I got to see Smackdown 2 running on the Dreamcast, and it was nothing short of incredible. The sprites were crystal clear, the picture-in-picture on the Titantron was crisp, and matches were all there, the game ran at full speed with full sound, and so on. Yet we'll never see it... and my match as Triple H, kicking the hell out of Tazz in Hell in the Cell, will go down as the only full match to ever occur from beginning to end, with Smackdown 2 as a Dreamcast title.
Sony got em... but the soul still burns. A lot of you have wondered what will happen to Rand... without realizing that Dave was also a pivotal part of this operation (despite his lack of community involvement). Rand has always been forthright and intellectual... and his work is something brilliant. When they told him he'd never have Doom running on the SNES, he did it. When they told him he'd never have Playstation games running on a personal computer, he did it.... then took it one step further by making em run on the competition's hardware, too. Dave fought tooth and nail with the vendors, and clients of theirs... trying to push a product that was under serious industrial ridicule onto vendors who outright rejected them, completely overlooking how substantial their product really was. Their labors, in many ways, went unrecognized. Even to this day, I've only seen one community (this one) whose acknowledged them as the true pioneers they were.
Don't be mad that Bleem is gone. Instead, realize WHY they are gone. Realize that they tried their damnedest, spent their life's savings, worked night and day, burned the candle at both ends, and put their hearts into this work. Bleem means more to me than just a bunch of cool games... it meant a huge movement for the emulation scene. It meant being able to play our games however we see fit. It meant being able to choose freely, without bigger corporate entities shoving shi+ down our throats.
It meant independence.
Thanks Bleem.. my last couple of months with you guys were great. Dave, you're a class-act... nothing but charisma & personality. Rand, what can I say. You're the undisputed 'man'. I thank you both for everything. I understand your trials, and I feel for you. The last couple of months really brought to life, within me, something that was barely a side-column news article... and showed me what was really going on. I know you guys would never wish it, but I'll probably never buy another Sony product again. And now that they'll forever be tagged as the Evil Empire that they are, many other people will probably see things the way I do.
Onward, XBox.
<--- getting emotional)