PSX MAG from 2TUFF 3/6
F.Schober
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% ACE DRIVER NAMCO ARCADE PRE-SCREEN $ Typed By: 2TUFF
$%$%$%$%$%$%$%$%$%$%$%$%$%$%$%$%$%$%$% Article: Edge
Format: ARCADE
Publisher: NAMCO
Developer: IN-HOUSE
Release: MARCH (UK)
Origin: JAPAN
Billed as the successor to Ridge Racer but designed to appeal to the
Virtua Racing, F1/Indycar fan, Ace Driver is Namco's attempt to oust
Sega's Daytona USA from its position as the pre-eminent arcade racing
game.
The main difference between Ace Driver and Ridge Racer is the addition
of comprehensive texture-mapping and Gouraud shading. Whereas Ridge
Racer only uses Gouraud shading in the pre-race sequence (the main
game relies on flat-shaded polygons), Ace Driver will employ it
throughout. The result will be greatly enhanced graphics: by providing
a graduated transition between polygons of different colours, Gouraud
shading is able to create almost perfectly smooth, realistic curves.
This makes high demands on hardware - Yu Suzuki told Edge in issue 9
that `if Daytona had used Gouraud shading throughout, it would have
been three to five times slower.' The bulk of power for Ace Driver is
provided by the 25Mhz 32bit Motorola 68020 CPU on Namco's System 22
board in tandem with Texas Instruments 320TI digital signal processors.
However realtime Gouraud shading needs dedicated hardware, which is
where TR3 - a high-performance texture-mapping and shading chip - comes
in.
System 22 also enables up to eight windows to be displayed, making replays
and exterior views possible: Ace Driver has an in-car view and a ground
hugging rear perspective.
Ace Driver will be sold as two linked cabinets, up to four of which can
be connected together for eightplayer action. Two different models will
be available: Standard and Deluxe. namco are claiming that, with a
seat mounted on sliders to simulate G-force and a powered steering wheel
that resists your actions, the Deluxe cabinet will offer exceptional
realism. Hi-Fi specialist Bose is also being brought in to produce a
game-oriented speaker system that will sit behind the driver's head.
Namco has gained a justified reputation for technical innovation. Ace
Driver looks set to continue that tradition.
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% TALES OF THE GODS OF COMBAT PS-X PRE-SCREEN % Typed By: 2TUFF
$%$%$%$%$%$%$%$%$%$%$%$%$%$%$%$%$%$%$%$%$%$%$%$ Article: Edge
Format: PS-X
Publisher: TAKARA
Developer: IN-HOUSE
Release: TBA
Origin: JAPAN
The hugely successful run of Virtua Fighter (in Japan at least) has
galvanised beat 'em up specialist Takara into action with a PS-X
release that recently impressed Japanese journalists (joined by Edge)
attending a special presentation at the headquarters of Sony Computer
Entertainment.
Most noted for its conversions of SNK games to the SNES and Mega Drive,
Takara has now decided that it has the muscle to go it alone and
release an unlicensed game. The result is the one -on-one PS-X beat'em
up Toshinden. A hybrid of Virtua Fighter and Samurai Shodown, Toshinden
contains some of the smoothest polygons yet seen, and provides further
proof of the PlayStations power.
Toshinden's greatest asset - a zooming camera that pans smoothly across
the eight different backgrounds - is complemented by a range of superb
Gouraud-shaded characters, complete with detailed clothing and even
different facial expressions and hairstyles.
Takara's expertise with original ideas is untested, but Toshinden looks
like a good starting point.
