Anime Jason's Gaming Journey!

 

A trip down to memory lane, especially being a gamer, and dealing with the subject at hand dealing with corporate greed and saving game preservation in all its forms. Enjoy!

The Mega SD: Returning to the Glory Days of the Sega CD!

 

Behold! The Mega SD cart, in all of its nostalgic gaming glory!

For so long, gaming, just like anime, has been in my blood. And the games from the Sega consoles were no different, especially systems like the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive. Aside from the Genesis, the one other console I like to play the most was its add-on, the Sega CD. Although my time playing that console was short, I had a big time blast, even with some of the games I got. Unfortunately, because of my inexperience with CD based games at the time, plus the software within the Sega CD was wearing thin, resulting in system breakdowns, I was without the Sega CD, preventing me from getting more games I like to play. And for years, even with the other CD/DVD/Blu-Ray based gaming consoles, and learning to take better care with the games and the systems, I long for the day I want to own a Sega CD and play its games once more. However, the Sega CD add-ons, in all forms, especially the Sega CDX, were so used, that is virtually impossible to get it on online stores, not even Amazon and Ebay. And I thought I would continue down this road forever. All that changed around 2019, when a Spanish engineering company known as TerraOnion, known for creating optical disc emulators (ODEs) that allow users to play games from storage devices like SD cards or USB drives on original hardware, such as the Sega Saturn and Dreamcast, created the very flash cart that changed the face of retro gaming forever, the Mega SD.

Released around 2019, The MegaSD cart was another line of flash cart emulators created by TerraOnion. Compared to the Mega Everdrive Pro, this cart is a retro gamer's dream come true, especially when it comes to playing your favorite Sega games on your console, whether being the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive in their three versions or newer retro gaming systems compatible to the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive itself. This drive requires a MicroSD card up to 400GB, formatted with FAT32 or ExFAT, to save your games. While it can play Sega Master System and Sega Genesis/Mega Drive games, but real story of this cart is its driving force to own this cart, playing games from your Sega CD/Mega CD. The Mega SD cart contains the very same FPGA hardware that powers the Sega CD console itself, that enables you to play the Sega CD games, without the use of the console itself. Loading times, though shortened, are the thing of the past. That, and not worrying about scratched discs that can prevent the game from working.

Another feature in this cart, is you can also played modded and hacked games, especially some Genesis/Mega Drive games with CD based music, fixed gameplay and balanced difficulties, and/or playing patched versions of imported games with English translations like Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon, for instance.

However, with all its positives, there are some drawbacks, but most of them are minor. When you play your Sega Master System games, you can't pause them with a regular controller. Just like with the Master System itself and with the Sega Genesis Power Base Converter, you have to pause the game by pushing a button on your console, and the Mega SD cart has a button to pause the Master System games. And it doesn't stop with this, the Mega SD cart can also play Sega 32X games, as well, but it will only work if you have a 32X plug-in attached to your Genesis/Mega Drive. As for playing them on the Genesis handheld, the Nomad, you can play it, but you got to mod your Nomad to play it. Good luck with that.

In short, I will leave you with the pros and cons of this wondrous flash cart, along with its final grade:

Pros

- Plays Sega Master System, Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, Sega 32X and most importantly, Sega CD/Mega CD games.

- Unlimited Battery Backup for your Sega CD games (as long as you have a MicroSD card)

- Plays Modded, Translated or Hacked roms (provided you use programs to change a copy of the rom into the patched version of it)

- Plays Sega Genesis/Mega Drive games with CD based Audio

- Saved States

Cons

- Playing 32X games on the cart requires the 32X plugin itself

- The cart won't play Sega CD games if your Genesis console is hooked up to a Sega CD add-on (You must unhook the add-on for the cart to work properly).

- Not able to pause your Master System games on your controller (only the button on the cart can pause them)

- Playing the cart on a modded Sega Nomad handheld, especially with the Sega CD games

Final Score: 8 out of 10 (Despite a few hiccups, the Mega SD cart is a must have for retro gamers, especially die-hard fans of the Sega CD itself)

If you haven't got the cart, it is not too late to buy one at online stores like Stone Age Gamer. I know you will not regret it. Until next time, resist modern attitudes, embrace the past, create a better future and stay frosty, my friends.

Saraba da (Farewell)...for now!

CTV-i

 

 

 

 

I've talked a bit about this before. But now I think it's time to introduce everyone to something Special (to me, at least) from my Teen-Hood. Something that is (Was) near and dear to me, something Nostalgic. Something that was completely made obsolete by the Internet. 

Today, I'm talking about Staten Island Community Television's CTV-i.

Now, Before I talk about the service itself. Here is a brief history.

 

CTV-1 (short for Community Television Interactive) was created as a spin-off channel in the Early 90's as an Interactive Information Service for those with Touchtone Phones. Staten Islanders would tune in to Channel 56 on Staten Island Cable (later known as Time Warner Cable), dial-up the number (727-0235) , and enjoy everything CTV-1 had to offer.

 

From The Early 90's to the Early 2000's CTV-i was The place for At-Home Information and Fun for Staten Islanders.

 

So,what happened to it? If CTV-i so popular, why isn't it still around? Simple - The Internet! Once that grew, usage of CTV-i shrank. And by Late 2000,the Service was rarely used, causing CTV to shut it down a year later in 2001.

 

CTV-i was something that me and my buddies used to watch and use a lot during the 90's. It is missed.

