Every Next Generation Question Answered

Next Generation magazine was known for a lot of things. In its early days it was known for being one of the most intelligent video game rags, the type of magazine that made you feel smarter for reading it. It was chock full of amazing interviews with industry players, had real facts about the business of the industry and never seemed to let anybody off the hook when it came to mistakes. They were also harsh critics, often giving well regarded games lower-than-normal scores. But while this frustrated some gamers, it was the type of thing that was endearing to all of those people looking for a change from the standard issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly or GamePro.

Looking back at the magazines now I realize that one thing Next Generation should be known for are the leading questions. On practically every cover they had a picture of a game or system, and then they would ask a question that was supposed to make you want to read the full story. Are games going to ruin your life? Will Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft merge to form one super console? Will people stop buying Madden? These are the sorts of questions they would publish on the front of their magazine, trying to hook you into buying it and reading the rest of the issue. Unfortunately Next Generation rarely answered their own questions, so I figured I would do the job for them. Using common sense and my knowledge of the past few years, I was able to answer more than two dozen questions posed on the cover. It's that simple. So watch as I attempt to answer every question asked by a Next Generation cover!

Does PlayStation Live Up to the Hype?
The Short Answer: Yes.
The Slightly Longer Answer: There was a lot of hype leading up to the PlayStation's launch, which may explain why some openly questioned whether it could actually live up to the hype. The truth is, it could and it did. With amazing launch games (Twisted Metal, Destruction Derby, Warhawk, Jumping Flash, Ridge Racer, etc.), it was clear that the PlayStation was set to deliver. Throughout its life it managed to live up to the hype by offering new life for aging franchises, crazy Japanese games you couldn't get anywhere else, and a series of new games that would take the industry by storm. There's no doubt about it, the PlayStation definitely lived up to the hype.

Can 3DO Keep Up?
The Short Answer: No.
The Slightly Longer Answer: Even before the PlayStation and Saturn had been announced, the 3DO was dead in the water. Thanks to its high price tag and penchant for educational titles, the 3DO didn't stand a chance in a world dominated by traditional game consoles. It wasn't without a few great games and some solid ideas, but the moment the PlayStation and Saturn were announced it was lights out for the 3DO (no matter which company made it).

Sega Saturn: A Game Machine to Drool Over?
The Short Answer: Only if you've never seen the PlayStation.
The Slightly Longer Answer: Even though I love my Sega Saturn, the truth is that it was constantly being one-upped by Sony and Nintendo. The Saturn certainly had a few games worth drooling over; however the graphics were almost always better on the PlayStation. There was as moment early in 1995 when it was okay to drool, but even that moment was short lived. I can certainly understand drooling, but only if you've never actually seen a PlayStation game in action. And you can forget about drooling now, the time to be excited about the graphics of a Saturn game are long gone.

Madden's Back: Can the 16-bit Classic Repeat in the 32-bit Age?
The Short Answer: Yes ... and some.
The Slightly Longer Answer: Madden got off to a rocky start on the 32-bit consoles. In fact, his very first 32-bit entry (Madden '96) was cancelled. But EA Sports came back bigger and stronger the next year, proving that Madden had some fight left in him. From there Madden would continue to dominate the football arena, until eventually it became the only game in town (literally). These days the Madden games are annual best sellers, a virtual cash making machine for Electronic Arts.

Is Microsoft Planning to Take Over the Game Industry?
The Short Answer: Yes, but not for another six years.
The Slightly Longer Answer: They have a long way to go before they take over the game industry, but Microsoft certainly did plan on creating a console to compete with Sony and Nintendo. Whether or not they were planning on doing that in 1996, the year this question was posed, is another thing entirely. It could be that Microsoft was watching from the sidelines and then got in when they realized they couldn't sit out any longer. Or maybe they just thought they saw an opening. Either way, Microsoft did eventually plan on taking over the games industry.

