Sega announces US Dreamcast plans

[04.15.99] » Sega chief Bernie Stolar reveals their next-gen system will be available on September 9th, 1999, at a surprisingly low launch price of $199.

   Fighting to re-enter the North American video game market, Sega of America begun a two-day sales conference today in San Francisco with a complete announcement regarding their US Dreamcast plans. Over a hundred retailers, such as Toys 'R' Us, Target, Electronics Boutique, Sears, Kay Bee, Best Buy and Babbage's / Software Etc., were present at the conference for the speech carefully enunciated by Sega of America's infamous president and CEO, Bernie Stolar. Stolar immediately confirmed past rumors by annoucing the Dreamcast would be available on September 9th this year (9/9/99), and pushed the system's surprisingly low initial price-point of $199 US.

   "The fact that Sega Dreamcast will launch for less than $200 is a monumental industry 'first,'" Stolar said. "There's never been a next generation console to debut at such a competitive price. At $199 with our system's hardware and game library we feel confident that we will take back market share from Sony and Nintendo."

   Stolar went on to stress that the system will have anywhere from 10 to 12 titles available at the launch date. The current first-party list consists of Sonic Adventure, Virtua Fighter 3: Team Battle, Super Speed Racing, Sega Rally 2, House of the Dead 2, Geist Force, NFL Football (tentative title), and NBA Basketball (tentative title). Stolar also stated that Capcom's PowerStone, Namco's Soul Caliber, Konami's Castlevania, and Midway's Ready 2 Rumble should be available by launch. The company believes that nearly 30 games will be published before the end of the year, with 70+ more joining the fray by the end of the year 2000 for a library of over a hundred games. The Dreamcast's slow sales in Japan soon after the system launched were attributed to a low number of releases after launch -- something Sega will hopefully avoid in the US.

   No mention was made regarding a possible inclusion of DVD technology, but Stolar announced the Dreamcast would be the first system to include Internet capability out of the box, with a built-in 56K modem. Sega's service will allow consumers to browse the web, download and compose email messages, chat, and most importantly, play games with gamers across the world. "The Internet strategy is very important to Sega," Stolar emphasized, "and we are dedicated to doing something never before possible on a console or the arcade -- to connect thousands of players together at one time under the same platform and create a sense of 'community' online for gamers." Stolar did not elaborate on the plans, instead noting that further details will likely be released at E3, a scant month away.

   Most likely strengthened by Sony's upcoming PlayStation 2 console, Sega also announced a massive $100 million dollar marketing blitz for the US Dreamcast. The five-phase campaign will begin one month from now in May, peaking as the launch date approaches, and continuing throughout the critical holiday season. Initial magazine advertisements have already begun in North America, it seems, where the "cinnabun" Dreamcast spiral logo, designed to look like an eye pupil, can be found in the latest issues of most major videogame publications. 30,000 pre-orders for the Dreamcast have already been made, Sega reported, while up to 200,000 are expected for the launch in September. "We have already proven there is high consumer demand for this technology in Japan, where we have sold nearly one million Sega Dreamcast systems in just four months," said Shoichiro Irimajiri, president, Sega Enterprises, Ltd. "Sega is dedicating $100 million in marketing alone to make sure Sega Dreamcast is just as big a success in North America." Much of the buzz in North American has been accentuated by retailers such as Babbage's, where window-shopping consumers can often try out imported Dreamcast systems -- reportedly much to the chagrin of Sony marketing representatives.

   After the speech, Bernie Stolar solicitied several questions from the audience. One attendee inquired about Sega's plans for in-store marketing, to which Stolar replied that two firms have been hired to handle retail marketing. A fully interactive kiosk with banners and video is being planned for most retail outlets. Stolar then replied to a question asking if any of Sega's launch games will be modified for a US release; several games, such as Sonic Adventure, have contained more than a few minor bugs. According to Stolar, Sonic Adventure will indeed be "perfected" in time for a US launch, just as Virtua Fighter 3 will undergo numerous changes.

   Sega's carefully orchestrated announcement should do much to counter recent nay-sayers within the industry, many of which have predicted Sega's downfall in the upcoming next-gen system war if significant marketing clout -- and an actual system -- isn't released on the waiting public soon. Sega needs a significant head-start to counter Sony's immensely powerful PlayStation 2. As it stands, Sony next system is slated for an early 2000 release in Japan, meaning Sega may have almost a full year to convince the North American market that the Dreamcast is the way to go before the PSX2 makes its way here. It should be interesting to see whether or not Sony attempts to gain ground with the PSX2 at E3 in Los Angeles, instead of convincing the public their PlayStation still has a full year of life within.