Outrun 2006, bringing it to DC!!

[Segata Sanshiro]

This might be an outrageous idea, but please lets approach it open minded and maybe something wonderful will happen.
As we all know Outrun is arguably the most symbolic SEGA game, its a game everyone remembers. If you ask someone unfamiliar with sega or games in general about it, they'll certainly remember the old game with the red car and blond babe.

Sadly for Dreamcast owners Outrun 2 came out too late to have a DC port, but on the other hand it took advantage of the kickass Chihiro board and saw a great xbox port (the only reason i got an xbox). For the people unfamiliar with it, Outrun 2 is one of the best arcade racing games ever, graphics are beautiful, game play is perfect and the feeling of the original is all there. When we thought all was said and done Outrun 2SP came out, it features all the tracks missing from the original Outrun and Outrunners, it has the 15 original ourun 2 tracks and 15 NEW ones.

An announcement was made that Outrun 2 SP will be ported to Xbox, PS2 and PSP contrary to the xbox exclusive Outrun 2. The name of the port is the unoriginal Outrun 2006.

the idea to port the original Outrun 2 to the DC was out of the question, because it was gonna involve some work to optimize it for our older console (poly reduction, texture reduction, uv adjustment... etc)

but the situation is different this time around, because the game is being optimised for PSP, the screenshots below show it. From what i've seen it looks like a launch DC title.












The idea is: lets try to petition for a Dreamcast release!!!

We will succeed because:
the arcade game is made by AM2, one of the best sega development studios, people very familiar with all sega hardware especially naomi and the DC (Shenmue, F355).
the game is ported by sumo digital (i think), but they can be provided with the knowledge and DEV-kits once sega is convinced
Outrun 2 SP is being ported to PSP, which is weaker than the DC thus the graphics are optimised even more than what is needed for a port... So most of the work is already done!
Visually Outrun 2 is similar to Daytona USA on DC, so it could be a reasonable proposition to use the Daytona engine for the port eliminating the need to write a new engine (which sega would not do for us).
The recently released and upcoming DC titles (Rajirugi, Under Defeat) show that there is still a large Dreamcast fan base out there... It would be helpful to convince AM2.
We will convince the developers that Dreamcast needs the most symbolic sega game and it would be ported painlessly because there is an optimized version already done for PSP.
A large petition, both online and by snail-mail











We could fail because:
Sega doesn't consider Dreamcast a viable business solution anymore
Possible copyright contracts with sony or microsoft.
the possibility of the production costs exceeding the demand for such a port.
Not enough interest from the DC community.


So please lets be open minded about this, I'm sure that we can make it happen, just have to be positive and persistent.

Please comment.



some links:
Outrun 2 movie
outrun 2 europe site
outrun 2006 PSP
Chihiro board and games

..::edited::..
OK, people here is my initial idea about 'how to do this petition'. Please approach it open minded, i know its hard, but we're all allowed to Dream , please tell me what you think. If there are enough interested people and some willing to help, we can do this.
In case not enough people are interested, I'll directly go to the second part of the plan ...make our own Outrun DC.

ENGLISH

ESPA?OL

All my numbering got screwed up, so sorry for that!

[Skynet]

I'd love to see this happen, but sadly I would probably not buy it. Personally I'd hate to place this on PSP, however due to my dislike of the Dpad and analogue nub being stupid. And I'm not flaming, I own one of those damn things

[Segata Sanshiro]

Personally I'd hate to place this on PSP

me 2, thats why we should petition for a DC port.

[Bertrude]

I'd love to see this on the DC, but have to admit I'm a bit sceptical, especially if Sony and Microsoft have some sort of contract already - I'm thinking of Sony's possible influence on the cancellation of Half-Life and Bleemcast.

That said, I doubt the DC would be considered as a commercial threat any more and if there was an online petition I'd be part of it. The upcoming DC releases are positive but are both naomi ports which I assume are relatively easy jobs. Would a port of the PSP version be as easy though?

It would be such a cool gesture on Sega's part to do something like this.

Does anyone know how well the more recent releases such as Ikaruga, Border Down, Chaos Field, Trizeal, Psyvarier 2 sold? Some good sales figures may go some way in reassuring Sega.

[HomerCIDAL]

At least it would be more variety than all the shooters being released. Not that it's bad, but a little variety would be great!

[MetaFox]

This isn't an easy porting job from one similar platform to another using the same development kit this time around.

That's the only way petitions for new Dreamcast releases work. It would take a lot more fanbase than the Dreamcast has in order to convince Sega that it would be worth their time.