In 1996, my best buddy,P. K. (real name withheld due to him hating getting name dropped in public), introduced me to CTV-i , which He had been using since 1995. So when he told me about it, I decided to check it out and I was hooked. When I wasn't using the service (mainly to play the interactive games and trivia), I was watching it to see what the other users did.

 

The service used an older computer Operating System (i think it was Amiga) for it's presentation, with Synthwave/Vaporwave playing in the background. Later this was replaced with music from a popular Radio Station (which CTV did have).

 

When logged in to the service, the user was greeted with a male digitized voice welcoming you to the service.

 

It would either say - "Welcome to CTV-i,The Interactive Information Service,from Staten Island Community Television!" or "Welcome to CTV-i, The Interactive Information Service. Select an Option from The Express Entry Menu!"

The user would then use their Touchtone Phone as some kind of remote control, with the options repped by a number on the phones keypad.

To access an option of the Service, all the User had to do was press the corresponding number on the Phone. (Ie. if an option waz repped by the number 7, all the User had to do is press 7.)

 

Some of the Services CTV-1 included were - Information about NYC Transit, Employment Listings, General Info About Community Civic and Cultural Organizations, as well as Fun Stuff like Interactive Stories,Trivia, and Quizzes. 

Sometime in '98/'99 CTV-i would introduce a "Kids" section, where the little ones could play kiddie games such as fun with Shapes, Numbers, and Colors.

Created as a "Mascot" for this section was a character called Sock Boy. Later, Sock Boy would get a sidekick, a stick figure with a circle head, known as Stick Guy.

There was also various vector graphic bumpers. One of which depicted a close-up shot of a smiling woman wearing shades that had lenses that spun in multiple colors. Next to her was a message telling you that You Were Watching CTV-i. Fun stuff.

Anyway,the service was on a time limit, each session would last around 2 minutes. Once those 2 minutes were up, the session would end for that caller. A caller also end their session by either hanging up the phone, completing an Interactive Story, or getting a "Game Over" on an Interactive Story.

I think there was another way to end the session, but I forgot what it was.  

Once the session was over, a female digitized voice would say - "We appreciate You using CTV-i. Thank You for calling and please call again!"

Now, let's talk more about what's available for the service. Besides the stuff mentioned above there was also News Briefings (including weather, traffic, and construction), Various Bulletin Boards (including animal adoption and lost and found, special events, and personal engagements), Sports Scores (includes racing,boxing,and wrestling results), The CTV Show Schedule (ch.24,ch.34,and ch.35), Movie Times, and Directories.

Now I'll talk about my favorite part of the service, and the part me and my buddy P. K.would use the most - The Interactive Stories. 

CTV-i had 3 Interactive Stories during it's run - The Adventures of You,Adventures of You 2, and Adventures of You 3.   

In "The Adventures of You", You take the role of a Staten Islander who finds a Gem and it makes you shrink. You eventually get abducted by, and later befriend, a bird. It ends with You (still shrunk) and the Bird foiling a Bank Robbery.  You then become a Hero known as The Bird Master. 

In "Adventures of You 2", You come across a mysterious forked road at night - one path leads to a Creepy Old House, the other leads to the Unknown. The Unknown is a trap, so the only way forward is though The Haunted House. If you Do decide to stay in the Unknown, You'll be attacked by Evil Monsters (with evil eyes)

Anyway, before entering the House the User Must get by an Evil Witch/Vampire. After defeating her, the User needs to reach the Exit, but not before getting by all sorts of Evil Beings and Traps. One such entity is the Evil Pharaoh.

Once you finally exit the House, it's day time and the skies are clear. After that the game ends.

"Adventures of You 3" has You adventuring in Space. There were nasty Aliens involved and you could get lost in Space. But other than that, I don't remember this one much.

CTV-i was one of the many different things that shaped my Youth. And I'm glad to have watched it (and used it) during it's prime.

One of my fondest CTV-i memories is from '96/'97, where I would watch it in the backroom of my house, while sucking on Jolly Ranchers (remember those).

And that's gonna do it for this Personal Memory Trip. Hope you learned a little something about Staten Island's Community Television.

So Space Cowboys, Until Next Time - Punch a Nazi in The Face,Kick a Commie in The Balls, Resist Modern Attitudes, and Stay Gold.

The Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero Script

I used to enjoy the Mortal Kombat Series back in the 90's and was a fan of it's Characters (that changed once I stopped following the series after 4,but that's besides the point). So on the XMas (of '97) that I received my Sony Playstation,one of the games I would get would be Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero. 

I had little to no idea that the game even existed at that point,but I was interested to play this nevertheless. When I played it,I was impressed by the Music and Visuals,but not the most important thing for a Video Game - The Gameplay. It played like a Classic MK game in the form of a Side Scrolling Beat 'em-Up. However,Turning was Manual and you needed to use the Right Shoulder Button.

The jumping mechanic was flawed and so was the hit detection. One of the best things about this game was it's Cut Scenes. The Cut Scenes used Live-Actors,which was normal for the franchise at the time,and I think this game marked the end of that practice,as MK4,the next game in the franchise,would use CGI.

Anyway,the Cut Scenes were entertaining and despite the dialog being a bit cheesy,that didn't bother me one bit (after all,I am a fan of the '66 Batman show). So to give myself (and others) a Blast from the Past,here is the Script for Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero.

