Q2 2000
ACTIVISION ACQUIRES MAXIS
After the breakout success of The Sims, Activision has fully acquired developer Maxis. Activision’s partnership with Maxis didn’t start out so smoothly with the release of SimCity 3000, but The Sims has been a completely different experience, moving over 2 million copies.
SEGA OF AMERICA GETS NEW CEO
Steve Race has resigned from Sega of America and they have named Jack Tretton as their new CEO.
SEGA BANDAI RESTRUCTURES
Sega Bandai announced that it would be cutting certain jobs and merging teams. In their video game division, they would merge Ninja Team into Virtua Studios. Sega would also merge BlueSky Software with Appaloosa Interactive and Sega Technical Institute, forming Sega Santa Monica. Sega Santa Monica would be split into two teams, one working on console games and the other working on handheld games.
E3 2000
APPLE
Apple started their second E3 by announcing over 2 million GameCores had been shipped worldwide and that Rayman 2 was the highest selling game with over 1 million copies sold. They highlighted third-party support, reminding everyone that the only console that you could get Unreal Tournament or Quake: Arena on was the GameCore.
Apple wanted to highlight some of the Japanese talent developing for the GameCore. They announced they would be publishing Ico for release in the Fall.
Ico
Bungie revealed Oni, developed at their new San Jose, California based studio. Oni was an action-adventure title that takes place in a polluted dystopia, but the toxic areas are being kept from the public.
Oni
Apple then revealed Halo, a third-person sci-fi shooter, also developed by Bungie. They showed an extensive demo of the game and announced a release for November. The game got a lot of attention and won several Game of E3 awards.
Halo
MICROSOFT
Microsoft had their first E3 press conference in 2000 to further highlight Windows X gaming experiences. They started out by showing a line-up of X-box models by NEC, Toshiba, Mitsubishi, and Panasonic. Some were shocked that Panasonic was making a Windows X console because they had been well known for manufacturing for 3DO.
Microsoft started by bringing Warren Spector to the stage to announce a new game from Activision and Looking Glass Studios. The new game was Troubleshooter, a sci-fi RPG shooter based on conspiracy theories. Troubleshooter would be available at Windows X launch.
Troubleshooter
Microsoft moved on to its first party line-up, demoing Nocturne, Asheron’s Call, and Motocross Madness 2. They also had a trio of titles from Digital Anvil at their event including Conquest: Frontier Wars, Loose Cannon, and Freelancer. They showed a new game from Microsoft Studio LA and Clive Barker, titled Undying and featured Eidos Interactive’s Anachronox 2, a sequel to the 1998 RPG hit.
Lastly, they had a full reveal of Quiver: Xen, the sequel to Valve Software’s 1997 hit. Quiver: Xen would take you into a portal, bringing you to the world from which the aliens came from and would launch with Windows X in October.
Quiver: Xen
3DO
Trip Hawkins came to the stage promising a great show and saying it is time for 3DO’s comeback. He took pride in the fact that the M2 add-on sold over 7 million units worldwide, stating that one-third of all 3DO owners had upgraded, but that he is well aware of the level of competition. He spoke about how the next generation had begun and that 3DO’s business model has inspired other companies to join in and that 3DO was ready for its next generation.
Hawkins first announced that 3DO M2 consoles would now retail for $179 US dollars and add-ons for just $79. Both would be packed with a copy of Shifter. They also showed two new titles from Legacy of Kain II developer, Silicon Knights, Too Human and Eternal Darkness. Both titles would be available this year exclusively for M2.
Eternal Darkness
Hawkins went on to talk more about their next console, stating that it would not be available as an add-on, but it would be an all new start in the hardware. He brought the new console to the stage, designed by Sony. “Introducing the 3DO Max.”
3DO Studios revealed Shifter 2 and Power Crystal II, demonstrating the Max’s power. They also gave the stage to Konami to reveal sequels to Silent Hill and Metal Gear Solid, both were announced as Max exclusives. Metal Gear Solid 2 stole the show.
Metal Gear Solid 2
Lastly, they announced that 3DO Max would be available in 2001.
NINTENDO
Nintendo started their show with a new trailer for Super Mario RPG 2, with the final title for the game revealed at the end of the trailer, Super Mario RPG: Star Spirits.
Next, they showed a new trailers for Dinosaur Planet and Banjo-Tooie, both due for the holiday season. Nintendo also showed Mario Party 3 at the event. After showing these games, they had the words “Dream Team” come up on the screen, showing all of the third-party support on the Ultra Nintendo Entertainment System.
Dinosaur Planet
They followed up by showing a new game from Bits Studios called RiQA, which seemed to be direct competition with Tomb Raider, but with a sci-fi twist. It would be set for an October release.
Nintendo highlighted the success of the Pokemon franchise and announced that a new Pokemon was coming soon…to a new platform. Nintendo’s Gunpei Yokoi came to the stage, pulling a new handheld out of his pocket, the Game Boy Amaze. The Game Boy Amaze featured four-face buttons and shoulder buttons and playing on the device was an enhanced version of Pokemon Gold & Silver, called Pokemon Crystal and would feature wireless multiplayer.
