More Tamagotchi Park info

Slightly edited growth chart for the Segagotchi eggs.

I found some more information regarding the Saturn Tamagotchi game Sega Saturn de Hakken!! Tamagotchi Park, which featured cameos from many Sega characters.

One interesting point is that only certain eggs can become Sega characters, rather than one egg becoming any character (like the keychain pets). These "Segagotchi" eggs all have characters based on Sega hardware and franchises.

The baby and child characters are Master System cards, the teenage characters are a Saturn disc and a Mega Drive cartridge, and the adult characters are based on Opa Opa, Pengo, Flicky, Alex Kidd, and Sonic.

The games you can play include a food-eating contest (does Sonic eat chilli dogs?) and a Chao-style race, where you can cheer your pet on to make it faster.

The game as a whole sounds fun. If only Bandai would release Segagotchi in keychain form - that would be excellent!

[Source: WarOmnimon from Tama-Zone]

Sonic appeared in Saturn Tamagotchi game

A while ago I posted information on a Sega Toys-produced virtual pet toy. Recently I discovered that Sonic himself appeared in a Tamagotchi game, published by Bandai in 1998.

The game, entitled Sega Saturn de Hakken!! Tamagotchi Park ("de Hakken" meaning "discovered in"), had some hidden Sega characters that your pet could turn into, among them Sonic and Alex Kidd. "Sonikkutchi" could be fed, played with and given medicine, and would sleep in a ball at night. Awww.


Sonicology says that Sonikkutchi was the best character, a spot usually filled by Mametchi and Mimitchi (yes, I'm a Tamagotchi freak). I'm not sure how good of a character Arekutchi (Alex Kidd) was, however.


Sonic has certainly appeared in some weird places. It's a shame how often he cameos with Mario nowadays, though. It would have been unthinkable back in the Nineties!

[Source: Random Japanese Sonic Site and Act Select]

Latest Sega buys are pants

Today I bought some Sega-related brilliance; one a game, the other... not a game.

The first thing I bought was Puyo Pop Fever for the GameCube, priced at £2.99 from GameStation. They must be trying to get rid of their remaining stock, although they'll never shift a mouldy Super Smash Bros. for £11.99!


The next thing I bought was truly epic. Never did I think you could buy underpants with Sega on them, but now you can at New Look for just £5! Yes, these y-fronts have a Mega Drive controller and Saturn 3D controller on them, as well as a SNES pad, a Game Boy, a PlayStation, an Atari Lynx and a plug-and-play Atari joystick.


You know you want to buy some now. If not to wear, to frame.

Get SNASM2 on your Saturn too!

Why, it's even taller than a Mega Drive/Mega CD/32X tower!

Yesterday I mentioned the SNASM2 development kit for the 32X, which I read about on ASSEMbler Games. After further research I found there was a whole range of SNASM kits for many different consoles!

You can get the original SNASM kit for the SNES and Mega Drive, and the SNASM2 for the Jaguar, 32X and Saturn. The Saturn version was advertised for $3,000 (£1,885), but you can pick one up here for just $399 (£250)!

Here is a news report about the SNASM2 from September 1995, with lots of words I don't understand:

"Integrated with Mirage is a new version of the Sega Saturn debugger software called SNASM2.1 - also supplied by Cross Products. SNASM2.1 is the latest version of Cross Products' real-time PC-based debugger.

New features include comprehensive search facilities in source, memory, and disassembly windows; symbol completion; support for GNU C++ qualified function names; a SNASM2-to-GNU COFF converter; and a standalone COFF loader utility. Working with Mirage, SNASM2.1 lets programmers debug code on the PC while code is being tested on a production Sega Saturn with real-time CD emulation. The full development environment, including the Mirage CD-ROM Emulator, the CartDev interface, SNASM2.1 software, a PC SCSI card and modified production Sega Saturn, is available now for under $8,000."

The producer of the SNASM2, Cross Products, was based in Leeds. It was then bought out by Sega in August 1994, and then sold to Imagination Technologies in September 2001.

