Retro Video Gamer

Quote from: "Carl"September 29 1995

Playstation is released in the UK it costs £299.

September 29 1996

Nintendo releases the Nintendo 64 video game system in North America. Price is US$199.95.

I can still remember spending an age trying to get hold of Silica Shop as phones that busy with folks ordering Playstations and securing my launch console along with Ridge Racer and Toh Shin Den and being just blown away, visually by the pair and then there was that T-Rex demo. on the sampler disc.

The PSone was 1st platform i played Xcom on (picked up Amiga version a while after) so i owe it a great deal.

Quote from: "Carl"September 29 1995

Playstation is released in the UK it costs £299.

The day gaming started to die 

Quote from: "The Laird"

Quote from: "Carl"September 29 1995

Playstation is released in the UK it costs £299.

The day gaming started to die  :21:

I'd say it was the day that gaming started looking a little sickly and that the patient only slipped into a coma the day PS2 launched! 

Quote from: "The Laird"

Quote from: "Carl"September 29 1995

Playstation is released in the UK it costs £299.

The day gaming started to die 

Really?.I must have missed a few things along the way then, because as a MD owner who paid £270 for a MCD on launch, packed with custom sprite hardware, better soundchip and another CPU, i thought Sega might have used that technology to make mind blowing MCD games, not FMV dross that the limited colours avaiable could'nt even display properly or as a day 1 Jaguar owner after buying into Atari's claims (even after i'd been short changed in terms of promised software on Lynx) i was given a few diamonds amid an ocean of rough and after all the discussion we've had on here about how Atari handled the Jaguar and the who cares if it works, just ship it! (hardware+software wise), it was Sony with the Playstation that kept me in gaming, introduced me to the world of importing, took gaming out of the geeky image it still had back then and got so many of my mates into gaming-some for the 1st time, some returning etc.


It was'nt until the PS2 hit, where sony decided that totally unrealistic claims on hardware performance, making hardware a nightmare to develop for, not developing next-gen versions of franchises i'd loved on PS1 and screwing up those they did bring over (Wipeout+syphon Filter), bringing out bloody Eye Toy (and having Move planned for PS2) that gaming started to look very unwell for myself and i'd been gaming since the ZX81.

They did'nt get everything right (claiming 2D was too old hat for PS was big mistake), but the sheer amount of games and fun i had that generation has yet to be matched.

I'm bloody glad Sony did enter the hardware race as i was f**ked right off with blowing money on hardware which parent companies did little to tap into the potential of....instead squandered the market share they once had.

I think you misunderstand what I mean, so I will just quote what I put on RG:

QuoteFor me this machine signalled the beginning of the end for gaming as I knew it. The first of many soulless machines totally devoid of personality made by a corporate giant who was even more soulless and lacking in personality. It was a sad day when Sony (and later Microsoft) entered the games industry pushing out innovative companies like Sega and Atari, who were full of individuality, leaving only Nintendo with any legacy in the games industry.

The PS1 also quickened the arrival of the boring franchises we still see dominating the games industry today.

Quote from: "The Laird"I think you misunderstand what I mean, so I will just quote what I put on RG:

QuoteFor me this machine signalled the beginning of the end for gaming as I knew it. The first of many soulless machines totally devoid of personality made by a corporate giant who was even more soulless and lacking in personality. It was a sad day when Sony (and later Microsoft) entered the games industry pushing out innovative companies like Sega and Atari, who were full of individuality, leaving only Nintendo with any legacy in the games industry.

The PS1 also quickened the arrival of the boring franchises we still see dominating the games industry today.

