News, rumors and other information (originally posted 09/03/96)
Psygnosis Renews Agreement With Sony
On August 8th, Psygnosis announced the renewal of their exclusive agreement with Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) to handle U.S. distribution of their PlayStation software titles. This agreement extends through the end of Psygnosis' fiscal year ending March, 1997.
MicroProse To Use "Unreal" Technology
On August 21st, Spectrum HoloByte, Inc. (parent company for MicroProse), signed a letter of intent to license Epic MegaGames' "Unreal"(tm) technology in future game development. The "Unreal" engine allows for first-person 3-D point of view in a gaming environment.
Activision General News Part 1
Activision recently signed an exclusive deal with Australis Microprogramming, Ltd. (an Australian based game developer) to acquire the worldwide rights to their newly developed real-time action-strategy engine. The engine will appear in a new game still to be named by Australis, as well as in other Activision titles which will follow. In other news, Activision has finally announced that they have completed their new Internet drivers for use with the upcoming title Mechwarrior 2: Mercenaries (for PC CD-ROM). The new drivers will allow players to host their own multi-player on-line networks for free or join a network created by another host by simply connecting to their own Internet Service Provider (ISP) and launching the game. As well, players will still have the ability to play two-player modem-to-modem, and eight player Local Area Network (LAN) games. Internet gamers will have ten missions available to them for play and when all missions are complete, gamers are returned to the game "Lobby" interface where they can begin again. Additionally, players can exit and enter the game at any time during play.
Activision General News Part 2
Activision has teamed up with Sears for a promotion involving the new family title, Muppet Treasure Island (for PC-CDROM). The promotion offers consumers the opportunity to receive a free Kermit the Frog plush toy with proof of purchase of the CD-ROM game. Customers who purchase the game between August 22nd and September 28th will be eligible to receive the doll while supplies last. In other news, Activision has also signed an agreement with McAfee for a bundling agreement of McAfee's WebScan software and Activision's upcoming Time Commando. Purchaser's of the game will receive the full WebScan release, and purchasers of the McAfee utilities VirusScan, WebScan, and Commuter will receive a special demonstration version of Time Commando. This joint effort is an attempt by both companies to help consumers become more aware of the need for virus protection on their computers.
Studio 3DO Update
Have you played the games Captain Quazer, Killing Time or Star Fighter? Well, now more than 3DO gamers will have a chance to experience these titles. Both Killing Time and Captain Quasar will be release for PC-CDROM this November and October respectively, joining the already released Star Fighter. PlayStation gamers will not be left behind though, they can expect to see Star Fighter in the near future, released via Acclaim.
Vic Tokai's Abuse
PC gamers already familiar with the title Abuse from Vic Tokai may want to look into a Saturn in the near future. Originally intended to be a direct port from the PC version, Abuse for the Saturn will now feature completely redrawn graphics, optimized for the Saturn hardware. As well, there will be 15 levels with one boss at the end of every five levels. Another added feature is the choice of low- or hi-resolution modes for play. Selecting low-resolution will make the images larger, while selecting high-resolution will make images smaller, but more more detailed.
Kirby's Back
Kirby fans will be happy to see their hero back in action in Kirby Super Star. This 32-megabit side-scrolling action adventure is for play on the Super NES and will be available September 3rd. This game features eight different mini-games with six of those supporting two-player co-operative. The other two feature competitive play, with one of them being a one-on-one, one-hit fighting game. Enemies consist of many old favorites including Whispy Woods, King Dedede and many more. Another new feature is a built in play tutorial, designed to help assist first-time Kirby players in handling the many actions available to them during play.
Psygnosis Renews Agreement With Sony