Blockbuster Playstation Challenge 1997

[Cauterize]

Its been a while since ive posted properly, so i thought id best come back with something unusual and interesting.

I found this amongst a bunch of demo discs i bought quite a while back.
However searching the net, i cant find a thing on it...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v366/cauterize4/dp/IMG_4839Custom.jpg

Blockbuster Playstation Challenge (SCED-00877) [9676027] PAL

My immeditate reaction was that i must have found the equivalent to the SNES Blockbuster World Championships cart... but i now highly doubt that really...

Anyways, ive taken a few screengrabs n got some info! I need the lowdown on what this is and the event that took place!!

Upon popping in the disc, im greeted with the anti piracy text, followed by the text which usually comes up on a PAL Demo disc (saying that unfinished scenes maybe present in this disc)
Straight after, an animated logo for this event is displayed onscreen, and upon pressing a button, it fades off the same way the menu does on the early demo discs...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v366/cauterize4/dp/SCED_00877_03112007_153853_0375.png http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v366/cauterize4/dp/SCED_00877_03112007_153858_0375.png http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v366/cauterize4/dp/SCED_00877_03112007_153900_0859.png

Shortly after, Rage Racer begins to load. Its definately the Demo Disc Software running this, as if i press Select at anytime it shoots back to the Blockbuster Animation shown above...
Anyways, here are a few screenshots of Rage Racer running, its pretty much the same from what i can gather, apart from (the obvious graphic glitches in the emulator i took screengrabs with) and the fact that you can only pick 1 track, 1 car, its a 1 lap race and youre given a 10 minute time limit...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v366/cauterize4/dp/SCED_00877_03112007_153915_0468.png http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v366/cauterize4/dp/SCED_00877_03112007_153922_0515-1.png http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v366/cauterize4/dp/SCED_00877_03112007_153926_0812-1.png http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v366/cauterize4/dp/SCED_00877_03112007_154023_0625.png http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v366/cauterize4/dp/SCED_00877_03112007_154141_0093.png

Unfortunately im not the best RR player there is, therefore im greeted with the game over screen at the end of the lap...

However i have my suspicions about this disc...
What if i finished First!? It is a Blockbuster Playstation Challenge after all...
So i decided to do some rooting on the disc in my computer...
I had the software to view PSX Video files (STR) and PSX Image files (TIM) so i was all set!

In the root directory were the usual PSX boot files and two folders...
One called RAGE (obviously RR)
and another called DD (this is where the Demo Disc Software is kept)

The RAGE folder was pretty standard, a bin file of the game, two audio tracks and so on...

I kept rooting, inside the DD folder were left over images from the Demo Disc that was given out with Playstation 1's originally 'Demo 1' (at least in the PAL Region!)
Inside the DD folder was also a folder called 'Movies'
Still inside this folder was the background animation for the menu of 'Demo 1', there was another dummy file, also the animation for the logo shown above with screenshots... also a wierd picture of a man pulling faces...
However there was one more file that caught my attention...

BLOCK1ST.vlc

Now i cant find a way to open this file, nor do i know if its openable... Any ideas what a VLC file is?
(Before anyone says, its not openable in VLC media Player, nor is there a connection)

My guesses from the title of the file is that its a movie to be played if you come first.
However that seems an impossible task...
I tried the game again using the Gameshark codes posted around the net, however they dont seem to work on this version of Rage Racer...
So what exactly happens if you win the race!?!?! Surely the game doesnt always end with Game Over...

So im left with a few questions surrounding this disc...

When/Where was this disc played?
How many copies of this disc are there?
Did the event/competition ever take place?
What happens if i come first in the race?
Is there anyway to know whats in the vlc file/how do i watch it?

If anyone has any ideas about anything then please post!
If you know your PSX stuff and would liek the vlc file then PM me...

Any information would be greatly appreciated :)

Cheers, Adam

[Blitzwing256]

have you tried using a gameshark pro to make your own code that would enable you to finish the race in first?

[roushimsx]

However there was one more file that caught my attention...