============================================================

Intro  

Thousands of years ago,the Earth was Devastated by a battle between the Gods. It was a War between Good and Evil. A War that would decide the fate of the World and plunged it into Centuries of Darkness. Now the World is in danger of being fought once again. Only one Mortal can stop it.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shaolin Temple - China           

----------------------------------------------
Scorpion: You will fail. Hahahaha.

Scorpion runs...

After finding Scorpion...

Scorpion: The map is mine Sub-Zero. Fight!

----------------------------------------------
Lin Kuei headquarters           
----------------------------------------------
Successful in his mission, Sub-Zero escapes from the Shaolin temples...And returns to the secret
Lin Kuei headquarters,hidden high above the mountains of northern China. He enters the Grandmaster's Chamber,where the Lin Kuei Grandmaster awaits on his throne.

Sub-Zero: Grandmaster, in honor of the Lin Kuei,I bring you this sacred Map of Elements.

Grandmaster: Once again, our most cunning assassin and thief is successful. At ease, my Lin Kuei warrior.

An evil-looking sorcerer carrying a bag arrives - This is Quan Chi.

Quan Chi: Greetings, I see the ninja has been successful in retrieving my map...as I have forseen.

Sub-Zero: Let's get something straight...I am not a ninja. I am Lin Kuei. Scorpion was a ninja!

Quan Chi: Ah yes, your Japanese counterpart.It's unfortunate that you happened upon him in your battle with the pesky Shaolin monks.

Sub-Zero: Scorpion was tipped off... he knew I was breaking into that temple, and if he weren't there - there wouldn't have been a battle! You are responsible for this sorcerer!

Quan Chi: I admit... I also retained Scorpion's services. In case you failed, I needed some assurances.

Sub-Zero: Well, your peace of mind almost cost me this mission.

Grandmaster: Enough! 

Grandmaster gets up from gets throne and walks toward Quan Chi and Sub-Zero

Grandmaster: Quan Chi...Tell me,what about our payment?

Quan Chi: Oh yes, I almost forgot... In this bag are bones of your arch nemesis,and leader of Scorpion's ninja clan,the Shirai Ryu. 

Quan Chi dumps the contents of the bag onto the floor. Which are a bunch of bones and a Skull. Grandmaster picks up the Skull and laughs.

Grandmaster: Our ancient foes have been vanquished in one transaction.

Quan Chi: I've personally made certain that every last remnant of their clan has been eliminated... forever.

Grandmaster: You see Sub-Zero... you can trust a sorcerer sometimes. Now you will use the map on your next mission. Quan Chi has once again retained your services.

Sub-Zero: Fine, give me the details. 

Quan Chi opens the Map and shows Sub-Zero it's contents.

Quan Chi: This map you stole... it shows the way to a temple which predates man's recorded history on Earth. For thousands of years,the Temple of Elements has been hidden in what are now known as the Himalayan Mountains of Nepal. This map is the only evidence of its existence.

Sub-Zero: Fine... I get to the temple and then what? What's inside?

Quan Chi: An Amulet. A small amulet... worthless to you, but..let's just say it has great sentimental value to me.

Sub-Zero: If it's so precious, why don't you get it yourself?

Quan Chi: I cannot enter the temple until the four elements within its walls have been eliminated. And I am not on the best of terms with the Gods of your Realm... especially your God of Thunder

Sub-Zero: Tell me about these elements.

Quan Chi: They are the four elements which compromise the very existence of your realm... Wind, Earth, Water, and Fire. With your mastery of the element of cold, you have an advantage that no other human has... the ability to defeat the elements. I have forseen this...

The Next Day,Sub-Zero scales the gorges of the massive Himalayan Mountains.There he discovers the entrance into the Temple of Elements.

--------------------------------------------
Temple of Elements             
--------------------------------------------
Sub-Zero ascends the staircase leading to what he believes to be the Ancient Amulet he is looking for. As he approaches, he studies the inscriptions that trace its edges and prepares to take hold of the Ancient Artifact, never before touched by the hands of a mortal.

But, before he can get to it... An unexpected visitor manages to take hold of the Amulet first.

Quan Chi: The Amulet... I have Shinnok's Amulet!

Sub-Zero: Who's Amulet?

Quan Chi: He is my deity, ruler of the Neatherealm and soon destroyed of your Earth Realm. This is definitely Shinnok's amulet!

Sub-Zero: What are you talking about?

Quan Chi: This amulet is the key to Shinnok's power as an Elder God. When returned to him he will retain his powers and be freed from the confines of the Netherealm.

Sub-Zero: But I thought Shao Khan was the....

Quan Chi: Shao Khan is nothing but a Peasant Ruler of a long dead Realm. Shinnok is the Master of All Realms..including Khan's Outworld. 

Sub-Zero: You're insane. That Amulet isn't worth the Bronze that it's molded from. 

Quan Chi: Believe what you will, Sub-Zero. Good-bye... ninja.

Sub-Zero watches as the Evil Sorcerer Teleports away. Then,suddenly, a blue bolt of electricity strikes the ground with thunderous fury. A new shape begins to form..But this time it's the god of thunder,Rayden.

Rayden: Do you realize what you've done??

Sub-Zero: I was just earning my living.

Rayden: Your clan's ignorance and greed will cost this entire realm. You now must set things straight.

Sub-Zero: Quan Chi could simply be a lunatic sorcerer. I've never heard of an Elder God named Shinnok or of a Place called the Netherealm.