Define 'soulless' though? for me, the industry's love affair with the 'interactive movie', which seemed to be the holy grail back when magazines were putting the CD-i on front cover, is when things started to go very, very wrong.Millions poured into producing empty vessels of gaming, watch video sequence, few button presses, another video sequence etc etc.

what i had thought was once consigned to history alonmg with Dragon's bloody Lair, was suddenly the future and who was happy to pour resources into that? Sega for a start.Now look at the industry, something as wonderous as Far Cry 3, ruined by having a sodding QTE fight at the end-destroyed any notion of me finishing the game.

you had corporate giants like sega who were much like a hydra, beast with many heads (Sega:Europe, USA+Japan) all seeming to be at war with each other at times, how was that good for them or the consumer? and as for sequels..hello? just how much did they milk Sonic on MD/G.G/MS etc? Sonic CD was massive let down, Sonic in a MK clone (Sonic Drift).

As for Atari:yeah, like they were the gamers friend during the Lynx+Jaguar era, happy to have updates of classic franchises churned out that lacked an ounce of soul that made the original's special in the 1st place.


Sega's innovation's? what like put out an expensive add-on that can out-do the SNES in Mode 7 stuff but instead don't use a fraction of the potential for you know, honest to god games, just pump out make my video shit instead?

Sega's own internal conflicts and desperation to retain market share, along with utter arrogance that no-one could touch them in terms of 32 Bit hardware, pushed them out, as we've discussed many a time on here.


E.A were churning out sequels long before PS era and as we've mentioned on here, all Playstation did in good few cases was see a game in development switch from 3DO to PS1+saturn, so had PS1 not arrived and it was just 3DO/Saturn, you can bet they'd have still stopped 3DO development in favour of the Saturn version.

I loved E.A's output during the 16 Bit era, my interest peaked during the 32 Bit era.

Konami, Silent Hill and MGS aside (niether of which had a sequel until PS2!) were for myself a much more vibrant developer in the 16 Bit era than they were during the 32 Bit era.

The industry was always heading way it was, advent of RISC chips, CD storage etc, did'nt matter who made the hardware, results would have turned out the way they did.


Sony lacked the experience of Sega, CBM, Atari etc, but they made steps to ensure they had the right developers on board (Psygnosis, Capcom etc) they were'nt going around saying we don't need you, we're big enough to go on our own (unlike Sega), but by god by end of the Playstation 1 era they'd joined the ranks of crass arrogance that saw the downfall of Atari+Sega that's for sure.....

PS2 just fuelled that arrogance and PS3 cost them dear and now it's MS's turn to realise you cannot think your untouchable just because you win 1 hardware generation and your trying to tell customers you know best.

MS only entered console gaming over fears PS2 would take total market share in terms of the 1-stop content box in the living room and Sony only entered as they did after Nintendo did the dirty on them with the SNES CD drive deal, so in reality, moment they annouced deal with Phillips for CD drive is the day the shot was fired and gaming 'died' for many of you....

Soulless - has no soul. An ugly grey box made by faceless people who worked for a faceless corporate entity and features endless generic games, most of which have aged terribly.

I don't really care about any of the other stuff you said to be honest.

Atari and Sega had personality, you knew the people behind every project whether it be a success or a failure. It was a rollercoaster of emotion, excitement and sadness but always thrilling.

Sony will never invoke that amount of emotion in me ever. Not even close.

Some very interesting points of view here,  Laird would your opinion of The PS have been any more favourable, even slightly if the Net Yaroze were less expensive?

I personally love the Playstation, but think they dropped the ball by making the development tools so dear.

Thanks for all your comments though. 

Quote from: "The Laird"Soulless - has no soul. An ugly grey box made by faceless people who worked for a faceless corporate entity and features endless generic games, most of which have aged terribly.

I don't really care about any of the other stuff you said to be honest.

Atari and Sega had personality, you knew the people behind every project whether it be a success or a failure. It was a rollercoaster of emotion, excitement and sadness but always thrilling.

Sony will never invoke that amount of emotion in me ever. Not even close.

Taking each point you've raised:

1)I kinda guessed soulless meant having no soul, but moving on....so, as a consumer i need to 'know' the people behind each project?.Gaming being a hobby/form of escapism/entertainment do i need to 'know' each person who wrote a book, directed a film, wrote a piece of music do i? i think not.

It stands on it's own merits, if i enjoy, i continue to check out works by director/writer/developer, but i don't need to know them to that degree.

