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July 11, 2003

I'M BACK First off I want to thank Rob for being the best friend a guy could ever have. I know I said some ugly things last night, and I know I already apologized, but again, I'm sorry. You are a true friend who has always had my back and I love you like a brother. Rob and I stayed up well into the wee hours last night, talking, yelling, crying, screaming. At one point I wanted to punch him. In that time though, we sorted a lot of shit out, and for the first time in a while, I was able to take a step back, get some perspective and do some real soul searching. Yesterday started out pretty good. Got almost 7 hours of sleep, woke up, did a few posts, answered some emails. Rob had been working on some other stuff for the site, but I told him to shift his priority to the crib quicktime since that's what a lot of people were asking about. When he called me in the morning and told me he wouldn't be able to finish it before class, I exploded, cursing at him, telling him I HAD to have it. He just said sorry man, I've got a life, and hung up. Now, understand something about me, I've always been a people pleaser, oftentimes to a fault. When people started coming to my site and asking me questions about the game, I felt like it was my duty to answer them. It's just the way I am. In the last few days, I've been getting caught up in all the attention my site's been getting. When people started making me the center of attention and treating me like I was special, it felt good. Especially after being cooped up in my place pretty much 24/7, for the most part alone, hour after hour, day after day. So as more and more people visited the site, I felt more and more pressure to make them happy, to give them what they wanted, and it became overwhelming. This stupid bullshit with the crib, something I only even mentioned as an afterthought, ended up snowballing into a major issue. I felt like I had to get this video up or I'd be letting everybody down. So when Rob said he didn't have the qt done, I freaked out on him. In hindsight, I shouldn't have let it become such a big deal, but sometimes I have trouble seeing the forest for the trees. After stewing for a while, I decided I needed to get out of the house. I needed to get some mailers, dvd envelopes and go to the post office anyway, so I hoofed it on down the road (I haven't driven for months because of the blackouts.) Like a dumbass, I didn't bring any water with me, and after a couple miles in the near 100 degree heat, I was drenched with sweat, so I stopped in at the bookstore to get a drink. There were quite a few people there and I was nervous about having a blackout, haven't really gone out in public much, but it was just too damn hot out to keep going. I decided to just relax and enjoy the moment, being out of the house, chilling with an iced coffee and a magazine, feeling like a human being again. It was nice. Made me almost forget about my problems. After a while I bought a bottle of water, went to the office supply store, then went to the post office to mail out the first batch of revision burns, then started the long trek back home. By the time I got home, I was drenched again, pretty exausted, but at the same time, feeling pretty upbeat and positive. Then I got online and saw an article on football-gaming.com: "Answering questions? Beta-7, what happened to fighting The Man? It sounds like you're trying to promote his product. Oh right, you are promoting The Man's product, because that's what beta-7.com is designed to do. Not that there's anything wrong with that." When I read this, I felt like I'd been punched in the stomach. I was angry and hurt, and then I realized the reason I was so angry was because…he was right. I HAD become a fucking shill for The Man. In trying to keep my site vistitors happy, trying to answer the flood of questions about gameplay details and all this superficial bullshit, I had completely lost focus on the matter at hand, which is trying to figure out how this game fucked me up, and get Sega to take responsibility for it. I felt so angry and disgusted with myself that my stomach was in knots and my head started pounding. And then I blacked out. I don't know how long I was out for, but I woke up to Rob shaking me. My head was still pounding. Then he told me he turned the server off, and I just went apeshit on him, said how dare you, you stabbed me in the back, called him a pussy, told him we're taking on Goliath here and can't just turn tail and run at the first sign of trouble. We argued for hours and hours. I know Rob cares about me and is worried about me, and just did it to protect his best friend, but we can't just give up like this. He realizes this now. So I'm now back, with a renewed sense of purpose. From now on, I'm not answering any more inane questions about the crib, franchise mode, uniforms, or any of that other bullshit. I'm not a VJ, and I don't have time to take "requests" for video. Maybe the people I sent the game out to have time, but I don't. In this game, I'm only concentrating on trying to figure out the secrets behind first-person mode, because that's what fucked up my head. If that pisses some people off, then I'm sorry, but that's just the way it's gotta be. I'm on a mission here, and there isn't enough time for me to dick around with all this other shit. Posted by beta-7 at July 11, 2003 01:28 PM

