10/26/00

Fat asks “Why”?
Late October Edition

First things first: WHY is it that at least around here, the Dreamcast is treated like a second class system? At most of the local stores I go to, I see the same thing: I have to actually take time to find Dreamcast software, and it’s usually placed way in the back or at a far-off corner somewhere, next to the clearance Super NES and Gameboy titles. In the major software chains such as Ripoffs etc., and Cabbages, the DC section has been reduced to about 2 rows of shelves, with new titles stacked over each other, and the used games mixed in with the new ones  (I’m not saying this about Game Hits, it’s one place that displays the DC games properly).  What is the deal with this?  Do we STILL have hundreds of biased-ass Sony/Nintendo/PC fanboys working these places?  Hasn’t the Dreamcast proven itself as a viable, saleable system yet?  Don’t these salespeople realize that presentation is an important factor in moving the merchandise out?  If you ask one of these salespeople why the DC software is all crammed into one place, they’ll tell you it’s because it doesn’t sell.  #1, it DOES sell, and #2, it’s a double edged-sword, and the games WON’T sell if they’re not easy to look through.  I don’t know who the local Sega Representative is now (is it still you, Brad? ah, what am I saying? Brad doesn’t read this site anymore...), But whoever it is, he/she has got a LOT of phone calls to make...

WHY is the packaging and ad campaign for the new PS2 Dead or Alive Hardcore game so crappy? Abstract artwork with no characters, and big muscular arms with DOA logo tattoos just won’t sell this game as well as the cheesecake shots of the game’s BABES like they were using before.  The game has GREAT character models....USE THEM!

Here’s an interesting news tidbit I’ve gotten wind of recently: It seems that Capcom will experiment to try to avoid losing profit from the impending system wars...through emulation (yes, Shawn, emulation....baaaaad emulation).  What Capcom proposes to do is make their games through a generic program set, then have emulation ends for the major systems, such as the DC, the PS2, and the Gamecube.  This way, Capcom can publish ONE title that will work under multiple platforms.  This would save them astronomical amounts in publishing AND development, so it’s good for Capcom...but it might NOT be so good for us consumers.  WHY? (see, there’s a “why” here, you just had to wait for it...) because in emulating for multiple systems, it’s a lot harder to tap into the true power of the system.  They’d have to make the game work perfectly on the least powerful system (the Dreamcast? In some ways yes, but in others no), and while they could put in extra code to take advantage of a given system’s hardware (extra lighting effects from the PS2, or hardware anti-aliasing from the DC, for example), the full potential of a system is impossible to obtain without the programming being hard-coded specifically for that system.  I can see Capcom doing this with their 2D Fighters easily enough, but some of their other titles, such as the Resident Evil series, would suffer from this method.

I had a few complaints about the look of the Gamecube’s Controllers last month, but I want to know something....WHY do some people consider the Gamecube’s Mini-DVD format a mistake? I had my reservations about this too, at first, but then I got to thinking...what better way to stop piracy than making it a PHYSICAL impossibility to put full-sized CD-R media in the unit?  The system only takes Mini-DVDs, which are about the diameter of a coffee mug, and hold about 1.2 Gigs of information.  It won’t play DVDs or CDs (it’s a game system.  It doesn’t HAVE to), not because it doesn’t have the hardware to do it, but because they don’t fit!  Sure, budding young pirates could (and will) try to use Mini-CDRs, but those only hold about 100 megs of info, which may actually be enough for some simple games, but the way programmers bloat up the software nowadays, nothing major.  They could also bypass the big N’s protection scheme, copy a game on, oh, about 26 mini CDs, and have some buggy system that makes you swap between ‘em, but really...how practical is that? (ya let it sit too long!  Swap back in disc one so it can play the intro again!)

WHY is it that while looking at some of the newer DVDs in a local store lately, I saw that some of the new titles had a “compatible with Playstation 2” sticker on them?  Does this mean that there are DVDs that AREN’T compatible with the PS2?  If The Jerk doesn’t work, I’m takin’ it out on somebody’s ass....

Staying on the subject of the PS2, Here’s a continuation of a WHY? from last month....Okay, as I’m typing this, it’s October 25th...the PS2 comes out TOMORROW.  WHY is there SO FEW TV ADS FOR THE DAMNED THING???? I was recently watching Emp-TV, and one of their commercial breaks was sponsored by Playstation 2.  The only Game commercial, however, was for a Codemasters racing game for the PS...ONE!  And just TODAY, I finally saw a PS2 commercial for Tekken Tag...by Namco, NOT SONY!  Maybe the lack of ads are a result of the phenomenon of YAGO!, which many people will experience on PS2 day (if you don’t know what YAGO! means, check out my Fat’s Rants article from earlier this month, and you’ll understand). Sony’s arrogance and lack of concern for gamers is getting more apparent by the day.  I sure hope this fake shortage backfires on ‘em, like it did for Nintendo with the Super NES (remember? There was a “shortage” at first, then Nintendo, getting nervous because the sales weren’t what they expected, flooded the market with the systems, and there were suddenly HUNDREDS of them on the shelves).

WHY is it that each month there are fewer “WHYs?”, but they keep getting longer winded?

WHY does Geeky think he’s getting a PS2?  YAGO!

Cast and Crew   News, Articles and Reviews