WILL FINALLY COMES THROUGH WITH HIS PROMISE TO PROVIDE A PHOTO OF A RESTAURANT CALLED “SEGA”

Around two years ago… actually, we’ll let Will tell you. It’s his story and his photos, so he deserves the glory. It seems to be where SEGA got the Arabian vibe from for that average-at-best Wii game.

“Around two years ago I stopped you by the coffee machine and told you about a SEGA restaurant, and you demanded photographic proof. As such I took a photo from the top-deck of the number 2, maybe 82, bus that went past it – one captures it in all its glory, the other one is a bit fuzzy as the bus started moving.

“In any case, two years on, it remains evidence of high class cookery under the SEGA brand. I for one hope there are Sonic shaped potato wedges. Or at least that there WERE as I went past the other day and it was called something else. So there you go, two years ago there was a restaurant on Baker Street called SEGA” – Will.

DREAMCAST USED TO SYMBOLISE GENERIC VIDEO GAME CONSOLE

The dream! The dream of your mum saying “Dreamcast” when you’re actually playing on a Wii or an Xbox 360, because Dreamcast was SO SUCCESSFUL BACK THEN it became the console even old people knew about.

It has become the console only old people know about now, but in a sadder way. We are the few remaining veterans who still remember the war.

That's your TV

“When at the supermarket to pick up a cheap A/V switch box, I found a familiar console on the back. Ended up plugging my Dreamcast into it, too. Funnily enough, it had a picture of a PS2 on the front, so alas, the Dreamcast is confined to the back, with no colour, and forced to sit next to a PlayStation1. The shame it must feel” – Rhys.

VIRAL MARKETING FOR STUDENTS CONCERNING DREAMCAST 2

Worst photo ever. Just look at it. Even after a bit of zooming in it’s hardly clear.

“Enclosed is a crap picture of the student accommodation opposite my work (yes, I occasionally see students IN THEIR BRAS from the comfort of my desk) which I took with my phone from the bins outside so no-one would see.”

“Anyway, it clearly says ‘204’ and then our beloved DC logo. Obviously this is viral marketing and is pointing at April 20th as a launch day for the Dreamcast 2! Happy Days!” – Nick.

Happy days indeed, unless you’re a UKR reader and were expecting something more interesting today.

OUTRUN ONLINE ARCADE EMERGENCY AFTER WORK HOURS SCREENSHOT UPDATE!

It’s nearly dinner time, but this is a new OutRun. The beans can sit there congealing. The beans can FUCK OFF into the BIN – this is a new OutRun! We will remember what desk we were sitting at and what pornography was downloading in the background when these images popped up until the day we die!

OUTRUN ONLINE ARCADE!

It’s OutRun Online Arcade. Its existence was revealed by the Australian censorship people a month ago, but it was such a vague bit of news that it was only deemed suitable to get dumped elsewhere on the network.

OUTRUN ONLINE ARCADE!

But now we have imagery from which opinions may be formed. It looks like SEGA’s making yet another attempt to sell some copies of OutRun2, basically, by redoing the Xbox/PS2 game for online use.

OUTRUN ONLINE ARCADE!

Coming to Xbox Live Arcade. 200 Achievement points in under five minutes.

OUTRUN ONLINE ARCADE!

Also coming to another form of online gaming service that works sporadically on another console. That version will hopefully be marginally worse.

OUTRUN ONLINE ARCADE!

Hopefully, masterful development team Sumo Digital will include some sort of lower-resolution, jerkier frame rate cheat in the PS3 version, activated by holding a few buttons down while it boots up.

OUTRUN ONLINE ARCADE!

Whoever formatted these screenshots for distribution needs severe disciplining. They’re about 100k each – nothing like the file size required to do OutRun justice.

OUTRUN ONLINE ARCADE!

You can see some terrible JPEG artefacting on the full-size versions. It is not good.

OUTRUN ONLINE ARCADE!

OutRun should NOT be SPOILED by JPEG artefacting. When it comes to OutRun, it’s acceptable to email out BMPs and even CMYK TIFFs. We don’t mind waiting a bit longer for them to download. If anything, it just adds to the excitement.

OUTRUN ONLINE ARCADE!

This might mean we get to do another pointless interview with Sumo Digital, in which literally NO FACTS about the game are revealed whatsoever! Like this one. And this one. And this one.

OUTRUN ONLINE ARCADE!

It may also mean that man, whatever he’s called, the one who does the SEGA music quite often, you know, him, is involved. There might also be an interview opportunity there as well. We are already shaking with nervous excitement!

OUTRUN ONLINE ARCADE!

So many fantasies spinning around in our heads right now.

OUTRUN ONLINE ARCADE!

Usually we’d be a bit bored of writing this many captions, but not when it’s OutRun.

OUTRUN ONLINE ARCADE!

20 screenshots, 38 screenshots, 59 screenshots – BRING THEM ON. Resizing images of OutRun games is never a chore. Even the time spent manually inputting the HTML code for the pictures is whizzing by!

OUTRUN ONLINE ARCADE!

The driving featured within the screenshots could be better. We compiled a handy guide to taking screenshots of OutRun a few years back using the PSP version, should you be in the process of taking screenshots for your magazine or blog.

OUTRUN ONLINE ARCADE!

There’s only one other car on the road, here. And the main car is being driven straight at a speed WELL BELOW its potential maximum. This screenshot would NOT have passed the internal UKR OutRun Screenshot Certification process. It’s more than good enough for GamesTM, though.

OUTRUN ONLINE ARCADE!

MINI GAMES!!!

OUTRUN ONLINE ARCADE!

Glorious. Any excuse to fall back into OutRun2 gratefully received in these dark days.