Unfortunately I've never had any success programming on old systems. I did manage to program a Matrix computer simulator for the ZX Spectrum in BASIC, however. It had random letters and everything!

Sega Saturn could have been Sega 64 or Sega PlayStation!

Reading IGN's "History of Sega", I learned something very interesting - Sega's Fifth Generation console could have used hardware that went on to be the Nintendo 64 and PlayStation. This must be ancient news to some members of the Sega community, but I had absolutely no idea!

Everyone knows the story of how Nintendo's partnership with Sony to produce a SNES CD add-on fell through. This eventually became the Sony PlayStation, but at one point it could have become the Sega PlayStation.

Sega had a good relationship with Sony, working with them on the Mega CD. After the Sony-Nintendo deal fell through, Sega had a go at taking their place. Former Sega of America President, Tom Kalinske, explains:

"We got together with [Sony] and defined what we'd like to see in our next hardware. We had this great idea that it should be a joint SEGA-Sony hardware system. If we had to take a loss on the hardware (which was the norm then), we'd split the loss on the hardware, but we wouldn't split software, so any software they did, they'd get 100% of the profits, and any software we did, we'd get 100% of the profits. It seemed like a fair deal since we were eons ahead of them in terms of software development.

"So we go to Japan, and Sony management liked the idea. Then we went to SEGA, and Nakayama hated the idea. [laughs] So that was the end of that, and the rest is history once again. Those were the specs that became the PlayStation."

Even before Sega's plans with Sony, they had meetings with Silicon Graphics, who went on to produce the Nintendo 64.

"We went down the road to Silicon Graphics and met with [SGI founder] Jim Clark. They had bought MIPS Technologies, and they were developing a chipset for use in a game machine. We liked it, so we called up the Japanese guys to come take a look at it. The hardware guys came over, and they really pooh-poohed the whole effort. The chip was too big; there would be too much waste; lots of objections from a technical standpoint. It was upsetting to us, because we thought it was better in terms of speed, graphics, and audio.

"So after we had this meeting, I had to report back to Jim Clark, who was then Chairman of Silicon Graphics and tell him that SEGA wasn't going to be buying, and he asked, 'Well, what should I do now?' and I said, 'Well, there's this other game company up in the Seattle area. I think their name starts with an N.' And of course, he did. He went up there and sold it to them, and that, of course, became the foundation for the Nintendo 64."

So, Sega turned down hardware for two consoles that would eventually beat their own Saturn. How would the games industry have turned out if Sega had marketed the PlayStation? There are so many things that happened to Sega in the mid-'90s that could have changed their future, this being another thing to add to the list.

IGN's article is very interesting, but there is some false information that they state persistently - Yu Suzuki has not left Sega! He has in fact moved departments a few times over the years, giving the impression that he has left. But remember, you can't spell ignorant without...

Sega Saturn to be re-released...

Yes, you read the title correctly. The Saturn, one of Sega's best-loved consoles, is going back into production over a decade after it was officially axed. You'll have a hard time trying to play games on it though, as it is in bag form!

Sorry to disappoint you there, but via Enterbrain's Sega Store you can buy this delicious Saturn-shaped bag. The cartridge slot and CD tray act as pockets, and there is a drinks holder on the side. The main compartment is big enough to hold an A4 magazine apparently, and has two shoulder straps on the back.

"Help! Daytona USA's not working!"

The bag only comes in grey with blue "buttons", the colours of the Japanese console. It costs ¥7,140, which is about £50. That much for a tiny rucksack? NoThankYou.jpg. You could always get the Mega Drive tote bag instead, which is £20 cheaper and is probably more stylish.

Can we have a Dreamcast-shaped bag next? For Sega's smaller consoles, such as the Master System, Game Gear and 32X, we could have pencil cases. Oh, the possibilities!

[Source: Sega Store]

Awesome Box CD overload

We've all ready had a House of the Dead: Overkill tape, but the soundtracks seem to continue coming from Sega of America's Awesome Box. Today we have two CDs, a step up in technology from the aforementioned tape.

