii: 4.7 GB / 8.54 GB
Wii U: 25 GB
Read mechanism Laser
Developed by Nintendo
Panasonic
Dimensions GCN: 8 cm (3.1 in)
Wii/Wii U:12 cm (4.7 in)
Usage Nintendo GameCube
Wii
Wii U
Extended from Nintendo Gamecube Game Disc
Extended to Wii U Optical Disc

Nintendo optical discs are the optical disc format used to distribute video games released by Nintendo. This includes the Nintendo GameCube Game Disc, Wii Optical Disc, and Wii U Optical Disc. The physical size of a Nintendo GameCube Game Disc is that of a miniDVD, and the Wii and Wii U Optical Discs are the size of a DVD. GameCube discs can be used with the original version of the Wii and Wii Optical Discs can be used in the Wii U for backward compatibility. A burst cutting area is located at the inner ring of the disc surface.

Format

A section of the BCA of a Nintendo Optical Disc with two of the six additional cuts visible.

Optical discs

Nintendo GameCube Game Disc

The Nintendo GameCube Game Disc (DOL-006) is the game medium for the Nintendo GameCube, created by Matsushita (Panasonic),[1] and later extended for use on the Wii through backward compatibility.[2] The GameCube Game Disc is a 1.5 GB,[3] 8 cm miniDVD based technology which reads at a constant angular velocity (CAV). It was chosen by Nintendo to prevent copyright infringement of its games,[4] to reduce cost[5][6] by avoiding licensing fees to the DVD Forum and to reduce loading times. This also limits the consoles from being used as general DVD players.[7][8]

One downside to the GameCube Game Disc is the relatively small storage; some games with large amounts of data had to be placed across two discs. Multi-platform games that fit on PlayStation 2 and Xbox DVD discs occasionally saw the removal of certain features in order to fit on GameCube Game Discs. Full-motion video scenes and audio are more compressed to fit on a single disc, reducing their quality. Prior to the Nintendo GameCube, Nintendo consoles traditionally used cartridge-based media.

Wii Optical Disc

The Wii Optical Disc (RVL-006) is the physical game medium for the Wii, created by Panasonic. Nintendo extended their proprietary technology to use a full size 12 cm, 4.7/8.54 GB DVD-based disc, enabling it to have the benefits of the Nintendo GameCube Game Disc, while having the standard capacity of a double-layer DVD-ROM. Although the Wii can use double-layer discs, all titles were single-layer prior to the release of Super Smash Bros. Brawl.[9][10] With the release of Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Nintendo admitted that some Wii systems may have trouble reading dual-layer discs due to a dirty laser lens.[10][11] Nintendo repaired systems with dual-layer problems,[10] and later released a disc cleaning kit for users to purchase.[12]

Wii U Optical Disc

The Wii U Optical Disc (WUP-006) is the physical game medium for the Wii U, with a capacity of 25 GB per layer. The Wii U system is backward compatible with Wii Optical Discs, but not backward compatible with Nintendo GameCube game discs.[13] The optical discs used for the Wii U differ in appearance from most other optical discs in that they have soft, rounded edges.[14]

The format was developed and supplied by Panasonic, which is one of the major patent holders in Blu-ray technology.[citation needed] It is not clear whether the Wii U Optical Disc is similar in physical design to the Blu-ray physical disc specification.[clarification needed] Nintendo President, Satoru Iwata stated, “Wii U does not have DVD or Blu-ray playback capabilities. The reason for that is that we feel that enough people already have devices that are capable of playing DVDs and Blu-ray, such that it didn’t warrant the cost involved to build that functionality into the Wii U console because of the patents related to those technologies.”[15]:3

Burst cutting area

Main article: Burst cutting area

Each Nintendo optical disc contains a burst cutting area (BCA) mark, a type of barcode that is written to the disc with a YAG laser. The data stored in this BCA mark includes an encrypted table related to the hardware-based copy-protection mechanics, in addition to 64 bytes of un-encrypted user-accessible data.[16]

A BCA mark is visible to the naked eye. It should not be confused with the IFPI mark that is on all optical discs. BCA is described in Annex K of the physical specification, and can be seen between radius 22.3±0.4 mm and 23.5±0.5 mm. There are also six additional evenly spaced small cuts just outside the BCA radius, which are related to the copy-protection used. These small cuts can clearly be seen if the disc is held in front of a strong light source.[16]

See also

References

  1. “Dvd – Faq”. Nintendo World Report. 2001-03-07. Retrieved 2011-07-06.
  2. Casamassina, Matt (2006-09-12). “IGNcube’s Nintendo “Revolution” FAQ”. IGN. Retrieved 2006-09-07.
  3. “Nintendo GameCube Special Edition”. Avrev.com. 2003-06-01. Retrieved 2011-07-06.
  4. “Beginner’s Guide: GameCube”. GameSpy. 2003-07-30. Retrieved 2006-09-07.
  5. Pian, Sharon (2001-11-11). “Business & Technology | Let the games begin: The 3-way race is on | Seattle Times Newspaper”. Community.seattletimes.nwsource.com. Retrieved 2011-07-06.
  6. “Dvd – Faq”. Nintendo World Report. 2001-03-07. Retrieved 2011-07-06.
  7. “Play it again”. Smh.com.au. 2003-09-13. Retrieved 2011-07-06.
  8. “Wii U will not feature DVD playback – Everybody Plays – Nintendo Wii”. Everybody Plays. Everybody Plays. Retrieved 2011-07-06.
  9. “Review – Super Smash Bros. Brawl”. SlashGear. Retrieved 2011-07-06.
  10. “Tobacco smoke makes Super Smash Bros Brawl unplayable on Wii”. TG Daily. 2008-02-06. Retrieved 2011-07-06.
  11. Scott Colbourne (2008-03-20). “Not just a smash, a Super Smash”. Toronto: The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2011-07-06.
  12. Nintendo of America. “Repair Form for U.S. Residents”. Nintendo of America. Retrieved 2008-03-09.[dead link]
  13. Klepek, Patrick (2011-06-08). “Wii U Does Not Play GameCube Games”. Giant Bomb. Retrieved 2011-07-06.
  14. Gilbert, Ben (2012-11-12). “Take a very, very close look at the round-edged Wii U proprietary discs”. Engadget. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  15. “2011 E3 Expo Analyst Q & A Session”. Nintendo. June 8, 2011. Retrieved July 1, 2014.
  16. “» Anatomy of an Optical Medium Authentication (Part 1)”. debugmode. Retrieved 2013-05-21.

