Amiga ISO Collection/AmigaDemoCD2.iso/ASCII/TEXTE/MISC/ea-report.txt

Text File | 1994-03-26 | 155.0 KB | 3,061 lines

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ÜÜÜÜ[-C.G.M-]ÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜ
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ÜÜÜÜ      E3 1996 - Full Reports     ÜÜÜÜ
ÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜÜ[05-21-96]ÜÜÜÜ
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                          Electronic Arts Report
                             By Andrew Phelan
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Electronic Arts has come to E3 in full force, with a ton of titles from
many different genres. EA Sports had NHL 97, NBA Live 97, Triple Play 97,
PGA Tour 97, FIFA 97, Madden 97, and Andretti Racing up and running. All
looked very impressive, and seem to calm any fears that EA Sports won't be
able to make the transition to the 32 bit platforms. All the games have the
patented EA gameplay to go along with outstanding graphics. Look for a lot
patented EA gameplay to go along with outstanding graphics. Look for a lot
of quality titles coming out of EA Sports this year. Road Rash for  [Image]
the PC is also at the show, with in game music, networking for up
to eight players, and graphics that are more crisp and smooth than any
console version. One last title of note being shown by EA is Soviet Strike,
the PSX addition to the Strike series. It looks cool and detailed with a
lot of destruction so far, but also a little blurred. Debris flies all over
the screen, with an extrodinary amount of firepower being spread back and
forth from both sides. EA surely has much more to show, but these were the
initial titles that stood out. Look for more info on EA titles by tomorrow.
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                          Copyright 1996 The Forum

                An on-going journal. Last Updated: 5:30 PM
                             By Andrew Phelan
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The big day is finally here. E3 opened up at 10:00, after an hour long
panel discussion between the biggest names in the industry, where it was
announced Sony will be dropping the price of their Playstation to $199.
announced Sony will be dropping the price of their Playstation to $199.
When the gates opened, mobs rushed in to take a look at all the new [Image]
technology. Show highlights so far include:

                                 -Nintendo-

The Nintendo 64 was on hand in full force, gathering massive crowds.
Playable titles included: Super Mario 64, Wave Race 64, Killer Instinct 2,
Pilot Wings 2, Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire, Wayne Grexy 3D Hockey, and
Blast Corps. All control incredibly well, which is a testament to the N64
controller. It seems N64 games may concentrate on gameplay, an element
currently lacking in many next generation titles. Mario was the best of the
show, with many amazing elements that will be detailed in a later report.
Wave Racer was fun, but not outstanding. KI2 didn't really impress, and
neither did WG3D Hockey, despite being four player. Star Wars looked very
good, but also very early. It seems to incorporate multiple gameplay
engines when moving from level to level. Pilot Wings 2 was fun, and will
undoubtebly be a great game, but really didn't impress too much
graphically. Blast Corps went over extremely well with players, as great
graphics helped out the destruction theme really take off. Mario Kart 64
was shown on screen, but wasn't made playable as of yet. Overall, the N64
looks like it will have an extremely solid launch. Though the graphics
won't blow anyone away, they can't be done on any other system as of yet,
and the wonderful controller makes for very enjoyable play controll. Look
for more N64 details as they develop.

                             -Crystal Dynamics-

Lot's of cool games, but the only ones that stood out were the previously
mentioned Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain, and Pandemonium. Pandemonium is an
almost fully 3D platformer, which seems to be the new theme for E3. Though
most steps are still taken in a 2D terrain, different elements help give
the game a 3D feel. Graphics really make this game standout. Expect to hear
a lot more about it in the future.

Other highlights so far include Twisted Metal 2, with multiplayer option,
new vehichles, and weapons. Though the game looked very much like the first
(icluding the texture flicker problem), it's still generating a lot of
hype. TM2 is only 60% complete, so look for it to improve greatly. Bubsy 3D
(Accolade) is a huge dissapointment. At current, it's slow and boring.
There were high hopes for this title, so hope it's just REAL early in
development. Fox Interactive had The DieHard Trilogy running, which went
over pretty well with crowds. Sega highlights included Bug Too!, Heart of
Darkness, VF Kids, and a lot more which these eyes haven't seen yet.
Midway's War Gods is a near replica of Mortal Kombat in 3D, but it's a lot
of fun anyway. The 3D characters look almost real. One last highlight early
in the show was Contra: Legacy of War, which used 3D glasses to create a
unique environment for the player. Much is still to be seen, and it's time
to run back out to the war zone. Expect an update later tonight.
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                          Copyright 1996 The Forum
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                        Day 2 Coverage: Sony Report
                             By Andrew Phelan
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Highlights at Sony's E3 booth include Crash Bandicoot, Sony's possible new
mascot. The game, which is 60% complete, had a lot going for it, and is
visually very impressive. Suprisingly, it's brought to the PSX by Naughty
Dog, who has been absent from the video game scene since 3DO's Way of the
Warrior in '94. A closer look at the Die Hard Trilogy reveals a very fun
and bloody game. The game's 3D movement is very realistic, which allows for
and bloody game. The game's 3D movement is very realistic, which allows for
[Image] realistic deaths as the main character caps people. Jagged polygons
        are a problem, but other than that, it looks and runs very nicely.
Hard Boiled seems to have the makings of a great 3D racer, but it lacks
enemies as of yet. Samurai Showdon 3 and King of Fighters '95 were both
shown for the Playstation, and looked very similar to their Neo Geo
counterparts. 2Xtreme was a major let down, as the slow game engine ruins
what fun could be had in a boarding/skating game. NCAA Gamebreaker is
essentially the college counterpart of NFL Gameday, though a few
improvements have been made. There is running commentary throughout the
game. Jet Moto is a land and sea racer that was a good idea, but comes off
blithered and unresponsive. Equally unimpressive was Square's 3D fighter
Tobal No. 1, which is very plain and run of the mill. MLB Pennant Race was
also on hand, and despite a plethora of bugs, was still a lot of fun to
play. It isn't revolutionary graphically, but is a solid baseball game.
It's plagued by long load times, but this will hopefully be cleaned up in
time for release. Like Gamebreaker, Pennant Race has running commentary.
time for release. Like Gamebreaker, Pennant Race has running commentary.
Soviet Strike becomes more impressive every time the controller is  [Image]
picked up. Look for a feature article on it in Revolutions' POST-E3
WEEK. Overall, it seems Sony has lost a lot of it's lead ground to Sega and
Nintendo based on what was seen at E3. Though all three companies have come
on strong, Sony was unable to dominate like they did in last year's show.
Expect the hardware wars to heat up even more as the Christmas season
approachs, with no clear winner. It may be hard to even determine who is in
the lead. Based on the software shown, the three systems may very well be
that close together throughout the next year.
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                       Copyright 1996 The Forum Group
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                        Nintendo Second Day Report
                             By Andrew Phelan
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Beyond the playable titles, Nintendo has made a video available for
onlookers at E3 to take a look at some N64 software not quite as far along
in the development process. Among them is Kirby's Air Ride, which appears
in the development process. Among them is Kirby's Air Ride, which appears
to be a racing game that takes place over smooth, rolling,
checkered boards. It's really zooming along so far, but only a
short clip was made available. Also shown was Star Fox 64, which looked
pretty amazing. From the clip shown, it looks very much like the first one,
of course with N64 graphics this time around. One point of interest is that
a tank seems to be playable in addition to the standard craft. Super Mario
Kart R is nearly flawless from what has been seen so far. Everything is
crystal clear, no matter how close objects get to the screen. The only
complaint that can be made is that not much background scenery or eye candy
is being used as of yet. Even so, Super Mario Kart R looks to be every bit
as fun as the first one, and that is saying a lot. A quick, unimpressive
clip of Turok was also shown. It looks very early into development. Golden
clip of Turok was also shown. It looks very early into development. Golden
Eye looked interesting, but there weren't enough shots to pass
judgement on it. Body Harvest was also shown, which looked
impressive, but didn't stand out among the other N64 games. Cruisin USA was
a final title made playable, and so far it looks and controls pretty much
the same as the arcade. Look for more details on the N64 games as soon as
they're given enough playing time for some in depth features.
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                       Copyright 1996 The Forum Group
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               Sega's Nights and Analog Controller: A Report
                             By Andrew Phelan
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    The most impressive game at Sega's E3 booth has to be the incredible
   Nights. It is easily one of the biggest graphical breakthroughs on the
Saturn yet. Still pictures just can't do Nights justice. The main character
  (either Elliot or Claris) has the ability to walk, run, and jump in full
  (either Elliot or Claris) has the ability to walk, run, and jump in full
[Image]   3D. While this in itself isn't overly impressive, the major fun
        starts when this character gains the ability to fly. The characters
lop all around at breakneck speeds through glorious 3D graphics. Though the
    flying gameplay remains 2 1/2D (no full control over the moving into
 foreground and background), the effect is amazing nonetheless. It just has
                        to be seen to be believed.

The gameplay in Nights owes much to Sega's answer to the N64 pad. The new
controller has all the basic functions, plus an extra analog pad that
allows for precise freedom of movement when flying. What results are fluid
and smooth controls that help give the player a sense of flight. This is a
game one could get absorbed in for hours.

As good as Nights is so far, Sega still has much to do. Most notibly, no
As good as Nights is so far, Sega still has much to do. Most notibly, no
enemies are present as of yet, other than one end of the level      [Image]
boss. If Sega stays on the right track with this one, not only will
they have a sure hit on their hands, but they'll also have a game that
compares favorably to Mario 64. The way early Sonic X-Treme pales in
comparison so far. It seems to be a ways off. As it stands, Nights seems to
be the breakthrough platformer on the Saturn so far. Will there be a
changing of the guard at Sega? Stay tuned to E3 WEEKEND for more!
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                         Copyright 1996 The Forum Group
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                            David Perry and MDK
                             By Andrew Phelan
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David Perry, president of Shiny Entertainment, was nice enough to take a
half hour out of his time yesterday to give Revolutions a preview of his
company's new PC title, MDK. Though the game is only 20% complete as of
yet, it's already displaying the amazing graphics and innovative concepts
that set Shiny title apart from the rest of the pack. Though the game
incorporates multiple genres within itself, the part that is furthest along
so far has the main character running along the ground. Lot's of cool
so far has the main character running along the ground. Lot's of cool
running and shooting, but also a great camera feature that let's
the player zoom into look at enemies and objects miles away. When
incorporated, the player will be able to snipe at enemies from extremely
far distances. When hit, enemies will react according to where they are
shot, much like Virtua Cop. Enemies will also work as a group. In other
words, look for joint attacks, and extras such as one enemy carrying his
injured comrad off the battlefield during fights. Shiny has a lot of
innovative ideas such as these, and the basic gameplay engine so far runs
very smoothly. The game is a lot of fun to just run around in, and will be
even more fun when level designs are more complete. Look for a full report
on MDK after the show, along with the full David Perry interview, when
enough time can be given to this breakthrough game.
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                       Copyright 1996 The Forum Group
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         E3: The Winners, The Losers, and the Down Right Pathetic
                         A special Just A Thought
                             By Garret Salomon
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Well, it has been thus far an exciting E3. It seems all of the big time
players in the console gaming market have stepped up with a selection of
great games and changes. By now, you have been probably bombarded with
countless reports, a slew of pictures and handful of movies. Still, there
is one question you want answered. What the heck does this all add up to?
Well, I will be more then happy to help you answer that question. That is
why I welcome you to my first annual Just a Thought E3 awards show. I will
pick who I felt had the best showing, the worst showing and the just plain
laughable showing. This was a good show, so there aren't any easy picks.
Let me start of with my list of winners.

1.Video Game Players:

The E3 brought out great games! What more can any one ask for? In all
honesty, I felt the big three (comprising of Sega, Sony and of course that
company which starts with a N) did a tremendous job of delivering top notch
games to their high end systems. Play Station, Saturn and future Nintendo
64 owners will have a great selection of games to choose from.

2.Sega

Sega had the best showing IMHO. Their game line-up was practically
unmatched. Nights, Sonic X-treme, Daytona Course Challenge, Virtua Fighter
3, Virtua Cop 2, World Series Baseball 2, and Virtual On were some of the
titles which caught my eye. If you do not own a Saturn, well at the new low
price of $200 I honestly suggest you consider purchasing one. Sega has
nearly single handily put together the best selection of 32bit games
(Virtua Fighter 2, Sega Rally, Virtua Cop, Panzer Dragoon, Panzer Dragoon 2
and Guardian Heroes are all stand out titles). With their third part
licensees starting to kick in software, the Saturn may posses the best
line-up for any system. Capcom's plans to bring over Marvel Super Heroes
and Street Fighter Alpha 2 along with SNK's new found support (Samurai
Showdown 3 and King of the Fighters '95) are just a sample of what Sega is
getting. Last year they went from brilliance, to stupidity and back to
brilliance. It should be interesting to see were Sega is a year from now.

3.Sony

Not to be out done by Sega, Sony brought in a good line-up as well. Since
Sony's in house developing is no where nearly as strong as Sega's, third
party support was a must for Sony. Williams delivered big time for Sony
with conversions of NHL Open Ice, NBA Hangtime and more importantly, Mortal
Kombat Trilogy. Gee, I know that angers you Play Station owners! :) Capcom
will also be bringing over Street Fighter Alpha 2, and Namco will be
bringing over Soul Edge (I'm sorry, but SE is a billion times better then
Tekken 2) to the Play Station. Sony is clearly committed to developing top
notch games and bringing Play Station owners the best software in the land.
I didn't see much which would entice me to purchase a Play Station (well, I
do after all own one!). However what I did see was a software list which
would make any Play Station owner glad they bought Sony's video game
player.

4.Nintendo

It's almost here and Nintendo is insuring that gamers will not be
disappointed. The Nintendo 64 has some great games in the works and it
should prove to be worth the wait. There is nothing which can really
describe how good some of its' games look (especially Mario 64). I really
can't add on to what has been previously stated about this system. Well,
then again, I can. "It is one of the few things in life where everything
you have heard about it is true!".

Well in life there are winners, and of course there are losers. Here is my
list of losers at E3.

1.Phillips Media

Gee, that Internet connection seemed like a good idea. Of course it is sort
of worthless considering Sega announced a 28.8 modem for the Saturn and a
special version of the Concentric network for Saturn owners. Phillips is
still sticking with C(it)D-I(e). Gee, this system has been out for as long
as the Super Nintendo and it has nothing to show for it. Oh whoops, I
forgot, it has those goofy infomercials! Gee, that really makes this system
worth $500. If you want this system (for some very odd sick reason) for
its' edutainment titles, you are better of waiting for the Pippin to come
out. Apple and Bandai have created what amounts to a $500 Power PC Mac.
Yup, $500 for a system with internet capabilities and access to Mac CDs.
What does Phillips have? That's the problem!

2. Panasonic/Matsushita

Gee, this would have been a great time to announce any sort of plans
regarding the M2. Oh whoops, I forgot we are dealing with Panasonic here.
You see, Panasonic feels that the world just isn't ready for M2. Instead of
talking M2, they preferred to bad mouth 3DO. Yea, when you talk Panasonic,
you are talking about professionalism. Not! Come on, any fool can bad mouth
3DO (They never fight back). Their "Opera" (AKA FZ-1, FZ-10. regular 3DO)
line up was a joke. Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 was only 25% complete and I
heard from people who played it that it well, to put it nicely, sucked!
Yea, you know that UMK3 really makes that Williams deal worth the millions
of dollars. Forget the fact that Williams (with out a multi- million dollar
deal) is developing three of their big name arcade titles (including UMK3)
and Mortal Kombat trilogy for the Play Station! Panasonic and UMK3 will
take over baby! Panasonic's pathetic and weak display of support for the
3DO finally placed them into the "oh how the mighty have fallen category".
It's hard to believe that two years ago they secured Super Street Fighter 2
Turbo and Star Blade for the 3DO. Now, they are having problems bringing
the non-popular Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 to the 3DO. To add insult to
injury, they had Cyberdillio and ISIS on display. Oh due, keep in mind that
those two titles were shown at last year's show!