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*WHERE TO GET YOUR ON-LINE ISSUE OF *PS-X/SATURN MAGAZINE* FROM FIRST
Bulletin Board
1. Oasis UK Run by Dan
2. SVP UK Run by Mad Turnip
3. Burger Bar UK Run by Ice-D
4. Graveyard UK Run by Undertaker
5. Lowlife UK Run by R$-John
6. The Mansion UK Run by Linebacker
7. Next Generation Ltd UK Run by Shei Pei Yang Leu
8. X-Factor USA Run by Blaster
9. Dawn of Ete USA Run by Skeleton
0. Next Generation Ltd UK Run by Shei Pei Yang Leu
Due to recent Telecommunications problems, the old BBS's that used
to be on the list etc are no longer. Blame the phone company for
their bastard trickery. (P.S Mr.phone Company?!?! YOU'VE WON)
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P |
S | PLAYSTATION ENTERS THE HOME STRAIGHT
\ | ====================================
X |
| Even though interest in the PlayStation is already
ENTERS | approaching fever pitch in Japan, Sony is taking
| no chances on the launch of the machine slipping by
HOME | unnoticed. The company recently held a hugh press
| conference in Tokyo to publicise its ambitious plans
STRAIGHT | for the videogames market.
|
| Held at the most luxurious hotel in the city, the New
| Otani, just a stone's throw from the Imperial Palace,
| the event was deliberately aimed at the mainstream
| media rather than videogames journalists. Sony's
| position as one of Japan's biggest and most influential
| corporations ensured that several television channels
| turned up and the majority of Japan's national
| newspapers sent repersentatives to witness its biggest
| product launch since the Walkman.
|
| The highlight of the event was the long-awaited
| announcement of the PlayStation's retail price and Sony's
| supporting strategy for the machine over the coming
| months. The PlayStation's project manager, Terihusa
| Tokunaga, revealed that the basic machine will go onsale
| in Japan for Y39,800 (#250). This means that gamers will
| be able to get hold of a PlayStation plus a couple of
| games for less than the psychologically import Y50,000
| figure (although the widespread high-street discounting
| that normally takes place looks unlikely, given the
| number of hardware bookings that shops are already
| taking).
|
| Also divulged during the 40-minute conference was the
| PlayStation's final release date. After months of
| playing cat and mouse with Sega, Sony has confirmed
| that the machine will be released in Japan on December
| 3 (ten days later than the Saturn), after having been
| shunted back four days to give distributors a fighting
| chance of getting the machine out in appreciable numbers.
| Supply will be limited to 4000 Japanese outlets, which
| hope to have stocks of 100,000 machines between them
| before the beginning of December and 300,000 before the
| end of the year.
|
| Distribution is being handled by a company with the
| wonderfully Japanesey name of Happynet. During his
| speech, Mr Tokanaka stated that Sony could not relie
| on its normal distribution channels in Japan because
| it needed to get the machine into games shops. The
| company is aiming for sales of one million units in
| the next six months, with a further two million expected
| to be sold by year-end 1995.
|
| As is usually the case with major Japanese launches,
| games shops are enforcing a strict limit of one machine
| per buyer (to be booked personally in advance, of
| course) and are also vigorously discouraging any form
| of export market. The few machines that might slip
| through the (presumably, not so happy) net will probably
| end up in Honk Kong. Given the high demand, it looks
| like the lucky importers who obtain them will be able
| to set whatever price they choose. Anyone expecting
| change from #1000 (especially after a couple of games
| are thrown in) are probably being optimistic.
|
| In a bid to disassociate itself from the mistakes made
| by other hardware manufacturuers, Sony was at plans to
| stress that eight games will be available at launch,
| with at least another 15 appearing before the end of
| December. Pressed on stylish matt-black CDs, they will
| retail at exceptionally consumer-friendly rates - between
| Y5000 and Y7000. And it seems that it won't be just the
| dregs that makes it under the Y6000 threshold, either,
| Sony's Motor Toon GP (an almost complete version was
| shown at the event and proved very popular) will be just
| Y5400 (#35).
|
| To ensure that the momentium of its software release
| schedule is maintained, Sony has now signed up over
| 250 thirdparty developers. Mr Tokanaka revealed that
| 700 developement systems have been shipped to companies
| around the world. Many of these, particularly the US
| and UK firms, still have a full year before their first
| releases next autumn (which is when the Uk machine will
| be launched).