Comments

Welcome back, and some people are behind you, believe it or not. Did you know your site was on Slashdot? People there are calling you a "viral marketing campaign" as well. Anyway, relax, man, you don't need to be everyone's football hookup. Posted by: DAMAGE INC at July 11, 2003 01:43 PM thanks for your support, bro. it's good to be back. Posted by: beta-7 at July 11, 2003 02:01 PM Beta-7, I fully agree, don't let everyone slow you down with all of these other questions. As you stated yourself, all of this work you and Rob have put into this website and everything else was not so that everyone could get a sneak-peek at the game but rather to figure out what the hell has happened to you...and to get a response from Sega on what the deal is, not just denial as they already have done. Weird stuff Do you play any online games on XBOX Live....or do you just not play anymore other then FP on 2K4 Posted by: YOUCANNOTWIN at July 11, 2003 03:23 PM your not the only one Posted by: at July 11, 2003 03:41 PM http://www.sltrib.com/2002/Dec/12252002/nation_w/14405.asp Posted by: at July 11, 2003 03:42 PM thanks, youcan...haven't had the time to play xbl (or much of anything else) for quite some time now, and BTW don't tempt me, i'm a man ona mission! :) And thanks for the article link, whoefver posted that. i'm not a doctor or anything, but i'm pretty sure it'snot photosensitive epilepsy, since that affects 1 in 4000 and these blackouts have happened to at least 4 beta testers that i know of in my group alone! i've played all kinds of games for hours at a time in less than "optimum" conditions (according to the article) and have never had anythign liek this happen to me before. i'm thinking it might be some kind of like subliminal shit or something that's encoded into the software...i dunno though, that's what i'm trying to figure out. anyway, thanks for the help! Posted by: beta-7 at July 11, 2003 04:04 PM http://www.football-gaming.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1896 Posted by: dweezil at July 11, 2003 05:26 PM Do you think that maybe sega fixed this crazy shit in their game and now it's all good. Because if you are having blackouts along with comstumers I doubt Sega will release the game. After a few reported blackouts after release date this game will be gone. It would be on 20/20 and 60 minutes and they would interview you. I can see it now: "Several beta testers of ESPN NFL Football experience severe blackouts". "Hello I'm Barbara Walters and today we have a disturbing story". LOL Maybe you should get a newer revised version of the game and see if this still happens. How did you get the firsts disk to begin with, did you gank them from VC. I'm out beta. Posted by: go b7!!! at July 11, 2003 05:52 PM WTF!!!? even if this was tru? why waste ur tyme and make a web page??? u dont really care what happens to us? u just want sega to go down?right? THEN WHY DONT U TAKE IT TO THE MEDIA???COURT???? and another thing...i love 2k series!!! but truly this isnt helping 2k series...its making it look like a joke!!!annd now u guys delay the game till SEPT? U KNO HOW MUCH MONEY U GUYS ARE GOING TO LOSE!!!only the tru fans will buy ur game...which isnt a lot compared to madden...(and ur not helping urself to new fans, by delaying the game?)i to will buy madden just for the fact that...I WANNA PLAY FOOTBALL VIDEO GAMES NOW!!!!!i wanna win the superbowl and play with the new rookie class? but i guess it will be with madden 1st.... then ill buy 2k4...because u guys delay it just to make this stupid blackout thing look real?OMG or is it lol? DURING FREAKING DRAFT DAY U SHOULD OF HAD UR GAME PROMOTING!!!!!!!!on ESPN!!!!!i was like why the FU**** NOT!!!!!!!isnt the game call ESPN FOOTBALLL???? but no madden...had all the rookies...had some awesome promotions...// but keep up with ur site i like the INFO??but why not do it the normal way? and wasting ur tyme on a crib mode? i wanna play football not build a house?WTF? spend ur tyme....making a GM MODE!!!!...building stadiums!! WOW!!!man crib mode? jeese? madden will again sale more for the GM MODE(whats sad is 2k has better everthing but features...GM mode etc...)