Daily News Spin — May 22, 2001 (Tuesday)

A Quartet of E3

The first of our series of E3 previews is online. Check the sidebar to the right for the first rounds of four-at-a-time 60 second previews.

Sierra sued again

Just when you think the madness is over, the lawyers show up again. The lawsuit filed by MM3D against Sierra over the Lord of the Rings MMORPG had been set aside by MM3D, but they've refilled it now, apparently because negotiations with Sierra broke down. Their website has the following:

MM3D has re filed. Despite our (MM3D's) best efforts, we were unable to resolve this matter. Thank you for the ongoing support and interest. - Bridgette

Case Details:

The case was filed on 05/17/2001
Case number: BC250758
Los Angeles Superior Court - Department 21

The news is always more interesting when people don't get along.

Kinesoft dead?

Kinesoft, an Austin game company startup that was making several interesting looking PC games, has gone out of business according to a rumor posted at Fatbabies.

Arcanum finished but not gold

Avault is reporting that Sierra has said that Arcanum development is complete, though the game hasn't been labeled as gold yet.

No screen too small

You can now get porn on your cell phone screen and PDAs, according to this Yahoo story.

``It is pretty funny what some of them do,'' said Jackie Peterson, spokeswoman for Cellmania, which publishes a worldwide directory for mobile Internet services. Cellmania has located a wireless directory of people interested in having phone sex, a site that publishes a ``position of the week'' complete with a level of difficulty, plenty of sites publishing traditional erotica, and even a ``prostitute finder'' in the U.K. that lets you search by region and physical preferences, and read ``field reports'' from prior customers.

Field reports? We wonder if out-of-work game reviewers can make a career move and get paid to review prostitutes?

Videogames grab for online market

Yahoo has a story about the big three's plans for their gaming systems and online access, among other things. It's interesting to note that Microsoft expects to grab a 35% share of the console market in Japan.

Gary Cooper, a Banc of America Securities analyst, took a less optimistic view of the Microsoft effort, saying the company is predicting a 35 percent market share in Japan -- the second-largest game market.

"I didn't see much to support that," Cooper told news sources, referring to Japanese reluctance to buy U.S. consoles and Microsoft's meager game line-up of 15 to 20 entries.

Sega loses $421 million

Sonic is bleeding red ink. From a Yahoo story:

Sega took a one-time charge of 81.1 billion yen ($660 million) for Dreamcast, including losses sustained getting rid of inventory. Sega is hoping to revive itself by shifting its business to making game software for other consoles, including the PlayStation, counting on the reputation of its designers who created the popular Sonic the Hedgehog games.

The U.S. army becomes an RTS game

Technology marches on, and it's just starting to catch up to gaming. The U.S. Army tested new handheld computers in the field last month, and it makes warfare sound like an RTS game, according to this Sunspot.net story.

Aided by orbiting spy satellites, each crew was able to view a digital map of the landscape, including three-dimensional contours, that gave it a better overview of the skirmish than any general ever had. Moreover, the commander in the operations center miles from the front line was able to monitor each vehicle, know its precise location and determine if it was low on ammunition. The commander then was able to quickly come up with a battle plan before relaying orders to the crew's computer monitor.

Unfortunately, we now realize that all those LAN centers in Korea where furious Starcraft battles are played are really training grounds for cyber generals. We implore the youth of America to play more videogames so we don't fall further behind!

Website wonkiness

We just wanted to mention news about a couple of websites. First, Computer Games Online has spent a lot of time at the spa and gotten a facelift and it looks much nicer now. Check it out.

Next, Computer Gaming World has freed itself from the clutches of Gamespot and launched a new site that's also nice looking. In fact, Quarter to Three is listed as one of the editor's favorites. They're just getting started so they're not as full-featured yet as they will be, but you may want to bookmark them in the meantime.

Emperor: Battle for Dune gold

Westwood announced yesterday that their new RTS game inspired by the Dune novels has gone gold. The campaign will feature 33 maps and 100 missions. The game should be in the stores by June 13th, according to Westwood.

One hundred missions is a lot, though the campaign is non-linear so we're guessing you don't play all the missions. Even though Westwood got lazy with Dune 2000, we're still looking forward to this one.

Other titles that have gone gold in the last day or two include Microsoft's Railroad simulator, Half Life: Blue Shift, and Moon Tycoon. There are definitely too many tycoon games.

Quarter to Three smooves Eidos

Eidos doesn't like us. Well, they don't like Tom, at any rate. Mark just gets slapped with the fallout like the innocent bystander he is. In an attempt to build bridges, repair relationships, and cure the insane, Quarter to Three has taken the unusual step of asking The Onion's Smooth B to play Cyrano to our hapless Christian and get back in the good graces of Eidos.

Eidos, Quarter to Three has sat patiently for a long time while another site has kept you warm at night, made sweet love to you, and presented you with gifts of jewelry and various shirts.

But we know that when you are alone, you think about how much better your life would be if you were back with us, if it were us sexing you wild instead of that other site. Do you know what we are saying? You know in your heart that it is Quarter to Three you want, not this other site.

We are here to tell you that we will be your site. This other site, it cannot do the things Quarter to Three can.

This other site, does it purchase the finest scented oils from the remotest reaches of the East Orient, mix them in a special blend of its own devising, and then gently rub the exquisite balm into your soft flesh?

This other site, does it draw a bubble bath for you in the large, round bathtub in its fourth-floor penthouse, scrubbing your back with soaps created in the most exclusive soap factories in Egypt? Does it do so slowly and delicately, so as to give you the maximum amount of pleasure? When you are through, does it offer to dry you off with a fine plush towel made of 100 percent cotton? No, only Quarter to Three will do these things for you. Furthermore, does it clear away the plastic wrapping in which the soap was packaged, so as to ensure that it does not get in your way?

Sweet Eidos, as we have clearly demonstrated thus far, we are unquestionably the better site for you. There can be no deniability of this fact. But you have not even heard the most convincing information to this regard.

This other site, does it freak you like an animal, putting its sting in you sideways? Does it hit you up doggy-style until the sun comes up? Does it whisper in your ear that you are the most precious, sexiest gift of God that has ever existed in all of creation? No. Only Quarter to Three will do this for you. And only Quarter to Three will do it in sheets made of the most exotic European satin.

Follow your heart, Eidos. And come back to Quarter to Three.

Who could resist such seductive prose? We're sure to be showered with unsold copies of Daikatana.

3am

What exactly is the premise of a game about Britney Spears called "Experience Britney"? Couldn't that be taken in more than one way? A coarser site might make a "Britney Speared" joke here.

The Times of London takes a look at E3, focusing on Pikmin, the new Miyamoto game.

I Business Report, a South African site, has an overview of the decline in online advertising spending. There's new software coming that will enable us to be charged for a single mouse click. Whee!

It's now confirmed that the Gamecube will be priced at $199 in the U.S. Your move, Sony and Nintendo.

AOL is raising their monthly price by $2.

Click here to read Tom's E3 thoughts

Click here to read Mark's E3 thoughts