2004 started out as one of the most promising years in memory for the ever-eventful world of videogames. It also highlighted some of the more comic elements on offer, with Sony and Nintendo in a race to make good on wild, rushed, portable-gaming promises.
In a year that saw both genius and scandal as well as new IP forged from the embers of old. SPOnG enjoyed 2004, it was interesting and funny, tragic and inspired.
Let’s start at the beginning:
It was at the very dawn of the year that one of the more frustrating sagas of 2004 began to unfold. Valve dated Half-Life 2 to hit at Easter – citing additional development requirements as the reason. Was it worth the wait in the end? Yes, clearly.
Then, just days later on the 2nd, we ran a Q&A with since-resigned Reflections boss Martin Edmondson discussing one of the most promising games on the year, DRIV3R. The game went on to make for the biggest scandal of the year, though in January, all were optimistic: "…the dynamics side of the game started over four years ago, but that was originally used in Stuntman," we were ominously informed. Surely after five years, this would become one of the best games of all time.
SPOnG also revealed the first gossip relating to the slippage of Perfect Dark Zero towards Microsoft’s next generation of hardware. Quoting Rare spokesman Andy Wilson: “We're just not putting a date on Perfect Dark yet. Anything you read on a website is speculation, we're still in the process of getting the game ready. I won't commit to a date. We know when we're aiming for, but we're not ready to reveal that date yet. We've got other games in the works that are going to be appearing first and we want to concentrate on those.” Rare went on to throw its toys out of the pram some months later over the issue of its tawdry and transparent plans being leaked en masse. The simple fact that PDZ is but a glimmer in a Xenon dev kit’s eye remains.
Then Sony Computer Entertainment boss Chris Deering seemingly accidentally dated the firm’s plans for the launch of the PSP, in an interview with tedious official website PlayStation.com: “"There's no official date for its unveiling, but it has been announced that the target date for its global launch is November 2004".
Deering also commented that "…the features of music playing and Memory Stick usage, along with the capacity to handle all kinds of video content in addition to the great games, and maybe even more features that involve GPRS modems, location-based (GPS type) software, messaging and other features, make it a very handy thing to have, and something which will be very fashionable to be seen with." This came as an absolute bombshell at time of press, though was slowly dismantled by reality in following months.
By the 7th, Sony releases sales figures for the PSX. According to SCEJ, over 100,000 units had been shifted since the machine launched back on December 13, making the PSX an unquestionable success at launch.
The PlayStation 2 launches in China, though on the slated day, no machines were available in stores. Sony Computer Entertainment Asia stated an “unfavourable environment” as the reason behind the no-show. Exactly what SCE meant by this was not explained.
Then SCE made the following statement: “We are working with all our power to satisfy everyone's hopes by making the PlayStation 2 available to consumers, and we deeply apologise to you for any inconvenience.” Again, no reason for the delay was offered. By mid-February, the machine and ICO were widely available.
The 8th and Gates enrages the anti-Microsoft brigade revealing the Xbox Media Centre Extender Kit at CES. The Xbox as home media hub Trojan-horse argument holds water tangibly for the first time.
Nintendo then decided to go mad just days later, issuing the following Game Boy guidelines to the world. To date, no one quite knows why:
“Game Boy® Trademark Initiative, January 6, 2004
Did you know that there are ways to actually misuse a Game Boy? We just did it in the last sentence. Our famous Game Boy® trademark is sometimes misused. When a trademark is repeatedly misused it risks becoming a generic word that does not indicate the source or quality of the product.
You are probably one of more than 160 million people who love their Game Boy video game systems. But no matter how you use it (Gameboy, GameBoy, game boy, gameboy), real portable fun is actually spelled:
Game Boy® system
Game Boy® Advance hardware
Game Boy® Advance SP hardware
(Game Boy® can be used as an adjective to modify many generic nouns like system, video game system, hardware, game, software, accessory and so on.)
Now for some plural fun:
When there's more than one Game Boy®, Game Boy® Advance or Game Boy® Advance SP system, trademarks should never be used in plural format.
Here are some examples.
Incorrect usage:
Game Boys
Game Boy Advance SPs
Correct usage:
Game Boy systems
Game Boy Advance SP hardware
Of course, our trademark Game Boy® should never be used to refer to a non-Nintendo video game system. Our competitors have to earn their own reputations. Please don't give them a free ride on ours.”
Bad news for the Microsoft’s Xbox niceness push breaks on the 14th January as Ed Fries, key development liaison for the project walks out. “I want to stay involved in the game business, but at the same time I'm looking for more balance in my life,” he says, though to date he is yet to resurface. Likable Fries was inextricably linked to the disastrous purchase of Rare, a deal that stands as perhaps the most embarrassing moment of delusion in the games industry to date.
