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Sega, AT&T to Launch Gaming Web Portal
"AT&T WorldNet will serve as the preferred ISP (Internet service provider) for Sega Dreamcast, allowing access to the Internet with ease and plug-and-play," said Sega President Bernard Stolar. Consumers who already have online access through their PCs will be able to access the Dreamcast Network through their current ISP, the company said. AT&T will provide access to a "Dreamcast network" featuring chat, e-mail, Web browsing and, by next year, online gaming, according to Stolar. "The Sega Dreamcast network will be world's largest dedicated gaming community," Stolar said during a telephone briefing with industry analysts yesterday. "It will allow people to interact and communicate with Dreamcast games, making it the definitive gaming portal." Following its partnership with AT&T, Sega plans to partner with British Telecom in Europe and "further expand the same sort of network partnership also in Japan" for Dreamcast, Isao Okawa, chairman and chief executive officer of Sega Enterprises Ltd., said in a statement today. Sega plans to expand its existing Internet infrastructure with broadband service and cable delivery in the future, Okawa added. A game industry analyst downplayed the importance of Dreamcast's Internet access capability, pointing out that it won't be available until next year. "I don't see very many people going out and buying the Dreamcast to access the Internet," said Jeremy Schwartz, a senior analyst at Forrester Research Inc. in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Dreamcast is "a more advanced games console, a next-generation device that is well ahead of other consoles in terms of games functionality. It's the first console that allows you to connect to the Internet," he acknowledged. "But compare it to brethren that are a year away, like the Sony PlayStation II" which has numerous peripheral hookup capabilities, Schwartz said. The PlayStation II "will allow you to hook directly to a broadband pipe should one be available in your home at that time." In its statement, Sega cited figures from the Interactive Digital Software Association that showed that online gaming is expected to increased to 26.8 million users by 2002, and that more than 55 percent of console game players surveyed said the ability to play games with multiple players is very important. Sega on Monday announced that early orders for the Dreamcast console have "far surpassed" video-game retail records in North America, reporting more than 200,000 orders six weeks before its September 9 release date. "With less than six weeks to go, we expect the total to reach 250,000 to 300,000 units" before the release, Stolar said. More than 15,000 stores across the United States are expected to sell the Dreamcast console at the time of its launch, and Sega expects to sell more than 400,000 units in the first month, and 1 million by the end of the year. Sega calls Dreamcast, priced at US$199, a "superconsole." It comes with a 56K-bps modem; 128-bit architecture that, according to Sega, allows it to evolve technically; and a Visual Memory Unit (VMU) that allows gamers to download saved games, offering hand-held gaming for users who want to swap games in the home, in the arcade or in head-to-head play. Dreamcast customers selecting AT&T Worldnet as their ISP can choose to pay on an hourly price plan of $9.95 a month for 10 hours of access; a standard price plan of $19.95 a month for 150 hours of access; or an unlimited price plan of $21.95 a month for unlimited access. Each additional hour beyond what is covered in a consumer's specific plan will cost 99 cents. Customers choosing the standard or unlimited plans will receive a free Sega Dreamcast keyboard to use instead of the standard "soft" on-screen keyboard, the company announced. The company expects 16 game titles to be released by the time of the launch, with a total of 30 available before the end of 1999. Sega, in San Francisco, can be reached at 650-508-2800 or at http://www.sega.com. AT&T WorldNet can be found on the Web at http://www.att.net.
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