3.Electronic Arts

Let's just say they are another victim of the dreaded "3DO virus". A year
ago it appeared that EA was going to be a leader in the 32bit market. Now
it appears they are just trying to stay afloat in the console market
period. Their announced line up was weak. Madden and NHL were the lone
bright spots (even then they are light years from being completed) in EA's
dismal line up. Their crown as "the king of sports' games" is about to be
taken by force. With the transition from 16bit to 32bit in high gear, it
will only be a small matter of time until the 16bit market fades away. Sony
Interactive is the clear leader in 32bit sports with Sega Sports not to far
behind. It is clear that EA has dug themselves a hole and unfortunately,
they may never approach the level they were once destined to achieve. While
the industry was looking at the future last year, EA was looking at the
present. This costly mistake was clearly apparent at the E3.

Well even though Panasonic should have one my grand prize as "The down
right pathetic exhibitor", I had to give that award to another company.
Instead of PIM, I chose their partner in crime:

The 3DO Company

Yes, I know they were not officially at the show. However their no show
IMHO is the biggest reason to single them out. Last year, they were in a
position to become a leader in the 32bit market. This year, they could
barely muster a handful of titles out of Panasonic! 3DO has abandoned their
product and like their licensees, are developing games for the Play Station
and Saturn. Acclaim will distribute these Studio 3DO games. Ironically it
was Acclaim who was the only major American game distributor not to sign on
with 3DO. Gee, its' hard to believe that a company who is notorious for
delivering garbage has 3DO's fate in its' hands. I guess trash really does
collect after awhile. Still what clinched this prestigious award for 3DO
was the remarks of their boss, the Tripster himself, just before the show.
He never once mentioned console gaming even though his company was founded
on the idea of console gaming! Trip, Trip, Trip, if you feel the internet,
PC gaming and PC hardware is the future, why did you develop the M2? With
great logic such as 3DO, it is no wonder why some people wonder if console
gaming will survive. Oh well, at least we still have Sony, Sega and
Nintendo.

This year's E3 was a great show. I'm glad to see that there is a huge push
for arcade conversions and high quality titles. There wasn't a great amount
of fmv games and this, IMHO, is a sign that the industry has better grasp
on its' consumers. The best company at the show was Sega. Sony had a strong
showing. Nintendo delivered. Sadly, one sign of the changing times was the
absence of the Mt. Fuji symbol. Atari is no more, and I can't exactly say
they will be sorely missed, however I can say the industry just will not be
the same without them. Finally, this was probably the most well covered
video game trade show ever. Countless webzines proved why the magazines are
becoming obsolete and why the internet is such a powerful tool. Next year's
E3 is in Atlanta, GA. Hopefully I'll have the chance to see some of there,
however, my little awards show will have to do for now.
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                       Copyright 1996 The Forum Group

                      Nintendo 64: The Launch Report

The most cynical journalist I know was sat next to me as the Nintendo 64
press conference kicked off. He was fully prepared to be unimpressed. Damn
it, he wanted to be unimpressed.

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        One hour later he was drooling like a fool and claiming
        that Sega and Sony were finished. It was the fastest
        U-turn I've ever seen.

        The fact is this. Nintendo has blown E3 away before the
        show even starts. I have never ever used the following
        phrase before, but this time I can't resist it; the
        Nintendo 64 ROCKS.

        It wasn't any announcements which Howard Lincoln made.
        Most of the information on offer was pretty much well
        known. What completely blew everyone away was the twenty
        minutes during which two Nintendo playtesters demonstrated
        all the big name games. They were simply unbelievable.

        PilotWings looks and apparently plays beautifully. We're
        talking about a twenty by thirty mile playing area. Thanks
        to the mipmapping (not hitherto seen by us) the game looks
        as smooth as anything we've seen. The textures were lush.

        Least impressive was Shadows of the Empire, but even that
        offered some highly impressive backgrounds.

        All the other games were given a spin and, yes, they look
        brilliant. (See screenshots).

        The news as far as Nintendo 64 goes is as follows. It will
        be out on September 30th. It will cost $249.95. Eight
        games will be ready for the US launch. They are: Super
        Mario 64, PilotWings 64, Wave Race 64, Body Harvest, Star
        Wars; Shadows of the Empire, TetrisPhear, Super Mario Kart
        and Killer Instinct.

        Some 500,000 units will be brought into the US before
        Christmas and all will be sold. A further 500,000 will be
        brought over in the three months following the New Year.
        Nintendo expects to shift these also. The company is
        spending $50 million marketing the product which equates
        to an astonishing $100 per machine. It also expects to
        sell three million software units in the first six months.

        Market share? Nintendo was less bullish and conceded that
        Sony would have a good year. It expects to take 42 per
        cent of the market (it currently owns 41 per cent).
        Lincoln also predicted that Sony would go up 12 per cent
        and Sega would lose ground. Nevertheless, those first one
        million units have to be seen as a beach-head. 1997 will
        be Nintendo's year. Anyone who thinks otherwise is crazy.

        There wasn't any new information about the disk drive
        except that Miyamoto will be working on a Mario 64 sequel
        for the drive which should be ready in a year and a half
        (see separate story).

        On the Nintendo 64 itself, Lincoln was typically eloquent.
        "This," he beamed, "is a quantum leap. It's above anything
        else that's ever been seen in videogames". He was telling
        the truth.

        Still to come; More screenshots and some downloadable
        movies. Judge for yourself. Tomorrow. Catch the news from
        E3. Updates start at noon PST and carry on through the
        afternoon.

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                          Mini Game Boy Unveiled

As widely expected, Nintendo has announced a "trimmed down" version of the
Game Boy.

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        Game Boy Pocket is thirty per cent smaller than the
        original and weighs half as much. It also features an
        improved black and white screen and delivers ten hours of
        gameplay from two AA batteries. The product launches here
        in September priced at $59.95.

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                       Sega Promises New Revolution

Having admitted that 1995 was a disappointing year for Saturn and having
just completed the "most significant business reorganization that this
industry has ever seen, Sega is looking to turn its situation around.

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        In a release this morning Sega has outlined its plans to
        recapture the lead in the next generation market. To do so
        Sega will be relying on its arcade conversions and its
        Internet peripheral.

        Slated to have more than 10 Internet capable games by this
        Christmas and over a dozen in development, Sega is
        unveiling their Internet Peripheral. The "Net Link"
        Internet device takes the form of a 28.8K modem and
        software that allows you to browse the Web, send E-mail,
        and enter chat groups. The suggested price of the unit is
        $199.99. There are also a keyboard and mouse planned for
        the unit.

        As one would expect, Sega is constantly pointing at their
        arcade titles that they promise are coming to the Saturn.
        Later this year, Sega will be shipping Virtua On, Fighting
        Vipers, and Virtua Cop II. Surprising absolutely no one,
        Sega has also announced the Saturn conversion of Virtua
        Fighter 3, which is also on display at the show in a
        "non-playable form". Rumor has it at the show at least a
        few lucky individuals will be allowed to try a playable
        version of what could only be called the most stunning
        game ever made.

        To aid Sega in their "rejuvenation" they have also
        reiterated their new divisions of Sega Dreamworks,
        SegaSoft and others in their efforts to branch out in to
        other areas.

        Check back tonight for more looks at some of Sega's games.

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                       Kalinske Compares 64DD to 32X

Sega of America's boss Tom Kalinske unveiled Sega's marketing plans for the
year ahead at The House of Blues nightclub in Los Angeles last night - and
launched a blistering attack on rival Nintendo.

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        Clearly Sega is happiest when in a scrap with its oldest
        rival. Kalinske poured scorn on the 64DD concept and the
        late arrival of the Nintendo 64. "An add-on drive for at
        least $100? It reminds me of the 32X which is a route I
        definitely would not recommend." On the late launch of
        Nintendo 64 he quipped: "Twelve months is a long time to
        wait for a plumber."

        Sega's TV ads seem to have taken on the classic feel of
        the much-loved campaigns of the early days of Genesis. The
        old Sega scream is back, for example.

        Kalinske also predicted that Sega's Saturn would lead the
        US next generation market by the end of the year.

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                   Designers Reveal Thoughts on Gameplay

Next Generation's features editor Chris Charla hosted a seminar on gameplay
at E3 this morning, with three of the industry's brightest talents debating
this subject.

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        The seminar was clearly a winner with over two hundred
        people in attendance. On the panel were Dave Perry of
        Shiny Entertainment, Peter Molyneaux of Bullfrog, and
        Steve Meretzky of Boffo Games.

        Perry described gameplay as "being all about the word
        'annoying". He explained: "It's up to the programmer to
        get rid of annoying situations which will frustrate the
        player. A good example is Descent. If you are trying to
        fly the ship through a hole which is too small, and which
        continuously snags the player, then that is frustrating.
        It's up to the programmer to help the player through."

        Molyneaux commented: "I have to tell myself over and over
        again not to make my games too hard. In fact they should
        be easy but challenging. No-one likes to lose. I've found
        that it's important for players to be able to win."

        The subject moved onto RPGs. Charla asked if graphics were
        killing the genre. Meretzky commented: "From a marketing
        point of view, that's not true. RPGs are selling better
        than ever. It's true that graphics sometimes get in the
        way, but they add to the experience on the whole. The
        thing I'm looking forward to is true speech. That will
        really make the difference."

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                      Mario 64: Editor's Impressions

Christian Svensson tells you his thoughts regarding Nintendo's blockbuster
game.

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        Sitting down at the game the very first thing the player
        notices is the shear beauty of it. The real-time
        anti-aliasing makes everything perfectly smooth, from the
        textures to the backgrounds.

        The control of the game is absolutely perfect. The camera
        swings around you dynamcially as you move. Mario is
        capable of throwing punches, jumping, sliding, climbing
        and many other actions. Being able to go anywhere in
        Mario's 3D world is truly a joy. The enemies are varied
        and interesting, and most you will recognize from Mario
        games of old.

        While there is no FMV (as you would expect on a cart), the
        cut scenes are done using the graphics engine and once
        again, the as the camera gets very close to the characters
        the 3D models are still nearly flawless. Be sure to check
        out the Mario 64 shots and movie in one of our later
        stories.

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                        Sierra Enters Console World

Long time PC gaming innovator, Sierra today was showing the PlayStation
version of their smash PC racing game, Nascar Racing.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Nascar from Papyrus marks Sierra's entrance to the next
        generation console market. Sierra will be making an
        announcement regarding their new move and other titles
        early tommorow morning. In the mean time, Next Generation
        Online has taken footage and screen shots of their first
        PlayStation title, Nascar.

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                      Playmates Has Strong E3 Showing

Numerous titles for most major consoles and the PC make Playmates future
look bright.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

 Playmates leap into the PC world, in addition to its
 strong console titles, make it one company to watch.

 Showcased at their booth was a first person perspective
 game called Powerslave. The game has a fantasy like
 premise where the character can cast lot of powerful
 spells.

 VMX Racing is a fully 3D motocross game designed by an
 actual motocross racer. While still pre-alpha, the game is
 incredibly fast and smooth, while control is spot on. All
 elements of the game are of polygonal construct, and
 nearly every surface is nicely texturemapped. Lastly, you
 have the ability to drop cameras in various locations so
 as to get better replays. Look for this to appear later
 this year.

 In the adventure genre, Playmates has the license to the
 animated series Duckman. In this game you play the role of
 USA Network's wise-cracking drake, in an effort to make
 sense of his life. All of the series' characters are in
 the game for you to interact with.

 Burning Road could very easily turn out to be the best
 driving game on the PlayStation this fall. Stunning
 visuals and fun gameplay earmark this game as one to keep
 an eye on. The game also supports a link-up option for two
 player action.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Subj:   Sega announces first-ever cross-platform launch for Sonic The Hedgehog;Sonic sl
Date:   96-05-16 14:49:26 EDT

      LOS ANGELES--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--May 16, 1996--In the flash of
a blue streak, Sega of America Thursday announced its massive
cross-platform launch of four new Sonic The Hedgehog titles for Sega
Saturn, Genesis, PICO and Game Gear.
          Later this year, Sega's most popular icon will make his
much-anticipated 3D debut on Sega Saturn, return to Genesis in 3D
and make his first appearance on Sega's early learning aid, Pico.
Sega Entertainment Inc. will also deliver Sonic to PC users this
fall.
          "Sonic's cross-platform launch is a major milestone for Sega,
unifying our television consoles with the character that started the
gaming revolution.  And now, Sonic's at it again.  Each Sonic title
will embody new and varying story lines, gameplay dynamics and
worlds to explore," said Tom Kalinske, president and CEO of Sega of
America.
          Sonic made his debut on the Sega Genesis in 1991, bringing in a
revolution in 16-bit gaming in terms of graphics and gameplay
dynamics.  Sonic's instant conquest led to the development of
several other Sonic games to expand the popular character into a
series.
          "Sonic the Hedgehog 2" rose to and remains Sega's top-selling
Genesis title of all time, selling more than 5 million copies
worldwide.  More than 15 million Sonic titles have been sold
worldwide since 1991.
          Sega introduced a new move with the game, the "spindash," a
power up with which players could activate Sonic's fast travel
throughout the game.
          "The `spindash,' along with Sonic's attitude, brought a whole
new play dynamic to gaming," Kalinske continued.
          "With each generation of Sonic games, we introduced
revolutionary gaming elements.  For instance, with the original
`Sonic The Hedgehog,' the `speed' barrier was first broken.  With
`Sonic & Knuckles' there was the lock-on technology, where players
could lock-on other Sonic games for added fun with Knuckles.
          "And now, with this year's Sonic on the Sega Saturn and Genesis,
Sonic moves from a 2D environment to an exciting 3D world," added
Kalinske.
          When Sonic "spindashed" his way to the public, a revolution
started in 16-bit gaming.  The Sonic phenomena opened up the gaming
world to the masses, and Sega rose past Nintendo to be the leader in
the interactive entertainment industry.
          Based on an independent popularity poll, Sonic the Hedgehog ranked
at the top of the awareness chart with super-athlete Michael Jordan
according to teenage boys.
          Each new version in this year's Sonic line-up will embrace the
spirit and hallmark elements of the original Sonic series which made
it a favorite among game players.  These qualities include:  speed,
great graphics, tight game control and fun gameplay.
      "Sonic X-Treme" for Sega Saturn
          Sega Saturn's tremendous processing muscle and 3D graphics
capabilities will have players spindashing across the floor, the
walls and the ceiling in full 360-degree freedom of movement.
Possessing the ability to defy gravity as his world continually
rotates, Sonic must help the last of the legendary Ringsmiths
against the diabolic Dr. Robotnik.
          Tapping the three 32-bit processors power of Sega Saturn, Sega
has created a true 3D environment for Sonic by using a combination
of rendered and texture-mapped polygons and sprites.
      "Sonic Blast:  The Ultimate 3D Adventure" for Sega Genesis and
Genesis Nomad
          Pushing the Genesis to new extremes, Sonic comes home to his
original platform in a whole new 3D world.  With fully rendered
sprites and polygons, Sonic's 2D world is opened to the
possibilities of 3D excitement and SGI-rendered environments and
characters.
          Follow Sonic as he journeys to seven new amazing zones, each
complete with two acts and a challenging boss.  Final bosses and
game endings vary depending on how successfully the player guides
Sonic in his quest to rescue the animals of South Island from the
evil Dr. Robotnik.
      "Sonic Blast" for Game Gear
          Home players won't be the only ones enjoying a new Sonic game
this year.  The first 2D computer graphics-rendered game for the
Game Gear, "Sonic Blast" promises to be eight megs of fun for the
gamer on the go!
      "Sonic the Hedgehog's GameWorld" for Pico
          Sonic also makes his debut on Pico, one of the nation's
best-selling electronic learning aids.  Now learning with Sonic can
be just as fun!
          Each book page contains a different attraction in a fun-house
where up to two players can match skill and dexterity against the
evil Dr. Robotnik.  With the help of Sonic and Tails, children
develop hand-eye coordination while having fun as they play games
such as Skeeball, Hoops, Concentration, Robotnik-Bash and many more.
      "Sonic Schoolhouse" for PC
          Sega Entertainment, the PC company dedicated to bringing Sega
characters to the PC in traditional gaming and edutainment titles,
will bring Sonic to the home school room in "Sonic Schoolhouse."
Using rendered 3D realtime graphics in first-person perspective,
kids ages 5-9 can learn to solve math and reading problems with
their buddy Sonic.
          Set in a classroom-style environment, kids who successfully
answer the problems earn recess and field trip time where they have
the opportunity to unwind with "outside" activities and learn
additional fun facts.  Difficulty settings range from kindergarten
to fourth-grade skill levels.
          The Sega CD version of "Sonic CD" will also make its way to the
PC.  Now that the PC has become more pervasive in homes and has
grown as a viable interactive entertainment medium, Sonic will be
introduced to a whole new audience.  Sonic isn't just for the
dedicated home platform owner anymore.  "Sonic CD" on PC will be
available in August.