So Sony entering was start of faceless generic games etc etc, all sequels, all now play terribly, well here's a point, Sega had screwed up Streets Of Rage by the 3rd installment, Golden Axe by the 2nd and so forth.

As for endless games, well it's almost like say the Amiga never saw 3 Lotus games or 3 Turrican games or 3 Shadow Of The Beast games or.....

Can you name any 3D game from the 32 Bit era that has aged well on any platform? i honestly cannot, todays benchmark is yesterdays my god, that's not how i remember it!.


Care to remind where where 1 of the Playstations biggest franchises started out, i refer of course to Tomb Raider which i've you to thank for pointing out, started out as a Jag CD project, so Core did'nt need Sony to come along to start planning this cash cow, just the user base....



2)That's quite a  statement there, you might not agree with any points i raise and i'd welcome disscussion, but to put something like 'i really don't care about the other stuff you put to be honest' strikes me as bit 'off'  (to put it nicely) to be honest and on a forum that prides itself on debate....


3)Oh it was a Rollercoaster alright, working bloody long hours, selling stuff off just to be able to afford the £200+ each time for new hardware and £40+ for games on MCD/Jaguar etc only to find you'd wasted your money on something they'd seen fit to through out regardless of poor state it was in, was indeed like a Rollercoaster ride..you had to wait ages to get on, forked over your cash, it was over far too quickly and you felt sick afterwards...

I don't care, as in none of that really bothered me or concerned me to such a degree it put me off. There is no debate about it to be had from my point of view. You hated those things and I didn't.

From the points you have made it's clear we don't agree on any of it so it's best to just forget about it and move on rather than argue about it.

Agree to disagree.

Quote from: "The Laird"I don't care, as in none of that really bothered me or concerned me to such a degree it put me off. There is no debate about it to be had from my point of view. You hated those things and I didn't.

From the points you have made it's clear we don't agree on any of it so it's best to just forget about it and move on rather than argue about it.

Agree to disagree.

Where's the conflict here?

We both, as gamers lived through the 32 Bit era, i ended up buying and enjoying games on Saturn, Jaguar and Playstation have posted much on all 3 formats on here as everyone knows.

Plus there's no getting away from the fact that as Core Design proved with Tomb Raider on Jag CD and E.A with Soviet Strike, those games would have appeared on a format, be it Sony or otherwise.

It's nothing to do with personal perference, in terms of platforms, much more about the entire way industry was changing at that time.You had likes of Hideo K.who'd had game concepts in his head for years and was just waiting for technology to catch up, so he could implement them.

All i 'hated' was spending large sums of money on hardware and software that dissapointed, which i still do now-only difference is i've more income than i did all those years back.

But......

Whatever.

There is no conflict here, just differing opinions and that is all it is.

And it is personal preference in many ways, for example you just mentioned Hideo Kojima - I can't stand any of his games, especially Metal Gear Solid.

I had far more fun with the Jaguar, Mega CD and Saturn than I ever did with the PS1. You didn't, fair enough. Like I said each to their own. 

(I am splitting this off to so as not to derail Carl's topic further)

Quote from: "The Laird"There is no conflict here, just differing opinions and that is all it is.

And it is personal preference in many ways, for example you just mentioned Hideo Kojima - I can't stand any of his games, especially Metal Gear Solid.

I had far more fun with the Jaguar, Mega CD and Saturn than I ever did with the PS1. You didn't, fair enough. Like I said each to their own. 

(I am splitting this off to so as not to derail Carl's topic further)

Hideo is very hit and miss (and full of shit-MGS3 was to be his last MGS game, then MGS 4 etc), i loved MGS, 2 was utter, utter garbage (but i won't repeat my comments on that), MGS 3 was flawed genius, MGS 4 is ok, not tried eith Acid game on PSP, Port.Op's was good, Peace walker fantastic. (oh and i find MCD Snatcher to be hideously over-rated)

But point about mentioning him was he'd had the concepts for MGS since the MSX/NES days, but he just had to wait until home consoles were 32 Bit Risc based CD machines and then could make those ideas a reality, MGS was not born because of Playstation per say, it's conception took place many years before.

