Next Generation Issue 45

PRIMARY SYSTEMS COVERAGE THIS ISSUE

• Sega Dreamcast (import development coverage)
• Sony PlayStation 2 (development coverage)
• Neo Geo Pocket Color (import development coverage)
• Game Boy Color (import coverage)
• Sony PlayStation
• Nintendo 64
• PC
• Macintosh
• arcade

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(The following is loosely based on this issue's table of contents, with select issue excerpts included. Magazine accurate text formatting (lower case headers, etc) purposefully retained. (Notes) and bullet lists are added for clarity.)

(This issue includes a 12 page, in-bound Electronics Boutique catalog labeled August 1998.)

Retroview
Resurrection (part 1) (one page; retro coverage; this article is not listed in this issue's TOC)

NG Index (one page; this resource is not listed in this issue's TOC)

Analyzing

Intelligence

(Original news articles along with regular, recurring news features; one page each unless noted. While original news stories regularly included related sidebars, unrelated sidebars would often be used to fill space as well - these are noted.)

Crackdown
As Internet videogame piracy increases, so too does action against it. (two pages; includes 'PlayStation 2: The Story So Far' sidebar)

When was the last time you scored?
A Next Generation look at what happened to the high score. (1.5 pages)

Company in limbo
What's next for Red Orb after being bought by The Learning Company (approx. 2/3rds page)

Nintendo and Hudson double-team
Manegi keeps developers happy. (1/2 page)

Hollywood 0, game industry 1
Game divisions have claimed their rightful place within media giants Universal and Warner.

(Recurring news features; 1/2 page each unless noted:)

New Bits (running footer bar; capsule news stories)

Profile (mini-sidebar; developer profile; Bjorn Arild Lynne)

In the Studio (1/2 page; development news; Pandemic Studios, Core Design, Acclaim, Shiny Entertainment, Capcom, Activision)

Haven't we met before? (mini-sidebar; similar video games; Mr. Nutz, Twelve Tales: Conker 64)

Toolbox (development software commentary; 'House of Moves')

Tracking ('Keeping tabs on the latest peripherals')

Movers and Shakers (approx. 3/4th page; 'That rotten game industry;' misc. business news by Colin Campbell)

Arcadia (misc. arcade news by Marcus Webb)

Hardcore (reader submitted anecdotes; approx. 1/4th page)

This month in history (approx. 1/4th page; milestone videogame events during the month of September)

NG Japan

Big In Japan
Next Generation reports from the eastern front. (three pages; a collection of articles and sidebars:)

• King of pockets (Neo Geo Pocket)
• Nintendo squeezes Mother into cart (Mother 3 planned as N64 cart)
• Selling Big In Japan This Month (mini-sidebar; top 10 best sellers)
• Sega spiked (Spike arcade game)
• Hip To Be Square (mini-sidebar; Square to develop titles for Sony's PDA)
• Namco goes techno (Soul Calibur, Techno Drive arcade games)
• Game Boy Color (mini-sidebar)

NG Software

Alphas (game previews, sometimes presented as part of a themed overview or interview; one page each unless noted:)

(Next Generation's game previews often varied in scope and size. Smaller previews were usually traditional in presentation, while larger previews often incorporated developer commentary. The largest previews were typically presented as a themed article (focusing on a development studio, accessory, etc) previewing one or more titles and were often accompanied by an interview (noted).

• Redguard (PC; four pages)
• Blood 2: The Chosen (PC; two pages)
• Turok 2 (N64,PC; two pages)
• Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri (PC)
• Uprising X (PS; two pages)
• Final Fantasy VIII (PS; three pages)
• Xena: Warrior Princess (PS; two pages)
• Glover (N64)
• Diablo 2 (PC,PS,DC,Mac; two pages)
• Sports Car (PC,PS; two pages)
• Gauntlet: Legends (arcade; two pages)
• Tomb Raider III (PC,PS; two pages)

Milestones (screenshot preview galleries with gallery caption; approx. 1/2 page each unless noted)