THE OFFICIAL WORDS, EACH ONE OF WHICH IS MORE GLORIOUS THAN THE LAST

FEEL THE WIND IN YOUR HAIR AS YOU POWER YOUR WAY ALONG THE HIGHWAYS IN OUTRUN ONLINE ARCADE

SEGA’s classic arcade racer returns, but this time it’s in stunning HiDef and available via PlayStation Network and Xbox LIVE Arcade for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft. Developed by acclaimed Sheffield studio Sumo Digital, OutRun Online Arcade, will be available early 2009.

Test your time, speed and handling ability as you race through vibrant, colourful stages and rediscover the 15 glorious OutRun courses. From the steep streets of San Francisco to the beautiful beaches of California, it’s mile after mile of unrelenting acceleration, thrills and action. Feel the kick as you put your foot to the floor in one of the 10 high-performance, fully licensed Ferrari cars as you race your way across the U.S. to a killer soundtrack.

For the first time on PlayStation Network and Xbox LIVE, OutRun Online Arcade delivers online multiplayer racing for up to 6 players, with fast paced OutRun, Heart Attack and Time Attack modes, the draw to the open road has never been so appealing. OutRun Online Arcade on Xbox LIVE will feature achievements and voice; and on PlayStation Network will include trophies, voice over IP and leaderboards.

Which route will you choose on your drive for the highest possible score?

OutRun Online Arcade will be released on Xbox LIVE Arcade and PlayStation Network early 2009. For assets please visit www.sega-press.com.

SONY DIVERSIFYING INTO SAUSAGE ROLLS

You can have a steak and onion pie for £425 or a cheese and onion slice for £399. Bound to be a winner. Bread is free, but it’s burnt and inedible and there’s a massive queue for it.

User-generated soup DELETED FROM SALE

“Sony may be doing even worse than we all thought. Apparently, it’s entered the pastry business as a last ditch effort to clot the gaming division’s massive cash haemorrhage” – Michael.

OFFICIALLY *NICE* PROJECT KATANA E3 1998 SHIRT

Expensive embroidered colour logo. Dreams woven into every strand, to celebrate NEC and SEGA announcing the glorious hardware partnership that would surely dominate the gaming world for years to come.

It has faded slightly, not through wear, but through being stared at adoringly.

Project Blackbelt SUCKS

“I was going through my closet tonight when I found this. It’s a Project Katana button-down shirt that was worn at E3 in 1998. Note the fine stitching of the logos! Someone clearly worked very hard on this. For some reason finding this made me very sad and reminded me of a day when I actually had a girlfriend, a full head of hair, and unconditional love of all things SEGA. Now if you excuse me I’m going to cry some more in the corner of my empty, dark apartment. Love, Colin” – Colin.

LIFE GETS WORSE FOR “EVIL MUM” KAREN MATTHEWS

100% solid gold news! PlayStation “brand” associated with sick child kidnapper in poorly-written national news report! We will remember today as one of the greatest days. PlayStation is, literally, for doers of evil.

THE LINK OF JOY:
Evil Shannon mum Karen Matthews gets Playstation as a reward

Ian Brady - Wii fanatic

Just when you think everyone in the country hates you enough, you get outed in the national press as a PlayStation3 fan. It’s enough to make you pity the disgusting, low-grade, nylon-clad hag.

Gary Glitter - Takes a Dreamcast everywhere in a specially-built flight case

“I love the way they explain all about the PS3 at the end though, the actual paper itself had a nice shiny picture too. It seems she’s taken Ken Kutaragi’s advice to get another job to be able to get a PS3 a little too literally” – Chris.

MESMERISING DUAL DREAMCAST LOGO UPDATE

Two-for-one pre-Christmas sale. We’d be letting you down even more than usual by splitting these up into two individual posts, so, in the hope that two negatives really do make a positive…

'Photographs of ex-boyfriend littered the apartment of the accused'

“I thought I’d get on the bandwagon with unofficial merchandise. One Silver photo frame. Commiserations” – John Stephens.

'Always stare at the floor thinking about Dreamcast?'

“I have had this door mat for 3.5 years.. I have only just realised…” – Dan.

SONY MARKETING ERROR #17829

So, they’ve decided to release HOME as a public Beta. That’s HOME, the amazing virtual world that had game journalists and PS3 fanboys proclaiming the greatness of Sony and how it would be the best thing EVER! Except, it’s not. Two years on, it turns out to be a half empty, badly thought out mess (queuing to play a game of Pool?!) and clearly nothing more than a cynical attempt to actually make some money out of the cash-haemorraghing disaster that has been PS3. And with nothing on the horizon, save GT5, surely the ‘nail in the coffin’. Even ThreeSpeech can’t be arsed to Big It Up like they did with Little Big Planet (already being sold for £19.99) Let’s have another little round-up of public opinion shall we;

  • “Are there really people dumb enough to spend £3.99 on a virtual house?”
  • “What they’ve released is just a huge anti-climax”
  • “You cannot create anything in PlayStation Home. You can only buy it.”
  • “Pointless, monotonous and poorly executed”
  • “It’s like the success of the PS2 has gone to their head and they think people will buy anything”
  • “It seems to be a really inconvenient way to launch games and videos while pretending to live in a nightmare vision of the future”
  • “..and the load times for each area, oh dear, that was something I didn’t expect. ”
  • “I really can’t fathom what they’ve been spending all that development time doing”

There's no place like home. THANK FUCK!

THE CAT PHOTO DID THE TRICK

Incredible scenes. We haven’t had a spike in traffic like this since the middle of 2003, when someone sent a link to someone else.

'PORN TAB, CAT TAB, PORN TAB, PORN TAB, PORN TAB, PORN TAB, PORN TAB, CAT TAB'

Imagine the disappointment on all their tiny, LCD-lit faces.