Sega Dreamcast Wows the crowds at E3

Sega Dreamcast makes a splash at E3
On May 12, 1999 Sega of America formally announced what it calls, the "ultimate gaming machine", Dreamcast at a price point of $199 and will come with a 56K Modem as well as all games will, reportedly be either $39 or $49.

The Dreamcast Network
The Dreamcast will be the first 128 bit and Internet ready gaming console, which will allow gamers to play and communicate online via the Sega Network. SegaSoft the creators behind HEAT.net will be utilizing their expertise in providing the infrastructure and technology behind the Sega Network.
The Sega Dreamcast Network will allow users to access email, chat rooms, bulletin boards, as well as e-commerce capability, and more importantly the Online Multiplayer Games, mini board/puzzle and card games as well.
Gamers can log on to the network at 56K speeds (Cable Modem according to news sources being developed) and sign up for a game to play against others or set up a time to meet other players for a competition, at the high scores and rankings are being updated in real time for everyone on the network to see.
During the Pre-E3 Conference, Sega also showed Two Internet specific titles, Baldur's Gate and Frontier. Baldur's Gate is just the PC version being ported on to the Dreamcast in an online environment where as Frontier is Turbine Entertainment's expansive online game project which will be revealed more indepthly in the near future.

The Games
What would a system be without games? Sega certainly had it covered at E3. Sega Announced 15 Launch Titles for the Dreamcast 9/9/99 Launch.

Sega Titles:
Sonic Adventure, Virtua Fighter 3 tb, NFL 2000, NBA 2000, House of the Dead 2, Cart Racing

Third Party Titles:
Air Force Delta, Armada, Hydro Thunder, Monaco Grand Prix, Mortal Kombat Gold, Power Stone, Ready 2 Rumble, Soul Calibur.

Other Games at the Show that attracted a lot of attention included:
Castlevania Resurrection, Shen Mue, ECCO

What about RPG's?
Sega recently confirmed Climax Landers for a '99 release and while Evolution has been reported to be released in the US, nothing has been made definite. Shen Mue's incredible demos where shown but none of the fighting sequences were shown on the floor. Sega did say that they would translate all chapters of the Shen Mue series for the US.
Sega Otaku had a chance to speak to several Sega representatives on the RPG question. Each of the reps assured that the RPG genre wont be dismissed, and the reason other than Shen Mue no other rpg was shown is they didn't want to show a rushed RPG product. The question about a Phantasy Star, Shining Force or Panzer Dragoon Saga sequels was also asked. The answer was that they are looking into all possibilities. While these aren't definite answers, the commitment to Shen Mue, Landers and Evolution for a possible '99 release does show the rpg genre wont be ignored. Now if only games like Elemental Gimmick Gear get translated...

Sega Flexes its Marketing Muscle
According to Sega, The Dreamcast launch will be the biggest videogame console launch in history, with a $100 Million marketing campaign that will cover TV and Print ads to Pepsi promotions and full sponsorship of the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards which happens to coincide with the Dreamcast Launch of 9/9/99.

Will the Dreamcast Sell?
Sega believes that by launch date the Dreamcast will have 200,000 Preorders. While many argued Sega was clearly the star of the show, there are still skeptics that are unsure of Sega's future, given Sega's past failures and the consistency of hardware upgrades or lack of previous hardware support. According to CNBC many retailers came into the show very skeptical and left the show very optimistic of the Dreamcast. How this will impact the overall sales or the longevity of the Dreamcast remains to be seen.

Sources: [CNN] [Gaming-Age] [Sega-Otaku] [SegaX] [CNBC]