BLOCK1ST.vlc

Now i cant find a way to open this file, nor do i know if its openable... Any ideas what a VLC file is?
(Before anyone says, its not openable in VLC media Player, nor is there a connection)

My guesses from the title of the file is that its a movie to be played if you come first.
However that seems an impossible task...


No luck with trying to force it open with PSXMC 2.53 (http://homepage2.nifty.com/%7Emkb/PsxMC/download.html#PsxMCF)?

[rbudrick]

Wow, that's a veyr interesting find. Living in the US, I've never heard of such a UK competition. Any Ukers out there remember this event?

-Rob

[Cauterize]

No luck with trying to force it open with PSXMC 2.53 (http://homepage2.nifty.com/%7Emkb/PsxMC/download.html#PsxMCF)?

Tried alsorts of apps, unfortunately none will open the vlc file... Cheers for the link though :)


have you tried using a gameshark pro to make your own code that would enable you to finish the race in first?

I will look into making my own code, shame the ones for the full version of the game dont work :(


Wow, that's a veyr interesting find. Living in the US, I've never heard of such a UK competition. Any Ukers out there remember this event?

Heh hopefully someone will shed some light on this for me!
I was 11 at the time and very much into gaming, however i dont remember such an event taking place...

[Defconsoft]

That is a really interesting find there Cauterize. I have never seen one of those before which is a big shame as I would love to take a look at it.

As far as the tournament, I know nothing of it either (and I was a lot older that 11 at the time). Like you I have searched and come up with nothing.

I will however throw AtariBuff a line and see if he can go through his OPSM-UK's for 97 and see if he can dig something up on it. (I'll cross link it on our forums as well see if anyone else knows although I think everyone comes here as well).

Hopefully we can dig up some info for you.

[CosmicMonkey]

I have vague memories of a poster with this logo in my local Blockbuster all those years ago

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v366/cauterize4/dp/SCED_00877_03112007_153858_0375.png

I couldn't tell you any more than that though. Rage Racer being one of the games does ring a bell though but I have no idea what the other games are.

[roushimsx]

Tried alsorts of apps, unfortunately none will open the vlc file... Cheers for the link though :)

Ahh bummer :( PSXMC has always been my swiss army knife for ripping stuff from PS1 games. What's the size of the file? Any readable information in the header when you open it with a hex editor (or even wordpad)?

[AtariBuff]

will scan my OPMs from 97 soon.

sent you a PM, Caut.

[Defconsoft]

Well AtariBuff came up trumps for you Cauterize. Here is some information for you.

http://www.defconsoft.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/rageracerbb.jpg

So I am guessing what you have in your hands is the store version of the game that allows players to set their laptime for qualification. With that said it means there must of been several hundred of them made as as you well know there are a lot of blockbuster stores. How many of them that are left is a different thing though, this is definitely the only one I hve ever seen (and yes I would love to have it).

Hope that helps.

AtariBuff has mentioned a follow up scan to come so if you keep an eye out here (http://www.defconsoft.co.uk/sf-forum/?forum=4&topic=96&page=1) you might find out some more info.

[Daria]

I wonder whatever happened with the final competition and the game "designed especially for the winner".

[Cauterize]

Defconsoft and AtariBuff i knew i could count on you ;)
Thank you very much for clearing this one up!
Like i said, I found this disc and was clueless on it :)

Im hoping that you uncover some more info on this from your research! Thank you so much for the info so far :)

If you would like, i can make an Iso of the disc if you would like to give it a whirl in your system?
Let me know!

Cheers, Adam

[cyberfluxor]

That's a really interesting find. So for the most part UK PS gamers/collectors know little to nothing about this competitions existance? It must have been very low-key or failed to take root among Blockbuster customers.

[AcePuppy]

Cauterize: Are you willing to part with it if so for how much? :)

[schnuth]

If you would like, i can make an Iso of the disc if you would like to give it a whirl in your system?
Let me know!


Yes please. :) I'd love to check it out.

Aaron