Ok, geruchten motor aan:
Is Namco on the Menu ?
Word on the Street
Following on from the revelations surrounding the financially crippled Capcom, this information has caused some more far-reaching rumors to bloom on the industry grapevine. While investigating the validity of negotiation by Microsoft and Nintendo regarding the acquisition of Capcom some information was leaked that was obviously meant to stay hidden.
It has been revealed by prominent sources that Nintendo has started a concrete effort to consolidate their presence as a content publisher, supporting their console development. Companies such as Capcom and Square had been named as possible sources of acquisition in this process, but one new name has appeared, and the effort to acquire their operation seems to have progressed far beyond the tire-kicking stage!
During a candid conversation Japanese sources revealed that Namco was well advanced in negotiation with a possible suitor. As previously revealed in the Stinger, Namco have had to seriously revise their financial figures, though basking in a 59% increase in software sales (with an estimated 400,000 Tekken 4 console units assisting this rise). The company has drastically been trying to bring other operations back into profitability. The online and facility operations have been heavily pruned in order to achieve some profitability. Namco's issues in amusement have not come as a surprise, with the private agreement on facility support with SEGA a manifestation of deep-seated issues.
The company has been bullish about projects seeing a revised financial project for the year ending March 2003 and an estimated 10 million unit sales in software. However this rosy observation is not without much tightening of the belt and refocusing of investment bleeding the operations reserves and so making them vulnerable to acquisition. It is this situation that has made them of growing interest to Japan's most predatory corporation: Nintendo Entertainment.
Having already established a close working relationship with Nintendo over recent years, Namco has become more attractive to Nintendo following heated boardroom reshuffling of top executives that saw the heavy hand of the previous leader (the company's founder) softened by his replacement. Similarly Nintendo has undergone a softening of its top structure, and with these new brooms a closer working relationship has blossomed into something more. As with SEGA, Namco is underway on a TriForce amusement title, and an extensive GameCube role out plans hopes to ensure the financial calculations for better sales.
Namco had been cultivating a closer working relationship with SEGA, seen in the agreeing a joint corporation on the populating and servicing both their facility operations. Also a number of R&D projects were started that saw Namco designers working alongside SEGA AM executives (the results included Vampire Night). It is however true that this relationship has cooled as the amusement sector has continued to be a difficult entity to quantify. A number of observers also stated that there was some intransigence in key executives to work too closely with a company that was once their most dangerous competitor, a interesting R&D study to develop a Tekken Vs. Virtua Fighter game project put on hold for the time being.
What Could this all Mean
The possibility that Nintendo could consume Namco would bolster the Japanese console and content provider, and inject vital capital for Namco brands to achieve their maximum potential. The close alliance between Namco games and the Sony Playstation 2 would be cast into jeopardy if this acquisition actually materialized, though with the recent snatching of software studio Rare from Nintendo by Microsoft proves that Nintendo and Microsoft are locked together in a critical embrace which could see Namco fall into Microsoft's sights. Whether Namco (if acquired by Nintendo) would continue an arcade presence, or spin its amusement operation out separately is too much crystal ball gazing for one issue of the Stinger REPORT.
Note - While SEGA works hard on a number of new driving titles, Namco not wanting to be left out, and still wheeling from the poor showing of their own Japanese style driver, has started development on a new driver of their own that would build on the Ridge Racer series. The company has been linked to arcade driver projects, but over the last few years Ridge Racer V and Wangan Midnight (as well as a sequel Wangan Midnight R) have been the only releases to less than glowing reception. For Namco to try for a fifth time to appraise the RR license for amusement application would be a strong release if developed correctly (support of the System 246 an obvious platform).
Deze site kwam ook al eerste aanzetten met System 31, wat later Triforce ging heten toen Sega erbij kwam.
bron:
http://www.casbox.com/Stinger/Sting99.html
2. Nintendo koop exclusives van Sega
Next Daytona on the Grid!
