August 2000,

   VIRGIN NETTED - DREAMSCREEN LAUNCHED BY SEGA

> It's all go at SEGA of Europe at the moment and things are getting even hotter this month as the company has announced that it is to join forces with Virgin Net to bring Dreamscreen, a film and leisure site, to Dreamarena. It is the first content deal for Dreamarena and is totally exclusive to Dreamcast users. The site will provide previews/reviews, special features, charts and all sorts of other things that will get film buffs wetting themselves.

Web site address: www.virginnet.co.uk

KINGS OF THE RING

> Ready 2 Rumble: Round 2 will feature 11 new characters, some of which will be big-name celebrities. We found out that Micheal Jackson will appear, but now it's been confirmed that basketball superstar Shaquille O'Neill will also make an appearance. Rumours abound that Jerry Springer will also take a starring role but have been denied by Midway reresentatives. Other new characters include Joey T, GC Thunder, Mama Tua (Salua's mum) and Wild 'Stubby' Cooke.

SLAM DUNK DA FUNK

> After mixed reviews for its previous basketball game, NBA Showtime, Midway is back with a second dose of bouncing balls in the form of NBA Hoopz. As well as retaining all the outrageous moves and action from the first game, NBA Hoopz will have loads of new modes of play including a Championship mode, new characters (the Teletubbies are there!) and even more crazy moves. It should see release by the end of the year.

   

NOT SO JOLLY ROGER

> Well, it had to happen didn't it? After months of SEGA claiming that Dreamcast games couldn't be pirated, a group of people in the US known only as 'Utopia' have proved them wrong by doing just that. A boot disc has appeared that can be run on any Dreamcast, allowing illegal copies of games to be played without trouble. Games that have gone under the knife of the pirates include Power Stone 2, Marvel Vs Capcom 2, Dead Or Alive 2 and (no joke) Jet Set Radio. This is, in a word, bad - if games that have only just appeared on the system can now be copied and distributed illegally, this is likely to be only the beginning of what may turn into the biggest of SEGA's already mounting problems. Bugger.

CHICKEN IMPOSSIBLE - CHICKEN RUN(NING) TO DREAMCAST

The game will closely follow the story of the film with the player having to help Ginger, Rocky and the rest of the gang escape from the evil clutches of Mrs. Tweedy and a fate worse than chicken pie. The gameplay will revolve around puzzle solving. Object collection and action chase sequences all set in 3D enviroments recreated from the film. Also featuring will be seven mini-games which will include the delights of catapulting chickens over fences to their freedom. Sounds completely barmy but we reckon we can cope with that. Expect to see the game hit the shops in November.

MTV'S DEATHMATCH - BROADBAND STUDIOS GET MTV LICENCE

> In need of some angst-ridden teenage action on your Dreamcast? Then rest easy, as your prayers have been answered this month by Broadband Studio's, part of Take 2 Interactive, who have secured a four year deal with MTV to develop games based on shows broadcast by the station. Shows that could well find themselves Dreamcast bound via Rockstar/Take 2 in the future include the likes of The Real World, Celebrity Deathmatch, Road Rules and Beat Suite, among others. While some of these might prove a little dull there's no doubting that a Celebrity Deathmatch game would go down an absolute treat... well, we can live in hope.

THE BIRDY SONG - DREAMCAST GOES FOR THE SHOOT OUT

> Classic arcade shoot-'em-up action is on the way this Autum as Virgin Interactive is set to release Capcom's 1942 clones Gunbird 2 and Gigawings. The two games place you in control of various craft/characters as you go about shooting the crap out of anything and everything that moves in true 2D scrolling fashion, causing complete nuclear meltdown on your controller. Equally chaotic, manic and crazy, both games will provide a quick blast (and we mean quick) of action for all retro gamers out there.

WHO GIVES A DUCK - UBI SOFT BRINGS DONALD DUCK TO DC

> It would seem that Ubi Soft just can't get enough of the Dreamcast judging by the amount of games it has in development for the console. That number's just gone up one more as the company has announced that it will be releasing Donald Duck Quack Attack, which is being developed in Morocco, of all places.

WALK LIKE A PANTHER - MAD CATZ REVEALS NEW PERIPHERAL

> With a whole host of first-person shooters including Half-Life, Quake III and Outrigger starting to make their move on Dreamcast, concerns have been raised about the worth of the Dreamcast controller for such games. With P.C gamers used to the combination of keyboard and mouse to keep them in the hunt, Dreamcast users could find themselves coming off second best.

SEGA GOES FOOTY MAD - 4-0 TO SEGA EUROPE

> It would seem that SEGA Europe sees that its demographic lies with the football fans of Europe, as it already sponsors three top European football teams and advertised heavily throughout EURO 2000. That number has now gone up to fourth with winners of the Spanish Premier League, R.C Deportivo de la Coruna, set to wear the SEGA swirl next season, joining Arsenal, Saint-Etienne and Sampdoria.

CRAZY TAXI 2 CONFIRMED

> SEGA has confirmed that work has started on a follow-up to the smash hit, Crazy Taxi. However, SEGA Hit Maker - the team behind the origional - has also hinted that the seguel might not necessarily see you driving a taxi. It has also revealed that work has already commenced on a sequel to Virtua Tennis, so let's hope there's some ladies in it this time.

SMILEBIT KEEP SMILING

After the success of Jet Set Radio developer Smilebit, formerly AM6, has already got another name in the pipeline. It has the working title of  Hundred Swords, although quite what sort of game it is remains to be seen. We're guessing that it's going to be some kind of RPG...

BIG BUCKS FOR SEGA

After making a financial loss for God knows how many years, SEGA has finally escaped the red and actually made a profit. A 1,500,000,000 Yen ($10,000,000) net profit has been reported for the first quarter compared to a net loss of 42,900,000,000 Yen ($290,000,000) loss for the same period last year. Congratulations SEGA!

RIPCORD LET RIP

Ripcord games has revealed that it has changed the name of M.O.U.T 2025 to Shrapnel. It has also announced that the Dreamcast version of Legend Of Blademasters will include Quest Of The Blademasters, the online accompaniment to the title.

FARRELL TO DREAMCAST

At the recent Global Videogames conference in Paris, Brian Farrell, CEO and Chairman of THQ, announced that the company only sees the Dreamcast as providing short-term opportunities and it is not part of their long-term strategies. Fool!

SPACE PLANET LANDING

Rumour has it that Amusement Vision (AM4) is working on a follow-up to the classic arcade game Space Harriers. Set for release in the arcades, the game is entitled Space Planet and is a 3D action shooting game much in the same vein as the original, although a Dreamcast release is still up in the air.

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