As much as I'd love to have Out Run 2 on the Dreamcast, the sad truth is any petition effort would be a lost cause.

[Juan]

What do you need me to do?

[Imerion]

I doubt it will work, but Ill support it nonthless. Its such a small effort anyway. Sending a mail or signing a list. I have to admit I have looked quite a lot on this game, its certainly one of the most interesting for the moment. I guess petitions for Naomi-games and similiar is a bit easier though, the porting is much easier and there are a few good Naomi-games not ported to DC. Might be something to consider instead or as well. On the other hand, those games aint "new" and hot, which Outrun 2 is, so that might make convincig even harder. Thinking that Sonic team did a DC-version of Puyo Puyo Fever still makes me believe the major studios have the DC in mind. Perhaps they want to do it, and all that is needed is an order from someone who has the power to decide...

[MetaFox]

Thinking that Sonic team did a DC-version of Puyo Puyo Fever still makes me believe the major studios have the DC in mind. Perhaps they want to do it, and all that is needed is an order from someone who has the power to decide...

But Puyo Puyo Fever was a NAOMI port. It was simple to bring it to the Dreamcast as it used nearly identical hardware, and the same development kit. It was likely only a matter of compiling the code under a different development environment.

[Imerion]

But Puyo Puyo Fever was a NAOMI port. It was simple to bring it to the Dreamcast as it used nearly identical hardware, and the same development kit. It was likely only a matter of compiling the code under a different development environment.

Exactly, that is why I wrote this :

I guess petitions for Naomi-games and similiar is a bit easier though, the porting is much easier and there are a few good Naomi-games not ported to DC. Might be something to consider instead or as well.

Naomi-ports has a better chance. There is the Melty Blood : Act Cadenza petition going on and there are more good Naomi-games which could be ported. Don't know if Naomi 2 is a big difference, but my dream is to see any of the Virtua Fighter 4-versions on my DC...

[Evil_Ernie]

has any petition actually pan out something ??? o_O

[Segata Sanshiro]

the main purpose of a potential petition is obvious, but besides that it would serve us as a reaffirmation of our DC loyalty >>> like Sonic and Nights, Outrun belongs on a sega console.

A petition will also serve to show the corporate world of video games that gamers have opinions and that we're not a bunch of underage, fat, virgin, retards that would buy the most "popular" console, or the best branded game (EA), follow the masses and feel proud that we're a part of the latest trend.

It would take a lot more fan base than the Dreamcast has in order to convince Sega that it would be worth their time.

How many are we talking here?

Perhaps they want to do it, and all that is needed is an order from someone who has the power to decide...

...and pays them

Maybe we could make this 'petition' a little different, I'm still not too sure, but lets put our heads together and give sega (or am2) something worthy of consideration.

- First place should be the profit, sadly for us its a hobby, a way to escape, etc.... but to them is just business... and we cant promise big profits

- But we can offer our help, among us there are artists, programmers, accountants, lawyers... we can offer them a simple business model >> get some sponsors, talk to small to mid size companies and offer advertisement in the game (of course all this has to be strictly synchronised with sega's opinion). I work in advertising and i know that profit is the most important thing for this greedy bastards, but often we participate in charity (filming TV ads for free for AIDS campaigns, etc.).

I'm aware that this is still science fiction, but it wouldn't hurt if we thought about it a little.

I think that the key here is think positive, most people's first response is "nah, that will never happen... but well" that way we subconsciously rule out the positive outcome of this journey... and if nothing happens, we sorely say "i knew it, they never cared about us".

[MetaFox]

has any petition actually pan out something ??? o_O

The Dreamcast-Scene petitions for Border Down and Shikigami no Shiro 2 did. Those were paper petitions though. Online petitions never amount to anything.

It would take a lot more fan base than the Dreamcast has in order to convince Sega that it would be worth their time.

How many are we talking here?

All of the recent releases for the Dreamcast have been low quantity releases of a couple thousand.

For a high profile Sega game like this, we'd need to prove that they can sell their entire stock of games at around at least 10,000 or more. Realistically, it wouldn't be worth their time if they didn't at least push that many units.

[Segata Sanshiro]

For a high profile Sega game like this, we'd need to prove that they can sell their entire stock of games at around at least 10,000 or more. Realistically, it wouldn't be worth their time if they didn't at least push that many units.

man, i thought you would say a mil or more, i feel relieved

I'm certain that there are more than a couple of million people out there that would immediately download and play to death a warez version of Outrun 2 for DC if available and even claim that they love the DC and that Outrun2DC kicks much ass, we only have to convince 1% of the warez scene people to cash out $60 and we'll have enough.

