Saturday, April 26, 2008

Sega Dreamcast's Cause of Death?

What ever happened to that game console we used to call the Sega Dreamcast? Why did it suddenly disappear after 2 years of production? Was the government involved in brainwashing our minds like in George Orwells 1984? All these questions will be answered as I investigate the Dreamcast's devastating decline.

Introduction

In the beginning it was good. Sega released a solid piece of hardware called the Dreamcast that was easy to develop games for and kicked the competition's rear ends in terms of graphics and sound. It entered the market with a strong start, selling quite well upon its release. Although the Dreamcast lacked 3rd party support, Sega's games were aplenty and the very best in quality. Sega seemed to be heading in the right direction, but two years later the company abruptly discontinued the Dreamcast.

There were 3 main causes to the downfall of the Dreamcast.

1. Piracy Issues

The Dreamcast had a serious hardware flaw which gave it the ability to play copied games and downloaded ones from the internet. Many people chose to play the pirated versions of the games rather than shell out $40-$50 at a local gaming store for the real thing. As a result, Sega was losing money on the games that its developers had spent hours designing. I call that a sad waste of talent.

2. Loss of Faith in Sega Brand

Before the Dreamcast, there was the Sega Saturn, an absolute failure. At that time, Sega was releasing new add-ons and consoles so often that nobody wanted to buy the Saturn because they feared Sega would introduce a new console and cut off game development with the current one. They were right. Sega soon released the Dreamcast and rather than gain customers, it gained a bad reputation. The media attacked Sega and denounced the Dreamcast with suspicions and doubts. The trust that Sega had once set up was now broken and people lost faith in Segas ability to produce game systems.

3. Overhype of the ps2

The #1 selling game console in 1999 was the Sony PSOne, so naturally people were hyped up about ps2. I definitely was. ps2 was the buzz in the gaming industry. It was said to have more superior graphics, sound, and games than any of the consoles at the time. Meanwhile, the Dreamcast was already out in stores and shared similar hardware specs as the ps2, which would not be released until one year later. People overlooked the Dreamcast because they were all so overhyped about PS2 when really the two had many similarities.

Cl London Uk Yoga

Night Fishing for Speckled Trout

Night fishing for speckled trout has become my favorite saltwater fishing tactics. Start off the morning waiting at home or at work for sunset, load up the truck with my heavy-duty night light, rod and reel, lure box and head off to my secret fishing spot were its only me and 100s of speckled trout to be caught. Speckled trout night fishing is easy for youngsters to start getting in love with saltwater fishing at night. I would suggest that the first outing would be some were private. I have seen many things happen at night on a fishing pier, mostly kids getting hooked in the face or knocked down by a fisherman not looking where he was going.

Speckled trout at night can act so different at times when night fishing. They can be 2 feet below the water having a feeding frenzy or they can be on top of the water as if it were an underwater firework display. I have 3 lures that I absolute love to use when fishing for speckled trout at night.

1.Glass minnows
2.Speck Rigs
3.Crystal Minnow plug

Usually I use the glass minnows tandem rigged (two of the same lures used at once) when the trout are real active at night. When I take my own light it is ran on a tripod stand. This makes a perfect fishing experience for night fishing for speckled trout.

Prenatal Yoga Cl Singapore

Have Fun With Nature: How To Play Conkers

In an age where children spend a huge percentage of their free time playing with expensive computer games, it's nice to know that some old-fashioned games are still being played outdoors and cost absolutely nothing.

During the fall, wherever you find horse chestnut trees you'll find children playing conkers. It's a game that was enjoyed by their parents, their grandparents, and even their great grandparents and, hopefully, their own children will one day enjoy it, too.

What is A Conker?

A conker is a hard brown nut that's encapsulated in a green, prickly case produced by the Horse Chestnut tree. The cases fall from trees when they're ripe and can easily be collected from the ground.

In contrast to the nuts produced by the Sweet Chestnut tree, conkers are NOT to be eaten by humans.

Choosing A Conker

If you're serious about your game, choose your conkers carefully. The best ones are symmetrical in form, firm to the touch and should be uncracked.

use the water test. If a conker is damaged inside it will float in water so this is a good way of testing the density of your nut. Floaters should be discarded while those that sink to the bottom will be the hardest and the best.

Preparing A Conker for Play

Make a hole through the middle of your conker, going from the dull area at the top and down through the bottom. A thin skewer or hand-drill is useful for this.

Choose string that doesn't break easily and thread a length about 12 inches long through the hole and tie a knot at one end to stop it from pulling through.

There are several ways to make your conkers harder, including:

  • Bake the conker in the oven on a low heat for 30 minutes
  • Soak the conker in vinegar overnight
  • Put conkers away to use the following year (they harden with age).

    How To Play Conkers

    Two players are needed, each with a conker of his own. Each player holds his conker from the string and attempts to hit the opposing conker.

    If your conker is the one being hit, you should let it hang down with the string wrapped around two or three fingers to secure it - you don't want your conker flying off when it's hit! It's up to your opponent to decide how high your conker should be held and it's important it's held still.

    If you're the striker, you should wrap the string around your hand in the same way as you would if your conker was being hit. You should then take the conker in your other hand and draw it back, ready to strike. As you release the conker, you should swing it down and try to hit your opponent's conker. If you're successful, this is called a strike. If you miss, you're allowed two more goes before swapping positions.

    If, when making a shot, the strings tangle together, the first player to call "strings" is awarded an extra shot.

    If a player drops his conker or has it knocked out of his hand, the opposing player can call "stamps" and jump on it. End of one conker! However, if the owner calls "no stamps" first, the conker is safe (unless it smashed when it hit the ground, of course).

    The game continues until one conker is completely destroyed; the one with the remaining conker is the winner.

    Good luck!

    Serenity Now Yoga