External links

Wii

Posted by kayrayorulmazyorulmaz on January 3, 2015
Posted in: Uncategorized. Leave a comment
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the Wii. For its successor, see Wii U.
Page semi-protected
Wii
Wii logo
Wii with Wii Remote

Original Wii console with Wii Remote
Developer Nintendo
Manufacturer Foxconn
Type Home video game console
Generation Seventh generation
Release date Wii

  • JP December 2, 2006
  • NA November 19, 2006
  • EU December 8, 2006
  • AUS December 7, 2006

Wii Family Edition

Wii Mini

  • US November 17, 2013[6]
Retail availability November 19, 2006 (details)
Discontinued Wii

Wii Family Edition
Units shipped Worldwide: 101.15 million (as of 30 June 2014) (details)
Media 12 cm Wii Optical Disc
8 cm Nintendo GameCube Game Disc
CPU IBM PowerPC “Broadway“[10]
Storage 512 MB Internal flash memory
SD card, SDHC card
Nintendo GameCube Memory Card
Graphics ATI “Hollywood”
Controller input Wii Remote (Plus), Wii Balance Board, Nintendo GameCube controller, Nintendo DS[11]
Connectivity Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11 b/g
Bluetooth
2 × USB 2.0[12]
LAN Adapter (via USB)
Online services Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection (closed 20 May 2014)[13][14], WiiConnect24(closed June 28, 2013)[15], Wii Shop Channel
Best-selling game Wii Sports (pack-in, except in Japan and South Korea) 82.54 million (As of 31 March 2014)[16]
Mario Kart Wii, 35.53 million (as of 31 March 2014)[16]
Backward
compatibility		 Nintendo GameCube
Predecessor Nintendo GameCube
Successor Wii U

The Wii (/ˈwiː/ WEE) is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii competes with Microsoft‘s Xbox 360 and Sony‘s PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others.[17] As of the first quarter of 2012, the Wii leads the generation over PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in worldwide sales,[18] having sold over 101 million units; in December 2009, the console broke the sales record for a single month in the United States.[19]

The Wii introduced the Wii Remote controller, which can be used as a handheld pointing device and which detects movement in three dimensions. Another notable feature of the console is WiiConnect24, which enables it to receive messages and updates over the Internet while in standby mode.[20] Like other seventh-generation consoles, it features a game download service, called “Virtual Console“, which features emulated games from past systems.

It succeeds the Nintendo GameCube, with early models being fully backward-compatible with all GameCube games and most accessories. Nintendo first spoke of the console at the 2004 E3 press conference and later unveiled it at the 2005 E3. Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata revealed a prototype of the controller at the September 2005 Tokyo Game Show.[21] At E3 2006, the console won the first of several awards.[22] By December 8, 2006, it had completed its launch in the four key markets.

In late 2011 Nintendo released a reconfigured model, the “Wii Family Edition“, which removed Nintendo GameCube compatibility; this model was not released in Japan. The Wii Mini, Nintendo’s first major console redesign since the compact SNES, succeeded the standard Wii model on December 7, 2012 in Canada. The Wii Mini can only play Wii optical discs, as it omits GameCube and online game capabilities. The Wii’s successor, the Wii U, was released on November 18, 2012.[23] On October 20, 2013, Nintendo confirmed it had discontinued production of the Wii in Japan and Europe.[7][8][9]

History

See also: History of video game consoles (seventh generation)

The console was conceived in 2001, as the Nintendo GameCube was first released. According to an interview with Nintendo game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, the concept involved focusing on a new form of player interaction. “The consensus was that power isn’t everything for a console. Too many powerful consoles can’t coexist. It’s like having only ferocious dinosaurs. They might fight and hasten their own extinction.”[26]

Two years later, engineers and designers were brought together to develop the concept further. By 2005 the controller interface had taken form, but a public showing at that year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) was canceled. Miyamoto stated that “[W]e had some troubleshooting to do. So we decided not to reveal the controller and instead we displayed just the console.”[26] Nintendo president Satoru Iwata later unveiled and demonstrated the Wii Remote at the September Tokyo Game Show.[21]

The Nintendo DS is said to have influenced the Wii’s design. Designer Ken’ichiro Ashida noted, “We had the DS on our minds as we worked on the Wii. We thought about copying the DS’s touch-panel interface and even came up with a prototype.” The idea was eventually rejected because of the notion that the two gaming systems would be identical. Miyamoto also stated, “[…] if the DS had flopped, we might have taken the Wii back to the drawing board.”[26] In June 2011 Nintendo unveiled the prototype of its successor to the Wii, to be known as Wii U.[27]

Name

The console was known by the code name “Revolution” until April 27, 2006, immediately before E3.[28]

Nintendo’s spelling of “Wii” (with two lower-case “i” characters) is intended to resemble two people standing side-by-side (representing players gathering together) and to represent the Wii Remote and Nunchuk.[29] One reason the company has given for this name choice since the announcement is:

“ Wii sounds like ‘we’, which emphasizes that the console is for everyone. Wii can easily be remembered by people around the world, no matter what language they speak. No confusion.[29] ”

Some video game developers and members of the press stated that they preferred “Revolution” over “Wii”.[30] Forbes expressed a fear “that the name would convey a continued sense of ‘kidiness’ to the console.”[31] The BBC reported the day after the name was announced that “a long list of puerile jokes, based on the name,” had appeared on the Internet.[32]

Nintendo of America’s Vice President of Corporate Affairs Perrin Kaplan defended the choice of “Wii” over “Revolution” and responded to critics of the name, stating “Live with it, sleep with it, eat with it, move along with it and hopefully they’ll arrive at the same place.”[33] Nintendo of America’s president Reggie Fils-Aime acknowledged the initial reaction and further explained the change:

“ Revolution as a name is not ideal; it’s long, and in some cultures, it’s hard to pronounce. So we wanted something that was short, to the point, easy to pronounce, and distinctive. That’s how ‘Wii,’ as a console name, was created.[34] ”

Nintendo has stated that the official plural form is “Wii systems” or “Wii consoles.”[35] The Nintendo Style Guide refers to the console as “simply Wii, not Nintendo Wii”,[36] making it the first home console Nintendo has marketed outside Japan without the company name in its trademark.[37]

Launch

Stack of Wii display boxes in store

Wii retail display boxes

Main article: Wii launch

On September 14, 2006 Nintendo announced release information for Japan, North and South America, Oceania, Asia and Europe including dates, prices, and projected unit-distribution figures. It was announced that the majority of the 2006 shipments would be allotted to the Americas, and 33 titles would be available at its launch.[38] The Wii was launched in the United States on November 19, 2006 for $249.99,[39] and was later launched in the United Kingdom on December 8, 2006 for £179.[40] The United Kingdom experienced a widespread shortage of Wii units in many High-Street and online stores, and was unable to fulfill all pre-orders at its release.[41] The Wii was launched in South Korea on April 26, 2008 and Taiwan on July 12.[42][43]

Software library

See also: List of Wii games, List of products published by Nintendo, List of WiiWare games and Virtual Console
Wii disc in open case

Wii optical disc in case

Retail copies of games are supplied on proprietary, DVD-type Wii optical discs which are packaged in keep cases with instructions. In Europe, the boxes have a triangle at the bottom corner of the paper sleeve-insert side. The triangle is color-coded to identify the region for which the title is intended and which manual languages are included. The console supports regional lockout (software purchased in a region can be only played on that region’s hardware).[44]

New games in Nintendo’s flagship franchises (including The Legend of Zelda, Super Mario, Pokémon, and Metroid) have been released, in addition to many original titles and third-party-developed games. Nintendo has received third-party support from companies such as Ubisoft, Sega, Square Enix, Activision Blizzard, Electronic Arts and Capcom, with more games being developed for Wii than for the PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360.[45] Nintendo also launched the New Play Control! line, a selection of enhanced GameCube games for the Wii featuring updated controls.[46]

The Virtual Console service allows Wii owners to play games originally released for the Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Nintendo 64, Sega‘s Mega Drive/Genesis and Sega Mark III/Sega Master System,[47] NEC‘s TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine, SNK‘s Neo Geo console, Commodore 64 and arcade games.[48] Virtual Console games are distributed over broadband Internet via the Wii Shop Channel, and are saved to the Wii internal flash memory or to a removable SD card. Once downloaded, Virtual Console games can be accessed from the Wii Menu (as individual channels) or from an SD card via the SD Card Menu. There is also a Wii homebrew community, dedicated to creating and playing content unendorsed by Nintendo.

The game development suite Unity can be used to create official Wii games;[49] however, the developer must be authorized by Nintendo to develop games for the console. Games must also be accepted by Nintendo to be sold.

895.22 million Wii games have been sold worldwide as of 31 March 2014,[50] and 103 titles have surpassed the million-unit mark as of 31 March 2011. The most successful game (Wii Sports, which comes bundled with the console in most regions) has sold 82.54 million copies worldwide as of 31 March 2014,[16] surpassing Super Mario Bros. as the best-selling game of all time.[51] The best-selling unbundled game is Mario Kart Wii, with 35.53 million units sold.[16]

Launch titles

Further information: List of Wii games

Twenty-one games were announced for launch day in North and South America, with another twelve announced for release later in 2006.[52] Wii Sports was included with the console bundle in all regions except Japan and South Korea. In contrast to the price of $60 quoted for many seventh-generation games in the US,[53] Wii titles cost (at most) $50 at major US retail stores.

Key:

  • NA/SA North America/South America
  • EU Europe
  • JP Japan
  • AUS Australasia
Launch title Region(s) released[54][55] Launch title Region(s) released
Avatar: The Last Airbender NA/SA[56] Barnyard NA/SA[56]
Call of Duty 3 NA/SA EU AUS Cars NA/SA EU AUS[56]
Crayon Shin-chan: Saikyou Kazoku Kasukabe King Wii JP[57] Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 NA/SA
Elebits JP[58] Ennichi no Tatsujin JP[59]
Excite Truck NA/SA The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy NA/SA
Pinball Hall of Fame: The Gottlieb Collection EU GT Pro Series NA/SA EU AUS
Happy Feet NA/SA EU[60][61] Kororinpa: Marble Mania JP[57]
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess NA/SA JP EU AUS Machi Kuru Domino JP
Madden NFL 07 NA/SA EU Marvel: Ultimate Alliance NA/SA
Monster 4×4: World Circuit NA/SA EU Necro-Nesia JP
Need for Speed: Carbon NA/SA EU AUS Open Season NA/SA EU AUS
Rampage: Total Destruction NA/SA EU AUS Rayman Raving Rabbids NA/SA EU AUS
Red Steel NA/SA JP EU AUS SD Gundam G Breaker JP[57]
SpongeBob SquarePants: Creature from the Krusty Krab NA/SA EU[56] Super Fruit Fall EU
Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz NA/SA JP EU AUS Super Swing Golf JP
Tamagotchi: Party On!/Tamagotchi’s Sparkling President JP[57] Tony Hawk’s Downhill Jam NA/SA EU AUS
Trauma Center: Second Opinion NA/SA JP WarioWare: Smooth Moves JP[57]
Wii Play JP EU AUS Wii Sports[Note 1] NA/SA JP EU AUS
Wing Island JP[57]

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption was promoted as a launch title, but its release was eventually postponed until August 27, 2007 in North America.[62] Satoru Iwata also initially wished for Super Smash Bros. Brawl to be released at launch.