[Imerion]

- But we can offer our help, among us there are artists, programmers, accountants, lawyers... we can offer them a simple business model >> get some sponsors, talk to small to mid size companies and offer advertisement in the game (of course all this has to be strictly synchronised with sega's opinion)

This is true. Seeing how much is already done by the community, there is quite a lot to show SEGA we really mean it. Showing that we are capable of helping.
Otherwise, well do a clone of Outrun 2006 ourselves. That'll show em.

[bender]

I'd like to see Outrun 2 on the dreamcast but honestly, this is not going to happen, a PSP game is probably very different of a Dreamcast one. I think we should concentrate on petitions of games that could be sold well but also that could be adapted easily with very little money spent in porting the game.
Naomi and Atomiswave games seem good to look for, the hardware is basically the same and the libraries used for devving probably too. I think that now the AW seems that is dying, perhaps is the time to concentrate on games for this plattform.

MS6, for example has recently been released for the AW, is a game that I think that would sell a lot and that is almost ported because being on that machine http://www.snkplaymore.jp/official/ms6/index.html . On the other side, seems that SNK does not care too much about the dreamcast since KOF2k2 . We have had a lot of KOFs with the dreamcast 'dead', so perhaps there's a little chance for SNK's MS6

[Imerion]

Naomi and Atomiswave games seem good to look for, the hardware is basically the same and the libraries used for devving probably too.

Yes, I almost forgot about Atomiswave. There are lots of good games there which Id love to see ported. I mean, except for a few mb of ram its exactly the same system, so it can't be to though doing it.
Games like Dolphin Blue, Faster Than Speed, Force Five, Kenju, Maximum Speed, Metal Slug 6 and Rumble Fish 2 among others would be very nice to see on Dreamcast. Did anything actually happen with the Atomiswave2DC petitions?

[Segata Sanshiro]

Otherwise, well do a clone of Outrun 2006 ourselves. That'll show em.

that was my idea also, when the Holly3D tech demo is finished and the engine is ready to go, i was thinking of giving it a shot

Naomi and Atomiswave games seem good to look for, the hardware is basically the same and the libraries used for devving probably too.

My point is to try to bring the big guns to the DC, not port arcade titles that are more of a collectors item for us than mainstream titles. Don't get me wrong, i would love to see DC ports of Dolphin Blue, Faster than Speed, Metal Slug 6, but by releasing them sega knows that they are doing a "favour" to us, because the mainstream public doesn't give a damn about those titles, only us collectors and and the warezers care. The Outrun idea is to bring one of the hottest and most significant sega titles to come out recently, not to get only sega's table scraps (i don't want to offend those great games, its just an expression)!!!

I will say again, i know this is 'mission impossible', but thats exactly the point >>> corporate sharks are used to our petitions for Naomi arcade conversions, but they wont expect us to be as bold as to really go and gather enough votes for an AAA title such as Outrun 2.

If we gain momentum, I'm convinced that we will succeed, in the worst case scenario, if we annoy them enough they will crack and maybe never release Outrun2, but say "well, we cant release it, but we'll give you a couple of Naomi games instead to shut you up"... don't lose hope people! don't be satisfied with what you're being fed!

[Cid Highwind]

Sounds like an awesome idea.

But when you mentioned that they might use the Daytona USA engine I was wondering if using a different engine won't effect handling and physics?

[Imerion]

that was my idea also, when the Holly3D tech demo is finished and the engine is ready to go, i was thinking of giving it a shot

You really make Dreams come true! When I mentioned we could make it ourselves, I had the Holly 3D engine in mind, thinking "It, if anything, could do that!". If you decide to do so, ill help in any way I can.

If we gain momentum, I'm convinced that we will succeed, in the worst case scenario, if we annoy them enough they will crack and maybe never release Outrun2, but say "well, we cant release it, but we'll give you a couple of Naomi games instead to shut you up"... don't lose hope people! don't be satisfied with what you're being fed!

True as well. I mean, we can't lose anything on it. Worst thing that can happen is that we don't get a game which we wouldn't have gotten in the first place anyway.

Something which probably could make it more convincing would be a dedicated page to the petition. "Official homepage of the Bring Outrun 2006 to DC project". On the page we could put the usual stuff like online-petition and print-and-send petition cards but also things like "Help list" (Things we can help them with), Artwork (Like CD covers, posters) and so on.