"Fuel for Gamers"

January 3 through January 5th, 2001

GOD’s Games En Route to Linux
Compete In Twin Galaxies Contest
Epic WWII Battles Go Gold

New Product Line Is Sound
NeoPlanar Audio Technology Debuts
AM/FM Receiver With The Internet Plus
Dolby’s Pro Logic II At CES

Music Company to Liquidate
Grammy’s Via the Net
Skip–Free MP3
Cash Prizes for Soundtrack Composers

Speed IS Fun With Acclaim’s Newest DC Game

Creative for Children Releases

GBA Driving Interest at Majesco

Board of Directors Gains One
Legal Action Against THQ Eradicated

Acclaim Continues Their Speedy Debuts


PlayStation 2 Gets Conexant Modem Technology
Don’t Give Me Any Bushido
DreamCatcher Sucks Blood
PS2’s First Music Title

VM Labs Offers NUON DVD Games

Arcanum Developers Go With IRC Chat

ActiveSky Gets Pumped–Up with VC
Better Wireless Game Control

Bill Gates in a Box
Xbox Volunteers, Please Step Forward

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Messages from Gamers Gazette sponsors

Darkness and insanity reign in American McGee’s ALICE. When Alice answers a distressed summons to return to Wonderland, she barely recognizes the befouled setting. Something is decidedly amiss. Undaunted by the diseased ambiance, cavernous confusion, and mortal danger that surround her, Alice sets out on a quest to undo the chaos.
  Equipped with courage, a keen appetite for the bizarre, and a lethal array of transmogrified toys, she'll penetrate the strongholds of her enemies, confront the forces of evil, and put the wicked Queen of Hearts in her place. — Continue the adventure — the Alice website.

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Staff
Publishers/Editors
Hartley & Pattie Lesser

Senior Contributing Editors
Reuben Ahmed
Michael Askounes

Contributing Editors
Mike Chantry, Ed Hurta, Alex Nekrassov, Russ Shady, Jeff Sheltren, Zach Sinrod

Contributing Authors
Paul Wolf, Chris Zelenak

Subscriptions
Gamers Gazette, The Official Future Games Network newsletter is published twice (2x) weekly in both HTML and TEXT–ONLY formats. All subscriptions are free. To subscribe to either version, simply click here.

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Legal Notice
While Gamers Gazette and the Future Games Network and their agents have used their best efforts in collecting and preparing the information published within the newsletter, Gamers Gazette nor Future Games Network does not assume, and hereby disclaims, any liability for any loss or damage caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions resulted from negligence, accident or other causes.

Gamers Gazette and Future Games Network and its affiliated sites and individuals may, from time to time, own, have positions or options in companies discussed herein and may also perform advisory services, and/or have other relationships with those companies.

Copyright & Trademarks
Copyright 1999, 2001 Cybereps. Feel free to distribute the TEXT–ONLY version of Gamers Gazette for any NON–COMMERCIAL purposes as you see fit. Please credit any excerpts to http://www.fgn.com/ggnews.html. Gamers Gazette is a trademark of Cybereps. Future Games Network is a trademark of Cybereps.

Contacts
Hartley G. Lesser
Pattie J. Lesser

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SPECIAL CONTESTS FOR GAMERS GAZETTE READERS **ONLY**

#1 — Certainly one of the most enthralling and exciting combat flight sims we’ve played of late has to be Microsoft’s CRIMSON SKIES offering... and the game is tough, as well! For those who believe they can master this alternate universe, the time is NOW to enter this special, Gamers Gazette only, giveaway! Yep, you can win a copy of this game simply by sending an email to contest HQ and enter the words Crimson Skies Screamer in the email subject header. You don’t have to enter any additional text in the body of your email. This contest will run through January 15th, 2001. GAME ON!