Sonic -- Through the Years
          Other Sonic titles currently available for the Genesis include:
"Sonic the Hedgehog," "Sonic the Hedgehog 2," "Sonic the Hedgehog
3," "Sonic and Knuckles" and "Sonic Spinball."  Game Gear titles
include:  "Sonic the Hedgehog," "Sonic the Hedgehog 2," "Sonic
Spinball," "Sonic Triple Trouble" and "Sonic Chaos."  Sega CD titles
include:  "Sonic CD" and the music CD, "Sonic Boom."
          Sega of America is the arm of Tokyo-based Sega Enterprises Ltd.
responsible for the development, marketing and distribution of Sega
videogame systems and videogames in the Americas.
          Sega Enterprises Ltd. is a nearly $3.5 billion company
recognized as the industry leader in interactive digital
entertainment media, and is the only company that offers interactive
entertainment experiences both inside and outside the home.  Sega of
America's World Wide Web site is located at http://www.sega.com
-0-
Subj:   Namco Announces Industry's Strongest Playstation Line-Up For 1996
Date:   96-05-16 10:04:37 EDT

   Tekken 2, Ridge Racer Revolution and Soul Edge Top List of Namco's
                                Releases
          LOS ANGELES, May 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Namco Hometek Inc., the leading
third party publisher for next generation video game systems, announced
their plans to release Tekken 2, Ridge Racer Revolution, Soul Edge and
the first two volumes of Namco's Museum classics for Sony's PlayStation
game console.  In 1995, Namco contributed to Sony's astounding success
with 2 of the top 5 and 3 of the top 10 top selling PlayStation games of
the year.
          "We are confident that the PlayStation will be even more successful
in 1996, and proud to deliver games that will help drive that success,"
states Yoshi Homma, Namco Hometek's President and CEO.  "Our second
generation of PlayStation development pushes the boundaries of the
hardware even further."
          Fans of Tekken have been anxiously awaiting the release of the
sequel, Tekken 2, the game Dimension Publishing calls "The best fighting
game ever."  Tekken was the #1 selling PlayStation title in the world in
1995 with sales exceeding one million units.  Recently released in
Japan, Tekken 2 sold over 400,000 units the first day of sale.  Tekken
2, which will be released in September, has many improvements over the
original Tekken and even its System 11 arcade predecessor.  Tekken 2
boasts 23 playable characters, new multiple ten hit combos and new modes
of play such as a battle mode and the innovative practice mode.
          "The pioneer race sim for the PlayStation is back, bigger and
better," claims Intelligent Gamer Magazine.  Namco plans to release
Ridge Racer Revolution, the sequel to the best known racing game in the
world, in September.  Ridge Racer Revolution offers a host of new
features and options including a two-player link option.
          Soul Edge, heralded by Next Generation Magazine as "Possibly the
most complete fighting game to date," is an incredible 3D, weapons based
fighting game.  Currently one of the most popular titles in the arcades,
Soul Edge was voted by Game Players Magazine as best Game of Show at
AMOA.  Namco plans to release Soul Edge in the 4th quarter.
          Namco's Museum brings all the favorite original arcade classics
right to the home.  Namco will release five volumes of classics, the
first two in the 3rd and 4th quarters of 1996.  Museum Volume I contains
Pac-Man, Galaga, Pole Position, Bosconian, Rally X, New Rally X, and Toy
Pop while Museum Volume II will feature Xevious, Mappy, Gaplus, Dragon
Buster, Grobda, and Super Pac.  "Of all the classic packages out right
now, this is the one to get if you own a PlayStation," states Electronic
Gaming Monthly.
          Namco Hometek, Inc. is the U.S. consumer division of Namco Limited,
the Tokyo based entertainment company that specializes in creating
"ultimate entertainment" using the most advanced electronics and
technology available to create a total sensory and emotional experience.
Namco is the leading third party publisher for the 32-bit market and is
the creator of the world's two top-selling titles for Sony's PlayStation
game console.
      CO:  Namco Hometek Inc.
      ST:  California
      IN:  CPR
      SU:  PDT

                         Sega Answers Sony's Drop

Sega has responded in characteristically pragmatic fashion.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        As predicted by Next Generation Online, late last night,
        Sega announced that they would match PlayStation's price
        of $199.99 for the Saturn.

        The change is effective immediately. Clearly the moves by
        both Sony and Sega can only help to push more systems into
        American homes this year. Furthermore, the Nintendo 64,
        having been touted originally as having the price point
        advantage, has suddenly become the most expensive console.
        Nintendo is going to have to market themselves carefully
        to compete successfully this fall.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------------------------------------------------------


                 Segasoft: A New Outfit Sets Out Its Stall

Since Segasoft was launched two months ago, the company (which staunchly
defends its operational independence) has been preparing to introduce
itself to the world. Colin Campbell spoke with Segasoft's Joe Miller.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        The first subject was Segasoft's relationship with Sega,
        which has been a matter of some controversy. Then we moved
        onto product strategy and the company's active role in
        online gaming.

        Next Generation Online: What is the message you are
        delivering here at E3?

        Joe Miller: "It's really the same message we wanted to
        deliver to you last time. Frankly I saw the story that you
        showed, that seemed to scoop the notion that Segasoft was
        an independent company. I need to re-enforce to you the
        reality of the fact that Segasoft is an independent
        company with a pure focus on content as opposed to
        platforms."

        NGO: That may be relevant to the way you operate but the
        financial reality is that you are owned by Sega and by the
        company that owns Sega.

        JM: "In terms of existing equity flow you are right. 40
        per cent is Sega, 40 per cent is CSK and 20 per cent is in
        the hands of employees. There are other partners both
        strategic and in the process of coming in that will also
        be equity partners in Segasoft. The fact is we have a
        vision to create a new entity that is focused on a new
        form of content that, frankly, will have a big impact down
        the road and will change the way people think about
        interactive entertainment later on. It's not a
        hardware-platform specific focus. The fact that CSK
        happens to have a relationship doesn't affect the fact
        that Segasoft is operating as an independent organization.
        We are designed as an entrepreneurial organization and
        we're designed to run fast because you have to in this
        business."

        NGO: What else are you trying to say to the industry here?

        JM: We're just trying to introduce ourselves. You know,
        we're sixty days old. We are showing a couple of our
        products. Three Dirty Dwarves and Sacred Pool. Frankly
        this is not the place where we come out with a line of
        products which are designed to change the old model such
        as we were talking about. The investment that we made in
        Mpath is piece to a puzzle that we'll be explaining later
        on in the year. We will be demonstrating what we mean when
        we say we are creating an online community. It's five
        degrees off the path of what other folks are doing. We're
        here primarily to get started. We've see a lot of sameness
        and staleness in the existing categories. Segasoft is
        structured and designed to take some product risks. There
        will be fewer products from Segasoft than you've seen from
        the other organization (Sega's original software
        development house). We're going to focus on fewer things
        which represent something very specific to the consumer.
        So expect to see a dozen titles from Segasoft next year.
        Some of what we are going to do will be pretty unusual
        certainly in comparison to existing games and genres. We
        want to show it to you when it's a reality. In this
        business talk is cheap so our strategy is to show things
        which are a reality.

        NGO: I assume your future strategy will embrace the
        Internet?

        JM. "That's correct. There are ways in which this be
        achieved. Through careful design that takes advantage of
        what can be done effectively on the Internet. Many in the
        online community are saying 'gee, what does it take to
        bring Doom to the Internet or Command and Conquer'. But
        that's not the question that they should be asking. Those
        games weren't designed to be taken onto the Internet
        initially. There are technology problems associated in
        trying to do that in a truly scalable and effective way.
        Our challenge is first of all to lay the pipes and create
        more reliable pipes. I'm not a believer in waiting for
        bigger pipes and higher bandwidth because while those are
        always attractive...what is a problem is having something
        that's reliable and truly scalable. The relationship that
        we have with Mpath is another piece to the puzzle and it's
        a foundation layer for creating a community for some of
        the experiences of interactive design. We are talking
        about some experiences that are designed to always work
        and always work reliably. Where it's not a hit or miss
        proposition. They will be designed on the realities of the
        Internet.

        "There's been a lot of research done on where the real
        technological problems are. There's been some serious work
        done. Mpath's actually working hard on real technology
        solutions but it's been doing this quietly. The Mpath
        approach is completely different from what everyone else
        is doing. Part of our job is now to help the press
        understand the real problems and the solutions.

        "We're going to move very fast to deploy content on the
        Internet but it won't represent a big chunk of the revenue
        pie. We recognize the limitations for the next several
        years that the best way to get content into the consumers'
        hands is on CD, primarily through a retail route. Even if
        it's an experience that's largely delivered on audio we'll
        still deliver that on CD.

        "The consumer is being asked once to pay for that content
        and I don't want to ask them to pay again for the right to
        experience it on the Net. We're going to create a
        framework and the community that allows them to do that.
        It's tough enough for someone to pay to get on the Net.
        We're not going to ask them to pay yet again for what they
        just bought at retail. The product will exist on the shelf
        and it will have some very specific added value when you
        get on the Net. Specifically when you get on the Segasoft
        infrastructure there will be no additional cost. We expect
        to take an active role in helping to redefine how the Net
        can be used to deliver an entertainment experience that
        can be enjoyed by large numbers of simultaneous players.

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---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                     Panasonic Describes Life in Flux

Panasonic Interactive is in a state of change. From 3DO publisher to
multi-platform publisher to hardware manufacturer in waiting. Next
Generation Online interviewed vice president Bill Gardner...

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        What are you trying to say at this show?

        "Panasonic Interactive is a multi-platform publisher. We
        do more things than just 3DO. We started out supporting
        3DO but it was difficult with that level of hardware
        installation. If you've got a million dollar title you're
        not going to do it with an installed base of 30,000 which
        at that time was all we had.

        "So it took a while for us to develop the products for
        other platforms. As far back as the Comdex show (January)
        we didn't really have a PC or Mac game to show. As we
        started into the PC and Mac business we found that the
        distribution channels were very different and the
        marketing was very different so we had to entrench. It was
        all to do with the marking, not the software. We had to
        deal with a new set of consumers and a new set of buyers.

        "Now we've learned the marketing tricks and we're learning
        the penetration tricks. The buyers are different, the
        marketing programs are different, the margins are
        different . Everything is different. This is the first
        time we've been able to sit down with the trade and show
        our products."

        What are you doing on the Internet?                 [Image]

        We're working with a company right now but unfortunately I
        don't have a contract yet so I can't say too much. But it
        will enable players to link together notebooks and play
        interactive games with each other. Obviously that will
        transfer right over to the Internet. So for a number of
        games we are looking in that direction. But I have to say
        that none of us have seen a really true Internet game
        here. I don't see it happening over the next year. As a
        company we are very interested in technology. It's one of
        those things where our gut reaction is that someone
        somewhere is in a garage who will really make this happen
        and that will be the direction that everyone will take. I
        haven't seen it yet. Will it happen in the next year? If
        it doesn't require a hardware breakthrough to accomplish
        it than it's possible but if there is hardware involved,
        well, I don't see the hardware.

        "The phone lines are there . On a 28.8K modem it's
        possible. You can get a feel for realtime interaction.
        Whether that can be applied to a Street Fighter or Mortal
        Kombat, I don't know but you can get some sort of
        interactive gaming. Whether that means I, as a gamer, can
        throw a punch and you 3,000 miles away will get hit, I
        don't know.

        Will half-baked solutions damage the credibility of the
        market?

        "Absolutely. And I back that by giving you an example of
        when an industry has tried to force-feed technology to the
        consumer. Look at pen-recognition systems. The industry
        tried to force-feed them to the market when the technology
        wasn't ready and it immediately got a bad name. If we
        force the consumer it will be a big turn-off."

        Finally, I have to ask about M2?

        "I'll give you the prepared answer to that. We are in the
        process of finalizing all the pieces. We want this to be
        the absolute best. It's got to have the best performance
        and the best games. It's got to rise above the
        competition. But to achieve that we need to have more than
        just the tools available to do it. We've got to have a
        very clear vision of what this product is and what
        software will be surrounding it. The investment is there,
        the technology is there but all that takes time."

        Launch date in the US?

        Japan have not announced a US launchdate but they have
        targeted the last quarter of this year for launch over
        there."

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---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                   Id Interview: Quake Awaits to Thrill

Id Software is preparing to launch Quake onto a world which is completely
wild about its products. Next Generation online spoke with ebullient
marketing chief Jay Wilbur...

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        What is the message from Id this year, as if we didn't
        know?

        "I'm not sure what the message is. What we have is the
        next generation of technology and gameplay (in Quake).
        We've taken everything that is really cool about Doom and
        multiplied it a hundred times or even a thousand times.
        It's really difficult to try and explain when the game
        speaks for itself. It's one of those things. In interviews
        I have tried to explain it in words and then just said
        'hell, let's just play it'. That's when people start
        drooling and saying that the game is completely awesome.
        Quake really is next generation. The generational
        advancement is immense."

                Do you ever worry that all the me-too Doom games
                will create a swamp into which the genre will sink?

        "The cream will rise and the crap will sink. That's the
        way it's always going to be. A lot of people have been
        able to figure out the technology which is not that
        difficult once somebody has paved the way. Not a lot of
        people have figured out how to make it fun. That's where
        they are failing."

        What have you seen here in this genre that worries you?

        "We're gameplayers first and foremost. We love games. But
        as far as what worries me in this genre it's always going
        to be a matter of someone making poor derivative product."

        Will Quake be leading the online gaming revolution?

        "Yes. This will be the first game where you really will be
        able to do it. You're in California. I'm in New York and
        we'll hook up with a couple of guys in London and Tokyo."

        But many people are deeply skeptical about the Internet as
        a gaming platform.

        "We'll prove them wrong. Okay, there are still problems.
        In scenarios where you are playing people from the other
        side of the world, they may feel some dissatisfaction at
        slow-down and won't have a very good play. But many people
        will be playing eight player network games. We're testing
        the games at the studio, and I'll be working on something
        with another player and the next thing we know a bunch of
        other guys show up and start blasting us away. It's really
        working.

        "You're going to see games acting more like the real world
        and you'll be able to interact with the environment. Some
        guy will leave a door open, and it will still be open when
        the next person shows up. I love that kind of stuff."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                       Psygnosis Announces PC Lineup

After leaving the Sony fold, Psygnosis has expanded its multi-platform
plans. Here's how the PC figures into them.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        With their meteoric revival in the console market in the
        last two years, Psygnosis plans to expand their success on
        the PC by expanding their existing plans to include more
        titles.

        Having previously announced Destruction Derby 2, Ecstatica
        2, The City of Lost Children and Discworld 2: Missing
        Presumed, Psygnosis has just announced that they would be
        bringing Athanor, the Fallen, Sentient and The Island of
        Doctor Moreau to the platform.

        Most of these titles are expected by the end of the year.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                  Virgin Announces Sequels and New Titles

From Command & Conquer: Red Alert to the Bitmap Bros. new strategy title,
Z, Virgin has a lot in store for 1996.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Westwood Studio's number one hit, Command & Conquer has a
        followup with C&C: Red Alert. The game boasts better AI,
        new units, improved unit control, expanded multi-play (up
        to six players), skirmish mode, bigger maps and a terrain
        editor.

        In other Command & Conquer news, Westwood will be bringing
        Command & Conquer to other platforms. Macintosh, Saturn
        and Windows 95 will have C&C this September while the
        PlayStation will have it some time in 1997.

        Heart of Darkness, last year's E3 Game of Show, is being
        readied for PC release.

