How hard will it be to get a Dreamcast? Well according to the Sega X web site Dreamcasts will be very hard to get for a while after release in Japan. This is because the system will only be sold in 1,400 shops throughout Japan and demand for the machine is growing every day.
According to the Sega Germany web site the modem will not be built into the Dreamcast in Europe and will be available as an external peripheral. It also stated on their site that the modem will run at 33.6 kbps. However, the Sega Europe doesn't have a modem listed in the specs which could mean that they haven't really decided about the final specs yet.
SNK are rumoured to be translating one of their fighting titles on Dreamcast. If you go by latest rumours and strong coverage in Japanese press the game is most likely Samurai Spirits 2. The game will also be able to run on SNK's Dreamcast compatible hand held system, Neo Geo Pocket, which should be released within a year of the Dreamcast launch.
Brandon Smith, the Communications Manager at Cavedog (the makers of Total Annialation) has told me that they have no plans at the moment to write any games for Dreamcast.
More new games have been confirmed. These include NFL Quarterback Club (Acclaim - hasn't started development yet), F-1 (Video Systems), Urban Assault (Microsoft).
Although not officially confirmed, it is believed that Dark Saviour 2 is currently being developed by Climax, who did the original Dark Saviour title on the Saturn.
A little bit of older news, and only rumours at the moment, but apparently Lucas Arts' Dark Forces 3 will use GT Interactive's Unreal graphics engine. This would result in a very easy conversion to Dreamcast if they choose to do so.
Shoichiro Irimajiri, president of Sega Enterprises Ltd. has recently stated that the Sega name will not be placed on the Dreamcast system. Although recent photographs have shown the blue SEGA logo it will probably still be taken off the final production unit.
Irimajiri said, "We have been working on the brand issue for 18 months. We conducted market research and found that the Sega name is very strong with the hardcore game users, but for the light gamer it's not a well known brand name and in some cases creates negative feelings. So this time we decided that the brand name of the platform will be the major brand name for the consumer business. So Dreamcast is the name of the platform and we will focus on that. When it comes to software titles, the Sega name is a much more inportant brand."
Sega have conducted a short interview after the recent Sonic unveling in regards to the title. It answer questions in regards to the game, it's release and the overall power of the Dreamcast. Click here to get a transcript.
It's official, Sega Rally 2 is headed for the Dreamcast system. At the recent PC Expo in New York, in which Sega was showing off all of their PC titles, Scott Hawkins of Sega of America was asked about the PC conversion of Sega Rally 2. This is what he had to say :
"As the first game transferred from the arcade to the PC and then to our new Dreamcast, it's a big step in the right direction for us."
Some of the Sega Saturn's better games were the Panzer Dragoon series. After 2 initial shooting type game Sega released the excellent RPG version of the series. The Dreamcast version is being developed by Team Andromeda, who did the original titles and is going to be a shooting style game unlike the recent RPG.
August 22. The day has come my friends. Sega's Sonic Adventure launch was massive, so big in fact that they had to schedule a third showing in the evening to cater for the crowds. For all the latest news and lots more pictures get over and read the Sonic Adventure preview.
Staying with Sonic Adventure, Sega also released some shots of Sonic on the VMS unit. How this is implemented in the game is unknown but have a look at the picture anyway.
Another piece of Sonic Adventure news is that the little blue guy will have 5 other friends which you can select to play the game. These are Sonic, Knuckles, Tails, Amy, and two new ones, E-102 (a robot) and BIG (a something?). To see all the characters go to the following link.
Sonic Adventure will also include speech for the first time. Of course Sonic was speaking in Japanese for the launch, but it still seemed very cool.
Sega has released new pictures of the Dreamcast on the 21st August. What is shown on the new pics is that the Sega logo now appears on the front of the system and the control pads have undergone some minor alterations. Sorry I don't have the picture at the moment but rest assured that it will appear soon.
Ahh yes. The confirmed games seem to be increasing weekly now. Mortal Kombat 4 (Midway), Rampage World Tour(Midway), MK Mythologies 2(Midway), NFL Blitz 99 (Midway), Spawn (Capcom - Early 1999), Incoming (Rage), and World League Soccer 2000 (Silicon Dreams).
What will the new sonic be called? Dreamcast Sonic? Sonic 3D? Sega Sonic? Super Sonic? Well
hold onto your hats as Sega have announced Sonic Adventure as the title. Sega have unveiled the official logo for the game.
If we can go by recent whispers on other internet sites Godzilla Generations (the new official name for Godzilla) will not appear outside Japan. Apparently, the game doesn't meet the high standards required for release by Sega Of America.
Well the PDA's can now be bought in America, as imports from Japan. But due to difficulties getting them in Japan you can expect to pay about $US 50 for each one. Will it appear in the US before the Dreamcast comes out? No.
Unreal. No I'm not describing the Dreamcast (although I could with that word). I'm talking about the absolutely brilliant 3D shooter from GT Interactive. Why do I mention it? Well it is now confirmed as a launch title on Dreamcast in America. Woo Hoo!
To add to the Unreal excitement comes the news that it may, not definately as of yet, be possible to compete agains PC people playing Unreal. How cool will that be.
With massive 3D potential it is surprising and somewhat dissapointing that NEC is creating a very 2D RPG/Strategy game for Dreamcast, called Mercurius Pretty. Although the NEC game is 2D it still looks promising with very good graphics however it is unlikey to make it outside Japan due to poor sales for this type of game. It is currently 30% complete and no release date has been announced.
The Dreamcast modem is still very speculative. While a 33.6k modem is confirmed for Japan it is not known what speed the US and UK version will be. One thing that Sega have announced is that the modem will be upgradeable via a plug in. So if it has a 33.6k modem in the US it may be possible to upgrade it to a ISDN or cable modem very easily at home.
To follow up on the above modem confusion the Internet is currently ripe with speculation that the modem will have to be purchased seperately in the US as one may not be packed in with the system.