Sega sets sale with gamers' dreamboat

Sega has unveiled details of its next generation Dreamcast machine, which it hopes will reclaim the console market from Sony's Playstation.

The console manufacturer has had a particularly rough ride. It lost the console war with Sony and Nintendo when it announced global losses of Y32.8 billion and had to write off Y40 billion from its US arm for the year ended 31 March.

The Dreamcast, formerly codenamed Katana, will outpace its Sony and Nintendo rivals with a 128-bit Risc processor and will also include a WinCE-based OS jointly developed with Microsoft. Sega brought in NEC, Videologic, Yamaha and Hitachi to provide 3D audio and visual processors for the system. It will also incorporate online capabilities and a Visual Memory System (VMS), which doubles as a 4Mb memory card and portable game system, including its own LCD screen.

Kazutoshi Miyake, CEO of Sega Europe, said: 'Our goal is to deliver unprecedented gaming experiences to European consumers. Dreamcast will achieve this goal. All prominent publishers and developers are already supporting Dreamcast, guaranteeing from day one the strongest ever software line-up for a new video game console.'

One industry insider suggested there will be a number of different versions of the console. The Dreamcast will launch on 20 November in Japan and before Christmas 1999 in Europe and the US.