Sunday, October 25th, 1998

PlayStation Rules
According to an article over GameFan OnLine, PlayStation is in charge in the sales department for console game systems:

Success is nothing new to the Playstation, but it appears as if Sony’s first entry into the console foray has nowhere to go but up. Between the fall of Sega’s Saturn and scarce software releases for the Nintendo 64, the TRSTS report shows that the PSX has widened the gap to a significant 2 to 1 margin in terms of head to head sales.

Sales of the console saw a 97% percent jump in the month of September, and software sakes followed suit with significant increases of their own. One of the primary reasons cited for the boost is Sony’s new pricing structure: "With the success of our new pricing structure, PlayStation is poised to dominate the holiday selling season," said Jack Tretton, vice president, sales, Sony Computer Entertainment America. "Our retail partners have been extremely pleased with the pace of sales in their outlets and are looking forward to a very healthy holiday season. The lower console price has driven literally millions of consumers into stores looking to purchase a PlayStation for the first time."

With the release of titles like Metal Gear Solid and Xenogears, Playstation should continue to see some big numbers, but it will be interesting to witness the impact of some of Nintendo’s major releases on Playstation’s current dominance. Between F-Zero-X and Zelda, Nintendo may be set to give them quite a run for their money towards year’s end. We’ll keep you posted.

As if there was any doubt?

Monday, October 18th, 1998

More Screenshots
There are some screenshots available over at Videogames.com. There are four total: two are the same ones sent to me buy the guys at PSXIGN and two are new ones. I am not going to add these shots to the screenshots section (which will be put online next month) due to the poor quality of the images. However, they are still worth checking out as they show the railgun in action and some different environments.

Quake II: One year later?
According to EB World, the PlayStation version of Quake II is going to be released on December 9th of this year. This makes sense since it would just hit the market in time for the Christmas shopping season. Oddly enough, the expected date is exactly one year after the release of Quake II on the PC. Go figure...

Thanks to "syzygy" for the tip on both news items.

Friday, October 16th, 1998

First Screenshots!
Ladies and gentlemen, the JPGs we have all been waiting for:



These are not scanned images from the ad I mentioned last week. These are original images sent from Activision to PSX.IGN.COM. Along with the screen shots, there is some very exciting news:

• The release date is said to be in January or February, depending on how fast they can finish the game up.
  
  
• The single player game for the PSX version will be better than the PC version. This is no big surprise considering that solo play makes a game on a console system.
  
  
• They are tweaking the A.I. for this version of the game. This is being done out of necessity due to the fact that you can't release a patch for a console game.
  
• Two-player mode will use a split-screen that is said to run as smooth (same frame rate) as the single-player mode.
  
  
• Colored light-sourcing is already in and looking quite beatiful. Once again, no big surprise; this is PlayStation after all...

As you can see, PSX Quake II is going to kick serious @$$. Be sure to read the full article and be sure to stick with QuakeStation!

Saturday, October 10th, 1998

AD in EGM
It's Coming! There is a two page ad in this months issue of "Electronic Gaming Monthly"! The add features about four screen shots which show some very good signs:

• Great Graphics: The graphics looked sweet. There was a lot of colored lighting and some great looking textures.
  
  
• New levels: The game is very different from the PC version. It includes never before seen levels, and revamped versions of the PC levels that fit PlayStation's strenths and weaknesses (limited RAM is an example).
  
  
• Enemies: Shown so far were the Grunt and the Tank. Also, there was a screenshot that showcased several enemies on the screen at once.

The add went on to describe how the game was built from the ground up and featured a humourous picture of a dead body with a toe tag saying: "Practiced on a PC". Things are seriously beggining to heat up. Stick with QuakeStation for all the latest news.