Rayden: Well, you'd better start believing in both, because you're going to the Netherealm and you're going to get the amulet back. We must act quickly. I have no dominion in the Netherealm... You are reality's only hope.

Sub-Zero: I'll do it, Thunder God... but only because I have no choice.

Rayden: Then stand back...

Rayden creates a portal into the Netherealm. Lightning and warped space converge as he points his staff at the center of the portal's surging energy.

Rayden: This is a portal into the Netherealm. Once through, follow Quan Chi and try to get the Amulet before he gives it to Shinnok. I also offer this advice... beware the Brothers of the Shadow. The Netherealm is a place for lost souls. If you fail, your soul will join theirs..and so will the souls of this entire realm.

Sub-Zero bows to The Thunder God and charges through the portal.

-----------------------------------------
Prison of Souls (Scorpion Spared)           
-----------------------------------------
Sub-Zero ambushed by a Big Guard while chasing after Quan-Chi in the Prison of Souls. Captured and now imprisoned,Sub-Zero peers out of the bars of his cell and ponders his escape. A Guard strikes the bars with his weapon and shouts in an unknown language at him before leaving. The Lin Kuei also fails to notice the shadowy figure of an Old Sage behind him. 

Old Sage: He says escape is futile.

The Warrior turns and sees the figure.

Sub-Zero: Who are you?

Old Sage: A lost soul. The Guard is right,you know. Where would you escape to? If you are here,then you must belong here..rejected from your own Realm,no doubt.

Sub-Zero: I wasn't rejected,I was sent.

Old Sage: Rejected or sent. You couldn't exist here,unless your soul contained the impurities of evil.

The Lin Kuei turns his attention back to the Cell Door,trying to find an escape.

Sub-Zero: Haven't You ever tried to escape,Old Man?

Old Sage: Escape? Oh,I'll be leaving this Realm shortly. But first I must play Rayden's game.

Sub-Zer turns around and the Old Sage is suddenly gone. Not only that..but the Cell Door is wide open.
------------------------------------------
Prison of Souls (Scorpion Killed)
------------------------------------------
Captured and now imprisoned,Sub-Zero peers out of the bars of his cell and ponders his escape. A Guard strikes the bars with his weapon and shouts in an unknown language at him before leaving. The Lin Kuei also fails to notice the shadowy figure of a Warrior behind him.

Warrior: Don't bother worrying about escape. 

Sub-Zero turns to face the Warrior.

Sub-Zero: And You are?

Warrior: I am a dead man. But somehow you have retained your mortality, which would mean you are vulnerable to death.

Sub-Zero: Wait... that voice.

Scorpion: Yessss... I am Scorpion. You killed me in cold blood.

Sub-Zero: I had no choice. 

Scorpion: You could've let me live.

Sub-Zero: Then I would be the dead one.

Scorpion: But my clan and family would still be alive!

Sub-Zero: What??

Scorpion: It wasn't enough to kill me... you had to destroy every last remnant of my being... including My Wife and Child!

Sub-Zero: You're mistaken... Quan Chi is responsible for their deaths!

Scorpion: Words will not save you Lin Kuei warrior.. 

Sub-Zero and Scorpion prepare to fight.

After Scorpion's defeat,the Cell Door opens.

-----------------------------------------------
Bridge of Immortality        
-----------------------------------------------
High atop a tower, overlooking the prison's crushed gates,3 figures watch as Sub-Zero makes his way to freedom. These women are Kia,Jataaka,and Sareena - Quan Chi's personall assassins. Kia spies the mortal through binoculars.

Kia: Well, he's definitely a mortal. His soul is still contained within his body.

Jataaka: A mortal can't exist here with his soul intact!

Kia: Unless Shinnok allowed it to be.

Sareena: I'll inform Quan Chi. The two of you continue to track him.

Shinnok's fortress looms over the Sea of Immortlity. Within its walls, Quan Chi is well aware of Sub-Zero's plight as Sareena enters his sanctuary. 
 
Sareena: Sir, a mortal has escaped from the prison of souls. He is headed toward the Sea of Immortality.

Quan Chi: A mortal?

Sareena: Yes, a mortal... with the ability to freeze.

Quan Chi: Alert the Keepers and send a full garrison to intercept. Make sure that he does not cross the bridge.

Sareena: The Keepers? But he is just a mortal. 

Quan Chi: Do not question me Sareena... and more importantly... do not fail me. We have toyed with the ninja long enough.

------------------------------------------
Shinnok's Fortress                  
------------------------------------------
Quan Chi waits patiently on his throne as Sub-Zero teleports into his chamber.

Quan Chi: Welcome to my home, Sub-Zero. If you're still looking for the amulet,you can find it at the pyramid's apex... around Shinnok's neck. You've arrived a little late.

Sub-Zero: I was busy. 

Quan Chi gets off his throne and comes toward Sub-Zero.

Quan Chi: Don't you realize why Rayden sent you? The Netherealm is a place for evil beings. You could not exist here unless your soul was tainted with evil. You belong here. Join my Brothers of the Shadow and worship our lord, Shinnok.

Sub-Zero: Never sorcerer!

Quan Chi: Then, so it shall be... ninja.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
After Quan Chi is defeated and if a fatality was not performed on Sareena...

Sub-Zero: Why did you help me?

Sareena: You are still mortal... that means you can escape the Netherealm.

Sub-Zero: There won't be anywhere to go if I don't get the Amulet back.