        Z, a real-time strategy game from the Bitmap Brothers,
        looks to be very much like a C&C clone however the
        strategies involved in successfully playing it are quite
        different. The game presently runs in standard VGA but is
        still quite fun to play. Virgin is expecting it to hit
        shelves by October.

        Other titles featured at Virgin's booth include:

        * Nanotek Warriors - PlayStation
        * Lands of Lore Guardians of Destiny
        * NHL PowerPlay Hockey - PlayStation, Saturn, Windows 95
        * F1 Challenge - Saturn
        * Grid Runner - PlayStation, Saturn, PC
        * Galactic Mirage - PC
        * Circle of Blood - Mac, Windows 95
        * Black Dawn - PlayStation
        * Scorched Planet - Windows 95
        * Caddy Hack - PC
        * Screamer 2 - PC
        * Hyper 3D Pinball - Saturn

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

             Williams Pushes Arcade at Home Sloganeadline Text

Williams, using its arcade titles as a selling point for home systems, has
shown several promising conversions.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Williams is utilizing their Mortal Kombat series for all
        it is worth (and then some). To this end they have
        officially announced their plans for future MK titles.

        Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 will be appearing on Saturn,
        Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis. Mortal Kombat Trilogy,
        which combines MK, MKII, MKIII, and UMKIII all in one
        game, will be showing up on the PlayStation late this
        year.

        Mortal Kombat 64 will most obviously be appearing on the
        Nintendo 64 and is rumored to be almost an entirely new
        game.

        RobotronX is also one of Williams prize titles promising a
        home appearance on PlayStation, PC and Nintendo 64. While
        there was some concern about gameplay in our feedback a
        few weeks ago, the classic frantic gamplay of the original
        Robotron is very much intact.

        Williams was also showing Gretzy Hockey 64. It is rumored
        that there presently five titles from Williams in
        development for Nintendo 64 including: RobotronX, MK 64,
        War Gods, Wayne Gretsky Hockey and one title that is not
        public yet.

        War Gods arcade game featured prominently at Williams
        booth as well, with six of the stand-ups staying packed
        most of the time.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                        Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II

The force returns with Lucas Arts' sequel to Dark Forces. Next Generation
Online got a chance to play the first playable version of this title.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        The most noticable change to the game is the new 3-D
        engine. Floors and ceilings no longer warp when looked at
        and the textures are more detailed then ever. The building
        architecture seen in this early version seemed to have a
        more ethnic look a la Roman Empire.

        Other new enhancements to the game include light sourcing
        and true 3-D objects. An example of the new light sourcing
        effects is when the player shoots his blaster into the
        shadows, the darkness becomes illuminated. An example of
        the true 3-D objects is the Imperial Scout Walker NGOnline
        encountered. This fully articulated Scout Walker can be
        viewed from any angle and won't look 2-D like the
        bitmapped objects found in Doom.

        Finally, Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II will support networks
        and modems for deathmatches and co-op play. Jedi Knight is
        twenty five percent complete and is scheduled for a first
        quarter of '97 release.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                       Lucas Makes Its Console Move

LucasArts has made the move from pure PC publisher to possible console
king. We spoke with product marketing manager Tom Byron...

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        "We are going into the console market where we haven't
        been before directly. Before, we've gone via companies on
        the console side such as JVC.

        "We've always gone wherever the technology takes us. No
        doubt there were logistical reasons as well why we didn't
        cover consoles, but at the time it was better from a
        business standpoint to do it the way we did. Now the
        technology is there to do PC-like games on the consoles.
        From a pure development standpoint it's come of age.

        "We are content providers first and we are not going to
        ignore a platform if we can deliver quality of gameplay.
        As far as preferences go, there isn't one. If we can do
        great stuff on a platform we'll gravitate there."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------------------------------------------------------


                       Sonic Gets the AM2 Treatment

Sega's mascot steps into the ring and comes out fighting.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        During the preconception of Fighting Vipers, AM2 toyed
        around by puting a polygonal Sonic into the beta version.
        Sonic was apparently so much fun to play, that AM2 decided
        to make a whole new game based on Sonic and his
        counterparts. Sega unveiled Sonic the Fighters and Next
        Generation Online was there for a hands on test.

        Sonic the Fighters has eight characters to choose from,
        including Tails and Knuckles. The game features an
        enclosed ring system in a variety of exotic locations
        ranging from a ring in the sky, to a ring on an airplane.
        Sonic has many moves available to pummel opponents. Some
        of these attacks include his famous spin attack, a two
        hand slap, and an off the top rope attack. The gameplay is
        a cross between Virtua Fighter and Fighting Vipers.

        Sonic the Fighters, which runs on the Model 2 board, will
        be released in arcades this summer. A Saturn version has
        not yet been announced.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                              Acclaim Roundup

Acclaim's booth occupied the same prominent location that it did last year
at the main entrance to the south hall of the convention center. Here's a
run down of what they had to offer.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Acclaim's booth was teaming with people nearly all three
        days. Most prominently featured at the booth was NBA Jam
        Extreme, its latest coin-op. To promote the title, Acclaim
        resorted to its sucessful, "sex sells" tactic by having
        several scantily clad cheerleaders parade about the booth,
        and provide photo opportunities for attendees. The game
        itself is basically NBA Jam in 3D and provides the
        similarly fast action that made the prior titles in the
        series so popular.

        Playing upon a massive 40" monitor, the Turok:Dinosaur
        Hunter area was often packed with onlookers. The game
        itself boasts a graphically stunning environment and
        astounding special effects and explosions. After looking
        closely at the game it is obvious that the poor quality of
        screenshots NGOnline has been receiving is due largely to
        the anti-aliasing that is in the game. On a television the
        details of the anti-aliasing aren't apparent, however on a
        monitor that has a much higher resolution, the effects
        become very obvious. In the game there are a number of
        weapons and beautifully animated enemies. In the short
        time we played the game, it seemed the control still needs
        a little tweaking, but Acclaim looks like it is well on
        the way of sucessfully following its Alien Trilogy
        success.

        Space Jam incorporates Michael Jordan and the cartoon
        characters of Warner Brothers such as Bugs Bunny, Taz,
        Daffy Duck and others. Essentially the game is a wacky NBA
        Jam clone.

        Quarterback Club 97 is looking and playing much better
        than its 96 incarnation.

        Iron Man/X-O Manowar is a new 3D rendered, side scrolling
        fighter from Acclaim utilizing the character license from
        Marvel Comics. The game is still early, but looks
        promising.

        Riding the card gaming phenomenon, Acclaim has gotten its
        hands on the Magic: the Gathering license. Their version
        of the game is a real-time strategy game that offers
        over-the-network dueling.

        Iron & Blood: the Warriors of Ravenloft (previously just
        Iron Blood), as previewed on NGOnline last week, was also
        shown at a number of kiosks. The title from Take 2 is
        pushing nearly 225,000 polygons per second.

        Other titles shown include, Batman Forever the arade game,
        Bust-A-Move 2, Night of the Monsters, Battle Monsters,
        Dragonheart (a 2D side-scroller), Bubble Bobble, The Crow:
        City of Angels, Killing Time, Killing Zone, Virtual Open
        Tennis, and Striker 96'.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                Viacom New Media Sports a Diverse E3 Lineup

Aeon Flux, Snow Crash, Deathdrome, The Divide, Enemy Nations and Joe's
Apartment were the major attractions at Viacom's booth.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

           * Aeon Flux is the futuristic 3D shooting game for
             PlayStation and PC based upon the popular and surreal
             MTV program.

           * MTV's Slamscape is a game for PC and PlayStation that
             comines music and action by putting players inside an
             interactive soundtrack. Due out Q4 '96.

           * Snow Crash is a 3D action game for PC based on Neal
             Stephenson's cyber-novel. Due out Q4 '96.

           * Deathdrome is a driving combat game for the PC and
             PlayStation. Due out Q4 '96.

           * Joe's Apartment is a humorous game based on the
             series of shorts on MTV and the upcoming Geffen
             Pictures movie. The game allows a player to command a
             hoarde of roaches in this off-beat strategy game. Due
             out Q4 '96.

           * The Divide: Enemies Within is a huge 3D
             action/adventure game with supposedly impressive AI.
             Due out: Q4 '96.

        Said Michele DiLorenzo, president of Viacom "We're adding
        a strong line of original titles to our already
        established branded product lines and have expanded the
        range of outstanding creative and technical organizations
        with which we're working".

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

          Electronic Arts Showcases Sports and Multiplayer Games

The publishing giant of San Mateo was showing several new titles that it
plans to release later this year and next.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Triple Play '97 for the PlayStation and PC makes use of
        EA's newly acquired MLB license. All stadiums are 3D
        rendered and players will have what EA claims are the most
        up to date stats of any other baseball game. The game also
        includes a muliplayer mode that allows for up to 8 players
        to partcipate simultaneously.

        Andretti Racing '97 is both a stock car and Indy car
        racing game that offers head to head action. It features
        16 different courses, 3 camera angles, network and split
        screen modes.

        PGA Tour '97 is the latest in EA's running series of golf
        titles. New on-screen aids allow players to custom
        configure their viewing window and better AI allows the
        game to measure the difficulty of player's shots based
        upon real life situations.

        Both FIFA '96 and NBA Live '96 were also shown at EA's
        booth. Jane's Combat Simulations series had two new
        offerings; the incredible Jane's AH-64D Longbow helicopter
        simulation and Jane's Advanced Tactical Fighters.

        Bullfrog, a subsidiary of EA was showing Dungeon Keeper,
        the role reversing, multiplayer RPG/Strategy game. Look
        for a playable demo of this hot title on NGOnline next
        week.

        Soviet Strike was EA's 32-bit return to its legendary
        Strike series. SS is one of the most impressive
        PlayStation games shown at the show. It is also coming out
        for Saturn.

        Road Rash for Windows 95 featured prominently with a
        series of real motorcycle kiosks.

        Origin's new Ultima Online had a series of machines setup
        so that attendees could join in the internet RPG. It is
        currently available for both PC and Power Macintosh.

        The last featured title was Privateer: The Darkening which
        is a follow-up to their original space adventure. There
        are more than twenty ships and the ability to choose
        whether you are in the mood to be a trader, a scout, a
        bounty hunter, courrier or recon agent.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

   Nintendo 64: The Final Word, Sega's Nights A Surefire Hit, and Spider
                                 Surprises

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                          IG at E3 - May 15, 1996
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

by Andrew Blum and David Rubin

Perhaps the biggest news from the media day at E3 took place 10 minutes
away from the Los Angeles Convention Center. Nintendo reassured everyone
that the Nintendo 64 would launch on September 30, and set mind boggling
records with sales. Priced at $249.99, the unit comes with one controller
and no game. If you want to get your hands on Mario 64, its going to cost
you another 69.95. Regular retail prices will be somewhere in the area of
49.95-79.95 for the games, 29.95 for the controllers, and 9.95 for the
memory packs.

   Onto the games. Mario 64 is pretty incredible to say the least. What was
   shown to the press was the actual cartridge, not just a video. Changing
camera views from distant to extreme closeup, incredible animation,
excellent sound effects, and lots of action among other things make this
Mario game more extravagent and technologically advances than any other.
We'll be sure to actually play the game tomorrow, but for now, IG feels
that this game has the potential to be phenomenal.

The second game shown, Shadows of the Empire while showcasing some of the
finer points of the Nintendo 64's 3D ability, disappointed IG staffers. The
only playable level shown, the snowspeeder level, has an overall lack of
speed, although the framerate is decent and there isn't much popup. Things
seemed to drag on. However the Dark Forces style segments shown on video
were impressive considering they were cartridge based.

Third on the list was Pilotwings 64. As per our story in the second
issue of Intelligent Gamer's FUSION, Pilotwings 64 left most people in
the room awestruck. The amount of realism in the backgrounds and overall
3-D look of the game needs to be seen in motion to be believed. Splashes in
the water look photo-realistic. Other nice touches include the "human
cannonball" bonus game and the free-flying "birdman" level.

Other games shown on video included Starfox 64, a next-generation version
of the SNES hit with new tank levels, Crusin USA, a seemingly arcade
perfect translation, Mario Kart-R, with 4 player simultaneous play, and
horizontal and vertical splitscreen 2-player modes, KI 64, Kirby's Air
Ride, GoldenEye 007, and Turok, which were to early to pass judgement. 8
games will be playable on the show floor tomorrow.

As for the 64DD, Howard Lincoln announced that this peripheral will be
shown at Shoshinkai in Tokyo later this year, to be unveiled in the United
States in 1997.

Other Nintendo News included Donkey Kong Country 3, starring Baby Kong,
which Lincoln stated will outdo every other DKC game on the market, as well
as the pocket gameboy, 35% smaller than the current gameboy, yet costs 10
dollars more, with an MSRP of 59.95. It does have a higher resolution
screen though.

Back to the media event at the convention center. The hottest game shown to
the media today was Sega's Nights. The screenshots speak for themselves.
The 3-D environment is an entirely new revelation in Saturn gaming. It also
utilizes the new Sega Analog joystick for Saturn, pictured to the right.
utilizes the new Sega Analog joystick for Saturn, pictured to the right.
Although it looks like a Jaguar Controller, it is actually a bit
smaller, and it fits perfectly in your hands, with a well placed analog
pad just above the regular pad. Pictures available: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

Also from Sega was the Net Link, an Internet Console for your Saturn.
Priced at $199, you get a 28.8 modem complete with Internet software
allowing you to browse the web, play games modem to modem, and send and
receive email. Sega is also reportedly tweaking the browser so that the
text on web pages comes out as clear as if it were on a high-res monitor.
This net modem could be the $500 (actually 450) TV top internet box we've
heard so much about.

   Boss Game Studios' Spider, was a close second to Sega's Nights, coming a
   long way from our first look, featuring four playable areas. Gameplay
allows you to control the spider with several features such as hanging on a
web and climbing up walls. The graphics and animation are very nicely
done.1, 2, 3.

Tomorrow, we'll cruise the floor and provide a general overview of what is
hot at this year's E3. Full Sega, Sony, and Nintendo 64 reports will follow
as gathered. Watch for the first update tomorrow afternoon!
  Sony PlayStation Now $199, Psygnosis Hits with 2 New Wipeouts, Williams
                     Readies MK Trilogy, and Much More.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                        IG at E3 - Thursday 5/16/96
---------------------------------------------------------------------------


10:15 AM, Sony added a "Press Conference" slip to their press kit. It was
this time that Sony announced a big price drop, effective immediately,
reducing the price of the PlayStation to $199, making Sony priced lower
than Sega, as well as Nintendo's targeted $249.95. Likewise, there has been
no mention yet of a Sega price drop.

In other news, Psygnosis was prepared for E3 with Wipeout XL for
PlayStation. This sequel to the original hit is significantly faster than
the original with higher resolution graphics to complement. Also shown by
Psygnosis was VFX Wipeout, running on a PC using new 3DFX technology. This
version runs at a full 640 x 480, 30fps. However it is worth noting that
this was running on a Pentium 166 high end system.

Other titles shown by Psygnosis on the show floor include F1, previewed in
Intelligent Gamer's FUSION #3, complete with great graphics and sound
effects, Tenka, a doom-style shooter with hi-res graphics, The Adventures
of Lomas in Lemming World, a 2-D side scrolling shooter reminiscent of
Rayman, and Adidas Power Soccer.

Next stop was Capcom, who was showcasing Street Fighter Alpha 2, adding new
characters and backgrounds to the Street Fighter engine. Also shown was
Star Gladiators, Capcom's 3-D fighter. Unlike Tekken, the actual hardware
running in the Star Gladiators arcade machine is 100% PlayStation, so the
port will be easy. This game looked nice for a PlayStation game, but was
questionable as an arcade game, as it was a tad bit on the slow side. Major
Damage is a new twist on the 2-D action genre, with multi-plane fighting
and lots ofa action. Buster Brothers Collection is a good conversion of a 5
year old game, and Fox Hunt is FMV. Also shown (albeit early), was
Werewolf, Darkstalkers, and Night Warriors.

Namco's showed nothing really new this year's E3. The main games showed
were Tekken 2, Ridge Racer Revolution, and Namco Museum Collection. Tekken
2 was strategically placed next to its arcade counterpoint to show off how
close of a conversion it is.

