White label promo's

[Comrade Snarky]

Fighting Vipers 2 is definitely a beta. It's printed on the disc and IIRC carries a different version number than the final game. Most are identical, yes, but at least FV2 was a beta.

have you played (and finished) it?

I remember it saying beta on ready to rumble as well, but I didn't see any changes.

it even says master disk on the PSOv2 one, but there's really nothing different about it

I didn't, whoever ended up reviewing it for the blog compared it to the retail build and noticed nothing different. It's marked as an earlier build in the IP.BIN though, so I imagine there's some under the hood differences at least. The white label Fighting Vipers 2 build is 1.000 while the released one is 1.001, so it was likely very minuscule changes. I could do a comparison of the files of both versions and see which ones have changes (if there truly are any), if you're curious.

I'll admit to not knowing how in depth the reviewer went, just because it's kind of hard to evaluate betas of fighting games unless you're pretty competent with them. The 3rd Strike beta that FLT released doesn't have noticeable differences to the uninitiated, but there are unblockable combos present there that were removed from the final Dreamcast version that threw the balance since they were in the arcade version. Just because it's a beta doesn't really mean there's going to be something there waving its arms saying it's different.

Also, thanks for reminding me about the Ready 2 Rumble Round 2 disc. That's definitely different from the retail one. I'm unsure about content because I don't have the disc, but the file structure is very different from the released one. All of the files are packed into a huge archive of some sort. atreyu187 was trying to figure out the file type because the actual game data is small enough to fit a 700mb disc, but with that damn file he can't fit it to anything other than a 99 MIN disc. I seem to recall he also found references to the PS2 version of the game while looking at the files from the white label in a hex editor.

I'm not sure if he ever submitted that disc to TOSEC, or else I'd recommend grabbing it and checking for yourself. He definitely did submit the Fighting Vipers 2 white label beta, though.

[CD AGES]

That's strange. Why would they send a beta out to reviewers? Seems like asking for a poor rating. Maybe it was a fairly clean beta, but a beta nonetheless.

More than likely, games that were (are) sent out in beta form to gaming press was not so much for the purpose of reviewing, but for previewing purposes. Do you not recall ever reading gaming magazine articles where a detailed preview of the game is written months ahead of the games release to generate consumer interest!? Publications are often granted the exclusive scoop of an upcoming game... how do you think that is done?

As a matter of fact, I clearly recall folks at ODCM state how their preview or final thoughts of the game that is being previewed may change slighty due to given access to a build of a game that is near its 100% complete final form. I recall this clearly for games like Test Drive LeMans.

[Alec1382]

Hm. Never thought of that.

[Alex Supersonic]

It seems there exists even a Propeller Arena White Label. But maybe only 1-5 so they will never come up

[mazonemayu]

I have read about this, and will believe it when I see a pic

[Wombat]

All white labels are pressed discs, this means they are always mass produced. There are no concrete numbers out there, but it seems logical that the BARE MINIMUM for a white label production is at least around 100 discs.

I highly doubt a Propeller Arena white label exists, especially since the RC of the US copy got leaked and after that no one tried to capitalize on the whole Propeller Arena popularity.

[Alex Supersonic]

SEGA Germany had a few of them and gave away 1-2 before they closed (after the Dreamcast dead). And I know one who says he has one for sure and he won't sell it. He says he has the WL in the bank and can't take pictures. Believe it or not

[mazonemayu]

why would it be impossible to take a pic of something that you keep in a bank? it IS yours after all ...

[Comrade Snarky]

Yeah this sounds like one of those "my best friend's uncle's cousin twice removed said it's true!" playground stories.

[Jenkins]

SEGA Germany had a few GD-R's from Propeller Arena, afaik. Baron von Blubba got one of them (GD-R + System Disc 2. Can't find the pic atm...). A lot of GD-R's were pressed in the US at the time (for presentations).

But no proof of existence until today. No photos or a reliable source after 11 years. I highly doubt it too.