Sareena: Take me with you... I've waited an eternity to escape.

Sub-Zero: You don't understand. I can't leave without the...

At that moment a searing beam of energy cuts through Sareena's chest,causing her to scream. Now dead,Sareena falls into Sub-Zero's arms. Sub-Zero looks up at her attacker - It's Shinnok! .

Sub-Zero fights Shinnok and eventually steals the Amulet from the Evil Elder God. A Portal opens and Sub-Zero runs through it. The portal closes before Shinnok can chase after the Lin Kuei Warrior.
----------------------------------
Back At The Temple of Elements (Ending)                 
------------------------------------
A portal opens and Sub-Zero comes bursting through - with Shinnok's Amulet in hand. He lands with a thud onto the rocky floor at Rayden's feet. Smoke billows from his body as he struggles to get up. Out of breath,he does his best to speak.

Sub-Zero: Here... the Amulet. 

Rayden takes the Amulet.

Rayden: Impressive, Sub-Zero. Perhaps you can reconcile your reckless past after all.

Sub-Zero: That's it? Not even a thank you?

Rayden: Thank yourself for undoing a problem you created.

Sub-Zero: One question? Quan Chi told me that you sent me because my soul was tainted with evil... is that true?

Rayden: You are a superb warrior, Sub-Zero. But only you are in control of your destiny. Not even the Gods can alter your chosen path of life.

Sub-Zero: Was that a yes, or a no?

Rayden: That was a yes.. But only you can change it.

Rayden takes his leave.

Mist all but covers the Mongolian ruins as the sun struggles to rise from its slumber.
-----------------------------------------------------
Lin Kuei HQ (Ending)
-------------------------------------------------
Sub-Zero enters the Grandmaster's Chamber.

Sub-Zero: I vow to serve and obey the Lin Kuei

Grandmaster: Welcome back, my warrior. I have a new undertaking for you. It seems your recent exploits have caught the eye of yet another sorcerer. I'd like you to meet the retainer of your services.

A Sinister-looking Old Man with a Fu-Man-Chu,wearing a Blue Robe appears.

Grandmaster: His name is Shang Tsung. He would like you to compete in a small tournament.. called Mortal Kombat.

Sub-Zero turns to Shang Tsung and bows. The sorcerer smiles evily as we fade to black. 

=============================================================

Well that was a nice Nostalgia trip,wasn't it? 

Until next time,Stay Gold Space Cowboys and Resist Modern Attitudes.  

The Lost WCW PPV - The Big Bang!

The following is taken from WWE.com.

Wrestling has been part of my life for since as long as I can remember. So for a blast of nostalgia,Here's an article from WWE.com,all about the Last Days and the Lost PPV of WCW. I reposted it here,because No One goes to WWE.com. 

Anyway,here we go.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you grabbed the second to last issue of WCW Magazine, released weeks before the final episode of Nitro, you would have seen a glimpse of what could have been. According to an advertisement on the back cover, the creation of a new WCW was already in the works. On May 6, 2001, the world would witness the relaunch of World Championship Wrestling with The Big Bang, live on pay-per-view.

The ad didn’t reveal much, but Eric Bischoff had been putting the pieces in place for months. A new commentary team had been chosen. Negotiations with TV networks like FX were ongoing. Creative plans were being pitched for top-tier, contracted competitors like Goldberg. A president and CEO were in place and they had fresh ideas for how to right the ship.

The Monday Night War wasn’t over. In fact, a new battle was about to begin, and The Big Bang marked the opening shot.

As far as the WCW locker room knew, Bischoff and his business partners only needed to cross some t’s and dot some i’s and they would own WCW. But then, the deal swerved as abruptly as the pay-per-view endings that became synonymous with WCW’s final days. What went wrong? The answer was clear from the very beginning.   

 "Let’s get people talking about the new WCW and what it was going to look like and feel like."

    - Eric Bischoff

“Toward the end of 1998, around August, it started to become very apparent to me that the Time Warner conglomerate [which owned Turner Broadcasting Systems] really didn’t want WCW to survive,” Eric Bischoff told WWE.com. “It was obvious to me because of the things they were doing to us — reallocating budgets that had already been allocated and cutting budgets that had already been approved six months or a year in advance.”

Bischoff left WCW in fall 1999, but when he returned, it was clear that WCW was on borrowed time under the pending merger between Time Warner and America Online Inc.

“[WCW] wasn’t going to survive it,” Bischoff said. “I said as much to [then-president of Turner Entertainment] Brad Siegel. I simply told him, ‘You don’t really want to fix it, so why don’t you sell it while there is still something left to sell?’ ”

Siegel and Bischoff disagreed for months, which Bischoff believed was a product of Turner Entertainment’s psychology that Ted Turner didn’t sell things; he acquired them. Siegel changed course in late 2000, though, and allowed Bischoff to shop WCW, which he called the “Wall St. dog and pony show.”

This was Bischoff’s first experience raising significant funds for a multi-million-dollar sale, but he found interested partners in Brian Bedol and Steve Greenberg of Fusient Media Ventures. Bedol and Greenberg founded the Classic Sports Network in 1995, then sold it to ESPN two years later for $175 million. They knew plenty about how to brand a sports property to great success. Bischoff raised $67 million with Fusient Media Ventures to purchase WCW in late 2000, but Turner Broadcasting Systems had one major catch: TBS retained a minority interest and long-term programming rights.

