Sega Dreamcast
By Sacramento Thing
The Plan
Sega has revealed the specs on its latest console
system to be called Dreamcast, and it looks to be quite a powerhouse. Working
with Microsoft, Hitachi, NEC, and Yamaha, Sega is looking to steal market
shares from Sony and Nintendo by releasing a far more powerful system.
Sega President and CEO Bernie Stolar explains, "The Sega you see today
is driven by two important goals: delivering the best new gaming experiences
this industry has ever seen, and winning back the No. 1 position in the
console category. We’ll do whatever it takes to get there." We'll see.
The System
Graphics: NEC PowerVR 3rd generation accelerator.
CPU: Hitachi SH4 128bit CPU running at 200 MHz.
Memory: 16 megabytes of SDRAM
Sound: Yamaha Super Intelligent Sound System.
Storage: Yamaha 12x CD optimized for low access
times.
Modem: 33.6
Other: Four controller ports, VMS advanced memory
systems, version of Windows CE operating system.
The Lowdown
So, it looks like this time Sega may have what
it takes to once again take control of the U.S. home gaming market, if
they can wash away the bad taste left in many users mouths by their failed
systems and upgrades of the past. Of course, Sega is taking an active role
in doing just that. The main problems with the Saturn were the lack of
3-D power, and game development issues. For the Sega Dreamcast, Sega eschewed
3DFX, and chose PowerVR technology developed jointly by NEC and Videologic
for 3-D acceleration. Over three-million polygons per second and high end
visual effects like human movement, anti-aliasing, fog, water effects,
light and shading should really wow gamers. This will be backed up by a
RISC 128bit 200mHz processor made by Hitachi. It can reportedly perform
floating point operations four times faster than the Pentium II chip. The
Yamaha 12X CD-ROM drive assures fast load times and smooth full motion
video. Writing great games for this new system should be eased greatly
by the inclusion of a customized version of Microsoft Windows CE operating
system with DirectX services optimized for console-style gaming. This version
of DirectX will be specifically tuned for the Sega Dreamcast architecture
so every developer will be ensured full access to the special hardware
capabilities of this system.
The Extras
The Dreamcast is scheduled to include a 33.6Kbps
modem for fast network capabilities. With the way multi-player gaming has
taken off on the Internet over recent months, this addition isn't much
of a surprise. Presumably, some sort of browser will eventually be provided.
And with Sega's choice of the Microsoft Windows CE operating system, my
money would be on some version of MS Internet Explorer. Audio chores in
the system will be handled by a dedicated, real-time 3D audio chip from
Yamaha offering 64 channels of high quality music, voices, and game play
sound effects.
The Controller
I'm sure some people are going to love this controller,
and just as many will hate it. It will house a standard D-pad, and an analog
control stick, not unlike the Saturn analog controller. The system has
four controller ports, a la Nintendo 64. It's about time this became a
standard feature on home gaming consoles. The Atari 400/800 computers provided
this feature over 20 years ago! Game saves will be on memory cards
that insert into the controller. Sega calls it "Visual Memory Systems".
These cards will have their own LCD screen that will be visible while in
the controller allowing games to provide player-specific data to the appropriate
controller without any other players seeing it. Setting up your plays in
football and other sports games is one obvious use, and I'm sure some other
creative uses will be developed by the time the system launches. As for
when the card is out of the controller, Sega has thoughtfully provided
us with a simple Gameboy style control setup right on the card! Portable
gaming, memory management, and pocket monsters will be some uses of this
attachment.