Wednesday, October 7th, 1998

Thrill Kill: Killed?
It's Quake and it's PlayStation, so I had to to report it. After Virgin Interactive was acquired by software giant Electronic Arts (EA - most commonly known for their great sports games), EA announced that they would not released the highly anticipated PSX game "Thrill Kill". This news has caused quite an uproar. Even the Quake Community has taken notice. The "Community Rant" over at Planet Quake is dedicated to this topic for this weeks edition. If you are at all interested in Thrill Kill, than this article is a must read. Good thing EA doesn't have the rights to Quake II...

Friday, October 2nd, 1998

Q2PSX: Off The Record
In the new "Off The Record" section at PSX.IGN.COM, there is some very, very good news regarding the PlayStation version of Quake II. Here it is:

What's up with Quake 2?

There's a reason why you haven't seen Quake 2 shots on IGNPSX. Id Software, the company that holds the rights so dear to its heart, retains control over what screen-shots can be released to the public. This doesn't mean the game looks like crap – in fact, we know that the game looks hot. Two player mode is currently running, and the game doesn't seem to hiccup. The graphics engine is very crisp, very smooth – and what's more, Activision is working on a four-player split-screen deathmatch. It's also been said that eight-player deathmatch via link cable is being looked into, but currently the developers aren't putting this feature on the Priority One list.

As you can see, this dispells previous rumors of the game being, well, crappy. It seems like id and Activision are doing everything they can to make a great conversion of Quake II to the PlayStation. Hopefully, there will be much more good news in the near future.

Wednesday, September 30th, 1998

PlayStation Cooling Fan
PSX.IGN.COM recently reviewed the new "Cooling Station" from Nuby, a company known for their console controllers and memory cards. The cooling fan recieved a good review. It's features include the matching grey color and size of the PlayStation so it doesn't stand out, drawers for up 10 memory cards, and ofcourse, a reletively fair price tag at an MSRP of $29.99. It should be mentioned that most PlayStations don't have this overheating problem, and won't need this device. Most people already know whether or not they have this problem, but if you don't than contact the PlayStation maintainence line to find out. The article can be read here.

Friday, September 25th, 1998

PlayStation 2 is Near (?????)
According to this article at PSX.IGN.COM, PlayStation 2 may be coming sooner than you think. According to the article, a UK based games magazine reported that PlayStation 2 may be out as soon as April 1999 in Japan, and could be out by next fall (1999 - duh) in the U.S. Many were expection some sort of an announcement of PlayStation 2 to slow down the momentum being gained by Dreamcast. However, this doesn't seem to certain as specs of the machine are usually included with the announcement of the release date. Chances are this is just a rumor with some slightly true facts. At this point, Sony has denied all of the facts included in the article, so don't get too excited... yet. If this article was totally true, than why not just released Quake II on PlayStation 2?????

Wednesday, September 23rd, 1998

PlayStation 2 Design
I saw an article at PSX.IGN.COM about the potential design of PlayStation 2 (pictured to the right). As you can see, the design is very similar to Sega's Dreamcast, which will be out in Japan on November 20th of this year. However, there is some specualtion as to whether or not this is a valid image. Some people believe that this image came from Namco, which is one of Sony's biggest and best software publishers, being the creators of the Tekken franchise. However, some people think that it may just be a hoax. The thing to keep in mind is that companies change the design of a system several times before it is released (Sony changed the PlayStation controller design 12 times before the release of the system). So, whether or not this image is genuine or not, chances are that this will not be what PlayStation 2 looks like.

Saturday, September 19th, 1998

Quake II Action Figures
In the most recent issue of Game Pro (Metal Gear Solid is the cover feature :), there was a news report that Quake II action figures will soon be available. They will be made by Resaurus, the company that made the cool Duke Nukem 3D action figures. Here's the article taken directly out of the magazine:

Sneak Peek: Quake II Action Figures!

Resaurus, the toy company behind the excellent Duke Nukem action figures, has set its sights on id's PC phenomenon, Quake II- and GamePro got an early look at the upcoming toy line.

The first wave of figures will include the male and female Marines, as well as the Strogg Barracuda Shark, the dog-like Parasite, and the monstrous Tank. These sketches clearly indicate that the sculptors are sticking closely to the game's designs, which will make hardcore fans very happy.

