Hi all,

First off, I wanted to talk about Street Fighter Zero 3. Previously it has been believed that there would be no Saturn version of the game. But recently, Capcom of Japan has announced that there WILL be a Saturn and Dreamcast version. The Saturn version will make use of the 4Meg RAM cart, while both console versions will have all of the features of the PSX version (except Pocketstation support). No word on a release date, but I will keep you posted. In sales, Sting's RPG Evolution was #2 in late January, selling over 50,000 copies. There's a review of the game online on the site. Japan's Dreamcast magazine reports that Sega Rally 2 has already sold over 300,000 copies. Over 500,000 Dreamcasts have been sold since the systems launch. Sega expects to meet their goal of one million units in March.

Last week I mentioned that the Dreamcast would make its European debut at the Nuernburger Toy Show. Well, it has came and went and there was a lot of info revealed. Sega's PR rep revealed several things. As previously believed the console is set for a September 9th release this year. At launch, about 15 titles are expected to be available. Another twist is that the Dreamcast orange swirl will be blue at this release. Reps cited people liking the color more than orange. Regarding foreign releases, Sega believes that territorial lockouts will be practically impossible to defeat. There will be three regions, Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Most likely, someone will find a way around it...either via installing a switch or perhaps an expansion card. It will be unknown though, until the hardware is compared to Japanese counterparts.

Due to demand, the European Dreamcast will ship with a modem, and an ISDN modem is in the works. Sega is negotiating with several telecom companies in Europe for flat rate Internet access.

Regarding future peripherals, the hard drive I mentioned on the site, will be 1GB in size. The drive will allow for the transfer of information from VMS card to the drive, as well as for users to download certain extra features for games that support the drive. Sega Rally 2 will be the first to support the drive allowing for additional tracks, cars, and music to be downloaded.

Over on the site, I will put up several images from Sega's upcoming game, UnderCover AD2025. Designed in collaboration with Pulse, the game style is similar to Resident Evil. The game takes place in Tokyo where you play as Kei, a cop, working against a criminal organization. The game will come on 2 GD-Roms this summer.

Capcom's 3D beat 'em up, Power Stone, will feature 3 extra hidden characters that will be revealed over time. The arcade version of Power Stone (uses the Naomi) has received praise from game magazines and the Dreamcast version is, as expected, identical to the arcade version. The game is set for release on the Dreamcast on February 25th. I have several images from this game, and will put them online this week.

That's about all for this week, I'm working on the currency convertor. Deciding what's the best implementation and will let you know when it goes online.

-Greg