...while u guys...build the cribs?and go bankrupt and sale ur company to microsoft or whomever...wants to make nfl 2k series BETTER!!!!! C-LoZ~6~ Posted by: shist86 at July 11, 2003 07:08 PM I dunno go, I was hoping they weren't going to release this game at all, but it looks like that was just a pipe dream, they're obviously tryig to sweep all this under the rug and pretend it doesn't even exist! my man Beta-13 stole the revs from vc a few weeks ago: http://www.beta-7.com/blog/archives/000076.html Posted by: beta-7 at July 11, 2003 07:11 PM Why are you telling me all this shit, shist? please, GO AHEAD AND BUY MADDEN! one less person supporting these pricks at sega. Posted by: beta-7 at July 11, 2003 07:15 PM huh? lol...i said i will buy both? as most of my friend will do also.... but most wont....so ur wish i guess will become true...and the 400,000 copies they sold last year will be the same this year unless...ESPN start putting it on its show...like they said they would...that should...help 2k alot!!!!!!! I JUST WANNA PLAY FOOTBALL!!!!eRRRRR this all is a bunch of shiZt C-LoZ~6~ Posted by: shist86 at July 11, 2003 07:30 PM DUDE I JUST WANNA PLAY football!!!!!WTF!!!!!!! Posted on Wednesday, June 25 @ 00:05:23 EDT byBrianFBG Yep, it's that time of year again. Football is in the air and teams are getting ready for what has become America's favorite sport. Two teams in particular battle it out each year. For some time the rivalry has been brewing and it has turned into a full-blown war. Is it the Cowboys vs. the Giants, the Jets vs. the Dolphins, or the Raiders vs. the Broncos? Nope. None of these gridiron armies are the subject of this article - at least not directly. The two teams are Electronic Arts (EA) and Visual Concepts (VC) - and this time it's personal. What happens each year, and how can the two face each other as equals? What might happen in the future? Read on football disciple, read on.... Let's face it, for each year since 1999 VC and EA have battled it out. VC always manages to be the scrappy underdog clawing its way towards recognition. EA, the perennial champion, usually shows the public why it's on top. Despite Herculean efforts by VC, EA usually delivers a shellacking of monumental proportions. To their credit, VC becomes even more determined to do better and returns another year filled with fight. The most recent outing was particularly brutal. VC rode in on high expectations and was defeated with astounding efficiency. According to some accounts, they were outsold in the neighborhood of 9-to-1. I think 3 things have held VC back: features, polish, and marketing. Let's deal with features. It is not necessary for VC to match every feature that Madden contains. However, they should have a comparable list of substantial features. For some time a franchise mode was absent and when it showed up, it left a lot to be desired. Customization options were also suspect. Consider the create-a-team option last year. While Madden had dozens of logos and unlimited options for creating a uniform (even going so far as to include an RGB color palette), 2k3 had no more than about 10 uniform options. To their credit, VC has admitted that they need to work on features beyond gameplay. While Madden's extra features are constantly assailed by many digital football veterans, they do manage to add a sense of thoroughness to the game that is terribly absent from many of VC's efforts -- especially compared to EA. Last year VC began turning the corner on features and if the previews are any indication, they might blow past what EA offers in its flagship franchise. Another key area that VC consistently failed in was polish. This has been the weakest link in an otherwise stellar product. The game was as sharp as a bowling ball and as smooth as a thistle. Stats did not compile correctly, menus were exercises in mental torture, and the game flat out refused to load franchises on many Xboxes. In 2k3 for example, in my NYG franchise Coach Jim Fassel's career record was 0 - 3 with a 3 game win streak -- even though we lost 2 of our first 3 games. Yes I typed that right. These in your face type of bugs abound in NFL 2k3. The manual was horribly lacking and some of the controls were difficult to execute. Again, VC has promised bigger and better things. They have pledged to make ESPN NFL 2k4 the most polished game ever. From the videos that have been released, it indeed seems as if much progress has been made in this area. Finally, we'll tackle marketing. It might be safe to say that no product has been marketed as poorly as the 2k series. Each year it is lauded by critics, only to sell 3 copies. I was genuinely shocked to find out that VC/Sega has a marketing team. One can only wonder if they are professional marketing executives. The core fan base is barely nurtured. When you sell 400,000 copies, you better pay attention to your bread and butter. The hardcore fans are the ones that have kept VC afloat. Perusing the message boards clearly shows that enthusiasts for football strategy seem to favor the 2k