It's the morning of March 16th, 1999. You've got EverQuest installed, patched up, and you're waiting for the servers to come online - publicly - for the very first time. Of course, EverQuest isn't the only milestone game this year - other franchise premiers include Super Smash Bros two months back in January, Counter-Strike this summer in June, and Unreal Tournament later this year in November. What else is going on media world? Not a bad year for movies. Last month Office Space came out and was a riot. The Matrix is only two weeks away, and you'll probably go see The Mummy in May. Deep Space Nine is in it's final season, and Voyager is still stuck in the Delta Quadrant for two more years, though Stargate SG-1 has really only just gotten started. You'll never move a couch the same way again after the most recent Friends episode, The X-Files is still going strong, and Futurama debuts three days before The Matrix. And then you've got what prompted me to put this post together, music. I threw together a YouTube playlist of the week's Top 40. A little heavy on the hip hop for me, but I don't mind some of the country sprinkled in. Definitely some gems which go on to stand the test of time. Here's the full list: 1 BELIEVE - Cher 2 HEARTBREAK HOTEL - Whitney Houston Featuring Faith Evans & Kelly Price 3 ANGEL OF MINE - Monica 4 I STILL BELIEVE - Mariah Carey 5 ANGEL - Sarah McLachlan 6 ALL I HAVE TO GIVE - Backstreet Boys 7 KISS ME - Sixpence None The Richer 8 NO SCRUBS - TLC 9 EVERY MORNING - Sugar Ray 10 NOBODY’S SUPPOSED TO BE HERE - Deborah Cox 11 … BABY ONE MORE TIME - Britney Spears 12 SLIDE - Goo Goo Dolls 13 YOU - Jesse Powell 14 (GOD MUST HAVE SPENT) A LITTLE MORE TIME ON YOU - ‘N Sync 15 HAVE YOU EVER? - Brandy 16 I’M NOT READY - Keith Sweat 17 STAY THE SAME - Joey McIntyre 18 IT AIN’T MY FAULT 1 & 2 - Silkk The Shocker Featuring Mystikal 19 ALL NIGHT LONG - Faith Evans Featuring Puff Daddy 20 HARD KNOCK LIFE (GHETTO ANTHEM) - Jay-Z 21 SAVE TONIGHT - Eagle-Eye Cherry 22 IF YOU (LOVIN’ ME) - Silk 23 FADED PICTURES - Case Featuring Joe 24 SWEET LADY - Tyrese 25 MIAMI - Will Smith 26 EX-FACTOR - Lauryn Hill 27 HOW FOREVER FEELS - Kenny Chesney 28 THE ANIMAL SONG - Savage Garden 29 WRITTEN IN THE STARS - Elton John & LeAnn Rimes 30 JUMPER - Third Eye Blind 31 FLY AWAY - Lenny Kravitz 32 WHEN A WOMAN’S FED UP - R. Kelly 33 BACK 2 GOOD - Matchbox 34 WHAT IT’S LIKE - Everlast 35 TAKING EVERYTHING - Gerald Levert 36 I DON’T WANT TO MISS A THING - Mark Chesnutt 37 MY NAME IS - Eminem 38 MEANWHILE - George Strait 39 YOU WERE MINE - Dixie Chicks 40 LULLABY - Shawn Mullins And don't forget to look up some of the runners up: I’M YOUR ANGEL - R. Kelly & Celine Dion CAN I GET A… - Jay-Z Featuring Amil (Of Major Coins) & Ja HANDS - Jewel YOU GOT ME - The Roots Featuring Erykah Badu C’EST LA VIE - B*Witched WE LIKE TO PARTY - Vengaboys BUSY MAN - Billy Ray Cyrus I like nostalgia, and I'm looking forward to playing through all the old EQ eras, but besides EQ what else takes you back?
I still use win-amp for my music ... I did not get to play EQ until April, as was common back then games launched in Canada 2-3 weeks after the states due to "logistical" reasons.
Great post, really brings me back. Never saw the trailer tho. It's interesting how they set it up, not like an mmo, but like a DnD adventure.
Didn't even have my own comp in 99 lol, that didn't happen for me until 2000, or 2001. Back when EQ came out I was a young pup playing a couple computer games offline like Diablo 1, and couldn't even run a copy of Shogun Total War that I had bought. Mostly a console gamer til Evercrack got me at the end of 01.
One of my complaints about Vernt/SOE (& DBG) is that they do not advertise EQ. But once, in around 2000, I was at a movie and saw a movie commercial in the previews for Everquest. It had Kunark mobs in it but it wasn't specifically about Kunark - just EQ. That is the only time I've ever seen anyone try to actively promote the game.