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40-536: The NeGcon was created to replicate the analog-stick movement used in the arcade game Cyber Sled (1993); the name comes from the Japanese word "nejiru", meaning "to twist". The controller was intended for use in racing games, including Ridge Racer , Gran Turismo and Wipeout . Critical reception for the NeGcon was highly positive, being praised for its responsive control in games and unique design. The NeGcon

80-574: A hovercraft style tank through a futuristic arena and fighting to eliminate an opponent (either another player or the computer ). Various power-ups are available throughout the game, which feature improved radar , extra missiles , and shield re-charging. There are walls and other obstacles in the arena, which can be useful for hiding as well as a hindrance, and some of which can be destroyed. Each player can choose from among eight different tanks, which vary from slow but heavily shielded, to quick but vulnerable. Player's viewpoint can be either from

120-813: A rack driving pinions similar to the ones in the swivel-joint. The neGcon's design was prompted by Namco's desire to accurately replicate the dual-lever controls of their arcade game Cyber Sled on the PlayStation. Examples of racing games that took advantage of the neGcon are the original PlayStation iterations of the Ridge Racer series ( Ridge Racer Type 4 also supported the Namco Jogcon ), Gran Turismo , Motor Toon Grand Prix , Motor Toon Grand Prix 2 , Destruction Derby , Colin McRae Rally , TOCA , Rally Cross , V-Rally and

160-582: A controller akin to a steering wheel that allowed for quick, precise turns. The name NeGcon is based on the Japanese word "nejiru", meaning "to twist". Yutaka Isokawa, a Namco engineer, was assigned to the NeGcon production team shortly after completing work on two Yu Yu Hakusho games for the Super Famicom. Originally a developer at Asmik that designed Catrap for the Game Boy , he was integrated into Namco's console game division to begin work on

200-421: A game worth picking up for any hard-core racing enthusiast." Lupos of GameZone gave the same PC version six out of ten, saying, "I think if you are an avid fan of Le Mans , you will enjoy this game. It's not terrible. It's stable. You could probably get the steering wheel to work after a couple emails to Infogrames. You will enjoy doing the 24 hour challenges, racing against authentic teams and drivers, driving

240-603: A great game and a lot of fun!" Kevin Krause gave the PlayStation 2 version 7.8 out of 10, saying, "Overall, Le Mans 24 Hours is entertaining and possibly worth purchasing if you're looking for something a little different than most racing titles. Don't think that it comes without flaw though because it doesn't - it could definitely use some refinement in a few areas." Later, Ovaldog gave the PC version of Le Mans 24 Hours 7.5 out of 10, calling it "a very solid performer that should provide

280-472: A massively satisfying singular experience go [ sic ] a long way to remedy the curtailing price of the official license." The Dreamcast version won the award for "Best Driving Game" at GameSpot ' s Best and Worst of 2000 Awards, and was nominated in the "Best Game No One Played" category. The staff argued that the game was "a victim of the Test Drive name, as the Test Drive series

320-400: A multiplayer 3D polygon successor to Battlezone . He called Cyber Sled "an enjoyable coin-op" that is "most fun when played with a friend". He scored it 82% for graphics, 76% for sound, and 84% for gameplay, for an overall 82% score. At the 1994 AMOA Awards, the game was nominated for Most Innovative New Technology. Upon release on consoles in 1995, Famicom Tsūshin ( Famitsu ) scored

360-403: A try--that is when they've totally played out their copies of Gran Turismo or Need for Speed ." Four-Eyed Dragon later said of the PlayStation 2 version, "The visuals and sound are the major sore spots of Le Mans. The graphics are grainy and not very sharp, especially when you're driving at night or in the rain. The soundtrack consists of poor crowd noises and out-of-tune music. Sadly, even

400-463: A weather and night system. The Dreamcast version received "universal acclaim", and the PlayStation 2 version received "generally favourable reviews", while the PC version of Le Mans 24 Hours received "mixed" reviews, according to the review aggregation website Metacritic . Chris Charla of NextGen said of the Dreamcast version in its January 2001 issue, "It's no hardcore sim, but it may be

440-406: Is a vehicular combat video game developed and published by Namco . It was originally released for arcades in 1993. The game's perspective is third-person by default, but can be switched to a first-person perspective. The game was nominated for Most Innovative New Technology at the 1994 AMOA Awards. It later received a sequel in 1994, Cyber Commando . Cyber Sled involves maneuvering

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480-481: Is a video game peripheral released for the PlayStation by Namco , and is also compatible with the PlayStation 2. It is inserted into the system through the controller port located on the front. The left of the controller features a D-pad and a start button, while the right features two blue "A" and "B" buttons and two red "I" and "II" buttons. Two shoulder buttons, labeled "L" and "R" respectively, are located at

520-641: Is a viewpoint button that allows the player to switch to an alternative first-person perspective . The arcade game was first published by Namco in Japan on March 27, 1993 and later in North America by Namco America in October. The game was also released in Europe during 1993. A console version of Cyber Sled was released for Sony 's PlayStation in 1995. It was originally slated as a launch game for

