Sega Game Jam event report

TOKYO - Sega held its Game Jam event at Zepp Tokyo in Japan over the weekend. Although Phantasy Star Online Version 2 drew the largest crowds, other Dreamcast games such as Sonic Adventure 2, Confidential Mission, Crazy Taxi 2, Capcom vs. SNK Millennium Fight 2000 Pro, and Heavy Metal Geomatrix were available in playable form.

Yu Suzuki from AM2 of CRI publicly demonstrated Shenmue II for the first time at the weekend event. According to Suzuki, the game is currently 70-80 percent complete. The field map will be 10 times the size of the original game. The original game could have approximately 350 people in one specific area, but Shenmue II will have over 1000 people in certain locations. Most of the demonstration specifically showcased how to earn money by means of gambling in minigames and selling Virtua Fighter figurine sets at pawnshops. However, one of the more interesting aspects shown were the new QTEs, which now involve more than pressing a series of buttons--QTEs in Shenmue II include pressing certain directions on the D-pad as well. A scene was shown where Ryo had to cross several narrow natural bridges on a rocky mountainside. Careful maneuvering is required in this portion, but if the player is about to fall, a QTE event occurs that lets the player evade a deadly fall into a seemingly endless pit.

After Shenmue II was shown, Yuji Naka from Sonic Team demonstrated both Sonic Adventure 2 and Phantasy Star Online Version 2. Much of the demonstration of Sonic Adventure 2 involved stages that were covered in our latest preview . As for Phantasy Star Online Version 2, senior designer Satoshi Sakai explained the new battle mode, the challenge mode, and the ultimate mode. He also showed the new lobby where users can play soccer, as well as some of the new weapons and items included in this updated version of Phantasy Star Online. Sonic Team also announced that the title will be delayed two weeks in order to further improve the game. The release date is now set for May 31 in Japan.

Though Sega's presence was missed at the Tokyo Game Show 2001 Spring, its Game Jam event attracted more than 10,000 Sega fans from all over Japan during its two-day run. Interestingly, Sega announced that it will be returning to the Tokyo Game Show this fall.