Old Sega Veteran just joined... what did you want to know?

Welcome !

Here are my unanswered questions:
My questions would be related to dreamcast development kits:

- Which DC devkits do you know / did you work with ?
The ones that are well known for the moment:
SET 2
SET 4
SET 5.16
SET 5.24
Did you use other hardware ?

- Would you know what this Sega PCI card could be / Would there be a way to check what it is, based on the references 837-13338, 171-7595A ?
http://www.assemblergames.com/forums...ad.php?t=22310

 

My questions are reguarding the Black Belt. DonnyK already said something about it, but he only saw a few seconds of VF3 and didn't remember too much. So did you see or play some games? Can you tell us more about the plans in general about the Black Belt? Thanks!

 

x

 

Not to sound like a stuck record (although my question seemed to be unanswered in both threads by Monkfish...)

Any news (at all) about Castlevania for the Dreamcast. We've seen rolling video preview, we've all heard about an alleged gdrom for sale (years ago) and a graphics artist who worked on the project insisted the game was playable in some form and copies were made (although, I assume it was just a short demo, if anything)

Same goes for 'Far Nation' - there are copies in the Sega vaults snapshots posted elsewhere.

Both, one can assume, major games for Sega that seemingly bit the dust - Any info?

 

Hello and welcome!

Its great to have another pro on board especially as you were/are Japan based.

Basically my question is about Gun Valkyrie on the Dreamcast and any information you have about the game? did you play it? how much was complete? Is there a playable build out there? etc etc. Hopefully as you were with SOJ you could give us some new insight into the game! Its my personal Holy Grail of unreleased games (other peoples too) so any light you can shed would be wonderful

Both DonnyK and Monkfish answered questions but didn't have much information really beyond what was already known

Thanks mate :thumbsup:

 

I never saw one, and I definitely would have remembered, as I'm a fan of arcade racers. The only closest thing that came around was the arcade game "NASCAR Rubbin' Racing," (as monkfish mentioned, we worked right next door to the arcade division), and I remember wanting a DC port... sorry I couldn't be more help.

I still do work for Sega, so I'm not at liberty to say what games I worked on directly, but while I was at Sega.com I did online content stuff, and had the chance to play pretty much every released (and some unreleased) DC game. Those were the days...

It's the sexiest of the sexy, and very few people know about it. Seeing that image you posted really took me back... where's that image from, anyway?

Unfortunately, my only experience with dev kits is looking at them and wishing I had one. Monkfish, didn't you have one in your cube?

Sad to say, the only Black Belt I'm familiar with is the Master System version.

I came on when the DC launched, and most of the Saturn crew was long gone by then, so I have no real dirt on the Saturn. To put things in perspective, I pre-ordered both PD Saga and SFIII, and joined Sega about a year later.

Third party news was the hardest to come by, so I don't have any dirt for you.

Okay, so much for me being an "expert" -- I never heard about a DC version of GunValkyrie. I wish I had, as that and Jet Set Radio Future are two of the best damn Xbox games ever. If I run into some Smilebit people, I'll be sure to ask.

 

so you are still working for SEGA Japan? cool

Have you ever seen the chapter 2 of Shenmue (the chapter on the boat after the end of Shenmue 1)?

 

Aww , someone beat me to the punch about gunvalkyrie.Well my question is how far did smilebit get with jet set radio future on the dreamcast?In a gamespot interview that it stated as a dc game but they were forced to switch as the dc was on its way out.

 

Gunvalkyrie definitely reached the playable stage on Dreamcast because I remember journalists back in the day mentioning how it used the lightgun's directional pad - a feature I don't seem to recall any other game ever adopting! As for Jet Set Radio Future, wasn't this moved over to the Xbox during the planning stage (along with Sega GT 2002, I believe)?

The House Of The Dead III was another title from this transitional period that had Dreamcast/NAOMI roots, with fan reaction to an early cel-shaded prototype resulting in the more realistic final version being designed. However, to be fair even the end result seemed a little stylised to me, in a similar way to how Gunvalkyrie's distinct shading was toned down yet not removed entirely by the time of the Xbox edition's release.

The boat journey in Shenmue II was never intended to be experienced by the players, but instead referenced later on. I believe this was the good deed mentioned by a mother and her daughter quite early in Hong Kong, which may have possibly involved Ryo protecting them from Chai. Supposedly he was kicked overboard and accidentally died after meeting with the propellers, though I'm not sure if this has ever been officially confirmed...

 

The boat journey is officially chapter 2 of the Shenmue saga. Shenmue 1 is chapter 1 and Shenmue II is chapter 3-5 (6? don't remember), and chapter 2 was cut out.

 

If you do see some Smilebit people tell them I will do ANYTHING for a copy of that game :redface:

Thanks for the reply though, its nice to know you were onboard during the DC time as thats my fave console! look forward to reading more of your answers.

I also think that this thread may be moved to its own place as was the Monkfish thread to avoid any confusion

 

Ah, so your beat me to the gunvalkyrie question.Again we are probably the only 2 that consider it a gem.
Question:I forgot to ask 1 more thing last time,was a wild riders conversion to the d.c. ever in the making?

 

That picture of the Saturn / modem combo was shown in some Japanese newspaper years ago. Not sure which one to tell the truth.

