Dreamcast: The Games Begin
The next big thing in home video game machines, Dreamcast from Sega, hit the market in the wee hours Thursday morning, and eager customers across the U.S. waited in line at electronics stores to buy one.
To give you an idea of just how hot this new game machine is: Before its release, about 300,000 people placed orders for it at $199 a pop. CBS Consumer Correspondent Herb Weisbaum explains why a video game machine is getting so much attention.
Don't worry if you've never heard of Dreamcast. The kids know all about it. At one time, Sega was the hottest name in video games. But, a few years ago, it got blown away by the competition. So Sega went back to the drawing board and came up with its dream machine. And it's a real hot rod.
It's the most powerful home video game machine ever made, and it shows. Sonic the Hedge Hog has never moved faster! Extra computing power means that games like football, basketball, and racing are really high-quality animated movies that are interactive.
"And so you're able to create worlds that feel real, that you're really part of the story instead of just playing a video game," says Neil Robison, director of third party game development for Sega of America.
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| The Dreamcast machine |
"The games are really fantastic," says Lauren Fielder, a reviewer for the Web site Videogames.com. "It's a really solid system in terms of the hardware, and the games we've seen are quite beautiful."
For instance, Fielder has this to say about the new NFL Blitz 2000 for Dreamcast: "You look like you're on the field, you look like you are playing football. You're watching the players' breath reflecting in the cold weather next to you. It's just something we really haven't see before."
Of course, kids are the toughest critics. Just a few weeks ago, we were able to get thousands of kids to play and rate the new Dreamcast for us:
"It's pretty cool."
"The graphics are better, and everything's just better."
The Dreamcast was part of this year's Toy Test. The results of which will be announced during the week of November 15 as part of a 1999 Toy Test series on The Early Show, the new CBS News morning broadcast debuting this fall. While Herb can't tell you the winners yet, he can report that the Dreamcast got rave reviews:
"Really, relly good. Really fast. Really smooth. Good animation."
Besides the good reviews, Sega has one more thing going for it: This is the first new home video game machine to come along in three years. It also has something the other guys don't have: a built-in modem. So, in the near future, you'll be able to play games online.
By the way, Nintendo and Sony have their next-generation game machines in the works, but they won't be out for another year.
Sega hopes to sell a million machines by the end of the year. And remember: Right now, Dreamcast is going for $199. Sony and Sega are down to just $99. But when everyone is waiting to see is how many Dreamcast machines Sega sells Thursday, the first day of sales.
With all the advance orders, Sega says it could ring up $45 million in Dreamcast sales Thursday. That would make Dreamcast one of the biggest new product launches in entertainment history.
Should a consumer shell out $199 for Dreamcast, or wait till next year? Herb says there will always be something new, so if you're waiting for the latest and greatest, you'll never buy anything. If you're not sure, go rent a system and some games and see how you like it.
One more tip: Some stores will let you trade in your old system and put the credit toward a new machine.