As I was trawling YouTube t'other day, an interesting video appeared on my feed. Amongst the usual walkthroughs on how to check motorcycle valve clearances and (totally warranted) rants about the rising price of PC hardware, an intriguing compilation of interviews from E3 popped up. Titled simply 'E3 2000 Los Angeles,' the video is a collection of interviews and rushes shot at the Electronic Entertainment Expo which took place between the 11th and 13th May 2000 at the Los Angeles Convention Centre. The video was uploaded by a channel named The RAW Footage, which seems to publish unedited 'behind the scenes' clips from a range of media events, conventions, movie promotions and the like.
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| Where the magic happened. Image credit: SEGA Retro |
The thing that makes this video particularly interesting to me, apart from it being shot at E3 in the early, hope-filled days of the Dreamcast's natural lifespan, is a segment which begins at 20:25 and features an interview with Sega of America head honcho (and one-time DreamPod special guest) Peter Moore. The video doesn't say which outlet conducted the interview, and there is no watermark or any other identifying information - as the name of the channel suggests, this really is raw footage. In the segment, which you can view below, Peter talks candidly about the threat of the PlayStation 2 and the importance of online gaming to Sega's strategy for the Dreamcast in the face of such stiff competition from Sony's impending juggernaut. What really caught my attention though, is the big screen visible over Peter's right shoulder.
Throughout the interview, Dreamcast game footage plays out and anyone on the show floor who took the time to glance up at the gigantic display would have no doubt been mesmerised by the awesome lineup of titles being beamed into their retinas. Seaman, Space Channel 5, Deer Avenger, Half-Life, SWAT3, Game Room...hold up! Yes you read that right - this promo video shows footage of Dreamcast games that never actually released, yet they were being shown at E3 to try to garner interest in the system.
Now, some of these games we have featured here at the Junkyard over the years, and some of them have actually been dumped online since those halcyon days: Dreamcast Half-Life is freely available online at this point; Deer Avenger gained some notoriety several years ago when a disc containing the game was discovered in a box in a basement and it eventually ended up in the hands of our good friend Adam Koralik; and SWAT 3 was announced for Dreamcast and subsequently cancelled (and as far as I know, a playable build has never seen the light of day).
The one game shown on that screen presents the biggest question mark, is Game Room. In development by Sierra Sports (a subsidiary of Sierra Entertainment) it was intended to be a compendium of online-compatible mini games, with pool, darts and pinball featured, similar to the PAL exclusive microphone-bundled Planet Ring.
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| Marvel Vs Capcom 2 there. Nice. |
From what I can tell, Game Room was actually released on PC and utilised the Maximum Pool engine, but the Dreamcast port was cancelled along with the majority of the other Sierra properties that were announced. Like SWAT 3, whatever actually exists of Game Room for Dreamcast has never been leaked online, and there's very little information about how far along the game was before it was hoofed spectacularly into the gaping maw of gaming anti-history. Here's a better look at the footage shown in the background of uncle Peter's interview segment:
It's pretty clear that Sierra Entertainment had big plans for the Dreamcast, and had a number of titles in development before they ditched support for the platform. There are numerous games, including Game Room listed in this press release from around the exact time of E3 2000, and they did actually release two titles for the Dreamcast in Maximum Pool and Hoyle Casino. Indeed, the back cover of the Hoyle Casino manual even features a full page promo for Game Room, so you'd be forgiven for thinking its release was pretty much nailed on before the proverbial plug was pulled.
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| The back page of the Hoyle Casino NTSC-U manual. |
As an aside, after Peter Moore's section there follows an interview on the E3 show floor with John Golden, former Director of Product Marketing at Sega of America, during which he waxes lyrical about the majesty of Samba de Amigo and the Dreamcast maraca controllers. The man clearly has exquisite taste (as well as an absolutely ballin' moustache, specs and tie combo), and the segment is well worth a modicum of your attention.
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| John was only 19 when this photo was taken. True story. |
Anyhow, I hope you enjoyed this rather fascinating and whimsical glimpse into the past. This video literally popped up on my feed by pure chance, so if you ever needed proof that we live in a simulation, this is it. Probably. Anyway, if you know anything about Game Room, or indeed what became of it (information on the Dreamcast port - as mentioned ad nauseum - is very hard to find), please do pipe up in the comments!
Special thanks to Lewix Cox for his help in digging up some of the sources in this article.