“Brad Siegel was not going to sell the company unless Eric Bischoff took 10 years on TBS as part of their contract,” WCW Superstar Diamond Dallas Page said.

Bischoff admitted he looked into some other networks, but nothing came to fruition.

“I had talked to a variety of networks at that time who expressed interest in WCW, one of them being FX,” he said. “I had multiple conversations with Peter Liguori, who was running FX at the time. It never progressed to the point of making an offer, but we got very close.”

But major changes needed to be made to the brand with the pending marriage between WCW and Fusient. The couple even had a honeymoon spot picked out. No longer under the Turner umbrella, aside from the TV shows continuing to appear on Turner networks, the Atlanta-based promotion was heading west.

“The plan was that WCW would move to Las Vegas and do weekly tapings out of the Hard Rock Cafe, which was building a 3,000-square-foot arena at that time,” John Laurinaitis, formerly of WCW Creative and Production, revealed. “Part of the company would be based out of Los Angeles.”

WCW once packed the Georgia Dome for an episode of Nitro, but December’s Starrcade pay-per-view didn’t top 7,000 in attendance. That played a major part in a move to Vegas.

“We weren’t able to fill arenas like we had,” Bischoff said. “Elvis Presley once said, ‘The most interesting part of any show is the audience.’ Take the main event of WrestleMania and put it in front of 75 people and it will dramatically affect the way everyone watching feels about it. That was very true with WCW. We knew we were having a problem.”

The creative needed to take a 180-degree turn, too. From competitors lying down for pinfalls at Bash at the Beach to a match where Buff Bagwell’s mom was up for grabs, 2000 featured some of the wackiest stories in sports-entertainment history.

"I heard rumors that my other announcer was going to be Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler."

    - Joey Styles

“We were going to shut it down for a period of time, then relaunch,” Bischoff said. “We needed a clean piece of paper to draw on. We couldn’t reach into the trash, pick out the crumbled and trampled creative — that had been WCW for the last year-and-a-half — and try to make people feel good about that again. In order for the relaunch to feel like one, it had to go away. The thinking was, let’s get people talking about the new WCW and what it was going to look like and feel like.”

While Bedol and Greenberg continued to work on the legal side of the deal, Bischoff visited confused and panicking employees at WCW’s office and focused on the future of WCW, which included the first pay-per-view under Fusient, WCW Big Bang on May 6.

“We had to plan six months in advance — minimum — with a lot of the creative,” he said. “The branding and the location of the event — the big ticket items, if you will— had to be planned six months out. Big Bang pay-per-view ads were probably pretty generic because I doubt we had it figured out at the time.”

At the same time, over in Philadelphia, Extreme Championship Wrestling was coming to its end. The Voice of ECW, Joey Styles, refused to abandon the ship, but with no ECW Hardcore TV tapings scheduled after the Guilty as Charged pay-per-view on Jan. 7, 2001, Styles began to talk with Bischoff.

“Eric sent me to meet with Brian Bedol in Manhattan to talk about what I would do for WCW,” he said. “I would be the lead announcer and I would work in digital media. I did not agree to do this with Eric until it was obvious that ECW was finished.”

Styles and Bischoff even talked about who would join him at the commentary desk.

“I suggested Don Callis, who was my color commentator for ECW pay-per-views, to Eric,” Styles said. “He and I were a very good team. I heard rumors that my other announcer was going to be Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler, who at the time was not with WWE.”

With his friend in the process of saving WCW, DDP had mixed emotions because he secretly hoped to go to WWE.

“It was really important to me, because I only had a couple of years left in my career, period,” he said. “And I wanted to end my career in WWE. But my buddy was buying the company, WCW. I can’t turn around and screw him.”

The master plan was taking shape. WCW would get a second chance, a new life. After all, Bischoff owned WCW. Didn’t he?
 

After taxiing on the runway for months, the relaunch was ready to take off. On Jan. 11, 2001, Bischoff, his business partners and Siegel hosted a conference call to announce the deal. On the 45-minute call, Siegel assured media that Turner never planned on selling WCW, but the offers poured in, including talks with WWE that he wouldn’t address. Bedol said he wouldn’t be satisfied if WCW remained the No. 2 wrestling brand in America. Bischoff believed the future looked bright for a new WCW and employees were relieved to hear the deal was done.

Variety even reported that Fusient had plans to sit down with WWE in the hopes of creating cross-company pay-per-view events, featuring the likes of Goldberg and Sting against Mick Foley and The Rock.

“It was very positive at that time because WCW wasn’t doing as well as we had hoped,” Laurinaitis remembered. “Thinking that if we move the company and a new set of owners came in and Eric was at the helm, that might spark another run like The nWo did.”

Here’s the catch. The same day as the Fusient conference call, another business deal went down. AOL announced it was purchasing Time Warner on Feb. 11, 2000, but the deal would not be completed until Jan. 11, 2001. With new owners coming in, everything would be looked at closely, especially a division that was struggling to regain footing. Analysts estimated that WCW lost between $60 and $80 million in 2000 while WWE ran away in the ratings.

While AOL Time Warner examined their assets, Fusient did the same with their impending purchase while Bischoff prepared for The Big Bang. Though the deal was announced on Jan. 11, the amount paperwork and due diligence in a transaction this massive took weeks to complete. Fusient originally predicted that the deal would be completed 45 to 60 days after the announcement. By March, though, the sale was still not official.