The first CD is for the Saturn game Mr. Bones. I have never actually heard of this game, but it is apparently about a resurrected Blues musician with the soundtrack being composed by legendary guitarist Ronnie Montrose. Never heard of him either.


The next CD is one that is more appealing to my tastes. It is a soundtrack CD of various classic Sega games, entitled "Power Cuts 1". Games include Vectorman, Sonic CD (North American version) and Ecco the Dolphin. Nice.


More Sega tat tomorrow!

Which game had the best graphics on a Sega console?

Another day, another list from IGN! Today, they are finding out which games had the best graphics on each console, including the Saturn and Dreamcast.

The awards are split up into categories, including "Technical Excellence" and "Worst Visuals". Let's get to the awards!

Saturn

• Most Memorable Graphical Jump: NiGHTS into Dreams "a defining moment on Saturn... [it gave you] the feeling of being in immense space".
• Technical Excellence: Virtua Fighter 2 "very close to arcade perfect and the technical highlight of the Saturn era".
• Creative Vision: Panzer Dragoon "it was really the art direction that made it such a standout".
• Worst Visuals: Street Fighter: The Movie: The Game "poorly digitised, poorly animated frames of the actors from the absolutely awful film... Fail".

Dreamcast

• Most Memorable Graphical Jump: Shenmue "a big step forward".
• Technical Excellence: SoulCalibur "was so far visually beyond every other fighting game (and its own arcade progenitor) when it came out on Dreamcast that it was almost laughable".
• Creative Vision: Jet Set Radio "it was pure style and pure attitude... effortlessly cool visuals".
• Worst Visuals: South Park Rally "this game takes the word 'bland' to a whole new level. Soulless".

So there you have it. I would probably agree with most of that list, although I would give special mention to the Sonic Adventure series and Hydro Thunder on the Dreamcast. These games may not have had the most detailed graphics, but their intense colour and smoothness really made them stand out at the time. The same can be said for many other Dreamcast games.

As for Saturn games, I don't really know - I haven't played very many with outstanding graphics. The Virtua series and Sega Sports series had good graphics, though.

See more pictures of the games in question via the links above.

[Source: IGN]

9% of Japanese console owners still play Sega

In a survey conducted by RealWorld RealResearch, it was found that 9.3% of the those polled still played a Sega console. Nearly 68% of these Japanese console owners had not gone next-gen, instead relying on their old models.

When asked "which older consoles do you still play with?", 4.4% replied with Sega Saturn, 3.5% with Dreamcast and 1.4% with Mega Drive. Unsurprisingly, almost 56% of people still played old Sony consoles and nearly 42% played old Nintendo consoles.

I was surprised that the Saturn was more popular than the Dreamcast in the poll, as the Dreamcast is more recent and is still supported. I for one still play my Mega Drive and Mega CD, Master System and Game Gear. Unfortunately the Dreamcast and Saturn aren't set up, so I don't play them!

[Source: Kotaku]

New Schega schwag

Today I went into a charity shop, prepared for disappointment, when I saw a few old Master System games on the floor! Then, to my amazement, there was a Saturn game in the video section!

Here is what I bought:

• Sonic Chaos (Master System)
  
• Sonic 2 (Master System)
• FIFA 97 (Saturn)

The games were three for a pound, because they were listed as videos. Such cheapness! I only bought Sonic 2 because I wanted the box for my loose copy and instruction book, so now I have a complete version.

In other news, I got Rollcage by Psygnosis for the PS1. It was £2, but I won't tell you that because it's not Sega-related.

Sega re-trademarking more than just games!

It seems that Sega have been re-trademarking more than just old Mega Drive and Dreamcast games recently. A trademark was issued for Sega's 3D NiGHTS controller on February 10th, 2009, being filed on June 14th, 2005.

The application lists a source as "References Patent Abstracts of Japan, Kkai No. 7-204345*, Aug. 8, 1995", the date being almost a year before NiGHTS' release in Japan. This confirms that Sega are just re-trademarking an old patent, rather than new technology.