And don’t forget the Half–Life: Platinum Edition bundle giveaway... imagine, receiving ALL of the Half–Life games in a single offering! Fast–paced action and more... includes a variety of add–ons released by Sierra Studios over the past year. This is THE compilation game to get... if you win, that is. Random drawing at the close of the contest will determine the lucky participants. All you have to do is to send us an email with the words "Half–Life Platinum"... that’s it! More info at this direct contest link!

GAME ON, folks!

GOD’s Games En Route to Linux Two titles from Gathering of Developer’s recent game offerings are about to be ported to Linux OS. To be handled by Linux morphers at Loki Software, the titles include Heavy Metal F.A.K.K.2, a third–person 3D’er based on the Heavy Metal 2000 animated feature film, and Rune, a fantasy action game within a 3D world with multiplayer encounters and some 43 levels for single–player engagements. Details. Return to newsletter index.

Compete In Twin Galaxies Contest Twin Galaxies, keeper of scores since 1982, in the realm of video gamers and pinball players, is announcing a new contest, TwinGalaxies’ World Championship for the PC. This contest involves Space Empires IV and is a first because Twin Galaxies hasn’t had a PC platform World Championship, let alone a turn–based–strategy contest — until now. Great, you may say, but what’s in it for me? The top five players, worldwide, get to share $400 in cash prizes, and the first–place winner gets $200 and will be included in the next edition of Twin Galaxies Official Video Game & Pinball Book of World Records. This contest runs through March 7. Register. Return to newsletter index.

Epic WWII Battles Go Gold Getting set for the final push is Sudden Strike from Strategy First. This real–time, tactical combat game should hit store shelves at the end of this month. The game is set in WWII Europe and has already been released into the European market. Early reviews indicate the game is possessed of historical accuracy and we have already noted in our Major Gamer preview of the game that the level of realism is outstanding. You will command American, German, British, French or Russian forces. You must then outmaneuver and overcome Panzer squads, bombing raids as well as mobile infantry units. You can hide your units within structures and most of the environment is destructible, from trees and buildings to bridges. There are as many as 1,000 units per mission and multiplayer mode will support as many as 12 players in up to four teams. Details. Return to newsletter index.

New Product Line Is Sound AIWA AMERICA intends to "wow" visitors at CES as they unveil a variety of new product lines that will bring MP3 playback to portable, car audio and home products. The company is showing four players: the new MM–RX400 includes a built–in AM/FM tuner, 64MB of memory, USB interface, SDMI compliance and supports MP3 and WMA formats, and will debut this April; the MM–VX200, an SDMI–compliant player with 32MB of memory and includes a 32MB memory; plus two new multi–codec flash memory players, one including an AM/FM tuner, to debut this summer. The company also has their AIWA XP–MP3 portable CD player — this unit plays audio CDs and MP3–encoded CD–R/RW discs, displays ID3 tags, and has a fixed/variable bit rate from 32K to 320K, E.A.S.S. Plus on audio CD playback, three–point LED battery indicator, multi–bit dual D/A converter, rechargeable batter compatibility and includes DC and cassette adapters within a car kit. Return to newsletter index.

NeoPlanar Audio Technology Debuts During CES this week in Vegas, American Technology Corp. is going to be demo’ing their audio technologies. Demos of their HyperSonic Sound, Stratified Field Technology, NeoPlanar Technology (formerly known as Planar Magnetic) and PureBass sub–woofer technologies will be presented. The NeoPlanar loudspeaer technology is covered by 89 U.S. and Foreign patents. Current ATC licensees include HSt, Thomson Multimedia (RCA, in the U.S.), eSoundIdeas and Authentic of Japan (NEC subsidiary). With a booth at CES, you’ll be able to see the latest additions to their FM Sounds radio product line, as well, with sports–themed radio products and ultra–miniature cell phone accessory radios featured throughout the four–day show. Details. Return to newsletter index.

