The Stinger Report

The Stinger Report

Do We Need a New NAOMI?
The question on whether video amusement can afford a injection in the arm of a new multi-game universal platform beyond the Naomi GD-ROM, along with a look at the new ATOMISWAVE, CHIHIRO and TriForce impacts, TSR reveal games in the works such as OutRun 2, and SEGA Rally 3, all on the blocks for Q4 2003. The Stinger also reveals news of confirmation in the AM studio shake-up previously revealed in the June issue which sees nine studios shrunk down to five!

Stolen Amusement!
The dreams of future amusement releases have taken a major blow with the confirmation that the next crop of amusement brands will leapfrog coin-op and appear only on the consoles - Titles such as Gradius, Shinobi, Ridge Racer and even Pac-Man are bound for consumer. The Stinger report looks into those titles missing our coin-boxes, but also the blatant copies of successful amusement content appearing from other companies in the home - while the news of the death of Data East is revealed.

Konami Reconsiders Amusement!
Sources reveal that like Capcom, Konami seems to be actively curtailing their amusement spend to the point of a Japanese only development policy. The Stinger goes into details regarding the disappearance of a Konami booth for the first time in many years at JAMMA, the news that third parties representing Konami may also be in for a surprise on how many titles they will see in reality for international application from Konami.

Japanese AM Aims Young
New moves by Japanese factories to catch the future player while they are very young, with the launch of the new INTI series of sites from Namco and the re-branding of the Plaza Capcom sites. Pre-School players, the new opportunity for an audience hungry Japanese AM market.

The Stinger Report (in brief) is provided to Highwaygames by Kevin Williams, the publisher of "The Stinger Report". To read the full articles and information, please visit www.thestingerreport.com