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Technology Stocks : Rambus (RMBS) - Eagle or Penguin -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: DownSouth who wrote (29095)	9/9/1999 7:25:00 PM
From: Brian1970	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 93625

(Rambus supported) Sony Playstation due next year... read on Thursday September 9 6:43 PM ET Sega's Dreamcast Holds Video Game Hi Score For Now By Nicole Volpe NEW YORK (Reuters) - Video gamers across North America flexed their fingers Thursday as Sega of America Inc. introduced its Dreamcast videogame console, primed with 300,000 pre-orders for the system, which is expected to become the fall season's hot-seller. Sega predicted the much anticipated game system, built on the latest 128-bit computer chip technology, would generate sales of $45 million on the first day of its release. The Dreamcast system gives Sega at least a temporary lead over Sony Corp. (NYSE:SNE - news) and Nintendo Co. Ltd., which have stomped Sega in the 64-bit video system market, but are not expected to release their own next-generation games in the United States until next fall. ''Looking at consumer demand, this looks to be one of the most significant consumer products ever sold through retail channels in the United States,'' said financial analyst Lewis Alton of L.H. Alton & Co. of San Francisco, who tracks video game makers. The Internet-ready Dreamcast system was made available at more than 15,000 retail locations across the U.S. and Canada for a suggested price of $199. Sega said it plans to support the new console with a $100 million marketing campaign. Sega said tens of thousands of the consoles arrived at stores, some of which opened at midnight to court the most avid Dreamcast buyers. Consumer electronics stores in Manhattan said there was steady demand throughout the day. ''People have been coming in all day to ask about it,'' said a cashier at The Wiz in Manhattan. ''We've sold 10 today at this store, but most people will come buy them on their way home from work.'' The game console is more powerful than any other gaming system, four times more powerful than an Intel Corp. (Nasdaq:INTC - news) Pentium II processor, and several times more powerful than the Sony Corp.'s current Playstation, the company said. ''That means the games run faster and it has more realistic graphics,'' said spokeswoman Jennifer Walker. ''On the football game you can see their breath when they are playing on a cold day, and the divots on the field.'' The system also includes a modem, which allows gamers to play online with other players, and post messages about the tricks on how to play. Analysts said the game console was certainly the most advanced on the market, but that despite initial demand, long-term success was not a given. ''There is no question what will happen today or tomorrow, but before we call this an unequivocal success we need to know if after that they will sit in the stores,'' said Alton. But even if Dreamcast continues to win the high score from consumers, Sony and Nintendo still have their turn next year. ''It should put focus on new machines coming next year from Sony and Nintendo,'' Michael Wallace, a software analyst at brokerage Warburg Dillon Read, wrote in a note to investors Thursday. ''We also believe that Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq:MSFT - news) could be entering the market next year with a low-priced console machine,'' he said. Microsoft declined to comment on the development of the rumored ''X-Box'' console expected by analysts. ''The X-Box is a rumor and we don't comment on rumors,'' Microsoft spokeswoman Joy Nester said. ''Sega has a year, and then two or maybe three players will be coming after them,'' Wallace said.