Same with Alien Trilogy:Probe started it as a MCD game, realised technology was'nt going to do it justice so waited...

Tomb Raider (A series i've tried on PS1, then DC, then PSP, then PS2, then PS3 and now have loan of latest on 360) might well have been a different game had the Jag CD been a different story, but Core were at the time very much fans of the Saturn, as you'll know by interviews i lent you/quotes posted up on here.Game would have appeared on Saturn+Pc even if PS had never appeared.

I've always found games far too frustrating to be enjoyable, but they were big sellers, hence they kept getting sequels.

The MCD owning years? seriousily were bloody frustrating-I bought it on day 1, had to wait ages for releases and just when it seemed Sega were finally grasping the concept of how to enhance cart games (a la 3D sections of Batman Returns), they released another load of FMV shit.Had they gone the route of Batman Returns, Eternal Champions SE etc rather than FMV rubbish, MCD might be more fondly remembered.

It was'nt enough to leave it upto likes of Core, Virgin etc to tap into hardware's potential, Sega should have supported it far better in terms of using the hardware, instead we often saw cart games out-performing the CD versions, which was'nt why i'd blown my savings on a MCD.

 
As a long term gamer, i'm sorry but i cannot single out just 1 company for screwing shit up, in terms of the industry-Each and everyone has grown as arrogant as those before it.

The PS1, while host to a lot of stuff I loathe , and for me represents chav gaming at its worst, actually plays host to quite a few interesting games.

Kurushi (developed by Sony in-house), Vib Ribbon, Devil Dice, Mr Domino, One Piece Mansion, Landmaker, Bishi Bashi Special, Power Diggerz, Puchi Carat (with paddle controller) are just a few I could mention that deserve some attention.

Shmup-wise it also has a stonking version of Gradius - Gradius Gaiden is pretty special. R-Type Delta has aged quite well too for its use of 3D. PS1 In The hunt (kind of Metal Slug in a submarine) is glorious too and by all accounts more solid that the Saturn effort (as is DoDonPachi - at least when not played in TATE mode). The ports of the Parodius games have some exclusive features and it's a lot better at 2D shmups than it is given credit for all told (though I still prefer the Saturn),

It got a couple of excellent Castlevania Games (I actually prefer Chronicles to SOTN as its a nice remake of the Sharp computer version - an earlier game in the linear style which to me is the way that series should have stayed. The PS1 version has a TT mode to unlock too).

Metal Slug X is a nice port with some bonuses on the disc worth a look. Q-Bert got an excellent remake done too.

More traditionally - the later racing games like R4 and Wipeout 3SE have aged rather well and feature linkup modes that are unique to that gen,

Tempest X3 is different from T2K which is all good if you are a fan and I can remember Yak posting about it being an interesting variation on the original - albeit with some slip-ups.

The controller is so-so but there are plenty of reasons to own a PS1.

It had Strider 1+2, Blood Omen:Legacy Of Kain, Bubble Bobble pack, Einhander, Xenogears, Parasite Eve, warzone 2100 (Pumpkin Studios were bringing to DC, but closed before work really got going, sob), Silent Hill (Import ver.none of the censorship gubbins), Colony Wars (at last a console Space Opera shooter like PC's had), Capcom Generations, , Xcom, C+C, C+C Red Alert, Overboard......


And i bloody loved it for it.

It also had:Plastic lens holder warping, skipping FMV etc.

Which i was not  so keen on...


 

I got a late release of the grey slab model - which I actually like - didn't like the PSOne. It has a light synth in the firmware - play a CD and press SELECT and you can select from several visualisations that have some limited interactivity. Still plays fine


The RTypes compilation is excellent too (full screen in PAL just as Delta is).

Quote from: "davyK"The PS1, while host to a lot of stuff I loathe , and for me represents chav gaming at its worst, actually plays host to quite a few interesting games.

