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Hi all,

So, its been an extremely long time since the last newsletter. I've been very busy with work and other things in life. Currently, the site is in a state of flux. I do not wish to do any significant expansions until it moves. Yet, with the coming launch of the Dreamcast in the US, and eventually Europe, everything screams that it is time to expand now. Hosting would have been purchased already, but with the weight of trying to move and furnish a place to live, money is tight at the moment. Another question is how dEX fits in today. As one of the few Saturn sites, it had a place. Now, with what looks to be a successful platform, just about every major publisher is covering the system. A far cry to the poor commercial coverage that the Saturn received (which is what spawned the creation of dEX). Regardless I intend to push forward. Again, many thanks for your continued support!

I'd like to begin with some news that doesn't grace the site much anymore, Saturn news. Sega has finally set a date to release Sonic 3D Flicky Island. The game will be released in Japan on October 14 for �3800 (~$34US). The title is also known as Sonic 3D Blast in the US and Europe. October 14th is a special day as it will see the release of another title. But more on that later...after the release of Street Fighter 3 Alpha for the Saturn, I said that it would be the last big title for the system. Well, I'm happy to say that I was wrong. Capcom will be releasing Final Fight Revenge in November for the system. The game will once again use the 4Meg RAM cart. Essentially it will be a port of the arcade title which runs on the ST-V arcade board.

Now on to the DC, for those of Europe who haven't heard yet (doubtful as this is), the Dreamcast launch has been postponed to October 14th due to delays in getting the Network up to speed. The delay has also caused a revision in the launch title set. On Day One we'll see: Dynamite Cop, Incoming, Ready 2 Rumble, Sega Rally 2, Sonic Adventure, Toy Commander, and VF3 TB. UEFA Striker and a few other titles are said to be set for release in Europe on launch day as will, but I've not seen anything to confirm this.

On October 14th, not only will we see the European launch of the DC, but also the release of the first new title from Sonic Team. Technically it is not new, but Sonic Adventure International version will be out this day in Japan. The game is essentially unchanged from the original, but it includes support for English, French and German languages and also some bug fixes.

Capcom has also announced that they are porting both SFIII and SFIII Second Impact to the Dreamcast. The games will be released as a single title, SFIII Double Impact. The title is set for release in Japan this Winter.

So it has begun. In hours, stores in the US will be officially allowed to bring the Dreamcasts out from their back room, and hand them over to anxious gamers. All 300,000 plus of them. In the launch, Sega prioritized distribution to the big retailers such as Babbages who sold out their 100,000 allotment. Unfortunately, while pre-sales are three times larger than that of Sony's PSX release, independent retailers will be left waiting for their units as they only get what's left after the big stores shop from distributors. After the initial rush, things should even out and we'll see more of a balance in distribution. When all is said and done, Sega expects around $45 million in sales on Day One.

In fact, it began days ago with three titles released before the DC was even officially on sale: Konami's Air Force Delta, American Softworks' TNN Hardcore Heat, and lastly, Activision's Blue Stinger. Though, the best is yet to come.... Day One: Aero Wings, Cart Racing, Expendable, House of the Dead 2, Hydro Thunder, Mortal Kombad Gold, NFL Blots 2000, NFL2K, Pen Pen Triicelon, Power Stone, Ready 2 Rumble, Sonic Adventure, Tokyo Xtreme Racer, and TrickStyle.

For those out there, I hope you'll be one of the fortunate who have, or will have a new DC connected up to their TV sets very soon. I wish I could say that I was one of them. Happy gaming. Till next time.

-Greg