Interestingly, the patent shows ideas that were never implemented into the controller, such as infra-red, an arcade stick, and motion sensing. If the Saturn was more of a success, these features may have eventually come to fruition.

What ever will Sega re-trademark next?

[Source: Sega Nerds]

Gormless Sonic is one year old!

I was not aware of this bit of hilarity, but a render of Sonic found in a Sonic 3D beta is one year old today. What's so special about this? Sonic looks completely and utterly gormless.

The beta was released one year ago today by Drx in the now-legendary 23/02/08 Proto Release, whereby over one thousand (not nine thousand) prototypes were released simultaneously. This amusing discovery was found inside both the Mega Drive and Saturn versions of the game. Interestingly, Sonic Cult celebrated their tenth anniversary yesterday. Birthdays everywhere!


Gormless-looking Sonics are not confined to Sonic 3D betas, however. A game character going back as far as Sonic is bound to have some odd renditions...


Dolls and foodstuffs are the worst culprits, aren't they?

Dude!

[Source: Sonic Retro Forums]

Sega-Saturn.com rises from the grave

One of the most popular Sega Saturn sites from back in the day, Sega-Saturn.com, has risen from the grave. Abandoned in 2005, the site was revived last month after the owner got many emails demanding the site be brought back up. He said that he finally realised that it was a mistake to shut it down.

The website itself looks like it came straight out of 1995, with the news updates on the homepage going right back to 1998 - "Sega unveils Dreamcast". The owner says that there won't be many updates to the site now, except for occasional "cleaning up". Instead the website will be preserved for historical reference and nostalgia.

The website is certainly nostalgic to me - I didn't know of the site before it shut down but it reminds me of when I first got the internet. How I miss Web 1.0! I even miss reading 1997 Tamagotchi diaries. Those were the days.

[Source: Digital Press]

SEGAtastic is 3D-compatible!

With the latest 3D technology being used in cinema and 3D games being showcased at CES, I thought it was my turn to follow the recent revival! I have purchased some 3D glasses and made some anaglyph pictures for viewing with them. Can you guess what the main subject of them is?

Why of course, I have taken some 3D Sega-based images! I arranged some of my consoles so that they overlapped to create more depth, and the effect is brilliant. They are black-and-white as they are more effective, and because all Sega consoles are those colours!

If you want to view them you will need some red-cyan 3D glasses, otherwise they will look like modern art. Missing from the pictures are my Mega Drive II and Mega CD II, as they are always set up. Click the images for larger versions.

If only more pictures had 3D versions, then I could make a 3D version of this blog. Maybe one day...

Microsoft has requested Radiant Silvergun for XBLA

Treasure CEO Masato Maegawa has said that Microsoft recently requested Saturn shooter Radiant Silvergun to appear on XBLA, in an interview with Gamasutra. Treasure must agree before the game gets released.

Despite never being released on Western shores, the game has quite a following. The problem with releasing the game now is that it has "certainly aged in assorted ways", raising speculation that Treasure may give the game a graphical overhaul.

Treasure are apparently "thinking about it", so let's hope they agree. In the meantime, why don't you come up with Treasure's next game with this "Create-A-Name" chart I found on UK:Resistance (circa 1998)?

Expect Emerald Gun Attack soon.

New Sonic X-Treme footage released

Yesterday, over on the Sonic Retro forums, new footage from the cancelled Saturn/PC title Sonic X-Treme were released. They show two previously unseen levels which were not meant for the public's eyes - only now has Chris Senn, a member of the original X-Treme team, allowed their release.

The videos are extremely impressive, and make me very sad that the game was never released. The fisheye camera and innovative level design make the game look like the killer-app the Saturn needed, and would probably have changed the course of Sonic games that we see today.

I really wish this game would get released in some form, maybe as a downloadable title. The game was apparently 60% done when it was cancelled, so it is possible to complete. The original team could reünite and finally finish the game off.

I saw these right when they released, but only now have YouTube mirrors been uploaded so I can post them here!