That's impossible the word 'chav' wasn't 'invented' in 1995!

Personally loved the PS1 era for a few years until it went stale and got a DC in 99, imo it wasn't until the PS2 where the games and costs spiralled meaning less original games and more corporate crap, the PS1 and Saturn were riding the exciting 3D wave of games and going back and playing some now you could see a lot of original and simple games you just don't get on consoles anymore.... Loved the Playstation or PSX as I like to call it  :36:

This could be a great thread to mention the more 'unknown' PS1 games.

Any fans of Team Buddies (Psygnosis), kinda Worms crossed with Tetris, superb A.I espically for a PS1 title and bllody good fun.

RC Stuntcopter (Shiny).For once the PS dual sticks came in useful as they were ideal to mimic the levers on a RC Helicopter control box.Tough bloody game, but quite unlike anything else on PS1.

Also, nothing unknown, but Wipeout:

Roots could be traced back to Powerdrome on ST (which had a reboot on Xbox/PS2 years later ironically enough), but where as Powerdrome was quite off-putting to a lot of players (you really needed to learn the controls and there was no auto-centering), Wipeout (which i found the 1st instalment to be a tricky sod to get to grips with, controls wise) took the concept and opened it up somewhat and really used the power of the then new technology to produce a worthy spirtual follow up.

Wish there'd been a few more attempts like this during the 32 Bit era...

Quote from: "AmigaJay"

Quote from: "davyK"The PS1, while host to a lot of stuff I loathe , and for me represents chav gaming at its worst, actually plays host to quite a few interesting games.

That's impossible the word 'chav' wasn't 'invented' in 1995!

 Maybe   

but it actually sums up what I don't like about modern gaming - which the PS1 did an awful lot to kick off.   Modern gaming is chav-ish.....endless FIFA and gunning people down - implemented in series that have no retention value - fitting in with their attitude that everything is disposable - and all played by the sort of people who play on nicotine stained 360s and trade in games that resemble something that has been used to dig the garden with.

OK I m a snob - but i don't like the fact that these arseholes are here - and are dictating what type of game is being made - typical Hollywood wannabe filter feeding lowest common denominator shit.

I have issues.

I was using the word "chav" well before 1995! It does seem the perfect word.

This thread has gone a lot better than the one on RG, which bizarrely seems to have turned into a thread about me! 

Quote from: "davyK"

Quote from: "AmigaJay"

Quote from: "davyK"The PS1, while host to a lot of stuff I loathe , and for me represents chav gaming at its worst, actually plays host to quite a few interesting games.

That's impossible the word 'chav' wasn't 'invented' in 1995!

 Maybe   

but it actually sums up what I don't like about modern gaming - which the PS1 did an awful lot to kick off.   Modern gaming is chav-ish.....endless FIFA and gunning people down - implemented in series that have no retention value - fitting in with their attitude that everything is disposable - and all played by the sort of people who play on nicotine stained 360s and trade in games that resemble something that has been used to dig the garden with.

OK I m a snob - but i don't like the fact that these arseholes are here - and are dictating what type of game is being made - typical Hollywood wannabe filter feeding lowest common denominator shit.

I have issues.

I'd throw these into the mix:

With PS1 i was playing games once the domain of PC's/Home micro's, on a console:

Xcom, Civ.2, Warzone 2100, Command and Conq. (plus exp.disc), MDK, Quake 2, Red Alert, Theme Hospital etc, games with far more depth than your average console game in terms of the strategy games mentioned, plus things like MDK/Quake 2 once said to be impossible to do on mere console....

COD/Battlefield which friends of mine seem to play and little else...started on PC.

Fifa:E.A 1st put out on MD

Need For speed was 3DO...

Tomb Raider (as i mentioned in Fact/Fiction thread) inspired by PC Ultima Underworld

Wipeout's really a spirtual follow up to ST/Amiga Powerdrome.


Alien trilogy started out on MCD.