JVC was showing Deadly Skies, a dogfight style plane action game, which is
a cross between simulation and action. Also shown was Impact Racing, a
Megarace style action driving shoot-em-up game. Varuna's Forces was also
there, however only as a FMV demo.

Acclaim had a nice showing this year. Some of the best games shown were NBA
Jam Extreme, an arcade 3-D version of NBA Jam, Killing Zone, a PlayStation
3-D fighter with very large graphics, Batman Forever, an arcade side
scroller similar to Batman Returns on SNES, Big Hurt Baseball, Acclaim's
Next Gen Baseball Game, and a conversion for PS of the arcade hit
Bust-A-Move 2. Other games shown in earlier form were Bubble Bobble for PS,
V Tennis, the Saturn version of WWF Wrestlemania, identical to the PS
version, Iron and Blood another 3D fighter, as well as conversions of the
3DO hits Killing Time, Battlesport and Starfighter, although Killing Time
was running on a 3DO machine. The PS version of X-Men, Children of the Atom
was surprising absent.

Top Gun : Fire At Will, from Microprose, is a fantastic new entry from the
company. The PC version, already released, is nearly identical to that of
the PlayStation, in all it's graphical glory. The game being a dog fight
simulator, has a lot to offer the player, and is sure to be a hit when it's
released. GTE's lone entry was Hard Boiled, a 3-D, first flying game
similar to Wipeout. This one has a long ways to go though. EA Sports had 6
kiosks set up, although only 4 games were playable. Madden '97 was only a
video of John Madden explaining what this game will deliver when complete.
NHL '97 showed some game footage, however what was shown was highly
unimpressive, with extremely blocky polygon graphics. However, the other
games were nice. Among NBA Live, was FIFA Soccer '97, Mario Andretti
Racing, a rather speedy NASCAR style racing game with nice graphics, and
Triple Play '96, EA's polygon based entry into the next-generation baseball
market. Last on the agenda for Thursday was Williams Entertainment, with
its barrage of soon-to-be arcade hits and home conversions. The biggest
surprise was a playable versoin of MK Trilogy with characters and
backgrounds from all previous versions of MK. This one is for PlayStation
and Nintendo 64. Also noteworthy was NBA Hangtime, very similar to NBA Jam
(but different from NBA Jam Extreme shown by Acclaim), Wayne Gretzky Hockey
for Nintendo 64, War Gods, a 3-D shooter, and Robotron X, the modern sequel
to this arcade classic, available also for PlayStation.

Welp, that wraps up this mornings romp around the floor. Check back later
tonight for some more interesting news from Los Angeles.

-Andrew Blum and Dave Rubin

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Earlier Reports:
* Wednesday May 15, 1996
   Sega Matches Sony Price, 3DO?, Atari?, Playmates Readies Burning Road,
                Crystal Dynamics' Pandemonium, and Much More

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                          IG at E3 - Friday May 17
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Walking in the doors of the convention center on Friday, we were quick to
notice Sega employees holding $199 Saturn signs. Yes, Sega has officially
lowered their price to match Sony. However, the unit will remain black,
unlike its Japanese counterpart.

In addition to the Psygnosis stuff previewed yesterday, it is worth
mentioning that Destruction Derby 2 was accidently omitted. Although early,
this one promises to deliver better control, multiple terrains, more
realistic cars, and improved Physics models, allowing more realistic
crashes.

3DO had four kiosks at the Panasonic booth, showing Lucienne's Quest, an
RPG, Two US Gold Olympic Games, and a 25% complete version of Ultimate MK3,
which if what was shown was actually game footage, will not be able to
compete with the Saturn and PS versions, as the framerate was painfully
low.

Atari was absent from the floor, although they were supposed to have a
booth.

Closing out third parties today, the first stop was Playmates. It was hard
not to notice Burning Road, Playmates answer to Saturn Daytona for PS.
Graphically the games are quite similar, with Burning Road easily getting
the nod, as the popup was less severe (it was present though), and the game
was full screen. Featuring a two player link mode, this game is sure to be
a hit when released. Other games shown by Playmates were Earthworm Jim 2, a
more colorful version of the Genesis game with CD music, Skeleton Warriors,
previewed in IGF #1, VMX Racing, a motocross dirt bike racer, and Battle
Arena Toshinden 2.

Next stop was Vic Tokai, showcasing many projects like Abuse, a side
scrolling shooter featuring 360 degrees full freedom, and Dark Rift, Vic
Tokai's entry into the 3-D genre. The most impressive game shown by Vic
Tokai was Corpse, a 3-D game similar to Resident Evil for Saturn.

EIDOS, the newly formed alliance between US Gold, Core, and Domark, was
showcasing there Olympic suite, featuring Olympic Soccer, Dream Team
Basketball, and Olympic Summer Games, the most impressive of the three,
featuring polygon based sports action. Also shown were Hulk, and Tomb
Raider, which were very early and needed work.

ASCII showcased, along with the typical suite of controllers, Kings Field
II, the sequel to Kings Field, reviewed in a previous version of IGF. We
can say it stays true to its predecessor.

Sunsoft had three games shown, Albert Gaiden, an RPG for Saturn, Kart Duel,
and Galaxy Fight, a well-animated 2-D fighter for Neo Geo CD and Saturn.

Crystal Dynamics' Pandemonium for PS was one of the best games at the show.
Featuring a rendered 3-D environment with a rotating camera, this game
featured great animation and action. Supposedly HBO Comics are being used
for the voices in the game. Also shown were Titan Wars, a 3-D space flying
game, 3-D Baseball, one of seemingly a thousand unimpressive baseball games
at the show, Blood Omen, Legacy of Kain, a dark gothic Zelda game.

Virgin annonced the future release of Command and Conquer for the Saturn
and Macintosh CD. NHL Powerplay was showcased, and as previewed in the new
issue of Intelligent Gamer was quite impressive. Like all other companies,
Virgin had Grand Slam '96, its own next generation baseball title. Spot
Goes to Hollywood was further along in development. Nanotek Warrior was a
first person flying shooter, similar in several respects to the Tempest
games. Also shown were Black Dawn, a flight sim, F1 Challenge, a Saturn F1
racer with excellent graphics similar to the old Super Monaco GP arcade
hit, Hyper 3-D Pinball, and Grid Runner, a head to head 3-D platformer.

Last for the day was Konami. Titles shown were Project Overkill, Contra,
Policenauts, a video demo of Kumite, and NFL Full Contact. Konami's main
focus seemed to be the sports titles as there were more sports titles
present than any other.

On a side note, IG would like to congratulate Next Generation's Christian
Svensson for his well deserved victory in Nintendo's Press Tetris Attack
competition.

Welp, thats all for the third parties. Be sure to check out today's Sony
and Nintendo reports.

-Andrew Blum and David Rubin
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                      Overall Nintendo 64 Fares Strong

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                          IG at E3 - Friday May 17
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

             Editors Note: Pictures Will Be Available Next Week

The Nintendo 64 was unveiled amongst several key software titles, some
unmatched on any other system to date. Showcasing 8 playable titles,
including Mario 64, KI 64, Cruisin USA, Blast Corps, Pilotwings 64, Wayne
Gretzy Hockey, Kirby Air Ball, and Shadows of the Empire.

Mario 64 was considered by many to be the best game of the show. Mr.
Miyamoto has created another masterpiece. Mario 64 plays suprising a lot
like a Zelda game, featuring many characters to talk to, tons of
exploration, simple and complex quests to complete, puzzles, and in true
Miyamoto fashion, lots of secrets. Overall, Mario's quest to save the
princess is more adventure than previous Mario-style platform games.

KI 64 contains all the characters of KI2 put on 3-D backgrounds, adding
several new moves to each character along with all the standard combos and
humiliations. At this stage, the 3D backgrounds served no real purpose and
sometimes were a nuisance, blocking battle action.

Crusin USA was not all that impressive, although it did not truly showcase
the power of the Nintendo64. It was not by any means bad, as it was an
almost perfect port of the arcade game, which was not all that impressive
to begin with.

Blast Corps, formerly known as Blast Dozer, lets players control a variety
of vehicles in order to clear a path through cities. Developed by Rare,
Blast Corps features some of the more notable 3-D graphics of any of the
Nintendo64 titles.

Pilotwings 64, developed in conjunction with Paradigm simulations is
another typical Miyamoto game, fantastic. Photo-realistic backgrounds,
realistic, but unobstructive physics models for each of the flight models:
gyro copter, hang glider, rocket pack, human cannonball, spring shoes, and
bird man. Like Mario 64, Pilotwings is full of secrets.

Wayne Gretzky Hockey, a polygon based hockey title, featured wonderfully
large and well animated characters in an engine which currently does not
exhibit the same level of promise as the graphics.

Kirby's Air Ball came a long way from the Shoshinkai version, however,
remaining one of Nintendo64's more quiet titles.

Shadows of the Empire left most of IG's staff umimpressed. The graphics
comparatively were mediocre and the play mechanics were only slightly
better than Rebel Assault.

-Andrew Blum and David Rubin
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
             Sony PlayStation Set To Become "Mass-Market" Item

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                          IG at E3 - Friday May 17
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Having shipped 5 million units worldwide, with 1.2 million in the US alone,
and 7 million total software units sold, Sony is set with its 199 dollar
price point to mass market the PlayStation. Sony is set big with 50 million
dollars set aside solely for the purpose of advertising.

Tucked away underneath the steps in a box was the Black PlayStation, sold
in Japan as the Lets Create hobby development system. The focus of this
release is to provide a development system for those people (in Japan only
for now) who would like to develop PS games in their spare time.

Another surprising, yet much anticipated announcement was Sony's switch to
normal jewel-sized casings for their games. No longer will Sony use those
bulky and large Sega-style cases for their games.

Gamewise, Sony came on strong. Sony's main focus was Crash Bandicoot.
Featuring 25 levels plus bonus levels, and hollywood style animation, Crash
was little more than hype. Incredible 3-D graphics and animation masked
otherwise mediocre and uninteresting play mechanics. Hopefully, Universal
will remedy this problem before bringing the game to market in September.

Jumping Flash 2 was essentially Jumping Flash 1 with minor cosmetic changes
and interface adjustments, as well as new levels. The changes are for the
better though, as the game now plays much easier.

NCAA Gamebreaker featured college football on an improved GameDay engine.
Thus it plays well, has excellent sound effects, and can be quite fun.

Sony's first RPG scheduled to be released in the U.S. mid summer is Beyond
the Beyond. Next on schedule will be Arc The Lad, coming this winter.

Epidemic, the U.S. version of Kileak 2, features new textures, a higher
framerate, more weapons, and a much more detailed 3-D engine. The game is a
vast improvement over its predecessor.

Jet Moto is set to be a realistically playing Jet Ski game, with similar
play mechanics to Twisted Metal, featuring multiple physics models to
create a lifelike experience. Now only if the graphics could be as
realistic. It does have a split screen a link mode for multiple player
action though.

Square's first U.S. distributed title, Tobal #1 was early, had promising
play potential. Graphically however, this game was not up to snuff with
most 3-D fighters like Tekken, with flat shaded, blocky, polygons.

Twisted Metal 2 was early but featured several gameplay improvements over
the original. Bogey Dead 6 was a somewhat decent flight simulator style
flying game. Tunnel B-1 was an underground version of Quarantine, featuring
first person driving/shooting action.

SNK conversions were present for PS. The first two were Samurai Shodown 3,
at 25% and King of Fighters 95, at 80%. Both games were almost perfect
conversions graphically. The gameplay is still being tweaked however, and
there was a slight problem with loading time.

Horned Owl, Sony's Virtua Cop style shooter, will be released in America in
the coming months. Blast Chaser was a 4-player competitive action game.

Mario Andretti Racing, at 80% completion, featuring excellent graphics in
its F1 style racing engine, but as of the alpha version shown, lacked in
the gameplay area to other established games like Daytona.

Disruptor was a 3-D style maze shooter in the doom genre. Bubsy 3D was
early, but promised to bring Bubsy to the next level.

2Xtreme was the sequel to ESPN Extreme, with a pumped up framerate to make
the action better.

-Andrew Blum and David Rubin
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
     Sega Ready for E3 with NetLink, Nights, and Many More Showstoppers

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                     IG at E3 - Saturday May 18, 1996
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Although the shadow of Nintendo's booth was over Sega's, they were ready
with several outstanding titles and peripherals. The first of these is
Nights. By the creator of Sonic the Hedgehog, this game may just do for the
Saturn what Sonic did for the Genesis. The game moves rather fast in its
3-D environment, with incredible graphics showing off the Saturn's color
palette, as well as interesting characters and play mechanics. Most off
all, this game is fun to play. This is Sega's game of the show, and even at
its early phase, is incredible.

Along with Nights, Sega will pack in the 3-D Saturn Controller, the analog
Saturn pad we have shown in Wednesday's report. The price, $69.99 with this
gamepad, the same price as Mario 64 with nothing.

The second most impressive game on the show floor had to be the 30%
complete version of the arcade Virtua Fighter 3. This was the same version
shown at AMOA a few months back. Actually running off a Model 3 board, the
graphics produced were more incredible in motion than any still picture can
show. In fact, the AM2 team shipped 2 hi-res monitors just because they did
not want the graphics distorted in ANY way. For this reason, although no
decisions have been finalized, the marketing of VF3 will be distinct from
VF 1 and 2. They are aiming to put this game in Amusement park type places,
and due to the high cost of the monitors and model 3 board, the cost of the
game may easily surpass 1 dollar per play. For this reason, there will not
be many VF3 arcade games around. Likewise, Sega has not decided yet whether
to make the actually length of the game different, maybe best of 5 rather
than 3? We'll find out when JAMMA takes place late this Summer in Japan.

As for the Saturn port, Yu Suzuki has stated that it can be done on the
Saturn with NO extra hardware. People did laugh at him when he said VF2
could be done and look at what Saturn owners have now. This one is targeted
for a Christmas 1997 release on Saturn.

Sonic XTreme was shown, and although very early, was impressive. Set in a
3-D environment similar to the bonus stages in Sonic CD, this one is fast
and the graphics are hi-res. What was early (maybe 10% done) looked nice,
however, it did not seem as revolutionary gameplay-wise as Nights.

Bug Too! improves upon its predecessor with a revamped gameplay engine,
much more intense graphics in both the foregrounds and the backgrounds, and
three choices of characters to play as, including Superfly, the 70's retro
bug. Just looking at this bug made IG's editors laugh. This game has a
warped sense of humor.

Virtua Cop 2 was only 10% completed also, but the first level was playable.
Adding more of a storyline to the original, as well as cleaner graphics and
gameplay, this one was impressive considering its early developmental
stage. Although things were not quite as crisp as the arcade version, they
were a definite improvement over VC1 on Saturn.

Virtua Fighter Kids will be released on Saturn later this year. Utilizing
the VF2 Engine, this one is everything VF2 was, except in a more "childish"
theme, with more comic-book style backgrounds and characters that have
large heads.

Ports of Psygnosis's PS hits Wipeout and Destruction Derby were also ready,
and were not too impressive. Both had a distinctly lower framerate than
their PS counterparts. Although the control is better in both Saturn
versions, this graphical bug makes the game feel rough.

An early version of Heart of Darkness (no, not a video game based on Joseph
Conrad's novel), was also shown. Although way too early to pass any
judgement, this game looked like it will meet the expectations set forth by
Out of This World and Flashback, two other games of its genre.

Ultimate Football, was shown, and although the environment looked nice, the
animation was kinda choppy, and the game played distinctly like NFL '96 on
Genesis. More work needs to be done with this one before release.

World Series Baseball 2 looked a lot like WSB 1, in fact, most of IG's
editors who played it though that it was WSB1 with more stadiums, up to
date rosters, and some minor gameplay adjustments. THis is a good thing ,
however, as WSB 1 was a good game. This was one of the better of the vast
number of baseball games shown (it seems almost every company had their own
baseball game).

Mr. Bones, featured incredible animation, using SGI technology, which
looked also perfectly realistic. Some of the animations are quite humorous
also.