AM/FM Receiver With The Internet Plus Yet another Internet device has debuted, this time from DigMedia. The company has announced their DigRadio. This is a stand–alone device that combines a conventional AM/FM stereo receiver with a web–based radio tuner and also possesses MP3 playback capabilities. The device is based on Windows CE 3.0 and connects to the Internet via a built–in Ethernet connector or via the unit’s on–board 56K modem. The Intel StrongARM SA–1110 processor will power the DigRadio. Eight physical radio preset buttons are offered and a four–axis navigation wheel with one large color display and a remote control. Other unit features will be controlled from a personal web site called MyDigRadio. Details. Return to newsletter index.

Dolby’s Pro Logic II At CES Located at Booth #8005 in the Las Vegas Hilton Ballroom is Dolby Laboratories and they’re demo’ing Pro Logic II. This is the nextgen Dolby Surround product that can bring the technology to any, existing stereo mix. Plus, current Dolby Surround mixes will now sound aking to 5.1–channel surround sound. The technology works with CDs, Dolby Surround–encoded VHS tapes and TV shows, as well as MP3 files. And, even with rdio broadcasts, all of these files can be converted to surround sound without the artifacts other matrix decoding technologies bring into play. The company will also be demo’ing MLP Lossless technology in the new DVD–A format. You can now put 5.1 channels of 24–bit/96 kHz resolution audio on a DVD. Other product demos will include the company’s PC/Gaming Surround Sound used in a variety of digital entertainment titles; the new Dolby Headphone; and Advanced Audio Coding (AAC). This latter technology could well be the successor to MP3 as it is 30 percent more efficient than MPEG Layer III Audio. You can store more songs with higher fidelity. Details. Return to newsletter index.

Reference Design Cooperation e.Digital and Toshiba are joining forces, with the former firm to to create, develop and deliver music player samples based on their proprietary reference design and built to the latter’s specifications. Expect Toshiba to demo these samples, which all incorporate DataPlay miniature optical disc storage technology, at CES this week. DataPlay optical storage discs from Boulder–based DataPlay Inc. can store 500MB of data on the disc, which is about the size of a quarter. This technology will avail users of up to eight hours of high–quality digital music and supporting, multiple music codecs. e.Digital will be providing the internal reference product design and Toshiba the exterior design and plastics. Details. Return to newsletter index.

Music Company to Liquidate Having been a provider of custom music CDs via the Internet, as well as a purveyor of downloadable digital music, MusicMaker.com has finally come to the end of its road. The company’s Board of Directors has decided to liquidate and dissolve the company, and the plan will be submitted to the company’s stockholders for their approval. Reasons for the liquidation include the fact that the company’s stock has traded well below the net asset value of its shares and all attempts to locate a buyer or strategic partner have not met with any success. Return to newsletter index.

Grammy’s Via the Net For music fans that are intrigued by the opportunity of viewing the 43rd Annual Grammy Awards on the web, LAUNCH.com will be providing this coverage. Starting on January 3rd, which is nomination day, this site will give fans an up–close look at these proceedings as well as complete inside coverage that includes breaking Grammy news as well as exclusive interviews with the nominees. Additionally, you’ll be given the chance to interact and vote on the artists you believe should win these prestigious awards. Details. Return to newsletter index.

Skip–Free MP3 Thanks to PINE Technology USA, you can now listen to your MP3 files as you move about freely. No more skipping! In fact, this is the first 50 second ESP player released for consumers and is on display at CES in the MP3 Pavilion. This is PINE’s secondgen MP3 CD player and features an improved 50 second ESP anti–shock mechanism. Other features include resume play as well as an album search function. Expect the unit to debut later this quarter. Also appearing from PINE is their entry level MP3 CD player called the D’music SM–300T, which is a thinner version of their SM–200C that offers 4.5 hours of MP3 music and audio CD playback. This new player comes with a large LCD display, five–band equalizer, remote control headphones, plus album search/playback/repeat functions. Details. Return to newsletter index.