|
| More immediate results are demanded from Japanese
| developers , though. Typical of the work in progress
| is Tekken, a new coin-op based on the System 11 board
| developed via a joint venture between Sony Computer
| Entertainment and Namco. Exact details of the system
| have not yet been released, but the hardware is certain
| to be almost identical to the standard Playstation.
|
| System 11 is pitched as a direct competitor to Sega's
| Titan arcade board, which is itself a souped-up version
| of a home console - the Saturn. The current fad,
| particularly in Japan and the US, of constructing mini-
| amusement parks has created the need for a steady
| turnover of new boards which are cheap and quick to
| construct in order to keep the punters coming. System
| 11 and Titan are designed for exactly this type of
| money-making, so in the near future it may become
| commonplace to see many PlayStation and Saturn games
| debut in the arcades before migrating downwards (with
| negligble loss of quality) to their home equivalents.
|
| Namco showed off a new, dedicated PlayStation controller
| at the conference, developed under an elusive deal with
| Sony. The `Negcon' (from the Japanese word nejiru, which
| means to twist) takes design functionally to an extreme
| - it twists in the centre to allows players exemplary
| control of driving games without the need for expensive
| (and wobbly) steering wheels. With Ridge Racer onsale
| soon after the PlayStation launch and Cybersled following
| in January (the pad's suitability for the twoplayer tank
| game was particularly stressed), Namco seems to have the
| pre-christmas peripheral market sewn up. The pad will
| retail for Y5000 (around #30).
|
| However, some people voiced their doubts about the
| standard PlayStation joypad. Although the 14-button
| design has been generally well received in Japan, a
| number of international delegates were worried about its
| small size, Sony has made it clear that the machine is
| aimed at 12-22-year-olds in its domestic market, but the
| generally larger hands of prospective PlayStation owners
| in the West may require a rethink on Sony's part.
|
| Other accessories demonstrated incude the PlayStation
| memory card, which will be used for saving games. The
| 128K device, which costs just Y2000 (#13), slots easily
| into the machine just above the joypad connection and
| can access 10K of saved information a second.
|
| Also on display were samples of the boxes that the
| machine will be packed in. Continuing the industry's
| trend towards more identifiable packaging, the PlayStation
| cardboard features sepia-toned photographs, which
| seemed to be widely appreciated
|
| Following the presentation, journalists were let loose
| upon the assembled software for a few hours. Although
| most of the PlayStations weren't connected to televisions
| Sony dispensed with security for one of the main
| attractions, Ridge Racer. Guests flocked to play the
| game that, more than any other, has given credibility
| to Sony's venture into the videogames market, and it
| elicited a fair few gasps. Although by no means arcade
| perfect (the frame rate is 30fps and the deatil far
| lower), Namco's conversion is very slick indeed and a
| credit to both the power of the hardware and the
| dedication of Namco's development team. Namco's Youchi
| Haraguchi was also sighted at the conference, on a
| board representing thirdparty licensees.
|
| On a day when excited shouting was the norm, Sony was
| keeping noticeably stumm about news of manufacturing
| problems with the first run of PlayStation hardware.
| Rumours circulating amoung delegates focused on
| post-production checks that uncovered a number of
| flaws on the motherboard. Fortunately, a $30 billion
| multinational like Sony can afford to just bin them
| and start again.
|
| Sony's new kit has already spawned a thriving ancillary
| industry, with a gaggle of new magazines ready to cash
| in on Playstation hysteria. Players will have a choice
| of no less than six titles to choose from, four of which
| (Denpa PlayStation, PlayStation Magazine, PlayStation
| Tsushin and Hyper PlayStation) are published fortnightly,
| while the remaining pair (The PlayStation and PlayStation
| Magazine Monthly) will appear every month.
|
| With this level of coverage assured even before the machine
| is released, the PlayStation is going to be very difficult
| to ignore.
|
CU [3] PLAY STATION <U>
F.Schober (D) SATURN / 32X <6>
<O> SNES GENESIS <4>