Baku Baku, to be priced at $29.99, is a puzzle game featuring some elements
from Tetris and Columns to create a somewhat distinct game. This one is
fun.

Gun Griffon is a first person, 3D, 360 degrees of freedom, shooter. With
that said the gameplay was quite simple, and felt like it be better.

Golden Axe: The Duel will finally be ported over to the United States. This
one feels like Samurai Shodown and plays fairly well, however with other
2-D fighters like Night Warriors and X-Men, it may be too late for this
one.

Blazing Heroes is the new name for Mystaria. Before you laugh at Sega for
choosing that name, they had a very difficult time picking this one as
titles like Riglord Saga, the original Japanese name, were too close to
other already copyright names out there. Legal matters mainly.

NBA Action was unimpressive, as it played really slow, and they graphics
used pretty blocky polygons. Although it did feature all 29 teams, 400+
players, and surround sound, the gameplay must be tweaked before this one
can compete with NBA Live and NBA Shootout.

Worldwide Soccer 2 was impressive, taking WW Soccer 1, vastly improving
graphics, and speeding up the gameplay. This one is fun also. One of the
better soccer games out there.

Absent from the show floor, but soon to be released on Saturn include
Fighting Vipers, which from the stills looks similar to the port of VF2,
Virtual On, and Daytona: Championship Circuit Edition, the remix of Daytona
featuring improved graphics, a new 2 player split screen mode, and five
tracks.

Segasoft showcased two titles at E3. The first was Three Dirty Dwarves, a
very comedic 2-D side scroller with 3-D elements. Just as revolutionary as
Guardian Heroes was, this game delivers interesting gameplay to set it
apart from the rest of the genre. This one is an excellent first effort
from the Segasoft team.

Second on the list from Segasoft was The Sacred Pools. Although early and
shown as video, Sega promises this one will NOT be a full motion video
based game, and promises to deliver new technology when shown as a playable
version in the coming months. This one looks to be one of the weirder games
at the show. IG will keep you informed as more news is available on this
one.

It is also worth noting that, although their name is SegaSoft, they are
platform independant. If it is worthwhile for them to port to other
platforms like Nintendo64 and PS, they will.

Working Designs, nested in Sega's booth, showed three titles of their own.
First was Shining Wisdom, a Legend of Zelda like RPG, reviewed in this
month's issue of Intelligent Gamer. Also shown were Dragon Force, a
strategy oriented game featuring intense action, often filling the screen
with independently moving sprites. Finally, Magic Night Rayearth will be
available in the United States soon. This one shows much promise, altough
the port was very early in developmental phases.

Finally, Sega is set to deliver a 400 dollar TV Top internet console (that
plays Saturn games too) to the market. Set to be a $199 add on to Saturn,
Net Link gives users a 28.8 modem as well an original Netscape 1.2
compliant software (a 2.0 version is being considered) to browse the web,
an email client, among other internet stuff. It will also support point to
point gaming, unlike Bandai's @World player. For 200 dollars, this is the
easiest way for Saturn owners to get on the internet, and it something
Saturn owners with no INternet connectin should buy.

Thats it for this years E3. Whew! Be sure to check out next months issue of
Intelligent Gamer (July 1997) for a much more thorough coverage and
discussion of this show.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                  Crash Bandicoot: Sony's Would-Be Mascot
                             By Andrew Phelan
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

     Will Crash Bandicoot be Sony's new mascot or not? The developers,
     Naughty Dog, say that Sony is waiting to see how the game sells before
     commiting itself. Regardless, Sony believes in Crash enough to have
     asked Naughty Dog to start on a sequel the moment the first game is
     finished. Initial impressions on Crash: what Naughty Dog has here is
     yet another graphically impressive 3D platformer. Crash appears to be
     polygon based, with heavy texturing. The graphics are clear and crisp,
     with no breakup or slowdown in sight. Crash himself appears to be a
     cool rip off of the Tazmanian Devil, with a spin attack to go along
     with a major attitude. Play mechanics are farily standard, as the only
     forms of attack are jumping and spinning. The game implements various
     view points for different levels. For instance, one level will scroll
     up as Crash jumps higher up through the board, and the next will
     follow Crash from behind as he runs through a jungle. One of the
     coolest levels so far has Crash running towards the screen as a giant
     bolder chases him, making dangerous jumps over pitfalls along the way.
     Overall, Crash appears to have the makings of a fun game with solid
     gameplay roots. It will undoubtably be a big hit for the Playstation,
     but the question remains if it can stand up to the likes of Mario 64,
     Pandemonium, Sonic Xtreme, and Nights. That's some heavy competition,
     and Crash fails to introduce innovative concpets that would set it
     apart from other games in the genre. Look for a solid and fun, but not
     revolutionary title. Expect an expanded preview about a week after E3,
     when time is available. Crash is definetly deserving.
     ----------------------------------------------------------------------

                       Copyright 1996 The Forum Group

Subj:   Sega announces first-ever cross-platform launch for Sonic The Hedgehog;Sonic sl
Date:   96-05-16 14:49:26 EDT

      LOS ANGELES--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--May 16, 1996--In the flash of
a blue streak, Sega of America Thursday announced its massive
cross-platform launch of four new Sonic The Hedgehog titles for Sega
Saturn, Genesis, PICO and Game Gear.
          Later this year, Sega's most popular icon will make his
much-anticipated 3D debut on Sega Saturn, return to Genesis in 3D
and make his first appearance on Sega's early learning aid, Pico.
Sega Entertainment Inc. will also deliver Sonic to PC users this
fall.
          "Sonic's cross-platform launch is a major milestone for Sega,
unifying our television consoles with the character that started the
gaming revolution.  And now, Sonic's at it again.  Each Sonic title
will embody new and varying story lines, gameplay dynamics and
worlds to explore," said Tom Kalinske, president and CEO of Sega of
America.
          Sonic made his debut on the Sega Genesis in 1991, bringing in a
revolution in 16-bit gaming in terms of graphics and gameplay
dynamics.  Sonic's instant conquest led to the development of
several other Sonic games to expand the popular character into a
series.
          "Sonic the Hedgehog 2" rose to and remains Sega's top-selling
Genesis title of all time, selling more than 5 million copies
worldwide.  More than 15 million Sonic titles have been sold
worldwide since 1991.
          Sega introduced a new move with the game, the "spindash," a
power up with which players could activate Sonic's fast travel
throughout the game.
          "The `spindash,' along with Sonic's attitude, brought a whole
new play dynamic to gaming," Kalinske continued.
          "With each generation of Sonic games, we introduced
revolutionary gaming elements.  For instance, with the original
`Sonic The Hedgehog,' the `speed' barrier was first broken.  With
`Sonic & Knuckles' there was the lock-on technology, where players
could lock-on other Sonic games for added fun with Knuckles.
          "And now, with this year's Sonic on the Sega Saturn and Genesis,
Sonic moves from a 2D environment to an exciting 3D world," added
Kalinske.
          When Sonic "spindashed" his way to the public, a revolution
started in 16-bit gaming.  The Sonic phenomena opened up the gaming
world to the masses, and Sega rose past Nintendo to be the leader in
the interactive entertainment industry.
          Based on an independent popularity poll, Sonic the Hedgehog ranked
at the top of the awareness chart with super-athlete Michael Jordan
according to teenage boys.
          Each new version in this year's Sonic line-up will embrace the
spirit and hallmark elements of the original Sonic series which made
it a favorite among game players.  These qualities include:  speed,
great graphics, tight game control and fun gameplay.
      "Sonic X-Treme" for Sega Saturn
          Sega Saturn's tremendous processing muscle and 3D graphics
capabilities will have players spindashing across the floor, the
walls and the ceiling in full 360-degree freedom of movement.
Possessing the ability to defy gravity as his world continually
rotates, Sonic must help the last of the legendary Ringsmiths
against the diabolic Dr. Robotnik.
          Tapping the three 32-bit processors power of Sega Saturn, Sega
has created a true 3D environment for Sonic by using a combination
of rendered and texture-mapped polygons and sprites.
      "Sonic Blast:  The Ultimate 3D Adventure" for Sega Genesis and
Genesis Nomad
          Pushing the Genesis to new extremes, Sonic comes home to his
original platform in a whole new 3D world.  With fully rendered
sprites and polygons, Sonic's 2D world is opened to the
possibilities of 3D excitement and SGI-rendered environments and
characters.
          Follow Sonic as he journeys to seven new amazing zones, each
complete with two acts and a challenging boss.  Final bosses and
game endings vary depending on how successfully the player guides
Sonic in his quest to rescue the animals of South Island from the
evil Dr. Robotnik.
      "Sonic Blast" for Game Gear
          Home players won't be the only ones enjoying a new Sonic game
this year.  The first 2D computer graphics-rendered game for the
Game Gear, "Sonic Blast" promises to be eight megs of fun for the
gamer on the go!
      "Sonic the Hedgehog's GameWorld" for Pico
          Sonic also makes his debut on Pico, one of the nation's
best-selling electronic learning aids.  Now learning with Sonic can
be just as fun!
          Each book page contains a different attraction in a fun-house
where up to two players can match skill and dexterity against the
evil Dr. Robotnik.  With the help of Sonic and Tails, children
develop hand-eye coordination while having fun as they play games
such as Skeeball, Hoops, Concentration, Robotnik-Bash and many more.
      "Sonic Schoolhouse" for PC
          Sega Entertainment, the PC company dedicated to bringing Sega
characters to the PC in traditional gaming and edutainment titles,
will bring Sonic to the home school room in "Sonic Schoolhouse."
Using rendered 3D realtime graphics in first-person perspective,
kids ages 5-9 can learn to solve math and reading problems with
their buddy Sonic.
          Set in a classroom-style environment, kids who successfully
answer the problems earn recess and field trip time where they have
the opportunity to unwind with "outside" activities and learn
additional fun facts.  Difficulty settings range from kindergarten
to fourth-grade skill levels.
          The Sega CD version of "Sonic CD" will also make its way to the
PC.  Now that the PC has become more pervasive in homes and has
grown as a viable interactive entertainment medium, Sonic will be
introduced to a whole new audience.  Sonic isn't just for the
dedicated home platform owner anymore.  "Sonic CD" on PC will be
available in August.

Sonic -- Through the Years
          Other Sonic titles currently available for the Genesis include:
"Sonic the Hedgehog," "Sonic the Hedgehog 2," "Sonic the Hedgehog
3," "Sonic and Knuckles" and "Sonic Spinball."  Game Gear titles
include:  "Sonic the Hedgehog," "Sonic the Hedgehog 2," "Sonic
Spinball," "Sonic Triple Trouble" and "Sonic Chaos."  Sega CD titles
include:  "Sonic CD" and the music CD, "Sonic Boom."
          Sega of America is the arm of Tokyo-based Sega Enterprises Ltd.
responsible for the development, marketing and distribution of Sega
videogame systems and videogames in the Americas.
          Sega Enterprises Ltd. is a nearly $3.5 billion company
recognized as the industry leader in interactive digital
entertainment media, and is the only company that offers interactive
entertainment experiences both inside and outside the home.  Sega of
America's World Wide Web site is located at http://www.sega.com
-0-
Subj:   Namco Announces Industry's Strongest Playstation Line-Up For 1996
Date:   96-05-16 10:04:37 EDT

   Tekken 2, Ridge Racer Revolution and Soul Edge Top List of Namco's
                                Releases
          LOS ANGELES, May 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Namco Hometek Inc., the leading
third party publisher for next generation video game systems, announced
their plans to release Tekken 2, Ridge Racer Revolution, Soul Edge and
the first two volumes of Namco's Museum classics for Sony's PlayStation
game console.  In 1995, Namco contributed to Sony's astounding success
with 2 of the top 5 and 3 of the top 10 top selling PlayStation games of
the year.
          "We are confident that the PlayStation will be even more successful
in 1996, and proud to deliver games that will help drive that success,"
states Yoshi Homma, Namco Hometek's President and CEO.  "Our second
generation of PlayStation development pushes the boundaries of the
hardware even further."
          Fans of Tekken have been anxiously awaiting the release of the
sequel, Tekken 2, the game Dimension Publishing calls "The best fighting
game ever."  Tekken was the #1 selling PlayStation title in the world in
1995 with sales exceeding one million units.  Recently released in
Japan, Tekken 2 sold over 400,000 units the first day of sale.  Tekken
2, which will be released in September, has many improvements over the
original Tekken and even its System 11 arcade predecessor.  Tekken 2
boasts 23 playable characters, new multiple ten hit combos and new modes
of play such as a battle mode and the innovative practice mode.
          "The pioneer race sim for the PlayStation is back, bigger and
better," claims Intelligent Gamer Magazine.  Namco plans to release
Ridge Racer Revolution, the sequel to the best known racing game in the
world, in September.  Ridge Racer Revolution offers a host of new
features and options including a two-player link option.
          Soul Edge, heralded by Next Generation Magazine as "Possibly the
most complete fighting game to date," is an incredible 3D, weapons based
fighting game.  Currently one of the most popular titles in the arcades,
Soul Edge was voted by Game Players Magazine as best Game of Show at
AMOA.  Namco plans to release Soul Edge in the 4th quarter.
          Namco's Museum brings all the favorite original arcade classics
right to the home.  Namco will release five volumes of classics, the
first two in the 3rd and 4th quarters of 1996.  Museum Volume I contains
Pac-Man, Galaga, Pole Position, Bosconian, Rally X, New Rally X, and Toy
Pop while Museum Volume II will feature Xevious, Mappy, Gaplus, Dragon
Buster, Grobda, and Super Pac.  "Of all the classic packages out right
now, this is the one to get if you own a PlayStation," states Electronic
Gaming Monthly.
          Namco Hometek, Inc. is the U.S. consumer division of Namco Limited,
the Tokyo based entertainment company that specializes in creating
"ultimate entertainment" using the most advanced electronics and
technology available to create a total sensory and emotional experience.
Namco is the leading third party publisher for the 32-bit market and is
the creator of the world's two top-selling titles for Sony's PlayStation
game console.
      CO:  Namco Hometek Inc.
      ST:  California
      IN:  CPR
      SU:  PDT
Path: news.accent.net!rcogate.rco.qc.ca!n2ott.istar!n3ott.istar!istar.net!imci2!news.internetMCI.com!newsfeed.internetmci.com!newshub.csu.net!csun.edu!hbrtv050
From: [e-mail] (blake fischer)
Newsgroups: rec.games.video.sony
Subject: The STU'S E3 Report!
Date: 19 May 1996 16:09:22 GMT
Organization: California State University, Northridge
Lines: 93
Message-ID: <4nnh3i$[e-mail]>
NNTP-Posting-Host: louie.csun.edu
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.2 PL2]
Status: N


Well I hit hit E3 for all three days (I slept for 12 hours last night- I
was so exausted.) I am going to outline everything that I thought was
worth mentioning.

GAMES OF SHOW: (In no order)

Mario 64: All that and a bag of chips. It truly is a wonderful game to
play (I played for a little over 3 hours over the whole conference.)
Nintendo will probably sell a lot of systems with this one.

Wipeout XL: Just as fast as part one but with better graphics and enhanced
playability. I loved this game. When you launch weapons they look like
ST:TNG weapons-pretty darn cool. And when you go through the tunnels there
are pitch black parts until you run under a light. The engines of the
ships leave this rad blue streak too....

Nights into Dreams: A beautiful game. Very majestic. I couldn't see much
into the main point of the game as all I did was fly through rings, but
the graphics, sound, and animation were all breathtaking.

Crash Bandicoot: Not as "free" as mario 64 but a heck of a lot of fun.
Just imagine DKC in 3d and you have crash. It has unbelievable graphics
and some awesome level concepts but it is quite linear.

Destruction Derby 2: AWESOME! They took everything that worked in the
first and mad it into a much better game. It now feels a lot more like a
racing game but with the ability to crash. I personally caused an 8 car
accident and cars were flying over me and rolling down the road. TOO COOL!

TENKA: Not as fast as quake but a whole lot better looking IMHO. This is
the new high water mark in 3D games! Didn't play it much though as the
first level was all that was available.

Soviet Strike: The sequel to the desert strike series on PSX! It looks and
plays unbelievably well. You have to see this one to truly understand .
It's definitely one of the best looking games I've ever seen.

