Word: dreamcasts
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...Dreamcast is Sega's bid to work its way back into the console market. Its previous offering, the ill-fated Saturn, was too pricey and offered too few games. Learning from its mistakes, Sega is launching Dreamcast in September for $199, with a built-in 56K modem for online game play and at least 20 titles to start wrestling with...
PlayStation purists have already turned up their noses at Dreamcast. They claim that PlayStation II--Sony's next-generation console, expected in the fall of 2000--will blow it out of the water. So why bet a couple of hundred bucks on a minor-league player like Sega? Dreamcast, however, has a 12-month head start on PlayStation II. Past experience in the console market suggests that quality ultimately matters less than the ability to build up a loyal base of customers. So I resolved to give Dreamcast a chance...
Good thing I did. Dreamcast can be, well, a dream: in graphics, sound and especially speed, it's a quantum leap ahead of the 64-bit consoles. If anything, it may be a little too brisk. Take Sonic Adventure, a revamped version of that Sega classic Sonic the Hedgehog, which the company is marketing as the quintessential Dreamcast game. The visuals are 3-Delicious--Sonic's footprints appear in the sand as he zooms by, while the sun glints in the lens just as it should. But dismal attempts at midair loop-the-loops left me cursing at controls that...
Bottom line: Dreamcast is a serious contender in the new console wars. It does have design flaws. The controller isn't as comfortable as Sony's or Nintendo's, for one. The connecting wire comes out player-side rather than console-side, which can be irksome if you do happen to have a couch and want to sit on it while playing. But Sega's machine passes the all-important test: it's a blast to play with your buddies. Just ask my girlfriend, who spent hours testing the Dreamcast version of Mortal Kombat with me--and dished...
...latest on Dreamcast's launch at sega.com Questions for Chris? E-mail him at cdt@well.com