(Editor's NOTE: If you wish to really impact your votes, don't email the Dark Falcon but email Sega themselves at www.sega.com)

Top Skater...requests?

The Dark Falcon
dfalcon@concentric.net

Recently, it came to my attention that some producers at the AM1 studios said that if they get enough requests, they would produce a version of Top Skater for the Sega Saturn. About a million, if I'm correct...you should be able to find this whole article on the Saturnworld webpage (www.saturnworld.com).

This is an interesting challenge, but I fear it may never happen. Why? Well, I read it on a third-party Sega web page and not Sega's own web page themselves. You'd think that a company like Sega would show the time and appreciation to Saturn owners to offer them a chance to speak up about an upcoming title, one that would be ported over with the same quality as such titles as Sega Rally and Virtua Fighter 2 (after all, it uses the same board and not a "troublesome" Model 3 one). But, alas, no word on an offer like that, only news about the "exciting" Sega Touring Car game coming up. (Hey, I like Touring Car, but not as much as Top Skater, obviously.)

So it's up to us, the little people who do these web pages out of our own time for the readers who care, to let you know what's going on. Personally, I love what I'm doing for these web pages, game reviews and all (yes, EVEN THE BAD GAMES), but I'm disappointed in Sega for not putting more emphasis on what's truly important to their gaming audience. The people on the 1-800-USA-SEGA line really don't have any information for us, and that's if you can get through. Their web page is also quite underrated, and when a matter occurs that would include a bad opinion, they simply butt it out and leave in the good words.

This is a wake up call to Sega. If you care, if you give a damn, you will be more caring to your readers and offer them more opportunities like this. An internal guy from YOUR OWN DAMN STUDIO told us he would do it only if enough requests (like a million or so, see above) came in for it, and you don't even tell us he said it? We have to go to SATURNWORLD to find it and not sega.com? Disgusting. Get some knowledge going, folks, or you will lose this war you're engaging with Sony and Nintendo.

As for Top Skater, I've decided to voice my opinion on it right here on Dave Z.'s web page, permitting he prints it. I think this would be a great addition to Sega's library, crushing the life of what Sony has to offer via 2Xtreme (that's about as good a skateboarding simulator as Atari's 720 Degrees), and would be quite the fitting companion to Sega Rally and Manx TT. So, this is the time, folks...e-mail Sega and let them know what you want. E-mail once, twice, three times (a lady...whoops, showman side's sticking out of me again), as long as it takes before they HAVE to listen. Tell them you want Top Skater. Hell, tell them you want House of the Dead and Gunblade New York, too. As long as we remain silent and don't e-mail Sega about these matters, they will continue to ignore us and make their own decisions...and that's what got them where they are in the first place.

GAH! I drink way too much coffee sometimes. Peace all...and happy skateboarding!