Not to be out done, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata decides to write off the entire games industry on the same day: “In many ways, we have reached the limits of game development. For the past 20 years, games have evolved in a linear manner, become increasingly more complex and better looking. But that growth, and that success is now coming to an end, and the creators are worried. Speaking frankly, games have already stopped selling.” Sobs are heard from Nintendo press offices around the world.
Sony decides to give Gran Turismo 4 a fresh date, a constant feature of the past six months and the following 12. The Easter date is withdrawn, replaced with a summer promise…
Sega Europe’s Mike Sherlock walks out. No reason is given though many are offered in Sega fan gossip-a-thons that follow.
Good news for the industry as Electronic Arts decides to bolster its credible gaming list: From SPOnG: “Electronic Arts has snatched the rights for Criterion’s exceptional Burnout series away from Acclaim, as financial woes seemingly force a change of publisher for the game’s third incarnation. What’s more, EA insiders have wasted no time in leaking information about the direction of Burnout 3 to the press, with online gaming now assured for the high-speed, responsibility-free smash-em-up. However, all online play will have to be conducted via the PlayStation 2, as EA has still failed to come to any workable agreement with Microsoft over revenue splits for the use of Xbox Live.” A year in gaming is a long, long time.
The 20th and retail sources confirm ‘console’ version(s) of Outrun 2 underway. Sega Europe’s erstwhile head of PR Asam Ahmad offers the lie that would ultimately damage the game’s chances at retail, explaining that no console version would be released as the game is simply an arcade game.
The new Nintendo hardware product briefing SPOnG exclusively revealed takes place, offering the first hints at the Nintendo DS. Big N offers “…an unprecedented approach to video game play. Holding two separate game screens in the palm of your hand hits the scene later this year when Nintendo introduces a new portable game system, code-named Nintendo DS.” Iwata-san states: “We have developed Nintendo DS based upon a completely different concept from existing game devices in order to provide players with a unique entertainment experience for the 21st century.”
Days later and Nintendo global comms head Yasuhiro Minagawa says, “We're not trying to take on PSP, because this machine will be completely different than anything that exists right now. The next generation of Game Boy is well into its development. It will be this machine that competes directly with Sony’s.” The full strategy of the filler portable is revealed.
However, LCD supply issues flare immediately. By 23rd of January, Nintendo is fire fighting screen concerns, telling SPOnG that "Right now, we are planning to make the product available globally by the end of calendar 2004. However, since the LCD market is tight now, we shall only be able to announce the details at or after our annual financial announcement in May.”
The 23rd and the Phantom project, already bathed in cynicism and controversy, signs Microsoft man Kevin Bachus. As the Herald Tribune puts it, "Infinium Labs dished out a stealthy stock dividend to insiders as soon as it became a publicly traded company, and without bothering to tell the stock-trading public through traditional channels.” A fresh saga emerges.
One of the more distressing tales of 2004 ignites proper. Polygon mag states that, “According to sources close to the company, Sammy plans to make several managerial changes within Sega this spring,” with a new focus on presumably cut-price arcade software being readied for “…markets in China, Russia and South America, among other regions.” Sega makes furious denials that any shift in management will occur, a line it bitterly and disingenuously fought out until it became laughable untenable.
Sega makes a fresh blunder regarding the already in-development Outrun 2 for Xbox. Senior AM-2 producer Makoto Osaki decides to go on record and say, “Hmmm, well, you know, we're actually really scared of the rental markets that exist in the West. You see, games like Outrun 2 and Virtua Cop C3 are really designed with arcade play in mind. They're something you put your coins in and amuse yourself with for a little while. This arcade-centric design idea is different from something like GTA3, which was made to keep you playing at home for long periods at a time. As a result, you could probably just rent the games, play them a bit until you're done and take them back. This would no doubt cut into potential sales.” Genius.
The 29th and Nintendo underlines its supremacy in the race for portable console tangibility, offering a fat crop of DS details including battery life, screen size and backwards compatibility.
On the same day shares in Atari slip by a massive 14% - The slippage for DRIV3R is blamed. SPOnG reports that, “…mirroring the issues faced by Tomb Raider developer Core, the jury is out as to whether this is a case of another UK developer struggling to make the generational leap.”
The 30th and Capcom stuns nobody at all, announcing that Killer 7, one of the most promising looking games the firm has in development , will no longer be exclusive to GameCube with a PlayStation 2 version going into production. No one predicts that the game will still be a complete enigma almost a year later.
