Sega To Release First Online Multiplayer Game for Sega Dreamcast Network Earlier Than Expected

Business Wire, Feb 9, 2000

announcing what games will be brought to the Dreamcast Network.

Expect the latest titles and best multi-player experience. Also

in the Fall of 2000, expect to see the new online gaming portal

from Sega. All the latest information, communities, tips,

e-commerce, as well as news, previews and reviews of all games

for Sega Dreamcast.

&uot;Sega is a company that has set trends and broken new ground in this industry for more than 40 years. That's why it's a natural that Sega would be the company to take gamers into the next era -- online networked gaming through a console,&uot; said Peter Moore, senior vice president, Sega of America. &uot;Sega is 100% dedicated to expanding and enhancing the gameplay experience for consumers via the Sega Dreamcast Network and in the process, building a community where gamers can share ideas, communicate and of course, play outstanding games.&uot;

About the Sega Dreamcast Network

The Sega Dreamcast Network is the definitive gaming super source. Sega Dreamcast Network users can receive regular updates via e-mail detailing games, hints, cheats and information and the ability to demo games and experience force feedback through the SegaJump Pack. The Network offers access to chat rooms to discuss games, bulletin boards, e-mail, e-commerce capability, online multiplayer games and even &uot;mini&uot; board, puzzle and card games. Through chat and e-mail, consumers will be able to communicate with fellow gamers across the street or around the world, effectively creating the world's largest gaming community. Additionally, the Sega Dreamcast Network allows gamers to download saved games with the Visual Memory Unit (VMU), a 128K card that acts as a personalized memory device for strategic and portable game play

About Sega Dreamcast

Sega Dreamcast is available in the US with a built in 56K modem, allowing for full Internet functionality through the Sega Dreamcast Network, including chat, e-mail, web browsing and online gaming. Content for the Sega Dreamcast Network is provided by Sega, Excite@Home and IGN. The system's preferred Internet service provider is AT& WorldNet Services, the quickest and easiest way to take the system online. Sega Dreamcast currently has more than 40 titles available. Third-party titles currently in the works will bring the total Sega Dreamcast game library count to more than 200 in the year 2000.

Sega Dreamcast's advanced 128-bit architecture makes it the first console with evolutionary capabilities, allowing it to grow and change to match advances in technology and the needs and desires of the consumer. Sega Dreamcast is also the most powerful video game console ever created. It is 15 times more powerful than a Sony PlayStation(TM), ten times more powerful than a Nintendo(R) 64 and has four times the graphics processing power of the fastest Pentium II processor.

In the first 24 hours of availability, Sega Dreamcast netted over $97 million at retail, more than tripling the past entertainment industry record set by Star Wars: The Phantom Menace at $28 million on its first day. In its initial four days, Sega sold a total of 372,000 Sega Dreamcast systems, easily surpassing the previous industry record holder, Nintendo 64, which took six days to hit 350,000 when it launched in 1996. In the first 13 days at retail, Sega Dreamcast sold more than 514,000 units. Since it launched, Sega Dreamcast has sold more than 1.5 million units, beating sales milestones set by other high-profile consumer and electronics products such as Tickle Me Elmo(TM) and Apple's iMac. Sega estimates that the company will sell 2 million units by the end of March 2000.