560-478: Is operated by gears that turn the shafts of two potentiometers within the device, the central pivot utilizing a ring gear driving a pinion on the shaft of the potentiometer. The I and II buttons are both analogue and have approximately 7mm of travel, which can allow for sustained, responsive button presses. The buttons also detect how much the user pushes them. The L shoulder button is also analogue and has approximately 5mm of travel. All three analogue buttons have

600-442: Is the best racing game on the platform, and one of the best of the genre. The low price only helps to make it a must-buy, and there's more than enough game to satisfy any racing fan's hunger. So put on a fresh pot of coffee, get comfortable, and prepare to spend the most time you ever have in a single race." Edge gave the same console version a score of seven out of ten, saying, "an exceptional multiplayer option [...] combined with

640-540: The Pole Position games on Namco Museum volumes 1 and 3, as well as Ridge Racer V on the PlayStation 2 . The Wipeout series (including Wipeout Fusion on the PS2) also supported the neGcon. The number of non-racing games which supported the neGcon was limited, almost solely confined to Namco's Ace Combat series (which also carried over to PS2). Although the neGcon was not strictly protocol-compatible with

680-470: The Gran Turismo games. The NeGcon was the creation of Namco designer Satoru Kuriyama. Best known as the production manager for Ridge Racer (1993), Kuriyama envisioned the idea for the NeGcon while observing a fellow Namco employee, Valkyrie no Densetsu creator "Ms. Okawa", playing a Super Famicom racing game while simultaneously tilting the controller in the direction the car was turning in

720-432: The cockpit , or from behind the vehicle. Each player has two tank-style analog joysticks , each with a finger and thumb trigger . The finger trigger releases a steady stream of bullets , but if held down will overheat and stop working for a short period of time. The thumb trigger releases a limited number of missiles. The game is rendered in 3D polygons and is viewed from a third-person perspective by default. There

760-449: The I and II buttons makes the neGcon not a top-quality substitute for a regular PS1 controller. In particular, games that required rapid button pressing of the square or X buttons were difficult to play well. Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec and Gran Turismo 4 for the PS2 do not support the neGcon. This had the effect of breaking compatibility with steering wheel controllers that previously used

800-543: The PlayStation version of the game a 29 out of 40, giving it an 8 out of 10 in their Reader Cross Review. GamePro criticized it for its lack of originality and unimpressive graphics, saying it "looks like something you could've played on a 16-bit system", but concluded that "it's fine, fast-paced fun, especially in two-player mode". Next Generation reviewed the PlayStation version of the game, rating it two stars out of five, and wrote that "this title didn't need to come home at all, but if you're an absolute die-hard fan of

840-583: The PlayStation. It features more characters than the arcade version, and a choice between the original arcade graphics, or a more realistic texture mapped mode. The original arcade version was released for the Wii Virtual Console in Japan on May 19, 2009. The PlayStation version was released through the PlayStation Store in Japan on June 26, 2013, and in North America on January 28, 2014. Game Machine listed Cyber Sled as being

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880-417: The authentic cars, and figuring out the handling on them. But if you just want to play a racing game that has the best physics engine, best graphics, and supports multiplayer, this isn't it." Later, Rita Courtney gave the Dreamcast version seven out of ten, saying, "This isn't a game that you will get tired of in a hurry! I think the instruction booklet could have had a few more details, but other than that it's

920-496: The best reproduction of the actual feel of marathon racing ever." Ten issues later, however, Gary Whitta said of the PlayStation 2 version, "While Le Mans 24 Hours has the chops to keep circuit-based racing fans satisfied for more than a few laps, it's nothing new." Cheat Monkey of GamePro said of the PlayStation version, "You've seen better from the Test Drive series, but hardcore racing fans might want to give Le Mans

960-465: The controller helped redefine the overall design of the traditional PlayStation controller. They said its design was strange and bizarre, yet responsive, and that it was an excellent controller for racing games like Ridge Racer . IGN expressed disappointment towards the NeGcon's poor sales due to it being seen as strange by the general public, writing that it "just goes to show where genuine innovation will get you." Cyber Sled Cyber Sled

1000-472: The designers were nervous about the swivel that allowed the controller to be twisted as they thought it would be too fragile. During production of the NeGcon, Isokawa began work on a video game that could show off the controller's capabilities. It was a golf game that had the player twist the NeGcon to simulate the action of swinging a golf club to hit the ball. Isokawa scrapped the game as Namco would have to compete with Sony's Everybody's Golf , which he felt

1040-418: The game. Kuriyama then began thinking of a controller that could twist and turn to perform movement in precise game movements. Namco's console game division caught wind of the idea and suggested that if the controller was drastically different from other game controllers already on the market, it could help create new, interesting game concepts. The team looked to racing games for inspiration, thinking of creating

1080-413: The good and the bad into account, Test Drive Le Mans ends up being a worthwhile purchase. Game Boy Color owners probably won't find a more gripping racing game for their format." Bryan Melville, however, gave the PlayStation version two-and-a-half stars out of five, calling it "another sub par game in the series." X-Play gave the Dreamcast version all five stars, saying, "In all, Test Drive Le Mans