Audio Enhancements from Sensate Although a newbie in the audio infrastructure solution arena, such hasn’t stopped Sensate Inc. from producing their new Sensate AoIP Wireless Media Server for RealJukebox. This technology allows consumers to download digital music to various portable devices, such as MP3 players, PDAs, automative PCs, cell phones and car stereos, all across wireless nets. The technology supports existing wireless nets offered by Intel, Proxim and Apple and any that are based on the 802.11b, HomeRF and Bluetooth standards. The company is also offering the Sensate AoIP client for consumer devices, which includes all of the software functionality for the client device from server communication through to protocol stack, digital rights management and audio playback. Details. Return to newsletter index.

Cash Prizes for Soundtrack Composers There’s a new contest that’ll run until March 31st from Turner Classic Movies, Film Music magazines and MP3.com. This is the second annual Young Film Composers competition, which is sponsored by The Guitar Center. You’ll be able to submit demo scores for 90–second silent movie clips to MP3.com. Links from TCM directly to MP3.com will allow you to sign–up for free web pages as well as to upload your audio files for review by a team of music industry pros. You must be between the ages of 18 to 35 to enter, and the winner is gonna glom onto $5,000 as well as access to the resources necessary to compose and record a score for a silent film that will then air on TCM. Details. Return to newsletter index.

Speed IS Fun With Acclaim’s Newest DC Game Now entering the speed zone is Vanishing Point for Sega Dreamcast folk from Acclaim Entertainment. Built by Clockworks Games, there are more than 30 licensed vehicles in this title that’s rich with an advanced physic engine. There are eight single–player tracks as well as racing modes for two players. And you can certainly test your driving skills with the Stunt Driver mode. As many as eight gamers can also compete in a league–style multiplayer mode, as well. Not only are you racing against time, but there’s a traffic system employed that’ll have you gritting your teeth against highly competitive AI opponents. You can also adjust your vehicle in the Tune Up Shop. This is the first Acclaim title that takes advantage of the company’s Netspine technology. Through use of your DC modem, folk from around the world can compete in online tourneys as well as list their top scores. Plus, Acclaim will progressively enhance game play, interactivity, and web integration in their future titles thanks to the online features made possible through use of NetSpine. The ESRB rates this game "E". Details. Return to newsletter index.

Creative for Children Releases From The Learning Company comes Kid Pix Deluxe 3. Part of the company’s Broderbund brand, this new educational software features a wide array of graphics and all–new tools so children can create multimedia art, complete with sounds and animation. Targeted for youngsters ages four and older, Kid Pix Deluxe 3 offers the easy–to–use "Little Kids Mode" and "Idea Help" for younger artists and moves to the more sophisticated multimedia movies and slides show for older children. Projects showcase their artwork, such as digital storybooks, comic books and multimedia movies. There are also classic art tools such as stamps and paint brushes and realistic drawing tools. Youngsters will also be able to email anything they create within this program to family and friends. Details. Return to newsletter index.

GBA Driving Interest at Majesco With the Game Boy Advance from Nintendo to appear shortly, a number of game publishing companies are driving forward with new projects for this nextgen handheld system. From Majesco comes word that they’ll be developing the following titles for the GBA: Aerial Aces, the gambling sim Caesar’s Palace, Earthworm Jim, F–18 Thunder Strike, Fortress, Iridion 3D, Jelly Belly, the classic Pitfall: Mayan Adventure, and Ultimate Paintball. Expect seven of these puppies to be available for purchase on the GBA’s launch date. Details. Return to newsletter index.

Board of Directors Gains One Just announced by Infogrames is that Thomas J. Mitchell is now joining the company’s Board of Directors. Mitchell spent 40 years with Ernst & Young LLP and retired as Senior Partner in 1999. He has been heavily involved in many corporate finance transactions, including IPOs, mergers and acquisitions. He has worked with many of the high–profile clients at Ernest & Young, including Columbia Pictures, Hanson PLC, Young Broadcasting, Coca–Cola Bottling, Nabisco, Toy Biz/Marvel Entertainment and On Line Software. Details. Return to newsletter index.