Meanwhile, every Monday on Nitro, WCW World Champion Scott Steiner rolled through the competition. DDP was set to his next big challenge at WCW Greed on March 18. Two days before the pay-per-view, though, Jamie Kellner — new chairman and CEO for Turner Broadcasting — and Turner Entertainment President Brad Siegel decided WCW’s fate.

“I thought that once Eric got to that spot [the deal announced but not signed], he had it done,” DDP said. “It was like when you think your daughter is getting married, you pay for everything, and you lay the whole thing out, then the groom doesn’t show up.”

On March 20, 2001, WCW’s Big Bang went bust.

“Jamie Kellner and other higher ups at the company wanted to make TNT the drama network and they wanted TBS to focus on comedy and sports,” Styles said.

With WCW not fitting into either plan, Kellner and Siegel agreed to cancel Nitro and Thunder.

Bischoff got the call from a business partner at Fusient while on the beach. The deal was off and the signed letter of intent was voided because without the TV timeslot, the company was worth a small fraction of the original price.

"I remember, Eric at that time saying, ‘get them to give us three months".’

    - Diamond Dallas Page

“Once Jamie Kellner articulated what everyone was saying behind closed doors, which was, ‘we don’t want anything to do with wrestling in any way, shape or form,’ the deal with Turner had absolutely zero value to us,” Bischoff said.

At the time, TBS spokesman Jim Weiss said in The New York Times, “Basically we’ve decided that professional wrestling, in its current incarnation is not consistent with the upscale brands we’ve built at TNT and TBS. Therefore we will not be carrying it.”

It was heartbreakingly ironic that the TV timeslot killed the sale, because Bischoff never really wanted it in the deal anyway.

“Eric was really excited about taking over WCW, but I know he did not want to keep the show on Turner,” DDP said. “I remember, Eric at that time saying, ‘get them to give us three months and I will get another network to pay for the show.’ What network wants to buy a show that’s been cancelled?”

Eric Bischoff calls in to WCW Nitro to reveal his plan for the final night of the brand and to extend an invitation.

Two days later, World Champion Scott Steiner beat Page at WCW Greed on pay-per-view, while announcers continued to look at the future of WCW and the promising young talent like Kwee Wee and Jason Jett. The next night, though, Bischoff called into Nitro.

“Many of you may know that for the past six months, I’ve been working with a group of people whose goal it was — and is — to acquire World Championship Wrestling and to grow it once again to become a competitive, dominant wrestling organization worldwide,” Bischoff said with a defeated tone. “But recently we’ve hit a couple of roadblocks that may be, in fact, brick walls.”

He scheduled a “night of champions” for the following week’s Nitro in Panama City, Fla., and invited all former World Champions to appear, hinting that it could be the final night of wrestling on a Turner network. Now that the TV timeslot, supposedly a sticking point in WWE’s previous talks with Turner, was gone, WWE resumed negotiations. That Friday, WWE announced it had purchased WCW from AOL Time Warner for an undisclosed sum, but estimates had it around seven-figures.

Shane McMahon and WWE brass headed to Florida, for the final Nitro, which Mr. McMahon opened by announcing that he officially owned WCW. The Monday Night War was officially over.

When Bischoff looks back 15 years later, though, he can’t help but think WWE’s purchase was the healthiest move for the future of sports-entertainment.

“Had Fusient been successful in buying WCW, ultimately there would have been no one on that side of the equation, including me, that would have had the commitment to the business that Vince McMahon has had throughout the years,” Bischoff said.

May 6 ultimately came and nothing happened. The creation of a new WCW was forming in WWE, and the “big bang” didn’t occur until May 28, when WCW Superstar Lance Storm ran into a WWE ring and kicked WWE Superstar Perry Saturn in the face. Three weeks later, DDP joined him on Raw, as well as an influx of WCW Superstars as part of an Invasion.

As for Big Bang, Bischoff thinks it was a success.

“I did such a great job at creating anticipation, that people are still anticipating, to this day, the pay-per-view that never happened.”

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That was a cool read,huh? Hope you enjoyed this little Nostalgia trip thanks to WWE.com.

Until Next Time,Stay Gold,Space Cowboys,and Resist Modern Attitudes!!!

Read Nintendo Power Online!!!!

Wanna relive the glory days of Nintendo Power,but Don't have any of the Issues? Well now you can. There is a cool Internet Archive that hss Every Issue from 1988 - 2004.

So if you're hungry for some NP Nostalgia,go here: https://archive.org/details/NintendoPower1988-2004

Cool huh? I'll talk about my personal experience with the Mag later. In the meantime,Enjoy and Stay Gold,Space Cowboys.

Resist Modern Attitudes!!!!

The Sega CD Mk. 2 CD Menu

Here's another blast of Nostalgia for us 90's Kids. If you grew-up with a Sega CD,specifically the Mark II,you'd remember this Menu? You accessed this when you placed a Music CD in the System. You also got this Menu when you pressed one of the 'Action Buttons' (I forgot which),if a Sega CD game was inserted.

 

Hope this brought back some cool memories.

Until Next Time,Stay Gold and Resist Modern Attitudes.

Happy 2023

2023 is here and as promised,I'm gonna be pumping out some series Old School and Nostalgic goodness. And to kick things off,Here is a recreation of one of my favorite Sprite Sheets,which,unfortunately,got lost in time and has never been found since.

I tried to be as accurate to the original as I could

And this is only the beginning.