  1. Wii Sports came bundled with the Wii in all territories except Japan and South Korea.

Demographic

Nintendo has hoped to target a wider demographic with its console than that of others in the seventh generation.[17] At a press conference for the then-upcoming Nintendo DS game Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies in December 2006, Satoru Iwata insisted “We’re not thinking about fighting Sony, but about how many people we can get to play games. The thing we’re thinking about most is not portable systems, consoles, and so forth, but that we want to get new people playing games.”[63] This is reflected in Nintendo’s series of television advertisements in North America (directed by Academy Award winner Stephen Gaghan) and its Internet ads. The advertising slogans were “Wii would like to play” and “Experience a new way to play“; the ads began November 15, 2006, and had a total budget of over US$200 million for the year.[64] The productions were Nintendo’s first broad-based advertising strategy and included a two-minute video clip showing an assortment of people enjoying the Wii system: urban apartment-dwellers, ranchers, grandparents, and parents with their children. The music in the ads was from the song “Kodo (Inside the Sun Remix)” by the Yoshida Brothers.[65] The marketing campaign was successful; pensioners as old as 103 were reported to be playing the Wii in the United Kingdom.[66] A report by the British newspaper The People also stated that Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom has used the console.[67]

Hardware

Stack of video-game consoles, of which the Wii is the smallest

The Wii (top) compared in size to the NGC, N64, North American SNES and NES

The Wii is Nintendo’s smallest home console to date; it measures 44 mm (1.73 in) wide, 157 mm (6.18 in) tall and 215.4 mm (8.48 in) deep in its vertical orientation, slightly larger than three DVD cases stacked together. The included stand measures 55.4 mm (2.18 in) wide, 44 mm (1.73 in) tall and 225.6 mm (8.88 in) deep. The system weighs 1.2 kg (2.7 lb),[68] which makes it the lightest of the three major seventh-generation consoles. The Wii may stand horizontally or vertically. The prefix for the numbering scheme of the system and its parts and accessories is “RVL-” for its code name, “Revolution”.[69]

The front of the console features an illuminated slot-loading optical media drive which accepts only 12 cm Wii Optical Discs and 8 cm Nintendo GameCube Game Discs.[70] (Units sold in South Korea and later revisions do not support GameCube discs.)[71][72] The blue light in the disc slot illuminates briefly when the console is turned on, and pulses when new data is received through WiiConnect24.[73] After the update (including System Menu 3.0), the disc-slot light activates whenever a Wii disc is inserted or ejected.[74] When there is no WiiConnect24 information, the light stays off. The disc-slot light remains off during game play or when using other features. Two USB ports are located at its rear. An SD-card slot is located behind the cover on the front of the console.[75]

The Wii launch package includes the console; a stand to allow the console to be placed vertically; a round, clear stabilizer for the main stand; a Wii Remote; a Nunchuk attachment; a Sensor Bar; a removable stand for the bar; an external power adapter; two AA batteries; a composite AV cable with RCA connectors;[76] a SCART adapter in European countries (component video and other types of cables are available separately); operation documentation and (in Europe and the Americas) a copy of the game Wii Sports.[75]

The disc reader of the Wii does not play DVD-Video, DVD-Audio or Compact Discs. A 2006 announcement stated that a new version of the Wii (capable of DVD-Video playback) would be released in 2007;[77] however, Nintendo delayed its release to focus on meeting demand for the original console.[78] Nintendo’s initial announcement stated that it “requires more than a firmware upgrade” to implement, and the capability could not be made available as an upgrade option for the existing Wii.[77] Despite this assertion, third parties have used Wii homebrew to add DVD playback to unmodified Wii units.[79] The Wii also can be hacked to enable an owner to use the console for activities unintended by the manufacturer.[80] Several brands of modchips are available for the Wii.[81]

Although Nintendo showed the console and the Wii Remote in white, black, silver, lime-green and red before it was released,[82] it was only available in white for its first two-and-a-half years of sales. Black consoles were available in Japan in August 2009,[83][84] in Europe in November 2009[85] and in North America on May 9, 2010.[86] A red Wii system bundle was available in Japan on November 11, 2010, commemorating the 25th anniversary of Super Mario Bros.[87] The UK version of the limited-edition red Wii was released October 29, 2010, preloaded with the original Donkey Kong game. It also featured the Wii Remote Plus, a new version of the controller with integrated Wii Motion Plus technology.[88] The red Wii bundle was released in North America on November 7, 2010 with New Super Mario Bros. Wii and the Wii Remote Plus.[89]

On July 11, 2007, Nintendo unveiled the Wii Balance Board at E3 2007 with Wii Fit.[90] It is a wireless balance board accessory for the Wii, with multiple pressure sensors used to measure the user’s center of balance.[91] Namco Bandai produced a mat controller (a simpler, less-sophisticated competitor to the balance board).[92]

Wii Remote

Main article: Wii Remote
Two types of Wii controllers, one in each hand

A Nunchuk, Wii Remote and strap shown in hand

The Wii Remote is the primary controller for the console. It uses a combination of built-in accelerometers and infrared detection to sense its position in 3D space when pointed at the LEDs in the Sensor Bar.[93][94] This design allows users to control the game with physical gestures as well as button-presses. The controller connects to the console using Bluetooth[95] with an approximate 30 ft (9.1 m) range,[96] and features rumble and an internal speaker.[97] The Wii Remote can connect to expansion devices through a proprietary port at the base of the controller.[98] The device bundled with the Wii retail package is the Nunchuk unit, which features an accelerometer and a traditional analog stick with two trigger buttons.[99] In addition, an attachable wrist strap can be used to prevent the player from unintentionally dropping (or throwing) the Wii Remote. Nintendo has since offered a stronger strap and the Wii Remote Jacket to provide extra grip and protection.[100] The Wii MotionPlus is another accessory that connects to the Wii Remote to supplement the accelerometer and sensor-bar capabilities, enabling actions to appear on the screen in real time.[101][102] Further augmenting the remote’s capabilities is the Wii Vitality Sensor, a fingertip pulse oximeter sensor that connects through the Wii Remote.[103]

