Sony are having another crack at the piracy problem with the release of a new PlayStation model. SCPH-9000 will be identical to previous versions, except for one major difference - the absence of a parallel port. This should make it rather difficult to use one of the new external 'mod' chips. Unfortunately this will also prevent the use of cheat cartridges such as Action Replay. Oh well, we're all too good at games to need that kind of thing anyway.

So then, E3 is over and it was simply a case of picking through the debris for the Future Gamer Chat Forum regulars. The 'Project Dolphin' announcement from Howard Lincoln caused quite a stir, and of course, readers have been travelling down the 'PS2 Vs Dolphin' road - Dreamcast is dead and buried already apparently, although we're sure Shenmue will have something to say about that. Everyone in the Forum agreed that it is still far too early to accurately compare these two super-machines, as at the moment they are nothing more than (all be it extremely impressive) spec sheets on a corporate 'to do' list. With the US show over, interest is high on the Forum about our own ECTS show in London which takes place in September. "How can we wangle a free pass into this European Gaming Extravaganza (tm)?" seemed to be the order of the week, although faking a massive coronary in the front entrance of the building was taking things a bit too far 'Kev'. Finally this week, the now infamous Fartrick Alien Gammon was making even more friends in the Forum, after his website's address got posted. To say it has caused some offence among readers is akin to saying Robbie Coltrane is 'a bit chubby'. If you want to see what all the fuss is about, drop in and find out just how worrying the youth of today can be...

The winners of the Requiem competition (FG26) are as follows:
wesley@yelsew.com;
almosawi@yahoo.com;
gluon@cyberdude.com;
Philip@pseudonym.freeserve.co.uk;
matthew@mcare.freeserve.co.uk;
simon@fullers21.freeserve.co.uk;
robert@gaskell5.freeserve.co.uk;
Charlie.Le_Rougetel@snellwilcox.com;
emmanuel@esoterica.pt;
deant@codemasters.com
Each of these lucky blighters will receive a copy of Requiem: Avenging Angels for the PC. The answer to the question: 'Which book of the New Testament contains visionary descriptions of heaven and the end of the world?' was 'The Book of Revelation'. Best incorrect answer was 'The Bible' (chuckle).

Drop by the Future Gamer website for all the latest demos and patches, as well as hints & tips for all your favourite games. Enjoy the latest demo movie of Driver and then patch up your copy of Shogo: Mobile Armour Division on the way home. Recent additions to the hints & tips database include ESPN Extreme Games on PlayStation, Aliens Vs. Predator on the PC, Super Smash Brothers for the N64 and The House of the Dead 2 on the Dreamcast.