Special Events: 1999 - European-Computer-Trade-Show
April 26, 2019, at 08:14 AM (0 comments)
Title: Special Events: 1999 - European-Computer-Trade-Show Author: mgarcia Date: 2019-04-26 16:14 +1000 Tags: Community, Events, Newsgroup Comments: Open
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1999 Annual European Computer Trade Show (ECTS)
From www.ects.com, ECTS is:
"As Europe's premier trade event for the interactive entertainment industry, ECTS brings together the major software publishers and developers from around the world with key buyers and press. Covering all aspects of the home and leisure software and hardware market, ECTS is where the industry comes together to do business. "
September, London's Olympia exhibition hall.
This event was for industry professionals only and not open to consumers.
Photos of the 1999 European Computer Trade Show (ECTS) and Net Yaroze members party
Derrick Bailey's photos which he attended all three days.
1999 European Computer Trade Show (ECTS) and Net Yaroze members party
Peter Molyneux presenting Black and White to Net Yaroze members
Recorded by Nick Ferguson and Derek da Silva, on his trusty Panasonic NV-S85, and still has the original VHS-C.
Alternative version capture here.
Image of Peter Molyneux presenting Black and White to Net Yaroze members at the 1999 European Computer Trade Show
Black & White demo from Peter Molyneux, ECTS September 1999
Nick Ferguson's dairy Tonight's Double Bill: "Son of ECTS" & "GDUK-Zilla!" 19 January, 1999:
ECTS? I remember that! Well, let's just continue by saying the Konami stand was one of my favourites - boasting Metal Gear Solid (*hem* - bought and finished it now, of course, but at the time it was very exciting!) plus the strangely engrossing Silent Hill - a game that impressed me so much I'm probably going to make it the one game I'm allowing myself to buy between now and the summer. There were two short demos you could play at the show, and I sat and played them both. Silent Hill - spooky, atmospheric, psychological horror (Twin Peaks meets The Fog). I'm hooked, boys. Castlevania 64 was another game I had a long shot of - very nice to see all the familiar stuff in 3D, but I wasn't convinced of the control system, nor the quality of the graphics and animation. Why is it nobody can match Nintendo, Rare or Acclaim when it comes to programming the N64? Grrr...
Interplay had a few goodies - namely Shiny's Messiah and Earthworm Jim 3D. Messiah looked amazing, and I had the knee-trembling opportunity to "chat" briefly with Dave Perry about it. The conversation went something like this...
The (very tall) Dave Perry notices some street urchin with unconvincing "PRESS" pass watching him play Messiah Dave: Hi there. Me: Uuuh, hi. Is this Messiah? (Duh - why not say "I'm an amoeba"?) Dave: Yeah, this is Messiah, a game we're releasing in 1999 for the PC. Me: It's, uh, cool - the way you can take over people and set them on fire. Dave: Well, this spontaneous combustion is just a feature we have for the show - the fire effect is started by a button-press, in the real game you'd have to make the guy run into a fire. But you will be able to throw people over ledges and break their legs 'n stuff. Me: Cool. (No!!!! Ferguson, say something intelligent!) What else? Dave: (Lengthy explanation of "scaling" polygon tessellation technology everyone now knows about) Me: So, what machine is this running on? Dave: Uh, a P2 450. Me: Is there a machine here demonstrating the game's performance on a slower machine? Dave: No, but that would have been a good idea (yay!). Well, excuse me, I gotta go...
So, once again, sorry Dave Perry for ruining your day. Heh. The other embarrassing incident was when I got a call on my mobile and walked off the show floor into some quiet area to answer it. So engrossed was I in my conversation that it took a good few seconds before I realised I was standing in the middle of the ladies "restroom". Erp! Thankfully, this is ECTS we're talking about so it wasn't too busy, but still a bit of a faux pas. Damn those phones!
The Acclaim stand was one of my favourites - and not just because the big video screen gave me something to watch while queuing for the Metal Gear show. Turok 2 was a very impressive-looking game (the N64 memory pack-enhanced version, especially) and the 15 or so minutes I spent playing the opening level convinced me that, yes, this game was going on my Xmas shopping list, along with the RAM pack. And then there were those Acclaim dancers - if anyone tries to tell you that the games industry ISN'T sad, let me assure you that judging from the desperate gazes of assorted geeks, it very much IS. And this from a guy who queued to get his photo taken with "the real Lara Croft".
The freebies at ECTS weren't too bad. A bumper crop from Sony - including a demo CD, a PRESS PACK (woo-hoo!), a tacky Tekken 3 bag and a Net Yaroze pen. Most of the other giveaways were pretty dull, but I was particularly chuffed with my Metal Gear Solid dog-tag and my EDGE t-shirt. Lots of PC demo discs, but the only one I bothered to install was Grand Prix Legends and it ran so slowly that it was immediately deleted. Had a bit of trouble getting the Sony Press CD to run in my PlayStation until I realised it was probably a PC disc. Aaaaanyway...