Legal Action Against THQ Eradicated The United States District Court for the Central District of California has dismissed, with prejudice, the class action lawsuit that was filed against THQ and company officers and directors alleging securities law violations. The court determined that the complaint did not satisfy the pleading requirements of the federal securities laws. Details. Return to newsletter index.

Acclaim Continues Their Speedy Debuts Yet another racing title has debuted from Acclaim Entertainment. This title is for both the Dreamcast and PlayStation consoles and is Ducati World Racing Championship. From Attention To Detail, the focus is on the lifestyle, tradition and racing of Ducati motorcycles. The title is actually two games in one. First, you have Ducati Quick Race mode wherein single players can earn better and better bikes as they progress through eight racetracks with three levels of difficulty. The second "game" is called Ducati Life and offers single players a sim of the entire range of Ducati bikes. You must improve your racing skill to be rewarded with cash with which you can use to enter other races and to upgrade your bike. Challenge another player and could end up losing your bike, as well. You can purchase your bikes from either a Classic Showroom that features Ducati bikes from the 50s to today’s models, or from the Ducati Showroom with all of the modern bikes available. There’s even a Used Showroom for those "on a budget" where a more affordable Ducati may be found. Details. Return to newsletter index.

PlayStation 2 Gets Conexant Modem Technology This company’s SmartSCM universal serial bus (USB) V.90 chipset is going to be used in a variety of modems that are targeted toward the PlayStation 2 market. Conexant has also revealed the fact that they have developed dedicated modem drivers for the PS2, and have also completed the adaptation of the driver to the TCP/IP, point–to–point protocol (PPP) stack and/or browser software. This latter technology is expected to be used by various software developers such as Access Co. Ltd, SN Systems Limited and Planetweb/ERGOSOFT. Certainly with such an addition to the PS2, the unit becomes not simply a gaming system, but also a complete entertainment offering. Numerous game developers have also agreed to support Conexant’s technology and they will, shortly, launch Internet–enabled games for the PS2. Details. Return to newsletter index.

Don’t Give Me Any Bushido There’s a new fighting action, martial–arts title available from Crave for the PlayStation 2 entitled, Kengo: Master of Bushido rated M for Mature. You’ll undergo rigorous training and test your stamina under a frigid waterfall, and learn to concentrate with Zen monks. You can also choose characters with different story lines, and improve mental and physical skills of those characters. Customize attack combos, be graded in the Samurai Reputation system that deals with honor and technique, play in several game modes such as training, street battle, Imperial tournament, survival battle and head–to–head and much more. Kengo: Master of Bushido sells for $49.99. Return to newsletter index.

DreamCatcher Sucks Blood DreamCatcher Interactive has been given the go ahead from Sony Computer Entertainment America to produce titles that are PlayStation compatible. First out the gate is Dracula — The Resurrection, due out in spring of 2001, which is a new story based upon Bram Stoker’s characters from his novel. Stoker’s book ends with Dracula rising from his coffin where his is then turned into dust by a stake that was planted in his heart. The character Jonathan takes his fiancee, Mina, whom he has rescued to London to hopefully gain back her health from the illness caused by the puncture marks in her neck. The game begins seven years later when Jonathan and Mina are married. Jonathan returns home to encounter a letter left by Mina who is following the call of her blood by traveling to Transylvania. DreamCatcher will also be working on other PlayStation 2 titles throughout the coming year. Return to newsletter index.

PS2’s First Music Title With the working title of "moderngroove interactive", former Electronic Arts’ talent expects their first of a kind music title for the PlayStation 2 to release in a couple of months. The company is moderngroove entertainment and will contain more’n five hours of original Trance, Techno, House and UK Garage music from leading DJs. The sounds will also be synched to dynamically–generated visuals. You’ll also be able to play your own MP3 comp CDs. The included Visual Mixer lets you create and arrange your own synching visuals from a library of 140 animated, 3D objects, 800 3D backgrounds, 400 original video clips and some 1,500 unique images. You’ll have exacting control of your on–screen imagery, as well, thanks to the inclusion of 20 real–time sfx. Details. Return to newsletter index.