Memory storage

The Wii console contains 512 megabytes of internal flash memory, and features an SD card slot for external storage. An SD card can be used for uploading photos and backing up saved game data and downloaded Virtual Console and WiiWare games. To use the SD slot for transferring game saves, an update must be installed. Installation may be initiated from the Wii options menu through an Internet connection, or by inserting a game disc containing the update. Virtual Console data cannot be restored to any system except the unit of origin.[104] An SD card can also be used to create customized in-game music from stored MP3 files (as first shown in Excite Truck)[105] and music for the slide-show feature of the Photo Channel. Version 1.1 of the Photo Channel removed MP3 playback in favor of AAC support.[106]

At the Nintendo Fall Press Conference in October 2008, Satoru Iwata announced that Wii owners would have the option to download WiiWare and Virtual Console content directly onto an SD card. The option would offer an alternative to “address the console’s insufficient memory storage”. The announcement stated that it would be available in Japan in spring 2009;[107] Nintendo made the update available on March 25. In addition to the previously announced feature, it lets the player load Virtual Console and WiiWare games directly from the SD card. The update allows the use of SDHC cards, increasing the limit on SD card size from 2 GB to 32 GB.[108]

Specifications

Nintendo has released few technical details regarding the Wii system, but some key facts have leaked through the press. Although none of these reports has been officially confirmed, they generally indicate that the console is an extension (or advancement) of the Nintendo GameCube architecture. Specifically, the analyses report that the Wii is roughly 1.5 to 2 times as powerful as its predecessor.[10][109] Based on specifications, the Wii has been called the least powerful of the major home consoles of its generation.[110]

Processors:

^† None of the clock rates have been confirmed by Nintendo, IBM or ATI.

Memory:

Ports and peripheral capabilities:

  • Up to 16 Wii Remote controllers (10 in standard mode, 6 in one-time mode,[114] connected wirelessly via Bluetooth)
  • Nintendo GameCube controller ports (4)
  • Nintendo GameCube memory-card slots (2)
  • SD memory-card slot (supports SDHC cards, as of system menu 4.0)
  • USB 2.0 ports (2)
  • Sensor Bar power port
  • Accessory port on bottom of Wii Remote
  • Optional USB keyboard input in message board, Wii Shop and Internet channels (as of 3.0 and 3.1 firmware update)[115]
  • Mitsumi DWM-W004 WiFi 802.11b/g wireless module[116]
  • Compatible with optional USB 2.0 to Ethernet LAN adapter
  • “AV Multi Out” port (See “Video” section)

Built-in content ratings systems:
Square computer chip

IBM Wii Broadway CPU

Square computer chip

ATI Wii Hollywood GPU

Storage:

  • 512 MB built-in NAND flash memory
  • Expanded storage via SD and SDHC card memory (up to 32 GB)
  • Nintendo GameCube memory card (required for GameCube game saves)
  • Slot-loading disc drive, compatible with 8 cm Nintendo GameCube Game Disc and 12 cm Wii Optical Disc
  • Mask ROM by Macronix[117]

Video:

Audio:

Power consumption:

Technical problems

The first Wii system software update (via WiiConnect24) caused a small number of launch units to become completely unusable. This forced users to either send their units to Nintendo for repairs (if they wished to retain their saved data) or exchange them for free replacements.[125]

With the release of dual-layer Wii Optical Discs, Nintendo of America stated that some Wii systems may have difficulty reading the high-density software (due to a contaminated laser lens). Nintendo offers retail lens-cleaning kits and free console repairs for owners who experience this issue.[126][127]

The Wii Remote can lose track of the Wii system it has been set to, requiring that it be reset and resynchronized. Nintendo’s support website provides instructions for this process and troubleshooting related issues.[128]

Legal issues

Interlink Electronics filed a patent-infringement lawsuit against Nintendo over the pointing functionality of the Wii Remote, claiming “loss of reasonable royalties, reduced sales and/or lost profits as a result of the infringing activities” of Nintendo.[129] The law firm Green Welling LLP filed a class action lawsuit against Nintendo for its “defective wrist straps”.[130] A Texas-based company (Lonestar Inventions) sued Nintendo, claiming that the company copied one of Lonestar’s patented capacitor designs and used it in the Wii console.[131]

Anascape Ltd, a Texas-based firm, filed a lawsuit against Nintendo for patent infringement regarding Nintendo’s controllers.[132] A July 2008 verdict banned Nintendo from selling the Classic Controller in the United States. Following an appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit,[133] on April 22, 2010 the Federal Circuit Court ruled in Nintendo’s favor.[134]

On August 19, 2008 Hillcrest Laboratories Inc. filed a complaint against Nintendo with the U.S International Trade Commission, alleging that the Wii Remote infringed on three of its patents. A fourth Hillcrest patent (for graphical interfaces displayed on television screens) was also allegedly violated. Hillcrest sought a ban on Wii consoles imported to the U.S.[135] On August 24, 2009 Nintendo and Hillcrest reached a settlement, although the terms were not publicly disclosed.[136]

The trademark application for the Wii Remote was initially rejected by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The USPTO claimed that the word “remote” is commonly used, and therefore should not be trademarked. The USPTO would accept Nintendo’s trademark filing if the company disclaims exclusive rights to the word “remote” in the term.[137]

Features

The console has a number of internal features made available from its hardware and firmware components. The hardware allows for extendability (via expansion ports), while the firmware (and some software) can receive periodic updates via the WiiConnect24 service.

Wii Menu

Screenshot of Wii Menu

Wii Menu

Main article: Wii Menu

The Wii Menu interface is designed to emulate television channels. Separate channels are graphically displayed in a grid, and are navigated using the pointer capability of the Wii Remote. Except for the Disc Channel, it is possible to change the arrangement by holding down the A and B buttons to “grab” channels and move them around. There are six primary channels: the Disc Channel, Mii Channel, Photo Channel, Wii Shop Channel, Forecast Channel and News Channel. The latter two were initially unavailable at launch, but were later activated in updates. The Wii + Internet Video Channel was installed in consoles manufactured after September 2008.[138] Additional channels are available for download from the Wii Shop Channel through WiiWare, and appear with each Virtual Console title; these include the Everybody Votes Channel, Internet Channel, Check Mii Out Channel and the Nintendo Channel. As of 18 October 2010, Wii owners can download the Netflix Channel from the Wii Shop Channel.[139]

Backward compatibility

Wii console with black GameCube controller

The first model of the Wii has Nintendo GameCube Memory Card and controller slots to provide backward compatibility.