And that was just January.
In a year that saw both genius and scandal as well as new IP forged from the embers of old. SPOnG enjoyed 2004, it was interesting and funny, tragic and inspired.
Let’s start at the beginning:
It was at the very dawn of the year that one of the more frustrating sagas of 2004 began to unfold. Valve dated Half-Life 2 to hit at Easter – citing additional development requirements as the reason. Was it worth the wait in the end? Yes, clearly.
Then, just days later on the 2nd, we ran a Q&A with since-resigned Reflections boss Martin Edmondson discussing one of the most promising games on the year, DRIV3R. The game went on to make for the biggest scandal of the year, though in January, all were optimistic: "…the dynamics side of the game started over four years ago, but that was originally used in Stuntman," we were ominously informed. Surely after five years, this would become one of the best games of all time.
SPOnG also revealed the first gossip relating to the slippage of Perfect Dark Zero towards Microsoft’s next generation of hardware. Quoting Rare spokesman Andy Wilson: “We're just not putting a date on Perfect Dark yet. Anything you read on a website is speculation, we're still in the process of getting the game ready. I won't commit to a date. We know when we're aiming for, but we're not ready to reveal that date yet. We've got other games in the works that are going to be appearing first and we want to concentrate on those.” Rare went on to throw its toys out of the pram some months later over the issue of its tawdry and transparent plans being leaked en masse. The simple fact that PDZ is but a glimmer in a Xenon dev kit’s eye remains.
Then Sony Computer Entertainment boss Chris Deering seemingly accidentally dated the firm’s plans for the launch of the PSP, in an interview with tedious official website PlayStation.com: “"There's no official date for its unveiling, but it has been announced that the target date for its global launch is November 2004".
Deering also commented that "…the features of music playing and Memory Stick usage, along with the capacity to handle all kinds of video content in addition to the great games, and maybe even more features that involve GPRS modems, location-based (GPS type) software, messaging and other features, make it a very handy thing to have, and something which will be very fashionable to be seen with." This came as an absolute bombshell at time of press, though was slowly dismantled by reality in following months.
By the 7th, Sony releases sales figures for the PSX. According to SCEJ, over 100,000 units had been shifted since the machine launched back on December 13, making the PSX an unquestionable success at launch.
The PlayStation 2 launches in China, though on the slated day, no machines were available in stores. Sony Computer Entertainment Asia stated an “unfavourable environment” as the reason behind the no-show. Exactly what SCE meant by this was not explained.
Then SCE made the following statement: “We are working with all our power to satisfy everyone's hopes by making the PlayStation 2 available to consumers, and we deeply apologise to you for any inconvenience.” Again, no reason for the delay was offered. By mid-February, the machine and ICO were widely available.
The 8th and Gates enrages the anti-Microsoft brigade revealing the Xbox Media Centre Extender Kit at CES. The Xbox as home media hub Trojan-horse argument holds water tangibly for the first time.
Nintendo then decided to go mad just days later, issuing the following Game Boy guidelines to the world. To date, no one quite knows why:
“Game Boy® Trademark Initiative, January 6, 2004
Did you know that there are ways to actually misuse a Game Boy? We just did it in the last sentence. Our famous Game Boy® trademark is sometimes misused. When a trademark is repeatedly misused it risks becoming a generic word that does not indicate the source or quality of the product.
You are probably one of more than 160 million people who love their Game Boy video game systems. But no matter how you use it (Gameboy, GameBoy, game boy, gameboy), real portable fun is actually spelled:
Game Boy® system
Game Boy® Advance hardware
Game Boy® Advance SP hardware
(Game Boy® can be used as an adjective to modify many generic nouns like system, video game system, hardware, game, software, accessory and so on.)
Now for some plural fun:
When there's more than one Game Boy®, Game Boy® Advance or Game Boy® Advance SP system, trademarks should never be used in plural format.
Here are some examples.
Incorrect usage:
Game Boys
Game Boy Advance SPs
Correct usage:
Game Boy systems
Game Boy Advance SP hardware
Of course, our trademark Game Boy® should never be used to refer to a non-Nintendo video game system. Our competitors have to earn their own reputations. Please don't give them a free ride on ours.”
Bad news for the Microsoft’s Xbox niceness push breaks on the 14th January as Ed Fries, key development liaison for the project walks out. “I want to stay involved in the game business, but at the same time I'm looking for more balance in my life,” he says, though to date he is yet to resurface. Likable Fries was inextricably linked to the disastrous purchase of Rare, a deal that stands as perhaps the most embarrassing moment of delusion in the games industry to date.
