I’m still making my way through NextGen, with Issue 47 for November 1998

Cover: Ridge Racer Type 4

News: Analysis of the PS1 emulator (the Switch wasn’t the first on the market console to have an emulator come out for it, and a commercial one at that). George Schultz has also started a class action lawsuit against EA/Origin, requesting compensation for outages in Ultima Online. This lawsuit, if the dateline on IGN is correct, will go on for 14 years.

Big in Japan: Capcom has a Resident Evil/Biohazard-themed haunted house. Because this is the late ‘90s, Editorial’s first reflex is to dunk on it, because we have to be too cool for school. There’s also an interview with the executive producer of the 3D beat-em-up Spikeout about the difficulties of designing this kind of game for the then-modern consoles.

Alphas (Previews): We start with a look inside Namco. This article gets into their corporate culture, while also previewing Ridge Racer Type 4. For other companies, Reflections is showing off Driver.

We’re starting to get Previews of Dreamcast games, starting with Sonic Adventure. There’s also Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaper. ASC is working on an arcade racing game with Jeff Gordon, called Jeff Gordon’s Racing XS. This includes an interview with Jeff.

We have a preview of Silent Hill, which NextGen is impressed with. There’s an interview with Peter Molyneux about his new studio, Lionhead, and their first game, Black and White. I feel like this is the point where Molyneux starts becoming a real Carnie Motherfucker, with his promises on this game.

Moments of Truth: This is an article about turning points in the history of games. Examples include Peter Molyneux taking advantage of a wrong number to swindle Commodore out of a bunch of Amigas (so maybe he was always a Carnie Motherfucker), the formation of Activision, and Nintendo bailing on the Nintendo PlayStation.

‘99 Scouting Report: NextGen interviews a Venture Capital guy, Jim Whims, on what to expect in,  depending on how you count it, the last year of the Twentieth Century. His take is that PlayStation is on a strong footing, Nintendo is on steady demand ground, and that the best option for both is for Nintendo to go to market before Sony. Of particular note, he scoffs at the idea of Project X using a DVD Player to sneak a console into the home. This is funny, because Sony will use a Console to sneak a DVD player into the home (and they’ll do it again with Blu-Ray)

Finals (Reviews): First off is Turok 2. The game gets 5 stars for its improved graphics, weapons, and enemy behavior. Spyro also gets a good review, though it’s considered “kiddy”. Rainbow Six also gets a good review, though in this pre-Counterstrike time, I don’t think NextGen knows what to make of it.

Madden is currently getting its lunch eaten by NFL Blitz and GameDay. Mega Man Legends has a mixed review, while Trap Gunner has a great score that leads me to suspect it’s a hidden gem. 

Letters: There’s a letter from Justin Sevakis, now owner of Animeigo, with what I’d describe as a Centrist letter in opposition to Doug Lowenstein’s Conservative take on Emulation.

Next issue, Lara Croft returns in Tomb Raider 2.