Notable posts from the newsgroups
- Derek da Silva writes
From- "Derek da Silva" Subject- Re: ECTS: Viewpoint... Date- Thu, 9 Sep 1999 12:47:48 +0100 A BIG HELLO to everyone who attended - DEnnis + Team Parc, Bob Shand, = Stuart MacDonald, Nick F, James R, David Johnston, and many others - it = was great to finally meet you all! :-) My personal highlights? Don't worry, I'll keep it brief... a.. Peter Molyneux + Black and White b.. The SONY party!! =20 c.. Seeing Miyamoto outside the show as I arrived on Sunday, and later = on checking out games on the Nintendo stand! d.. The v. funny Interplay presentation. The games looked great too - = even the Star Trek ones e.. Many cool games: Crash Team Racing, Toy Story, Wipeout 3, = Rollcage 2, DK 64... f.. Also cool, but scarily similar to originals: Perfect Dark, GT 2, = Spyro The Dragon 2... Things I'd rather forget... a.. My hotel room b.. The incredible pain and suffering I endured carrying around all = those freebies c.. Confusing Rayman 2 with Tonic Trouble while speaking to the nice = UbiSoft lady. I'm sorry! d.. The queue for SONY party tickets. "GET BACK YOU ANIMALS!!!!" Derek da Silva
- Derrick Bailey writes
From- "DeL" Subject- Re: ECTS: Viewpoint... Date- Wed, 8 Sep 1999 21:34:09 +0100 Yeah I kinda agree with ya... The best stuff at the show for me was the NeoGeo Colour Portable, played it every day for at least an hour!, Must have one when its released officially (Currently available via import bods). Codemasters Naseem's boxing was good, it kinda grew on me over the days I attended the show, probably get this to. But the best day was Monday when I got to go to a special Preview of Lionhead's soon-to-be released Black & White, Headed by Peter Molyneux. I (and some other guys I was with) was invited by Peter when we met him in a pub off earl's court road on Sunday after the show. What I piece of luck!!, he just happened to walk in the pub to go to the toilet!!, so came and sat with us, brought us all a drink and had a chat. This game is AWESOME!! when its released early next year nothing will be close to it trust me!. Monday Night - SONY Party What can I say, what a WICKED Night! (James Russell - SCEE thanks for the ticket :-) ), Faithless live PA, free drinks & food (Those mini cheese burgers, uuuuuummmm!!). SONY do know how to PARTY :-) Well I'll be putting up my Yaroze Web Site shortly along with pictures from the show, also the EXCLUSIVE Preview of BLACK & WHITE which I have recorded on DV-Cam..........Watch this Space. Shout out to all the guys I was hanging/Met with during the show days..: Nick Ferguson Stuart Macdonald DEnnis Brinkhuis Mr Frosty Andy James Russell Robert Shand Robert Swan And all who I've forgotten (Sorry) Derrick Bailey (AKA: DeL)
- Nick Ferguson writes
From- "Nick Ferguson" Subject- Re: ECTS: Viewpoint... Date- Thu, 9 Sep 1999 11:18:47 +0100 Hi all, God, Scotland's so much colder than London. Brrr! I hope my US Dreamcast arrives before the weekend. What else? Oh yeah, ECTS... Highs: - Black and White preview and chat with Peter Molyneux - Meeting the NY "crew" by Westwood's stand. Big shout to the BOYZZZZZZZ! (ahem) - Eating out a lot - Dreamcast looking GREAT (esp. Soul Calibur and HOTD2) - Perfect Dark, despite being the hoary old E3 demo - Getting RESPECT as a semi-bonafide member of the press! - People knowing Loonygames and saying "Hi!" etc :) - Not meeting anyone from Rare ;) - Free food and drink (thanks, Sony) - Joytech girls, and those Union Jack "tops" - WOOO! - Seeing lots of "famous" industry people - Interplay's piss-take video screening - Freebies (inc. Sony bag, t-shirts and demo CDs) - Mr Frosty helping out a damsel (read: babe) in distress. The picture in her wallet was her brother, man! Lows: - Hot, hot, hot Sony stand! - Not blagging a free Neo-Geo - Tiredness (read: being an unfit geek) - Spending too much $$$$ - Not being able to hear many of the games - Not as many fit/willing/drunk/matronly* women as last year - Not getting enough pictures of the show (see above) - Not getting to see GTA2 in action - Getting up *gasp!