Wii consoles with the original design are backward-compatible with all Nintendo GameCube software, Nintendo GameCube Memory Cards and controllers. Software compatibility is achieved by the slot-loading drive’s ability to accept Nintendo GameCube Game Discs. The console supports progressive-scan output in 480p-enabled GameCube titles. Peripherals can be connected via a set of four GameCube controller sockets and two Memory Card slots (concealed by removable flip-open panels).[10] The console retains connectivity with the Game Boy Advance and e-Reader through the Game Boy Advance Cable, which is used in the same manner as with the GameCube; however, this feature can only be accessed on select GameCube titles which previously utilized it. South Korean units lack GameCube backward compatibility.[71][72] Redesigned “Family Edition” Wiis and the Wii Mini are not backwards compatible.[71]

A Wii console running a GameCube disc is restricted to GameCube functionality. A GameCube controller is required to play GameCube titles; neither the Wii Remote nor the Classic Controller functions in this capacity. A Nintendo GameCube Memory Card is also necessary to save game progress and content, since the Wii internal flash memory will not save GameCube games.[140]

Backward compatibility is limited in some areas. Online and LAN-enabled features for Nintendo GameCube titles are unavailable on the Wii, since the console lacks serial ports for the Nintendo GameCube Broadband Adapter and Modem Adapter. The Wii uses a proprietary port for video output, and is incompatible with all Nintendo GameCube audio/video cables (composite video, S-Video, component video and RGB SCART). The console also lacks the GameCube footprint and high-speed port needed for Game Boy Player support.[141]

Nintendo DS connectivity

The Wii system supports wireless connectivity with the Nintendo DS without any additional accessories. This connectivity allows the player to use the Nintendo DS microphone and touchscreen as inputs for Wii games. The first game utilizing Nintendo DS-Wii connectivity is Pokémon Battle Revolution. Players with either the Pokémon Diamond or Pearl Nintendo DS games are able to play battles using the Nintendo DS as a controller.[11] Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time, released on both Nintendo DS and Wii, features connectivity in which both games can advance simultaneously. Nintendo later released the Nintendo Channel, which allows Wii owners to download game demos or additional data to their Nintendo DS in a process similar to that of a DS Download Station.[142] The console is also able to expand Nintendo DS games.[11]

Online connectivity

Main articles: Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, WiiConnect24, Internet Channel and List of Wii Wi-Fi Connection games

The Wii console connects to the Internet through its built-in 802.11b/g Wi-Fi or through a USB-to-Ethernet adapter; either method allows players to access the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service.[10] Wireless encryption by WEP, WPA (TKIP/RC4) and WPA2 (CCMP/AES) is supported.[143] AOSS support was added in System Menu version 3.0.[144] As with the Nintendo DS, Nintendo does not charge for playing via the service;[17][145] the 12-digit Friend Code system controls how players connect to one another. Each Wii also has a unique, 16-digit Wii Code for use with Wii’s non-game features.[145][146] The system also implements console-based software, including the Wii Message Board. One can also connect to the Internet with third-party devices.[147]

The service has several features for the console, including the Virtual Console, WiiConnect24, Internet Channel, Forecast Channel, Everybody Votes Channel, News Channel and the Check Mii Out Channel. The Wii can also communicate (and connect) with other Wii systems through a self-generated wireless LAN, enabling local wireless multi-playing on different television sets. Battalion Wars 2 first demonstrated this feature for non-split screen multi-playing between two (or more) televisions.[148]

On April 9, 2008, the BBC announced that its online BBC iPlayer would be available on the Wii via the Internet Channel browser; however, some users experienced difficulty with the service. On November 18, 2009, BBC iPlayer on the Wii was relaunched as the BBC iPlayer Channel,[149][150] a free download from the Wii Shop Channel;[151] however, the service is only available to people in the United Kingdom. On December 26, 2008, Nintendo announced a new video channel for the Wii.[152][153] As of 18 October 2010, American and Canadian Wii owners can watch Netflix instantly on a channel (without requiring a disc).[139]

Parental controls

The console features parental controls, which can be used to prohibit younger users from playing games with content unsuitable for their age level. When one attempts to play a Wii or Virtual Console game, it reads the content rating encoded in the game data; if this rating is greater than the system’s set age level, the game will not load without a password. Parental controls may also restrict Internet access, which blocks the Internet Channel and system-update features. Since the console is restricted to Nintendo GameCube functionality when playing Nintendo GameCube Game Discs, GameCube software is unaffected by Wii parental-control settings.[154]

European units primarily use the PEGI rating system,[155] while North American units use the ESRB rating system.[156] The Wii supports the rating systems of many countries, including CERO in Japan, the USK in Germany, the PEGI and BBFC in the United Kingdom, the ACB in Australia and the OFLC in New Zealand. Homebrew developers have reverse-engineered the function which Nintendo uses to recover lost parental-control passwords, creating a simple script to obtain parental-control reset codes.[157]

Reception

The Wii has received mixed reviews. The system was well received after its exhibition at E3 2006. At the event, Nintendo’s console won the Game Critics Awards for Best of Show and Best Hardware.[22] In the December 2006 issue of Popular Science, the console was named a Grand Award Winner in home entertainment.[158] Spike TV‘s Video Games Award cited the Wii’s breakthrough technology.[159] GameSpot chose the console as having the best hardware in its “Best and Worst 2006” awards.[160] The system was also chosen as one of PC World magazine’s 20 Most Innovative Products of the Year.[161] The console received a Golden Joystick for Innovation of the Year 2007 at the Golden Joystick Awards.[162] In the category of Engineering & Technology for Creation and Implementation of Video Games and Platforms, Nintendo was awarded an Emmy Award for Game Controller Innovation by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.[163] In 2009, IGN named the Wii the 10th greatest console of all time (out of 25).[164]