So if you look at a lot of 'key' games from Ps1/PS2/Xbox era onwards and trace things back.....industry was either heading that way or waiting for consoles to catch-up.


Besides, i never here folks mention these PS games either:

Sentinel returns

Kula World

Trone Bonne (Strategy, puzzles and action in 1 game)

Rescue Shot (gun-game meets Lemmings)

Devil Dice.

Yo yo's Puzzle park (Bubble Bobble meets Bomberman).

Yes the PS1 was drowning in a sea of tat at times, but if you knew where to look (and hopefully this thread will give PS1 collectors a good idea) there were plenty of gems that people don't seem aware existed.

Quote from: "davyK"

Quote from: "AmigaJay"

Quote from: "davyK"The PS1, while host to a lot of stuff I loathe , and for me represents chav gaming at its worst, actually plays host to quite a few interesting games.

That's impossible the word 'chav' wasn't 'invented' in 1995!

 Maybe   

but it actually sums up what I don't like about modern gaming - which the PS1 did an awful lot to kick off.   Modern gaming is chav-ish.....endless FIFA and gunning people down - implemented in series that have no retention value - fitting in with their attitude that everything is disposable - and all played by the sort of people who play on nicotine stained 360s and trade in games that resemble something that has been used to dig the garden with.

OK I m a snob - but i don't like the fact that these arseholes are here - and are dictating what type of game is being made - typical Hollywood wannabe filter feeding lowest common denominator shit.

I have issues.

I don't think you can blame the Playstation for that! Had any other console been as successful then that would have had the fifa sequels etc it goes hand in hand with sales.
If anything the Playstation brought gaming to the masses and upped gaming from really geeky to more adults and cool....and for that alone I thank them! Not so much now but back then yes!

Quote from: "AmigaJay"

Quote from: "davyK"

Quote from: "AmigaJay"

Quote from: "davyK"The PS1, while host to a lot of stuff I loathe , and for me represents chav gaming at its worst, actually plays host to quite a few interesting games.

That's impossible the word 'chav' wasn't 'invented' in 1995!

 Maybe   

but it actually sums up what I don't like about modern gaming - which the PS1 did an awful lot to kick off.   Modern gaming is chav-ish.....endless FIFA and gunning people down - implemented in series that have no retention value - fitting in with their attitude that everything is disposable - and all played by the sort of people who play on nicotine stained 360s and trade in games that resemble something that has been used to dig the garden with.

OK I m a snob - but i don't like the fact that these arseholes are here - and are dictating what type of game is being made - typical Hollywood wannabe filter feeding lowest common denominator shit.

I have issues.

I don't think you can blame the Playstation for that! Had any other console been as successful then that would have had the fifa sequels etc it goes hand in hand with sales.
If anything the Playstation brought gaming to the masses and upped gaming from really geeky to more adults and cool....and for that alone I thank them! Not so much now but back then yes!

It's more complex that blaming a console. I'm very fond of the PS1 - my collection of PS1 games has many interesting titles and I hope my earlier post makes that clear. It's the mainstream appeal I hate - it ultimately equates to less interesting titles  - and it all started with PS1.

Quote from: "davyK"It's more complex that blaming a console. I'm very fond of the PS1 - my collection of PS1 games has many interesting titles and I hope my earlier post makes that clear. It's the mainstream appeal I hate - it ultimately equates to less interesting titles  - and it all started with PS1.

Yes the PS1 may have been the console that brought gaming into the mainstream, but it's not like they were the first ones to try it, they were just the first ones to be successful at it.
Starting in 1987, we had NEC, SNK, JVC, Sharp, Fujitsu, Philips, Pioneer, Bandai, Apple, Panasonic, Sanyo, Goldstar, along with Sega, Nintendo, Atari and Sony all involved in console development. And I'm sure I'm missing a few LOL!
All these companies got into the video game market because they knew it was the future and regardless of Sony releasing the PS1 we would have ended up in the same place we are right now. That's my opinion anyway 

Quote from: "Shadowrunner"

Quote from: "davyK"It's more complex that blaming a console. I'm very fond of the PS1 - my collection of PS1 games has many interesting titles and I hope my earlier post makes that clear. It's the mainstream appeal I hate - it ultimately equates to less interesting titles  - and it all started with PS1.

