Second opinion: ECTS

[R. van de Moosdijk]

Hello all,   Just a minor response to Patriek's message about the ECTS showing, not to brag that I know better, but simply because things look a bit too bright if you attend a show like the ECTS for the first time and you get so enthusiastic you say or hear things that are not really as they seem.   [Quote:] I went to the ECTS this year in London, a big show for game developers (I'm a GameBoy Color developer). Kind of like the E3 in the USA, but no consumers or students are allowed.   Actaully the ECTS is exactly like the E3 in the USA (held in LA last may) only the E3 is a lot bigger, a lot more important and more of a show then the ECTS. Patriek is right about the fact that no consumers or students are allowed at the ECTS (no under 18's either) but this is the same at the E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo). Oh, and the show is not for game developers solely, actually I think the developers form a minority at the ECTS...publishers, retailers, wholesalers make a large presence too.   [Quote:] I went to Konami, and with some effort I managed to get an appointment with the head of Konami in Holland, Paul Groen! Paul is the same guy that gave MCCM the permission for putting Konami ROMs on their CD's   Not to spoil any big thoughts by Patriek, but Paul is a nobody within Konami, he doesn't know anything (he never heard of SD Snatcher) and sure as hell is not allowed to say anything. Therefore it is very unlikely Paul had anything to do with the Konami games appearing on the MCCM CD. It is more likely Paul forwarded the request to Konami GmbH in Germany or Konami Inc., in Tokyo.   [Quote:] They have 2 Universities in Japan (one in Tokyo, and one I can't remember) I thought the second one was in Kobe, Port Island but I am not completely sure about that. Anyway these universities are a very well planned concept by Konami to keep there development teams growing with in-house people. If anyone played the VR missions of Metal Gear Solid, these were completely designed by the Konami School (including the pretty bad arrangement of the Metal Gear 1 music).   [Quote:] Anyway, this guy Aki was the leader of the Metal Gear Solid team! No he wasn't, Hideo Kojima was. No 22-year old will be put in charge of a project conceived by Kojima, he will always do it himself. My guess is Aki was head of the Metal Gear Solid VR Mission team and Patriek misunderstood. And about Patriek's question if it was possible to port Konami games to the Gameboy Color, it is true Konami is not really enthusiastic about 3rd party development in these cases, although they definitely do not do everything themselves. When I talked to Kojima and Ueno (head of Gameboy Color development) at the E3 in Los Angeles this year I also asked about the possibilities to port Metal Gear and Solid Snake to the Gameboy Color, but as Patriek said, no 3rd pary deals are being made at this time.   [Quote:] I'd never been to a show like this before, I've seen the newest releases, played the latest alpha or beta versions, and talked to the biggest companies in the world.   Well, I can't really blame Patriek for his enthusiasm, the ECTS is a bit of a kick-ass ride if you are used to MSX fairs, but frankly, take it easy on the superlatives. This ECTS was by far the lousiest show of the last 4 or 5 years, there wasn't really anything new to see, no exciting merchandise to get and no real impressive booths (like the Virgin Cathedral in 1996). The biggest companies in the world simply weren't there to speak to, so Patriek never spoke with them (Eidos, Electronic Arts) and the REAL new releases were all behind curtains and not publically displayed. (Like Westwoods upcoming Command & Conquer: Renegade and the first glimpses of Nintendo's Dolphin, the succesor to the N64)   Ruud van de Moosdijk Co-founder ENGINE Software BV www.engine-software.com (partner of Witan Entertainment in Gameboy development www.witan.nl)