• Grim Fandango (PC)
• Hype: The Time Quest (PC,N64)
• Speed Busters (PC)
• Delta Force (PC)
• Wild 9 (PS)
• Slave Zero (PC)
• Quest For Glory (PC)
• Time To Kill (PS)
• Tobu (PS)
• Ogre Battle (N64)
• Armored Core 2 (PS)
• Winback (N64)
• Rally Cross 2 (PS)

(sidebars (one or two screenshots each) with caption:)

• Fifth Element (PS)
• Rayman 2 (N64,PS,PC)
• Silent Hill (PS)
• Top Gear Overdrive (N64)
• Ultrafighters (PC)
• Thrill Kill (PS)
• Brave Fencer Musashi (PS)
• NHL Face Off '99 (PS)
• Heavy Gear 2 (PC)
• Milo's Astrolanes (N64)
• Fighting Force (N64)

Dreamcast - The full story...
The next year will be the most critical ever in Sega's history as the company will literally sink or swim on the strength of the Dreamcast. Is the system up to task? Is the company focused? A Next Generation report... (14 pages, including the following articles and side-bars:)

• An Audience With Shoichiro Irimajiri
  Sega's boss talks about the costs, the competition, and Dreamcast's bid for worldwide dominance. (interview)
• The Third-Party Story
  Third parties = success. How Sega puts itself into the equation.
• 5 Myths About Dreamcast
• Tech Demo
  Screens taken from a technology demo running on a prototype graphics development system with less than half the performance of the final Dreamcast console.
• Development Environment
  Sega has a unique strategy: "Code first, hardware later."
• Sengoku Turb and Seventh Cross
  NEC returns to the game business - can Bonk 3D be far behind?
• The Dreamcast Partners
  Sega has been very careful about its choices.
• The Games
• All the technology in the world doesn't help if the games don't measure up.
• Warp Factor
  Dreamcast's only officially announced title has been a long time coming (D2; Kenji Eno interview)
• Developer Talk (interviews)
  • Michael Abbot, senior VP of product development at Midway's San Diego studio
  • Eric Hammond, Sega's VP of product development
  • Mark Rein, Epic's vice president
• Demo 1: Irimajiri (sidebar)
• Demo 2: Babylon (sidebar)
• Dreamcast Games (running sidebar; game list)
• Piracy - How worried is Sega about piracy? (mini-sidebar)
• Hobbyist Development (mini-sidebar; Yaroze-like plans)

Talking

How the hell did he turn Imagesoft around?
Several years ago Sony Imagesoft was known for hopelessly bad titles like Hook and Frankenstein. Then came Kelly Flock, PlayStation, and GameDay. Did the fact that Imagesoft was owned by Sony have anything to do with its success? How goes the battle with EA Sports? Next Generation has a provocative chat with the outspoken head of the newly rechristened 989 Studios. (five page interview)

Rating

Finals

(With issue #43, Next Generation expanded its review section to include a number of featured reviews - each typically one or two pages long - along with its traditional reviews (usually 1/3rd page in length). Import reviews are noted with 'Japan' below.)

(One page each unless noted:)

• Parasite Eve (PS; two pages)
• Descent Freespace: The Great War (PC)
• Turbo Prop Racing (PS)
• Vigilante 8 (PS)
• Kartia (PS)

(Approx. 1/3rd page each unless noted:)

• Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon (N64)
• Circuit Breakers (PS)
• N2O (PS)
• Risk (PS)
• Pocket Fighter (PS)
• Tomba (PS)
• World Cup 98 (PS)
• Addiction Pinball (PC)
• X-Men Vs. Street Fighter (PS)
• Flesh Feast (PC)
• Game, Net & Match (PC)
• Industry Giant (PC)
• Jazz Jackrabbit 2 (PC)
• Redjack: Revenge of the Brethren (PC)
• Redneck Rampage Rides Again (PC)
• Daytona 2 (arcade)
• Plasma Sword: Nightmare of Bilstein (arcade)
• Radikal Bikers (arcade)

The Gamer's Guide (two pages; collection of past game review scores for N64, PS, online, PC)

Corresponding

Letters
The president of the IDSA responds to the emulator issue. We respond back. (reader mail; two pages)