Yes the PS1 may have been the console that brought gaming into the mainstream, but it's not like they were the first ones to try it, they were just the first ones to be successful at it.
Starting in 1987, we had NEC, SNK, JVC, Sharp, Fujitsu, Philips, Pioneer, Bandai, Apple, Panasonic, Sanyo, Goldstar, along with Sega, Nintendo, Atari and Sony all involved in console development. And I'm sure I'm missing a few LOL!
All these companies got into the video game market because they knew it was the future and regardless of Sony releasing the PS1 we would have ended up in the same place we are right now. That's my opinion anyway 

Exactly.

It's like 3DO were'nt the 1st to attempt to get a single-format, MSX tried and failed years before it.

Phillips and Commodore both tried to replace the VCR to some degree (as a video player) with CDTV and CD-i (plus VCD add-on for PS1 was'nt there?), i used both my PS2 and Xbox to play DVD's and this generation my 360 plays HD DVD's via add-on, DVD's, PS3 plays DVD's, Blu Ray's....


Laser Disc players we've discussed which had modules to play MCD games, PC Engine games...


People like The Bitmap Bros using various music artists tracks in games before Wipeout....


Psygnosis were doing 'Eye-Candy' games that shifted hardware, but were'nt all that deep (Shadow Of The Beast
series, Amiga) long before Sega accused PS fans of being 'Graphic's Tarts'

3D was being tried on Vectrex (3D Imager) and Master System (3D Glasses) long before 3DS....Jim Power on Amiga, Contra on PS1 etc etc.

Look how many devices the MD hardware turned up in:Wondermega JVC, Multimega, Megajet, Mega PC, Laseractive (Pioneer), CSD-GM! (Aiwa)

The Saturn hardware: Hi-Saturn (Hitachi), V-Saturn (JVC-Victor) which had the MPEG card added, Hi-Saturn Navi (Hitachi) LCD monitor, modem+GPS an in-car curio but a joint deal with Nissan.

Concepts tried, abandoned and then put back out there, companies who you'd not normally associate with consoles (Nissan and Awia!).

Games being done to showcase power of system 1st, gameplay came 2nd which shifted hardware etc.

All done by others than Sony, all done as they thought there was money to be made.

If it helped sell your product be it: a car, booked a seat on your airline, shifted your micro, console or game, then they were happy to use it as a selling point.

Few more PS1 'lesser known games':

Global Domination (think Risk meets Missile Command).

Silent Bomber (as 1 reviewer called it '..MGS with a firework up it's arse!')

Core Design's Fighting Force and Ninja actually started out as saturn titles, but then became PS1+Saturn titles as their coders learnt the PS1, so more games that would have appeared even if Sony had'nt entered the market.

Fighting Force was influenced by Streets Of Rage-Core just wanted something less linear (pity game turned out to be a real dog).

Ninja:influenced by Ghost's 'N' Goblins, Rygar and Shinobi-Core's aim was old school gameplay in new 3D enviroment.

I like the sound of Global Domination.

Project Overkill was Konami attempting to bring a modern version of Smash TV and Total Carnage to PS1.

Burning Road:whilst not matching the brillance (gameplay wise) of Sega's coin-op Sega Rally, proved technically the PS1 was more than capable of running a fantastic conversion of it, (probably better even than the stunning Saturn conversion), chunky texture-mapped mountains, tunnels etc, great light sourcing, minimal clipping, cars that felt as if they had real wieght to them (i hated V-Rally as cars felt like they were made of cardboard)

Treasures Of The Deep (Namco):Smart looking and immersive underwater treasure hunting game, another i never hear mentioned.

Little Big Adventure got ported from PC to PS1 in Europe and Japan, so offering something different to the more mainstream PS1 fare.