series. VC seems to be blissfully unaware of that fact. This year's football Fridays barely mention anything that would be noteworthy to the hardcore (2k) fan. Despite the ESPN license last year, ABC featured a ton of Madden commercials. We need not even bother discuss the ESPN Madden NFL event called the draft. It seems as if the importance of commercials -- especially for an underdog -- is lost upon the team at Sega. This is yet another area that VC (and this time ESPN) promises substantial improvement. Like a couple making up, VC and ESPN state that there is a new era of cooperation and integration. This time they are serious. Game commercials will be in heavy rotation and products will be used in ESPN shows. True to form, however, Football Fridays continue the traditional preference for bizarre marketing tactics by the beloved company. So, what's the prognosis for this year's battle? Well, it does seem like VC and ESPN are serious. Commercials in heavy rotation and the use of the products on ESPN shows will undoubtedly increase sales. There is no way to go but up from last year's dismal showing. VC, though, seems to always find a way to take a step back. Last year it was overall polish. This year it seems to be launching in September. I must reign in my impatience and admit that it is only two weeks away from Madden's launch. Launching two weeks after the industry juggernaut is only wise if you have something that will definitely make the product -- which has been beaten convincingly every year -- worth the wait to gamers. A groundbreaking product is what VC assures us ESPN NFL 2k4 will be. If they don't deliver, this will be yet another year of Madden pummels VC. Of course if Sega deliver's on the promise, then Madden might emerge scarred and vulnerable next year. We'll see what happens. Both sides have put their teams in place. They're now asking, in the venerable football words of Ray Lewis, "where my dawgs at?" This game kicks off on September 2nd. I'll be there -- will you? For Football-gaming.com, by BlitzPackage Posted by: shist86 at July 11, 2003 07:31 PM theres a good post...if any...PEEPS wanna read.... Posted by: shist86 at July 11, 2003 07:32 PM So, beta-7 can you get me a copy to investigate? What do you need from to help the cause? Posted by: YOUCANNOTWIN at July 11, 2003 07:34 PM ummm UCANNOTWIN? lol....just be real and tell him u want a COPY.....dont be all fake..lol Posted by: shist86 at July 11, 2003 07:56 PM If this guy is a hoax and works for VC/Sega then why is he giving out revised beta disks of espn nfl football. There is a guy on one of the forums who got a disk from b7. I doubt he works for VC/Sega because then he wouldn't be handing out free disks. Sega needs to sell all the copies they can to begin with, not give them out for free. Posted by: shist at July 11, 2003 08:44 PM sorry shist, that message up above I posted as you by accident when I meant to mark it to u. Sorry Posted by: matt at July 11, 2003 08:45 PM You do realize that barely anyone will give a shit about your site if you stop giving game info right? Half the people don't believe you and another half don't care. Oh well, good luck with your "fight". Though I wouldn't consider making a blog a very good way to fight. Posted by: Nick at July 11, 2003 08:47 PM It's a marketing ploy, that's why, and it's OBVIOUSLY working, and it's obviously worth giving out some CD's. Sega will profit from this bullshit thanks to idiots like you. Posted by: CJN at July 11, 2003 09:38 PM Ever wonder if this guy is AGAINST sega, wants to take it down, he's pracitically telling you all the great stuff about it and how cool it is? Posted by: CJN at July 11, 2003 09:44 PM thank U!!!!! in the end its a good ploy lol... but i just think its fu*k up....that sega cant make a GREAT VIDEO GAME...when i kno...they can!!!!!!! they keep on fu*king around!!!!!! make a freaking complete game damn it!!!! u already have the best baseballl video game and best bestball game....JUST FINISH UR GAMES!!!!SEGA ALWAYS LEAVE A GLICH!!!!wow man..... no wonder ur freaking going bankrupt...i hope who ever takes over this game...has a better marketing group and etc...and if this site is tri...lol.....KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK LMAO....but for the most part....stop with the g*y drama... be FOR REAL!!!!! C-LoZ~6~ Posted by: shist86 at July 11, 2003 09:49 PM Can Beta-7 be DAVE Z? DAVE Z hasn't been updating his site everyday since Beta-7.com came up. Posted by: at July 12, 2003 01:36 AM If Dave Z is SEGA, then it could be. ;-) Posted by: CJN at July 12, 2003 02:47 AM Whoever this crazy character "beta-7" claims he is he works for sega. fldude2k1 IS beta-7. At least until beta hands out more than just ONE disk. Posted by: at July 12, 2003 11:01 AM NUMBER 1!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Posted by: Super Greg at August 20, 2003 12:52 AM