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Aside from the issue of Treasure's Ikaruga actually being announced for release -- it was in doubt for a while there, as Treasure completely denied that they were intending to port the game to the DC; now they say it's 99% complete -- Magic Box are now stating that Playmore have further plans for the DC as well.
We all know that Playmore are intending to release King of Fighters 2000 for the DC in August, yes? Well, at least from what's reported here, we're now getting KoF2001 as well.
I'm not sure about the quick turnaround, with the game supposedly being released in December. That sounds just a little fishy to me, especially since I've not yet seen the news elsewhere. But The Magic Box tends to be pretty good about these things, so it's not unreasonable to believe this information for the moment.
I'm wondering, here. It seems like Sega have created their own version of the Neo-Geo (although with its pricing on much the opposite end of the scale). Even long after they, and the market, have abandoned the Dreamcast, it continues to defiantly crawl on -- and with some decent games. Treasure and SNK have always been supportive of Sega in the past. They've always preferred Sega's consoles, but this kind of loyalty is just -- bizarre, in a market where people are usually trying to actually make money.
I suppose this raises both companies several points in the hardcore department, as if either Treasure or SNK needed it. I guess they really know their audience. Makes me wonder what might be coming up in the future. I... Is Playmore intending on releasing Rage of the Dragons or Metal Slug 4 on the Dreamcast, now? Or KoF2002, whenever that's finished? Gads. My mind is exploding.
As another peripheral note: It's kind of weird to realize that while some important serial series like Shenmue won't be entirely available on Sega's hardware -- where they rightly belong, so far as I'm considered -- the entire run of King of Figters, save '94, will be. And really, the only place to get a decent edition, outside the Neo-Geo itself, has been on the Saturn and Dreamcast.
The DC hasn't had such a short life after all. In Japan, it will have lasted for over four years by the time December rolls around. Considering that the average console life is abour five, this really isn't too shabby.
UPDATE:
Hey, about that "prototype game" which is supposedly included as a bonus with Ikaruga... you don't suppose that might be the long-abandoned hamster-based Naomi game which Treasure was trying to develop, years ago? I seem to recall that it was dropped because some of the original team members left and Treasure weren't interested in finishing up the development. So one of the earliest, and most anticipated, Naomi games (as well as Treasure's first arcade attempt) vanished off the map entirely.
I can't remember its title right off, but that's what immediately springs to mind when the words "Naomi", "Treasure", and "Prototype game" come together. Any other ideas?
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