VM Labs Offers NUON DVD Games VM Labs, responsible for developing Nuon technology, described as the ultimate DVD player, will be offering several Nuon interactive software titles from Hasbro Interactive and Taito Corp. in the second quarter of 2001. Three Nuon interactive software titles from Hasbro Interactive include Monopoly, The Game of Life and Breakout, and Taito’s three Nuon games will be RC de Go!, Bust–a–Move 4 and Space Invaders 2001, which will release in the second and third quarters. These titles will sell for $29.95. Currently, Nuon titles include Freefall 3050 A.D., Tempest 3000 and Merlin Racing distributed by DVD International. Return to newsletter index.

Arcanum Developers Go With IRC Chat This Saturday, at 7:00 p.m. Eastern time, the developers of Arcanum are going to make themselves available to you via IRS. You’ll be able to chat, live, with developers par excellent Tim Cain, Leonard Boyarksy and Jason Anderson. These are the leads at development studio Troika Games and they’ll discuss the upcoming Arcanum: Of Steamworks & Magic Obscura. To be published by Sierra Studios, we’ve already managed a "sneak peek" at FGN and found the title to be enormously intriguing, even at this early stage of development. You can access the chat via IRS on server irc.gamesnet.net in channel #Arcanum. If you’d prefer to avoid IRC, there is a Java client that’s available at this direct link. Recall that the aforementioned developers are responsible for the smash Fallout game, and this new Arcanum offering brings together many of the original folk who built Fallout and Fallout 2. Return to newsletter index.

ActiveSky Gets Pumped–Up with VC Add another $21.8 million to ActiveSky’s coffers courtesy of the deep pockets of the Chicago company JK&B Capital, a $600 million venture capital firm. ActiveSky plans to use the funds to further the technology for wireless delivery of video and multimedia images to PDAs, cell phones, and other mobile devices. Recently ActiveSky engaged in an agreement with Handspring to provide a multimedia player for Visor Prism and Platinum units. Previous ActiveSky investors include Star Ventures, Comverse, Innovation Capital, Sumitomo, PacRim Venture Partners, and Waypoint Ventures. Return to newsletter index.

Better Wireless Game Control Not that you use your wireless device simply to play games, but such certainly can help while away the hours when you need to engage in entertaining activities. To help you better enjoy your digital delights, there’s now a game pad for the Palm computing platform. From WorldWide Widge Works comes the GamePad, using all of the familiar game pad controls you’ve come to know andlove. There’s a four–way direction control as well as four action buttons that are added to the existing Palm buttons. What’s nice about this device is that it simply clips onto the bottom of your handheld. You don’t need additinoal batteries and the device is easily removable. The company’s software allows the GamePad to operate correctly with most, current Palm–based games, with additional title support to follow due to their developer diligence. Details. Return to newsletter index.

Bill Gates in a Box On Saturday, January 6 at 9:15 am PST, part of Bill Gate’s keynote speech at the Consumer Electronics Show will be webcast via the Xbox web site. After Gates’ speech key folk of the Xbox development team will be in an online chat at one of the Xbox fan sites. The Xbox, Microsoft’s video game console, is scheduled for release this fall. Return to newsletter index.

Xbox Volunteers, Please Step Forward Microsoft is looking for a few good testers to participate in their Playtest Program. You must live in the Seattle/Puget Sound area of Washington state and be over 13–years–old. Some of the benefits of volunteering enable you to play unreleased PC and Xbox games, get free goodies, speak you mind, and no experience is necessary, in fact they’ll fit the sessions to suit your schedule. (Suddenly I can hear folk packing up and moving to Washington!) Check out this dream job — there’s even a map to help you get to the location on State Route 520. Return to newsletter index.