Word on the Street
Speculation has been rife regarding the next CHIHIRO releases from SEGA and the company's decision not to show Out Run 2 (which has been in development for some months), at JAMMA this year had tongues wagging - though SEGA executives were adamant that the reason was so that The House of the Dead III should receive prominent placement.
It was the successful showing of the corporation's competitor, Taito, and their driver Battle Gear 3, that seems to have jerked SEGA AM# PR machine back onto the defensive regarding their ability to show a strong driver. Compounding this concern is the fact that in the arcade sector SEGA have not received International success from their current line-up of drivers. Though the new Initial D Version 2 was shown at JAMMA it is clear that the game's particular style is more favored by Asian players.
The lack of a strong International driver, especially in a market hungry for new products, is a sorry state. To retrofire this situation SEGA have been hinting at a number of new developments on the horizon. In particular one major new development.
The Yu Suzuki managed AM2 team has revealed that they are working on Daytona 3 (tentatively name Daytona Live). The game is targeted squarely at the Xbox console and its 'Xbox Live' network playing system. The company hopes to develop a racing game that will be truly 'multiple platform' with players on one system able to compete across a newly developed network system with players on another unit in LAN games. This announcement is hoped to steal some of the wind that the Taito Network Entrance SYStem (NESYS) caused at JAMMA.
Regarding amusement application of Daytona 3, especially in light of other SEGA sequels missing arcade development (Ferrari F355 Championship 2, Crazy Taxi 2 and Monkey Ball 2) no official statement has been made on a release date for a arcade version, though a late 2003 date has been intimated for the Xbox version. SEGA has a joint development project with Nintendo to release the console company's popular Sci-Fi racer brought to the arcades in the shape of F-Zero AM, but this game is aimed only as a TriForce / GameCube release with a mid-2003 release schedule.
From sources that revealed the Daytona information, additional news has emerged that SEGA's main R&D effort for future content will predominately surround driving applications, with news revealed of a number or prominent F1 based licenses and marketing agreements which could see an F1 title for amusement and console application readied for a mid-2003 preview. At the same time an arcade SEGA Rally 3 has been hinted at; the game is being developed for console application, (but this time for the PS2), linked to the LAN project, the possibility of an arcade/console live network is a tantalizing rumor.
Note - In other SEGA R&D news more information was leaked regarding the final release of Virtua Cop 3 that the Stinger REPORT broke was in development at the beginning of the year. The much-rumored game has proven illusive, for a period of time the shooter Confidential Mission was reported to be VC3 (bearing many similar features).
As with Out Run 2, the game is on location test and is running on the CHIHIRO architecture, but an interest addition to the package has been revealed. Those spies that have been lucky enough to play the test system have noticed that the unit includes a 'duck' pedal similar to Time Crisis to allow the player to dodge enemy fire. This revelation could put to bed rumors that Namco's Time Crisis 3 was on location test, with spotters mixing up the cabinet dimensions, though Namco sources have confirmed that a next TC is on the cards soon.
We zullen zien...
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, maaruh, wat ik mij opeens afvraag: is het idee al eens ge-opperd om een NGC-game uitwissel iets te beginnen? Er zijn hier vast wel mensen die spellen hebben die ze uit hebben gespeeld of wat toch niet was wat ze ervan verwachten. Omdat de Tweakers Vraag&Aanbod geen software heeft en Marktplaats een zooitje is, misschien een idee? (om mee te beginnen: ik zit nog met ISS2 in m'n maag) :strip_icc():strip_exif()/u/41857/SharkEye.jpg?f=community)
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maar het heeft niet veel meer met BMX'en te maken 
toch maar een kijken als ie er is
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En indien je geen SNES tot je beschikking heb, dan weet je vast wel welke andere manier er is om 't te kunnen spelen... 
Dan maar wachten op SC II
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damn
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. Camera werkt goed mee, volledig automatisch, nog geen probs mee gehad. Echt toppie 
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