Are You Connected?
The Short Answer: Yes I am.
The Slightly Longer Answer: If you're reading this then chances are you have some sort of access to the internet, be it through the computer, your game system, cell phone or any number of other ways. It's easy to be connected, there's plenty of free WiFi and just about everybody owns a cell phone these days. Obviously it was a little harder back when this question was posed, but that doesn't change the fact that everybody reading this is connected to the internet in one way or another.

Which Videogame System Is the Best?
The Short Answer: Sony PlayStation 2.
The Slightly Longer Answer: I know it's controversial, but when it comes right down to it I don't see how anybody can say anything other than the PlayStation 2. Sure the NES and Super NES had some great games, but there has never been a catalog of games larger and more diverse than that of the PlayStation 2. Not to mention that you can play every original PlayStation game, which already adds another 50 - 100 must-own games to your library. We can argue all day about what system is the most powerful, but if you're asking me which system is the best to own (if you are only going to own one), then I say the Sony PlayStation 2.

Why Are Old Games So Much Fun?
The Short Answer: Because they are simple and they bring back fond memories of the past.
The Slightly Longer Answer: I could go on for hours about why old school games are so much fun, but I'll make this as easy as possible. Most old school games are very simple, have almost no learning curve and take forever to be mastered. It's the same reason that people still play checkers or Monopoly, the games are easy to learn and never get old. Retro games also remind you of better times, generally when you're a kid experiencing these things for the very first time. It's easy to confuse quality and nostalgia, but there are great old school games that will never be forgotten.

Blasto: The Most Impressive 32-Bit Title Yet?
The Short Answer: Hell no!
The Slightly Longer Answer: Perhaps you should have asked, will George W. Bush go down as the greatest President of all time? Will Howard the Duck win the Oscar for Best Picture? Was Chinese Democracy worth waiting a dozen years for? Of course the answer is no, nobody is going to say yes to any one of those crazy questions. It's bad enough that a prestigious magazine like Next Generation could put Blasto on the cover, but then to ask if it's the most impressive 32-bit title yet ... that's just one step over the line. In fact, that may be the most offensive question ever posed by Next Gen. The answer is obviously no, it's one of the least impressive 32-bit games ever released.

Has the PC Finally Won the War?
The Short Answer: It depends on what they were fighting over.
The Slightly Longer Answer: In the late 1990s the PC won a few skirmishes, but I don't know anybody who would say that the PC has won the war. These days the PC is home to a lot of great games, but their release schedule (and sales) are dwarfed by the consoles. Then again, it's not entirely clear what ground these two competitors were fighting over. For the most part PCs and consoles played to two entirely different audiences, so I'm not even sure they knew they were locked in a war.

Metal Gear Solid: The Last Great PlayStation Game?
The Short Answer: Not at all.
The Slightly Longer Answer: Metal Gear Solid the last great PlayStation game? Oh give me a break. Metal Gear Solid came out in 1998; there were still plenty of great PlayStation games on deck. Don't believe me? Check out this list of great PlayStation games that came out AFTER Metal Gear Solid: Gran Turismo 2, Chrono Cross, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1, 2 and 3, Vagrant Story, Ape Escape, Resident Evil 3, Syphon Filter and R4: Ridge Racer Type 4. And that's hardly a complete list, I could go on for paragraphs talking about all of the great games released on the PlayStation after Hideo Kojima's masterpiece.

Will Tekken 4 Be on PlayStation?
The Short Answer: It will not.
The Slightly Longer Answer: I like it when the questions are this easy. The only Tekken games released on the original PlayStation were the first three. When the PlayStation 2 was released it was introduced to Tekken Tag Tournament, quickly followed by Tekken 4 and then Tekken 5. So no, Tekken 4 was not on the original PlayStation. However, maybe Next Generation was talking more broadly, asking if it would be on ANY PlayStation console. If that's the case then yes, Tekken 4 was on the PlayStation 2. I have a hunch that's not what they meant when they asked this burning question.