Not to be out done, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata decides to write off the entire games industry on the same day: “In many ways, we have reached the limits of game development. For the past 20 years, games have evolved in a linear manner, become increasingly more complex and better looking. But that growth, and that success is now coming to an end, and the creators are worried. Speaking frankly, games have already stopped selling.” Sobs are heard from Nintendo press offices around the world.
Sony decides to give Gran Turismo 4 a fresh date, a constant feature of the past six months and the following 12. The Easter date is withdrawn, replaced with a summer promise…
Sega Europe’s Mike Sherlock walks out. No reason is given though many are offered in Sega fan gossip-a-thons that follow.
Good news for the industry as Electronic Arts decides to bolster its credible gaming list: From SPOnG: “Electronic Arts has snatched the rights for Criterion’s exceptional Burnout series away from Acclaim, as financial woes seemingly force a change of publisher for the game’s third incarnation. What’s more, EA insiders have wasted no time in leaking information about the direction of Burnout 3 to the press, with online gaming now assured for the high-speed, responsibility-free smash-em-up. However, all online play will have to be conducted via the PlayStation 2, as EA has still failed to come to any workable agreement with Microsoft over revenue splits for the use of Xbox Live.” A year in gaming is a long, long time.
The 20th and retail sources confirm ‘console’ version(s) of Outrun 2 underway. Sega Europe’s erstwhile head of PR Asam Ahmad offers the lie that would ultimately damage the game’s chances at retail, explaining that no console version would be released as the game is simply an arcade game.
The new Nintendo hardware product briefing SPOnG exclusively revealed takes place, offering the first hints at the Nintendo DS. Big N offers “…an unprecedented approach to video game play. Holding two separate game screens in the palm of your hand hits the scene later this year when Nintendo introduces a new portable game system, code-named Nintendo DS.” Iwata-san states: “We have developed Nintendo DS based upon a completely different concept from existing game devices in order to provide players with a unique entertainment experience for the 21st century.”
Days later and Nintendo global comms head Yasuhiro Minagawa says, “We're not trying to take on PSP, because this machine will be completely different than anything that exists right now. The next generation of Game Boy is well into its development. It will be this machine that competes directly with Sony’s.” The full strategy of the filler portable is revealed.
However, LCD supply issues flare immediately. By 23rd of January, Nintendo is fire fighting screen concerns, telling SPOnG that "Right now, we are planning to make the product available globally by the end of calendar 2004. However, since the LCD market is tight now, we shall only be able to announce the details at or after our annual financial announcement in May.”
The 23rd and the Phantom project, already bathed in cynicism and controversy, signs Microsoft man Kevin Bachus. As the Herald Tribune puts it, "Infinium Labs dished out a stealthy stock dividend to insiders as soon as it became a publicly traded company, and without bothering to tell the stock-trading public through traditional channels.” A fresh saga emerges.
One of the more distressing tales of 2004 ignites proper. Polygon mag states that, “According to sources close to the company, Sammy plans to make several managerial changes within Sega this spring,” with a new focus on presumably cut-price arcade software being readied for “…markets in China, Russia and South America, among other regions.” Sega makes furious denials that any shift in management will occur, a line it bitterly and disingenuously fought out until it became laughable untenable.
Sega makes a fresh blunder regarding the already in-development Outrun 2 for Xbox. Senior AM-2 producer Makoto Osaki decides to go on record and say, “Hmmm, well, you know, we're actually really scared of the rental markets that exist in the West. You see, games like Outrun 2 and Virtua Cop C3 are really designed with arcade play in mind. They're something you put your coins in and amuse yourself with for a little while. This arcade-centric design idea is different from something like GTA3, which was made to keep you playing at home for long periods at a time. As a result, you could probably just rent the games, play them a bit until you're done and take them back. This would no doubt cut into potential sales.” Genius.
The 29th and Nintendo underlines its supremacy in the race for portable console tangibility, offering a fat crop of DS details including battery life, screen size and backwards compatibility.
On the same day shares in Atari slip by a massive 14% - The slippage for DRIV3R is blamed. SPOnG reports that, “…mirroring the issues faced by Tomb Raider developer Core, the jury is out as to whether this is a case of another UK developer struggling to make the generational leap.”
The 30th and Capcom stuns nobody at all, announcing that Killer 7, one of the most promising looking games the firm has in development , will no longer be exclusive to GameCube with a PlayStation 2 version going into production. No one predicts that the game will still be a complete enigma almost a year later.
And that was just January.