NCAA Gamebreaker: Gameday, but much faster, with more plays and college
teams. WOO HOO!
 Still hard as hell to pass though..

Tekken 2: Everywhere. I've owned it for a while but I figured it would be
a shame to not mention it.

Virtua Fighter 3: This game will conquer the world.

Spider: I loved this game! so sue me!

C&C: Red Alert: Everything it's been hyped as and more. A great sequel to C&C.

GAMES THAT WERE OK:

Virtua Cop 2: too slow too be a good conversion- It's REALLY noticeable.

Pandemonium: Nifty graphic premise (sidescroller in 3d) but the control
was sloppy. If this gets tightened up this game may be worth another look.

Moto one: A racing game that goes over sand, water and desert. OK concept
but nothing compared to waverace 64 (which I didn't care for) and kinda
boring nonetheless. There was no feeling of speed.

Tobal #1: Wow, PSX gets virtua fighter 1.

Virtua Fighter Kids: nothing spectacular, we've seen this before and it
surprises me that it's getting released in the US at all...

Twisted Metal 2: Wow, a couple of new cars and new tracks. Must've taken
all of 20 minutes to design this one. I was very dissapointed as I
could've designed this one in my sleep. What were they thinking? ($$$ most
likely)

KI 64: KI2 with fully 3d backgrounds... now if only I liked KI...

GAMES THAT I THOUGHT KINDA BIT:

Shadows of the empire: Beautiful graphics, multiple games, NO GAMEPLAY. I
got bored of this one VERY fast.

Pilotwings 64: light diversion, nothing more.

aND THATS ALL FOR NOW. Email me with any questions you have in particular.
I will also post some shots of the psygnosis games in the next day or two


--
*************************************************************
*            Blake the STU                *
*"STU POWER is indeed a force which should be reckoned with"*
*************************************************************

        "Roof Pig! Most Unexpected"

                              Report: E3 Day 1

     Ok, I'm falling asleep at my computer now, and this is as good as this is
going to get tonight.  I wrote this in Word and it has been completely screwed
up by trying to paste it into this post. Today's report turned out to be almost
exclusively Sega,so I'm only posting it here for now.  Check the other groups
for further reports if you're interested... And I'll repost this without the
missing bits of text and with paragraphs etc once I figure out how... Sorry...
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well, perhaps some of you remember my E3 reports from last year -
hopefully in a positive light!  :) Anyway, I liked it so much last year
that it was one of the motivating factors inspiring me to move out here
to LA.  So here I am, one week in my new apartment in Hollywood, and off
to my second E3: I suppose I should mention a few things about myself so
you know who's reporting all this.  I am a video game addict who owns
just about every system 8-bit and up (as well as a few earlier classics)
and hundreds of games, including a few full-sized arcade games.  I have
worked in retail at a software/game store in State College, PA for the
last few years, which is a fun way to keep up with new releases and meet
other Gamers.  Anyway, I think you'll find that I'm fairly unbiased,
although I must admit to a slight favoritism for Sega products.  For
example, I have more than twice as many games for my Saturn as I do for
my PlayStation, and have a lot more fun with the former product over the
latter.  I'm not saying one machine is better from an objective
standpoint, just admitting that I have a personal preference for the one
over the other.  Well, that's too One thing missing from this year's
     [some text disappeared here | ]
program that I did enjoy last year is the keynote speakers.  It was
informative to see what the head honchos of the 'big three' (Sega, Sony,
Nintendo) had to say for themselves and their companies last year.  This
year, while there were conferences (which, however, were expensive, so I
didn't register for those - and besides, there's not enough time to see
everything on the show floor as it is!), there were no keynote speakers.
So, let's get on to the exhibits!  I should also mention that, while I
try to hit everything that strikes me as important, the following is by
no means meant to be an exhaustive list of the titles on display for any
system.  Nobody is paying me to report this thing, so I'm mainly there
for myself, and what finds its way into my notes is determined as much
by my personal interests as by my desire toBeing my favorite, I went to
Sega's booth first.  I say 'booth', but if you've never been to one of
these conventions before, let me point out that this 'booth' covered
approximately FORTY THOUSAND square feet!  (Similarly, Sony's booth
covered 27,000 sq.ft.  and Nintendo's booth 47,000 sq.ft.) Prominently
displayed in a front corner of this booth was Sega's new flagship game
for the Saturn: NIGHTS.  Nights is a 3D action-adventure featuring
characters that walk or fly through a polygon world gathering crystals
and navigating rings (as in SNES PilotWings).  On first look, I would
say that this game had a nicer overall look than Mario 64.  Nights'
world is fully texture-mapped, with a very nice 2D background which
hides the pop-up by blending in very well with the rendered foregroSONIC
X-TREME was nearby, though the playable demo was limited.  It was fast
and smooth, and the video taped demos showed more varied levels.  This
looks promising, and seems to stay true to the Sonic 'look and feel' in
a 3D environment.  Speaking of 3D Sonics, there was also a SONIC 3D game
for the Genesis, which was pretty much what you would expect if you
crossed Sonic with Marble Madness.  Competent for the Genesis, but not
quite so impressive when you've just seen the Saturn stuff.  Staying
with the Sonic theme, nearby was a SONIC THE FIGHTERS arcade game.  This
looked like Fighting Vipers but with Sonic characters who knock rings
out of each other when hit (as opposed to knocking each other out of the
ring...) The characters have some Three Stooges-inspired moves and
cartoony reactions to being hit.  Cute and fun.  Now on a Virtua theme,
VIRTUA FIGHTERS was there for the PC, looking very much like VF Remix
for the Saturn in higher resolution but slower and not nearly as smooth.
Virtua Cop is one of my favorite Saturn games, so I was delighted to see
VIRTUA COP 2, which I've played a few times in the arcade.  However,
maybe it was still an early version, but it seemed slow and somewhat
lo-res in parts.  Maybe this is just because I'd never played the first
one in the arcade, so I had nothing to compare it to when I got the home
version.  Anyway, the gameplay was there, and the gun seemed to work
even better on this one than the first, though that could have something
to do with the TV at the show vs mine at home.  VIRTUA FIGHTER KIDS was
there for the Saturn, which was pretty much on par wOf course, I had to
spend some time with one of my all-time favorite developers, Working
Designs.  I have every game these guys have put out, and made a point of
telling them how much I appreciate the care that they take with
everything from translations to packaging.  Someday, if I ever develop
the appropriate skills, I'd love to work for these guys.  Anyway, they
reporting selling out of IRON STORM, which looked nice, but even better
looking was DRAGON FORCE.  Man, the battle scenes on this thing were
incredible, with literally hundreds of on-screen combatants and
impressive spell-effects to top it off.  This will be a must-have for
strategy fans, and should be available in July.  Before that, however,
we should all be playing SHINING WISDOM, which although it didn't have
overly impressive graphics did nonetheless have the traditional Working
Designs treaOther games which caught my eye in the Sega booth included:
TOMB RAIDER, developed by another of my favorites, Core.  This was also
shown for PS and PC (actually, I didn't see the PS version, but I assume
it was there.) This game exceeded my expectations, controlling very well
and having a nicely rendered environment with big dogs to shoot and
watery passages to swim through.  In fact, I was most impressed with the
PC version of this game, which was in higher res and seemed to have less
polygon dropout than the Saturn version, while maintaining a surprising
framerate smoothly.  CONTRA 96 was also shown for both Saturn and PS,
but I only played the Saturn version.  This was a nice overhead shooter
along the lines of Loaded but with a more developed 3D environment and
typical ContrThere were some Genesis games around as well, but I didn't
focus on them much.  Let me just mention a few.  For Preston's sake I
must report X-WOMEN for Genesis, featuring Rogue, Storm and, yes
Preston, Phoenix in their own game.  So far, only Rogue was playable,
and the game was a side-scrolling beat 'em up with a bounded environment
(i.e., not continuously scrolling from left to right, but one big area
in which you could go back and forth).  X-PERTS (gee, lots of 'X-'
titles in the Sega booth), was a disappointing side-scrolling beat 'em
up with rendered characters but choppy scrolling.  I was happy to see
that Sega is doing a sequel to Vectorman, and VECTORMAN 2 looked as good
as the first, with more varied level themes.  Ugh, I'm sorry, but it
looks like this will have to be just a Sega report for tonight, as I'm
getting tired rapidly, and I need to be back at the Convention Center
bright and early tomorrow morning.  I will quickly mention that I did
also check out Nintendo's and Sony's booths today, as well as
Panasonic's.  I will report more fully later, but Nintendo had more 64
stuff than I expected, with eight playable games.  Overall I'd say that
the Nintendo 64, while not a quantum leap over the other systems, does
indeed deliver higher res 3D environments with more detailed textures,
less pop-up (more distant horizons), and a smooth framerate.  Panasonic
had only a few 3DO games on display, and no M2 because "It won't be
available until '97".  I probably won't have another report tomorrow,I
hope this was interesting to some of you.  If you have questions or
comments for me, please hold off until you see me post from another
account.  I'll be calling long-distance to PA to post this from my old
account, as I don't have local access set up yet here in CA.  I hope to
have my local account up this weekend, and then I'll be happier to spend
more time on-line answering questions or responding to flames or
whatever.  I'm brain-dead for now, so until later....

                                              - John Emmer

May 15th, 1996

=====================================================
Joe Cataudella / Tronix Inc.

Live from the Press Room - (excuse any grammar/spelling - I wanted to get
this out quick).

The Pre-Show Press Event which began at 10:00 AM this morning (Wednesday,
March 15th) was good for getting a glimpse of a number of interesting
titles a day before the masses arrive; however, it was just a speck of a
sampling, compared to the 1700 titles that will be on display beginning
tomorrow.

HereÆs a quick rundown from the Press Event

SegaÆs NIGHTS - One glimpse, and you will be taken! This title uses many
perspectives, and intense 3-D visuals. The character certainly shares his
roots with the Sonic family, and the 3-D world will have you rubbing your
eyes in disbelief. The acrobatic character is beautifully-rendered, and
special effects spring up just about everywhere you turn. ItÆs quite hard
to describe, but itÆs very much a mixture of Sonic, Pilot Wings, Jumping
Flash, and Wipeout combined (yep, strange combo, but WHAT a mixture!). Two
words - BOILING HOT!

Sega was also displaying a demo of their net link-up for the Saturn -
featuring a 28.8 speed modem (so thatÆs what that big black cart was
sticking out of one of the Saturns), as well as a new sleek controller,
which looked like some kind of analog pad (it was hooked into Saturn while
people were flipping out to NIGHTS). More on these two products after we
get more details on the show floor.

Psygnosis showed FORMULA-1 for the Playstation. IÆm sure many of you have
already drooled over the screen-shots - and seeing this in action, I can
assure you - the game-play is every bit as great as you can imagine.
Formula-1 features a silky-smooth frame-rate, stunningly-textured cars and
a choice to race in arcade mode, or Grand Prix which lets you race a 17
track season. Another winner !

PERFECT WEAPON from American Softworks looks like another killer
Playstation title. ItÆs a 3-D exploration/fighting game combining elements
of Toshidnen, Resident Evil , and KingÆs Field. A unique fighting engine
can display up to five characters fighting in one room, each one fully
detailed and incorporating an impressive polygon count. ThereÆs lots of
exploration involved, so it has an adventure/RPG feel as well.

Another unique title known as SPIDER from newcomer, Boss Games, is a
stunning platform adventure featuring unusual perspective changes, as you
play the role of a spider, making your way through outrageous 3-D scenarios
as you battle it out in a hostile world. SPIDER will be coming out much
later in the year (or Æ97), for both Saturn and Playstation.

KINGÆS FIELD II (which is really KingÆs Field III in Japan) was running
from video-tape from ASCII Entertainment. This follow-up will knock your
socks off, and bring your toes along with æem. The spell effects alone are
worth the price of admission. Although it wonÆt be available in the US
ætill Fall, the preview already looks brilliant!

WilliamÆs had ULTIMATE MORTAL KOMBAT III showing on Saturn, and itÆs great
to know that Saturn owners will finally get their share with an incredible
version. Because this was a Press Event, in a not-so- large area, most of
the sound was drowned out - so I didnÆt get to hear the sound on UMK3, but
the character animation and backgrounds are excellent. This will certainly
make up for the dismal MK2 which was released from Acclaim earlier this
year.

Capcom was showing MAJOR DAMAGE on Saturn (Playstation version will also be
available). This side- scrolling action/platform game features a slick,
humorous super hero, blasting his way around a 2-D world with insane
3D-like effects. Capcom does it again!

SonyÆs MLB Pennant Race drew plenty of attention, with its excellent
graphics, full seasons and stats, and excellent scaling outfield similar to
the technique used in World Series on Saturn. This will be SonyÆs hottest
sports title since GameDay!

OK, this wraps up a brief report - since most of the other product showing
at this press-only gathering were PC-based games and Edutainment software.

The next stop was NintendoÆs premiere of their long-awaited Nintendo-64
unit. More on this later on in the evening (have to get out of this
press-room and grab food now). Check back later for a report about this
machine that is too good to be finally true. Trust me - nothing compares.
Until later folks...

Nintendo's N-64 debuts at the Biltmore

After wandering around the Media Press show, which was less then satisfying
because of the bad layout and packed rows of people trying to get a glimpse
of the few games that were on preview, we headed for Nintendo's Press show
at the Biltmore Hotel.

The Nintendo 64 presentation was much more organized, set in a spacious
auditorium where folks could sit back and prepare for what probably was the
most impressive demonstration of new game hardware to date. This machine is
for real - we finally saw it with our own eyes. Two young gentleman took
command of the control pads, as each played various segments from three
eye- tearing games.

SUPER MARIO RPG - When you see this title, the only thing you are left
thinking is YES, IT WAS WORTH THE WAIT. No words can possibly describe how
amazing the graphics are. Mario and the crew of baddies are completely
rendered with details that are unmatched on any platform (well, except for
Silicon Graphics ). The camera angles are switchable on the fly, and the
depth allows the player to see objects at a distance which you'd never
think was possible. Every area presents the player with animated scenery
that will blow your mind for days. To describe even some of the minor
effects would take a whole night of typing, and judging from the audience's
reaction (you should have heard the applause) - this machine would sell off
shelves even if this were the only game available at launch! I'm no way
going to get into the game mechanics - as I'm sure many reviewers will be
more descriptive - but all I could say is - we have reached a technological
level that will exceed your wildest imagination.

SHADOW OF THE EMPIRE - The only segment shown at the presentation was the
famous walker scene, as your ship flew in and around huge walkers and other
high-tech Star Wars enemy hardware. Laser fire was coming from a web of
angles, as you fly at amazing speed through terrain that looks ripped right
from the movie. Judging from this scene alone, we have finally reached a
point where Star Wars fans and the like will be in for the treat of a
lifetime. As usual, Lucas Arts has outdone themselve.

PILOT WINGS-64 - This was the third title shown that once again, leveled
the entire audience. Like the SNES original, Pilot Wings on the N-64
features a multitude of courses, each which can be played using three
different flying techniques: Hang-Glider, Rocket-Pack, or GryoCopter. The
landscapes are drop-dead gorgeous, with actual landmarks like Mount
Rushmore, the Kennedy Space Center, and the Statue of Liberty to name a
few. One particular bonus screen allows you to shoot your character out of
a cannon, as you try to get a perfect bull's eye which is placed on on a
famous landmark. This could be in the same vicinity, or across the entire
world as you actually can leave the earth's atmosphere, and shoot back down
in another location. You've never seen aerial views like this - astounding!

Other games planned (shown in a video presentation) include: Mario Kart-64
(up to four simultaneous players), Killer Instinct-64 (throw your SNES
version out the window now), Kirby's Air-Ride (another four player game),
StarFox-64 (beyond awesome), Body Harvest (a slick sci-fi action/strategy
game), WaveRace (waterbike racing with real physics), TerrisPhear (a space
age Tetris-style game like no other), Cruis'n USA (arcade perfect), Golden
Eye 007 (first person Doom-like shooter), Turok: Dinosaur Hunter (comic
super hero with superb animation), Buggie Boogie (dune buggy
racing/shooter).

