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E3RUMOUR.TXT
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1995-05-07
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7KB
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113 lines
Subject: OUCH! Red Hot E3 Rumors/Info from Intel Gamer Online (use oven mitt!)
Date: 29 Apr 1995 23:35:32 GMT
Hot E3 Gossip from Intelligent Gamer Online (http://igonline.escape.com)
Trust it? Hate it? We hear it; too much of it, in fact. Why not share a little
of what we're hearing and let you decide what's worth taking to the bank?
Nintendo gossip: True to their origin, Nintendo always plays their cards close
to their collective vest before big trade shows, but they usually have at least
a poker face -- in other words, they're not talking much at all today, and that's
unusual. Rumor has it (from sources who might be biased to say this) that
Nintendo is [a] still having trouble getting U-64 stuff ready for the show and/or
is [b] still considering the possibility of waiting for a few weeks after E3 to debut
the system amidst less crowded headlines.Translation: Nintendo doesn't want
to appear as one of three new entrants at E3; they want to have their own
headlines as the newest system to be debuted. Do we believe this? Well, it's
hard to swallow but not wholly implausible, as Nintendo would be breaking
their earlier promises to show U-64 at E3 and bypassing the biggest games
media event in history in favor of some alternative venue. Disappointed E3
attendees wouldn't be happy with this scenario, but it's out there and follows
historical Nintendo debuts (uh... late), so we're sharing it.
Sega gossip: All sorts of wacky rumors are swirling around Sega's Saturn launch,
most of which have to do with pack-ins and price points, but the juiciest rumor to
date is that Tom Kalinske may attempt to shock the crowds at E3 by announcing
a revised Saturn release date -- July 23, 1995 -- at his keynote speech to kick Sony
in the corporate groin. Rumors are numerous, but the long and short of them is
that Virtua Fighter and some music sampler CD are virtually assured to be in the
box on whatever the shipping date turns out to be, and that either Daytona USA
or a Panzer Dragoon will be included, as well, as either full game discs or one-
level demos. Yen-to-dollar values are but one of the factors keeping the Saturn's
price point ambiguous and reputably ever-changing (though we're pretty sure the
number is fixed as of today, unless something drastic happens), but we're hearing
that the price will fall in the $349.99 to $379.99 bracket for sure. Sega reps won't
comment officially about any of the numbers or pack-ins, and they're still sticking
by the old date. Expect price changes for Genesis products across the board.
Sony rumors: The price of $299.99 has been repeated -- and from what we heard
on an unofficial level -- but a Sony representative made it clear that nothing is set
in stone as of yet. (We heard the stone was carved before WCES, but regardless...)
One or two pack-in games? Sony is not saying. We're still betting on Ridge Racer
and perhaps TohShinDen or Tekken, with the latter being likely because of its Namco-
Sony origin and the former because of the exceedingly favorable press it has received
across the globe. ("Virtua Fighter Killer" could look very nice in Sony press releases.)
What might wind up usurping one of the big-name games? The ultra-awesome Phear,
which is an unknown quantity to many people but would offer more long-term fun than
TohShinDen. Pure IG Online speculation here: a sampler CD would seem likely to appear
in the box. Sony's official plans will be made clear on May 10th at a special coming out
party for the PlayStation -- featuring "Polygon Man," their mascot (no joke) -- and potentially
revised if Sega's Tom Kalinske changes the Saturn release schedule in some way.
3DO Rumors: M2 M2 M2... and Philips? M2, appropriately enough, will be unveiled publicly
May 2nd at New York's Carnegie Hall and then rolled out a second time on May 10th in
California for E3 attendees. Software will absolutely be on display for the unit, we're told,
and rumor has it that a mystery suitor -- Philips -- will be officially committing to developing
a 3DO M2-compatible Multiplayer at the show. CD-i compatibility for the M2? It's being
claimed. Great. Two versions of Mad Dog McCree and now we can play Tetris with the
clammy 3DO controllers? Hopefully it'll support the Flightstick... Look for the Panasonic
3DO FZ-10 to get a handy price drop and new set of pack-ins, with the Goldstar unit
moving downwards as well.
Atari Rumors: What's Atari's big surprise for the E3 show? The VR helmet they've been
developing inconjunction with the Virtuality Group. What's the caveat? Atari won't be
letting people use the device for more than 5 minutes at a time, we're told by two
reliable sources, though everyone remains quiet on precisely why. Are there technical
problems with the device, or is Atari worried about the potential dizziness and/or nausea
associated with virtual reality headgear? We're not wholly sure. Atari's other highlights
at the show are expected to be a set of several new CD games, Hover Strike, and a large
video screen, in addition to a set of constantly manned kiosks.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
{ Allen Skurow (allens@magicnet.net) PSX,PC }
{ Chipnet Electronic Magazine - Game Columnist }
{ IRC - "GameOver" and all around pain in the ass }
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Xref: netcom.com rec.games.video.3do:38171 rec.games.video.advocacy:17579
Path: netcom.com!csus.edu!news.ucdavis.edu!agate!howland.reston.ans.net!vixen.cso.uiuc.edu!uwm.edu!lll-winken.llnl.gov!enews.sgi.com!fido.asd.sgi.com!barney.neu.sgi.com!david
From: david@barney.neu.sgi.com (David Brown)
Newsgroups: rec.games.video.3do,rec.games.video.advocacy
Subject: U64. No go
Date: 4 Apr 1995 05:58:55 GMT
Organization: Silicon Graphics MIS
Lines: 22
Message-ID: <3lqn6v$iqp@fido.asd.sgi.com>
Reply-To: david@neu.sgi.com
NNTP-Posting-Host: barney.neu.sgi.com
Extract from UK CVG (Computer and Video Games) Magazine.
"It has reached our ears that Nintentdo have been forced to scrap
the Ultra 64 because of its high manufacturing costs. Nintendo
who originally claimed a $159 price point have apparently been
told by development partners Silicon Graphics that the minimum
costs fot the basic hardware would be $349, Add to that other
components such as Joypads, CD drive, packaging and distribution
and we estimate a UK retail price would have to be set at around
750 pounds ($1000+)
If this is true, Nintendo woun't be able to survive in the home
market just with the Virtual boy, so the likelihood is it would
plough money into online systems and set-top boxes.
"
--
David Brown |
| I am responsible for what I say...
Managing Director |
DBCC Limited | not what you hear.
Northants. UK |