The toys are in "accelerated development" and should be on store shelves by the end of the year. Resaurus is expecting a $9.99 price point. With Quake II currently in development for both the Nintendo 64 and the PlayStation, the game is poised to set the mainstream market on fire.

The article also included early sketches of the Female Marine, the Parasite, the Strogg Barracuda Shark, and the Tank. It looks like Quake II is ready to take over the toy scene as well.

Friday, September 11th, 1998

PSX Quake II @ ECTS (!)
In what is the biggest news since the intial press release, PSX Quake II was in the form of a playable demo at ECTS. This comes from a report from Gestalt at Planet Quake. Here's what he had to say:

Yes, console owners can start getting excited, because at last they can play Quake II. This game is due out by Christmas, which is worrying. Why?

Well, the demo showing at ECTS was .. um .. limited. There was one level. One monster (the blaster grunt). No items. Oh, except that mis-shapen medpack that you couldn't actually pick up. Then there were the clipping and rendering problems that caused the ceiling to disappear and let you walk inside piles of crates.

And deathmatch ... sorry, but split-screen deathmatch is not fun. Two to four players on a single TV screen? No thanks. Even more worrying was that there aren't even any player models - you look like a grunt in deathmatch at the moment. And you start off with all the weapons (because there are none to pick up yet). All in all, this was a very early alpha version at best.

On the bright side the graphics are about as good as you can expect from a console, ie just slightly better than the PC version running at 320x240 in software mode, and apart from the lack of items or monsters it seemed a fairly faithful conversion of the PC version. But they've got a lot of work to do if this is going to be finished for Christmas...

As you can see, there were some negative points to the demo. However, I think that the game will be converted fine by Christmas. If it was only one level complete for an original game, than I could see why there would be a reason to panic. But, Quake II already exists, and if they have already done the first level, than porting over the rest of the levels shouldn't be much of a problem. I'll let you know if anything else develops...

Sunday, September 6th, 1998

Several changes have been made to the site in last two days. Here's the deal:

• I changed the backround graphic on this sidebar. I found the old one to be too distracting. This is a just a temporary design anyway...
  
  
• The Messageboard has been put back up. I posted a message on there as to why I did this. You can get to the message board by using the sidebar on the left.
  
  
• Most importantly, I added the PlayStation specs page. This page gives you the rundown on what the PlayStation hardware can do. If you have knowledge about these kinds of things, than you can make predictions as to what PSX Quake II will be like.

I'm glad that I'm getting stuff done now. After tommorow, updates will be sparse (cuz of school). It looks like this site will just be another reason to look forward to the weekend. :)

Friday, September 4th, 1998

PSX Emulation
In a full-featured article on PSX.IGN.COM, a major, major topic is discussed: the emulation of PlayStation games on Personal Computers. Emulators have been around for a while, but with the current abilities of today's PCs, the problem has never been this severe. With a simple download of a PlayStation emulator, and the use of above average 3D hardware (3DFX Voodoo is the only kind that works at this point), and you are able to play PlayStation games on your PC. An even bigger problem is that in some cases (primo 3D hardware/voodoo 2) the games perform better on the PC than on the PlayStation. This is very, very cool, but I'm pretty much against it becuase is totally illegal (some of the stuff is legal if you own a PlayStation unit), and this means that Sony is going to have to waste their time sending lawers after a few no-life hackers instead of focusing on making great games. The article can be read here, and it also brings up another interesting news piece:

PSX Emulation on Dreamcast
The recently opened Dreamcast.IGN.COM has posted an article about Dreamcast being PlayStation compatible. If you can't understand the ramifications of this, than let me brake it down for you: Inside sources indicate that developers inside Sega have contacted the same people responsible for the PSX emulator mentioned above. Appearantly, they have already gone far enough to find out that the emulator CAN work on Dreamcast. This would make Sega be able to run their main competitor's games on their machine. Sure, this sounds cool, but there is one minor problem: this would result in the mother of all law suits. Sega is spending 1/6 of the company's net worth (approximately $500 million) to develop, market, and support Dreamcast, and if you throw in a Godzilla sized lawsuit from Sony, than Sega would cease to exist. So, while it sounds cool, the fact is that reason tells us all that Dreamcast could never be PlayStation compatible.

