Haha, Sega is teaming up with Silicon Knights

[OB1]

Denis Dyack: Nintendo was just top kiddy for us, even though I said just a few months before we left them that I wanted to work with them forever. But we soon realized that the future was with Sega, because they are so NOT teh kiddy. Have you seen Shadow the Hedgehog? It's Sonic--with a fucking GUN. That's badass, man!

Sega: We are continually striving to destroy our company. *laughs* I, I gotta tell you, it's taking longer than we thought it would! Haha! Our next step: Hire Trip Hawkins to design our next console.



The news article is somewhere. I'm too lazy to post it. It's true though!

[A Black Falcon]

Sega: We are continually striving to destroy our company. *laughs* I, I gotta tell you, it's taking longer than we thought it would! Haha! Our next step: Hire Trip Hawkins to design our next console.

Given that Trip Hawkins now is making cellphone games, it'd be a cellphone... :D

Denis Dyack: Nintendo was just top kiddy for us, even though I said just a few months before we left them that I wanted to work with them forever. But we soon realized that the future was with Sega, because they are so NOT teh kiddy. Have you seen Shadow the Hedgehog? It's Sonic--with a fucking GUN. That's badass, man!

Funny, yes, but Sega on the whole is a lot better than that and you know it. :)


This is from summer last year (IGN mailbag)... this wasn't true as of then anyway.

Sega and Knights
Does Sega or something publish Silicon Knights' next game? That's the latest rumor, anyway.

Matt responds: Survey says: nope. Silicon Knights will announce the details of its new third-party strategy in coming months. Stay tuned for more.

[A Black Falcon]

Well, here we go... it's true now.

It was today announced that fabled development studio Silicon Knights will create a next-generation console franchise exclusively for Sega:

"We intend to establish SEGA as a leading publisher on the next generation of game hardware and only the highest possible quality of Western-developed content will get us there," said Simon Jeffery, President and COO, SEGA of America. "Silicon Knights has a rich history of developing great games that push hardware technology, so we expect this relationship will result in a powerful, new, and highly commercial franchise."

"Silicon Knights believes that the next generation systems will be the catalyst propelling video games as the dominant form of entertainment in this century," said Denis Dyack, President of Silicon Knights. "We are very excited to collaborate with SEGA on a next generation project because we share a vision - to take the medium of games to new heights and move people as never before."

http://ve3d.ign.com/articles/598/598278p1.html

[OB1]

Duh. Why would I post some old rumor from an ign mailbag that's almost a year old?

And Sega has been sucking terribly as of late. Just about every move they make is retarded. They still support the XBox and PS2 more than the GC even though they've sold more GC games this gen than PS2 or XB. And their last game, Virtua Fighter Quest, was a travesty to that franchise. And Monkey Ball Deluxe? Not for the GC, of course! Screw those fans who've supported Sega the most! And don't get me started on Shadow.

[Great Rumbler]

I can't help but think that Sega's current sucktitude will, by reverse-osmosis, leech into SK's projects thereby making THEM suck.

Hopefully whatever game they make will come out on the GC, if not I will lose all hope in Sega's ability not to be retarded.

[A Black Falcon]

And Sega has been sucking terribly as of late. Just about every move they make is retarded. They still support the XBox and PS2 more than the GC even though they've sold more GC games this gen than PS2 or XB. And their last game, Virtua Fighter Quest, was a travesty to that franchise. And Monkey Ball Deluxe? Not for the GC, of course! Screw those fans who've supported Sega the most! And don't get me started on Shadow.

True, but the actual GAMES are mostly good, excepting stuff like VF: Quest... their marketing department, and the people who choose which platforms to put games on, are completely worthless, but the actual developers are mostly pretty good.

[Great Rumbler]

I think their most recent examples of stupidity are due at least in part to them having been bought at by Sammy. It's never a good thing when a videogame company gets taken over by a conglomerate.

[OB1]

Most of Sega's recent games have been mediocre at best.

And SK wasn't that great of a developer pre-Nintendo. Eternal Darkness was good because (as Dyack himself said), Miyamoto and EAD were co-developers of the game. I don't know how good they're going to be without Nintendo.

[A Black Falcon]

I think their most recent examples of stupidity are due at least in part to them having been bought at by Sammy. It's never a good thing when a videogame company gets taken over by a conglomerate.

Yeah, that could have hurt... we'll see for the future, but that's a definite possibility.

And SK wasn't that great of a developer pre-Nintendo. Eternal Darkness was good because (as Dyack himself said), Miyamoto and EAD were co-developers of the game. I don't know how good they're going to be without Nintendo.

They weren't awful, though... they were a good developer. Not as great as the team that produced ED, I'm sure, but not an awful team for sure.

[OB1]

ABF's OB1-to-ABF dictionary, Chapter 14


"wasn't that great" means "awful"




Thanks for being a moron, ABF. I appreciate the never-ending supply of humor you set up for me all of the time.

[A Black Falcon]

'wasn't that great' is definitely a negative term, in my opinion...

[OB1]

Do you see everything in terms of opposite extremes? The concept of varying degrees is completely lost on you. You see black or white and that's all.

[Dark Jaguar]

In a completely unrelated note, WHY DIDN'T ANYONE TELL ME KNUCKLES CHAOTIX WAS AWESOME?