Game Boy Amaze with Pokemon Crystal
Square also revealed a new title, exclusive to the Game Boy Amaze, Threads of Fate and Vagrant Story: Tactics, a spin-off of Vagrant Story. Square continued by promising a Final Fantasy game exclusively for the Amaze.
Nintendo revealed a brand-new 3D Mario title for the 32-bit Game Boy Amaze, titled Super Mario 3D Land, The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask and a 2D Metroid experience, simply titled Metroid IV. The Game Boy Amaze was priced at $179 and would be available in November.
Not only did they reveal the brand new portable, but they took this opportunity to reveal their next home console, the Nintendo Q. Nintendo claimed that it would be the most powerful next-generation console and demonstrated by showing a tech-demo for Zelda and announcing a 2001 release.
SEGA
Sega started with a video talking about how gamers are connected through a hobby, through an experience and that with the next generation they can always be connected, it then ended with a logo for Sega Nexus. New Sega of America President, Jack Tretton came to the stage with an updated version of the Sega Next, shown last year, now with a Nexus logo. Tretton introduced himself and thanked players around the world for supporting Sega. Tretton mentioned successful franchises that have made Sega what it is. He mentioned Tomb Raider, leading to Toby Gard, who worked on the original Tomb Raider, coming to the stage.
Gard was there to reveal his new game with Core Design, Galleon. Galleon would feature Captain Rhama and the mystery of a seaship and its origin. The game would be available for the Sega Nexus at release.
Galleon
Sega took a break from Nexus to mention the Game Gear Touch, confirming that Sonic the Hedgehog 4 would be available in the coming holiday season and that a new NiGHTS game would be available this Fall for both Nexus and Game Gear Touch, called Air NiGHTS. While the Touch version featured a 2D sprite-based game, the Nexus version featured a colorful 3D world.
Nexus version of Air NiGHTS
Air NiGHTS on Game Gear Touch
Sega also announced a partnership with Capcom that would bring certain Capcom titles exclusively to Sega platforms. They revealed Devil May Cry, Onimusha: Warlords and Resident Evil 3, exclusively for the Sega Nexus.
Resident Evil 3
Next, Sega showed a trailer for Mortal Kombat V from Acclaim Studios Chicago and followed up with another fighting game announcement with Virtua Fighter 4. Virtua Fighter 4 would be headed up by Tomonobu Itagaki and would be available at Nexus launch.
Sega also teased a new shooter from Lobotomy Software, titled Osiris. Osiris would feature ancient Egyptian mythology and blend it with sci-fi. Sega followed with a second shooter, this time from former Rareware developers at Free Radical Design. The new shooter would be titled TimeSplitters. Sega also showed Max Payne, an action title from Remedy Entertainment. Metropolis Street Racer was announced for Nexus’s launch as their flagship racing title. They revealed Glass Solider from developer Treasure. Sega also confirmed that they would be moving forward with the Digimon universe with Digimon Adventure 2 for Game Gear Touch this year. They also revealed Digimon Online, a new massive multiplayer online game, running on their new online service. They spent a little while talking about SegaNet and how it would revolutionize games in the years to come. They also revealed that the Game Gear Touch and Nexus could be linked to each other for unique experiences.
Digimon Online
Lastly, they revealed the Nexus launch price of $299 and revealed Sonic Legacy by Crash Bandicoot developer, Naughty Dog, before ending their conference.
Sonic Legacy
OTHER
In other important news from E3 2000, Disney Interactive/Buena Vista Interactive announced Star Control: Rebirth from original developer, Toys for Bob. They also announced the ESPN Games label, rebranding their baseball series ESPN Hardball. Buena Vista also showed the updated version of Redline for consoles and Windows X.
After Activision bought the Adeline Software division from Delphine Software, it was renamed No Cliché. Activision had two titles to show from No Cliché. One of the titles was Little Big Adventure 3 and the other, an original survival horror, titled Agartha.
Psygnosis impressed with a reveal of The Fallen 2 and Interplay hyped its upcoming games, Infinity II: Fall of the Gods, Sacrifice, Giants: Citizen Kabuto, and Descent: Red Shift.
GT Interactive impressed with Thrill Kill 2, X-COM: Genesis, Civilization III, and Duke Nukem Forever. While Sierra Entertainment showed Prince of Persia: Arabian Nights, The Last Express 2, King’s Quest IX, Tribes 2, and Space Quest VIII.
Acclaim Entertainment had a good showing with Mortal Kombat V, WWF Raw, Fur Fighters, and possibly the most interesting announcement, South Park from former Rareware employees at Bad Day Studios.
NOTABLE RELEASES OF Q2 2000
Colony Wars: Red Sun (M2,EVO,UNES,GC,WIN,MAC) Psygnosis
Comix Zone: Next Page (GGT) Sega-BlueSky Software
Homeworld: Cataclysm (WIN) Sierra Entertainment-Barking Dog Studios
Legend of Dragoon (UNES) Square
Mother 3 (UNES) Nintendo-HAL Laboratory
Shogun: Total War (WIN) Electronic Arts-The Creative Assembly
Vampire: The Masquerade-Redemption (WIN) Activision-Nihilistic Software
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