 When announcing the game , C. Noah Davis , chief technology officer of THQ and general manager of GameFX , said " What made the original a classic is that it was easy to learn , yet difficult to master . " He elaborated : " We are focused on capturing that magic using many elements of the original , while showcasing the universe using our proprietary GameFX Technology . " IGN reported on September 3 , 1999 that the game had gone gold ( its development had concluded ) , and it was released worldwide on September 15 , 1999 . A patch was released on November 22 , 1999 . 