Stay Gold,Space Cowboys.

 

A Personal Nostalgia Post

It's been a while since I posted anything. So,I'm gonna post something totally random and something that I've always wanted to do. A post dedicated to Personal Internet Nostalgia..namely My Own. 

My First experience with the Net was with AOL in 1997 when my family got our first computer for XMas of that year. And starting in 2001,I was able to get my own personal PC. Now then,let's take a trip back into time and feel the Nostalgia Vibes.

Our first stop will be to a site that's MEGA Awesome. The Oldest Surviving Mega Man site,The Mega Man Home Page. http://www.mmhp.net

I used to love visiting here in my younger days. Don't forget to check the Links section for some more cool Mega Man sites,both new And old. Another Mega Man site that I loved way back in the day was Rockman's World,my very first glimpse into the Japanese side of the Franchise. So e a Cool Frood and have a look: https://maelgrim.tripod.com/Rockman.html

Moving ahead. Remember Geocities? It was one of the most popular hosting networks on the Net back in the late-90's and Early 2000's. The network is gone now,but thankfully,most of their sites have been archived. http://www.oocities.org/#gsc.tab=0

Sweet,huh? all you have to do is type in the kind of site you wanna see in the search bar and you're there. I used to love browsing the various Geocities pages back in the day. Anglefire,Dragonfire,and Tripod/Lycos were also cool networks. Wonder what happened to them? I'll check things out later. 

In the meantime,let's continue this trip,shall we. 

Next up is something from my teen years. It may not have much relevence to you,but it has some sentemental value to me. Back in the day,where I'm from,there was a Public Access channel called CTV,the shows were hit and miss,but it had a cool thing called CTV-i,an interactive information service. The service was discontinued in 2001,due to the growing popularity of the Internet. 

CTV-i was Staten Island's Pre-Internet goto place for fun and information. I'll talk more about This information service some time,but for now,enjoy the old CTV site (what's left of it anyway) https://web.archive.org/web/19980415063853/http://www.sictv.org/special.html

Yeah,it's not much,but... Anyway,let's move on to 3 Power Ranger based sites,I used to frequent back in the early-mid 2000's. http://rangercentral.com/  https://www.grnrngr.com/ https://www.rovang.org/

Granted these sites had been though some major changes since then,but I still highly recommend them to All Power Rangers fan. The next leg of our tour brings us to a sjte that holds lots of nostalgic value to me. One of the very first Sailor Moon sites I've ever visited. It's Hitoshi Doi's Sailor Moon Encyclopedia. http://www.usagi.org/doi/smoon/

So many memories. While we're still on tbe subject of Sailor Moon. Here's a site that I descovered in the Mid-2000's. it's grown a great deal since then,but it remains a fun site for All Sailor Moon fans. Plus,it's run by a seriously cool dude. http://www.sailorenergy.net/TheRealm.html

As you can tell,besides being an awesome guy,J.A. is also an awesome artist. Now the final Sailor Moon Site is a divisive one,but I have some fun memories on it. It's S.O.S. (unrelated to Kofi Kingston's old WWE theme). http://www.saveoursailors.org

Now,for some Sonic Love. Y'know,this year is the Hedgehog's 30th Anniversary,so it'd be appropriate to revisit this site. http://sost.emulationzone.org/

Back in the day I was huge on Emulation,so I frequented this site often. http://www.emulationzone.org/

Another emulation site that I visited often was Zopher's Domain. https://www.zophar.net/

They also had/have Video Game music,ripped from the games themselves. Speaking of Video Game Music. Here's a blast from our past. https://www.vgmusic.com/

Midi music can be such a nostalgic experience. But hold on to your hats,we ain't done yet. Super Mario Franchise is one of my all-time faves and I've always loved this site sites https://themushroomkingdom.net/ 

How about some general Nintendo sites. http://www.world-of-nintendo.com/ http://atarihq.com/tsr/ http://www.videogamesprites.net/ 

Now let's visit some Captain N fansites of the past. First we have Mark Moore's (in)famous site,with reviews of Every episode https://ldloveszh.tripod.com/reviews.html and The Captain N Homepage http://captainn.net/main.html

We are now in the final leg of our Time Trip. We'll start with 2 classic Final Fantasy sites The FF7 Citadel and FF Origins. http://www.ff7citadel.com/ http://www.fforigins.com/

Here's a general RPG site I visited too. This place has lots of helpful walkthroughs. http://alexandria.rpgclassics.com/ 

Another game site I used to love back in the day was GameFAQs. Anyway,we're now gonna take a trip to a memorable fighting game/beat em-up fansite that originated in the mid-2000's. http://scrollboss.illmosis.net/mainmenu.php

This is the very site that got me into M.U.G.E.N. Anywhoo,for our final destination is not something from my past,but can take me to it. In fact,it can take anyone back. It's the Internet Wayback Machine. http://web.archive.org/

All you have to do is type in the Web Address and you're there. You can even see what an existing site looked like decades ago. Speaking Searching and Web Addresses,AOL and Yahoo had pretty great search engines. Of course this was before they were made obsolete by Google many years later.

Before we return to the present,there's one more Nostalgia trip I wanna share with you. It's The Realm of everyones favorite Mega Man 3-based team,The Mechanical Maniacs http://themechanicalmaniacs.com/

Well that was a fun trip back into my personal internet past,huh? Hope everyone enjoyed it. Until next ti e,Stay Gold,Space Cowboys.