Tomb Raider 3: Are We Still In Love?
The Short Answer: We so aren't.
The Slightly Longer Answer: Sorry Lara, but we really aren't. By the time Tomb Raider 3 hit the store shelves we had kind of had enough of Ms. Croft's acrobatic stunts and enormous breasts. The first game was ground- breaking and the second game was more of the same, but by the third game we wanted to see somebody else. It's not that we didn't find her attractive, but we had been there, we had done that. It was time for a new girlfriend. But don't worry Lara; we came back to you years later when Eidos figured out how to make a compelling Tomb Raider game again.

PlayStation 2 vs. Dreamcast: Is the Next Console War Already Over?
The Short Answer: Sadly, it is.
The Slightly Longer Answer: Due to poor worldwide sales and a lack of funds, Sega's hopes of winning the "next console war" were slim to none. It didn't help that Sony had more money than God and a massive following. And you can't forget that Electronic Arts wasn't putting software on the Dreamcast, which certainly hurt Sega's bottom line. Throw all these problems together (and then add in the impending GameCube and Xbox launches) and there was practically no way for Sega to win. So yes, the next console war was over before it even started.

Soul Calibur: Is This the Game That Will Make You Buy a Dreamcast?
The Short Answer: Yes, it's one of the games.
The Slightly Longer Answer: Soul Calibur was one of the best selling games at launch, and for good reason. Even though Tekken was fantastic, Soul Calibur was Namco's early triumph. It was a fighting game that was considerably better on the console than in the arcades. What's more, it looked amazing and had a phenomenal single-player mode. Was it THE game that made people buy a Dreamcast? No, there were certainly other games that contributed to the successful U.S. launch, but Soul Calibur was definitely one of the brightest stars for Sega that year.

Will Sega's Shenmue Make You Forget About PlayStation 2?
The Short Answer: Only until you get bored.
The Slightly Longer Answer: What will make you forget about the PlayStation 2 was the PlayStation 2's crummy launch line-up. Talk about depressing. About the only good game you could buy at launch was EA's stunning SSX. As for Shenmue, the truth is that the game was good enough to make you forget about the Dreamcast competition. However, the game was also slow, deliberate and not the kind of thing that everybody can get into. Those waiting for the fast-paced action games on the PlayStation 2 would likely have been bored by Shenmue, so it likely would not have made them forget about Sony's system.

Nintendo 64: Is It Dead?
The Short Answer: It definitely is.
The Slightly Longer Answer: Rest in peace, Nintendo 64. If you have to ask if a system is dead, then chances are it is. The problem with Nintendo's 64-bit powerhouse was the lack of support. Thanks to the Virtual Console, these days there's more support for the Nintendo 64 than there was back in 2000. It was clear that Nintendo was transitioning their teams over to the GameCube, which would come out a full year later. Big N has never been good about seamlessly moving from one system to another, so maybe it shouldn't have felt weird that they just dropped support of the Nintendo 64. It is clear from this question that this was the beginning of Nintendo losing their footing, something they didn't regain until years later.

Onimusha: Can Capcom's Samurai Save the U.S. Launch?
The Short Answer: No, it didn't even make launch!
The Slightly Longer Answer: It's true that the PlayStation 2 launch needed saving. Not because of lack of interest (let's not forget that it was the system to get that holiday season), but rather because SSX was the only must-own title to launch with the system. Unfortunately Onimusha didn't make the PlayStation 2 launch. In fact, it didn't even come close to making the launch. It wasn't released until spring of 2001, a full six months after the launch of the PS2. Can Onimusha save the U.S. launch? Not when it's positioned as a post-launch title.

Nintendo's GameCube: Can Zelda, Metroid and Star Wars put the Company Back on Top?
The Short Answer: Yes ... but not this generation.
The Slightly Longer Answer: Zelda? Check. Metroid? Check. Star Wars? Check. These are some of the ingredients that went into Nintendo's recent success. Unfortunately this question wasn't posed about the hugely popular Wii, but rather the mediocre GameCube. Next Generation openly wondered if the GameCube was going to be Nintendo's big hit. It wasn't. But they were only one generation away. Zelda, Metroid and Star Wars went a long way to making the GameCube the second biggest system of that console cycle, but it wasn't until Nintendo added motion support and Wii Sports that they had a winner on their hands.