The Wii’s success caught third-party developers by surprise, leading to apologies for the quality of their early games. In an interview with German news magazine Der Spiegel, Ubisoft‘s Yves Guillemot and Alain Corre admitted that they made a mistake in rushing out their launch titles, promising to take future projects more seriously.[165] Take-Two Interactive, which released few games for the Nintendo GameCube, changed its stance towards Nintendo by placing a higher priority on the Wii.[166]

At the same time, criticism of the Wii Remote and Wii hardware specifications has surfaced. Former GameSpot editor and Giantbomb.com founder Jeff Gerstmann stated that the controller’s speaker produces low-quality sound,[167] while Factor 5 President Julian Eggebrecht criticized the hardware audio as substandard for a console of its generation.[168] UK-based developer Free Radical Design stated that the Wii hardware lacks the power necessary to run the software it scheduled for release on other seventh-generation consoles.[169] Online connectivity of the Wii was also criticized; Matt Casamassina of IGN compared it to the “entirely unintuitive” service provided for the Nintendo DS.[170]

Game designer and The Sims creator Will Wright shared his thoughts on the Wii in the context of the current console generation: “The only next gen system I’ve seen is the Wii – the PS3 and the Xbox 360 feel like better versions of the last, but pretty much the same game with incremental improvement. But the Wii feels like a major jump – not that the graphics are more powerful, but that it hits a completely different demographic.”[171]

The Wii is seen as more physically demanding than other game consoles.[172] Some Wii players have experienced a form of tennis elbow, known as “Wiiitis”.[173] A study published in the British Medical Journal stated that Wii players use more energy than they do playing sedentary computer games. While this energy increase may be beneficial to weight management, it was not an adequate replacement for regular exercise.[174] A case study published in the American Physical Therapy Association’s journal, Physical Therapy, focused on use of the Wii for rehabilitation in a teenager with cerebral palsy. It is believed to be the first published research demonstrating physical-therapy benefits from use of the gaming system. Researchers say the system complements traditional techniques.[175] In May 2010 the American Heart Association (AHA) endorsed the Wii to encourage sedentary people to take the first step toward fitness. The AHA heart icon covers the console and two of its more-active games, Wii Fit Plus and Wii Sports Resort.[176][177]

By 2008, two years after the Wii’s release,[178] Nintendo acknowledged several limitations and challenges with the system (such as the perception that the system catered primarily to a “casual” audience[179] and was unpopular among “core” gamers).[180] Game designer Shigeru Miyamoto admitted that the lack of support for high definition video output on the Wii and its limited network infrastructure also contributed to the system being regarded separately from its competitors’ systems, the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.[181]

An executive for Frontline Studios stated that major publishers were wary of releasing exclusive titles for the Wii, due to the perception that third-party companies were not strongly supported by consumers.[182] In his blog, 1UP.com editor Jeremy Parish stated that Nintendo was the biggest disappointment for him in 2007. Commenting on the lack of quality third-party support, he stated that “the Wii landscape is bleak. Worse than it was on N64. Worse than on GameCube…the resulting third-party content is overwhelmingly bargain-bin trash.”[183] The Globe and Mail and Forbes noted that the Wii had few successful third-party titles compared to its rivals (due, in part, to its weaker hardware). Third-party developers often skipped the Wii instead of making games for all three consoles simultaneously (“blockbusters like the Call of Duty franchise either never arrive on Nintendo hardware or show up in neutered form”). Forbes observed that of the most successful games of 2011 (The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Mass Effect 3, Portal 2, L.A. Noire, Battlefield 3, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3), although all were released for PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3, only Modern Warfare 3 received a Wii version which was also the least positively received port of the game. The lack of third-party games may be exacerbated in the future, as Nintendo faces the “dilemma of having fallen out of sync with its rivals in the console cycle”; Microsoft and Sony would design their consoles to be more powerful than the Wii U. Strong third-party titles are seen as a key sign of a gaming console’s health.[184][185][186]

The Globe and Mail, in suggesting why Nintendo posted a record loss of $926 million for the initial six months of its 2011–2012 fiscal year, blamed the Wii’s design for being “short-sighted”. The Wii initially enjoyed phenomenal success because it was inexpensive (due to its being less sophisticated than its competitors) and introduced a “gaming gimmick”. However, this approach meant that the Wii’s hardware soon became outdated and could not keep up long-term (in contrast to more-advanced rivals such as Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, which are expected to continue doing well in 2012–2013) “as both user desires and surrounding technologies evolved” later in the generation. Furthermore, price cuts and the introduction of motion-sensor controllers for the Xbox 360 and PS3 nullified advantages once held by the Wii. The Globe suggested that there were other reasons for Nintendo’s poor financial performance, including a strong yen and a tepid reception to the Nintendo 3DS handheld as mobile gaming becomes popular on smartphones and tablets (such as the iPad).[184]

Sales

Main article: Wii sales

As of 30 June 2014, the Wii has sold 101.15 million consoles worldwide.[187]

Since its launch, monthly sales numbers of the console have generally been higher than its competitors around the globe. According to the NPD Group, the Wii sold more units in the United States than the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 combined in the first half of 2007.[188] This lead is even larger in the Japanese market, where it currently leads in total sales (having outsold both consoles by factors of 2:1[189] to 6:1[190] nearly every week from its launch to November 2007).[191] In Australia the Wii broke the record set by the Xbox 360 and became the fastest-selling game console in Australian history.[192]

On September 12, 2007, the Financial Times reported that the Wii had surpassed the Xbox 360 (released a year earlier) and had become market leader in home-console sales for the current generation, based on sales figures from Enterbrain, NPD Group and GfK. This was the first time a Nintendo console led its generation in sales since the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.[193]