Other titles in development include: Mortal Kombat Trilogy, War Gods, Ken
Griffey Jr. Baseball, Blast Corps, Doom, Mission Impossible, Monster Dunk,
Robotech Crystal Dream, Freak Boy, Wayne Gretzky Hockey, NBA Hangtime,
Ultra Combat, Ultra Descent, and Robotron-X.

The date for the US version of the N-64 is still locked in for Sept. 30th,
while Japan will see the Ultra-64 on June 23rd. Suggested Retail will be
$249.95, but as it stands now, no game will be included. The price range
for game carts will range from $39.95 - $79.95 which isn't too shocking
when you compare it to some of this 32- Megabit cartridges found on the
16-bit units.

Extra controllers will be available in various colors, with a MSRP of
$29.95, and memory cards are targeted at $9.95. Overall, Nintendo's got the
hottest product waiting in the wings - so sit back, count the months, and
stock up on smelling salt!

Nintendo will also be showing the new GAMEBOY POCKET, which is 30% smaller
than the Gameboy, yet a much improved display which the original model
doesn't come close to. The Gameboy Pocket will work with the entire
existing Gameboy library (now THIS is portable!).

A third installment of Donkey Kong Country is in the works for Super Nes,
and scheduled for November '96. Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double
Trouble will supposedly be leaps and bounds better than the previous
installments.

OK, time to wrap up this evening - it's now 12:50, and I haven't quite
gotten my hearing and eyesight back to normal after attending Sega's Party
at the "House of Blues". Here was another impressive presentation/party
which was too crowded to enjoy, but nevertheless, a great party. I'll give
you the details about the amazing amount of stunning Saturn titles shown in
my next report, tomorrow evening (LATE). :)

Tronix hits the Media Press Preview held the day before the main event.

May 15th, 1996

=====================================================
Joe Cataudella / Tronix Inc.

Live from the Press Room - (excuse any grammar/spelling - I wanted to get
this out quick).

The Pre-Show Press Event which began at 10:00 AM this morning (Wednesday,
March 15th) was good for getting a glimpse of a number of interesting
titles a day before the masses arrive; however, it was just a speck of a
sampling, compared to the 1700 titles that will be on display beginning
tomorrow.

HereÆs a quick rundown from the Press Event

SegaÆs NIGHTS - One glimpse, and you will be taken! This title uses many
perspectives, and intense 3-D visuals. The character certainly shares his
roots with the Sonic family, and the 3-D world will have you rubbing your
eyes in disbelief. The acrobatic character is beautifully-rendered, and
special effects spring up just about everywhere you turn. ItÆs quite hard
to describe, but itÆs very much a mixture of Sonic, Pilot Wings, Jumping
Flash, and Wipeout combined (yep, strange combo, but WHAT a mixture!). Two
words - BOILING HOT!

Sega was also displaying a demo of their net link-up for the Saturn -
featuring a 28.8 speed modem (so thatÆs what that big black cart was
sticking out of one of the Saturns), as well as a new sleek controller,
which looked like some kind of analog pad (it was hooked into Saturn while
people were flipping out to NIGHTS). More on these two products after we
get more details on the show floor.

Psygnosis showed FORMULA-1 for the Playstation. IÆm sure many of you have
already drooled over the screen-shots - and seeing this in action, I can
assure you - the game-play is every bit as great as you can imagine.
Formula-1 features a silky-smooth frame-rate, stunningly-textured cars and
a choice to race in arcade mode, or Grand Prix which lets you race a 17
track season. Another winner !

PERFECT WEAPON from American Softworks looks like another killer
Playstation title. ItÆs a 3-D exploration/fighting game combining elements
of Toshidnen, Resident Evil , and KingÆs Field. A unique fighting engine
can display up to five characters fighting in one room, each one fully
detailed and incorporating an impressive polygon count. ThereÆs lots of
exploration involved, so it has an adventure/RPG feel as well.

Another unique title known as SPIDER from newcomer, Boss Games, is a
stunning platform adventure featuring unusual perspective changes, as you
play the role of a spider, making your way through outrageous 3-D scenarios
as you battle it out in a hostile world. SPIDER will be coming out much
later in the year (or Æ97), for both Saturn and Playstation.

KINGÆS FIELD II (which is really KingÆs Field III in Japan) was running
from video-tape from ASCII Entertainment. This follow-up will knock your
socks off, and bring your toes along with æem. The spell effects alone are
worth the price of admission. Although it wonÆt be available in the US
ætill Fall, the preview already looks brilliant!

WilliamÆs had ULTIMATE MORTAL KOMBAT III showing on Saturn, and itÆs great
to know that Saturn owners will finally get their share with an incredible
version. Because this was a Press Event, in a not-so- large area, most of
the sound was drowned out - so I didnÆt get to hear the sound on UMK3, but
the character animation and backgrounds are excellent. This will certainly
make up for the dismal MK2 which was released from Acclaim earlier this
year.

Capcom was showing MAJOR DAMAGE on Saturn (Playstation version will also be
available). This side- scrolling action/platform game features a slick,
humorous super hero, blasting his way around a 2-D world with insane
3D-like effects. Capcom does it again!

SonyÆs MLB Pennant Race drew plenty of attention, with its excellent
graphics, full seasons and stats, and excellent scaling outfield similar to
the technique used in World Series on Saturn. This will be SonyÆs hottest
sports title since GameDay!

OK, this wraps up a brief report - since most of the other product showing
at this press-only gathering were PC-based games and Edutainment software.

The next stop was NintendoÆs premiere of their long-awaited Nintendo-64
unit. More on this later on in the evening (have to get out of this
press-room and grab food now). Check back later for a report about this
machine that is too good to be finally true. Trust me - nothing compares.
Until later folks...

Nintendo's N-64 debuts at the Biltmore

After wandering around the Media Press show, which was less then satisfying
because of the bad layout and packed rows of people trying to get a glimpse
of the few games that were on preview, we headed for Nintendo's Press show
at the Biltmore Hotel.

The Nintendo 64 presentation was much more organized, set in a spacious
auditorium where folks could sit back and prepare for what probably was the
most impressive demonstration of new game hardware to date. This machine is
for real - we finally saw it with our own eyes. Two young gentleman took
command of the control pads, as each played various segments from three
eye- tearing games.

SUPER MARIO RPG - When you see this title, the only thing you are left
thinking is YES, IT WAS WORTH THE WAIT. No words can possibly describe how
amazing the graphics are. Mario and the crew of baddies are completely
rendered with details that are unmatched on any platform (well, except for
Silicon Graphics ). The camera angles are switchable on the fly, and the
depth allows the player to see objects at a distance which you'd never
think was possible. Every area presents the player with animated scenery
that will blow your mind for days. To describe even some of the minor
effects would take a whole night of typing, and judging from the audience's
reaction (you should have heard the applause) - this machine would sell off
shelves even if this were the only game available at launch! I'm no way
going to get into the game mechanics - as I'm sure many reviewers will be
more descriptive - but all I could say is - we have reached a technological
level that will exceed your wildest imagination.

SHADOW OF THE EMPIRE - The only segment shown at the presentation was the
famous walker scene, as your ship flew in and around huge walkers and other
high-tech Star Wars enemy hardware. Laser fire was coming from a web of
angles, as you fly at amazing speed through terrain that looks ripped right
from the movie. Judging from this scene alone, we have finally reached a
point where Star Wars fans and the like will be in for the treat of a
lifetime. As usual, Lucas Arts has outdone themselve.

PILOT WINGS-64 - This was the third title shown that once again, leveled
the entire audience. Like the SNES original, Pilot Wings on the N-64
features a multitude of courses, each which can be played using three
different flying techniques: Hang-Glider, Rocket-Pack, or GryoCopter. The
landscapes are drop-dead gorgeous, with actual landmarks like Mount
Rushmore, the Kennedy Space Center, and the Statue of Liberty to name a
few. One particular bonus screen allows you to shoot your character out of
a cannon, as you try to get a perfect bull's eye which is placed on on a
famous landmark. This could be in the same vicinity, or across the entire
world as you actually can leave the earth's atmosphere, and shoot back down
in another location. You've never seen aerial views like this - astounding!

Other games planned (shown in a video presentation) include: Mario Kart-64
(up to four simultaneous players), Killer Instinct-64 (throw your SNES
version out the window now), Kirby's Air-Ride (another four player game),
StarFox-64 (beyond awesome), Body Harvest (a slick sci-fi action/strategy
game), WaveRace (waterbike racing with real physics), TerrisPhear (a space
age Tetris-style game like no other), Cruis'n USA (arcade perfect), Golden
Eye 007 (first person Doom-like shooter), Turok: Dinosaur Hunter (comic
super hero with superb animation), Buggie Boogie (dune buggy
racing/shooter).

Other titles in development include: Mortal Kombat Trilogy, War Gods, Ken
Griffey Jr. Baseball, Blast Corps, Doom, Mission Impossible, Monster Dunk,
Robotech Crystal Dream, Freak Boy, Wayne Gretzky Hockey, NBA Hangtime,
Ultra Combat, Ultra Descent, and Robotron-X.

The date for the US version of the N-64 is still locked in for Sept. 30th,
while Japan will see the Ultra-64 on June 23rd. Suggested Retail will be
$249.95, but as it stands now, no game will be included. The price range
for game carts will range from $39.95 - $79.95 which isn't too shocking
when you compare it to some of this 32- Megabit cartridges found on the
16-bit units.

Extra controllers will be available in various colors, with a MSRP of
$29.95, and memory cards are targeted at $9.95. Overall, Nintendo's got the
hottest product waiting in the wings - so sit back, count the months, and
stock up on smelling salt!

Nintendo will also be showing the new GAMEBOY POCKET, which is 30% smaller
than the Gameboy, yet a much improved display which the original model
doesn't come close to. The Gameboy Pocket will work with the entire
existing Gameboy library (now THIS is portable!).

A third installment of Donkey Kong Country is in the works for Super Nes,
and scheduled for November '96. Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double
Trouble will supposedly be leaps and bounds better than the previous
installments.

OK, time to wrap up this evening - it's now 12:50, and I haven't quite
gotten my hearing and eyesight back to normal after attending Sega's Party
at the "House of Blues". Here was another impressive presentation/party
which was too crowded to enjoy, but nevertheless, a great party. I'll give
you the details about the amazing amount of stunning Saturn titles shown in
my next report, tomorrow evening (LATE). :)

**DAY ONE**

Day one of the big event is over, and basically it's the most exhausting as
you try to see as much as you can, yet everywhere you turn there's
something new to see. Today we basically did an overall scan of the layout,
making sure we knew the key spots to park at in the next couple of days. E3
'96 is ridiculously large, I mean, there's no possible way to see every
single title - even if you're attending the show from opening to closing
every day - without a lunch break. Due the insane amount of titles on
display from each company, I've decided to turn this report into a dailying
sampling, and at the end of the show, we'll rearrange the entire report by
individual format.

** Big News of the day: SONY IS DROPPING
THE PRICE OF PLAYSTATIN TO $199.95! ***

VIRTUA FIGHTER KIDS [Saturn] - It's up and
running, and looks totally finished. Excellent
quality spin-off of the original, using big-headed
kiddies representing each VF character. This title
is slick, but strictly for VF fans who feel it's
a must have.

SONIC X-TREME [Saturn] - Although not finished,
the Saturn version is amazing, with all sorts of
dazzling perspectives and wild effects. An
absolute winner already!

VIRTUA COP II [Saturn]- Shown along side the coin
op, the Saturn version is every bit as good. Much
more intense than the excellent first installment.

WORLD SERIES BASEBALL II [Saturn] - Looks like the
first one, with only minor improvemts.

NBA ACTION - [Saturn] 3-D multi-viewable
basketball from Sega. Good game-play, but needs
some serious fine-tuning in the graphics
department.

NIGHTS [Saturn] - I saw it at the press show, but
now let me remind you again that this is
absolutely Sega's kick-ass product for '96, and in
my opinion, one of the top five games shown at E3
- PERIOD.

KILLER INSTINCT II [N-64] - Looks fairly close to
being complete, and damn good. Arcade quality to
the max! All this in one cartridge - it's a
miracle!
WIPEOUT XL [Playstation] - Psygnosis took the
original, and went to a further level with MUCH
better weaponry, wilder sound, and much more
interesting courses. A must-have (again)!

DESTRUCTION DERBY II [Playstation]- A large
improvement from the original in terms of game-
play. Wider roads, and larger cars. Now it's more
like a real race similar to Ridge Racer or Need
for Speed, but the destruction is still
intact, and better than before.

OPERATION OVERKILL - [Playstation] - Isometric
action from Konami - blow away bad guys from
all directions- blood, blood and more blood.
Very hot stuff making "Loaded" look empty.

BUG TOO [Saturn]- Sega's sequel to Bug, using the
same interesting perspective, and all new
beautifully-rendered characters.

SKELETON WARRIORS [Saturn/Playstation] - amazing
side-scrolling action/adventure with some of the
best animation seen in this type of game. It took
long enough - but boy it's juicy! From Core,
distributed by Playmates Interactive
Entertainment.

BURNING ROAD [Playstation] Awesome racer, with
wild trucks competing on excellent dirt
roads. Another winner from PIE.

EARTHWORM JIM 2 {Saturn] This sequel brings
back the original humor, now super fueled for
Saturn with its excellent visuals and hopping
CD soundtrack. From PIE.

POWERSLAVE - [Saturn/Playstation] - First-
person Doom-style shooter set in Egyptian
Dungeons. Very cool stuff from PIE.

VMX RACING - [Saturn/Playstation] Dirt bike
competition with some pretty incredible
courses. Needs plenty of work but big potential.
From PIE

TOMB RAIDER -[Saturn] 3-D dungeon romp through
some very sophisticated terrain - shown in
3rd person view. Wicked visuals - as you
play a female hero (the underwater swimming
scenes are a knockout).

F1-CHALLENGE - [Saturn] Virgin will be
distributing this racing game which was
a huge Japanese import hit. Somehow, it
lost its appeal compared to many other
titles of this type showing at E3.

NANOTECK WARRIOR [Playstation] - High
tech, abstract 3-D shooter through high-speed
tunnels featuring very next-gen graphics.
Its like Tempest meets Stun-Runner. Virgin.

GRAND SLAM '96 [Playstation/Saturn] Virgin's
new baseball game, still too early in development
to judge.

SPOT GOES TO HOLLYWOOD [Playstation/Saturn]
The 7-Up character is back with all new,
rendered graphics housed in an isometric
view. Good stuff!

GRID RUNNER [Playstation/Saturn] Capture
the flag-style game for one or two players.
Isometric mazes, each with their own theme.
More hot stuff from Virgin.

BLACK DAWN [Playstation] - Aerial combat
with sophisticated controls and some
mind-blowing scenery. Say goodnight
to Air-Combat. Welcome to the
second generation of Sony titles! Virgin.

BROKEN HELIX - Another 3-D shooter using a Doom-
like concept in 3rd person-view. Great weapons,
and some nice lighting effects. Way early in
production. Konami

SHINING WISDOM [Saturn] One of may upcoming RPG's
from Working Designs. A Zelda-style action
adventure showing from a top-down perspective.

CONTRA: LEGACY OF WAR [Saturn/Sony] - Konami's
classic action goes 32-bit using every trick
and perspective in the book. Eye-popping, yet
early in production.

BAKU BAKU ANIMAL - [Saturn] A Tetris-clone with
some really nice effects. Slick and addictive!

ULTIMATE FOOTBALL [Saturn] Another football game
from Sega, though too early in development to
give any particulars. Has potential!

ANDRETTI RACING [Playstation] One or two-player
racing from EA. Excellent play mechanics, and
supports analog controllers.

TRIPLE PLAY '97 [Playstation] EA might just
have the winning baseball game. Definitely
one of the better baseball games shown at
E3.

SOVIET STRIKE - [Playstation] - EA's "Strike"
series now like you've never seen before.
The terrain is photo-realistic, the explosions
are not to be believed. One of EA's best at
the show.

This ends our report from Day One, with only a
small sampling of what we actually saw (I do
need to get more than five hours sleep at
least one day this week). Stay tuned tomorrow
evening for some more E3 coverage as we hit
the show floor for day two's events.