Xbox: Big in Japan?
The Short Answer: No.
The Slightly Longer Answer: The Xbox was one of the least successful systems in Japan, often selling no more than 20 or 30 consoles in a week. Microsoft was fighting a losing battle from the get-go. For one thing, the Japanese are often resistant to American-made games and consoles. Worse yet, most of the biggest games on the system (first-person shooters, sports games, etc.) don't translate well to the Japanese culture. It's also worth mentioning that online gaming hasn't taken over Japan in the same sort of way it has in the U.S. and Europe. So it's easy to see why the Xbox wouldn't be big in Japan. It also goes without saying that the Xbox 360 was also poorly received in the land of the rising sun.

Sega Shocker: Is This the End of Dreamcast?
The Short Answer: Indeed it is.
The Slightly Longer Answer: You know something is wrong when you're a first-party console manufacturer and you start making games for your competition. The writing was on the wall, at the point this question was posed Sega had already tried giving the system away for free, which is never a sign of strength. The Dreamcast days were numbered, and it was blatantly obvious to everybody paying attention. It was a bittersweet day for Sega fans. It's sad to see one of the best console makers step away from a great gaming platform, but at the same time they now had the ability to show off their games on more popular consoles. Unfortunately right after that Sega's quality control decided to go on vacation and all we got were half-assed games.

Halo: Can Bungie's War Machine Lead Xbox to Victory?
The Short Answer: No it can't.
The Slightly Longer Answer: If the question was whether or not Halo would be a great game that would sell millions of units, then there's no way I could argue with that. But that wasn't the question. Instead they asked if Halo would be able to lead Microsoft's console to victory. Halo certainly helped the struggling system early on (it was a top selling game for well over a year), but the Xbox never won that generation's console war. The truth is, it didn't even come close. Of the four consoles (including the Dreamcast), it came in third ... and that's mostly because the Dreamcast had dropped out by the time Microsoft entered the arena. Halo was a great game, but no game was going to be able to help Microsoft defeat the all-mighty PlayStation 2.

Jak & Daxter: Are These PS2's Next Superstars?
The Short Answer: Yes they are.
The Slightly Longer Answer: Along with Ratchet, Sly Cooper and Clank, Jak and Daxter were the new PlayStation celebrities. These cute 3D platformers all came out at roughly the same time, all offering a slightly different twist on the tried and true genre. While Sony never adopted them as their official mascot (at least not in the way they did with Crash Bandicoot), it was clear that the PlayStation maker wanted to push them as the face of their system. It seemed to work, because Jak & Daxter starred in four PlayStation 2 games, along with a top-selling PSP release.

Dead or Alive: Is This the Game That Will Make You Buy an Xbox?
The Short Answer: No.
The Slightly Longer Answer: When Next Generation asked this question in relation to Soul Calibur, it was an easy yes answer. However, I've played Soul Calibur, I consider myself to be quite good at Soul Calibur ... and let me tell you, Dead or Alive 3 is no Soul Calibur! Dead or Alive 3 isn't a bad game, but it wasn't good enough to be the sole reason somebody would buy the console. Halo was one of those games that could move units, but not Dead or Alive 3. Well, that's not entire true. In Japan Dead or Alive 3 was the most popular game on the system for much of the system's life. Unfortunately very few people actually bought the Xbox in Japan, so it's hardly worth bringing up in the first place.

Maximo: The Best Game of 2002?
The Short Answer: Not even close.
The Slightly Longer Answer: As much as I love Maximo (and all things Ghosts 'n Goblins related), this Capcom action game was definitely not game of the year material. A fun action game with great graphics and a cool character? Absolutely. But it certainly wasn't the best game of that year. It wasn't better than Grand Theft Auto: Vice City or Kingdom Hearts or Virtua Fighter 4. It wasn't better than Rez or Suikoden III. Nintendo fans would argue that it wasn't better than Metroid Prime. Xbox loyalists would say that Splinter Cell was better. Maximo is a great game, but there's not a person on this planet that is going to say it's the best game of that year.