* before 10am - Not seeing even a whisker of Miyamoto, the wily midget - Too many pimple-faced kids getting in. Call security! - No Get Bass or Shen Mue (indeed, no official Sega presence in general) - Londoners (no offence) - DEnnis getting a letter in EDGE (it had to happen eventually) - Did anyone really WANT those PlayStation black plastic bags? SPECIAL ECTS WEIRDO AWARD: That malformed chick in the PlayStation ad (Bob Shand's girlfriend!) The lows seem to outnumber the highs, so it must have been a crap show. But I enjoyed myself! Eh? Nick's Notable Games(tm): (good/interesting) Rare's N64 trio (obviously), Gran Turismo 2, Giants, Resident Evil 3, Dino Crisis, Wip3out, Soul Calibur, HOTD2, Trickstyle, Resident Evil GB, MDK 2, Messiah (again), Prince of Persia 3D, Konami's "Bemani" things, 'Korea Game' stand everyone (rightly) ignored, "kiddy software" (i.e. that PlayMobil farming thing), Un Jammer Lammy, TOTAL SOCCER GB!!!, Super Smash Bros, Shadowman, Rogue Spear, Micro Machines 4, Nassim Boxing, Mud n Blood 64, plus a whole lot I forget (crap/boring/disappointing/obviously pre-alpha) Titus' entire stand, a depressing number of racing games, Nintendo showing 3 yr old games like Mario (WTF?), Turok Rage Wars, all the South Park games, and all uninspired genre clones (excluding Resident Evil 3, which has zombies), PC strategy/sim games i.e. Blue Byte Software, No Fear Racing, all of EIDOS' games and GTA2 (they wouldn't let me see them), C&C: Renegade, anything by the self-styled "Hex Heroes", and everything else. And with my wrath suitably vented ;) Nick F *delete as applicable ------------- www.saqnet.co.uk/users/nickf www.loonygames.com www.netyaroze-europe.com/~rookie1 "Game over, man. Game over!"
- Stuart Macdonald writes
From- "Stuart Macdonald" Subject- Re: ECTS: Viewpoint... Date- Thu, 9 Sep 1999 11:19:05 +0100 Well, it was my first ECTS, so I can't make any comparisons, but there were a few games that did grab me. Virgin had a few interesting games, if you could take the sauna-like heat for more than a few minutes. Messiah looks fantastic, if you're into 3rd person games. Evolva was interesting, but the levels looked a bit boring and samey. Earthworm Jim 3D finally finished, and looks as if it could be good. Sony's stand was ok. Not being into racing games, I found Crash Team Racing fun, better than Speed Freaks anyway. International Track and Field wasn't bad until you got to the Hammer, then it was impossible ( did anyone that played it qualify ?). Found I couldn't score in This is Football ( we ended up cycling right through the goalkeeper in taking penalties ! ), I guess more playtime would possibly cure that. I got pretty hooked on Unreal Tournament in the Aureal 3D stand, where there was 3 linked machines, it played much smoother than Unreal, and the weapons felt better. Might satisfy until Team Fortress 2. Neo Geo Pocket was cool, I love the stick controller, but I didn't really see any games for it that grabbed me, maybe I missed something, I'll wait a bit and see what else comes out for it. Nintendo left me cold a bit. Jet Force Gemini looks like it could get really playable, but the areas I played seemed empty. Perfect Dark was Goldeneye with a new set of clothes. Ramble over. There's lots more to talk about, but this will do for now. Big hello to all the NY folk I met, hope there weren't too many hangovers after the Sony party. Stuart.
- DEnnis Brinkhuis writes
From- "DEnnis Brinkhuis" Subject- Re: ECTS: Viewpoint... Date- Mon, 13 Sep 1999 09:24:11 +0200 Nigel Critten wrote: > > > - Black and White preview and chat with Peter Molyneux > > I'm supprised he managed to get into the place, did they have to widen the > doors for his Ego, for a man that hasn't done anything decent since Populous > 2 he seems to be in the press a lot, I suppose Black & White could be good > but I've not seen it yet. > > Nigel. > Don't bother to flame me saying how great he is... please it's just a waste > of time I can understand your opinion towards him. It's just the fact that he's got this great reputation and he's media-mad. He did some impressive work in the past at Bullfrog and he's one of the insiders at the top that does show his opinion towards the industry. As you might have understood, Black & White was definitely the best game I saw during the ECTS and no games looked impressive anymore after seeing B&W. I must correct you on the Ego as well. One of my friends knows him rather well and he told as well that this man has the ego of a king, but when we met him, he wasn't this way at al. He came into a pub to go to the toilet, we asked him to join us for a drink, and we all thought he would take off. It even looked like he was going to take off. But he didn't, instead, he joined us and we had a great chat. He didn't have much time so he invited us over the next day to come to his hotel. This does not sound like a man with a giant ego to me. He invited about 10 strangers he'd never saw before! Then when he showed us the game, he did say how good he liked it, but he wasn't actually bragging about it. I think this is a guy we can learn something of, and with me there are a lot others who agree I suppose. DEnnis..
More info on ETCS '99
Some press notes of the 1999 ETCS:
A french report's account of ETCS 99 English
Clicking c'est ici or it's here you'll see a short review of some popular booths with photos!
EuroGamer and CNN edition