On July 11, 2007, Nintendo warned that the Wii would remain in short supply throughout that calendar year.[194] In December, Reggie Fils-Aime revealed that Nintendo was producing approximately 1.8 million Wii consoles each month.[195] Some UK stores still had a shortage of consoles as of March 2007,[196] demand still outpaced supply in the United States as of June 2007,[197] and the console was “selling out almost as quickly as it hits retail shelves” in Canada as of April 2008.[198][199] In October 2008 Nintendo announced that between October and December the Wii would have its North American supplies increased considerably from 2007 levels,[200] while producing 2.4 million Wii units a month worldwide (compared to 1.6 million per month in 2007).[201]

In the United States the Wii sold 10.9 million units by July 1, 2008, making it the leader in current-generation home console sales according to the NPD Group (and surpassing the Xbox 360).[202][203][204]

In Japan the Wii surpassed the number of Nintendo GameCube units sold by January 2008;[205] it sold 7,526,821 units as of December 28, 2008, according to Enterbrain.[206][207] According to the NPD Group the Wii surpassed the Xbox 360 to become the best-selling “next-generation” home video-game console in Canada (with 813,000 units sold by April 1, 2008), and was the best-selling home console for 13 of the previous 17 months.[198][199] According to the NPD Group the Wii had sold a total of 1,060,000 units in Canada as of August 1, 2008, making it the first current-generation home console to surpass the million-unit mark in that country. In the United Kingdom the Wii leads in current-generation home-console sales with 4.9 million units sold as of 3 January 2009, according to GfK Chart-Track.[208][209] On March 25, 2009 at the Game Developers Conference, Satoru Iwata said that worldwide shipments of Wii had reached 50 million.[210]

While Microsoft and Sony have experienced losses producing their consoles in the hopes of making a long-term profit on software sales, Nintendo reportedly has optimized production costs to obtain a significant profit margin with each Wii unit sold.[211] On September 17, 2007 the Financial Times reported that the direct profit per Wii sold may vary, from $13 in Japan to $49 in the United States and $79 in Europe.[212] On December 2, 2008, Forbes reported that Nintendo made a $6 operating profit per Wii unit sold.[213]

On September 23, 2009, Nintendo announced its first price reductions for the console.[214] Nintendo sold more than three million Wii consoles in the U.S. in December 2009 (setting a regional record for the month and ending nine months of declining sales), due to the price cut and software releases such as New Super Mario Bros. Wii.[215][216] On January 31, 2010 the Wii became the best-selling home video-game console produced by Nintendo, with sales of over 67 million units (surpassing those of the original Nintendo Entertainment System).[217] Nintendo reported that on Black Friday 2011 over 500,000 Wii consoles were sold, making it the most successful Black Friday in company history.[218]

Other models

Outside of Japan, a few different models of the Wii were produced. Since these were intended for foreign markets, they were never released in that region, and the original Japanese model was produced until it’s discontiutation in that region in 2013.

Family Edition

Wii Family Edition
Release date
  • NA October 2011
  • EU October 2011

The Wii Family Edition variant is identical to the original model, but is designed to sit horizontally (the vertical feet are still present; however, the front labels are rotated and a stand is no longer included) and removes the GameCube controller and memory card ports. For this reason, the Family Edition variant is incompatible with GameCube games and accessories. The console was announced on August 17, 2011 and released in Europe and North America in October 2011.[71]

The Wii Family Edition was made available in Europe, bundled with a Wii Remote Plus, Wii Party and Wii Sports.[71][219][220][221] A blue Wii Family Edition was launched to coincide with Black Friday and the release of Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games on November 18, 2011[222] and a black Wii Family Edition (bundled with New Super Mario Bros. Wii and the official soundtrack CD of Super Mario Galaxy) was released on October 23, 2011.[223] In late 2012 Nintendo released a version of the North America black edition, including Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort games on a single disc instead of the New Super Mario Bros. Wii game and the Super Mario Galaxy soundtrack.[224]

Wii Mini

Wii Mini
Wii-Mini-Console-Set-H.jpg
Release date
  • CA December 7, 2012[3]
  • EU March 15, 2013[4]
  • US November 17, 2013[6]

The Wii Mini (stylized as Wii mini) is a smaller, redesigned Wii which lacks YPBPR (component video/D-Terminal), S-Video, RGB SCART output, Nintendo GameCube compatibility, online connectivity, the SD card slot and Wi-Fi support, and has only one USB port unlike the previous models’ two.[225][226] The initial release omitted a pack-in game, but Mario Kart Wii was included at no extra charge beginning on September 18, 2013 in Canada[227] and from launch in the United States.[6] It was released in Canada on December 7, 2012 with a MSRP of C$99.99, in Europe on March 15, 2013, in the United Kingdom on March 22, 2013, and in the United States on November 17, 2013.[3][4][6] Nintendo uses this console and the Nintendo Selects game series to promote low cost gaming. The Wii Mini is styled in matte black with a red border, and includes a red Wii Remote Plus and Nunchuk. A composite video/audio cable, wired sensor bar and power adapter are also included.[228]

Successor

Main article: Wii U

Nintendo announced the successor to the Wii, Wii U, at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2011.[229] The Wii U features a controller with an embedded touch screen and output 1080p high-definition graphics; it is fully backward-compatible with Wii games and peripherals for the Wii. The Wii remote, Nunchuk controller and balance board are compatible with Wii U games which include support for them.[230] The Wii U was released on November 18, 2012 in North America, November 30, 2012 in Europe and Australia, and December 8, 2012 in Japan.

See also

References

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  2. “Nintendo launches Wii Family Edition on 4th November and Wii Fit Plus bundle on 2nd December”. Nintendo. Retrieved November 23, 2011.
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  4. Good, Owen (February 26, 2013). “Kotaku – The Gamer’s Guide”. Kotaku. Retrieved July 12, 2013.
  5. What’s in the box | Wii | Nintendo
  6. “Wii mini Official Site – Buy Now”. Nintendo. Retrieved 7 November 2013.
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  13. “- Nintendo – Current Network Status”. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
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External links

Media related to Wii at Wikimedia Commons

In October 2014,[24] the last Wii game, Just Dance 2015, was released.[25]