Okay, here's DA deal. I just got a used copy of both a 32x and Knuckles Chaotix for like 10 buckazoids (I had no idea so many cables were involved with that really BAD idea for an expansion). Expansion aside, the game itself is VERY fun. I'm tempted to call it a new favorite Sonic game, except it doesn't star Sonic. I mean, maybe some of you have played it but... basically it was built around co-op play the way Sonic 2 LOOKED like it would be :D. It's like... you and some other animal are bonded together by a stretchy band of energy, and you have to cooperate to run through a bunch of levels. I mean it's like, the whole idea is you two struggle for a while but once you pick it up you actually start cooperating without even saying a frickin' word most of the time, and you end up doing these awesome swingy things that get you travelling like triple the speed you could ever move in a Sonic game. Honeslty, this is the sort of innovation I wish Sega would be trying for, not just "hey let's give them projectile attacks" but rather "hey let's add insane co-op". Honestly, I went over to a friend carting this thing and, rather than playing any of the other games we had, we ended up switching off playing this game AAAALLLL NIGGGHT. In short, I'm tired right now, and seriously, WHY didn't this game sell well?

Oh right, it was on the 32x... Stupid Sega... It's like, even when they win... they lose...

[OB1]

Never played that. Never had a 32x...

Too bad they're not smart enough to put the game into one of their many Sonic collections.

[Dark Jaguar]

Seriously, that and Sonic CD, two games they didn't stick in there. It's not that they weren't smart enough, they wanted to, but they couldn't get the emulation of those add-ons down, even though they... okay yeah... they literally weren't smart enough to do it is what they were saying when they explained it.... :D

But anyway, yeah, if you haven't played it yet, and considering how much you enjoyed Four Swords and possibly other games like that, I bet you'd love this.

I'm trying to think of how Sega might make a new 4 player version of that game...

[OB1]

They would never do something that smart. It's simply un-Sega-like!

[Great Rumbler]

DJ, are you sure you talking about the same Knuckles Chaotix as the one I have? Because the one I have has some of the most repetitive textures in any Sonic game ever, has mediocre art at best, has level design that is often confusing, not to mention that the buddy-system while an interesting concept that opens up a few cool puzzles and moves is often simply cumbersome, not to mention that the game itself plays a lot slower than most of the Sonic games. Maybe if you play co-op it's better, but I don't know.

It's not terrible, though, but the best Sonic game ever? Not even close!!

[OB1]

....


Huh.

[A Black Falcon]

32X doesn't have much, but it does have a few decent-to-good space shooters...

[Dark Jaguar]

Huh, I guess you did play a different one GR :D.

Seriously though, that was the most fun I've had in a Sonic... ish game in a long long time. Cumbersome you say? I suspect that's why you didn't enjoy it that much, maybe. The key is actually really learning the controls, and that DOES take time. There's a a pretty steep learing curve. Learning how to do individual things isn't TOO hard I suppose, but actually being able to pull off triple normal sonic speed is REALLY tough, and requires good cooperation with your partner. Heck, if you get it down to how we had it, you can actually flip around repeatedly into the sky for an endless bouncing jump that never freakin' ends, and then yell at your friend when they mess it up right at the top of that corridor.

I dunno, I guess co-op really IS the only way to play that game. I mean, honestly I wouldn't have enjoyed Four Swords Adventures nearly as much if I played it just on single player. Sure, it LET me do that, and it added a couple things specifically for the times you do that, but it really can't be called a game meant for that.

Gee, does this mean that this game is, dare I say it, controversial? Probably...

Space shooters eh ABF? Well, it's also got a good version of Virtua Fighter and Virtua Racer Deluxe. Certainly, the 32x for the most part is a failure of a system, but I'd say this one game is good, certainly worth the ten bucks I paid.

[Great Rumbler]

The 32X did have Star Wars Arcade and the greastest 2D shooter with hummingbirds, Kolibri.

[lazyfatbum]

SK cant support itself, cant publish their games and needs a strong backing in order to function. All they have to do is make Eternal Darkness 2 with a good story line and better graphics; the gameplay can stay the same just add different weapons, magick, abilities and monsters etc. and they'll be so succesful they could buy Saudi Arabia.

Somehow, in my opinion, I feel like they're gonna fuck it up. Nintendo knows business and they got rid of them for a reason. Just like Rare. How many games has Rare done since Starfox Adventures (a beautiful mediocre title)? They did ONE, and it BOMBED. Sucks ass for Rare but right there is the reason Nintendo dropped them.

[Smoke]

So SEGA's sucking so badly now that they have to go to outside developers for ideas?

[Great Rumbler]

It's certainly the truth that SK's two GC games sold well below expectations, although I suppose you could put some of the blame on Nintendo for not advertising them more or something, but the game likely cost a lot of money and didn't make anything back, so Nintendo probably felt that they weren't really helping. Whether or not they can help Sega, I don't know.

[A Black Falcon]

32X has a surprising number of decent or good shooters, given its extremely short life -- Kolibri (definitely the best hummingbird-based shooter ever made. :)), Star Wars Arcade, Darxide, Shadow Squadron, Space Harrier, Zaxxon Motherbase 2000...

Virtua Fighter and Virtua Racer Deluxe are also good.

As for Sega and SK, who knows. We really have to wait to know much... but yeah, game quality might drop a bit. They won't make bad games -- I think they're good enough to not do that -- but they definitely might not be as good as the two GC ones.

[Dark Jaguar]

I'll need to keep a look out for this Kolibri game.