Well, what do you know? Looks like it's time  for some more "excluding-90%-of-the-viewers-  by-going-on-about-stuff-on-the-Internet"   antics.

It's not really, though. Phew.

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This month's column, though, IS inspired by some things people said to me during weekly chats on the IRC chat channel #digi-98 (which is now, just so you know, holding its regular get-togethers every Sunday night starting at 10pm, on the DALnet server).

Because, astoundingly shocking though it might seem to reasonable people like you or I, a few misguided souls voiced the opinion that last month's column (about how Capcom and the Neo Geo had killed the arcade game) was a load of old cobblers. No, really.

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Not only did a load of deranged Capcom fans suggest that Street Fighter 2 was so great that it didn't matter that Capcom had done nothing but re-release it slightly tweaked for about 8 years, but some people also suggested that the current dire lack of originality in games was an inevitable situation.

"It's the market", they said. "You can't be a success making original games, nobody buys them. You HAVE to just keep churning out driving and fighting games, because those are the only games that sell."

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That argument, however, is quite clearly a load of stinky old haddock. And to back up this bold assertion, I'd like to present the case of Konami.

Using the fantastic arcade emulator MAME and a few bits and bobs of my own, I decided to take a look at the well-known Japanese developer's back catalogue. And an enlightening look it proved, too. Konami have an almost unbroken record of original game design stretching back close to 20 years. And yet, they're hugely successful and popular too. How can this possibly be?

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You only have to look at Konami's history to see how innovative they've been. Their list of past hits includes classic names like these: Green Beret, Circus Charlie, Contra, Nemesis, Road Fighter, Gyruss, Track'n'Field, Mikie, Shao-Lin's Road, Yie Ar Kung Fu, Time Pilot, Jailbreak, Ping Pong, Jackal, Juno First, Roc'n'Rope, The Main Event, Iron Horse, Jungler and Popeye.

(If you're too young to recall any of these, do make the effort to get hold of MAME and see for yourself. You'll thank me for it.)

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And of course, it's not just retro - come right up to the present day and you'll see titles like ISS 64 (the best football game of all time) and Metal Gear Solid, which looks like it might be the Playstation game of the year.

Now, the thing about all these titles, and the dozens I haven't got space to list, is this - no two of them are the same. No tedious clones with slightly changed graphics here, chums. These are ORIGINAL games, several of which invented entire new genres. And yet, they made Konami pots of money too.

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So you see, it IS possible to take risks and have innovative ideas in this business and still be successful, and anyone who tells you different is a big fat liar.

Konami aren't paying me to say this. I don't want a job with them. But it's way past time that a bit of credit was given where credit's due.