Thursday, September 3rd, 1998

PSX @ CVS?????
There were a few surprising things about today. As you may have read in my .plan file, today was back to school day for me. Considering I had soccer after school, the first big surprise was that I had time to update today. The other big surprise occured while I was getting some supplies for school at CVS. While waiting in line to pay for my materials, I noticed that there were PlayStation games on the back wall with tobacco products and whatever lame movies they sell there. The only significant title I noticed was the original Tomb Raider, which was in the "Greatest Hits" packaging which meant it must have cost around $20. This means several things. The first is that PlayStation is now the most "mainstream" video game system of all time. You can't even buy Gameboy or Nintendo (8-bit) games at CVS! There are both negatives and positives to this, but I can't really discuss either right now. I have been doing a good job at keeping the news section strictly factual and commentary-free, but this is truly weird. More this weekend...

Wednesday, September 2nd, 1998

IGN Re-launches
IGN (Imagine Games Network), the number one video games network on the planet, relaunched today. The most notable change is the setup of their sites. They all use the same setup which is frames free. All of the sites are also hosted at IGN instead of having their own domain name. The most notable change was for PSM Online which changed to PSX.IGN.COM. There are some things that should be mentioned about the change. The network now has complete sites for all of the following platforms (all of these sites are hosted by ign.com): PlayStation, Nintendo 64, Online gaming, PC, and Sega's recently announced Dreamcast. There is also a network site which inlcudes information/news compiled from all of it's hosted sites. This is the "IGN Network", and it does not affect other sites aligned with IGN such as PC Gamer Online or Blue's News.

PSX News Bytes
Along with the network facelift came alot of interesting information regarding PlayStation. Here's the highlights:

• PlayStation is where it's at: This is an article which discusses why the next generation of systems may not be able to stop the force that is PlayStation.
  
  
• Why sequels are killing the PlayStation: This article looks particularly interesting as it could relate to PSX Quake II. This isn't exactly a sequel, however, as there was never a release of the original Quake on PlayStation.
  
  
• The new IGN: Brilliant? Crap?: This is where you can go to submit your comments on the changes that have occured with the world's #1 gaming network, IGN.

Unfortunately, there still wasn't any info available on PSX Quake II. In the mean time, some of those articles are definately worth checking out. I'm gonna see if any of them can help to add anything to my wishlist.

Tuesday, September 1st, 1998

PlayStation Price Drop
In an article from PSM Online, the PlayStation is recieving a $20 price cut which drops the retail price down to $129.99 in U.S. dollars. Sony is also considering a similar price drop in Europe and Japan. It should also be noted that this is the PlayStation unit which is bundled with the new "Dual-Shock" controller, which is a very good deal. The article can be read here.

Slight Site Changes
You may have noticed some slight changes occuring around here. Here's the deal:

• The news and my .plan have been archived. I've decided that the news and my .plan file will be cleaned out (archived) every two months.
  
  
• This section (the news section) has been slightly changed as to accomodate more than one update in a single day. It also helps to keep the date bar less cluttered.
  
  
• The previews section has been renamed to the "articles" section. This means any articles (whether it be previews, reviews, etc.) from outside sources will be listed there.
  
  
• Due to lack of interest the message board was dismantled. I may put up another one in the future.

There will most likely be less updates now that I am back in school on the 3rd. However, updates will be made on the weekends which should work out just fine. That's it for now. If you have any questions, comments, or rants about the site, please don't hesitate to E-Mail me. Any and all feedback about the site is taken into consideration, so send in your ideas.


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