Hello all!

Ok, for the Saturn it has again been a quiet week. Capcom's big release last week, Pocket Fighter is as expected quite good. The game once again shows off incredible animation, taking advantage of the 4Meg memory cart. The game is playable without the cart as well, but you'll be really missing out on things without it. Galaxy Force II is no surprise, the same as the arcade original from so long ago. Essentially an Afterburner title in space. Its good to bring back some memories, but overall there are better shooters out there.

Also on the site, I've updated the release dates schedule. Moving a few things around in various areas. Looking at the list you'll see just how few titles are publicly on their way to the Saturn outside of Japan: Three, maybe four games total in the US and Europe. While in Japan there are nearly twenty new Saturn games set for release in the next two months....Ok, this news comes from SegaNet: According to several distributors, Sega of America has six titles planned for release this year. This report hasn't been confirmed but is interesting nonetheless as Stolar has in the past commented that SoA is considering future Saturn releases in the US.

In Japan this week, we should expect to see the release of Sega's Deep Fear. The game possesses a game play style similar to Biohazard/Resident Evil, but takes place in an underwater worlds. Sega of Europe has the title listed for release in the UK in the coming weeks as well, but I've yet to see any announcements from them concerning the title. Graphically the game looks quite good. You can view some video clips of the title from Sega at: http://www.sega.co.jp/sega/data/video/v9807/deepF.mov. The file is 5.25MB and in Quicktime format. I'll post some screen captures of the game later this week.

Last week, General Entertainment Co. of Japan announced details of a title that they plan to be available for the November 20th launch of the Dreamcast. Titled Pen Pen Triicelon, the game is being called an 'action race' title and is being developed by the producer behind the Panzer series, and Sega Rally. The seven characters, resembling penguins, are from an ice planet in outer space. The name Trriicelon comes from the fact that one must master three skills in the game: Running, sliding, and swimming. Each course has three or more different areas with each area requiring differing skills. The graphics are done in a cartoon style with lots of pastel colors and exaggerated features. The game is the fourth third party title announced to be ready at the Japanese DC launch. It joins the other three known launch titles: Warp's D2, and NEC's Sengoku Turb and Seventh Cross.

So, while there's been several announcements on third party DC titles, what is going on at Sega is still being kept under wraps. Internally, several key arcade developers have been moved around to concentrate on console. First off, Bernie Stolar has stated that Yu Suzuki will be working on a game exclusive to Dreamcast. Second. the producer of Sega Rally and Sega Touring car, Tetsuya Mizuguchi has been moved from the AM Annex team to the consumer department at SoJ. Officials at Sega of Japan have also said to expect some Dreamcast news at the "beginning of August...news which most people have already guessed."

In the newsletter a few weeks ago, I posted a link to a page on the VMS/Godzilla card at Sega of Japan's web site. They have since removed, and now updated the page with more information and screen shots. You can find the page at: http://www.sega.co.jp/dreamcast/software/godzilla/dcgod/. The cards are expected as early as this week. They will at first be available in black or white casings. However, because Sega is directly distributing the cards to Japanese retailers, importing the cards at the time will be a bit difficult. Not to worry as importers such as NCSX have arranged with some business partners in Japan to directly buy the cards from retailers then deliver them in the States as imports. In doing so prices are a bit higher: In Japan, the suggested price is 2500¥ or about $18US. NCSX is taking pre-orders on the unit for $35US. For more information on importing the cards, take a look at this journal on NCSX's site: http://www.ncsx.com/ncs070698/journal/jrnlbody.htm There you will find their explanation of how they are handling the importation of the cards in detail. Availability of the cards will increase toward the end of the month.

That's all for this week, cya!

-Greg