I have a question regarding the promotion of the original Shenmue. How come when the game was promoted and shown to journalists even in the early stages of the game, it was always what we know as Shenmue 2. Even looking in magazines, all the early screen shots are from Shenmue 2. Was this originally going to be part 1? Was there a reason for showing part 2 over part 1? Also, even on the Project Berkley disc they show images of Shenmue 2, not 1. I'd also like to know if that CG movie used in the Project Berkley actually had any real connection to the story of Shenmue. Obviously it was based upon the earlier beta of the game based upon the model of Ryo (the beta model can be found in the final game code!) but seems to not connect to any part of the original 1st game or 2nd come to thing about it.

I'm sorry for such a obscure Shenmue question. I would be amazed if you could shed some light on to my questions though.

Yakumo

 

I work with SOJ on certain projects as a hired gun, but I no longer work there full time. I've never seen Chapter 2 of Shenmue... the only things I've seen are what's in 1 and 2 for the DC.

Not sure, but I'd guess pretty far since they had the engine already. I'll ask around if I run into some Smilebit peeps.

Will do!

I never understood why people didn't dig GV... I thought it was brilliant. Guess it was the controls. I would bet that Wild Riders was never considered for a port, as it's a gimmick game (with the handlebars) and was incredibly short... not the kind of game they'd want to go through the expense of porting to consoles. I remember when the arcade division got a cabinet of it, and I played the hell out of it -- great game!

That's a good question, but the main reason was probably because Shenmue was such a massive (and miserable, if you ask people who worked on it) production, and things changed so much over the course of development, that things probably just got moved around in the timeline. Shenmue was really a beast of a project, and none of my SOJ friends have anything good to say about working on it, unfortunately... it was basically a development meat grinder, and the only person who could probably answer questions about the Shenmue timeline is Yu-san.

 

When was the first time you heard wind of the DC getting canned? What was peoples reactions?

 

Here's a noob question from me: Why Sega Saturn had much better support in Japan (from both Sega and other third companies) than America and Europe? For example, lots of great games like Silhouette Mirage, Lunar series and Grandia were first released on Saturn and later on Playstation. Of course, the Saturn versions were better but still we only saw the Playstation versions on the american and european market. Moreover, there were some games that even thought we have seen them on the arcades outside Japan we didn't see them on the Saturn outside Japan (for example Twinkle Star Sprites which had lots of interesting extra material). And last, Sega of Japan supported Saturn much more from Sega of America and Europe (I don't know if it has to do with Segata Sanshiro ).

And another question that it's not 100% Sega related: Working Design was well-known for supporting Sega consoles (Mega Drive, Mega-CD and Saturn) untill someday when they started support Playstation and Playstation 2 only? Which means? No Lunar Magical School for the american market. And, of course, no Silhouette Mirage and Lunar 1&2 for the american Saturn.


Are the both cases related with the so-called Sony boycott or is the Sony boycott just a myth from Playstation haters?

Personally I heard from somewhere else that EA demanded from Sega that no other company would release sport games for DC exept from them. Of course, Sega said a huge "No" and so Sega released their own sport games which were, of course, much better (like NBA 2K1). Is it true? If so, is it connected with the 3DFX stuff?

 

Please can I ask how all of the demo/trial games for Japan were created? Was there a sepperete division in Sega that handled that sort of thing on behalf of all companies, not just Sega? Was there a sepperete division for promotional aspects in general?

Oh, I too think GV is brilliant. ^_^

 

It wasn't a sudden thing, and we all kind of knew the writing was on e the wall (considering how weak the DC was in Japan, and how strong the PS2 was coming on). But it was a painful transition for all of us, as there's not one of us who didn't love the Dreamcast. It was so ahead of its time, and it was an honor to be involved with it.

I'm not 100-percent sure why the Saturn did so well here in Japan, but I think it has to do with having some very otaku-friendly titles, including Sakura Taisen, which did very well here. Never underestimate the otaku-market -- they spend a lot of money on their hobby.

Working Designs was a game localizer and publisher, and while they were heavily Sega-centric at first, they changed when the market changed. The Sony boycott is very real -- Sony was very particular about the titles they allowed through (especially at the time), and getting niche Japanese titles through was a nightmare, which apparently led to their demise. It's a shame, as I loved their work.

You're talking about demos for kiosks, the press, trade shows, etc.? They are created by the same dev teams that make the game... demos are just another milestone along the way. Yes, all game publishers have seperate marketing divisions that handle the promotional aspects. The devs focus on the game, the marketers/sales people focus on moving units, and producers bridge the gap between the two (which was/is my role in things).

 

I've got a couple for you, Did you ever get any cool/unreleased stuff? Also, Whats your favorite part of the industry?

 

Sure, plenty of unreleased stuff! Most of my collection is back in America, but I'm hoping to unearth some things the next time I go back (sometime this year). Once the excavation begins, I'll definitely let y'all know!

Favorite part of the industry? I think just being able to do creative work is the big thing. Also, once I came to Japan, I had the opportunity to meet and get to know a lot of creators that I had always admired, which is cool. Another great thing is seeing your efforts on store shelves, watching people playing them, etc. Very gratifying.