Slam Scape was a cross between Ballblazer+Nights, sadly lacked the excitement to make it an essential purchase.

Contra:Legacy Of war had some neat features:3D Mode (needed those red+green lense glases and lot of fiddling with TV settings! to work though), plus towards end of level 2, game went 'old school' with Bamboo arcade, which featured updated Gyrus and an odd cross between Tank-Battle and Pac-Man.

Any Fear Effect /Fear Effect 2:Retro Helix fans here?.

Best described as Blade Runner, but done as a sleazy anime sex-romp 3rd person adventures, thought you might like to know that there was a planned PS2 game, Inferno, but that was canned and developers were looking at doing a new game on PS3 (planned as a 1st wave title).

PS3 game would have used real-time graphics, moved away from fixed camera angles, had slick control method and Hannah and Rain would be transformed into HD photo-realistic lipstick lesbo fantasy figures.

Just a little comment on how either 'taken in' by P.R claims some mags seemed to be:

Both C+VG and Mean Machines printed the C.G.I cut Scene footage from Alien Trilogy and claimed it was in-game footage.Mean Machines claiming it'd make Jaguar AVP look like the Wizard Of Oz and C+Vg under headline...They're Back....

'Feast your eyes on these shots, they're not from any intro, this from Acclaims Alien trilogy and it's like nothing we've you've ever seen before'

Indeed, very high res, detailed, fantastic lighting, no jaggies etc, i'd never seen actual game footage on anything at that time look that good...

Few more odds 'n' sods:

Time Commando was a novel slant on the beat-em-up genre.Looked gorgeous, had an intelligent fighting system (lure foes to their death, get them to fight each other, not you etc), but sadly let down by frustrating contols.

Great range of time periods to fight through though:Prehistoric times, ancient Rome, medievil Europe, feudal Japan, the wild west, WWI, then couple of future-era settings.The weapons avaiable to you of course were from that era.

Power Diggerz:Original game for sure (mental at times with you being given a range of play options from the more sim-like approach of digging+dumping soil etc into a truck, to an obstacle course creation kit type level or smashing in cars houses etc, to saving turtles or serving up curry!.Best thing about the game? the Jap madman shouting randoms at you!).

Panzer Front: WW2 Tank stategy game that's not for the faint-hearted, if it's depth your after in a console game....


Namco's Ace Combat was based around Arcade Air Combat 22, but rather than just convert the coin-op, Namco felt it better to develop something more designed for home play, so nice to see some developers not content just to do straight ports.


Tempest X:Rather than attempt straight port (like the saturn version was) of the Jaguar game, which used the Jaguar custom chips to great effect in terms of generating phosphorescent particles, trippy effects etc, developer (High Voltage) used the PS1 hardware to best effect, so we saw shimmering side panels, blaster fire lighting up tunnel walls, effects bleeding off edges of things etc.

I prefered the more 'coming right at you' brillance of the Jaguar version, it 'feels' more hypnotic and 'pure', but again great to see a developer doing more than straight port.

Deep Blue (Konami):underwater/diving game, break from the 'norm' of PS1 fare


Tiny Tank: A 3rd person shooter with some nice original touches on how to complete objectives, great sense of humour etc.Think Toy story crossed with Wild Metal Country (but great fun!).


Ball Blazer Champions:retained the 8-bit's classic gameplay, but introduced weapons, new arena's, upgradeable ships etc in bid to give game longer lasting appeal.

Trap Runner (Konami) take the trap-laying antics of 8 bit Spy Vs Spy and soup it right up!.

Unholy War (Edios), think a board game, but with projectile-based fights.

Aironauts (Red Storm)-influenced by Running Man movie, Smash TV arcade game, with parts taken from Pilot Wings and Nights, you play a criminal battling for his freedom via gameshow and you find yourself strapped into some wierd hang-glider like craft, as you do various challenges to gain freedom.


The Divide:Enemies Within (think PS1 Super Metroid)


Then if games are'nt your thing, you've things like:

Music+Music 2000 (Codemasters) and Fluid (Sony) etc.