1120-442: The home video game market. Isokawa believes that the company intended to begin producing controllers and potentially consoles before the PlayStation was released. While designing the NeGcon, the production team turned to racing games for inspiration; they specifically looked at steering wheels and how they moved to potentially create a controller that allowed for quick, responsive turns around corners in tracks. The controller itself

1160-540: The neGcon "received rave reviews from the gaming press because of its unusual design, shape and method of control". Retrospective coverage of the NeGcon has been similarly positive, and has noted its outlandish, unique design. Time , who ranked it as the 4th strangest gadget of all time, stated that the NeGcon "stands apart as one of the few simultaneously bizarre and functionally intrepid" of video game controllers, commending its responsive button input and general suitability for racing games. GameSpot agreed, saying that

1200-511: The neGcon protocol, although other games such as Le Mans 24 Hours and World Rally Championship (with control mode set to digital) allowed for compatibility. GT3 and GT4 are compatible with the standard PS2 DualShock 2 which provides analog throttle and brake input. For finer control than the short-throw DualShock 2 buttons offered, a user could use a Logitech -produced wheel which was specifically produced for these games. The Logitech wheels were large and non-portable but were well matched to

1240-399: The new controller. Isokawa believes that part of the idea behind the NeGcon was based on Namco's desire to create hardware for the home console market, rather than be strictly a third-party publisher for companies such as Nintendo and Sony Computer Entertainment — this idea was further fueled by the fact that Namco's rival, Sega , was at the time one of the largest hardware manufacturers in

NeGcon - Misplaced Pages Continue

1280-518: The original coin-op, the one-player mode is a close match". Le Mans 24 Hours (video game) Le Mans 24 Hours is a video game released for the PlayStation , Game Boy Color , Dreamcast , PlayStation 2 , and Microsoft Windows (in two versions of the latter, one developed by Eutechnyx, like with the PlayStation version and the second version being a port of the Melbourne House version ported by Torus Games ). The Dreamcast version

1320-471: The race fan [with] many hours of racing action." Nick Woods of AllGame gave the PC version of Test Drive Le Mans four stars out of five, saying, "When all is said and done, Test Drive Le Mans is still a very fun, detailed game that will live up to the standards of racing game fans and critics alike." He later gave the Game Boy Color version three-and-a-half stars out of five, saying, "Taking

1360-473: The second most popular arcade game in Japan during October 1993. Play Meter listed it to be the twenty-second most-popular arcade game at the time in North America during December 1993. Upon release in arcades, Rick Skews of Computer and Video Games magazine gave the arcade game a positive review in early 1994. He compared the game favorably with Atari 's classic arcade first-person shooter tank game Battlezone (1980), considering Cyber Sled to be

1400-492: The solid controls can't save Le Mans from straying off course." Robert Howarth of GameFan gave the PC version of Test Drive Le Mans 85%, saying that it "offers above-average graphics, great controls and good artificial intelligence, as well as realistic tracks and cars all based on the 24 hours of Le Mans endurance race. Though its visuals are marred with some minor texture rendering problems on some systems, overall, its fast speed and sharp controls make Test Drive: Le Mans

1440-497: The standard PS1 controller, Sony's libraries seemed to support the neGcon as a standard controller even at launch. Because of this, a neGcon could be used in most games that didn't require the use of R2, L2 or select buttons, including the system's built-in memory card manager and CD player. Additionally, the neGcon library was also used to provide finer controls for third-party steering wheels, with long throw I and II buttons used for pedals in such controllers. However, said long throw of

1480-515: The top of the controller. The D-pad opts for a cross-shaped design similar to the one found on consoles such as the Nintendo Entertainment System , as opposed to the directional button layout found on the original PlayStation controller . The halves of the NeGcon are connected by a large swivel-joint, which allows the user to twist both halves relative of each other to allow for precise movements in games. This swivel-joint

1520-478: Was mainly designed by Kazumi Mizuno, the graphical planning manager in Namco's consumer game division. It was suggested by Isokawa and others that the controller could be twisted to recreate the feeling of a steering wheel, rather than having it be held at a specific angle. Multiple prototypes were proposed, including one with a longer controller prong at one hand and another with all four buttons being analogue. Many of

1560-439: Was not possible due to the latter's widespread success. He also believed that golf players who tried out the game would dislike it for its controls and concept overall. Although the game itself was cancelled, the team used it to test the NeGcon prototype units as a way to help correct potential issues and finalize the design. NeGcon has been built in three variants. According to Electronic Gaming Monthly , upon release in Japan

1600-532: Was ported and published by Sega in Japan on 15 March 2001, while the PlayStation 2 version was ported and published by the same company on 13 June. Based on the famous 24 hours of Le Mans race in France , the player is invited to race the entire 24-hour endurance course or take part in a simpler arcade mode. The game also featured tracks such as Bugatti Circuit , Brno Circuit , Road Atlanta , Suzuka Circuit , Donington Park and Circuit de Catalunya , as well as

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